Louisiana State University Chancellor Michael Martin has recommended that LSU's MLS program be eliminated.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

In response to the current fiscal crisis facing higher education in Louisiana, LSU Chancellor Michael Martin has recommended the elimination or reduction of 20 academic programs, centers, institutes and facilities at LSU in the first phase of changes to reduce costs and focus the mission of the university. . . .

Academic programs recommended for closure include the Master of Library and Information Sciences, the Bachelor of Arts in German and Latin and the reduction of language options for a savings of approximately $1.5 million at full implementation. Additional savings of $500,000 would be achieved through administrative adjustments in Continuing Education.

Read more about it at "LSU Plan Would Cut Programs."

The University of Arizona Digital Information Management (DigIn) certificate program has released a series of podcasts and videos about information management topics.

Here's the press release:

The University of Arizona Digital Information Management (DigIn) certificate program recently hosted a series of talks by members of the program's national advisory panel. The resulting podcasts offer an in-depth discussion of critical themes we explore regularly in the DigIn courses as we help information professionals meet the challenges we face in the digital environment today.

All podcasts are available at:

http://digin.arizona.edu/presentations.html

Friday, April 23, 2010
University of Arizona Main Library

"Career Paths for Information Professionals: Looking Ahead to 2020"

A panel discussion with members of the national advisory panel for the Digital Information Management (DigIn) graduate certificate program. This discussion examines the evolving role of the information professions today, and focuses on the skills and knowledge professionals need to build effective careers in a fast-changing environment.

Moderator:
Peter Botticelli
Director, DigIn program
http://digin.arizona.edu/

Panelists:
Charles Bailey, Jr.
Publisher, Digital Scholarship
http://www.digital-scholarship.org/

Richard Pearce-Moses
Past President, Society of American Archivists
Deputy Director for Technology and Information Resources,
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records

Christine Szuter
Professor of Practice and Director
Scholarly Publishing certificate program,
Arizona State University

Pete Watters
Technology Officer
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records

Friday, April 23, 2010 James E. Rogers College of Law

Roberta I. Shaffer Law Librarian of Congress

"Digitization and the Future of Law Libraries"

Legal Information is increasingly born digital and presents challenges of authenticity and preservation that are critical because of the role of legal authorities in establishing the "rule of law." This presentation by Roberta I. Shaffer, the Law Librarian of Congress, will discuss unique challenges that face law makers, law practitioners, and information professionals who are the stewards of our legal legacy. Ms. Shaffer will also discuss developments at the Library of Congress that are designed to address some of the concerns.

Friday, April 23, 2010 University of Arizona Main Library

Richard Pearce-Moses
Past President, Society of American Archivists
Director of Digital Government Information,
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
http://rpm.lib.az.us/

"Curating the Digital Past: Lessons from the PeDALS Project"

As the volume and complexity of digital information continues to grow, archivists and librarians have begun to develop the tools needed to preserve society’s legacy of digital records. This presentation by Richard Pearce-Moses will discuss the PeDALS project, a nationally-recognized digital preservation initiative funded by the Library of Congress, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) as part of its Preserving State Government Information initiative. This initiative focuses on capturing, preserving, and providing access to a rich variety of state and local government digital information.

DigIn is part of the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science. Major funding for the program comes from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which has also provided scholarship funding.

Additional details on the program, including course descriptions, admissions requirements and application forms may be found on the program website:

digin.arizona.edu

Applicants may also contact the DigIn staff at:

digin@email.arizona.edu

A digital video of the “Skills for the Future: Educational Opportunities for Library and Museum” session of the Webwise 2010 conference is now available.

Panelists included Peter Botticelli, University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science; Phyllis Hecht, Johns Hopkins University Museum Studies Program; Helen Tibbo, University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science; and Bill Veillette, Northeast Document Conservation Center.

Dr. Gary Marchionini, Cary C. Boshamer Professor at the School of Information and Library Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been appointed Dean of that school effective April 1, 2010.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

"Gary Marchionini is a distinguished faculty member whose extraordinary academic background is internationally renowned," said Chancellor Holden Thorp. "He is the ideal person to lead our School of Information and Library Science into this new decade when information and technology have never been more important in our society."

Added Bruce Carney, interim executive vice chancellor and provost, "Gary Marchionini knows the School of Information and Library Science and our University exceedingly well. He has the support from within the school to keep it a national leader."

A Carolina faculty member since 1998, Marchionini heads the school's Interaction Design Laboratory and chairs its personnel committee. He serves on the Campus Research Computing Committee and has helped lead numerous campus initiatives since arriving at Carolina. Last spring, he was nominated by his students and selected as the school's Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

He is president of the American Society of Information Science and Technology, an international organization of professionals who focus on improving access to information. Marchionini is the chair of the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine's Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee. He previously was editor-in-chief of the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM) "Transactions on Information Systems" from 2002 to 2008, has served on more than a dozen editorial boards and is editor of the Morgan-Claypool book series, "Information Concepts, Retrieval and Services."

