Featured Link

Featured Link: World Book Trade (e-books, awards, videos)

Sunday, April 29, 2012

SAGE to begin publishing Foot & Ankle International

SAGE has been chosen by the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) to publish its journal, Foot & Ankle International, beginning in January 2013

New titles in PubMed Central

Insights into Imaging

Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology

Civil War Widows' Pension Digitization Project at the National Archives (USA)

The National Archives holds 1.28 million case files of pension applications from family members of deceased Civil War Union soldiers. A team of more than sixty volunteers, led by National Archives staff, is digitizing the files and placing them on line for researchers and the general public. The project recently completed case number 100,000. The files are a treasure trove of Civil War information

Oregon Chinese Disinterment Documents (USA)

Rare, once-lost historic records about pioneer Chinese immigrants to the Northwest have found a new life online. The digital archive is hosted by Oregon State University. A Chinese-American civic group hopes the document trove can help families locate ancestors gone missing early in the last century. This document collection includes names, dates and places where the remains of Chinese immigrant workers were systematically dug up across Oregon. This actually was a custom across the American West decades ago. Mostly bachelor Chinese laborers wished for their remains to be returned and reburied in their home villages. These documents show how the bones of more than 550 workers never quite made it home, mainly because of the outbreak of civil war in China in 1949

ILIG International Conference on Copyright (UK)

ILIG International Conference on Copyright: A dialogue between library and information professionals and the publishers - 24 May 2012 - London, UK

The Women’s Library is seeking a new home (UK)

On Wednesday 14 March, London Metropolitan University's Board of Governors announced that they will be seeking a new home, custodian or sponsor of The Women's Library's collections. If a new home is not found by the end of December 2012, the Library will move to opening hours of one day per week for a period of three years, with a further review at the end of that period. We will keep you informed of further developments, and we are in the process of contacting key stakeholders. If you have any suggestions of potential custodians, or any queries, please email us: moreinfo@thewomenslibrary.ac.uk

EBSCO Publishing enhances E-book offerings with 39 new Subject Sets

EBSCO Publishing has released 39 new e-book Subject Sets. These sets provide libraries with convenient ways to begin or expand their e-book collections with current, reputable content from leading publishers

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Linked Content Coalition

The Linked Content Coalition has a remit to work over the next 12 months on a cross-media project that will create the framework for a fully interoperable and fully connected standards-based communications infrastructure so that businesses and individuals can manage and communicate their rights more effectively online. Stakeholders from across the media sectors are now committed to start work although anyone with an interest is welcome to engage with the project at some level

CLIR Issues - Number 86, March/April 2012

CLIR Issues - Number 86, March/April 2012 - is now available from the Council on Library and Information Resources

Podcast: Digging for diamonds: hidden histories at The National Archives (UK)

From 'parachuting' to 'truffle-hunting', there are many ways to research at The National Archives. This talk focuses on the histories that are harder to find, from the voices of enslaved Africans to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities in the early 20th century, exploring the issues and problems involved, work being done to resolve them, and what still needs to be done to dig up those rare 'diamonds'. Jenni Orme has worked at The National Archives for four years through various roles in the Freedom of Information Unit before becoming a records specialist of diverse histories in the Advice and Records Knowledge Department

New book: Plans, Practices and Policies: Information Literacy and the Secondary School Library

Plans, Practices and Policies: Information Literacy and the Secondary School LibraryPlans, Practices and Policies: Information Literacy and the Secondary School Library by Geoff Dubbe. Information literacy is most effective when library staff and teachers work together within a progressive curriculum context. This new guideline, completely revised and rewritten in the light of recent developments and government initiatives, takes an in-depth look at this essential area of work and collaboration. It provides clear guidance, strategies and a common sense approach to getting to grips with the curriculum, working with school colleagues and delivering these important skills to students. It also outlines the excellent I.L. work of two experienced school library practitioners

Scran Newsletter Summer 2012 (Scotland)

Scran Newsletter Summer 2012 is now available from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Magdeburger Journal zur Sicherheitsforschung

Olivar : Revista de Literatura y Cultura Españolas

Techne Series : Research in Sloyd Education and Craft Science A

Diaeta

Ingeniería e Investigación

Ciencia del Suelo

Romanian Journal of Fiscal Policy

Avá : Revista de Antropología

Ciberlegenda

Trajectoires

Acta Toxicológica Argentina

Argos

Bumi Lestari

Revista Chilena Antropologia

Escritos Contables y de Administración

International Journal of Networking and Computing

Acta Silvatica & Lignaria Hungarica

Journal of Electrochemical Science and Engineering

CLA announces the winner of the new CLA / Alan MacDonald Mentorship Award (Canada)

The Canadian Library Association / Association canadienne des bibliothèques has announced that the first recipient of the new CLA / Alan MacDonald Mentorship Award is Kae Elgie, Manager of Information Services, Region of Waterloo Library. This new award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to mentoring activities either within their workplace or in an association. Alan was a natural mentor. Always positive, always receptive to new ideas, always ready to see potential, he inspired those around him to strive for and realize their dreams. He was also a fierce champion of Canadian enterprise. As beneficiaries of Alan's spirit, the founders of the Canadian Electronic Library are proud to sponsor this award

Friday, April 27, 2012

Ancestry.com to acquire Archives.com

Ancestry.com has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Archives.com

National Library of Wales £1m war records project

Uncovering the hidden history behind an event like World War I usually means trawling through thousands of records at a library. But a £1m project underway in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, will make all that available at the click of a mouse. The National Library of Wales is busy digitising records into an online collection - BBC

Romania opens national library in communist-era building

Romania's new National Library has opened its doors in a monumental building in the capital city, more than 20 years after its foundations were laid under the communist regime

Online Information Conference 2012 (UK)

Online Information Conference 2012 - 20-21 November, 2012 - London, UK

Teen Librarian Monthly: April 2012

Teen Librarian Monthly: April 2012 is now available for download

U.S. International Trade Library available May 1, 2012

The U.S. International Trade Library: A Current and Historical Archive is coming to HeinOnline May 1, 2012. This new collection will bring together more than one million pages' worth of content, including USITC Publications Archive, Legislative Histories, CFR & U.S. Code Title 15: Commerce and Foreign Trade, Notable Publications, Scholarly Articles, and much more

CLA announces the recipient of the 2012 CLA Emerging Leader Award (Canada)

The Canadian Library Association / Association canadienne des bibliothèques has named Ms. Gillian Nowlan as the recipient of the 2012 CLA Emerging Leader Award. A liaison librarian at the University of Regina's Dr. John Archer Library, Ms. Nowlan has contributed to the library community at the provincial, national, and international level. Since graduating in 2010 from Dalhousie University's School of Information Studies, Ms. Nowlan has already built up an impressive record of giving back to the profession through her association work and showing leadership well beyond that expected of a first year librarian

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - April 27, 2012

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Purple. "All the answers to this week's brainteaser include the word "purple" or are connected with purple" Answers here.

1. Heavy rock group which contained at various times Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
2. A heart-shaped purple tablet consisting mainly of amphetamine.
3. Handsome high-flying butterfly, with rusty black wings, lustrous in the male, and with seven white spots and a transverse white band.
4. Title of a song by Jimi Hendrix with references to the purple smoke used at landing zones in the Vietnam War.
5. Possibly Alice Walker's most famous book, for which she won the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, turned into a movie by Steven Spielberg.
6. In which television programme is the largest character Tinky Winky, who is purple and has a handbag?
7. The title of a 1985 Woody Allen film which starred Mia Farrow.
8. The title of a 1947 novel by H. E. Bates.
9. Nino Tempo is best known for his 1963 hit version of which song with April Stevens?
10. Complete this title of Zane Grey's most popular novel: "Riders of the Purple...".

