Controversial Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science, and Technology bill moves forward - June 17, 2014
On May 28, 2014, the US House of Representatives Science, Space, and Technology Committee passed the Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) Act of 2014, H.R. 4186. The bill seeks to reauthorise sections of the America COMPETES Act relating to the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of… Read More
SPARC releases statement on FIRST Act - May 23, 2014
The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Research Coalition's (SPARC) Executive Director Heather Joseph has released a statement on Science, Space, and Technology markup of H.R. 4186, the Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science and Technology (FIRST) Act. Representative Lofgren (D-CA) offered an amendment to Section 303 on… Read More
Key international associations come together to underscore their support for immediate open access to research articles - May 19, 2014
The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has joined major international associations in support of immediate open access to research. SPARC, along with five international partner organisations, recently released a statement underscoring the importance of immediate, free access to the research of research. As… Read More
HIMSS offers guidance to HHS on Certified EHR Technology - April 29, 2014
In official comments submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HIMSS provided recommendations in response to ONC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Voluntary 2015 Edition Electronic Health Record (EHR) Certification Criteria; Interoperability… Read More
ARL, SPARC and other organisations oppose FIRST Act - April 21, 2014
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), SPARC, and 14 other organisations have sent a letter to Chairman Smith (R-TX) and Representative Johnson (D-TX) urging them to modify the Frontiers in Innovation Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) Act of 2014 (H.R. 4186), which… Read More
EBSCO Information Services releases new policy on metadata sharing and technology collaboration - April 21, 2014
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), a provider of aggregated content resources for libraries, has released its new policy on metadata sharing and technology collaboration. EBSCO will make all metadata (and full text when contractually allowed) available for more than 120 full-text databases and over 500,000 e-books, as… Read More
ACRL releases second part of draft Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education - April 7, 2014
ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Task Force has released the second part of their initial draft of the association’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, adopted by ACRL in 2000, has become an… Read More
Library Copyright Alliance comments on EU consultation on copyright rules - March 17, 2014
The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) recently submitted a response to the European Union (EU) consultation on the review of copyright rules. The EU website provided a list of 80 questions for stakeholders to answer; the LCA response focuses on those questions most relevant to the library… Read More
SAGE opposes FIRST Act cuts to social, behavioral, and economic science funding and political interference in the NSF grant-application process - March 14, 2014
Social and behavioural sciences publisher SAGE has joined with science associations and American universities in opposing the FIRST Act. This act proposes to cut the funding level for the National Science Foundation's Directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences by almost 42 percent and imposes unnecessary… Read More
Library Copyright Alliance submits comments on copyright reform to Commerce Department - January 13, 2014
On January 8, the Library Copyright Alliance submitted additional comments on the US Department of Commerce "green paper," Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy (PDF), following a public meeting held by the Commerce Department in December. The post-meeting comments focus on four issues:… Read More
