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The MLA Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion: An Open Discussion

April 2, 2006

David Laurence
Director of English Programs and ADE
Modern Language Association

David Nicholls
Director of Book Publications
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion is charged with examining the procedures used to evaluate scholarly publications for tenure and promotion. The Task Force will consider changes in scholarly publishing (and the multiple forms that scholarly publishing now takes) as these are affecting scholarly communication and the criteria used to assess scholarly work in tenure reviews.

Two MLA staff members will report briefly on the work of this MLA committee, highlighting the Task Force’s discussions of scholarly activities in digital media and findings about the evaluation of digital scholarship from a survey that the MLA conducted for the Task Force. Most of the session will be devoted to questions and discussion among participants.

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Scholarly Communication
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NARA’s Electronic Records Archives Initiative

April 2, 2006
Fynnette Eaton
ERA Program, Change Management Officer
National Archives and Records Administration

In September 2005, the National Archives and Records Administration awarded a contract valued at over $300 million to Lockheed Martin for the development of the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system. The presentation will provide an overview of the project scope and status and describe some of the challenges it faces.

Web Site:
http://www.archives.gov/era

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Cyberinfrastructure, Repositories
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“Network Neutrality” Issues for Higher Education and the Internet

April 2, 2006

Steve Worona
Director of Policy and Networking Programs
EDUCAUSE

Gary Bachula
Vice President for External Relations
Internet2

Earl Comstock
President and CEO
COMPTEL

Richard Greenfield
IP Policy Manager
University of Alaska

“Network neutrality” is the concept of keeping the Internet open to all content, information, applications, and equipment, regardless of who might be at either end of the connection. There is increasing concern that the owners of the local broadband connections (usually either the cable or telephone company) may block or discriminate against certain Internet users or applications in order to give an advantage to their own services. Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) has commented that he hopes the Internet is not “destroyed by issues of last-mile ownership.” At a recent Senate hearing, Vint Cerf said that “nothing less than the future of the Internet is at stake” in legislation regarding network neutrality. Meanwhile, the managers of the country’s mega-ISP’s assert that they cannot continue investing billions of dollars in high-speed Internet infrastructure without the freedom to explore multi-tiered services and other non-uniform business models. This panel will explore these arguments, including how they might impact higher education’s own networks, and will also consider actions that the higher education community is already taking and might take in the future.

Web Sites:
http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=807
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EPO0607.pdf
http://www.publicknowledge.org/content/papers/pk-net-neutrality-whitep-20060206
http://static.publicknowledge.org/pdf/pk-net-neutrality-summary-20060206.pdf

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Economic Models, Information Access & Retrieval
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NLM Long Range Plan for the 21st Century: A First-Look Preliminary Report

April 2, 2006

Elliot R. Siegel
Associate Director for Health Information Programs Development
National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Board of Regents charged the Library with developing a new long range plan for 2006-2016. Outstanding leaders from all sectors of NLM’s diverse constituencies are currently meeting to provide the broadest view of NLM’s mission, current situation, and its potential contributions to the health and well-being of America in the 21st Century. Four planning panels have been formed:
Panel 1. Resources and Infrastructure;
Panel 2. Information for Underserved and Diverse Populations;
Panel 3. Support for Clinical and Public Health Systems; and
Panel 4. Support for Genomic Science
This project briefing will provide a ‘first-look’ at key issues and recommendations that are emerging, and an opportunity for informal feedback and comment.

Web Site:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, E-Science, User Services
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Open Source Tools and Metasearch Findings of the Emory MetaCombine Project

April 2, 2006

Martin Halbert
Director for Digital Programs
Emory University

The MetaCombine Project has developed: 1) search techniques for combinations of OAI-PMH and Web resources, 2) semantic clustering and taxonomy assignment for metadata and content, and 3) frameworks for combining digital library components acting as a whole (hence the project name: MetaCombine). The project (funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) has developed twenty separate software modules as enhancements to the Heretrix web crawler and other digital library tools, and has evaluated these tools with cooperation from the Universities of Illinois and Michigan.

