International data curation education action (IDEA) working group: a report from the second workshop of IDEA

The second workshop of the International Data curation Education (IDEA) Working Group was held December 5, 2008, in Edinburgh, Scotland, following the 4th International Digital Curation Conference. This workshop was jointly organized by the UK's Digital Curation Centre (DCC), the US's Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (SILS). Nearly forty educators and researchers accepted invitations to attend, with representation from universities, research centers, and funding agencies from Canada, the US, the UK, and Germany

An interview with Sheila Corrall: Interview by Margaret Adolphus

Contribution to a website series of Information Management Guru Interviews, where “leading industry and subject specialists share their experiences and opinions with Emerald.” Outlines the career background of the interviewee and discusses her views on various issues facing the library and information profession, with reference to current research in the field by herself and others. Topics covered include the changing role of librarians in the Web 2.0 environment, and the skills needed in hybrid professional roles; strategic aspects of information literacy development; strategic management of a department of information studies; the transition by the interviewee from a senior administrative role to an academic position as a university professor; the involvement of librarians in e-learning, particularly their contributions to virtual learning environments/course management systems; leadership issues in the library profession; and the value of the core skills of library and information professionals in preparing practitioners for varied and rewarding career paths

Information and Communication Technologies as means for self-improvement at remote universities: the example of Urgench State University, Uzbekistan

This paper describes the research conducted at the Information Resource Center of Urgench State University, located in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, on the possibilities and challenges the students and lecturers face in their pursuit for self-improvement and self-education. The article discloses new qualitative approaches and IT methods in the teaching and educational processes in higher education of Central Asian countries in transition, the overall aim of which is to close the gap and shape the spiritual values of the young generation in the globalizing world. The framework conditions for this have been set by the Government of Uzbekistan through particular Decrees, aiming at the creation of e-education at universities and institutions throughout the country and specifically in the remote regions as to improve the access to regularly updated information, to motivate the use of IT in classes as well as to enhance the responsibility of the information services of universities for assuring the quality of research and teaching (pedagogical) activities of the lecturers. The research showed that the Internet can function inter alia as a controlling device when education is delivered through the web. Collection, analysis and preparation of educational-methodological materials on specific subjects and extracurricular activities require specific knowledge on IT and information literacy both in the teaching staff and the students