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I N B R I E F
September/October 2016
Table of Contents
Developing Library Cyberinfrastructure (LCI) Strategy for Big Data Sharing and Reuse
Contributed by
Zhiwu Xie1, Edward A Fox2, Tyler Walters1, Pablo Tarazaga3, and Jiangping Chen4
1University Libraries, 2Department of Computer Science, 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 4Department of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas
{zhiwuxie, fox, tyler.walters, pt} [at] vt.edu; jiangping.chen [at] unt.edu
As a key component of the nation's knowledge infrastructure, libraries must continuously reinvent themselves with the emergence and the establishment of new discovery paradigms. The recent wave of data intensive science has motivated many high-profile library big data services. Many more are being developed or being planned. With an emphasis on big data sharing and reuse, this research project aims to develop an evidence-based, broadly adaptable library cyberinfrastructure (LCI) strategy to operate such services on shared IT infrastructure, which includes but is not limited to institutional and national high-performance computing (HPC) resources as well as academic and commercial cloud services.
Conceptually, we draw three distinct, although not mutually exclusive, library big data service patterns, schematically shown in Figure 1: 1) The Bridge Pattern, which clearly separates the data storage and processing. 2) The Network Pattern, which features a much tighter integration between data storage and processing. 3) The Hub Pattern, which continuously draws live data from potentially many sources, undertakes necessary processing, then disseminates processed information to potentially large numbers of data consumers.
Figure 1: Three Patterns for Library Big Data Services
The nature and characteristics of these service patterns are far from being thoroughly understood. This project is therefore designed to aid strategizing the LCI decision-making. This will be achieved by generalizing into rules insights gained through controlled experiments and benchmarking of one representative project for each service pattern, namely the Goodwin Hall data management system developed for Virginia Tech Smart Infrastructure Lab (VTSIL), the Event Digital Library and Archive developed at Virginia Tech Digital Library Research Lab (DLRL), and SHARE Notify. We will then consolidate these rules into a more widely applicable strategy and validate them through service optimization.
Quick facts about LCI
- Project Full Title: Developing Library Cyberinfrastructure Strategy for Big Data Sharing and Reuse
- Start Date: June 1, 2016
- Duration: 24 months
- Funding: $308,175.00 from IMLS National Leadership Grants for Libraries in the National Digital Platform program, LG-71-16-0037-16
- LCI Project Partners:
- University Libraries, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Department of Library and Information Sciences, University of North Texas
- Find out more: Web: http://lci.lib.vt.edu
Digital Library Federation Revises Code of Conduct
Contributed by
Bethany Nowviskie, Juliet Hardesty, and Laurie Allen
for the DLF Inclusivity Committee
Digital Library Federation
info [at] diglib.org
The Digital Library Federation has issued a revised Code of Conduct, which now applies not only to its annual DLF Forum and other in-person events, but to working group activities and other forms of online interaction directly sponsored by the DLF, year-round. This revision – the first major update since DLF's original Code was established in 2012 – was part of the planning process for the 2016 DLF Forum, to be held in Milwaukee this November, and for which DLF established a new subcommittee on inclusivity. Committee members worked collectively on the revision, which expresses DLF's aspiration to be "a welcoming organization and the focal point for a digital library culture that is anti-oppression, recognizes intersectionalities, and works compassionately across difference."
In sections entitled "How to Be," and "What to Do," the document offers concrete suggestions for promoting positive interactions and outlines prohibited behaviors, reporting mechanisms, and possible sanctions. It also clarifies that DLF "welcomes engagement with difficult topics, done with respect and care," and yet "will not tolerate harassment of DLF community members in any form." The framing of the new Code of Conduct is one of opportunity and responsibility:
We know that the best problem-solving and critical thinking happens when people with a wide array of experiences and perspectives come together to work in comfort and safety as peers. We therefore expect participants in the DLF community to help create thoughtful and respectful environments where that interaction can take place.
Sources of inspiration – including statements and resources by Geek Feminism, DHSI, Code4Lib, ALA, LITA, AMIA, SAA, US OpenGLAM, ADHO, the Recurse Center, Contributor Covenant, Vox Media, and the Scholars' Lab – are listed in the document's footer.
