Clips & Pointers

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D-Lib Magazine
November/December 2009

Volume 15 Number 11/12

ISSN 1082-9873

In Brief


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'SciPlore MindMapping' - A Tool for Creating Mind Maps Combined with PDF and Reference Management

Contributed by:
Jöran Beel, Bela Gipp and Christoph Müller
OvGU Magdeburg
FIN/ITI/VLBA
Germany
SciPlore.org
{beel, gipp, mueller}@sciplore.org

Mind maps are useful tools for researchers. They can use mind maps, for example, to manage their literature or to draft research papers. Dozens of tools exist to create mind maps, for instance, FreeMind, MindManager, and XMind. However, researchers need special features such as the possibility of accessing their bibliographic databases (e.g., BibTeX) directly from within the mind mapping software. Therefore, we developed SciPlore MindMapping, the first mind mapping tool solely focusing on researchers' needs. It offers all the features one would expect from a standard mind mapping software, plus three additional features for researchers.

  1. Adding references manually allows users to assign a BibTeX key to a mind map's node. This way, researchers can organize their ideas and references to the originals. To ease the process, the key is automatically completed with data from the user's bibliographic database. In the current version, SciPlore MindMapping supports only bibliographic databases in the BibTeX format (and therefore can only be used directly in combination with reference managers such as JabRef, BibDesk, or Referencer). In upcoming versions, the support of Mendeley, Zotero, and others will be available as well.
  2. References can also be added automatically to a node. Most reference managers allow assigning a file (usually a PDF file) to entries in the bibliographic database. If the same file is linked by a node in the mind map, SciPlore MindMapping automatically assigns the corresponding BibTeX key to the node.
  3. When researchers read an article in PDF format, some create bookmarks for the most important statements in the article. The same information is likely to be needed in a mind map when structuring ideas or drafting a new paper. SciPlore MindMapping offers the option of importing bookmarks from a PDF. Each bookmark is imported as a node into the mind map that links to the PDF. If the PDF is included in the user's bibliographic database, the corresponding BibTeX key is also added.

SciPlore MindMapping is based on the mind mapping tool FreeMind. It is written in Java and offered as open source under the GNU license on <http://www.sciplore.org>. (software section).


The Practice and Perception of Web Archiving in Academic Libraries and Archives

Contributed by:
Lisa Gregory
MSLS '09
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
<lisa.gregory@alumni.unc.edu>

When looking at the history of production of information, archiving Web sites and other born-digital objects seem especially relevant for universities and colleges, which not only produce abundant original research, but have also served as centrally located repositories for regional and disciplinary resources. In February of 2009, as part of a research project, I distributed a Web-based survey to archivists and librarians to try to get a better picture of the following:

  • What types of born-digital objects they are collecting (if any),
  • Whether or not their institutions are considering archiving Web sites,
  • How these professionals feel about archiving Web sites, and
  • The sources they consult for information about Web site archiving.

The survey was completed by 239 librarians or archivists at colleges or universities in the United States. At the time of the survey, 50% of respondents stated they believed that their institutions were archiving born-digital objects. As might be expected with objects that have transitioned from paper to electronic format, the focus of these efforts was .pdf, .doc/.docx, or image files (.gif, .jpg, .tif).

For Web sites in particular, the majority of respondents (65%) either did not know whether or not their institutions were planning to archive Web sites, or knew that their institutions had not done any planning to archive Web sites. Only 6% responded that their institutions had implemented routine Web archiving procedures. Other questions sought to discover how archived Web sites at these institutions were being made available to users.

When it comes to librarians' and archivists' opinions about the need to archive Web sites, the most cited reason in favor of doing so was "to document history" (85%). Only 8 respondents (3%) stated that they did not believe Web sites need to be archived. Although many expressed the opinion that this activity should take place, there are still issues (common to many projects) that discourage moving forward. Among these, archivists and librarians most often chose cost, lack of administrative support, lack of support for technology, lack of storage space for archived sites, and lack of trained personnel.

Finally, those responding to this survey pointed to journal articles; individual Web archive Web sites; staff at other institutions; seminars or Webinars; and staff at the respondent's institution as their top sources for information about archiving Web sites. Much less likely sources include magazine articles and more tailored sources, such as the International Web Archiving Workshop (IWAW) or the International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC).

