NEWS AND NOTES / NOUVELLES ET NOTES

Compiled by Sophie Regalado

<table><tr><td>Canadian National Consultation on Access to Scientific Research Data</td><td>163</td></tr><tr><td>ARL redesigns Research Library Residency Programs Database</td><td>163</td></tr><tr><td>ARL publishes metadata, SPEC Kit 298</td><td>163</td></tr><tr><td>Tags help make libraries del.icio.us</td><td>163</td></tr><tr><td>CIHR scores Canadian first with open access policy for research publications</td><td>164</td></tr><tr><td>Search startup ready to challenge Google</td><td>164</td></tr><tr><td>Google Book Search Libraries and their digital copies</td><td>164</td></tr><tr><td>Peer review reviewed</td><td>164</td></tr><tr><td>A medical publisher's unusual prescription: online ads</td><td>165</td></tr><tr><td>New research policy a victory for "open access"</td><td>165</td></tr><tr><td>SPARC open letter to members on the PRISM anti-open access effort</td><td>165</td></tr><tr><td>ARL introduces Expenditures-Focused Index of university library members</td><td>166</td></tr><tr><td>PloS and partners offer video communications with SciVee</td><td>166</td></tr><tr><td>Other countries surpass Canada in technological innovation in health care</td><td>166</td></tr><tr><td>New "WikiScanner" exposes underhanded editors</td><td>166</td></tr><tr><td>How search engines rate on privacy</td><td>167</td></tr><tr><td>Yale pulls out of BioMed Central</td><td>167</td></tr><tr><td>Open Library</td><td>167</td></tr><tr><td>The shape of the scientific article in the developing cyberinfrastructure</td><td>167</td></tr><tr><td>New Google Research University services</td><td>168</td></tr><tr><td>Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs bibliographic databases and data archives</td><td>168</td></tr><tr><td>EThOSnet: Building a UK e-theses community</td><td>168</td></tr><tr><td>Wikis at Work in the World: Open, Organic, Participatory Media for the 21st Century</td><td>169</td></tr><tr><td>Internet Librarian (Information Today)</td><td>169</td></tr><tr><td>Interlending and Document Supply (ILDS) International Conference</td><td>169</td></tr><tr><td>2007 American Medical Informatics Association Annual Symposium</td><td>169</td></tr><tr><td>FIS Professional Learning Centre: Social networking tools - Hands on learning</td><td>170</td></tr><tr><td>FIS Professional Learning Centre: Advanced Web search strategies</td><td>170</td></tr><tr><td>FIS Professional Learning Centre: Measuring customer satisfaction in information services</td><td>170</td></tr></table>
FIS Professional Learning Centre: Influencing decision making – strategies for getting results you want 171

FIS Professional Learning Centre: Web site implementation and management 171

FIS Professional Learning Centre: An integrated approach to information management 171

FIS Professional Learning Centre: Power of one – Information professionals working alone 171
NEWS AND NOTES / NOUVELLES ET NOTES

Canadian National Consultation on Access to Scientific Research Data

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Sabourin M, Dumouchel B. *Data Science Journal*. 2007 June 29;6(17)

http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/dsj/6/0/6 OD26/_article

The Canadian research community is concerned by the need to take swift action to adapt to the substantial changes required by the scientific enterprise. Because no national data preservation organization exists, many experts believe that a national strategy on data access or policies needs to be developed and that a “Data Task Force” be created to prepare a full national im- plementation strategy. Once such a national strategy is broadly supported, it is proposed that a dedicated national infrastruc- ture, tentatively called “Data Canada”, be established to assume overall leadership in the development and execution of a strategic plan.

ARL redesigns Research Library Residency Programs Database

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21 September 2007

http://www.arl.org/news/pr/residencies21sep07.shtml

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Diversity Initiatives have redesigned the Research Library Residency Pro- grams Database. The database is a free, Web-based registry for descriptions of residency programs and internships in aca- demic and research libraries and in library and information science educational programs. Anyone is welcome to search the database or submit listings.

ARL publishes metadata, SPEC Kit 298

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17 September 2007

http://www.arl.org/bm%7Edoc/spec298web.pdf

This SPEC survey investigated how metadata is implemented in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries: which staff are creating metadata and for what kinds of digital objects, what schemas and tools they use to create and manage metadata, what skills metadata staff need and how they acquire them, and the organizational changes and challenges that metadata has brought to libraries. Link to table of contents and executive summary.