Digital Preservation Coalition Open for International Membership
Contributed by
Sarah Middleton
Head of Advocacy and Communications
Digital Preservation Coalition
York, United Kingdom
sarah.middleton [at] dpconline.org
This August the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) has cordially extended its invitation to actively encourage the inclusion of international organisations; its members benefitting from global interests, innovations and activities in digital preservation. Every organisation with an interest in digital preservation, in any part of the world, is encouraged to enter a dialogue with the DPC and will be welcome to apply for full or associate membership, with all the rights, access and responsibilities pertaining to that level of membership.
Registered in England and founded by partners in the USA, UK and RoI, the DPC's current membership of over 60 organisations does already comprise international members. Having grown considerably in recent years, and with outcomes which hold global significance, international membership is a challenge now readily invited and accepted, where previously it had not been actively sought.
Members already benefit from world-wide collaborations and the DPC welcomes opportunities to work with anyone interested in helping meet a shared and challenging ambition to make 'our digital memory accessible tomorrow.'
Executive Director of the DPC, William Kilbride reflects: "More than ever since the DPC's foundation in 2002, we see that the challenges of digital preservation are global: larger than any organisation, sector or individual country. We also see that the benefits of international collaboration are not simply financial: they add value and extend our reach. While the Coalition certainly has its roots in the UK and Ireland, our community is global and our membership has grown in recent years, enriched by organisations from across the world."
The Coalition also celebrates and commends close relationships with cognate agencies in Germany (nestor), the Netherlands (NCDD) and the USA (NDSA). They commend those agencies with whom they continue to work to deliver sustainable open source solutions for digital preservation (OPF), tools and standards for web archiving (IIPC) and good practice in the management of social science data (ICPSR). Organisations in the USA, Germany and the Netherlands with offices outside the UK and RoI are actively encouraged to engage with these partner agencies in their respective countries, encouraging the development of a network of similar organisations each with an interest in digital preservation. Those with specific interests in sustainable software solutions for digital preservation or web archiving are encouraged to engage with the OPF or the IIPC respectively.
Since officially opening the Coalition for international applications, the DPC has already welcomed the University of Bern to its list of global members alongside Portico and the UN with their bases in the USA, The European Central Bank and NATO with headquarters in Europe, and HSBC with their global operations and office in London, UK. A full list of members and associated organisations may be found on the DPC website.
I N T H E N E W S
Digital Preservation Awards 2016: The Finalists
September 9, 2016 announcement from Sarah Middleton, Digital Preservation Coalition — "After the most gruelling and detailed set of deliberation so far, the Digital Preservation Coalition is delighted to announce the finalists of the 2016 Digital Preservation Awards."
"The prestigious Digital Preservation Awards is a world-wide celebration of the achievements of those people and organisations who have made significant and innovative contributions to ensuring our generation's digital legacy will be available tomorrow. It culminates in an eagerly anticipated awards ceremony at the Wellcome Trust in London on Wednesday 30th November 2016."
"Chair of the judges and 2014 Digital Preservation Awards winner Adrian Brown said, 'Nominations were received from 10 different countries in Asia, Europe, North America, Australasia and the Middle East making this the most international competition so far. The quality of applications was astonishing, not to mention the enthusiasm and encouragement garnered by the successes of previous winners.'"
For more information, including the list of finalists, please see the full announcement.
Knowledge Unlatched (KU) Launches Pledging Period for KU Select 2016
September 1, 2016 — "Knowledge Unlatched (KU), the global initiative for Open Access monographs, today launches its next front list and backlist collections: KU Select 2016."
"KU Select 2016 offers 343 titles to libraries (147 front list to be published between November 2016 - April 2017 and 196 backlist published between 2005 - 2015) with 16 subject areas in the Humanities and Social Sciences."
"54 well-respected scholarly publishers from 5 continents are participating including university presses, commercial publishers and Open Access publishers."
For more information, see the full press release.
IMLS Announces Nearly $3 Million in Grants for a Stronger Librarian Workforce
August 26, 2016 — "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) today announced $2,985,512 in grants aimed at recruiting and educating the next generation of librarians, faculty, and library leaders."
"The grants were awarded through the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. Friday's announcements represent the final awards in the 2016 fiscal year. Information on other LB21 recipients in 2016 can be found on the IMLS website."
