November 2005 - LIS-Forum - ncsi.iisc.ernet.in

John Willinsky's book, The Access Principle
by Mailing List Manager 21 Nov '05

21 Nov '05

Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 03:38:35 +0530 (IST) From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun(a)mssrf.res.in> Friends: Here is a great book on open access. eter Suber recommends it whole-heartedly. LIS teachers and students might wish to read this and possibly discuss it in the classroom. Policymakers (in higher education, science and technology and university administration) would do well to read this book. Arun ---- John Willinsky's book, The Access Principle John Willinsky's book, The Access Principle: The Case for Open Access to Research and Scholarship (MIT Press, 2005) is now shipping. From the MIT description: In The Access Principle, John Willinsky describes the latest chapter in [an] ongoing story -- online open access publishing by scholarly journals -- and makes a case for open access as a public good. A commitment to scholarly work, writes Willinsky, carries with it a responsibility to circulate that work as widely as possible: this is the access principle. In the digital age, that responsibility includes exploring new publishing technologies and economic models to improve access to scholarly work. Wide circulation adds value to published work; it is a significant aspect of its claim to be knowledge. The right to know and the right to be known are inextricably mixed. Open access, argues Willinsky, can benefit both a researcher-author working at the best-equipped lab at a leading research university and a teacher struggling to find resources in an impoverished high school. Willinsky describes different types of access...discusses the contradictions of copyright law, the reading of research, and the economic viability of open access. He also considers broader themes of public access to knowledge, human rights issues, lessons from publishing history, and "epistemological vanities." The debate over open access, writes Willinsky, raises crucial questions about the place of scholarly work in a larger world -- and about the future of knowledge. John Willinsky is Pacific Press Professor of Literacy and Technology at the University of British Columbia. Peter Suber says: Congratulations, John. I'm glad to reaffirm my blurb from the jacket: John Willinsky understands the way the Internet changes everything for scholarly communication and has written a clear and compelling defense of open access, both in principle and in practice. I recommend it especially for its treatment of copyright issues and the special situation of scholarly societies and developing countries.

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German Embassy, New Delhi cordially invites you to the Fifth Science Circle Meeting
by Puna Das 21 Nov '05

21 Nov '05

The German Embassy, New Delhi cordially invites you to the Fifth Science Circle Meeting Lecture by: Prof. Dr. K. Schilling, Robotics and Telematics, Worzburg University, Germany Topic: Robotics: "The European Huygens ? Mission to Explore the Saturnian Moon Titan and Technology Spin Offs for Tele-Education" Date, Time: November 23rd, 2005, 6.30 p.m. Venue: Casuarina, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi. The Lecture shall be followed by informal discussions and a get together. For details please contact wiss-20(a)newd.diplo.de, Tel: 011-24199164 __________________________________________________________ Enjoy this Diwali with Y! India Click here http://in.promos.yahoo.com/fabmall/index.html

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Requirements at IOL Broadband
by rupesh kumar 21 Nov '05

21 Nov '05

IOL Broadband, Mumbai is looking for Librarians [ Job Code: 5379422, 21] Qualifications and Experience: Not mentioned Scale of pay: Not mentioned Last Date: Not given Kindly apply online only by registering with http://www.jobjunction.in using the above mentioned job code. It is recommended that you apply online at jobjunction. However, if you are unable to do so, please e-mail your detailed resume at: recruit(a)jobjunction.in or mail the same to: IOL Broadband Ltd 601, Raheja Center Nariman Point MUMBAI-400021 [Source: The Economic Times (Mumbai), Nov 15, 2005 ] [from infolibrarian.com] RUPESH KUMAR.A. DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE BANGALORE UNIVERSITY --------------------------------- Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. IOL Broadband, Mumbai is looking for Librarians [ Job Code: 5379422, 21] Qualifications and Experience: Not mentioned Scale of pay: Not mentioned Last Date: Not given Kindly apply online only by registering with http://www.jobjunction.in using the above mentioned job code. It is recommended that you apply online at jobjunction. However, if you are unable to do so, please e-mail your detailed resume at: recruit(a)jobjunction.in or mail the same to: IOL Broadband Ltd 601, Raheja Center Nariman Point MUMBAI-400021 [Source: The Economic Times (Mumbai), Nov 15, 2005 ] [from infolibrarian.com] http://www.bub.ac.in/buLogo.jpg RUPESH KUMAR.A. DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE BANGALORE UNIVERSITY http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylc=X3oDMTFqODRtdXQ4BF9TAzMyOTc1MDIEX3MDOTY2ODgxNj… Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.

