Making the Web Work for Science
Science Commons designs strategies and tools for faster, more efficient web-enabled scientific research. We identify unnecessary barriers to research, craft policy guidelines and legal agreements to lower those barriers, and develop technology to make research, data and materials easier to find and use.
Our goal is to speed the translation of data into discovery — unlocking the value of research so more people can benefit from the work scientists are doing.
SPARC®, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, is an international alliance of academic and research libraries (of which The University of Iowa Libraries is a member) working to correct imbalances in the scholarly publishing system. Developed by the Association of Research Libraries, SPARC has become a catalyst for change. Its pragmatic focus is to stimulate the emergence of new scholarly communication models that expand the dissemination of scholarly research and reduce financial pressures on libraries. Action by SPARC in collaboration with stakeholders – including authors, publishers, and libraries – builds on the unprecedented opportunities created by the networked digital environment to advance the conduct of scholarship. Leading academic organizations have endorsed SPARC.
… to everyone because she published it in an open access journal. So now she can use it anyway she would like.
The University of Iowa Libraries joins thousands of other academic research libraries worldwide in celebration of Open Access Week, which is now in its fourth year. To draw attention to this important issue facing faculty, students and librarians, we’re turning our website orange in recognition of Open Access.
We see this as an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.
“Open Access” to information – the free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research, and the right to use and re-use those results as you need – has the power to transform the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted. It has direct and widespread implications for academia, medicine, science, industry, and for society as a whole.
Open Access (OA) has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship. Research funding agencies, academic institutions, researchers and scientists, teachers, students, and members of the general public are supporting a move towards Open Access in increasing numbers every year. Open Access Week is a key opportunity for all members of the community to take action to keep this momentum moving forward.
Gary Frost, Conservator, University of Iowa Libraries, has been given the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010 by the Guild of Book Workers. The Guild, founded in 1906, is focused on service to the hand bookbinding community. Frost joins other Awards recipients Bernard Middleton, Hedi Kyle, Don Etherington and Michael Wilcox. He is cited for contributions to conservation education and bookbinding studies. The Award will be presented this week during the “Standards of Excellence Seminar” in Tucson, Arizona, October 14-16.
The GBW article citing his achievements notes that Gary was a “key player during the pivotal period in the ’70s when the bookbinding field turned its attention from the traditional focus on the decoration of the book to the new fascination with the structure of the book.” The article talks about Gary’s fine drawings detailing book structures and his thought-provoking website http://futureofthebook.com/. The article concludes that “Gary is a rare bird who over four decades has become a monumental personality in the book world.” For entire article see http://guildofbookworkers.org/about/awards.php
Congratulations, Gary, it’s an honor to work with you.
Earlier this spring, Dottie Persson, Psychology/Education Liaison, and John Forys, Head, Engineering Library, were named as the 2010 recipients of the Arthur Benton Excellence in Reference Services Professional Development Award.
Please join us at a reception honoring Dottie and John:
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
North Exhibition Hall, Main Library
The Benton Award is awarded biennially to a professional staff member from the University of Iowa Libraries who has demonstrated outstanding commitment in providing reference services for the UI community. The $1,000 award will support the winner’s professional development activities related to the advancement of reference services and may be used to pay for attendance at conferences or workshops in that field. Faculty members from the College of Engineering nominated John; and Dottie was nominated by faculty from the College of Education.
A brief program beginning around 3:45 will include the presentation of plaques. Light refreshments will be served.
Join Iowa City celebrities and Working Group Theatre and celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books Week. Working Group Theatre will be performing a new piece entitled “Burn Before Reading.” Iowa City celebrities will be doing readings from banned books and anyone from the public is encouraged to participate. Head to the Library, meet up with others and show your support for the First Amendment and the belief that “Free People Read Freely!”
Please note: Because the topic is banned books, material presented may include mature language and themes.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
In 1995, The Iowa City Public Library established the annual Carol Spaziani Intellectual Freedom Festival to honor Carol’s 26-year career at ICPL and life-long commitment to the freedom of ideas. Carol believes that the public library’s role is to be a resource and a forum for an individual’s pursuit and expression of diverse points of view.
All programs are free and open to the public.
2010 Carol Spaziani Intellectual Freedom Festival programs are generously funded through an award from the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), via its Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund. The Freedom to Read Foundation was established in 1969 as a First Amendment legal defense organization affiliated with the American Library Association.
The world was shaken when an unknown South African surgeon, Christian Bernard, performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant in 1967. Come hear the story of how the groundwork was laid, the young donor gave up her life, the recipient was selected and the world reacted to this magnificent surgical feat.
Franklin Scamman, M.D.
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Iowa
Thursday, September 23, 2010, 5:30-6:30
Room 401, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
Light refreshments will be served.
Program sponsored by The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society.
Frederick Kent’s “Colleges and Departments” photograph series, covering the early to mid-20th century and housed in the University Archives, is the definitive pictorial history of academics at The University of Iowa. But among expected subject matter like scholars, scientists, and artists, one might be surprised to find over 500 images of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. These historic photographs, taken at the now-defunct Iowa Child Welfare Research Station, are available in a new online exhibit from the University of Iowa Libraries: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/ictcs/icwrs.html
The UI is currently known for a number of top-ranked programs in areas such as nursing, printmaking, and creative writing, but many are unaware that it was once the nation’s leader in child psychology and child development studies. Thanks to the Station, a research center in operation from 1917 to 1974, The University of Iowa was highly influential in the development of child psychology and child development studies. A few milestonetemps in the Station’s history include anthropometric studies used to create national standards for child growth rates, the establishment of the country’s first free-standing preschool, and IQ studies demonstrating the importance of early intervention that paved the way for later social programs such as Head Start.
The Iowa Child Welfare Research Station web exhibit is part of the Iowa City Town and Campus Scenes Digital Collection, which features nearly 6,000 historic images of The University of Iowa and its surrounding community. The collection is online at http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/ictcs
The “Welcoming Walls” project was designed to beautify and make more welcoming the public space in the Main Library. The project was funded through grants from the Office of the Provost and funds from the Friends of the University of Iowa Libraries.
The art work is displayed at the following locations:
If you have any questions, contact: Rachel Garza Carreón at rachel-carreon@uiowa.edu