Being a Librarian: Metadata and Metadata Specialists in the Twenty-first Century

Discusses the role of metadata and metadata specialists in libraries over the next decade

Integrated Framework for Discovering Digital Library Collections, An

Information seekers are generally on their own to discover and use a research library's growing array of digital collections, and coordination of these collections' development and maintenance is often not optimal. The frequent lack of a conscious design for how collections fit together is of equal concern because it means that research libraries are not making the most of the substantial investments they are making in digital initiatives. This paper proposes a framework for a research library's digital collections that offers integrated discovery and a set of best practices to underpin collection building, federated access, and sustainability. The framework's purpose is to give information seekers a powerful and easy way to search across existing and future collections and to retrieve integrated sets of results. The paper and its recommendations are based upon research undertaken by the author and a team of librarians and technologists at Cornell University Library. The team conducted structured interviews of forty-five library staff members involved in digital collection building at Cornell, studied an inventory of the library's more than fifty digital collections, and evaluated seven existing OAI and federated search production or prototype systems. Discusses the author's team's research and the rationale for their recommendations to: present a cohesive view of the library's digital collections for both browsing and searching at the object level; take a programmatic (rather than project-based) approach to digital collection building; require that all new digital collections conform to library-developed and agreed-upon OAI best practices for data providers; and implement organizational structures to sustain the library's digital collections over the long term

Supporting Digital Scholarship: Bibliographic Control, Library Cooperatives and Open Access Repositories

Research libraries have entered an era of discontinuous change—a time when the cumulated assets of the past do not guarantee future success. Bibliographic control, cooperative cataloguing systems and library catalogues have been key assets in the research library service framework for supporting scholarship. This chapter examines these assets in the context of changing library collections, new metadata sources and methods, open access repositories, digital scholarship and the purposes of research libraries. Advocating a fundamental rethinking of the research library service framework, the chapter concludes with a call for research libraries to collectively consider new approaches that could strengthen their roles as essential contributors to emergent, network-level scholarly research infrastructures

FY13 Planning Task Force Documents: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh, August 2011-June 2012

These documents provide a record of the work of the ULS FY13 Planning Task Force, which initiated and deployed a highly inclusive strategic planning process to analyze the library's strategic options, prioritize them, and identify key actions for implementation in FY13. The ULS FY13 Planning and Budget Report, submitted to the provost's office on 28 February 2012, incorporates the task force's recommended strategic priorities for FY13. Additional task force documents (e.g., meeting agendas, presentations by task force members, and materials related to the group's environmental scan) may be accessed via the library's internal site, Behind the Scenes, at http://bts.library.pitt.edu, under "General Planning.

The proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α induce the expression of Synoviolin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, in mouse synovial fibroblasts via the Erk1/2-ETS1 pathway

The overgrowth of synovial tissues is critical in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The expression of Synoviolin (SYN), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is upregulated in arthritic synovial fibroblasts and is involved in the overgrowth of synovial cells during RA. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the elevated SYN expression are not known. Here, we found that SYN expression is elevated in the synovial fibroblasts from mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). The proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induce SYN expression in mouse synovial fibroblasts. Cultivation of mouse synovial fibroblasts with IL-1β activates mitogen-activated protein kinases, including extra-cellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk), JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase), and p38, while only Erk-specific inhibitor blocks IL-1β-induced SYN expression. Expression of transcription factor ETS1 further enhances IL-1β-induced SYN expression. The dominant negative ETS1 mutant lacking the transcription activation domain inhibits SYN expression in a dose-dependent manner. The activation of both Erk1/2 and ETS1 is increased in the CIA synovial fibroblasts. Inhibition of Erk activation reduces ETS1 phosphorylation and SYN expression. Our data indicate that the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α induce the overgrowth of synovial cells by upregulating SYN expression via the Erk1/-ETS1 pathway. These molecules or pathways could therefore be potential targets for the treatment of RA

Exploring Digital Libraries, Chapter 8

This is a preprint of a chapter whose final and definitive form was co-published in Exploring Digital Libraries: Foundations, Practice, Prospects by Facet Publishing (2014) and ALA Neal-Schuman (2014).This chapter of Exploring Digital Libraries focuses on the potential of open access repositories for having a distinctive positive impact on scholarship and, more broadly, on their prospects for increasing the social and economic value of digital libraries. In addition to extending chapter 4’s discussion of open access repositories into new territory, it relates the frameworks presented in chapters 6 and 7 to this particular type of digital library. Topics include subject-based and institutional repositories and their value; issues around recruiting repository content, including deposit mandates; legal frameworks, copyright and open access; discipline-specific norms, practices and reward systems; the discoverability of scholarly content; sustainability of repositories; e-research data management; and prospects for the emergence of a global ecosystem of repositories

Throw Out Your Books: Designing Libraries for Their New Roles

Designing libraries based on student experience rather than book storage provides the potential to cater to a wider variety of students and learning styles, transforming libraries from an afterthought for prospective students to an asset for recruitment. This session will use recent library projects to study the effect of major program shifts on student behavior and discourse. We will look at both larger capital improvement projects and “small wins” that can be readily executed. Learning Outcomes Pilot small library design projects on campus to see how students react and engage. Create a dialogue with library administrators and admissions/recruitment professionals to discuss how the library can become more of an asset. Engage campus leaders and students through workshops to imagine a new type of learning space for your campus. Develop a plan for the future of your library, even if it starts with “small wins”

User Services Task Force Documents: University Library System, University of Pittsburgh

These documents provide a record of the work of the ULS User Services Task Force, which worked from September 2011 to April 2012 to develop a plan and implementation materials for the redesign of library public services. Pre-TF work included several internal focus groups to gather input. The TF completed an environmental scan, established a design for future services, and recommended strategic options for revitalized services as input to the FY13 Planning Task Force. Two subgroups worked as transition teams to (1) draft Position Description Frameworks for liaison librarians and single service desk staff and (2) develop internal and external communications materials for rolling out the newly designed service unit, called Research and Educational Support (RES). Additional documents (e.g., meeting agendas, presentations, and more) may be accessed via the library's internal site, Behind the Scenes, at http://bts.library.pitt.edu

Project Management in Libraries: LIS2971 Summer Course

The growth of projects in libraries is pervasive. This short 1-credit course introduces LIS students to the discipline of project management in a hands-on way, so that they can begin applying project management methods immediately