ARL Selects 2009-2011 Diversity Scholars

ARL has just announced its selection of Diversity Scholars. The ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce offers stipend funding in support of MLIS education of up to $10,000 over two years to students from underrepresented groups who are interested in careers in research libraries. The program is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and by voluntary contributions from 52 ARL member libraries. This program reflects the commitment of ARL members to create a diverse academic and research library community that will better meet the challenges of changing demographics in higher education and the emphasis on global perspectives in the academy. One of our fellows from this summer, Anissa Ali, was selected as a recipient of this scholarship. The full press release can be found at http://www.arl.org/news/pr/diversityscholars09.shtml

ALA, ARL Release Guidance on Digital Delivery of Content to Classrooms

The American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of Research Libraries have released a document titled “Performance of or Showing Films in the Classroom” to provide guidance on digital delivery of content to the “physical” classroom. The document can be found at http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/webdigitalpsa.shtml

According to the associations, the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act enacted in 2002 does not provide librarians clarity on copyright exceptions for the digital delivery of content for distance education. Thus, understanding what is permitted under the TEACH Act in combination with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and existing exceptions, such as fair use, is becoming increasingly confusing to many practitioners.

The statement was written by Jonathan Band, legal counsel to ALA and ARL; Peter Jaszi, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic at American University Washington College of Law; and Kenneth D. Crews, Director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University.

New ARL Investment Index Ranking

The ARL Investment Index ranking will appear later this summer in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Almanac. This year’s ranking is the third year that ARL is using a new set of criteria and factors to formulate the ranking. The new mechanism focuses on expenditure data rather than the increasingly out of date index used previously which was very collections-centric. I will note that UK does fare better in the older index rather than the new one, but nonetheless it is the new one that now matters.

In this year’s listing, our ranking has fallen slightly. UK's rank is

• 66 among all ARL libraries
• 36 among public university libraries
  

This is a slight decline over last’s rank of 62 among all ARL libraries and 35 among public university libraries.

News from ARL -- Google Book Search

ARL, ALA and ACRL have announced the release of "A Guide for the Perplexed Part II: The Amended Google-Michigan Agreement." The amendment represents important additions and this guide provides an overview to help librarians better understand the revised terms.

News from ARL

• ARL releases white paper on Strategic Directions for the Federal Depository Library Program. This white paper calls for a reframing of the FDLP to ensure a robust and effective program for the future. The white paper is available via http://www.arl.org/pp/access/fdlp/. This white paper will be part of the forum we are holding on government documents on June 11th at 3 p.m. Look for an announcement on details in the next few weeks.
• ARL release report on Contemporary Preservation Activities in ARL Libraries. The report provides a current picture of preservation activities in ARL member libraries and makes recommendations about how libraries should characterize and measure those activities. The "Safeguarding Collections" report is freely available on the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/safeguarding-collections.pdf.

Special Collections in ARL Libraries

The ARL has also just released a discussion report from its Working Group on Special Collections that “identifies key issues in the management and exposure of special collections material in the 21st century.” The report focuses on three areas:

1. “Collecting Carefully, with Regard to Costs, and Ethical and Legal Concerns
2. Ensuring Discovery and Access
3. The Challenge of Born-Digital Collections”

The report is available at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/scwg-report.pdf

New Reports from the ARL

Special Collections in ARL Libraries: Working Group Releases Discussion Report – “a discussion report that identifies key issues in the management and exposure of special collections material in the 21st century…. The report includes overviews of and recommendations in three areas:
1. Collecting Carefully, with Regard to Costs, and Ethical and Legal Concerns
2. Ensuring Discovery and Access
3. The Challenge of Born-Digital Collections
It highlights the need for research library leadership to support actions that will increase the visibility and use of special collections and promote both existing and developing best practices in the stewardship of special collections.” The report is freely available on the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/scwg-report.pdf.


