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I N B R I E F
January/February 2010
NISO 2010 Webinar Series Provides Updates on Technology and Standards for Libraries and Scholarly Communication
Contributed by:
Cynthia Hodgson
Technical Writer / Consultant
National Information Standards Organization (NISO)
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
<chodgson@niso.org>
NISO will be hosting thirteen webinars in 2010 covering a range of topics that include ILS/repository interoperability, e-resources preservation, identifiers, RFID, resource sharing, vocabulary control, research data, metrics and assessment, OpenURL knowledgebases, journal title change displays, and accessibility.
Two to three speakers, working directly in the topic area, share their expertise and implementation experiences at each webinar. Q&A time is provided at the end and answers to questions are posted online following the webinar. In 2009, over 1,000 people registered for NISO webinars, with well over 3000 attending. Attendees completing evaluation surveys routinely rated the speakers as very good or excellent.
NISO's web seminars are held on the second Wednesday of each month (except July) from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time). There are two 2-part seminars planned for March and September, which will take place on consecutive Wednesdays.
Registration is per site (defined as access by one computer with an unlimited number of viewers) and all registrants have access to the online recorded archive of the webinar for one year. If you can't make the webinar time and date, you can still register and watch the recorded version at your convenience.
NISO is offering a discount program for the webinar series for organizations interested in having staff participate in multiple events. The entire 13-part series of webinars can be purchased for the price of six events. There is also a "buy 4 and get 2 free" discount. This is an excellent opportunity for professional development without the expense of travel. We've had library consortia subscribe to the whole series for their members and library school instructors use the recorded webinars for classes.
In addition to the webinars, NISO will be holding three in-person forums in 2010. NISO's educational forums are routinely praised for their excellent selection of speakers representing a diversity of viewpoints across the scholarly information community and the small size that provides opportunities to network with speakers and other attendees. Free teleconferences are also held on the second Monday of every month (except July) to discuss projects underway in NISO and to provide the community with an opportunity to provide feedback and input on areas where NISO is or ought to be engaged.
The complete list of 2010 NISO educational events is available on the NISO website (http://www.niso.org/news/events/2010). A wide range of opportunities is available for you to stay current in the technology and standards for library and scholarly communications. Registration is now open for all events.
Sponsorship and speaking opportunities are available. If you would like to share your expertise with the community, suggest speakers or related topics, or would like to sponsor an event, please contact NISO (nisohq@niso.org).
Web Archives Registry Launched
Contributed by:
Abigail Potter
Communications Officer
International Internet Preservation Consortium
<abpo@loc.gov>
In December of 2009 the International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC) released a registry of its members' web archives. The registry offers a single point of access to a comprehensive overview of member web archiving efforts and outputs. Twenty-one archives from around the world are currently included; the registry will be updated as additional archives are made accessible by IIPC members.
In addition to a detailed description of each web archive, the following information is included:
- Collecting institution
- Start date
- Archive interface language(s)
- Access methods (URL search, keyword search, full text search, thematic, etc.)
- Harvesting methods (National domain, event, thematic, etc.)
- Access restrictions
The registry was put in place by IIPC's Access Working Group, which focuses on initiatives, procedures and tools required to provide immediate access and to preserve the future access to Internet material in a Web archive. The registry will also provide a basis for IIPC to explore integrated access and search in the future.
Preserving the web is not a task of any single institution. It is a mission common to all IIPC members, and many practices and lessons are transferable. The launch of the members' web archive registry showcases international collaboration for preserving Internet content for future generations. The IIPC was chartered in 2003 with 12 participating institutions. Today, there are over thirty-five member organizations. More information about the IIPC can be found at <http://netpreserve.org>.
