Web Magazine for Information Professionals

News and Events

Ariadne presents a brief summary of news and events.

5th International Digital Curation Conference – Moving to Multi-Scale Science: Managing Complexity and Diversity

Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London
2-4 December 2009
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2009/

The International Digital Curation Conference is an established annual event reaching out to individuals, organisations and institutions across all disciplines and domains involved in curating data for e-science and e-research.

The Digital Curation Centre, which is responsible for organising the Conference, will be hosting a full day of workshops on 2 December including Disciplinary Dimensions of Digital Curation: New Perspectives on Research Data; Digital Curation 101 Lite Training; Citability of Research Data; and Repository Preservation Infrastructure (REPRISE). The workshops will be followed by a Pre-Conference Drinks Reception at the Natural History Museum.

The main conference will open on 3 December with a keynote speech from Professor Douglas Kell, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). This will be followed by perspectives on scale from US viewpoints, particularly the two large NSF-funded DataNet projects, and from the UK with reports linked to neurosciences and social simulation.

The first day of the conference will also incorporate the ever-popular ‘minute madness’, an interactive afternoon for posters and demos and a symposium entitled “Citizen Science: Data Challenges” led by Richard Cable, BBC Lab UK. Clifford Lynch, CEO of the Coalition for Networked Information will sum up the first day. The second day will start with an award for the best peer-reveiwed paper and will be followed by a keynote from Professor Ed Seidal, National Science Foundation. The rest of the day will be made up of peer-reviewed papers in themed sessions covering Disciplinary and Institutional Challenges, Practitioner Experience, Metadata, Software Preservation & Managing Risk.

Timo Hannay from Nature Publishing Group will close the conference.

For further information:
Full programme details are available online:
http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2009/programme/

Registration will close on 20 November 2009.
Places are limited so please register now at http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/dcc-2009/


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‘Doing More With Less?’: Forum on preservation skills development

British Library Conference Centre,
96 Euston Road,
London NW1 2DB
Monday 30 November 2009
http://www.bl.uk/npo/forum.html

Caring for library and archive collections today demands new knowledge and new skills - responding to climate change and environmental impact, ensuring the survival of modern materials, incorporating information technology into our professional talent base. The first annual forum of the British Library Preservation Advisory Centre showcases recent research and latest developments in preservation learning and provides an opportunity to hear how different methods of learning have been successfully applied to preservation training. Discussion sessions will inform the future skills development programme of the Preservation Advisory Centre.

The event is designed for people from all types of organisation, institution or collection who have responsibility for the care of library and archive materials.

Programme

09.30Registration
10.00Welcome and introduction
Caroline Peach, Head, British Library Preservation Advisory Centre
10.15Strategic challenges for preservation in libraries and archives
Helen Shenton, Head of Collection Care, British Library
10.45Preservation training needs in Research Libraries UKand higher education libraries
Jane Arthur, Preservation Training Coordinator, British Library Preservation Advisory Centre
11.05Break
11.25The benefits of partnerships in preservation projects
Sheila Hingley, Head of Heritage Collections, Durham University Library
11.45Action Conservation: engaging volunteers hands-on
Vicki Marsland, National Trust Conservator South
12.05Panel discussion
12.30Lunch
13.30Distance learning at Northumbria University
Jean Brown, Programme Leader, Preventive Conservation, Northumbria University
13.50Work-based learning opportunities at the British Library
Catherine Atkinson, Head of Conservation Learning and Development, British Library
14.10Digital preservation - what do I need to know?
William Kilbride, Executive Director, Digital Preservation Coalition
14.30Break
14.50Preserving sound
Sound Archive, British Library
15.10Modern materials: new problems, new skills?
Cordelia Rogerson, Acting Head of Conservation, British Library
15.30Preservation Advisory Centre’s skills development programme
Caroline Peach, Head, British Library Preservation Advisory Centre
15.50Panel discussion
16.20Close

Registration fee £80.50 (GBP); (Students £46.00 (GBP))

For further information:
To register, please visit http://www.bl.uk/npo/forum.html
Email: blpac@bl.uk

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Managing and sharing research data: focus on consent, confidentiality and disclosure

Rosebery Hall, London School of Economics
Wednesday 2 December 2009
http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2293

On 2 December 2009, as part of the 5th International Digital Curation Conference, the UK Data Archive is holding a workshop at the LSE Rosebery Hall on managing and sharing research data. Guidance is based on advice and support provided to ESRC award holders as part of their contractual obligations to share data, and on data management planning as implemented by the cross-Research Council Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme.

