June 2004 - LIS-Forum - ncsi.iisc.ernet.in

Fwd: Open Access Now Interview with lawrence Lessig
by Mailing List Manager 02 Jun '04

02 Jun '04

Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 11:26:39 +0100 (BST) From: "[iso-8859-1] Subbiah Arunachalam" <subbiah_a(a)yahoo.com> > > INTERVIEW > > Open Access and creative common sense > > Intellectual property and copyright laws exist to > protect creators and to encourage creative freedom. > But many feel that these laws have become too > restrictive for the Internet era and are now > stifling > creativity and innovation. Lawrence Lessig, an > expert > on the law of cyberspace, spoke to Open Access Now > about new projects to help remove the burden of > intellectual property law from authors and > scientists. > > > There are two ways to get hold of Professor Lessig's > latest book, Free Culture. Either you can purchase a > hardcover copy from your nearest bookstore for > US$24.95 or you can download it for no charge from > his > website. The publisher, Penguin Press, agreed to > release Free Culture under a new type of copyright > license being championed by Lessig and by Creative > Commons, a non-profit corporation that he founded. > Creative Commons promotes the use of copyright to > encourage the creative re-use of intellectual works, > rather than to prevent it. The organization provides > a > free set of copyright licenses that creators can > use, > which explicitly allow re-use while protecting > certain > rights. > > "Penguin adopted the licence because they believed > that if they did that they would sell more books," > explains Lessig, a professor at Stanford Law School > and founder of the school's Center for Internet and > Society. "Some publishers are beginning to see these > licenses as a strategy for increasing sales." When > asked whether it was hard to convince Penguin Press > to > adopt this unconventional tactic, Lessig chuckles. > "Actually, they raised the idea first. I wrote about > it in my book with respect to someone else's book. > And > during the editing process my editor said to me > 'should we do this with your publication?' I was > intending to suggest this later in the cycle. But > they > raised it first and I was excited to do it," recalls > Lessig. > > The Creative Commons licenses indicate that > copyrighted works are free for sharing, but only on > certain conditions. In the case of Lessig's book, > the > license specified that derivative works can be made > and distributed, as long as they are for > non-commercial purposes and the source is > attributed. > Within days of the launch of Free Culture derivative > works and copies had sprung up all over the > Internet. > "It has produced an extraordinary number of remixes > of > the book in different forms and formats. There is > even > an audio MP3 version," says Lessig, who is delighted > to see how other people's creativity is helping to > bring his work to a wider audience. "People have > made > a lot of changes that were enabled because of the > freedom attached to the license." > > "Whether in fact publishers need to control access > the > way that they control it today is a contestable > assertion," notes Lessig. "They don't really know > themselves." Lessig admires Penguin Press for having > the guts to experiment with the new license. "The > fact > that they needed to experiment with it signals that > there is a lot of learning to be done. So far the > experiment has been very successful. But we need a > lot > more data and a lot more time to get a better sense > of > how well it works. I can understand that traditional > publishers will view this as competition with their > model - and my view is that competition is something > that we should encourage, so let's have more of it!" > > Free Culture > Free Culture is Lessig's third book. His earlier > works, Code and The Future of Ideas, focused on the > influence of the Internet and related technologies. > Free Culture, which is subtitled How Big Media Uses > Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and > Control Creativity, addresses the wider issue of how > intellectual property law is being used to stifle > creativity and innovation. The law seeks a balance > between rewarding creativity and allowing the > building > on previous ideas from which new creativity springs. > Lessig feels that large powerful corporations are > using these laws to restrict creative freedom. > "Never > before have the big cultural monopolies used the > fear > created by new technologies, specifically the > Internet, to shrink the public domain of ideas, even > as the same corporations use the same technologies > to > control more and more what we can and can't do with > culture." > > > In the book's introduction Lessig writes about how > the > Wright brothers' invention and the growth of the > aviation industry led to changes in American > property > laws. In 1945, Justice Douglas of the US Supreme > Court > ruled against the traditional doctrine that common > law > ownership of land extended to all the airspace above > that land, so those flying airplanes could not be > sued > for trespassing. "Common sense revolts at the idea," > wrote Douglas. Lessig is a big advocate of common > sense. He reminds us that "the law adjusts to the > technologies of the time. And as it adjusts, it > changes. Ideas that were as solid as rock in one age > crumble in another." > > "My view is that the law has, for unintended and > intended reasons, radically changed the burden on > creators and producers of knowledge who wish to > share > and make their work available to a larger public," > explains Lessig. "My objective is to work to find > ways > to reduce that burden. Creative Commons was started > with that as its objective. The basic intuition was > that the law, as it is right now, makes the default > in > the Internet 'No' (so one must seek permission > first), > whereas the technology screams 'Yes'. Initially > people > thought that would be the end of the law, but what > happens is that the law finds its revenge, finding > ways to reinforce the default as 'No'." > > Creative Commons licenses > Lessig founded Creative Commons in 2001 together > with > cyber-law and intellectual property experts and > computer scientists. "We were initially thinking > about > people who were creating text and music and film," > recalls Lessig. "They wanted to get content that > they > could build on or transform, as well as contribute > content to a common space so that others could use > it." The Creative Commons licensing tools allow > authors to define the nature of the agreement in > terms > of attribution, commercialization, derivative works, > and distribution. Creative Commons enables authors > and > creators to label their work "Some rights reserved" > or > even "No rights reserved." > > > The license is expressed in three ways: the 'Commons > Deed' is a simple, human-readable, plain-language > summary of the license that says what may be done > with > the content; the Legal Code ensures that the license > will stand up in court; and the Digital Code is a > machine-readable translation of the license that > helps > search engines and other applications identify the > terms of use. > > "I think that the third layer is the most > important," > says Lessig. "You can begin to imagine the Internet > developing an intelligence around content, so that > you > could search the Internet and say 'give me all the > pictures of the Empire State building that are > available for non-commercial use'. It increasingly > makes the user aware of the freedoms associated with > the content, as opposed to being afraid of the > potential liability." > > Science Commons > The first licenses were used for blog entries, > pictures, music files and film files. Over a million > Internet entries are now linked to Creative Commons > licenses. "Pretty early in the process it became > clear > that publishers who want to make sure that their > content is available in a certain free form could > take > advantage of the same tools," notes Lessig. Both > Public Library of Science and BioMed Central have > adopted Creative Commons licenses for their content > to > guarantee Open Access. "That led us into other areas > of scientific research where people had been > complaining about the burdens that intellectual > property were creating. And so we started thinking > about ways to remove those burdens," says Lessig. > > > This led to the Science Commons project. "Numerous > scientists have pointed out ... that, right at the > historical moment when we have the technologies to > permit worldwide availability and distributed > processing of scientific data ..., broadening > collaboration and accelerating the pace and depth of > discovery, we are busy locking up that data and > slapping legal restrictions on transfer," states the > project website. The Board feel that its experience > in > creating licensing solutions will be useful in > developing new strategies for sharing scientific > information. Commons hopes to address issues related > to patents and database sharing. "The general idea > is > that every time there is a burden that is created by > intellectual property that is unrelated to the > underlying purpose of the field of research, then we > should find a way to remove that burden," explains > Lessig. > > Creative Open Access > Lessig is enthusiastic about what Creative Commons > can > offer to Open Access. "Some people view the > objective > of the Open Access publishing movement as 'Let's > screw > the publishers'. I don't think that's a very > interesting or worthwhile objective. I think that > the > real objective of Open Access publishing is to > enable > scientists to distribute their work as widely as > possible around the world. This alternative model > has > a number of issues that it's trying to address and I > am eager to see it succeed." > > > Lessig cites the music industry in the United State > as > a classic example of how creativity was stifled by > copyright and lawsuits. "There was a huge amount of > innovation of content that was effectively quashed > by > a very powerful recording industry. And we are still > recovering from that." He feels that the best away > to > get around this is to compete and to demonstrate > that > the industry can produce high-quality material with > an > alternative business model. > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > "We all need to spend more time with technologists > who > can help us think through some of the technical > opportunities that might actually increase the value > of our work" > > Lawrence Lessig > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > The scientific publishing industry is less > aggressive > than the recording industry, notes Lessig. "There is > less of a war in this context. But the alternative > modes of publishing, supported by scientists or > universities, have a lot to compete against. In some > ways it will be harder to crack it. And it's not > certain what the business model is to crack it," > comments Lessig. "There are obviously huge expenses > associated with entry and new technology, and how > you > support that expense is going to be difficult. But > that's an appropriate challenge for the competitive > market." > > Lessig has drawn much inspiration from Richard > Stallman and the Free Software Foundation. "I think > that the big lesson from Open Source Software is > that > you can support a platform of software development > that provides great positive externalities to the > world because it carries source code that people > know > how to change. But on the other hand you can still > make money from it by bundling it or tying it into > some other suite of services," says Lessig. "There > is > an equivalent struggle that is going to be necessary > in the context of Open Access publishing." > > Open Access publishing needs to be more creative, > suggests Lessig; "In some sense, that first stage of > Open Access publishing has taken some obvious steps. > Public Library of Science, for example, is trying to > be extremely conservative in its approach by > basically > replicating high-quality printed journals > supplemented > with an online version that is free. But I think > that > we all need to spend more time with technologists > who > can help us think through some of the technical > opportunities that might reduce the costs of > producing > work and might actually increase its value," Lessig > proposes. This might include mechanisms for > gathering > feedback that work effectively to add another layer > of > peer review from the consumers of the content, says > Lessig. > > Historically, new technologies have often been > conservative, notes Lessig. "Look at the very > beginning of the film era. Films were initially just > staged plays with cameras put in front of the stage. > It took a long time before filmmakers began to think > about the special genre of filmmaking rather than > just > remaking plays. The same thing needs to happen with > online publishing." > > "Another reason why [the uptake of Open Access] is > slow is that Open Access publishers have to convince > a > traditional market that this new form of publication > is as valuable, and has an equivalent set of > credentialing signals. So, it's going to take some > time to begin to develop a culture that supports > online Open Access publishing, from the norms as > well > as the financial perspective. We need stamps of > approval, and how we are going to create them is > going > to be a challenge. Yet it's clear to me that there > is > more than one way to create them." > > Lessig isn't against copyright. "Everyone needs > copyright. Open Access publishing isn't publishing > without copyright. It's publishing with copyright > exercised in a way that makes material open and > available for others to build upon. It still uses > copyright, but for a reason different than the > reason > used by proprietary publishers who exclude people > from > getting access to the content." > > Of course, there will always be people who resist > changes to the system, agrees Lessig. "But > technology > has changed radically, and in the face of a radical > new technology we should rethink the business model. > I > can understand how every business wants to avoid > that, > but nobody has the right to prevent progress." > > www.lessig.org > www.creativecommons.org > >

