Preparing Catalogers for RDA Training

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Cataloging and Classification Quarterly on 23/09/2009, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/” http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01639370903203234This article prepares catalogers for the new cataloging standard Resource Description and Access (RDA) by giving trainers and Library and Information Science (LIS) educators the information they need to plan training for themselves and their staff or students. The theoretical principles of RDA are introduced as well as the corresponding vocabulary that trainers will need to use. This is followed by an overview of the structure of RDA as compared to the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2). Examples of rule changes and options are highlighted for trainers along with a reminder to review existing cheat-sheets and manuals that are based on AACR2. Finally, types of training formats are suggested

What is #LODLAM?! Understanding Linked Open Data in Libraries, Archives [and Museums]

This session provides an overview of linked data and then explains how it can be used in libraries and archives to share our unique data on the web and to enrich the user experience by using linked data ourselves. This session is a minor revision of the one offered at the OLITA Digital Odyssey 2014

Library Impact Practice Brief: Supporting Bibliometric Data Needs at Academic Institutions.

This practice brief presents research conducted by staff at the University of Waterloo Library as part of the library’s participation in ARL’s Research Library Impact Framework initiative. The research addressed the question, “How can research libraries support their campus community in accessing needed bibliometric data for institutional-level purposes?” The brief explores: service background, partners, service providers and users, how bibliometric data are used, data sources, key lessons learned, and recommended resource

Bibliometrics and Research Impact at University of Waterloo: An Exciting Campus Partnership

In 2012, the Bibliometrics Working Group at the University of Waterloo, composed of the Library, the Office of Research, Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP) and faculty representatives, began its work. In 2015, a new campus position was created, Bibliometrics and Research Impact Librarian, and the white paper “Measuring Research Outputs through Bibliometrics” was released. This specialist librarian also supports the Ranking Working Group and the Research Impact Working Group and is responsible for bibliometrics education across campus for our students and faculty. This Librarian has also been working to create a North American community of practice for bibliometrics work. This project briefing will highlight this campus partnership, lessons learned so far, and questions for future directions and infrastructure requirements for support. Additionally, we will explore possible connections between bibliometrics work, citation analysis and evidence-based collection development practices for a research-intensive University

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Constrained Maximal Expression Level Owing to Haploidy Shapes Gene Content on the Mammalian X Chromosome.

X chromosomes are unusual in many regards, not least of which is their nonrandom gene content. The causes of this bias are commonly discussed in the context of sexual antagonism and the avoidance of activity in the male germline. Here, we examine the notion that, at least in some taxa, functionally biased gene content may more profoundly be shaped by limits imposed on gene expression owing to haploid expression of the X chromosome. Notably, if the X, as in primates, is transcribed at rates comparable to the ancestral rate (per promoter) prior to the X chromosome formation, then the X is not a tolerable environment for genes with very high maximal net levels of expression, owing to transcriptional traffic jams. We test this hypothesis using The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) and data from the Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome (FANTOM5) project. As predicted, the maximal expression of human X-linked genes is much lower than that of genes on autosomes: on average, maximal expression is three times lower on the X chromosome than on autosomes. Similarly, autosome-to-X retroposition events are associated with lower maximal expression of retrogenes on the X than seen for X-to-autosome retrogenes on autosomes. Also as expected, X-linked genes have a lesser degree of increase in gene expression than autosomal ones (compared to the human/Chimpanzee common ancestor) if highly expressed, but not if lowly expressed. The traffic jam model also explains the known lower breadth of expression for genes on the X (and the Z of birds), as genes with broad expression are, on average, those with high maximal expression. As then further predicted, highly expressed tissue-specific genes are also rare on the X and broadly expressed genes on the X tend to be lowly expressed, both indicating that the trend is shaped by the maximal expression level not the breadth of expression per se. Importantly, a limit to the maximal expression level explains biased tissue of expression profiles of X-linked genes. Tissues whose tissue-specific genes are very highly expressed (e.g., secretory tissues, tissues abundant in structural proteins) are also tissues in which gene expression is relatively rare on the X chromosome. These trends cannot be fully accounted for in terms of alternative models of biased expression. In conclusion, the notion that it is hard for genes on the Therian X to be highly expressed, owing to transcriptional traffic jams, provides a simple yet robustly supported rationale of many peculiar features of X's gene content, gene expression, and evolution

Investigating BIBFRAME: New Bibliographic Framework Initiative

This item represents one section, as presented by Alison Hitchens, of the following presentation: Hitchens, A., Rudnik, A., Carr, C. (2016, January 28). Investigating BIBFRAME. Session presented at OLA Superconference, Toronto, On. Abstract: BIBFRAME is the New Bibliographic Framework Initiative created by the Library of Congress to investigate and define the future of bibliographic description on the web. It is meant to be a replacement for MARC and to provide a model for describing and connecting bibliographic data. This session will introduce you to BIBFRAME and discuss some of the experimentation going on in libraries. It will also reflect on the training provided by Zepheira as part of its Libhub Initiative from public library and academic library perspectives