Digital Preservation Training Programme Scholarships Offered Again This Year
Contributed by:
Dr. William Kilbride
Executive Director, Digital Preservation Coalition
Heslington, United Kingdom
<william@dpconline.org>
Organised by the University of London Computer Centre, the Digital Preservation Training Programme (DPTP) is set to run once again in London in March 2010. The course has been offered 9 times since 2005, attracting diverse and international audiences from the private and public sector. It runs over 3 days and is designed as an extended introduction to emerging digital preservation approaches and techniques. Presented as a mix of lecture, discussion and practical work, modules included this time will include risk management, managing file formats, standards such as the OAIS reference model for Digital Preservation, cost modelling and preservation metadata.
'The key thing we want people to take away is a sense of being equipped to make things happen in their organisation in relation to digital preservation' explained Kevin Ashley, founder of the course. 'In three days we can't teach people how to use a particular software tool or how to deal with a specific technical problem. But we can equip them to understand where are the resources available that will help evaluate them, how to make the sorts of communications happen that need to happen and how to turn small individual projects into something that becomes part of the normal day to day function of the organisation'.
The course is based on material originally developed by Cornell University, with help from the Digital Preservation Coalition, the Arts and Humanities Data Service and others. Feedback shows that the course remains very popular with students, many of whom are now leading institutional strategies to support digital preservation – and thus ongoing access to vital digital collections.
'The last decade has seen massive strides in digital preservation: we now have some great tools and services – but typically our institutions lack the staff and skills to take advantage of them,' explained William Kilbride of the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC). 'So, in May last year we decided to help out by offering two scholarships so that DPC members could send staff to DPTP. Feedback was so positive that we repeated the experiment in October. We were so impressed by the list of candidates that we ended up giving six scholarships. This time around we're offering three, but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up giving more than that, especially if the quality of the candidates and the volume of demand remains as high as it was previously.'
'I would certainly recommend that anyone who has to play a role in any area of digital preservation considers doing this course,' said Grant Young of Cambridge University Library who attended the course with a DPC scholarship in May 2009. 'Certainly, if the DPC offers similar scholarships – and I hope they do – it would be well worth while applying.'
For more information about the DPTP see <http://www.dptp.org/>.
For more information about the DPC, including notes on the scholarships, see <http://www.dpconline.org/>.
European Persistent Identifier Consortium (EPIC) Launched
Contributed by:
Ulrich Schwardmann
Gesellschaft fur wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung Gottingen
Gottingen, Germany
<uschwar1@gwdg.de>
A new partnership has been formed to provide persistent identifier services to the scientific community in Europe. The partners in EPIC are GWDG (Gesellschaft fur wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung Gottingen) in Gottingen, SARA Computing and Networking Services in Amsterdam, and CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd. in Helsinki. The service is based on the CNRI Handle System and builds on work begun in early 2009 by GWDG on behalf of the Max Planck Gesellschaft.
"All research disciplines are confronted with an enormous increase of the number of data objects they are dealing with and of the complexity of the relationships amongst them. Objects are organized in virtual collections which are increasingly often defined by the needs of the analyzing researcher, i.e. individual or sets of objects are grouped together in almost arbitrary ways..."
"The participating institutions declare to be willing to work out an appropriate sustainable service, operating and business model which will extend the service already given now by the GWDG for the Max Planck Society. It will offer interested communities to participate in these discussions about the principles of a shared and therefore highly available and highly persistent service. In the first year EPIC will work on a prototype solution for such a robust system with the intention to turn this into a full production service."
For more information please see the full Memorandum of Understanding and related material at <http://www.pidconsortium.eu/>.
I N T H E N E W S
January/February 2010
National Science Board Releases Science and Engineering Indicators 2010
Worrisome trends show eroding U.S. competitive advantage in the world science and engineering environment
January 15, 2010 — "The state of the science and engineering (S&E) enterprise in America is strong, yet its lead is slipping, according to data released at the White House today by the National Science Board (NSB). Prepared biennially and delivered to the President and Congress on even numbered years by Jan. 15 as statutorily mandated, Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI) provides information on the scope, quality and vitality of America's science and engineering enterprise. SEI 2010 sheds light on America's position in the global economy."