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ON OPEN ACCESS
by Subbiah Arunachalam 20 Nov '05

20 Nov '05

PLEASE VISIT http://www.wsis-si.org/oa-facts.html Arun

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[Fwd: [BOAI] Interoperable repositories: usage statistics]
by Subbiah Arunachalam 20 Nov '05

20 Nov '05

---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [BOAI] Interoperable repositories: usage statistics From: "Peter Suber" <peters(a)earlham.edu> Date: Sun, November 20, 2005 8:17 pm To: SPARC-OAForum(a)arl.org boai-forum(a)ecs.soton.ac.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Friends in India and the Developing World: It would be in our interest in taking part in this new exercise. Please read on. Arun A major study is underway now to develop a pilot service to collect, analyse and feed back usage statistics for interoperable repositories worldwide. The project is funded by JISC in the UK, and is led by Dr Les Carr at Southampton University, in partnership with the University of Tasmania, Long Island University and Key Perspectives Ltd. The project outline is as follows: download data are being logged by every repository as a by-product of the Web requests they receive. These raw data are being turned into useful download statistics for individual papers and users by a few institutional repositories (e.g. University of Tasmania, Southampton University), thematic repositories (e.g. RePEc) and OAI services (e.g. Citebase). However, there is no consensus over what data need to be collected, what filtering mechanisms are appropriate, and what analyses are useful for academics in various disciplines. To create effective research statistics services, an interoperable usage statistics service will be created for all OAI-PMH-compliant repositories. This project will investigate the requirements for UK and international stakeholders and build generic collection and distribution software for all IRs. The approach will be demonstrated by a pilot statistics analysis service modelled as an OAI service provider. Working with partners experienced in analysis of usage statistics for electronic documents, and an international consultative committee of key OAI archive and service managers, the principal deliverables will be: - An API for gathering download data implemented for common IR platforms - A set of agreed standards defining the basis for measuring and reporting usage of materials deposited in IRs and aggregated with data from other sources where such materials can be found. The research to establish user requirements for the new service is just approaching completion. It has consisted of a series of focus groups and individual interviews with researchers and repository managers around the world and will provide the basic spec upon which the software is developed. Before this phase is finally wound up, I would be interested in hearing from any researchers, repository managers, gateway managers or service providers who have views on what kind of usage statistics would be useful to them or their constituency. Replies on or off list would be very welcome. Alma Swan Key Perspectives Ltd Truro, UK

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[Fwd: [BOAI] Comparison of EPrints, DSpace and Fedora (fwd)]
by Subbiah Arunachalam 20 Nov '05

20 Nov '05

Subject: Comparison of EPrints, DSpace and Fedora I am doing a comparison of functionality and adopter experiences for the two most widely used institutional archive-creating software packages for repositories: EPrints and DSpace, and also Fedora (a minor player globally but possibly important in Australia). I am seeking your help in collecting information. Information about other packages would also be welcome. (1) If you have used or compared any of this software, could you please take the time to let me know what you consider the respective advantages/disadvantages of each to be, and for what purposes? I am also interested in features that you think are equivalent or readily achieved in each. (2) The two major software packages explain their orientation as follows: EPrints puts a particular emphasis on OA content (preprints and postprints of institutional research output, plus theses), DSpace on digital curation in general. Fedora describes itself as repository storage layer software requiring custom front-ends for any purpose. If you have any specific comments on these overall orientations and whether they are appropriate, they would be very helpful too. (3) While all these packages are free and open source, I would also be interested in any cost estimates in implementing the one you chose, how many hours or dollars you spent on setup, how much maintenance you have to expend, and how reliable the software is (crashes, downtime, etc). Would you recommend it to someone else? I will post a summary of the results (and maybe an interim report) on AmSci OA Forum, and may get back to you if I reed a bit more detail. Thank you in anticipation of a prompt response and a flood of emails. Email direct to me at Arthur.Sale(a)utas.edu.au if you want. Arthur Sale Professor of Computing (Research) University of Tasmania http://leven.comp.utas.edu.au/AuseAccess/

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OA at WSIS, Tunis
by Subbiah Arunachalam 20 Nov '05

20 Nov '05

Dear Leslie and friends: Some of us should write a joint report on "the status of OA after WSIS". WSIS and side events had many sessions related to OA. We had the 4S sessions at Corinthia Khamsa. The CODATA and UNESCO teams had sessions at the main WSIS venue. The WSIS-SI working group had a session. SIST, INASP, UNESCO and others had stalls in the exhibition and many books and reports were distributed. IDRC has announced a one-million dollar (Canadian) grant for improving fibre connectivity in East Africa. I am requesting Rich Fuchs and Steve Song to give us details. A consolidated report of the progress the OA movement had made at Tunis would be very useful. What do you think? Regards. Arun

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Open access gains support
by Subbiah Arunachalam 19 Nov '05

