Digital Public Library of America Newsfeed

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Launches

kwhitebloom — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:19:49 -0400

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched a beta of its discovery portal and open platform today. The portal delivers millions of materials found in American archives, libraries, museums, and cultural heritage institutions to students, teachers, scholars, and the public. Far more than a search engine, the portal provides innovative ways to search and scan through its united collection of distributed resources. Special features include a dynamic map, a timeline that allow users to visually browse by year or decade, and an app library that provides access to applications and tools created by external developers using DPLA’s open data.

“The wonder and joy of entering an expansive library for the first time is truly a special feeling. We are delighted to be able to share this unified, open collection with Americans and the world, and can’t wait to see what people discover, and what new applications and knowledge will be created,” said Dan Cohen, Executive Director of the DPLA.

"Many decades in the visioning, two and a half years in the planning, with a small steering committee and an incubation hub at the helm, and featuring dozens of great libraries, universities and archives involved in hundreds of meetings, workshops, plenary meetings, and hackathons, attracting thousands of volunteers backed by millions of foundation and government dollars, today the Digital Public Library of America goes live! It's a great day for education and progress, as if the Ancient Library of Alexandria had met the modern World Wide Web and digitized America for the benefit of all," said Doron Weber, Vice President of Programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, an early funder of the project.

The DPLA portal is powered by a rich repository of information, known as the DPLA platform, which enables new and transformative uses of America’s digitized cultural heritage. With an application programming interface (API) and maximally open data, the DPLA can be used by software developers, researchers, and others to create novel environments for learning, tools for discovery, and engaging apps. The DPLA App Library (dp.la/apps) features an initial slate of applications built on top of the platform; developers and hobbyists of all skill levels are freely able to make use of the data provided via the platform.

"The DPLA launches virtually today, a symbol of what people can accomplish through collaboration in a networked era," said John Palfrey, President of the Board of Directors of the DPLA. "The most exciting idea is that we cannot begin to imagine the extraordinary things that librarians and their many partners can accomplish with this open platform and such extraordinarily rich materials, from so many institutions large and small, together and at the ready. We will create new knowledge together and make accessible, free to all, information that people need in order to thrive in a democracy."

“The DPLA’s goal is to bring the entire nation’s rich cultural collections off the shelves and into the innovative environment of the Internet for people to discover, download, remix, reuse and build on in ways we haven’t yet begun to imagine,” said Maura Marx, Director of the DPLA Secretariat. “Regular users can search in the traditional way using the portal, and developers and innovators can build on big chunks of code and content using the platform—we’re creating access, not controlling it.”

Led by Cohen, the DPLA aims to expand the realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used. To date, the DPLA has partnered with six state and regional digital libraries and an equal number of large cultural heritage institutions— including the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, and Harvard University—to provide access to millions of unique digital objects.

“Among the 2.4 million records available at launch, you will find gems that include daguerreotypes of former Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, images of women marching for the vote in Kentucky, news film clips of the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights movement, The Book of Hours, an illuminated manuscript from 1514, Notes on the State of Virginia, written by Thomas Jefferson, and paintings by Winslow Homer,” said Emily Gore, DPLA Director for Content.

With its content partners, the DPLA has developed a number of diverse virtual exhibitions (dp.la/exhibitions) that tell the stories of people, places, and historical events both here in the US and abroad; all are available freely via the portal. A History of Survivance: 19th c. Upper Midwest Native American Resources in the DPLA, developed by the Minnesota Digital Library, tells the story of extraordinary cultural disruption, change and continuity in Minnesota and the surrounding areas during the 19th century through objects of both Native and non-Native origin. Other exhibitions include Boston Sports Temples, developed by Digital Commonwealth (Massachusetts), which celebrates the rich histories of Boston’s professional stadiums and arenas; and This Land Is Your Land: Parks and Public Spaces, an exploration of the history, impact, and significance of our national parks and protected areas curated by the South Carolina Digital Library.

“The project unleashes access to a volume and variety of historical and cultural assets through a dynamic, digitized information platform,” said Jorge Martinez, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at the Knight Foundation. “It offers an invaluable opportunity to reanimate this information and further strengthen the roles of libraries as centers for engagement—bringing communities together, fostering deeper understanding and connecting people with traditional culture - by leveraging the power of new technology.”