Thursday, April 26, 2012

The British Library publishes 30 years of letters between Ted Hughes and critic Keith Sagar

The British Library is to publish the correspondence between Ted Hughes and Keith Sagar for the first time in the form of a new title, Poet and Critic: The Letters of Ted Hughes and Keith Sagar, on Thursday 3 May. The collection of letters, spanning from 1969 to Hughes's death in 1998, provides a new perspective on his life and work. The book contains all 144 letters from Hughes to Sagar, interspersed with extracts from Sagar's letters. It shows a unique dialogue between a writer and a critic. Hughes describes his creative process candidly and in great depth, offering exceptional insight into the poet at work. The correspondence also covers such topics as religion, education, hunting, Hughes's travels, and his relationship with Sylvia Plath

Serials Solutions announces Intota™ Development Partners

Serials Solutions®, a ProQuest® business unit, has announced the institutions that are collaborating with the company to develop Intota™, a Software-as-a-Service solution that supports the entire resource lifecycle for libraries, including selection, acquisition, cataloging, discovery, and fulfillment regardless of resource type. The six development partners reflect a broad spectrum of visionary institutions and academic research libraries; from public and private, community college and university, to single university and consortia systems. The development partners that have committed to collaborating with Serials Solutions include:

* Ball State University
* Johnson County Community College
* Marist College
* Oklahoma State University
* The State University of New York at Geneseo
* University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

E-News for ARL Directors - April 2012

E-News for ARL Directors - April 2012 is now available online from the Association of Research Libraries

E-News for ARL Directors - March 2012

E-News for ARL Directors - March 2012 is now available online from the Association of Research Libraries

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Book Grocer: 25 April - 1 May, 2012

Book Grocer: 25 April - 1 May, 2012 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog. #books #London

Book Grocer: 18-24 April, 2012

Book Grocer: 18-24 April, 2012 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog. #books #London

Book Grocer: 11-17 April, 2012

Book Grocer: 11-17 April, 2012 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog. #books #London

Search new Boer War records on findmypast.co.uk

findmypast.co.uk has updated its Boer War collection with almost 10,000 new records. The major inclusions in this update are:

* The complete Queen's South Africa medal roll for the Coldstream Guards, Irish Guards, 1st battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers and Rundles Scouts
* The Wepener clasp rolls for Royal Scots, Royal Engineers, Cape Mounted Rifles, Driscoll’s Scouts and the Kaffrarian Rifles

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Acta Silvatica & Lignaria Hungarica

Journal of Electrochemical Science and Engineering

Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences

Software Engineering : an International Journal

Revista Estudos Hum(e)anos

Revista Estudos Políticos

Journal of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Estudios de Derecho

Estudos Teológicos

Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences

Call for Proposals for 2013 SPEC Survey Topics

The Association of Research Libraries is seeking proposals for 2013 SPEC survey topics. For 40 years ARL has gathered and disseminated data through the SPEC survey program to assist libraries in the continuous improvement of their management systems. Proposals for topics for the 2013 SPEC survey cycle are now being sought. Each year, ARL works with librarians in the US and Canada to develop six surveys of the ARL membership on "hot topics" related to research library policies and practices. (Survey authors do not need to work at an ARL member library, but only ARL libraries are surveyed.)

Oxford scholars find Shakespeare's 'co-author'

All's Well That Ends Well has another author as well as William Shakespeare, according to research from Oxford University academics. Thomas Middleton has been revealed as the most likely co-author, according to in-depth analysis of the play's vocabulary, rhyming, style and grammar. Professor Laurie Maguire says the latest literary research shows groups of writers working together on plays. "The picture that's emerging is of much more collaboration," said Prof Maguire. "We need to think of it more as a film studio with teams of writers." - BBC

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Harvard Library Open Metadata

The Harvard Library is committed to making as much of its metadata as possible available through open access in order to support learning and research, to disseminate knowledge and to foster innovation. Open access to metadata aligns with the university's established commitment to open access for scholarly communication

LexisNexis announces LexisNexis Digital Library

LexisNexis Legal & Professional has announced an agreement with OverDrive to create the LexisNexis Digital Library

Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives, and Museums Part 3

Social Metadata for Libraries, Archives, and Museums Part 3: Recommendations and Readings by Karen Smith-Yoshimura, OCLC Research and Rose Holley, National Library of Australia. This is the last in a series of three reports a from five countries produced as the result of our research in 2009 and 2010

New Chester wills and probate records published (UK)

findmypast.co.uk has just published approximately 113,000 new Chester wills and probate records for the period 1492-1911

Monday, April 23, 2012

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #195

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #195. "This week's episode ends up indirectly asking whatever happened to AGRICOLA as another audio news release from the United States Department of Agriculture makes it sound like it is being left behind. A news miscellany is also presented". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #194

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #194. "This week's slightly delayed episode contains a piece of media criticism by Madam Producer and a news miscellany.". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

Writing and using a preservation policy (UK)

Writing and using a preservation policy - Preservation Advisory Centre Training Day - Monday 11 June 2012 - British Library Centre for Conservation, London. A preservation policy provides a framework for thinking about the long-term aspects of collections management. This development day on preservation policies explains the purpose and benefits of a preservation policy, provides guidance on writing a policy for your organisation and gives examples of how policies are used by a number of different organisations

Titles from Springer collection cover wide range of disciplines on Apple’s iBookstore

Springer Science+Business Media now offers one of the largest scientific, technical and medical book collections on the iBookstore with more than 20,000 individual Springer titles. Cornerstone works in disciplines like mathematics, medicine and engineering are now available, along with selections in other fields such as business and economics. Titles include the Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning, Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology and the highly regarded book series Graduate Texts in Mathematics

M-Libraries Conference 2012 (UK)

The Fourth International m-libraries Conference - 24-26 September 2012 - The Open University, UK. Mobile technology has transformed so many aspects of our lives: how we work, how we communicate, how we study and how we play. Since the first successful M-libraries conference in 2007, libraries around the world have made huge advances in harnessing the technology to improve and enhance their services. The Fourth conference will bring together researchers, technical developers, managers and library practitioners to review achievements to date and consider the creative challenges and opportunities ahead

Great British icons bound for Tokyo

Two great literary icons - Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes - will come together in Tokyo this St George's Day, as part of a major showcase of British culture and education. Organised by the British Library, De Montfort University and the British Council, the three-day event (23-25 April 2012) will feature two major treasures from the British Library's collections - Shakespeare's First Folio and the original manuscript of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mystery 'The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter'

Sunday, April 22, 2012

New agreement brings academic video database to EBSCO Discovery Service

Mutual customers of EBSCO Discovery Service™ and the INTELECOM Online Resources Network® will soon benefit from a recent agreement between EBSCO Publishing and INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications. The agreement adds metadata for all videos from INTELECOM's academic video database to the Base Index of EDS and also allows mutual customers to access the full video database. With 3,500 video clips and growing, the INTELECOM Online Resources Network collections add a wealth of rich media to EBSCO Discovery Service. The INTELECOM Online Resources Network is a hosted and supported digital repository and subscription database of academic video clips - closed captioned and streamed on demand - for use in support of online, hybrid and face-to-face classes. The video collections offer academic students and teachers a comprehensive selection of video clips covering a range of key concepts and topics within an academic discipline

DREaM event 5 – conference Monday 9 July 2012 (UK)

DREaM event 5 – conference Monday 9 July 2012. Registrations are now open

Challenge, Change & Collaborate - the future for Subject Librarianship (UK)

Challenge, Change & Collaborate - the future for Subject Librarianship - 22 May, 2012 - The Kimberlin Library at De Montfort University, UK - If you are a Subject Librarian, someone who aspires to be one, or a Team Manager of a Subject Librarian this event may be relevant to you. Speakers for the day are Anthony Brewerton (Warwick), Ruth Stubbings (Loughborough), Alison Sharman (Huddersfield), Angela Donaldson (Nottingham Uni.) Nathan Rush (DMU) & Helen Curtis (Warwick)

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Identidade!