This workshop will cover key issues on data management and sharing as applied to socio-economic research involving people as participants (interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, observation and so on). It will provide both theoretical information and practical exercises and discussions focusing on:

Guidance will also help researchers when planning data management strategies for research projects, or when considering data sharing and archiving as part of ethical review procedures.

Participants are encouraged to contribute materials in advance of the workshop to ensure an interactive and topical approach. Such materials will depend on current research activities, but might include: descriptions of current research projects; sample consent forms used; data management plans; current or intending procedures for anonymising data; institutional ethical review guidelines on data sharing.

There is a cost of £65 for this workshop. Places are limited so booking is essential. Priority will be given to researchers actively collecting data or to Research Ethics Committee members.

For further information:
Further details: http://www.esds.ac.uk/news/eventdetail.asp?id=2293
Programme: http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/news/eventsdocs/consentdec09.asp

Lorna Balkan
Outreach and Promotion Officer
UK Data Archive - a service provider for the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1206 872007
Email: balka@essex.ac.uk
http://www.esds.ac.uk/
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/

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Online Educa Berlin 2009: 15th International Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning and Training

Berlin, Germany
2 - 4 December 2009
http://www.online-educa.com/

The largest global e-learning conference for corporate, education and public service sectors takes place from 2 – 4 December at the Hotel InterContinental Berlin. 2,200 e-learning experts from more than 90 countries are expected to attend.

The focus of this year’s conference is effective e-learning in the workplace. Global companies such as BP, Deloitte and SAP will present their strategies for more productive learning in the wake of the financial crisis. Martin Dougiamas, the founder of Moodle, an open source platform with 735,000 users and 1,000 new registrations each day, will present solutions for companies.

In addition, a multitude of presentations will be dedicated to learning technologies in schools and universities. There will be a demonstration for example, of how medical students can analyse x-rays with iPhones. In virtual football stadiums, secondary school pupils find out about jobs requiring vocational training and English students receive feedback from teachers via video.

Parallel to the conference, leading international e-learning suppliers will present the latest products and services in the exhibition area.

For further information:
Further information of the annual conference can be found here:
http://www.online-educa.com/

Location:
Hotel InterContinental Berlin, Budapester Str. 2, 10787 Berlin, Germany

Organiser:
ICWE GmbH, Leibnizstr. 32, 10625 Berlin, Germany E-Mail: info@online-educa.com


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METS Workshop: The Basics and Beyond

ALA Hotel TBD and 90 Mt. Auburn, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
18-22 January 2010
http://www.arl.org/stats/statsevents/METS-workshop.shtml

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Statistics and Measurement Program is offering a five day workshop entitled METS: The Basics and Beyond to be held in partnership with Nancy J. Hoebelheinrich and Rick Beaubien of the METS Editorial Board. This workshop is aimed at people who work in digital and physical libraries and would like to gain knowledge and skills to organise the many and disparate component parts of individual digital resources.

The Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) is a data encoding and transmission specification, expressed in XML, that provides a means for conveying the structural, descriptive, and administrative metadata necessary for both the management of digital objects within a repository and the exchange of such objects between repositories (or between repositories and their users). This common digital object format was designed to facilitate both the exchange of digital materials among institutions and vendors, and the shared development of supporting tools. METS is currently used by libraries and cultural heritage institutions worldwide including the Library of Congress, the British Library, the German National Library, the Ministry of Culture Spain, the National Diet Library Japan, the National Library of Finland, the National Library of Portugal, the National Library of Wales and numerous research libraries across the globe.

Although continuous, this hands-on workshop consists of three modules, any of which may be taken independently.

For further information:
For further details, including expanded module descriptions, instructor bios, and information on lodging, please go to:
http://www.arl.org/stats/statsevents/METS-workshop.shtml

Instructors:

Event Details:

Date: Monday, January 18 to Friday, January 22, 2010
Time: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. each day
Location: Monday: ALA hotel TBD; Tuesday-Friday: 90 Mt. Auburn, Harvard University
Fee: Please see http://www.arl.org/stats/statsevents/METS-workshop.shtml
Register: http://www.formspring.com/forms/?718274-lHXuYlPAxR


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Subject Repositories: European collaboration in the international context

The British Library Conference Centre, London
28-29 January 2010
http://www.neeoconference.eu/

This conference, which is the first of its kind, will explore the development of subject repositories worldwide and will see the launch of Economists Online, the key output of an EC-funded subject repository project managed by the Nereus consortium of top European economics libraries. Nereus members will showcase this subject repository in both plenary and parallel sessions, sharing lessons learned and engaging delegates in discussions of the main issues such as content recruitment, search and retrieval services, usage statistics and data sets. The two-day programme will also put Economists Online into the wider context and will allow delegates to hear about repository trends across three continents.