More detailed information about this survey can be found at http://ils.unc.edu/MSpapers/3480.pdf. It is hoped that the results of this study give practitioners and other interested professionals a general, interpretable picture of the Web archiving efforts in which colleges and universities within the United States are currently engaged, and how archivists and librarians are gathering intelligence regarding archiving Web sites. Filling in some of the unknowns may help develop more effective outreach to and training of those in the profession who need reliable resources on this emerging archival responsibility, and may diminish the perceived obstacles that many see blocking the way to preservation of born-digital objects in general, and archiving Web sites in particular.


Pennsylvania Literary Journal: Google Websites as an Easy Publication Route

Contributed by:
Anna Faktorovich
Ph.D. Candidate at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA, USA
<annafaktor@yahoo.com>

The Pennsylvania Literary Journal (http://sites.google.com/site/pennsylvaniajournal/) is a journal for academics and independent scholars. The first issue was published this summer, and was titled, "Experiments." The second issue, "Politics and Literature" will be published this winter. The Pennsylvania Literary Journal is available through EBSCO and is listed on the MLA Periodicals Directory. A table was reserved for me (as Editor) at the English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities Conference in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, October 23 - 24. This shows how even a small free online journal can obtain some recognition. Hopefully, other independent publishers can follow the Journal's strategy.

The journal website is a free space provided by Google Sites. It is easy to attach scans and Word documents there, so most formats that an academic manages can easily be uploaded. In addition, one can start a string of several websites, if they reach the space limit of 100MB, after uploading over 300 scans, as I did with a slightly related website "Abolitionist Women Writers" archive (http://sites.google.com/site/abolitionistwomen). The sites are still in the Beta version, so there are no advertisements and no cost. These sites were launched in 2008, and they have already been featured in at least one web development textbook and in several critical articles. According to Wikipedia, this branch of the Google business was acquired with a purchase of JotSpot in 2006. You can insert YouTube videos, a Google Calendar and Maps, among other "gadgets".

One of the main limitations, however, is that a user has to use Google's standard themes. On the other hand, this is also freeing, as it helps a web developer to avoid spending days twitching a theme in Dreamweaver or a similar program, and instead focus on transcribing, scanning, editing and otherwise manipulating the content.

The Pennsylvania Literary Journal is currently accepting submissions for next year's issue. Solicited content includes critical essays, book reviews and poems. Submissions can be emailed to <pennsylvaniajournal@gmail.com>.


In the News

Excerpts from Recent Press Releases and Announcements

Coalition of Humanities and Arts Infrastructures and Networks - CHAIN

November 11, 2009 announcement from Lydia Horstman, Kings College London - "A meeting was held at King's College, London, on 26th and 27th October 2009, between representatives of the following networks, infrastructure projects, and planning initiatives working with digital technologies in the Arts and Humanities..."

"We identified the current fragmented environment where researchers operate in separate areas with often mutually incompatible technologies as a barrier to fully exploiting the transformative role that these technologies can potentially play. We resolved that our present, proposed, and future activities are interdependent and complementary and should be oriented towards working together to overcome barriers, and to create a shared environment where technology services can interoperate and be sustained, thus enabling new forms of research in the Humanities."

"In order to achieve these goals we agreed to form the Coalition of Humanities and Arts Infrastructures and Networks – CHAIN. CHAIN will act as a forum for areas of shared interest to its participants"

For more information, please see the blog entry at <http://www.arts-humanities.net/blog/torsten_reimer/
coalition_humanities_arts_infrastructures_networks_chain
>.


Nobel Prize-winning scientists urge U.S. Congress to act to ensure free online access to federally funded research results

November 10, 2009 - "'For America to obtain an optimal return on our investment in science, publicly funded research must be shared as broadly as possible,' is the message that forty one Nobel Prize- winning scientists in medicine, physics, and chemistry gave to Congress in an open letter delivered yesterday."

"The letter marks the fourth time in five years that leading scientists have called on Congress to ensure free, timely access to the results of federally funded research – this time asking leaders to support the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009 (S.1373)."

