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LIS Editors Launch Effort to Develop Best Practices for LIS Journals
Contributed by: It is common for editors in a discipline to organize themselves and meet periodically to share information and consider best practices. Some even form organizations of editors groups ranging in size from very large organizations of editors, such as the World Association of Medical Editors1 with over a thousand members to smaller groups, such as the Association of Art Editors2 which has less than 100. While library and information science (LIS) researchers and practitioners produce content for a rich and diverse group of journals, there is currently no forum for editors of LIS journals to meet together as a group to discuss common concerns and identify practices that can strengthen the collective ability of the journals to serve the discipline and the professionals who create and apply that literature. Recognizing this gap, editors of two journals, Joseph Branin, editor of College & Research Libraries and Charles Lowry, editor of portal: Libraries and the Academy invited a small group of LIS journal editors and former editors to meet in Philadelphia on January 10, 2008. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss this situation and explore strategies for creating an opportunity for editors to come together and consider best practices. The eight attending editors represented a wide range of high impact journals in the field, largely although not exclusively association journals. The discussion highlighted a diversity of practice but a substantial unity of concerns with regard to many issues. While journals maintain their own submission policies, it would be helpful to have a shared statement expressing expectations regarding ethical behavior in research, writing, and submission practices. Peer review practices as well could be strengthened by a community consensus around definitions for various terms and practices. Journal editors should maintain the freedom to manage their peer review processes as they see fit, but the consistent use of terminology to describe various practices would assist authors and editorial boards. The evolving publishing environment also presents many issues of common concern to journal editors. The development of electronic formats raise numerous questions with regard to editorial management such as the possibilities for early release of articles in the production process, post publication commenting, open access to some or all journal content. Long standing concerns such as management of author copyrights and journal preservation take on new immediacy in the networked environment. As the discussion demonstrated, association journals often face special challenges in making adjustments to the evolving publishing environment.Next stepsAfter considering some of the kinds of activities pursued by other disciplinary editors' groups and their own concerns, there was a strong consensus that LIS editors would benefit from an opportunity to come together to begin to develop best practice statements and simply enrich their own roles as editors in an environment encouraging frank and collegial discussions Accordingly a second invitational meeting is being planned for June 27, 2008 that will be open to all interested LIS journal editors in Anaheim. To assist in framing the discussion at that meeting an outline of a best practices document will be created this spring based on the discussion in Philadelphia, models from other disciplines, and further input from the meeting participants. This will serve as a focus for discussion at the June meeting. Further InformationEditors of LIS journals are encouraged to contact Joseph Branin at <branin.1@osu.edu> to indicate you interest and ensure that you receive an invitation. AcknowledgementThe authors would like to thank Karla Hahn, Director of the Office of Scholarly Communication at the Association of Research Libraries for providing organizing assistance and refreshments for the organizing meeting in Philadelphia. 1. World Association of Medical Editors: <http://www.wame.org/> reports it has more than 1500 members representing more than 965 journals from 91 countries as of June 18, 2007. 2. Association of Art Editors: <http://www.artedit.org>. Carolina Digital Library and Archives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Contributed by: Inquiries to: Kirill Fesenko, Director of the Carolina Digital Library and Archives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill <kirill@email.unc.edu> The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library has established the Carolina Digital Library and Archives (CDLA). CDLA (http://cdla.unc.edu/) serves as a center for innovation, experimentation, and the development of technological practices and standards, with an emphasis on production-level programs such as mass digitization and UNC's institutional repository. CDLA simultaneously builds and stewards discrete digital collections. In all of its activities, CDLA integrates advanced technologies with traditional library collections and practices in order to improve access to resources in all formats. An early cornerstone of CDLA's operations is a one-year agreement with the Internet Archive/Open Content Alliance (http://www.archive.org/ and http://www.opencontentalliance.org/) to install and operate a Scribe high-speed scanner, one of approximately fifty in the United States and the first in the Southeast. UNC librarians select items for digitization and work with Internet Archive personnel to experiment with technologies and workflows. Scanned materials are freely available on the Archive's Web site, and UNC retains the digital files to enhance and distribute as it chooses. Scribe investigators hope to learn more about what mass digitization entails and how it can best serve patrons, scholars, and librarians. Early partners include the Renaissance Computing Institute (http://www.renci.org/) and the Duke University Libraries (http://library.duke.edu/). CDLA is also the institutional home for programs and investigations that include:
