Yumma Darruwa Ngunnawal

SIS begins by acknowledging that our services are delivered from Ngunnawal and Ngambri country.

We acknowledge and celebrate the First Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and pay our respect to the elders past and present.

I am thrilled that we have been invited to be part of the Teaching and Learning event for the School of Medicine and Psychology on Decolonisation and Indigenisation in the Curriculum.

ANU COVID-19

COVID inspections are no longer required. If you see supplies are running low of hand sanitiser or masks, please let the relevant people know in your building.

Please read all the messages from the University about COVID 19.

All COVID updates will be communicated to staff and students via the ANU On Campus email newsletter. You can find previous staff On Campus and student On Campus editions online.

WHS

The SIS WHS plan for 2024 is draft out for circulation. Please do read the draft and provide comments to me by 15 May.

Quarterly Due Diligence report completed and online.

Traffic lights status report for Q1 2024 completed and online.

Magnificent work from all in Menzies on the evacuation exercise:

Dear fearless and valiant METAO members,

Thanks to all who represented at the drill the other day, somebody has to do these things and I’m glad we have such a great team.

Particular thanks goes to Jerome, who controlled the evacuation on the day, despite having never directed one before!

Apparently the outcome of the exercise was a rating 1, this is the highest rating possible, so let’s give ourselves a proverbial pat on the back — well done everybody, and thank you all 😊

Big thanks,

Nic

METOA person

AKA Menzies Chief Fire Warden

Menzies Emergency Team Of Awesome (METOA).

SIS Staff meeting

The next regular meeting is:

#2 Tuesday 4 June 9.30-11 am

Location: China in the World Auditorium

The remaining meetings are:

#3 Tuesday 3 September, China in the World Auditorium

9.30-11 am

#4 Tuesday 3 December, China in the World Auditorium

9.30-11 am

SIS 2024 Plan

SIS Plan 2024 is finalised and on the website.

Buildings

Symonston

More amazing work unpacking and shelving the collection.

Only 258 pallets left at National Mailing, and after today's recount, at 30 per day this is approximately 2 weeks till all pallets are out of external storage. Absolutely fantastic!

Art & Music

Progress report is online – complexities regarding the compactus!

Students have provided input to request everything remain ut prius (as is), without design work.

We have been working with the Schools on progress and issues. Communication with ANUSA has also occurred.

AQAC

The committee met last week – matters discussed include:

·       Working Party and Review Recommendations Monitoring Report

·       eForms Transition Project Update

·       Interim and unresolved Grade Report Semester 1 & 2 2023 and earlier

·       Incident Reports

·       Expanding the use of SAT and ACT in admission decisions

·       Proposed amendments to Student assessment (coursework) policy and procedure and Class Summary procedure

·       Proposed amendment to Policy English language admission requirements and post-admission support

·       Accreditation

·Working Party and Review Recommendations Monitoring Report

·eForms Transition Project Update

·Interim and unresolved Grade Report Semester 1 & 2 2023 and earlier

·Incident Reports

·Expanding the use of SAT and ACT in admission decisions

·Proposed amendments to Student assessment (coursework) policy and procedure and Class Summary procedure

·Proposed amendment to Policy English language admission requirements and post-admission support

CAUL & CONZUL

·       Jane Angel is taking a well-deserved break. If you need to contact the ED Katya Henry is acting in her role.

·       CAUL Council meeting is planned for 22 & 23 June. It will be online. Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley, will speak on her plan for open access.

Copyright

·       Legislative reform. AGD is committed to working closely with key stakeholders in the drafting of amendments to s28 (remote learning), and will seek early confidential feedback on draft amendments prepared by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) throughout the drafting process. CAUl has been invited to be a part of the process.

·       No One Can Own the Law—So Why Is Congress Advancing a Bill to Extend Copyright to It? “…US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted to advance the Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act, or the Pro Codes Act (H.R. 1631), to the full House. The bill would extend copyright protection to codes (such as building codes) that are developed by standards development organisations (SDOs) and incorporated by reference into local, state, and federal laws, as long as the SDOs make the codes “available to the public free of charge online in a manner that does not substantially disrupt the ability of those organizations to earn revenue.” Read more from ARL.

