Archives des mots-clés : Libraries

The Impact of Public Access Venue Information and Communication Technologies in Botswana Public Libraries

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Objective

A study on the impact of Public Access Venue (PAV) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) was conducted in Botswana libraries with Internet connections. The main objective was to determine the impact of ICTs in public libraries.

Methods

Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework as a theoretical lens, the study used semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to investigate the impact of PAV ICTs in 4 study sites, resulting in data from a total of 39 interviews and 4 focus groups.

Results

The results of the study show that PAV ICTs had a positive impact on users in the areas of education and economic benefits. Within educational and economic impacts, social benefits were also found, pertaining to the use of social media and the Internet for formal and informal communication. The study also revealed a slight difference between school going users and non-school going elderly users where the use and acquisition of computer skills was concerned. Elderly non-school going users tended to rely on venue staff for skills more than the younger school going users.

Conclusion

The study recommends that PAV facilities should be improved in terms of skills offered and resources availed so as to appeal to both the younger school going generation and the older non-school going users. It is also recommended that education on ICT be improved to help curb rising unemployment in Botswana; such skills would enhance the income generation skills of the unemployed users as well as school leavers.

URL : The Impact of Public Access Venue Information and Communication Technologies in Botswana Public Libraries

Alternative location : http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/23908

Assessment of Data Management Services at New England Region Resource Libraries

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Objective

To understand how New England medical libraries are addressing scientific research data management and providing services to their communities.

Setting

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NN/LM NER) contains 17 Resource Libraries. The University of Massachusetts Medical School serves as the New England Regional Medical Library (RML). Sixteen of the NER Resource Libraries completed this survey.

Methods

A 40-question online survey assessed libraries’ services and programs for providing research data management education and support. Libraries shared their current plans and institutional challenges associated with developing data services.

Results

This study shows few NER Resource Libraries currently integrate scientific research data management into their services and programs, and highlights the region’s use of resources provided by the NN/LM NER RML at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Conclusions

Understanding the types of data services being delivered at NER libraries helps to inform the NN/LM NER about the eScience learning needs of New England medical librarians and helps in the planning of professional development programs that foster effective biomedical research data services.

URL : Assessment of Data Management Services at New England Region Resource Libraries

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.2015.1068

Barriers to Initiation of Open Source Software Projects in Libraries

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“Libraries share a number of core values with the Open Source Software (OSS) movement, suggesting there should be a natural tendency toward library participation in OSS projects. However Dale Askey’s 2008 Code4Lib column entitled “We Love Open Source Software. No, You Can’t Have Our Code,” claims that while libraries are strong proponents of OSS, they are unlikely to actually contribute to OSS projects. He identifies, but does not empirically substantiate, six barriers that he believes contribute to this apparent inconsistency.

In this study we empirically investigate not only Askey’s central claim but also the six barriers he proposes. In contrast to Askey’s assertion, we find that initiation of and contribution to OSS projects are, in fact, common practices in libraries. However, we also find that these practices are far from ubiquitous; as Askey suggests, many libraries do have opportunities to initiate OSS projects, but choose not to do so. Further, we find support for only four of Askey’s six OSS barriers. Thus, our results confirm many, but not all, of Askey’s assertions.”

URL : http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/10665

Study of Open Access Publishing in Social Sciences and its Implications for Libraries

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The Open Access Movement (OAM), which started as a gradual realisation by authors mainly in biomedical sciences to make available results of public-funded research projects to the public without much barrier pertaining to cost, permission, copyright obligations, etc., gradually gained momentum across the world and India was no exception to it.

Though the movement was confined mainly to science, technology and medical fields in India, since last few years, a number of open access repositories and open access journals in Social Science subjects have started appearing.

The present study which is confined to the open access Social Science journals published from India as mentioned in the Directory of Open Access Journals, identified 60 open access Social Sciences journals in India.

The study also analysed the journals on the basis of certain parameters as to trend of open access journals in Social Sciences, and was found that most of open access journals in Social Sciences appeared between 2009 and 2014 and about half of the journals charge authors for publishing their papers in the journals and only a few are published under Creative Commons Attribution.

Lastly, the paper discusses about implications of open access publishing on Social Science research libraries made few suggestions towards encouraging open access publishing in Social Science subjects in India.

