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A Digital Library of Library and Information Science
Contributed by: The Documentation Research and Training Center (DRTC) (http://drtc.isibang.ac.in) is pleased to announce a digital library for Library and Information Science. The Documentation Research and Training Center, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), is a premier research institute, founded by Prof. S.R. Ranganathan. The DTRC digital repository contains a specialist collection of Library and Information Science resources. The digital library can be accessed at <https://drtc.isibang.ac.in>. (Please note the "s" in https, i.e., the DL uses a secure layer over http.) Our objectives for the DRTC digital library are to:
The DRTC digital library:
The international community of LIS professionals, researchers and academicians are encouraged to submit their pre-prints and author copyright retained material. Membership is open to all library and information professionals (mediated by moderator). Registration to the DL is at <https://drtc.isibang.ac.in/password-login>. Submitting your resources requires authorization from the moderator, who can be contacted at <ard@drtc.isibang.ac.in>. For instant email notification of new additions to the collection, registered members can subscribe to any of the enlisted communities. The DRTC Digital Library is a non-commercial, voluntary effort, not supported by any external funding agency. The only support we look forward to is active world wide participation of the LIS community to help us populate, expand and enrich the collection. The eIFL Project: Sustainable Delivery of Electronic Information to Libraries in Developing Countries
Contributed by: eIFL.net (http://www.eifl.net) is a project and programme focused on the information divide. The project's goal is the sustainable delivery of electronic information to libraries in developing countries and countries in transition. eIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) grew out of an Open Society Institute initiative but was formally constituted as an independent foundation in 2002. eIFL has three main strands in its programme.
The work has just begun in this area of sustainable access to electronic information for the benefit of all. eIFL also then seeks partners and funders to share its goals and develop its programmes. Changes at the Arts and Humanities Data Service
Contributed by: The Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) is currently undergoing several changes. These involve a renaming process, a new shared website and the development of a cross-search catalogue to allow users to locate AHDS collections over different subject areas. The five subject-based Centres of the AHDS are now named as listed below along with their URLs:
AHDS Archaeology - <http://archaeology.ahds.ac.uk> The general URL for the AHDS remains the same as <http://ahds.ac.uk>. The new cross-search catalogue allows users to search across all five of the AHDS Centres� collections. This development will be particularly beneficial to researchers seeking perspectives from a range of disciplines. For instance, a simple search on Shakespeare will point you to text collections from AHDS Literature, Languages, and Linguistics Centre, and to images from AHDS Performing Arts collections, including photographs and data from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust that are held by AHDS History. At this early stage in the development of the cross-search catalogue, your feedback is welcomed via our online feedback form (http://ahds.ac.uk/survey/index.htm). For more information see <http://ahds.ac.uk/changes.htm>, or contact Emma Beer at <emma.beer@ahds.ac.uk>. In the NewsExcerpts from Recent Press Releases and AnnouncementsOACIS for the Middle East Prototype Launched"November 11, 2003 - Yale University Library announced today that it has released for public review, comment, and use a prototype version of its OACIS Middle East Database. This unique collaboration will make scholarly literature from and about the Middle East much more widely and much more easily available to scholars around the world. Project OACIS (Online Access to Consolidated Information on Serials) will create a publicly and freely accessible, continuously updated listing of Middle East journals and serials, including those available in print, microform, and online. The listing, a prototype version of which is now available on the Web at <http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis>, identifies libraries that own the materials as well as exact holdings for a broad range of Middle Eastern and other language titles." "Associate University Librarian Ann Okerson views the project as 'exciting evidence that American and world libraries can band together to provide extraordinary expansion of access to the kind of scholarly research that brings light and understanding to a vital part of the world.'" "OACIS is being supported by a U. S. Department of Education Title VI grant under the "Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access" program as well as significant cost share by the Yale University Library and resource investment by the OACIS partners...." "...The leadership of the project is shared by AUL Ann Okerson as Principal Investigator; Kimberly Parker, Head of Electronic Collections, as Co-PI and Technical Director; Simon Samoeil, Near East Curator, as Project Manager and Director of Networking and Relationships; and the OACIS Technical Administrator, Elizabeth Beaudin. The US libraries partnering on the prototype include: Cornell, University of Michigan, Ohio State, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas, and University of Washington. The principal European partner is the Universitaets-und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt. Future Middle Eastern participants have been identified in Egypt, Jordan, The Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia." For further information please see the full press release at <http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis/pdf/OACISreleasenov03.pdf> UT, EUR and