October 2008 | Main | December 2008
November 30, 2008
Expanding the value of scholarly, open access e-journals
In the newest issue of Library & Inforamtion Science Research (v30#4, Dec. 2008), Matthew Elbeck and Jean Mandernach propose a solution to the challenge of identifying high-quality articles within open access publications. Their article, "Expanding the value of scholarly, open access e-journals," describes the traditional quality indicators used in scholarly publishing, explains how those indicators are inadequate for open access publications, then describes a method that could be used to identify e-article quality.
The traditional methods of assessing the quality of a published scholarly article - including journal reputation and citation analysis - do not fit the new model of open access publishing. To overcome the skepticism inherent in online publishing, new methods of identifying article quality must be adopted, argue Elbeck and Mandernach. The method they suggest involves the article's author, reviewers, and readers. The article should be peer-reviewed, just as its print counterpart; as part of the review, reviewers assign a value ranking to the article. In addition, after its publication online, readers would provide assessment and complete an article satisfaction score. Quality of the article would be determined by the relationship between the article's value and reader satisfaction. Although there are challenges to overcome by this proposed system - such as the potential for controversy regarding value and satisfaction scores - this system could improve perceptions of open access journal quality.
posted by Jerianne Thompson
Posted by colldev at 10:57 PM
There's More to The Design and Implementation of an Institutional Repository than Just Scholarship and Technology...
The current issue of JEP, The Journal of Electronic Publishing includes an article by Oya Y. Rieger, entitled Opening Up Repositories: Social Construction of Innovation in Scholarly Communication. Rieger's article draws on her experience with "digital repository development and assessment efforts at the Cornell University Library" as well as other experience. However, Rieger notes that much of the available research focuses on the technology aspects of IR design, and does not address the design and implementation of IRs from a socio-cultural perspective. Her current article attempts to place IR design into a more theoretical context by examining IR development from the "social construction of technology theory, actor-network theory, and the socio-technical interactions networks model" (Reiger 2008).
Oya Y. Rieger is the associate university librarian for information technologies at Cornell University Library. Rieger's article opens with a brief examination of the institutional repository eCommons@Cornell hosted at Cornell University Library. She notes that the eCommons@Cornell is built on DSpace, an open access digital repository system originally built through a joint development project between MIT and Hewlett-Packard. However, the article shifts from the technical aspects of the repository to a focus on the socio-cultural context of an institutional repository. The author further notes that libraries take on a new role as "active disseminators" of information through the advent of an institutional repository, shifting the library's role from that of "passive receivers of scholarly outputs" (Rieger 2008).
Rieger first examines the "social construction of technology" in the context of designing and implementing institutional repositories, noting that relevant social groups emerge in the academic environment that operate as "stakeholders" in the IR and influence the development process. Additionally, the discussion examines attitudes toward the IR environment in the academic setting and then explores the use of DSpace specifically as an open access tool for the implementation of the institutional repository. Rieger further notes how the agendas of the open access community in the context of both DSpace and the IR designers meet to satisfy the needs of the academic community.
The second portion of Rieger's examination focuses on "Actor-Network Theory" in the context of the creation of an institutional repository, highlighting the dynamic and complicated "web" of interrelated and interdependent elements in the implementation process. Here, the author discusses actor-network theory in its relation to the change from the traditional scholarly publishing model to the open access/institutional repository model.
The third section examines IRs from the socio-technical interactions networks model, discussing the dynamic cultural context in which the shift in scholarly publishing is occurring. Rieger's discussion addresses the "dialectic of control," and includes in the discussion current issues in scholarly communication including the current Modern Language Association examination of scholarly publication requirements and the recent mandate by the National Institute of Health for the deposit of articles resulting from NIH funding in PubMed Central.
Rieger's article gives an interesting examination of the development of scholarly communication technologies, particularly the move to open access publishing, providing a theoretical framework from which to observe the changes occurring in the scholarly communication environment. Since the article focuses on the theoretical aspects of the implementation of an IR instead of the technological aspects of the project, it provides an illuminating examination of the process. The article is certainly a must read for anyone gearing up for an IR development project.
