Libraries In Spain Research Articles

Unir educación y bibliotecas: la evolución de un reto permanente

An assessment is made of educational services provided by school, public and university libraries in Spain. Opportunities and challenges to increase the involvement and support of librarians at the various educational levels are identified. Aspects such as the need for change in the teaching culture and the integration of libraries in e-learning are highlighted.

QR codes in use: the experience at the UPV Library

QR codes are beginning to be introduced in our libraries and are an easy way to give additional information to mobile web users in a given time and place. In this paper, we share the experience and give some examples of the introduction and use of QR codes at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) Libraries in Spain. We describe how we use QR codes to give access to our mobile website, to download documents and to promote our literature blog. We also describe how we promote our QR codes to both users and librarians, including some best practices. Finally, we discuss our future projects, such as the use of QR codes for information literacy.

REVIVING CHRISTIAN HUMANISM: SCIENCE AND RELIGION*

Abstract. A possible consequence of the dialogue between science and religion is a revived religious humanism—a firmer grasp of the historical and phenomenological meanings of the great world religions correlated with the more accurate explanations of the rhythms of nature that natural science can provide. The first great expressions of religious humanism in the West emerged when Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scholars sat in the same libraries in Spain and Sicily, studying and translating the lost manuscripts of Aristotle in the ninth and tenth centuries to understand his ethics, epistemology, and psychobiology. In our day, the science‐religion dialogue—exemplified by interaction among psychology, spirituality, and psychotherapy—will best support such a revival if guided by the philosophical resources of critical hermeneutics (sometimes called hermeneutical realism) supplemented by William James's brand of phenomenology and pragmatism. Here, I develop primarily the contributions of Paul Ricoeur to hermeneutic realism and his unique ability to find a place for the natural sciences within hermeneutic phenomenology in his formula of understanding‐explanation‐understanding.

La calidad en las bibliotecas universitarias biomédicas según sus usuarios

We analyze the quality of several academic heath libraries in Spain according to the users� opinions. We obtain these opinions using the tool to evaluate quality of libraries called LibQUAL+.

Teaching digital libraries in Spain: Context and experiences

The situation of digital libraries teaching and learning in Spain up to 2008 is examined. A detailed analysis of the different curricula and subjects is provided both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Digital libraries have been mostly a postg

The libraries of Spain’s national museums: an undiscovered heritage

The libraries of the national museums in Spain were established during the 19th and 20th centuries. Their holdings are the result of a long tradition of collecting, and together constitute an invaluable bibliographic legacy. With the objective of bringing to light and publicising this rich heritage, these libraries have developed an art libraries network, BIMUS, whose first achievement has been to create an online union catalogue. The project will continue to develop in stages, and its eventual aim is to help the Spanish museum libraries become a reference point for research into art history and the cultural heritage.

Julio Camba a través de su epistolario

Se transcriben en este artículo varias cartas -las más personales estaban todavía inéditas- del escritor y periodista Julio Camba (1884-1962), localizadas en diferentes archivos públicos y privados, entre ellos la Biblioteca Nacional de España, el archivo de Pedro Sáinz Rodríguez en la Fundación Universitaria Española y, sobre todo, los originales y copias que reunió Miguel Utrillo para el archivo de la tertulia madrileña de "Los amigos de Julio Camba". Documentos de evidente interés para realizar una biografía lo más completa posible del excelente pero aún poco conocido humorista.

The current state of research on the history of public libraries in Spain

Analyzes the research and publications on the history of Spanish public libraries (defined as free libraries run by public administration) covering the period beginning with the birth and development of public reading centres in the eighteenth century up to the present day. Three groups of researchers are identified: first, professional librarians, characterized by their erudition; secondly, general interest historians and historians of education, who began to apply the 'scientific' method and the systematic use of primary sources; and thirdly, university lecturers in the area of library and information science, whose work in the library history field has attained a certain maturity. The article concludes by highlighting the need to delve deeper into these studies and form research groups to that end.

