E-Lert # 289 / Cyberavis no. 289
Friday August 8, 2008 / le vendredi 8 août 2008
CARL COMMUNIQUE / COMMUNIQUÉ DE L’ABRC
Mr. Claude Bonnelly, former Director of Libraries at Université
Laval, was named recipient of the CARL Award of Merit, which was presented
at a special reception held during the 2008 IFLA General Conference in Quebec
City. The award was made to Mr. Bonnelly in recognition of his exceptional
leadership in the development of Canadian research libraries and librarianship
through his publications and deep involvement over many years in numerous
library organizations, including IFLA.
http://www.carl-abrc.ca/about/award/pdf/news_release_2008-1-e.pdf
/
M. Claude Bonnelly, ancien directeur de la Bibliothèque de l’Université
Laval, a été désigné lauréat du Prix
du mérite de l’ABRC qui a été présenté
à une réception spéciale pendant la tenue du congrès
annuel de l’IFLA 2008 à Québec. Le prix a été
remis à M. Bonnelly en reconnaissance de son leadership exceptionnel
dans le développement des bibliothèques de recherche et de
la bibliothéconomie au Canada par le biais de ses publications et
de son profond engagement de longue date au sein de nombreuses associations
de bibliothécaires, dont l’IFLA.
http://www.carl-abrc.ca/about/award/pdf/news_release_2008-1-f.pdf
NEWS / NOUVELLES
National Research Council joins WorldWideScience.org
RE$EARCH MONEY, Volume 22, Number 12, July 28, 2008
The National Research Council (NRC) has joined WorldWideScience.org, a multilateral alliance providing one-point access to global research information. The site allows for real-time searches of national scientific databases such as the NRC's Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information. The Alliance was formed at a meeting between 38 countries in Seoul.
Value of government laboratories hampered by outdated IP policies
RE$EARCH MONEY, Volume 22, Number 12, July 28, 2008
A new report lambastes the government for inadequate policies governing intellectual property (IP) flowing from federal science-based departments and agencies (SBDAs). Commissioned by Industry Canada, the report says current policies and procedures fail to support effective technology transfer or S&T collaboration while best practices are routinely ignored. Starved of resources to protect patents and lacking any central authority to oversee government practices, government scientists are not motivated to manage IP and recent data suggest invention disclosures are declining.
Reaction to proposed copyright reforms mixed
Derek Hill
Law Times, July 28, 2008
The reaction to bill C-61, the latest round of proposed reforms to Canada’s
Copyright Act, introduced in the House of Commons in June by Industry Minister
Jim Prentice, has varied — from little reaction at all to outrage
over the bill’s anti-circumvention provisions. The bill has been heavily
criticized for the lack of public consultation on the matter, as well for
having given the appearance that it was the result of heavy lobbying by
American media industries to replicate the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright
Act.
http://www.lawtimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4177&Itemid=82
First It Was Song Downloads. Now It’s Organic Chemistry.
Randall Stross
The New York Times, July 27, 2008
All forms of print publishing must contend with the digital transition,
but college textbook publishing has a particularly nasty problem on its
hands. College students may be the angriest group of captive customers to
be found anywhere. Consider the cost of a legitimate copy of one of the
textbooks listed at the Pirate Bay, John E. McMurry’s “Organic
Chemistry.” A new copy has a list price of $209.95; discounted, it’s
about $150; used copies run $110 and up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/technology/27digi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Canadian Librarian and Archivist Elected New ICA President
July 25, 2008
Canadian librarian and archivist Ian Wilson has been elected the new president
of the International Council on Archives (ICA) for a two-year term. Wilson
was elected to replace Austrian Lorenze Mikoletzky, at the ongoing 16th
International Council Congress on Archives (ICA)
annual general meeting (AGM) in Kuala Lumpur. After been elected to the
post, he said he would work at enhancing networking among the ICA countries.
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=348479
Research Funding Agencies Commit to Strategic Directions for Canadian
Common CV
July 23, 2008
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council (SSHRC) and Quebec's three research-funding agencies renewed
their vision for the Canadian Common CV and reached an agreement to implement
a new, long-term business plan. The plan is designed to leverage advances
in information and communication technology for the benefit of researchers
across Canada.
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/36723.html
Open access to large-scale drug discovery data
July 23, 2008
The Wellcome Trust has awarded £4.7 million (€5.8 million) to
EMBL’s European Bioinformatics
Institute (EMBL-EBI) to support the transfer of a large collection of information
on the properties and activities of drugs and a large set of drug-like small
molecules from publicly listed company
Galapagos NV to the public domain. It will be incorporated into the EMBL-EBI’s
collection of open-access data resources for biomedical research and will
be maintained by a newly established team of scientists at the EMBL-EBI.
These data lie at the heart of translating information from the human genome
into successful new drugs in the clinic.
http://www.ebi.ac.uk/Information/News/pdf/Press23July08.pdf
ARTICLES
Cuil, le moteur de recherche qui veut détrôner Google
Laurent Checola
Le Monde, 29 juillet 2008
Un champ de recherche sur un simple fond noir. Cuil,
le nouveau moteur de recherche, lancé lundi 28 juillet, utilise la
même sobriété que son concurrent, le leader mondial
Google. Mais autoproclamé "plus gros moteur du monde",
Cuil suscite déjà, comme son illustre prédécesseur,
l'effervescence médiatique.
