I opened an antique chest inherited from my great-great uncle and unravelled the strands of his life as an evangelical minister in late 19th-century Italy, unpacking the cover-ups in Britain's history of Empire and bringing to light the ingenious but ordinary ways in which a handful of families, even today, shore up their wealth. At the heart of…

Engaging with primary researchers during qualitative secondary analysis is a practice much recommended but rarely written about. In this article, I reflect on my experience of crossing an imagined boundary between the discrete textual dataset and its creators, of acknowledging and engaging with those researchers who invested in constructing the…

This paper reflects on a teaching problem highlighted as part of a second-year undergraduate module in sociology, taught at a UK based institution of higher education. The specific teaching problem -- that of student learning as encountered and revealed in seminars -- was nested within other issues; some of which related to the characteristics of…

Despite now long-standing recognition of the value and importance of the scholarship of teaching and learning, questions continue to be raised about how to satisfy the hybrid responsibilities of teaching and research. The key message of this paper is that instructor-researchers, educational developers, and research ethics personnel should consider…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a quarterly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Digitization of Special Collections and Archives: Legal and Contractual Issues (Peter B.…

In August 2008, the Missouri River Regional Library (MRRL), where the author serves as information technology coordinator, switched over from an internally hosted Microsoft Exchange email server to the Google Apps product. As the person who led the charge to use Google Apps and the person who actually flipped the switch, he was responsible for…

After several years of false starts, the universe of digital books seems at last poised to expand dramatically. Readers should view this expansion with both excitement and wariness. Excitement because digital books could revolutionize reading, making more books more findable and more accessible to more people in more ways than ever before.…

Much recent discussion has focused on the pros and cons of cloud computing. Some institutions are attracted to cloud computing benefits such as rapid deployment, flexible scalability, and low initial start-up cost, while others are concerned about cloud computing risks such as those related to data location, level of service, and security…

The University of Washington (UW) adopted a dual-provider cloud-computing strategy, focusing initially on software as a service. The original project--to replace an obsolete alumni e-mail system--resulted in a cloud solution that soon grew to encompass the entire campus community. The policies and contract terms UW developed, focusing on…

Considers the issue of information as a freely shared resource or a commodity for sale, and discusses a disagreement between OCLC and the State of Wisconsin, which recently adopted resolutions supporting free access to data in all forms if they are provided by publicly supported bodies. (MES)

Documentary films that have become classroom classics are running into problems, because their expired rights are preventing schools from obtaining copies. No totals are available on how many films' rights have expired, or how many may soon expire, but the viewing public--including educators--has cause for worry. When rights expire and copies…

Considers library special collections in North America and the world. Discusses issues of providing access for a diverse readership but with limited resources; questions of ownership, particularly claims of national heritage; and implications of the electronic revolution, including access through digitization that often leads to increased demands…

This paper discusses copyright issues, focusing on changes due to digital technology. Highlights include: problems for copyright posed by digital technologies, i.e., the identification of copyright works and owners, and the enforcement of copyright rights; electronic monitoring of copyright uses to provide rights owners with data on usage; the…

Describes the EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval) system developed for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for SEC disclosure filings. Ownership and control of the database, hardware, and software is considered; the Information Industry Association position is described; and the need for greater public access to…

Examines the interconnected issues surrounding domain naming. Discusses "dot" ownership, top-level domain expansion, control of second-level domain names, and trademarks and copyright protections. Outlines the history extending from the development of the pre-Internet ARPANET to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers…