Research and Informatics Division, University Libraries
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Browsing Research and Informatics Division, University Libraries by Content Type "Conference proceeding"
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- Auditing an Institutional Data Repository With Respect to the CoreTrustSeal Certification RequirementsPetters, Jonathan L.; Pisharoti, Naina (2019-10-25)J. Petters presented how Curation Services in Virginia Tech University Libraries used the CoreTrustSeal repository certification requirements to conduct a self audit of their institutional data repository VTechData. This presentation highlighted some of the issues faced by galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAMs) in undergoing certification.
- Becoming a Good Neighbor: Befriending Instructional Designers and Campus Distance Learning FolksWalz, Anita R.; Metko, Stefanie (2016-04-21)On our campus, a bridge connects the main library and the university group which operates the campus learning management system (LMS), trains faculty to use educational technologies, and collaborates directly with faculty who are exploring teaching online. Two librarians were tasked with developing a positive working relationship with the units in this group. This poster explores a handful of stories exhibiting the merits, lessons learned, and types of contributions librarians willing to collaborate directly with non-library educational technology departments might encounter. Including: building trust as an iterative process, learning from and together, connecting colleagues "across the bridge," new topics for instruction, influencing policy, addressing copyright and LMS, making the library visible via LMS, developing open educational resources, policy and politics, and so on.
- Developing Teaching Proficiencies for New Instructors Through a Learning CommunityHall, Tracy Michelle; Barb, Christopher; Gilmore, Tracy; Hall, Monena; Henshaw, Neal; Lawrence, Anne S.; Meier, Carolyn; Miller, Rebecca K.; Moyo, Lesley; Munson, Jennifer M.; Ogier, Andrea; Thum, Sara (2013-02-06)Preparation and training for teaching roles within the Virginia Tech library environment.
- Ensemble PDP-8: Eight Principles for Distributed PortalsFox, Edward A.; Chen, Yinlin; Akbar, Monika; Shaffer, Clifford A.; Edwards, Stephen H.; Brusilovsky, Peter; Garcia, Daniel D.; Delcambre, Lois M. L.; Decker, Felicia; Archer, David W.; Furuta, Richard; Shipman, Frank M., III; Carpenter, B. Stephen, II; Cassel, Lillian N. (2010)Ensemble, the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Pathways project for Computing, builds upon a diverse group of prior NSDL, DL-I, and other projects. Ensemble has shaped its activities according to principles related to design, development, implementation, and operation of distributed portals. Here we articulate 8 key principles for distributed portals (PDPs). While our focus is on education and pedagogy, we expect that our experiences will generalize to other digital library application domains. These principles inform, facilitate, and enhance the Ensemble R&D and production activities. They allow us to provide a broad range of services, from personalization to coordination across communities. The eight PDPs can be briefly summarized as: (1) Articulation across communities using ontologies. (2) Browsing tailored to collections. (3) Integration across interfaces and virtual environments. (4) Metadata interoperability and integration. (5) Social graph construction using logging and metrics. (6) Superimposed information and annotation integrated across distributed systems. (7) Streamlined user access with IDs. (8) Web 2.0 multiple social network system interconnection.
- ETD Preservation Survey Results: MetaArchive and NDLTD Collaborate to Provide a Distributed Preservation Network for ETDsMcMillan, Gail (2008-06)Because many universities now welcome or require ETDs from their graduate students, institutions must ensure that these works will be at least as available and enduring as they were when libraries and archives preserved the bound print volumes on their shelves. To this end, the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations sponsored an online survey to help gauge the digital library community's interest in a distributed digital preservation network (DDPN) specifically for ETDs. Over 90 institutions responded to the survey in early 2008, including more than one-third who heard about it from the NDTLD and ETD listservs. Based on the enthusiasm expressed in the survey, the MetaArchive Cooperative (www.metaarchive.org), which successfully deploys a DDPN among six diverse universities in the southeastern United States, is opening the Cooperative's services and resources to the NDLTD. This paper describes survey responses and aspects of the NDLTD Preservation Strategy.
