News from the Field

David Free

ASERL Updates Membership Criteria

The membership of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) recently voted overwhelmingly to modify the criteria for membership in the association. This is the first substantial change in ASERL’s membership criteria in more than two decades and reflects ASERL’s ongoing process of self-assessment and desire to become a more equitable and inclusive membership organization.

The new criteria, which took effect as of January 1, 2024, primarily change the quantitative metrics required for ASERL membership. Previously, ASERL members were required to meet a total library expenditure (TLE) threshold that was based on library expenditures across the full membership. The previous TLE threshold was calculated yearly—and changed yearly—and reflected longstanding funding patterns that enabled some libraries to remain in ASERL and limited other libraries from joining the Association.

The revised criteria focus on the research mission of the parent institution rather than simply on library expenditures. Complete details are available at https://www.aserl.org/2024/01/news-aserl-updates-its-membership-criteria/.

PALNI Releases Marian University Open Textbook

Two Marian University faculty members have released a new peer-reviewed open textbook through the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI). In Comunidades, authors Yuriko Ikeda, assistant professor of Spanish, and Julia Baumgardt, chair of Languages and Cultures and associate professor of Spanish, aim to teach novice-level Spanish students through the incorporation of authentic materials, cultural concepts, and real-life conversations with Spanish speakers in the American Midwest. Additionally, the book offers a suite of complementary activities and resources intended for reinforcing these concepts beyond the classroom setting. The book was published with a Textbook Creation Grant from the PALSave: PALNI Affordable Learning program, and as an open educational resource—OER—it is entirely free to students.

Comunidades is available for free through the PALNI Press at https://pressbooks.palni.org/comunidades/. Visit PALSave: PALNI Affordable Learning at https://palsave.palni.org/ to learn more about Textbook Creation Grants and other OER opportunities offered through PALNI.

IMLS Opens Funding for Native American, Native Hawaiian Library Services Grants

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is now accepting applications for Native Hawaiian Library Services and Native American Library Services Enhancement Grants. The grants will help to improve core library services for underserved communities. The deadline for submitting applications for both grants is April 1, 2024.

Native Hawaiian Library Services grants are available to nonprofit organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Hawaiians. These grants, awarded in amounts of up to $150,000 for two years, are designed to improve core library services for their communities. Native American Library Services Enhancement Grants advance the programs and services of eligible Native American Tribes, including Alaska Native villages, regional corporations, and village corporations. These competitive grants, awarded in amounts of up to $150,000 for two years, are designed to improve core library services for their communities.

Grant guidelines and descriptions of previously funded projects are available on the IMLS website at https://www.imls.gov/grants/awarded-grants.

Gale Launches Power to the People Archive

Gale, part of Cengage Group, is helping faculty and researchers better understand how counterculture and social movements of the past have impacted and shaped today’s society. The company has launched Power to the People: Counterculture, Social Movements, and the Alternative Press, Nineteenth to Twenty-First Century, a new digital archive that brings together materials that document the movements, events, individuals, and grassroots organizations that worked to effect change in cultures and societies around the world. This unique collection offers a comprehensive view of the struggles and triumphs of activism over time, enabling users to make key connections and comparisons between past movements and the challenges humanity faces today.

With Power to the People, researchers have access to a wide range of rare primary sources on social movements that have shaped modern Western history. Scholars can explore pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, leaflets, broadsides, manuscripts, posters, and other printed pieces covering a diversity of ideas and initiatives that span critical periods such as the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage, LGBTQ+ rights, antiwar movements, environmental activism, and many others. The archive paints a multifaceted picture of social history that highlights equity, diversity, and inclusion. For more information, visit the Power to the People website at https://www.gale.com/c/power-to-the-people-counterculture-social-movements-and-the-alternative-press.

New Food Sustainability and Security Collection from Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury recently launched Food Sustainability and Security through the Bloomsbury Food Library. This new collection consists of 48 key frontlist e-books from across the Taylor & Francis, ABC-Clio, and Zed Books lists. The collection provides access to key e-books on vital and timely subjects, from climate change and agricultural development, and the politics of the global food system, to food aid in Sudan, equity and social food justice, and more. Food Sustainability and Security brings these e-books together in a single unified content bundle, made available all together as part of the Bloomsbury Food Library digital hub. Learn more at https://www.bloomsburyfoodlibrary.com/about-bloomsbury-food-library.