Protestantismo em Revista

Asian Journal of Business and Management Sciences

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Frontier Research

Sri Lanka Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

BMGN : Low Countries Historical Review

International Journal of Engineering

Educacao & Linguagem

Academic Research International

Journal of Animal Production

Revista Ambiente Contábil

Debreceni Mu"szaki Közlemények

Portularia : Revista de Trabajo Social

Journal of Tourism and Peace Research

Voz y Escritura : Revista de Estudios Literarios

Information Technology and Libraries

Revue Roumaine de Géographie

Professions & Professionalism

Science of Dance

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Engineering

Revista Ciencias Biomédicas

Journal of Singularities

International Journal of AgriScience

OCLC and Credo Reference extend partnership

OCLC and Credo Reference have announced a special collaboration project aimed to increase collection visibility and usage with library users. Credo Topic Pages will now be enhanced with WorldCat results to show local library materials alongside other timely, relevant Web materials. With this new project, libraries that are both OCLC members and Credo customers will receive Credo Topic Pages at no charge for an introductory period. These libraries - along with current Topic Pages subscribers - will show WorldCat results from libraries worldwide that relate to the topic being searched. Libraries can have their results customized to show only local library holdings in WorldCat, as well as other customizations such as branding and deep links back to their catalog through this special project

Boulder Public Library now offering MP3 downloads via Freegal (USA)

The Boulder Public Library has announced it is now participating in a program that will allow library cardholders to download MP3 music files from a database that includes hundreds of thousands of songs. The program - Freegal Music - was designed especially for libraries and gives users access to Sony Music Entertainment's entire catalogue, which includes hundreds of thousands of songs from more than 100 genres. Any Boulder County resident with a valid Boulder Public Library card can download up to three songs a week and can keep those songs forever

New online collection and book features rare garden images (Library of Congress)

The Library of Congress has released online the digital images of a rare collection of more than 1,000 hand-colored, glass-plate lantern slides of American gardens taken a century ago by one of the first professional female photographers to achieve international prominence, Frances Benjamin Johnston. A selection of 250 color images can be seen in a new book by house and garden historian Sam Watters titled "Gardens for a Beautiful America, 1895-1935: Photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnston." The book, in its preface, is described as "sumptuous and scholarly," providing "a time machine and a magic carpet capable of transporting us back to a lost, golden age in the development of the American garden." The Library is unveiling the online images as a complement to the book, which was published this month by Acanthus Press in association with the Library

Friday, April 20, 2012

Microsoft Academic Search

Microsoft Academic Search is a free academic search engine developed by Microsoft Research, which also serves as a test-bed for many research ideas in Data Mining, Named Entity Extraction and Disambiguation, Data Visualization, etc. As a research prototype, the coverage of MAS is still very limited in certain domains. Microsoft Academic Search provides many innovative ways to explore academic publications, authors, conferences, journals, organizations and keywords, connecting millions of scholars, students, librarians, and other users

LOCKSS program receives Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant

The LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) Program at Stanford University has been awarded a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The two-year grant accelerates work on new ways to gather and preserve the kinds of dynamic and diverse digital content that 21st century scholarship demands

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - April 20, 2012

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Drinks. "This week's brainteaser is about drinks of various kinds" Answers here.

1. Cider is usually a fizzy beverage made from which fruit?
2. Chianti is a wine produced in which country: France, Spain or Italy?
3. Darjeeling and Lapsang are kinds of which drink?
4. Use the name of a drink to fill the gap in this title of a 1947 novel by Compton Mackenzie: "____ Galore".
5. Which fortified wine was originally made around Jerez de la Frontera in S Spain?
6. What name is given to coffee made by forcing steam or boiling water through ground coffee beans?
7. Which drink was invented by Dr John Pemberton in the 1880s: a mixture of sugar, water, coca extracts, kola nut and caffeine?
8. Complete this quotation from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" with a word for a drink: "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and...?"
9. Which drink, originating in Portugal, has four basic styles: white, tawny, ruby, and vintage?
10. Who wrote the Coffee Cantata in the 1730s?

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Podcast: An introduction to the first tranche of colonial administration records released at The National Archives (UK)

The National Archives is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to transfer and begin releasing colonial administration records, referred to as the 'migrated archives' between April 2012 and November 2013, in accordance with the published timeline on the FCO website. The collection will form record series FCO 141: Foreign and Commonwealth Office and predecessors: Records of Former Colonial Administrations: Migrated Archives. The records cover a wide range of subject matter relating to colonial administration. The material reflects events in the territories generally pre-independence and Her Majesty's Government's views at the time. Following the release of the first tranche of records on 18 April, Principal Records Specialist Dr Edward Hampshire discusses the origins of the 'migrated archives' and explains how to get the most out of your research

Chronicle: BBC Northern Ireland's television news from the 1960s and 1970s

In partnership, the BBC, British Universities Film and Video Council and JISC have announced the launch of Chronicle, a project to make BBC Northern Ireland's television news from the 1960s and 1970s available to the academic community online. The audio-visual archives of the BBC contain a wealth of material gathered since it was founded in the 1920s, but they remain largely inaccessible, held on film or videotape and managed to serve the needs of programme-makers within the BBC. Chronicle makes part of that archive available to UK higher and further education by digitising news and current affairs programmes from the BBC Northern Ireland's vaults. This gives teachers, students and researchers the chance to explore and immerse themselves in the events over an important period (1963-1976) of Northern Ireland's history, delivering a rich and contextual experience from a political, historical and cultural perspective

12,000 new Birmingham burial records to search (UK)

You can now search 12,000 new burial records for Handsworth Cemetery, Birmingham on findmypast.co.uk. This latest addition to our Handsworth Cemetery records collection brings the total amount of records to 74,623. The records span the period 1909 to 2010 and will be a real help to anyone with Birmingham ancestors

ACRL Digital Humanities Discussion Group

ACRL Digital Humanities Discussion Group - To provide a venue for ACRL members to meet and share ideas related to Digital Humanities and the role of librarians in this emerging discipline

2012 Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award announced by the Canadian Library Association

The Canadian Library Association / Association canadienne des bibliothèques has announced that the 2012 CLA Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award is being presented to Ken Roberts of Hamilton Public Library. The CLA Outstanding Service to Librarianship Award is generously sponsored by ProQuest

Titanic Calling: Display / Lecture / Publication (UK)

Titanic Calling: Display / Lecture / Publication (UK)The Bodleian Libraries mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic with a series of outreach activities including a display, a lecture and a newly-released publication. Drawing on the Marconi Archives of Wireless Communications held in the Bodleian Library, both the display and the book capture the unfolding drama as recorded in the unique radio operators' logs and messages between the ship and shore wireless stations involved. Wireless telegraphy was a relatively new technology in 1912. The Titanic was equipped with the most powerful equipment available, enabling it to communicate over several hundreds of miles. Wireless communications was crucial to the saving lives during this tragic event on the night on 14/15 April 1912, but its efficacy was not without controversy

WebJunction Montana

WebJunction is a learning community designed exclusively for libraries. Through WebJunction, Montana library staff will have direct access to technology training offered by the Montana State Library. Due to the fact that our funding for this project is one-time-only and limited in scope, initial WebJunction Montana content and resources will focus on technology-related subjects that assist library staff in supporting their public access computers. Library staff will also be able to access training and informational materials from numerous BTOP community partners including the Supreme Court of Montana Self-Help Law Program, the Montana Department of Labor & Industry and more

Participate in upcoming Virtual Library Legislative Day (USA)

Next week on April 23 and 24, hundreds of library supporters from all across the country will convene in Washington DC for National Library Legislative Day. They will be briefed on legislative issues affecting libraries and will meet with their Members of Congress to discuss them.

