Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Fifth Blackbird: Some Thoughts on Economically Sustainable Digital Preservation

by Brian F. Lavoie, OCLC Online Computer Library Center

A few years ago my colleague Lorcan Dempsey and I wrote an article entitled "Thirteen Ways of Looking at ... Digital Preservation" [1] (the title being a shameless re-working of "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", a well-known poem by Wallace Stevens). Our purpose was to present a more nuanced view of digital preservation than one typically found in the literature, conferences, and community discussion springing up around the topic. At that time, digital preservation was often characterized as a discrete activity that could be segregated from, or tacked onto the end of, the digital life cycle; the primary obstacle to be overcome was the development of technical strategies, like emulation and migration, to stave off the twin evils of bit rot and technological obsolescence.

In the article, we acknowledged the importance of the technical imperatives of digital preservation, but argued that there was more to consider. We suggested thirteen different yet intertwined perspectives one can take on the digital preservation problem, with the implicit message that successful digital preservation activities will...

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Monday, March 10, 2008

Information behaviour of the researcher of the future

This study was commissioned by the British Library and

JISC to identify how the specialist researchers of the

future, currently in their school or pre-school years, are

likely to access and interact with digital resources in five

to ten years’ time. This is to help library and information

services to anticipate and react to any new or emerging

behaviours in the most effective way. In this report, we

define the `Google generation’ as those born after 1993

and explore the world of a cohort of young people with

little or no recollection of life before the web.

Go to source:
www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppres/gg_final_keynote_11012008.pdf

Monday, March 10, 2008

Six “Key Emerging Technologies” for Higher Ed Profiled in the 2008 Horizon Report.

The annual Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the NMC’s Horizon Project, a research-oriented effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have considerable impact on teaching, learning, and creative expression within higher education. The fifth edition in this annual series is again a collaboration between NMC and ELI.

Go to source: http://www.nmc.org/news/nmc/2008-horizon-report

Monday, March 10, 2008

IATUL: Promoting Science and Technology in the Changing Library landscape

International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL) has

been in the forefront of providing leadership to information professionals and

promoting science and Technology librarianship in today's changing library

landscape. The present article is an attempt to comprehend the present status of

IATUL and analyze the activities and contribution it has made to overcome the

range of challenges facing by tertiary level Technological libraries throughout

the world. The SWOT analysis method is used to assess the achievements of

IATUL, failures and ascertain constraints being faced in this internet age. The

author relied on web sites as well as ephemeral material such as minutes, annual

reports, newsletters, and memoranda to construct this article. Meeting and

Interview with IATUL present and past presidents and other office bearers of the

associations provided useful sources of information. It is also attempted to provide

relevant information for those interested to join IATUL for professional

...

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Friday, February 1, 2008

Census of Institutional Repositories in the U.S.: A Comparison Across Institutions at Different Stages of IR Development

Soo Young Rieh et al


This article discusses how five key components of IRs – leaders, funding, content, contributors, and systems – are perceived by IR staff at academic institutions where IRs have been implemented, pilot-tested, and planned. Findings are based on the Census of Institutional Repositories in the United States carried out by the Making Institutional Repositories A Collaborative Learning Environment (MIRACLE) project at the University of Michigan with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) (Markey, Rieh, St. Jean, Kim, & Yakel, 2007). The discussion of IRs in this article focuses on a comparison across four categories of IR involvement: (1) no planning to date (NP); (2) planning only (PO); (3) planning and pilot-testing one or more IR systems (PPT), and; (4) public implementation of an IR system (IMP).

Go to source: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november07/rieh/11rieh.html

D-Lib Magazine, November/December 2007

Friday, February 1, 2008

Commons 2.0: Library Spaces Designed for Collaborative Learning

Bryan Sinclair

The idea of the information commons as a space for students to gather and work with technology has been with us for over a decade now. Carving out these areas has allowed many university libraries to remain relevant in the academic lives of students. Just as libraries have historically provided reading rooms for users to access and work with print collections, they now provide common spaces for them to access and work with digital collections. The information commons is a natural extension of the library's traditional mission in a wired world.

The information commons itself must adapt and evolve to meet changing expectations and technological capabilities. How well do these environments currently support social learning and promote collaborative work? To what extent do they employ flexible design and take advantage of wireless technology? Do they encourage creativity and discovery and inspire users? Do they offer services and features that students don't already have in campus residence halls and computer labs?

Go to source: http://connect....

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