Cross
Currents No 20 April 2004
A
digest of cross sectoral information management events, issues and ideas in
organisations, libraries, archives and museums, with special emphasis on
arts and the humanities.
|
ARTS
& CULTURE The Humanities and Open Access. LIBRARIES
Cataloguing Tools on the Internet | Digital Divide | Information
Society Portal | Informed Librarian Online | National Libraries of
Europe MUSEUMS Digitising Art Museums |
Intellectual Property Guide | Museum Archive Guidelines RECORDS
& ARCHIVES Electronic Records in Archives | NSW State Records
Act | Preserving Australia's Multicultural Documentary Heritage |
Records Classification
|
RESEARCH
& SCHOLARLY INFORMATION Access to Research Data from Public
Funding | Dspace | Eprints Handbook | ERIC STANDARDS
& SYSTEMS Dublin Core Metadata | Functional Requirements for
Bibliographic Records | Institutional Repository Software | Metasearch
Initiative | Open Archives Initiative | Open Archival Information System
| Semantic Web Standards | Taxonomies for Websites USAGE
& USERS Two Pew reports
|
The humanities and open access
Peter
Suber, in the SPARC Open Access Newsletter, 2 February
2004, examines the reasons for the slow adoption of open access in the
humanities: (1) journal prices are much higher in science, technology, and
medicine -the STM fields- than in the humanities - 10-20 times higher; (2)
much more STM research is funded than humanities research; (3) on average,
humanities journals have higher rejection rates (70-90%) than STM journals
(20-40%); (4) there is more public demand for research on, say, genomics than
Greek grammar; (5) preprint exchanges meet more needs in the STM fields than
in the humanities; (6) demand for journal articles in the humanities drops off
more slowly after publication than demand for articles in the STM fields; (7)
humanities journals often want to reprint poems or illustrations that require
permission from a copyright holder; (8)
journal articles are the primary literature in the STM fields, but in
the humanities, journal articles tend to report on the history and
interpretation of the primary literature, which is in books. Web: http://www.arl.org/sparc/
Cataloguing Tools on the Internet
Magda
El-Sherbini, in Selected Cataloging Tools on the Internet (Journal of
Internet Cataloging Vol 6 no 2, 2003: pp.35-90) takes the form of an annotated
lists under the following sections: authority management and subject headings
tools; cataloguing tools by type of materials; dictionaries, encyclopedias,
and place names; listservs and workshops; software and vendors; technical
service professional organisations; and journals and newsletters. Web: Journal
of Internet Cataloging via http://www.haworthpressinc.com [Source: New
Technologies in Libraries]
Digital Divide
The
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in partnership with a number of US
national civic groups, has released Toward Equality of Access: The Role of
Public Libraries in Addressing the Digital Divide, a report asserting that
US public libraries have helped close the digital divide by providing free,
public access to computers and the Internet, particularly for people without
access at home or work. Yet despite widespread awareness of and support for
library-based public access computing, libraries face significant challenges
in sustaining and improving this service. In 1996, only 28 percent of US
public library systems offered public Internet access. Today, more than 95
percent of library buildings offer public access computing and 14 million
Americans regularly use these computers. This benefit has especially reached
certain socioeconomic groups that are less likely to have access at home or
work. African Americans and Hispanics are twice as likely to use library
computers as Asian Americans and whites. Families making less than US$15,000
annually are two to three times more likely to rely on library computers than
those earning more than US$75,000. Although Internet use has increased
substantially in the United States, nearly half of all American households
don't have computers or Internet access at home. Traditionally disadvantaged
groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and those
with lower income and educational levels, remain among the least connected.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, since 1997, has invested more than
$250 million to provide libraries with public access computers and software,
while simultaneously providing training and technical support for librarians.
However, despite the fact that the total number of visits to public libraries
increased by more than 17 percent between 1996 and 2001, libraries face
serious challenges as they continue to provide access to digital information.