Under the CDLA umbrella, the Documenting the American South (http://docsouth.unc.edu/) publishing program continues to grow and integrate new technologies. Projects under way include a history of movie-going in North Carolina, in cooperation with UNC professor Robert Allen, and a collection of North Carolina historic maps, both incorporating GIS technologies. CDLA is also the home for the William Blake Archive (http://www.blakearchive.org/), The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History (http://museum.unc.edu/), and the Russia Beyond Russia Digital Library (http://rbr.lib.unc.edu/). Through diverse projects and its multi-faceted mission, CDLA strives to empower scholars, librarians, and archivists with new technologies and services that improve access and support discovery. CDLA welcomes partners in all its investigations and is committed to sharing expertise not only within the UNC Library, but in order to help other institutions and organizations succeed in their mission and mastery of new technologies. Related links:
Help us make HILT's terminology services useful in your information service
Contributed by:
The JISC1-funded HILT2 project is looking to make contact with staff in information services or projects interested in helping it test and refine its developing terminology services. The project is currently working to create pilot web services that will deliver machine-readable terminology and cross-terminology mappings data likely to be useful to information services wishing to extend or enhance the efficacy of their subject search or browse services. Based on SRW/U,3 SOAP,4 and SKOS,5 the HILT facilities, when fully operational, will permit such services to improve their own subject search and browse mechanisms by using HILT data in a fashion transparent to their users. On request, HILT will serve up machine-processable data on individual subject schemes (broader terms, narrower terms, hierarchy information, preferred and non-preferred terms, and so on) and interoperability data (usually intellectual or automated mappings between schemes, but the architecture allows for the use of other methods) – data that can be used to enhance user services. The project is also developing an associated toolkit that will help service technical staff to embed HILT-related functionality into their services. The primary aim is to serve JISC funded information services or services at JISC institutions, but information services outside the JISC domain may also find the proposed services useful and wish to participate in the test and refine process. Although the primary focus of the work is to improve interoperability during cross-search or browse by subject, the facilities offered can also be used for other purposes. Examples of possible uses include:
The project is also looking to test other associated facilities it intends to offer for embedding in JISC or institutional information services – for example a spell-check mechanism and machine to machine delivery of Wordnet9 data. The test and refine process is likely to begin towards the end of March 2008 and continue for at least six months beyond that. Individuals or services interested in participating, should begin by joining the HILT-Collaborators email list at <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=hilt-collaborators&A=1>. Note that, at this stage, both the facilities and the subject schemes are only being made available for testing purposes – to allow services to help us test and refine them (and, in time, evaluate their usefulness). They cannot and should not be built into operational services. HILT Contacts
Emma McCulloch, Project Manager, <e.mcculloch@strath.ac.uk> Notes 1. See <http://www.jisc.ac.uk/>. 2. See <http://hilt.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/> (HILT in general) and <http://hilt.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/hilt4/index.html> (HILT Phase IV, the current phase). 3. For an explanation, see <http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/webservices/default.htm>. 4. <http://www.w3.org/TR/soap12-part1/>. 5. <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/>. 6. Knowledge Organisation Systems – see, for example, <http://www.db.dk/bh/lifeboat_ko/CONCEPTS/knowledge_organization_systems.htm> for further information. 7. <http://iesr.ac.uk/>. 8. <http://scone.strath.ac.uk/service/>. 9. <http://wordnet.princeton.edu/>. In the NewsMellon Grants CLIR $4.27 Million for Program to Catalog Hidden CollectionsMarch 17, 2008 - "The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) $4.27 million to create a national program to identify and catalog hidden special collections and archives." "Through a national competition, the program will award funds to institutions holding collections of high scholarly value that are difficult or impossible to locate through finding aids. Award recipients will create descriptive information for their hidden collections that will be linked to and interoperable with all other projects funded by this grant, to form a federated environment that can be built upon over time." "CLIR will issue a request for proposals by early June, and decisions will be announced in fall 2008. CLIR expects to award about $4 million in the first cycle. It is possible that the program will be extended for subsequent funding cycles over five years." