LITA/ALCTS MARC Formats Interest Group slides from Midwinter available

Slides from the LITA/ALCTS MARC Formats Interest Group presentations made last month at ALA Midwinter are available at: http://connect.ala.org/node/163477. The speakers, Kelley McGrath, Jennifer Bowen, and Diane Hillmann, addressed the topic: "What Lies Beyond MARC?" Mark Ehlert has also made available a paper on the relationship between RDA and MARC (http://connect.ala.org/files/MARCandRDA_rev.pdf).

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).

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 English language text buttons have been replaced by icons in order to accommodate the introduction of non-English RDA text in the future.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.

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.

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.

Public comment period for NISO SUSHI Protocol: COUNTER-SUSHI Implementation Profile (NISO RP-14-201X)

On December 1, the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) announced the availability of NISO SUSHI Protocol: COUNTER-SUSHI Implementation Profile (NISO RP-14-201X) for a public comment period, ending on January 20, 2012.

This Recommended Practice provides a practical implementation structure to be used in the creation of reports and services related to harvesting of COUNTER Release 4 reports using the NISO SUSHI Protocol.

The NISO SUSHI Protocol: COUNTER-SUSHI Implementation Profile, the referenced schemas and additional implementation guidance for SUSHI can be found on the SUSHI webpages at: www.niso.org/workrooms/sushi/. The draft Release 4 of the COUNTER Code of Practice is available on the COUNTER website at: www.projectcounter.org/code_practice.html

Three library & information schools join LibLime to make LIS education more practical

According to a LibLime press release issued yesterday, three schools are joining LibLime in the Koha with Class program. The program is designed to give library school faculty a chance to embed the use of an ILS into their coursework and curricula, thereby allowing students to gain practical experience with library automation software as they prepare to enter the library workforce.

The three schools working with LibLime to roll out the project this coming Spring 2012 semester include: The School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University; The Information School at the University of Washington Gallagher; and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College.

Library school students taking classes in library automation and technology systems at these three Universities will be studying the principles for design, selection, implementation and management of automated systems of all types in libraries. Courses will cover the use of ILSs for technical service processing, reference and user services, and management. Courses will also include presentations and demos from vendors and systems librarians, as well as possible site visits.

Esteemed law librarian and professor at the Information School at the University of Washington Gallagher, Richard Jost stated, “I want to use the Koha with Class program to provide my students with a hands-on experience with an integrated library system. For students entering the job market in these difficult economic times, having the added practical experience of working on a library system will better prepare them for job interviewing and launching their careers.”