Supporting Effective Library Management for Over 40 YearsCommitted to assisting research and academic libraries in the continuous improvement of management systems, ARL has worked since 1970 to gather and disseminate the best practices for library needs. As part of its commitment, ARL maintains an active publications program best known for its SPEC Kits. Through the Collaborative Research/Writing Program, librarians work with ARL staff to design SPEC surveys and write publications. Originally established as an information source for ARL member libraries, the SPEC Kit series has grown to serve the needs of the library community worldwide. What are SPEC Kits?Published six times per year, SPEC Kits contain the most valuable, up-to-date information on the latest issues of concern to libraries and librarians today. They are the result of a systematic survey of ARL member libraries on a particular topic related to current practice in the field. Each SPEC Kit contains an executive summary of the survey results; survey questions with tallies and selected comments; the best representative documents from survey participants, such as policies, procedures, handbooks, guidelines, Web sites, records, brochures, and statements; and a selected reading list-both print and online sources-containing the most current literature available on the topic for further study. Subscribe to SPEC KitsSubscribers tell us that the information contained in SPEC Kits is valuable to a variety of users, both inside and outside the library. SPEC Kit purchasers use the documentation found in SPEC Kits as a point of departure for research and problem solving because they lend immediate authority to proposals and set standards for designing programs or writing procedure statements. SPEC Kits also function as an important reference tool for library administrators, staff, students, and professionals in allied disciplines who may not have access to this kind of information.SPEC Kits are available in print and online. The executive summary for each kit after December 1993 can be accessed online free of charge. For more information visit: http://www.arl.org/publications-resources. SPEC Kit 339Innovation and R&D December 2013ASSoCiAtion of RESEARCh LibRARiES Lisa GermanPenn State University Beth Sandore NamachchivayaUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Series Editor: Lee Anne George This compilation is copyrighted by the Association of Research Libraries. ARL grants blanket permission to reproduce and distribute copies of this work for nonprofit, educational, or library purposes, provided that copies are distributed at or below cost and that ARL, the source, and copyright notice are included on each copy. This permission is in addition to rights of reproduction granted under Sections 107, 108, and other provisions of the US Copyright Act.The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39. SELECTED RESOURCES Books and Journal Articles ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������...

Text data mining and analysis has emerged as a viable research method for scholars, following the growth of mass digitization, digital publishing, and scholarly interest in data re-use. Yet the texts that comprise datasets for analysis are frequently protected by copyright or other intellectual property rights that limit their access and use. This article discusses the role of libraries at the intersection of data mining and intellectual property, asserting that academic libraries are vital partners in enabling scholars to effectively incorporate text data mining into their research. We report on activities leading up to an IMLS-funded National Forum of stakeholders and discuss preliminary findings from a systematic literature review, as well as initial results of interviews with forum stakeholders. Emerging themes suggest the need for a multi-pronged distributed approach that includes a public campaign for building awareness and advocacy, development of best practice guides for library support services and training, and international efforts toward data standardization and copyright harmonization.

The Building Strong Library and Information Science Education (BSLISE) Working Group (lisedu.wordpress.edu) of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), is an initiative of the IFLA Sections on Education and Training, and Library Theory and Research, and the LIS Education in Developing Countries Special Interest Group. The BSLISE Working Group is pursuing the development of an international quality assurance framework that will guide and promote international educational standards in LIS. Its work considers the sociopolitical and technological developments that are inclusive of local and regional contexts. In its first phase of research, the group conducted an international survey to understand the qualification requirements for library and information “professional” practice around the world, inclusive of regional and national contexts. This White Paper is informed by the findings from this international survey.

Academic libraries are increasingly looking to provide services that allow their users to work with digital collections in innovative ways, for example, to analyze large volumes of digitized collections. The HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC) is a large collaborative that provides an innovative research infrastructure for dealing with massive amounts of digital texts. In this poster, we report on the technical progress of the HTRC as well as on the efforts to build a user community around our cyberinfrastructure.

the terms of the Creative Commons-Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this one. AbstractObjective -The authors analyzed seven years of sponsored research projects at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign with the aim of understanding the research trends and themes over that period. The analysis was aimed at identifying areas of future research potential and corresponding support opportunities. Goals included developing institutional research themes that intersect with funding priorities, demystifying grant writing and project management through professional development programs, increasing communication about grant successes; and bringing new faculty and academic staff into these processes. The review and analysis has proven valuable for the Library's institutional practices, and this assessment may also inform other institutions' initiatives with grant-writing.Methods -The authors performed a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses of the University Library's grant activities that enabled us to accomplish several goals: 1) establish a baseline of data on funded grants; 2) identify motivations for pursuing grants and the obstacles Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2015, 10.2 64 that library professionals face in the process; 3) establish a stronger support structure based on feedback gathered, and through collaborations with other groups that support the research process; and 4) identify strategic research themes that leverage local strengths and address institutional priorities.Conclusions -Analysis of Library data on externally funded grants from the University's Proposal Data System provided insight into the trends, themes, and outliers. Informal interviews were carried out with investigators to identify areas where the Library could more effectively support those who were pursuing and administering grants in support of research. The assessment revealed the need for the Library to support grant efforts as an integral component of the research process