Michael Furlough has been appointed the assistant dean for scholarly communications and co-director of the Office of Digital Scholarly Publishing at Pennsylvania State University Libraries, University Park. He was director of digital research and instructional services at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, where he oversaw support programs for digital scholarship, including the Electronic Text Center, Geospatial and Statistical Data Center, Rare Materials Digital Services, and the Scholars' Lab.
Steven Hinckley professor of law, is the new associate dean for library and information services and director of the law library at Penn State's Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle. He recently joined Penn State from the University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, where he was the associate dean for library and information technology and professor of law.
University of Virginia Joins Google Book Search
The University of Virginia (UVa) and Google Wednesday announced that UVa is the ninth partner in the Google Books Library Project. Under the agreement, Google will digitize "selected portions" of the UVa Library's collections, just as it has agreed to do with other public universities, like the University of Michigan. Diane Walker, deputy university librarian, told the LJ Academic Newswire that Google's scanning will begin with public domain materials, but will eventually grow to include selected materials still under copyright. As for the university's special collections, "that is something we hope to do down the road," Walker said, but she noted the scanning would begin with the book collection.
Walker said that the university was "comfortable" with Google's argument that its scanning for indexing purposes is covered by fair use. In a news release, UVa officials said the program was designed to comply with copyright law and stressed that authors or presses can opt out of the scanning if they wish. As usual under the Google plan, UVa's public domain books will be freely viewable while only "snippets" of in-copyright books will be available. The UVa Library should be fertile ground for Google: with more than five million volumes, 17 million manuscripts, rare books, and archives, the highly regarded library has particular strengths in literature and American history.
The program will also be a boost for UVa, one of the nation's long-acknowledged leaders in digital initiatives, including the successful e-text center, which has made thousands of public domain books available online. Walker said the agreement with Google will allow UVa to more quickly realize its digital ambitions. "We started the e-text center in 1992 and found we could create tens of thousands of digital editions," Walker said, "but not hundreds of thousands."
Harnad: PRC Open Access Study Flawed
Open Access pioneer Stevan Harnad this week took aim at a recently released study by the Publishing Research Coalition, saying its methodology is fundamentally flawed and that its main conclusion, that librarians will cancel journals and substitute OA materials, remains unproven. In a critique posted to the departmental repository of his home institution, the University of Southampton (UK), Harnad posits that the survey, which asked librarians which of three hypothetical products they preferred (with a variety of combinations and properties), "has a glaring methodological flaw" because it does not properly address open access through self-archiving. "The questions on which [the survey] is based were about relative preferences for acquisition among competing 'products' having different combinations of properties," Harnad explained. "But self-archived articles are not products purchased by acquisitions librarians, they are papers given away by researchers, anarchically, and in parallel. Hence from the survey's 'Share of Preference model' it is impossible to draw any conclusions about self-archiving causing cancellations by librarians, because the librarians were never asked what they would cancel, under what conditions; just what hypothetical products they would prefer over what."
The study also concluded that, when possible, librarians will prefer free or low-cost resources, a conclusion that also failed to impress Harnad. "Of course [librarians] would prefer lower-priced, immediate products over higher-priced, delayed products!" Harnad wrote. But the "banal fact that everyone would rather have something for free rather than paying for it" he noted, does not "fill the gaping evidential gap about the existence, size, or timing of any hypothetical effect of self-archiving on cancellations." Nevertheless, Harnad agrees that, in a potential future where all researchers self-archive, journal subscriptions would feel the pinch: "It is important to state clearly that, although there is still no evidence at all of self-archiving causing cancellations, it is possible, indeed probable, that self-archiving will cause some cancellations, eventually."
The question of whether or how actively librarians would cancel journals, however, is not apparently a major concern for Harnad. "Even if valid evidence should eventually emerge that OA self-archiving does cause journal cancellations," he wrote, "it would be for the publishing community to adapt to that new reality, not for the research community to abstain from it, and its obvious benefits to research, researchers, their institutions, their funders, and the tax-paying public."
