Monthly Archives: June 2013

Agile management: strategies for achieving success in rapidly changing times — Knowledge Management with Academic and Research Libraries

You are invited to attend the joint session of Knowledge Management and Academic & Research Libraries at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress – Singapore.  The session is scheduled 9:30-12:45 on Monday 19 August.

Five papers will be presented – full details are below.

Paper 1 – Who is looking are your e-journals?  Telling tales about the Keepers Registry and your digital shelves

Peter Burnhill – EDINA, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Françoise Pelle – ISSN International Centre / Centre International de l’ISSN, Paris, France

Abstract: The key task for research libraries is to ensure access to the scholarly and cultural record. A significant and growing proportion of that is in digital format and much is found on the Web – and not on the shelves of libraries. This raises important questions about the archival responsibility of libraries and publishers. Our purpose is to report on the current situation of e-journal preservation, on what is being archived and what is at risk of loss. We also indicate strategies that can be considered to meet an international challenge that requires recognition of mutual inter-dependence across the globe. The literature that is consulted and required by researchers in one country will often have been published by researchers in another country.

 The first (and easiest) priority for research libraries is to focus on e-journals and take prompt and strategic action, both to avoid loss in the short term and to establish means to assess progress towards the (achievable) goal of ensuring that there is complete and effective e-preservation plans for all of our e-journal content. This is assisted by The Keepers Registry, http://thekeepers.org, which provides a lens onto the extent of e-journal archiving as the leading archiving agencies report what they have ingested. The sustainability of archiving activity, and the means to monitor that activity, is of major strategic importance.

A related priority is to tackle the variety of ‘serial issues’ that can improve the effectiveness of archiving and monitoring. These include identification (e.g. ISSN and ISSN-L) of all types of continuing resources, particularly journals but also ongoing ‘integrating resources’ such as databases and Web sites; the consistent naming and identification of publishers (e.g. ISNI); and the continuing need for a universal holdings statement for assurance that each and every volume and issue has been successfully archived. 

Paper 2 – Opportunities and Challenges of MOOCS: Perspectives From Asia

Joyce Chao-chen Chen – Professor and University Librarian, National Taiwan Normal University

Abstract:  The recent growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has led to discussions of technology-based instruction revolutionizing traditional higher-education teaching.  Here we analyze the origin of MOOCs, as well as trends in education initiated by these courses, and compare them with OpenCourseWare (OCW), YouTube EDU, iTunes U. Specifically, this paper will discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by MOOCs, from the perspective of Asian countries, with reference to economics, culture, language, and instruction. 

Bio: Joyce Chao-chen Chen is a professor of the Graduate Institute of Library and Information Studies, and also as the University Librarian of National Taiwan Normal University. She received Ph.D. degree in Department of Library and Information Science from National Taiwan University in 1994. Prof. Chen was the organizer of IASL 2007 Annual Conference in Taipei and the member of the Research Team, IASL Research SIG. She is the former president of Library Association of Taiwan and now is the President of Interlibrary Cooperation Association. She is also as the standing committee of Academic and Research Libraries Section of IFLA, 2011-2015. Prof. Chen’s research area includes digital libraries, information organization, e-publishing, reading studies.

Paper 3 – MOOCs and the Library: Engaging with Evolving Pedagogy

Mariellen Calter – Assistant University Librarian & Chief of Staff, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.

Abstract:  The emergence of the Massively Open Online Course, or MOOC, has been a topic of considerable analysis and discussion in academic circles in recent years, and is not infrequently mentioned as a disruptive technology in higher education.  As Stanford University has been prominent in the development of MOOC platforms, both the university as a whole and the Stanford University Libraries have a particular interest in understanding the potential for and impacts of this platform.  This paper briefly outlines the emergence of MOOCs within the context of online learning tools and distance learning, looks at how Stanford University as a whole, and the Stanford Libraries in particular, are integrating these technologies in their pedagogy. 

 Bio:  Mimi Calter is Assistant University Librarian and Chief of Staff for the Stanford University Libraries.  In that role, she serves as a policy coordinator for the organization, with a particular emphasis on copyright policy and copyright education.  She managed the development of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, and is responsible for the intellectual property rights for the works of William Saroyan, which are owned by the library.  She also manages the  Libraries’ facilities department, where she is responsible for several construction projects in the library system.

