Copyright, Content and Class Action Lawsuits: A Debate on the Google Book Search Settlement

In "ALA Participates in ITIF Google Book Settlement Panel at Library of Congress," District Dispatch describes an ITIF meeting on "Copyright, Content and Class Action Lawsuits: A Debate on the Google Book Search Settlement" at the Library of Congress.

Here's an excerpt:

Yesterday, Dr. Alan Inouye, Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy, participated in a panel called Copyright, Content and Class Action Lawsuits: A Debate on the Google Book Search Settlement. The talk was sponsored by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Dr. Inouye offered remarks on the proposed Google Book Settlement from the library and public interest perspective. Also contributing to the panel were Dr. Daniel Clancy, Engineering Director for Google Book Search, Allan Adler, VP of Government Affairs for the Association of American Publishers, and Peter Brantley, Director of Access for the Internet Archive. Daniel Castro, Senior Analyst at ITIF, moderated the panel discussion.

A digital video of the debate is available at the meeting web site.

OCLC Releases Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want

OCLC has released Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want.

Here's an excerpt from the Executive Summary:

  • The end user's experience of the delivery of wanted items is as important, if not more important, than his or her discovery experience.
  • End users rely on and expect enhanced content including summaries/abstracts and tables of contents.
  • An advanced search option (supporting fielded searching) and facets help end users refine searches, navigate, browse and manage large result sets.
  • Important differences exist between the catalog data quality priorities of end users and those who work in libraries.
  • Librarians and library staff, like end users, approach catalogs and catalog data purposefully. End users generally want to find and obtain needed information; librarians and library staff generally have work responsibilities to carry out. The work roles of librarians and staff influence their data quality preferences.
  • Librarians' choice of data quality enhancements reflects their understanding of the importance of accurate, structured data in the catalog.

Peter Hirtle on the Impact of the Google Book Settlement on Foreign Copyright Holders

In "Google Book Settlement, Orphan Works, and Foreign Works," Peter Hirtle discusses the impact of the Google Book Settlement on foreign copyright holders.

Here's an excerpt:

The scope of the foreign land grab could be considerable. Some initial estimates suggest that 7 million books could be included in the settlement. Of these it is estimated that 1 million are in the public domain. That would leave 6 million in-copyright but out-of-print books. Early efforts to try to understand the nature of the library collections that were being used to build the Google books database suggested that 50% of the works in the libraries were not in English, so it would be safe to say that at least 3 million of the books in the settlement will be foreign works. (Since Google added many European partners after this study was done, the number is likely to be much higher.) Some of these are going to be orphan works—but many more are going to have easily locatable rights holders that have chosen not to be active participants in the settlement. Their royalties are destined for the pockets of the Registry. I am willing to bet that a goodly percentage of the operating expenses of the Registry will come not from orphan works, but rather from foreign authors who do not understand the need to participate in the settlement.

UC Press and the California Digital Library Announce University of California Publishing Services

The University of California Press and the California Digital Library have announced their new University of California Publishing Services unit.

Here's an excerpt from the post:

This integrated system combines print distribution, sales, and marketing services offered by UC Press with the open access digital publishing services provided by the California Digital Library through eScholarship. UCPubS is part of the University of California's broader effort to ensure a sustainable scholarly publishing system in the service of research and teaching.

University of Florida Libraries Propose to Cut Budget by over $2.6 Million

The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries have posted a "2009-2010 Budget Reduction Proposal for the George A. Smathers Libraries, Including the Health Science Center Libraries" that details over $2.6 million in proposed budget cuts.

Read more about it at "2009-2010 Materials Budget Cuts by Circle," "2009-2010 Budget Reduction Proposal for the George A. Smathers Libraries, Including the Health Science Center Libraries," and "Budget Message to President Machen and Provost Glover."

Library IT Jobs: Systems/Reference Librarian at California Institute of Integral Studies

The California Institute of Integral Studies Library is recruiting a Systems/Reference Librarian.

Here's an excerpt from ad:

  • Serving as primary technical support for Library staff and patrons on research databases, online electronic journals, and library automation (including Library’s catalog and circulation system, z39.50 server and proxy server).
  • Maintaining, updating, developing and evaluating the Library's extensive Web site.
  • Serving as liaison with library software and online/electronic resource providers, gathering pertinent information, identifying opportunities and problems, and proposing solutions.
  • Providing individual and group research assistance to Library patrons, from bachelor’s completion through faculty level, at the reference desk, over the telephone and through email. As a member of the reference team, participate in designing instructional and informational programs.
  • Playing a key role in the process of acquiring and implementing a new library ILS.
  • On a day-to-day basis, serving as liaison to the Institute’s Information Technology Services unit; and serving as Library’s channel of communication on repairs and upkeep of computer equipment.
  • Staying current with advances in applicable library technology and online and electronic resources; advising colleagues and director on developments in these areas, and making recommendations for Library action when appropriate.

Historians’ Work Disrupted When Paper of Record Digital Archive Vanishes after Google Purchase

After Google purchased the Paper of Record digital archive, it brought the site down, upsetting historians that relied on the collection of older newspapers. Although the site will be temporarily restored with Google's permission, the incident raises issues about the permanence and reliability of scholarly digital archives.