19 Nov '05

Succinct intro to OA, esp. OA archiving Stevan Harnad and the Southampton Eprints team have launched an open access page, explaining the basics and linking to key resources. Excerpt: Putting Open Access into Practice: Researchers, their institutions and their funders need to be informed of the benefits of providing Open Access and instructed on how quickly and simply it is done. Institutional Open Access Repositories need to be created (and registered, so as to be seen and emulated by other institutions). Most important, an OA self-archiving policy for systematically filling these repositories with their target content needs to be adopted and implemented (and registered, so as to be seen and emulated by other institutions). An Institutional Repository is the best way to provide OA to research output. Software such as EPrints provides a web-based OAI-compliant IR for free. --- More on the Global Information Commons for Science David Dickson, Global project seeks to promote access to science, SciDev.Net, November 17, 2005. A leading international scientific organisation has launched a global initiative to develop ways of increasing access to knowledge produced by publicly funded research. The Global Information Commons for Science Initiative seeks to remove restrictions to accessing information that technological advances and new ways of protecting intellectual property have created. The International Council for Science's (ICSU) Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) launched the initiative on 14 November in Tunis, Tunisia....According to CODATA, their approach seeks a "collaborative, consensual solution" to the conflict between the advantages of protecting commercial scientific data, and the economic and social costs such protection imposes on scientific enterprise. It has three specific goals. Firstly, to make people more aware of the benefits that easy access and use of scientific information will bring to society. Second, to promote the wide adoption of effective ways of increasing the availability and use of publicly funded research findings. And finally, to encourage and coordinate members of the global scientific community who are already trying to achieve the first two objectives, "particularly in developing countries"....Among the most prominent supporters of the new initiative is John Sulston, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine, and a key leader of the international human genome sequencing project. Addressing the Paris meeting, Sulston said that some people are trying hard to confine knowledge, and that new barriers to communication are forming at the very time that common access to information is most needed. "This culture impedes research and innovation, throttles ethical decision-making, widens the gap between rich and poor, and contributes to global insecurity," said Sulston.

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chemistry search engine
by Subbiah Arunachalam 19 Nov '05

19 Nov '05

Guna: Please forward this to all chemist fellows of INSA and IASc. Thanks. Aun ---- OA search engine for chemistry Chmoogle is a new search engine for chemistry. From yesterday's press release: eMolecules, Inc. today announced the launch of Chmoogle, the world's leading free open-access chemistry search engine. Chmoogle's mission is to discover, curate and index all of the public chemical information in the world, and make it available to the public. Chmoogle distinguishes itself by extremely fast searches, an appealing presentation of results, and high-quality chemical drawings. "The world's knowledge in chemistry is an invaluable resource", said Dr. Klaus Gubernator, eMolecules' Chief Executive Officer. "It lies dormant until it becomes searchable by every chemist. The language of chemistry is chemical structures. Chmoogle makes the world's chemistry searchable by structure. Just draw a molecule using your favorite structure drawing tool and hit Go!." Craig James, eMolecules' Chief Technology Officer, explained, "The scale and speed of Chmoogle is unlike anything that's come before. We had to start from scratch, build a new chemical database engine from the ground up, so that we could give users the response times they expect, handle one of the world's largest collections of molecules, and respond to the unique demands of the world wide web." Rashmi Mistry, head of eMolecules' Data Acquisition team, said, "While building some of the world's largest corporate chemical databases and managing corporate mergers, we learned the complexity and the wide variety of ways in which chemical information is represented. Chmoogle's Data Acquisition technology integrates everything we've learned. We were able to obtain millions of molecules from hundreds of sources, and merge them into a single, searchable chemical database." Chmoogle allows users to send queries, results and individual structures as links to their colleagues via email. This feature creates an unparalleled collaborative environment for chemists worldwide. Chmoogle provides Chmoogle Free code that users can embed into their own web sites for direct access to Chmoogle, as well as hosted cheminformatics systems and full web sites for chemical suppliers, pharmaceutical and other chemical industries.

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Unesco's support for OA
by Subbiah Arunachalam 19 Nov '05

19 Nov '05

UNESCO Welcomes Cultural Diversity Endorsement, ArtDaily, November 19, 2005. An unsigned news story. Excerpt: The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today welcomed the endorsement by 176 States attending the World Summit on the Information Society (Tunis, November 16-18) of UNESCOs vision of knowledge societies. This vision is based on the four principles of freedom of expression, quality education for all, universal access to information and knowledge and respect for cultural and linguistic diversity. These principles are included in the Tunis Commitment and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted at WSIS today. The Tunis Commitment (paragraph 4) recognizes that freedom of expression and the free flow of information, ideas and knowledge are essential for the information society and development. In paragraph 9, the Commitment recognizes the capital importance of access to information, respect for cultural and linguistic diversity and for the role of the media to ensure that everyone can benefit from the opportunities that ICTs can offer....The Tunis Agenda recommends that UNESCO continue playing a leading role in implementing the Plan of Action adopted during the first phase of the Summit, in Geneva in December 2003. The Agenda invites UNESCOs contribution in the following eight areas: access to information and knowledge; capacity building; e-learning; e-science; cultural and linguistic diversity and open content; media; ethical dimensions of the information society; international and regional cooperation. Speaking at the Plenary session of WSIS, the Director-General of UNESCO pleaded in favour of equitable and inclusive knowledge societies [that] harness the potential of knowledge and put it at the service of sustainable development.

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