Making Shared Print Management Happen: A Project of Five Canadian Academic Libraries

Five academic libraries in Ontario (Canada) are collaborating in a shared last print copy repository project. The project, called Keep@Downsview, aims to consolidate and rationalize low-use print materials held by the partner libraries and ensure long-term preservation of these important scholarly materials in Ontario, while still providing access via document delivery and ILL. In doing so, each of the partner institutions demonstrates its commitment to the stewardship of print collections for future generations while repurposing valuable space on campus. This paper describes the background, rationale, challenges, and lessons learned for this unique Canadian project that leveraged funding from the province of Ontario, the University of Toronto‘s high density preservation facility at Downsview, and the commitment of all partners to preserve the scholarly record in Ontario

H2A.Bbd: an X-chromosome-encoded histone involved in mammalian spermiogenesis

Despite the identification of H2A.Bbd as a new vertebrate-specific replacement histone variant several years ago, and despite the many in vitro structural characterizations using reconstituted chromatin complexes consisting of this variant, the existence of H2A.Bbd in the cell and its location has remained elusive. Here, we report that the native form of this variant is present in highly advanced spermiogenic fractions of mammalian testis at the time when histones are highly acetylated and being replaced by protamines. It is also present in the nucleosomal chromatin fraction of mature human sperm. The ectopically expressed non-tagged version of the protein is associated with micrococcal nuclease-refractory insoluble fractions of chromatin and in mouse (20T1/2) cell line, H2A.Bbd is enriched at the periphery of chromocenters. The exceedingly rapid evolution of this unique X-chromosome-linked histone variant is shared with other reproductive proteins including those associated with chromatin in the mature sperm (protamines) of many vertebrates. This common rate of evolution provides further support for the functional and structural involvement of this protein in male gametogenesis in mammals

LAURA MILLAR, The Story Behind the Book: Preserving Authors’ and Publishers’ Archives

The Story Behind the Book: Preserving Authors’ and Publishers’ Archives. LAURA MILLAR. Vancouver: Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing, 2009. 224 pp. ISBN 978-0-9738727-4-3

Keep@Downsview: an evolving shared print project

Keep@Downsview is a shared print partnership between six Canadian academic institutions. This article describes the evolution of the partnership from what began as simply an operationally focused collaboration for shared preservation space, in order to release collections space in on-campus libraries, to a partnership that is involved in the larger shared print discussions in North America and which has refocused its strategic directions enabling a more intentional evolution of the partnership. Four strategic directions were identified prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Since the onset of Covid-19 it has become apparent that several influencing factors related to the pandemic could present opportunities for reconsidering the identified strategic directions and how we may wish to implement them. To ensure we fully capitalize on the opportunities presented, members from all partner schools will engage in a visioning exercise that will inform development of our next iteration of the strategic directions

Mapping the regulon of Vibrio cholerae ferric uptake regulator expands its known network of gene regulation

ChIP coupled with next-generation sequencing (ChIP-seq) has revolutionized whole-genome mapping of DNA-binding protein sites. Although ChIP-seq rapidly gained support in eukaryotic systems, it remains underused in the mapping of bacterial transcriptional regulator-binding sites. Using the virulence-required iron-responsive ferric uptake regulator (Fur), we report a simple, broadly applicable ChIP-seq method in the pathogen Vibrio cholerae. Combining our ChIP-seq results with available microarray data, we clarify direct and indirect Fur regulation of known iron-responsive genes. We validate a subset of Fur-binding sites in vivo and show a common motif present in all Fur ChIP-seq peaks that has enhanced binding affinity for purified V. cholerae Fur. Further analysis shows that V. cholerae Fur directly regulates several additional genes associated with Fur-binding sites, expanding the role of this transcription factor into the regulation of ribosome formation, additional transport functions, and unique sRNAs