Web Site:
 http://www.metacombine.org

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Metadata
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The Orphan Works Report

April 2, 2006

Marybeth Peters
Register of Copyrights
U.S. Copyright Office

Jule Sigall
Associate Register for Policy and International Affairs
U.S. Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office will present a discussion on its recent study and report on “orphan works” — copyrighted works whose owners are impossible to identify and locate in situations where their permission is needed to use a work.  The Office undertook a study of this issue in 2005 and delivered its report to Congress in January 2006.  The discussion will describe the Office’s study and the key issues raised, as well as the details of the Office’s legislative recommendation.

Web Site:
http://www.copyright.gov/orphan

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Intellectual Property
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Pathway to the Future: Library Bibliographic Services for the 21st Century

April 2, 2006

Luc M. Declerck
Associate University Librarian, Technology and Technical Services
University of California, San Diego

Terry Ryan
Associate University Librarian for the UCLA Electronic Library
University of California, Los Angeles

Our users have a new set of expectations for libraries as internet services such as Amazon and Google offer them simplicity and immediate reward. How must our fragmented bibliographic systems and practices evolve to remain relevant to scholars in the future? In 2005, the University Librarians of the University of California (UC) charged a task force to tackle that question, to rethink how we provide bibliographic services and to recommend a roadmap for the future. The UC Bibliographic Services Task Force report is a call for change and a call to action. The entire University of California library system is currently giving feedback on the recommendations and discussing next steps. In this session, two members of the task force will describe how the report took shape, outline some of the key drivers for change, discuss some of the key recommendations, and explain how the UC Libraries will now move from vision to decision.

Web Site:
http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/sopag/BSTF/Final.pdf

Handout (MS Word)

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, User Services
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The Rat is Never Wrong: An Introduction to the Methods of User-Centered Design

April 2, 2006

Nancy Fried Foster
Lead Anthropologist and Co-Manager, Digital Initiatives Unit
University of Rochester

Michael Roy
Director of Academic Computing Services & Digital Library Projects
Wesleyan University

The design of physical spaces such as help desks, information commons, classrooms, computer labs, and informal learning spaces needs to be informed by an understanding of the changing needs and habits of the people who use these spaces. We will provide an overview of a user-centered design project from concept through data collection and analysis to applications. This will include a concise description of several methods along with a look at some real data (video, photos, and other artifacts) and a discussion of their meaning and applications. We will also introduce an emerging web community that facilitates and provides resources for this kind of work. A live, participatory design activity will take place during the session.

Web Site:
http://www.ethnoproject.info

Handout (PDF)

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Learning Spaces (includes Information/Learning Commons), User Services
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Results from a Technology Analysis of Repositories and Services

April 2, 2006

Sayeed Choudhury
Associate Library Director
Johns Hopkins University

With funding from the Mellon Foundation, the Johns Hopkins University has conducted a technology analysis of repositories and services. At the Spring 2005 CNI Task Force meeting, Hopkins described the methodology for this analysis, which focused on “an architecture and technology research evaluation of repository software and services such as e-publishing, e-learning, and digital preservation.” Working with several organizations, including MIT, the University of Virginia, ProQuest and the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), Hopkins has identified and gathered dozens of scenarios that represent a useful list of content types and potential services. These scenarios, in turn, informed the development of use cases, repository “key events” and functional requirements. The Hopkins team used these functional requirements to analyze the ability for DSpace, Fedora, and Digital Commons to support the needs identified through the scenarios. This presentation will provide the results from this analysis, with a discussion of the possible next steps for subsequent analyses.

Web Site:
https://wiki.library.jhu.edu/display/RepoAnalysis/ProjectRepository

Handout (MS Word)

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Preservation, E-Journals, Repositories
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Sakai: From Grant to Deployment to Global Community in 24 Months

April 2, 2006

Bradley Wheeler
Chief Information Officer
Indiana University

This session will provide an update on the Sakai Software, Foundation, Community, and a roadmap for further development. The Sakai software and community demonstrate a model of multi-institution collaboration to develop and deploy enterprise-scale software. The Sakai Foundation has over 100 paying members with 13 Sakai Commercial Affiliates all contributing to a healthy ecosystem based on an open licensing model. The Sakai software is now in full scale enterprise-wide use at institutions on multiple continents. Continuing integration with digital repositories and content providers remains a top priority for the community, and a recent Mellon grant is further evidence that Sakai-Library integration works.

Web Site:
http://www.sakaiproject.org

PowerPoint Presentation

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Learning Spaces (includes Information/Learning Commons), Repositories
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