"...Over the past decade, R&D intensity – how much of a country's economic activity or gross domestic product is expended on R&D – has grown considerably in Asia, while remaining steady in the U.S. Annual growth of R&D expenditures in the U.S. averaged 5 to 6 percent while in Asia, it has skyrocketed. In some Asian countries, R&D growth rate is two, three, even four, times that of the U.S."
"In terms of R&D expenditures as a share of economic output, while Japan has surpassed the U.S. for quite some time, South Korea is now in the lead – ahead of the U.S. and Japan. And why does this matter? Investment in R&aamp;D is a major driver of innovation, which builds on new knowledge and technologies, contributes to national competitiveness and furthers social welfare. R&D expenditures indicate the priority given to advancing science and technology (S&T) relative to other national goals."
For more information, please see the full press release.
Despite Economic Downturn, Survey Results Show 2009 Salary Increases for Info Pros
January 14, 2010 — "For the third year in a row,
average salaries for information professionals in the United States and Canada
have increased, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) announced today in
releasing the results of its annual salary survey...."
"...According to the 2009 Annual SLA Salary Survey report, the average salary of
an information professional in the United States was US$ 73,880, compared with
US$ 71,812 reported in 2008. The average earnings for Canadian respondents was
CAN$ 72,705, compared with CAN$ 69,971.The 2009 salary data were collected in
July and August 2009."
"For 2009, SLA used its salary survey data to create mini-reports for 17
different primary job functions, including legal research, knowledge management,
reference, and competitive intelligence. Each mini-report is available
individually. The larger Comprehensive Salary Survey comprises all 17 U.S. and
six Canadian mini-reports. The 2009 Annual SLA Salary Survey is only available in PDF and will not be made available in hard copy...."
"...The 2009 SLA Annual Salary Survey is available for purchase on the SLA Web site. The full PDF of the Comprehensive Salary Survey is US$ 65 for SLA members and US$ 125 for non-members. The mini-reports can be purchased for US$ 12.95 for SLA members and US$ 19.95 for non-members. For more information visit: http://www.sla.org/salarysurvey."
For more information, please see the full press release.
ASERL Endorses Ithaka S+R's What to Withdraw Report
January 7, 2010 — "During its recent Membership Meeting, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) endorsed the findings of What to Withdraw: Print Collections Management in the Wake of Digitization, a report published by Ithaka S+R, the strategy and research arm of ITHAKA. Notably, the report recommends that libraries can safely consider withdrawing numerous copies of JSTOR-digitized journals from their collections and that they take a number of steps to increase the number of journal titles subject to withdrawal more broadly. ASERL believes these recommendations have the potential to alleviate space crunches in overcrowded university libraries across the country."
"...Co-authors Roger C. Schonfeld, manager of research, and Ross Housewright, analyst at Ithaka S+R, analyzed the rationales for retaining and preserving scholarly journals in print format, incorporating research conducted by Candace Yano, a professor of industrial engineering and operations research and in the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. They concluded that materials that are adequately digitized and preserved in digital form, contain few images, and are preserved in an appropriate number of print repositories, may be safely withdrawn from library collections without threatening their preservation..."
"...The authors believe many other print journals can likely be deaccessioned responsibly, but the data and accompanying analysis needed to confirm the preservation status of these journals is not yet widely available. Working with partners in the coming years, Ithaka S+R hopes to expand libraries' collections management options by analyzing the withdrawal potential of a far larger number of journals from a variety of sources beyond JSTOR."
For more information, please see the full press release.
Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois Launches the Leaders and Innovators Training Program
January 5, 2010 — "The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support a training program for public librarians in other countries."
"Global Libraries, an initiative of the foundation's Global Development Program, is working to transform public libraries into vital resources that can help improve the lives of millions of people. The initiative works with select countries that demonstrate a need and a readiness to help public libraries provide free access to computers and the Internet, and training on how to make full use of these tools."
"...The Mortenson Center program will expose potential public library leaders and innovators from these countries to different models of successful public libraries. The goal is to provide these individuals with the opportunity to study the policies, services, and funding sources that are necessary to fully support a library system, which is both responsive to the needs of a community and proactive in addressing the information needs of users."