Research Library Issues, First ARL E-Only Bimonthly Report – ARL “has published its first e-only bimonthly report, Research Library Issues (RLI), which now sports a new look and title. The e-only format enables broad distribution of the articles and the introduction of new features, such as audio excerpts from speaker presentations. The focus of the publication continues to be on the major issues that affect the ability of research libraries to meet the academic and research needs of the diverse communities they serve.” See http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/rli/

ARL Calls on OCLC to Revised its WorldCat Policy

From American Libraries Direct

ARL calls on OCLC to revise its WorldCat policy

An Association of Research Libraries task force has issued a report (PDF file) that calls on OCLC to develop a new policy for the use and transfer of WorldCat records to replace the one it released in November 2008. The task force report includes a brief overview of the policy and the task force’s understanding of the policy’s intent....Association of Research Libraries, Feb. 20

New Releases from ARL

• Graduate Student and Faculty Spaces and Services, SPEC Kit 308 – this SPEC Kit “explores the variety of resources and services being delivered to or envisioned for graduate students and faculty by ARL member libraries. Recently, ARL libraries have begun to experiment with an enriched set of spaces and services to meet the complex teaching, learning, and research needs of graduate students and faculty. Some libraries have introduced small sanctuaries (study rooms or lounges) for graduate students and faculty as distinctly separate from undergraduate spaces. Others are providing new suites of services, such as dissertation support, curriculum design, and learning-object design. In some cases, the services are offered in collaboration with other campus units--perhaps the Faculty Development Office, the Learning Technology Office, or Campus Computing. The new services and spaces may be localized in a discrete area (sometimes called a "Research Commons" or "Faculty Commons") or opportunistically distributed across the library system.” The table of contents and executive summary from this SPEC Kit are available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec308web.pdf
• Research Library Virtual Resources and Instructional Initiatives: Survey Results – “the results of a survey that explores ARL member libraries' innovations in virtual resource development and instructional programming. ARL libraries are setting a rapid pace for experimentation as they replace or supplement traditional information literacy classes with a variety of library engagements in classrooms, through course management systems, and in the virtual spaces inhabited by students and faculty. Respondents to this survey conducted by ARL during the late winter and early spring of 2008 described a widely varied landscape of instruction initiatives. … The complete survey responses are available on the ARL Web site, organized (1) by subtopics that emerged in the responses and (2) alphabetically by institution; see http://www.arl.org/rtl/roles/vrii/. Please note that key-word searching can be applied to the PDF of the complete survey results. A summary of the responses is also available as "Research Library Instruction Initiatives: Varied, Evolving, Shaped by Local Cultures," by Crit Stuart, in ARL: A Bimonthly Report, no. 261 (Dec. 2008): 5-8, http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl-br-261-vrii.pdf."
• Mobile Technologies, Mobile Users: Implications for Academic Libraries – “The implications of mobile technologies and mobile users for academic libraries is highlighted in the current issue of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Bimonthly Report, no. 261.” http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/br/br261.shtml
• The Global Economic Crisis and Its Effect on Publishing and Library Subscriptions: ARL Issues Statement to Scholarly Publishers and Vendors – “a statement on the current global economic crisis and its effect on publishing and library subscriptions. The ARL statement, which is aimed at scholarly publishers and vendors, reinforces some of the key points in a recent statement by the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) and offers additional observations and recommendations from the perspectives of ARL member libraries.” http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/economic-statement-2009.pdf

Virtual Resources and Instructional Initiatives: Snapshots of Library Experiments

“Virtual Resources and Instructional Initiatives: Snapshots of Library Experiments”

In the December 2008 ARL Bimonthly Report, there was an article by Crit Stuart, Director of the ARL Research, Teaching and Learning Program, about virtual resources and instructional initiatives. The subtitle of the article is Snapshots of library experiments. It's a quick read but has some interesting ideas and experiments that other libraries have underway related especially to collaborations with teaching faculty. You can find it online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl-br-261-vrii.pdf

ARL Appoints Lisa Carter as Visiting Program Officer

From a recent press release from ARL: ARL has appointed Lisa Carter as a Visiting Program Officer (VPO) to work with the ARL Special Collections Working Group, effective in January 2009. Lisa’s VPO assignment supports an ARL objective to promote collaborative integration and enduring access to comprehensive research collections and resources in all formats that could be used to advance research, teaching, and learning. Lisa’s primary responsibility is to collaborate with working group Chair Alice Prochaska, University Librarian, Yale University, to develop agendas, to facilitate the sharing of ideas that will advance the ARL objective, and to assist with planning and preparation for a conference in late 2009.