"The bi-partisan Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA), introduced by Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Cornyn (R-TX), would deliver online public access to the published results of research funded through eleven U.S. agencies and departments, requiring that peer-reviewed journal articles stemming from publicly funded research be made available in an online repository no later than six months after publication."

For more information, please see the full press release at
<http://www.openaccess.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=155%
3Anobel-prize-winning-scientists-urge-congress-to-act-to-ensure-free-online-
access-to-federally-funded-research-results&catid=1%3Anews-archive&Itemid=1
>.


CrossRef Renews Relationship with Atypon for the Development of a New Query System

November 9, 2009 - "Atypon Systems, Inc. and CrossRef today announced that CrossRef has selected Atypon to develop and support a new query system for its reference linking service, continuing a relationship that began eight years ago."

"CrossRef's query system allows publishers, libraries, and affiliates such as abstracting and indexing organizations to submit metadata representing scholarly content and retrieve CrossRef Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to be used for building persistent links to important scholarly content."

"Building on the experiences of the last ten years, the new query system will employ a more scalable architecture to increase capacity and to ensure effective query response times as demand increases. Both organizations will own the intellectual property of the system, and Atypon will provide ongoing development and support."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=
0012Q4V8GYbFiRpLmh0LLhPsQBP9BAXVvpZbWKoyYW90wyZa4LbvMNIOzh7bxZPytQi_JqW5eBumXXUN
qmNLH3rsMcc3fcnOZWpGtOEs_H8hqHkNBiIWgbZER1ByPDNBoLDVqI4mK-
DH5TfStX1YeAttKdl1n_iGfy3XEL0jAgHUOgZvs9a_0Ns5gCHbKfBfbojw55_cQGVH7uOZIhLZYt1X3a
hYOmWlWI__FXI7I5ns9MR9W0dUu5ZejhVqlYzwGwqzlTi79Alg-fN-
Nlj3cGipD_iOTHmBIYNRt9XC8gnHlGxY-eYezqIeQ%3D%3D
>.


NISO Announces 2010 Educational Program Schedule, Discount Program

November 3, 2009 - "Continuing on the success of its 2009 educational programs, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announces its 2010 education schedule. NISO will be hosting 16 events throughout the coming year: 13 webinars and three in-person events focusing on a range of technology- and standards-related topics affecting the library and publishing communities. Among the important topics that will be addressed are: assessment, interoperability, preservation, identification, RFID, metadata, and accessibility."

"NISO's web seminars are held on the second Wednesday of each month, except July. There are two 2-part seminars planned for March and September, which will take place on consecutive Wednesdays. All webinars run from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the registration fee per site (defined as access by one computer with an unlimited number of viewers) is $89 for NISO members and $109 for non-members."

"NISO is also pleased to announce a discount program for organizations interested in having staff participate in multiple events. The entire 13-part series of webinars can be purchased for the price of six events. There is also a 'buy 4 and get 2 free' discount. This is an excellent opportunity for professional development without the expense of travel."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.niso.org/news/pr/view?item_key=0aa306f67e2b3d6829615292f8f418992d81d09c>.


Utah State University Press Merges With Merrill-Cazier Library

From an article by Patrick Williams, Utah State Today Online News

November 2, 2009 - "Joining a growing national trend, Utah State University Press will merge with the administrative structure of Merrill-Cazier Library at Utah State University. The transition has begun, with the arrangement officially taking effect at the start of fiscal year 2010-11."

"The merger of a scholarly press with a university library has been used at other institutions to innovatively address a number of trends in scholarly publication...Digital publishing, for example, will play an important part in the future of scholarly publication, and university libraries and presses are both deeply interested in its potential for transforming the way research is distributed."

For more information, please see the article at <http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=40291>.


Publishing Technology Pioneer Michael Healy Named Pace's First David J. Pecker Visiting Professor

October 29, 2009 - "Michael Healy, who was recently announced as the first Executive Director of the Book Rights Registry, set up as a result of the Google Books Settlement, is involved in yet another "start-up" this year – as the inaugural David J. Pecker Visiting Professor for Pace University's Masters in Science in Publishing Program. Healy has long been at the forefront of publishing technology...."

"...As the David J. Pecker Visiting Professor, Healy will give two annual lectures, mentor students and participate in some corporate training sessions. He brings to the Pace classroom 25 years experience in the book industry. For much of his career, he has been involved in the development and management of standards for the book industry and its supply chain, with particular focus on standards for product identification, metadata and electronic commerce...."