For more information, please see the full press release.
Position Announcement: Senior Program Officer, Digital Library Federation
Council on Library and Information Resources
December 29, 2009 — "Appointment date: Spring 2010. Salary range: Competitive, commensurate with experience; excellent benefits package."
"The Digital Library Federation (DLF) seeks to further its mission of enabling new research and scholarship by providing leadership and developing opportunities to facilitate shared actions, resources, and infrastructures to extend, secure and preserve the scholarly and cultural record in digital form."
"As a major program of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), the senior program officer reports to the president of CLIR, and will play a critical role in the definition and implementation of CLIR/DLF programs and the evolution of its mission."
For more information, please see the full position announcement.
IMLS Announces New Research Brief: Service Trends in U.S. Public
Libraries, 1997-2007
December 22, 2009 — "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
announces the release of a new research brief, Service Trends in U.S.
Public Libraries, 1997-2007. The brief identifies important changes
public libraries have made to address patron needs in an increasingly
Internet-centric environment and explores service differences in urban
and rural communities."
"A comparison of more than 11 years of Public Library Survey data
suggests that service changes in U.S. public libraries are having an
impact on visitation and circulation, as record numbers of people now
use public libraries nationwide."
"Future research from the Office of Policy, Planning, Research and
Communication will examine library services in a variety of different
contexts from small towns and remote rural areas to central cities and
suburbs. This type of placed-based analysis can provide important
insight into the impact libraries have on their communities, while
building a stronger, evidence-based platform for planning library
services to meet local needs."
"To read the research brief please go to:
http://www.imls.gov/pdf/Brief2010_01.pdf."
For more information, please see the full press release.
Fedora 3.3 Available Now
December 21, 2009 announcement from Carol Minton Morris, Director of Marketing and Communications, DuraSpace - "the DuraSpace not-for-profit organization and the Fedora digital repository project announced the release of Fedora 3.3 (http://fedora-commons.org/confluence/x/jQ3S). This release marks a new milestone in the process of developing the Fedora open source software. For the first time, the Fedora community came together under the leadership of a Community Release Manager who facilitated the software development process and the integration of community contributions."
"Thornton Staples, Director of the Fedora Project from DuraSpace, observed, 'The process of developing open-source software with a community-based process requires dedicated effort by many community participants, both developers and users. Though there is a perception that open-source software gets written by hobbyist programmers working on their own late at night, it is more commonly written by programmers working for institutions that are committed to the software and understand its shared benefits. FIZ-Karlsruhe has done us all a great service by making Strnad available to manage this release, getting us off to a running start in a community-led development process."
"Chris Wilper, Fedora Technical Lead and Developer from DuraSpace, said, 'It's exciting to see so many contributors stepping forward to take a hand in Fedora's evolution. A wide variety of perspectives and a willingness to give back to the community are key to making the Fedora software better for everyone.'"
For more information, please contact: Carol Minton Morris, <cmmorris@DuraSpace.org>.
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Awards CLIR $1.4 Million Operating Grant
December 17, 2009 — "The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) has received a 21-month, $1.4 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support general operations starting January 2010."
"...Over the past two years, CLIR has expanded its purview and funding base with the goal of fostering the collaborations necessary to address the complex challenges facing higher education and to build new communities of interest and expertise."
"CLIR is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good. Through publications, projects, and programs, CLIR works to maintain and improve access to information for generations to come."
For more information, please see the full press release.
American Psychological Association Seeks Applicants for 4th Annual APA Excellence in Librarianship Award
December 16, 2009 announcement from Christine Chambers, American Psychological Association - "The American Psychological Association is seeking nominations for the 2010 APA Excellence in Librarianship Award, to be presented at the Educational & Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Research Forum at the June 2010 American Library Association Annual Meeting in Washington, DC."
"This Award was created to recognize an outstanding contribution to psychology and behavioral sciences librarianship within the past 5 years, and consists of a certificate and $2,500...."
