Information Technology 

Once-Trustworthy Newspaper Databases have Become Unreliable and Frustrating by Scott Carlson

... Mr. Chen is merely one librarian whose work has been affected by the Tasini case and others like it. Six months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that publishers don't own the rights to online freelance articles. Other copyright battles between freelancers and publishers --Ýsuch as lawsuits between the National Geographic Society and a group of photographers --Ýare also moving through the courts. The publishers have responded by purging freelance articles --Ýsometimes entire newspaper archives --Ýfrom online databases. Almost 20 years' worth of newspaper history, a vital source of information for those studying history, politics, society, the media, and other subjects, is shot through with more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. [read more]

Intellectual Property 

Globalization of Information: Intellectual Property Law Implications by Kim Nayyer

Abstract
The globalization of information, facilitated by the Internet, has significant implications for intellectual property regimes domestically and internationally. Assessment of these implications and their probable outcomes is unavoidably value-driven. Many commentators foresee harmonization of intellectual property laws but some predict disparity in political economy outcomes. Some also see profound effects on sovereignty. A critical review of recent literature on these topics discloses a prevalent and rather persuasive view: that globalization of information and the impact of the Internet tend toward an international standard of strengthened intellectual property laws and the erosion of sovereignty notions, with the economic benefits flowing primarily to developed nations and transnational corporations. The prevalence of this view in the recent literature may reflect an effort to bring less heard voices to the forefront of the discussion. [read more]

Publishing 

An interview with Nick Bantock

Nick Bantock, a publishing veteran of 30 years and author of the best-selling Griffin & Sabine trilogy that has sold more than three million copies worldwide, recently released the first volume of his second trilogy, The Morning Star, through Chronicle Books. Like the Griffin & Sabine series, The Gryphon marries prose with artwork, creating entertainment that is both enthralling and distracting.

Mr. Bantock, who was born and reared in England but has since moved to Canada, has been in the publishing business for 30 years. After working on several books and designing approximately 300 book covers, the author and artist has some very definite opinions on the publishing business and the direction it is taking. [read the interview]

Newsstand 

January 2002 D-Lib Magazine. A few highlights:

• Beyond the scriptorium: The Role of the Library in Text Encoding by Suzana Sukovic

  Introduction
  The appearance of electronic text centers within libraries during the last several years has been a significant development for both the library and research communities. At the same time, electronic texts have become a great challenge to the traditional roles in the library, research and publishing communities. Development of electronic textual resources means dealing with documents in new ways and on different levels, often involving work on a document's content through text encoding. This development challenges the library's assumed position in the research process.

  Stronger involvement of libraries in text development will enhance functionality of electronic texts and improve information retrieval. Traditional library skills and tools used for cataloguing and indexing can be applied to textual encoding to identify geographical and personal names, dates, events, artifacts, etc. and to provide standardized access to this information. Libraries have always provided this type of service, but some may see the application of the same skills to text encoding as crossing professional boundaries. [read more]

• Re-inventing the Wheel? Standards, Interoperability and Digital Cultural Content by Tony Gill and Paul Miller

  Abstract

  Around the world, there are unprecedented funding opportunities for creating digital cultural content. However, to date there has been relatively little harmonization of the standards frameworks used in the creation, management and preservation of this content, resulting in duplication of effort, higher costs and diminished interoperability of the end results. An international group of stakeholders are hoping to address this situation by agreeing on a common set of core values and seeking to leverage existing synergies wherever possible. [read more]

• Safekeeping: A Cooperative Approach to Building a digital Preservation Resource by Hilary Berthon, Susan Thomas and Colin Webb

  Abstract

  In May 2001 a project commenced that aimed to build a distributed and permanent collection of digital resources from the field of digital preservation. All resources incorporated in this 'safekeeping' project have been selected from the PADI (Preserving Access to Digital Information) subject gateway database. This article describes the first phase of the safekeeping project that is being undertaken by the National Library of Australia, with funding from CLIR (Council on Library and Information Resources). This project aims to identify significant resources in digital preservation early in their lifecycle. It also aims to facilitate the cooperative development of a distributed network of 'safekept' material with resource owners, or parties nominated by them, providing long-term access to their material. We anticipate that a diversity of technical and organizational solutions will be employed within this project that relies on cooperation within the digital preservation community, rather than on formal agreements, to realize an asset of communal value. This article discusses some early findings and outcomes of the safekeeping project; however, a full assessment of this approach must await evaluation over an extended period. [read more

JoDI Vol. 2 Issue 2 Introduction to a Special Issue on Metadata: Selected papers from the Dublin Core 2 Conference by Traugott Koch and Stuart Weibel

The fertile domain of digital library research can be seen as a midwife in the transformation of physical libraries (static objects organized according to constraints of geographic location and physicality) to information streams, created, directed, diverted and constrained by social, economic and technological processes that are in some ways the same and in others, radically different. Metadata can be thought of as a lubricant for information flow, easing the difficulty of discovery and organization of resources. It can also serve as a nozzle -- directing, channeling, and focusing information flow to make it more manageable and effective. The authors and editors of this special issue hope to help illuminate how technological change and global electronic intimacy change practice and opportunity in this rapidly evolving arena. [read more]]