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.clir.org/news/pressrelease/08hiddenpr.html>. Users Get Their Say Developing the European LibraryMarch 17, 2008 - "The European Library is pleased to announce the formation of its Users Advisory Board. The members of the Board are drawn from across the international library and academic community. Trying to meet user demands better, their advice will help shape the development and strategy of The European Library portal." "The Board will provide input and advice on matters of usability in two ways. It will influence the web-design and functionalities of the portal. The Board will also keep The European Library network informed about the ways in which user needs are evolving at the different research levels." "...The inaugural meeting of the Users Advisory Board will take place during a meeting of national libraries on May 20th 2008. The agenda includes discussions related to the next site releases and additional user requirements relating to developments outside the portal, for instance blogs, Facebook, and other web2.0 environments...." For more information, including a list of the members of the Users Advisory Board, please see the full press release at <http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/portal/organisation/press/documents/users_get_say_ Excerpts from Recent Press Releases and AnnouncementsArgosy Publishing Launches The Visible Body™, The World's Most Comprehensive 3-D Human Anatomy Visualization And Learning ToolMarch 4, 2008 - "Argosy Publishing, an award-winning interactive, visual content developer, today officially launched the Visible Body™ (www.visiblebody.com), the world's first free, Web-based 3-D interactive model of the human body." "Developed initially for educators, health and medical professionals, the Visible Body is a next-generation, professional grade platform for demonstrating how the human body works. It will also be of interest to individuals with a deep appreciation for the human anatomy and science. The Visible Body allows all users to visualize the human body and quickly and easily explore areas of interest to see how more than 1,700 anatomical structures – including major organs and systems – work together." "The Visible Body consists of highly detailed, anatomically accurate, 3-D models of all human body systems. The models were developed by a team with decades of experience in medical illustration and biomedical visualization." "The Visible Body is currently a free site. The Visible Body's medical visualization and search capabilities provide a platform for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and other healthcare firms – through content appropriate advertisements – to market their services to health educators and their students as well as medical professionals and their patients who are exploring the human anatomy and physiology." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=828477>. The University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) digitizes Audubon's Birds of AmericaMarch 3, 2008 - "The University Library System (ULS) at the University of Pittsburgh has digitized and mounted online its rare and complete set of John James Audubon's Birds of America (http://digital.library.pitt.edu/a/audubon/). Each of the 435 plates link to their respective narrative within Audubon's companion publication, his Ornithological Biography, also digitized as part of this project. No other complete set of the double elephant folio edition of the Birds of America is publicly available online in such high detail." "The University of Pittsburgh acquired a complete set of the Birds of America in 1918 when the daughters of William M. Darlington donated their father's personal library to the University. Since then, the plates have undergone significant preservation work and have been on exhibit in Hillman Library. In late 2007, the Birds of America collection and the accompanying Ornithological Biography were scanned as part of a larger effort to digitize and make accessible contents from the Darlington Memorial Library." "The ULS Digital Research Library scanned each of the 435 hand-colored plates at a high resolution by using its A0 DigiBook SupraScan device. Each plate, measuring 26 x 38 inches, was digitized at 400 ppi in 24-bit color using a linear array 14000 pixel CCD camera. The capture of such high quality images has produced master files in excess of 500 MB each. For displaying the images online, the DRL created derivative images using the flash-based Zoomify application. This viewing tool enables users to easily move around an image while viewing portions of the plates at 100%." "The digitization of this five-volume set by the DRL enabled each plate to be linked from its brief descriptive record to its respective narrative in the Ornithological Biography. This functionality supports a key relationship for those desiring to read Audubon's observations and notes that he penned on each bird while examining the plates in great detail. Likewise, the digital version of the Ornithological Biography contains links to each plate image." For more information, contact Ed Galloway, ULS Digital Research Library at <edwardg@pitt.edu.