For the last two months, UC3 have been working with the teams at Data.gov, Data Refuge, Internet Archive, and Code For Science (creators of the Dat Project) to aggregate the government data. Data that spans the globe There are currently volunteers across the country working to discover and preserve publicly funded research, especially climate data, from […]
Category: Libraries
Metadata is the key to collaboration and a national bibliographic knowledgebase
The British Library has partnered with Jisc, Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) to create a national bibliographic knowledgebase (NBK). Neil Wilson outlines why such an initiative is necessary, explaining the implications of a hybrid print/digital marketplace, and how the rapidly evolving digital landscape has not been matched by a parallel development in […]
Reimagining the role of the library in the digital age: changing the use of space and navigating the information landscape
Yesterday Carnegie Mellon University announced a new partnership with technology company Digital Science. CMU’s Keith Webster describes the mutual commitment to research discovery and smarter workflows that underpins this collaboration, and also outlines some of the ways in which academic libraries have changed; from their more dynamic use of space to the redeveloped tools and services made available to students […]
Digital collections offer researchers opportunities to develop new skills and scholarly communications networks
Digital collections, such as those built in libraries and other cultural heritage institutions, are being used less as mere static repositories but rather as live, interactive resources. Harriett Green and Angela Courtney have examined humanities researchers’ needs for digital collections and learned that they are not only essential to scholars’ ability to access materials but also influence multiple aspects of […]
Academic Book Week 2017 at LSE Library
23-28 January 2017 is Academic Book Week, celebrating the value, variety and transformations of the academic book. To mark the occasion, Lucy Lambe outlines how LSE Library is celebrating the week and talks to LSE academics about their favourite scholarly works and how they envisage the future of the academic book. This post originally appeared on LSE Review of Books and […]
The research librarian of the future: data scientist and co-investigator
There remains something of a disconnect between how research librarians themselves see their role and its responsibilities and how these are viewed by their faculty colleagues. Jeannette Ekstrøm, Mikael Elbaek, Chris Erdmann and Ivo Grigorov imagine how the research librarian of the future might work, utilising new data science and digital skills to drive more collaborative and open scholarship. Arguably […]
How do students access the resources they need? Survey finds only one in five obtain all resources legally.
Laura Czerniewicz presents an overview of findings from a study on the practices of university students accessing learning resources at a research-intensive university in South Africa. There is a grey zone in the access of resources that is now simply part of normal life in a new communication and information order. The students’ perspectives raise critical issues for new models of publishing, […]
Nine things you need to know about copyright: A good practice guide for administrators, librarians and academics.
It is impossible to work in a university and avoid coming into contact with copyright at some point, especially given the ease with which online content can be copied, pasted, streamed, downloaded and shared. Chris Morrison and Jane Secker provide a helpful explainer of copyright in universities and break down the complexity of how copyright works in practice. The Association […]
Pop-up Library Makerspace: Academic libraries provide flexible, supportive space to explore emerging technologies.
The word Makerspace is a general term for a place where people get together to make things, create things and learn together. Antony Groves presents a look at a recent university library experiment hosting a pop-up makerspace. Working with local edtech leaders MakerClub and colleagues the library organised a two-hour workshop which offered the opportunity for students and staff to explore emerging […]
Libraries and Open Journal Systems: Hosting and facilitating the creation of Open Access scholarship
There is a growing availability of free tools and software for academic publishing. How might libraries leverage existing platforms? Anna R. Craft describes one experience of an academic library hosting locally-produced open access journals through Open Journals Systems (OJS). But even “free” software is not without costs in relation to time and expertise. Care should be taken in facilitating a supportive […]