Latest Information Industry News and Resources
New Draft Text Issued By WIPO Negotiators For Visually Impaired Treaty
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From IP Watch: World Intellectual Property Organization delegates this week have launched into negotiations expected to yield the first treaty creating exceptions and limitations to copyright for the benefit of visually impaired people. Many delegations have said much work remained to be done in … [Read More...]
OCLC and Redbox (the Automated Video and Games Lending Company) Launch Pilot Project With Five U.S. Public Libraries
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
We shared a comment/question at the bottom of this post. From OCLC: Public libraries are teaming up with Redbox to pilot “Outside the Box,” a new community initiative that brings people together for free, fun, public entertainment experiences. The initiative is led by local communities, … [Read More...]
3D Printing: Makerbot Acquired By Israel’s Stratasys For $403M in Stock
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From The Next Web: MakerBot, a Brooklyn, NY-based startup which makes desktop 3D printers for consumers and professionals alike, is being acquired by Stratasys, an Israeli-based 3D printer and additive manufacturer. The initial value of the proposed merger is $403 million based on Stratasys’ … [Read More...]
Conference Paper: “A Crowd-Powered Socially Embedded Search Engine”
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
Here's an interesting conference paper by members of the Microsoft Research team. It will be presented next month at the 7th International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media. Title A Crowd-Powered Socially Embedded Search Engine Authors Jin-Woo Jeong Meredith Ringel Morris Jaime … [Read More...]
American Library Association Publishes 2011-2012 Annual Report; More than 75% of Libraries Now Offer eBooks
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
Direct to Full Text of ALA Annual Report From an ALA Announcement: The report highlights the key initiatives of former ALA President Molly Raphael, which centered on "Empowering Voices." The report also underscores how ALA supports the efforts of libraries in providing essential technological … [Read More...]
New York State Library Releases Common Core Learning Standards
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From a Post on the METRO Blog: On Monday, June 18, New York State Library's Division of Library Development released a set of Common Core Learning Standards to be implemented in libraries throughout the state. These new guidelines will impact school and public libraries alike, and are meant to … [Read More...]
Higher Education: CIC Provosts Release Report on Online Learning
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
New from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation: The Provosts of CIC universities have released a position paper on online education that puts the focus squarely on the fundamental academic values and pedagogical principles that need to be infused in emerging instructional … [Read More...]
Digital Preservation: Portico and British Library Working Together to Develop E-Journal Deposit Infrastructure
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From Portico: The British Library and digital preservation specialist Portico announced today that they will be working together to ensure that thousands of electronic journal titles will be collected, preserved and made available to current and future generations of researchers. The partnership … [Read More...]
OCLC Releases New WorldCat Metadata API
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From an OCLC Announcement: OCLC has launched the new WorldCat Metadata API that will enable member libraries and partners to build and share applications on the OCLC WorldShare Platform for libraries to catalog their collections in WorldCat. The WorldCat Metadata API supports a variety of … [Read More...]
Inaugural Class of National Digital Stewardship Residents Selected
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From the Library of Congress: The Library of Congress, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, has selected 10 candidates for the inaugural class of the National Digital Stewardship Residency (NDSR) program. The nine-month program begins in September 2013. The NDSR … [Read More...]
Nebraska: Library Closures, Services Reductions Among Budget Proposals for Omaha Public Library
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From KETV: In response to a mayoral request to plan for budget reductions for the remainder of 2013 and all of 2014, the Omaha Public Library Board has drawn up several budget reduction scenarios, including library closures and reduced hours. A letter sent by the board to Mayor Jean Stothert … [Read More...]
MOOCs: New Pilots and Partners For edX and Coursera
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
On the MOOC Beat... edX IMF and edX Partner on Economics and Finance Classes The collaboration will extend the reach of the IMF's training courses in macroeconomics and finance to governments and the public through the edX platform. [Clip] Pilots of the first two online courses—Financial … [Read More...]
Harvard’s First University-wide Library Mission Statement Approved by Library Board
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
Here's the full text of the approved HUL mission statement: The Harvard Library advances scholarship and teaching by committing itself to the creation, application, preservation and dissemination of knowledge. From the Library: Drafting the first University-wide library mission statement was … [Read More...]
Publishing: Springer Science Sold to German Buyout Firm for 3.3.Billion Euros ($4.4 Billion)
Filed by Gary Price on June 19, 2013
From Reuters: Buyout firm BC Partners agreed to buy German publisher SpringerScience+Business Media for about 3.3 billion euros ($4.4 billion) on Wednesday, the largest private-equity acquisition in Germany for seven years. [Clip] Sources told Reuters earlier this week that the owners … [Read More...]
Wiley Publishing: Q4 and FY13 Earnings Released, Company Leaders Answer Questions During Conference Call
Filed by Gary Price on June 18, 2013
John Wiley Publishing released their Q4 and FY 2013 earnings today. Numbers and company analysis in this earnings announcement. Also available is the complete transcript of a conference call that took place after the earnings were released. Wiley leadership including CEO, Stephen M. Smith, … [Read More...]
eBooks: Project MUSE Announces Eight New Publishers Will Join UPCC in 2014
Filed by Gary Price on June 18, 2013
From Project Muse/UPCC: Eight distinguished scholarly presses, including the recently-revived University of Missouri Press and the Chinese University Press, are confirmed to join the University Press Content Consortium (UPCC) and make their books available digitally on the Project MUSE platform … [Read More...]
ALM Reports: The Public Library of Science (PLOS) Debuts New Tool for Article Level Metrics
Filed by Gary Price on June 18, 2013
From a PLOS Blog Post by Liz Allen: Today, we are delighted to announce the release of ALM Reports which allow you to view and download ALMs for any set of PLOS articles as well as summarize and visualize the data using charts that reveal patterns and trends for further discussion. Read more … [Read More...]
Timbuktu Libraries in Exile Group Launches Crowdfunding Appeal to Save Ancient Manuscripts
Filed by Gary Price on June 18, 2013
From The Guardian: A public appeal has been launched to save the hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts smuggled out of Timbuktu during the crisis in Mali, which are now facing a more insidious threat: moisture damage. [Clip] Stored in the metal boxes used for their evacuation, the … [Read More...]
Georgia Archives Increasing Staff and Adding More Public Hours
Filed by Gary Price on June 18, 2013
Exciting news especially compared to nine months ago when there was chance the Georgia Archives would end public access. Here's a summary of the changes coming to the Georgia Archives (via GeorgiaArchivesMatter Blog): Hiring three additional professionals Increasing part-time staff … [Read More...]
Begins Today: A HathiTrust and DPLA Partnership
Filed by Gary Price on June 18, 2013
From the DPLA Blog: The HathiTrust Digital Library will partner with the recently launched Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to expand discovery and use of HathiTrust’s public domain and other openly available content. [Clip] “HathiTrust’s joining the Digital Public Library of … [Read More...]
