Featured Link

Featured Link: World Book Trade (e-books, awards, videos)

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

4th Bloomsbury Conference on Electronic Publishing

4th Bloomsbury Conference on Electronic Publishing: an independent conference organised from the Centre for Publishing/Department of Information Studies at University College London, co-sponsored by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services - June 24-25 2010 - London, UK

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

ITB Journal of Science

International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products

Journal of Language Teaching and Research

Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science

Quality Innovation Prosperity

Officina della Storia

Italiano LinguaDue

Italian Journal of Public Health

Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Motricidade

Periódico Tchê Química

Revista en Ciencias del Movimiento Humano y Salud

Current Cites - March 2010

Current Cites (edited by Roy Tennant) - March 2010 is now available

British Library successfully stops English naval explorer's journal from sailing abroad

British Library successfully stops English naval explorer's journal from sailing abroad"The British Library has acquired a previously unknown journal of British naval pioneer, Sir John Narbrough, thanks to a £200,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and the generous support of Dr Bernard H Breslauer, the Gosling Foundation and other individual donors. This rare manuscript provides the fullest known account of Narbrough's voyage to South America from 1669-71 and contains unrecorded maps and unresearched information on British exploration and social and political history. It also includes an account of Narbrough's earlier voyage to the Caribbean in the heyday of the buccaneers."

Greenwood Publishing Group Award recipient named

"The American Library Association has named 'Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives: Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes' the winner of the 2010 Greenwood Publishing Group Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. The book was written by Robert E. Dugan, Peter Hernon and Danuta A. Nitecki and published by Libraries Unlimited. The book will assist library professionals in the area of assessment by helping them to explore and identify methods of measuring effectiveness and improving performance relating to the needs and perspectives of a variety of constituents. Each awardee receives $5,000 and a 24K gold-framed citation, donated by the Greenwood Publishing Group"

West Virginia Governor vetoes current-level funding for libraries

From American Libraries: "West Virginia library advocates suffered a blow March 26 when Gov. Joe Manchin used his line-item veto power to slash library funding in next year's state budget by 5%. Library supporters had convinced the legislature to maintain funding at current levels despite the weak economy. Manchin cut the appropriation for grants-in-aid to public libraries from $8,348,884 to $7,931,440 (reducing per-capita funding from $4.62 to $4.38), for books and films from $450,000 to $427,500, and for special projects from $800,000 to $744,800. West Virginia Library Association Legislative Chair Allen Johnson said he was 'deeply disappointed, because the legislature pulled for us.' He noted that this wasn't the first time Manchin wielded his veto against libraries: Two years ago, when legislators boosted grants-in-aid from $4.06 per capita to $5.21, the governor cut the increase in half, to $4.62. Johnson noted that West Virginia libraries are heavily dependent on state funding. When a new administrative regulation went into place two years ago requiring localities to provide matching funds in order to receive state grants-in-aid, eight systems received no local funds at all. He added that 70% of local property tax goes to the state, which sends it back to communities as education funding. According to Johnson, state Education Secretary Kay Goodwin has offered to try to set up a meeting with Gov. Manchin at which library advocates could make their case for secure local funding in the FY2012 budget—or perhaps sooner, in a special legislative session the governor has proposed to address education issues"

Learned Publishing - April 2010

Learned Publishing - April 2010Learned Publishing is the journal of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, published in collaboration with the Society for Scholarly Publishing. The journal is published quarterly in January/April/July/October. Volume 23, Number 2, April 2010 now available online, with some free content

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Journal of Electronic Publishing - Winter 2010

Journal of Electronic Publishing: a forum for research and discussion about contemporary publishing practices, and the impact of those practices upon users - volume 13 issue 1 - Winter 2010 is now available

Emerald announces COUNTER 3 compliance for journals and databases

Emerald announces COUNTER 3 compliance for journals and databases"Emerald Group Publishing Limited is now compliant with release 3 of the COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources) code of practice. As a publisher of more than 200 scholarly journals and an extensive range of online collections in business management, library and information science, social sciences and engineering, these improvements made to reports on searches and session usage translate into more accurate usage statistics. COUNTER is an international initiative serving librarians, publishers and intermediaries for recording and reporting usage statistics in a consistent and compatible manner. Release 3 contributes to further reliability of COUNTER usage statistics and includes SUSHI (Standardised Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative) to facilitate the collection and processing of large volume of data"

DRHA 2010: Digital Resources for the Humanities and Arts (UK)

DRHA 2010: Digital Resources for the Humanities and Arts (UK) - 5-8 September, 2010 - London, UK

Library listings from WorldCat added to pic2shop iPhone app

"iPhone users can now download the free pic2shop application to scan book barcodes and find local libraries who have them through WorldCat. The pic2shop app is one of the original mobile apps designed for consumers who like to comparison shop. Users scan a book barcode with their iPhone, and can compare costs to get the book at various retailers or now a local library. The app uses the WorldCat Search API and WorldCat Registry APIs to deliver results for libraries nearby who hold the item in WorldCat, the world's largest library catalogue. Location and mapping information is also available"

AASL seeking presenters for 2011 ALA Annual Conference

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association, is now seeking presenter proposals for the 2011 ALA Annual Conference. The conference will be held June 23-28, 2011 in New Orleans, La. The deadline to submit a proposal is 5 p.m. CDT on May 21, 2010

Paul Evan Peters Fellowship - applications

The Paul Evan Peters Fellowship was established to honor and perpetuate the memory of Paul Evan Peters (1947-1996), founding executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). The fellowship will assist students pursuing graduate studies in the information sciences, librarianship, or closely related field, that advance the frontiers of digital information and technology. Deadline is April 23, 2010

New from ACRL - "The Anywhere Library"

New from ACRL - "ACRL has announced the publication of The Anywhere Library: A Primer for the Mobile Web by Courtney Greene, Missy Roser, and Elizabeth Ruane of DePaul University. Mobile computing is rapidly becoming an important part of everyday life. With a user-centered, practical emphasis geared to the non-technical librarian, The Anywhere Library: A Primer for the Mobile Web approaches the creation of a mobile-optimized library Web site as a process rather than simply as a product. The authors guide readers through the process of mobile Web development by providing numerous examples of site design for a variety of different devices, planning and decision-making tips and sample code. The book also serves as a guide for the future, with resources and tips on iteration and revision. Taking the mystery out of designing, planning and launching a mobile library Web site, The Anywhere Library is an invaluable resource for librarians everywhere. The Anywhere Library: A Primer for the Mobile Web is available for purchase through the ALA Online Store, by telephone order at (866) 746-7252 in the U.S. or (770) 442-8633 for international customers"

Monday, March 29, 2010

Wellcome Library Insight: Facing Up to the Past

Wellcome Library Insight: Facing Up to the PastThis week's free Wellcome Library session on Thursday 1st April offers both a chance to explore face reading through the collections of the Wellcome Library and also to learn about the life and death masks collected by Sir Francis Galton, and which are now part of the Galton Collection, UCL.

Speakers:
Natasha McEnroe, Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy
Danny Rees, Assistant Librarian, Wellcome Library

This Thursday's session is from 6pm-7.30pm, and tickets are available on the day from the Wellcome Collection Information Desk from 4.30pm onwards.