Read more about it at "Digital Archives That Disappear" and "'Paper of Record' Disappears, Leaving Historians in the Lurch."

DSpace Sites: What Do You Want in Version 1.6?

The DSpace Committers Group is conducting a short survey about desired features in DSpace version 1.6.

Here's an excerpt from the "DSpace 1.6: You Decide!":

As you'll have seen from recent emails, the DSpace community has now released version 1.5.2 of the DSpace software. It has many new features, some enhancements to current features, and some bug fixes. Many of you will also know that a small team of developers have been working on DSpace version 2.0 which will bring with it many essential architectural enhancements to ensure that DSpace continues to fulfil the needs of the user community over the coming years. DSpace 2.0 is likely to be released early in 2010.

n the mean time, the DSpace committers have decided to start working on DSpace version 1.6. By moving to 1.6 (rather than 1.5.3) we can add new features that require changes to underlying DSpace database. We can’t tell you just yet what new features will be in version 1.6 because we haven’t decided! And that is where you come in . . .

Randy J. Olsen Wins Inaugural Howard Goldstein Award to Advance Scholarly Communication

Randy J. Olsen, University Librarian for the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University, has won the first BioOne/SPARC Howard Goldstein Award to Advance Scholarly Communication.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Randy J. Olsen has held leadership positions in the Utah Library Association, the American Library Association, Research Libraries Group, Greater Western Libraries Association, Mountain Plains Library Association, and Utah Academic Library Council. He currently chairs the Library and Scholarly Communications Advisory Council at Brigham Young University and currently serves as a member of the Steering committee for SPARC. . . .

A pragmatist, Olsen initiated a series of concrete steps that have since provided sustainable models for a growing number of important campus publications. These solutions have likewise served as a direction for others to follow. It was Olsen's idea, for example, to hire Jeff Billiston as the Scholarly Communications Librarian to identify and provide publication services and programs. In 2006, Olsen encouraged Billiston to develop an institutional repository that now hosts the legacy issues for 12 publications, with several more to come. In 2007, Olsen became aware of several campus journals in danger of extinction as print-only publications. Careful review of each journal's situation resulted in a variety of solutions that range from a library-sponsored investment in the development of Open Journal Systems software for peer-review and content management, to customized varieties of Open Access publication.

It was Olsen's suggestion that four faculty members attend the Association of Research Library's Institute on Scholarly Communication in 2007. Knowledge about publishing options gained at this event enabled one of BioOne's newest journals, the Western North American Naturalist, to identify a solution to its critical need to modernize. Now in its second year in the BioOne.2 collection, WNAN has increased its distribution and begun to earn important revenue to help sustain its program.

Challenged once again by Olsen, WNAN's publisher the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum at BYU concluded that because their companion, Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist, is not their main revenue-producing publication, the best way to enhance its distribution was to add it to BioOne's Open Access collection. The two publications are now seamlessly available to users and their editorial staff is better able to manage both products. According to WNAM's grateful editor Mark Belk, Olsen has thus helped his publications meet their mission to communicate science broadly. Olsen's efforts to engage University leaders in this conversation have helped Belk strengthen his argument for the support necessary to ensure production for the good of the entire research community.

Library IT Jobs: Head, Library Systems Support Department at University of Delaware

The University of Delaware Library is recruiting a Head, Library Systems Support Department.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Reporting to the Assistant Director for Library Computing Systems, the successful candidate will be involved in challenging information technology activities in a rapidly evolving environment. As one of 9.5 FTE in the Library Computing Systems Division, will oversee the maintenance and support of the ALEPH 500 integrated library system and the maintenance and support of end-user computing systems. Will work closely with the Coordinator, Library Data and Server Support, in the provision and support of electronic library resources. Responsibilities include supervision of 3 professional and 2 support staff. The Department has responsibility for maintenance and support of over 400 PC's installed in Library, support of DELCAT and WorldCat Local, and maintenance and development of Library website (http://www.udel.edu/library). Collection development responsibilities with faculty liaison in a subject area may be assigned.

Letters Fly over Anticipated Appointment of PRO-IP Act’s “Copyright Czar”

Copyright reform groups, such as Public Knowledge, and information industry groups, such as the Copyright Alliance, are staking out their positions with letters to the White House regarding the anticipated appointment of the Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement, a position which was mandated by the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act. Copyright reformers have been unhappy about the recent appointment of former RIAA lawyers to key Justice Department posts.

Read more about it at "Copyright Debate Heats Up over Obama Appointments."

Digital Library Jobs: Digitization Librarian at Conjuring Arts Research Center (Entry Level)

The Conjuring Arts Research Center is recruiting an entry-level Digitization Librarian (MLS students can apply).