This blog posting refers to the online edition of the following article:
Rieger, Oya Y. Opening Up Institutional Repositories: Social Construction of Innovation in Scholarly Communication. The Journal of Electronic Publishing 11, no. 3 (Fall 2008).
Online full text of the article is available through The journal of Electronic Publishing and can be found here.
Entry posted by Burr Osoinach--Collection Development IS 560, Fall 2008.
Posted by colldev at 07:15 PM
Seven Steps to a Brighter Digital Repository Future
In the November 20 online edition of Library Journal, Andrew Albanese sums up the closing keynote address from the 2008 SPARC Digital Repositories Meeting in Baltimore, MD. David Shulenberger, VP of academic affairs at the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, presented seven steps that would aid university libraries in taking their digital repositories to the next level.
These steps are (as reported by Albanese):
1. Make sure that there is a digital repository available for your university's faculty.
2. Work with administrators to acknowledge the benefits of broadening distribution, and that your university will reap those benefits by using the repository.
3. Initiate discussions involving administration and faculty about current practices and intellectual property policies--in other words, "emulate Harvard."
4. Support efforts to spread public access policies like those of NIH to all federal funding agencies and foundations.
5. Work with e campus units, (such as university presses), to support, not oppose, the best interests of their faculty.
6. Work with departments and faculty to develop habits of depositing in the repository.
7. Work with PR units so that the public, donors, and legislators know to look to your institutional repository to find reliable information.
According to Albanese, Shulenberger admits that following these steps will not be easy and that there are many obstacles in the way. He also used this keynote address to publicly speak out against the Association of American University Presses (AAUP) and the America Chemical Society for their support of the Fair Use Copyright in Research Works Act, which Shulenberger claims will "make building digital repositories far more difficult." Schulenberger emphasized the need for all organizations, including university presses and libraries, to work together for everyone's common benefit. Shulenberger points out that digital repositories can reshape the face of university publishing and provide "real access" to information.
Click here to read the complete article.
Albanese, Andrew. "At SPARC Digital Repository Meeting, Shulenberger Calls Out AAUP, ACS." Library Journal Academic Newswire (November 20, 2008).
-posted by Melissa Powers, IS 560 Collection Development
Posted by colldev at 12:45 PM
Open access to special collections, Intellectual property, and copyright.
The Press Releases & Announcements of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) News, November 21, 2008 highlights main issues addressed in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Bimonthly Report, no. 260. Open access to special collections, and the intellectual property and copyright are the first two announced.
The announcement about Makala's proposal for Special Collections: The Need for an Open Access, Online Directory [PDF] (Nov. 21, '08), (see, http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl-br-260-spec-coll.pdf accessed Nov. 29, 2008).
Jeffrey Makala, Assistant Special Collections Librarian, University of South Carolina, proposes to create open access directory for Special Collections. One of his arguments is based on "biblio-futurist predictions" that libraries are on the path of creating uniformed collections. Libraries' acquisitions, subscriptions and licenses are based on "essentially the same databases... on standing orders for the same serials and for monographs from the same university presses." Hence, what will define libraries essentially will be based on their rare, special collections and library special subject strengths. Makala says that "we need an aggregator for this type of information, ... bring our collective knowledge of our own collection strengths into a browsable and searchable format to benefit our readers and the research community."
The newly created ARL's Celebrating Research Web site inspired Makala to investigate the void of "full collection-level" information identifying subject strengths in the collection emphasised on areas of "collecting focus, or unusual depths or breadths. Makala states also, that this kind of information is only located in "narrative or separate page on the institution's own Web site, and difficult to be located and discovered by a user. This new directory would serve as a gateway making "hidden" collections better "exposed."
On copyright and Intellectual property issue.
"Peter McPherson, President of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), identifies intellectual property [IP] law as a major factor in how universities are able to conduct their mission and cites examples of how recent law revisions, court decisions, and discoveries have come together to impose barriers to faculty and researcher access to critical resources" (see, http://www.arl.org/news/pr/br260-21nov08.shtml accessed Nov. 28, 2008).