Tags help make libraries del.icio.us

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Rethlefsen ML. *Libr J*. 15 September 2007

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6476403.html

Traditional library Web products, whether online public access catalogs, library databases, or even library Web sites, have long been rigidly controlled and difficult to use. Patrons regularly prefer Google's simple interface. Now social bookmarking and tagging tools help librarians bridge the gap between the library's need to offer authoritative, well-organized information and their patrons' Web experience.
CIHR scores Canadian first with open access policy for research publications

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Research Money. 2007 Sep 19;21(14)

Open access is coming to researchers funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) with the introduction of a new policy that puts pressure on Canada's other granting councils to follow suit. Beginning 1 January 2008, all CIHR grant recipients will be required to "make every effort" to make their peer-reviewed research articles freely available within 6 months of publication. The new policy brings Canada into line with nations that are leading the open access charge— namely the UK and US—and follows an earlier CIHR decision to make clinical trial data publicly available. It applies to research that is funded in whole or in part by CIHR and will be added to conditions for partnering with the granting agency.

Search startup ready to challenge Google

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Liedtke M. Associated Press. 17 September 2007

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/17/financial/f091731D92.DTL

One startup company, Powerset, is pursuing a particularly challenging goal: It's aiming to outshine the Internet's brightest star with a new search engine built to outsmart Google. After nearly 2 years of hushed development, Powerset is finally providing a peek at a "natural-language" technology that is supposed to make it easier to communicate with search engines.

Google Book Search Libraries and their digital copies

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Grogg JE, Ashmore. Information Today. 14 September 2007

http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/apr07/Grogg_Ashmore.shtml

Few things in the past decade, other than the PATRIOT Act, have brought libraries and subsequent controversy into the mainstream media as much as the Google Book Search Library Project. For some—both inside and outside the profession— the mass digitization of library-owned books by Google sounded like yet another death knell for physical libraries and their custodial librarians alike. For others, it appeared to launch the mother of all copyright cases. However, in nearly every instance of media hype, the focus sat squarely on what Google planned to do with all those digitized books.

Peer review reviewed

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Nature. 2007 September 12;449(7159)

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v449/n7159/full/449115a.html

The US research community is responding vigorously to calls to help change the system of grant assessment at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A radical transformation is urgently needed. The peer-review system used by the $29-billion NIH is more than half-a-century old, and a radical transformation is urgently needed.
## A medical publisher's unusual prescription: online ads

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Freudenheim M. *The New York Times*. 10 September 2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/business/media/10journal.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

By some measures, the medical publishing world has met the advent of the Internet with a shrug, sticking to its time-honored revenue model of charging high subscription fees for specialized journals that often attract few, if any, advertisements. But now Reed Elsevier, which publishes more than 400 medical and scientific journals, is trying an experiment that stands this model on its head. Over the weekend it introduced a Web portal, www.OncologySTAT.com, that gives doctors free access to the latest articles from 100 of its own pricey medical journals and that plans to sell advertisements against the content.

## New research policy a victory for “open access”

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Geist M. *The Toronto Star*. 10 September 2007

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/254701

As millions of students headed back to school last week, Canadian health researchers learned that change this year extends beyond the composition of their classes. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the federal government's health research granting agency, unveiled a new open access policy for the research that it funds. The new policy—the first of its kind for Ottawa's three major research granting institutions that dole out hundreds of millions of dollars each year—will revolutionize access to health research by mandating that thousands of articles published each year be made freely available online to a global audience.

## SPARC open letter to members on the PRISM anti-open access effort

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Joseph H. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC). 6 September 2007

http://www.arl.org/sparc/advocacy/07-0907prism.html

SPARC Executive Director Heather Joseph comments on the campaign against open access led by Partnership for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine (PRISM). Ms. Joseph draws attention to messages in the PR strategy that are aimed at maintaining the status quo in scholarly publishing.
## ARL introduces Expenditures-Focused Index of university library members

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Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Statistics and Measurement, ARL Index. 29 August 2007
http://www.arl.org/stats/index/

Starting with 2005–2006 data, ARL is calculating an Expenditures-Focused Index as an alternative to the ARL Membership Criteria Index. The Expenditures-Focused Index replaces the public availability of the ARL Membership Criteria Index. The Expenditures-Focused Index is highly correlated with the Membership Criteria Index and less affected by changes in the collections variables. The methodology behind this new index is described by Bruce Thompson in his October 2006 paper “Some alternative quantitative library activity descriptions/statistics that supplement the ARL logarithmic index.”

## PloS and partners offer video communications with SciVee

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Hane PJ. *Information Today*, *NewsBreaks*. 27 August 2007
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=37308

With online video the hottest content on the Web these days, it is a logical progression to see it move beyond popular entertainment into more serious efforts—instruction, conference presentations, video journals, and scholarly research explanations. The scientific community in particular seems to be embracing the new medium to enhance the dissemination and comprehension of science. SciVee (www.scivee.tv) is a new site that lets scientists communicate their works as multimedia presentations incorporated with the content of their published articles. SciVee is operated in partnership with the open access publisher the Public Library of Science (PLoS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC).

