La adquisición de las revistas

This chapter analyses the historical development of scientific journal purchasing models, from traditional subscriptions to “big deal” packages taken out by library consortia, to the changes brought about by open access (i.e., the transition from payment for reading content to payment for publishing content). The chapter proposes that while the transition from printed to digital journals was very fast in some ways, it remained gradual in others. Some journals began to offer digital access in addition to printed editions, but always as a supplement to normal subscriptions. This supplement was sometimes free of charge, but was generally offered in exchange for a percentage increase in the subscription cost. The chapter also examines the “big deals” for purchasing journals, which are the agreements whereby a library that used to buy a certain number of journals from a publisher starts buying them through a group of libraries in order to access more titles than before. These agreements require libraries to formalize groups, and this is done through the creation of library consortia

Colaboraciones y alianzas: la inteligencia social aplicada a las bibliotecas universitarias

Analysis of the different forms of library cooperation, and of the different types of collaboration relations that libraries can establish among them. The analysis is focused in the Spanish university libraries situation between 1980-2005. An evolutionary vision shows how cooperation has affected to library organizations, and the present situation is valued from the point of view of the intelligent adaptation to the social needs

Are libraries sustainable in a world of free, networked, digital information?

The evolution of libraries through three stages –modernization, automation and digitization- is analysed. A formula is presented to evaluate the importance of libraries to our society, and it is applied both retrospectively and futuristically, extrapolating a 2030 scenario. The conclusion is that if the current generation of librarians does not introduce radical changes in the role of libraries, their future is seriously threatened

Plan S and Transformative Agreements

This paper has been presented at Open Science International Staff Week celebrated in Getafe (Madrid) - November 6-8, 2019

Licensing e-content and OA: results and perspectives from the South of Europe.

World is global, and licensing e- content is an activity with a lot of similarities among different countries, but (world is also local) with some dissimilarities. The model prices made in US or UK could be not applicable in other countries and the effects of the \u27Big Deal\u27 can differ. The briefing will present how licensing e- content in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey is evolving

What do we mean when we talk about information policies

An information policy is a concerted action of various agents with information as the object, having as a purpose certain goals. The crisis we face is not only economic but also technological and due to changes in the organizational model, and we are already seeing some effects of deregulation and no planning. We can only establish solid information policies if we find a set of actions around which a wide spectrum of agents can be aligned without friction. 1. In the print world, policies should allow us to determine what exists and make that easily accessible, and know what is little used and will tend to be used less and ensure that it is preserved. 2. Research funding institutions can and must agree to facilitate open access to information and data. 3. Finally, the library-organization must be able to provide digital books, offer digital information that anybody can use, and ensure that born-digital materials are passed on to future generations. To this we must add the need to plan for information literacy training in schools. In these times of change, surrounded by uncertainty and some notable weaknesses, part of our professional duties should be devoted to elaborate agreements enabling us to take coordinated action in certain directions

Muchos cambios y algunas certezas para las bibliotecas de investigación, especializadas y centros de documentación

It is argued that despite the many changes being experienced by research and specialized libraries, and documentation centers, which cause them doubts about their future, there are some certainties that allow these centers to properly address their activities. It is proposed to distinguish between minor and profound changes and it is affirmed that, for information centers, the fundamental change has been to go from a situation in which information was scarce and the time to look for it abundant, to another in which time to look for information is scarce and information is abundant. This should help redirect the activities of the information centers -following M. Buckland- to stop focusing on the 'information-as-an-object' to concentrate on the 'information-as-a-process'. Two consolidated movements should help them to guide their future: the Open Science and the Digital Humanities. Some information products that reflect a change in the ways people approach and use information are examined: Museo del Prado's The Collection, Transcribe Bentham, eBird and Mapa Literari Català. Finally, the author recommends to documentation centers, and specialized and research libraries to guide their services to digitize their heritage collections in an enriched manner, to promote citizen participation, and to create and strengthen communities

Moocs: viable, unsettling and consistent

The massive online open course (mooc) has had a great impact in the landscape of higher education. Analysts say the MOOCs will have a disruptive effect on universities and teaching practice. Universitieswill be forced to change. The psychopedagogical substrate of the moocs is the “flipped education” model in which learning takes place from discussions with fellow students and teachers. We analyze the impact of moocs in university libraries

About e-books

The author comments on some aspects of electronic books: ergonomics, market models, languages, etc., which explain why there is still time for e-books to reach a wide acceptance

Muchos cambios y algunas certezas para las bibliotecas de investigación, especializadas y centros de documentación

It is argued that despite the many changes being experienced by research and specialized libraries, and documentation centers, which cause them doubts about their future, there are some certainties that allow these centers to properly address their activities. It is proposed to distinguish between minor and profound changes and it is affirmed that, for information centers, the fundamental change has been to go from a situation in which information was scarce and the time to look for it abundant, to another in which time to look for information is scarce and information is abundant. This should help redirect the activities of the information centers -following M. Buckland- to stop focusing on the 'information-as-an-object' to concentrate on the 'information-as-a-process'. Two consolidated movements should help them to guide their future: the Open Science and the Digital Humanities. Some information products that reflect a change in the ways people approach and use information are examined: Museo del Prado's The Collection, Transcribe Bentham, eBird and Mapa Literari Català. Finally, the author recommends to documentation centers, and specialized and research libraries to guide their services to digitize their heritage collections in an enriched manner, to promote citizen participation, and to create and strengthen communities