McPherson suggests these barriers slow down the process "to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts." To bring the lost balance back, he proposes for academic community, creators of IP, and decision making people in Washington DC find a common goal and mutual understanding of needs of all involved in the process of creating knowledge. "Hindering" that access should be stopped for the good of society, who benefits from early and broad access to knowledge. A success will be possible if a mutual ground is found, and "an adequately funded structure [built] to advance this agenda in Washington and across the country."
Wanda Rosinski
For Coll. Development class IS 560
Fall 2008
Posted by colldev at 02:37 AM
November 29, 2008
Google Image Search Adds Photos from LIFE
On November 18, Google announced on its blog that it is adding millions of pictures to its image search. Google is digitizing the LIFE Magazine photo archive, including millions of never-before-seen pictures. The collection dates back to 1750, and at present about twenty percent is online.
LIFE estimates that ninety-seven percent of the collection has never been published or released. Over the next several months, Google and LIFE will be working together to make the whole collection available to the public--some ten million photos.
This is a tremendous boon to the open access community as well as to historical scholars. Having these photographs accessible, photos that chronicle our past, preserve our present, and point us toward our future, is truly amazing. I look forward to perusing the collection when its entirety is online.
--Amelia Evans
Posted by colldev at 12:13 PM
November 28, 2008
Models of Digital Scholarly Communication
In the November 21, 2008 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jennifer Howard highlights the recent report "Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication" in her article "A New Field Study Identifies Eight Major Types of Digital Scholarship." The Association of Research Libraries and the Ithaka group conducted the report, which was released on November 10, 2008. The report is based on interviews of researchers conducted by librarians. In this article, Howard notes the highlights of the report, including some unique observations on the process of digital scholarship and publishing. As Howard points out, digital publishing continues to operate on the "rules of traditional scholarly culture" despite the recent innovation.
The report identifies either main types of digital scholarly resources. These include e-journals, reviews of scholarly works, preprints and working papers, encyclopedias and annotated content, data resources (mainly in scientific communities), discussion forums, and professional and scholarly hubs such as Web portals maintained by scholarly societies. Howard reports that e-journals were the most popular resources among researchers. The report credits the similarity of e-journals to their traditional print counterparts as the basis for their popularity and credibility. The report also mentions that not only do scholars tend to prefer the traditional style of communication offered by e-journals, they also enjoy the quick and easy access to new work.
In her article, Howard also highlights some new types of electronic communication that surfaced in the report. These include journal "issues in progress" where new articles are posted as soon as they are written, and are not constrained by a publication date. Another popular genre in the digital realm is reviews of scholarly works. Scholars are no longer controlled by the time constraints of printing, thus increasing the turn around time for scholarly peer reviews. The report also mentions blogs, which interestingly, scholars view as communication tools developing scholarly thought, but not as final products. Another interesting find is the differences among disciplines. The report discovered that humanists prefer e-mail lists and discussion forums while social scientists rely on professional and scholarly hubs. Researchers in science, technology and medicine are most concerned with speed, and prefer resources that provide the fastest access to the most up-to-date information.
For more information on the report, including examples of popular digital resources, see Jennifer Howard's article which is currently available for free online at or through the UT Library's e-journal collection. The "Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication" complete report is available at the Association of Research Libraries website.
Howard, Jennifer. "A New Field Study Identifies Eight Major Types of Digital Scholarship." The Chronicle of Higher Education 55, no. 13 (November 21, 2008): 11.
-posted by Melissa Powers, IS 560 Collection Development
Posted by colldev at 12:45 PM
November 26, 2008
WorldCat's 20-year-old Use Policy revised
OCLC has a long history of encouraging bibliographic ease and unity via its WorldCat database. According to an open letter to OCLC members from the Board "WorldCat grew by an astonishing 22.2 million records and 150 million location listings" in 2008 alone yet its use policy hadn't been revised since 1987. As of an effective date of mid-February 2009, the WorldCat Record Use Policy will finally enter the 21st Century.
Users will notice these major differences:
"the updated Policy...