"...In May 2009, Healy was named as the first executive director of the Book Rights Registry, a non-profit organization to be set up as a result of the Google Books Settlement. In this role, he will represent the interests of rightsholders whose works are covered by the Settlement, locate rightsholders to enable their participation in the Settlement's benefits, and administer payments due to them from Google and, in the future, other parties. He will also oversee the database organization for all the works digitized as part of the Program (which currently includes more than 7 million books."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=14128&frame=/news/read.cfm?id=840>.


University of North Texas Libraries receives grant to investigate collection needs for material archived from government web sites

October 29, 2009 - "When President Barack Obama took office in January, the contents of many of the 3,200 government agencies' web sites changed almost overnight."

"However, the University of North Texas Libraries had collaborated with four partner organizations to preserve much of the information contained on the web sites in the 2008-09 End-of-Term Web Archive project. As a result, an approximately 20 terabyte Web archive of government information was created. The archive is replicated on the UNT Libraries' CyberCemetery and on the other organizations' web repositories."

"The UNT Libraries, which is affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, has now received a two-year, $631,720 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to investigate collection development needs related to government information. UNT's partner in the project is the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that was founded to build an Internet library offering access to historical collections that exist in digital format."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://web3.unt.edu/news/story.cfm?story=11639>.


Publishing Technology Pioneer Michael Healy Named Pace's First David J. Pecker Visiting Professor

October 29, 2009 - "Michael Healy, who was recently announced as the first Executive Director of the Book Rights Registry, set up as a result of the Google Books Settlement, is involved in yet another "start-up" this year – as the inaugural David J. Pecker Visiting Professor for Pace University's Masters in Science in Publishing Program. Healy has long been at the forefront of publishing technology."

"...In May 2009, Healy was named as the first executive director of the Book Rights Registry, a non-profit organization to be set up as a result of the Google Books Settlement. In this role, he will represent the interests of rightsholders whose works are covered by the Settlement, locate rightsholders to enable their participation in the Settlement's benefits, and administer payments due to them from Google and, in the future, other parties. He will also oversee the database organization for all the works digitized as part of the Program (which currently includes more than 7 million books)...."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=14128&frame=news/read.cfm?id=840>.


2010 National Leadership Grant Guidelines Now Available

Deadline for applications: February 1, 2010

October 28, 2009 - "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting grant applications for the agency's 2010 National Leadership Grant (NLG) program. Applications, guidelines, and examples of successful proposals can be found on the agency's Web site. The deadline for submitting applications is February 1, 2010."

"For the past 12 years, the National Leadership Grants program has been the capstone program for IMLS, providing the agency's highest level of support for innovative projects that provide important research, tools, and models for library and museum programs across the country. Museums and libraries interested in submitting NLG proposals to IMLS can apply for one of two types of grants: Projects or Collaborative Planning Grants. Each of these types applies to the four funding categories: Advancing Digital Resources, Library-Museum Collaboration, Research, and Demonstration."

"The Institute has scheduled three conference calls to give prospective applicants an opportunity to ask IMLS staff questions pertaining to National Leadership Grants."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/102809b.shtm>.


Mellon Foundation Grant to Aid in Validating Digital Collections

October 26, 2009 - "A $49,000 grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation will help find and test new procedures for validating the quality and usefulness of digital objects in the HathiTrust shared digital repository, according to principal investigator Paul Conway, Associate Professor in the University of Michigan's School of Information."

"The HathiTrust is a large-scale digital preservation repository, launched at the University of Michigan in 2008 and conceived as a way for universities to preserve and share their digitized collections. Current membership is comprised of 25 leading university research libraries. The repository already has over 4.4 million digitized volumes, with millions more in the pipeline. The grant-funded project will document the technical characteristics of HathiTrust content and establish stakeholder consensus on the multiple uses to which these digital volumes may be put, including on-demand printing, online browsing and reading."

"The long-term goal of this testbed effort is to develop criteria and methods to brand the trustworthiness of volumes in the HathiTrust and other digital collections."

For more information on the validation project, contact Paul Conway at <pconway@umich.edu>.


