http://hdl.handle.net/1889/620 2013-05-22T11:32:27Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1785 Title: A Study of Digital Curator Competences: A survey of experts Authors: Madrid, Melody M. Abstract: The aim of this research was to define competences for digital curators, and to validate a Delphi process in the context of Library, Archives, Museum curriculum development. The objective for the study was to obtain consensus regarding competence statements for Library, Archives and Museum digital curators. The Delphi method, a research technique, typically used to develop a consensus of opinion for topic areas in which there is little previously documented knowledge, was used in specifying the digital curator competences in LAM context. Three rounds of questionnaires with controlled feedback with space for comments and/or suggestions were sent to panel members. Five point Likert scale was employed in the questionnaire. Consensus was determined when a competence statement received a mode higher than 3, an average mean more than 3.5, and a standard deviation smaller than 1.0. Response rates for rounds I, II and III were: 70% (n=16), 87.5% (n=14), and 94% (n=15) respectively. Of the 18 digital curator competences listed in the first round questionnaire, 13 (70%) achieved consensus as being necessary digital curator competences required of advanced level digital curator. Other inputs of respondents like comments and suggestions were also analyzed. An additional 23 digital curator competence statements were also suggested by the panel in round I and further developed in subsequent rounds. In round II, 12 (30%) competence statements achieved consensus. The final round and editing of competence statements led to 20 statements that describe what a well-prepared digital curator trained to participate in digital curation work should be able to do. 2011-12-29T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1784 Title: Opening Archives to General Public, a data modelling approach Authors: Gardasevic, Stanislava Abstract: By placing their descriptions on-line, archives have gained greater public. This new public is mainly consisting of the novice users not familiar with the archival research process. Archival research is usually conducted through the Finding Aids, which serve users as a guide to the discovery of archival holdings. However, those Finding Aids were originally used by the archivists for the records management and for interpreting users’ requests by deriving answers from provenance and context driven descriptions. In the on-line environment, Finding Aids are usually accessible through and encoded in the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard. The EAD was developed with the purpose of encoding and capturing many different archival descriptive practices The problem has arisen with the notion that the Finding Aids in the on-line environment have the exact same form as in traditional environment, just without the archivist as an mediating factor. This causes many problems to the general user public that is not familiar with the archival research process. This thesis tends to explore one possible approach for facilitating access on behalf of the general user public to the archival holdings in on-line environment. This approach is by transforming the data encoded in EAD standard to another, more general model. The goal model in question is the Europeana Data Model (EDM) developed for the purpose of Europeana v.1.0 project. The objective of this thesis is investigating weather EDM would bring the wanted changes to the accessibility of archival data. In order to achieve this, the general method for mapping EAD standard to EDM was developed. Furthermore the method developed was applied on the two fonds originating from the archive of Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, musical academy in Rome, for the purpose of validation of the developed method and analyzing the results of the mapping. The results of this study have shown that transforming archival description in EDM would bring certain improvements to the non-expert users accessing on-line. The main improvements are regarding terminology, facilitated access to the different levels of the archival description, improved search functionalities and better visibility of archival holdings. 2011-05-31T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1677 Title: The evaluation of real-world digital libraries: a case at the Loughborough University Library Authors: Consonni, Chiara Abstract: Evaluation is a crucial step for the development and improvements of digital libraries. Unfortunately, nowadays only few studies are focused on this matter and even fewer concentrate on how evaluation is conducted in real-world digital libraries. The study contributes to the research presenting the results of a qualitative case study conducted at the Loughborough University Library, based on data collected from eleven semi-structured interviews and document analysis. It reports how evaluation is conducted in a real-world digital library, which are the knowledge and competences of the staff in charge of performing it, which are the obstacles and barriers encountered by the staff and it examines what happens after the conclusion of the evaluation, in particular how results and recommendations are turned to profitable account. The research also aims to act as source of references for researchers who want to investigate this field further. The collected data were analyzed trough constant comparative process and seven main categories matching the research objectives were identified and discussed: definition of evaluation by the interviewees, conceptual purpose of evaluation according to the interviewees, training on evaluation by the interviewees, problems, time constrains, resources, cooperation within the group, individual attitude, project planning, project development, how implement actions from recommendations, dissemination of results, sections taken to implement the recommendations, impact of evaluation projects. Recommendations for the Loughborough University Library and indications for further investigations are also discussed. The research confirms that currently the knowledge about how real-world-digital libraries deals with evaluation are insufficient and it raises several new and controversial questions, which should force the scientific community to investigate deeper the reality of digital library. 