Among the speakers are Chuck Henry, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources, Clifford Lynch, Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, Cathrine Harboe-Ree, University Librarian at Monash University, Australia, who led the ARROW Project and is involved in leading the ANDS Project, and Christian Zimmerman, Economics professor at the University of Connecticut. Professor Nick Barr of the London School of Economics will launch the Economists Online portal.

The delegate fee is £155 (approximately €175 or US$250) and includes attendance at plenary and parallel sessions, refreshments during breaks, two lunches and VAT.

For further information:
For further information about how to book, speakers, travel information and hotels, please visit: http://www.neeoconference.eu/

The programme can be found at http://www.neeoconference.eu/programme.html


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emtacl10 — emerging technologies in academic libraries

Library of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
26–28 April 2010
http://www.ntnu.no/ub/emtacl/

Emerging technologies and evolving user behaviour change the rules of the game for academic libraries. Emerging technologies include new ways of using existing technologies and totally new, disruptive technologies. Examples include:

This is a new international conference for academic librarians, information professionals, academic staff, students, library system developers and suppliers, among others. The conference aims to provide answers to the following questions: What can academic libraries do to address change? How can we adapt? Which technologies can/should/must we use/create?

Keynote speakers will include: Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC; Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix; Conor Galvin, University College Dublin; Chris Clarke, Talis; Martin Malmsten, LIBRIS; and Ida Aalen, NTNU.

Topics likely to emerge in the course of the Conference will be:

The conference is hosted by the Library of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.

For further information:
For additional information, please visit the conference Web site:
http://www.emtacl.com
or email us at emtacl@ub.ntnu.no

Karen Johanne Buset (organizing committee chair)
Ole Husby (programme committee chair)


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ECA 2010: 8th European Conference on Digital Archiving

Geneva, Switzerland
28-30 April 2010
http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/
http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/index.html?lang=en

The 8th European Conference on Digital Archiving will be held in Geneva over 28-30 April 2010. It will follow in the footsteps of the European Conferences on Archives of recent decades. However, this conference aims to take a new approach by emphasising digital elements and archiving as a function instead of the archive as an institution. The future will be digital, but we want to preserve the analogue tradition: the archive of the future must be a safe place for the analogue and digital evidence of the past.

Programme: http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/00732/index.html?lang=en

The conference aims not only to debate the current challenges during the event but also to present specific solutions – large-scale and small, both successful and not so successful - as we can learn the most from concrete projects. In addition, the involvement of a number of generations of specialists in various professions will provide for an inter-professional and inter-generational dialogue that should give rise to many suggestions for further solutions.

Further information is available at:
http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/
http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/index.html?lang=en

Conference Location:
International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG)
http://www.bar.admin.ch/eca2010/00737/00809/index.html?lang=en

Organising Committee:
Andreas Kellerhals, Chairman


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Open Science at Web-Scale

A new report on Open Science has just appeared as part of JISC’s ‘Research 3.0 – driving the knowledge economy’ activity which launches at the end of November. The report, entitled Open Science at Web-Scale: Optimising Participation and Predictive Potential was written by written by Dr. Liz Lyon, Director of UKOLN and Associate Director of the Digital Curation Centre, trails key research trends that could have far-reaching implications for science, universities and UK society. In this consultative report, Dr. Lyon identifies open-ness, predictive science based on massive data volumes, and citizen involvement as being important features of tomorrow’s research practice.

Further information:
Press release: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ukoln/press/2009-11-11/
Open Science at Web-Scale: Optimising Participation and Predictive Potential
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/documents/opensciencerpt.aspx

[Source: UKOLN]

[Received: November 2009]
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JISC Inform Goes Interactive

The latest JISC Inform (Inform 26: Autumn 2009) is previewed now with an online version, Inform Plus, showcasing extra content, an interactive timeline, podcasts and videos as well as the usual spread of news from across JISC’s work in universities and colleges.

This autumn edition looks at how digital technologies are helping colleges and universities reach out locally as well as internationally.

The topics of research, open access and collaboration are all featured in this edition with a podcast interview with Professor Robert Darnton from the University of Harvard talking about the university’s journey to transition to open access policies. The interview previews some of the themes of JISC’s ‘Research 3.0 – driving the knowledge economy’ activity, demonstrating how JISC adds value to researchers as they manage data, collaborate and publish.

