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Small Public Libraries as Publishers

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Author : Dijana Sabolović-Krajina

The aim of this paper is to stress the importance of small public libraries as publishers. The case study will be the library network of the Koprivnica-Križevci County in the Republic of Croatia. Among five public libraries, three of them are publishers.

Although publishing is not their core business, they use it as a tool in: (i) protecting and promoting richness of local cultural heritage; (ii) contributing to library collections with specific local topics; (iii) empowering local identity; (iv) positioning themselves better as important culture, education and information centres of their local communities; and (v) creating new, added value of libraries in society. Publishing profiles, topics, and formats will be stressed, as well as these public libraries’ creative efforts to find finances in alliances with private and public sectors.

The models show that these libraries use both print and digital opportunities in publishing. Collaboration with all stakeholders who participate in the publishing process is also stressed.

We conclude that publishing activities relating to collection development policies and practices do not primarily depend on type, size, and financial means of libraries, but on library policy and strategic orientation that includes also publishing as a business model.

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0020.207

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Publication Services at the University Library Graz: A New Venture, a New Role

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Clara Ginther, Karin Lackner, Christian Kaier

Establishing Publication Services in the library at the University of Graz did more than broaden the service portfolio of the library. A convergence of expertise at the library, needs of researchers at the university, and ongoing changes in scholarly communication also contributed to the evolution of the library’s role and profile.

The new services offer first-level support for matters pertaining to scholarly publishing and communications. Furthermore, Publication Services has developed into a knowledge sharing platform, extending beyond the library to other administrative departments and creating a community of practice.

URL : Publication Services at the University Library Graz: A New Venture, a New Role

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2017.1324802

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Wikipedia as a gateway to biomedical research: The relative distribution and use of citations in the English Wikipedia

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Lauren A. Maggio, John M. Willinsky, Ryan M. Steinberg, Daniel Mietchen, Joseph L. Wass, Ting Dong

Wikipedia is a gateway to knowledge. However, the extent to which this gateway ends at Wikipedia or continues via supporting citations is unknown. Wikipedia’s gateway functionality has implications for information design and education, notably in medicine.

This study aims to establish benchmarks for the relative distribution and referral (click) rate of citations, as indicated by presence of a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), from Wikipedia, with a focus on medical citations.

DOIs referred from the English Wikipedia in August 2016 were obtained from Crossref.org. Next, based on a DOI presence on a WikiProject Medicine page, all DOIs in Wikipedia were categorized as medical (WP:MED) or non-medical (non-WP:MED).

Using this categorization, referred DOIs were classified as WP:MED, non-WP:MED, or BOTH, meaning the DOI may have been referred from either category. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Out of 5.2 million Wikipedia pages, 4.42% (n=229,857) included at least one DOI. 68,870 were identified as WP:MED, with 22.14% (n=15,250) featuring one or more DOIs. WP:MED pages featured on average 8.88 DOI citations per page, whereas non-WP:MED pages had on average 4.28 DOI citations.

For DOIs only on WP:MED pages, a DOI was referred every 2,283 pageviews and for non-WP-MED pages every 2,467 pageviews. DOIs from both pages accounted for 12% (n=58,475) of referrals, making determining a referral rate for both impossible.

While these results cannot provide evidence of greater citation referral from WP:MED than non-WP:MED, they do provide benchmarks to assess strategies for changing referral patterns.

These changes might include editors adopting new methods for designing and presenting citations or the introduction of teaching strategies that address the value of consulting citations as a tool for extending learning.

URL : Wikipedia as a gateway to biomedical research: The relative distribution and use of citations in the English Wikipedia

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1101/165159

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Repositories of Open Educational Resources: An Assessment of Reuse and Educational Aspects

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Authors : Gema Santos-Hermosa, Núria Ferran-Ferrer, Ernest Abadal

This article provides an overview of the current state of repositories of open educational resources (ROER) in higher education at international level. It analyses a series of educational indicators to determine whether ROER can meet the specific needs of the education context, and to clarify understanding of the reuse of open educational resources (OER) provided by ROER.