-Provides access for museums and archives to WorldCat records
-Clarifies the rights and conditions for non-commercial use and transfer
-Clarifies the rights and conditions for commercial use and transfer
-Suggests optional methods for attribution of WorldCat as the source of derived records
-Provides a convenient method for proposals not covered by the Policy (WorldCat Record Use Form)" (FAQ, 2008)
One other major change is in the language of calling it a "policy" not "guidelines." This gives it the appearance of a legal document and works "to be successful negotiating and working with prospective partners, many of which are in the private sector" (FAQ, 2008). The language, and even icon imagery, is much like the Creative Commons licensing conditions.
The answer to the big question "How will this change how my library already interacts with WorldCat?" seems to be "not much." Current library practices appear to remain largely unaffected. If anything this policy opens up some new possibilities for records use and transfer. The policy is also not promoting itself as completely open access but rather was "updated to bridge the gap between open and closed models" which it states is specifically accomplished "by permitting Use and Transfer of WorldCat records by OCLC Members and Non-Members for Non-Commercial, Reasonable Use" (FAQ, 2008).
In a constantly evolving information landscape it's refreshing to see a behemoth like OCLC thoughtfully consider its own responsibility in such an evolution. Personally, I'm just excited about being able to download WorldCat records into my EndNotes. :)
Find the policy here and an extremely helpful FAQ here.
~bryn samuels
Posted by colldev at 10:30 AM
November 25, 2008
Settlement Reached in Google's Book Search Project
From the Google Blog:
"This agreement is truly groundbreaking in three ways. First, it will give readers digital access to millions of in-copyright books; second, it will create a new market for authors and publishers to sell their works; and third, it will further the efforts of our library partners to preserve and maintain their collections while making books more accessible to students, readers and academic researchers."
A judge has approved a preliminary settlement of two lawsuits between Google and book authors and publishers that may put up to 20 million out-of-print texts online. The lawsuits disputed Google's claim that it had a right to digitize books (as well as offer excerpts and share digital copies with libraries) against possible copyright violations. The Associated Press reported that New York District Judge John Sprizzo has granted preliminary approval to the deal and has scheduled a hearing for June 11, 2009. The lawsuits exposed what appeared to be gray areas of copyright law in the digital age, and the settlement didn't determine whether Google is allowed to scan books without authorization under existing copyright law but has already scanned about 7 million books and may end up digitizing up to 20 million. The settlement was announced by Google and the publishing industry in October, but final court approval is still needed.
The settlement calls for Google to pay $125 million to resolve the claims by authors and publishers. The money would also set up a Book Rights Registry to locate rights holders, determine whether they want to allow their works to be put online, and also to make payments as necessary. It will also maintain a database of books (out of print and copyright protected books) which will continue to be scanned. Since all of these books would be scanned, publishers will have the option of activating a button for readers to download a copy of the book, however, Google will get a sizable chunk of revenues from subscriptions and ad revenues, 37 percent of this future revenue and publishers and authors would share the rest.
Publishers and authors will get new revenue streams for books that didn't have a market because they were already out of print. They will likely have less reason to fundamentally oppose the project since payment will be available for the materials used, but by creating this market, Google has provided a bonus for the rights holders, whose out-of-print works were not likely to get back into "print," with the establishment of a new non-profit Book Rights Registry to manage royalties.
Had the judge ruled against Google, the company could have faced considerable penalties ( $700 to as much as $150,000 per book), but, (according to Chris Snyder of Wired.com ) it would have had an unsettling effect on a program whose "purpose is not to make any money per se but to preserve the knowledge in libraries the world over, and make it more widely available." It is an ambitious program to create a global digital library where universities and institutions can buy a subscription service for unlimited viewing of the entire collection. The catalog will also be available via terminals at U.S public libraries for students and researchers to view for free. Rob Hof of BusinessWeek explains the benefits of the Book Search Program as a bonus for readers and other people who are interested in works that are not easily to obtain. "As a book lover, what I find the coolest thing about the deal is that eventually, I'll be able to visit most any library and, using at least one terminal that will be set up at each library, view digital versions of these books for free (though I'll have to pay to print out pages). It's nice that all the sides managed to agree on something that is demonstrably a good thing for all of us."