"...The application deadline is April 9, 2010. All materials should be sent to:
"Customer Relations/APA Librarianship Award
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Third Floor/PsycINFO
Washington, DC 20002-4242
"Please direct questions to: psycinfo@apa.org."
SLA Name Will Stay
December 10, 2009 — "The Special Libraries Association
(SLA) announced the results of its association-wide vote on a new name today.
Voting in record numbers, SLA members failed to approve a proposal to change
the organization's name to the Association for Strategic Knowledge
Professionals. 50 percent of those members eligible to vote participated in the
referendum, with 2071 voting yes and 3225 voting no."
"'The active discussions, online and in local meetings, are a testament to the
passion and commitment that knowledge and information professionals feel towards
their association and their profession,' said Gloria Zamora, SLA 2009
President. 'This level of engagement will help make SLA and its members more
effective advocates for the information profession in the years ahead.'"
For more information, please see the full press release.
UC San Diego Experts Calculate How Much Information Americans Consume
December 9, 2009 — "U.S. households consumed approximately 3.6 zettabytes of information in 2008, according to the How Much Information? 2009 Report on American Consumers, released today by the University of California, San Diego. One zettabyte is 1,000,000,000 trillion bytes, and total bytes consumed last year were the equivalent of the information in thick paperback novels stacked seven feet high over the entire United States, including Alaska."
"The How Much Information? project is creating a census of the world's information in 2008. The study measured information consumed by U.S. consumers in and outside the home for non-work related reasons, and included the gamut of information sources, including going to the movies, listening to the radio, talking on the cell phone, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and reading the newspaper, among other things...."
"...The new report estimates that between 1980 and 2008, bytes consumed increased 350 percent, for an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent. According to the report, the average American's information consumption of 34 gigabytes a day is the equivalent of about one fifth of a notebook computer's hard drive, depending on the model."
For more information, please see the full press release.
New Publishing Opportunity at the University of California
December 8, 2009 — "University of California Press and the California
Digital Library are pleased to announce the official launch of a collaborative publishing venture, UC Publishing Services (UCPubS). UCPubS offers a suite of open access digital and print publication services to University of California centers, institutes, and departments that produce scholarly books. By coordinating the publishing efforts of UC Press, the California Digital Library's eScholarship program, and publishing partners throughout the UC system, UCPubS provides a sustainable publishing model that extends the University's capacity to disseminate its scholarship to the world."
"Building on current publishing activities, UCPubS enables organizations
such as the Townsend Center at UC Berkeley and the Higher Education
Research Institute at UCLA to focus on scholarship rather than on
distribution, sales and web platform development. 'Campus partners
immediately recognize the benefits of this program as it solves so many
of the logistical challenges they face as small publishers,' according
to Laura Cerruti, Director of Digital Content Development at UC Press.
These challenges include reaching a broader public by increasing print
sales and gaining access to new market channels; streamlining peer
review and manuscript production; reliable preservation of digital
publications; and tracking usage and sales of publications. 'The program
seeks to enable greater visibility of UC-affiliated research while
reducing duplication of effort and cost,' Cerruti added."
"...UC Press and the CDL have embarked on this collaborative publishing
venture in response to compelling research revealing the vibrant
publishing activity across the UC campuses and the need for systemwide
services to support such activity. 'UCPubS gives us access to the
considerable expertise, capacity, and scale of both UC Press and the
CDL, which allows our authors to reach a worldwide audience – both in
print and online – that would be difficult for us to reach on our own,'
Nathan MacBrien, Director of the Global, Area, and International
Archive, said."
For more information, please see the full press release.
ALA urges FCC to consider role of libraries in economic development
December 7, 2009 — "In its latest filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the American Library Association (ALA) highlights the vital role libraries play in communities by supporting workforce development, small business creation, life-long education, and access to government resources through public access computer terminals and broadband Internet access."
