Recommendations for Next Generation Repositories

The Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) has just released a report from their Next Generation Repositories Working Group: Behaviours and Technical Recommendations of the COAR Next Generation Repositories Working Group. The recommendations in this report provide an interesting read about the potential for a much more interlinked and standardized repository front in the future.

The report states that ”many of the behaviors and recommendations for next generation repositories pertain to establishing links across repositories as a way to break down the silos and arrive at an environment characterized by interconnected networked ​repositories.”

We currently have a somewhat “under-regulated” system of repositories that may or may not play nice with each other. The suggested standards and protocols within this report would move towards a more standardized approach to repository content as well as the metadata backing these materials. If adopted globally these standards would provide the foundation for more interlinked data and materials by adopting, and then adapting, resources that are already available.

Acknowledging that technology is fluid, and in some cases the desired technology does not yet exist, the Working Group will soon be publishing their behaviors and technologies in a GitHub repository to support updates and engage the broader community. 

Getting to Know TS Law Librarians: Jackie Magagnosc

1. Introduce yourself (name & position):
Jackie Magagnosc, Cataloging and Continuations Management Librarian at the Cornell Law Library

2. Does your job title actually describe what you do? Why/why not?
My job title was recently updated, so it’s pretty accurate. My position is relatively traditional. I am responsible for original and complex copy cataloging in all formats; I supervise the support staff in cataloging and continuations check in. 

3. What are you reading right now?
For fun: The houseguest by Kim Brooks. Next in the queue is Radium girls by Kate Moore. For work/professional development: I have an epic “articles to read pile” on my desk, plus Practical ontologies for information professionals by David Stuart.

4a. If you could work in any library (either a type of library or a specific one), what would it be? Why?
In my wildest dreams, I would be fun to work at a library or archive with a collection focusing on one of my personal interests, so gardening, fiber and textile arts, or history of dress.

4b. You suddenly have a free day at work, what project would you work on?
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around OpenRefine. I did a short workshop a while ago, and I’ve waded through a basic tutorial, but if you don’t use something it’s gone. In this fantasy scenario, everything would be clear and I would be able to apply OpenRefine to a project I have in mind.

NASIG updates strategic plan

NASIG, formerly the North American Serials Interest Group, recently announced availability of the NASIG Strategic Plan 2017-2011. This new strategic plan reflects NASIG's evolution from an organization primarily focused on serials management to one with a broader scope including electronic resources management and scholarly communications.

The details:

NASIG's vision, adopted November 10,2014, is to be:

an independent organization working to advance and transform the management of information resoures. Our ultimate goal is to facilitate and improve the distribution, acquisition, and long-term accessibility of information resources in all formats and business models.

The organization's mission includes three key components.

1. Support of a community of professionals ... engaging in understanding of one another's perspectives and improving functionality throughout the information resources lifecycle ...
2. Provision of a variety of conference and continuing education programming ...
3. Promotion of the development and implementation of best practices and standards for the distribution, acquisition and long-term accessibility of information resources in all formats and business models throughout their lifecycle.

The strategic plan identifies five strategic directions for the organization.

1. NASIG will revitalize its marketing approach to reflect is new mission and vision.
2. NASIG will expand student outreach and mentoring.
3. NASIG will find the optimum balance between paid staff and volunteer work.
4. NASIG will be involved in creating new content to add to the body of scholarly work.
5. NASIG will work to enhance benefits to all members with a particular emphasis on members from the commercial sector.

NASIG's 33rd annual meeting, with the theme Transforming the Information Community will be held in Atlanta, GA  Friday June 8 - Monday June 11, 2018.

NISO “Understanding Metadata” Primer

In a press release on January 18, 2017, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announced the release of Understanding Metadata, an update to NISO’s 2004 publication on the topic. The current release is the second document in NISO’s Primer Series on data management issues. The primer series began with the publication of Research Data Management in 2015 and will continue with a forthcoming publication on Linked Data for Cultural Institutions and additional guides in the future.

The 2017 primer is an expanded overview of structured metadata used in cultural heritage institutions, covering the latest developments in metadata practices, tools, standards, and languages. It provides a useful outline of the most common use cases for standard metadata types in information systems, covering a range of cultural resources management activities including description, discovery, display, interoperability, digital-object management, preservation, and object navigation. Subsequent sections provide a comprehensive overview of a.) How metadata is stored and shared through relational databases, XML documents, and Linked Data and RDF b.) The standardization of metadata through controlled vocabularies and content standards, and c.) Notable metadata languages used broadly and within cultural heritage institutions. As an introductory document, the 2017 Primer addresses the basic issues around, what is metadata, why we create metadata, and how we create, use, and share metadata.  

As a newbie to understanding metadata, I found it useful to read both NISO’s 2004 Understanding Metadata document and the 2017 Primer publication. However, the latter includes a few concepts that were not covered in the original document such as Linked Data, the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME), and CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model (CIDOC CRM). In other instances, the 2017 primer provides more substantive descriptions of concepts nominally covered in the 2004 publication, such as RDF (Resource Description Framework). 

The 2017 NISO Primer release, Understanding Metadata, is available as a free download at http://www.niso.org/publications/press/understanding_metadata.  

eBooks in the Law Library - Part 2

Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals, LLRX, continues its look at the current state of eBooks in law libraries. The second of their three-part series offers a great summary of the various pricing models that may be encountered during the acquisitions process. There are many ownership and subscription options for eBook acquisition and this article does an excellent job of explaining how the various plans work. It offers concise explanations for even the most confusing plans, such as non-linear lending and access to own. 

Still not sure what model would work best for your particular budget? The article also offers numerous helpful tips for keeping eBook costs down while growing a collection. 

The article concludes with a list of questions that should be addressed before selecting any eBook package. For example; making sure the technical requirements match the resources of your library and its users, examining the content and scope of the eBook package to make sure you're meeting your user's needs, and inquiring about user interface and other functions such as printing and copy/pasting from the eBook titles. 

This is an excellent primer for any librarian looking to add eBooks to their collection. The next article in the series will include a case study of how the author's library has built its eBook collection.