They often lack sufficient resources and technical support to upgrade computer
hardware, software and Internet connections. Librarians and staff members also
must seek continued technology training to assist patrons and troubleshoot
equipment. Severe budget cuts nationwide have caused some libraries to cut
operating hours, lay off staff members or close altogether. Web: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/
[Source: DIGLIB]
Information Society Portal
The
Observatory of the Information Society: an International Gateway presents news
and documents from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization relating to ethical, legal & societal challenges of the
information society. The site may be searched or browsed under virtual
libraries, cybercrime, freedom of expression and intellectual property rights
and other headings. Web: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_observatory/
[Source: Librarians Internet Index]
Informed
Librarian Online
Provides
a monthly compilation of the most recent tables of contents from over 275
library and information-related journals, e-journals, magazines, e-magazines,
newsletters and e-newsletters. Requires free registration. Web: http://www.informedlibrarian.com/
National
Libraries of Europe
Britta
Woldering, in The European Library: Integrated Access to the National
Libraries of Europe (Ariadne Issue 38, January 2004), describes the
findings of the recently completed EU Project The European Library, focusing
on technical solutions and metadata development. Web: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue38/
Digitising Art Museums
Simon
Tanner, in D-Lib January 2004, reports that a survey commissioned by the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will examine market realities and opportunities
for US art museums in relation to digitised collections. The survey will
explore the cost and policy models adopted in arriving at pricing structures
for delivering surrogates of unique or rare items as digital objects and the
thresholds that determine the point when an organisation charges for the sale
of content and other rights to their digital holdings and the reasons given
for such charges. Further, it aims to discover the key factors affecting the
willingness of museums to collaborate and enable digital content to be shared.
The results are intended to provide a snapshot of the fast-evolving digital
art market. The study is an extension of previous work commissioned by the
Mellon Foundation, Exploring Charging Models for Digital Cultural Heritage,
which looked into pricing policy within the UK. and Europe. The results of the
previous study are linked from the KDCS website at <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/cch/kdcs>.
Intellectual Property Guide
Diane
Zorich, in Developing Intellectual Property Policies: A How-To Guide for
Museums, jointly published by the National Initiative for a Networked
Cultural Heritage (NINCH) and the Canadian Heritage Information Network
(CHIN), discusses the benefits available to museums when they develop the
proper policies to manage their intellectual property. Web: Intellectual
Property section of the CHIN site at http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/
[Source CNI-Announce]
Museum Archive Guidelines
The
Society of American Archivists has published Museum Archives Guidelines,
offering advice in the establishment, development and maintenance of
repositories of records in museums. Web: http://www.archivists.org/governance/guidelines/museum_guidelines.asp.
[Source: Aus-Archivists].
Electronic Records in Archives
The
International Council on Archives’ report, Electronic Records: A Workbook
for Archivists, provides guidelines for more efficient management,
preservation and provision of access to archives. It describes tactical
approaches to records management in electronic office systems, including
networked environments.
The
International Records Management Trust has prepared a study on behalf of the
ICA documenting the current status of electronic records globally. The study
identifies several challenges regarding the preservation of electronic
records' authenticity, particularly in developing countries. These include the
low status of recordkeepinging and lack of recognition of records/archives as
evidence; the absence of technical standards and professional training; and
generally weak legislative, organisational and policy frameworks in developing
countries. The IRMT study made 11 recommendations, now under consideration by
ICA's regional branches and professional committees. Web: http://portal.unesco.org/.
[Source: ShelfLife]
NSW State Records Act
State
Records NSW is reviewing the State Records Act 1998. Further information,
including an issues paper, is available at http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/about/actreview.htm
[Source:
Aus-archivists]
Preserving Australia's Multicultural
Documentary Heritage
The
National Library of Australia has published Preserving Australia's
Multicultural Documentary Heritage: A Starter Kit. The kit has been
compiled with culturally and linguistically diverse community groups in mind -
those wishing to start an archival collection, and those wanting to further
develop an existing collection. It consists of 13 fact sheets covering such
areas as collection management and preservation, disaster preparedness, and
making the collection accessible. Three existing multicultural archival
collections are described as case studies. Sample forms and documents, useful
in managing a small archive, are also included for adaptation to meet local
needs. The kit also includes sections on how to identify and apply for grants,
other resources and specialist terms. Web: http://www.nla.gov.au/multicultural/kit.