"The ALA's Friday filing responded to the FCC's call for comments regarding the relationship between economic development and broadband – particularly broadband adoption – and how broadband access spurs businesses' productivity and growth. Public libraries serve the information needs of the community by providing access to online resources and services and directly strengthen the economic stability and quality of life in communities across the country. Public libraries are also community anchor institutions, and bringing broadband to the library will result in greater broadband availability to the entire community."
"ALA research finds that 91 percent of libraries offer formal training classes in general computer skills; 71 percent have formal classes in using software applications; and 93 percent have training in general Internet use. Libraries subscribe to numerous online databases that provide patrons with access to current research and information on a variety of topics including economic development, starting a small business, legal information, and career counseling. Many libraries offer these services to help ensure their patrons not only have access to valuable information but have the skills necessary to evaluate and utilize them."
For more information, please see the full press release.
Google and UNESCO announce alliance to provide virtual visits of several World Heritage sites
December 4, 2009 — "Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List – the Palace of Versailles in France, the historic centre of Prague in the Czech Republic and the old town of Cáceres in Spain, for example – can now be explored online, thanks to an alliance signed by UNESCO and the international corporation Google."
"The agreement makes it possible for Internet users to visit 19 of the 890 World Heritage properties via Google's Street View interface. All the other sites on the List will be shown on the Google Earth and Google Maps interfaces...."
"...At UNESCO's suggestion, Google will soon be visiting and photographing other sites on the List. The focus is on harder-to-access sites, which will be photographed with the permission of site managers. They can then be appreciated by millions of people who might never have the opportunity to visit them otherwise. The sites are located notably in South Africa, Brazil, Canada, Mexico
k together to provide online access, via Google Maps, YouTube and Google Earth, to maps, texts and videos pertaining to UNESCO's Biosphere Reserves, to documentary heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World Register and to endangered languages."
For more information, please see the full press release.
Association for Learning Technology launches Open Access Repository
December 2, 2009 announcement from Catherine Dhanjal, TheAnswer Ltd.: "The Association for Learning Technology's Open Access Repository was
formally launched at ALT's annual conference ALT-C in September and is now
available. The repository represents a long-awaited development in ALT's
work and services as it allows users to contribute assets and make them
available via the repository. Since it went online the repository has had
about 10,000 visitors, browsing, searching for and downloading journal
articles, conference presentations, links to webinar recordings and similar
content."
"Built using EPrints software, the repository conforms to the minimum
standards of the OpenDOAR policy supporting the aims of the Open Access
movement and has been designed with its wider development in mind, ensuring
that it remains a valuable resource in the long term. Currently the
repository can be browsed by Library of Congress subject divisions or an
evolving learning technology-based subject tree which ALT is developing in
accordance with user requirements. This allows the repository to reflect the
different user communities which become involved in it or use it to make
their output widely available. Furthermore the repository is fully indexed
by internet search engines thereby enabling users to find items without
having to be on the repository itself."
"The ALT Open Access Repository was developed as part of the wALTer project
in conjunction with the project partner Cranfield University, under the JISC
Repositories and Preservation Programme, and it now exists as an independent
freely available service hosted and run by ALT."
For more information, please see contact Catherine Dhanjal, <Catherine.dhanjal@theansweruk.com>.
JISC launches 2010-2012 strategy
December 1, 2009 — "The UK is at risk of losing its world-leading reputation for education, unless it continues to invest in digital technologies to meet the ever-changing needs of modern learners, researchers and the academic community says JISC, in its three-year strategy which launches today."
"The strategy outlines a vision of the future whereby a robust technological infrastructure is required to meet the shifting needs of the 21st century education community. JISC believes it is crucial that the UK's education system continues to compete on the international stage by investing in innovation, research and increasing the availability of online resources."
"...Recent JISC projects, such as the Google Generation2 and sustainable ICT3 studies, have defined a new world for teaching and learning and have outlined the infrastructure needed to support it. With new technologies constantly evolving, sustained investment is needed to pioneer their use. Over the last decade JISC has invested its research and development funds in around 200 universities and colleges to help uncover new products, approaches and systems as well as increase skills and capacity...."