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #112

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #112. "This week's episode brings a zeitgeist check for stories and blog posts, an essay on price versus value, and a miscellany review". Previous Podcasts can be found here

Digital Scholarship 2009

"Digital Scholarship 2009, by Charles W. Bailey, Jr., includes four bibliographies: the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2009 Annual Edition, the Institutional Repository Bibliography, the Electronic Theses and Dissertations Bibliography, and the Google Book Search Bibliography. The longest bibliography, the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography: 2009 Annual Edition, presents over 3,620 selected English-language articles, books, and other printed and electronic sources that are useful in understanding scholarly electronic publishing efforts on the Internet. Most sources have been published between 1990 and 2009; however, a limited number of key sources published prior to 1990 are also included. Digital Scholarship 2009 is available for purchase as a 504-page, 6" by 9" paperback book for $18.95"

Extra! Extra! British Library adds extra 1 million pages to online newspaper resource

"Freely accessible to UK further and higher education institutions – this latest addition takes the total number of pages of 19th Century Newspapers available online to over 3 million. 22 new titles cover a range of both regional and metropolitan publications including the Cheshire Observer, the Royal Cornwall Gazette, the Isle of Man Times and the Nottinghamshire Guardian"

William Blake Archive updated

William Blake Archive updatedThe William Blake Archive has announced the publication of an electronic edition of 20 of Blake's water color illustrations to the Bible. These designs illustrate the Old Testament and are arranged according to the passages illustrated

Sunday, March 28, 2010

De Gruyter e-dition

"The De Gruyter e-dition makes over 60,000 high-quality titles available from De Gruyter's more than 260-year publishing history. Each title is available both as electronic version (exclusively for libraries and institutions) and as a hardcover reprint. If retro-digitization is required, the desired title can be delivered within a maximum of ten weeks"

Updates to Women and Social Movements

Updates to Women and Social MovementsWomen and Social Movements in the U.S. was recently updated with new document projects, new book reviews, and a new document archive. The collection now includes 94 document projects and archives containing more than 3,750 documents and 150,000 pages written by almost 2,100 primary authors. The recently added document projects include How Did Florence Kitchelt Bring Together Social Feminists and Equal Rights Feminists to Reconfigure the Campaign for the ERA in the 1940s and 50s? by Danelle Moon and Kathryn Kish Sklar, and How Did Northern White Women Participate in the Bleeding Kansas Conflict of the 1850s? by Kristen Tegtmeier Oertel

London Transport posters of the 1930s: A display at the Bodleian Library

This April, the Bodleian Library showcases a small selection of posters which would have caught the eye of travellers on London's buses and underground trains in the 1930s. At that time, the Underground Group was a leader in poster publicity thanks to Frank Pick (1878—1941), the company's Managing Director, who was responsible for creating a strong visual identity for the company. He revolutionised its poster style and also famously commissioned the Johnston Underground typeface. By the formation of London Transport in 1933, the company was considered a patron of the arts, enthusiastically commissioning leading and avant-garde artists to create posters to inspire travel on London's trains and buses. Small panel posters were produced for display in Underground carriages, as well as on the inside and outside of buses and trams, carrying the art into the streets. Designers such as Herry Perry, Margaret Barnard, Walter Goetz, the husband and wife team Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, and André Marty offered vivid and varied artwork, ranging from naturalistic imagery to more radical geometric and abstract designs infused with the Art Deco spirit. The London Underground would eventually be dubbed "the world's longest art gallery"

Speech on Building Britain's Digital Future (UK)

A transcript of a speech given by the Prime Minister on Building Britain's Digital Future in London on 22 March 2010

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Antropologija

International Journal of Pharma Sciences and Research

Cultura Visual

Revista Brasileira de Finanças

Philosophy Pathways : Electronic Journal

Crocheting Adventures wins Diagram 2009

Crocheting Adventures wins Diagram 2009"Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Dr Daina Taimina (A K Peters) has won the 2009 Diagram Prize, having received the majority of the public vote for the oddest titled book of the year at thebookseller.com. Taking 42% of the votes cast, it beat off competition from What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua? By Tara Jansen-Meyer (Mirror), which took 30% and Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich by James A Yannes (Trafford), with 11%. Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter by David Crompton (Glenstrae), Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots by Ronald C Arkin (CRC Press) and The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease by Ellen Scherl and Marla Dubinsky (SLACK Inc) took 17% between them"

Japanese publishers organise to discuss e-books

"Japan's top book publishers have formed an alliance to harness the growing e-book market as Amazon's Kindle and e-book readers by Sony and other companies are set to battle for market share. The Electronic Book Publishers Association of Japan was launched with 31 members to discuss formats for Japanese e-books, legal issues related to the expanding industry, and to analyse what people like to read digitally"

Shortlist for UKLA Children's Book Award 2010

The shortlist for UK Literacy Association Children's Book Award 2010 has been announced

Freegal Music Service

"In a significant step toward offering public library patrons DRM-free downloadable music, Library Ideas LLC, a new company that has previously hooked up libraries with Redbox video dispensers, has joined with Sony Music Entertainment to launch the Freegal Music Service, offering public library subscribers access to hundreds of thousands of songs in Sony's catalog. Sony includes more than 50 labels, in genres ranging from rock and country to rap and classical. The libraries must pre-pay for a minimum number of downloads from Freegal, and each library user will be limited to, at most, 20 downloads per week. Libraries that see a spike in use can limit the number of systemwide downloads in a week or month to ensure wider access, and library card holders can also reserve downloads"

Save Libraries (USA)

"Save Libraries is a grassroots effort to compile information about libraries in need of our support. Save Libraries will aggregate information about current advocacy efforts, archive advocacy efforts, and provide links to resources for libraries facing cuts"

Members of NEOS Library Consortium to implement WorldCat Local service

"The University of Alberta, Red Deer College, Lakeland College and Concordia University College of Alberta are the first among NEOS member libraries to implement WorldCat Local, the OCLC service that delivers resources of local libraries and libraries around the world through a single search box. All members of NEOS, a cooperative library consortium that comprises 18 government, hospital, college and university libraries throughout central and northern Alberta, have been given the option to implement OCLC's WorldCat Local service. The University of Alberta, Red Deer College, Lakeland College, and Concordia University College of Alberta will complete their implementations by March 31, 2010, with more NEOS member libraries to follow in the coming months"

The Society of Chief Librarians publishes manifesto on public libraries (UK)

The SCL Manifesto states that libraries are adapting to and meeting the needs of local people, and every library in the UK is focused on core principles of reading, learning, literacy, and digital inclusion

Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries

"The U.S. Impact Public Library Study is among the first to substantially measure how individuals use Internet access at libraries. The report associated with that study, Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, relied on a telephone survey, nearly 45,000 online surveys at public libraries, and hundreds of interviews. In 1996, only 28% of libraries gave patrons access to the Internet. In comparison, 169 million people visited public libraries, and 45% of those individuals connected to the Internet via the library computer or wireless access even though these same individuals had Internet access at home, work, or elsewhere"

More courses, more colleges: YouTube EDU turns one

From the offical YouTube Blog: "A college education is something many people take for granted, but only about 1% of the world actually gets one. A year ago today, YouTube EDU launched with a very simple mission: deliver some of the world's greatest university courses to anyone with an Internet connection and a screen. Whether it's Salman Rushdie reading poetry by the last mughal king to Emory University students, or a lecture in electrical engineering at UC Berkeley, YouTube EDU has helped some of the oldest institutions on the planet blaze a trail into the 21st century by opening up a rich and empowering corpus of video content to aspiring students everywhere. YouTube EDU is now one of the largest online video repositories of higher education content in the world. We have tripled our partner base to over 300 universities and colleges, including University of Cambridge, Yale, Stanford, MIT, University of Chicago and The Indian Institutes of Technology. We have grown to include university courses in seven languages across 10 countries. We now have over 350 full courses, a 75% increase from a year ago and thousands of aspiring students have viewed EDU videos tens of millions of times. And today, the EDU video library stands at over 65,000 videos. We have also rolled out new products to make this coursework more accessible, including adding automated captions and auto-translation to videos spoken in English. In just a few clicks, you can generate captions and translate courses into one of 50 different languages"