2010-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1496 Title: Collaboratory Digital Libraries for Humanities in the Italian context Authors: Zanni, Andrea Abstract: The study investigates the approach to collaboration in Humanities, within the Italian context, to test the possibility of collaborative digital library for scholars. The research hypothesis is that collaboration can foster innovation and scientific development: therefore, within Humanities, digital libraries can be the collaborative laboratory for research. Thus, understanding perception of scholars towards collaboration, especially online, and comprehending if wiki systems could be the framework of collaboration were the objectives of the study. A qualitative approach has been adopted, using case study as research method: five in-depth, semi-structured interviews to Digital Humanities scholars provide data integrated with interviews with two key informants (one of which is prof. Umberto Eco). The results of the study show that Humanities, within Italian context, do appreciate collaboration and the concept of a collaboratory digital library, though several issues need to be solved. In fact, Humanities are still tied with individual work and collaboration is not easy to pursue, for cultural, technical and political reasons. Great effort needs to be done at many different levels to eliminate obstacles and facilitate online collaboration for scholars. The study provides a draft model for a collaborative digital library arisen from gathered data. 2010-06-23T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1138 Title: Evaluation of Quality in Cultural Heritage Websites: A case study at the National Centre of Linguistic and Historical Research of Maldives Authors: Shiham, Fathimath Abstract: Cultural heritage websites aim to provide people with the information they need to improve their quality of life and sense of belonging. To do this, quality in websites is one aspect which has to be taken into account throughout the process. In Maldives no user studies have been done so far on this topic. The primary goal of the study was to evaluate and understand how quality principles and current trends in web services can improve the services offered by cultural heritage web sites to users. This exploratory study has made an initial attempt to explore ‘users’ and ‘makers’ priorities, perceptions and expectations of quality of cultural heritage website using MINERVA quality framework and current trends in web services. A case study was carried out using the National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research (NCLHR) of Maldives involving users and makers. It comprised of a qualitative approach of focus group with staff and face-to-face interviews with users. In this study ‘Users’ are the people using the cultural heritage website for a specific information need and ‘Website-Makers’ are used to refer to the group of individuals within the organization, the staff who deal with website creation, maintenance and updating. The results indicated that for user’s quality of website started at content. All the quality principles from MINERVA, most important of which were highlighted as being effective and responsive, had to be based on this content. On the other hand, website-makers expectation of quality ended at the content. The content could not be provided due to offline daily work at the organization and lack of resources. For website-makers, users were perceived as a unified group of people. Users were very fluent with current trends in web services and website-makers were cautious of such new web services. 2009-06-26T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1137 Title: Building the collection of the National Digital Library of Kosova: users’ expectations Authors: Kokollari, Besim Abstract: This mixed qualitative/quantitative exploratory case study research is informed by a constructivist approach. Its aim is to identify user-based content selection criteria for the national digital library of Kosova. The study aimed at providing answers to two following objectives a) to explore expectations of experts and users about the content of a national digital library; b) to identify Library’s potential collaborative channels with other institutions within Kosova and abroad. These objectives are met using two channels of information: a) interviews with five experts in certain fields of knowledge, and; b) survey questionnaires with one hundred and eighty-eight users and potential users of the National and University Library of Kosova. This research reaches the conclusion that selection criteria are of utmost importance to a successful user-oriented national digital library. Proper content selection criteria were also considered to play a crucial role in the dissemination of Kosova’s historical and cultural heritage to the outer world. Reciprocally, it is considered as a window to Kosovars to access world’s information richness through building cooperation links with various institutions within and without the country. At the end, this research provides a few recommendations that may be useful to decision-makers and those undertaking a national digital library initiative in Kosova. Those include recommendations about territorial scope of the collection, field and thematic coverage, language scope, document type and format, and possible collaboration links that the national digital library should build in order to provide access to proper information to its audience. Since the literature reviewed indicates that the National and University Library of Kosova does not have any selection criteria or collection development policies in place, it makes this research a unique one in Kosovar context. Therefore, this user-based research aimed at providing viable and useful information that are applicable in Kosovar context and may be transferable to a wider Albanian context in the Balkans. 2009-06-28T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/1136 Title: A task analysis of the content creators of a European digital library Authors: Nasomtrug, Kanokporn Abstract: This study explores the tasks of the digital library (DL) content creators of a European DL, namely European NAvigator (ENA), developed by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l’Europe (Virtual Resource Centre for Knowledge about Europe), CVCE, which is located in Luxembourg. The CVCE is in the process of enhancing the DL by creating a new DL management system, partly in response to the European Union’s i2010 policy, as well as to newly emerging DL technologies and applications. The following research questions were answered in this study: • What are the current tasks of the DL content creators both directly and indirectly involving ECMD? • According to the DL content creators, what are the outcomes achieved in performing their tasks? • What recommendations are put forward by the DL content creators in regard to their tasks and activities? • What functionalities or features should be incorporated into the future DL content management system for the content creators’ tasks? The study was supported by a literature review to provide background and foundation. The research methodology used was hierarchical task analysis (HTA). The data was collected through interviews, observation and screen recordings of tasks carried out by participants. 