Maintaining Access to Government Information Collaboratively (MAGIC):
Survey for researchers
http://www.efc.co.uk/projects/magic/researchers_survey.jsp -
Education for Change is leading the MAGIC study, commissioned by the
London
School of Economics Library, the University of Oxford Social Sciences
Library and the British Library, of the feasibility of a central
repository
and "virtual reference desk" offering long-term electronic access to a
comprehensive collection of British official publications via the
Internet,
to be run as a shared service managed within the UK HE sector. The
service
would cover electronic UK (Westminster) government documents and those
issued by the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland.
The potential for a shared service of this kind has been proposed in
response to the general concern within the library community about loss
of
information when Government web sites are updated or closed due to
structural reform of the machinery of government, policy changes, change
of
party in power, etc. As well as information on the web pages
themselves,
they contain links to important documents which would previously have
been
published in print and preserved in libraries for the use of researchers
and
members of the public, but which are now often issued only in electronic
form on government web sites, where their presence is transitory.
Through this survey for researchers, we are gathering information from
the higher
education and other research communities about the potential market for
such
a service, including current practice (both library led and by
individual
researchers) in identifying, collecting and accessing official
publications
(both print and electronic) and what the key features of a potential
shared
service might be to meet market needs.
We would be grateful if you could complete the short survey at this
address
http://www.efc.co.uk/projects/magic/researchers_survey.jsp
before the end of April,
and / or forward this email and link on to a colleague or colleagues
working
in your institution whom you know have an interest and expertise in
collecting, managing and using official publications. We welcome
different
views from the same institution, perhaps reflecting a different subject
or
service perspective.
Education for Change Ltd.
17A Christopher Street
London EC2A 2BS
Tel: +44 (0)20 7247 3370
Fax: +44 (0)20 7247 3371
http://www.efc.co.uk
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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