- How Do Electronic Laboratory Notebooks Inspire Researchers?Pannabecker, Virginia (2015-10)OBJECTIVES: This research poster explores if and how electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) platforms include features that may facilitate researchers in: collaborating; incorporating research literature in laboratory practices; or implementing best practices in research data management. It also looks to discover what other features are important to researchers when using an ELN. METHODS: This research poster begins a 3-step process to explore researchers’ use of electronic notebooks – particularly within health and life sciences (with inclusion of literature results from chemistry, engineering, and computational sciences), and within academic institutions. This poster includes results from the first two steps: 1) a scan of 100 Twitter and Google postings, blogs, and comments regarding use or interest in electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) by from researchers, generating a list of initial ‘features of interest’ criteria for ELN platforms, primarily for academic researchers, with some inclusion of industry perspectives. 2) Next, a literature review was conducted in eight research databases using the following keywords (in title, abstract, and index terms): Electronic lab notebooks OR electronic lab notebook OR electronic laboratory notebooks OR electronic laboratory notebook OR e-notebook* OR eln platform. Results of these two steps were reviewed for relevance, and then reviewed and labeled by themes related to research data management, literature use, and collaboration, as well as additional themes that were addressed. Platforms noted multiple times within the review were added to a table that addressed some key initial priorities (cost, subject area, academic/industry focus). A handout listing these and some additional ELNs discussed with references discussing each was created from the review results. Finally, an open Zotero group and library is linked from the poster to share the full list of review citations. RESULTS: The review of online postings and research literature uncovered a variety of themes of interest related to using ELN, for academic institution researchers (and industry researchers) in health and life sciences. These themes include the areas of focus for this review: research data management facilitation, collaboration, and incorporation of research literature in laboratory notes and workflow. Within each of these, further aspects are described. An additional theme uncovered that is not described in detail in the poster is educational use of ELN. DISCUSSION: This review of ELN focuses on the perspectives of laboratory researchers in academic institutions, focusing on researchers in health and life sciences, with inclusion of articles and view points from industry researchers. Key benefits of ELN platforms for academic researchers include increased productivity, and support for Good Lab Practices (GLP) and reproducibility of results. Additional priorities include: free or lower cost platforms and open source or flexible platforms that lend themselves to customization for tool and software integration, and for multi-disciplinary use. Platforms that can be used to collect, document and track, analyze, store, and create archival files for multiple data formats are important. The ability to collaborate with others, including permission-level settings and security for online data and file sharing is significant, as is support for overall project and lab management (including equipment and sample tracking). Improved searching of data and files, including use of standardized or customized metadata is a benefit of ELNs, as is the ability to include links to or files for related resources, such as research literature and protocols. Educational uses of ELN were also frequently found in the research literature review results. Concerns include loss or corruption of data and difficulty of using electronic devices in some lab environments. Industry researchers have a stronger focus on Quality Control, Quality Assurance, regulatory compliance features, and Intellectual Property claim support. Limitations: This review began with a narrow understanding of the topic and thus the literature search did not include all terms that could be used. Also, coding would increase in effectiveness if conducted more than one time and by more than one reviewer. Next Steps: Further plans for this project include development of a survey to explore use of and interest in ELN at the author’s institution, with possible extension to other institutions – to further determine best avenues for library and/or general institutional support in the use of ELN by students and researchers in the academic environment and in collaboration with industry.
- Hubs and centers as transitional change strategy for library collaborationGriffin, Julie; Mathews, Brian; Walters, Tyler (International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries, 2013-04-18)Libraries of science and technology universities worldwide are adapting to a changing environment where cyberinfrastructure, eResearch, and new technology-intensive approaches to teaching and learning are transforming the very nature of universities. While many have adopted new technologies and the resources and expertise to manage them, this is only an initial step. Libraries are experimenting with organizational models that will transform their work capacity and expertise. The goal of these libraries is being an entity that feeds and produces collaborative synergies between faculty, students, information professionals, and technologists. Virginia Tech, among the top research universities in the United States, and its constituent libraries are adopting a unique organizational change strategy that implements eScience and cyberlearning roles. This two-part strategy begins with establishing ‘hubs’. The hubs are collaborative, crossdepartmental groups in which library employees of varying backgrounds and skills come together on common themes of strategic importance. The hubs act in one sense as a ‘research & development lab’ to explore, imagine, and brainstorm new library initiatives as well as engender deeper understandings of the university’s core academic enterprise. They also are a ‘strike force’ that implements, supports, and assesses emerging library roles in relation to the institution’s academic mission. In these ways, hubs also create learning and scholarship opportunities for their participants beyond the individual task-oriented projects. The second part of this strategy involves the establishment of research and service centers. At Virginia Tech, these are the Center for Innovation in Learning (CIL) and the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS). These centers are designed to incubate and sustain new collaborative synergies between libraries, researchers, instructors, and learners by providing expertise, resources, and new infrastructures to address specific academic research-based needs. The centers become focal points for library action, focused on learning and research activities within other university entities. Benefits to library employees come in the form of scholarship and research with potential for collaboration and new initiatives as relationships grow among project participants. The authors will discuss transformational aspects of the change management model, with lessons from their early experiences. They also will discuss how the model can be adapted by other libraries of science and technology-centered universities.
