Letter from the Executive Director
As we enter the home stretch of the year, we start to reflect on the past year and the accomplishments we've collectively achieved. Determining the metrics by which we benchmark our success is a core component of doing that assessment. Of course, we all want to do well and achieve our goals; and I hope each of you is well on the way to doing so!
In a business context either in a for-profit or not-for-profit structure, it is critical that the criteria used in measuring progress appropriately align with the strategic goals of the organization. Often the goals that are established are inwardly focused and are based on things that are comparatively easy to measure: Where did the organization end financially? How many customers or patrons were served? How efficiently were those interactions managed? Were the marketing or outreach activities successful? Addressing more complex issues, such as the level of satisfaction by those customers/patrons or whether the organization, in addressing the customer/patron's needs, was successful is considerably more challenging to assess.
In the library context, this is often exemplified. There is a great deal of data that is collected and shared, but do these data collection efforts and analyses really get to the core of what a library is doing and how it is serving its patrons? Possibly not. Describing the size of a collection says little about the community the library serves, who is utilizing the library, and for what purpose. Often in telling stories about a library's activities, be that locally or nationally, the data that are available and reported don't capture the full range of activities, or the breadth of services a library provides. How do libraries effectively capture the impact of makerspaces or non-traditional services (such as tax preparation, check-out-a-person, or internet provision). There are certainly data that could be collected and be used for predictive modeling or for strategic investments that libraries could also engage in. Examples of questions that might be explored include: how can an institution identify underserved communities and craft programs for those communities? Or how might the library with services have an impact and with which communities?
I spent a part of last week at a kick-off meeting of the Measures that Matter Implementation project, hosted by COSLA. This project is exploring ways to advance the recommendations of the project's first phase and were reported out earlier this year. Specifically, the project is looking to a project to examine, evaluate, and map the landscape of public library data collection in the United States. After doing so, the implementation phase is seeking to both rationalize and coordinate national assessment data collection efforts, explore new metrics to add to existing data collection efforts that can be used to more fully capture the impact that libraries are having on the community, and to also develop a plan on how to build capacity for improving understanding about data use and application in our community.
Part of this process relates to standards for defining what data is to be collected and what are the processes for data collection to make the process easier for individual librarians, which is why NISO has been engaged in the effort. Self-assessment can be done by any institution without much external coordination, but when data needs to be aggregated at regional, state, national, or even international levels, agreement on data elements, meanings, and goals is critical. Not every institution has the same capacity for data gathering, needs for assessment, or analytical capacity. Any systems that come out of the Measures that Matter project need to work both locally and scale up nationally. Ideally, the process will eventually reduce the burden on the librarians completing these data collection tools, but it will also provide more meaningful data that can be used to drive good decision-making by the public library community.
As we head toward the end of the year, I would like to express my thanks to all those who have engaged throughout the year on the large number of NISO initiatives. By last count there were more than 500 people working on various projects. Each chance I get, I remind all of you that your contributions, be they financial, your time, your feedback, or your leadership contributions, are critical to our success. We wouldn't be able to achieve our own goals and produce our successes without your efforts. Our deepest thanks go out to you all.
I hope your holidays are joyous, filled with health and peace.
With kindest regards,
Todd Carpenter
NISO Reports
Media Stories
Will blockchain revolutionize scholarly journal publishing?
Alexander C. Kafka, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 13, 2018
European start-up, Orvium, is offering a publishing and business plan based on blockchain for the purpose of making peer-review more efficient and transparent. Orvium will enable the application of blockchain technology to a scholarly article for purposes of tracking peer review and subsequent revisions while preserving a history of that article's handling by others. The Chronicle reports, "Manuscript submission, peer review, copyright-license payments, data sharing and journal management will be paid for" through use of Orvium tokens -- a form of cryptocurrency. The article contains commentary on Orvium's plans from such notable information industry experts as John Willinsky of Stanford University, Martin Eve of the University of London, and Heather Morrison of the University of Ottawa.
A milestone in the history of science based on work of the CODATA, the Committee on Data of the International Science Council
Committee on Data of the International Council of Science, November 15, 2018
The CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Physical Constants is responsible for periodically publishing a "recommended set of self-consistent values" that support the standardization of basic units of trade and scientific measurement. Such units were generally determined through use of a physical object of some sort. Until the present day, for example, the associated value of a kilogram has been based on the mass of a single cylinder of platinum-iridium housed in Paris. Through international efforts across several decades, the values assigned to such measures as kilogram, ampere, kelvin, and mole will now be established through proven, fundamental laws of science rather than relying upon the physical prototypes used for establishing values over the past two centuries.
Follow-up coverage of the successful vote by the General Conference of Weights and Measures is available from the NY Times, The Kilogram is Dead. Long Live the Kilogram!
Statewide Data on OER Savings
Mark Lieberman, Inside Higher Ed, November 16, 2018
State auditors examined the North Dakota University System to see the results of an initial investment in OER materials on savings for students. “...650 courses across the system exclusively use OER, affecting at least 15,000 students. Auditors estimate that students saved between $1.1 million and $2.4 million in textbook costs during the first two years of the initiative. That savings number reflects only a portion of the courses that included OER: the actual figure is likely much higher.”
Is It Finally Time for Media Companies to Adopt a Common Publishing Platform?
Jesse Knight, Chief Technology Officer, Vice; LinkedIn Pulse, November 19, 2018
Over the past 15 to 20 years, innovative media companies -- the Washington Post, Vox Media, New York Magazine, and Hearst -- have invested in the design and engineering of their own content management systems and platforms. Those same companies are now ready to license out their platforms to other entities less well-resourced. Author Jesse Knight suggests that consolidating around a common publishing platform would enable these media companies to better compete against Facebook -- serving as a "media union, taking action collectively, and one and for all addressing their biggest revenue challenges." This article is the first in a series assessing each of the platforms that those media firms have individually built with an eye to identifying what might best serve that segment of the information community.
