CARL, OCUL, and University of Toronto Libraries Sign MOU Outlining Collaborative Intent to Develop a National Institutional Repository Service – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), and University of Toronto Libraries are pleased to announce their signing of an MOU outlining our collaborative intent to develop a National Institutional Repository Service to be hosted by Scholars Portal.  

The agreement establishes a framework for collaboration among the three parties involved in the planning, hosting, supporting and providing access to the service. It articulates a cooperative planning process for piloting and hosting a production implementation of the open-source software, DSpace. The University of Toronto Libraries will be responsible for managing the software which will be available to institutions across Canada through Scholars Portal. 

Starting with a pilot program of a limited number of institutions, the ultimate goal is to create a robust and scalable multi-institutional national repository service – one that is strengthened by a responsive, collaborative community of experts and repository practitioners. Scholars Portal will provide reliable technical hosting, security measures, monitoring, and technical support in line with other services currently being offered, with the potential for integrating digital preservation and other services/workflows, as a benefit to participating organizations….”

CARL, OCUL, and University of Toronto Libraries Sign MOU Outlining Collaborative Intent to Develop a National Institutional Repository Service | Ontario Council of University Libraries

“The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), and University of Toronto Libraries are pleased to announce their signing of an MOU outlining our collaborative intent to develop a National Institutional Repository Service to be hosted by Scholars Portal.  

The agreement establishes a framework for collaboration among the three parties involved in the planning, hosting, supporting and providing access to the service. It articulates a cooperative planning process for piloting and hosting a production implementation of the open-source software, DSpace. The University of Toronto Libraries will be responsible for managing the software which will be available to institutions across Canada through Scholars Portal. 

Starting with a pilot program of a limited number of institutions, the ultimate goal is to create a robust and scalable multi-institutional national repository service – one that is strengthened by a responsive, collaborative community of experts and repository practitioners. Scholars Portal will provide reliable technical hosting, security measures, monitoring, and technical support in line with other services currently being offered, with the potential for integrating digital preservation and other services/workflows, as a benefit to participating organizations….”

CARL Canadian Repositories Community of Practice June Call – Community Conversations: Shared Infrastructure for Repositories – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“Invited speaker: Geoff Harder, Associate University Librarian (University of Alberta) and CARL Project Director for National Shared Repository Infrastructure 

Institutional repositories have become increasingly vital to the digital scholarship landscape at Canadian post-secondary institutions. Over the last twenty years, we’ve gained a lot of experience and knowledge, but also face challenges working in isolation at our institutions. Geoff Harder, Associate University Librarian at the University of Alberta, was appointed as the Project Director to begin initial planning and development of a National Shared Repository Infrastructure in September 2022. Join us for the inaugural Canadian Repositories Community of Practice event, where Geoff will discuss his work with us. We’ll hear from Geoff and then the rest of the steering committee will lead further discussion with topics for the community and opportunities to share experiences and ask questions.”

Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) Releases the National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources (OER) – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is proud to announce the release of a comprehensive document, A National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources in Canada, aimed at advancing the adoption and support of open educational resources (OER) across the country. 

This framework is the result of collaborative efforts involving diverse stakeholders, including national student groups, provincial open education organizations, scholars, advocates in open education, and representatives from higher education institutions.  Its purpose is to help advance and inform advocacy efforts directed at the Federal government. The ultimate goal is to provide guidance to stakeholders in advocating for federal involvement in OER. 

An outcome of the work of the Open Educational Resources (OER) National Strategy – Stratégie nationale en matière de ressources éducatives libres (REL) group, a dedicated consortium of stakeholders facilitated by CARL, the Framework was written and reviewed by practitioners and experts from various backgrounds within Canada’s post-secondary system. Divided into six sections and accompanied by five appendices, the document provides a detailed examination of OER in Canadian higher education and its connection with already existing federal programs. It proposes principles to underpin federal involvement and priorities for a national approach to open education….”

Library to host Francophone OER Summit | Library

“On April 27, the University of Ottawa Library, in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Research Librariesnorth_east

external link (CARL), will host the Francophone OER Summit. Held both onsite and online, this event dedicated to open educational resources (OER) will bring together some 30 practitioners, experts and students from Francophone communities across Canada and Québec.

OER are free and openly accessible learning and teaching resources. They can be custom created, adapted or translated, and are widely available. They are also more equitable for users.

The lack of French-language educational resources and textbooks is an issue that has been highlighted by many at the University of Ottawa , as well as by stakeholders at other Francophone and bilingual post-secondary institutions in Canada . In this context, the creation and adaptation of OER in French can help mitigate this problem….”

Canada demonstrates once again its solid commitment to open infrastructure  – SCOSS – The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services

“We would like to warmly thank the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) for Canada’s donation to the infrastructures  Dryad, LA Referencia, and ROR of the 4th SCOSS funding round! The donation brings the total of pledges to SCOSS infrastructures over the years to over 5 million euros….”

New CARL VPO for Open Education – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) is pleased to welcome Ann Ludbrook as Visiting Program Officer (VPO) for Open Education.

