The British Library Research and Innovation Centre has recently
awarded two new grants for research. Full details of the projects are
available on the Centre's WWW pages at: http://www.bl.uk/services/ric/
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COOL - Creating Opportunities for Others via Libraries
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Grantee: University of Wales Aberystwyth
Contact: Linda Tomos
Social exclusion is the result - for communities or individuals - of a
combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low
incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family
breakdown. The barriers for the disadvantaged in fully participating
in society will increase in the 'Information Age'. It is widely
recognised that to meet the rapidly changing needs of the Information
Society people will require not only stronger basic skills in numeracy
and literacy but also 'informacy', i.e. the skill of interaction with
new technology. A major challenge in planning economic strategies for
growth is to improve opportunities for those people who are not
economically active; such economic planning requires tested
methodologies.
This Project will aim to:
- quantify the benefits of utilising the 'wired' public library for
programmes which address social exclusion via ICT, and the potential
barriers, within 2 distinct socio-economic contexts (urban and rural)
- identify and test a credible strategic role for public libraries as
agents of change for addressing social exclusion, within the context
of a regional economic strategy, based on the research conclusions.
The Project will work with CWLIS members including the Welsh
Development Agency (WDA) the Employment Service and the Welsh TECs.
The research conclusions will be used to develop the Wales Information
Society (WIS) Action Plan. The European Union under the RISI programme
jointly funds this strategic initiative, led by the WDA. It is
envisaged that the Action Plan will include strategies for the use of
ICT in the delivery of programmes to address social exclusion. The
Plan will then be developed within the Wales Economic Strategy Agenda
to be implemented by the WDA and the 4 Regional Economic Fora on
behalf of the National Assembly for Wales.
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Value and impact of end-user IT services in public libraries
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Grantee: Manchester Metropolitan University
Proposer: Peter Brophy
The project is based on the need to develop methodologies for the
analysis of the increasing numbers of IT-based user services,
including but not limited to Internet and World Wide Web access, which
public libraries are making available so as to improve our
understanding of their value and impact.
The overall project aims are:
- to develop and implement methodologies suited to the evaluation of
end-user IT-based services offered by public libraries
- to gather and disseminate authoritative information on the value of
such services and their impacts
- to advise policy makers on the value and impacts of different
services and of how values and impacts can be measured to further
develop UK expertise and leadership in this field
Five new reports based on research funded by the Research and
Innovation Centre are now available. Further details of Research and
Innovation Centre reports from 1997 to date are available from the
Centre's web pages: www.bl.uk/services/ric/.
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Learning development: an introduction to the social impact of public
libraries/ by François Matarasso
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BLR&I report 114
ISBN 1873667728
Available from: Eco Distribution, 117 Main Street, Woodhouse Eaves,
Leics. LE12 8RY. Tel: 01509 890068; Fax: 01509 890191. £6.00
Learning development summarises recent research into the social impact
of libraries undertaken by members of the PULSE group. It gives a
snapshot of the contribution public libraries make to key government
objectives, including social inclusion and lifelong learning,
highlighting the potential of public library services in personal and
community development. The book is a straightforward introduction to
key trends in the developing social role of public libraries. It sets
out some of the challenges faced by the sector, arguing that they can
best be addressed by the library profession learning development.
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A model for assessing preservation needs in libraries/ by Paul
Eden...[et al.]
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BLR&I report 125
ISBN 0712397256
Available from: British Thesis Service, British Library Document
Supply Centre. Tel: 01937 546229; Fax: 01937 546286. Photocopy £12.00
UK; microfiche £5.00 UK.
The project aimed to develop a model for assessing the preservation
needs of paper-based and photographic materials (including microforms)
in libraries and archives, and to develop the model in such a way as to
facilitate an assessment of national preservation needs and priorities,
thereby contributing to the development of a national preservation
policy. Research included the identification and analysis of recent and
ongoing preservation surveys in libraries, archives, museums and
heritage organisations in the UK and elsewhere; identification and
analysis of existing preservation needs assessment packages; interviews
with archivists, conservators, curators and librarians who have been
responsible for preservation and/or conservation surveys in the UK; and
testing and evaluation of the draft model in different sizes and types
of library and archive. Part One of the report presents the main
findings of the research. This highlights and discusses key issues
including various approaches to preservation needs assessment, the core
elements which must be considered in a preservation needs assessment
and staffing issues such as training. Part One also provides a
rationale for the model Preservation needs assessment for libraries
included in Part Two. This model is submitted with recommendations on
further development and use of the model, including suggestions for its
development for use in archives.