For more information, see the full press release.
NISO Launches New Project to Create a Flexible API Framework for E-Content in Libraries
Interested participants, especially those with experience in library vendor software and/or use of APIs and REST and mobile technologies, are encouraged to contact NISO regarding working group formation.
August 25, 2016 — "Voting Members of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) have approved a new project to modernize library-vendor technical interoperability to improve the access of digital library content and electronic books. Building upon a set of API (Application Programming Interface) Requirements developed by Queens Library, a new NISO Working Group will create a foundational API set that the library community can build on. This set will fulfill an array of user and library needs, including quicker response times, flexible item discovery and delivery options, improved resource availability, and more seamless integration of electronic and physical resources."
"Library patrons should expect an excellent user experience and requisite level of convenience should be built into all customer-facing tools that service library patrons. This project is being undertaken to bring patrons' library experiences in line with the modern tools and technologies-especially mobile technologies-they are accustomed to using in other areas of their lives. Currently, libraries use varied technologies, some of which rely on outdated and slow communication protocols, to provide services to users. By establishing standards on RESTful Web services APIs as well as standard mobile extensions, the library industry will leave many archaic, difficult-to-use tool sets behind, and allow libraries more flexibility in meeting local needs."
For more information, see the full press release.
XSEDE 2.0 earns $110M NSF award to expand Nation's cyberinfrastructure ecosystem
Five-year award rewards national collaboration's success in supporting advanced computational and data-enabled research and developing the Nation's digital workforce
August 23, 2016 — "The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), first established in 2011, has been awarded a $110 million, five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) award to continue expanding access of advanced cyberinfrastructure resources to the nation's scientist and engineers. The award announced today provides a continuity of services valuable to its large user community, in particular the coordination of resources and people that make the national cyberinfrastructure ecosystem so effective."
"The XSEDE 2.0 project is led by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and 18 partner institutions across the nation...."
"...The project is a central feature of NSF-supported cyberinfrastructure and aligns with the strategic objectives of the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) - a whole-of-government effort that fosters a coordinated Federal strategy in high-performance computing (HPC) research and deployment. XSEDE 2.0's role in NSCI will holistically expanding the capabilities and capacity of a robust and enduring national advanced computing infrastructure and contributing the learning and workforce development necessary to prepare our current and future researchers and the critical technical experts needed to support the research enterprise."
For more information, see the full press release.
ACRL teams with OCLC Research for research agenda
August 16, 2016 — "The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has selected a team from OCLC Research to design, develop, and deliver a new ACRL 'Action-Oriented Research Agenda on Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success.'"
"The team was selected after an open and competitive request for proposals to investigate and write a research agenda that provides an update on progress since the publication of ACRL's 2010 Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report and examines important questions where more research is needed in areas critical to the higher education sector. The focus of the research agenda will be on institutional priorities for improved student learning and success (e.g., retention, persistence, degree completion)...."
"...The team's work began in early August 2016 and includes a presentation at the upcoming Library Assessment Conference as well as an online open forum in mid November to share progress with the broader community and solicit feedback. A final document of publishable quality, 60-100 pages in length, is due in May 2017 for public release in June. Read more about project deliverables and timeline in an excerpt of the successful proposal."
For more information, see the full press release.
Five librarians selected as 2017 IFLA/OCLC Fellows
August 16, 2016 — "OCLC, along with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), has named five librarians selected to participate in the Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program for 2017. The program supports library and information science professionals from countries with developing economies."
"The 2017 IFLA/OCLC Fellows were announced today at a news conference during the World Library and Information Congress: 82nd IFLA General Conference and Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The 2017 Fellows are:
- Patience Ngizi-Hara, The Copperbelt University, Zambia
- Eric Nelson Haumba, YMCA Comprehensive Institute, Uganda
- Sharisse Rae Lim, National Library of the Philippines
- Jerry Mathema, Masiyephambili College, Zimbabwe
- Nguyen Van Kep, Hanoi University, Vietnam"
"The IFLA/OCLC Fellowship Program provides advanced continuing education and exposure to a broad range of issues in information technologies, library operations and global cooperative librarianship. With the selection of the five Fellows for the class of 2017, the program will have welcomed 85 librarians and information science professionals from 38 countries."
For more information, see the full press release.