ARL Career Enhancement Program Fellows 2009 Selected

In an earlier message I included information about the three fellows in this program who will be coming to UK. From the ARL press release:

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Career Enhancement Program Coordinating Committee has selected 18 fellows to participate in the inaugural offering of the program.
The ARL Career Enhancement Program, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services and ARL member libraries, gives MLS students from underrepresented groups an opportunity to jump-start their careers in research libraries by providing a robust fellowship experience in an ARL member library. This program reflects the commitment of ARL members to create a diverse research library community that will better meet the new challenges of global competition and changing demographics.

The 2009 Career Enhancement Program fellows are:

Anissa Ali, Wayne State University
Sandra Baker, University at Albany, State University of New York
Genevia Chamblee, University of North Texas
Jason Escalante, Pratt Institute
Regina Gong, Wayne State University
George Gottschalk, University of Oklahoma
Katie Henningsen, Long Island University
Susan Hoang, San Jose State University
Hyeran Kang, Indiana University
Adrienne Lai, University of British Columbia
Sara Lee, Pratt Institute
Arturo Longoria, University of Texas at Austin
Bethany McGowan, University of South Carolina
Diana Olivares, University of Arizona
Monica Shin, Simmons College
Veronica Vichit-Vadakan, University of Washington
Minglu Wang, University of Iowa Y
ani Yancey, University of Maryland

The Career Enhancement Program has four main components: a six- to twelve-week fellowship experience in an ARL library, a mentoring relationship with a professional librarian throughout the fellowship, participation in the ARL Leadership Institute, and career placement assistance. The host institutions for the fellowship experience are:

University at Albany, State University of New York
University of Arizona
University of California, San Diego
Columbia University
University of Kentucky
National Library of Medicine
North Carolina State University
University of Washington

For more information about the ARL Career Enhancement Program, see http://www.arl.org/diversity/cep/.

New Releases from ARL

• Manuscript Collections on the Web, SPEC Kit 307 – surveys ARL libraries' current efforts to provide information about their manuscript collections online. The table of contents and executive summary from this SPEC Kit are available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec307web.pdf. A print copy is in the collection.
• The Google Library Project Settlement: ARL and ALA Release Guide for Libraries -- The guide is designed to help the library community better understand the terms and conditions of the recent settlement agreement between Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers concerning Google's scanning of copyrighted works. Band notes that the settlement is extremely complex and presents significant challenges and opportunities to libraries. The guide outlines and simplifies the settlement's provisions, with special emphasis on the provisions that apply directly to libraries. http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/google/.
• Current Models of Digital Scholarly Communication – final report of an investigation into the range of online resources valued by scholars, paying special attention to those projects that are pushing beyond the boundaries of traditional formats and are considered innovative by the faculty who use them. The report is freely available on the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/current-models-report.pdf. Search the database at http://www.arl.org/sc/models/model-pubs/search-form.shtml.
• E-News for ARL Directors, November 6, 2008 -- http://www.arl.org/news/enews/enews-nov08.shtml#1
• Reinventing Science Librarianship: Proceedings from the ARL/CNI Forum, Oct. 16-17, 2008 – Presentation audio and slides are now online from the recent forum on "Reinventing Science Librarianship: Models for the Future." Leaders of research libraries and campus IT services gathered in Arlington, Virginia, October 16-17, 2008, to discuss trends in scientific research and the development of new library roles responsive to those trends.