Publishing Technology and CNPIEC launch largest digital gateway in China

Publishing Technology and CNPIEC, the China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, are unveiling the Digital Gateway, the most significant digital publishing platform ever launched for Chinese libraries, in a special ceremony at the London Book Fair

Poetry Parnarsuss

The world's poets are coming to London - meet them, hear them and celebrate with them at Southbank Centre. There are over 100 free events, activities and workshops happening every day throughout the festival. The world's most exciting poets, rappers, spoken word artists, singers and storytellers are gathering for this huge event that will make history as the largest poetry festival ever staged in the UK

FreePint Newsletter 349

FreePint Newsletter 349 - 19 April 2012 now available

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Gale's Nineteenth Century Collections Online arrives at academic institutions worldwide

Gale, part of Cengage Learning, has announced the availability of Nineteenth Century Collections Online, a groundbreaking multi-year global digitization and publishing program. Nineteenth Century Collections Online brings together rare primary source materials - monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, photographs and more - from the "long" nineteenth century (1789-1914) and beyond. British Politics and Society and European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection - the first two of four Archives for 2012 - are now available to customers

43 more Open Access and subscription Journals added to JournalTOCs

Roddy MacLeod has added 43 more Open Access journals to JournalTOCs, where you can find the latest Tables of Contents from over 18,500 scholarly journals, including over 3,800 Open Access journals

British Library acquires the St Cuthbert Gospel – the earliest intact European book

British Library acquires the St Cuthbert Gospel – the earliest intact European bookThe British Library has announced that it has successfully acquired the St Cuthbert Gospel, a miraculously well-preserved 7th century manuscript that is the oldest European book to survive fully intact and therefore one of the world's most important books. The £9 million purchase price for the Gospel has been secured following the largest and most successful fundraising campaign in the British Library's history. The single largest contribution to the campaign was a £4.5 million grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) together with major gifts from the Art Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Foyle Foundation. In addition, the campaign received a number of significant donations from charitable trusts, foundations and major individual donors, along with gifts from members of the public

Monday, April 16, 2012

Call for applicants: Paul Evan Peters Fellowship for Information Studies

The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) announces the 2012 Paul Evan Peters Fellowship. Applications due no later than May 10, 2012. The Paul Evan Peters Fellowship was established to honor and perpetuate the memory of CNI's founding executive director. The fellowship is awarded every two years to a student pursuing graduate studies in librarianship, the information sciences, or a closely related field, who demonstrates intellectual and personal qualities consistent with those of Paul Evan Peters

Research Data Curation Bibliography

The Research Data Curation Bibliography includes selected English-language articles and technical reports that are useful in understanding the curation of digital research data in academic and other research institutions

Sunday, April 15, 2012

European Film Gateway

The EFG Portal gives you quick access to hundreds of thousands of film historical documents as preserved in European film archives and cinémathèques: photos, posters, programmes, periodicals, censorship documents, rare feature and documentary films, newsreels and other materials. Targeted at scientific researchers and the interested public alike, the EFG offers a look at and behind the scenes of filmmaking in Europe from the early days until today

Mat McRae receives AASL Distinguished School Administrators Award

Mat McRae, principal of Swan Valley high school in Saginaw, Mich., is the 2012 recipient of the American Association of School Librarian's (AASL) Distinguished School Administrators Award. McRae was nominated by school librarian Kay Wejrowski

The Caldecott Medal 75th anniversary (USA)

Join the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) in celebrating 75 years of distinguished picture books! The Caldecott Medal was established in 1937 and first awarded in 1938 by the American Library Association (ALA). Now, in 2012 through 2013, the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) division of ALA has prepared a slew of special Caldecott-related events and activities to include everyone in the celebration

New multimedia tools help museums, libraries support 21st century skills (USA)

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has revamped the web page for its Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills initiative. Museums and libraries visiting the page will now be able to access practitioner videos, a PowerPoint presentation, an updated resource list, and a toolkit that will help them organize 21st century skills workshops in their communities. These new resources join IMLS's 2009 report and self assessment tool already in wide use. The 21st Century Skills initiative is intended to assist museums and libraries as they leverage their resources to help individuals of all ages acquire such critical skills as critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, communication, and collaboration. Combining strengths in traditional and digital learning, libraries and museums are well positioned to build the skills Americans need today

eLife - digital publication

eLife is a researcher-led digital publication for outstanding work, a platform to maximise the reach and influence of new findings and a showcase for new approaches for the presentation and assessment of research

Manuscripts for Our Mutual Friend and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde return to London for the first time in over a century for Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands

The manuscripts for two of Britain's most celebrated literary works are to be on show in England for the first time as part of the British Library's next major exhibition, Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands. On loan from the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum, neither manuscript has been in England for over 100 years, but both reveal stories about their makers. The two manuscripts, Dickens's Our Mutual Friend and Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, will be on display in this summer's major literary exhibition, from 11 May to 25 September, to demonstrate strong connections between literature and place

Library and Archives Canada - Titanic images now on Flickr

Library and Archives Canada has announced that a new set of images documenting the sinking of the Titanic is now available on Flickr

Walker Memorial Library, Maine, is getting made over, from the outside in

Walker Memorial Library, Maine, is getting made over, from the outside inThe historic Walker Memorial Library is getting made over, from the outside in. The Walker Memorial Library's exterior was restored last year. Today's ceremony kicks off a campaign to raise funds for restoring the interior. The Walker Memorial Library was designed by Frederick Tompson, who also designed the Castle in the Park at Deering Oaks in Portland. Renovations last year restored the exterior of the Queen Anne-style building, saving it from the brink of being beyond repair. Now, the interior of the 118-year-old library, which has suffered extensive water damage because of the structural deterioration, is ready to be redone. A ceremony at 11 a.m. today will serve as a celebration of the recent renovations and kick off a campaign to raise $500,000 for the improvements to the building's interior, including the restoration of stained glass windows and wainscotting. The money would also pay for new furnishings, so the original portion of the library could serve its intended purpose - to be enjoyed by the public, said library director Karen Valley. Built in 1894, the library was designed by Frederick Tompson, who was the architect for the Castle in the Park at Deering Oaks in Portland and the Portland Armory, which is now the Portland Regency Hotel

Ireland's National Library publish James Joyce manuscripts online amid copyright dispute

The National Library of Ireland has made available for the first time James Joyce's manuscripts for free to the public via the Library's online catalogue. The online publication coincides with a book set publication of the same manuscripts that are being sold for hundreds of Euro. The Irish Times reports on the publication of Joyce's collection, and the factors that have played into the Library's early announcement of the project. The decision to announce the online version of the Joyce manuscripts was made after a Joycean scholar published the material in editions priced at up to €250. Joycean scholar Danis Rose has published Joyce's material ranging in prices from €75 and €250, or up to €800 for an entire set. Rose has claimed he is now the copyright holder in the EU of these manuscripts according to The Irish Times

Nixon Grand Jury Records now available through HeinOnline

Nixon Grand Jury Records now available through HeinOnlineIn November, the National Archives released the complete Nixon Grand Jury Records to the public, and they are now available through HeinOnline. These records are now available in both HeinOnline's U.S. Presidential Library and World Trials Library. The records of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force collection, including transcripts of President Nixon's grand jury testimony of June 23-24, 1975, and associated material are available

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Podcast: United Kingdom Archives Discovery forum 2012 keynote talk

This is the keynote talk delivered by Bill Thompson at the United Kingdom Archives Discovery (UKAD) 2012 forum. The network is a collaborative group of archives and other information professionals, of which The National Archives is part, who are working towards opening up data in order to promote the use of archives. The forum is an opportunity for archivists and information professionals to hear and share some of the latest thinking around online access to archives and archives data and share ideas around making archives more accessible through online development

OverDrive to preview library eBook data at London Book Fair

OverDrive will announce at the London Book Fair, April 16-18, the first of a series of "Big Data" reports analyzing billions of eBook impressions and other data collected from across its network of 18,000 public and school libraries. Data from OverDrive's global library network to be made available to participating libraries and publishers includes information about eBook and digital audiobook title circulation, book demand and holds as well as web traffic and general demographics. OverDrive's data reports were developed in compliance with library privacy policies and do not include any identifying user information

Video: US National Archives shares rarely-seen slave petitions from DC Emancipation Act

In commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the DC Emancipation Act, the National Archives has shared rarely seen original records pertaining to the Act, including petitions from slaves in Washington, DC. National Archives archivists Damani Davis and Robert Ellis, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln scholar Kenneth Winkle discuss the significance of these documents in the National Archives "Inside the Vaults" video short

ASLIB training course April to July 2012 (UK)

