From University World News:
An African digital library and archives programme must be set up urgently as the continent lacks a comprehensive system for accessing and storing information, an international conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, heard last month. It suggested that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) champion the initiative as the continent [...]
Archive of entries posted on August 2009
AFRICA: Call for digital library and archive
Italy antitrust probes Google on coercion claim
From Reuters:
Italy’s anti-trust watchdog said on Thursday it was opening an investigation into Google’s Italian news website after local papers complained that they were forced to appear on the site.
The competition authority said the Italian Federation of Newspaper Editors had complained that any publication refusing to appear on the website “would automatically be excluded from [...]
Google Book Search? Try Google Library
From cnet:
Is Google ready–or willing–to become a library?
Librarians, academics, and privacy advocates will gather Friday on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley to discuss the implications of Google’s proposed settlement with publishers that, if implemented, will allow it to bring millions of books online.
At issue are concerns over privacy, quality, and Google’s [...]
As Google Settlement Hits Homestretch, Libraries Push for Changes
From Publishers Weekly:
With the Google Book Search Settlement’s September 4 deadline to object or file comments with the court fast approaching, libraries have ramped up efforts to have the deal altered. This week, the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), a member organization of medium and large public libraries called for changes in the settlement plan, as [...]
Urban Libraries Council Calls for Major Changes in Google Settlement
From Library Journal:
The Urban Libraries Council (ULC), a member organization of medium and large public libraries—an important constituency affected by the Google Book Search settlement—has called for major changes in Google’s announced plan to provide just one free terminal per public library building and in regulating a potential monopoly.
Full Text of Urban Libraries Council Statement
Margolis: ALA, Allies Should Request More Library Access in Google Settlement
From Library Journal:
A veteran American Library Association (ALA) Councilor and longtime library executive has urged ALA and fellow library groups to more forcefully advocate that the pending Google Book Settlement offer increased library access to the book database, among other things.
European Opposition Mounts Against Google’s Selling Digitized Books
From the New York Times:
Opposition is mounting in Europe to a proposed class-action settlement giving Google the right to commercialize digital copies of millions of books.
SLA Joins Alliance Calling for Investigation into Google Books Settlement
SLA Press Release:
The formation of a unique alliance bringing together non-profits, library groups, corporations, Special Libraries Association (SLA) and other consumer groups to call for a detailed investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into the Google Books Settlement is being widely reported by the news media today.
Obama’s FCC to enforce ‘net neutrality’
From The Hill:
The Obama administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to keep the Internet free of increased user fees based on heavy Web traffic and slow downloads.
Julius Genachowski, the FCC chairman, told The Hill that his agency will support “net neutrality” and go after anyone who violates its tenets.
Internet Archive proposal for mass digitization
From Free Government Information:
I had known that the Internet Archive had submitted a response to the GPO’s RFP for mass digitization. A friend just sent me the link to the proposal submitted to GPO (embedded below and here’s the link to the proposal and supporting documents).