The DPLA began in October 2010 with a small meeting of representatives from foundations, research institutions, cultural organizations, government, and libraries who came together to discuss best approaches to building a national digital library. In 2011, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University established, with the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a two-year planning initiative to guide the conceptualization, planning, and development of the DPLA.

Today’s launch is, in large part, the culmination of that effort, marking the transition from a two-year planning initiative towards a fully realized, standalone 501(c)3 non-profit organization that will continue to make the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums freely available to the world.

A series of festivities to celebrate the launch, scheduled to occur at the Boston Public Library today and tomorrow, were postponed until the fall in the wake of the April 15 Boston Marathon tragedy, which occurred near the storied public library.

“I see the building of a new library as one of the greatest examples of what humans can do together to extend the light against the darkness,” said Dan Cohen, reflecting on the recent events in a letter to the DPLA community. “In due time, we will let that light shine through.”

About the Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. The DPLA aims to expand this crucial realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used.

The DPLA is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Arcadia Fund, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

More information is online at http://dp.la.

A Message from Digital Public Library of America Executive Director Dan Cohen Regarding DPLA Launch

rtabasky — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:24:36 -0400

Dan Cohen Named Founding Executive Director of the Digital Public Library of America

kwhitebloom — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:30:49 -0500

Cambridge, MA—The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) announced today the appointment of Dan Cohen as the DPLA’s founding Executive Director. Cohen, currently a tenured professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University and the Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, brings to the DPLA more than a decade of experience in digital humanities and a deep commitment to the future of libraries, archives, and museums. Cohen will begin his tenure on April 18, 2013.

“Dan Cohen's appointment is exceptionally good news for the future of the DPLA,” said John Palfrey, President of the DPLA Board of Directors. “Dan's contributions to the field of digital humanities and to libraries are already extraordinary. He has led major open source development projects, helped to digitize important works of culture, supported teachers and students in accessing fantastic digital materials, and written about the importance of libraries, archives, and museums in a digital age. We are very fortunate that he has agreed to lead the DPLA as the founding executive director.”

As the Executive Director, Cohen will work to further the DPLA’s mission to make the cultural and scientific heritage of humanity available, free of charge, to all. He will manage the day-to-day operations of the new organization, will serve as the DPLA’s spokesperson, and will advocate for partners within and outside the larger DPLA community, among a range of other critical duties.

“I am so honored to be entrusted with leading the team that will take the next steps in making the wonderful idea of the Digital Public Library of America a reality,” said Cohen. “The notion of a large-scale open digital library for all, which will connect everyone to the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, is profoundly important. I am deeply thankful for the hard work and tremendous vision of the DPLA's Secretariat, Steering Committee, and Board of Directors, Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and the thousands of Americans who have participated in the DPLA’s planning process. I look forward to building upon this incredible foundation, and to partnering with people and institutions across the country to build a new library for the twenty-first century.”

Cohen currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University, where he is the Director of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. At the Center, Cohen has overseen projects ranging from new publishing ventures (PressForward) to online collections (September 11 Digital Archive) to software for scholarship (the popular Zotero research tool). His books include Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web (with Roy Rosenzweig) and Equations from God: Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith. Cohen was an inaugural recipient of the American Council of Learned Societies’ Digital Innovation Fellowship. In 2011 he received the Frederick G. Kilgour Award from the American Library Association for his work in digital humanities, and in 2012 he was named one of the top “tech innovators” in academia by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Cohen was nominated by the DPLA Search Committee from a deep and competitive pool of candidates from around the world and across the public and private sectors. The Board of Directors gratefully acknowledges those who nominated others or themselves for the position, as well as the hard work of Michele Haertel and Jim Citrin at SpencerStuart for their work to identify and assess a wide range of candidates. The Board also thanks the Search Committee, composed of Robert Darnton (Steering Committee), Laura DeBonis (Board of Directors), Carla Hayden (Steering Committee), Maura Marx (Steering Committee/Secretariat), John Palfrey (Board of Directors), and Doron Weber (Steering Committee), for their valuable contributions to the search process.

“We conducted a comprehensive and intensive search for the right person who could serve as the DPLA’s first head—a historic appointment for a history-making organization—and Dan really impressed us with his unique combination of smarts, experience, passion, and vision,” remarked Doron Weber, Vice Chair of the DPLA Steering Committee. “He is a scholar and blogger who knows the digital world as well the library world, and a teacher and manager who understands the value of building consensus and community—as well as an effective fundraiser, marketer, and communicator—and we are fortunate to have him lead DPLA towards the fulfillment of its grand, unifying vision.”

