Doctorate in political science (Universidad del Salvador, Argentina) and postgraduate in documentation (Universidad de Buenos Aires)

Specialist in information service networks in the social sciences.

Tel.: (54 11) 4811-6588

dbabini@campus.clacso.edu.ar

Cooperative virtual libraries: training via internet of librarians and editors

Dominique Babini

Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO),

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Paper presented at the 70^th. IFLA General Conference (Buenos Aires, 22-27 August 2004)

Summary:

The development of virtual libraries that offer Internet  users access to full-text

documents requires the team work of librarians, editors and webmasters. In this

presentation, Dr. Dominique Babini, coordinator of the Latin American and the Caribbean Social Sciences Virtual Library of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences´ Network (CLACSO), proposes the option of cooperative virtual libraries and describes how they organized a distance training course via Internet for a group of  librarians and editors of 18 countries of Latin American and the Caribbean, pointing out the factors that must be considered for the organization of courses via Internet.

The unaccomplished promise of bibliographic databases

            For developing regions with a strong tradition in building cooperative bibliographic databases, accessing the documents cited in cooperative bibliographies has proved to be a very frustrating experience.  Such is the case for Latin American countries which share the use of the Spanish and Portuguese languages.  Reduced number of copies printed of academic books and journals (average 500 copies), lack of budget for distribution of complimentary copies of publications,  inadequate library infrastructure and extremely high costs of postage that make inter-library loans among cities and countries nearly non-existant, are among the main factors that contribute to difficulties in accessing the documents mentioned in regional cooperative bibliographies.  In the social sciences, discontinuity in library and journal collections because of the discontinuity in support of the social sciences worsens this situation.

The opportunities provided by e-publishing and e-libraries

            For developing regions, new information and communication technologies provide a unique opportunity to counteract the difficulties mentioned above for the dissemination and access to academic books, journal articles, conference papers, thesis and working documents.

Authors compose their works on a computer,  academic institutions receive the authors contributions in electronic format by mail,  and e-publishing software allows academic institutions to prepare the final publication for print and/or for e-publishing in the institutions´ websites, in a CD-Rom, and in a virtual library.

Virtual libraries

            Traditional libraries have always worked to add value to the original documents so that these can be easily located by librarians and end users.    Cataloguing, subject classification, indexing, and archiving are some of the technical processes that contribute to promote and facilitate access to knowledge produced by science and published in books, periodical articles, conference papers, thesis and working documents.

            With the arrival of Internet and the Web, traditional libraries were able to develop online access to the library catalogs and provide online access to full-text digital collections from the institution and from external resources.  Thus providing Internet users with an experience, in the virtual world, similar to visiting a traditional library with the process of searching in the catalog, accessing the document, and reading it.

The American Society for Information Sciences (ASIS), in its Thesaurus of Information Sciences (1998) defines virtual libraries as: “systems in which information resources are distributed by way of networks rather than having them in a physical location”. And it defines digital libraries as: “libraries whose contents are mainly in electronic format and which are accessible through computers. Contents may be available locally or be remotely accessible through communication networks”.

There’s certain preference, for the same services, to use the terms “digital library” in

U.S.A., Canada and Mexico; “electronic library” in U.K., and “virtual library” in Spain,

Argentina and Brazil.

            For developing regions, with severe economic restrictions for building collections of printed publications,  e-publications provide a unique opportunity for delivering content to users in new ways, without geographic or time constraints.  Academic institutions receive from the authors the publications in digital format before going to print.  Considering that most academic institutions and authors do not make a significant profit from selling their publications in developing regions,  providing open access to the digital format of each publications becomes a valid alternative to improve visibility of research results, and even to improve citation of publications and thus improve sale opportunities of the printed publications.

Cooperative virtual libraries

Working together with other virtual libraries provides each individual virtual library with additional collections of e-publications for its users, and working together online is easy because the Web is about communicating and sharing information.  Sharing links, metadata and collections of e-publications in a cooperative network requires that librarians, editors and webmasters work together so that each institution can contribute to the cooperative virtual library with digital texts and metadata from its own institution.

Librarians are used to working together within inter-library loan networks and subject information networks.   However, for editors, it is a new challenge to work together with librarians developing metadata and e-formats to deliver publications online.   Additionally, it is a new world for both professionals to work together with webmasters for the virtual library architecture and/or learn to manage contents in the virtual library webpage.

As traditional libraries are, or will be, providing virtual services through the Web as a value added to its traditional services, it’s important to offer librarians the opportunities of obtaining the abilities required for their realization of digital/virtual libraries.  On the occasion of the 5th. World Conference on Continuous Professional Education for Library and Information Sciences Professionals (IFLA, Scotland, August 2002) it was mentioned that “librarianship and information siences schools produce few graduates yearly in proportion to the total number of professionals in the discipline, so effective actions for

professional development will probably constitute a change agent, offering professionals

updated information, knowledge and abilities so as to be prepared to face new challenges.

Future professional leaders will arise from the rows of those who are continuous education

consumers today.”  We need to prepare librarians, editors, webmasters and information technologists so that in each institution they are the ones who may produce the change necessary to advance the development of virtual libraries.

For this reason CLACSO began training activities some years ago, gathering librarians, editors and webmasters to help them better understand this new world of virtual libraries and become familiar with methodologies and practical issues when working in virtual libraries, together with the idea of facilitating their participation in building a regional decentralized virtual library together so that Internet users can have online access to a selection of full-text publications from each participating institution. 

