News

image © American Library AssociationCNI executive director Clifford Lynch provides an overall assessment of the e-book situation in the latest American Libraries digital supplement, “Digital Content: What's Next?” In his article, “Ebooks in 2013: Promises Broken, Promises Kept, and Faustian Bargains,” Lynch discusses the promises of e-book technology, many of which are not coming to fruition, largely due to restrictions imposed by rights holders.

On May 30, ARL joined the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), American Library Association (ALA), Medical Library Association (MLA), and Special Libraries Association (SLA) in a letter (PDF) to the Committee on House Administration, thanking the committee for rejecting the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) recommendation that the US Government Printing Office (GPO) consider charging public user fees for access to government documents via the Federal Digital System (FDsys).

ARL has published Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 282, which features articles on ARL library budgets over the past two years, subscriptions to journal collections from large publishers, and the impact of the changing roles of librarians on reference staffing. A pre-publication version of the article about journal bundles was released earlier this year.

The complete table of contents with links to the articles follows:

HathiTrustOn June 3, the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) filed an amicus brief (PDF) in support of HathiTrust and its partners as they defend their district court victory on appeal in the Second Circuit. LCA consists of three major library associations—the American Library Association, ARL, and the Association of College and Research Libraries—that collectively represent over 300,000 information professionals and thousands of libraries of all kinds throughout the US and Canada.

Tricia DonovanTricia Donovan has resigned as communications and project coordinator at ARL, effective June 28, 2013. She is taking the position of coordinator of professional education and project support at the University of Maryland's College of Information Studies.

NDD United: Stop the Cuts videoNDD United—a campaign representing 3,200 organizations, including ARL, working to stop budget cuts to core US government functions—has released a 3-minute video that explains the impact of disproportionate cuts in non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs, including education, employment and training, research, public health, public safety, housing, social services, infrastructure, and environmental protection.

image © Julian BurgessARL invites participation in the ClimateQUAL survey in 2013. The online survey collects information about: (a) library staff perceptions of the organization’s commitment to the principles of diversity, (b) staff perceptions of organizational policies and procedures, and (c) staff attitudes. The survey addresses such issues as diversity, teamwork, learning, fairness, current managerial practices, and staff attitudes and beliefs.

John P. Culshaw, photo by Tom Jorgensen, © University of IowaJohn P. Culshaw, senior associate dean of libraries at the University of Colorado Boulder and 2011–2012 ARL Research Library Leadership Fellow, has been named university librarian for the University of Iowa, effective August 1, 2013. His appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. Culshaw will succeed Nancy Baker, who has served as university librarian since 2000 and is retiring on July 5. Between July 5 and August 1, Paul Soderdahl, associate university librarian for information technology, will act as interim university librarian. For more information, see the June 3 Iowa Now article, “Culshaw Named University Librarian.”

Clifford Lynch, image © Cecilia PrestonThe Library of Congress blog The Signal: Digital Preservation featured CNI executive director Clifford Lynch in its Digital Preservation Pioneer series on May 29. The profile's author, Mike Ashenfelder, writes, “Clifford Lynch is widely regarded as an oracle in the culture of networked information. Lynch monitors the global information ecosystem for cultural trends and technological developments. He ponders their variables, interdependencies and influencing factors. He confers with colleagues and draws conclusions. Then he reports his observations through lectures, conference presentations and writings. People who know about Lynch pay close attention to what he has to say.” Read the complete profile, “Digital Preservation Pioneer: Clifford Lynch,” on the Library of Congress website. 

Brandon ButlerBrandon Butler has resigned as director of public policy initiatives at ARL, effective July 15, 2013. He is taking the position of practitioner-in-residence at the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic, Washington College of Law, American University (AU).