“Dan's appointment as the founding Executive Director of the DPLA is a significant and exciting milestone in the history of the project,” said Director Laura DeBonis. “Dan's extensive managerial and research experience will be a truly indispensable asset to the development of the DPLA as an essential, sustainable national digital resource.”

Cohen holds a B.A. in Religion and History of Science from Princeton, a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in History from Yale University.

ABOUT THE DIGITAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF AMERICA

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is taking the first concrete steps toward the realization of a large-scale digital public library that will make the cultural and scientific record available to all. This impact-oriented research effort unites leaders from all types of libraries, museums, and archives with educators, industry, and government to define the vision for a digital library in service of the American public.

Over the past two years, the DPLA has partnered with a wide range of organizations—including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; Arcadia Fund; Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco Public Libraries; Digital Library of Georgia; Harvard University; Institute of Museum and Library Services; Internet Archive; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; National Archives and Records Administration; National Endowment for the Humanities; Mountain West Digital Library; and South Carolina Digital Library—to develop the infrastructure for a national digital library. More information can be found at http://dp.la/.

Download a shareable PDF version of the announcement here. You can also find this announcement on the DPLA website.

CONTACT

Kenny Whitebloom
Project Coordinator
Berkman Center for Internet & Society
dpla(at)cyber.law.harvard.edu

Berkman Buzz: December 20, 2012

rheacock — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:45:40 -0500

The Berkman Buzz is selected weekly from the posts of Berkman Center people and projects.
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The Berkman Center is now accepting applications for fellowships in the 2013-2014 academic year! More information is available online.

DPLA and Europeana launch joint digital exhibition

To mark the beginning of a unique digital collaboration the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Europeana are pleased to announce the launch of Leaving Europe: A new life in America. The all-new virtual exhibition tells the story of European emigration to the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Jointly curated by the two digital libraries, the exhibition uses photographs, manuscripts, broadsheets, paintings, letters, audio, government documents and other unique materials to chart people’s journeys across the European continent and their settlement in the United States. The digital items displayed are from U.S. and European libraries, museums and archives and the accompanying narrative has been commissioned specially for the exhibition from U.S. and European experts.

From the Digital Public Library of America, "Digital Public Library of America and Europeana Launch Joint Migration Exhibition
About the DPLA | @digpublib

Kinder & Braver World project releases eight new papers on the role of youth in social change

As a part of its collaboration with the Born This Way Foundation, the Berkman Center is publishing on this website a series of papers that synthesize existing peer-reviewed research or equivalent scholarship and provide research-grounded insight to the variety of stakeholders working on issues related to youth empowerment and action towards creating a kinder, braver world. This series, called the The Kinder & Braver World Project: Research Series (danah boyd, John Palfrey, and Dena Sacco, editors), is presented by the Born This Way Foundation & the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and supported by the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. This set of papers involves topics related to the Role of Youth Organizations and Youth Movements for Social Change.

From the Berkman Center, Publications: The Role of Youth Organizations and Youth Movements for Social Change
About the Kinder & Braver World Project

David Weinberger explores ontology through library metadata

Paul Deschner and I had a fascinating conversation yesterday with Jeffrey Wallman, head of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center about perhaps getting his group’s metadata to interoperate with the library metadata we’ve been gathering. The TBRC has a fantastic collection of Tibetan books. So we were talking about the schemas we use — a schema being the set of slots you create for the data you capture. For example, if you’re gathering information about books, you’d have a schema that has slots for title, author, date, publisher, etc. Depending on your needs, you might also include slots for whether there are color illustrations, is the original cover still on it, and has anyone underlined any passages. It turns out that the Tibetan concept of a book is quite a bit different than the West’s, which raises interesting questions about how to capture and express that data in ways that can be useful mashed up.

From David Weinberger's blog post, I bet your ontology never thought of this one!
About David Weinberger | @dweinberger

danah boyd issues a plea to the media: leave the people of Newtown alone

verything about what happened in Newtown is horrible. And as the public processes it, I understand the need to talk about the issues. Mental health. Gun control. Violence in society. Turning killers into celebrities. Disenfranchisement of youth. There are a lot of topics that need to be seriously discussed and, for better or worse, there’s nothing like a crisis to propel those issues into the public consciousness.