Ann is the Scholarly Engagement and Copyright Librarian at Ryerson University. She provides copyright education and support for the Ryerson community and is an active member of the CFLA Copyright Committee and the CARL Copyright Specialist group. In terms of open education, Ann is an originating and current member of the CARL Open Education Working Group and chairs their Community of Practice team. She has worked for over 8 years in the field of open education at Ryerson University and regularly supports Open Education projects. She was one of the librarians that worked on the CARL Copyright Open Educational Resource for University Instructors….”

ARL/CARL Joint Task Force on Research Data Services: Final Report

“The task force formed three working groups of data practitioners, representing a wealth of expertise, to research the institutional landscape and policy environment in both the US and Canada, setting three core objectives for the work: 1. Develop a shared understanding among ARL and CARL members of the roles of research libraries in the research data ecosystem 2. Develop a roadmap with recommendations for the roles of research libraries with regard to research data principles, policies, and approaches to managing research data in the context of the Open Science by Design framework and recommendations 3. Develop guidance for research libraries and for representing research libraries’ work with policy makers, including strategies for discipline-specific research data approaches, priorities for automation of processes, economic models to scale and sustain shared resources, prioritization of research data to steward, and decision-making rubrics….”

ARL/CARL Joint Task Force on Research Data Services Releases Final Report – Association of Research Libraries

“The Association of Research Libraries (ARL)/Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) Joint Task Force on Research Data Services has released its final report. The task force formed in 2020 with a two-fold purpose: (1) to demonstrate and commit to the roles research libraries have in stewarding research data and as part of institution-wide research support services and (2) to guide the development of resources for the ARL and CARL memberships in advancing their organizations as collaborative partners with respect to research data services in the context of FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles and the US National Academies’ Open Science by Design framework. Research libraries will be successful in meeting these objectives if they act collectively and are deeply engaged with disciplinary communities. The task force formed three working groups of data practitioners, representing a wealth of expertise, to research the institutional landscape and policy environment in both the US and Canada.

The final report presents the task force’s recommendations for the roles of research libraries with regard to research data principles, policies, and approaches to managing research data. The report also offers strategies for discipline-specific research data approaches, priorities for automation of processes, economic models to scale and sustain shared resources, prioritization of research data to steward, and decision-making rubrics.”

CARL-CRKN-SPARC Webinar: Institutional Perspectives on Investments in Open Infrastructure – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), and SPARC are pleased to bring you this panel on institutional approaches and perspectives regarding their investments in open infrastructure.

This session brings together librarians from institutions in Canada and the United States to discuss the values, rubrics, and supporting data used locally to strategize and guide investments in open infrastructure. How are priorities determined? How does the institution weigh local vs. global impacts? How important is collective/consortial investment in this context? Are there divergent perspectives between collections and scholarly communications specialists? Is it possible to transfer any savings from negotiated license agreements toward open infrastructure investment? What internal discussions are necessary to build support for shifting library funds from subscriptions to infrastructure support?…”

CARL and Portage Response to “Data Repository Selection: Criteria That Matter” – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and the Portage Network (Portage) would like to express concerns about the Data Repository Selection: Criteria That Matter, recently proposed through the FAIR Sharing initiative. The proposed approach, developed primarily by a group of publishers, will have a negative effect on the development of Canada’s national infrastructure, on research equity, and on the rights of marginalized and under-served communities to fully participate in the scientific process.

Canada, like many other countries, is developing national infrastructure and services for research data management – including national, institutional and domain data repositories – that will support comprehensive research data management in this country. This is demonstrated, for instance, through the launch of Dataverse Canada1, and the  development of the Federated Research Data Repository2.

We have several concerns about the data repository selection criteria:…”

Walk-In Users and Their Access to Online Resources in Canadian Academic Libraries | Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research

Abstract:  In the past, a member of the public could access an academic library’s collection simply by visiting the library in person and browsing the shelves. However, now that online resources are prevalent and represent the majority of collections budgets and current collections, public access has become more complicated. In Canadian academic libraries, licences negotiated for online resources generally allow on-site access for walk-in users; however access is not granted uniformly across libraries. The goal of this study was to understand whether members of the public are indeed able to access online resources in major Canadian university libraries, whether access to supporting tools was offered, how access is provided, and whether access is monitored or promoted. The study used an online survey that targeted librarians responsible for user services at Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) member libraries. The survey results indicated that some level of free access to digital resources was provided to walk-in users at 90% of libraries for which a survey response was received. However, limitations in methods and modes of access and availability of supporting resources, such as software and printing, varied between the institutions. The study also found that most libraries did not actively promote or monitor non-affiliated user access.  

 

Open Access – Canadian Association of Research Libraries

“Open access is a model of scholarly communication that promises to greatly improve the accessibility of results of research. In general terms, scholarly research that is published in open access is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions (although it does require that proper attribution of works be given to authors).

CARL is committed to open access as a means of broadening access to scholarly materials. The Association has signed two important international declarations on open access….”