D-Lib Magazine In Brief and In the News

Contributed by
Cassidy R. Sugimoto
Assistant Professor
Department of Information and Library Science
School of Informatics and Computing
Indiana University Bloomington
Bloomington, Indiana, USA
sugimoto [at] indiana.edu

The School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington seeks to recruit a cohort of four exceptional doctoral students with interest in issues related to scholarly communication for the IDEASc fellowship program, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and hosted by the Department of Information and Library Science (ILS) and the University Libraries at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB). IDEASc – Integrated Doctoral Education with Application to Scholarly Communication – is a fellowship program designed to further scholarship and practice in the area of scholarly communication by integrating practical experience in the library with the research and classroom experiences that comprise the traditional education of doctoral students. Fellows will be provided with intensive mentoring, wide-ranging opportunities to conduct research in scholarly communication, and comprehensive training in pedagogy, curricular development, and in-class instruction. Our efforts are motivated by an awareness of the complex transformations of library roles in the scholarly communication environment and the increasing need to educate future LIS faculty with an integrated understanding of research and practice so as to meet the needs of future MLS students.

Doctoral fellows will receive a stipend of $23,000, health insurance, tuition, travel assistance, and funding for publication in an open access journal for three consecutive years as part of this program. They will also have an opportunity to work in the library and with leading faculty studying the diverse range of issues related to scholarly communication. Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to, digital libraries, scientometrics, intellectual property, metadata, altmetrics, university presses, data curation, digital humanities, scholarly publishing, institutional repositories, and copyright.

Indiana University Bloomington is particularly well-situated to support this proposal given its campus-wide focus on issues of scholarly communication as well as the strengths of both the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries and the Department of Information and Library Science in this domain. This is a time of systemic change in how institutions create, sustain, and provide access to information, and libraries and LIS professionals are uniquely situated to influence the direction of this change. The project will graduate doctoral students who are not only familiar with issues of scholarly communication but will also, as leaders in the field, understand scholarly communication from the varying perspectives of practice, education, and research.

Applicants will need to apply to and meet the requirements for the ILS Ph.D. program. Information on the Ph.D. application process can be found on the departmental website (http://ils.indiana.edu/phd/). Additional information on the IDEASc fellowship can be found on the project website (http://info.ils.indiana.edu/IDEASc) or by contacting Dr. Cassidy Sugimoto (sugimoto [at] indiana.edu).

After the successful and rapid roll-out of Fedora 4 Beta, community interest in a Fedora 4 production version builds

Contributed by:
Carol Minton Morris
Director of Marketing and Communications
DuraSpace
cmmorris [at] DuraSpace.org

In 2012 a committed group of Fedora community members came together with DuraSpace to launch a community-wide effort. They determined that it was in their mutual interest to carry forward the best qualities of the flexible and extensible Fedora platform while creating a new, streamlined repository technology to meet the needs of digital access and preservation communities everywhere for the next decade. The Fedora 4 initiative was born.

"Fedora 3 – and the community behind it – has been integral to effectively and sustainably managing our digital assets, but is getting long in the tooth. The Fedora 4 initiative is a unique opportunity to move both the platform and the community into the state of the art, harnessing the latest technology and everything we now know about repositories to meet current and emerging needs," said Tom Cramer, Chief Technology Strategist at the Stanford University Libraries, and a member of the Fedora Steering Group.

On June 5, 2014 Fedora 4.0 Beta was released ready to be tested against the big repository challenges that stakeholders had asked for - support for large files; flexible storage options; features to accommodate research data management; native linked open data capabilities and an improved platform for developer interaction. Fedora 4.0 features include:

Since the Beta release Tech Lead Andrew Woods and Product Manager David Wilcox have been coordinating with the community on the development of "greenfield" (new repositories rather than upgrades of existing repositories) Fedora 4 pilot repositories and working to develop Fedora 3 to Fedora 4 migration path scenarios. At the recent Open Repositories Conference those eager to use Fedora 4 in production were reminded that participation in testing and contributing use cases are the best ways to ensure that Fedora 4 production solutions will match individual needs.

The community is already working with the new software. One example is the Spotlight integration on Fedora 4 developed by Chris Beer at Stanford University Libraries. Spotlight is a Blacklight plugin that enables those responsible for digital collections to create websites that feature these collections. With Fedora 4, collection curators have the added ability to incorporate very large collections and take advantage of linked open data capabilities to enhance collection exhibits.