ASLIB has been providing training and development programmes for information professionals for almost 70 years in key aspects of information work. Here are the training courses for April to July 2012

Follett Software Company has released Destiny 10.1

Follett Software Company released Destiny 10.1 this week. Highlights of the 10.1 release include Destiny's integration with Titlewave and Aspen

EBSCO Publishing introduces a new addition to its collection of digital archives: The African American Historical Serials Collection

EBSCO Publishing has announced the release of the latest database in its Historic Digital Archive Collection, The African American Historical Serials Collection. Developed in conjunction with the American Theological Library Association, this digital collection includes African American periodicals, annuals and reports published from 1829-1922 including materials from African American religious organizations and social service agencies

Timbuktu librarians protect manuscripts from rebels

Malian scholars, librarians and ordinary citizens in the rebel-occupied city of Timbuktu are hiding away priceless ancient manuscripts to prevent them from being damaged or looted

HathiTrust Digital Library - Update on March 2012 Activities

HathiTrust Digital Library - Update on March 2012 Activities

Digital Curation at the University of Maine (USA)

Digital Curation at the University of Maine is a 2-year online certificate program due to launch in the fall of 2012

Texas Library Association Annual Conference 2012

Texas Library Association Annual Conference 2012 - April 17-20, 2001 - Houston, Texas, USA

Canadian Library Association dismayed at cancellation of Community Access Program

The Canadian Library Association believes that all Canadians, regardless of economic status or location, should have the ability to access information and services through broadband connection to the Internet, and should be able to access the assistance they need to become digitally literate. For many Canadians, especially those in remote and rural locations, this access has been provided since 1994 by the Community Access Program (CAP) funded by Industry Canada. CLA is dismayed at the cancellation of this program announced by the federal government on April 5, 2012. According to Industry Canada, the program has "outlived its usefulness" because 94% of Canadians now live in a community where broadband is available for purchase. Industry Canada is consequently planning on relying more on private‐sector household access than government‐funded public access. But with only 79% of Canadian households having an Internet connection, and 54% of households in the lowest income quartile, it is clear that community‐based Internet access is needed to supplement home access

Friday, April 13, 2012

DOAB - Directory of Open Access Books

The primary aim of DOAB is to increase discoverability of Open Access books. Academic publishers are invited to provide metadata of their Open Access books to DOAB. Metadata will be harvestable in order to maximize dissemination, visibility and impact. Aggregators can integrate the records in their commercial services and libraries can integrate the directory into their online catalogues, helping scholars and students to discover the books. The directory will be open to all publishers who publish academic, peer reviewed books in Open Access and should contain as many books as possible, provided that these publications are in Open Access and meet academic standards

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - April 13, 2012

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: Which Instrument?. "All you have to do in this brainteaser is say which instrument these musicians are or were most famous for playing. For example, if the musician is Elton John or Mozart, the answer would be the piano" Answers here.

1. Ringo Starr.
2. Sir Yehudi Menuhin.
3. Brian May (born 1947).
4. Jerry Lee Lewis.
5. Jacqueline du Pré.
6. Benny Goodman (1909-1986)
7. Colin Greenwood (of Radiohead).
8. Ravi Shankar.
9. Louis Armstrong.
10. Franz Liszt.

April 2012 DPLA update from John Palfrey

John Palfrey, Chair of the DPLA Steering Committee, recently gave a short video update that outlines the current state of the DPLA, provides an overview of some of the work that is currently being done, and gives some insight into the work that is yet to come. The DPLA is currently in the middle of a two-year planning phase, moving towards the launch of a full DPLA prototype by April 2013. Around the same time, it will move away from Harvard and the Berkman Center where it is currently based, potentially becoming an independent organization or merging with an existing institution

Information Days – EBSCO Tour 2012

EBSCO's 2012 Information Days are free to attend, with seminar programmes and group discussions about improving discoverability, open access, and justifying your spend against return on investment. These events provide librarians and information professionals with the ideal environment to develop strategies, learn new skills and tactics, and network with colleagues from other institutions as well as catching up with publishers and EBSCO representatives

Workshops:Increasing the usage of online resources (UK)

Are your usage stats as high as they could or should be? You are invited to join us at one of these lively, informative, interactive sessions. Half day or all day - your choice.

Where and when?

23 May UWE Bristol
24 May Plymouth Central Library
29 May Stockton Central Library
31 May Guildford Central Library

Who should attend?

Library staff in all sectors responsible for marketing and usage of online resources. Sessions are run by Credo Reference, but are supplier-neutral. Some Credo-specific initiatives will be covered, but should be of general interest

Moray travel guide goes mobile (Scotland)

Moray travel guide goes mobile (Scotland)A mobile app travel guide has been developed in Moray in a project led by the National Library of Scotland. Local schools and community volunteers have worked with the Learning Team at NLS to develop 'Great Escapes Moray', now available free from the Apple App Store. The travel guide features 20 of the best things to see in the area

Campaigners urge council to shelve library plans (UK)

Campaigners have urged Brent council to put an immediate stop to plans to demolish a library after 5,000 people petitioned against it. The Keep Willesden Green group has asked Brent Council to stop the process which will see Willesden Green Library Centre demolished and rebuilt into a library and cultural hub. The group has pleaded with the authority to Stop, Listen and Reflect because it claims it has not properly listened to local people, thousands of whom are against the loss of the treasured building, part of which dates back to 1894

"Libraries Are Obsolete: An Oxford-Style Debate" (USA)

On Wednesday, April 18, Harvard Library Strategic Conversations will sponsor an Oxford-style debate on the role of libraries. The program will be held from 3 to 4:30pm in Piper Auditorium, at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, with a reception to follow. Oxford Union debates are similar in format to the British House of Commons, and are known for combining a degree of wit and whimsy with serious argumentation

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Elsevier launches ClinicalKey

Elsevier has announced ClinicalKey, the next generation of online clinical information resources. ClinicalKey draws answers from the largest collection of clinical resources, covering every medical and surgical specialty - eliminating physicians' reliance on less accurate sources. ClinicalKey's content includes more than 700 textbooks and 400 top medical journals, providing the most current clinically relevant evidence-based answers, as well as expert commentary, MEDLINE abstracts and select third-party journals

Workshop: An Introduction to Art and Design Reference Resources (UK)

An Introduction to Art and Design Reference Resources - 1 May 2012 - The Art Library, Leeds Central Library, Leeds, UK - "A workshop for those new to the world of art librarianship, or those wishing to update their skills in art and design enquiry work. The day features presentations from leading art librarians, who will provide up-to-date information on the key print and electronic resources and strategies for effective research enquiry work"

The correspondence of Charles Darwin, volume 19: 1871

The correspondence of Charles Darwin, volume 19: 1871Volume 19 of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, published today, is making the short but intensely revealing personal journal of Darwin's daughter, Henrietta, public for the first time. Written over the period March to July 1871, the year of the 28-old Henrietta's sudden marriage to a man she had known for less than three months, the journal introduces a confident, intelligent, reflective, and passionate young woman. To anyone who has only met her as the overly anxious hypochondriac aunt in Gwen Raverat's Period Piece, this Henrietta is unrecognisable

Help improve online search for humanities resources (UK)

The University of Sheffield is undertaking research with the intention of improving search within the humanities. The AHRC-funded project called 'Participating in Search Design: A Study of George Thomason's English Newsbooks' is a collaboration between the Humanities Research Institute and the departments of History (Professor Mike Braddick, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Arts and Humanities), English (Dr Marcus Nevitt) and Sociological Studies (Dr Bridgette Wessels)

Launch of new National Endowment for the Humanities website (USA)

The National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access has announced the launch of our completely redesigned NEH website. Besides easier access to applying for, and managing a grant, the new site will showcase featured projects, news about NEH staff, and NEH-funded online content that you can explore

1901 Scottish census now live on findmypast.co.uk

findmypast.co.uk has just published the 1901 Scottish census

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Revista Estudios Socio-Jurídicos

Bodleian and Vatican libraries to digitise ancient texts

Bodleian and Vatican libraries to digitise ancient textsThe Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana are announcing a new collaborative digitization project with the aim of opening up repositories of ancient texts and 1.5 million pages from their remarkable collections freely available online to researchers and the general public worldwide.

