techMETRO

Sun Microsystems to Host Monthly Webinars on Repositories

According to a Sun Microsystems Press Release:

DSpace Foundation, Fedora Commons, Sun Microsystems and SPARC Present All About Repositories Webinar Series Mountain View, CA Got a repository? Would you like to understand more about what repositories are and how they operate? This spring DSpace Foundation, Fedora Commons, Sun Microsystems and SPARC (The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition) will offer a free About Repositories Webinar Series to provide professional learning opportunities for repository managers, developers, curators and decision makers. The seminar series will kick off on Feb. 18 at 9:00 a.m. PT with DSpace and Fedora: A Collaboration Update presented by Michele Kimpton, Executive Director, DSpace Foundation, and Sandy Payette, Executive Director Fedora Commons.

Each month a new topic or issue of interest to repository communities will be presented in a one-hour online format. All About Repositories Webinar Series will be web cast for synchronous event access, and will also be made available through DSpace, Fedora, Sun and SPARC web sites as an open educational reference for repository users and developers.

Future web seminars will focus on topics such as web services, and will take an in-depth look at some of the top implementations from the Innovation Fair held at the November 2008 SPARC repositories meeting.

Save the following dates for the All About Repositories Webinar Series.
Pre-registration is required for all seminars at http://www.education-webevents.com/.

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DSpace and Fedora: A Collaboration Update

Wed., February 18, 2009

9:00 a.m. PT; 12:00 p.m. ET

In 2008 the DSpace Foundation and Fedora Commons came together to work on joint initiatives that would better serve both open source repository communities. Several directions have emerged.  Both organizations are working together to improve interoperability of the software, forming joint collaborations with other organizations that offer value to both communities, and developing joint programs for advocacy, education and outreach. In addition, Fedora Commons and the DSpace Foundation are collaborating to investigate the prospect of jointly developing new technologies. Both organizations received a grant from the Mellon Foundation to design "DuraSpace", a service that will allow users to replicate and access their digital content in the cloud. Join Michele Kimpton, Executive Director, DSpace Foundation, and Sandy Payette, Executive Director Fedora Commons for a 60-minute update on the multiple dimensions of this dynamic collaboration between two of the largest providers of open source software for managing and providing access to digital content.

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All About Fedora

Wed., March 18, 2009

9:00 a.m. PT; 12:00 p.m.. ET
The letters in Fedora’s name stand for “Flexible, Extensible, Digital Object Repository Architecture,” and also for the idea that it’s core structure provides a robust, integrated, open source repository platform that enables storage, access and durable management of virtually any kind of digital content, “All Ways. Always.” Most developers and repository managers like those terms, but what do they really mean? How do users get started with Fedora? Who else is using it? Where can users get hands-on help with planning and implementation? Join Thornton Staples, Director of Community Strategy and Outreach, Fedora Commons for a 60-minute overview that explains what Fedora is, why many large national repositories use it, and advice on the nuts and bolts of getting started.

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Topics from the SPARC Repositories Meeting

Wed., April 15, 2009

9:00 a.m. PT; 12:00 p.m. ET
SPARC guests will explore in more detail projects that were introduced at the SPARC repositories meeting in November 2008. Specific details to be announced.

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An Open Repositories 2009 (OR09) Preview

Wed., May 13, 2009

9:00 a.m. PT; 12:00 p.m. ET
OR09, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia from May 18-21, 2009, promises to showcase the latest global repository developments and breakthroughs that increasingly play a pivotal role in the information landscape. Tune in for six previews of conference presentations that will span repository implementations for education, research, science, and cultural heritage.
Join members of the OR09 Program Committee for this 60-minute conference preview session.

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Two Repository Platforms: Key Features of Fedora and DSpace

Wed., June 17, 2009

9:00 a.m. PT; 12:00 p.m. ET
The DSpace Foundation and Fedora Commons are two of the largest providers of open source software for managing and providing access to digital content with a combined global community of more than 450 institutions, national libraries, research projects, businesses and universities. What are the natural strengths of each repository platform? What circumstances and requirements would dictate using either one or the other or both? Join Michele Kimpton, Executive Director, DSpace Foundation, and Sandy Payette, Executive Director Fedora Commons for a 60 minute look at each repository platform that highlights key features and selection criteria.

Ithaka and JSTOR Announce Merger

On Sunday, January 25, JSTOR and Ithaka issued a release announcing that they would be formally merging with each other. Ithaka was created by JSTOR founder Kevin Guthrie in 2003, and has maintained a close connection with JSTOR over the years. Of the merger, Guthrie says,

“The academic community has invested significantly in the important set of services that we manage and, together, they represent core elements of the networked digital infrastructure needed to support scholarship, research, and teaching. Increasingly we are approached for help on a range of initiatives that seek to leverage this investment and that we think will benefit from stronger coordination across all our areas of expertise and activity. We are very excited about the potential to work with our constituents in even more useful innovative ways through this combination.”