## Other countries surpass Canada in technological innovation in health care

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The Conference Board of Canada, 16 August 2007
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/press/2007/tech-innovation-health-care.asp

Canada scores poorly in several areas of health innovation compared with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with high performing health systems, according to a new Conference Board report, “Exploring technological innovation in health systems”.

## New “WikiScanner” exposes underhanded editors

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CBC News, 16 August 2007
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/08/16/tech-wikiscanner070816.html

Wikipedia touts itself as the “free encyclopedia that anyone can edit”, but a new online tool now makes it harder for those with an agenda to edit it in a sneaky fashion. Ordinarily Wikipedia allows anyone to edit its articles, and the encyclopedia has become a target for vandals, revisionists, and spin doctors. In an effort to keep Wikipedia more honest, US graduate student Virgil Griffiths created WikiScanner, a site that can trace the IP addresses of computers that have made edits to Wikipedia entries in the last 5 years.
## How search engines rate on privacy

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McCullagh D, Mills E. *CNET News*, 13 August 2007
http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6202068.html

In the last few months, the search engine business has experienced its own version of cutthroat competition: a privacy policy war, with Google, Ask.com, and Microsoft vying to outdo one another in protecting their users' personal information. But it's been difficult to make direct comparisons, in part because privacy policies tend to be written by lawyers for lawyers. CNET News.com has surveyed the five leading search companies.

## Yale pulls out of BioMed Central

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Jaschik S. *Inside Higher Ed*, 10 August 2007
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/10/qt

Citing rising costs, Yale University's medical and science libraries are pulling out of BioMed Central. Yale said that the decision was necessary because of "unprecedented increases in electronic resources", not all of which the university could afford. BioMed Central responded by defending its overall model as being economical and supporting the mission of providing maximum access. But the publisher acknowledged that institutions where people publish more on BioMed Central would see increased charges.

## Open Library

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McLemee S. *Inside Higher Ed*, 8 August 2007
http://insidehighered.com/views/2007/08/08/mclemee

Open Library is a new online tool for finding information about books—even for titles that are out-of-print, scarce, or likely to find one reader per decade, if even that. It is, so to speak, a catalog with benefits. A user of Open Library can see the cover of the book and, in some cases, search the contents. The project, however, is still very much under development. This article features an interview with Aaron Swartz, co-creator of RSS, about the future of Open Library.

## The shape of the scientific article in the developing cyberinfrastructure

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Lynch C. *CTWatch Quarterly*, 2007 Aug;3(3)
http://www.ctwatch.org/quarterly/articles/2007/08/the-shape-of-the-scientific-article-in-the-developing-cyberinfrastructure/

For the last few centuries, the primary vehicle for communicating and documenting results in most disciplines has been the scientific journal article, which has maintained a strikingly consistent and stable form and structure over a period of more than a 100 years now; for example, despite the much-discussed shift of scientific journals to digital form, virtually any article appearing in one of these journals would be comfortably familiar (as a literary genre) to a scientist from 1900. E-science represents a significant change, or extension, to the conduct and practice of science; this article speculates about how the character of the scientific article is likely to change to support these changes in scholarly work.
New Google Research University services

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. *TL Infobits*, 2007 August, Issue 14
http://its.unc.edu/tl/infobits/bitaug07.php#5

Google, Inc. recently announced two new services as part of its Google Research University program. Google Search "is designed to give university faculty and their research teams high-volume programmatic access to Google Search, whose huge repository of data constitutes a valuable resource for understanding the structure and contents of the Web."

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs bibliographic databases and data archives

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Compiled by Barbara Weiner
http://www.salis.org/resources/database_list.html

For researchers, librarians, students, and anyone searching for literature and statistical information on addictions, SALIS (Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists) presents a compilation of 80 databases and other online resources. International in scope, this was created to assist in the researching and dissemination of substance abuse, alcoholism, treatment, recovery, and other addictions information.

ETHOSnet: Building a UK e-theses community

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Russell J. *Ariadne*, 2007 July, Issue 52
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue52/russell/#author1

ETHOSnet is a project funded by JISC, CURL, and the project partners, to bring the UK to the forefront of international e-theses provision. It is a highly practical and participative project to turn the prototype e-theses infrastructure that was developed by ETHOS into a live service that will revolutionize the document supply arrangements for theses and greatly increase the visibility of UK research. The Electronic Theses Online Service (ETHOS) Project arose after several earlier initiatives in the UK had articulated an urgent need to improve on the present methods for giving researchers access to Ph.D. and other higher-level theses. Researchers normally consult theses in their paper originals from archives or via copies on microfilm, and this arrangement no longer meets their needs and expectations.
**Meetings, conferences, and workshops**

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**Wikis at Work in the World: Open, Organic, Participatory Media for the 21st Century**

The 2007 International Symposium on Wikis will be held in Montréal, Québec, on 21–23 October 2007. For details, check the conference Web site at http://www.wikisym.org/ws2007/index.html.