NIWI-KNAW cooperate in the DARE projects P-web en Scripties Online"Amsterdam, November 10, 2003 - Under the auspices of DARE (Digital Academic Repositories), the University of Twente (UT) and the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) have initiated two projects: P-Web and Scripties Online. These projects end at December 2003. For developing and presenting the features of both projects, the universities are working with i-Tor. i-Tor, Tools and technology for Open Repositories, is a web technology developed by the Innovative Technology-Applied section of NIWI-KNAW" "P-web "Scripties Online "i-Tor: Tools and technology for Open Repositories i-Tor is a versatile Open Source software product developed by NIWI-KNAW. It can be used, among other things, as a toolkit for filling repositories and as a means of providing format-independent access to large collections of information. It also provides a way of displaying multiple sources of information in different forms and locations on a PC using a simple web browser....Contact person for i-Tor is: Dr. Henk Harmsen, NIWI-KNAW, Email: <henk.harmsen@niwi.knaw.nl>. For more information, see the i-Tor website: <http://www.i-Tor.org> (i-Tor partners)." For a copy of the full press release with complete details, please contact Elly Dijk at <elly.dijk@niwi.knaw.nl>. OcLC Research releases SRW/SRU open source database interface with support for DSpaceAnnounced by Robert Bolander, OCLC Research, November 10, 2003. "Ralph LeVan's SRW/SRU Open Source database interface is now available; includes support for DSpace's Lucene implementation and OCLC's Pears and Newton databases." "The SRW/U Open Source software implements both the SRW Web Service and the SRU REST model interface to databases. It includes interfaces that support DSpace's Lucene implementation and OCLC's Pears and Newton databases." "More information: For further information please contact Robert Bolander, <bolander@oclc.org>. Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Funds Grant for Union Catalog of Art Images"The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Libraries has received $850,000 in grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support strategic digital media initiatives. The two-year funding will support the cataloging of art images and their deployment in digital form for educational purposes." "...In carrying out the initiatives, the UCSD Libraries will partner with the Fine Arts Library at Harvard University and the Ingalls Library of the Cleveland Museum of Art to create a prototype Union Catalog for Art Images (UCAI). As the core of an expandable catalog, UCAI will bring together approximately 500,000 metadata records describing art works and other images that were created at the three partner institutions in different systems using different standards." "For the prototype database, the aim is to achieve the broadest possible thematic coverage with the minimum degree of overlap. UCSD and its partners will attempt to address the technical issues surrounding the unification and display of diverse record structures and content, to assess both the viability and utility of [the] database...." For further information please see the full grant announcement at <http://gort.ucsd.edu/ucai/grant.html> Historic change in Legal Deposit Law saves electronic publications for future generations"31 October 2003: British Library Press & Public Relations - A Private Members Bill, introduced by Chris Mole MP in December 2002 has passed all its Parliamentary hurdles and became law today when it received Royal Assent. The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 extends previous legal deposit legislation passed nearly 100 years ago in 1911. The Act enshrines the principle that electronic or e-publications and other non-print materials will be deposited in the future under secondary legislation. It ensures that these publications can be saved as part of the published archive - and become an important resource for future generations of researchers and scholars." "The introduction of MP Chris Mole's Bill followed a campaign to bring the law up-to-date with the current world of publishing which was led by the British Library, on behalf of all the legal deposit libraries and in association with Government. The new Act is generic and provides for secondary legislation to be approved by Parliament that will ensure that non-print formats are included within the legal deposit system." "Since 1911 the six legal deposit libraries have been able to collect copies of all printed material published in the UK. However, an increasing volume of important material had begun to be published in electronic and other non-print formats. These fell outside the scope of the 1911 Act and were not therefore being comprehensively collected. A study last year forecast a massive increase in online publications, predicting a near quadrupling (from 52,000 to 193,000) in the number of electronic journal issues published in the UK between 2002 and 2005...." For further information please see the full press release at <http://www.bl.uk/cgi-bin/press.cgi?story=1382> Vintage Photos Tell Comprehensive StoryAnnouncement sent by Ann Lally, University of Washington Libraries, 30 October 2003. "(SEATTLE) After two years of work, twelve Seattle and King County heritage organizations led by the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) and the University of Washington Libraries has launched a new website that provides unparalleled access to 12,000 historical images of people, places and events in King County, Washington. The site, kcsnapshots.org <http://content.lib.washington.edu/imls/kcsnapshots/index.html>, is now available to students, educators, researchers and the general public." "The project seamlessly weaves together photo collections from 12 distinct organizations from across King County into one comprehensive, searchable database. Each group maintains its own digital collection, yet all are virtually combined at kcsnapshots.org <http://www.kcsnapshots.org>. Funding for this project came from the federal government's Institute of Museum