Paper 4 – Agile Management: Strategies for Success in Rapidly Changing Times – an Australian University Library Perspective

Andrew Wells – UNSW Library, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

AbstractThis paper explores the concept of agile management, revealing multiple meanings for the term.  Notable innovations and developments in Australian university libraries reflect conscious (or possibly not) applications of agile management techniques.  As a case study, changes at The University of New South Wales Library are examined in the light of agile management concepts.

Bio: Andrew Wells is the University Librarian at The University of New South Wales.  Over the years Andrew has overseen major changes to the University Library’s services, organisation and buildings.  He has taken a strong interest in improving facilities and steering the Library through a period of rapid changes in scholarly information.

 Andrew has held senior positions in several major Australian libraries.  Prior to joining UNSW, Andrew was the Assistant Director General, Resource Sharing Division at the National Library of Australia (1996-2001).  At the State Library of New South Wales, he occupied senior positions in a variety of roles, building on major periods of service at the University of Queensland Library, Macquarie University Library and a previous stint at UNSW Library from 1982 to 1986.

Andrew has been active in the library profession through his involvement in a wide range of committees, professional bodies and activities. He was the President of the Council of Australian University Librarians from 2007 to 2009 and is Chairperson of CEIRC (CAUL Electronic Information Resources Committee) for 2006 and 2007. He resumed this position again in 2010.
He was a mentor for the Aurora Leadership Institute for four consecutive years from 2003 to 2006.  Andrew has been a member of the Board of Intersect, NSW’s e-research organisation.  He is currently the Chair of the Board of CAVAL, a library services company based in Victoria. Other memberships include the JSTOR Library Advisory Board, OCLC Asia Pacific Regional Council and OCLC Global Council.
In 2011, Andrew was awarded the Fellowship of the Australian Library and Information Association.
 

Paper 5 – From Search to Discovery

Tamar Sadeh, PhD – Ex Libris

Abstract: The transition from library catalogs and scholarly databases to discovery systems introduces a fundamental shift in the information-seeking process. Coupled with an engaging and friendly user interface, the expansion of the search scope to the vast universe of scholarly materials—regardless of where they are, what format they are in, and whether the library owns them or subscribes to them—has been embraced by users, as search statistics have shown.

Although discovery systems provide access to an information landscape that is large and diverse, they typically offer, as the default option, simple, Google-like searching, accommodating the expectations of today’s users. With this type of searching, many queries yield large result sets; therefore, discovery systems focus on relevance ranking and on providing tools that help users easily navigate and refine the result sets. Librarians have welcomed the advances in discovery services for their users. However, this new reality poses challenges to the practices that librarians have developed over the years and, in some cases, is at odds with librarians’ systematic, controlled approach to searching.

In this session, we will look at the changes in information-seeking practices and discuss ways in which librarians can leverage their expertise and well-established tools to adapt to the new reality and contribute to improving the new tools that are available to their users.

Columbia University Libraries hosts successful assessment mini-conference

Columbia University Libraries/Information Services (CUL/IS) hosted its first assessment and service improvement mini-conference on Thursday, June 20th, 2013. The event, organized by the CUL/IS Assessment Program, was structured as an interactive poster session and included a diverse presentation of topics and methods from various CUL/IS divisions and affiliated libraries that demonstrated a deep commitment to service quality assessment and data-driven decision making.

More details at:  Columbia University Libraries News & Events

Economic evaluation of the British Library

The British Library has undertaken an economic evaluation of its services to determine how it generates economic value for its users and the wider public.  It found that the economic value the Library delivers for society is £5 for every £1 invested.

The study, published in 2013, shows how the Library is valued by researchers, business, academics, schools and visitors as well as those who do not use its services directly. The full report and executive summary is available for download.

This evaluation updates a similar study from 2004.  The documents associated with that study are also available for download.  More details here.

