A Biblioteca Digital : da imaginação em exercício ao exercício da imaginação

The contemporary technological context, in proposing new forms of communication, is provoking new interpretations and approaches to the reality. In the attempt to fulfil the different gaps of information, we feel compelled to the evolution or eventual transformation of this concept in an exercise of imagination who looks forward to antecipy in order to design the future. In its most ambitious materialisation, the library becomes digital or electronic, whose interest is demonstrated by the interdisciplinary and variety of knowledge areas converging to its study or approach. Throughout this article it will be very discussed, in a very summarised way, the actual research lines, the contribution of the different kinds of knowledge in interaction and some experiences in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Portugal looking forward that, each one in its own approach, can help to design the future. Leaded by inspiring images like the one of the library of Borges or the mythic Alexandria, what it matters is to design the future working conditions

Visitors to the city of Évora: Who are they?

Nowadays, driven by multiple factors, tourist demand presents patterned behaviour which is subdivided into several typologies according to destination, product consumed and visitor profile features. In the case of cultural tourism, a good example is that of historic cities, which have their own cultural identity and heritage, and compete to make themselves different from one another through many marketing strategies. This study presents the profile of visitors to the World Heritage City of Évora, including their travel motivations and level of satisfaction with the attributes. Subsequently, the main purpose of this study is to determine the cultural profile of visitors to the World Heritage City of Évora. The data collection technique applied was a visitor survey. The process adopted for the sample definition was a probabilistic sampling, namely the adoption of a stratified sampling plan, by place of residence. Further analysis shows that the most important motivations for visitors in selecting Évora are leisure, heritage/monuments and having a new cultural experience. However they indicate the fact that Évora is considered World Heritage City by UNESCO did influence the decision to visit this destination. Several findings provide the opportunity to establish adequate managerial and marketing strategies to suit the needs of the visitors

The historiographical publication in Portugal: changes and continuities

A afirmação da infraestrutura tecnológica de suporte à investigação científica tem vindo a provocar alterações no modo como os investigadores dão a conhecer os resultados das suas investigações. O Acesso Aberto tem sido uma das estratégias adotadas, mas com impacto distinto nas diferentes comunidades científicas. Com base num inquérito feito à comunidade de historiadores em Portugal, apresenta-se neste estudo a opinião que têm relativamente ao Acesso Aberto como meio de dar maior visibilidade ao seu trabalho e as práticas de publicação que adotam.The wide use of technological infrastructures to support scientific research has been changing the way researchers disseminate the results of their research. Open Access has been one of the strategies adopted, but with different impact depending on the scientific communities. Based on a survey, the perception of historians in Portugal as to Open Access is presented in this study, in particular as a means of improving the visibility to their work, as well as the publishing practices adopted

Some trends in electronic publication and Open Access in Portuguese history journals

In the last decades, ICT development and the use of computer networks led to major changes in the way scientists communicate the results of their researches. One of the most important transformations occurred in scholarly communication through the acceleration in the unbounded disclosure of scientific information (open access). However, the adoption of new channels varies according to the scientific areas. This study is part of an ongoing research that aims to understand the impact of digital media in the mechanisms of production and dissemination of scientific knowledge within a specific scientific community: historians. This paper will look at whether and how the history journals in Portugal are adopting electronic publishing and providing open access to their contents. To operationalise the study, thirteen R&D Units were contacted and asked to provide a list of the journals published and the format used. Furthermore, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Latindex and European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) were researched. Finally, the websites of Portuguese higher education institutions with History Departments were consulted, with the aim of identifying any periodicals that might not have been previously identified. At the end, twenty-two titles were considered. Data seems to show that universities and History R&D Units increasingly value the free electronic access to research results produced by historians

O Impacto das Bibliotecas Digitais de Patentes no Processo de Inovação em Portugal

Comunicação apresentada no âmbito do IV Encontro Ibérico EDIBCIC em Coimbra (18-20 de Novembro de 2009)A Informação é um recurso indispensável ao funcionamento e sobrevivência das organizações. Para que as organizações possam competir no ambiente global, de rápidas mudanças, onde se inserem, necessitam de obter informação que lhes permita inovar e adquirir vantagens competitivas nos mercados em que actuam. A informação associada à Propriedade Industrial, designada por Informação de Patentes, proporciona uma crescente competitividade através da transferência de tecnologia que motiva e revela-se de extrema importância económica pela inovação que incentiva. Após a análise de vários Indicadores e de Estudos Nacionais e Internacionais, constata-se que Portugal não está a utilizar satisfatoriamente os recursos dos registos de Propriedade Industrial, não retirando daí as vantagens que lhe poderia propiciar. Os dados publicados indiciam que os Centros de investigação universitários não estão a rentabilizar as suas potencialidades no que respeita à utilização deste tipo de informação que poderia, se devidamente integrado nos projectos de investigação, motivar mais Inovação, mais vantagem competitiva e, também, maior número de registos de PI, originando mais empresas e maior crescimento económico. Sustenta-se que uma utilização coerente e efectiva das Bibliotecas Digitais de Patentes, contendo informação resultante das actividades de I&D com aplicação industrial, pode contribuir para o aumento da criatividade e suporte na resolução de problemas de investigação, potenciando a inovação através de novos produtos e processos daí decorrentes. O presente trabalho procura responder à questão sobre a relação entre o grau de conhecimento e nível de utilização das bibliotecas digitais de patentes pelos centros de investigação em Portugal e o seu contributo para o processo de inovação. A hipótese de trabalho que procuraremos validar é de que os Centros de Investigação Universitários que conhecem e utilizam mais a Informação constante nas BDP são mais inovadores, patenteiam mais invenções, geram mais produtos e processos novos, originando mais ‘spin-offs’ para a sua aplicação industrialInformation is an essential resource to the functioning and survival of organizations. In order for organizations to compete in a global environment, with rapid changes, where they move nowadays, they need to obtain information that’ll allow them to innovate and acquire competitive advantages in the markets they operate in. Scientific and technical information associated to Industrial Property – Patent Information - can provide further competitiveness through the transfer of technology that it motivates and is of vital economic importance due to the innovation that it stimulates. After analysing several Indicators, National and International Studies, we realized that Portugal is not using the resources of the Industrial Property’s records in a satisfactory way, not taking advantage of its benefits. The data published shows that university research centres are not living up to their full potential when it comes to using this type of information since it could, when due integrated into research projects, motivate innovation, provide competitive advantages, and increase the number of IP records. This could lead to an increase of the number of new companies and to economic growth. We support that a coherent and effective use of Patent Digital Libraries that contain information resulting from R&D activities with industrial applications can contribute to the increase of creativity and support problem-solving in research, developing innovation through the resulting new products and processes. This research attempts to answer the question about the relationship between the degree of knowledge and level of usage of Patent Digital Libraries by research centres in Portugal and their contribution to the innovation process. The hypothesis to validate is that University Research Centres that know and use the information in the PDL are more innovative since they contribute with more patents and they generate more new products and processes, giving birth to more spin-offs with industrial application

