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Research Libraries UK joins The European Library

The UK consortium of scholarly libraries, Research Libraries UK (RLUK), has recently joined The European Library, a membership organisation that provides services to researchers, with access to more than 200 million records and digital items from all of Europe’s national libraries and a growing number of research libraries.

RLUK’s vision is to provide the best research library support in the world and to work with members and partners, nationally and internationally, in order to shape and realise the vision of the modern research library – a vision importantly shared by The European Library. One of the founding principles of RLUK is recognition of the value that arises from cooperation amongst libraries and the sharing of resources and data. This agreement is a natural extension of that founding principle.

The new cooperation will allow for the ingestion of data from RLUK’s member libraries into The European Library portal, providing researchers across the globe with greater access to digital items and bibliographic records held by these libraries. The data provided by RLUK will also be disseminated via The European Library’s API and developers will be able to create applications to search and display this data.

The data provided by RLUK will additionally be made available as Linked Open Data. This is part of The European Library’s aim of working with its members to expose a set of their combined bibliographic metadata as a CC0 dataset – a dataset openly available for any type of reuse. RLUK’s valuable data will now be integrated into the larger European Library set, thereby providing a rich source of reusable knowledge from Europe’s most prestigious libraries.

Both parties are enthusiastic about the prospect of further stimulating digital innovation in the libraries sector. Dr David Prosser, director of RLUK, has the following to say about the organisation’s involvement:

“We are very excited to be partnering with The European Library and fostering a new spirit of cooperation between our members and the wider European community represented by The European Library. We see many mutual benefits arising from this relationship, but an early concrete outcome will be the release in the new year of the RLUK database of bibliographic records as Linked Data. At over 18 million records this will represent one of the world’s largest Linked Data sets and will provide opportunities for the development of new and innovative products and services to enhance research and scholarship.”

RLUK Chair, Stella Butler also commented to say that “RLUK is delighted to have established this strategic partnership. Working with European colleagues will open up new opportunities – linked data is a significant first step towards increasing the value we deliver to the research community.”

Louise Edwards, Director of The European Library, is equally excited about this new development: “As The European Library expands to cater not just to national libraries but also university libraries and their researchers, we are delighted to welcome RLUK as members. Our ability to work together promises new avenues for sharing and exposing library content, and therefore increasing the impact of libraries on an international scale.”

SAGE to publish International Journal of Maritime History from February 2014

SAGE today announced a partnership with The International Maritime Economic History Association (IMEHA) to publish its flagship journal, the International Journal of Maritime History (IJMH). International in scope, the IJMH addresses the maritime dimensions of economic, social, cultural and environmental history. The first issue of the journal will publish with SAGE in February 2014. The journal will be published four times a year with an additional two supplements in May and November.

The IJMH publishes studies of a multidisciplinary nature on a broad range of maritime historical themes including: shipping; shipbuilding; seafaring; ports; resorts and other coastal communities; sea-borne trade; fishing; environment and the culture of the sea. Every issue of the IJMH carries a diversity of material including original articles, research notes and book reviews that reflect the breadth and international nature of research in maritime history. International scholars contribute feature articles as well as research notes that inform readers of important new scholarship which has not yet reached the stage of a formal monograph, historiographical essays, and essays on primary sources.

“SAGE has a well-represented and highly regarded global publishing programme in contemporary, economic, cultural and social history, and we are delighted to welcome IMEHA’s flagship title to SAGE’s portfolio”, said Karen Phillips, Editorial Director, SAGE. “A core part of SAGE’s publishing mission is to support both the production and dissemination of original high quality research, two attributes with which we see clear synergy with the IMEHA. We look forward to developing this partnership and supporting the journal’s ongoing development for the international historical community.”

“SAGE is well known for its core strengths as a humanities and social science publisher, with strong international reach and presence,” commented, Professor David. J. Starkey, Editor. “IJMH plays a leading role in developing the critical field of thought around maritime history. We believe SAGE’s commitment to publishing high quality international research is closely aligned with our publishing goals, and we look forward to developing a successful, international partnership.”

EBSCO Acquires British Education Index

EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) will add to its education research resources with the acquisition of the British Education Index (BEI) from the University of Leeds Library. For nearly 40 years, the BEI has been an independent subject and author index to the contents of significant education journals published in the United Kingdom.