·       Canada’s Changing AI-Copyright Policy Discourse: A Play in Three Parts? by Carys J. Craig (Osgoode Hall Law School) “In Canada, the Federal Government has just announced a $2.4 billion package of measures “to secure Canada’s world-leading AI advantage.” This sum is in addition to the $2 billion of public funds already invested since 2017, when Canada became the first country in the world to launch a national AI strategy. Now, as then, the stated goal is to position Canada at the forefront of the global race to scale up and adopt AI.”

·       Handling Academic Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Research Questions as the Law Develops by Jonathan Band, Counsel to the Library Copyright Alliance and Timothy Vollmer, University of California, Berkeley.

·       ANU will take part in the CAL EUS survey Monday 8 July - 29 September 2024. Training will occur in June. It will be the first time we have run reports for the survey from Leganto.

Privacy Awareness Week

Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) runs from 6-12 May. We will explore the theme of Privacy and technology: improving transparency, accountability, and security with a lot of activities. Thanks to Alex and SIS Comms for their work on PAW. Find out more in this news story.

Rare Books

The following have been updated:

·       Local protocol: Circulation of rare books and special collections (PDF, 141KB)

·       Library protocol: Criteria for inclusion in rare book and special collections (PDF, 93KB)

·       Local protocol: Rare book and special collections - approval for inclusion and storage (PDF, 97KB)

Thanks to Jacky and the team for their excellent work.

Feedback

Thank you for your work digitising NARU titles.

-----

Roxanne Missingham

Director, Scholarly Information Services

Coming events

ALIA national conference

When? 6-9 May 2024

Where?  Adelaide

More details. Conference Theme: Truth and Dare. With this theme, we extend an invitation for First Nations Truth Telling, we showcase the battle against disinformation, and we dare ourselves to push our work forward to continue to bring vibrant, relevant services to library users and communities. Click here for more information.

IFLA Presidents meeting

When? 9 September and 2 October 2024

Where?  Brisbane

More details. Early notice is here.

International Conference on AI for Libraries, Archives, and Museums (AI4LAM) (Fantastic futures)

When? 15–18 October 2024.

Where?  Canberra

More details. Information is here.

Australian Society of Archivists (ASA, Archives & Records Association of NZ Te Huinga Mahara (ARANZ) and the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives (PARBICA) conference

When? 22-25 October 2024

Where?  Christchurch, NZ

More details. The theme is ‘Opening the Archives’. Early notice is here.

ARDC

Latest Updates from the Planet Research Data Commons

Discover the latest news, resources and upcoming events for earth and environmental science research in this update from Hamish Holewa, Director of the Planet Research Data Commons. Read more here.

NCRIS Facilities Showcase Cutting-Edge Services for Health Researchers and Industry

NCRIS facilities gathered in Brisbane to showcase the services propelling therapeutic discoveries and facilitating research translation. Read more here.

ANU Press and open access

The impact of Plan S: a discussion on findings so far

The recording of this OASPA webinar in online here. Responses to unanswered questions and panellists’ slides – Ashley Farley (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), Pablo de Castro (scidecode and University of Strathclyde), Wolfgang Benedikt Schmal (scidecode and the Walter Eucken Institut, Freiburg) and Emma Wilson (Royal Society of Chemistry) are also online.

Open Access transitions for book publishers (SPA OPS 4.0)

UKRI has commissioned Information Power to run a project to support book publishers in their transition to sustainable open access models, with a particular focus on learned society, subject association, and smaller specialist publishers. OASPA is sitting on the steering group for the project alongside the Association of Learned Society Publishers (ALPSP) and the British Academy.

The overall objective of this project is to develop advice, options, and a toolkit for learned society, subject associations, and smaller specialist publishers to help them explore and embrace open access for academic book publishing. The project deliverables will include a report and a practical toolkit. Over the course of 2024 the project team will engage with a wide range of stakeholders including publishers, libraries, funders, researchers, and supply chain partners.

Smaller publishers face challenges of scale whenever transitioning to open access, but the challenges facing book publishers extend well beyond this. Challenges can include business models, copyright, global markets, list building, payments and pricing, print, retrospective conversion, supply chain transformation, and more.