For more information, please see the full press release.
International Collaboration to Close the Digital Curation Gap
November 20, 2009 — "Scientists, researchers, and scholars across the world
generate vast amounts of digital data, but the scientific record and the
documentary heritage created in digital form are at risk – from
technology obsolescence, from the fragility of digital media, and from
the lack of baseline practices for managing and preserving digital data.
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of
Information and Library Science, working with the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) and partners in the United Kingdom (U.K.),
are collaborating on the Closing the Digital Curation Gap (CDCG) project
to establish baseline practices for the storage, maintenance, and
preservation of digital data to help ensure their enhancement and
continuing long-term use. Because digital curation, or the management
and preservation of digital data over the full life cycle, is of
strategic importance to the library and archives fields, IMLS is funding
the project through a cooperative agreement with UNC-CH. U.K. partners
include the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), which supports
innovation in digital technologies in U.K. colleges and universities,
and its funded entities, the Strategic Content Alliance (SCA) and the
Digital Curation Centre (DCC)...."
"...Data and information science researchers have already developed many
viable applications, models, strategies, and standards for the long term
care of digital objects. This project will help bridge a significant gap
between the progress of digital curation research and development and
the professional practices of archivists, librarians, and museum
curators. Project partners will develop guidelines for digital curation
practices, especially for staff in small to medium-sized cultural
heritage institutions where digital assets are most at risk. Larger
institutions will also benefit. To develop baseline practices, a working
group will establish and support a network of digital curation
practitioners, researchers, and educators through face-to-face meetings,
web-based communication, and other communication tools. Project staff
will also use surveys, interviews, and case studies to develop a plan
for ongoing development of digital curation frameworks, guidance, and
best practices. The team will also promote roles that various
organizations can play and identify future opportunities for
collaboration."
"As part of this project, the Digital Curation Manual, which is
maintained by the DCC, will be updated and expanded
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resource/curation-manual/chapters and the Digital Curation Exchange web portal will receive support
(http://digitalcurationexchange.org). Through these efforts, the CDCG
project will lay the foundation that will inform future training,
education, and practice. The project's research, publications, practical
tool integration, and outreach and training efforts will be of value to
organizations charged with maintaining digital assets over the long
term."
For more information, please see the full press release.
IMLS Funds Research on 3D Scanner Technology to Save Endangered
Recordings
November 20, 2009 — "The Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will advance technology that can recover and digitally re-master rare early sound recordings made on wax cylinders –
including experimental recordings created in the 1880's by Alexander
Graham Bell – even when the original cylinder is cracked or broken. The
research project, which includes development of a mobile 2D scanning
device, builds on previous successes of the '3D/PRISM' or 'IRENE-3D'
project, which significantly impacted research and practice in the area
of early audio recordings preservation."
"The current IRENE projects are funded in part by the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) under the National Leadership Grant program.
Other project partners include the Library of Congress, The Phoebe
Hearst Museum of Anthropology, The University of Chicago's South Asia
Library, The Berlin Phonogramm Archive, The Smithsonian Institution's
National Museum of American History, the Edison National Historic Site,
and the University of Applied Science, Fribourg, Switzerland...."
"...The new three-year research project will address large scale
digitization of collections through the design and evaluation of a
software control and analysis framework. For collections that are remote
or not transportable, a mobile 2D scanning device will be built and
evaluated in a remote application. Collaborating with the University of
Chicago South Asia Library, a system will be operated in India where
significant early 20th century recorded sound collections exist. In
addition, measurement studies will be made on copper 'galvano' cylinder
molds from the Berlin Phonogramm Archive, and a collection of rare and
unusual experimental recordings created by Alexander Graham Bell in the
early 1880's from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
Software tools and measurement strategies for the virtual reassembly of
broken cylinders and discs will be evaluated. The latter will include a
measurement of the (broken) Dickson Cylinder, Thomas Edison's 1893
attempt to synchronize film and audio. "
For more information, please see the full press release.
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