The BEI provides selective coverage, indexing only articles that have permanent educational interest. It currently includes more than 180,000 records for articles published in UK journals from 1976 onwards, and over 11,000 records for UK Theses.

EBSCO Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Mark Herrick says that the British Education Index adds a new element to EBSCO’s already strong collection of education databases. “The British Education Index is a highly regarded education resource in the UK that will complement other educational offerings from EBSCO such as Education Research Complete™ and Education Resource Information Center™.”

Searching the BEI is enhanced by virtue of The British Education Thesaurus, which comprises a structured hierarchy of approximately 8,000 terms used to index the items included in the database. It was first produced in 1988 to provide a means to facilitate consistent subject-indexing of the literature by the index.

ProQuest Names Jonathan Collins CFO

ProQuest has promoted Jonathan Collins to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Mr. Collins, who has been interim CFO since April, oversees all ProQuest’s financial functions, including financial operations, accounting, procurement, facilities, treasury, taxation and investor relations.

“Jonathan’s experience and abilities have made him a vital contributor at ProQuest,” saidKurt Sanford, ProQuest CEO. “We’re delighted to have his strong financial leadership across our entire enterprise.”

Mr. Collins joined ProQuest in 2010 as Vice President of Global Financial Operations. Prior to joining ProQuest, he was the Executive Director of Financial Operations for the North American and Asian businesses at International Automotive Components (IAC), a privately owned full service supplier of interior components to global automobile manufacturers. Prior to that role, Mr. Collins spent five years with Lear Corportation, a publically traded Fortune 150 company, in various financial roles in offices throughout the world. Among his positions at Lear was Director of Finance for the North American Electrical Distribution Systems Division. Before joining Lear, Jonathan was a financial analyst with Accenture in Washington D.C.

Mr. Collins earned his MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where he graduated with distinction and was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma. He holds a BA from Cedarville University.

Wolters Kluwer Health Launches Nursing Drug Handbook Specialty Apps

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry, today introduced two specialized mobile applications of Lippincott’s Nursing Drug Handbook, the best-selling drug reference for nurses.  Designed for use with iPad and iPhone, these apps are the industry’s first electronic references for nurses to focus on drugs used in oncology and psychiatry.  Both are subsets of the Nursing Drug Handbook app, which provides the fastest access to the most current drug information for nurses.
“Oncology and psychiatry utilize highly specialized drugs to treat patients and nurses in both specialties often request drug information specific to their specialty,” said Judith McCann, MSN, RN, Chief Nurse, Professional & Education, Wolters Kluwer Health.  “These new apps offer all of the benefits of the full Nursing Drug Handbook app, includingmobility and rapid access to the most current drug information, in products specifically designed for nurses working in these fields.”
The Oncology drug app provides access to 169 antineoplastic drugs and the Psychiatric app includes 240 drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders and conditions.  Nurses need immediate access to drug information so they can fully understand each drug prescribed for their patients, including the actions, dosage and adverse reactions.  Fast access to accurate specialty drug information helps nurses ensure safe medication administration.
The Nursing Drug Handbook apps provide the fastest access to nursing-specific drug information, allowing nurses to find drug facts anytime, anywhere in seconds.  The full Nursing Drug Handbook app helps nurses find what they are looking for up to twice as fast as other nursing-specific drug apps.  In addition, all of the Nursing Drug Handbook appsprovide access to the most current drug information through weekly updates, making them the most frequently updated nursing drug apps in the industry.
The full Nursing Drug Handbook app features drug monographs addressing more than 900 generic and nearly 3,000 brand name drugs.  It currently has the most comprehensive collection of pill images – more than 400 are included – to help nurses confidently identify their patients’ medications.  Like the full version, both the Oncology and Psychiatric versions allow nurses to search for desired drugs alphabetically, by pharmacologic class and by therapeutic class.  They include a dosage calculator, customizable notes, a favorites list, and detailed monographs, all in a user-friendly program.
Both of the new Lippincott’s Nursing Drug Handbook specialty apps are priced at $14.99 and are available on Apple iTunes as downloads for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.  The complete Nursing Drug Handbook app is also available on iTunes and Google Play for Android devices.  To learn more about the Nursing Drug Handbook, visitwww.lww.com/NursingDrug.

