Manifestazioni dopo. Supplemento elettronico alla versione analogica del n. 1-2, a. 26, gennaio-giugno 2008

Recensione dei panel sull'open access all'interno di FEST 200

Leadership and Empowerment: Assets or Liabilities? The University of Trieste Library System: An Exploratory Case Study

Leadership and empowerment can be either strategic assets or heavy liabilities for a University Library System that strives to grow and compete in a changing environment. It depends on the meanings people give to these concepts and on the interactions between them. It seems interesting to explore leadership and empowerment in a real-life context where local subcultures persist

The SHARD Project: evidence based guidelines for the preservation of historical research data

SHARD was a JISC funded project (2011-2012) uniting the skills of the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC), the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) and HistorySpot. It used a qualitative methodology to analyse the data management practices and needs of historical researchers, and developed free online training materials for the preservation of research data. In addition the SHARD team worked with parallel projects in the JISC programme, at London School of Economics (LSE) and Cambridge University, to create a series of FAQs, and the leaflet, “Sending Your Research Material Into The Future”, designed by Malcom Raggett, and reproduced in this poster with an Italian translation by Stefania Arabito

Academic-watching : library web usability and information seeking : a case study at the University of Trieste

At the University of Trieste academics tend to make use of library resources without the intermediation of librarians. As a rule they bypass reference services and library instruction courses. On the other hand they advise students on how to seek and gather information for their papers and dissertations. Our library web site is becoming more and more “stuffed” with resources and with instructions on how to use such resources. Is our site usable (easy to use, easy to learn, supportive) for our “expert” users? Hence, the need to conduct a task oriented formal usability test with think aloud protocol on a small group of academics from different faculties. Further detailed evidence was collected through semistructured interviews, semi-structured questionnaires and informal post-test debriefing and conversations. While analyzing and interpreting the data, the emerging theory determined a paradigm shift, thus highlighting the need to pursue further investigations to gain deeper understanding of how to target our “expert” users and profile our services accordingly

Academic libraries as learning organizations: a review of the literature

The aim of this literature review is to explore the theme of learning organizations in relation to academic libraries. Which are the concepts inherent in Senge’s theory? Why should they specially apply to academic libraries? Are there any case studies in literature? Is there some aspect which still needs to be explored in view of practical implementations? The focus is on practical considerations and experimentations in academic libraries

OpenstarTs: a "lean" approach to ETD publishing

In November 2004, almost all Italian Universities subscribed the Berlin declaration on open access during a seminal workshop promoted by the Italian Conference of Rectors. The University of Trieste accordingly put forward a project aimed at setting up an institutional repository for archiving, storing and preserving electronic theses and dissertations (OpenstarTs). Theses are to be considered both administrative documents and intellectual works. They are all born digital; therefore they can be digitally archived. The whole workflow of the submission of theses needs to be redesigned by integrating the schedules already in place while avoiding duplications. This entails the elimination of paper copies altogether; a godsend, given our dramatic space problems! Digital archiving through and OAI compliant system enhances the visibility of graduates in the eyes of potential employers as their works are widely and effectively disseminated thanks to interoperability and compliance to the metadata harvesting protocol. DSpace, an open source software maintained by MIT and HP, which can rely on a lively international federation, was chosen as it fulfilled our requirements and was duly customized to reshape the workflow as follows. Students (as well as administrative and academic staff) are recognized through their registration numbers via the on campus authentication system (LDAP). The registrar’s department data warehouse holds all the relevant information on the students’ academic careers. These data are certified and have a legal value, as awards are automatically produced by the system. The data required when submitting theses and dissertations are therefore checked and validated within the registrar’s existing system. Self-archiving procedures are consequently simplified to a huge extent, and students find the submission interface extremely friendly and usable. They only have to type their registration number and the system retrieves the metadata related to their theses, such as faculty, course, supervisor and tutor names, academic year, and provisional title (which is modifiable). The error probability fall downs to zero. Students can then focus on providing accurate “semantic” metadata: keywords, abstracts and tables of contents. The last step is to attach as many files as the chapters of their theses and to specify the permissions on each file. Students are entitled to the intellectual property of theses, as the law protects the form and expression of ideas, not ideas themselves. The theses submitted can therefore have a mixed availability status, according to the will of their authors. As soon as the students submit their theses, OpenstarTs accordingly notifies it to the registrar’s department data warehouse, and students can relax and prepare until the defence day comes. No need to print out and bind expensive paper copies, let alone queuing up to hand them in! After the successful presentation and defence of theses, metadata are validated and theses enter the repository to all purposes. In time our institutional repository will be opened up to all the University intellectual production by tailoring the OpenstarTs model to educational and research purposes and needs

FEST: “La comunicazione scientifica nel ventunesimo secolo: Google e oltre”

The overview of a whole-day conference within FEST - science and media fair, Trieste, May 18th, 2007, featuring Alberto Salarelli and Rob Tansley, Alma Swan and Leslie Carr plus Jens Vigen talking about scholarly communication, open access and research impact

Perceptions of empowerment and the pitfalls of communication: an exploratory case study at the University of Trieste Library System

The management of change has become a top priority in academic libraries. A viable model is the learning organization, as it aims at enhancing the capacity of the staff at all levels for innovation and growth. This study investigates the relations between empowerment – considered to be the hub of this management practice - and communication – considered to be a strategic imperative in participative organizations. The research questions were: How do the Library System staff feel about empowerment? How do library directors feel about empowerment? How can communication affect empowerment practices? Both empowerment and communication are amply described in the literature as being context-bound, multi-faceted and multi-dimensional concepts, which can only be explored in a given environment from a constructivist perspective and with no a priori assumptions. This is accordingly an exploratory case study, based on a qualitative approach and on intensity sampling. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews (with library directors), mini focus groups (with the staff), and observations of meetings (of the Library System steering committee). Cross-analysis showed that there was common ground to build on through adequate negotiation, such as the aspiration for a people-centred organization and the importance of having a project and a vision. Both empowerment and communication, however, leave room for pitfalls and may create divisiveness if organizational communication is deficient and defective. Strategic and interpersonal communication turned out to have a fundamental role in building up the trust that makes empowerment practices possible by overcoming “us and them” feelings, local subcultures and defensive behaviours. The Library System should offer opportunities for meeting and exchanging opinions, sharing the vision, and developing a common sense of belonging and ownership

Time to Harvest: Electronic Doctoral Theses in Italy

The Libraries Committee of the Conference of the Rectors of Italian Universities, hence CRUI, has recently approved the Guidelines for archiving doctoral theses in Institutional Repositories. The Guidelines are the first step of an initiative aimed at putting the principles of the Berlin Declaration into effect in Italian Universities. The CRUI Working Group on Open Access has conceived the Guidelines as a toolkit for Italian Universities, i.e. practical and legal advice for managing and disseminating theses via Open Access IRs. This paper will detail the text of the guidelines reporting the main issues addressed by the Working Group. Legal implications have been rated as a top priority, and an embargo period has been required to protect patents and works in publication. Metadata have been defined in accordance with both European recommendations (Knowledge Exchange) and Italian National Libraries requirements, in order to implement national and international service interoperability. Delivery formats for long term preservation have likewise been judged as a matter of great importance. This paper will illustrate how CRUI recommendations are affecting Italian University policies by presenting the results of a survey conducted early this year. The legal deposit of electronic doctoral theses via OAI-PMH, a parallel project started in 2007, has recently obtained full support by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and has already reached the test phase. This paper will show the potential impact in terms of enhancing national discovery and provision services