Library Technology Launchpad Basics and Resources Series.

Information Technology
Library Technology Launchpad Basics and Resources Series.

In 2016, the Library Technology Lauchpad blog started a Basics and Resources Series. Each entry provides a definition, summary of the topic, "the basics", and lists of resources to learn more . In 2016, the series covered:

• Altmetrics
• API
• BIBFRAME
• Linked data

This series is a great resource for anyone who needs to get up to speed in one of the areas covered. The areas I am familiar with seemed thoroughly covered.

Library Technology Launchpad ("Technology for every librarian") is edited by James Day, Electronic Services Librarian at Embry-Riddle Aeronautic University. The mission of the blog is to:

cover technology relevant to librarians and libraries.  Covered topics will include:

• Links to library technology news
• eBook purchasing and subscription trends
• Mobile library websites and eReader apps
• Online information resources
• Social media and libraries
• Library user experience (UX)
• Cloud computing for libraries
• Institutional repositories ans scholarly communication
• Research data management
• Search engine tips and tricks
• Useful general technology information

Their pages include guides to library technology acronyms, open access journals for librarians, and social media resources for librarians. Library Technology Launchpad seems like an excellent resource for those of us trying to keep up with technology trends in libraries.

Ensuring a Future for the Digital Scholarly Record

Recent decades have brought significant changes to the way we store scholarly research. The printed end-product is no longer guaranteed, nor is it necessarily what the researcher is looking for. Many law journals are following the trend in academia and moving to a predominantly, or solely, digital format. With this transition comes a change in thinking as to the best way to manage the archives of these journals and ensure that there is a scholarly record for the future. The Keepers Registry at the University of Edinburgh “acts as a global monitor on the archiving arrangements for electronic journals.” The registry strives to identify and work with archiving agencies who have taken on the stewardship of the electronic journals and serials – the aptly-named “Keepers”— and create a network to preserve them for the future.

The Keepers Registry works with the understanding that no single institution can do this on their own and stresses the importance of a collaborative effort. The group meets to address the growing concerns of its members and to help shape the vision for preserving and ensuring perpetual access to this digital content. This past summer, after a meeting of Keeper institutions, a plan was developed to tackle this international challenge: Ensuring the Future of the Digital Scholarly Record.  

To read further commentary on The Keepers Registry, see Mike Ashenfelder’s article in The Signal.

Getting to Know TS Law Librarians: Vicky Coulter

1. Introduce yourself.
My name is Vicky Coulter and I’m the Associate Director of Collections and Administration at the University of Wisconsin Madison Law Library.

2. Does your job title actually describe what you do? Why/why not?
My title was recently changed from Associate Director of Collections and Technical Services to Associate Director of Collections and Administration to reflect the administrative duties I took on after our financial specialist retired and was not replaced.  I had to think of something broad enough to reflect my supervision of the Technical Services Department, the collection maintenance oversight (both selection and shelving) and the delegated financial management of the library’s entire budget.  Since the Technical Services Department provides access to and maintains collections, I chose to keep “Collections”, drop “Technical Services”, and add “Administration” to hopefully reflect the management of both areas.

3. What are you reading right now?
I need a lot of diversity in my life which is why I love my job.  There is so much diversity in my day to day work!  This need for variety is also reflected in my reading as I am always reading (or listening to) more than one book at a time.  I am currently reading Evicted by Matthew Desmond (our campus Go Big Read choice), My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The New Tsar by Steven Lee Myers, and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.  

4. If you could work in any library (either a type of library or a specific one), what would it be? Why?
I originally wanted to be a children’s librarian and am still the person people come to when they need a book for a child.  Because I have many nieces and nephews, whom I’ve made sure are well supplied with books, I try to keep up on books they may be interested in and what’s new in the children’s and young adult market.  I worked in our local public library when I was in high school and  have loved being in an academic library for over 25 years but the chance to get back into a public library might be fun.