New report on family engagement in public libraries from Harvard Family Research Project and the Public Library Association
August 9, 2016 — "A new report, Public Libraries: A Vital Space for Family Engagement, released by Harvard Family Research Project and the Public Library Association issues a call to action for libraries to strengthen their efforts to engage families in children's learning."
"Harvard Family Research Project surveyed public library leaders from around the country about their family engagement practices, convened a learning community of librarians, conducted interviews with librarians and reviewed research to closely study family engagement practices in public libraries. This report highlights five promising ways that libraries engage families in children's learning from early childhood and throughout the school years.
- Reach Out: Libraries reach out to families to promote the programs, collections, and services that are vital in a knowledge economy.
- Raise Up: Libraries elevate family views and voices in how library programs and services are developed and carried out.
- Reinforce: Libraries guide and model the specific actions that family members can take to support learning, reaffirming families' important roles and strengthening feelings of efficacy.
- Relate: Libraries offer opportunities for families to build peer-to-peer relationships, social networks and parent-child relationships.
- Reimagine: Libraries are expanding their community partnerships; combining resources and extending their range; improving children's and families' well-being; and linking to new learning opportunities."
"The report and related resources are funded by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. They can be accessed at http://www.ala.org/pla/familyengagement. More information on Harvard Family Research Project's public library project including the report can be accessed at http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/projects/libraries-for-the-21st-century-it-s-a-family-thing."
For more information, see the full press release.
Now Available Vivo 1.9
August 9, 2016 announcement from Carol Minton Morris, Duraspace — "The VIVO team is proud to announce that VIVO 1.9 was released on August 8, 2016."
"Full release notes are... available on the wiki: https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/VIVODOC19x/Release+Notes"
"Downloads are available on the GitHub release page:
https://github.com/vivo-project/VIVO/releases/tag/rel-1.9.0"
For more information, see the full press release.
IMLS Releases FY 2014 Public Libraries Survey Data
August 8, 2016 — "Today, the Institute of Museum and Library Services released the data for the FY 2014 Public Libraries Survey. Accompanying FY 2014 data are new online visualizations and tools to make the data easier to explore and use."
"Since 1988, the annual Public Libraries Survey has provided a national census of public libraries in the United States. The data are collected from approximately 9,000 public library systems comprised of over 17,000 individual main libraries, library branches, and bookmobiles in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and outlying territories...."
"...The Public Libraries Survey added a new data element in FY 2014: the number of Wi-Fi sessions provided by libraries annually. As more states report on this element in coming years, a more accurate picture of annual Wi-Fi use in libraries will emerge. Other data collected by the survey include information about library visits; circulation; size of collections; staff; operating revenues and expenditures; and number of service outlets."
For more information, see the full press release.
New Library Privacy Guidelines offer strategies for protecting patron data in the digital environment
August 1, 2016 — "The American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee has approved four new library privacy guidelines that outline strategies and best practices for protecting patron privacy in the digital environment. The guidelines address online privacy and data security and are intended to assist librarians, libraries, schools and vendors in developing policies and procedures that safeguard library users' data. The guidelines include:
"...The guidelines are now available online on the ALA website. The IFC Privacy Subcommittee encourages anyone with comments or questions to send correspondence to its ALA Staff Liaison Deborah Caldwell-Stone at dstone@ala.org."
For more information, see the full press release.
veraPDF 0.20 released
August 1, 2016 announcement from Becky McGuinness, Community Manager, Open Preservation Foundation — "The latest version of veraPDF is now available. Version 0.20 has the following enhancements:
"Application enhancements:
- added signature types to features report;
- depth of feature reporting now configurable; and
- altered log level of some validation methods."
"Conformance checker fixes:
- fix for validation of character encoding requirements of invisible fonts; and
- fix for ICC Profile mluc tag."
"Test corpus:
- 34 new test files for PDF/A-2b."
For more information, contact Becky McGuinness at becky [at] openpreservation.org.
ARL Makes SPEC Kits Open Access Online
July 29, 2016 — "The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has opened up access to all SPEC Kits on the ARL Digital Publications platform for all users. This change demonstrates the value that the Association and its members place on free and open access to information."