Further information:
JISC Inform goes interactive
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/11/inform.aspx

[Source: JISC]

[Received: November 2009]
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MLA and British Pathé Initiative

Thousands of hours of rare archive footage from the 20th Century, covering every aspect of news and social history in Britain between 1896 and the 1970, is now available to local museums, public libraries and archives, thanks to a new cost-saving subscription agreement.

The agreement between British Pathé and the MLA will allow access to the entire British Pathé film archive in broadcast quality, for use in exhibitions, displays and public events. British Pathé has had hundreds of requests from museums in Britain which want to feature historic newsreel to enhance their displays. However, until now, access to this prestigious material could be prohibitively expensive.

Now these organisations will have unlimited and instant online access to the entire British Pathé film archive, to download in broadcast quality, for use in all their public exhibitions, through a simple and affordable monthly subscription fee of £60.

Further information:
British Pathé and museums, libraries and archives
http://www.mla.gov.uk/news_and_views/press/releases/2009/British_Pathe

[Source: MLA]

[Received: November 2009]
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JISC-funded Study Identifies Barriers to Research

A JISC funded study is making recommendations to help people find university research outputs through better integration of library catalogues, research repositories and other university systems.

The JISC-funded Online catalogue and repository interoperability study carried out by the Centre for Digital Library Research at the University of Strathclyde suggests that although there is overlap between the types of information resources recorded in library catalogues and repositories, these overlaps are rarely apparent to the information seeker. This is because both types of system need to be searched separately as there is no interlinking.

Barriers between systems arise not only for technical reasons but also because they are often based in different departments of the university.

Further information:
Recommendations for systems join-up could make finding research easier: JISC
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/11/catalogue.aspx

[Source: JISC]

[Received: November 2009]
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Life Scientists’ Information Use: One size does not fit all

A report on research patterns in life sciences reveals that researcher practices diverge from policies promoted by funders and information service providers A report by the British Library and the Research Information Network (RIN) launched on 2 November 2009 provides a unique insight into how information is used by researchers across life sciences. Undertaken by the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation, the UK Digital Curation Centre and the University of Edinburgh’s Information Services, the report concludes that ‘one-size-fits-all’ information and data sharing policies are not achieving scientifically productive and cost-efficient information use in life sciences.

The report, Patterns of Information Use and Exchange: Case Studies of Researchers in Life Sciences was developed using an innovative approach to capture the day-to-day patterns of information use in seven research teams across a wide range of disciplines, from botany to clinical neuroscience. The study, undertaken over 11 months and involving 56 participants, found that there is a significant gap between how researchers behave and the policies and strategies of funders and service providers. This suggests that the attempts to implement such strategies have had only a limited impact. Key findings from the report include:

The study used ground-breaking research methods to map information use in research teams from across the life sciences. This included specially designed ‘information lab books’ to chart and monitor individual researchers’ day-to-day information practices.

The report sets out a number of recommendations to funders, universities and information service providers on how policy and services can be more aligned with research practice and help UK life scientists sustain their position at the forefront of world-class research.

Further information:

Research Information Network:
Patterns of information use and exchange: case studies of researchers in the life sciences
http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/using-and-accessing-information-resources/disciplinary-case-studies-life-sciences

[Source: British Library]

[Received: November 2009]
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UKOLN Research Officer Wins Remote Worker Award 2009

UKOLN Research Officer Marieke Guy, who works entirely from home, was surprised to discover that she has won the Remote Worker Award organised by Remote Employment in association with BT Business. Marieke had already been named on the short list to win but was facing some very strong competition. Hundreds of entries had been received for the awards and the judges selected the winners based on the individuals or companies that demonstrated how remote working had created the greatest positive impact on their work life.

Mick Hegarty, strategy and commercial director, BT Business said, “These awards highlight some of the best examples of how remote workers are helping the environment, increasing business productivity and improving quality of life.”

Marieke received the award for Remote Worker, the category for employees currently working remotely, out of office, or who are field- or mobile-based. After the ceremony at the prestigious Cliveden House, Marieke, who as part of her work is also Chair of the long-standing annual UKOLN Institutional Web Management Workshop said, “It is incredible to have people appreciate the work I do in this way. I really hope what I’ve done is useful to others in the same boat, working from home is not always easy. I want to thank my employers UKOLN and the University of Bath who have endorsed the work I do and encouraged me throughout.”