--laura
Posted by colldev at 01:51 PM
November 23, 2008
Navigating the rough (and ambiguous) seas of scholarly open access publishing
Jennifer Howard's November 21, 2008 article, "For Advice on Publishing in the Digital World, Scholars Turn to Campus Libraries" in The Chronicle of Higher Education addresses several of the major issues and dangers in the current forum of scholarly open access publishing. Howard notes that in the often ambiguous and confusing arena of open access publishing, scholars are turning to their institutions' libraries and librarians for guidance. She states that "institutions are creating or beefing up offices and programs in scholarly communication or hiring librarians with expertise in copyright and intellectual property" (Howard A8). Howard cites Karla Hahn of the Office of Scholarly communication for the Association of Research Libraries, who indicates that ARL has noted several major themes emerge in these programs in scholarly communication such as faculty outreach and help with copyright issues, help with institutional repositories and help with publishing services (Howard A8).
In addition to offering an overview of increased activity in scholarly communication programs, Howard presents several examples of individuals in these scholarly programs and the roles that they play. Her first example, Kevin L. Smith the "Copyright Czar," is a scholarly communications officer at Duke University. Howard notes that Smith maintains the Scholarly Communication@Duke blog at Duke University, which provides an additional source for information on current topics in scholarly communication.
The second example Howard provides is the Office for Scholarly Communication at Harvard, run by Stuart M. Shieber, professor of computer science, and "in the domain" of Robert Darnton, director of Harvard University Library. The article refers to the new mandate for Harvard University faculty to publish open access in Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, or DASH, Harvard's new digital repository. However, as DASH is currently in Beta testing, it is only available to users with Harvard IP addresses.
Howard's final example is David Stern, associate university librarian for scholarly resources at Brown University, who in addition to collection development, now is responsible for scholarly communication issues including campus awareness, NIH public access compliance, and open access publishing options for scholars. Brown University Library also hosts a Scholarly Communications Information page as a resource for the Brown University community.
Howard's article offers a good overview of the types of roles that librarians can find themselves in due to the current move toward open access publishing and the use of institutional repositories. Her profiles of the services provided by Smith, Shieber, and Stern certainly serve to help modern librarians navigate the uncertain waters of open access scholarly publishing. The article is a must read for those concerned about issues in current scholarly communication (and for those new--or not so new--librarians interested in a potential career as a scholarly communications officer).
This blog posting refers to the online edition of the following article:
Howard, Jennifer. "For Advice on Publishing in the Digital World, Scholars Turn to Campus Libraries." The Chronicle of Higher Education 55, no. 13 (November 21, 2008): A8.
Online full text of the article is available through subscription at The Chronicle of Higher Education or through the University of Tennessee E-Journal link with appropriate login authorization.
Entry posted by Burr Osoinach--Collection Development IS 560, Fall 2008
Posted by colldev at 10:03 PM
November 22, 2008
Nashville may merge public and school libraries.
As reported in The Tennesseean and the School Library Journal Nashville, TN school and public libraries may soon be consolidating in an effort to eliminate redundancy in services and cut costs.
The big story now is how this came as a surprise to Metro school leaders, only officially hearing in a letter Thursday (Nov. 20, 2008) from Mayor Karl Dean implying an already approved plan and timeline. I predict the next big story, whether or not this merger becomes a reality, will revolve around territory.
As it reads now the mayor and Nashville Public Library director Donna Nicely's plan would consolidate the resources of the 20 public branches with the more than 132 K-12 school libraries. Resources appears to include, among others, print materials, videos, DVDs and databases. Nicely expects "school library media specialists to be folded into the Nashville Public Library's staff if the two groups merge. Those librarians probably would maintain an integral role in buying books for their schools, but all librarians are trained to meet their audience's needs, she said" (The Tennesseean, 11/22/08).
