Standards

Digital Object Identifiers: Stability for citations and referencing, but not proxies for quality
What exactly is a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and how does it help in the management and long-term preservation of research? Laurence Horton explains the basic structure and purpose of a DOI and also points to some limitations. DOIs are not the only way of providing fixed, persisting references to objects, but they have emerged as the leading system.

Data need to be more than just available, they need to be discoverable and understandable. Iain Hrynaszkiewicz introduces Nature’s new published data paper format, a Data Descriptor. Peer-review and curation of these data papers will facilitate open access to knowledge and interdisciplinary research, pushing the boundaries of discovery. Some of the most tangible benefits of open data stem from social and interdisciplinary sciences as these fields require effective cross-disciplinary communication.

Libraries are constantly challenged to meet new user needs and to provide access to new types of materials. We are in the process of launching many new technology-rich initiatives and projects which require investments of staff time, a resource which is at a premium for most new library hires. We simultaneously have people on staff in our libraries with more traditional skill sets who may be able to contribute time and theoretical expertise to these projects, but require training. Incorporating these “seasoned” employees into new initiatives can be a daunting task.

In the last Great Bear article we quoted sage advice from the International Association of Audiovisual Archivists: ‘Optimal preservation measures are always a compromise between many, often conflicting parameters.’ [1]
While this statement is true in general for many different multi-format collections, the issue of compromise and conflicting parameters becomes especially apparent with the preservation of digitized and born-digital video. The reasons for this are complex, and we shall outline why below.

The Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME) is a major community challenge to provide an alternative to the deeply embedded MARC formats that will be more compatible with the Web and Internet environment that offers new opportunities to leverage information. The program speakers will address multiple facets of the development. Visit BIBFRAME at ALA for information on additional BIBFRAME programs and presentations.

De Gruyter has signed a contract with the Scope e-Knowledge Center for the provision of MARC records. Scope is a international provider of knowledge services and solutions. Effective immediately, De Gruyter will provide MARC 21 metadata for its frontlist and backlist eBooks converted through mARCat, Scope’s MARC record service. All affiliated libraries thus have quick and easy access to De Gruyter’s metadata.

In May 2011, the Library of Congress officially launched a new modeling initiative, Bibliographic Framework Initiative, as a linked data alternative to MARC. The Library then announced in November 2012 the proposed model, called BIBFRAME. Since then, the library world is moving from mainly theorizing about the BIBFRAME model to attempts to implement practical experimentation and testing. This experimentation is iterative, and continues to shape the model so that it’s stable enough and broadly acceptable enough for adoption.

Abstract

Nine months ago, the Library of Congress released its Recommended Format Specifications. This was the result of years of work by experts from across the institution, bringing their own specialized knowledge in the needs and expectations of our patrons, developments in publishing and production and the technical aspects of creation, presentation and distribution. The Library of Congress invested so much effort in this because it is essential to the mission of the institution.

Objective – The objective of the study was to determine if summary notes or table of contents notes in catalogue records are associated with the usage of e-books in a large university library.