With typical modesty Marieke only informed colleagues of her award obliquely by pointing them to the address of her popular blog on remote working Ramblings of a Remote Worker which operates at the core of her work in this area. Dr.Liz Lyon, Director of UKOLN, who had encouraged Marieke to follow her path to remote working was asked for her reaction. “I think I speak for all my colleagues when I say how delighted I am to see Marieke receive this award as a fitting tribute to all her hard work in this area. Both before and since her appointment as Remote Worker Champion at UKOLN in 2008, Marieke has worked tirelessly to refine our remote working systems as well as represent her colleagues who also work entirely online to us. Moreover, as Marieke has pointed out herself, this award also recognises the efforts of colleagues, for example in Software & Systems, and elsewhere in UKOLN, who have played their part to further a new approach to working from which we all benefit.”

Marieke has also written a number of contributions to Ariadne on the topic of remote working.

Further information:
Marieke Guy, UKOLN
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ukoln/staff/m.guy/

Marieke’s blog Ramblings of a Remote Worker
http://remoteworker.wordpress.com/

Marieke’s contributions to Ariadne on remote working:

Article Title: “A Desk Too Far?: The Case for Remote Working”
Author: Marieke Guy
Publication Date: 30 July 2008
Publication: Ariadne Issue 56
Originating URL: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue56/guy/

Article Title: “Staying Connected: Technologies Supporting Remote Workers”
Author: Marieke Guy
Publication Date: 30 October 2008
Publication: Ariadne Issue 57
Originating URL: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue57/guy/

Article Title: “A Support Framework for Remote Workers”
Author: Marieke Guy
Publication Date: 30 April 2009
Publication: Ariadne Issue 59
Originating URL: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue59/guy/

[Source: UKOLN]

[Received: September 2009]
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Erasmus Prize for Europeana

Europeana.eu has been awarded the Erasmus Award for Networking Europe at the Erasmus EuroMedia Awards 2009 ceremony at the City Hall in Vienna.

There were some 230 applications, resulting in 62 nominations, from which the jury selected 3 Erasmus awards. The award is given by the European Society for Education and Communication, and selected by an international jury from the world of learning and research.

Jury member Joan Hemels, Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Communication, University of Amsterdam made the award, saying, “One year after the official launch of Europeana, the most critical users are already impressed by the achievement of this virtual online library and museum. An open mind for the national cultural sources in Europe can be crucial for the development of a common European consciousness and for the sharing of different social and cultural values among the inhabitants of the participating countries. The route to an integrated cultural space of Europe has been shortened by realizing Europeana - an outstanding achievement in bridging European cultures.”

Further information:
Europeana
http://www.europeana.eu/portal/

EuroMedia Awards: The European Society for Education and Communication
http://www.univie.ac.at/esec/php/wordpress/?page_id=5

Article Title: “Europeana: An Infrastructure for Adding Local Content”
Author: Rob Davies
Publication Date: 30 October 2008
Publication: Ariadne Issue 57
Originating URL: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue57/davies/

The European Commission has released a comunication about the next steps for Europeana and digitisation in Europe:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=5181

It sets the target for items in Europeana at 10 million for 2010, and also addresses the low level of digitisation in Europe and the disparities in copyright legislation across the Member States.

[Source: Europeana]

[Received: October 2009]
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MLA Guidance on the Importance of Library Services

As the pressure on public sector finances mounts, and with the Wirral inquiry in the pipeline, the MLA has published guidance designed to help library services meet wider local priorities and maintain a comprehensive and efficient service. The MLA is writing to all local authority chief executives in England emphasising how public libraries make a difference by supporting people and communities in learning, acquiring new skills and jobs, accessing the Internet and reading books.

The MLA Web site guidance highlights case studies from Leicester, Lincolnshire, Newcastle, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Wigan illustrating how these library services have improved their services by redefining strategic priorities, restructuring the workforce, community consultation and co-location with other services.

MLA Chief Executive Roy Clare said, “The MLA is looking forward to continuing to support the cause of better library services for people and communities everywhere. We don’t have a mandate to intervene, but the MLA field teams can respond quickly and effectively when local authorities seek guidance and help, plus there is a wealth of case studies, research and evidence available on our Web site.”

President of the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL), Fiona Williams, said, “These library support pages were developed following consultations that MLA had with SCL and the library sector. They will be a very useful resource for those delivering a library service that works for every community. SCL believes that local authorities should use all such resources to identify and implement good practice.”

Further information:
MLA: Improving a library service
http://www.mla.gov.uk/librarysupport

[Source: MLA]

[Received: October 2009]
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Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

A recent 93-page US report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the US Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The analysis for the Department of Education found that, on average, students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile.

Further information:
Reference Notes Blog
http://ref-notes.blogspot.com/2009/08/study-finds-that-online-education-beats_19.html

[Source: Reference Notes blog]

[Received: August 2009]
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Publication Date: 30-October-2009 Publication: Ariadne Issue 61
Originating URL: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue61/newsline/