Affiliated Organization News
RDMLA - Free Professional Development
From all of us on the RDMLA team, we hope you are staying healthy and safe.
Like so many of our family, friends, and colleagues, we know you have had to rapidly transform the way you socialize, work, and learn. Many of us are working remotely or at home, and are unable to travel or attend conferences. If you (or your co-workers and/or staff) are looking for free learning opportunities as a part of your professional development, you may want to consider the Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA). To date, we have over 2,600 learners from 135 countries. We have seen a steady increase in course participants since the initial launch, especially during the most recent weeks.
In addition, as of Monday, April 6th, Simmons University School of Library and Information Science is offering three continuing education (CE) credits at a discounted fee of $50 USD for learners who complete all the learning units and opt to take the final assessment test. The CE credits are optional and learners may still work through the course without incurring any charges if they prefer.
Please visit the RDMLA website or reach out to the RDMLA Fellow Ashley Thomas for more information about the course, the CE credits, and links to the RDMLA course on Canvas Network.
Emerald Publishing - Special issue call for papers from Digital Library Perspectives
Digital libraries are services that have been developed and enhanced for years, but the recent Covid-19 pandemic has made many users aware of the service for the first time. Especially because of the closure of libraries, during the pandemic, additional efforts have been made to promote Digital Libraries and their services, as clearly visible and active libraries. Moreover, traditional libraries or those without many digital services are having the challenge of keeping their services active for their users virtually during this emergency, and librarians have been engaging in new work practices in order to achieve such objectives from their home offices.
This special issue aims to understand the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to digital libraries and users and how they are responding to these challenges:
- How does the pandemic affect digital libraries and their users?
- How does the pandemic make digital libraries look different now and in the future?
- What do you think is the lasting impact of COVID-19 on digital libraries and their users?
- What are the new digital services and activities that librarians are conducting from their home offices to keep their libraries alive and support their users?
- What are the responsibilities of professionals now and in the future?
We are interested in receiving papers highlighting the current initiatives and best practices that digital libraries are engaging with, in order to deepen the conversation on how they are responding to this historic challenge.
This special issue aims to be a platform for individuals and institutions to share reflections and experiences, to help us support each other as we collectively adapt and grow stronger from this experience.
Submissions should comply with the journal author guidelines and should be made through ScholarOne Manuscripts, the online submission and peer review system.
Important Dates:
Initial submissions due date: May 1st, 2020
Preliminary Feedback notification: May 15th, 2020
Revised submissions due: June 1st, 2020
Peer review / editorial decisions due: June 20th, 2020
Final submissions due: July 30th, 2020
Expected publication: Fall/Autumn 2020
Questions can be directed to the editor in chief Anna Maria Tammaro