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NEWS FROM THE FIELD
C&RL News, October 2004
Vol. 65, No. 9
by Stephanie Orphan
OCLC to acquire QuestionPoint
OCLC’s QuestionPoint virtual reference service will combine with the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System’s 24/7 Reference through OCLC’s acquisition of the assets of 24/7 Reference.
QuestionPoint, developed by OCLC and the Library of Congress, is supported by a global network of cooperating libraries and librarians and is used by more than 1,000 libraries in 20 countries. Its searchable Knowledge Base has grown to more than 7,000 active question-and-answer pairs. 24/7 Reference is a round-the-clock reference cooperative serving 500 libraries. The combined services will build on the unique benefits and features of each service, such as QuestionPoint’s Global Reference Network and 24/7 Reference’s cooperative reference coverage.
BCR partners with Collaborative Digitization Program
The Bibliographic Center for Research (BCR), the multistate library cooperative serving libraries throughout the western United States, has partnered with the Collaborative Digitization Program (CDP) to offer training to BCR member libraries. CDP is a collaborative initiative involving libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums in the western United States known for its training program, digitization best practices, and metadata tools. Through the partnership, BCR will promote and provide infrastructure for CDP’s digitization workshops, with CDP providing trainers and subject expertise. BCR member libraries will receive instruction in digital imaging and related issues, as well as information related to Dublin Core metadata, digital audio, and teaching with digitized primary sources.
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Correction
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In the July/August 2004 issue of C&RL News, the Internet Resources article, “The electoral college, political parties, and elections,” erroneously identified the Web site for the Greens/Green Party USA as the official site of the Green Party. The correct Web site for the official Green Party of the United States is www.gp.org.
The editors regret the error. |
Taxpayers support open access
A coalition of public interest groups has formed the Alliance for Taxpayer Access, which will urge the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure that peer-reviewed articles on taxpayer-funded research at NIH become available through open access publishing. The alliance is an informal coalition of libraries, patient and health policy advocates, and other stakeholders who support reforms to make publicly funded biomedical research accessible to the public.
In August, ACRL, a member of the alliance, sent a letter to NIH on behalf of its more than 11,000 personal members endorsing the proposal that NIH provide open access to its funded research through PubMed Central.
Oxford Journals signs hosting agreement with Highwire Press
Oxford Journals, part of Oxford University Press (OUP), has signed an agreement for Stanford University’s HighWire Press to host its entire journals collection, beginning January 2005. HighWire Press currently hosts the majority of OUP’s science, technology, and medicine journals. The addition of the complete Oxford Journals collection broadens the subject areas represented to include humanities and social science journals. Oxford Journals publishes more than 180 journals, including JNCI (Journal of the National Cancer Institute), English Historical Review, and the Review of Financial Studies.
Univ. of South Florida partners with Addis Ababa University
The University of South Florida (USF) Libraries is partnering with Addis Ababa University (AAU) to make rare historical materials and contemporary research from Ethiopia available electronically to increase access to materials to researchers in that country. USF Libraries staff have created a user-friendly, expandable database structure that includes functions to request and submit documents. Staff spent a month in Ethiopia over the summer to train staff at AAU. The idea for the project came about through discussions between a USF graduate student who is a native of Ethiopia and staff members at the library.
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Registration for ACRL's 12th National Conference is now open!
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Online registration and housing for the ACRL 12th National Conference is available at www.acrl.org/minneapolis. Register early and take advantage of early-bird registration discounts of more than 20 percent.
The conference, “Currents and Convergence: Navigating the Rivers of Change,” will be held in Minneapolis, April 7–10, 2005. It offers more than 200 peer-reviewed programs that reflect the dynamics and diversity of our profession. Keep pace with the latest library research and techniques during contributed papers, and panel and workshop sessions. Exchange ideas with your colleagues at poster sessions and discuss hot topics during roundtable discussions.
Keynote sessions
• Opening Keynote Session: William J. Mitchell, Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences, Academic Head of Media Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Learn about changes brought about by new communication and information technologies and find out what this means for libraries and their relationships to digital networks.
• Keynote Luncheon: “Women of Mystery”: Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, J. A. Jance, and Valerie Wilson Wesley. Moderator: Liane Hansen, National Public Radio
Gain a rare peek into the minds of these female mystery authors and participate in an open discussion about their works in a social context.
• Closing Keynote Session: Sylvia Hurtado, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Higher Education Research Institute, Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences, UCLA
Examine post-September 11 changes in student bodies and campuses nationwide and find out how colleges and universities are preparing students to participate in a diverse democracy.
Explore topics in-depth at a preconference
Attend a preconference and return to your library with tips, tools, and new ways of thinking. Complete descriptions and learning outcomes are online at www.acrl.org/minneapolis.
Learn about the latest products and services
Explore the exhibits and learn about cutting-edge products, publications, tools, and services available to academic and research librarians.
Bookmark the ACRL conference Web site!
For complete details about the conference and online registration and housing forms, visit the ACRL National Conference Web site at www.acrl.org/minneapolis. Questions about the conference? Contact acrl@ala.org or call (800) 545-2433, ext. 2515.
