Survey of open access scholarly journals

“Edgar, B. D. & Willinsky, J. (in press). A survey of the scholarly journals using Open Journal Systems. Scholarly and Research Communication.

Abstract A survey of 998 scholarly journals that use Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open source journal software platform, captures the characteristics of an emerging class of scholarpublisher open access journals (with some representation from more traditional scholarly society and print-based titles). The journals in the sample follow traditional norms for peerreviewing, acceptance rates, and disciplinary focus, but are distinguished by the number that offer open access to their content, the growth rates in new titles, the participation rates from developing countries, and the extremely low operating budgets. The survey also documents the limited degree to which open source software can alter a field of communication, as OJS appears to have created a third path, dedicated to maximizing access to research and scholarship, as an alternative to traditional scholarly society and commercial publishing routes.”

Consortium Makes Radical Shift Away From ILS

The Digital Shift, Dec 19, 12

Excerpt: “Academic libraries have a choice: we can collaborate, or we can die,” said William Jordan, the associate dean of the University of Washington Libraries, an Alliance member. “The move from separate stand-alone systems to a truly shared library management platform is radical, but it opens the door to realizing the strategic vision of deep collaboration that we hold across the Alliance.”

Celebrate Open Access Week

“A global event, now in its 6th year, promoting Open Access as a new norm in scholarship and research.”  http://www.openaccessweek.org/

Major Consortium Union Catalog announced

Orbis Cascade Alliance Selects Ex Libris Alma and Primo

Alliance members will replace the separate library systems of 37 institutions with shared, next-generation library management and discovery solutions from Ex Libris

Chicago, IL, and Eugene, OR—October 9, 2012

Ex Libris® Group, a global leader in library automation services, and the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a consortium of 37 North American academic institutions known for innovative collaboration, are pleased to announce that the Alliance will implement the Ex Libris Alma unified resource management solution and Primo® discovery solution.

LLAMA Webinar will Explore New Ways to Share Collections

The Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is presenting a webinar, “Sharing Our Collections : Looking to the Future,” from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Central time on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012.

Interlibrary Loan and Stockholm Syndrome

Library Journal online, Sept 21, 2012

Excerpt: “But that’s not the main reason it’s become so hard to figure out what to do about interlibrary loan in the digital age. The other one, I think, is deeper and more intractable, and it has to do with what I think of as a library-specific version of Stockholm Syndrome (the tendency of some people who have been kidnapped to eventually begin sympathizing with their captors).”

 

Europeana opens up data on 20 million cultural items

Excerpt: Europeana “aggregates digitised books, paintings, photographs, recordings and films from over 2,200 contributing cultural heritage organisations across Europe – including major national bodies such as the British Library, the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum. Today Europeana is opening up data about all 20 million of the items it holds under the CC0 rights waiver.”

New Open Source ILS Website

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New website offers a starting point for librarians interested in Open Source Integrated Library Systems

A new website, Open Source ILS (http://opensourceils.com), is now available as a resource for librarians and anyone interested in open source software integrated library systems (OSS ILS). The website is the product of a multi-year IMLS grant-funded study of technical support options for proprietary and open source ILS. It offers best practices gleaned from interviews with open source ILS adopters on subjects such as evaluating, migrating to, and customizing and maintaining these systems.

A Push Grows Abroad for Open Access to Publicly Financed Research

“Researchers, publishers, and librarians have spent a lot of this year firing up the longstanding debate over access to published research. You’ve probably heard the big questions: Who gets to see the results of work the public helps pay for, when should they get to see it, and who’s going pay for it? This summer, the fervor has gone global, with policy makers in Britain, elsewhere in Europe, and in Australia signaling that they’re ready to come up with some answers. Details vary from country to country and proposal to proposal, but the overall warming trend looks very clear.”

http://chronicle.com/article/Push-for-Open-Access-to/133561/

The Power of Groups: Collaboration and Innovation (OCLC)

“Consortia are experimenting with new forms of collaboration to improve their services, demonstrate their value and increase the visibility of their members. During ALA, we hosted a session that featured three individuals from different consortia. These presentations demonstrate creative approaches to new ventures through strong partnerships.”

Power Of Groups TRLN

Power Of Groups KYPL

Power Of Groups Orbis Cascade