Calls for New Nominations for Memory of the World International Register

October 22, 2009 - "UNESCO is inviting new nomination proposals for inscription on its Memory of the World International Register, a list of library collections and archive holdings of world significance, which was established in 1997 to promote documentary heritage of universal value."

"Nominations should ideally be submitted through the National Commission for UNESCO or the Memory of the World National Committee in the country where it is located. Proposals should be based on the selection criteria listed in the General Guidelines to Safeguard Documentary Heritage, which stipulates that the most important criterion for inscription on the register is the universal significance of the documentary heritage. The deadline for the submission of nominations is 31 March 2010 and no late submissions will be accepted...."

"...UNESCO launched the Memory of the World Programme to guard against collective amnesia calling upon the preservation of the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world ensuring their wide dissemination. The Programme is intended to protect documentary heritage, and helps networks of experts to exchange information and raise resources for preservation of and access to documentary material."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29240&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>.


Confederation of Open Access Repositories launched

October 21, 2009 - "On October 21 2009, The National Library of the Netherlands (KB), Delft University and SURF became founding members of the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR). COAR is an international association of organizations that have a common strategic interest in Open Access to scholarly communication."

"COAR was formed out of a need to work together at the international level to promote greater visibility and application of research outputs through global networks of Open Access digital repositories."

"COAR evolved out of a European project called the Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research (DRIVER) in consultation with the international repository community. The Confederation aims to support the expansion of Open Access through developing international, interoperable standards; advocating for Open Access policies with research funders and institutions; and working to improve deposit rates at repositories. Other founding members are from Europe, Asia, and the United States. 'The collections contained in Open Access repositories gain tremendous value when they are part of a larger, interconnected network,' said Norbert Lossau, Scientific Coordinator of the DRIVER Project and chair of COAR."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.openaccess.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=
154%3Aconfederation-of-open-access-repositories-launched&catid=1%3Anews-
archive&Itemid=1
>.


West Virginia University Libraries celebrates International Open-Access Week: School of Medicine's Dr. Piedimonte widens research audience

October 20, 2009 - "In the age of tweets, blogs, YouTube videos, and Facebook postings, people strive to share information with as many as possible and as fast as possible. The academic world is slowly waking up to this new paradigm through publications in open-access journals."

"In honor of International Open-Access Week Oct. 19-23, West Virginia University Libraries recognizes School of Medicine's Dr. Giovanni Piedimonte and his team, who recently made discoveries about how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) affects infants. They chose to publish their work in PLoS (Public Library of Science) ONE, an open-access journal. That choice made their findings available to anyone with access to the Internet at <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006444>."

"For Piedimonte, in just six weeks, people viewed his research about 630 times and more than 90 people downloaded it. 'The visibility and impact you can achieve by publishing in a good open-access journal like PLoS is far superior to other journals of the same type,' Piedimonte said."

"WVU and the WVU Libraries have actively advocated for open-access publishing. WVU Libraries, the Office of Information Technology, and the Office of Academic Affairs and Research collaborated to establish an institutional repository containing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs), Electronic undergraduate Honors Theses (EHTs) and the Electronic Scholarly Research Archives (ESRA), a faculty research portal."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2009/10/20/wvu-libraries-celebrates-international-open-access
-week-school-of-medicine-s-dr-piedimonte-widens-research-audience
>.


Erasmus Prize for Europeana

October 20, 2009 announcement from Jonathan Purdy, Senior Communications Advisor, Europeana: "At the Erasmus EuroMedia Awards 2009 <http://www.univie.ac.at/esec/php/wordpress/?page_id=5> ceremony at the City Hall in Vienna, Europeana.eu has been awarded the Erasmus Award for Networking Europe <http://www.univie.ac.at/esec/php/wordpress/?p=459#more-459>."

"There were some 230 applications, resulting in 62 nominations, from which the jury selected 3 Erasmus awards. The award is given by the European Society for Education and Communication, and selected by an international jury <http://www.univie.ac.at/esec/php/wordpress/?page_id=40> from the world of learning and research."

For more information, please contact Jonathan Purdy at <jonathan.purday@bl.uk>.


