|
|
Weekly News Digest
 |
June 13, 2024 — 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.
|
Sage Policy Profiles Reaches New Milestone of Indexed Policy Documents
The free, browser-based Sage Policy Profiles tool helps “researchers find where their work is cited in policy documents globally and for free. Powered by Overton, the world’s largest collection of policy documents, Sage Policy Profiles now indexes more than 13.4 million policy documents. It has also improved coverage around the world including new sources from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and intergovernmental organizations, in Germany, Morocco, Spain, and Brazil.” Researchers can use it to help demonstrate their works’ impact and how they are being used by policymakers.For more information, read the press release.
ALA Applauds FCC's Cybersecurity Funding Pilot for Libraries
ALA shares its approval that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning “to launch a pilot program for public libraries and schools to purchase advanced cybersecurity tools. Set to launch later this year, the pilot program will provide $200 million in funding to aid libraries and schools in securing their digital infrastructure.”The press release continues, “ALA has continuously advocated for the creation of a broader plan to fund and support cybersecurity for America’s libraries through the E-rate program. In comments [that were] filed with the FCC, ALA urged the Commission to create a long-term funding plan to support cybersecurity tools. In a joint letter filed with coalition partners, ALA called for several key changes to the pilot’s design to reduce barriers to access for libraries and schools and clarify funding amounts. In particular, funding amounts for large library systems would not adequately cover the costs of cybersecurity for the nation’s largest library systems.” For more information, read the press release.
CCC Becomes a Founding Member of the Leiden Institute for FAIR and Equitable Science
CCC joined forces with other industry stakeholders to launch the Leiden Institute for FAIR and Equitable Science (LIFES). “In recognition of the challenges that exist with data reuse within the global research community, LIFES is a joint effort by an international public-private partnership of eleven academic and private organizations to build a wide and diverse network of public and private members that want to incorporate FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and equitable data reuse within their organizations,” CCC states. LIFES aims to “facilitate access to FAIR-compliant applications and services that support efficient data sharing, improve research reproducibility, and enhance collaboration across different domains and disciplines.”“Data accessibility is becoming increasingly central to research, and a quantifiable sense of data reproducibility is crucial for research-intensive organizations, especially in this era of generative AI,” says Babis Marmanis, CCC’s EVP and CTO. “The mission of LIFES is to advance scientific research and innovation, which is important to CCC, our partners, and customers. Datasets that follow the FAIR data principles can spur innovation, promote inclusivity, and support sustainability.” For more information and a list of the other founding partners, read the press release.
Textbook Publishers File Lawsuit Decrying Google's Alleged Promotion of Piracy
Blake Brittain writes the following in “Google Sued by Top Textbook Publishers Over Ads for Pirated E-Books” for Reuters:Google was hit with a lawsuit on [June 5] by educational publishers Cengage, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill and Elsevier accusing the tech giant of promoting pirate copies of their textbooks. The publishers told the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Google has ignored thousands of copyright-infringement notices and continues to profit from the sale of pirated digital versions of textbooks advertised through its dominant search engine. … The complaint said that Google searches for the publishers' work feature heavily discounted, pirated e-book versions at the top of the results. For more information, read the article.
AlphaSense to Buy Tegus
The AlphaSense market intelligence and search platform entered into an agreement to acquire Tegus, a provider of expert research, private company content, and financial data and workflow tools. The transaction is due to close in Q3 2024.“This transaction will bring Tegus’ breadth of private company data to AlphaSense’s platform, further delivering on the companies’ shared mission to empower business and financial professionals to make smarter decisions through AI-driven market intelligence,” the press release notes. “Users will benefit from the addition of [Tegus’] content with AlphaSense’s market-leading AI and search capabilities, enabling its combined user base to continue easily extracting proprietary insights.” For more information, read the press release.
Ex Libris Teams Up With PressReader to Expand Access to Periodicals
Ex Libris partnered with PressReader so that “libraries with [a] PressReader subscription can now offer patrons the ability to search critical, just-published newspaper and magazine content and view the results directly in the familiar Primo user interface, along with other relevant resources.”PressReader offers interactive, digital access to newspapers and magazines from around the world. Users can perform keyword searching across all titles and save stories and full publications. “This partnership and webhook integration with PressReader are part of the Ex Libris commitment to helping libraries serve their communities and making it easier for library patrons to discover the information they need to achieve their scholarly goals,” the press release states. For more information, read the press release.
SirsiDynix and Research Solutions Integrate Their Products for Streamlined Content Access
SirsiDynix and Research Solutions partnered “to greatly improve the article fulfillment process for customers of SirsiDynix’s CloudSource+ discovery services platform and Research Solutions’ Article Galaxy Scholar content delivery service.” The CloudSource+ and Article Galaxy Scholar integration will allow libraries “to direct patrons to full-text open access content before exposing licensed materials. If a desired article is unavailable via open access search or via their licensed subscriptions, libraries can leverage Article Galaxy Scholar to deliver full-text PDFs to patrons’ inboxes in a matter of minutes.”Mutual customers will also have access to budget forecasting and to customizable content and purchase settings and will see a decrease of spending on acquisition costs. “This collaboration marks a significant step toward providing researchers globally with unparalleled access to scholarly content. By joining forces, we ensure users can access a vast library of resources that seamlessly bridges the gap between open access and paid content,” says Tony Landolt, Research Solutions’ head of academic business development. For more information, read the press release.