[Source: Aus-archivists]
Records Classification
Standards
Australia’s IT21-09 sub-committee has released a discussion paper
about issues in records management classification. The paper is available from
the ASA web
site at http://www.archivists.org.au/whatsnew.html.
[Source: Aus-archivists]
Access to Research Data from Public Funding
The
OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy at Ministerial Level
has released Declaration on Access to Research Data From Public Funding,
involving governments in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany,
Ireland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, the United
Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. The declaration is a
commitment to work towards the establishment of access regimes for digital
research data from public funding in accordance with the objectives and
principles of
openness, transparency, legal conformity, formal responsibility,
professionalism, protection of intellectual property, interoperability,
quality and security, efficiency, and accountability. Web: http://www.oecd.org/
[Source: SOAF]
Dspace
Mary
Barto and Julie Harford
Walker, in Building a Business Plan for DSpace, MIT Libraries'
Digital Institutional Repository (Journal of Digital Information vol 4, no 2,
2003), provide details on the Dspace budget and costs, as well as details on
its two components - core services (basic repository functions) and premium
services (eg digitisation and e-format conversion, metadata support, expanded
user storage space, and user alerts and reports). Core services are free,
whereas MIT reserves the right to charge for premium services. Web: http://jodi.ecs.soton.ac.uk/Articles/v04/i02/Barton/
For DSpace Business Plan Project--Final Report to the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation see http://libraries.mit.edu/dspace-fed-test/implement/mellon.pdf.
[Source: Current Cites]
Eprints Handbook
Les
Carr’s The Eprints User's Handbook, commissioned by the Open
Society Institute, is aimed at eprint managers and users and includes
suggestions for implementing a systematic institutional self-archiving policy.
Web: http://software.eprints.org/handbook.
[Source: SOAF]
ERIC
The US
Department of Education is replacing its ERIC clearinghouses and streamlining
its services. The
AskERIC service has been replaced by the Educator's Reference Desk, which
provides access to AskERIC's 2,000 lesson plans, 3,000 links to online
education information, and 200 question archive responses. The Reference Desk
search interface to the ERIC Database provides access to over one million
bibliographic records on educational research, theory, and practice. Web: http://www.eduref.org/.
[Source: ShelfLife]
Dublin Core Metadata
The
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published ISO
15836:2003, Information and Documentation-The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set,
providing a core set of 15 metadata elements for cross-domain information
resource sharing. A PDF file of the ANSI/NISO version is available from the
National Information Standards Organization website: http:www.niso.org/standards/resources/Z39-85.pdf.
For additional information about Dublin Core metadata, including user guides,
tools, training materials, and working group implementation activities, visit
the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative website: http://www.dublincore.org/.
[Source: DigLib]
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic
Records
Barbara
Tillett in What is FRBR? A Conceptual Model for the Bibliographic Universe
(Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Cataloging Distribution Service,
September/October 2003) looks at IFLA's data model Functional Requirements
for Bibliographic Records (known as FRBR, pronounced "ferber").
The article is available at http://lcweb.loc.gov/cds/FRBR.html. FRBR is
available at http://www.ifla.org. [Source: Current Cites]
Institutional Repository Software
Ryam
Crow’s A Guide to Institutional Repository Software (2nd
ed, New York: Open Society Institute, 2004), provides an overview of
institutional repository software options, including ARNO, CDSware, DSpace,
Eprints, Fedora, i-Tor, and MyCoRe. [Source: Current Cites].
Web:
http://www.soros.org/openaccess/.
Metasearch Initiative
NISO
has formed a team to manage the NISO Metasearch Initiative, led by Jenny
Walker of Ex Libris (USA) and Andrew Pace of North Carolina State University.