**Internet Librarian (Information Today)**

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The 11th Annual Internet Librarian conference will be held on 29–31 October 2007, in Monterey, California. For details, check the conference Web site at http://www.infotoday.com/il2007/default.shtml.

**Interlending and Document Supply (ILDS) International Conference**

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The 10th ILDS conference will be held in Singapore on 29–31 October 2007. For details, check the conference Web site at http://www.nlbconference.com/ilds/articlelist.asp.

**2007 American Medical Informatics Association Annual Symposium**

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The American Medical Informatics Association will hold its annual symposium in Chicago, Illinois, on 10–14 November 2007. For details, check the conference Web site at http://www.amia.org/meetings/f07/.
# Professional development

## FIS Professional Learning Centre: Social networking tools - Hands on learning

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7 November 2007

Ottawa, Ontario

1 day (7 h), 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Instructor: Connie Crosby

Fee: $260.00 (US$257.00)

Web 2.0, Facebook, and Second Life have taken the world and the library by storm! Explore these social media networking tools in this hands-on computer lab class. Set up a blog and wiki, view RSS feeds in an aggregator, try a social bookmarking site such as del.icio.us, and create a profile on professional networking site LinkedIn. Look at Flickr, LibraryThing, Ning, Facebook, MySpace, and Second Life. Test out the latest apps such as Twitter and Jaiku. We will try some of these and have a "tour" of others, as well as discuss the implications for libraries.

## FIS Professional Learning Centre: Advanced Web search strategies

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9 November 2007

1 day (6 h), 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Instructor: Gwen Harris

Fee: $245.00 (US$242.00)

Every day thousands of people look for information on the Web, but only the trained few find their answers quickly, and some never find an answer at all. This workshop will lay out the key Internet search strategies and help you build the skills you need to use the main search services.

## FIS Professional Learning Centre: Measuring customer satisfaction in information services

22-23 November 2007

Ottawa, Ontario

2 days (12 h), 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Instructor: Michael Dolenko

Fee: $525.00 (US$519.00)

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There is an old adage that states if you can't measure it, you can't manage it. This course targets managers and professionals who need to assess the value and success of products, programs, and services offered to both internal and external customers. While evaluations are often used to justify or rationalize a product, program, or service, good evaluations go further and uncover opportunities for improving service, satisfaction, value, and customer loyalty.
## FIS Professional Learning Centre: Influencing decision making – strategies for getting results you want

6–7 December 2007

2 days (12 h), 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Instructors: Susan Geary and Lorraine Clemes

Fee: $425.00 (US$420.00)

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Great managers are great communicators. As organizations compete for scarce resources in a rapidly changing environment, information and knowledge managers need strong management communication skills. This course will introduce you to a framework for planning, creating, and delivering your message when you are attempting to influence others around a management goal—be they bosses, colleagues, staff, or other stakeholders.

## FIS Professional Learning Centre: Web site implementation and management

19 January – 8 March 2008

8 weeks (24 h), 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Instructor: Patrick Donoahue

Fee: $595.00 (US$589.00)

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Learn how to design, build, and maintain a Web site in this broad survey course that covers everything from basic HTML to Web design tools to promoting your site. As part of the course, students will design an entire Web site and implement its framework.

## FIS Professional Learning Centre: An integrated approach to information management

21 January – 11 February 2008

Ottawa, Ontario

4 weeks (21 h), 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Instructor: Mary Cavanagh

Fee: $695.00 (US$688.00)

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The blurring of boundaries between different forms of digital content (documents, records, databases, Web content, streaming audio and video, digital photos, etc.) and between different disciplines (records management, content management, document management, Web management, technical writing, business process analysis and application development, knowledge management, etc.) is driving a move to integrated, cross-discipline approaches to managing information. This course addresses the theoretical and practical needs of the managers and practitioners who are charged with developing and implementing strategic, corporate approaches to information management in their organizations

## FIS Professional Learning Centre: Power of one – Information professionals working alone

Web course

25 February – 31 March 2008

6 weeks

Instructor: Maggie Weaver

Fee: $325.00 (US$321.00)

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In a one-person library or information service organization, there never seems to be enough time to do the administrative work, never mind the professional. In today's turbulent business conditions, there is hardly anyone who doesn't feel beset with the demands on time made by customers and bosses or not know the pressure to deliver more service at lower cost. When you are working "solo" or with only a few people, these stresses can be very intense.