But please, please, please… can we leave the poor people of Newtown alone? Can we not shove microphones into the faces of distraught children? Can we stop hovering like buzzards waiting for the fresh meat of gossipy details? Can we let the parents of the deceased choose when and where they want to engage with the public to tell their story? Can we let the community have some dignity in their grief rather than turning them and their lives into a spectacle of mourning?

From danah boyd's blog post, "Dear Media, Back The F*** Off Newtown"
About danah boyd | @zephoria

Another Terms of Service overreach: "Instagram changes terms of service, but will pro photographers flee anyway?" http://t.co/rBSllmrR
—David Ardia (@dsardia)

New edX course: Copyright

HLS1x Copyright will explore in depth the law, theory, and practice of copyright. Approximately two thirds of the course will focus on the copyright system of the United States; the remainder will be devoted to the laws pertaining to copyright and "neighboring rights" in other countries. Considerable attention will be devoted to the relationship between copyright law and creative expression in a variety of fields: literature; music; film; photography; graphic art; software; comedy; fashion; and architecture. The course will commence on January 28, 2013, and last for 12 weeks.

From edX, "HLS1x: Copyright"
HLS1x: Copyright is taught by Berkman Center co-director Terry Fisher

Frenzied media coverage of mass killings turns them into a spectacle & inspires copycats. This needs to change: http://t.co/kBmv7lKb
—Zeynep Tufekci (@techsoc)

Cambodia Bans Internet Cafes Near Schools

Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has issued a circular banning internet cafes within 500 meters of schools or educational buildings. The circular also prohibits internet cafes from welcoming young people under the age of 18, pointing that internet poses numerous dangers such as terrorism, economic crimes and the distribution of pornography, as the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported.

This circular came a few months after the government enforced a previous circular that required internet cafes to set up surveillance cameras and register callers.

From Kounila Keo's blog post for Global Voices, "Cambodia Bans Internet Cafes Near Schools"
About Global Voices Online | @globalvoices

This Buzz was compiled by Rebekah Heacock.

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Harvard to Contribute Special Collections Materials to Digital Public Library of America

kwhitebloom — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:22:42 -0400

DPLA Board of Directors

kwhitebloom — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:32:25 -0400

Members of the Board of Directors include:

Catherine Casserly, CEO of Creative Commons
Paul Courant, University Librarian and Dean of Libraries, Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Economics and Professor of Information at the University of Michigan
Laura DeBonis, Former Director of Library Partnerships for Google Book Search
Luis Herrera, City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco
John Palfrey, Head of School, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA

Digital Public Library of America Announces Inaugural Board of Directors

kwhitebloom — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:30:07 -0400

Cambridge, MA — The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Steering Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of five members to the inaugural DPLA Board of Directors. The inaugural Board will support the DPLA’s goal of creating and maintaining a free, open, and sustainable national digital library resource.

The inaugural DPLA Board is composed of a group of public and research librarians, technologists, intellectual property scholars, and business experts from around the country:

Cathy Casserly, CEO of Creative Commons
Paul Courant, University Librarian and Dean of Libraries, Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Economics and Professor of Information at the University of Michigan; DPLA Steering Committee
Laura DeBonis, Former Director of Library Partnerships for Google Book Search
Luis Herrera, City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco; DPLA Steering Committee
John Palfrey, Head of School, Phillips Academy, Andover; DPLA Steering Committee

“I am delighted and honored to join the Board of Directors of the Digital Public Library of America,” said Cathy Casserly, CEO of Creative Commons. “Just as libraries are the cornerstone of the educational and cultural life of a community, a digital library that’s open and accessible to everyone is crucial to the future of the Internet.”

Luis Herrera, City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco, remarked, "I am deeply honored to serve on the inaugural DPLA Board. Thanks to the extraordinary work of the Steering Committee, the workstreams and the DPLA Secretariat, the groundwork is in place to bring the DPLA vision to fruition. I am excited for the opportunity and look forward to helping support the DPLA's goal of creating and maintaining a free, open and sustainable digital library resource."