Publisherspeak

Read about the issues raised at Publisherspeak, a US, in-person, unconference-style community event sponsored by Kriyadocs. The goal of this conclave is to provide a platform for stakeholders to collaborate, generate innovative ideas, and acquire actionable insights to overcome the challenges faced in scholarly publishing:

Elevating Scholarly Publishing through Collaboration: Insights from Publisherspeak US 2023 Part 1

Theme 1: Better author experience (AX) for publishing success

Theme 2: Navigating AI in scholarly publishing

Elevating Scholarly Publishing through Collaboration: Insights from Publisherspeak US 2023 Part 2

Theme 3: Metadata Infrastructure

Theme 4: Diversity in Authorship and Editorial Processes

New titles

East Asia Forum Quarterly: Volume 16, Number 1, 2024

Open repository

Open Access Week 2024

The theme is “Community over Commercialization”. It is October 21 - 27, 2024.

How Indigenous communities in New Zealand are protecting their data

Tahu Kukutai’s fascinating article notes “In recent years, the small island nation of Aotearoa (New Zealand) has become a hub for efforts to assert collective Indigenous data rights. There are several reasons for this. One has to do with the Indigenous landscape…To aid its language efforts, Te Hiku has developed AI tools including a natural language processing tool, a Māori language pronunciation app “Rongo,” and a media platform app “Whare Kōrero” to which tribal radio stations can upload their content. It has also designed Kaitiakitanga Licenses (stewardship licenses) for both of its apps as well as the “Papa Reo” application programming interface (API) that Rongo uses to process user data to enable features such as speech detection…The lack of enforceable intellectual property (IP) rights can be a formidable barrier for Indigenous peoples wanting to exercise sovereignty over their collectively owned IP, including cultural knowledge and heritage, as affirmed by the UNDRIP. In Aotearoa, this remains an ongoing concern... Building on the TK labels, the Biocultural (BC) labels recognise Indigenous rights in research data, including digital sequence information, on genetic resources”… Read the full article online.

Future-Proofing Research Data Repositories: Keeping Up With the Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence Revolution

Stephanie Labou, University of California, San Diego speaks on this important topic.

So You Made an Institutional Strategy, Now What? A Canadian Approach to Research Data Management Strategy Implementation

Alison Hitchens, University of Waterloo

Caroline Hyslop, University of Ottawa

Watch the video online.

New research resources

·       Theoretical description of chirping waves using phase-space waterbags

·       Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on human capital development

·       Advances in fused deposition modeling of discontinuous fiber/polymer composites

·       Optical analysis of a multi-aperture solar central receiver system for high-temperature concentrating solar applications

·       Kinetics of Bulk Lifetime Degradation in Float-Zone Silicon: Fast Activation and Annihilation of Grown-In Defects and the Role of Hydrogen versus Light

Keeping up to date

Library of Congress: South Asian Digital Collection (SADC) Now Online

The South Asian Digital Collection (SADC) is the new online home for the Library’s digitised books, serials, and manuscripts related to the histories and cultures of South Asian countries. For its public release, the SADC brings together 900 books from the 19th and 20th centuries, selected issues of a couple of serials (e.g., “Bengal Hurkaru”), and about a dozen manuscripts, including the Library’s 2,000-year-old Gandhara scroll and a 53-foot illustrated scroll of the Bhagavata Purana, an important Hindu sacred work. All items in this digital collection are freely accessible online, and many were scanned between 10 and 15 years ago as part of the Library’s ongoing digitisation efforts. When browsing the collection, users can filter items in their search results according to date of publication, subject, and language (e.g., Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, English, French). Many books in English have full-text searching, too.

ARL/CNI Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Futures Scenarios for the Research Enterprise and Research Libraries

Christy Long, University of Oregon, Elisabeth Long, Johns Hopkins University, Catherine Steeves, Western University, Keith Webster, Carnegie Mellon University, Clifford Lynch, Coalition for Networked Information, Moderator: Judy Ruttenberg, Association of Research Libraries. Watch the panel online.

