Paper-based Libraries Research Articles

From Poison Books to “Bibliotoxicology”: Highlighting Hazards in Paper-Based Library Collections

From Poison Books to “Bibliotoxicology”: Highlighting Hazards in Paper-Based Library Collections

Natural attenuation as a decontamination approach for SARS-CoV-2 on paper-based library and archives materials

This document synthesizes various studies and data; however, the scientific understanding regarding COVID-19 is continuously evolving.In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and OCLC are working in partnership with Battelle to create and distribute science-based information designed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to staff and visitors who are engaging in the delivery or use of museum, library, and archival services. This REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project is studying how long the SARS CoV-2 virus (the virus that causes COVID-19) survives on common materials and methods to mitigate exposure.This material is being provided for informational purposes only, and readers are encouraged to review federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local guidance. The authors, sponsors, and researchers are not liable for any damages resulting from use, misuse, or reliance upon this information, or any errors or omissions herein.

Breaking down barriers: Stewardship of born-digital materials at Columbia University’s special collections repositories

Over the past ten years, Columbia University has completed a number of successful high-profile projects to preserve and publish digital materials. However, up to now, the work on curating and archiving born-digital assets has remained largely project-based and not routinised or scalable. Columbia University’s Born Digital Strategic Initiative Team was tasked with assessing Columbia University Libraries’ approach to collecting born-digital content and making recommendations on how to operationalise that work so that acquiring, processing and providing access to digital assets becomes as routine as going through all these steps with paper-based library collections. This article shares the methodology used by the team to analyse the current situation and develop recommendations for the future.

Reading on paper or reading digitally? Reflections and implications of ePIRLS 2016 in South Africa

South Africa participated in the electronic version of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (ePIRLS) in 2016 but faced many challenges during implementation. Accurate databases on information and communication technologies (ICT) capacity of schools were not available for sampling in Gauteng, many schools had old and/or non-functional hardware and half of the schools had not used their computer laboratories in the last 3 years. Consequently, South Africa was excluded from the international report as the study requirements could not be met. In this paper we examine the implications of the problems experienced in the ePIRLS multiple case study, conducted in 9 schools (n = 277) in Gauteng. Multilevel models were built using data from the nationally representative Grade 4 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data from 2011 (n = 15,744) and 2016 (n = 12,810). In the 2016 national study, principals and teachers reported fewer computers and libraries being available for learners than were reported in 2011. Computers and paper-based libraries being available were not significant predictors of reading literacy. Instead, the medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase, school location, gender, and socioeconomic composition of the school predicted reading literacy achievement. The ePIRLS results show no significant difference between paper-based and online reading. While issues of poverty, gender inequality, and historical disadvantage persist, Grade 4 learners may lack adequate opportunities to acquire paper and digital reading skills. We conclude that the most disadvantaged learners have increasingly insufficient opportunities and resources available to attain basic reading skills and this will have negative long-term consequences for South Africa’s educational sector and economy.Keywords: digital and online reading literacy; ePIRLS; ICT; multilevel modelling; PIRLS; reading comprehension; South African primary schools

Практические аспекты организации информационного обеспечения образовательного процесса в Ордена Трудового Красного Знамени агропромышленном колледже Крымского федерального университета им. В.И. Вернадского

The article describes the modern stage of evolution of information management of educational process from classical paper-based libraries to modern digital ones. The principles of organization, advantages and disadvantages of web-based electronic information provision are characterized, it is shown how to design a digital library by the educational establishment.

Design issues in the production of hyper-books and visual-books

This paper describes an ongoing research project in the area of electronic books. After a brief overview of the state of the art in this field, two new forms of electronic book are presented: hyper-books and visual-books. A flexible environment allows them to be produced in a semi-automatic way starting from different sources: electronic texts (as input for hyper-books) and paper books (as input for visual-books). The translation process is driven by the philosophy of preserving the book metaphor in order to guarantee that electronic information is presented in a familiar way. Another important feature of our research is that hyper-books and visual-books are conceived not as isolated objects but as entities within an electronic library, which inherits most of the features of a paper-based library but introduces a number of new properties resulting from its non-physical nature.DOI:10.1080/0968776930010205

Consortia for Electronic Library Provision in Belgium

E-libraries just like the former paper-based libraries will become increasingly essential and indispensable tools in research and education. Library consortia seem to be the way to get e-libraries started all over the world. However, it is unclear yet whether this is going to be a longlasting workable model. The Belgian research libraries follow the international pattern and are rapidly becoming hybrid libraries especially in business, science, applied sciences and biomedicine (the STM disciplines). Still they have large paper bound collections on board and no library is willing to replace these in the near future by a purely electronic collection of journals. The fear of losing the content and thus the „raison d’être“ of the library and the concern for users not yet familiar with e-information sources are the cornerstone for a prudent, yet conservative policy. Increasingly e-information and e-journals are being taken on board. Paper and electronic go side by side in new hybrid libraries partly also due to the market policy set by the publishers in combining paper and electronic in an attempt to keep or improve the annual turnover reached during the past paper period. The transition from paper to electronic occurred in Belgium somewhat later than in other Western European countries. This confirms the position of Belgium often taking up an average position in Western Europe.

Meeting the future at the University of Michigan Media Union

Given the increasing digitization of information, even a casual observer can see the diminishing role that standard paper-based libraries will (and already do) play in education. More students and professionals than ever before access and process information digitally over networks and the Internet. How then should colleges and universities accommodate students whose academic needs not only fluctuate with technology but differ dramatically from those of even their most recent predecessors? At the University of Michigan, faculty and staff members addressed this conundrum by planning, designing, and building the Media Union. A unique integration of high tech and education, this facility gives students and teachers access to the latest digital information and technology within a variety of disciplines, including art, design, psychology, architecture, engineering, and the natural sciences.

FROM INFORMATION STATICS TO INFORMATION DYNAMICS: The Developing World Has No Alternative

Libraries as presently constituted are essentially static paper-containing information systems often enclosed in massive specific spaces. The new electronic systems are by their very nature dynamic global systems that take up almost no space. Static information systems evolved from clay tablets to papyrus scrolls to parchment and finally to paper produced in vast quantities by the printing press. Medical and scientific journals have been growing exponentially since the seventeeth century as have the static paper-based libraries. This growth has been non-Darwinian, being outside of the laws of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Thus, the great majority of medical information is uncited and unread. Moreover, the vast investment in static libraries in the developed world has inhibited the development of modern electronic systems. In contrast, the developing world is largely bereft of such institutions, and has the unique opportunity to leap unencumbered by the static past into the far more efficient and dynamic electronic future.