Monday, January 16, 2012

Redefining the Academic Library

Redefining the Academic Library: Managing the Migration to Digital Information Services. Washington, DC: Education Advisory Board, 2011. At: http://www.educationadvisoryboard.com/pdf/23634-EAB-Redefining-the-Academic-Library.pdf

Hailed as a seminal report by Current Cites, a monthly annotated bibliography of literature on information technology, this report summarizes the challenges academic libraries face in the digital age, and possible responses they can make. It includes four main sections: 1. Leveraging Digital Collections (The Promise and Perils of Ebooks; Patron-Driven Acquisition; Print-on-Demand); 2. Rethinking the Scholarly Publishing Model (Centralized Licensing Structure; On-Demand Article Access; Open-Access Publishing); 3. Repurposing Library Space (Data-Driven Deselection; Collaborative Collection Management; Building the 21st Century Library); 4. Redeploying Library Staff (Externalizing Low-Impact Activity; Roles in Teaching and Learning; Roles in Research and Scholarship).

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

New RDA Toolkit release - January 10, 2012

A new release for the RDA Toolkit was issued on January 10, 2012. The new release includes revisions and updates to the Library of Congress Policy Statements (LCPS), revisions and updates to the Help Guide, and improved loading time for chapters. English language text buttons have been replaced by icons in order to accommodate the introduction of non-English RDA text in the future. The next RDA Toolkit release is scheduled for February 14, 2012. The complete announcement, with further details about the January release, is available at: http://www.rdatoolkit.org/content/318.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Public Comment Period for Draft Update of SERU: Shared Electronic Resource Understanding (NISO RP-7-201X)

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announces the availability of a draft update of SERU: A Shared Electronic Resource Understanding (NISO RP-7-201X) for public comment through February 19, 2012.

SERU offers publishers and libraries the opportunity to save both the time and the costs associated with a negotiated and signed license agreement for e-resources by both content provider and customer agreeing to operate within a framework of shared understanding and good faith. The SERU framework provides a set of common understandings for parties to reference as an alternative to a formal license when conducting business.

The draft updated SERU Recommended Practice and an online comment form are available on the NISO SERU website (www.niso.org/workrooms/seru/). All parties involved in licensing electronic content are encouraged to review and comment on the document.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Code Year

Codeacademy is offering Code Year, interactive programming lessons that are e-mailed to participants every week to help them with building apps and web sites.