Marchionini has published more than 200 articles, book chapters and technical reports on topics related to digital libraries, information seeking, usability of personal health records, multimedia browsing strategies and personal identity in cyberspace. He has been awarded numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and other foundations, as well as research awards from companies including Microsoft, IBM and Google. He is the author of "Information Seeking in Electronic Environments," part of a Cambridge University Press series.

Marchionini earned a doctorate in curriculum development, focusing on mathematics education in 1981, and a master's degree in secondary mathematics education from Wayne State University in 1974. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and English from Western Michigan University in 1971.

Before arriving at UNC, he was a faculty member at the University of Maryland for 15 years. He served on the faculty and as a researcher at Wayne State from 1978 to 1983 and taught mathematics at the East Detroit Public Schools for seven years.

The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science is accepting applicants for the school's graduate certificate program in Digital Information Management (DigIn). IMLS-funded scholarships are available for students entering the program in 2010.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The DigIn program features hands-on experience and focused instruction supporting a wide range of professional careers involving digital systems and data. The certificate includes six three-credit courses designed to build students' hands-on technology skills, and to help students acquire the advanced knowledge needed to curate digital collections, manage digital projects, and to set policies for access and long-term preservation.

In 2009, the first cohort of DigIn graduates completed their certificate requirements with practical "capstone" field projects in a broad range of professional settings, including the Library of Congress, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, the College of William and Mary, UC Riverside, the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, Phoenix Public Library, Cochise County (AZ) Historical Society, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and the Mohave Museum of History and Art. As one 2009 graduate noted:

"DigIn broadened my knowledge of the history, trends, and best practices for digital collections. It has also given me the practical experience to tackle hands-on projects that require a deeper understanding of technology and information management. My work in the DigIn program is most certainly what led to me landing a job in a technology-heavy environment."

For information professionals already working in the field, or those considering career changes, the DigIn certificate offers a flexible path for graduate studies. The program is delivered 100% online and has no residency requirements. Students generally complete the certificate in four or six semesters (15 months or 27 months).

Deadline For Summer '10 admission: April 1

Deadline for Fall ‘10 admission: July 1

Deadline for Spring ‘11: Nov. 1.

DigIn was developed in cooperation with the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records and the University of Arizona Outreach College. Major funding for the program comes from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which has also provided scholarship funding.

Additional details on the program including course descriptions, admissions requirements and application forms may be found on the program website:

digin.arizona.edu

Applicants may also contact the DigIn staff at:

digin at email.arizona.edu

Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have launched a two-year project to share digital data.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

An initiative that will determine how Triangle area universities access, manage, and share ever-growing stores of digital data launched this fall with funding from the Triangle Universities Center for Advanced Studies, Inc. (TUCASI).

The two-year TUCASI data-Infrastructure Project (TIP) will deploy a federated data cyberinfrastructure—or data cloud—that will manage and store digital data for Duke University, NC State University, UNC Chapel Hill, and the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) and allow the campuses to more seamlessly share data with each other, with national research projects, and private sector partners in Research Triangle Park and beyond.

RENCI and the Data Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE) Center at UNC Chapel Hill manage the $2.7 million TIP. The provosts, heads of libraries and chief information officers at the three campuses signed off on the project just before the start of the fall semester.

"The TIP focuses on federation, sharing and reuse of information across departments and campuses without having to worry about where the data is physically stored or what kind of computer hardware or software is used to access it," said Richard Marciano, TIP project director, and also professor at UNC's School of Information and Library Science (SILS), executive director of the DICE Center, and a chief scientist at RENCI. "Creating infrastructure to support future Triangle collaboratives will be very powerful."

The TIP includes three components—classroom capture, storage, and future data and policy, which will be implemented in three phases. In phase one, each campus and RENCI will upgrade their storage capabilities and a platform-independent system for capturing and sharing classroom lectures and activities will be developed. . . .

In phase two, the TIP team will develop policies and practices for short- and long-term data storage and access. Once developed, the policies and practices will guide the research team as it creates a flexible, sustainable digital archive, which will connect to national repositories and national data research efforts. Phase three will establish policies for adding new collections to the TIP data cloud and for securely sharing research data, a process that often requires various restrictions. "Implementation of a robust technical and policy infrastructure for data archiving and sharing will be key to maintaining the Triangle universities' position as leaders in data-intensive, collaborative research," said Kristin Antelman, lead researcher for the future data and policy working group and associate director for the Digital Library at NC State.

The tasks of the TIP research team will include designing a model for capturing, storing and accessing course content, determining best practices for search and retrieval, and developing mechanisms for sharing archived content among the TIP partners, across the Triangle area and with national research initiatives. Campus approved social media tools, such as YouTube and iTunesU, will be integrated into the system.

The University of Arizona's School of Information Resources and Library Science has received a grant of over $900,000 from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services for its Digital Information Management (DigIn) online graduate certificate program. The grant will primarily be used to fund scholarships.

