(8 Jan 2024) The National Library of Australia is breaking new ground, having successfully implemented a technology that turns handwritten documents into machine-readable text. This innovation, dubbed Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR), will unlock the words of both famous and everyday Australians, making them readily accessible on Trove, the library’s online database. Approximately 10,000 digitized…
(14 Nov 2023) A report released today aimed to provide a better understanding of how research assessment affects research in Australia. More than 1,000 Australian researchers and more than 50 research organisations participated in the survey. This included universities, research institutes, industry bodies, government and not-for-profit organisations. The majority of researchers (74%) were in academic roles.…
(6 Oct 2023) Join us for a Research Review Seminar with Dr Nicole Johnston (Edith Cowan University). Dr Nicole Johnston was awarded an ALIA Research Grant to carry out research into the impact and management of mis and disinformation in Australian university libraries. In 2022, Nicole interviewed a number of university library managers who…
(26 Sep 2023) After a worldwide survey with more than 20,000 votes cast, State Library Victoria came in as the 12th best in the world – now that’s nothing to sneeze at. The survey was conducted by passionate library advocate and Melbourne local Vincent Phan, who runs the popular bibliophile website 1000 Libraries. Here…
(24 Aug 2023) Australia’s academics are grappling with how to handle investigations into scientific misconduct. Unlike many other countries, the nation does not have an independent body to oversee such probes; instead, universities and research institutes carry them out themselves. Several high-profile misconduct cases are bolstering criticisms of the current system, and momentum is building…
(27 Jul 2023) The best libraries in Sydney are a far cry from the dusty old buildings you may remember from your childhood. The ancient shelves and worn books have been replaced with modern technology, turning the humble library into a place for people to gather, learn and explore the world of literature and creativity. …
(5 Jun 2023) The Australian Music Centre has revealed that development has begun on a new audio library. In partnership with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and ABC Classic, the library will open up access to past and contemporary works by Australian composers across all fields, to traditional scored works as well as electronic and sound…
(16 Apr 2023) Australian universities are split on whether to adopt a new tool which claims to detect AI-generated plagiarism with a near-perfect success rate, citing concerns over out-of-date models and the minimal notice the sector was given to assess the issue. Turnitin’s detection tool, launched this month, cites a 98% efficacy rate at picking…
(3 Apr 2023) Funding for the country’s largest digitized archive has been announced, after months of the National Library of Australia (NLA) calling for more financial support. In its upcoming May budget, the federal government has promised $33 million over four years to the NLA. The NLA, which runs digital archive database Trove, will…
(27 Feb 2023) The past couple of years have seen substantial international momentum towards open science. Key initiatives include UNESCO’s Open Science Recommendation, the OECD Recommendation on Access to Research Data from Public Funding, the APEC Open Science statement, and the G20 Science ministers support for open science. The Australian Open Science Network came…