2019 Top Tech Trends Highlight Technology Integration Opportunities for Universities
Eli Zimmerman, EdTech Magazine, November 16, 2018
Drawing from the 2019 Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trendswith the potential to transform industries in the coming 5 years, this article focuses on those trends perceived as offering universities a competitive edge. Key takeaways include:
- "Analysts expect machine learning to play an important role in 2019, offering support for tasks that may require more time, energy and training than teachers and administrators have at their disposal." (Autonomous machines, augmented analytics)
- "Analysts predict the line between the real and digital worlds will continue to blur as current technologies advance and new tools are developed." (Digital twins, Empowered edge computing, Immersive technologies)
- "Improvements in Mesh means a focus on how users engage with Tech." (Smart Spaces, Digital Ethics and Privacy) This means that universities will need to improve curricula and resources addressing responsible technology use and online presence."
Building a Trusted Framework for Coordinating OA Monograph Usage Data
BISG Report prepared by KU Research, Authors: Cameron Neylon, Lucy Montgomery, Nic Suzor, Joanne Gray and Alkim Ozaygen. Funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. November 5, 2018
Stakeholders in monograph publishing are organizing efforts to move forward toward "capturing and articulating the value of investments in open access monographs in the context of users who engage with their books across multiple sites and formats." The Book Industry Study Group is offering this draft white paper for review and seeking responses to a set of survey questionspertaining to the document. Because of the sensitivities associated with monitoring individual reading practices and behavioral data, the paper proposes a "community data trust" for purposes of compiling, generating analytics, and subsequent use of trust members' aggregated data in the enhancement of platforms and services. Such a community approach offers the possibility of reaching economies of scale and long-term sustainability. "This report makes the case that creating a knowledge commons for sharing OA monograph usage data represents an important opportunity to support innovation and growth in monograph publishing."
Google Scholar to overshadow them all? Comparing the sizes of 12 academic search engines and bibliographic databases
Michael Gusenbauer, Scientometrics, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2958-5
This lengthy article offers a means of measuring the size of the most significant academic search engines and bibliographic databases (ASEBD). Given the fluidity of such systems as Google Scholar, such a metric may prove invaluable for purposes of competitive analysis. Included as part of the study were the Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics), Semantic Scholar (Allen Institute), EBSCOHost (Ebsco Publishing), ProQuest (ProQuest, LLC) CiteSeerX (Pennsylvania State University), and Scopus (Elsevier).
New and Proposed Specs and Standards
ISO/TR 21946:2018 Information and documentation -- Appraisal for managing records
Technical Committee ISO/TC 46/SC 11 Archives/records management
"This document provides guidance on how to carry out appraisal for managing records. It describes some of the products and outcomes that can be delivered using the results of appraisal. As such, this document describes a practical application of the concept of appraisal outlined in ISO 15489-1 (Information and documentation -- Records management -- Part 1: Concepts and principles, which defines the concepts and principles from which approaches to the creation, capture and management of records are developed.)"
ISO/TR 22299:2018 Document management -- Digital file format recommendations for long-term storage
Technical Committee ISO/TC 171/SC 2 Document file formats, EDMS systems and authenticity of information
"This document gives guidelines for selecting the most appropriate file format(s) for the storage, usability, and exchange of data with a long-term management objective. It is applicable to the selection of file formats to be used to store electronic documents. It provides guidance that takes into account: the durability of documents in a readable form; fidelity to the original and data integrity; interoperability, i.e. independence from creation applications, information systems and rendition platforms; compliance with relevant laws and regulations; compliance with format specifications; reducing costs by reducing the number of conversions/migrations over time."
ISO/IEC 29101:2018 Information technology -- Security techniques -- Privacy architecture framework
Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 IT Security techniques
"This document defines a privacy architecture framework that: specifies concerns for ICT (information and communications technology) systems that process PII (personally identifiable information); lists components for the implementation of such systems; and provides architectural views contextualizing these components. This document is applicable to entities involved in specifying, procuring, architecting, designing, testing, maintaining, administering and operating ICT systems that process PII."
ISO/IEC 20889:2018 Privacy enhancing data de-identification terminology and classification of techniques
"This document provides a description of privacy-enhancing data de-identification techniques, to be used to describe and design de-identification measures in accordance with the privacy principles in ISO/IEC 29100 (Information technology -- Security techniques -- Privacy framework). In particular, this document specifies terminology, a classification of de-identification techniques according to their characteristics, and their applicability for reducing the risk of re-identification."
ISO/IEC 29138-1:2018 Information technology -- User interface accessibility -- Part 1: User accessibility needs
Technical Committee : ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35 User interfaces
"This document identifies a collection of user accessibility needs that diverse users have of ICT (information and communications technology) systems to make these systems accessible to them. Each user accessibility need might be required of a system by an individual. Different users can have different sets of user accessibility needs in different contexts. The user accessibility needs in this document are intended to inform and encourage those responsible for accessibility to go beyond the minimum provisions of accessibility legislation and regulations."
The Business Case for Digital Accessibility
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG)
This document "describes how accessibility can drive innovation, enhance your brand, extend market reach, and minimize legal risk. It includes direct and indirect benefits of accessibility and the risks of not addressing accessibility adequately. It provides case studies and examples that demonstrate how investment in accessibility is good for your organization."
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