There are some big differences between Fedora 3 and Fedora 4. Wilcox explains, "When it comes to large files and millions of objects, Fedora 3 really struggles. But Fedora 4 offers a number of solutions to this problem, including better support for large files and the capability to federate over an existing file system without actually ingesting the content into Fedora."

Fedora 4 is also fully compliant with the emerging Linked Data Platform 1.0 specification, which establishes standards for accessing, updating, creating and deleting resources from servers that expose their resources as Linked Data. This native support for linked open data is critical to exposing, sharing, and connecting repository content with the broader semantic web.

Along with the push for a hardened Fedora 4 production release the Fedora 4 team is looking for ways to make deep, active and ongoing community engagement in the project even more transparent. Ideally the development process should "feel" like being in a room together so that interests and concerns can be gauged on a personal level.

Anyone interested is urged to "get in here" and be a part of Fedora 4. Contact Andrew Woods or David Wilcox for more information about the Fedora 4 initiative.

Contributed by:
Dominic Farace
GreyNet International
Grey Literature Network Service
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
info [at] greynet.org

Since the mid-20th century scientists and technicians have been engaged with a significant challenge: how to deal with grey literature.

In April of this year, information professionals from Europe's finest academic and research centers met in Pisa to address issues dealing with the policy and management of grey literature resources. This meeting resulted in the formulation of the Pisa declaration on grey literature – a 15-point roadmap that will serve as a guide for organizations involved in the production, publication, access and use of grey literature well into this 21st century. Until now, the problem was the lack of cooperation and coordination between and among organizations dealing with grey literature. The Pisa Declaration marks an end to ad hoc policy and decision making with regard to grey literature resources.

The main points set out in the Pisa Declaration can be grouped into five categories:

To support the commitments outlined above, at GreyNet a committee has recently been established to further coordinate its collections in the OpenGrey Repository, the DANS Data Archive, and the recently launched GreyGuide Repository.

GreyNet has also reached agreement with the National Research Center in Pisa, the service provider for the GreyGuide Repository. GreyNet collections and content that are as yet only accessible either via its website or allied conference site will now migrate to the GreyGuide Repository. In this way, the GreyGuide will function as GreyNet's web access portal. This will allow for combined search, browse, and retrieval capability where standardized metadata and full-text can be harvested online.

Other organizations can provide significant contributions to this initiative by endorsing the Pisa Declaration, which will be sealed at the Library of Congress this December during a special session of the Sixteenth International Conference on Grey Literature.

Contributed by:
Gina Macaluso
Assistant Professor/Knowledge River Program Manager
University of Arizona School of Information Resources & Library Science
Tucson, Arizona USA
Ginamacaluso [at] email.arizona.edu

The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS), home of the Knowledge River Program (KR) was awarded the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21^st Century Librarian Program Grant (http://www.imls.gov/) for their Connected Learning in Digital Heritage Curation project. KR is an educational experience within SIRLS that focuses on educating information professionals who have experience with and are committed to serving Latino and Native American populations. KR also fosters an understanding of library and information issues from the perspectives of Latino and Native Americans and advocates for culturally sensitive library and information services to these communities. Since its inception, KR has become the foremost graduate program for training librarians and information specialists with a focus on Latino and Native American cultural issues. To date, over 158 scholars have graduated from this program. This was and still is a nationally unprecedented milestone that can be attributed to the outstanding financial, mentoring and community support that scholars are provided.

The Connected Learning in Digital Heritage Curation focuses on connected learning by embedding students in graduate assistantships at cultural heritage institutions; providing hands-on application of theoretical and practical knowledge in face-to-face, online, and hybrid courses; and involving students in professional development and networking activities. One of the chief goals of the KR program has been to increase the number of librarians who have a documented interest in serving the major under-served populations of Arizona, the southwest and the nation – Latinos and Native Americans. Continuing digital innovations and practices along with marked demographic changes offer challenges to developing culturally competent LIS professionals. The work being carried out in public and other libraries promotes digital literacy that utilizes information technology and produces born digital items that are often left uncurated, without organization, representation, or preservation. KR's work in both traditional libraries and archives and in new public digital spaces that also utilize emerging information technology offers a rich laboratory that promotes educational activities and training experience with a focus on the production and curation of cultural heritage materials, including texts, images, and other data generated out of civic participation, STEM activities, and community involvement.

Hispanics and Native Americans continue to be underrepresented in LIS professions. A review of the latest statistics (table below) gathered from ALA, ALISE, and the U.S. Census Bureau show a dramatic lack of Latinos and Native Americans in the profession. The current rate of degrees awarded to individuals in these two groups will not see the LIS professions achieve ethnic parity as soon as needed to serve a rapidly diversifying population. While KR has successfully added more than 158 individuals from Latino and Native American backgrounds to the field since the program's inception in 2002, there continues to be an urgent need to recruit and retain individuals from these populations in LIS programs.