>. MacArthur grant to bolster public interest, advocacy in digital copyrightFebruary 27, 2008 - "The American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) announces that its major digital copyright programs and initiatives to strengthen the public access to information, especially in libraries, will be supported by a generous grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation." "The grant of $385,000 will cover calendar years 2008 and 2009, and will fund such OITP activities as the International Copyright Advocates, the Copyright Advisory Network, and strategic assessment of technological and societal trends to enable proactive action by the library community." For more information, please see <http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ IMLS Holds First Conservation Forum in Atlanta Jan. 31-Feb. 1; Webcast Available NowFebruary 27, 2008 - Three hundred museum, library, and archive professionals from 41 states and the District of Columbia gathered in Atlanta on January 31 and February 1 for the forum, "Preserving America's Diverse Heritage," sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in partnership with Heritage Preservation. This was the first of four meetings around the country held to raise awareness about the nation's valuable and endangered collections. IMLS, the primary source of federal support for the nation's museums and libraries, launched the forums as part of the national initiative, Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action (see http://www.imls.gov/collections). The multi-year, multi-faceted initiative aims to help museums and libraries save their collections from poor storage conditions, pest infestation, and exposure to light, humidity, and high temperatures."" "A webcast of Preserving America's Diverse Heritage is available at <http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/heritage_preservation/080131>." "IMLS encourages webcast viewers to share this resource with colleagues. If you have questions about use of this material, please contact <info@heritagepreservation.org>." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/022708.shtm>. Portico announces agreement with the National Library of the NetherlandsFebruary 27, 2008 - "Portico and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands (the KB), are pleased to announce they have reached an agreement for an off-line copy of the Portico archive, which exceeds 6 million articles and 60 million files, to be held for safekeeping by the KB. Through its e-Depot program the KB has demonstrated its role in the vanguard of digital preservation. Placing a Portico-owned copy of the archive, in a secure access- and climate-controlled facility operated by the KB is one component of the replication strategy Portico is implementing to ensure the safety and security of the archive upon which a growing, international community relies. This arrangement also illustrates one way in which organizations internationally recognized for their digital preservation obligations and expertise can cooperate to form a strong, supportive network to safely preserve digital materials." "'I am very pleased that Portico will work with the KB, an internationally recognized leader in digital preservation, to strengthen the network of archives meeting the digital preservation challenge' said Eileen Fenton, Executive Director of Portico. Noting the KB has worked vigorously to advance the digital preservation agenda, Dr. W. van Drimmelen, Director General of the KB, said, 'Preserving electronic scholarly publications is a key priority for the KB, and formalizing this arrangement with Portico is a natural extension of the KB's active archival role.'" For more information, please see <http://www.portico.org/news/022708.html>. 851 Museums, Libraries, and Archives Selected to Receive IMLS Connecting to Collections BookshelfFebruary 19, 2008 - "Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, announced today that 851 museums, libraries, and archives, representing every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, have been selected to receive the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf. The contents of the bookshelf were selected by a blue ribbon panel of conservation experts; it includes an essential set of books, online resources, and a user's guide that can profoundly impact the ability of small libraries and museums to care for their collections." "To see the list of recipients, go to <http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/021908_list.shtm>." "The last application period for the IMLS Bookshelf is March 1 - April 30, 2008, with recipients announced in July 2008. Instructions, qualifications, and the content of the IMLS Bookshelf, along with the online application form, can be found at <http://www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf>." For more information, please see <http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/021908.shtm>. University of Illinois develops free, easy-to-use web tool kit for archivistsFebruary 19, 2008 - "Archivists at the University of Illinois Library believe they have built a better tool kit." "Their new online collections management program called Archon has more than a few attractive features – not the least of which is that it was developed for 'lone archivists with limited technological resources and knowledge,' said Scott Schwartz, one of the developers of the software program and the archivist for music and fine arts at Illinois." "The state-of-the-art tool also is free, adaptable to any institutional setting and is easy to download and use." For more information, please see <http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/08/0219archon.html>. The Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) Member Libraries Join Open Content AllianceFebruary 19, 2008 - Members of the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) have announced that they are joining the Open Content Alliance (OCA) and other major research libraries in contributing to the freely accessible digital library hosted by the OCA. TRLN is a collaborative organization of the research libraries at Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill."" "By partnering with the OCA, the TRLN libraries are ensuring that their online collections will remain open to scholars and all other members of the global community. Administered by the non-profit Internet Archive, the OCA represents the collaborative efforts of a group of cultural, technology, nonprofit, and governmental organizations from around the world that are helping to build a permanent archive of multilingual digitized text and multimedia content...." "...The Open Content Alliance comprises more than 80 other major institutions and research libraries, including the British Library, University of Toronto, Smithsonian Institution, Getty Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Virginia, and University of California system." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/libraries.php?title=trln_member_libraries_ CrossRef Launches Free Citation Look-up Tool for BloggersFebruary 12, 2008 - "CrossRef, the association behind the well-known publisher linking network, announced today that it had launched the beta version of a new plug-in that allows bloggers to look up and insert DOI©-enabled citations in the course of authoring a blog." "The plug-in, which is available for download at: <https://sourceforge.net/projects/crossref-cite/>, allows the blogger to use a widget-based interface to search CrossRef metadata using citations or partial citations. The results of the search, with multiple hits, are displayed and the author can then either click on a hit to follow the DOI to the publisher's site, or click on an icon next to the hit to insert the citation into their blog entry (as either a full citation or as a short "op. cit.")." "At present, the CrossRef plug-in is available for the WordPress platform, and a Moveable Type version is under development. The tool is designed with the bulk of the functionality contained in a shared back-end hosted at CrossRef, making the plug-in GUI readily portable to other blogging and authoring platforms." For more information, please see <http://www.crossref.org/01company/pr/press021208.htm>. Positive evaluation from European Commission for proposal "Open Access Publishing in European Networks" (OAPEN)February 12, 2008 - "The European Commission announced that the proposal from Amsterdam University Press together with five European University Presses within the eContentplus Programme, has been selected for negotiations on funding. The opening of negotiations starts in March 2008. Completion of negotiations, award decision and signature of grant agreements are expected in May 2008." "OAPEN intends to develop and implement an Open Access publication model for peer reviewed academic books in the Humanities and Social Sciences. This Open Access publication model will also serve as a model in other scientific domains and improve the spread of European research results. The project aims to achieve a sustainable European approach to improve the quantity, visibility and usability of high quality academic research and foster the creation of new content by developing future-oriented publishing solutions, including an Online Library." "OAPEN addresses the needs of small to medium enterprises and not-for-profit publishers and seeks to offer solutions to both publishers and others stakeholders, such as authors, libraries, research funding bodies, and policy makers. OAPEN will also aggregate content from other publishers in the Humanities and Social Sciences in order to expand the available Open Access content by achieving critical mass and building up the OAPEN European Digital Library. The project is the first of its kind and, if funded, is intended to start in September 2008.." For more information on OAPEN please visit <http://www.oapen.com/>. European digital library: Europeana demo goes liveFebruary 11, 2008 - "Van Gogh's down at heel boots were the first thing to appear on the test website of the European digital library today. The website, branded Europeana <http://www.europeana.eu/>, will break new ground by bring together millions of digitised resources from Europe's archives, museums, libraries and audio visual collections through a single portal." "The site model was previewed at a conference in Frankfurt last week to holders of digital content, including curators, archivists, publishers and librarians. They were shown how a user would be able to use sophisticated browsing and searching to find paintings, photographs, objects, books, newspapers, archival records, films and sound that have been digitised by Europe's heritage organisations." "The European Commission, a strong advocate of a European digital library, expressed its support for Europeana. Horst Forster, Director of Digital Content and Cognitive Systems in the Information Society Directorate, attended the conference, and commented, 'Europeana is ambitious in its scale and scope. It's making the connections between the whole network of cultural heritage digitisation programmes in Europe, and promises to be a very powerful service. It will enable citizens to explore how ideas were transmitted between countries, how political or social trends developed, how artistic movements influenced the whole continent.'" For further information contact Jonathan Purday <Jonathan.Purday@KB.NL>. Taming the Data Deluge with the New Open Source iRODS Data Grid SystemIntroducing Open Source iRODS Data Grid System, Version 1.0 February 8, 2008 - "In the Information Age digital data is growing explosively, bringing unprecedented challenges in organizing, accessing, sharing, and preserving vital digital collections. To meet these needs, the Data-Intensive Computing Environments (DICE) group at the University of California San Diego has released version 1.0 of iRODS, the Integrated Rule-Oriented Data System." "Growing out of ten years experience with the widely used Storage Resource Broker (SRB), the NSF and NARA-funded iRODS equips users to handle the full range of distributed data management needs, from extracting descriptive metadata and managing their data to moving it efficiently, sharing data securely with collaborators, publishing it in digital libraries, and finally archiving data for long-term preservation. The