From the Association for Research Libraries

• E-Science Talking Points for ARL Deans and Directors – ARL and CNI hosted a forum on Re-inventing Science Librarianship which offered a rich exploration of emerging trends in e-science and new paradigms of library support. Rick Brewer, Jan Carver and I were able to attend. As background for the Forum and as a resource for the ARL membership, the ARL E-Science Working Group released this document which offers a mix of definitions, key concepts, exemplary projects, and further reading. http://www.arl.org/rtl/escience/eresource.shtml
• ARL Annual Salary Survey 2007-08 – the survey analyzes salary data for all professional staff working in the 123 ARL member libraries during 2007-08. Data are reported for 9,983 professional staff in the 113 university ARL libraries and for 3,797 professional staff in the 10 non-university ARL libraries. In the Salary Survey, data for university library staff are usually reported in three distinct groups: general library systems, health sciences libraries, and law libraries. http://www.arl.org/stats/annualsurveys/salary/arl-annual-salary-survey-2007-08.shtml
• Planning a Learning Space in a Research Library: Pre-Programming Tool Kit – This tool kit enables library staff--without reliance on outside experts--to conduct pre-programming assessment and customize their learning spaces to fit their local circumstances. The kit includes an overview of the planning process for building a learning commons as well as easy-to-use, one- to two-page guides to implementing a dozen different pre-programming assessment techniques. The techniques have been tested in several libraries and consistently produce excellent data for developing informed building programs. http://www.arl.org/rtl/space/
• Author Rights under NIH Public Access Policy – Author rights affected by the new National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy are featured in the latest issue of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Bimonthly Report, no. 259. http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/br/br259.shtml
• Records Management: SPEC Kit 305 – explores the state of records management in ARL member institutions. Records management is the field of management responsible for efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use, and disposition of the records of a business or organization. The table of contents and executive summary from this SPEC Kit are available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec305web.pdf. A print copy is in the collection.

New ARL Rankings Released

Each year with the publication of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Almanac issue, ARL’s ranking index is released. Based on data from June 30, 2007, UK’s ranking has risen slightly. We are currently ranked #62 among all 113 ARL libraries; #35 among public university libraries. Last year’s rankings were #63 and #37 respectively. You may recall that ARL began using a new set of criteria (based largely on expenditures) with last year’s index. Frankly, UK does not fare as well in this new index as we did in the previous one. You'll find a chart which provides a summary of our ranking in this new index since 2003 in the version of this Dean's update on our SharePoint site.

Rankings do not, of course, reflect the dedication, commitment, services and successes we have had in providing the needed services and collections for our faculty, staff and students. But, they are one way in which the University measures progress toward its goal to be a Top 20 public university.

Publisher-Author Agreements and the NIH Public Access Policy

“ARL has released ‘PubMed Central Deposit and Author Rights: Agreements between 12 Publishers and the Authors Subject to the NIH Public Access Policy,’ by Ben Grillot ….
To help authors make informed choices about their rights, Grillot compares how the agreements of 12 publishers permit authors to meet the requirements of the recently revised National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy and share their works while they are under embargo. The NIH Public Access Policy requires authors of NIH-funded research to deposit their works in PubMed Central and make them publicly available within 12 months of publication.

Grillot focuses his analysis on how the agreements differ in: the terms and procedures of deposit of the work, the length of any embargo period, and the rights of the author to use and share the work during the embargo period. Grillot presents summary tables that .. show the similarities and differences across agreements. He also analyzes the implications of these agreements.”

The pdf is available from the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/grillot-pubmed.pdf.”

SPARC E-news includes information on NIH policy adoption

The June 2008 SPARC E-news has an interesting article on the increase in submission to PubMed Central as a result of the implementation of the mandatory policy for deposit of articles for those with grants from the NIH. Check it out at http://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:5584.1204840176/rid:6c53509ea96102d51a65c20e2d024fc9

From ARL and CLIR

E-News for ARL Directors, June 23, 2008 – http://www.arl.org/news/enews/enews-june08.shtml

Council on Library and Information Resources Issues no. 63, May/June 2008 – http://www.clir.org/pubs/issues/issues63.html

Bookmarks to Create Change

From American Libraries Direct

Bookmarks to Create Change

ACRL, the Association of Research Libraries, and SPARC have released a new series of bookmarks (PDf file) in the Create Change campaign, which targets scholars in different disciplines with messages about the benefits of wider research sharing. Librarians can use these freely available files to enhance their efforts to engage faculty interest in changing the way scholarly information is shared....

New from ARL

• ARL Publishes ARL Preservation Statistics 2005-06 available at http://www.arl.org/stats/annualsurveys/pres/.
• ARL Publishes ARL Statistics 2005-06 available at http://www.arl.org/stats/arlstat/
• E-News for ARL Directors, May 13, 2008 available at http://www.arl.org/news/enews/enews-may08.shtml#1
• SPARC Open Access Newsletter, no. 121 (May 2, '08) featuring "What We Don't Know about Open Access: Research Questions in Need of Researchers"