2009-08-14T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/484 Title: Perceptions of empowerment and the pitfalls of communication: an exploratory case study at the University of Trieste Library System Authors: Arabito, Stefania Abstract: 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. 2005-04-30T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/477 Title: Ain Mediatheque (France) Authors: Giorgi, Gianna Abstract: The public Mediatheque in department of Ain in France is a public utility with the mission to contribute to the permanent learning, and to provide cultural activities to all the citizens. Nowadays this Mediatheque is one of the most information resources. A public Mediatheque is, like school, an institution which, in particular in France, should incarnate the principles contained in the currency constitution: liberté, égalité et fraternité. Keeping fixed the principles the libraries could and should change the way on the service are delivered. This idea conduit to an enlarged definition of Mediatheque: now and in the future the Mediatheque and specifically the public Mediatheque is defined by its services, proposed both inside and outside the building, the internal and the external resources available, the physical places as the services on line. Close examination on previous studies revealed that the use or non-use of Mediatheque can be related to a multiplicity or factors, very often differently combined, such as: number titles and their availability promotion lack of technical skills insufficient hardware resources information access Mediatheque services personal information seeking and use behaviours Promotion appeared to be one of the most important key aspect for the professional engaged. Promotion can mean any activity which aims to foster the awareness and use of the service, including publicity and marketing, education etc. Promotion has a high impact on awareness, which is one of the most relevant factors influencing the use or non-use of the Mediatheque. The purpose of the present research is to investigate the Mediatheque organisation from a users perception, in order to find out what influence the approach adopted by the Mediatheque may have on Mediatheque use. The aim is to reassess the role of Mediatheque of Ain, to know if it starts from this definition and conviction to be a Mediatheque of 21st century. Research aims, objectives and questions In order to make the Mediatheque services more effective this research identifies outcome in order to delineate the social profile and the expectations of its users. The inquiry investigate the quality expected and perceived from the customers, analysing the services Mediatheque and centralizing the attention in the relationship System/user, in order to acquire the necessary information to grown aligned with customer expectation. The interviewed customers have supplied feedbacks on: Aspect of the physical structures, of the equipments and the instruments of communication Ability to supply ready precise and reliable service Professional competence and courtesy of the librarians and they ability to in-still confidence Prompt and personalized attendance Particularly the findings analyse the followings aspects: Which Mediatheque idea emerges from the search? The perception of the quality in Mediatheque corresponds to the searched quality? : In deep: A customers satisfaction based on monitoring feedbacks as essential elements for a correct management Mediatheque Mediatheque organisation Documentary patrimony increasing Moreover the research collects information detailed about the interviewed (sex, study, profession), on their motivations about their presence in Mediatheque, and about their preferences about the documents consulted or loaned 2005-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1889/476 Title: Information Literacy and Reflective Learning. An action-research experience at the University of Parma Authors: Vezzosi, Monica Abstract: Information literacy is a “catalyst” that can empower students’ learning and is therefore becoming an important focus of academic libraries. Action research is being increasingly adopted in the field of LIS, due to its characteristics of bringing together enquiry, practice and reflection. This dissertation describes a piece of action research carried out at the University of Parma. A homogeneous group of 25 students are offered an Information Literacy activity grounded on the principles of reflective learning. Students’ experience of the information seeking and research process is investigated before, during and after the learning activity. The experience of action research itself is evaluated from the point of view of the teaching librarian, with the goal of reflecting on the research process as well as on the findings. Two parallel cycles of action research are developed, with different investigating techniques: focus groups, analysis of students’ tasks, observation and individual interviews are adopted to analyse students’ learning and the variations occurred in their experience, while reflective journal and peer observation are related to the analysis of researcher’s experience of action research. The outcomes defined for the learning activity have been attained by most participating students, who have started to perceive information seeking and bibliographic research as recursive processes requiring reflective thinking skills. Among positive changes occurred in students’ experience, there is an awareness of their own personal development, a feeling of empowerment and a sense of independence. The learning activity itself has been positively evaluated both by students and by peer observers. Action research revealed to be a valuable, even if highly demanding approach, suitable for librarians aiming to connect their teaching activity to educational research and to improve their own practice through reflection. It appeared also an effective way to promote change in Information Literacy activities in an academic context. 2005-05-31T22:00:00Z