SAGE receives three APEX Awards for Publication Excellence

SAGE is proud to announce that it was recently honored by the editors of Writer’s Web Watch with three Annual Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX): Canadian Pharmacists Journal in the category of Magazine & Journal Design & Layout, the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Journal in the category of New Magazines & Journals, and SAGE’s  podcast series of interviews with leading social scientists, Social Science Bites, in the category of Special Purpose Electronic Media.

APEX awards are given based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and overall success by professional communicators. This year, the APEX awards celebrate 25 years of honoring publication excellence.

“SAGE is delighted to be recognized for publication excellence in both the social sciences and in medicine,” stated Bob Howard, Vice President of SAGE Journals. “The success of UEG Journal and Canadian Pharmacists Journal, both new to SAGE this year, represent our growing program of medical journals as well as flourishing partnerships with United European Gastroenterology and The Canadian Pharmacists Association. Here at SAGE, we are dedicated to ensuring that all of the journals we publish meet the needs of the different scholarly communities that they represent.

Celebrating its 145th anniversary in 2013, The Canadian Pharmacists Journal is the oldest continuously-published journal in Canada. At the request of the journal’s Executive Editor, SAGE immediately began to redesign the journal based on the needs of the journal readers and the members of the Canadian Pharmacists Association when SAGE began to publish the journal in January of 2013. In February 2013, United European Gastroenterology partnered with SAGE to launch UEG Journal as UEG’s official platform for scientific publication, providing coverage of both translational as well as clinical studies from all fields of gastroenterology.

Social Science Bites is a series of interviews with leading social scientists on different aspects of the social world. Today, the series includes freely available interviews with 18 innovative social scientist leaders including Danny Dorling, Stephen Pinker, Daniel Kahneman, and Doreen Massey.

“In 2012, SAGE launched Social Science Bites as a resource to help communicate how the social sciences shape our understanding of all aspects of society – a belief that has driven the company since its inception,” stated Clive Parry, Vice President of SAGE Global Marketing. “We are delighted that our investment in advocacy and communication support of the social sciences has been recognized by APEX.”

Library and Repository Communities Join Together to Identify New Competencies for Academic Librarians

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR), and the Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER) are pleased to announce the launch of a Joint Task Force on Librarians’ Competencies in Support of E-Research and Scholarly Communication.

Rapid changes in technology and associated shifts in research and scholarly communications are profoundly changing the role of libraries in the 21st century. The emergence of e-research, for example, is bringing about new ways of doing science across the globe, compelling libraries to adopt new services, such as assisting with the development of research data management plans, hosting collaborative virtual research environments, managing institutional repositories, and disseminating research outputs through open access mechanisms. These novel services require a range of new skills and expertise within the library community as well as a shift in organizational models for libraries.

The aim of the task force is to outline the competencies needed by librarians in this evolving environment. The first step will be to identify the various avenues of service for libraries within the context of e-research, repository management, and scholarly communication. These services and roles will then be mapped to the competencies required by librarians and library professionals. The task force will also make note of the array of organizational models evolving to support new services.

The task force will produce a toolkit that will help to build capacity in libraries for supporting new roles in the area of scholarly communication and e-research. The toolkit will allow library managers to identify skill gaps in their institution, form the basis of job descriptions, enable professionals to carry out self-assessments, and act as a foundation for the development of training programs for librarians and library professionals. In addition, the toolkit will provide an outline of new organizational models that are evolving in this dynamic environment.

A preliminary report will be available in spring 2014.

Task Force Members

Pascal Calarco (CARL and University of Waterloo)
Rob Grim (LIBER and Tilburg University)
Iryna Kuchma (chair, COAR and EIFL)
Alicia López Medina (COAR and Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia)
Susan Reilly (LIBER)
Judy Ruttenberg (ARL)
Birgit Schmidt (LIBER and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
Kathleen Shearer (COAR and CARL)
Dominic Tate (COAR and University of Edinburgh)

For more information about the task force, please contact Iryna Kuchma (task force chair):iryna.kuchma@eifl.net.