Inspiring research, inspiring scholarship: the value and benefits of digitised resources for learning, teaching, research and enjoyment

A new report released by King’s Digital Consultancy Service, written by Simon Tanner.   The research is the product of a JISC funded project to investigate the values, benefits and impacts of digitised resources.

This document draws evidence from a wide number of sources and seeks to provide a compelling account of the advantages of digitised content. The aim is to provide key information and strong exemplars for the following primary stakeholders:

  • Memory institutions and cultural heritage organisations such as libraries, museums and archives.
  • Holders and custodians of special collections.
  • Managers, project managers and fundraisers who are seeking to justify further investment in digitised resources.
  • Academics looking to establish digital projects and digital scholarship collaborations with collection owners.
  • Publishing, media and business sectors which may be considering the best means to collaborate and align with collection owners, with academia or memory institutions.

There is a high level, shorter, visually rich version of this document aimed at strategic, political, policy making stakeholders.

Source:  KDCS

Library Budgets, Journal Bundles, Reference Staffing – latest issue of ARL’s Research Library Issues

ARL [Association of Research Libraries]  has published Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 282, which features articles on ARL library budgets over the past two years, subscriptions to journal collections from large publishers, and the impact of the changing roles of librarians on reference staffing. A pre-publication version of the article about journal bundles was released earlier this year.

The complete table of contents with links to the articles follows:

Research Library Issues no. 282 is freely available from ARL Digital Publications.
 
Source:  ARL home page

State Library of NSW and Wikipedia unite in Australia’s first GLAM residency

Wikipedia is set to experience a dramatic increase in Australian content with the State Library of NSW becoming the first Australian cultural institution to engage a GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) Wikipedian-in-residence.

According to Alex Byrne, NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive: “There’s limited Australian content on Wikipedia compared to USA and Europe, and we want to provide more. The Wikipedian-in-residence will enable local knowledge to be more easily accessible on one of the world’s most popular websites.”

Over a 14-week residency Wikipedian Gillian White will equip 20 library staff with the skills to create and contribute authoritative content to Wikipedia on the significant people, places and events in NSW and Australia.

“Librarians are a natural fit with Wiki as they are trained professionals with a passion for sharing knowledge, and appreciate the importance of referencing credible sources within their online contributions – it’s not commonly known that Wikipedia articles and edits must be accurately referenced,” says Ms White.

The newly trained library staff will be using the State Library’s extensive collections on Australia and its region to contribute valuable content to Wikipedia articles on the Blue Mountains, the convict era, WWI servicemen, Indigenous sacred sites, and many others.

“The State Library is committed to making content from our significant collections more accessible, more discoverable and re-usable, and the GLAM Wikipedian-in-residence project is an important step to the Library becoming a key global resource,” says Alex Byrne, NSW State Librarian & Chief Executive.

Source:  SLNSW Media Centre

Welcome to our new Standing Committee members!

We would like to extend a warm welcome to the newly elected members of our Standing Committee.  The term for our new members will commence in August at the Singapore Conference. 

Welcome to: Rafael Ball [University Library Regensburg – Germany], Gulcin Cribb [Singapore Management University – Singapore], Kate Cushon [University of Regina Library – Canada], Adelaida Ferrer Torrens [Red de Bibliotecas Universitarias Españolas (REDBIUN) – Spain], Leo F.H. Ma [The Chinese University of Hong Kong – China], Marc Martinez [France], James G Neal [Columbia University – United States], Reggie Raju [Stellenbosch University – South Africa], Oarabile Rakgamanyane [University of Botswana Library – Botswana], and Deena Yanofsky [McGill University – Canada].

The following members have been re-elected for a second term:  Mike Berrington, Luisa Buson, Janet Fletcher, Vicki McDonald, and Xialon Zhang.

We would also to thank our retiring members for their contributions: Melody Burton, Klaus Ceynowa, Allison Dolland, Marie-Dominique Heusse, Carol Ann Hughes, Ane Landoy, Jakobina M Mwiiyale, Jarmo Saarti, Lisbeth Tangen. 

And, of course a big “thank-you” to our retiring Chair Andrew McDonald.  Andrew will be continuing his “IFLA work” on the Governing Body and Professional Committee as Chair of Division 1.