Library in Transition

INASP's work focuses on communication, knowledge and networks, with particular emphasis on the needs of developing and emerging countries. We respond to their national priorities for: * access to national and international scholarly information and knowledge * capacities to use, create, manage and communicate scholarly information and knowledge via appropriate ICTs * national, regional and international co-operation, networking and knowledge exchange We also advise and advocate for improved policy and practice in achieving sustainable and equitable development through effective communication, knowledge and networks.

Our work aims to foster the further understanding of the significance of digital and analog books and their role in humanities scholarship. We are very grateful that a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) research cluster award made possible the preliminary work presented on the website. Research questions Key questions to be addressed include: * What do we really know about the ways in which we interact with new texts that replace the print artifact and re-present to us the knowledge and experience of the past, as well as deliver the direct-to-digital record of the present? * How do we understand the ways in which we interact with these knowledge objects, and the information they contain? * How do we understand the impact that the confluence of media formats in these digital objects has on our use of them, such that we may best facilitate interaction with the new digital artifact?

" Duke University Press is attempting to shake things up with its new program, the e-Duke Books Scholarly Collection. Modeled on the pricing structure of the e-Duke Journals Scholarly Collection, e-Duke Books offers online access to at least 100 new titles per year to subscribing libraries, in addition to access to many of the press's backlist titles."

Books are essential to American life, and if publishing perishes, Stephen L. Carter argues, democracy itself will soon follow.

U21 eBooks is a bold step in a new electronic publishing direction. The multi-media books that you will find on this site are written and designed specifically for electronic delivery, and go well beyond the simple digitizing of text. The on-going series is a collaboration between members of the Universitas 21 international network of leading universities and Melbourne University Publishing. Each book is edited by U21 academics working in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and consists of six to eight essays on international themes that lend themselves to innovative use of new technologies.

"During the last several years CUL's online collections have grown considerably. Not only has the number of titles available online increased dramatically, but there has been a significant shift among many researchers in how those collections are being used. In her March 2006 memorandum to Cornell's Deans, Directors, and Department Heads, Sarah Thomas explained the rationale for reviewing part of CUL's journal collection for electronic-only access:"

The Economics of Publishing and eBooks by Ron Boehm, Chairman and CEO, ABC-CLIO Publishing

Following the successful completion of the MyCopy pilot project, the specialist publishing group Springer Science+Business Media has, with immediate effect, extended this eBook service to all academic libraries in the USA and Canada that have purchased Springer eBook Collections. All registered library patrons will be able to order a softcover copy of a Springer eBook for their personal use by clicking on a button on the Springer platform www.springerlink.com.

"Following the successful completion of the MyCopy pilot project, the specialist publishing group Springer Science+Business Media has, with immediate effect, extended this eBook service to all academic libraries in the USA and Canada that have purchased Springer eBook Collections. All registered library patrons will be able to order a softcover copy of a Springer eBook for their personal use by clicking on a button on the Springer platform www.springerlink.com."

"As many librarians responsible for collections know all too well, licensing agreements often are complex, lengthy documents filled with arcane and unfamiliar terms such as indemnity, severability and force majeure. In an effort to assist librarians (and information providers as well) to understand the issues raised by these licensing agreements, we have prepared an Analysis of Licensing Agreements for Digital Information. The pages that follow include a collection of common terms usually found in licensing agreements, along with a discussion of the pros and cons of specific language in such agreements. We have tried to present language that we believe to be fair and workable for libraries and information providers as well. We have also included examples of provisions that we believe are unduly burdensome or otherwise do not adequately reflect the needs of libraries in providing digital information to their users."

American Chemistry Society is going to all digital for its journals

The Arcadia Programme is a three-year programme funded by a generous grant from the Arcadia Fund to Cambridge University Library. The grant will enable us to explore the role of academic libraries in a digital age, create new programmes and services, particularly for undergraduates -- and also to improve the external environment of the library.