"Since the early 1970s the Association of Research Libraries has used the SPEC survey program to bring research libraries up-to-date information on library policies and procedures that helps leaders continuously improve their management systems. Each year, the program works with librarians in the US and Canada to develop surveys of the ARL membership on topics of strategic interest."
"The SPEC program has been a cost-recovery operation that relies on revenue from subscriptions and sales of individual titles to cover the expenses related to running the surveys, producing the SPEC Kit publications, hosting online versions, and, since 2015, presenting webcasts. The program has not received support from membership dues or any other sources of funding."
"ARL president Larry Alford said, 'The Association of Research Libraries strongly believes in the tenet of open access and advocates for the increased availability of open access literature. In order for ARL to demonstrate this value, the Board of Directors is pleased to announce the digital versions of SPEC Kits will be freely available going forward.'"
For more information, see the full press release.
FY 2017 Guidelines Announced for Grants to Boost Library Profession and Improve Field
July 28, 2016 — "The Institute of Museum and Library Services has announced the guidelines for the first round of FY 2017 National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG) and Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21). The NLG program invests in projects that address challenges faced by the library and archive fields and generate results such as new tools, research findings, or models that can be widely used. The LB21 program supports human capital capacity projects for libraries and archives. This call for preliminary proposals has a deadline of September 1, 2016, for both programs. A separate funding opportunity for both programs will be announced in December with a deadline in February 2017...."
"...As outlined in the 2017 IMLS Congressional Justification, IMLS is especially interested in projects that address the following priorities:
- Community Anchors: NLG projects that advance the role of libraries as community anchors that provide civic and cultural engagement, facilitate lifelong learning, promote digital inclusion, and support economic vitality through programming and services....
- National Digital Platform: NLG projects that create, develop, and expand the social and technical infrastructure and the open source software applications used by libraries and archives to provide digital content and services to all users in the United States....
- Curating Collections: NLG projects that can have a significant national impact on shared services for the preservation and management of digital library collections and content across the country...."
"...The Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries is now a funding category within the National Leadership Grants program, rather than a standalone program. Sparks grants support new tools, products, services, or organizational practices. Sparks preliminary proposals will now be accepted twice a year, instead of full proposals accepted once a year."
For more information, see the full press release.
LYRASIS Receives $850,000 award from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Continue Support for CollectionSpace
July 26, 2016 — "LYRASIS, a nationwide leader in the development and provision of technology and content solutions for archives, libraries and museums, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $850,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support ongoing development and sustainability planning for CollectionSpace, an open source collections management tool for museums. This award will allow LYRASIS and the CollectionSpace community to continue to strengthen the application and the community's efforts to create a sustainable open source collections management system for the benefit of museums and other collecting organizations."
"LYRASIS was awarded funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in December 2013 to develop the organizational home for CollectionSpace, and subsequently helped develop the community and software for wider adoption. Since the first award, CollectionSpace has issued three public releases, launched a successful membership program with twelve inaugural members and has more than doubled the number of software implementers. As organizational home, LYRASIS provides staff, technology and financial support. This new phase of funding will allow LYRASIS and CollectionSpace to work together to increase implementations and membership, improve community participation in governance, strengthen the software's usability and create partnerships with key organizations and members."
For more information, see the full press release.
2016-2017 Library of Congress Recommended Formats Statement
July 26, 2016 — "The Library of Congress is pleased to announce the release of the 2016-2017 Recommended Formats Statement (https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/). The proliferation of ways in which works can be created and distributed is a challenge and an opportunity for the Library (and for all institutions and organizations which seek to build collections of creative works) and the Recommended Formats Statement is one way in which the Library seeks to meet the challenge and take full advantage of the opportunity. By providing guidance in the form of technical characteristics and metadata which best support the preservation and long-term access of digital works (and analog works as well), the Library hopes to encourage creators, vendors, archivists and librarians to use the recommended formats in order to further the creation, acquisition and preservation of creative works which will be available for the use of future generations at the Library of Congress and other cultural memory organizations."
"The engagement with the Statement that the Library has seen from others has been extremely heartening. In response to interest in our work from representatives in the architectural community who see their design work imperiled by insufficient attention to digital preservation, we have updated the Statement to align more closely with developments in this field. Most importantly of all, we now include websites as a category of its own in the Statement. Websites are probably the largest field of digital expression available for creators today, yet most creators tend to take a passive role in ensuring the preservation and long-term access of their websites. By including websites in the Recommended Formats Statement, we hope to encourage website creators to engage more fully in digital preservation, as we aim to do with all the other forms of digital works included in the Statement, by making their websites more preservation-friendly."
