Sca

Editor's Notes

• #3: The rapid growth and development of digital content offers enormous and ever-growing possibilities for all citizens in the UK. But for this country to realise the full potential of the web, and for each citizen to realise their own potential – in the workplace, in their places of learning, and in the home – the full range of digital content needs to be made available to all, quickly, easily and in a form appropriate to individuals’ needs.To build a common information environment where users of publicly funded content can gain best value from the investment that has been made by reducing the barriers that currently inhibit access, use and re-use of e-content.The SCA aims to work on behalf of the public sector holistically, from content creation to curation in health, education, museums, archives, research, public libraries in a spirit of collaboration and co-ordination. It aims to look at how this Vision can be realised through providing a set of principles and guidelines for best practice at a practitioner and policy-maker level.
• #4: For major research universities and world-renowned cultural institutions, history may be measured in decades or even centuries. Two years, even two particularly challenging ones, are unlikely to make much difference to the longevity of a well-established institution. In the rapidly changing world of digital content and services, however, two years can seem like a lifetime. Facebook was started in a dorm room and grew to have over 30 million registered users just three years after launch. Wikipedia, which began as an experiment in developing an open-source online encyclopedia in 2001, two years later boasted 100,000 articles, and within the following year had doubled in size, reaching one million articles. On the other hand, MySpace, which ruled the social networking scene in 2006, two short years later was surpassed by Facebook and was already beginning its decline.Sarah Phillips, ‘A Brief History of Facebook’, The Guardian (25 July 2007), http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jul/25/media.newmedia.‘History of Wikipedia’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wikipedia‘Myspace’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace
• #5: For digital projects that exist within the higher education and cultural heritage sectors, the terrain may not be as volatile as it is in the commercial sector, but there are significant challenges nonetheless as new digital content projects develop, attempt to attract an audience and grow. After more than a decade of significant investment by universities and heritage organisations, as well as by the public and private funders who support digital resource development, project leaders still struggle with important and fundamental questions: What do digital resources require to be truly valuable to users? Which of these attributes are most valued, and what does it cost to support them? And finally, where do the resources – financial or non-financial – come from that will make them possible? Balancing the desire to achieve mission-based goals against the real-world need to pay salaries and other essential costs is a vital equation for those who wish to run successful digital enterprises in the not-for-profit sector.National Endowment for the Humanities (cut by $22 million, or a 13% reduction since 2010) and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (cut by $23.3 million, or a 9.6% reduction since 2011). Entire funding programmes have even been shuttered, including the National Science Digital Library (NSDL), a $16.5-million programme within the National Science Foundation. As funding streams dry up, the fate of projects, some of which have yet to find sure footing as ongoing resources, is uncertain at best. As one programme officer noted during a roundtable meeting that we conducted in 2011, looking forward, ‘there will be even more unsustainable projects than there are sustainable ones.’‘Termination, Reductions, and Savings: Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2012’, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/trs.pdf, p. 14.Michael Kelley, ‘Obama Proposes $20.3 Million Reduction in Library Funding’, Library Journal (14 February 2011), http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889254-264/obama_proposes_20.3_million_reduction.csp.
• #8: This is the new programme area I am responsible for which is essentially about library innovation, and supporting libraries through the rapidly changing information environment.  We have a new web presence: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/di_informationandlibraries/emergingopportunities.aspx and there’ll be lots more interesting things coming out of the programme soon.  The work will look to work closely with the community to identify and surface opportunities, and then fund small initial projects/explorations which may then be followed up with larger pieces of work. For example, I am currently looking at work around; Supporting scholars with their information needs: http://www.researchsupportservices.net/?page_id=2Patron Driven Acquisition of e-books: http://ebmotmet.wikispaces.com/Home
• #9: The aim of the project is to: Improve the quality, accuracy, coverage and availability of data for the management, selection, licensing, negotiation, review and access of electronic resources. This data would be available for use and re-use by existing service providers, both commercial and open source, as well as other services provided by and for UK teaching, learning and research.  Essentially this is making back office library functions much more efficient allowing libraries to focus on their customer-facing services.The project has been funded by HEFCE, via the Universities Modernisation Fund, with JISC Collections being appointed by JISC as the managing agent.Project being led by JISC CollectionsProgramme Manager at JISC: Ben ShowersSome background information on the DI team blog: http://infteam.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2011/09/29/shared-academic-knowledge-base-kb-library-directors-event/
• #10: 6 new projects have just been funded as part of a wider programme of work to help libraries exploit the potential of ubiquitous mobile devices and access.  There is a blog post about the six projects, and more details on the JISC webpages will be available shortly: http://infteam.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2011/10/11/mobile-infrastructure-for-libraries-new-projects/  These projects will be innovating around library content and services to develop prototypes for the innovative delivery of scholarly content and library services.  The projects will also be producing rich case studies documenting their work and the lessons learnt. There is also a community support project that will aim to build a body of evidence and practice around the notion of m-libraries and the provision of services and content to mobile devices.As you know – this programme of work hopes to be quite comprehensive and bold in some of the infrastructure it would like to support libraries in developing and exploiting.  I have hopes of commercial and collaborative projects that cross the intersection between business, HE and other organisations in this area (i.e. Nesta).