Elsevier Acquires Woodhead Publishing

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced it has acquired Woodhead Publishing Limited, an award-winning, UK-based publisher known for its high-quality content in the fields of materials science, food science, engineering, energy & environmental technology, textile technology and biomedicine. The acquisition of Woodhead Publishing also includes Chandos Publishing, which is known for its strong publishing program in library information science and Asian studies.

“We are committed to improving research outcomes and researcher productivity,” said Suzanne BeDell, Managing Director, Science & Technology Books, Elsevier. “The acquisition of Woodhead Publishing helps us to achieve this objective. Woodhead’s global publishing program is complementary to Elsevier’s books portfolio and Martin Woodhead and his staff are as committed to content quality as we are.”

“After 24 years of building Woodhead Publishing into the successful business it is today, the time has come for me to pass it on to a larger publisher who can capitalize on over 1,500 published titles, a strong forward program, and our electronic presence,” said Martin Woodhead, Managing Director of Woodhead Publishing. “I am very proud that Elsevier, a publisher I much admire for the quality of its publishing and with whom we are a natural fit, will maintain the same high standards of our publishing and take it to a new level both in print and electronic markets.”

Woodhead Publishing was recognized for international achievement at last year’s Independent Publishing Awards, sponsored by the London Book Fair, being called “active and innovative in whatever country it targets.”

Dr Phil Richards named chief innovation officer at Jisc

Dr Phil Richards, director of IT at Loughborough University has been appointed chief innovation officer at Jisc.

Prior to his role at Loughborough University Phil undertook IT roles within other academic institutions, these included head of ICT at Plymouth University and assistant director of information services at Aberystwyth University. More recently, he has become known for his novel approach to data centres: Loughborough’s ‘hybrid cloud’ model has delivered millions of pounds and hundreds of tonnes of carbon savings. It has also won plaudits including the 2012 Times Education Leadership and Management Awards ICT initiative of the year.

Phil, who has a first class honours degree in physics and a doctorate in nuclear structure physics from University of Oxford, was involved early in his career with e-learning. First as a courseware developer in physics at Cardiff University, next as an e-learning advisor working directly with academics at the University of Hull and finally as head of e-learning at King’s College London. Whilst at Hull, he obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Teaching, leading to Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Phil tells us:

“I am really pleased to accept the role of chief innovation officer at Jisc. I share Jisc’s passion for working together with learners, researchers, IT departments, libraries and academic leaders across the sectors to show the potential that digital technologies can have in transforming the learning and research experience.  I am looking forward to getting started and seeing what we can achieve for the future of innovation.”

Martyn Harrow, chief executive of Jisc comments:

“We are delighted that Phil is joining Jisc to strengthen our senior team and pursuit of our mission to enable people in UK higher education, further education and skills to perform at the forefront of international practice by exploiting fully the possibilities of modern digital empowerment, content and connectivity.

Phil brings a wealth of knowledge of the needs of our communities and his research background and experience in ICT and e-learning. He is ideally placed to lead our digital futures directorate working with colleagues in Jisc and across the sectors to identify and carry out cutting-edge practical exploration and experimentation that can really make a difference to UK education and research”

Dr Richards will take up his appointment in November 2013.

Google Rolls Out E-textbooks in Play Store

Google has joined the e-textbook movement, rolling out a textbook section for Google Play. It joins the ranks of Barnes & Noble and Amazon, which have long offered e-textbooks for sale, and rent. Available to Android and iOS users, the e-textbooks available on Google Play are mostly available for purchase with a select few able to be rented, according to Gigaom.

The nature of textbooks made them an early target for digital publishers. The ever-changing nature of academic materials means frequent revisions and updates to often very large, and expensive texts. Despite the convenience of e-textbooks, convincing students to adopt them has not always been easy,as EContent reported earlier this year. According to Springer research, students continue to lag behind their professors in adoption of ebooks on campus, regardless of device proliferation.

American Chemical Society launches new online-only journal, ACS Photonics

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Publications Division today announced launch of ACS Photonics, which meets the growing need for an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to high-impact research in the field of photonics, the study of interactions of light with matter. Harry A. Atwater, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology, will serve as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief.

Atwater is currently Howard Hughes Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at Caltech and serves as Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Frontier Research Center on Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion. He is Director of the Resnick Institute for Science, Energy and Sustainability. Atwater is an early pioneer in nano-photonics and plasmonics. He has authored or co-authored over 400 publications, which have received over 20,000 total citations.