"The Library remains committed to acquiring and preserving digital works and to providing whatever support it can to other similarly committed stakeholders. We shall continue to build our collections with their preservation and long-term access firmly in mind; and we shall continue to engage with others in the community in efforts such as the Recommended Formats Statement. We encourage any and all feedback and comments (https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/contacts.html) others might have on the Statement that might make it more useful for both our needs and for the needs of anyone who might find it worthwhile in their own work. And we shall continue to engage in an annual review process to ensure that it meets the needs of all stakeholders in the preservation and long-term access of creative works."
For more information, please contact Ted Westervelt, thwe [at] loc.gov.
Call for Expressions of Interest in Hosting Annual Open Repositories Conference, 2018 and 2019
From William Nixon and Elin Stangeland for the Open Repositories Steering Committee
July 26, 2016 — "The Open Repositories Steering Committee seeks Expressions of Interest (EoI) from candidate host organizations for the 2018 and 2019 Open Repositories Annual Conference series. The call is issued for two years this time to enable better planning ahead of the conferences and to secure a good geographical distribution over time. Proposals from all geographic areas will be given consideration."
"Important dates
The Open Repositories Steering Committee is accepting Expressions of Interest (EoI) to host the OR2018 and 2019 conferences until September 23rd, 2016. Shortlisted sites will be notified by the end of October 2016...."
"...About Open Repositories
Since 2006 Open Repositories has hosted an annual conference that brings together users and developers of open digital repository platforms. For further information about Open Repositories and links to past conference sites, please visit the OR home page: http://sites.tdl.org/openrepositories/."
For more information, including guidelines for submitting a proposal, see the full press release.
Illinois State Library and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Partner to Make Illinois State Government Publications Available
July 25, 2016 — "Working with the Illinois State Library, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Library is actively digitizing State of Illinois publications. As part of its broader digitization efforts, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was approached by its partners to contribute published documents of Illinois' state government for digitization. After identifying approximately 42,000 state documents in its collections, the University Library approached the Illinois State Library for assistance in ensuring that those digitized documents could be made publicly available...."
"...As part of its broader digitization efforts, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Library contributed over 90,000 U.S. Federal documents to a similar digitization project several years ago. The State of Illinois government publications projects continues a strong tradition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Library to make public information available...."
"...To date, this project has led to the digitization of 14,000 of the publications. Following established procedures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the digitized documents are being made available to the general public via the HathiTrust with a special collection available at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/mb?c=959679802;a=listis."
For more information, see the full press release.
Dr. Carla Hayden to serve as the next Librarian of Congress
July 16, 2016 — "Today the Senate approved the nomination of Dr. Carla Hayden to serve as the nation's 14th Librarian of Congress. Dr. Hayden, American Library Association (ALA) past president and director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, is the first female and the first African American to lead the Library of Congress. She also is the first professional librarian to be confirmed in more than 60 years."
"Dr. Hayden's appointment comes in the wake of the retirement of Dr. James H. Billington and on the heels of a rigorous ALA grassroots and social media campaign (#Hayden4LOC) that encouraged thousands of library advocates to contact their Senators to support her confirmation."
For more information, see the full press release.
IMLS Launches Community Catalyst Initiative
Focus Will Be on Community-Centric Approaches for Museums and Libraries
July 12, 2016 — "A new initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will help libraries and museums develop a deeper understanding of their role as instruments of community stability and enablers of positive community change. Through the Community Catalyst Initiative, IMLS will gather input from the library, museum, and community revitalization fields to develop frameworks, tools, and resources to support staff skill-building needed to help transform the connections libraries and museums have with their communities."
"The project cooperator is Reinvestment Fund, a community development financial institution that uses data, policy, and strategic investments to improve the quality of low-income neighborhoods. The cooperator will receive assistance from the University of Pennsylvania's Social Impact of the Arts Project (SIAP). IMLS is also pleased to partner with the William Penn Foundation in this effort...."
For more information, see the full press release.
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