Collaborations and alliances: social intelligence applied to academic libraries

PurposeThis paper seeks to analyze the different forms of library cooperation and the different types of relations that can be established for collaboration among libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper attempts to show how cooperation as an application of the social intelligence is a tool to improve library services. For that, the paper uses the situation of Spanish university libraries between 1980 and 2005. Adopting an evolutionary approach, the study shows how cooperation has affected library organizations, and concludes that the current situation shows an intelligent adaptation to the needs of society.FindingsUsing the evolution of the academic libraries in Spain between 1980 and 2005, the paper analyzes six different forms of relation or cooperation that can be established by libraries. Those are: companionship, collaboration, association, cooperation, alliances and fraternization. The paper attempts to provide some guidelines for cooperation that may be of value to university libraries in their path towards the future. The approach is global, systemic and evolutionary. It is global in the sense that Spanish university libraries are taken as a model for exemplifying trends that are applicable to all types of libraries all over the world. It is systemic in the sense that it sees the Spanish case as one of a wide range of processes that do not occur in isolation in a world in which libraries – even at an international level – form part of a whole. Finally, it is evolutionary in the sense that it considers that the future will be built on our current achievements, which in turn depended on those of the past.Originality/valueThe paper is of interest because it reveals that the development of individual living beings and species depends to a large extent on their ability to cooperate. Similarly, the development of organizations and groups of organizations depends on their ability to work together and to establish a framework in which individual goals are attained thanks to external achievements or situations. Libraries are no exception to this, and may in fact serve as a paradigmatic example. Throughout history they have tended to develop powerful mechanisms of cooperation.

Análisis comparado de los sistemas de ayuda en opacs: tipología y tendencias

Various types of OPAC help provided by academic and public libraries in Spain and the United States are examined. The results of this investigation are reported, by geographic distribution, library type, and catalog software. The study identifies the most relevant trends in relation to online help systems.

Estudio de rentabilidad de la Biblioteca Pública Provincial de Valencia

We have outlined an estimate of the profitability of public libraries based on several models used in the United States that measure cost versus profits in public libraries. The Provincial Public Library of Valencia was chosen because it meets the following conditions: a high level of use, a very heterogeneous public, and reliable economic and user data. Our aim is to show that investment in public libraries is highly profitable in terms of the information and training offered and from a cultural and social point of view. The use of analytical models that measure costs versus profits in public libraries can serve to raise awareness on the part of both citizens and politicians of the benefits of investing in public libraries as well as to highlight the need for investment in public lending libraries to continue to grow. In order to ensure growth in the use of public libraries in Spain, increased investment is clearly needed.

Bibliotecas e investigación musical

Not a long time ago it was a little difficult to defend the high level of research needed by the librarian in charge of a music collection. There were not many libraries specialized on this subject. Nowadays we have seen in Spain the revaluation of the collections of music schools, art academies, etc. and we count with several musical documentation centres specialized in a composer or a geographic area. There are also an old international project recently established in Spain, the RISM (Repertoire International des Sources Musicales), and others national plans working now, like Musica Inedita, of the Royal Palace library, or Instrumenta Musicae, directed by the National Library of Spain, that collects the information of musical documents of the 19th century kept in the national libraries of Spain and Latin America. A correct description of musical documents demands the use of reference works and bibliographic tools about composers, writers, title names, publishers or dates of publication. The result, condensed in a bibliographic record, normally brief, must be reliable in all his parts.

La biblioteca del convento de San Antonio de Padua de Lora del Río: libros de autor franciscano (1646)

This paper analyses an important seventeenth-century conventual library in Spain. Specifically, the study is focused on the books written by franciscan monks that were in the monastery in 1646. The bibliographical work sheds some light on a scarcely known issue in the Early Modem Spain: the conventual libraries.

Developing library classroom children's collections in English for a Catalunyan private school

PurposeSeeks to present a case study of librarians developing recommendations for a small collection of children's literature in English to support primary grades' English‐language curriculum for Col°legi SEK Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain and to briefly describe development of intermediary library classroom models to put the collection development process in context.Design/methodology/approachVisits on‐site to target school and to selected regional schools and public libraries; development of a proposal to target school administrators; refinement of goals for project; selection aids for children's literature titles and resources for recommendation to English language primary teachers; provision of library organization and collection development skills workshop for English language teachers.FindingsRoles and functions of school libraries in Spain differ in scope from the US model of the integrated school library media center. Most school libraries visited were staffed by teachers who volunteered time. There was little formal instruction in information literacy at the schools and public libraries visited. The US concept of a school library media center, with its integral role to the school's curriculum, literacy, information literacy, and leisure reading support, is not well known in Spain, although this is changing, due largely to an increased awareness of the need for information literacy education in schools.Research limitations/implicationsBrief visits to target school and selected regional schools and libraries. European teaching models differ from current US education strategies. Concepts of integrated roles of school libraries in Spain are beginning to gain momentum; legislative and administrative support is slowly developing. There is great potential in such international collaborations, particularly between library higher education and P‐12 institutions. Adapting the US model of the integrated school library media center and its roles in literacy and information literacy holds great promise for P‐12 schools in Spain and other countries.Practical implicationsInternational collaborations increase awareness of diverse cultures’ similarities and differences, and lead to global exchanges of ideas and programs. Target school in this case study will have a well‐integrated English language library to support acquisition of English language, literacy, and information literacy. The acquisition of these important literacy skills through a carefully developed library program can only benefit student achievement and foster international collaborations.Originality/valueResearch into the function and possibilities for improvement in school libraries in Spain has been the subject of research among practitioners in Spain since the 1990s, but little of this research is known internationally. The original research and unique and timely implementation of this case study, though small in scope, has wide implications for school libraries internationally.