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WORKSHOP ON DEVELOPING DIGITAL LIBRARY USING DSPACE- 28 JUNE TO 2 JULY 2004
by Mailing List Manager 01 Jun '04

01 Jun '04

Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 19:23:26 +0100 (BST) From: "[iso-8859-1] Prof. N. Laxman Rao." <naglaxman(a)yahoo.com> DEAR PROFESSIONAL FRIENDS, THE DEPT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE, OSMANIA UNIVERSITY IS ORGANISING A WORKSHOP ON DEVELOPING DIGITAL LIBRARY DURING JUNE 28 TO JULY 2, 2004. THE PROFESSIONALS INTENDING TO JOIN THE WORKSHOP MAY SEND THE APPLICATIONS ON OR BEFORE 22 JUNE 2004 ALONG WITH THE REGISTRATION FEE. THE COMPLETE DETAILS OF THE WORKSHOP ARE AS FOLLOWS (THE ATTACHMENT IS BROCHURE, WHICH MAY BE DOWNLOADED FOR USE. N.LAXMAN RAO WORKSHOP on DEVELOPING A DIGITAL LIBRARY USING DSPACE June 28 July 2, 2004 Organized by Dept. of Library & Information Science Osmania University, HYDERBAD 500 007 In collaboration with INFLIBNET Centre (UGC) Ahmedabad- 380 009 About the Workshop: The present day libraries are extensively using the Information Technology for information management. As part of storage and access of digital information, the libraries are developing their own digital librararies. There are a number of free software available for developing digital libraries and Dspace (http://www.dspace.org) is one of the most popular software developed jointly by MIT Libraries and HP labs. DSpace is a digital asset management system. It helps create, index and retrieve various forms of digital content. Dspace is adaptable to different community needs. Interoperability between systems is built-in and it adheres to international standards for metadata. This workshop is planned to meet the growing interest in Developing a Digital Libraries especially using DSpace by various LIS professionals. LDL: Librarians Digital Library is the outcome of successful launching of a Digital Library using the Dspace by DRTC (https://drtc.isibang.ac.in) The workshop is aimed at encouraging the LIS Professionals to build their own institutional digital libraries and repositories. DSpace: Dspace is an open source software and is freely downloadable from http://www.dspace.org o Submission facility allows scientists and researchers to upload digital documents from anywhere in the world o Workflow feature allows moderation of the submitted documents o Uses persistent handles o Conforms to the standards like Dublin Core and OAI-PMH v.2.0 o Security can be built at various levels to effect restricted access o Indian Language based digital libraries can be built as it conforms to the UNICODE standard Looking at the support, development and the features of the software, the Dspace is chosen for providing hands-on-experience to the participants in developing their personal or Institutional digital library. Objectives: 1. To provide background knowledge of the digital library and its related concepts 2. To offer hands on experience in using Dspace Software 3. To encourage the participants in developing their own Institutional Digital Libraries. The topics to be covered in the Workshop: 1) Overview of DSpace 2) Installation of DSpace 3) DSpace Users: Anonymous, Members & Authors 4) Lucene Search Engine 5) DSpace Administration 6) Dublin Core 7) OAI-PMH 8) Persistent Handles 9) DSpace Customization 10) Unicode and Indian Languages There will be twenty sessions in workshop which include lectures, demonstration and practice on the topics mentioned above. The Lab facilities are made available for practice to the participants during extended hours. The Resource persons are drawn from: DRTC, INFLIBNET and Osmania University. Target Participants: Library and information Science professionals with working knowledge of Information Technology. The Workshop is confined to limited number of participants. Registration: Rs.5,000/- per participant The DD / Cash payable in favour of The Head, Dept. of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, payable at Hyderabad. The Registration Fee includes: Workshop Kit (Workshop Volume, Dspace Software) Working Lunch / Tea Accommodation: The Guest House / Hotel Accommodation will be arranged on payment. About the Dept. of Library & Information Science: The Department was established in 1959. At present the Department is offering BLISc, MLISc, M.Phil and Ph.D. Programmes. It is well equipped with a Computer Lab and Seminary Library. The Department had earlier organized several National and International Conferences / Seminars / workshops covering various facets of Library and Information Science. Earlier it had organized Workshop on Digitization of Print Materials successfully. During March 2004, the Department had organized a two-day National Seminar on Library Consortia. INFLIBNET Centre: INFLIBNET Centre is an autonomous Inter-university Centre of the University Grants Commission. It is involved in creating infrastructure for sharing information among academic and research community of the country. Its major activities include training of LIS professionals, creation of national databases, software development etc. Presently it is involved in two major projects viz. UGC Infonet ( interconnecting about 180 universities in a wide area network) and e-journal subscription to universities in consortium mode Coordinator: Dr. N. Laxman Rao Professor, Dept. of Library and Information Science Osmania University, Hyderabad 500 007. Telephone: 040-27682290 (off) 040-27171565 (resi) 040-56547599 (Mob) E-mail: naglaxman(a)yahoo.com naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com Director: Dr. ARD Prasad, Associate Professor, DRTC BANGALORE. Phone: 080-28516528 (res) 080-28483002 ext 496 (off) Email: ardprasad(a)hotmail.com Registration Form 1) Name 2) Designation: 3) Address: 4) Telephone Number: Office: _____________ Res: ___________ Mobile: ____________ E-mail: 5) Are you using IT in your Library: (Yes/ No) 6) Participants knowledge about the Digital Library: (Good / Satisfactory). 7) Does your Organization has Internet Connectivity: (Yes / No) 8) Do you have any plans to develop a Digital Library: (Yes / No) 9) Do you require accommodation during the Workshop? (Yes / No) 10) Payment Details Demand Draft / Cash DD No: Bank: Branch: Amount: Date: ===== Prof.N.LAXMAN RAO, Dept.of Library & Information Science, Osmania University, HYDERABAD- 500 007 (INDIA) President, Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS). Ph:+91-40-27171565 (res): +91-40- 27682290 (off) 9246547599 (Mobile) e:mail-- naglaxman(a)yahoo.com OR naglaxman(a)indiatimes.com

