Public Libraries: techno trends and collective memory

By public library I mean here a library providing some kind of universal access to its assets, one whose readership isn’t exclusively tied and restricted to a particular organization – including the generally called public libraries, but also many specialized libraries, such as the academic of the open kind. Despite all efforts, public libraries continue to face strong barriers to their participation in the information society. Participants of the World Meeting on the Future of the ISIS Software recognized that “the ISIS Software Family has a unique technological concept and developmental mission to cope with Information Storage and Retrieval Systems (ISRS), particularly for developing countries where the technology is widely known and used; that the ISIS Software Family has now fully embraced the Free and Open Source Software approach and the support of UNICODE structures to be fully open and multilingual” (Rio Declaration 2008), restating thus the persistent relevance of this software family. OSS (Coar 2006) is defined as software whose source code is freely available, therefore allowing for free inspection and/or utilization, i.e., it is available for study and use by everyone without any payment or any other barrier to access. the lack of technical skill in libraries, a situation that libraries share with much of the public and cultural sectors. The study of OSS ILS, and of the their adaptation to the needs of specific public libraries may be the solution to this. Library Management Systems) that enhances digital archive interoperability between a diverse range of libraries

Harnessing technology review 2007. Progress and impact of technology in education. Summary report.

This is the summary of the first review of the use and impact of ICT in the education system following the publication of the Government's e-Strategy for the education system, known as Harnessing Technology. The Review drew upon Becta's surveys of schools and FE colleges as well as other research to assess the impact of technology within the education system and the progress made in achieving the system outcomes of the policy

Incentive Compatible Pricing and Quality Adoption: The Case of the Polish Dairy Sector

We construct a model to identify determinants of the diffusion rate of standards in a food chain. We argue that adoption decisions in the food chain are determined by farmers and processors economic considerations. Factors such as pricing behavior, compliance costs and market structure, all of which influence the adoption of standards, are identified and discussed in the paper. The findings are used to test an econometric model utilizing data on Polish milk processing firms in the period between 2000 and 2002. The results indicate that input and output prices have a significant influence on the diffusion rate of standards. The dominance of large-scale holdings in the relevant procurement market significantly increases, whereas high compliance costs decrease the diffusion. Small cooperatives were found to face significant problems in procuring high quality raw materials compared to their competitors.product quality, standards, EU enlargement, industrial organization., Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Sustainability of Library Automation in Nigerian Libraries: A Case for KOHA Open Source Software

ABSTRACT This study examined the sustainability of Library Open Source Software (with particular reference to KOHA) in Nigerian academic and research Libraries. Descriptive survey design was adopted with a total number of thirty five (35) libraries which were selected purposefully all over the six (6) geopolitical zones of Nigeria (twenty universities, both privates and publics, ten Polytechnics, and five colleges of education). Structure Questionnaire was used to generate data and this was analyzed using simple frequency and percentage. It was revealed that koha is gaining ground in Nigeria because of its reliability and community involvement. It also revealed that lack of institutional support; inadequate information and negative attitudes of librarians were some of the challenges facing adoption and utilization of koha in Nigeria. The study however made some recommendation