This raises a few concerns for me. "Maintain an integral role" is different than being in charge. However you slice it the duties of a public librarian and school librarian vary. School librarians are teachers. Tennessee does not test on library skills but school librarians are still expected to provide instruction on information literacy skills specific to the grades they serve. "To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information" (ACRL, 1989). This isn't just weekly storytime anymore. They are expected to collaborate with teachers and staff. They do not give grades or evaluations but are still expected to be part of the school culture that moves every student toward proficiency. Their "audience" and their organization's mission toward serving that "audience" is different than that of public librarians.
That said, there's no reason to remain territorial about such differences. There seems to be a unique, not-always-figured-out relationship between school librarians (media specialists, information specialists, teacher librarians, etc.) and public librarians, particularly those serving and managing children's and young adult resources. Are public libraries responsible for stocking up on summer reading list items required by local schools? Are school libraries obligated to open to the public guests paid for out of their budget? Whatever the communication and collaboration efforts, or lack thereof, are now between school and public librarians, they will certainly rise in importance with a merger.
Logistically "the move would also mean increased hours at school libraries after school and during the summer" (School Library Journal, 11/22/08). This, as well as the whole merger, implies not only will public librarians be shifting to fill schools' and students' needs, but school librarians will also be shifting to serve the public needs beyond their own students and families. What does this look like? Do public libraries create "school posts" wherein a public library worker assists in circulation and collection development needs of the public beyond the school? Or is it integrated? Will the school librarian now be responsible for circulation and collection development needs of the public beyond the school AND within the school community? A consolidation of resources is clear within this plan, but what about an addition of either staff or the school librarian's job requirements, both of which should mean more in employee pay? Is the consolidation of resources that cost-effective as to be able to pay these additional employee requirements? Logistics aside, the human factor is still present. There is still the necessity of cooperation in a time where many school librarians continue to report not feeling encouraged to collaborate within their own school, let alone out of it.
While the loss of control and objective as it pertains to students still concerns me, I do see many benefits:
- incredible increase in collection resources
- savings in individual electronic subscriptions (databases, online journals, etc.)
- breaking through territorial legacies
- growing a student generation seeing collaboration on a daily basis
Hopefully there can be a culture of working toward these ends without mandating a merger. Metro School board Chairman David Fox has made it clear that the decision is up to the school board not the mayor (The Tennesseean, 11/22/08). I wonder, though, if the "surprise" of this announcement will help or hurt library culture. What if Metro school librarians and Nashville public librarians, regardless of politicians and board members, use this as an opportunity to be more open with each other and explore how they can take control of growing that student generation that sees meaningful collaboration taken seriously. I know there are amazing partnerships alive and well already. Let's make sure it's not left up to politicians to encourage growth in these cooperative endeavors.
~bryn samuels
Posted by colldev at 12:18 PM
November 21, 2008
Permanent Digital Archives for Scholarly Works
As long-term availability of electronic publications has been a major concern for librarians and publishers in our ever-changing information collection, Thieme Publishing Group announced on November 20th their new plans for developing permanent archive scholarly publications. Currently Thieme Publishing Group is one of the leading scientific, medical, and academic publishing companies. The company has worked out an agreement with Portico to ensure that all their publications will be permanently preserved.
All journals and backfiles that are currently available through Thieme eJournals are being archived with the organization. By working in conjunction with Portico, a non-profit electronic archiving service, Thieme emphasizes its commitment to making certain that its scholarly work is both secure and accessible for the future of all libraries, and therefore all scholars, researchers, and students. Both Thieme and Portico hope to ensure all researchers, librarians, and publishers that they recognize the need for a digital archive to protect past, present, and future journals in order to avoid later problems, and they are confident that they have found a permanent solution.
Jamie Stoermer
Posted by colldev at 04:14 PM
November 13, 2008
Exploring Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nice complement to other open access resources such as Google Books and ITunes U. Although Creative Commons is relatively unknown to most faculty, students, and librarians, the University of Michigan has begun a series of workshops to educate librarians and faculty about the availability of these resources and to encourage them to contribute to the site by licensing their own work. Molly Kleinman, a copyright specialist at the University of Michigan, is spearheading this effort. You can read this article and view a podcast interview with her in the November 2008 issue of C&RL News online at http://www.acrl.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/crlnews/2008/nov/November.cfm .
