A Newsletter for the Health Sciences Campus at the University of Iowa
May 2008 | Issue 2.08

Hardin Scholarly Communication News brings together a variety of topics that affect the current system of scholarly communication, with emphasis on new developments, open access and alternative publishing models in the health sciences. This newsletter aims to reflect the interests of its readers so please forward comments, suggestions and entries to include to karen-fischer@uiowa.edu.

Table of Contents:

Harvard FAS and Law School Pass Open Access Mandates
Rockefeller University Press Gives Away Copyright on Journal Articles
Progress Towards Public Access to Science – Harold Varmus on the NIH Policy
Journals Find Fakery in Many Images Submitted to Support Research
Are Impact Factors Inflated?
Comparison of SCImago Journal Rank Indicator with Journal Impact Factor
Introduction to the Health Commons
The Importance of Open Access for Taxonomy Research
Four Elsevier Perspectives on Open Access
Medical Patients Share Data to “get help, give help”

The National Institutes of Health on Tuesday published a Request for Information, seeking input from the scientific community, health professionals, patient advocates, and the general public about innovative and cross-cutting initiatives to be funded through the NIH Common Fund. The NIH Common Fund was created by the NIH in 2004 and enacted into law by Congress through the 2006 NIH Reform Act to support cross-cutting, trans-NIH programs.

The deadline for comments is June 2nd.

NIH on Friday formally requested input from the community regarding the NIH Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting From NIH-Funded Research (NIH Public Access Policy). An identical notice will be published in Monday’s Federal Register. The request for information (RFI) seeks input on the Public Access Policy. Comments are due by May 31, 2008. The NIH will post analysis and results from this RFI for public view by September 30, 2008.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-060.html

NIH Public Access Policy training classes have been scheduled for March 26, 2008 2:00pm – 3:00pm and April 4, 2008 10:00am – 11:00am. Register for a class today or request a presentation for your department or lab from your librarian liaison.

NIH is seeking comments regarding the implementation of the NIH Public Access Policy. NIH would like comments from researchers and those who are facilitating implementation of the policy. The deadline for submitting comments is 5pm EST on Monday, March 17, 2008.

Information Technology Services (ITS) has informed us that they need to replace the network routers in Main Library and Hardin Library (as well as many other campus buildings). The upgrade is currently scheduled for Hardin Library on Tuesday, March 4, and Main Library on Thursday, March 6. Unfortunately, spring break is not an option.

Planned outages are as follows:

• Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 6:00am-6:30am
Hardin Library building-wide outage
No network traffic in or out of the building
Local services that depend on remote network sources (e.g., network printing) unavailable

• Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 6:30am-8:00am
Hardin Library rolling outages, one telecommunications closet at a time
Each area will experience approximately 20-30 minutes downtime

• Thursday, March 6, 2008, 6:00am-6:30am
Main Library building-wide outage
No network traffic in or out of the building
Local services that depend on remote network sources (e.g., network printing) unavailable

• Thursday, March 6, 2008, 6:00am-8:00am
Libraries-wide server outage (overlaps with building outage)
Nearly all library web servers and file storage unavailable
Will have broad impact on users outside Main Library trying to access library resources

• Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 6:30am-8:30am
Main Library rolling outages, one telecommunications closet at a time
Each area will experience approximately 20-30 minutes downtime
We all apologize in advance for the disruption. As usual, all of the end times are a bit generous to allow for unforeseen complications, so the actual outages may be shorter.

The University Libraries is seeking nominations for the Arthur Benton Excellence in Reference Services Professional Development Award. Funded by a generous endowment and presented in alternating years, this prestigious award recognizes a member of the Libraries’ professional staff who provides exemplary reference services for the University community. The recipient of the award receives $1,000 to be used for professional development activities.

With Love from the Libraries – Winners Announced!
Patricia Grieg, a graduate student in Speech Pathology and Audiology compared the communication breakdowns between Romeo and Juliet and their families and the communication difficulties of stroke patients suffering from aphasia. For her entry, Patricia won first prize – two tickets to dinner and a performance of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Hancher.

A Newsletter for the Health Sciences Campus at the University of Iowa

February 2008 | Issue 1.08

Hardin Scholarly Communication News brings together a variety of topics that affect the current system of scholarly communication, with emphasis on new developments, open access and alternative publishing models in the health sciences. This newsletter aims to reflect the interests of its readers so please forward comments, suggestions and entries to include to karen-fischer@uiowa.edu.

Table of Contents:

NIH Mandates Open Access to Researchers’ Publications
NIH Public Access web site
What’s Next, Post-NIH Mandate?
Jane: A Tool for Suggesting Journals and Finding Experts (and Facilitating Peer-Review)
Questioning the Impact Factor (and new alternatives)
Harvesting and Organizing OA Blog Discussions of Peer-reviewed Research
Together Again: Springer, Max Planck Agree To New “Experimental” Deal
Open Access Portal to Medical Education
Students for Free Culture – FreeCulture.org
Cost Profiles of Alternative Approaches to Journal Publishing
Ethics of Open Access in Biomedical Research
Petition to Free Up Access to the Cochrane Library