Heritage destruction and videogames:a pervasive relation

This paper examines the history of the National and University Library in Sarajevo, and particularly the destruction of the site and how it has been represented with different meanings across various media. The second part of the paper will analyse the representation of the library (post-reconstruction) in the videogame Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2’s Act 2 (called ‘Ghost of Sarajevo’), in order to raise issues about the ethical representation of a heritage site that has not only been destroyed and reconstructed, but that it is part of a national heritage

Volume 31, Number 3, September 2011 OLAC Newsletter

Digitized September 2011 issue of the OLAC Newsletter

Digital Anthropology: Projects and Platforms

pdf of website textMark Turin has agreed with the copyright holder the right to host a copy of this piece (whether audio, text or video) on University of Cambridge archives and servers.Article published 28 November, 2011. The article reports presentations given at the American Anthropological Association meeting. The article includes a review of Dr Mark Turin's presentation, entitled: 'Multimedia Archives for Anthropology of the Himalayan Region'. URL accessed week of 07/12/2011: http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2011/11/28/digital-anthropology-projects-and-platforms

Jam To-morrow and Jam Yesterday, but Never Jam To-day: The of Theology Libraries Planning the Twenty-first Century

The future of theology libraries is far from clear. Since the nineteenth century, theology libraries have evolved to support the work of theological education. This article briefly reviews the development of theology libraries in North America and examines the contextual changes impacting theology libraries today. Three significant factors that will shape theology libraries in the coming decade are collaborative models of pedagogy and scholarship, globalization and rapid changes in information technology, and changes in the nature of scholarly publishing including the digitization of information. A large body of research is available to assist those responsible for guiding the direction of theology libraries in the next decade, but there are significant gaps in what we know about the impact of technology on how people use information that must be filled in order to provide a solid foundation for planning

“Not for Casual Readers:” An Evaluation of Digital Data from Virginia Archaeological Websites

Archaeological data dissemination is complicated by the need to serve disparate audiences, each of which has different data needs. This study examined the websites of 148 Virginia institutions identified as having archaeological collections or data, and used content analysis to see how they supported characteristics of scholarly publishing, open data and public outreach. Archaeologists are increasingly looking for comparative data sets for research needs, with professional ethics and a desire for public engagement encouraging data sharing. However this analysis suggests that, while there are some exemplary websites, much of the archaeological record remains publicly inaccessible. The majority of websites examined provided no reference to archaeology and, of the remainder, a third did not provide archaeological data. These websites did provide many supporting characteristics for public outreach, but concerns about preservation, data “openness,” and limited datasets remain

Integration of environmental and social values in cultural spaces. Sustainable and inclusive wayfinding materials for museums

In the context of use of large museum centers, numerous national and international methodological experiments show that the wayfinding project must consider the needs of both habitual users (user-centered design) and local communities (design for communities) and the importance of environmental protection (eco-design) as a priority interest of the community. This “double target”, “user-centered” and “environment-centered” can be applied during the selection process of materials to be used in the project. With respect to these possibilities, this contribution intends to present the results of research focused on material characterization of the reception and distribution spaces of large museum centers. This characterization is based on use of sensory materials and aims to evaluate their impact on the usability and sustainability of wayfinding systems. The paper directed towards a proposal for organization of integrated information on new generation so-called smart materials; within the design of a wayfinding system, these can balance the aesthetic-perceptual and performance and environmental impact, in order to allow designers to make informed decisions oriented towards inclusion and sustainability. The study was addressed by conducting two phases of systematic literature and library review of materials. The investigations conducted led to achievement of a first research result which consists in the identification of a “standard sheet” for the mapping and cataloging of the materials used for wayfinding. The “standard sheet” allows organizing the information on smart, sensorial, and eco-friendly materials, balancing the aesthetic-perceptive component with the performance on the environmental impact along the entire life cycle in a circular perspective. This tool could guide designers towards an environmental communication project oriented towards sustainability and is effective for usability and wayfinding

How Libraries Responded in the Early Days of the Pandemic: A Study of the LIS Literature

As we emerge from an unprecedented pandemic that saw closure of libraries, schools, and universities worldwide, we can begin to assess potential lasting impacts on institutions, professions and communities. Through a rapid bibliometric study of COVID-19-related library publishing, we provide a first glimpse into the impacts of the pandemic on library operations, services, collections, and the workforce. We identified and analyzed 237 journal articles published in 2020 about libraries and the pandemic. These articles indicate broad cross-sectoral, global impacts on libraries and librarianship. Our analysis provides a baseline for future research on lasting effects of the pandemic on the field

Experiencing agro-biodiversity: a project for an app for the botanical garden of the University of Modena

The botanical garden is here considered as a place to educate the visitors, especially young people and their families, students and teachers, about agro-biodiversity, in order to inform them about landraces that characterised and still characterise the rural territory of Modena through multiple channels, physical and digital, combined in one integrated program. A specific work is intended to concern the botanical garden fruition, through the realisation of educational visit itineraries that add a new virtual dimension to the classical observation of plant species in the botanical garden. The realisation of an app, through the use of the augmented reality, allow to convey information about historical and contemporary diffusion of landraces in the landscape of the Modena area, providing a symbolic context in which young people is stimulated to preserve memory and local identity through a valorisation of diversity, also in cultural terms