I also invite you to explore the resources available on the Creative Commons website at www.creativecommons.org . You will find film, recordings, photographs, educational content from Open University in the UK, training courses, personal blogs, and content from multiple countries in multiple languages--all with the "some rights reserved" copyright. Creative Commons can be a valuable resource and as it becomes more familiar to librarians, faculty, and students, hopefully more content will be added and discovered.
Peggy Dillard
Posted by colldev at 03:01 PM
November 12, 2008
New Bill Would Forbid Copyright Transfer as a Condition for Federal Funding
The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act (HR 6845) has now been officially introduced. While it awaits passage, the bill would "bar agencies of the federal government from requiring the transfer of copyright, whole or in part, as a condition for receiving public funding." With interested parties from both sides, it is important to watch this short copyright bill and follow its path. Taking this issue from a library point of view, the passing of this bill may inhibit the collection of works for the formation of either an institutional repository or an open access collection.
Basically, this would be a direct contradiction to the NIH public access policy and also to growing open access collections who offer funding. The NIH public access policy requires creators to deposit their final papers in the PubMed Central repository if they accepted taxpayer funds. The NIH policy also requires the creator to give the agency a non-exclusive right to offer free access within the year allowing members of the public to access information that their tax dollar help fund. However, it also is logical to assume that there may be no change in work on OA projects, because while there is a restriction on requiring access, it's not restricting the creator's ability to offer their research in an open access repository (unless other restrictions are made by the holder of the copyright). According to this bill, creators are not required to offer free access within a year (even when their work is publically funded). Martin Frank from the American Physiological Society explained the appeal of the bill (and criticism of the NIH policy) as "The NIH has become a publisher," adding that the NIH is now taking advantage of publishers' value-added efforts of editing and peer-review.
In reference to the hearing, the LibraryJournal.com wrote, "not only was the legislation motivating the hearing barely discussed, the testimony and the questions asked by committee members looked far more to the economic future of science publishing than to public access to taxpayer funded research." There seems to be more of an interest in keeping up the status quo of the publishing industry, and according to NIH director Elias Zerhouni, it is being done at the expense of the public. He explained that the policy is "to maximize the return on investment for the public, which funds the research, and for the scientific community."
--Laura
Posted by colldev at 08:30 PM
New Search Engine - 'DeepDyve'
On November 11th, 2008 DeepDyve announced the launching of a new free search engine. This search engine will provide new search access technology to what has been termed the 'Deep Web' or the 'Invisible Web'. This search engine can be used to access databases, scholarly journals, and other various forms of unstructured information and data sources that are difficult for other traditional, consumer-based search engines to access.
The new engine indexes about five hundred million pages and was previously known as 'Infovell'. Currently DeepDyve contains indexes for life sciences data, patent data, and Wikipedia data. Their next goal is to grow their indexes to more than one billion pages by the end of the year by indexing physical sciences, information technology, and clean technology and energy. Deep Dyve plans to meet these goals by partnering up with publishers in order to gain access to their content.
-Jamie Stoermer
Posted by colldev at 04:33 PM
November 07, 2008
Ireland University Gets Institutional Repository
Dublin City University announced the unveiling of its new institutional repository, DORAS on Tuesday, November 4th.
Dublin City University announced the unveiling of its new institutional repository, DORAS (DCU Online Research Access Service), on Tuesday, November 4th, according to a news release on the DCU website. DORAS is the first step in the HEA's (Higher Education Authority) plan for every university in Ireland to have institutional repositories. The final project will result in a national portal to bring together all university-sponsored scholarly output in the nation.
Since DORAS opened in September, there have been nearly 6,000 full-text downloads. In the month of October alone, DORAS averaged over 80 downloads per day. To locate information in DORAS, one can browse by faculties and centres [sic], subject, author, year, or publication type.
--Amelia Evans
Posted by colldev at 10:11 AM