Thousands of manuscripts preserved in effort to safeguard Iranian civilization and culture
“UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction. It calls for the preservation of valuable archival holdings, library collections and private individual compendia all over the world for posterity, the reconstitution of dispersed or displaced documentary heritage, and the increased accessibility to and dissemination of these items, [Susan Asili] added.
“She went on to say that since human civilization is deeply indebted to Islamic civilization as well as Iranian civilization and culture, throughout the history many Iranian works can be found in the documentary heritage which indeed created a part of the human civilization. Thus in every period some works from Iran are introduced and registered on UNESCO’s Memory of the World programme.”
From the article in Iran Book Agency, Thousands of manuscripts digitalized
New York Public Library’s budget mostly restored thanks to inspiring community effort
“’Layoffs have been averted. Every library in every community will remain open at least five days a week,’ Queens Library President and CEO Thomas W. Galante said in a statement. The more than 600 library jobs which had been in jeopardy were all saved, though the Queens library will continue a hiring freeze and economies in the new materials budget. Galante thanked the mayor, speaker and council members, as well as Local 1321 Queens Library Guild, Friends of the Library, Urban Librarians Unite, and the more than 85,000 people who signed petitions, wrote postcards, and attended rallies to show support for library funding.
“The NYPL’s statement in response to the announcement also thanked the mayor, speaker, and council, as well as patrons, and said, ‘Over the past five years, libraries have faced significant economic constraints, which have strained the resources we are able to offer our patrons. This year’s budget will ensure that libraries remain open at least five days a week and allow The New York Public Library to continue providing our communities with free essential services such as books, access to computers and the Internet, workshops and programs, job search resources and more.’”
From Meredith Schwartz’s article in the Library Journal, NYC Budget Restores Most Library Funding
Librarians urged to take more active role in reshaping the digital landscape at ALA Annual 2012
“Brantley, the director of the Bookserver Project at IA, said librarians, rather than just saying yes or no to various business models put forth by the Big Six publishers, need to be much more active.
“’I think it is really, really, really important for us not to be passive in those conversations,’ Brantley said. ‘And we have probably not done as good a job there as we could.’
“Librarians need also to be aware and participating in more technical conversations that could have a significant impact on their operations, Brantley said, such as the Independent Digital Publishing Forum’s request for comments on a plan for alternative DRM schemes. Such alternatives could move the library lending mechanism beyond its present reliance on the Adobe Content Server (IDPF recently extended the comment period until June 29).”
From Michael Kelley’s article in the Digital Shift, Internet Archive’s Peter Brantley Urges Librarians to More Actively Reshape the Digital Landscape
Wiley announces new role to lead their open access initiatives
“John Wiley & Sons, Inc., announced today the creation of a new role to lead open access. Rachel Burley has been appointed to the position of Vice President and Director, Open Access. In this new role Rachel will lead all aspects of the growth and development of open access publishing at Wiley. Working with colleagues, societies, funders, and academic institutions, she will facilitate the identification of open access opportunities and lead the development of products, policy, technology, processes, sales, and marketing initiatives necessary to provide first class support to authors.
“Over the past 18 months, Wiley has expanded the range of options available to authors seeking to publish their research findings in open access journals. OnlineOpen, Wiley’s hybrid open access option, has steadily expanded and Wiley Open Access, a series of fully open access journals, launched in early 2011. The Wiley Open Access portfolio includes eleven journals, with additional journals scheduled to launch later in the year.”
From the Wiley press release, Wiley Creates New Role to Lead Open Access