Three specialist teams representing access management, collection description,
and search/retrieve, will be led by Mike Teets (OCLC), Juha Hakala (National
Library of Finland) and Sara Randall (Endeavor Information Systems) and Matt
Goldner (Fretwell-Downing Informatics). Web: http://www.niso.org/committees/MS-task_groups.html#1
[Source: CNI-ANNOUNCE}
Open Archives Initiative
Roy
Tennant, in The Expanding World of
OAI (Library Journal, 15
February 2004) focuses
attention on the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)
as a standard for interoperable metadata emerging from the Digital Library
community and as example of how standards support innovation. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA379271
Open Archival Information System
Brian
Lavoie’s The Open Archival
Information System Reference Model: Introductory Guide is
available as the first of a series of Technology Watch reports commissioned by
the Digital Preservation Coalition. Web: http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/reports/index.html#intoais
[Source: To: DIGLIB]
Semantic Web Standards
The
World Wide Web Consortium has announced final approval for the Resource
Definition Framework (RDF) and Web Ontology Language (OWL). In the context of
the Semantic Web agenda, RDF and OWL are aimed at enabling content producers
and libraries to base future products and services upon technologies that will
prove more complete asset management, integration, sharing and reuse of data
on the Web. Source W3C http://www.w3.org/
Taxonomies for Websites
As
reported in Federal Computer Week 20 Jan 2004 and Government Computer News 21
Jan 2004, all US federal agencies are required by the 2002 E-Government Act to
develop overall taxonomies of their Web sites by the end of 2004. To cut
development time, agencies can modify taxonomies already developed by others,
such as those identified at the Taxonomy Warehouse at http://www.taxonomywarehouse.com.
[Source: ShelfLife]
The
Pew Internet Project report, America's Online
Pursuits: The Changing Picture of Who's Online and What They Do (22
December 2003), says that information-seeking on the Web is up by 50% or more
since 2000, with more than 80% of Internet users reporting they had
sought answers to specific questions on the Web. The biggest jump was a
59% increase in those hunting for health information online - an activity
that's dominated by female users. Meanwhile searches for information on news
events - an activity dominated by male users - were up 50% and searches for
political news and information grew by 57% between 2000 and 2002. US
Government website use jumped 56% during the same time period. More than half
of all Internet users reported using the Web for school research or online
training, and 61 million Americans reported using the Web for job-related work
or research in 2002. Web: http://www.pewinternet.org/
[Source: ShelfLife]
Another
Pew Report, Consumption
of Information Goods and Services in the United States (23
Nov 2003),
says that there
are very different patterns of online information consumption among age and
economic groups. The three groups most likely to subscribe to online content
are the Young Tech Elites (average age 22), the Older Wired Baby Boomers
(average age 52) and the Wired Generation Xers (average age 36). The study
also identified Wired Senior Men (average age 70) as "ardent, aging news
hounds." This affluent group is relatively small, but its members are
frequent news gatherers online, particularly political news. Among the other
three heavy user groups, Older Wired Baby Boomers place the largest emphasis
on information gathering, rather than some of the more avant-garde activities
such as music downloading that dominate younger users' time. Seventy-two
percent have done work-related research online, and 88% have gone online to
get news, with about half doing so on any given day. This group tends to be
dominated by males (60%), and have higher incomes and more education than the
average American. Wired GenXers are split 50-50 on gender, and they see the
online world as a way to get things done. Sixty-seven percent have done
work-related research online and while they often go online for news, only
about a third do so on a typical day. Thirteen percent of both GenXers and
Young Tech Elites have paid for online content. And while Young Tech Elites
are avid surfers, they are also the most likely to download information and
post it online. In addition, 44% have created content for the Web, compared
with 19% for all users. Web: http://www.pewinternet.org/
This
issue of Cross Currents compiled by Paul Bentley
The
Wolanski Foundation would be grateful for feedback
on the scope, format and content of this bulletin..
