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Weekly News Digest
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July 13, 2017 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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Pew Study Looks at Online Harassment
According to Pew Research Center’s Internet & Technology division, 41% of Americans have personally experienced online harassment, and 66% have witnessed it happening to others. Its report, “Online Harassment 2017,” shows that 18% have endured physical threats, a sustained period of harassment, sexual harassment, stalking, and other severe forms of online aggression. Some (27%) decide not to post something after seeing others get harassed, while others (13%) have stopped using an online service after witnessing harassment. Additionally, 30% of witnesses have intervened in instances of online against harassment against others.“For those who experience online harassment directly, these encounters can have profound real-world consequences, ranging from mental or emotional stress to reputational damage or even fear for one’s personal safety,” according to the report’s summary. For more information, read the summary.
NFAIS Plans Virtual Workshop on R&D Funding
The National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) will host a virtual half-day workshop on July 31, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST. The workshop—Can R&D Funding Be Separated From Political Agendas?—will “tackle the rarely-addressed subject of R&D, STEM, and Humanities funding in light of the vagaries brought about by changes in government policies. The near-current advent of Brexit coupled with the new U.S. administration creates a palatable fear among researchers around the globe.” The program participants will discuss U.K. negotiations with the European Union (EU), U.S. research policies under the current administration, and the areas of research most impacted by these political upheavals.For more information, visit the workshop’s webpage.
Creative Commons Starts Mini-Grant Program for CC Communities
Creative Commons (CC) introduced the Community Activities Fund to support CC communities whose activities are aligned with the network values and principles in the Creative Commons Global Network Strategy. This mini-grant program (with a maximum of $1,000 per project) gives them fast, practical-level support to kick-start projects, organize travel and mentorships, create CC-themed events around the world, and more. Any individuals, teams, or organizations can apply here.For more information, read the blog post.
Verba and Nebraska Book Co. Improve Management of Campus Stores
VitalSource’s Verba expanded its 5-year partnership with Nebraska Book Co. (NBC) to increase the competitiveness of campus stores and lower the cost of course materials for students. Customers can use NBC’s Reward Dollars to subscribe to any of Verba’s campus store tools, including Verba Collect for adoptions management and Verba Compare for price-comparison shopping. The two companies are also collaborating on web sourcing and rental management improvements to Verba Complete.“The expansion of our existing agreement was a no-brainer for NBC and Verba as we are both focused on keeping campus stores at the center of course materials while making it easier for the stores to promote affordability for students,” said Ryan Petersen, Verba’s co-founder and CEO. “While we have helped leading stores succeed, this new approach will simplify how NBC stores acquire and use our successful adoption, sourcing and comparison products.” For more information, read the press release.
New Publishers Pledge Support for I4OC
The Initiative for Open Citations (I4OC) announced that 16 more publishers have agreed to release their reference data into the public domain, including AIP Publishing, De Gruyter, Emerald Publishing, and SciELO. The percentage of articles with open reference data has increased from 40% at I4OC’s launch to 45%, which translates to more than 16 million articles. More organizations have joined the list of stakeholders endorsing I4OC, including AI2, LIBER (Association of European Research Libraries), Jisc, the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and ScienceOpen.For more information, read the press release.
Library of Congress Hosts Conclusion of Asian American Literature Festival
On July 29, the Library of Congress (LC) will host the last day of the 2017 Asian American Literature Festival. At 11 a.m. EST, writer Karen Tei Yamashita will give a lecture, “Literature as Community: The Turtle, Imagination, and the Journey Home,” and fellows from the Kundiman writing organization will give a fiction reading. At 2 p.m., Poetry Society of America president Kimiko Hahn will give a lecture, “Angel Island: The Roots and Branches of Asian-American Poetry,” followed by a poetry reading by Kazim Ali, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Paisley Rekdal, and more. The events are free to attend, but tickets are required. Register here.For more information, read the press release.
Subscribe to The Library Pros Podcast
Library blogger David Lee King posted about a relatively new podcast, The Library Pros. The hosts, Christopher DeCristofaro and Robert Johnson, describe it as “A Librarian and Information Technology Pro talking libraries, library tech and everything in between!” King suggests some episodes to listen to, including an interview with Brian Pichman, which deals with makerspaces and technology; Sarah Houghton, which focuses on blogging and other “library goodness”; and his own interview, in which he discusses social media, emerging trends, and audio recording.For more information, read the blog post.
Dryad and DANS Preserve Scientific Data
Dryad and DANS joined forces to ensure the long-term preservation of accessibility to curated scientific data. Content from the Dryad Digital Repository servers—more than 15,000 data packages and 50,000 files—will be backed up regularly in the DANS archive to minimize chances of loss or corruption. DANS will be Dryad’s successor archive for its digital object identifiers (DOIs), with metadata available in OA format for all researchers using DANS’ EASY system.For more information, read the press release.
Microsoft Plans Use of White Spaces to Bridge Digital Divide
The New York Times reports that Microsoft is working to combat the digital divide. It plans to harness “the unused channels between television broadcasts, known as white spaces, to help get more of rural America online. … Microsoft plans to say that it will soon start a white-spaces broadband service in 12 states including Arizona, Kansas, New York and Virginia to connect two million rural Americans in the next five years who have limited or no access to high-speed internet.” For more information, read the article.
Thomson Reuters Supports Startups in Switzerland
Thomson Reuters Labs’ The Incubator launched in Switzerland. It will host entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of building their products in areas such as Big Data, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence. Participating startups will get access to Thomson Reuters’ data and content sets, mentoring from executives, and networking opportunities. So far, two startups have enrolled: Open Mineral (offering a platform that directly connects the mines and smelters of copper, zinc, lead, and other commodities) and WealthArc (a SaaS platform that streamlines investment management).For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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