Research Libraries UK (RLUK) Joins Steering Committee of the Research Libraries Position Description Bank & Endorses ICOLC Statement on the Metadata Rights of Libraries

Two announcements from Research Libraries UK.

RLUK Joins Steering Committee of the Research Libraries Position Description Bank

The Research Libraries Position Description Bank (RL PD Bank), previously known as the ARL Position Description Bank, will be jointly governed and financed by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), Research Libraries UK (RLUK), and the George A. Smathers Libraries of University of Florida (ex officio), with continued management by the George A. Smathers Libraries. This new configuration reinforces the broad value of the RL PD Bank to the international research library community and establishes an equitable governance structure. 

RLUK’s inclusion within the RL PD Bank gives its members access to almost 4000 position descriptions from research libraries primarily from North America, and RLUK members have contributed close to 300 position descriptions since October 2021. We encourage RLUK members to continue to add position descriptions, so enriching the database.

Direct to Complete Statement

RLUK Endorses ICOLC Statement on the Metadata Rights of Libraries

Metadata and the metadata services that describe library collections are critical in supporting content discovery, knowledge creation, and libraries’ public missions. Metadata describing library collections is not typically copyrightable, and should be considered freely shareable and reusable under most circumstances. However, some industry players restrict libraries’ rights to use such metadata through contractual terms and market influence. Such restrictive activity is out of alignment with libraries’ needs and public, not-for-profit/educational missions.

Direct to Complete Statement

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