• #11: Kevin Ashley, Digital Curation CentrePaul Ayris, University College LondonPhil Barker, CETISRobin Beecroft, SearchlighterSandra Bracegirdle, John Rylands University LibraryMark Brown, University of SouthamptonRachel Bruce, JISCPeter Burnhill, EDINALuis Carrasqueiro, British Universities Film and Video CouncilKeith Cole, MimasAndrew Green, National Library of WalesTony Hirst, Open UniversityNick Kingsley, The National ArchivesFiona Parsons, SCONUL, University of Wolverhampton Dave Pattern, University of HuddersfieldNick Poole, Collections TrustAndy Powell, EduservDavid Prosser, Research Libraries UKPaul Miller, The Cloud of DataMalcolm Raggett, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London Owen Stephens, Owen Stephens ConsultingJane Stevenson, Archives HubBill Stockting, British LibraryJohn Tuck, M25 Consortium of Academic LibrariesPaul Walk, UKOLNNeil Wilson, British LibraryMartyn Wade, National Library of ScotlandMatthew Woollard, UK Data Archive and Economic and Social Data ServiceIan Piper, Tellura Information ServicesHelen Cooper, Library, University of Central Lancaster
• #12: Revised Europeana Terms and conditions… Digital Library of America…aggregation, discovery…
• #26: Hargreaves Recommendations and possible implications: 1. The Recommendations outlined by Professor Hargreaves were a response to an-evidence-led consultation, to which JISC and others responded. You can read the responses here: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview/ipreview-c4e.htm2. JISC, amongst others, made the fundamental case that UK copyright law needs to be modernised and simplified to ensure creators, innovators, researchers and consumers can all capture the full range of benefits offered by the Internet and digital technologies. JISC has just issued a press release welcoming the Govt. endorsement of Hargreaves http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2011/08/hargreaves.aspx3. In his Report, Professor Hargreaves acknowledged that in terms of its IP framework, and particularly the relationship of the current copyright framework to  the digital age, the UK is falling behind and needs to adapt to the challenges of new technologies to ensure future innovation and growth.4. The Govt. has endorsed the implementation of ALL the 10 key Recommendations outlined in Professor Hargreaves Report. The implementation of these measures are likely to add between 0.3 – 0.6% to the growth of the UK’s economy by 2020 which is worth up to £7.9 billion pounds. The programme of consultation about the implementation of the Hargreaves Recommendations, is likely to start in the Autumn 2011.5. Of specific relevance to the needs of researchers, teachers and learners, the Govt. has agreed with Recommendation 1, that the UK’s IP Policy should be driven by evidence, balancing economic objectives and the needs of various groups. This means that future IP Policy changes should be responsive to the needs of our sector and in particular our use of new technologies within the context of teaching, learning and research. This is obviously a good thing and will ensure that needs determine future change, rather than necessarily, IP Policy changes driven by those with the loudest voices and deepest pockets.6. The Govt. is supporting the concept of the creation of a Digital Copyright Exchange (DEC)  - but will look to industry to run it– Recommendation 5. This will potentially stream-line the potentially onerous and costly tasks of tracing rights holders and rights clearance, faced by JISC funded projects such as the digitisation and OER strands, by making it easier for rights owners to be identified and then for them to licence their works more easily to users. The Government has stated that the DCE will include Crown Copyright materials from day one. For users of the DCE, such as JISC funded projects, the DCE will potentially lead to cost savings in making it easier to locate rights holders and seek permissions to use their works. Works, such as Crown Copyright works, already licensed out under an Open Government Licence, and presumably other works licensed out under open content licences, such as Creative Commons licences, will then be more easily found – thus representing real cost savings for HEIs and FEIs.7. Solutions for cross border licensing, potential regulation of collecting societies and proposed solutions for the use of orphan works (encompassed within Recommendations 3 and 4) will assist both mass digitisation projects, as well as single use of orphan works and thus open up access and use of important research and cultural heritage resources within parameters which recognise non-commercial use of the works, such as uses by JISC funded digitisation and OER projects. Stand Alone solutions for OWs NOT inter-dependent of DCE and EU OW Directive8. The creation of a raft of new exceptions to copyright as well as the implementation of the widest possible exceptions to copyright within the existing EU framework outlined with Recommendation 5 will lead to a wealth of benefits within the contexts of teaching, learning and research. Proposed new exceptions include:- A new exception for data and text mining – which will revolutionise how researchers, industry etc can legitimately search, retrieve, process and connect data and text from potentially millions of publications on the internet, leading to the optimisation of research findings, greater innovation and growth.