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

Responsibilities will include scanning materials of all ages, using the Atiz BookDrive Pro (http://pro.atiz.com ) and BookDrive Capture, to be entered into Ask Alexander (http://askalexander.org ), an all-encompassing magic database that is fully text searchable. The Digitization Librarian will also serve as the direct supervisor of the library's Digitization Interns and work with ABBYY Fine Reader and Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Digital Library Jobs: Metadata Specialist, Visual Materials Cataloguer at Wellesley College

The Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College is recruiting a Metadata Specialist, Visual Materials Cataloguer.

Here's an excerpt from the ad:

The Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College is seeking a Metadata Specialist to verify and create metadata for 2,500 newly digitized objects in the Davis Museum's encyclopedic art collection. Objects include paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and photographs. The digital collections will be available on the museum's website to the local museum and campus community and to the broader public via the Internet. The Metadata Specialist will be responsible for the verification and updating of existing cataloguing as well as for the creation of subject and concept authority information. S/he should be familiar with visual materials cataloging and metadata standards, and the use of a wide range of authority files including but not limited to the Getty's Union List of Artist Names and Art & Architecture Thesaurus.

Google Labs Releases Google News Timeline and Similar Images

Google Labs has released Google News Timeline and Similar Images.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Image Search is a tool you can use to find just about any kind of image, but it can sometimes be difficult to find the right image if you can't describe it in words. The new Similar Images feature was developed with just this in mind. Using it you can now find images that look like an existing result simply by clicking on a link. Using visual similarity, you don't have to refine the text of your search, instead, you can just click on the link of an image you like. For example, if you search for [jaguar], you can use the "Similar images" link to quickly narrow your search.

OECD: We Need Publishing Standards for Datasets and Data Tables

OECD has released We Need Publishing Standards for Datasets and Data Tables.

Here's an excerpt:

Datasets are a significant part of the scholarly record and are being published more and more frequently, either formally or informally. Many publishers are beginning to link to them from their journals and authors are trying to cite them in their articles. Librarians would like a way to manage them alongside other publications. In short, they need to be integrated into the scholarly information system so that authors, readers and librarians can use, find and manage them as easily as they do working papers, journal articles and books.

In this paper, OECD is proposing some standards for citing and bibliographic management of datasets and data tables. OECD is currently building a new online publishing platform which will host working papers, journals, books, tables and datasets. Due to be launched in mid-2009, this platform will use the standards proposed above. Librarians will be offered MARC 21 records for datasets, alongside records for OECD books and periodicals. Users of the platform will be invited to download citations for datasets and tables in a form compatible with popular bibliographic management systems. All the DOIs for the datasets and tables will be deposited with CrossRef, ready for other publishers to use.

Lightning Source, On Demand Books, and Selected Publishers to Offer Print-on-Demand at Point-of-Sale Locations

Lightning Source will work with selected publishers on a pilot project to offer print-on-demand of books using the On Demand Books' Espresso Book Machine at point-of-sale locations.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Participating publishers in the pilot include John Wiley & Sons, Hachette Book Group, McGraw-Hill, Simon & Schuster, Clements Publishing, Cosimo, E-Reads, Bibliolife, Information Age Publishing, Macmillan, University of California Press and W.W. Norton. The pilot, being offered initially to a small group of publishers that currently work with Lightning Source, will enable these publishers to enhance the availability of their titles at point-of-sale EBM locations. Approximately 85,000 titles from these publishers will be available for purchase at EBM locations in the USA in May 2009.

Upon the completion of a successful pilot, publishers that print and distribute books with Lightning Source will have the option to participate in the EBM channel. Complete channel automation is expected in the first half of this year, and rollout of the program to publishers globally is expected to follow shortly thereafter.

NEH Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities has issued a call for grant proposals for its Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Program.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

The Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program supports projects that provide an essential foundation for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, electronic records, and digital objects. Funding from this program strengthens efforts to extend the life of such materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology. Awards are also made to create various reference resources that facilitate use of cultural materials, from works that provide basic information quickly to tools that synthesize and codify knowledge of a subject for in-depth investigation.

Applications may be submitted for projects that include or combine the following activities:

  • arranging and describing archival and manuscript collections;
  • cataloging collections of printed works, photographs, recorded sound, moving images, art, and material culture;
  • implementing preservation measures, such as basic rehousing, reformatting, deacidification, or conservation treatment;
  • digitizing collections, or preserving and improving access to born-digital resources;
  • developing databases, virtual collections, or other electronic resources to codify information on a subject field or to provide integrated access to selected humanities materials;
  • creating encyclopedias;
  • preparing linguistic tools, such as historical and etymological dictionaries, corpora, and reference grammars (separate funding is available for endangered language projects in partnership with the National Science Foundation);
  • developing tools for spatial analysis and representation of humanities data, such as atlases and geographical information systems (GIS); and
  • designing digital tools to facilitate use of humanities resources.

OCLC: A Symposium for Publishers and Librarians

OCLC has released presentations and other documents related to its recent event, A Symposium for Publishers and Librarians.

Here's an excerpt from the symposium report:

On March 18th and 19th representatives from libraries, the publisher supply chain and organizations supporting these communities met at OCLC's Conference Center in Dublin, Ohio to discuss metadata needs, practices, lifecycle and economics across the communities and to explore opportunities for change.