The aim of the study is to assess ROER by combining these two perspectives, and to form a basis for discussion among the universities that are responsible for these repositories.

The method was based on content analysis and consisted of two phases: an exploration of international sources, and an analysis of 110 ROER using the proposed set of indicators. The results focus on data from the analysis of ROER websites and some models of good practices.

They are presented according to three core dimensions for evaluating ROER: general factors to establish types of ROER, a focus on drivers for OER reuse, and a focus on educational aspects.

It was found that most of the ROER that included one or more of the proposed reuse indicators were created exclusively for educational resources. Educational aspects are not yet firmly embedded into ROER.

The few repositories that seem to have successfully included them are those that provide other educational metadata and use educational standards.

URL : http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3063/4300

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Openness and Praxis: Exploring the Use of Open Educational Practices in Higher Education

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Author : Catherine Cronin

Open educational practices (OEP) is a broad descriptor of practices that include the creation, use, and reuse of open educational resources (OER) as well as open pedagogies and open sharing of teaching practices.

As compared with OER, there has been little empirical research on individual educators’ use of OEP for teaching in higher education. This research study addresses that gap, exploring the digital and pedagogical strategies of a diverse group of university educators, focusing on whether, why, and how they use OEP for teaching.

The study was conducted at one Irish university; semi-structured interviews were carried out with educators across multiple disciplines. Only a minority of educators used OEP. Using constructivist grounded theory, a model of the concept « Using OEP for teaching » was constructed showing four dimensions shared by open educators: balancing privacy and openness, developing digital literacies, valuing social learning, and challenging traditional teaching role expectations.

The use of OEP by educators is complex, personal, and contextual; it is also continually negotiated. These findings suggest that research-informed policies and collaborative and critical approaches to openness are required to support staff, students, and learning in an increasingly complex higher education environment.

URL : http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3096/4301

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Open Innovation in Development: Integrating Theory and Practice Across Open Science, Open Education, and Open Data

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Author :  Jeremy de Beer

This article integrates the concepts of open innovation and open development. It extends the theory of open development beyond the field of information communications technology to address aspects of innovation systems more generally.

It applies the concept of openness to innovation in practice across the domains of open science, open education, and open data. Creating a framework that is more integrated in theory and cross-cutting in practice creates new possibilities for interdisciplinary research and policy-relevant insights.

URL : https://ssrn.com/abstract=3008675

 

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Open Access and OER in Latin America: A survey of the policy landscape in Chile, Colombia and Uruguay

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Author : Amalia Toledo

This chapter presents an overview of the mechanisms (funding, policy, legislative and procedural) adopted by Latin American governments with respect to Open Access and Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives in the higher education sector.

It addresses three questions: How do the higher education systems of Chile, Colombia and Uruguay operate and fund their activities in general? How do existing policies and processes incorporating Open Access and/or OER influence student access to learning and research materials in these countries? What policy, advocacy and community-building interventions might be useful for promoting Open Education activities in these contexts?

This study employed a descriptive, case study approach to examine whether and how Open Access and OER policies have been applied at national and institutional levels. It first engaged in an Open Education policy country-mapping exercise, then conducted a comparative analysis, and concluded the research process with a workshop conducted with 10 regional education experts and activists to validate findings.

Findings indicate that while each country has its own approach to funding higher education, there are few or no specific national and/or institutional policies aimed at promoting Open Education in the higher education sectors.

Low OER awareness and a commercialised model of higher education appear to account for the lack of any OER policies in Chile, while in Colombia various national and institutional strategies reveal a country at a nascent stage of Open Education policy development.

By contrast, the nature of OER management and extent of policy implementation in Uruguay suggests that it is an enabling environment for current and future open policy development.

URL : Open Access and OER in Latin America: A survey of the policy landscape in Chile, Colombia and Uruguay

DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.602781