iwr.co.uk Latest updates

Britain’s Digital Library passes half-million milestone

IWR News Desk — 2009-11-10T12:26:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Tuesday 10 November 2009 at 12:26:00

The British Library has added the 500,000th item to its long-term digital library programme, now aiming to prepare the system for more challenging and complicated digital formats of information in the future

The milestone item is a digitised copy of a newspaper originally published in 1864 and scanned as part of the 19th century British Library Newspapers project.

Through the project, the national library recently made more than two million pages of historic newspapers available online. The system was developed to enable long term storage of the digital material that forms an increasing proportion of the nation’s intellectual output.

Steve Green, head of the digital library programme, British Library said: “The task of collecting, preserving and providing long-term access to the nation’s digital assets is in many ways a daunting and complex undertaking.

“The sheer amount of material being published digitally is challenging enough in itself, but the wide range of different formats – many of which will inevitably become obsolete – makes preservation and future accessibility far from straightforward.”

He added that in the last few years since the programme started, the library has in place the foundations of a fully scaleable system that can handle large quantities of digital items, ensuring their availability for future generations of researchers.

“The fact that we have just added our half-millionth digital item to the store is an indication that our digital capability is maturing – particularly in relation to comparatively straightforward items.”

British Library now plans to develop processes for handling more challenging materials such as archived websites and the more complex XML format e-journals. While the amount of material held in the digital system is still small by comparison with the totality of its digital collections, the library hopes that the groundwork established will take it closer to its goal of a full-scale digital library facility, and a national library that’s a genuine hybrid of print and digital.

The Birmingham Daily Post, dated Monday 19 December 1864 - the latest digitised item - offers a vivid snapshot of life 145 years ago. Along with accounts of an 82-year-old man who died after falling out of bed and two men before the courts for bigamy, it also features a report on President Lincoln recommending to the US congress the passing of a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery.

The digitised newspaper joins other items including e-journals, newspapers, digital sound recordings, born-digital material received through voluntary deposit arrangements with publishers and more than 65,000 digitised books of the 19th century.

Credo Reference adds Sage titles

IWR News Desk — 2009-11-09T16:00:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Monday 9 November 2009 at 16:00:00

Credo Reference, the online reference library, is making 70 reference titles from international publisher Sage available through its platform. The Publisher Collection will offer Sage resources either as a complete collection or as individual titles.

Librarians will be able to obtain these resources from Credo either by subscription or purchase, but users will experience the content as a fully integrated part of their Credo Reference experience.

The titles include Sage’s reputed and popular titles such as Encyclopedia of Anthropology; Encyclopedia of Counseling; Encyclopedia of Business Ethics & Society; Encyclopedia of Disability; Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change; Encyclopedia of Political Communication; Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society; and t Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods

John Dove, Credo president said: “Librarians have long called for the option of having reference content available on the platform of their choice. Adding almost 70 subject encyclopaedias from Sage Reference means that we’re moving closer to that vision. Our librarians and end users will continue to experience Credo as one grand encyclopaedia, now with even more subjects for inquiry.”

While Rolf Janke, Sage Reference publisher said: “These key resources will add value to the Credo service by offering users authoritative information from across all disciplines within the social sciences.”

Earlier, in September this year, Credo added five key reference titles in the UK law, criminal justice, policing and forensic psychology following an agreement with Willan Publishing, the UK-based specialist in law and criminology for students, academics and practitioners.

BIS organises talks on the future of UK science

IWR News Desk — 2009-11-05T13:00:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Thursday 5 November 2009 at 13:00:00

The department for business innovation and skills (BIS) has organised a debate on the future of UK science - Blue skies ahead? The prospects for UK science – in association with the Wellcome Trust and Times Higher Education

The discussion, to be held on November 30, follows the report from BIS in October that UK science research remains the most productive and efficient among the G8 countries.

At that time, the government also announced to invest a record level of almost £6bn in UK science and research by 2011 to maintain its position.

The debate aims at addressing issues such as “What about the future?”; “How best can the UK maintain its status as a leading scientific nation?”; “In what ways is our research landscape changing?”; and “How will this affect younger scientists?”. The experts will discuss ways to recognise and support excellence in scientific research and its impact on our society, culture and economy.

Science minister, Lord Drayson, will share the stage with a group of up-and-coming scientists: astronomy and science communicator Colin Stuart; physics postgraduate researcher Suzie Sheehy; astrobiologist and science writer Dr Lewis Dartnell; and science teacher and film maker Alom Shaha.

Lord Drayson said: "I believe passionately in UK science. It is one of this country's great strengths, and it will have a huge impact in shaping our world. I am keen to discuss that future with the emerging generation of scientists – not just research, but also its place in our society."

Chairing the event is Professor Brian Cox, a particle physicist and science presenter. He said: “Government handling of UK science must be held up to the most rigorous public scrutiny because it is of overwhelming importance for the future of our country.