New Open Access website encourages exchange of research data

October 20, 2009 - "SURF, the higher education and research partnership for network services and ICT in the Netherlands, is launching the website <http://www.openaccess.nl/> . The website has been developed on behalf of the whole higher education sector and links up with international Open Access week (19 to 23 October)."

"The Open Access website provides structured information about Open Access to research results and the advantages that Open Access has. Practical examples are used to illustrate the possibilities opened up by the Internet for innovations in scholarly communication. The website provides researchers with information about how Open Access can give their work a larger potential audience. Openaccess.nl shows the options that each discipline has for making research results openly accessible."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.openaccess.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=
article&id=147%3Anew-open-access-website-encourages-exchange-of-research-data&
catid=1%3Anews-archive&Itemid=1
>.


New Look, Enhanced Services for eScholarship: UC's open access digital publishing service launches new site October 19

October 19, 2009 - "eScholarship (http://www.escholarship.org/) launched a redesigned website October 19, with a substantial array of digital publishing services for the University of California scholarly community and a dynamic research platform for scholars worldwide."

"Previously known as UC's eScholarship Repository, the new eScholarship offers a robust scholarly publishing platform that enables departments, research units, publishing programs, and individual scholars associated with the University of California to have direct control over the creation and dissemination of the full range of their scholarship."

"eScholarship's relaunch coincided with the first international Open Access Week (October 19 - 23), an event that marked the growing trend toward providing unfettered access to academic research and publications throughout the world."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/22047>.


New Professional Network Links Chinese Brightest Minds to their Western Peers

October 13, 2009 - "With a goal of reducing the barriers separating Chinese researchers from their counterparts in the United States and Europe, Anianet, Inc., today officially announces the launch of the Anianet professional network (http://www.anianet.com). Tens of thousands of Chinese scientists, professors, and other scholarly professionals are currently conducting vital, groundbreaking work. Anianet integrates these Chinese intellectuals into the international community by providing a platform to create free English-language profiles detailing their professional accomplishments in a format that is optimized for a western audience, as well as by providing vital information detailing western grants, research partnerships, jobs, fellowships, meetings, publications, and other opportunities. In short, Anianet provides Chinese researchers with a 'western base of operations' for the first time."

"One of the most substantial problems within the research community today is the divide separating Chinese and western scholars. While the number of Chinese scholars is exploding both in absolute terms and as a percentage of authors in high-impact scientific journals, Chinese researchers find it difficult to make their interests and expertise known to western colleagues. More than 80% are not very satisfied with the visibility of their research and writing among their European and American colleagues. An equal number would like to be more knowledgeable about western research trends and opportunities. Anianet provides a bridge to this burgeoning market."

"Anianet launched in preview mode late this summer, and already thousands of Chinese scholars – in fields ranging from architectural design to zoology – have created Anianet profiles."

"In addition to highlighting professional interests and achievements in an encapsulated format designed to appeal to western editors, reviewers, and funding agencies, members use Anianet as a means to better connect with the goings-on in their field. What conferences are upcoming? What breakthroughs have just been published in a journal or reported in the mainstream media? What visiting fellowships and grant opportunities have recently been announced? Anianet collects this information from a variety of sources and makes it available to members automatically on their profile pages. Members are notified only of that information that is relevant to them – microbiologists get microbiology information, political theorists get political theory information, and so forth. These information feeds help Chinese researchers understand and keep track of global developments and opportunities in their field."

For more information, please contact Anianet founder and CEO Greg Tananbaum. at <greg@anianet.com>.


Nature Communications now accepting submissions

October 13 2009 - "Nature Communications invites submissions of original research papers in all areas of the natural sciences. This multidisciplinary, online-only journal from Nature Publishing Group (NPG) will publish its first articles in April 2010. The journal website is now live at http://www.nature.com/naturecommunications."

"Nature Communications publishes high quality original research in one format, Articles, which may range in length from short communications through to more in-depth studies. All papers will be peer-reviewed to the standards associated with a Nature title, but papers published in Nature Communications are unlikely to have the scientific reach and public interest associated with papers in Nature and the Nature research journals...."

"...Nature Communications authors can opt to make their published Article open access, through payment of an article processing charge (APC) of GBP 3,035/USD 5,000/ EURO 3,570/ YEN 637,350. Peer reviewers will be blind to the author's choice, which is not confirmed until acceptance. A 20% discount on the APC is available for papers accepted before April 2010."