Certainement parce que trois de ses fondateurs, Anna Patterson, Russell
Power et Louis Monier, sont d'anciens cadres de Google et des spécialistes
de la recherche sur Internet. Le quatrième, Tom Costello, PDG de
Cuil, est quant à lui un ancien employé d'IBM.
http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2008/07/29/cuil-le-moteur-de-recherche-qui-veut-detroner-google_1078215_651865.html#ens_id=1078222
Better bibliometrics needed for greater accountability of research expenditures
Éric Archambault and Grégoire Côté
RE$EARCH MONEY, Volume 22, Number 12, July 28, 2008
Canada spends about $25 billion on R&D every year, of which $5 billion are public funds spent by the federal government alone. Compared to our relative benevolence at spending these sums, we are incredibly stingy when it comes to spending time and money to acquire hard data on the outputs and immediate impacts of science. The most cost-effective indicators of these outputs and impacts are scientometrics ("measurement of science") and technometrics ("measurement of technology") assessments based on bibliometric methods (i.e., counts of bibliographic records of, for example, papers or patents). However, these are seldom seen in the Canadian science policy and evaluation landscape.
Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
Motoko Rich
The New York Times, July 27, 2008
At least since the invention of television, critics have warned that electronic
media would destroy reading. Few who believe in the potential of the Web
deny the value of books. But they argue that it is unrealistic to expect
all children to read “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Pride
and Prejudice” for fun. Some Web evangelists say children should be
evaluated for their proficiency on the Internet just as they are tested
on their print reading comprehension. Starting next year, some countries
will participate in new international assessments of digital literacy, but
the United States, for now, will not.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html
The Future of Science
Michael Nielsen, July 17, 2008
The adoption and growth of the scientific journal system has created a
body of shared knowledge for our civilization, a collective long-term memory
which is the basis for much of human progress. This system has changed surprisingly
little in the last 300 years. The internet offers us the first major opportunity
to improve this collective long-term memory, and to create a collective
short-term working memory, a conversational commons for the rapid collaborative
development of ideas. The process of scientific discovery - how we do science
- will change more over the next 20 years than in the past 300 years.
http://michaelnielsen.org/blog/?p=448
Library of Congress: DRM a serious obstacle to archiving
Nate Anderson
Ars Technica, July 16, 2008
Libraries labor under most of the same rules that govern the rest of us,
with a few key exceptions. But copyright law also hampers important work
being done at places like the Library of Congress. One big issue is the
exemption for published works in a library's collection; these can also
be copied three times, but only to "replace a work in their collections
that is damaged, deteriorating, lost or stolen or whose format has become
obsolete." In other words, librarians can't backup or archive such
works until destruction is well under way.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080716-library-of-congress-drm-a-serious-obstacle-to-archiving.html
RESOURCES / RESSOURCES
WorldWideScience.org: The Global Science Gateway
WorldWideScience.org is a global science gateway connecting you to national
and international scientific databases and portals. WorldWideScience.org
accelerates scientific discovery and progress by providing one-stop searching
of global science sources. The WorldWideScience
Alliance, a multilateral partnership, provides the governance structure
for WorldWideScience.org. Subsequent versions of WorldWideScience.org will
make additional science information resources from many nations accessible
via this portal.
http://worldwidescience.org/index.html
Digital Natives Series: Open Source Reality
Douglas Rushkoff
The Library of Congress Webcasts, June 30, 2008
Today's constantly evolving interactive technologies are having a profound
impact on our culture, and the analog generation needs to look to its children
to learn how to cope. According to new media and pop culture expert Douglas
Rushkoff, the nation's youth have already adapted to the digital world's
demands. The series
seeks to understand the practices and culture of the digital natives and
the implications for education at schools, universities and libraries.
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4348
Rapport du Comité information scientifique et technique (IST)
19 mai 2008
Le comité IST [France] est parti du constat suivant : l'accès
à l'information scientifique et technique (IST), sa circulation et
sa disponibilité sont des facteurs clés de l'efficacité
de la recherche scientifique, de la compétitivité industrielle
et du progrès social. Leur importance justifie donc l'attention que
les pouvoirs publics portent à ce secteur et elle explique aussi
le montant et la croissance spectaculaire des investissements consentis
en sa faveur dans tous les pays développés. Pourtant, en France
et à l'étranger, experts et acteurs concernés s'accordent
à
reconnaître que la situation de l'IST n'est pas satisfaisante.
http://media.education.gouv.fr/file/2008/65/8/Rapport_IST-Juin_2008_31658.pdf
EVENTS / ÉVÉNEMENTS
SPARC Digital Repositories Meeting 2008
Baltimore, Maryland, November 17 – 18, 2008
Coming on the heels of two groundbreaking U.S. developments—a recent
vote by Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences enabling the university
to offer access to their articles in an institutional repository and implementation
of a new National Institutes of Health public access policy—as well
as unprecedented advancement in the international sphere over the past year,
the meeting will enable stakeholders to explore next steps for the burgeoning
open archiving movement. The program, developed by a diverse and expert
program committee, will delve into four key areas: The Policy Environment,
New Horizons, Campus Publishing Strategies, and Value-Added Services. These
tracks will be supplemented with an Innovation Fair, where new technologies,
strategies, and approaches will be highlighted, and a Practicum on marketing
and advocacy.
http://www.arl.org/sparc/meetings/ir08/