and Library Services in the form of a 2001 National Leadership Grant. Software to organize and post the images on the web came from local company DiMeMa, licensed to the University of Washington." "Groups taking part in the project include: Black Heritage Society of Washington State, Inc.; Eastside Heritage Center; Maple Valley Historical Society; Northwest Railway Museum; Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society; Rainier Valley Historical Society; Renton Historical Museum; Shoreline Historical Museum; White River Valley Museum; and Wing Luke Asian Museum." For further information please contact Ann Lally, <alally@u.washington.edu>. IMLS Awards Nearly $10 Million in Grants across Country to Recruit and Educate LibrariansNearly $10 Million Awarded to Recruit and Educate Next Generation of Librarians: Federal Grants to Off-set Critical National Shortage of Librarians due to Retirement "Washington, DC, Tuesday, October 28, 2003�In May 2000, Library Journal magazine reported 40% of America's library directors plan to retire in 9 years or less. And, according to the July 2000 Monthly Labor Review, in 1998 57% of professional librarians were age 45 or older. The March 2002 issue of American Libraries magazine showed that based on 1990 Census data almost 58% of professional librarians will reach the age of 65 between 2005 and 2019." "On January 9, 2002, First Lady Laura Bush announced the President would support a new $10 million initiative within the Institute of Museum and Library Services to recruit new librarians and help off-set a critical national shortage of these indispensable professionals and educators. She said, 'To help recruit a new generation of librarians, this initiative will provide scholarships to graduate students in library and information science, support distance learning technology for training programs in underserved areas, and recruit librarians with diverse language skills. I applaud the Administration's commitment to America's public libraries and I'm proud of the President's support of librarians.'" "..The Institute received 76 grant applications requesting more that $27 million in FY 2003. The 27 grants made today will help recruit 558 individuals (493 students of library science at the master level, 35 at the doctoral level and 30 at the paraprofessional level). The grants will also fund research to establish much needed baseline data to support and evaluate successful recruitment and education programs. For 2004, President Bush has requested $20 million for the Recruiting and Educating Librarians for the 21st Century grant program." "...Anticipating the loss of as many as 58% of the current cohort of professional librarians by 2019, this program is designed to help recruit a new generation of librarians. It recognizes the key role of libraries and librarians in maintaining the flow of information that is critical to support formal education; to guide intellectual, scientific, and commercial enterprise; to strengthen individual decisions; and to create the informed populace that is at the core of democracy. Through these grants, the library profession will have an unprecedented opportunity to shape the future of librarianship and library service." For further information please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/102803.htm> $12 Million for Managing University Information"22 October, 2003 - Australia's research information will become more easily accessible and better managed thanks to more than $12 million in funding to improve infrastructure." "The new information infrastructure will put Australian institutions in an even better position to take part in, and lead, national and international research projects. The funding was announced by the Acting Minister for Education, Science and Training Peter McGauran." "'Information infrastructure supports world-class research in Australia that is complex and continually evolving,' Mr McGauran said. 'It must accommodate emerging technologies and changes in research practices, theory and priorities.'" "'This funding will provide for four new projects as well as international consultation and collaboration. The new projects will be guided and coordinated by the newly established Australian Research Information Infrastructure Committee (ARIIC) headed by Professor Wyatt R Hume, Vice Chancellor of the University of New South Wales.'..." For further information please see the full press release at <http://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/McGauran/2003/10/mcg002221003.asp> Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and HumanitiesThe following three paragraphs are the preface of a Declaration, also known as "The Berlin Declaration", that was issued from the Conference on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The entire Declaration may be seen at <http://www.zim.mpg.de/openaccess-berlin/berlindeclaration.html> 22 October 2003 Preface "The Internet has fundamentally changed the practical and economic realities of distributing scientific knowledge and cultural heritage. For the first time ever, the Internet now offers the chance to constitute a global and interactive representation of human knowledge, including cultural heritage and the guarantee of worldwide access." "We, the undersigned, feel obliged to address the challenges of the Internet as an emerging functional medium for distributing knowledge. Obviously, these developments will be able to significantly modify the nature of scientific publishing as well as the existing system of quality assurance." "In accordance with the spirit of the Declaration of the Budapest Open Acess Initiative, the ECHO Charter and the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing, we have drafted the Berlin Declaration to promote the Internet as a functional instrument for a global scientific knowledge base and human reflection and to specify measures which research policy makers, research institutions, funding agencies, libraries, archives and museums need to consider." Copyright 2003 © Corporation for National Research InitiativesTop |
Contents DOI: 10.1045/november2003-inbrief |