URL : Study of Open Access Publishing in Social Sciences and its Implications for Libraries

Related URL : http://publications.drdo.gov.in/ojs/index.php/djlit/article/view/8720

Managing Research Data in Academic Institutions: Role of Libraries

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“One of the global emerging trends in academic libraries is to facilitate the management of research data for the benefit of researchers and institutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of a library in offering such research data management services. The paper discusses the importance of research data, its preservation, organization, dissemination and critical role in the scholarly research life cycle. The authors attempt to provide a vivid description of Research Data Management (RDM) as a service and in the process review the existing literature on the topic in addition to the indicating the tools and technologies that could be adopted in successful RDM service implementation. The paper also is an attempt to share the experience of creating the Vikram Sarabhai Library’s research data repository that was developed by adopting the open source software – CKAN.”

URL : http://eprints.rclis.org/24911/

Faire parler les données des bibliothèques : du Big Data à la visualisation de données

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“Cette étude se penche sur les enjeux de la réutilisation des données des bibliothèques à l’ère du Big Data. En ce qui concerne la production de connaissances sur le monde des bibliothèques et de l’information, les technologies d’analyse du Big Data, contrairement à ce que prétendent les discours qui peuvent parfois les accompagner, ne réduisent pas les biais et présupposés inhérents aux statistiques traditionnelles. Cependant, la visualisation de données, telle que revue et critiquée par les Humanités Numériques, pourrait permettre de prendre en compte d’une manière beaucoup plus centrale la nature fondamentalement politique des bibliothèques. Regardant le pilotage des établissements documentaires, certains auteurs appellent à fonder les décisions non sur les données et chiffres mais sur l’analyse de données. De fait, l’ouverture de la profession de bibliothécaire sur la science des données pourrait être un bon moyen de faire évoluer les méthodes d’évaluation et de pilotage. La visualisation est un moyen ludique d’apprendre l’analyse de donnée et permet de communiquer efficacement sur l’activité de l’établissement. En dernier lieu, les discours actuels accompagnant l’ère du numérique font l’apologie d’un accès individualisé et fragmenté à l’information qui permettrait de se passer des biais inhérents à toute classification universelle. Néanmoins, ces biais sont transposé dans les algorithmes de recherche de l’information. Dès lors, il devient nécessaire de penser un système de navigation qui exprime ce biais et le soumette davantage à une discussion : transformer un catalogue de bibliothèque en data game pourrait être une solution pour exprimer de manière ludique la métaphore sous-jacente à toute organisation des connaissances.”

URL : https://microblogging.infodocs.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lapotre2014.pdf

URL alternative : http://www.enssib.fr/bibliotheque-numerique/notices/65117-faire-parler-les-donnees-des-bibliotheques-du-big-data-a-la-visualisation-de-donnees

Accompagner les citoyens dans l’acquisition d’une culture numérique : le rôle des bibliothèques de lecture publique dans la formation au numérique

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“Ce mémoire étudie l’opportunité pour les bibliothèques d’aider les citoyens à améliorer leur culture numérique. Depuis les années 1990, les politiques publiques se sont appliquées, en France, à donner accès à tous aux technologies numériques, sur la base de théories aujourd’hui remises en cause comme la « fracture numérique » ou les « natifs du numérique ». Les premières institutions à avoir proposé une formation, non seulement aux usages de base des principaux logiciels, mais également à des compétences numériques et à une réflexion critique, ont été les Espaces Publics Numériques (EPN). Bien que ce label puisse s’appliquer à des bibliothèques, la plupart d’entre elles commencent seulement à s’emparer de cette mission. Savoir s’il s’agit d’une mission prioritaire – et donc, quelles ressources peuvent y être affectées –, quelles sont leurs forces et faiblesses, quels partenariats elles peuvent et devraient développer, etc., nécessite encore une réflexion coordonnée au niveau national, mais également à l’échelle des territoires.”

URL : https://microblogging.infodocs.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tur2015.pdf

URL alternative : http://www.enssib.fr/bibliotheque-numerique/notices/65114-accompagner-les-citoyens-dans-l-acquisition-d-une-culture-numerique-le-role-des-bibliotheques-de-lecture-publique-dans-la-formation-au-numerique