The initiative has been made possible by a £2 million award from the Polonsky Foundation. Dr Leonard Polonsky whose passion, interest and commitment is to democratize access to information, sees increasing digital access to these two library collections, among the greatest in the world, as a significant step in sharing the wealth of resources on a global scale.

Dr Polonsky, said: '21st-century technology provides the opportunity for collaborations between cultural institutions in the way they manage, disseminate and make available for research the information, knowledge and expertise they hold. I am pleased to support this exciting new project where the Bodleian Libraries and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana will make important collections accessible to scholars and the general public worldwide.'

Driven by the same vision of opening up their collections, the two institutions have recently established a partnership brokered by the Bodleian's Centre for the Study of the Book. The digitization project builds on the existing relationship between the two institutions

2013 ACRL ALA Annual Conference program proposals due May 1

ACRL invites its committees, sections, interest groups, and individual members to consider submitting a program proposal for the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Proposals are due May 1, 2012

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

NPR Library wins the ALA/Information Today, Inc. Library of the Future Award

The American Library Association has named the Artemis training project from the NPR library the 2012 winner of the ALA/Information Today, Inc. Library of the Future Award. This award is presented annually to a library that demonstrates innovative planning and development of patron training programs about information technology in a library setting. The Artemis project is a training program developed by Katie Daugert and Lauren Sin to teach NPR staff how to use a new internal database for audio archives and transcripts

Frances Henne Award goes to Alisa Auchmoedy-Finck

Alisa Auchmoedy-Finck, school librarian at the Marbletown Elementary School in Stone Ridge, N.Y., is the 2012 recipient of the American Association of School Librarian's (AASL) Frances Henne Award. Established in 1986, the $1,250 award, sponsored by ABC-CLIO, recognizes a school librarian with five years or less experience who demonstrates leadership qualities with students, teachers and administrators. As the award recipient, Auchmoedy-Finck has the opportunity to attend her first ALA Annual Conference

The newspaper giant who went down with the Titanic - Conference at the British Library to mark centenary of the death of W.T. Stead

When William Stead died on the maiden voyage of the Titanic in April 1912, he was one of the most famous Englishmen on board. In the 1880s, at a time of revolution in mass culture and print technology, he helped invent the modern tabloid, publishing a series of hugely influential campaigns when editor of The Pall Mall Gazette. The British Library, in association with Birkbeck College and the University of Birmingham, is to host a two-day conference exploring Stead's life, work and legacy. W.T. Stead: A Centenary Conference for a Newspaper Revolutionary, runs 16 -17 April 2012 and will feature more than 40 speakers from around the world

A new video takes you inside the Titanic-related records in the National Archives (USA)

As the archival repository for the records for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the National Archives at New York City holds records in the admiralty case files related to Titanic, specifically the petition filed by the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, as the owner of Titanic, for limitation of liability. Among the documents are depositions of surviving passengers, blueprints of the ship, claims of loss and photographs. Often in the first person, they tell the story of the sinking in dramatic detail. In this video National Archives archivist Bonnie Sauer, public programs specialist Dorothy Dougherty, education specialist Christopher Zarr, education technician Sara Pasquerello, and volunteer William Roaka talk about their favorite Titanic documents in the holdings. The documents are available to the public in New York City, and many can also be viewed on the National Archives' online research system, ARC

The EBSCOhost Collection Manager

The EBSCOhost Collection Manager can be used to search or browse for e-books and audiobooks by title, author, publisher and more or make selections from the Subject Sets or Featured Collections created by EBSCO's collection development experts. ECM can also help libraries create and manage lists of titles they want to expose to patron drive acquisition, manage deposits and determine which ownership models to apply to the various e-books and audiobooks in their collection

Five years on: major conference on libraries and the Semantic Web - 27 April 2012

Five years on: major conference on libraries and the Semantic Web -  27 April 2012April 2012 marks the fifth anniversary of the Data Model Meeting at the British Library, London attended by participants interested in the fit between RDA: Resource Description and Access and the models used in other metadata communities, especially those working in the Semantic Web environment. This meeting, informally known as the "London Meeting", has proved to be a critical point in the trajectory of libraries from the traditional data view to linked data and the Semantic Web. DCMI-UK in cooperation with DCMI International as well as others will co-sponsor a one-day seminar on Friday 27 April 2012 to describe progress since 2007, mark the anniversary, and look to further collaboration in the future.

The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository is The World Bank's official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products. Through the OKR, The World Bank collects, disseminates, and permanently preserves its intellectual output in digital form. The OKR is interoperable with other repositories and supports optimal discoverability and re-usability of the content by complying with Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) standards and the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). The World Bank's new Open Access Policy (effective July 1, 2012), and the OKR will both improve access to those who regularly use World Bank research outputs and knowledge products as well as increase the range of people who can now access Bank content—from governments and civil society organizations (CSOs), to students and the general public

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The University of Delaware Library joins HathiTrust

The University of Delaware Library has become one of the newest members of the HathiTrust, a partnership of major academic and research libraries collaborating in an extraordinary digital library initiative to preserve and provide access to the published record in digital form. The University of Delaware Library plans to contribute public domain volumes digitized through in-house projects to the HathiTrust

World Library and Information Congress : 78th IFLA General Conference and Assembly (Finland)

The World Library and Information Congress 2012, 78th IFLA General Conference and Assembly, will take place on 11-17 August 2012 at the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre in Helsinki, Finland

Win a bookmobile visit from the San Francisco Public Library (USA)

To properly celebrate National Bookmobile Day next week, the San Francisco Public Library has put together an online contest that ends with a big prize. National Bookmobile Day is next Wednesday and the SFPL has launched an online scavenger hunt starting Friday, which continues through April 16, according to library spokeswoman Michelle Jeffers. The contest will feature the library's "Green Bookmobile" - the latest addition to the fleet of four other roving libraries. Throughout the contest the library will post a photograph on its homepage with visual clues of the vehicle's location at one of six iconic San Francisco landmarks. Guesses as to where the mobile library is hanging out in the city can be submitted once per day. For every correct answer, patrons will be entered into a drawing to win a two-hour visit from the bookmobile at the location of their choice

Meeting: Libraries Rebound: Embracing Mission, Maximizing Impact (USA)

Libraries Rebound: Embracing Mission, Maximizing Impact - Exclusively for OCLC Research Library Partners - 5 and 6 June 2012 - Hyatt at The Bellevue, Philadelphia, PA, USA

The Power of Open

The Power of OpenThe world has experienced an explosion of openness. From individual artists opening their creations for input from others, to governments requiring publicly funded works be available to the public, both the spirit and practice of sharing is gaining momentum and producing results. Creative Commons began providing licenses for the open sharing of content only a decade ago. Now more than 400 million CC-licensed works are available on the Internet, from music and photos, to research findings and entire college courses. Creative Commons created the legal and technical infrastructure that allows effective sharing of knowledge, art and data by individuals, organizations and governments. More importantly, millions of creators took advantage of that infrastructure to share work that enriches the global commons for all humanity. The Power of Open collects the stories of those creators. Some are like ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative news organization that uses CC while partnering with the world’s largest media companies. Others like nomadic filmmaker Vincent Moon use CC licensing as an essential element of a lifestyle of openness in pursuit of creativity. The breadth of uses is as great as the creativity of the individuals and organizations choosing to open their content, art and ideas to the rest of the world

IOM3 and Maney launch virtual journal on energy materials

IOM3 and Maney launch virtual journal on energy materials
The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in conjunction with Maney Publishing has announced the launch of Energy Materials - an online only ‘virtual journal' covering current research on materials for energy generation and storage drawn from the Institute's peer reviewed journals. Appearing quarterly, Energy Materials will draw together a selection of the latest research papers, and specially commissioned issues on a particular theme from Materials Research Innovations