"Regardless of which option authors choose, publication in Nature Communications will enable authors to comply with funder mandates for public access. Open-access Articles will be published under non-commercial Creative Commons licenses. Other Articles will be subject to access control and published under NPG's standard License to Publish, which encourages self-archiving of the author version for public access six months from publication. Nature Communications will offer NPG's Manuscript Deposition Service."

For more information, please contact Grace Baynes, Nature Publishing Group, <g.baynes@nature.com>.


Columbia and Cornell Libraries Announce New Partnership

Mellon Grant Supports Joint Venture

October 12, 2009 - "The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $385,000 to the libraries at Columbia University in New York City and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., to support the development of an innovative partnership dubbed '2CUL.' This new relationship has the potential to become the most expansive collaboration to date between major research libraries."

"Starting this fall, Cornell and Columbia will plan significant partnerships in collaborative collection development, acquisitions and processing. The two universities will form a separate service entity to facilitate the collaboration. Ithaka, a not-for-profit organization that assists research libraries and the academic community to leverage advancing information technologies, will provide project management and assist in the planning. Initial work will focus on several global collecting areas, as well as collaborative funding and support of technical infrastructure in various areas."

"...'2CUL represents a new, radical form of collaboration that pairs two leading research libraries in a voluntary, equal partnership,' said James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University. 'Columbia University Libraries and Cornell University Library are committed to developing an enduring and transformative partnership that will enable us to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness and to address new challenges through combined forces.'"

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/news/libraries/2009/2009-10-12.2cul.html>.


HATHI Trust Partnership Provides New Digital Access Options for University of Michigan Press Titles

October 9, 2009 announcement from the University of Michigan: "The University of Michigan Press (UMP) is joining with HathiTrust Digital Library to open electronic content for free online access. UMP plans to have 1000 or more titles available for full viewing by year's end. The list of the free-view Press titles in HathiTrust is growing daily, and can be found at <http://www.press.umich.edu/digital/hathi/>.

" <http://www.hathitrust.org>) is a digital preservation repository and research management tool for the world's great research libraries, focused on providing scholars in the digital age with the largest collection of electronic research material this side of Google Book Search and large-scale, full-text searching and archiving tools to manage it."

"The HathiTrust partnership adds to the wide array of UMP digital access options and increases the range and means of expression of published ideas and authors, taking advantage of the close coordination between the Press and existing U-M Library digitization efforts and avenues. Together with the next generation of ebook readers and iPhones, Michigan's new print-on-demand model-the ability to turn electronic material into high-quality bound volumes quickly and in small batches, depending on demand-means that worldwide dissemination of material to customers and libraries has become more efficient and accessible than ever, and new, broader view options help ensure that such material is found."

For more information, please contact Liene Karels <lkarels@umich.edu>.


IDEALS Digital Repository Surpasses 1-millionth Download

October 7, 2009 - "The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS), a digital repository for research and scholarship developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has surpassed its one-millionth download."

"The service, offered through the University Library and Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services (CITES), is sponsored by the Office of the Provost at Illinois and was launched in 2006. The campus institutional repository includes articles, working papers, preprints, technical reports, conference papers and, data sets in various digital formats provided by University faculty, staff, and graduate students. Although central to the University of Illinois, anyone can access and benefit from IDEALS collections and services."

"The mission of IDEALS is to preserve and provide persistent and reliable access to digital research and scholarship in order to give these works the greatest possible recognition and distribution. IDEALS endeavors to ensure that its materials appear in search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, and Bing and that the majority of the research is openly available for anyone to access. As a result of its efforts to disseminate research produced at the University of Illinois, IDEALS was recently ranked in the top 10 of institutional repositories worldwide."

For more information, please contact Heather Murphy, Assistant Director of Advancement for Publications and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library at <hmurphy@illinois.edu>.


IMLS Names University of Denver and the Denver Art Museum As Host of 2010/2011 WebWise Conferences

October 7, 2009 - "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has selected the University of Denver and the Denver Art Museum to plan and co-host the 2010 and 2011 WebWise Conferences on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World. The next WebWise conference will take place in Denver, March 3-5, 2010, and will focus on the theme Imagining the Digital Future. Online registration for all events will be available through the IMLS Web site in early December."

