Uma revista inspiradora

Numa fase em que muitas pessoas procuram temas para investigação com fins académicos ou outros, parece útil chamar a atenção para publicações na área de CID que podem ser fonte de inspiração para trabalhos a realizar entre nós.

Uma dessas publicações é "Ariadne", que se define a si mesma como um magazine publicado na web destinado aos profissionais de arquivo, bibliotecas e museus.

Fundada em 1996, o que lhe confere já uma notável longevidade, com uma periodicidade trimestral, esta revista tem um enfoque principal na área das tecnologias de informação, bibliotecas digitais e trabalho em rede um pouco por todo o mundo.

Destacam-se aqui alguns textos do último número (65, de Outubro 2010):

From Passive to Active Preservation of Electronic Records

Heather Briston and Karen Estlund provide a narrative of the process adopted by the University of Oregon in order to integrate electronic records management into its staff's workflow.

Locating Image Presentation Technology within Pedagogic Practice

Marie-Therese Gramstadt contextualises image presentation technology and methods within a pedagogic framework for the visual arts.

Trust Me, I'm an Archivist

Christopher Hilton, Dave Thompson and Natalie Walters describe some of the issues of engaging with donors when it comes to transferring born-digital material to the Library.

Why UK Further and Higher Education Needs Local Software Developers

Mahendra Mahey and Paul Walk discuss the work of the Developer Community Supporting Innovation (DevCSI) Project which focuses on building capacity for software developers in UK Further and Higher Education to support innovation in the sector.

Academic Liaison Librarianship: Curatorial Pedagogy or Pedagogical Curation?

Allan Parsons presents a strategic view of the need to develop the academic liaison librarianship role.

What Is a URI and Why Does It Matter?

Henry S. Thompson describes how recent developments in Web technology have affected the relationship between URI and resource representation and the related consequences.

Developing Infrastructure for Research Data Management at the University of Oxford

James A. J. Wilson, Michael A. Fraser, Luis Martinez-Uribe, Paul Jeffreys, Meriel Patrick, Asif Akram and Tahir Mansoori describe the approaches taken, findings, and issues encountered while developing research data management services and infrastructure at the University of Oxford.

Moving Researchers across the eResearch Chasm

Malcolm Wolski and Joanna Richardson outline an Australian initiative to address technology challenges within current research paradigms

Leia mais no sítio na Internet de Ariadne.

Muito preocupante

Massive cutbacks to library services begin

29.11.10 | Benedicte Page

Librarians have said they are “angry and depressed" at the wave of library cutbacks announced since the comprehensive spending review in October but feel “powerless" because they cannot speak openly about them. The Reading Agency director Miranda McKearney has called the scale of library job losses involved “scary".

At least 25 local authorities have announced new proposals for cost-cutting to their library services since the October review, with fresh details emerging almost every day. Because many of the proposals are provisional and involve different options, it is unclear what the exact number of individual libraries and librarian posts already at risk.

Last year the statistical body CIPFA, which measures library book lending, found that almost 1,000 librarians lost their jobs, with 24,765 left in their posts at the end of March 2010. But this year the downsizing could escalate, with some councils proposing a worst-case scenario loss of up to half their libraries, and recent proposals including the axing of 20 smaller libraries in Leeds, and up to 23 out of 42 libraries set to go in North Yorkshire. Further closures in Dumfries and Galloway and in Barnsley are among the latest announcements.

In Wiltshire some accounts suggest that just 10 librarians are intended to remain in place across the entire county, which has 34 libraries. A spokesperson for Wiltshire Council denied this was the case, but said that the council was “looking to get 240 managers out of about 550 across the council to apply for voluntary redundancy", and that library workers with management experience were among those receiving letters to that effect.

Some local authorities are following a trend called “management delayering", involving fewer lines of management between the chief executive and the front line, while others are employing “channel shift", automating as much of the council's contact with the public as possible, through the internet or call centres. It is believed that in some areas the entire library workforce has been told it is at risk.

Many library workers say they are unable to speak out because of fear they will lose redundancy payments if they breach confidentiality clauses in their contracts. One member of staff, who would only speak anonymously, said: “As angry and depressed as people are, when I raise the issue of why so many people in the profession are not talking to customers or the press about the dismantling of our services, people admit fear and powerlessness. There is great frustration that no one is taking the lead. I very much get the feeling that everyone is too fearful to stick their necks out as it would be professional suicide."

At The Reading Agency Miranda McKearney said: “What's clear is, lots of staff are going. One risk is that it is the specialist staff, the staff who push the reader development movement. In some authorities they are definitely being targeted." She added: “The worst I've heard of is that 60% of specialist staff [in one library service] are going. It's really scary."

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA) said: “Library services are a non-statutory service in that councils are not legally obliged to provide a library in every town. They have to provide a service, but there doesn't need to be a library—you could provide a mobile library, for example. Councils are legally obliged to provide other services, such as protecting vulnerable children and adults, and they are very expensive. We have a 28% reduction in funding over four years, so popular non-statutory services like libraries and leisure centres are being reduced. But it is very much a local decision and all councils will consult with local residents." The spokesperson added: “We have to be honest with people. We can't pretend we will be able to provide the same level of service in future."

Confidentiality agreements were part of the terms and conditions set by each individual council as an employer in its own right, the LGA spokesperson added.

Grupos focais na "Social Research Update"

Social Research Update é uma publicação trimestral do Departamento de Sociologia da Universidade de Surrey, em Guilford, Inglaterra.

No seu número 19 (Inverno de 1997) Anita Gibbs, do  Centre for Criminological Research, da Universidade de Oxford, aborda a temática dos "Grupos Focais", um método de investigação então, como ainda hoje, pouco conhecido e pouco usado em Portugal.

Leia o texto completo aqui.