OA, AI, and DEI—Triple Advantage or Triple Threat? | Periodicals Price Survey 2024

Many good insights, such as “One unintended consequence of OA initiatives is that five large academic publishers continue to dominate the world of publishing. Funder and author-pay models reward volume, allowing these big players to continue to grow.” Average increase across all disciplines is 5%. On value: “The average price ($10,177) for the most expensive journals was 34 times higher than the average price for the least expensive journals ($287), while the impact factor only increased 56 percent.” Read the report from Siôn Romaine, Barbara Albee, Cynthia M. Elliott, and Stephen Bosch online.

Association of Research Libraries Releases Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence

These principles will serve as a foundational framework for the ethical and transparent use of AI and reflect the values of research libraries. ARL will rely on these principles in our policy advocacy and engagement.

THE AI INDEX REPORT: Measuring trends in AI

The seventh edition of the AI Index report is a comprehensive guide which extensively covers essential trends such as technical advancements in AI, public perceptions of the technology, and the geopolitical dynamics surrounding its development. It introduces new estimates on AI training costs, detailed analyses of the responsible AI landscape, and an entirely new chapter dedicated to AI’s impact on science and medicine. The AI Index report tracks, collates, distils, and visualises data related to artificial intelligence.

SPARC: Vendor AI restrictions

This blogpost begins by acknowledging that Publisher efforts to push libraries to accept AI restrictions appear to be increasingly widespread across the U.S. and Canada. It provides key takeaways from Webcast organised by SPARC on this topic.

The Impact of AI on Information Discovery: From Information Gathering to Knowledge Application

A very useful discussion from the perspectives of researchers, publishers and information users.

2024 Library Systems Report

A shared understanding of the key terminology. Marshall Breeding again provides great insights in this report. Leaders were Ex Libris and Innovative, Ebsco and OCLC.

Navigating the digital world: development of an evidence-based digital literacy program and assessment tool for youth

M. Claire Buchan, Jasmin Bhawra & Tarun Reddy Katapally undertook an “environmental scan and literature review . . . to identify existing digital literacy programs in Canada developed specifically for youth, as well as digital literacy assessment tools, respectively… data were synthesised from shortlisted programs and assessment tools to inform the development of both a new digital literacy program and assessment tool to complement the youth-focused program”. Read their article online.

IFLA Releases “Open Access Vocabulary” Reference Guide

A shared understanding of the key terminology used in Open Access across regions and languages is essential for awareness raising within the profession and communication with stakeholders. The purpose of IFLA’s Open Access vocabulary is to collate the most widely used terms and definitions, with reference to official statements or other documents where these terms are defined. It is intended to be an easy-to-read reference guide. As new terminology and definitions are regularly created, it is intended to capture the most common terms used across the globe, and is not exhaustive.

Mapping federation journeys for optimising the UK digital research infrastructure prepared for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

A very useful report on the following themes:

·       Theme one: scoping, commissioning and funding

·       Theme two: software, hardware and platforms

·       Theme three: people, culture and skills

·       Theme four: trusted and secure research

·       Theme five: data and output management and workflows

·       Theme six: sustainability, service and capacity

·       Theme seven: emerging disciplines and technologies.

IFLA

·       The latest Academic & Research Libraries (ARL) Section Newsletter is now available online.

·       IFLA Newsletter, April 2024: The internet we want Issue. You can read this issue online.

IFLA Journal: Volume 50, No. 1

This issue is available online. Articles include:

·       Cultural heritage on the Semantic Web: The Europeana Data Model by Ana Luísa Silva and Ana Lúcia Terra

·       Open educational resources on preservation: An overview by Marija Milošević, Ines Horvat and Damir Hasenay

·       Integrating print reference materials, curated digital collections, and information needs by Olga Makarova and Katherine Ashcraft

Protecting Indigenous rights is key to a sustainable future

You can read the full article on the website.

From CNI

Information Infrastructure to Address Societal Grand Challenge

Donald Waters, Coalition for Networked Information. Available on YouTube with more information on the website.

Navigating Generative Artificial Intelligence: Early Findings and Implications for Research, Teaching, and Learning

Beth LaPensee and Kevin Guthrie, ITHAKA. Watch the presentation online.

Navigating the New Era: The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Information Discovery and Literacy

Emily Singley, Elsevier, Leo Lo, University of New Mexico, Elias Tzoc, Clemson University. Watch the panel discussion online.

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