"Each year, the WebWise Conference brings together approximately 350 representatives of museums, libraries, archives, information and systems science, and other fields interested in the future of high-quality online content for inquiry and education. In 2010, the conference will focus on the future of collaborative digitization programs, the use of new technologies to more deeply engage audiences, and the training of a 21st century cultural heritage information workforce. It will highlight digital projects and programs in libraries, museums, and cultural heritage organizations funded through IMLS's National Leadership Grants. In addition to the conference, the University of Denver's Penrose Library and School of Library and Information Science will launch an oral history program called 'Digital Pioneers,' based on interviews with leading figures who have taken part in the creation of digital library and museum activities."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/100709.shtm>.


SLA Announces 2010 Board of Directors Election Results

October 2, 2009 - "The Special Libraries Association (SLA) announced the results of its Board of Directors election today. When the polls closed on 1 October, 2802 SLA members had cast their ballots and participated in the election. The results have been finalized and the winners are as follows:"

  • 2010 SLA President- Elect (three-year term on board): Cindy Romaine, Romainiacs Intelligence Services, Beaverton, Oregon
  • 2010 Treasurer (three-year term on board): Dan Trefethen, Boeing, Seattle, Washington
  • 2010 Division Cabinet Chair-Elect (three-year term on board): Mary Ellen Bates, Bates Information Services, Inc., Niwot, Colorado
  • 2010 Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect (three-year term on board): Liz Blankson-Hemans, Dialog, London

"Romaine and the other newly-elected board members will begin their terms on the SLA Board of Directors on January 1, 2010, and participate in their first board meeting during the association's Annual Leadership Summit later that month in St. Louis. To learn more about the elected board members please visit here: <http://www.sla.org/bodelection>."

For more information, please see the full press release at <http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/pressroom/pressrelease/09pr/pr2920.cfm>.


New University of Pittsburgh Web Site Tells the Story of Early Pittsburgh Through the Lens of the Jewish Community

Collaboration between Pitt's Library System and National Council of Jewish Women is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind

September 25, 2009 - "The University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) and Pittsburgh section of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) are announcing the launch of the NCJW's online oral history project-'Pittsburgh and Beyond: The Experience of the Jewish Community.'"

"The Web site, http://digital.library.pitt.edu/n/ncjw, allows users to listen online to more than 500 audio interviews of members of the local Jewish community compiled by a small group of volunteers over a 32-year period. The site also includes detailed abstracts of each interview...."

"...The collection, held by the ULS Archives Service Center, has now been digitized and mounted online for broad dissemination. Visitors to the site can search for the name of an interviewee or retrieve an abstract of the interview by using keywords. The collection can also be browsed by personal name, geographic region, or subject."

For more information, please see <http://www.news.pitt.edu/m/FMPro?-db=ma&-lay=a&-format=d.html&id=3833&-Find>.


More Than $1.7 Million Awarded to Support Training and Development for Museum Professionals

September 24, 2009 - "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced today the seven recipients of $1,780,000 in 21st Century Museum Professionals (21 MP) grants. With their grants, these awardees will implement projects to strengthen leadership, management, interpretation, and other important skills for thousands of museum professionals nationwide."

"Many of this year's 21MP projects will have long-lasting impacts."

"The next deadline for the 21st Century Museum Professionals program is March 15, 2010. Click here for more information."

For more information about this year's awards, please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/092409.shtm>.


IMLS Awards National Leadership Grants to 51 Institutions

September 24, 2009 - "The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal funds for the nation's museums and libraries, announces the 51 institutions receiving National Leadership Grants (NLG) totaling $17,894,475. Projects by these institutions will advance the ability of museums and libraries to preserve culture, heritage, and knowledge while enhancing learning."

"NLG recipients will generate new tools, research, models, services, practices, and alliances that will positively impact the awarded institution and the nation."

"The next deadline for the National Leadership Grants program is February 1, 2010. Click here for more information."

For more information about this year's awards, please see the full press release at <http://www.imls.gov/news/2009/092409b.shtm>.


Copyright 2009 © Corporation for National Research Initiatives

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doi:10.1045/november2009-inbrief