most powerful new feature is an innovative 'rule engine' that lets users easily accomplish complex data management tasks, controlling the execution of all data access and modification operations. Rules can be developed as community-wide policies to manage data, and iRODS enables communities to integrate across different types of collection structures so that no matter which technology a community picks they won't remain isolated." "iRODS is designed to grow seamlessly from small to very large applications with thousands of users and petabytes of data in millions of files." More information, the iRODS software download, and documentation are available at <http://irods.sdsc.edu/>. Digital Information Management Certificate Program Application Deadline ExtendedFebruary 4, 2008 - "The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science is pleased to announce that openings are available in the school's graduate certificate program in Digital Information Management. The program is scheduled to begin a new series of courses starting this summer. Prospects have until April 1, 2008 to apply for one of the openings, and international students are welcomed." "DigIn, as the program is known, provides hands-on experience and focused instruction supporting careers in libraries and archives, cultural heritage institutions and digital collections, information repositories in government and the private sector and similar institutions. The certificate is comprised of six courses covering diverse topics including digital collections, applied technology, technology planning and leadership, policy and ethics, digital preservation and curation, and other subjects relevant to today's digital information environments." "The program is delivered in a 100% virtual environment and has no residency requirements. Students may choose to complete the certificate in fifteen or twenty-seven months." "The certificate program has been developed in cooperation with the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records and the University of Arizona Office of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach. Major funding for program development comes from the federal government's Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)." For more information, please ontact: Bruce Fulton, Communications and Outreach Librarian <bfulton@email.arizona.edu>. University Libraries continues its work to build the archives of thousands of artifacts related to April 16 tragedyFebruary 1, 2008 - "Virginia Tech's University Libraries is working with the university community and is guided by consultants from the Library of Congress to establish the archives for materials related to the tragic events of April 16, 2007." "The research archives will provide primary source materials on how people grieve and offer consolation after a major tragedy. They will provide long-term access and preservation of relevant materials in analog and digital formats." "Work to establish the archives of the millions of artifacts received by the university began in the days following April 16, explained Tamara Kennelly, university archivist and librarian who is leading the project. University librarians consulted with colleagues at other universities who developed archives after tragic events at their institutions..." This complete article about the archive may be found on the Virginia Tech News website at: <http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2008&itemno=57>. Nature Publishing Group launches Nature IndiaFebruary 1, 2008 - "Nature Publishing Group (NPG) today announces the launch of Nature India (http://www.nature.com/natureindia), a new website highlighting the best scientific research from researchers based in India....Nature India aims to be the one-stop site for information on Indian science, and is the first website dedicated to covering the best research from India in a wide range of science disciplines. NPG's second country-specific portal, Nature India follows the successful launch of Nature China in 2007." "Nature India will feature short 'Research Highlights' of interesting, recently-published articles by authors based in India from across the scientific and medical literature. Elsewhere on the site, readers can nominate high quality articles to be included in the 'Recommended Papers' section, and vote and comment on those articles nominated by others." "There are more chances to interact with the site and with colleagues through an active forum on Nature Network (http://network.nature.com/forum/natureindia) and via the 'Indigenus' blog (http://blogs.nature.com/indigenus/). Nature India also features jobs, events, science news, in-depth features, and commentaries on contemporary issues affecting Indian science. Readers also have free access to some handpicked premium content from NPG journals via Nature India." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.nature.com/press_releases/nature_india.pdf>. OCLC and ALISE announce 2008 Research Grant Award recipientsFebruary 1, 2008 - "OCLC Programs and Research and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) announce research grant awards to Youngok Choi, of the Catholic University of America; Diane Kelly, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Rong Tang and Sheila Denn, of Simmons College. The awards were presented January 10 at the ALISE 2008 Annual Conference Awards Reception in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." "OCLC / ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grants support research that advances librarianship and information science, promotes independent research to help librarians integrate new technologies into areas of traditional competence, and contributes to a better understanding of the library environment. Full-time academic faculty (or the equivalent) in schools of library and information science worldwide are eligible to apply for grants of up to $15,000. Proposals are evaluated by a panel selected by OCLC and ALISE. Supported projects are expected to be conducted within approximately one year from the date of the award and, as a condition of the grant, researchers must furnish a final project report at the end of the grant period." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.oclc.org/us/en/news/releases/200694.htm>. Harvard Libraries Launch "Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics"January 31, 2008 - "Harvard University has launched a new digital library collection entitled Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics, which offers valuable insights for students of the history of medicine and for researchers seeking an historical context for current epidemiology. Created by the Harvard University Library's Open Collections Program, the new Contagion collection is also a unique social-history resource for students of many ages and disciplines. Visit the online collection at <http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion>." "Developed with vital support from Arcadia, the Contagion collection brings Internet users into direct contact with carefully selected historical materials from Harvard's renowned libraries, special collections, and archives. These materials include digitized copies of books, serials, pamphlets, incunabula, and manuscripts – a total of more than 500,000 pages – many of which contain unique visual materials, such as plates, engravings, maps, charts, broadsides, and other illustrations." "Through Harvard's Open Collections Program (OCP), the University advances teaching and learning on historical topics of great relevance by providing online access to historical resources from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums. OCP's highly specialized 'open collections' are developed through careful collaboration among Harvard's distinguished faculty, librarians, and curators." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://hul.harvard.edu/news/2008_0204.html>. DLF Aquifer Receives Grant from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation to Evaluate Metadata Tools for Improved Access to Cultural Heritage MaterialsJanuary 28, 2008 - "The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation has awarded $18,000 to the Digital Library Federation (DLF) to study methods for enhancing access to cultural heritage materials. The assessment will be done within DLF Aquifer, a Digital Library Federation initiative focused on making digital content – especially cultural heritage materials pertinent to American culture and life – easier for scholars to find and use. The grant will enable a metadata librarian and a library school intern to identify tools that could be used to improve metadata for digital material that is difficult to find and use." "DLF Aquifer has developed a set of implementation guidelines designed to make metadata more effective in aggregations. To assist libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage organizations in meeting the guidelines, DLF Aquifer proposes to offer a range of mapping and remediation services. Although a number of discrete prototypes such as date normalization and topical clustering tools have been developed, these tools are not yet robust enough to be used in production for reliable results. DLF proposes to inventory existing tools and examine the feasibility of developing these tools into production services." For more information, please contact Katherine Kott <kkott@diglib.org>. Researchers want to improve, not change, Peer ReviewJanuary 25, 2008 - "Most researchers are not in favour of changing the current system of peer review for journal articles; they believe that it helps to improve scientific communications and increases the overall quality of published papers. Alternatives such as 'open peer review' (where papers are available for public comment prior to publication') were not popular in a new study of over 3,000 senior authors, reviewers, and editors from around the world. However, some were interested in post-publication review, where a published paper is opened up for public comment, as a useful supplement to, but not a replacement for, traditional peer review." "Researchers did, however, prefer double-blind review (where both reviewers and authors are unaware of each other's identity) to the currently prevalent single-blind system (where only the reviewer is anonymous), seeing this as a way to improve both objectivity and fairness. A majority of reviewers and editors also said it would be desirable to be able to review authors' data as part of peer review." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.publishingresearch.net/documents/PRCPeerReviewPressreleasefinal.pdf>. UNT's Texas Center for Digital Knowledge awarded $375,000 from state to build digital repository for cutting-edge course contentJanuary 24, 2008 - "The Texas Center for Digital Knowledge (TxCDK) at the University of North Texas has received more than $375,000 in grants from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to build an online digital repository to store and provide access to newly created and designed undergraduate courses. Educators at public universities and colleges across Texas can freely access and use these course materials in developing and enhancing undergraduate classes that blend traditional teaching methods with technology." "The newest $257,603 grant was awarded in addition to an original $120,000 research and development grant to TxCDK, a research center housed in UNT's School of Library and Information Sciences....'The idea behind the learning object repository is to store course materials in small pieces so they can be used,' said Dr. William