rmcdonal's blog

Ubiquity for Firefox - Pretty Awesome!

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on August 28, 2008

If you have not seen Aza Raskin's video blog entry on the new Firefox Ubiquity tool then you should check it out. Could do more for the basic Web since Netscape.


Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

New Data Division Director Position at SDSC

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on August 28, 2008

I am posting this position because I think it is such an interesting approach to data management from one of the largest academic data repositories.

Leximancer - Data Mining Tools

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on August 06, 2008

Is anyone using Leximancer as a knowledge management or data mining tool in their org? And if so how are you using it?

http://www.leximancer.com/

ALA/LITA Pre-Conference on DataGrid Technologies and Libraries

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on May 16, 2008

Today is the last day for advance registration for an upcoming pre-conference that I am doing with colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and the Texas Advanced Computer Center. See registration link and details below.

NY Times Article on Digital Preservation Features Berman

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on April 16, 2008

This recent New York Times article on digital preservation features SDSC’s own Fran Berman.

See - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/technology/techspecial/09store.html?_r=1&sq=

 

PREMIS Metadata Tutorial Skypecast

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on February 11, 2008

Today's (Feb 11, 2008 9am - 5pm) PREMIS Metadata Tutorial being held at the University of California, San Diego will be broadcast with live audio via skypecast. To join this skypecast go to https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/skypecast/detailed.html?id_talk=3841334

To find out more about the tutorial please see - http://chronopolis.sdsc.edu/premis.html

If you want to follow along with the course materials you can go to

http://pigpen.lib.uchicago.edu:8888/pigpen/41

You will need to log in:

username: linus

password: lucy

 

 

NISO to Host Digital Preservation Spring Forum

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on January 30, 2008

NISO is sponsoring a forum on digital preservation titled Digital Preservation Forum: Planning Today for Tomorrow’s Resources. It is a very interesting agenda see http://www.niso.org/news/events_workshops/digpres08/agenda.html

Code4lib Gender Diversity Fellowship

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on December 17, 2007

The Oregon State University / Code4lib Gender Diversity Scholarship will provide up to $1000 to cover travel costs and conference fees for one qualified attendee to the 2008 Code4lib conference (February 25-28 in Portland, OR). This scholarship is eligible to any woman interested in actively contributing to the mission and goals of the Code4lib Conference.

For more information please see:
http://code4lib.org/node/208

PREMIS Tutorial Feb 11, 2008 at UC San Diego

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on December 17, 2007
PREMIS Metadata Tutorial: An Overview of the Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata with Implementation Case Studies

February 11, 2008, 9:00-5:30

UC San Diego Geisel Library, Seuss Room, UCSD, La Jolla, CA

The UC San Diego Libraries, the California Digital Library, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and the PREMIS Editorial Committee are sponsoring a tutorial on the PREMIS Data Dictionary Feb. 11, 2008 at the UC San Diego Geisel Library on the UCSD campus in La Jolla, CA.

New Mailing List on Distributed/Federated Digital Preservation Strategies

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on November 16, 2007

The MetaArchive Cooperative has established a new mailing list for discussion of distributed/federated digital preservation issues and strategies. This list will work toward building cross-community relationships for a variety of federated digital preservation organizations.

I put this up earlier today and the list was not quite ready for subscription.

However, you can now subscribe at:
http://listserv.emory.edu/wa.exe?SUBED1=distributed-preservation-l&A=1

ALA/LITA MidWinter Pre-Conference on User Centered Design

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on November 14, 2007

Just heard about an interesting pre-conference at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting in Philadelphia, PA. It will be a two day course (January 10-11, 2008) on user-centered design by Brenda Reeb from the University of Rochester. Should be a good beginning and intermediate introduction to the processes that have culminated in the open-access monograph that Rochester has recently produced, Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester.

For more info see: http://litablog.org/2007/11/13/lita-workshops-at-2008-ala-midwinter-meeting/

A Few Millennial Sessions at Educause 2007

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on October 26, 2007

At this year's Educause Annual Conference there were a variety of sessions on millennials. I thought I would list them all here for those interested in this topic. I may have missed a few, if so let me know.

McDonald, Sweeney, Thomas, Walters www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS047

Deturck, Griscom www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS019

Somerville www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS061

Donald, Hardin www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS098

Campbell www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/CI15

NSF/JISC Final Report on Repositories Workshop

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on September 28, 2007

Recently posted is the final report of the NSF/JISC Workshop on Repositories held in Phoeniz, AZ in April 2007. The report entitled "The Future of Scholarly Commuication:Building the Infrastructure for Cyberscholarship" is available online at: http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~repwkshop/NSF-JISC-report.pdf

NSF Posts DataNet Solicitation

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on September 28, 2007

NSF today has posted a new funding track in their Office of Cyberinfrastructure entitled Sustainable Digital Data Preservation and Access Network Partners (DataNet) - http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07601/nsf07601.htm

The goal of the program is to:

Science and engineering research and education are increasingly digital and increasingly data-intensive. Digital data are not only the output of research but provide input to new hypotheses, enabling new scientific insights and driving innovation. Therein lies one of the major challenges of this scientific generation: how to develop the new methods, management structures and technologies to manage the diversity, size, and complexity of current and future data sets and data streams. This solicitation addresses that challenge by creating a set of exemplar national and global data research infrastructure organizations (dubbed DataNet Partners) that provide unique opportunities to communities of researchers to advance science and/or engineering research and learning.

Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access

Created by Robert H. McDonald (Indiana University) on September 21, 2007

I thought some of you might be interested in this newly formed Task Force that is being jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

See press release -

http://www.sdsc.edu/News%20Items/PR091907_blueribbon.html

To address the critical challenge for digital preservation, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation are teaming to fund a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access. Also participating in Task Force activities are the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Council on Library and Information Resources, and the Joint Information Systems Committee of the United Kingdom.