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Digital libraries - special libraries and social work practitioners/
by Mark Watson
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BLR&I report 133
ISBN 0712397272
Available from: British Thesis Service, British Library Document
Supply Centre. Tel: 01937 546229; Fax: 01937 546286. Photocopy £12.00
UK; microfiche £5.00 UK. Will also be available on the Internet at:
http://www.nisw.org.uk
The report of a project which attempted to identify issues which
impact on the utilisation of digital library developments by special
libraries and social work practitioners in the United Kingdom. The
findings indicate that a scenario of social work practitioners using
the Internet to access information about literature and research as
practice was felt to be very desirable. The extent to which social
work practitioners are enabled to access digital library developments
by their employers is of importance. Costs to the organisation,
particularly for the voluntary sector, were identified as the main
obstacle to this happening. The Internet was shown to be the
primary means of keeping up to date with the latest literature and
developments although traditional methods of borrowing books/getting
photocopies of articles was similarly ranked. It would also appear
necessary not to lose sight of the fact that access to traditional
library services and resources may not be widespread, let alone
access to digital library resources. Practitioners surveyed identified
themselves as being positive in their attitude towards information
technology, with the majority using a PC at work, and many having a PC
at home. They appeared to be quite positive with regard to the
potential for using the Internet to access literature and research,
and felt that barriers to such developments were much more likely to
be organisational than attitudinal.
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Information needs of refugee groups/ by Rosemary Raddon and Christine
Smith
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BLR&I report 71
ISBN 0712397302
Available from: British Thesis Service, British Library Document
Supply Centre. Tel: 01937 546229; Fax: 01937 546286. Photocopy £12.00
UK; microfiche £5.00 UK.
The aims of this project were to i) identify and assess the
information needs of refugee groups residing in the UK and ii) develop
strategies to meet these needs.
Primary information needed by refugees was identified as that
concerning legal rights, housing, welfare benefits, health, education
and training, work and employment. It is clear that there is a wealth
of relevant information available, but that there is a lack of
co-ordination, and overall policy in relation to its production
(including translation) and dissemination. Availability for groups and
individuals depends on local organisations, personal initiatives,
financial support and political linkages. It is also clear that there
is no policy in relation to its control in the bibliographic sense,
and so access and use is predominantly serendipitous. There is also
very little coherence in the collection, publication and dissemination
of information of relevance to refugees from government and the
statutory agencies. Paradoxically considerable information exists
outside this area, but it is unco-ordinated and patchy. There is
apparently very little co-operation in the analysis of need,
production, use, exchange and evaluation of information between the
producers in the voluntary sector, and those in the statutory sector.
Most materials produced by both the voluntary and the statutory
sectors are print based with the needs of those refugees with reading
difficulties or disabilities seldom addressed, particularly by the
statutory sector. The rapid advance of digital information, and the
global effects of information transfer, indicate the need to use the
technology to support refugees in their country of origin (if
possible), and in their country of, sometimes temporary, adoption.
Electronic document delivery may not be feasible at present, but
should be a major element in long term planning. It is already
on the agenda and part of service delivery for some agencies.
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Research trip report: Nihon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) archives: a survey:
National Diet Library/ by Gill Goddard
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BLR&I report 134
ISBN 0712397280
Available from: British Thesis Service, British Library Document
Supply Centre. Tel: 01937 546229; Fax: 01937 546286. Photocopy £12.00
UK; microfiche £5.00 UK.
The report of a study tour to Japan in February 1998. The first
section surveys the current situation with regard to the holdings and
publications of Nihon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), the Japanese Broadcasting
Corporation, both at NHK Center in Shibuya and at NHK Atagoyama, home
of the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute and the NHK
Broadcasting Museum. Information about access to the collections,
specifically information about content and methods of access, the
current state of indexes, guides, summaries, catalogues, on-line
access, web etc. (all of which might be expected to be available only
in Japanese), has been collected and presented as a general guide to
NHK archives for the use of researchers from UK universities etc., to
facilitate their work. The second section reports on a visit to the
Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan (National Diet Library), particularly to the
Statutes and Parliamentary Documents Room and to the Modern Japanese
Political History Room. Details of the contents, catalogues and
indexes of these rooms are provided as well as a list of the principal
publications issued by the National Diet Library.
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Simon Matty
Information Officer
Research and Innovation Centre
The British Library
2 Sheraton Street
London W1V 4BH
tel: 0171 412 7054
fax: 0171 412 7251
email: [log in to unmask]
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