UK government publications - 22-26 March 2010

The latest round up of new UK government publications this week - 22-26 March 2010 from Intute and the LSE Library

2010 RITA Finalists

2010 RITA FinalistsRomance Writers of America has announced the finalists for the 2010 RITA Awards, which honors romance fiction published in 2009. Over 1,000 novels and novellas were judged in 12 categories. Winners of the awards will be announced July 31 at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA's 30th Annual National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee

Mining a Year of Speech: a Digging into Data challenge

"Technologies for storing and processing vast amounts of text are mature and well-defined. In contrast, technologies for browsing or mining content from large collections of non-textual material, especially audio and video, are less well-developed. Large scale data mining on text has helped transform the relevant disciplines; the disciplines dealing with spoken language may well reap similar benefits from accessible, searchable, large corpora. This project shall address the challenge of providing rich, intelligent data mining capabilities for a substantial collection of spoken audio data in American and British English. We shall apply and extend state-of-the art techniques to offer sophisticated, rapid and flexible access to a richly annotated corpus of a year of speech (about 9000 hours, 100 million words, or 2 Terabytes of speech), derived from the Linguistic Data Consortium, the British National Corpus, and other existing resources. This is at least ten times more data than has previously been used by researchers in fields such as phonetics, linguistics, or psychology, and more than 100 times common practice"

CARL E-Lert # 369

CARL E-Lert # 369, March 26, 2010 from Canadian Association of Research Libraries. Some of this week's items: CARL Restates Key Copyright Reform Concerns; IFLA Position on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement; Canada Foundation for Innovation Practices Called World's Best; ARL Public Policy Blog for Research Library Community

Friday, March 26, 2010

Nature News content now freely available

Nature News content now freely available"All content hosted on the Nature News site is now freely available. This includes online news articles, and news and news features articles published in Nature. Previously, this content was free for the first four days from publication before becoming subscription-access only. The Nature News archive is now accessible to all. Nature Publishing Group has made this change so that Nature's news content can be disseminated and discussed as widely as possible, as we develop nature.com as the hub for quality science news and comment. With the rise of social media such as Twitter, Facebook and our own Connotea and Nature Network, we'd like to ensure that discussions about our news and comment can include an accessible link to the article. The Nature News website links out to other articles such as opinion articles and features hosted by Nature and associated journals such as Nature Medicine. These articles, as well as analysis pieces including News and Views and Research Highlights, remain subscription access. These articles can be accessed via personal subscription, site license or individual article purchase"

The Book Cover Archive

"The Book Cover Archive - for the appreciation and categorization of excellence in book cover design"

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Who's Who. Answers here.

1. Which professional soccer player played for Manchester United until 2003, then for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and AC Milan?
2. Which musician's early record releases included the album "Tribute to Uncle Ray" in 1962, and the single "Fingertips" in 1963?
3. Name the actor who emigrated to Australia in 1968 and appeared in the films "Mad Max", "Gallipoli" and "The Year of Living Dangerously".
4. Which singing actress married Elliott Gould in 1963?
5. Who became President of France in 2007?
6. Which author wrote the novels "Dandelion Wine", "Death is a Lonely Business" and "Farewell Summer"?
7. What is the name of Angelina Jolie's father?
8. Ciccone is the surname of which singer and actress who is best known by her first name?
9. Where was Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, born?
10. Name the writer who was born in 1923 in the Springs Republic of South Africa and wrote the 2005 novel "Get a Life"

Bodleian Libraries display plans to upgrade Underground Bookstore and improve access to Old Bodleian and Radcliffe Camera

Oxford University's world-famous Bodleian Libraries has displayed plans to upgrade space within the central Bodleian site which will enable greater direct access to books, improved services and access for library readers and visitors with limited mobility. The plans include:

  • Refurbishment of the Underground Bookstore, under Radcliffe Square, into two floors of openstack library space for readers and opening up the tunnel (to be known as the Gladstone Link) that connects the Radcliffe Camera and the Old Bodleian main building.
  • Installing a platform lift between the Underground Bookstore and the Lower Radcliffe Camera Reading Room to provide access for disabled readers and to facilitate book deliveries.
  • Installing a lift in the Old Bodleian to accommodate passengers and to transport books.
  • Adjusting the paving level in the Old Schools Quadrangle to facilitate book delivery and disabled access

Research Libraries, Risk and Systemic Change - OCLC

"Research Libraries, Risk and Systemic Change provides an overview of the most significant risks facing research libraries and suggests strategies to mitigate them. OCLC Research engaged an organization experienced in conducting risk assessments for corporate, governmental and educational clients to identify the most significant risks facing research libraries in the United States. The data collected was assimilated, ranked and analyzed, which revealed a convergence of perceived risks and yielded a shared perspective on a landscape of challenges facing US research libraries. The descriptive categorization of these risks included in the report provide research libraries with a common vocabulary for identifying, evaluating and responding to shared challenges. They also help build the foundation to support movement toward cooperative mitigation of critical risks. Based on this foundation, OCLC Research intends to formulate a collaborative action agenda in partnership with the research library community"

Journal of Library Innovation - first issue

Journal of Library Innovation publishes original research, literature reviews, commentaries, case studies, reports on innovative practices, and book, conference and product reviews - Vol 1, No 1 (2010)

Lost Man Booker Prize shortlist announced

The shortlist for The Lost Man Booker Prize - a one-off prize to honour the books published in 1970 that were not eligible for consideration for the Booker Prize - has been announced. The shortlist was announced at a special event at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival. The six books are:

* The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden (Virago)
* Troubles by J G Farrell (Phoenix)
* The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard (Virago)
* Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault (Arrow)
* The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark (Penguin)
* The Vivisector by Patrick White (Vintage)

The shortlist was selected by a panel of three judges, all of whom were born in or around 1970. They are journalist and critic, Rachel Cooke, ITN newsreader, Katie Derham and poet and novelist, Tobias Hill. They chose the six books from an original longlist of 21 eligible titles which are still in print and generally available today. The Lost Man Booker is the brainchild of Peter Straus, the honorary archivist to The Booker Prize Foundation. He realised that in 1971, just two years after it began, the Booker Prize ceased to be awarded retrospectively and became - as it is today - a prize for the best novel of the year of publication. At the same time the award moved from April to November and, as a result, a wealth of fiction published for much of 1970 fell through the net and was never considered for the prize

The Times to charge for online news content (UK)

"UK National newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times have announced they will start charging readers for access to online news content. The newspapers will launch two new websites, www.thetimes.co.uk and www.thesundaytimes.co.uk, in May, initially on a free trial period. But from June, readers will be charged £1 for a day's access to the websites or £2 for a week's subscription. A single payment will give readers access to both sites. However, seven-day subscribers to The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers will be able to gain access to the websites for free" - SKY

Credo Reference Topic Pages

Credo Reference has announced Credo Topic Pages, a breakthrough approach to presenting and organizing information resources to support the inquiry needs of today's students and researchers. Designed to provide contextualized, orderly access to authoritative content from your library as well as the open web, Credo Topic Pages help students gain:

* Subject orientation
* Context and vocabulary
* Pathways to further exploration


The Google Books Help Forum

The Google Books Help Forum is now available for people wishing to communicate with the Google Books team

SPARC enews/March 2010

SPARC enews/March 2010 is now available from SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition

Neil Gaiman National Library Week Event

"In collaboration with the American Library Association, Internet2, Harper Collins, and the University of Minnesota, Jessamine County Public Library has announced "An evening with Neil Gaiman" videoconference taking place on Monday, April 12 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm EDT. As Honorary Chair of National Library Week, Gaiman, the 2009 Newbery Medal winner for 'The Graveyard Book,' will speak to his lifelong love of libraries and the role they play in a democratic society by supporting intellectual freedom and privacy. Gaiman will virtually join a live audience at JCPL from the University of Minnesota using high definition videoconferencing technology supported by Internet2 to enable an interactive discussion with the author"

Ken Haycock receives 2010 Beta Phi Mu Award

"Dr. Ken Haycock, professor and director at the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University, has been selected as the recipient of the American Library Association's 2010 Beta Phi Mu Award. This annual award, donated by the Beta Phi Mu International Library Science Honorary Society, is presented to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education in librarianship. Dr. Haycock received a B.A. in Political Science and a Diploma in Education from the University of Western Ontario, a Master of Education from the University of Ottawa, an A.M.L.S. from the University of Michigan, an MBA from Royal Roads University and an Ed.D. from Brigham Young University. He has held senior positions in both his native Canada and the United States, including director at the University of British Columbia's School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. He is also senior partner at Ken Haycock & Associates, Inc., which works with organizations to build capacity for leadership, collaboration and advocacy"

Cites & Insights 10:5 (Spring 2010)

Cites & Insights 10:5 (Spring 2010) is now available for downloading. Edited and published by Walt Crawford

Thursday, March 25, 2010

FreePint Newsletter 298

FreePint Newsletter 298 - 25 March, 2010 now available

National Archives UK's photostream

National Archives UK's photostream"Flickr has announced that over 200 images from the UK's official archive has been added to their collection. National Archives UK has added images spanning 900 years of the country's history. It has no known copyright restrictions. That means you're free to use the images as you please"

LibraryThing: State of the Thing - March 2010

LibraryThing: State of the Thing - March 2010: "This month we have a LibraryThing game, a new book recommender, exclusive author interviews with Seth Grahame-Smith and Jonathan Maberry, 2,482 free Early Reviewer books and 310 Member Giveaway books available."

Podcast/Press Release: Making the business case for digital preservation

"The amount of information in our digital universe is expected to double in size every 18 months, according to a recent report - so how do universities choose which of these new information bits to keep and which to discard? Increasingly, university managers and researchers are looking to justify the cost of preservation alongside other technical and legal issues. Now a new international task force funded by JISC and other organisations is highlighting examples of current practice in the UK, America and Europe to look at business cases for long term preservation and access. Neil Grindley, programme manager at JISC, said, "This report takes a clearheaded and hard look at some of the ideas surrounding preservation asking questions like 'why are we preserving this?' By highlighting the economic aspects of these decisions colleges and universities should be better able to prioritise which information to keep and create a more secure legacy." The Blue Ribbon task force considers a 'supply and demand' view of how individuals and organisations might manage their digital collections. The study argues that there should be incentives for people to preserve information in the public interest, perhaps to keep a digital fingerprint of a precious manuscript or observational weather data from a scientific centre now closed"

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog - March 24, 2010 update

The March 24, 2010 edition of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog from Charles W. Bailey, Jr. is now available. It provides information about new works related to scholarly electronic publishing, such as books, e-prints, journal articles, magazine articles, technical reports, and white papers

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Homiletic : A Review of Publications in Religious Communication

AEON - Forum für junge Geschichtswissenschaft

Journal of Clinical Medicine Research

Südslavistik online

19 : Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century

Revista Universo Contábil

Smile Dental Journal

Antrocom : Online Journal of Anthropology

Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences

Nordisk Tidsskrift for Helseforskning

Copyright for Librarians

Copyright for Librarians is a joint project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL), a consortium of libraries from 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. The goal of the project is to provide librarians in developing and transitional countries information concerning copyright law. More specifically, it aspires to inform librarians concerning:

* copyright law in general
* the aspects of copyright law that most affect libraries
* how librarians in the future could most effectively participate in the processes by which copyright law is interpreted and shaped

Digitising the Canterbury Tales (UK)

A medieval edition of the Canterbury Tales manuscript has been digitised. The version held at Petworth House can now be examined in detail by experts. A team from The University of Manchester spent four days photographing the document with a GBP22,000 camera. The Canterbury Tales relate a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims to create an ironic picture of 14th century English life. The Petworth edition of the famous stories was hand written between 1420 and 1450, just a few years after they were first conceived by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is thought to have been at the West Sussex stately home for at least four hundred years. "It is believed to have been written...perhaps for the 3rd Earl of Northumberland (1421-1461) or for the 2nd Earl (1394-1455), who was married to Eleanor Neville, Chaucer's grand-niece" said Mark Purcell, Libraries Curator for the National Trust. Another possibility is that the manuscript was bequeathed in 1451 by Sir Thomas Cumberworth to his grand-niece, whose husband acted as agent for the 4th Earl of Northumberland."" The digitisation of the manuscript is part of a 18-month project, funded by Joint Information Systems Committee, which aims to showcase The University of Manchester as one of the country's leading centres for digitisation of rare books, manuscripts and archives

Research Blogging Awards 2010

"Seed Media Group's Research Blogging Awards honor the outstanding bloggers who discuss peer-reviewed research. With over 1,000 blogs registered at ResearchBlogging.org and 10,000 posts about peer-reviewed journal articles collected, it is time to recognize the best of the best"

Bisto Book of the Year Awards Shortlist 2010 (Ireland)

The Bisto Book of the Year Awards Shortlist 2010 has been announced:

* An Greasaí Bróg agus na Síoga - Caitríona Hastings and Andrew Whitson
* Chalkline - Jane Mitchell
* Colm and The Lazarus Key - Kieran Mark Crowley
* Gluaiseacht - Alan Titley
* Lincoln and His Boys - Pj Lynch
* Solace of the Road - Siobhan Dowd
* The Eyeball Collector - FE Higgins
* The Gates - John Connolly
* The Third Pig Detective Agency - Bob Burke
* There - Marie Louise Fitzpatrick

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) awards

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced the following award winners:

* Hans Christian Andersen Winners 2010
* 2010 IBBY-Asahi Winners
* Kitty Crowther wins 2010 ALMA

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Charlotte Mecklenburg branches saved; fundraising aims to rehire staff

In an emergency meeting on the morning of March 24, the board of the Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Library rescinded its controversial week-old order to close half the system branches and lay off 148 staff members. Instead, trustees unanimously approved an alternative plan that will keep all 24 branches in operation at a reduced schedule; lay off up to 84 employees; cut salaries of retained staff members between 5% and 20%; and drastically reduce services such as storytimes, classes on job searching and technology, and book clubs. "The public has asked for locations, rather than level of service," Brown said in the March 24 Charlotte Observer

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards shorlist

Since their establishment in 1972, the Scottish Arts Council Book Awards have recognised and rewarded literary excellence in literary fiction, poetry, and literary non-fiction by Scottish authors resident in, or out with, Scotland. In 2009 the book awards were re-branded the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards, to represent a long term sponsorship commitment. The Book of the Year award is worth £30,000, and is the biggest literary prize of its kind in Scotland. Shortlist now released

