The Source: news about digital libraries and library innovations from around the web

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The economics of copyright and digitisation: A report on the literature and the need for further research (Note: PDF)

From the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (SABIP) website

This report undertakes a critical overview of the theoretical and empirical economic literature on copyright and unauthorised copying, and highlights two issues, which are in particular need of further research in order to inform copyright policy:

• How does digital copying affect the supply of copyright works?
• Does the copyright system entail obstacles to desirable aspects of technological transition?
  

On the issue of copyright and digitisation the report states: It is certain that digitisation will continue to alter the cost structure and demand for many copyright works and that new related products and services will emerge.


The Digital Agenda for Europe

From the European Commission Information Society website

'The Digital Agenda' is Europe's strategy for a flourishing digital economy by 2020. It outlines policies and actions to maximise the benefit of the Digital Revolution for all. To achieve these goals, the Commission will work closely with national governments, concerned organisations and companies. An annual Digital Assembly will bring stakeholders together to assess progress and emerging challenges.


Knowledge = Information in context: On the importance of semantic contextualisation in Europeana (Note: PDF)

From the Europeana website

This article looks at the key role linked data will play in Europeana’s development and in helping Europe’s citizens make connections between existing knowledge to achieve new cultural and scientific developments. Without linked data, Europeana could be seen as a simple collection of digital objects. With linked data, the potential is far greater, as the author of the white paper, Prof. Stefan Gradmann, explains.


Internet Trends (Note: PDF)

From the Morgan Stanley website

If you’re interested in the internet today and what the future holds, this report by Mary Meeker is essential reading. Meeker’s “Internet Trends” reports are regularly quoted (as is she) and contain numerous charts full of current statistics, many that can’t be find anywhere else.
Meeker, a managing director of Morgan Stanley, is one of the best known and most respected internet analysts out there. Her latest “Internet Trends” report contains 53 slides and is divided into several topics:
1. Mobile Internet
2. Innovation
3. Online Advertising
4. Online Commerce
5. Communications
6. Cloud Computing
7. Technology (What’s Next)
8. Beyond Technology


Best practices for Government Libraries 2010: The new face of value (Note: PDF)

From the LexisNexis website

This collaborative document is put out annually on a specific topic of interest to government libraries and includes content submitted by government librarians and community leaders with an interest in government libraries. The 2010 edition includes over 70 articles and other submissions provided by more than 60 contributors from librarians in government agencies, courts, and the military, as well as from professional association leaders, LexisNexis Consultants, and more.
Articles include:

• Strategic Planning and the Value of Libraries
• Creators of the Future
• Authenticity, Authority, Accuracy, and Accessibility
• Answering the Call
• Corporate Memory 2.0
• Advocacy, Competence, and Service: Experiences in Librarianship
  

Demographic transformation and the future of museums (Note: PDF)

From the Center for the Future of Museums website

The Center for the Future of Museums’ 2008 forecasting report, ‘Museums & Society 2034: Trends and Potential Futures’ [Note: PDF], highlighted a disconnect between trends in American demography and patterns of museum visitation. CFM's new report ‘Demographic Transformation and the Future of Museums’, explores the implications of these findings and is a catalyst for the field to expand their efforts to reach diverse audiences. The report:

• summarises current research on demographic change, patterns of museum use tied to race/ethnicity
• explores the attitudes of the Millennial generation towards museums
• presents case studies from six museums pioneering ways to reach diverse audiences
• recommends improvements to how museums conduct research and share data
• points to online resources for demographic information and socio-economic indicators
• concludes with a call to action from AAM to individual museums and the field
  

The Idea of Order: Transforming research collections for 21st century scholarship (Note: PDF)

From the Council on Library and Information Resources website

'The Idea of Order' explores the transition from an analogue to a digital environment for knowledge access, preservation, and reconstitution, and the implications of this transition for managing research collections. The volume comprises three reports:

• ‘Can a New Research Library be All-Digital?’ explores the degree to which a new research library can eschew print

• ‘On the Cost of Keeping a Book’ argues that from the perspective of long-term storage, digital surrogates offer a considerable cost savings over print-based libraries

• ‘Ghostlier Demarcations’, examines how well large text databases being created by Google Books and other mass-digitisation efforts meet the needs of scholars, and the larger implications of these projects for research, teaching, and publishing.