In coordination with the DPLA’s future Executive Director, the Board will be largely responsible for such fundamental activities as the setting of budgets and general oversight and endorsement of strategy. The new Board will seek to fulfill the DPLA’s broad commitment to openness, inclusiveness, and accessibility, and it will endeavor towards these ends in the best interest of its stakeholders, future employees, future users, and other affected parties.

“The cause of making cultural and scholarly works broadly available to residents of our country is a noble one,” noted Paul Courant, Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan. “We have a tremendous opportunity to work with people and institutions across the country in the interest of making it easy for all to find and use library collections.”

The inaugural DPLA Board of Directors contains a wealth of professional experience from a wide variety of fields:

Catherine M. Casserly is CEO of Creative Commons. Cathy’s career is dedicated to openness, and particularly to leveraging possibilities at the boundaries of formal and informal learning to equalize educational opportunity. She has been a long-time advocate of open educational resources (OER). As the Director of the OER Initiative at The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation she managed investments totaling more than $100 million to harness the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge sharing worldwide. At the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Cathy spearheaded work in the areas of transparency and technology as a Senior Partner and the Vice President of Innovation and Open Networks. With the extended Carnegie team she launched a continuous performance improvement system to create alternative mathematics pathways for community college students. Cathy has been instrumental in supporting many young organizations and currently sits on the Startl board, the Peer-2-Peer University board and serves on the advisory committee for MIT OpenCourseWare and the University of the People. She earned her Ph.D. in the economics of education from Stanford University and a B.A. in mathematics from Boston College.

Paul Courant is University Librarian and Dean of Libraries, Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Professor of Economics and Professor of Information at the University of Michigan. From 2002-2005 he served as Provost and Executive Vice-President for Academic Affairs, the chief academic officer and the chief budget officer of the University. He has also served as the Associate Provost for Academic and Budgetary Affairs, Chair of the Department of Economics and Director of the Institute of Public Policy Studies (which is now the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy). In 1979 and 1980 he was a Senior Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers. Courant has authored half a dozen books, and over seventy papers covering a broad range of topics in economics and public policy, including tax policy, state and local economic development, gender differences in pay, housing, radon and public health, relationships between economic growth and environmental policy, and university budgeting systems. More recently, his academic work has considered the economics of universities, the economics of libraries and archives, and the effects of new information technologies and other disruptions on scholarship, scholarly publication, and academic libraries. Paul Courant holds a BA in History from Swarthmore College (1968); an MA in Economics from Princeton University (1973); and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University (1974).

Laura DeBonis previously worked at Google where, over six years with the company, she held a variety of management positions including her final role as Director of Library Partnerships for Book Search, Google's initiative to make all the world's books discoverable and searchable online. A lifelong lover of books and libraries, Laura started her career in documentary film and multimedia and in strategy consulting for Internet businesses. She is a graduate of Harvard College and has a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Luis Herrera is the City Librarian of the San Francisco Public Library, where he is responsible for the administration of the city’s 28 libraries including a main library and 27 neighborhood branches. Previously, Mr. Herrera served as the Director of Information Services for Pasadena Public Library and the Deputy Director of the San Diego and Long Beach Library systems in California. He has served as President of both the Public Library Association and the California Library Association. In January 2012, Mr. Herrera was named the Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year. Mr. Herrera is currently Chair of the Cal Humanities and was recently nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Mr. Herrera earned his B.S. from the University of Texas at El Paso, a M.P.A. from California State University, and a M.L.S. from the University of Arizona.

John Palfrey is the Head of School at Phillips Academy, Andover. He also serves as a Trustee of the Knight Foundation and the chair of the Steering Committee of the Digital Public Library of America. John’s research and teaching focus on new media and learning. He has written extensively on Internet law, intellectual property, and the potential of new technologies to strengthen democracies locally and around the world, and is the author or co-author of several books. John served previously as the Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. He is a director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, where he was executive director from 2002-2008. John graduated from Harvard College, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Law School. He was a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar to the University of Cambridge and received the U.S. EPA Gold Medal (highest national award).

# # #

About the Digital Public Library of America
The DPLA Steering Committee is leading the first concrete steps toward the realization of a large-scale digital public library that will make the cultural and scientific record available to all. This impact-oriented research effort unites leaders from all types of libraries, museums, and archives with educators, industry, and government to define the vision for a digital library in service of the American public. The DPLA Secretariat is located at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; the Steering Committee comprises library and foundation leaders across the nation. More information can be found at http://dp.la/.