“Many of the most important challenges facing science and technology are fundamentally optical in nature, spanning primary scientific disciplines such as physics, chemistry and engineering. ACS Photonics aims to promote cross-fertilization between these fields and bridge the gaps between different approaches to photonics,” said Atwater. He added, “The world of photonic science and engineering is global and now moves very fast. Our goal with ACS Photonics is to create a rapid pathway to publication and to give authors clear feedback on manuscripts with short turn-around times. Sourcing and publishing papers from all over the world best serves researchers, giving a comprehensive picture of photonic science and technology advances everywhere.”

This monthly online-only journal will begin receiving manuscript submissions this month, publish its first articles this fall, and its first issue in January 2014. Interdisciplinary research and research addressing emerging issues in photonics are of particular interest. Among the areas the journal will cover include, but are not limited to, molecular and nano-photonic processes, plasmonics and optical metamaterials, photonic crystals, integration and engineering in photonic systems, quantum optics and single-photon processes, and biophotonics.

Susan King, Senior Vice President, Journals Publishing Group, ACS Publications, says, “Photonics has been identified as a key enabling technology worldwide, impacting industries as diverse as electronics, alternative energy, communication and data storage, health and medicine, and others. By necessity, ACS Photonics will be a highly interdisciplinary journal serving the many research communities contributing to this important field, reflecting the vision of Dr. Atwater in his editorial leadership. Identified by a search committee composed of leading researchers from across the photonics field, Dr. Atwater brings a commitment to editorial excellence, scientific rigor and a depth of research expertise.”

Authors who submit to ACS Photonics will benefit from broad dissemination at over 5,000 institutions worldwide, fair and fast peer-review, and rapid publication using state-of-the art composition technology. ACS Photonics, like all ACS journals, will be free from required author fees and include open-access options. Learn more about the journal athttp://pubs.acs.org/photonics.

Elsevier Launches First Video Journal in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce the launch ofVideo Journal and Encyclopedia of GI Endoscopy (VJGIEN) – an open access video journal providing scientists and clinicians with state-of-the-art visual information of gastrointestinal (GI) pathologies and step-by-step demonstrations and the first of its kind in the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Video Journal and Encyclopedia of GI Endoscopy offers high-quality video demonstrations of endoscopic findings and procedures, presenting the work of gastrointestinal experts in a new and easy to comprehend format. Additional concise articles added to each video detail the procedures and the findings in a bullet point style. All content – videos and articles – are peer-reviewed.

The unique format of the Video Journal and Encyclopedia of GI Endoscopy provides two elements:

(1)        An Expert Video Encyclopedia as a clinical reference tool with systematic step-by-step demonstrations of common and rare GI pathologies and up-to-date endoscopic procedures. The video sequences in this section are of high educational impact and allow e.g. endoscopists to recognize a wide array of pathological findings, review existing techniques, and acquire new endoscopic techniques for implementation in their own clinical work.

(2)        A Scientific Video Journal for novel findings and techniques, demonstrating cutting edge endoscopic techniques and scientific results as well as clinical cases. In this section of Video Journal and Encyclopedia of GI Endoscopy original research will be published reporting latest results in regard to endoscopic procedures used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.

“GI endoscopy is developing rapidly. Modern endoscopic imaging offers a plethora of detailed visual information and endoscopic procedures are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex,” said Professor Jürgen Pohl from Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany, founder and Editor-in-Chief. “Video Journal and Encyclopedia of GI Endoscopy aims to be the premium and first choice international reference for endoscopic findings and procedures.”

“Since endoscopic procedures are based on visual information the idea of this video publication is simple: why read if you can watch”, said Dr. Till Meinert, Executive Publisher at Elsevier. “Together with the highly accredited international editorial board we are clearly focusing on our customers’ needs.”

The Expert Video Encyclopedia will be published in two special issues. Articles regarding Upper GI Tract are available by August 2013; articles regarding Lower GI Tract, by end of August 2013. The first articles of the Scientific Video Journal will be published in fall 2013.

Articles and videos are published open access in Video Journal and Encyclopedia of GI Endoscopy and, therefore, freely available to readers onScienceDirect.

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