Comunicação formal da ciência: a sustentabilidade da revista científica

Poster apresentado no âmbito do IV Encontro Ibérico EDIBCIC em Coimbra (18-20 de Novembro de 2009

Comunicação da ciência: (r)evolução ou crise?

Intervening factors such as information and communication technologies, serials crisis, creation of arXiv and implementation of 3B (Budapest, Berlin and Bethesda) are key factors for changing the modes of scholarly communication production. This paper presents a literature review on the issue, focusing on the green road (repositories). It aims to analyze the effects caused by those factors. To achieve this purpose, the resulting consequences of these factors will be verified, as well as the adoption of the green road as an alternative mode of scholarly communication, the evolution of repositories and the actors who benefit from Open Ac ­ cess. The repositories constitute a tool for the unrestricted sharing of knowledge and are an alternative for developing countries to have access to the information published in journals and repositories and also to make the science produced there public. It concludes that changes in the traditional system of scholarly communication reveal the emergence of a new paradigm L Open Access.El paradigma tecnológico, la crisis de los periódicos, la creación del arXiv y la realización de las 3B (Budapest, Berlín, Bethesda) son factores fundamentales para las alteraciones provocadas en los modos de producción y comunicación de la ciencia. En este trabajo se presenta revisión de la literatura sobre la problemática, con enfoque en la verde (repositorios). Se propone como obje ­ tivo general analizar las consecuencias provocadas por la crisis que afecta el sistema de comunicación. Para alcanzar tal fin, se determina como objetivos específicos: verificar las consecuencias que surgen de tales factores; investigar la adopción de vía ver ­ de como alternativa del modo tradicional de comunicación de la ciencia; identificar la evolución de los repositorios y los tipos más comúnmente utilizados y, finalmente, identificar los actores que se benefician del Open Access Los repositorios constituyen un instrumento para el compartir irrestricto del conocimiento producido, benefician numerosos actores e instituciones y se presentan como alternativa para que los países en desarrollo tengan mayor acceso a la información y al mismo tiempo, tener dispo ­ nible para la comunidad interesada, la ciencia que se produce. Se concluye que las transformaciones ocurridas en el sistema tradicional de comunicación de la ciencia revelan la emergencia de un nuevo paradigma – el Open Access.O paradigma tecnológico, a crise dos periódicos, a criação do arXiv e a realização das 3B (Budapeste, Berlin, Bethesda) são fatores fundamentais para as alterações provocadas nos modos de produção e comunicação da ciência. Neste trabalho apresenta-se uma revisão da literatura sobre a problemática, com enfoque na via verde (repositórios). Propõe como objetivo geral analisar as consequências provocadas pela crise que afeta o sistema de comunicação. Para alcançar tal fim, determina-se como objetivos específicos: verificar as consequências advindas desses fatores; investigar a adoção da via verde como alternativa ao modo tradicional de comunicação da ciência; identificar a evolução dos repositórios e os tipos mais comumente utilizados e, finalmente, identificar os atores que se beneficiam do Open Access. Os repositórios constituem um instrumento para o compartilhamento irrestrito do conhecimento produzido, beneficiam inúmeros atores e instituições e se apresentam como alternativa para os países em desenvolvimento terem maior acesso à informação e, ao mesmo tempo, tornar a ciência ali produzida disponível para a comunidade interessada. Conclui-se que as transformações ocorridas no sistema tradicional de comunicação da ciência revelam a emergência de um novo paradigma - o Open Access.

Archives' call to Digital Humanities: a case study of Portuguese Municipal Archives

The availability of digitised cultural heritage content held by archives and other memory institutions improves their visibility, facilitate and increases access to information, allowing new kinds of research of digital heritage, namely Digital Humanities. This study intends to report how Municipal Archives of mainland Portugal are ensuring access to their digitized cultural heritage content. For this purpose, an analysis was held to collect data about online catalogues with digital objects linked to the archival description in 278 Municipal Archives of mainland Portugal. The data revealed that the openness of the primary information sources preserved by the municipal archives, which can be reused by all those who need them and particularly by digital humanists, is still in infancy