|
 |
University of Chicago To Build New Library
The University of Chicago (UC) this week unveiled a plan to build a bold, state-of-the art new library on campus, designed by Chicago-based architect Helmut Jahn. The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library will be named for the chairman and CEO of Chicago-based investment research firm Morningstar, Inc., and his wife, in recognition of their generous $25 million donation supporting the project. "Like most students at the University of Chicago, we found the library to be a central part of the experience," Joe Mansueto, said in announcing the gift. "When we were looking to give a gift to the school, a new library resonated with us."
And what a gift it will be. The library, which will be the seventh on the UC campus, will be partially underground and be topped with a 35-foot-high glass dome at ground level. It will have the capacity to house 3.5 million volumes of print material, as well as a conservation and preservation facility, a special collection service area, and a grand reading room. The library will utilize a high-density, automated shelving system. . Construction on the project will begin this summer, and the new library is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.
Notably, the new library embodies UC's commitment to print books at a time when many libraries, enabled by electronic resources, are moving books to off-campus storage. When the project was first announced in 2005, as a trend-bucking $42 million library expansion, the UC administration cited a student poll that suggested there was "no real evidence of substitution" for physical library space and services with electronic alternatives. Andrew Abbott, a professor in sociology and chair of the library task force, said that the survey found the use of information resources appeared to be "synergistic," with students who take out many books usually being high users of electronic resources as well. "Users do seem to be using online rather than physical journals," Abbott explained, "but usage of other physical materials is up, and the survey tells us very clearly that heavy digital media users are heavy physical media users and vice versa."
The design of the new library has already drawn a range of responses. The Chicago Tribune's Blair Kamin this week poked fun at Jahn's daring design. "It's not hard to imagine the names that students are going to pin on this building. How about the Flamingo Dome, the UFO or the Terrarium?" he quipped. "Helmut Jahn is either daring or he's crazy. We'll know better when the ellipse-shaped glass dome of his planned, mostly-underground library takes its place amid the Collegiate Gothic buildings of the University of Chicago in fall 2010."
|
|
Harvard Law School Adopts OA Mandate, and Names New Librarian
The Harvard University Law School (HLS) faculty last week followed the lead of their colleagues in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences by voting unanimously to make their scholarly articles available online for free, making HLS the first law school to commit to a "mandatory open access policy" via an institutional repository.
Under the new policy, HLS will require that articles authored by its faculty members be placed in an online open access repository. The measure comes just months after the Harvard FAS approved its landmark mandate, after which, university librarian Robert Darnton, an architect of the policy, said he would be talking to Harvard's professional schools immediately about adopting similar measure. HLS is the first professional school at Harvard to approve the measure. "That such a renowned law school should support Open Access so resoundingly is a victory for the democratization of knowledge," Darnton said.
The text of the HLS mandate mirrors closely the FAS policy. Authors grant a non-exclusive right to Harvard in perpetuity to include the article in its repository. Articles can be freely redistributed and used by educators as long as the materials are not reused for profit. The policy applies to "all scholarly articles authored or co-authored while the person is a member of the Faculty," excluding articles completed before the adoption of the policy. Like the FAS mandate, faculty can get a waiver from the policy by making a written request to the dean. Like the FAS mandate, the HLS policy will also be reviewed after three years, and a report will be presented to the Faculty.
The mandate comes just days after HLS announced John G. Palfrey as its new vice dean of library and information resources. The 36 year-old Palfrey, is currently executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society as well as a tenured clinical professor of law. In his new position, Palfrey will be responsible for "expanding the library's reach and services, and finding new ways to use digital technologies to enhance the Law School's scholarship, teaching, and other activities," tasks seemingly off to a flying start with the new open access mandate. Palfrey succeeds Harry S. Martin, who is stepping down as head of the Harvard Law Library after 27 years. Palfrey said he was delighted with the HLS mandate, calling it "something in which the whole Harvard Law School community can take great pride."
Bloggers, meanwhile, also hailed the HLS mandate. On his open access blog, Peter Suber wrote that the measure "is not only another university OA mandate, and the first for a law school, but another unanimous faculty vote for an OA mandate. The unanimous faculty support makes a very good development positively beautiful."
|
|
Gasaway: Publishers, Georgia State U. Will Settle E-Reserves Suit
Observers are divided as to how a court might view the infringement charges brought by publishers over its e-reserves and electronic course content policy, but most seem to agree that the case will likely never get to court. In this week's Chronicle of Higher Education, University of North Carolina law professor and associate dean for academic affairs Laura (Lolly) Gasaway was asked how she thinks the suit will be resolved: "It will settle," Gasaway answered, bluntly. Simply put, observers have also noted, there is too much risk for either party to let this case go to a verdict.