- An Investigation of ETDs as Prior Publications: Findings from the 2011 NDLTD Publishers' SurveyMcMillan, Gail; Ramirez, Marisa L.; Dalton, Joan; Read, Max; Seamans, Nancy H. (14th International Symposium on ETDs, 2011-09)Do publishers and editors of scholarly journals view theses and dissertations that are readily available on the Internet and through convenient Web browsers as prior publications? This has been a topic of discussion for well over a decade in the ETD community, not only of concern to graduate schools and libraries but also among research faculty and their graduate students. At the same time that a growing number of universities worldwide are requiring ETDs and making the research and scholarship of their graduate students publicly available, many faculty advise their students to restrict online access to their theses and dissertations due to concerns about future publication options. This paper reports on the 2011 survey results of journal editors' and university press directors' attitudes toward online theses and dissertations. This data and the open-ended comments from the survey respondents indicate support for open access to ETDs.
- Mutant superheroes, contained chaos, and smelly pets: Library innovation through imaginary anarchyGilbertson, Keith (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2013-04-10)Libraries have a history of innovation, from their inception to the advent of open stacks, interlibrary loan, electronic cataloging, learning commons, and maker spaces. The information environment outside of libraries has also changed rapidly, especially in the last two decades. Quality information sources are available to the public instantly and in an à la carte fashion. This has happened at the same time that costs for academic journal subscriptions within the library have increased. In response to these changes, the pressure for the academic library to innovate and redefine itself as valuable resource to the academic community, rather than a cost center, has grown. Many academic libraries have evolved to operate in a culture of consensus building, detailed organization, and preservation. These values are useful and worthy of continuation, but without other strong values, the typical academic library may not have the cultural structure necessary to encourage the desired innovation to occur rapidly and on a regular basis. This paper suggests alternative, supplemental values that would foster innovation and creativity within academic library settings, and proposes a way to begin integration of those values into the library, without compromising traditional values. A model for innovation is proposed by describing a job design that is ideal for encouraging creativity and productivity, and then daring libraries to offer these model jobs to enthusiastic employees. Aspects of the job design will be supported by anecdotes and research from psychology, sociology, business, and libraries. While the job design is meant to be holistic, less adventurous libraries will have an opportunity to implement some of the suggestions independently of others. Encouraging innovation in libraries is a popular topic, but this approach is unique for two reasons. First, it suggests that pockets of innovation can be encouraged in the library immediately, without disruptive, painful, and protracted upheaval of the entire library culture and staff. Second, the job design proposal and the cultural suggestions presented have not originated from library human resource professionals or those in management. These suggestions come from non-managerial employees charged with innovation. Their insights are based on intuition and experience, and compose an alternate viewpoint worthy of consideration. Here are some of the cultural ideas that are likely to spark discussion and controversy because of their variance from traditional academic library practices: The one line job description Meeting only monthly Innovation through isolation Death to deadlines Single-tasking Elimination of yearly reviews Shifting from flexible schedules to un-schedules A central theme is that in order to encourage library innovation, there should be librarians and staff that are self-directed and self motivated. Employees who are happily working on the set of projects that they wish to work on, in the way that want to work on them, will be more creative and more productive. Library workers should develop these traits, while management should shift from planning, organizing, and controlling functions to advocacy, forecasting, simplifying, and building external relationships.
- Towards Use And Reuse Driven Big Data ManagementXie, Zhiwu; Chen, Yinlin; Griffin, Julie; Walters, Tyler; Tarazaga, Pablo Alberto; Kasarda, Mary E. (2015-06-03)We propose a use and reuse driven big data management approach that fuses the data repository and data processing capabilities in a co-located, public cloud. It answers to the urgent data management needs from the growing number of researchers who don’t fit in the big science/small science dichotomy. This approach will allow researchers to more easily use, manage, and collaborate around big data sets, as well as give librarians the opportunity to work alongside the researchers to preserve and curate data while it is still fresh and being actively used. This also provides the technological foundation to foster a sharing culture more aligned with the open source software development paradigm than the lone-wolf, gift-exchanging small science sharing or the top-down, highly structured big science sharing. To materialize this vision, we provide a system architecture consisting of a scalable digital repository system coupled with the co-located cloud storage and cloud computing, as well as a job scheduler and a deployment management system. Motivated by Virginia Tech’s Goodwin Hall instrumentation project, we implemented and evaluated a prototype. The results show not only sufficient capacities for this particular case, but also near perfect linear storage and data processing scalabilities under moderately high workload.