Trends in Scholarly Communication and Knowledge Dissemination in the Age of Online Social Media

It is no secret that Online Social Media (OSM) has become mainstream in recent years, and their adoption has skyrocketed. As a result of their growing popularity, numerous studies have been conducted on how the general public is using OSM.

However, very little work has been done on how scholars are using and adapting to these new tools in their professional life. In an attempt to fill this significant gap in the research literature, we recently conducted a comprehensive online survey to discover if, how and why scholars are using these new media for communication and knowledge dissemination.

In particular, we focussed on how academics in the social sciences use social media tools for professional purposes, and the implications that this might have on the future of scholarly communication and publishing practices in the age of online social media.

 

New Zealand information on the Internet the Power…

New Zealand information on the Internet: the Power to Find the Knowledge :

“In a world of apparently ubiquitous information, does knowledge still equal power? Whatever the answer to this question, we will not have power unless we can retrieve our knowledge. Despite the advances of the last decades, issues remain in finding information on the Web relating to Aotearoa. These include: the efficiency with which the global search engines index the NZ web space, searching for macronised words, the quality of Wikipedia information about NZ, and the availability of open access NZ research.”

URL : http://hdl.handle.net/10063/2004
URL : http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz//handle/10063/2004

From Stacks to the Web the Transformation of…

From Stacks to the Web: the Transformation of Academic Library Collecting :

“The existence of a ubiquitous and cheap worldwide communication’s network that increasingly makes documents easily and freely available will require a transformation of academic library collecting practice. It will be driven by a number of specific developments including: the digitization of content; the development of print repositories; the development of e-readers and print-on-demand publishing; the growth of open access; challenges to establish academic publishing organizations; and the growth of new forms of scholarship based on openness and social productivity. If academic libraries are to be successful, they will need to: deconstruct legacy print collections; move from item-by-item book selection to purchase-on-demand and subscriptions; manage the transition to open access journals; focus on curating unique items; and develop new mechanisms for funding national infrastructure”

URL : http://crl.acrl.org/content/early/2012/01/09/crl-309.abstract

How Users Search the Library from a Single…

How Users Search the Library from a Single Search Box :

“Academic libraries are turning increasingly to unified search solutions to simplify search and discovery of library resources. Unfortunately, very little research has been published on library user search behavior in single search box environments. This study examines how users search a large public university library using a prominent, single search box on the library website. The article examines two semesters of real-world data, totaling nearly 1.4 million transactions. Findings include that unified library search is about more than the catalog and articles, though these predominate. Additionally, a small number of the most popular search queries accounts for a disproportionate amount of the overall queries. Also discussed are the merits of ongoing evaluation of library user search behavior”

URL : http://crl.acrl.org/content/early/2012/01/09/crl-321.full.pdf

Usages, pratiques et besoins des chercheurs concernant les serveurs d’archives ouvertes

Le Centre Commun de Documentation de Lille1 désire mettre en place un serveur d’archives ouvertes destiné aux chercheurs dans le but de leur permettre d’archiver de façon pérenne leurs documents scientifiques et techniques et cela en toute sérénité. Dans ce cadre-là, mon stage a consisté à réaliser une étude comparative et une recherche approfondie sur les sites d’archives ouvertes tels que HAL, OATAO, SPIRE et ORBI, et cela sous forme de rapport d’audit.

J’ai ainsi essayé de distinguer les différents services (exemple : service de dépôt, service de consultation…) mis en place par les sites d’archives ouvertes, la composition de ces services en terme d’éléments structurants (exemple : divers critères de consultation, …) mais je me suis aussi placée du côté des chercheurs pour essayer de comprendre leurs pratiques actuelles en matière de dépôt, de consultation et de recherche de documents. Enfin, par l’intermédiaire d’entretiens semi-directifs, j’ai voulu savoir quels étaient leurs réels besoins en terme de services, d’architecture du site, … mais aussi de connaître leur avis et leur perception du site qu’ils utilisent actuellement.

The Lille1 Library wishes to implement a open archives website for researchers in order to enable them to archive their scientific and technical documents in a lasting way. In that context, my internship was to conduct a comparative study and thorough search on Open Archives sites as HAL, OATAO, SPIRE and ORBI in a form of audit report.

I tried to distinguish the different services set up by theses websites, the composition of theses services in terms of structural elements but I also place on the side of researchers in order to understand their current practices regarding filing, consulting and search documents. Finally, I wanted to know what their real needs in terms of services, website architecture,… but also their views and their perception of the site they use now.

URL : http://memsic.ccsd.cnrs.fr/mem_00655746/fr/

La démocratisation de l’Union européenne et l’utilisation d’Internet dans la politique de communication de l’Union européenne

Alors que les avancées institutionnelles de l’Union européenne se caractérisent par une démocratisation du système politique européen, il demeure que l’Union européenne fait face à un problème de légitimité populaire.

Ce manque de soutien populaire a été mis en avant comme résultant d’un ” déficit de communication ” des institutions européennes. Cette communication nous permettra de porter notre attention sur les principes organisationnels de la politique de communication de l’Union européenne en réalisant sa détermination collective et la marge de manœuvre limitée de la Commission européenne vis-à-vis de Etats membres pour ” communiquer l’Europe “.

Ainsi, face à la responsabilité de la Commission et à son incapacité de contraindre les Etats membres d’appliquer la politique de communication déterminée collectivement, nous réaliserons que l’utilisation d’Internet s’avère être l’utilisation d’un objet technique de communication pour essayer de communiquer directement avec les citoyens en dépassant les ” gate keepers ” que sont les Etats membres afin de renforcer le caractère démocratique de l’Union européenne.”

URL : http://archivesic.ccsd.cnrs.fr/sic_00656332/fr/

The Evolution of E books and Interlibrary Loan…

The Evolution of E-books and Interlibrary Loan in Academic Libraries :

“As academic libraries add electronic monographs (e-books) to their collections in increasing numbers, they are frequently losing the ability to lend this portion of their collections via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) due to licensing restrictions. Recently, new options have emerged as alternatives to traditional ILL for e-books. These options introduce new opportunities for collaboration across library departments and within consortia. This article discusses the changing nature of resource sharing as related to e-books, examines e-book lending capabilities as they currently exist, and presents alternative models to traditional ILL, including short-term lending, purchase on demand and print on demand.”

URL : http://collaborativelibrarianship.org/index.php/jocl/article/view/163