Monday, April 09, 2012

SeaCity Museum - Southampton, UK

SeaCity Museum Southampton, UKThe new museum - based in the West Wing of the Civic Centre - is located within Southampton's Cultural Quarter within easy access of the railway station and city centre car parking and close to the city centre parks. The site, owned by Southampton City Council, became available when Hampshire Police moved to a purpose-built venue in March 2011 (the Magistrates' Courts having been vacated in 2002). The overall aspiration was to deliver a museum with an estimated capital cost of £15million for the first phase of the project. Phase 1 of the development contains three main exhibitions:

1. Gateway to the World
2. Southampton’s Titanic Story
3. Titanic the Legend

There are 2 permanent galleries for exhibitions 1 & 2. A special exhibitions gallery, in the new extension, is used in year one for an exhibition curated in-house entitled Titanic the Legend. There will be a programme of special exhibitions from year 2 onwards

The new INFOdocket

The new INFOdocketGary Price writes: INFOdocket has gotten a makeover, but that's not all - today marks the beginning of a partnership with Library Journal. As it has been in the past, INFOdocket will continue to be the place to find hand-picked news, reports, and links related to the hot library and publishing topics of the day. But now it will also serve as something of a first-pass site, providing context and coverage that will feed into the full reporting coming from the LJ News team

SciTech Publishing acquired by The IET

Institution of Engineering and Technology has acquired the full publication list of electromagnetics engineering specialist, SciTech Publishing

The March of Time® at Alexander Street Press

From 1935-1967, American theatergoers and television watchers were witness to Time Inc.'s unique and controversial newsreel series, The March of Time®. Now, for the first time, this groundbreaking series is available in online streaming video in a single, cross-searchable collection designed specifically to meet the needs of researchers, teaching faculty, and students. The newsreels have been restored to their original luster by HBO Archives, allowing viewers to experience these historic newsreels as audiences did in earlier decades. This release contains 413 video titles totaling 115 hours of film

West Vancouver Memorial Library Historical Photograph Collection (Canada)

The digital.westvanlibrary.ca site contains photographs and documents that catalogue West Vancouver's growth and development from its beginnings to the bustling and prosperous community it is today. West Vancouver Memorial Library is digitizing approximately 5,000 local history items to share online

200,000 Titanic-related records are published online

200,000 Titanic-related records are published onlineMore than 200,000 records relating to the Titanic have been published online to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking on 15 April. The documents provide information about survivors and the 1,500 people who died, including a number of wills and hundreds of coroner inquest files. The collection has been gathered by the subscription-based family history website Ancestry.co.uk. However, access to the Titanic records collection is free until 31 May 2012

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #193

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #193. "This week's episode is most definitely NOT an April Fool's Day prank like last week's. We discuss an operational matter about the possibility of a live show in the English community of Liverpool and go through a news miscellany". Previous Podcasts/Programs can be found here

Florida International University announces acquisition of important Cuban genealogy collection

Soon, anyone tracing his or her Cuban or Spanish roots will have access to unique research materials, many available for the first time ever and only at Florida International University. FIU Libraries has acquired a collection of thousands of books, handwritten and typed letters, photos and other primary documents relating to Cuba and Cuban genealogy, collected over four decades by Felix Enrique Hurtado de Mendoza. Hurtado loved books so much that he amassed a collection of over 5,000 volumes, many of them relating to the genealogy of his native Cuba. "This is an extraordinary addition to our collection," said Laura Probst, FIU Dean of Libraries. "We are proud to be the custodians of this rich collection of the family and cultural history of Cuba and its diaspora. Our long-term vision is to create a public Center for Cuban Genealogy, but need support from the community to make this a reality."

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Sitientibus. Série Ciências Biológicas

Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology

State of America's Libraries Report 2012

State of America's Libraries Report 2012 - As the national economy continues to struggle toward recovery from the Great Recession, 2011 was a year of grim headlines. The federal Library of Congress lost about 9% of its budget and 10% of its workforce. Detroit, a city in fiscal crisis, agonized all year over how many library branches to close. In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed a budget that would eliminate 268 currently vacant positions and lay off almost 300 from the library system. (After he was met by hundreds of protesters of all ages, including a group of fist-pumping preschoolers, the mayor backtracked…somewhat.) The Huffington Post took note of it all and started a series in November headlined Libraries in Crisis. But there was good news as well. The Troy (Mich.) Public Library was saved from closing permanently after some 58% of voters, who had rejected two similar measures in the past few years, approved a five-year operating millage. In Los Angeles, voters in March approved by 63% a measure to increase dedicated spending for the Los Angeles Public Library system by $50 million over the next few years without raising taxes, allowing reinstated full-time hours for 73 branches. And even some good humor emerged: The Gilpin County (Colo.) Public Library put up a roadside sign advertising - Free coffee, Internet, notary, phone, smiles, restrooms, and ideas‖ to all who entered

Sunday, April 08, 2012

A Free Web Toolkit for the Modern Library - a MMIT conference workshop promo video (UK)

Here’s a promo video for Andy Tattersall and Claire Beecroft's ScHARR Workshop: "A free web toolkit for the modern library". In the workshop, Andy and Claire will introduce delegates to a variety of tried and tested web 2.0 tools which offer real value to LIS professionals. This workshop is part of the MmIT National Conference 2012: Reduced budgets? Increased impact! Tools and technologies for an effective library and information service being held on Tuesday 17th April 2012 at the University of Sheffield

British Library acquires original manuscript of Benjamin Britten’s 'Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra'

The British Library has acquired the draft score of 'The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra', one of the most famous compositions of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). Completed on New Year's Eve 1945, this original manuscript charts the composer's earliest ideas for what has become one of the most frequently performed pieces by any British composer. Britten subsequently wrote out a full orchestral score, after which no further use was made of the draft, which he gave to a friend. It remained completely unknown until last year

Mobile library cuts to hit elderly and rural dwellers (UK)

Nearly a third of local authorities have reduced or cancelled their mobile library service in the last year, according to statistics obtained by The Daily Telegraph. The cuts are having a disproportionate effect on the elderly and people in remote communities, who rely on the library vans for their reading material. Prominent writers have condemned the cutbacks, with Joanne Harris, author of novels including Chocolat and Blue Eyed Boy, describing reduced access to books as a "dangerous thing". She said that mobile libraries play an essential role in many communities, and their loss will hit people least likely to embrace alternatives ways of reading, such as via ebooks. According to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), 28 per cent of the 174 library authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have reduced the number of mobile library vehicles that they operate over the last year

National Park Service launches Civil War website (USA)

As part of its commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial and coinciding with events marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, the National Park Service has launched a Civil War themed website that provides an overview of the war, with special emphasis on the Civil War sites administered and preserved by the National Park Service

ALCTS webinar: Preserving Your Personal Digital Photographs

Digital photos are fragile and require special care to keep them accessible. But preserving any kind of digital information is a new concept that most people have little experience with. Technologies change over time and become obsolete, making it difficult to access older digital photos. Learn about the nature of the problem and hear about some simple, practical tips and tools to help you keep your digital photos safe - April 26, 2012

ProQuest celebrates National Library Week in the U.S. with free resources

ProQuest is celebrating America's National Library Week with a rich assortment of goodies for libraries and their patrons. Each day from April 8 through 14, the company will open some of its most popular databases found exclusively through library web sites and help librarians fine-tune their marketing with free access to promotional tools and demographic data on book lovers. Plus, the company is sponsoring a sweepstakes that can earn cash prizes for libraries

One-Pager - library website template

One-Pager is a library website template that allows your patrons to find what they want

E-Books 101 – PLA Webinar

E-Books 101: A Look at Devices, Platforms, and Training Ideas - April 17, 2012 - 1:00 p.m. Central

The National Archives and Arts Council England announce partnership (UK)

The National Archives and Arts Council England have announced a new partnership that will benefit archives, museums, libraries and the people who use them