-  A new exception for parody- facilitating the legitimate use and creation of works which satire etc existing works. This will be poignant for JISC projects which may create or use parodying works, as well as felt more broadly within the contexts of teaching, learning and research- A new exception for library archiving- Format shifting exception- Widening the copyright exception for non commercial research to all classes of work for non commercial research, which will legitimize the reproduction of sound recordings and films, for example, for these purposes- Other new copyright exceptions outlined within Article 5 of the Info Soc Directive 2001/29, such as  the use [of a work in copyright] for the sole purpose of illustration for teaching or scientific research, as long as the source, including the author’s name, is indicated, unless this turns out to be impossible and to the extent justified by the non-commercial purpose to be achieved9. Ensuring that current and future exceptions to copyright (such as the hugely important new proposed exception for data and text mining) are safe-guarded in law, by future-proofing the current legislative and regulatory framework as well as preventing the terms and conditions of contracts from over-riding the exceptions to copyright. This latter measure specifically, will  rectify the current situations whereby:- Academics and researchers may licence or even assign their rights to publishers in return for the publication, but at the same time, these agreements may often restrict them (and their institutions) from being able to use their works under the exceptions to copyright.- Librarians and information professionals may find that the contracts accompanying the supply of their print and/or electronic resources, may also over-ride their entitlement to use these resources under the copyright exceptions.- HEIs and FEIs may purchase blanket licences from rights holder representatives, which may either negate certain uses under the exceptions to copyright, and/or charge for those uses (as well as many others)10. It appears that this is the last chance saloon for this Parliament in terms of major review of the IP system. The current Government has stated that it has committed to no additional major reviews of the IP system this Parliament, although there are a number of European Commission and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) led consultations currently being discussed. These include the EC Green Paper on the Online distribution of audio visual performances and the WIPO informal consultations on print disabilities and audio visual performances.So what is JISC doing next to support the Hargreaves implementation:A)         Providing evidence to the BIS House of Commons Select Committee inquiry into the Hargreaves Review and HMG’s response.B)         Commissioning new evidence-based research into data and text mining value proposition http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2011/08/textmining.aspxC)         Commissioning an update (online survey, interviews etc) to the ‘In from the Cold’ http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2009/infromthecold.aspxD)         Getting ‘friends’ to survey publishers licences to see whether the Publishers Associations statement that ‘90% of licences permit data and text mining is true.E)         Hosting an event in Late Oct on data and text mining to explore the case for implementation. F)         Contributing towards a Parliamentary Briefing in Nov on data and text mining.G)         Working with an ‘unholy alliance’ of partners (Tech start ups, Google, Consumer Focus, BL and others)  to ensure that the evidence base is ready for the UK IPO Consultation on the implementation of the Hargreaves Review recommendations which commences in mid-Oct.H)         Commissioning  articles/interviews etc to highlight the possible implications of reform and how FE/HE can engage with the above consultation.I)          Partnering with other EU organisations (LIber, Europeana, UCL etc) to fund EC IPR Advocacy and Business Intelligence positions in Brussels.