IMLS Announces the Newest Recipients of Museum Grants for African American History and Culture
IMLS awarded its FY2024 Museum Grants for African American History and Culture. The museums and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will receive up to $500,000 each to invest in “projects that build the capacity of African American museums or support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American Museums. This year, 30 institutions have been awarded a total of $5,916,807.”“The history of the United States cannot be told without the inclusion of the African American experience,” says Cyndee Landrum, IMLS’s acting director. “With these awards, IMLS furthers its commitment to African American museums and HBCUs and affirms their unique ability to protect, preserve and make accessible stories which have been systemically obscured.” For more information, read the press release.
CILIP Issues 10 Pledges to the U.K. Public and Government
For immediate releaseTrust Libraries: Our Pledges to the Public and the Incoming Government With the 2024 General Election just around the corner, today (Friday 7 June) CILIP releases ten pledges to the public and the incoming government which place libraries, information professionals and knowledge managers at the heart of positive change. Trust libraries: our ten pledges to the public and the incoming government set out what the library sector can offer, as trusted and essential services. CILIP, and the profession we represent want to be part of the conversation, to drive policy and deliver positive change for the library and information sector, and the users it serves. The general election on July 4 will result in a new government with potentially hundreds of new MPs joining the House of Commons for the first time. Whichever political party they represent, we believe libraries should be key to their political agendas, for everything from literacy and learning to economic growth and social cohesion. These ten pledges build on a dossier of impact stories collected throughout 2024 in our ongoing Libraries Change Lives campaign. Libraries across the UK have been demonstrating the tangible and positive impact of their work with compelling case studies from public, prison, school and health libraries as well as those in higher education, on the themes of: sense of place, green and sustainable, stronger communities, health and care, enterprise and creativity, and learning and social mobility. These narratives are the foundation of our pledges to the new government and to the public. The pledge ... trust libraries - to deliver trustworthy information and access to culture
- to inform better decisions (including in business, health and government)
- to offer a warm welcome and a safe place for all
- to champion the right to read and intellectual freedom
- to enable learning at the heart of communities and institutions
- to open a world of opportunities, inspiration, and ideas
- to fuel the future green economy with data and skills
- to support diverse and resilient start-ups
- to help unlock new research and innovation
- to be ethical partners committed to social justice
All this is only possible with sustained investment in knowledge managers, information professionals, and librarians, one of our most trusted professions. CILIP Chief Executive Louis Coiffait-Gunn said: The election is just the start. Among those candidates who will end up being elected to Parliament on Thursday 4 July, many will be brand new to Westminster and new to the wonderful world of library, knowledge and information professionals. Our role as the UK’s library and information association will be to find advocates and help demonstrate how the sector can help them achieve benefits for the public. You only have to look at the Libraries Change Lives case studies to get a flavour of their impact. These will be showcased at a Parliamentary event later in the year. -ends-
Media Contact Sharon Hardwick communications manager mpress@cilip.org.uk
Learn more at CILIP’s Election 2024 site. 
Future Opening of a New ISSN National Centre in United Arab Emirates
  Paris, May 29, 2024 The ISSN International Centre is pleased to announce the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Library and Archives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and the ISSN International Centre on May 29, 2024. This agreement is a prelude to the opening of the 94th ISSN National Center, which should take place shortly. His Excellency Abdulla Majed Al Ali, Director of the National Library and Archives (NLA), said: “I am pleased to meet you and to sign this important agreement between the ISSN International Centre and the National Library and Archives. I highly appreciate your effort to preserve knowledge and world cultural and world intellectual production. On behalf of NLA, I would like to express my thanks to all of you and I am looking forward to more cooperation to share with you in the future. Thank you very much.” Dr. Gaelle Bequet, Director of the ISSN International Centre, commented, “Following this accession, we are here today to mark the signing of the Working Agreement between the National Library and Archives and the ISSN International Center, which is not only a milestone in our journey together, but also a testament to the shared vision, commitment and hard work of all parties involved. This agreement underscores our dedication to excellence and our commitment to achieving remarkable results together.” About the National Library and Archives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates The NLA was established in 1968 as the Center for Documentation and Research (CDR) by His Highness Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first President of the UAE. Its objectives were defined as the collection of documents and information relating to the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula in general, and the United Arab Emirates in particular, from primary sources in Arab and foreign countries. Forty years later, the late President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued Law No. 7 for 2008, designating the Center as the official National Archives of the UAE, under the name National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR). By 2021, the NLA was ranked as the sixth most advanced organization in its category in the world in terms of tools and technology used. The mission of the NLA is to preserve the documentary heritage through distinctive archival, documentation and research services to provide decision-makers and the public with reliable information and to enhance civic spirit and national identity, while the vision is to provide distinctive archival, documentation and research services. About the ISSN International Centre Officially established in Paris on January 21, 1976, the ISSN International Centre is an intergovernmental organization that coordinates the activities of 94 ISSN National Centres located in its member countries. The ISSN International Centre provides online services such as the ISSN Portal, which provides quality identification metadata for more than 2.5 million serial titles and continuing resources. Each year, the ISSN Portal grows by approximately 60,000 new serial titles identified and described by the ISSN network.
Contacts
National Library and Archives Riad Said Benlalam Head of Acquisitions and Cataloguing Unit 5884 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Email: rbenlalam@nla.ae Website: www.nla.ae/en
ISSN International Centre 45 rue de Turbigo 75003 Paris France Email: issnic@issn.org Website: portal.issn.org
Send correspondence concerning the Weekly News Digest to NewsBreaks Editor
Brandi Scardilli
|