Cornell's Sarah Thomas Named Director of Oxford University's Libraries
Call it an offer she couldn't refuse. Sarah Thomas, Cornell University Librarian since 1996, announced this week that she is leaving her post to become Bodley's Librarian and Director of University Library Services at Oxford University. Her appointment begins in February of 2007. Reached in Spain, where she is speaking at a conference, Thomas told the LJ Academic Newswire that "I don't leave Cornell and Ithaca lightly. At the same time, when I was approached about the Oxford opportunity, my heart leapt at the challenges." Thomas will be responsible for "integrating key libraries into a cohesive whole, advancing the development of digital library programs, and overseeing renovation and construction of almost $250 million in facilities." In an announcement to the Cornell community, Provost Biddy Martin said it was "an honor" for Thomas to have been recruited to Oxford and, while a great loss, "a matter of pride" for Cornell.
Thomas joined Cornell in August 1996 from the Library of Congress, where she held positions overseeing the library's public services, special collections, and cataloging directorate. During her tenure, the library has continued to build its rare and special collections, embraced the digital age, and developed a suite of online services and online journals and other electronic media, including Project Euclid, a Mellon Foundation-funded initiative to support online math and statistics journals. Martin said a search committee would be announced shortly to recruit a successor and an interim director would be appointed. Thomas will step down at the end of January. In an email to staff, she praised their efforts, and noted that she retains an ongoing connection to the university, her son Carter Hirtle Cornell '09, "a permanent link to go along with my enduring memories."
NCLIS: No on DOPA, Yes on Net Neutrality
With Congress prepared to go back into session, the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) has issued statements criticizing the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) and supporting the concept of "net neutrality." NCLIS chair Beth Fitzsimmons expressed concern that DOPA would prevent schools and libraries from getting E-rate telecommunications discounts upon which they depend. As for "net neutrality," NCLIS pointed out that "Content created by organizations with limited funding for such costs…would be greatly restricted in having their materials available in the early stages of a search." NCLIS believes that Congress should take action to assure the tiered access is prevented. "In fact, NCLIS added, "according to a study done under contract for the commission, the government has already taken a stand. In 1992, when Congress permitted commercial traffic on the Internet, the committee report on the legislation noted that 'It is essential that…all commercial providers of network services receive equal treatment.'"
Meanwhile, in related news, NCLIS members have expressed new concerns over the proposed consolidation of NCLIS into the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The consolidation, which would eliminate an agency with a budget of about $1 million, was suggested in the Bush administration's FY07 budget—which hasn't yet been passed, though the fiscal year begins in October—and would begin October 1, 2007. "We voted in August to reject the draft plan as it was presented to us," said Fitzsimmons. "We expected to have more consideration of our concerns. Our particular concern is the fact that we are a permanent and independent agency. We respond both to Congress and the President."
Another commissioner, José Aponte, director of the San Diego County Library, expressed outright opposition. "It's undermining a permanent statutory agency with over 40 years' of history as an independent voice for libraries." "What I would like is a good professional discourse between IMLS and NCLIS," Aponte said.
Charleston Advisor Names its Awards Winners...and Loser
The Charleston Advisor has announced winners of its sixth annual awards for the "best and worst electronic services and databases of interest to libraries"—with some deserving winners, and in the case of the dubious Vaporware award, a surprise loser. Leading the charge Google's recently launched News Archive landed the Best New Product award for its "extensive coverage in searching and exploring historical news archives and timelines." Video hosting service You Tube, recently acquired by Google and the target of recent infringement lawsuits, took home honors for Best New End-User Product.
Our friends at the Institute for the Future of the Book, took home a "special award" for their work on the "The Networked Book," which the Charleston Advisor called "a creative new paradigm for monographic production as books move from print to the screen." LJ profiled IfBook's efforts in 2006, in a conversation with Ben Vershbow, The Social Life of Books.
The big loser in 2006? The library OPAC. In taking the award for best Vaporware/Lemon, the Charleston Advisor noted that the "traditional library catalog has never seemed so constrained and old fashioned" and called it the "the most expensive piece of software typically licensed by a library and yet is shackled in its frequent limitations." For a complete list of winners in all ten categories, visit the Charleston Advisor.
Building for the Future? Sign Up Today For LJ's Free Design Institute Seminar!