“The science base is strong, but that strength could quickly turn to weakness if the wrong decisions are made in the current economic climate. ‘Blue skies ahead’ is a very welcome and timely addition to the debate on the future of UK science.”

CILIP honours info pros for business information and mobile library services

IWR News Desk — 2009-11-04T15:47:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Wednesday 4 November 2009 at 15:47:00

Information professionals Helen Edwards and Ian Stringer have been awarded with this year’s Honorary Fellowships by CILIP for their contributions to business information services and mobile librarianship

Each year on its “Members’ Day”, the professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers recognises distinguished service in promoting the purpose and objects of CILIP as laid out in its Royal Charter.

Edwards has developed and run a business information library and has become a major player in the global business school library worldwide making a significant contribution to the literature of business information.

She has worked for nearly twenty-five years London Business School, the last ten years as Head of Information Services during which time she has overseen the growth of the library into one of the best Business Information Libraries. She has created the award-winning commercial information service - BestofBiz - after discovering an aptitude for manipulating electronic information.

Meanwhile, Stringer is known in the UK and overseas for his expertise on mobile libraries. He has helped set up mobile library services in 11 European countries and has worked in Kosovo and Bosnia to help re-establish their public libraries after the conflict, and has been involved in work to supply travelling book boxes to remote regions of Southern Africa.

He has spoken about mobile libraries in particular and also public libraries in general at conferences all over the world. He has also raised the profile of public libraries through his appearances on radio and television and by giving over one-hundred talks about libraries to various local groups across the UK during the past fifteen years

The nominations were considered by the body’s Honorary Awards panel and then by CILIP Council.

China set to supersede US in research output

IWR News Desk — 2009-11-03T11:08:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 11:08:00

Fastest growing global economy China will overtake the US within the next decade in terms of research output, reveals a Thomson Reuters study. According to the research report, there is an “explosive growth” in research output from China, far outpacing research activity in the rest of the world

Currently China ranks second to the US after surpassing the UK, Germany and Japan in 2006.

Called Global Research Report: China, the study found that China’s output increased from around 20,000 research papers in 1998 to nearly 112,000 in 2008. The nation doubled its output since 2004 alone.

It also found that the nation’s research is concentrated in the physical sciences and technology. Materials science, chemistry and physics predominate. According to the study, rapid growth can be seen in agricultural sciences and life sciences fields such as immunology, microbiology, and molecular biology and genetics.

“If China’s research growth remains this rapid and substantial, European and North American institutions will want to be part of it,” said Jonathan Adams, director of research evaluation at Thomson Reuters. “China no longer depends on links to traditional G8 partners to help its knowledge development. When Europe and the US visit China they can only do so as equal partners.”

The study is based on data found in Web of Science, available on the Web of Knowledge citation platform. It suggests that the US stands out in terms of collaboration with China, US-based authors contributed to nearly 9% of papers from China-based institutions between 2004 and 2008.

The latest report forms part of the Global Research Report series from Thomson Reuters that illustrates the changing landscape and dynamics of global research around the world. It aims at informing policymakers about the research and collaboration potential of China and its current place in world science.

Times Higher Education signs agreement with Thomson Reuters

IWR News Desk — 2009-11-02T14:02:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Monday 2 November 2009 at 14:02:00

Thomson Reuters is set to become the single provider of data used to calculate the annual World University Rankings produced by the London weekly Times Higher Education

The weekly newspaper Times Higher Education - that covers higher education issues, has published its World University Rankings since 2004. It has now chosen Thomson Reuters exclusively for data because of its authority and expertise on research citation information after ending the deal with QS that it used for data for the last six years.

It is reported on its website that the magazine is developing a new rankings methodology in consultation with its readers and Thomson Reuters for publishing top universities, leading institutions in specific subjects and so on for the upcoming edition. It is thought that the revamp follows the recent criticism on its existing methodologies.

Editor of Times Higher Education, Ann Mroz said that with the newspaper’s rankings becoming influential, it recognises its responsibility to produce the most rigorous and transparent table. "So we're delighted to have an agreement with Thomson Reuters to help us achieve that."

Jonathan Adams, director of research evaluation at Thomson Reuters said: "We are proud that our data continues to be chosen by leading organisations around the world and to provide insight and consultation on the indicator. In addition to data quality, Thomson Reuters provides a record history of bibliometric expertise and analysis."

The business information publisher’s data quality as well as its anaylsis were primary factors for its selection.

British Library lauds government’s copyright proposals

IWR News Desk — 2009-10-30T12:13:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Friday 30 October 2009 at 12:13:00

The British Library has welcomed government initiatives to make copyright fit for the digital age, announced by intellectual property Minister David Lammy and business secretary Lord Mandelson

According to the library, researchers could benefit from government’s latest copyright vision, in turn boosting UK’s knowledge economy.

It lauded government’s proposals in dealing with the Orphan Works because allowing such works to be used without fear of liability will release on of the obstacles that the creative industries face. It also welcomed the plans of exploring the difference between commercial and non-commercial intent and use that can facilitate mass digitisation of historical material in libraries, museums and archives that has no commercial value, but of high academic importance.