Digital Public Library of America Steering Committee

Paul Courant, Harold T. Shapiro Professor of Public Policy and Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan
Robert Darnton, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the Harvard University Library
Carla Hayden, Chief Executive Officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Baltimore, Maryland)
Charles Henry, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)
Luis Herrera, City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco
Brewster Kahle, Founder of the Internet Archive
Michael A. Keller, Ida M. Green University Librarian, Director of Academic Information Resources at Stanford University
Deanna Marcum, Managing Director, Ithaka S+R
Maura Marx, Berkman Center Fellow and Executive Director, Open Knowledge Commons
Jerome McGann, John Stewart Bryan University Professor at the University of Virginia
Dwight McInvaill, Director of the Georgetown County Library (South Carolina)
John Palfrey (Chair), Head of School, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
Peggy Rudd, Executive Director/State Librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Amy E. Ryan, President of the Boston Public Library
David Spadafora, President and Librarian of the Newberry (Chicago, IL)
Doron Weber (Vice Chair), Vice President, Programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Contact
Kenny Whitebloom
Project Coordinator
Berkman Center for Internet & Society
dpla@cyber.law.harvard.edu

DPLA Releases RFP for Front-End Design and Development

rheacock — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:15:10 -0400

Digital Public Library of America Announces New Director for Content

rheacock — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:25:21 -0400

Cambridge, MA—The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Secretariat is pleased to announce the appointment of Emily B. Gore as DPLA Director for Content, beginning September 1, 2012.

As Director for Content, Gore will be responsible for the oversight of the DPLA’s hub infrastructure, including implementation of state and regional digital service hubs as part of the Digital Hubs Pilot Program supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as for the oversight of content provider relationships with digital library partners throughout the United States.

"I am excited and honored to be named the DPLA Director for Content,” said Gore. “Throughout my career, collaborative digitization and digital library development have been my first loves. I am looking forward to leading the Digital Hubs Pilot effort, which I see as a way forward for the DPLA. Working together, we will make the DPLA into our national digital library."

“We are delighted to have Emily as the head of our content team,” said John Palfrey, Chair of the DPLA Steering Committee. “Emily has been deeply involved in the DPLA effort as a volunteer workstream member since the beginning, where she has brought a wealth of experience to the table in helping to shape our approach to content. We look forward to working with her on this foundational pilot project.”

Gore currently serves as Associate Dean for Digital Scholarship and Technology Services at Florida State University (FSU), where she oversees Scholarly Communication, E-Science, Electronic Resource Management, Technology and Digital Library services. Prior to joining FSU, Gore held positions at Clemson University, NC ECHO, and East Carolina University, leading technology and digital library efforts. During the course of her career, Gore has managed over $2.5 million in grant funding for technology/digital initiatives. She is an advocate for collaboration and is associated with many collaborative efforts, past and present, including the MetaArchive Cooperative, the South Carolina Digital Library, and North Carolina ECHO; while managing NC ECHO, she coined the term "scannebago," Gore is a member of the Frye Leadership Institute Class of 2011 and has chaired numerous American Library Association Committees, including the Collaborative Digitization Interest Group and the Digital Preservation Interest Group. Over the past year, Gore has also volunteered her time and effort as a convener of the DPLA’s Technical Aspects workstream. Gore is the 2009 Lyrasis NextGen Librarian Award winner for Technology and a 2009 recipient of the Clemson University Outstanding Faculty Award. Gore is a native of North Carolina and holds an MLS from the University of Alabama and a BA from Clemson University.

###

Contact
Rebekah Heacock
Project Coordinator
Berkman Center for Internet & Society
dpla@cyber.law.harvard.edu

Berkman Buzz: July 27, 2012

rtabasky — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:57:56 -0400

The Berkman Buzz is selected weekly from the posts of Berkman Center people and projects.
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The Berkman Center is hiring! We are now accepting applications for a number of technically-inclined leadership positions.

Doc Sears explores the future possibilities of VRM and consumer liberation

It's a Saturday morning in 2022, and you're trying to decide what to wear to the dinner party you're throwing that evening. All the clothes hanging in your closet are "smart"—that is, they can tell you when you last wore them, what else you wore them with, and where and when they were last cleaned. Some do this with microchips. Others have tiny printed tags that you can scan on your hand-held device.