Native Americans and Hispanics in LIS

	American Indian/Alaska Native		Hispanic		Non-Hispanic White
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Credentialed Librarians1	185	0.20	3661	3.10	104,392	87.90
Archivists2	102	1.90	108	2.10	4,504	87.70
Degrees Awarded3	40	0.70	244	5.00	4,492	84.00
U.S. Population4	3,814,772	1.20	52,045,277	16.70	197,510,927	63.40
Comparative difference between credentialed librarians U.S. population5		—0.45		—11.51		0.63
1 Kathy Rosa. (2012). Diversity Counts: 2009-2010. Chicago, Ill: ALA Office for Research and Statistics and Office for Diversity. While the source of information does not permit a reliable comparison between years the lower number of Native Americans in the 2009-2010 sample merits further analysis. 2 ACensus: Archival Census & Education Needs Survey in the United States. (2006). American Archivist*, 69(2), 291-527. 3 ALISE Library and Information Science Education Statistics Report 2012. Table 2B Comparative Breakdown by Ethnicity and Race of ALA-Accredited Master's Degrees Awarded. 4 U.S. Bureau of the Census. Population Estimates, (2011). 5 ALISE Library and Information Science Education Statistics Report (2012). Table 2B Comparative Breakdown by Ethnicity and Race of ALA-Accredited Master's Degrees Awarded.

To find out more about the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science, please visit http://sirls.arizona.edu/. For more information about the Knowledge River program, please visit http://sirls.arizona.edu/kr.

July 10, 2014 — "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) today announced thirty-seven grants totaling $2,450,102 for three programs: Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (AAHC), Sparks! Ignition Grants for Museums, and Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services (NANH). Grantees in 20 different states will receive awards that range from $18,000 to $150,000. They will match these awards with $2,073,102 in non-federal funds."

July 2, 2014 — "Today, the Institute of Museum and Library Services released data files for the FY 2012 Public Library Survey (PLS), which provides statistics on the status of public libraries in the United States. The data are collected from approximately 9,000 public libraries with approximately 17,000 individual public library outlets in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and outlying territories."

"Data have been collected annually since 1988 and includes information about library visits, circulation, size of collections, public service hours, staff, electronic resources, operating revenues and expenditures and number of service outlets."

"These data are used by federal, state and local officials, professional associations, and local practitioners for planning, evaluation, and policy making. Researchers, journalists, the public, and policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels use this data for planning, evaluation and policy making."

NISO Publishes Recommended Practice on Promoting Transparency in Library Discovery Services

June 26, 2014 — "The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announces the publication of a new recommended practice, Open Discovery Initiative: Promoting Transparency in Discovery (NISO RP-19-2014), which provides specific guidelines on participation in the new generation of library discovery services. The NISO Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) began work in 2011 to develop recommendations that would increase transparency across all aspects of indexed discovery services. The group's final publication includes guidelines to content providers on disclosure of level of participation, the minimum set of metadata elements provided for indexing, linking practices, and technical formats. Recommendations for discovery service providers address content listings, linking practices, file formats and methods of transfer to be supported, and usage statistics. The document also provides background information on the evolution of discovery and delivery technology and a standard set of terminology and definitions for this technology area...."

"...Open Discovery Initiative: Promoting Transparency in Discovery (NISO RP-19-2014) is available for free download from the ODI Working Group webpage on the NISO website at: http://www.niso.org/workrooms/odi/."

Document discusses and makes recommendations about key aspects of including users in a library's acquisition process

June 25, 2014 — "The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announces the publication of a new recommended practice, Demand Driven Acquisition of Monographs (NISO RP-20-2014). Demand driven acquisition (DDA), also referred to as patron-driven acquisition, is a method used by libraries for collection development where monographs are purchased at their point of need when selected by users from a pool of potential titles. NISO's Recommended Practice discusses and makes recommendations for publishers, vendors, aggregators, and libraries about key aspects of DDA, goals and objectives of a DDA program, choosing parameters of the program, profiling options, managing MARC records for DDA, removing materials from the consideration pool, assessment of the program, providing long-term access to un-owned content, consortial considerations for DDA, and public library DDA. Although DDA is more commonly used for e-books, the method can also be applied to print publications and these recommendations provide a single set of best practices for both formats, with articulation of differences where they occur...."

