"NPArC (pronounced N-Park) houses research papers for refereed journals, peer-reviewed conferences and technical reports that NRC researchers produce each year. It also guarantees long-term access to this research — serving as a valuable resource for NRC researchers, collaborators and the public. NPArC currently includes 35,000 publication records from 17 NRC institutes, along with 5,000 full-text publications from four of these institutes. And, over the course of this year, CISTI will be translating all new abstracts into both official languages."

To support the initiative, NRC has established a policy effective January 2009 making it mandatory to deposit copies of all peer-reviewed, NRC-authored publications and technical reports in NPARC.  The NRC License to Publish (Crown Copyright) form has been updated to support this requirement.

The NPArC web interface supports searching by a wide variety of criteria, and also supports browsing by subject, author or NRC Institute.

For those interested, NPArC metadata is also harvestable via OAI-PMH at:  https://accs.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/oai/ctrl?verb=Identify

NPArC is based upon CISTI's Trusted Digital Repository infrastructure that I've mentioned previously.

The research, led by Johan Bollen of LANL, and his colleagues at the Santa Fe Institute, collected usage-log data gathered from a variety of publishers, aggregators, and universities from 2006 to 2008. Their collection totaled nearly 1 billion requests for online information. Because scientists usually read articles in online form well before they can be cited in print, usage data reveal scientific activity nearly in real-time, the map's creators say.

Via ISGTW and Bill St. Arnaud

Google is not the enemy.  Nor publishers, nor vendors (entirely - but I wouldn't turn my back on a vendor in a dark alley). 

The library role based on having/holding content is diminishing.  More and more libraries (particularly science libraries) no longer hold collections but instead license content. 

Moreover, the role of a library as a search enabler is also compromised by technologies.  WebOPACs and ILS systems, federated search platforms are diminished by the fact that they are either not client-oriented interfaces (WebOPAC), or that if others don't the job better - they at least are further up on the list of patrons first stops on their research journey (Google, Google Scholar, Scopus, etc).

So, what to do?  Turn your adversaries into allies.

Libraries will not be a starting place for researchers - deal with it.

Libraries will not be the holders of information - the value of "collections" is diminished - deal with it. 

How?  Libraries still have a valuable role - to be connectors to information.

Indeed, encourage patrons to search anywhere/everywhere!  Go to Amazon if that meets your needs, browse wikipedia, start at your favourite journals website, use Scopus and other tools if you have access!  I believe that it is the job of the library to get patrons to information - regardless if that information is in our collection or not.  And regardless of where the patron decides to begin their search.

It is possible, with a small set of commodity technologies to bring access to patrons no matter where they start.  In order of importance:

1. Link resolver - connects your own technologies and 3rd parties to appropriate copies and information services for your patrons.
2. Proxy server - allow off-campus access to IP-restricted resources.  Alternately, you might use Shibboleth or some other kind of authentication/authorization mechanism.
3. Federated search - Allows for broad searches across local, remote, paper and digital collection.  Not a silver bullet - but at least your patrons are not expected to perform 30 searches on 30 different data sources - and still remain generally unaware of the vast quantity of expensive resources you license on their behalf.  More importantly perhaps, a federated search platform can be the foundation for your "discovery layer" - hooks and landing areas to connect multiple information services and sources together.  In a rare instance, a patron might even begin their search there - but I doubt it.  Finally - at the very least - the patron will not be forced to look at your WebOPAC... nobody should have to look at that.  Apply all the lipstick you want.
4. Library Toolbar - You can make one for your library via LibX in an hour.  This is for me the paradigm shifter.  It is well known that patrons rarely start their search at the library.  Don't try to change patron behaviour, go with it!  If they start their search on a 3rd party website - the library toolbar should travel with them on their research journey - pointing out places where the library can help them.  Oh, I see a ISBN, or a citation, or a DOI - here's a link back to your library to find out more information or get more services!   
5. Other goodies - Alerting, citation management, visualization, analysis tools, recommendations, facets, personalization... all of these and more can be tacked onto the federated search and link resolver... you're adding more and more value!

Why are we afraid of Google and others?  Don't fear them, embrace them!    And connect patrons from wherever they go to where they need to be.

• "Let's put a calculator on everybody's desk and fire all of the F'ing accountants!?" - alluding to the silliness of the argument that because everything is online or available via Google that librarians/libraries no longer have value.
• Key-value for libraries:  non-partisan access/management to information.
• Different people learn/interact differently.  What's your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter presence as a librarian?  Many, many researchers are on Facebook.  Are you there?
• Interesting story about the founders of Yahoo having hired 65 librarians to make their portal sustainable by providing taxonomic expertise.
• Librarians have marketable skills that have proven (provable) benefits - taxonomies, ontology's, categorization for example.
• Stats on disadvantages of not having libraries in schools....
• Impressive stats on librarians impact in the medical field.  Something like a 50% change in diagnosis and a 4% impact on mortality rates where librarians consulted.
• Librarians don't think/learn visually generally - but are text oriented - but many of the patrons think/learn differently...  (SKA:  what does that say about the current state of library interfaces).
• We cannot afford for libraries to be thought of as warehouses.
• Libraries will not go away - but they will be different.
• Target market for Google Scholar - 18-28 year old undergrads. 
• How can we (libraries/librarians) maintain "day-to-day relevance".  Bring the library to MySpace, FaceBook, etc...
• Need "water-cooler relationships with scientists" - be embedded in social networks.
• "Libraries protect reading and knowledge, not just books."
• The new normal:
• • Integrated discovery mechanisms
  • Single Core community service portal with branch customization
  • Fully integrated electronic and hard-copy collections.
  • Fully integrated physical and virtual strategies
  • Instruction/coaching as core services
• Interesting slides/videos about messages about libraries, e.g.:  say intelligence rather than information.
• • See the SLA Alignment project videos for more...
  • Librarians consistently undervaluing themselves.
• Promote vs defending value-driven benefits.  e.g.: Don't say:  "The library is not dead". 
• Evolution, not revolution... because revolution isn't going to happen.
• Appeal to corporate executives.
• For public-sector:
• • Good service is the key to long-term existence.
  • Focus on citizens and social contract.
  • Collaborative advantage is ideal.
• On Innovation:
• • shorter projects with aggressive time-lines:  6 months instead of 3 years.
  • promote culture of iteration.
  • provide opportunities for "experiments", sandboxes, pilots, trials, skunk-works..
  • put boundaries on it, without putting boundaries on imagination.
  • management needs to be clear about the boundaries without being punishing.
• The digital divide is NOT with the users (it's with librarians/libraries).

Update:  Stephen's presentation is now available online.

For more information checkout http://www.icsti2009.org/.

the NRC Institute for Information Technology (NRC-IIT) to produce the most detailed scientific examination of the painting.

I've seen the real deal once - but it wasn't quite as striking an experience as walking around the foyer this afternoon and coming face to face with the lady unexpectedly.

The first few links of this query provide some examples - and Richard provides some suitable examples in his posting on SLP.

UPDATE (March 2, 2009):  Apparently it's available beyond Canada.

UPDATE (March 4, 2009):  The update is incorrect it seems - yea, just it's just in Canada.  If you find out otherwise, let me know please?

Anyone interested in using or demonstrating the SRU functionality may be interested in the following configuration information - as I had a difficult time to get a working example of SRU running... mainly due to the aformentioned lack of support for MODS:

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