London Libraries Consortium leads on e-books for public libraries

"London Libraries Consortium represents 12 London Public Library Services, a third of London's boroughs. The consortium is at the forefront of technology and 10 of its 12 members are already offering e-books to library customers ahead of the recommendation for free access to e-books outlined in The Modernisation Review of Public Libraries: a Policy Statement (published 22 March 2010)"

NASIG call for discussion groups & users groups topics/facilitators

The NASIG Program Planning Committee invites ideas for topics and volunteers for session facilitators for Discussion Groups and User Groups at the 25th Annual Conference in Palm Springs, California, June 3-6, 2010. Informal Discussion Groups serve to promote discussion among NASIG attendees who have a shared interest in a topic, idea, workflow, or problem. The emphasis of these sessions is open discussion and the generation of new ideas. The facilitator must be registered for the full conference. Informal Discussion Groups will take place on Saturday, June 5, 3:30-4:30PM

Serials Solutions launches AquaBrowser SaaS version

Serials Solutions, a business unit of ProQuest, has updated, enhanced and released a new SaaS version (Software as a Service) of AquaBrowser

FulfILLment - developed by Equinox Software, Inc

"FulfILLment is an open source project designed to link library catalogs. When completed in about two years, it will provide library users seamless access to materials owned by libraries using FullfILLment—no matter which integrated library system his or her library uses. FulfILLment is being developed by Equinox Software, Inc. under contract with OHIONET"

Emerald launches two new collections

"Emerald Group Publishing Limited, a leading international publisher of scholarly journals and books, has announced the launch of Emerald Education Plus and Emerald Sociology Plus, two new electronic collections of journals and books specifically crafted for education and sociology researchers, academics and policy makers. With contributions from experts in 110 countries, both collections offer a truly international and authoritative perspective on their subject areas"

New WebJunction Group: Online Conferencing

A group was created to complement an upcoming PLA session, Expanding your world through Web Conferencing: Connecting small libraries in big ways

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Library Book Rate Advocacy Toolkit - Canadian Library Association

CLA has launched a new Toolkit to help members advocate for federal legislation in support of the Library Book Rate. The Toolkit provides a sample letter to send to your Member of Parliament, tips and talking points for in-person meetings with your MP, background information and current context for the Library Book Rate, and details of the private member's bill proposed by Merv Tweed (MP, Brandon-Souris). Currently, the Library Book Rate is considered for renewal on an annual basis by Canada Post

Webinar: International Children's Digital Library

"This webinar will explore The International Digital Children's Library and discuss several educational uses of this fantastic free online library of digitized children's books. The IDCL is available in many languages from various countries. Children can search for books by location, color, length, intended age group, content type, and emotional quality" - April 26, 2010

InSITE - March 22, 2010

InSITE: A Current Awareness Service of Cornell Law Library - Vol. 15, No. 15, March 22, 2010 is now available. Contents:

# FIAN International: Defending the Right to Food Worldwide
# Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals
# Supreme Court Database

Above the Fold - March 12, 2010

Above the Fold is a Web-based newsletter published by OCLC Research. It has been developed to serve a broad international readership from libraries, archives and museums - March 12, 2010 - Vol. 3, No. 10 now available

2009 Tiptree Award winners announced

The James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council has announced that the 2009 Tiptree Award has two winners:

  • Greer Gilman, Cloud and Ashes: Three Winter's Tales, (Small Beer Press 2009)
  • Fumi Yoshinaga, Ooku: The Inner Chambers, volumes 1 & 2 (VIZ Media 2009)

Web Archiving (Digital Curation Centre, UK)

"The DCC has produced a report that provides a snapshot of the state of the art of Web archiving in early 2010, noting areas of contemporaneous research and development. It should be of interest to individuals and organisations concerned about the longevity of the Web resources to which they contribute or refer, and who wish to consider the issues and options in a broad context. The report begins by reviewing in more detail the motivations that lie behind Web archiving, both from an organisational and a research perspective"

Official Google Blog: A new approach to China: an update

On January 12, we announced on this blog that Google and more than twenty other U.S. companies had been the victims of a sophisticated cyber attack originating from China, and that during our investigation into these attacks we had uncovered evidence to suggest that the Gmail accounts of dozens of human rights activists connected with China were being routinely accessed by third parties, most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on their computers. We also made clear that these attacks and the surveillance they uncovered - combined with attempts over the last year to further limit free speech on the web in China including the persistent blocking of websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Docs and Blogger - had led us to conclude that we could no longer continue censoring our results on Google.cn.

So earlier today we stopped censoring our search services - Google Search, Google News, and Google Images - on Google.cn. Users visiting Google.cn are now being redirected to Google.com.hk, where we are offering uncensored search in simplified Chinese, specifically designed for users in mainland China and delivered via our servers in Hong Kong. Users in Hong Kong will continue to receive their existing uncensored, traditional Chinese service, also from Google.com.hk. Due to the increased load on our Hong Kong servers and the complicated nature of these changes, users may see some slowdown in service or find some products temporarily inaccessible as we switch everything over.

Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Google.cn has been hard. We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement. We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we've faced - it's entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China. We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services. We will therefore be carefully monitoring access issues, and have created this new web page, which we will update regularly each day, so that everyone can see which Google services are available in China.

In terms of Google's wider business operations, we intend to continue R&D work in China and also to maintain a sales presence there, though the size of the sales team will obviously be partially dependent on the ability of mainland Chinese users to access Google.com.hk. Finally, we would like to make clear that all these decisions have been driven and implemented by our executives in the United States, and that none of our employees in China can, or should, be held responsible for them. Despite all the uncertainty and difficulties they have faced since we made our announcement in January, they have continued to focus on serving our Chinese users and customers. We are immensely proud of them.

Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer

Harry Ransom Center to house Magnum Photo Archive

Harry Ransom Center to house Magnum Photo ArchiveMagnum Photos, the photographic cooperative whose members snapped some of the most iconic images of the last half of the 20th century, has sold its archives of almost 200,000 original press prints to an investment firm that has partnered with the University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center to preserve, catalog, and make accessible the photos. The collection covers major events, celebrities, world leaders, social affairs, and enduring images such as the green-eyed "Afghan Girl" who graced the cover of National Geographic in 1985. Its new owner is an affiliate of MSD Capital, the private investment firm of computer mogul and Austin resident Michael Dell. "Housing the collection at the Ransom Center not only allows this archive to be studied by photographers but also helps satisfy the huge interest in it among historians, anthropologists, curators, journalists, and the public at large," said Mark Lubell, managing director of Magnum Photos

International Anna Frank Award goes to K.V. Johansen

"Feniks publishing house and the Makedonija Prezent Foundation of Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, will be presenting the International Anna Frank Award to Canadian writer K.V. Johansen at the 22nd International Book Fair in Skopje, which will be held from 13 to 18 April 2010"

Monday, March 22, 2010

Osprey Publishing move into the Apple Store with Military History Books as 'freemium' Apps

Osprey Publishing the military book publisher, today announced that five of its military history books are now available for the first time as 'freemium' apps via the Apple ecommerce store. The apps were developed by Exact Editions, the London-based digital publishing company, who work with magazine, newspaper and book publishers to market and sell online and app versions of their titles

Canterbury Tales to be captured on camera (UK)

Canterbury Tales to be captured on camera"Experts from the University of Manchester's John Rylands Library are to spend four days at a beautiful seventeenth century mansion to capture its world famous Canterbury Tales manuscript on camera (22-25 March). It is part of a 18-month project - funded by JISC - which showcases the University of Manchester as one of the country's leading centres for digitisation of rare books, manuscripts and archives"