Springshare Partners with RemoteLock to Sync with LibCal Spaces

Springshare has announced a new integration with RemoteLock access control software for smart locks. With this integration, Springshare clients can automate access to RemoteLock-enabled library spaces through Springshare’s LibCal Spaces module. When clients connect their LibCal spaces with RemoteLock software, the two systems work together to generate and deliver a unique access code for each booking.

RemoteLock customers using LibCal Spaces for room reservations can contact Springshare to enable this integration in their LibCal site now. This new functionality will launch for all paid LibCal sites by the end of the year, with further integrations with additional smart-lock brand devices and platforms coming soon. Learn more about LibCal at https://buzz.springshare.com/producthighlights/libcal-libraries.

Clarivate Connects Cited ProQuest Dissertations & Theses References to Web of Science

Clarivate Plc recently announced it has enriched ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index, embedding more than 172 million cited references from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global within the Web of Science platform and interconnecting both platforms. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index opens new possibilities in the research workflow for students and researchers, enabling them to explore the development of a topic across varied, multidisciplinary research outputs or to look back at the research foundation of postgraduate works. This enhancement deepens the connection between published and unpublished scholarship, enriching the entire research experience. As new cited references are captured, dissertations and theses will accrue citations from indexed research, helping users understand the impact or influence of dissertations and theses to scholarship over time. Learn more at https://clarivate.com/products/scientific-and-academic-research/research-discovery-and-workflow-solutions/webofscience-platform/proquest-dissertations-theses-citation-index/.

GovInfo Hits Record One Billion Retrievals in 2023

The US Government Publishing Office’s (GPO) GovInfo, the one-stop site for authentic, published information for all three branches of the federal government, hit a record number of retrievals in 2023—1.15 billion. This is a 32 percent increase from the number of retrievals in 2022 and a 215 percent increase from the number of retrievals in 2018. The most retrieved collection of 2023 was the Federal Register, with more than 80 million retrievals. In total, GPO has garnered 10.8 billion retrievals of government information since first making government information available online in June 1994. In 2019, GPO made history by becoming the first organization in the United States and second organization in the world to achieve the highest global standard of excellence possible for digital repositories. This certification reinforces GovInfo as a trustworthy source that performs digital preservation practices to ensure long-term preservation of and access to official federal government information. GovInfo is available at https://www.govinfo.gov/.

Institutions Selected to Pilot Development of Scalable Data-Management Infrastructure

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the California Digital Library (CDL) have selected five institutional teams to pilot the integration or creation of prototypes and possible workflows for machine-actionable data management and sharing plans (maDMSPs). The pilot project will run January–December 2024 and is funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant.

Machine-actionable data management and sharing plans are structured, machine-readable documents that allow for dynamic reporting on the intentions and outcomes of a research project, enabling streamlined information exchange across relevant parties and systems. These plans go beyond traditional static document-based DMSPs and contain an inventory of key metadata about a project and its outputs (not just datasets), with a change history that stakeholders can query for information over the lifetime of the research. Implementing maDMSPs can be a key piece of establishing interconnected, automated systems for research data management and compliance. The maDMSPs pilot institutions will help shape the development of maDMSPs and gain valuable early experience with new approaches to enable more automated and connected research data management. Additional information about the project is on the project webpage at https://www.arl.org/building-a-scalable-data-management-infrastructure-for-strategic-institutional-coordination/.

New Project Muse Journals

Three new additions to Project MUSE’s hosted journals program are now live on the platform. Current issues are available for the International Journal of Surrealism (IJS), Nevada Historical Society Q, and Filipino American National Historical Society Journal, as well as all 11 back volumes of the last title. Titles in the hosted program are not included in MUSE’s curated journal collections. MUSE’s Hosted Journals program provides publishers with the option to offer individual journals on the MUSE platform under a subscription model or as fully open access. Publishers can take advantage of a recently streamlined fee structure for hosting, as well as newly introduced sales and marketing services. More details are available at https://about.muse.jhu.edu/publishers/hosted-program.