"...Demand Driven Acquisition of Monographs (NISO RP-20-2014) is available for free download from the Demand-Driven Acquisition Working Group webpage on the NISO website at: http://www.niso.org/workrooms/dda/."

Rush Miller to Retire After 20 Years of Leading and Modernizing Pitt's University Library System

June 18, 2014 — "Rush Miller, a visionary under whose leadership the University Library System has flourished, will retire from his position as director of the system and Hillman University Librarian effective Dec. 31, 2014."

"Miller ushered the system of University of Pittsburgh libraries – which now includes 15 libraries and holdings of nearly 7 million books – through two decades of change and growth. Under his direction, the University Library System has embraced new technologies like on-demand book printing, enhanced library resources to students and faculty, and has been at the forefront of open access to scholarly publications...."

"...'The last 20 years have been a time of immense change in the field of information technology, and Rush's visionary leadership of the University Library System during this time has been an essential component of the University's overall success,' said Patricia E. Beeson, Pitt provost and senior vice chancellor. 'Under his leadership, the University Libraries have also been instrumental in advancing the University's international ambitions. He will be deeply missed.'"

June 18, 2014 — "The Institute of Museum and Library Services released its Public Libraries in the United States Report, an in-depth examination of Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 survey data with important findings about the state of public library service in the U.S."

"The Public Libraries in the United States Survey (PLS) examines when, where, and how library services are changing to meet the needs of the public. These data, supplied annually by more than 97 percent of public libraries across the country, provide information that policymakers and practitioners can use to make informed decisions about the support and strategic management of libraries."

"The robust report, produced each year by IMLS, aggregates data across all 50 states and the District of Columbia to provide national trends and estimates; offers an in-depth analysis of 13 key indicators of library investments and library use, including per-capita estimates to compare performance across libraries; and offers an analysis for each state that contrasts state level data to corresponding regional and national statistics."

IMLS Publishes Results of State Library Administrative Agency Survey for Fiscal Year 2012

June 10, 2014 — "The Institute of Museum and Library Services issued the State Library Administrative Agency (SLAA) Survey for Fiscal Year 2012 Report, which provides a view of the condition of state library administrative agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia."

"State library administrative agencies administer federal funds through the IMLS Grants to States program and play a crucial role in helping libraries within their state meet the demand for content and services by establishing statewide plans for library services, investing in technology and content, and providing support for local programming."

"The results of this study show that while SLAAs continue to shape library services in their states, they have faced a period of declining revenues. The revenue from federal, state and other sources to SLAAs totaled nearly $1 billion in FY 2012, a 27 percent decrease in revenue from FY 2003 and a 12 percent decrease from FY 2010. The overall decline in total revenue is due to declines in state revenue, which decreased 15 percent from FY 2010 and decreased 32 percent FY 2003. The majority (77 percent) of revenue for state library administrative agencies is derived from the states themselves."

Digital Inclusion Survey team launches speed test this summer in selected public libraries

"The speed test study is an addition to the three-year National Leadership Grant from the IMLS to study digital inclusion."

"High-speed broadband is crucial for providing library users access to the wealth of available digital content, including employment services, health care services and other digital content. The data collection will answer questions about the quality of Internet connections in public access computers and wireless-connected devices at various points in the library day — the differences between subscribed upload and download speeds, speeds during times of typical use and speeds peak use times in the library."

May 29, 2014 — "CrossRef Text and Data Mining services, allowing publishers to provide information that will simplify access arrangements for researchers who desire to mine and analyze scholarly publisher sites, is now available to CrossRef Members. CrossRef, a not-for-profit association of worldwide scholarly publishers, made the announcement at the Society for Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting."

"Publishers participating in CrossRef Text and Data Mining services may now deposit full-text links in the metadata for their DOIs, as well as license URIs by which researchers can determine whether they have permission to mine a particular content item. Through CrossRef's Application Programming Interface (API), researchers will then to be able to access the full-text, CrossRef DOI-identified content across participating publishers' sites, regardless of their access models."

"For all publishers, whether using open access or subscription business models, CrossRef Text and Data Mining services easily direct researchers to the appropriate location of the full text content and licenses for that content. In addition, publishers can add download rate limits to the information they provide to minimize any impact of text and data mining activities on web site performance."

May 28, 2014 — "Leading library visionaries and experts discuss trends in digital content technology and the current state of library ebook lending in "Digital Discoveries," a new digital supplement from American Libraries magazine."

"Developed by ALA's Digital Content Working Group (DCWG), the digital supplement examines the ways that public and school libraries are defining their roles in the evolving digital publishing environment in a variety of new and interactive ways. The digital supplement also details ALA's progress in advocating for equitable access to ebooks produced by the world's largest book publishers."