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Cornell to distribute open source publishing system
Cornell University Library is developing an open source publication management system that will provide authors and publishers with an affordable way to publish scholarly research on the Web. The library will be making its DPubS software available to libraries, university presses, and other independent publishers to expand opportunities for communication among scholars. DPubS was originally created for Project Euclid, an initiative designed to help independent publishers of mathematics and statistics journals make the transition to electronic publishing. Through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the software will be re-engineered as a general-purpose platform to support electronic publishing of scholarly literature in diverse fields. DPubS will support peer review, have extensive administrative functionality, and will provide interoperability with other open source repository systems.
Checkpoint’s RFID system selected by Southern Indiana and NY Institute of Technology
Checkpoint Systems, a leading provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to libraries, has been selected to install its Intelligent Library System at the University of Southern Indiana’s David L. Rice Library and the New York Institute of Technology. The system functions through a unique RFID “circulation circuit,” which operates within its own local area network of RFID readers and can process up to 20 items a second. It also features a handheld “inventory wand” that allows for automatic updates to the library’s database regarding the existence and location of items.
Nature Publishing launches archives
Nature Publishing Group has launched the Nature research journal archive collection online. The collection provides online access to every issue of Nature Biotechnology, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, and Nature Structural & Molecular Biology published from volume 1 issue 1 to April 1998, previously only available in print archives. The collection contains more than 11,000 articles from across the four journals. Articles are published in PDF, with HTML versions of abstracts and reference lists. Access to the articles in the archive is available to users via a site license. Users without a site license may purchase individual articles.
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Submit a poster session for the ACRL 12th National Conference!
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The deadline for poster session submission is November 8, 2004. Poster sessions are informal presentations featuring successful solutions to problems and unique and innovative library-based projects with important lessons for the academic and research library community. This is a great way to get noticed!
Visit the ACRL National Conference Web site at www.acrl.org/minneapolis for further details. |
Princeton creates 19th-century libraries database
Researchers at Princeton University have created a database of 10,000 libraries in existence in the United States before the last quarter of the 19th century. The keyword-searchable, interactive database contains data that previously existed only on punched cards and is supplemented by an electronic file of the original cards. Researchers can look up a library by name, get a list of libraries by location, or obtain a list of libraries based on type or date of founding. Users are encouraged to contribute information that can be added to the records. The database is part of larger effort, called the Davies Project, to increase knowledge about American university libraries and their collections. The database is available online at www.princeton.edu/~davpro.
Naxos Digital Services enters agreement with PALINET
Through an agreement with Naxos Digital Services, members of the regional library network PALINET can now subscribe to Naxos Music Library and Naxos Spoken Word Library through a consortial arrangement. PALINET serves libraries and cultural institutions in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and neighboring states, and is OCLC’s mid-Atlantic region service provider. Naxos Music Library provides online listening for libraries to more than 80,000 tracks and includes full liner notes. Newly launched Naxos Spoken Word Library offers more than 275 complete audiobooks, which stream from the Naxos servers with accompanying texts.
Wilson introduces Science Full Text Select
H.W. Wilson has added Science Full Text Select to WilsonWeb. The new database combines the full-text content of all Wilson science databases, with articles from 320 sources, and includes graphical content as PDF page images. Databases included are Applied Science and Technology Full Text, Biological & Agricultural Index Plus, and General Science Full Text. Additional articles are available from the Readers’ Guide and Wilson OmniFile databases.
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ACRL seeks applicants for Immersion '05
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Applications for ACRL’s Institute for Information Literacy Immersion ’05 program are now being accepted. Whether your institution is just beginning to think about implementing an information literacy component or whether you have a program well underway, Immersion ’05 will provide you with the intellectual tools and practical techniques to help your institution build or enhance its instruction program.
Immersion ’05 will be held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, July 29 –August 3, 2005. Participation is limited to 90 to ensure an environment that fosters group interaction and active participation. Acceptance to the Immersion Program is competitive. Complete details about the program, including application materials ,are online at www.acrl.org.events (click Immersion ’05). The deadline to apply is December 6, 2004.
Immersion ’05 program sessions will fall into two separate tracks:
Teacher Track. This track focuses on individual development for those who are interested in enhancing, refreshing, or extending their individual instruction skills. Curriculum includes classroom techniques, learning theory, leadership, and assessment framed in the context of information literacy.
Program Track. This track focuses on developing, integrating, and managing institutional and programmatic information literacy programs. Participants selected for the Program Track will develop individual case studies in advance of the Immersion program. Change dynamics, systems thinking, institutional outcomes assessment, scalability, and the integration of teaching, learning, and technology will be brought to bear on analyzing the various programmatic challenges presented in the case studies.
Visit www.acrl.org/events for more details. Questions? Contact acrl@ala.org or call (800) 545-2433, ext. 2515.
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Swets joins Ingenta’s subscription activation initiative
Swets Information Services has joined Ingenta’s subscription activation initiative, designed to simplify the online access of e-journals for libraries that currently use www.ingenta.com. Swets now sends subscription data directly through to Ingenta, allowing libraries seamless, preconfigured access to the journals to which they subscribe. Libraries’ access is reconciled automatically using Ingenta’s authentication system.
Classical International to offer BMG Classics
Classical International (CI) and BMG Classics have entered into a license agreement that will make CI’s Classical Music Library (CML) the first library service to offer music from the international label. BMG Classics features labels such as RCA Red Seal, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, and Arte Nova. Through the agreement, BMG will provide access to more than 40,0000 tracks from their catalogs and CML will feature new releases from all three labels every month. The recordings will be available only to CML subscriber libraries in the United States.
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