Marie L. Radford wins 2010 Mudge Award for contribution to reference librarianship

Marie L. Radford, associate professor at the School of Communication and Information, Department of Library and Information Science at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, has been selected the 2010 winner of the Reference and User Services Association's (RUSA) Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award. The award, which is administered by RUSA and generously supported by Gale Cengage Learning, recognizes distinguished contributions to reference librarianship. In selecting Radford for this honor, the committee cited her many accomplishments, including authorship of four books, among them "Conducting the Reference Interview (2nd ed.)," "The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library" and "Web Research: Selecting, Evaluating, and Citing"; editorship of three other books, including "Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends" and "Academic Library Research"; numerous articles published in top library journals; and dozens of conference papers and presentations"

Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century

Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century"Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century reveals a fascinating tale of creative genius, individual endeavour, personal idiosyncrasy, occasional duplicity and bad behaviour and far-sighted vision that over the century made British book publishing the best in the world and still underlies its role today. This book explores how publishing companies and their owners and staffs were organised and how their output responded to the wider social, economic and cultural trends of the period. It concentrates on the key figures like William Heinemann, Allen Lane, Paul Hamlyn and Robert Maxwell but also looks at less well known but often very significant figures whose contributions were also vital. Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century unveils an exciting and dynamic industry that influenced the course of literature, education and general cultural history at home and abroad. It considers fiction and trade publishing as well as scholarly, academic, scientific, children's, technical, medical and professional publishing" - British Library

Open Access to American History in Video

Open Access to American History in Video"Since launching last April, American History in Video has grown to include more than 4,000 titles and 1,000 hours. It will continue to grow to include more than 5,000 complete titles and 2,000 hours of rare newsreels and important documentaries from leading producers such as PBS, The History Channel®, Bullfrog Films, Media Rich Learning, and California Newsreel" Free access until April 16, 2010

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #111

LISTen: The LISNews.org Podcast - Episode #111. "Recognizing that Health Care Reform is dominating the news in North America and squeezing out other news channels, we have a miscellany this week in addition to leaking more details about what this LISNews Bulletin is envisioned to be". Previous Podcasts can be found here

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Holcombe Publishing, new etextbook publisher in the UK

"Holcombe Publishing is a new e-publishing venture committed to the dissemination of high quality eBooks by academic writers at an affordable price. The keywords for Holcombe Publishing are innovation and accessibility. All of the books on its list will introduce new ideas and recent research knowledge across a wide range of subjects but always presented in a form that makes them readily understandable to non-specialists"

Developing an online library and promoting digital literacy (UK)

Developing an online library and promoting digital literacy - Organised by the SLA and JISC Collections for Schools - 24 March 2010 - Hosted by Headington School, Oxford, UK

VOYA, Teacher Librarian acquired by E L Kurdyla Publishing

E L Kurdyla Publishing has acquired VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), a magazine for librarians serving young adults, and Teacher Librarian, a journal for school librarians. RoseMary Honnold will continue as VOYA's editor-in-chief, and David Loertscher and Betty Marcoux will remain as co-editors of Teacher Librarian. There are immediate plans to launch interactive Web sites for the two journals, both of which are published bimonthly

CQ Press unveils Political Handbook of the World 2010 in print and online

CQ Press has released the newest edition of its best-selling annual global political guide Political Handbook of the World 2010. This comprehensive, one-volume resource includes coverage of:

  • Current issues, crises, and controversies
  • Newly formed parties and governing coalitions as well as new party leaders
  • Maps illustrating current political boundaries
  • Important political events and foreign policy initiatives
  • The latest population figures, economic growth statistics, and political boundary maps
  • Activities of intergovernmental organizations

New online record copying service - UK National Archives

From Monday 19 April 2010, the UK National Archives is introducing a new online process to order copies of documents that are not already downloadable from its website. This will replace the existing estimate request and Digital Express services

Cologne-based libraries to pioneer Open Data practices (Germany)

"Cologne-based libraries and the Library Centre of Rhineland-Palatinate (LBZ) in cooperation with the North Rhine-Westphalian Library Service Center (hbz) are the first German libraries to adopt the idea of Open Access for bibliographic data by publishing their catalog data for free public use. The University and Public Library of Cologne (USB), the Library of the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, the University Library of the University of Applied Science of Cologne and the LBZ are taking the lead by releasing their data. The Public Library of Cologne has announced to follow shortly. The release of bibliographic data forms a basis for linking that data with data from other domains in the Semantic Web"

Cherié Weible named RUSA's distinguished ILL librarian for 2010

Cherié Weible, head of interlibrary loan and document delivery at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected the winner of the 2010 Virginia Boucher/OCLC Distinguished ILL Librarian award. The award, administered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), recognizes an individual for outstanding professional achievement, leadership and significant contributions to the fields of interlibrary loan and document delivery. Weible's noteworthy accomplishments include her ongoing mentoring activities of interlibrary loan professionals, as well as her presentation and publication activities, which currently includes contributions to the revision of the "Interlibrary Loan Practitioner’s Handbook." Weible earned her M.S. in L.I.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and also holds a M.A. in history and a B.A. in history and English from Pittsburg State University (Kan.)

"Hiring, Training, and Supervising Library Shelvers" now available as an e-book

ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association, has announced its first eEditions e-book bundle, "Hiring, Training, and Supervising Library Shelvers," by Patricia Tunstall. The e-book is offered in file formats that are readable using a variety of software and devices, including the Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader, iPhone's Stanza eReader, Adobe Digital Editions eReader and the MobiPocket eReader. The e-book can also be read on desktop and laptop computers using free software. The new e-book bundle includes the full text of the printed book, with bookmarked tables of contents and indexes for easy navigation. Tunstall's guide offers practical advice on managing these library employees so crucial to daily operational excellence, with a complete overview on how to hire, test, train and retain. Tunstall is an information assistant at Indian Trails Public Library in Wheeling, Ill., and has experience both at the reference desk and as supervisor of pages and shelving. Since receiving a teaching certificate from Nottingham University in England, she has held jobs in a variety of fields. She is an occasional contributor of articles to library publications

7th National Conference of African American Librarians conference

7th National Conference of African American Librarians Conference - Culture Keepers VII: Bridging the Divide with Information Access, Activism and Advocacy - August 4-8, 2010 - Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Nancy Pearl wins 2010 Monroe Award for excellence in library adult services

Well-known librarian, educator and tireless reading advocate Nancy Pearl has been selected the winner of the 2010 Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award, an honor administered annually by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). The Monroe Award honors a librarian, library and information science researcher or educator who has made a significant contribution to library adult services. Pearl has an extensive career in librarianship and most recently was, until August 2004, the executive director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library. During her time there, she expanded readers' advisory services beyond the library walls with the establishment of the One Book/One City reading event, which became a model for similar events now held around the country. Since 1993, Pearl has also taught readers' advisory and genre literature courses at the University of Washington's ISchool.