As you prepare for your guests, you discover that your espresso machine isn't working and you need another one. So you pull the same hand-held device from your pocket, scan the little square code on the back of the machine, and tell your hand-held, by voice, that this one is broken and you need another one, to rent or buy. An "intentcast" goes out to the marketplace, revealing only what's required to attract offers. No personal information is revealed, except to vendors with whom you already have a trusted relationship.

From Doc Searl's article on the Wall Street Journal, "The Customer as a God"
About Doc Searls | @dsearls

Stored Communications Act fails to protect protester's privacy interests and tweets

A recent court ruling has highlighted the need to update the Stored Communications Act (SCA), a federal statute, enacted in 1986, that circumscribes privacy rights in electronic communications. The protections afforded by the SCA do not reflect the breadth and depth of personal data that service providers such as cell phone carriers, email services, and social networks regularly collect and store. That the government can access so much data without a warrant creates a significant risk of chilling online free speech. (Note: the author is not a lawyer.)

On June 30, 2012, a Manhattan criminal court judge ruled that Twitter must provide to police the records of Malcolm Harris, a Twitter user charged with disorderly conduct during an Occupy Wall Street protest in October 2011. In a single ruling, Judge Sciarrino dismissed both Harris’s and Twitter’s motions to quash the subpoena. In so doing, the judge confirmed his prior ruling and held that under the SCA, the subpoena was properly requested. Judge Sciarrino’s decision is a reminder that although the Internet has augmented and amplified individual expression, it has also provided states with unprecedented tools for regulation, review, and punishment. As Judge Sciarrino himself acknowledges, the Internet’s central role in civic and private life has created a new privacy interest that is not yet explicitly protected by existing statutes. Adapting the law to safeguard these interests may be essential if the Internet is to remain a vibrant forum for free expression.

From Marianna Mao's blog post on Herdict, "Current data privacy laws undermine expressive freedoms"
About Herdict | @Herdict

New @BerkmanCenter briefing doc on e-books and e-lending in libraries w/ @d_obrien and @jpalfrey http://tinyurl.com/co866av #ebooks

U.S. District Court denies service of process via social media site

The judicial system in the United States has kept up with technological change in many ways. We have electronic filing, websites for federal courts, and Internet streaming court coverage. But there is one way that courts have not been as quick to adapt electronically – service of process.

Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a request to allow service of process via social networking site (in this case, Facebook). The case, Fortunato v. Chase Bank U.S.A., involved Chase Bank's attempts to locate and serve process on a third-party defendant who fraudulently charged up multiple credit cards and gave a false physical address. The judge called the request "unorthodox," and found that Chase Bank had not given the court "a degree of certainty" about the defendant's alleged Facebook profile and the email address attached to that profile that would ensure that the defendant would receive and read the notice. However, the judge did allow for alternative service by general publication in local newspapers.

From Tabitha Messick's blog post for the Citizen Media Law Project, "Service of Process, 2.0"
About the Citizen Media Law Project | @citmedialaw

Justin Reich learns about RoadTrip Nation and new platforms for learning

"There is so much opportunity with new technologies. But so much innovation is taking on the character of the old style of schooling." - Mike Marriner, Roadtrip Nation

I was really lucky last evening to grab a beer after work with Mike Marriner, one of the founders of RoadTrip Nation. Many of you may know Roadtrip Nation from its PBS television show, but the whole project is taking a new direction towards providing curriculum and online platforms for students and teachers.

From Justin Reich's post, "Using Road Trips to Help Kids Find Their Passions"
About Justin Reich | @bjfr

"Inside the Quest to Put the World's Libraries Online": A close examination of the Digital Public Library of America ow.ly/cxRxd
—metaLAB (@metalabharvard)

A Marathon to Translate the Declaration of Internet Freedom

The world may be glued to the TV to watch the start of the Olympic Games in London, but Global Voices Lingua translators are excited about another challenge: the Internet Freedom Translathon, a marathon to get the Declaration of Internet Freedom translated in as many languages and dialects as possible over the course of 24 hours on Friday August 3. Everyone can join: you don't have to be an Olympic athlete or professional translator to help!

From Paula Góes' blog post for Global Voices, "Global: A Marathon to Translate the Declaration of Internet Freedom"
About Global Voices Online | @globalvoices

This Buzz was compiled by Royze Adolfo

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