Moen, TxCDK director and principal investigator on both grants." "The repository prototype Moen and his team have designed includes the course content of a U.S. history course that had been redesigned with funding from the Coordinating Board in UNT's Next Generation Course Redesign Project, an initiative to transform large enrollment undergraduate courses by engaging and enabling faculty members to design, apply and assess innovative instructional techniques. Now stored in the repository, the course's contents are searchable by unit, lesson or topic. A visitor to the repository could even search for a particular object – an audio or graphic supplement to the content." "When complete, the repository would allow educators at public universities and colleges across Texas to submit their own content and download and use other educators' course content." For more information, please contact Mark Wright at the UNT News Service, <mwright@unt.edu>. ALA Council Adopts Revised Standards for AccreditationJanuary 22, 2008 - "The Council of the American Library Association (ALA) adopted a revision of the Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies, 1992, on Jan. 15 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia." "The revision places stronger emphasis on systematic planning, student learning outcomes, assessment and diversity, tying the Standards directly to ALA policies 60 and 60.5 on diversity. Policy 60 specifies that ALA "promotes equal access to information for all..." and that "ALA recognizes the critical need..." for "those who may experience language or literacy-related barriers; economic distress; cultural or social isolation; physical or attitudinal barriers; racism; discrimination on the basis of appearance, ethnicity, immigrant status, religious background, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression; or barriers to equal education, employment, and housing...." Policy 60.5, Library Education to Meet the Needs of a Diverse Society, specifies that the Committee on Accreditation "will encourage graduate library and information science programs seeking accreditation or re-accreditation to ensure that their student bodies, faculties, and curricula reflect the diverse histories and information needs of all people in the United States. Collaboration between these programs and local libraries and community-based organizations serving diverse populations is to be particularly encouraged." The revision is the result of a five-year review process that included two periods of comment collection, analysis and discussion." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/standards08.htm>. Museums, Libraries, and Archives Urged to Apply for Free IMLS Connecting to Collections BookshelfDeadline extended to April 30, 2008 January 22, 2008 - "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in cooperation with the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), has extended the deadline for applying for the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of books, online resources, and a user's guide that are essential for the care of collections. The bookshelf has received support from the Getty Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation." "A simple electronic application for the free IMLS Bookshelf is available at <http://www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf>. The IMLS Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries' special collections, with an added selection of texts for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers. It addresses such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues. Recipients of the Bookshelf will also receive a guide with answers to common questions about collections care that can be answered by the Bookshelf. A guide to online resources on collections care has also been prepared by Heritage Preservation (HP), a national non-profit organization working to preserve America's collective heritage. Both documents are available online on the IMLS Web Site at <http://www.imls.gov/collections>." "The IMLS Bookshelf will be awarded free in this last application period March 1 - April 30, 2008, with recipients announced in July 2008. Instructions, qualifications, and the content of the IMLS Bookshelf, along with the online application, can be found at <http://www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf>." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/012208c.shtm>. Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access namedJanuary 21, 2008 - "International leaders offering a variety of interests and areas expertise have been named to a distinguished Blue Ribbon Task Force to develop actionable recommendations for the economic sustainability of preservation of and persistent access to digital information for future generations." "The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access is co-chaired by Fran Berman, director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center at University of California, San Diego and a pioneer in data cyberinfrastructure; and Brian Lavoie, a research scientist and economist with OCLC, the world's largest library service and research organization." "Using its members as a gateway, the Task Force will convene a broad set of international experts from the academic, public and private sectors who will participate in quarterly discussion panels. The group will publish two substantial reports with their findings, including a final report in late 2009 that will include a set of actionable recommendations for digital preservation, taking into account a general economic framework to establish those objectives." For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200692.htm>. 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Contents doi:10.1045/march2008-inbrief |