British Library chief executive Dame Lynne Brindley said: “The Library welcomes these proposals which confirm the importance of the creative sector to the UK economy. The Library believes that greater access to our increasingly digital collections will allow innovation, education and research to flourish even further within the knowledge economy.”

Dame Lynne continued: “The Library also welcomes the policy areas outlined in David Lammy’s Written Ministerial Statement, Copyright for the Digital Age. Providing access to Orphan Works and conducting a review of the relationship between copyright and contract law strike a chord with the British Library’s own principles on copyright law [see below]. Such initiatives are right for the digital age and will ensure that we keep pace with technological advancements and the needs of today’s modern researcher.”

The library is also looking forward to the results of the SABIP (Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy) study on the relationship between copyright and contract law that is due to be published by the end of this year. It pointed to its recent review which showed that 80% of scholarly information will be digital by 2020.

“Research is built upon clarity of access to and reuse of copyright material – something that contract by contract differing access and reuse provisions does not provide. It is imperative that limitations and exceptions that do provide a common base-line for access and reuse can not be undermined by contract law.”

Autonomy launches on-premise digital archiving solution

IWR News Desk — 2009-10-29T12:48:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Thursday 29 October 2009 at 12:48:00

Arcpliance, the latest digital archiving appliance leverages the next generation archiving capabilities of Autonomy Digital Safe - the cloud-base solution - and provides a cost-effective, simple and scalable solution to medium sized businesses

According to Autonomy, the meaning based computing specialist, Arcpliance is ideal for organisations seeking a solution for specific tasks such as archiving application, divisional, or location-specific data.

Powered by Autonomy's Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL), the appliance can automatically ingest, de-duplicate, index and extract metadata from files.

The company said that institutions- both from public sector and mid-sized corporates can intelligently archive all data-types including emails, audio, applications and SharePoint files, without the need for significant hardware, software and IT personnel resources.

It combines a simple turnkey approach and scalable capabilities of Digital Safe including the split-cell architecture that is known for maintaining performance under any load. It also builds on the company's on-premise Enterprise Archive Solution

Mike Sullivan, chief executive of Autonomy ZANTAZ said: "With Arcpliance, Autonomy is delivering archiving technology in an easy to install appliance and we already see a market that is ready to 'turn on' the Arcpliance box."

The launch follows Autonomy's third quarter results last week where it reported a 51% revenue growth and said it is optimistic about its performance for the rest of the year. However, its gross margins were down 6% from the same quarter last

year.

Nominations set to close for top information award

IWR News Desk — 2009-10-28T12:51:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Wednesday 28 October 2009 at 12:51:00

Information professionals have only a couple of days (until the end of October) to put in the nominations for the Information Professional of the Year award

Now in its 9th year, the award given by IWR and sponsored by the American Psychological Association recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession in the past 12 months.

A nomination could be for an individual who has demonstrated best practice, led extensive project work, or developed an information resource for an organisation and its users and clients.

Already a strong field of top notch professionals have been nominated but if you wish to join them, then hurry.

The award will be presented at the Online Information Conference, taking place from 1-3 December 2009 at the Olympia Conference Centre, in London.

Springer joins hands with Brazilian Computer Society

IWR News Desk — 2009-10-28T12:47:00.000Z

IWR News Desk, Information World Review, Wednesday 28 October 2009 at 12:47:00

Springer, the global scientific publisher has signed an agreement with the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) to publish two journals - the Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society and the new Journal of Internet Services and Applications (JISA)

The two journals, published in association, will be available in print as well as Springer’s digital platform. The Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, that provides original research papers in all fields of computer science, was previously published by the society itself.

The quarterly journal which accepts both theoretical and experimental papers, will be published at Springer starting in spring 2010 under the editorial guidance of Maria Cristina Ferreira de Oliveira of the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil.

In addition, the two organisations have joined hands to launch a quarterly journal JISA in April next year. It aims at disseminating scientific knowledge and technological research to further the development of the internet. It will provide a platform for the discussion of state-of-the-art internet research and will focus on research and development initiatives for internet applications, services and technologies.

With a global scope, JISA will solicit papers from researchers, practitioners and industrial partners worldwide. Fabio Kon of the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil and Gordon Blair of the University of Lancaster, UK, are the editors-in-chief.

Separately, the publisher has launched a free, multidimensional professional networking site dedicated to those working and studying the brain called The NeuroNetwork.

Members can create profiles with their research interests and publications; upload presentations, images, and videos; post questions and discussions on new research; form and join groups based on their interests or geographical location; post and search job listings; start a blog; and view, post, and RSVP to upcoming meetings.

“Our goal is to provide a forum for those with professional interests in neuroscience and related fields, and to allow our members to share information and opinion in real time. We hope to keep an open dialogue with our members and engage with them to build an active online community,” said Ann Avouris, senior editor, Neuroscience, Springer.