Here's the press release:

The DigIn curriculum combines intensive, hands-on technology learning with a thorough grounding in the theoretical principles needed to manage large and complex digital collections.

The program takes a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to managing digital information and is designed to support a wide range of career paths, especially involving libraries, museums, archives, and records management.

Graduate certificates are increasingly being recognized as a means for professionals with advanced degrees to update their knowledge and skills. DigIn also offers a path for those with undergraduate degrees who are interested in digital collections but who may not yet be ready to commit to a full degree program.

The grant will also greatly boost DigIn's mission to foster disciplinary, institutional, geographic, and cultural diversity in the management of digital collections and services.

Thus, DigIn strongly encourages scholarship applicants representing historically underserved institutions, regions, and communities, as well as students expressing interest in working with digital collections in culturally diverse settings.

DigIn is now accepting applications for admission and financial aid for the Fall 2009 semester. The application deadline has just been extended to July 10.

Late applications will be accepted, though Fall admission cannot be guaranteed once the July 10 deadline has passed. Late applicants will also be considered for admission in the Spring 2010 semester.

The program is delivered entirely online and does not require students to reside in or travel to Tucson. Students generally complete the certificate in 4-6 semesters (15-27 months).

DigIn was founded in 2007 with major funding from Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation?s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

Our current partners also include the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Sedona Conference.

Additional details on the program including course descriptions, admissions requirements and application forms may be found on the program website:

digin.arizona.edu

Prospective applicants are also welcome to contact the DigIn staff at:

digin@email.arizona.edu

Read more about it at "SIRLS Earns Federal Grant to Train More Tech Savvy Librarians ."

The University of Arizona's School of Information Resources and Library Science's Digital Information Management Certificate program is accepting Fall 2009 applications until 7/1/09.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

DigIn combines intensive, hands-on technology learning and a strong grounding in the theoretical principles needed to manage large-scale digital collections in a fast-changing environment. The program supports a wide range of professional careers involving digital collections, including but not limited to libraries, archives, and museums.

Graduate certificates are increasingly being recognized as a means for information professionals with advanced degrees to enhance their knowledge and technology skills. DigIn is also open to professionals who are new to the field and who may be considering a masters-level education in the future.

The program is delivered 100% online and has no residency requirements. Students generally complete the certificate in four or six semesters (15 months or 27 months).

OCLC, the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, and the University of Washington Information School have received a $100,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to plan a librarian-recommendation-weighted search engine called Reference Extract.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

"Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the most powerful," said Dr. Mike Eisenberg, Dean Emeritus and Professor at the Information School of the University of Washington and a lead on the project. "The best search engines are great for basic search, but sometimes the Web site results lack credibility in terms of trust, accuracy and reliability. So, who can help? Librarians. If a librarian recommends a Web site, you can be pretty sure that it's credible. RefEx will take hundreds of thousands of librarian recommendations and use them in a full-scale search engine."

Reference Extract is envisioned as a Web search experience similar to those provided by the world's most popular search engines. However, unlike other search engines, Reference Extract will be built for maximum credibility of search results by relying on the expertise of librarians. Users will enter a search term and receive results weighted toward sites most often used by librarians at institutions such as the Library of Congress, the University of Washington, the State Library of Maryland, and over 2,000 other libraries worldwide.

As part of the planning process, participants are reaching out to partners in libraries, technology organizations and research institutions. "The only way this will work is by making a project of an entire community," said Dr. R. David Lankes, Director of the Information Institute of Syracuse and Associate Professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. "Web searchers get to tap into the incredible skill and knowledge of the library community, while librarians will be able to serve users on a whole new scale. This work follows on previous credibility work supported by the MacArthur Foundation, most notably the Credibility Commons (http://credibilitycommons.org/)." . . .

The Reference Extract project will hold a series of meetings and consultations over the coming months. The team is eager to build a business plan and technology architecture to benefit users and the library community alike. Those interested in providing input on the project and learning more can visit the project Web site at http://digref.org.

The University of Arizona's School of Information Resources and Library Science has been awarded a $539,686 grant (matching: $327,615) by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to fund its three-year "Improving Student Learning of Advanced Digital Technologies in an Online Laboratory: A Research Approach" project.

Here's an excerpt from "Library Students to Get 'Leading-Edge' Training Thanks to Federal Grant":

The UA school's partners are the UA Libraries, UA University Information and Technology Services, the Harvard University Herbaria and the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Each of the partner institutions will provide SIRLS with information that then will be recorded and catalogued, then developed into databases—with SIRLS students responsible for these tasks. So, instead of simply having Web sites that simulate the work they would be doing as professionals, the students will have the actual software and other tools to perform more complex work.

SIRLS will use VMWare Lab Manager software—which is quite popular in industry—as the program’s platform to build a virtual online laboratory. "This grant gives us the infrastructure we need to really let us create practical and realistic exercises for students," said Botticelli, also the co-principal investigator on the grant.