Thermal and Electrical Performance of Ventilated Photovoltaic Façade in the Hot Desert Climate of Kuwait

The ventilated photovoltaic (PV) façade system was implemented and tested in the Mataro Library in Spain and it has proven to be successful. However, its performance in the hot and desert climate has not been fully investigated yet. This paper quantifies the potential of the ventilated PV façade in the hot desert regions by simulating its thermal and electrical performances using the simulation programs TAS and PVSYST. Results show that the design of the Mataro Library would not perform as good in the hot desert climate of Kuwait and therefore should be modified to maximize its thermal and electrical performances. The paper concludes with several suggestions to optimize the design

El acceso por materias en los catálogos en línea: análisis comparativo de interfaces

An analysis of a sample of interfaces of OPACs is presented, particularly those aspects that concern the search that more difficulties raises: the access by subjects. The chosen sample includes twenty catalogues of university libraries of Spain and Latin America in Spanish and with different systems. The studied points are the subject access from the first screen of the catalogue, the search process, the presentation of the set of results obtained, the information given on each recovered document and the reformulation of the search. Screen captures are shown as a representative example of the different aspects analyzed.

Estudio del préstamo general y de los préstamos especiales en las bibliotecas universitarias españolas a través de sus normativas y reglamentos

In this work 36 texts that regulate the loan of 35 univerisity libraries of Spain are studied. Diverse aspects related to the general and the special loan, effective at the present time in these libraries, are analyzed and quantified.

Young adults and virtual libraries: a case study

The Cartagena Public Libraries Network has seen how young adults have been leaving the library, seeking more attractive services. In this paper, we analyse the reasons for the past success and the current decline of the service to young adults. We also review the situation of public libraries in Spain with regard to young adults, and the features of this market. We explain the answers that we are developing in order to restore the rate of use of the library by young adults. These answers are agreements with school libraries, and, particularly, the development of a virtual library, heavily controlled, classified and indexed, in order to satisfy the young adults’ needs and desires, outside the physical space of the library,

Architecture libraries in Catalonia

Two of the largest architecture libraries in Spain are in institutions in Catalonia. One of these is the UPC (the Technical University of Catalonia), the home of the library of the ETSAB (the School of Architecture of Barcelona), which is one of the oldest architecture schools in Spain. The other is COAC (the Architects’ Association of Catalonia), which boasts one of the biggest architecture libraries in a professional association in the country. While these two libraries were built up in the 19th century, other architecture libraries have been created in Catalonia in the 20th century, both in schools of architecture and in the branches of COAC.

And after automation, what?

Reviews the current state of computerization of Spanish libraries with reference to the political and institutional support and professional commitment involved. Whereas the first library automation systems were introduced in the UK, USA and Canada in the early 1970s, the first experiences in Spain dated from the following decade. Lack of institutional support for library modernization tended to be compensated for by the dedication and commitment of professionals across the library system, particularly in the Spanish university and research library sector. The principal problem pending is the modernization of the National Library, which has been in the slow process of reform over the past 20 years. Outlines the steps that should be taken in order to ensure true modernization of libraries in Spain: adopt a global perspective; integrate libraries in institutions; create more flexible library staff; introduce reinforced services; build stable relationships with users; improve communication; provide information that is needed and not that which the library holds; design a real global strategy; take full advantage of new technologies instead of following in the wake of developments; promote interlibrary co-operation by adopting common policies; and find a clear place in the market.