Biblio Tech Review - March 2010

The March 2010 issue of Biblio Tech Review is now available. This issue includes:

* Libramation Introduces BookBank
* Evanced Unveils BranchAnywhere Prototype
* World Maritime University Chooses Koha Supported by PTFS Europe
* HighWire releases results of librarians' survey on e-books
and many more of the top stories in the Library Technology industry

Saturday, March 20, 2010

OCLC and H.W. Wilson to transition database subscriptions from FirstSearch to WilsonWeb

OCLC and H.W. Wilson will work together to transition library subscriptions for H.W. Wilson databases provided on the OCLC FirstSearch service to the WilsonWeb platform over the next 16 months. Wilson will continue to index many of its databases in WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local, a program that began in 2008. The commitment to work together follows an announcement earlier today that OCLC will transition out of the role of hosting and reselling commercially published content. OCLC will increase focus on partnering with publishers and other database providers to increase access to library-licensed content via WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local

US National Archives to Host ICA Meetings March 22-26

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has announced that it will host meetings of the International Council on Archives March 22-26, 2010. Meetings will include the ICA's Management Commission, Programme Commission, and the Fund for International Development. Representatives from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America will attend the meetings at the National Archives Building

Podcast: I'm All Right Jack! Britain in 1959 - UK National Archives

Podcast: I'm All Right Jack! Britain in 1959"The famous Boulting Brothers film I'm All Right Jack! was released just over 50 years ago. The film, in which a blundering innocent causes a nationwide strike, was a satire - but did it also reflect social realities in 1959? Were trade unions and government on a collision course at this time? Does it reflect other trends in post-war Britain? This talk analyses the film and examines related material in the public record of the late 1950s - some of the results may seem surprising from today's perspective"

'Honest mistake' sparked library Internet uproar (Canada)

'Honest mistake' sparked library Internet uproar (Canada)"Stephen Harper's Conservative MPs were told in caucus today that 'an honest mistake' led to libraries and community groups being told their public funding for Internet access was ending. Senior Industry Canada bureaucrats had 'misunderstood' the plan, which simply involved moving money to a different pot, according to Tory insiders. That misunderstanding, however, resulted in much controversy and a huge outcry as letters went out from Industry informing Community Access Program sites that their funding was being cut as of April 1. The 16-year-old program helps link rural communities and allows Canadians who can't afford computers access to the Internet. The confusion resulted in some red faces as Industry Minister Tony Clement had to call a press conference to explain the situation. He said the program was not being cut rather it is being funded for another year. The funding was simply coming from a different pot. The minister has not, however, made any commitments past this year" - Globe and Mail

CILIP Manifesto (UK)

The CILIP Manifesto sets out six priorities for the next Westminster government to ensure that quality library and information provision, delivered by skilled and committed practitioners, continues and improves. It has been developed to focus on making library and information provision better for users and society. If the government implements these six practical priorities our library and information services will both benefit and improve. CILIP says the government must:

1. Make school libraries statutory
2. Promote and protect the rights of users within copyright law
3. Build a successful knowledge economy
4. Preserve the UK's digital cultural heritage
5. Fund and enable the effective co-ordination of health information
6. Develop a set of library entitlements for public library users

Associates - March 2010 issue

The March 2010 (Vol. 16, no. 3) issue of Associates: The Electronic Library Support Staff Journal is now available

IFLA Presidential Newsletter No. 2 February 2010

IFLA Presidential Newsletter No. 1 January 2010IFLA Presidential Newsletter No. 2 February 2010 from Ellen Tise, IFLA President 2009-2011

Presentations from Library Connect Digital Libraries Symposia 2010

Presentations from Library Connect Digital Libraries Symposia 2010The 12th Annual Digital Libraries Symposium, held in Boston on January 16, 2010, focused on "The New Role and Image of Academic Libraries." Presentations are now available

Library 2.0 Gang 03/10: The Semantic Web and Linked Data

"The last couple of years has seen the emergence of the term Linked Data, which covers the pragmatic implementation of techniques and technologies espoused by the Semantic Web. The term Semantic Web itself, following Sir Tim Berners-Lee's first using it in 2001, has had somewhat of a bad press, being associated with artificial intelligence and the need for web publishers to add lots of metadata to their pages. Our guest on the Gang this month, Karen Coyle, has recently published a Library Technology Report - Understanding the Semantic Web: Bibliographic Data and Metadata. She was therefore in an great position to provide an introductory overview of the Semantic Web and how it could apply to the data rich world of libraries. Describing herself as a semantic web opportunists, not a semantic web purist, she was ideally placed to get this month's conversation going. Gang members Carl Grant and Marshall Breeding soon joined in the conversation, making it clear we were talking about the practical implementation of semantic web technologies, not the big 'vision'."

EBSCO Publishing to acquire NetLibrary Division from OCLC

"OCLC and EBSCO Publishing have signed an agreement whereby EBSCO will purchase the assets of the OCLC NetLibrary Division and the rights to license a select number of vendor-owned databases currently available through the OCLC FirstSearch service. The purchase includes the NetLibrary eBook and eAudiobook platform as well as operations and infrastructure in Boulder, Colorado. NetLibrary eBook content and eAudiobook subscriptions will continue to be available on the NetLibrary platform. EBSCO plans to provide access to the NetLibrary eBook content on the EBSCOhost® platform, one of the most used eContent platforms, creating a comprehensive integrated eBook and database service. NetLibrary eBooks will also continue to be discoverable through WorldCat.org"

ABC-CLIO joins Gale Virtual Reference Library

"ABC-CLIO - along with its imprints Greenwood, Libraries Unlimited and Praeger - have submitted 250 titles to the Gale eBook platform. These additions expand Gale's existing collection of eBooks from Greenwood and Linworth Publishing, an imprint of Libraries Unlimited, and introduce to the platform resources from ABC-CLIO and Praeger"

EDINA Newsline - March 2010

EDINA Newsline March 2010, Volume 15.1, is now available. EDINA is a JISC-funded National Datacentre

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Business and Economics Research Journal

International Journal of Drug Delivery

International Journal of Environmental and Science Education

International Journal of Phytomedicine

Superficies y Vacio

European Journal of Clinical & Medical Oncology

European Neurological Journal

Journal of Coagulation Disorders

Studia Universitatis Vasile Goldis Arad : Seria Stiinte Ingineresti si Agroturism

Journal of Finance and Accountancy

Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences

International Journal of Marketing Studies

Journal of Advanced Research in Mechanical Engineering

KASBIT Business Journal

Review of European Studies

European Journal of American Studies

International Journal of Psychological Studies

$2 million life raft sought by March 24 for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (USA)

From American Libraries: "Frantic messages with hashtags of #cmlibrary and #2millioninoneweek are dotting the twitterverse about efforts to avert - or at least allay - sudden plans to close 12 branches of the Charlotte Mecklenburg (N.C.) Library and lay off 148 library workers April 3. The startling March 17 announcement was followed the next day by a library board meeting at which trustees revealed which of the library's 24 locations were slated to be shuttered. Among the libraries listed for closure are several that were recently renovated and a brand-new facility, the Hickory Hills branch, that opened earlier this year. The sudden crisis stems from Mecklenburg County officials scrambling to close a $13.2 million budget gap for the current fiscal year by reducing funds already allocated to county departments; the library is being forced to return $2 million, or 6.3% of its current-year budget, only three months before the June 30 end of the fiscal year"

World Poetry Day 2010

World Poetry Day is on March 21, and was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements." World Poetry Day has existed in some form since at least 1505, according to the National Poetry Day Committee, which was based in Florida, USA, in the early 1990s

Friday, March 19, 2010

CARL E-Lert # 368

CARL E-Lert # 368, March 19, 2010 from Canadian Association of Research Libraries. Some of this week's items: Stratford Institute gaining traction around the world; Canada seeing 'failure' on digital strategy; FCC Broadband Plan May Call for Expanded Higher-Ed Leadership Role; Challenges for academic libraries in difficult economic times: A guide for senior institutional managers and policy makers

Kindle for Mac now available

Kindle for MacKindle for Mac now available

UK government publications - 12-19 March 2010

The latest round up of new UK government publications this week - 12-19 March 2010 from Intute and the LSE Library

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Twelve. "All the questions in this week's brainteaser refer to a group of twelve things or people - also known as a dozen" Answers here.

