Library Stuff

“An internal document from Library and Archives Canada suggests the department is considering a paywall to help pay for digitizing its content, but that plan has been delayed until at least the fall. Part of a plan posted on an archivist’s Tumblr blog involves a 10-year agreement with non-profit group Canadiana.org. “The agreement … provides for 10 years of exclusive rights for Canadiana to monetize the collections in exchange for making them accessible online,” the document said.” (via CBC News)

“Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln is the first institution in the UK to go live with OCLC’s WorldShare Management Services (WMS) having successfully implemented the services on Monday. Bishop Grosseteste University is now among the more than 100 libraries worldwide using OCLC’s cloud-based library management services that easily integrate with institutional systems to help libraries become more efficient with print and electronic workflows.” (via OCLC)

“After a long development period, Booklikes launched in May. Its interface is part Tumblr, particularly in two aspects: each user has a blog within the site, and the main dashboard page includes a Tumblr-like feed from other blogs. And it’s also part Goodreads, with a visual bookshelf that users can fill with books they’ve read and add reviews.” (via latimes.com)

“Softlink and OverDrive have announced deep API integration of OverDrive services into Softlink’s leading knowledge, content and library management solutions for schools and special libraries. Softlink Chief Operating Officer Nathan Godfrey said Softlink was excited about extending the partnership with OverDrive, the global leader in eBook distribution, to provide innovations for the digital marketplace. The APIs build on the success of Softlink and OverDrive’s current integration, which provides streamlined access to OverDrive’s digital collection, eBooks, eResources and other digital formats through a single access point.” (via Overdrive)

“The e-textbook “revolution” is still waiting to start. Students and professors are still not adopting the use of digital textbooks in any great numbers, according to the latest data from Bowker Market Research, presented today in a Digital Book World webcast. Further, the percentage of students who are using them has remained flat over the past few semesters. While publishers are increasingly creating and selling digital materials and students increasingly have the devices on which to consume that content, only 3% of students last semester used a digital textbook as their primary course material (for a specific course). That’s down from 4% for the fall semester.” (via Digital Book World)

Google’s plan for a vast digital library is “the kind of project that the fair use doctrine was designed to protect,” three nonprofits told the 2nd Circuit. Beginning in 2008, major universities and libraries partnered with Google to digitize their volumes, creating the HathiTrust Digital Library. HathiTrust enabled more than 60 university and research libraries to store, secure and search their digital collections. Though the library plans to provide full-text access to so-called “orphan works” whose copyright owners could not be located, it normally does not allow users to access the digitized books in their entirety. Its system delivers titles and page numbers via keyword search, helping students and others find the copyrighted books at libraries. Blind or print-disabled users can get special access to the original works.” (via Courthouse News Service)

“Does your library offer cutting-edge library services? Learn about how four ALA-recognized libraries are using cutting-edge technologies in their libraries during the session “Cutting-edge Technology in Library Services,” which will be held June 30, 2013, from 8:30–10:00a.m. in McCormick Place Convention Center room N427BC. The Cutting-edge Technology in Library Services recognition is presented by the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy and the Library & Information Technology Association and showcases libraries that are serving their communities using novel and innovative methods.” (via District Dispatch)

“As more and more colleges experiment with massive open online courses, or MOOCs, a new project hopes to cut through the hype and gauge the effectiveness of the courses. The MOOC Research Initiative, financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will award grants of $10,000 to $25,000 to researchers seeking to explore issues such as student experiences in MOOCs and the free courses’ systemic impact.” (via The Chronicle of Higher Education)

“The New York Public Library has reopened its Stapleton branch on Staten Island, offering patrons a newly-renovated library that is more than double its original size, and that seamlessly combines the charm of an original “Carnegie Library” with a beautiful and highly-functional modern addition. The one-story, 12,000-square foot branch at 132 Canal Street was officially opened in a public ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 11 with community leaders and library staff. The United States Coast Guard participated in the event, attended by excited residents and nearby students. A day of public programs for all ages followed.” (via The New York Public Library)

“John P. Wilkin has been named university librarian and dean of libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, effective Aug. 16, pending approval by the U. of I. Board of Trustees at its July 24 meeting in Chicago. Wilkin is an associate university librarian at the University of Michigan, where he also leads Michigan’s library information technology and publishing divisions, including the University of Michigan Press. He also is the executive director of the HathiTrust Digital Library, an online repository established in 2008 to unite the digitized collections of more than 60 research libraries, including the U. of I.’s, in an effort to preserve the published cultural record.” (via University of Illinois)