Library and Information Research (LIR)
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The Cedars Project
Get PDFDigital Preservation has become such a pressing issue for libraries world-wide that it is easy to forget what an unknown quantity it was when the Cedars project began in 1998. The Final Report from the RLG/CPA Task Force on Digital Archiving was released in 1996 and this provided a catalyst for further action within the U.K. The Cedars Project was initially funded for three years as part of the final phase of the UK eLib project. An additional year was subsequently funded to enable consolidation and wider dissemination of its findings. The Cedars project made a significant contribution to digital preservation and was able to forge good working relationships with colleagues working in related areas. It delivered both heightened awareness of digital preservation as a critical strategic issue at the broad level, as well as some specific deliverables designed to provide practical support at the operational level. Now that the Cedars project has ended, the primary responsibility within the UK for ensuring the momentum is not lost will rest with the recently formed Digital Preservation Coalition. Significant developments overseas will also feed into the global digital preservation agenda
The Stanford Archival Repository Project: Preserving our digital past
Get PDFThe Stanford Archival Repository Project aims to build a robust archiving system that can protect
digital objects from failures over very long time spans. Objects are replicated among cooperating digital
archives, so that if any archive fails its objects survive. We have designed an architecture for digital
archives, and developed techniques for efficiently replicating objects to remote sites. We have also built
simulation software that allows an archivist to design the most effective archiving system possible despite
limited resources
Do libraries aid learning? Approaches and methods for measuring impact. A report of the LIRG/SCONUL seminar, 9-10 December 2002, Scarborough.
Get PDFA report of the LIRG/SCONUL seminar, 9-10 December 2002, Scarboroug
The Plagiarism Advisory Service
Get PDFThe issue of plagiarism in education has existed for many years, however, advances in technology resulting in easy access to a multitude of information sources has reduced the effort required to incorporate the work of others into an essay or report. A Plagiarism Advisory Service has been established to provide advice and guidance on all aspects of plagiarism prevention and detection. This article presents the background to the Advisory Service and the associated electronic Plagiarism Detection Service. The nature and operation of the detection software is such that it should always be viewed as an additional element of any plagiarism prevention strategy. Future plans for the Advisory Service include the development of tools aimed at improving students referencing and citation practice and encouraging academics to audit their own assessment practice
A comparison of UK academics\u27 conceptions of information literacy in two disciplines: English and Marketing
Get PDFThe authors aim to present and compare findings from a phenomenographic investigation into conceptions of information literacy in two populations: academics in English and Marketing disciplines teaching at British universities. These were chosen as examples of, respectively, soft-pure and soft-applied disciplines.We begin by defining information literacy and briefly setting our research in context. We explain the nature of research using the phenomenographic approach, and describe our sample and methods. We present firstly, the four qualitatively different conceptions of information literacy held by the English academics, and then the seven conceptions held by the Marketing academics. Key differences between the conceptions held in the two disciplines are discussed, in particular relating differences to characteristics of soft-pure and soft-applied disciplines. The authors conclude that study of the differences between the conceptions held by the two disciplinary groups can illuminate and guide information literacy initiatives
WILIP make a difference? Practitioner perspectives of the challenges facing libraries and information services
Get PDFResource commissioned the Wider Information and Library Issues Project (WILIP) to discover what challenges are facing the library and information domain, what needs to be done to tackle them, and what role Resource should take in helping to develop and promote strategies for action. In the initial consultation phase of WILIP practitioners identified a number of generic themes. Improved access for users was the primary goal with better advocacy, more effective funding - especially to sustain initiatives - workforce development and building a strategic framework as the key means of achieving it. Many respondents believe better focused, very practical research is essential to provide a coherent body of evidence to support the case for developing libraries and information services as a major component of the Knowledge Society
Leeds Metropolitan University: the impact of the Information Literacy Framework
Get PDFLeeds Metropolitan University chose the theme
of learner support and centred our objectives
around information literacy skills. This is
because of our recent work in developing an
Information Literacy Framework which
articulates what information literacy is and how
we can integrate it into students\u27 learning. It
was developed by Learning Advisers in
response to the growth in the amount and
availability of information, the need for
information literacy in engaging effectively in
independent learning and the great diversity in
the level of students\u27 information skills
Had we but world[s] enough, and time?
Get PDFThis paper presents ongoing research into user requirements for 3-dimensional "virtual worlds" to be used as a means of information retrieval. There is a brief review of the literature in the fields in which design of 3-dimensional virtual spaces has been carried out, and the conclusion is reached that this design has usually been done without regard to user preferences. This study has used grounded theory to establish user preferences, initially amongst a group of about fifty postgraduate information management students. Initial
results of open coding of these interviews are described, and the next steps in the study are laid out. The Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) will be used as a world design medium
The development of a model for assessing the level of impact of information and library services
Get PDFThis paper describes the background to the development and application of a model of Levels of Impact of innovations in information and library services. The model is based on earlier work in the eLearning field and provides a tool for comparing the different effects of a service on individuals, either within a particular community or over time. The paper
suggests that there is scope for further development and testing of the model to refine its application