1. What is a "daily dozen"?
2. How many are there in a "baker's dozen"?
3. Which hero of classical mythology was renowned for completing twelve seemingly impossible tasks, which included cleaning the Augean stables and killing the nine-headed Hydra?
4. What is the date of Twelfth Night?
5. Name the war film (1967), starring Lee Marvin and Telly Savalas, about a squad of 12 military prisoners who are challenged to perform a suicidal mission in occupied France during the Second World War.
6. Who invented the method of musical composition called the twelve-tone system or twelve-note system in about 1921?
7. Which phrase containing the word "dozen" describes a situation in which a choice must be made between alternatives that are almost or effectively the same?
8. What was the title of the book and film about the twelve children of Frank B. Gilbreth Sr. & Lillian E. Gilbreth?
9. Name nine of the twelve signs of the zodiac.
10. What is the word for a polygon having twelve angles and twelve sides?

Open Library redesign announced

Open Library redesign announcedThe redesign of the Open Library website has been announced

ACS Mobile for your iPhone or iPod Touch

ACS Mobile provides readers with a multi-journal, up-to-the-minute live stream of new peer-reviewed research content (Articles ASAPSM) published across the Society's preeminent portfolio of scholarly research journals, including the flagship Journal of the American Chemical Society. The application also includes a "Latest News" feed from Chemical and Engineering News – the Society's industry-leading magazine and preferred source of online news for its more than 161,000 member professionals. ACS Mobile makes a scientist's daily commute, business travel, or time away from the desk or laboratory a more rewarding and productive experience

The Future of Publishing - a video from Dorling Kindersley Books (UK)

"This video was prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books and produced by Khaki Films. Originally meant solely for a DK sales conference, the video was such a hit internally that it is now being shared externally."

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice - Volume 5 Number 1

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice - Vol 5, No 1 (2010) is now available. RSS Feed

IELA – Service levels at Canadian public libraries for people with print disabilities

The Canadian Library Association Executive Council has approved the IELA Service Level Guidelines which was prepared by the CLA IELA Task Force. The document provides a model for service levels in Canadian public libraries for individuals with print disabilities

The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award shortlist

The shortlist for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award was announced on Sunday 7 March 2010. Six writers are competing for the £25,000 prize for a single short story. The winner will be announced on 26 March 2010. The six writers and the titles of their short story are:

* Will Cohu 'Nothing but Grass'
* Joe Dunthorne 'Critical Responses to My Last Relationship'
* Petina Gappah 'An Elegy for Easterly'
* Adam Marek 'Fewer Things'
* CK Stead 'Last Season’s Man'
* David Vann 'It’s Not Yours'

Webinar: Library Images and Video: Engage, Inspire and Tell your Story

"In this entertaining and heartwarming presentation you will learn how two librarians teamed up to advocate more effectively (and boldly) while staying true to the personality of the communities, the libraries and the staff they serve. You and your library really can market your services and engage more effectively, and images, video and authenticity can be a key! Learn how you too can use images and video creatively and effectively to inspire Libraryland, engage the communities you serve boost staff morale and get more enjoyment from your job. The stories and lessons in this session will be presented by Jeff Dawson from the Lester Public Library in Two Rivers Wisconsin and by Michael Porter from WebJunction" - 30 March 2010

New C&RL preprint now available

Article Title: Use of Web Resources in the Journal Literature 2001 and 2007: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
Author: Li Zhang
Accepted: March 18, 2010
Anticipated Publication Date: January 2011

Videos from January SPARC-ACRL forum on ebook transition

Watch videos of presentations from the ALA Midwinter SPARC-ACRL Forum on The ebook transition: Collaborations and innovations behind open-access monographs which took place Saturday, January 16, 2010 in Boston

Thursday, March 18, 2010

PLA 2010 Virtual Conference to feature live programming, author interviews (USA)

The final slate of programs for the PLA 2010 Virtual Conference is now confirmed. On March 25-26, 2010 the Public Library Association (PLA) will share a condensed live and online PLA 13th National Conference with public librarians and public library workers who can’t make the trip to Portland

The Orange Prize for Fiction 2010 longlist

The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK's only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, has announced the 2010 longlist. Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women's writing throughout the world. The shortlist will be published June 8, 2010:

* Rosie Alison: The Very Thought of You - Alma Books
* Eleanor Catton: The Rehearsal - Granta
* Clare Clark: Savage Lands - Harvill Secker
* Amanda Craig: Hearts and Minds - Little, Brown
* Roopa Farooki: The Way Things Look to Me - Pan Books
* Rebecca Gowers: The Twisted Heart - Canongate
* M.J. Hyland: This is How - Canongate
* Sadie Jones: Small Wars - Chatto & Windus
* Barbara Kingsolver: The Lacuna - Faber and Faber
* Laila Lalami: Secret Son - Viking
* Andrea Levy: The Long Song - Headline Review
* Attica Locke: Black Water Rising - Serpent's Tail
* Maria McCann: The Wilding - Faber and Faber
* Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall - Fourth Estate
* Nadifa Mohamed: Black Mamba Boy - HarperCollins
* Lorrie Moore: A Gate at the Stairs - Faber and Faber
* Monique Roffey: The White Woman on the Green Bicycle - Simon and Schuster
* Amy Sackville: The Still Point - Portobello Books
* Kathryn Stockett: The Help - Fig Tree
* Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger - Virago

Information Research - March 2010

Information Research - Volume 15 No 1 - March 2010 is now available from Publisher/Editor in Chief, Professor Tom Wilson

Marshall Breeding named 2010 LITA/Library Hi Tech Award winner

Marshall Breeding has been named the winner of the 2009 LITA/Library Hi Tech award for Outstanding Communication in Library and Information Technology. Emerald Group Publishing Limited and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) sponsor the award. The award recognizes outstanding persons or institutions for their long-term contributions in the area of Library and Information Science technology and its application. It consists of $1,000 and a certificate of merit

Digital Collections Online - University of Exeter

Tuesday 16 March saw the launch of Exeter University's Digital Collections Online. Delivering images and digital objects from Exeter's most prestigious research collections, including over 2000 images showcasing Victorian culture, openly available for teaching and research. The website includes e-learning packages to help embed the collections use within the university's teaching, learning and research. Highlights of the collection include historic popular culture images from Queen Victoria to Alice in Wonderland.

2010 Hans Christian Andersen Awards shortlist

"The Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced the 2010 Shortlist. Five authors and five illustrators have been selected from 55 candidates submitted by 32 national sections of IBBY for the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award. The award, considered the most prestigious in international children's literature, is given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made lasting contributions to children's literature. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, March 23 at the Bologna Children's Book Fair"

Self-Publishing and Liberation (Women's Library, UK)

Self-Publishing and Liberation

Saturday 20 March, 10am to 3.30pm
£10 / £8 concessions

Practical workshop about self-publishing, with a particular focus on Print-on-Demand technology. The workshop will feature historical testimony from Gail Chester and Amanda Sebestyen, who will speak about their involvement with publishing collectives in the Women’s Liberation Movement.

You can participate in creative exercises that will arm you with the inspiration and tools to start publishing your own material.

Led by Deborah M. Withers, founder of HammerOn Press; author of Self-Publishing and Empowerment: A Resource for Community Groups, www.debi-rah.net