Cornell University's Peter Hirtle commented recently on the risks for both sides on the LibraryLaw Blog. For publishers, he wrote, the court could very well find that the "non-commercial, educational purpose of the use" is a fair use. Hirtle suggested that the fuzzy lines of fair use seem to account for many users seeking permission where they could in fact invoke fair use, and questioned why the Association of American Publishers (AAP) would roll the dice and file a suit that could so negatively impact them. "If AAP loses, it could eliminate a lot of revenue it currently receives but which probably doesn't need to be paid (such as permission fees for course packs from non-profit campus bookstores)," he wrote. "I really don't understand why they filed this suit, unless they really, truly believe that there is no difference between commercial and non-commercial use."
On the other hand, Georgia State attorneys are likely not eager to risk losing the case, either, as a verdict against libraries in Georgia would surely affect all libraries—and could have wider implications for all student copying on campus. "My big worry: if a library can't make a copy of an article in advance on behalf of the student, does this suggest that the student himself or herself also cannot make a copy of that chapter?" Hirtle wrote. "In other words, does fair use really disappear whenever there is a market that licenses reproductions?"
So, if a settlement is likely, what will that settlement look like? Gasaway told the Chronicle that Georgia State "could be required to adopt certain policies" and to publicize them widely, like other libraries that have faced the AAP's rattling saber. But would publishers file suit and take on such risks just to get the same agreement other schools have made? Perhaps, as the plaintiffs complained that Georgia State refused to engage them in any discussions thus far. A more likely scenario, however, is that publishers will use the suit to get more than they have been able to negotiate thus far with other institutions, such as, for example, more transparency.
Dating back to its 2005 fray with the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the AAP has made no secret of the organization's desire to be able to monitor e-reserve use in libraries. UCSD officials said AAP "proposed as a solution that faculty post on a publicly accessible web site at the beginning of each term a listing of course reserves, indicating the title, author, and the amount of material placed on reserves." UC rejected that suggestion outright, saying it would be unworkable and unprecedented for a university to act as a "copyright enforcement agent" for the publishing industry. Transparency, meanwhile, has not been part of any negotiated guidelines thus far, but AAP has continued to make known its desire to have some way of monitoring e-reserve practices in libraries.
|
|
Florida Atlantic University Seeks Donations To Keep Holocaust Center Open
The Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is facing the loss of its state funding, leaving FAU officials scrambling for private funds to keep the center open. FAU officials told the local Sun Sentinel they are committed to keeping the center open, but will need to raise about half of the center's annual $200,000 a year budget with roughly $100K in state funds on the legislative chopping block.
FAU Provost John Pritchett told reporters the university "is seeking help for two years" to keep the center open, but after that, he was "optimistic" the state's budget will improve and the university can resume funding. The Boca Raton-based League for the Educational Awareness of the Holocaust (LEAH) currently contributes about $100,000 annually to the center. Anyone interested in donating is urged to contact the provost's office at 561-297-2011 or LEAH at 561-393-9717.
|
Library Journal Academic Newswire
Contributing Editor: Andrew R. Albanese
Phone: 646-746-6852 E-mail: aalbanese@reedbusiness.com
Editor: Francine Fialkoff
Phone: 646-746-6807 E-mail: fialkoff@reedbusiness.com
Executive Editor: Rebecca Miller
Phone: 646-746-6725 E-mail: miller@reedbusiness.com
News Editor: Norman Oder
Phone: 646-746-6829 E-mail: noder@reedbusiness.com
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe send an e-mail to Unsub_Academic_Newswire@email.libraryjournal.com
TO SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to Academic Newswire or our other newsletters
Subscribe to Library Journal magazine
ARCHIVE
Read past issues
PRINT
You must change your print settings from portrait to landscape to print this page.
VIEW OUR PRIVACY POLICY
Click here
QUESTIONS?
If you need further assistance with your newsletter subscription, please contact our Online Support Staff.
Send editorial questions about this newsletter to: aalbanese@reedbusiness.com.
RBInteractive: onlineads@reedbusiness.com, (888) 7RBI-WEB.
PRIVACY MANAGER: privacymanager@reedbusiness.com
Reed Business Information 2000 Clearwater Drive Oak Brook, IL 60523 | Fax: 630-288-8394
© 2007 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2008 Library Journal. All rights reserved.
"Library Journal" is a registered trademark. "Library Journal Academic Newswire" is a trademark.
|
