IFLA signs on to International Principles of the Application of Human Rights to Communications Software

Great development! Details here. (thanks to Myron Groover, BCLA Information Policy Committee).

Government data / open data resources

The civicaccess.ca listserv and the datalibre.ca blog are both great sources of the latest information and resources for open data. (With thanks to the civicaccess.ca and datalibre.ca teams, especially Tracey Lauriault.

Currie, L. (2013). The Role of Canadian Municipal Open Data Initiatives: A Multi-City Evaluation. M.A Thesis, Department of Geography, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON. Abstract retrieved October 27, 2013 from http://datalibre.ca/2013/09/25/master-thesis-the-role-of-canadian-municipal-open-data-initiatives-a-multi-city-evaluation/

Reitano, S. (2013). The benefits of open data. Project for Master's Thesis in Organizational Management, Royal Roads University. Retrieved October 27, 2013 from http://beautifuldata.ca/opendata/'

G8 Open Data Charter - Canada signs on. Tracey Lauriault's blogpost summary is a great starting point:  http://datalibre.ca/2013/06/18/g8-open-data-charter-canada-signs-on/

Open Knowledge Foundation (n.d.). Open data handbook. Retrieved October 27, 2013 from http://opendatahandbook.org/

Readings for Nov. 4 (open government)

Also posted in the Welcome Message with the rest of the class readings

Readings for Nov. 4 class - Open Government

Open Government Declaration  http://www.opengovpartnership.org/about/open-government-declaration

 

Dupuis, J. (2013). The Canadian War on Science: a long, unexaggerated, devastating chronological incident. Confessions of a science librarian. Retrieved Oct. 2013 from http://scienceblogs.com/confessions/2013/05/20/the-canadian-war-on-science-a-long-unexaggerated-devastating-chronological-indictment/

(read the bibliography, select one item to report on in class)

Government of Canada. Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government. Retrieved Oct. 2013 from http://data.gc.ca/eng/canadas-action-plan-open-government

Canadian Library Association (2013). Response to Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government. Retrieved Oct. 2013 from http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=14534&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

Government of Canada. 1985. Access to Information Act. Retrieved Oct. 2013 from http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/A-1/

 

Forthcoming events

As discussed at the first class, in lieu of the September 30th class we agreed that everyone would attend at least one related event and report back to the class. Following are a few upcoming events that may be of interest.

Update October 19th - details about the University of Ottawa library's Open Access Week events are posted here. Note that ÉSIS is well represented - I'm talking on Monday, our class' guest speakers are highlighted, and Tony Horava, André Vellino and Michael Geist will be speaking as well. Arouce Wasty, currently on coop, is part of the OA week planning team and check out the Trivia Night designed for grad students.

October 10th Research Conversation with Catherine McGoveran,  Dalhousie's Social Media Lab Making sense of a networked world (this is a different topic from what Catherine will be presenting to our class later on) Time: 12 – 1:15pm, Location: Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) Room: 6004 

October 11th @ 11:00 - Google Hangout - Open Data (Canada and the UK)

October 21 - 27: Open Access Week, everywhere. Watch for announcements from the University of Ottawa Library.

My talk will be on Monday, October 1, 1:30 - 2:30, FSS 4004, as follows:

Title:  Making the switch to open access: emerging research at uO, and why and how scholars should get involved

Description:  New research by the European Commission suggests that open access is reaching a tipping point, with about 50% of scientific papers published in 2011 now available for free. The University of Ottawa's Dr. Heather Morrison will talk about her emerging research on keys to the transition to an open access scholarly communication ecosystem that is free to prioritize the needs of scholars, and of scholarship. What does it take to sustain open access scholarly publishing led by scholars and scholarly societies? What are the elements of policy and licensing needed for the knowledge commons (as opposed to publisher profits or administrative efficiencies)? There are discussions underway around the world that will have a profound impact on faculty members everywhere. This session will discuss why the voices of scholars are important, and how scholars can get involved. 

Reference:

 EU Commission (2013).  Press Release: Open access to research publications reaching 'tipping point'. Retrieved September 15, 2013 from  http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-786_en.htm

October 30 - Library of Parliament Tour, 5:30 p.m. - LANCR $5. Please RSVP to LANCR, see e-mail for details. 

Media Democracy Days 2013 - Nov. 8 (evening) and Nov. 9 (afternoon). University of Ottawa. Co-sponsored by ÉSIS and the Ottawa Multicultural Media Initiative.
Free registration here: http://mddottawa-es2.eventbrite.com/?rank=1&sid=56102ad72fb411e3acaf12313d095975

Confirmed speakers to date:
Nov. 8 - keynote - Kevin Page
Nov. 9 - Claudette Commanda, Katie Gibbs, Yves Engler, April Carrière, and Albert Dumont

o   Copyright pentalogy conference last week

o   Upcoming: Media Democracy Days Nov. 8 – 9, confirmed speakers, registration open

First Monday special issue on Big Data

Interested in open government data? This month's First Monday is a special issue on Big Data.