If you're like many librarians today, you're probably in some stage of the planning process for renovating and/or expanding your library. The fact is, with the advent of digital technologies, more and more libraries are re-imagining their use of space—and Library Journal wants to help. On December 5th, LJ will host the First Annual Design Institute: The Changing Design Landscape for Libraries.
If you're in the planning, early fundraising or pre-bond stage, register now to come to this one-day event and engage in a lively give-and-take discussion with a range of experts on the multi-service needs of the 21st century library. The Design Institute is open to any librarian planning a project, and admission is FREE. So apply today.
LJ's First Annual Design Institute DATE: December 5, 2006 TIME: 8AM – 6PM LOCATION: Queens Library at Flushing
41-17 Main Street
Flushing, NY 11355
(corner of Kissena Boulevard)
For more information email krista.rafanello@reedbusiness.com.
Best Sellers in Engineering and Technology, March 2006–present, as compiled by YBP Library Services
Made To Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America
Slade, Giles
Harvard University Press
2006. ISBN 0674022033 [9780674022034]. $27.95
Internet Measurement: Infrastructure, Traffic, and Applications
Crovella, Mark
John Wiley
2006. ISBN 047001461x [9780470014615]. $75.00
Extending Mechanics to Minds: The Mechanical Foundations of Psychology and Economics
Doyle, Jon
Cambridge University Press
2006. ISBN 0521861977 [9780521861977]. $95.00
Technology Matters: Questions to Live With
Nye, David E.
MIT Press
2006. ISBN 0262140934 [9780262140935]. $27.95
Space-Time Wireless Systems: From Array Processing to Mimo Communications
Ed. by H. Bolcskei
Cambridge University Press
2006. ISBN 052185105x. [9780521851053]. $90.00
Introduction to Potable Water Treatment Processes
Parsons, Simon A.
Blackwell
2006. ISBN 1405127961 [9781405127967]. $59.99
Quantum Cryptography and Secret-Key Distillation
Assche, Gilles Van
Cambridge University Press
2006. ISBN 0521864852 [9780521864855]. $80.00
Digital Heritage: Applying Digital Imaging to Cultural Heritage
Ed. by Lindsay Macdonald
Elsevier Butterworth-Hein
2006. ISBN 0750661836 [9780750661836]. $110.00
Google's PageRank and Beyond: The Science of Search Engine Rankings
Langville, Amy N.
Princeton University Press
2006. ISBN 0691122024. [9780691122021]. $35.00
Advanced Wireless Networks: 4G Technologies
Glisic, Savo G.
John Wiley
2006. ISBN 0470015934 [9780470015933]. $90.00
Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age
Shurkin, Joel N.
Macmillan UK
2006. ISBN 1403988153 [9781403988157]. $27.95
High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxins, and Human Health
Grossman, Elizabeth
Island Press
2006. ISBN 1559635541 [9781559635547]. $25.95
Analog VLSI Circuits for the Perception of Visual Motion
Stocker, Alan
John Wiley
2006. ISBN 047085491x [9780470854914]. $130.00
Transforming the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations and Their Consequences
Smil, Vaclav
Oxford University Press
2006. ISBN 0195168755 [9780195168754]. $45.00
Mining and Its Impact on the Environment
Bell, Fred G.
Taylor & Francis
2006. ISBN 0415286441. 9780415286442. $145.00
Applied Optimization: Formulation and Algorithms for Engineering Systems
Baldick, Ross
Cambridge University Press
2006. ISBN 0521855640. [9780521855648]. $90.00
Semantic Web Technologies: Trends and Research in Ontology-Based Systems
Ed. by John Davies
John Wiley
2006. ISBN 0470025964 [9780470025963]. $120.00
Kicking the Carbon Habit: Global Warming and the Case for Renewable and Nuclear Energy
Sweet, William
Columbia University Press
2006. ISBN 0231137109 [9780231137102]. $27.95
Ad Hoc Wireless Networks: A Communication-Theoretic Perspective
Tonguz, Ozan K.
John Wiley
2006. ISBN 047009110x [9780470091104]. $60.00
Speech Recognition over Digital Channels: Robustness and Standards
Peinado, Antonio M.
John Wiley
2006. ISBN 0470024003 [9780470024003]. $120.00
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