New titles in PubMed Central

Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine

Translational Psychiatry

Nephron Extra

Journal of Prenatal Medicine

Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle

Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry

Journal of Ophthalmic & Vision Research

The Korean Journal of Hepatology

Nutrition & Diabetes

American Journal of Blood Research

Saturday, April 07, 2012

2012 CILIPS Annual Conference: Libraries Enriching Society

2012 CILIPS Annual Conference: Libraries Enriching Society - 11 Jun 2012 - Dundee, Scotland

Above the Fold - March 21, 2012

Above the Fold is a Web-based newsletter published by OCLC Research. It has been developed to serve a broad international readership from libraries, archives and museums - March 21, 2012 - Vol. 5, No. 12 now available

Friday, April 06, 2012

Geofacets from Elsevier

Geofacets is a web-based research tool that offers access to an extensive database of georeferenced geological maps. With intuitive features designed for geoscientists working in upstream oil and gas exploration, it enables users to efficiently and confidently assess a region or basin's geologic characteristics and potential – so they can drive better business outcomes and recommendations

"Community-run libraries are part of the degradation of the service" - (UK)

Sophia Deboick of The Guardian writes - "Volunteers can bring much to libraries, but the fact they are replacing paid staff shows how much de-skilling has taken place"

Gloucestershire library cuts of £1.8m agreed by council (UK)

Protesters have been ejected from a meeting called to agree £1.8m of cuts to the library service in Gloucestershire. The campaigners were escorted from the council chamber to a cry of "shame on you" as the new proposals were agreed by the county council. About 12 members of the public attended the cabinet meeting at Shire Hall. The council will continue to run 31 libraries but seven will lose funding and be run by local communities. James Beecher, from Stroud Against the Cuts and the main heckler in the meeting, said: "Sixteen thousand people signed a petition against these proposals the first time round, they've barely changed despite all the comments that people have made. I'm disgusted with what's happened"

Green Libraries Conference 2012 (UK)

Coventry University Library is hosting a one-day Green Libraries Conference on 13th of June 2012. With six different speakers from a range of institutions, the day provides an excellent opportunity to engage in the green agenda, to find out about projects and initiatives at other institutions and to network with colleagues who have in interest in green matters. Although the focus of the day is predominantly HE based, we welcome delegates from all areas of the Library and Information sector

Colorado Association of Libraries Annual Conference 2012 (USA)

Colorado Association of Libraries Annual Conference 2012 - October 18-20, 2012 - Keystone, Colorado, USA

New York Public Library to digitize Washington, Thoreau and Twain

Letters written by George Washington, Henry David Thoreau's pencil-drawn map of Walden Pond and Mark Twain's manuscript of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" are among the items from the New York Public Library's American collections that will soon be digitized and made available to the public online, the library has announced

The Global Information Technology Report 2012

Over the past decade, The Global Information Technology Report series, has become the most comprehensive and respected international assessment of the preparedness of economies to leverage the networked economy. This research provides a unique platform for public-private dialogue on best policies and for determining what actions will further national ICT readiness and innovation potential. Through the evolved methodological framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), The Global Information Technology Report 2012 measures the extent to which 142 economies take advantage of ICT and other new technologies to increase their growth and well-being. This year, Sweden tops the rankings, followed by Singapore and Finland

Virtual International Authority File service transitions to OCLC

VIAF (Virtual International Authority File), a project that virtually combines multiple name authority files into a single name authority service, has transitioned to become an OCLC service. OCLC will continue to make VIAF openly accessible and will also work to incorporate VIAF into various OCLC services

Journal of Digital Humanities - first issue

Journal of Digital Humanities - Vol. 1, No. 1 Winter 2011 - The Journal of Digital Humanities is a comprehensive, peer-reviewed, open access journal that features the best scholarship, tools, and conversations produced by the digital humanities community in the previous quarter

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - April 6, 2012

The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference - this week: France. "France is said to be the most visited country in the world. How much do you know about France and the French? Test your knowledge with this brainteaser" Answers here.

1. Paris, the capital of France, is situated on which river?
2. Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is in which Paris museum?
3. In 1965, a road tunnel was opened from Chamonix in France to Courmayeur in Italy - under which mountain (the highest mountain in the Alps)?
4. What are the three colours on the French flag?
5. In which region of France does true champagne come from: the northwest, the northeast, or the southeast?
6. Which famous French singer was born Edith Giovanna Gassion and adopted a name which meant a "little sparrow"?
7. Which large island in the Mediterranean is an offshore province of France?
8. Which 1980 musical was based on an 1862 novel by Victor Hugo?
9. In 1998, France became world champions by beating which country's team in the soccer World Cup at the Stade de France?
10. In 1898, which French novelist aroused interest in the Dreyfus Case by writing a letter beginning "J'accuse"?

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Nature Publishing Group releases linked data platform

Nature Publishing Group has joined the linked data community by opening up access to its publication data via a linked data platform

Crossroads - April 2012

Crossroads: the newsletter of WebJuntion.org - April 2012 issue is now available

Findmypast.co.uk launches new Titanic records

Family history website findmypast.co.uk has published two new sets of records, which include information about the passengers and crew aboard the Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage. The Maritime birth, marriage and death records and White Star Line Officers' books are both available from today. Debra Chatfield, family historian at findmypast.co.uk, said: "These fantastic new additions to findmypast.co.uk will be of immense value not only to people with ancestors who were employed at sea, but also to anyone who has been struggling to find a record of an ancestor’s birth, marriage or death. There has never been a single centralised register of births, marriages and deaths at sea, so many of the names listed in these records will not appear in the information already available online."

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Library Trends - Winter 2012

Library Trends Volume 60, Number 3, Winter 2012 is now available. Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press

Brill is now a participant in the Journal Usage Statistics Portal

Brill has announced its participation in the Journal Usage Statistics Portal, a new service built in response to demand from the UK HE community

April 2012 batch of Early Reviewer books is up at LibraryThing

The April 2012 batch of Early Reviewer books is now available at LibraryThing. There are 2202 copies of 73 books available this month

National Poetry Month - United States and Canada

National Poetry Month is a celebration of poetry first introduced in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. It is celebrated every April in the United States and (since 1999) in Canada as well. Since 2000 Great Britain has celebrated a National Poetry Month each October

First Monday - April 2012

First Monday - Volume 17, Number 4, 2 April 2012 now available. First Monday is a Great Cities Initiative of the University of Illinois at Chicago University Library, USA

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Bolivian Studies Journal

Nutrición Clínica y Dietética Hospitalaria

Revista de Estudos AntiUtilitaristas e PosColoniais

Journal of Applied Technology in Environmental Sanitation

Transcontinentales : Sociétés, Idéologies, Système Mondial

C&RL News – April 2012

C&RL News – April 2012 is now freely available online from The Association of College and Research Libraries

ManeyTrack

Maney Publishing has launched its customised production tracking system, ManeyTrack. ManeyTrack is a comprehensive web-based system which handles the tracking, information, and reporting elements of the journal production process. It has been developed in collaboration with MPS Limited. The system was custom-built after an extensive search showed that there was no off-the-shelf solution available that fully met Maney's needs, as identified from a comprehensive workflow analysis

Book Grocer: 4-10 April, 2012

Book Grocer: 4-10 April, 2012 - The week ahead in literary London from the Londonist blog. #books #London

FreePint Newsletter 348

FreePint Newsletter 348 - 5 April 2012 now available

Meet me @ the Library – Gale celebrates National Library Week with fun giveaways and free access to resources

Gale, part of Cengage Learning, is celebrating National Library Week, April 8–14, by encouraging library advocacy in local communities across the country. To help drive awareness at the local level, and to support the American Library Association theme, You Belong @ the Library, Gale will be offering limited edition bumper magnets with the tag line: Meet me @ the Library, to the first 100 libraries to visit and "like" the Gale Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/GaleCengage). In addition, Gale is offering free access to dozens of its online resources, such as Powerspeak Languages, Career Transitions and the In Context products, to U.S. and Canadian customers via its trial program site - http://www.galetrials.com

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

UK Public Libraries contact information

Contact information for 4,040 UK Public Library branches with unique identifiers. Includes branch-name, postal address, main telephone, email and web address where known. Published 14th March 2012 by Collections Trust in association with ACE, SCL, CILIP, UKOnline, BBC