May 23, 2014 — "The Bodleian Libraries has launched a new initiative aiming to train a new generation of archivists. Part of the Heritage Lottery Fund's Skills for the Future programme, the Developing the Next Generation Archivist project will provide trainees with the foundation they need to develop an archives career at a time when libraries are evolving to curate increasingly digital collections. The Bodleian is now seeking its first two trainees, who will begin their two-year training programme from September 2014. A further four trainees will complete the programme over the next five years."

"Working alongside curatorial staff, trainees will focus on developing digital archiving know-how but will also acquire more traditional curatorial skills such as interpreting collection material and working with scholars. The trainees will be located at the newly refurbished Weston Library. Here they will enjoy access to facilities designed to provide the best possible environment for the Bodleian's outstanding Special Collections, and to widen access to some of the Libraries great treasures through new spaces for exhibitions and lectures."

May 21, 2014 — "Have you heard about SHARE (SHared Access Research Ecosystem) and wondered exactly what it is? Do you need to explain SHARE to stakeholders, both on and off campus?"

"The new SHARE Knowledge Base succinctly answers the most frequently asked questions about SHARE and will continue to be expanded as the initiative grows."

...SHARE (SHared Access Research Ecosystem) is a higher education and research community initiative to ensure the preservation of, access to, and reuse of research outputs. SHARE will develop solutions that capitalize on the compelling interest shared by researchers, libraries, universities, funding agencies, and other key stakeholders to maximize research impact, today and in the future. SHARE aims to make the inventory of research assets more discoverable and more accessible, and to enable the research community to build upon these assets in creative and productive ways. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Association of American Universities (AAU), and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) have partnered to develop SHARE with significant input from the three associations' member institutions and their broader communities.

May 19, 2014 Announcement from Heather Murphy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library — "The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign introduces a new website for the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections (IDNC) at http://idnc.library.illinois.edu."

"The IDNC is a free online archive of digitized historic newspapers and trade journals organized in four different collections. Using Veridian Digital Library software, the IDNC offers a modern and user-friendly way to access unique research tools and engage with the past. The new website will replace Olive Active Paper which will be retired over Summer 2014."

"The website includes interactive features allowing users to tag articles, correct OCR text, and share their findings on social media."

May 19, 2014 — "The Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records has signed an agreement with BiblioBoard to launch Arizona-related eBooks on BiblioBoard Library, a multi-media content delivery platform."

"The two organizations will work together to obtain content, which the State Library will own and BiblioLabs will host. In addition to hosting commercially available eBooks about Arizona, BiblioBoard will include a self-publishing module for local authors with book reviews and a rating system...."

"...The service, to be called "Reading Arizona," will be available through the State Library's website http://www.azlibrary.gov with geo-location access allowing registration from within Arizona. All of the content will be available for unlimited, multi-user access for optimal patron experience, and patrons will be able to access up to three books at a time on their offline bookshelves."

May 9, 2014 — "The National Archives is working with the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), Jisc and the British Library to update and revamp a key online resource for managing digital resources over time - the Digital Preservation Handbook."

"First published in 2001, the handbook remains heavily used by archivists and other information professionals. The National Archives and the DPC will work with expert partners over the next two years to develop the new handbook as an interactive online resource...."

"...The online resource will ensure the handbook can be updated easily over time. It will incorporate case studies and a view from current practitioners to ensure it is relevant to a wide audience, from beginners to those with more specialist needs. Short on theory, long on practical advice, the resource will help people from a wide range of organisations to adopt a step-by-step approach to addressing their digital resource management needs."

May 8, 2014 — "At a meeting of the National Museum and Library Services Board IMLS announced an initiative with the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) to build the capacity of libraries and museums to develop effective makerspaces and programs. In recent years there has been an explosion of interest among museums and libraries in the hands-on, mentor-led learning environments known as makerspaces. The maker movement has spread with hundreds of thousands of people participating in Maker Faires across the country and across the globe. The White House recently announced plans for a 2014 White House Maker Faire http://www.idevmail.net/link.aspx?l=5&d=73&mid=333844&m=2092."

"With $425,192 in IMLS support, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, is working in conjunction with the North Carolina State University Library, Exploratorium, Chicago Public Library, and Maker Education Initiative, among others, on the project. The project aims to provide museum and library professionals with a suite of tools and resources, hands-on professional development experiences, and a community of practice. The project's website and online publication will share the framework, makerspace studies, research and evaluation reports, as well as resources for field wide replication."