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RE: [LIS-Forum] Digital Atlas
by Mailing List Manager 01 Jun '04

01 Jun '04

Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 10:31:14 +0530 From: Samdarshi Pali <Samdarshi.Pali(a)relianceinfo.com> Dear Mukesh There two excellent commercial software available at http://www.motherplanet.net/ for digital atlas and maps. They have high resolution satellite imagery (1km resolution) and shaded relief topographic imagery with kinds of map layers such as political boundaries, coastlines, rivers, lake and island boundaries, 267 countries and regions, 40000+ ranked cities, 15000+ islands, and 1700+ noteworthy historical earthquakes since 1980 into a fantastic 3D earth globe. 30 day trial versions are available for both the software as large downloads - 97MB & 187MB size respectively. You will need highspeed/broadband connection to download them. Regards Samdarshi Pali

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Vacany notifications
by Mailing List Manager 01 Jun '04

01 Jun '04

Date: 30 May 2004 06:58:41 -0000 From: Rajesh K Patil <rajeshbcd(a)rediffmail.com> � Hi, It would be appreciated if Librarian's who advertise Vacancies on this forum provide some information about the activities of the Organization and/or the URL. Some rough idea about the Compensation package being offered also needs to be provided. By doing so they would be proving that their Organization will not be exploiting fellow library professionals. Further, Candidates will be spared the agony of applying, attending interviews and discovering that the wage offered is a pittance. Not to mention the anxiety associated with the whole process. We are aware that many Private Institutions these days are looking for the 'BEST CANDIDATE' who is willing to accept the 'LOWEST SALARY'. They should also ensure that the e-mail address provided for receiving CVs must be valid. The Yahoo address (padmavathit2 at yahoo.com) provided by our colleague in IACT has permanent errors. Let us help each other in maintaining the dignity of the Profession by dissuading exploiter's making hay through our Forum. Regards. Rajesh K Patil

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response to an article in BMJ
by Mailing List Manager 01 Jun '04

01 Jun '04

Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 18:38:54 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> Friends: Here is a short response to an article in BMJ. About HINARI and OA. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/328/7449/1190#60617 Best wishes. Arun

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