The October 2022 edition of CNI’s Pre-Recorded Project Briefing Series is now live. Comprised of timely videos on projects, events, and other digital information initiatives or related issues of importance, this edition includes seven videos spanning a wide variety of topics, including digital preservation, emerging technologies, privacy, and research data management. Several of the briefings include updates on ongoing projects or participation opportunities that we think will be of particular interest to the CNI community. 

Two briefings synthesize and provide valuable context on recent research projects. 

In Staffing for Digital, Elizabeth England (US National Archives and Records Administration) and Lauren Work (U. Virginia) share the findings of the latest National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) Staffing Survey. The survey specifically examines staffing realities, patterns, and needs for digital preservation programs. The briefing overviews the survey’s history and spotlights trends and key findings, such as how perceptions of digital preservation shift according to a respondent’s role and how increased staffing is just one component of building effective digital preservation programs. 

In Who Versions Scholarly Code?, Vicky Rampin (New York U.) and Sarah Nguyễn (U. Washington) share the results of a study about scholars who code. The research, which was done as a part of the Investigating & Archiving the Scholarly Git Experience project, provides insight into the behaviors, motivations, practices and needs of scholars who code and how they interact with systems such as Git, the most widely used open-source version control system. This is particularly important as code becomes a more widely recognized scholarly object, since it is developed and maintained within a complex environment that goes far beyond the code itself.

VIVO is a member-supported, open-source research information management (RIM) system as well as an ontology for representing scholarship; we have reported on VIVO-related developments numerous times at CNI meetings. In Recent Advances of the Open-Source VIVO Research Information Management System that Enhance Usability, Interoperability, and Internationalization, Rebecca Bryant (OCLC) and Bruce Herbert (Texas A&M U.), describe recent system updates as well as a new partnership with EuroCRIS, the European RIM organization.

This edition includes an early look at Sarah Lamdan's forthcoming book Data Cartels: The Companies That Control and Monopolize Our Information (Stanford University Press, Nov. 2022). A lawyer and a librarian, Lamdan argues that information vendors that mine, commodify and sell consumer data “perpetuate social inequalities and threaten the democratic sharing of knowledge.” In particular, she examines companies that are shifting from publishing and platforming content to becoming data analytics businesses, and how these evolving data procurement models present profound data privacy concerns.

The U. of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library has received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant for the project Lessons for Librarians in Open Science Principles and Methods. The project aims to promote library and archives staff skill development in open science methods and digital processes by encouraging lesson and curriculum development. This presentation describes the project and announces the call for lesson proposals.

Cyril Oberlander (California State Polytechnic U., Humboldt) illustrates how impactful tools are often right in front of us in Discovering Humboldt Project: Leveraging Google Maps & Metadata Work to Enhance Discovery, Recruitment and Retention Strategies, and Tourism. Oberlander explains how his library used Google Maps, reviews, and metadata to enhance visibility and regional information while confronting questions of community, belonging, accessibility, representation, and discovery. Part project overview and part hands-on training, the briefing showcases how readily accessible information and useful metadata have a powerful impact on Google Search results.  

Lastly, we are delighted to have Jamie Flood, CNI's 2022 Paul Evan Peters Fellowship masters recipient, discuss her work at the USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL) in a conversation with Kirstin Nelson, senior law librarian and executive director of the Diversity and Inclusion Council at NAL. Flood’s extensive Wikipedia work has covered issues of land access, food security, nutrition, invasive species, and more. In this video, the pair discusses Flood’s studies at the U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library and Information Science program, as well as some of her upcoming work for NAL, where she will continue to address systematic inequity in agriculture and food systems through a variety of initiatives. 

A sincere thanks to all who contributed to this edition. Please share these videos widely and engage with the work presented here. We welcome your comments about this series or any other aspect of CNI’s work. The call for proposals for the next edition of pre-recorded project briefings will be posted to CNI-ANNOUNCE and CNI’s social media outlets in the coming weeks.