Read the complete release here.

Chronicle of Higher Ed's TechTherapy Comes to NYC!

Join METRO February 10 as we welcome the hosts of The Chronicle of Higher Education podcast TechTherapy to lead a discussion about the libraries and IT departments. On the surface, it would seem that libraries and IT departments should have a lot in common. Librarians are increasingly interested in leveraging new tools to better serve the needs of their communities, and IT staff members possess the knowledge and skills needed to leverage these resources effectively. So why is it that these two professional cultures often find themselves on opposite sides of the aisle? Our hosts will moderate a discussion with attendees to identify common problem areas and creative solutions. This forum will be a perfect opportunity for administrators, librarians, IT staff, and students to share and learn from each others' experiences. Refreshments will be provided and there will be time to network with colleagues.
 
Issues Forum
Libraries and IT: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Where: Metropolitan New York Library Council; 57 E 11th Street; NY, NY 10003
When: February 10, 2009 (2pm-4pm)
Fee: $25 for METRO members, myMETRO members, and LIS students; $50 non-members
Register here: http://tinyurl.com/a4yejw

Three Noteworthy Events at METRO this Spring

We've been hard at work putting together what we hope will be three really useful events this Spring for librarians in NYC and the surrounding regions. Take a look at what's going on, and please help us out by spreading the word!

MARCH 24-25
Stewardship of Digital Assets
A Two-Day Workshop on Sustaining Digital Collections

Where: Metropolitan New York Library Council; 57 E 11th Street; NY, NY 10003
When: March 24-25, 2009 (10am-4pm)
Fee: $300 institutional members; $250 myMETRO members; $400 non-members

Register here: http://tinyurl.com/METRO-SoDA
(registration will close at 5pm on February 27, 2009)

Workshop topics to include:
Through a combination of lecture and interactive sessions you will learn from a faculty of four digital experts about the long-term needs of the digital assets that exist in your institution, and how to plan for their preservation. The workshop provides examples from model digital preservation plans and includes case studies from established digital preservation programs. Faculty members work directly with attendees to assist in developing their plans.

Workshop Faculty:
Liz Bishoff, Director of Digital and Preservation Services for BCR in Aurora, Colorado
Tom Clareson, Program Director for New Initiatives at PALINET
Katherine Skinner, Digital Projects Librarian at the Emory University Libraries
Tyler O. Walters, Associate Director, Technology and Resource Services at Georgia Institute of Technology Library and Information Center.


APRIL 16
Digital Dilemmas Symposium
Challenges + Opportunities + Solutions

Where: William and Anita Newman Library at Baruch College
When: April 16, 2009 (9am-5pm)
Fee: $125

Register here: http://tinyurl.com/D2Symposium

About the Symposium:
Digital Dilemmas is an academic symposium organized by the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO). The Symposium will feature recognized experts from the Mid-Atlantic region who will: outline the primary challenges facing academic libraries in a digital world; provide an understanding of the digital information economy and its effect on scholarship; and suggest future opportunities for academic libraries. The symposium will also feature presentations on the economic impact of digital scholarship on libraries and negotiating copyright in digital information environments.

Confirmed Speakers:
Clifford Lynch (CNI), Daniel Cohen (Center for History and New Media, George Mason University), Eileen Fenton (Portico), and Roger Schonfeld (Ithaka).


JUNE 3
LibCamp NYC
A NYC Library Camp hosted by METRO and Brooklyn College Library

Where: Brooklyn College Library
When: April 16, 2009 (9am-4pm)
Fee: $25

Register here: http://tinyurl.com/9yv3tv

About LibCamp NYC:
LibCamp NYC is a participatory user-generated “unconference” focusing on libraries and library technology. It inherits a rich tradition from other unconferences and BarCamps, in which the content of the sessions is determined and managed by attendees. Sessions may include (but are not limited to): software demonstrations, how-to workshops, spirited debates, paper presentations, or problem-solving sessions. Participants will determine the day's offerings in the opening session, and all sessions will be summarized in the closing session. This collaborative environment presents unique opportunities for learning, sharing, and relationship-building that can be elusive at more formal conferences. LibCamp NYC is organized by METRO and the Brooklyn College Library and follows on the success of Library Camp NYC, which convened in August 2007 at Baruch College Library.

For questions or help with registration please contact Aleksi Merilainen at 212-228-2320 x19 or amerilainen@metro.org

New Report on Mobile Technologies

Joan Lippincott, Associate Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information, has published a new article, Mobile Technologies, Mobile Users: Implications for Academic Libraries, in the December 2008 issue of the ARL Bimonthly Report, no. 261.

In the article, Lippincott discusses mobile technologies, learning, and libraries, and she provides examples of innovative ways in which a limited number of academic libraries are already designing services around mobile technologies and mobile users. Issues that should be considered by campuses interested in examining their role in the move to mobile are also discussed.

Read the article here.

[via CNI Listserv]