CLACSO´s experience in distance courses for librarians and editors at a regional level

            Today, CLACSO´s Latin America and the Caribbean Social Science Virtual Libraries Network[1] provides open access to a collection of more than 4.000 full-text books, periodical articles, conference papers and working documents published in Spanish and Portuguese in Latin America and the Caribbean.  This cooperative virtual library has been developed with the open source software Greenstone[2] (University of Waikato, New Zeland) which allows searching in metadata and in the full-text of each publication.    For metadata, the 15 basic fields of Dublin Core are used.    The Virtual Library also provides open access to bibliographies, research and researchers databases with information from CLACSO´s network of research institutions.    These databases are developed with the open source ISIS software and provide members of the network with online Web access to updated information.  

For CLACSO, a regional network gathering 168 research institutions in 21 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, traditional regional and sub-regional training activities that require participants to attend courses in other countries are not possible because of the high costs of travel and per-diem.  Only exceptionally is it possible to have enough funds to gather participants from a diversity of countries in one location to attend a regional course.

            Since the Internet however,  it has been possible to think and implement new ways of delivering distance courses by mail, Web and in virtual campuses.  These options have

dramatically changed opportunities for both institutions and professionals involved in the development of virtual libraries.

After some experiments in the 90´s delivering courses vía mail, the first course was offered in CLACSO´s Virtual Campus in the year 2000-2001, together with the UN Economic Commission for Latin America Documentation Unit located in Chile.   It was a course on ¨Formulation of Information Projects for Grass-roots Organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean”.  It was a theoretical and practical course with 114 representatives of 42 NGOs and academic institutions from 16 countries of  Latin America and the Caribbean. 

In 2002 CLACSO started its own course on “Virtual Libraries and the Social Sciences” with the purpose of helping its then 130 member institutes in Latin America and the Caribbean to take advantage of virtual  platforms for e-publishing and building e-libraries for their own research documents and for accessing external information resources.  This  course is addressed to librarians, editors and webmasters of social science research and teaching institutions of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Organizing distance courses on the Internet

            When organizing distance courses on the Web it is important to

•  define the objective of the course

•  determine the participants

•  choose the platform

•  establish the duration of the course

•  design the contents of the course

•  select the teachers

•  define responsibilities and dedication

•  evaluate results

Objective and beneficiaries of distance training

            In CLACSO´s research network the purpose of providing distance training courses for librarians, editors and webmasters is to help them work together both within each institution, building Web access to the electronic edition of books, journals and working documents in full text, and to work together with other institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean as well, building a regional network of virtual libraries to allow open and integrated access to all collections.    The course is free for CLACSO´s network members, and participants from 18 countries have attended the online courses: Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

Technical requirements for participants in the course include:  a PC or Mac connected to Internet, an e-mail account for the first messages before using the Virtual Campus, and a CD-ROM reader (the Virtual Campus software First Class, the Acrobat Reader software for opening full text bibliography, the WinZip and the full-text bibliography are sent in a CD-ROM to help participants by reducing the time necessary for connection to the Internet).   For countries with difficulties in obtaining regular access to the Internet, such as Cuba, participation is accepted via e-mail.

What Internet platform to use for delivering distance courses

Many virtual campus platforms are available in the market.  Examples are WebCT, Blackboard, First Class, Lotus Learning Space, and Top Class.   Recently, some open source developments have been available for institutions considering the possiblility of delivering distance courses using the Web.  In 1999, CLACSO started its Virtual Campus to administer courses in the social sciences using First Class, developed in Canada, because it accepted participants who only had e-mail access to the Internet with the objective of implementing an open source alternative in the future. 

The advantage of using a virtual campus platform to deliver courses is the possibility to replicate on the Internet the environment of a university campus with its information offices, administration of the campus, classrooms, library facilities, meeting places for professors, cafeteria for informal meetings of students, research facilities and conference hall.  

Course content

            The three month course delivered by CLACSO, “Virtual Libraries and the Social Sciences”, requires an estimated dedication of 5 hours a week for participants (of which one hour requires connection vía Internet to the Campus) and provides participants with

The course is organized around main themes:

1.      Changes in social science working practice within virtual environments

2.      Transition from traditional libraries to digital/virtual libraries

3.      Virtual libraries: scope, trends, distinctive qualities, architecture, products    and services

4.      Methodologies for input of information in digital/virtual libraries

These theoretical classes are complemented with practical work

·        Participants must interview some of their library users in order to think together about which of the traditional library services could be provided vía Internet

·        Web visits to a selection of virtual libraries.   Analysis and report.

·        Input of information online in virtual libraries

No geographical constraints for course faculty

            One of the great advantages of delivering courses vía Internet is that profesors can be invited from diverse locations worldwide, provided that they have

·        experience in the subject

·        mastered the language of the course

·        experience in the management of groups with cultural diversity

·        interest in distance education and experimenting with new teaching methodologies

·        dedication to the course, which usually is an extra task aside from their regular work

It is important to define the responsibilities and dedication of the faculty.  They have, as their responsibilities, to 

·        Receive from the Virtual Campus a training session about the Virtual Campus methodology

·        Select bibliography and send the full-text of each document to the Virtual Campus Library (to be used only by students of the course)

·        Prepare each class and send it to the Virtual Campus. Faculty usually adapts previous course contents to the format required by the Campus, usually no more than 8/10 pages for each class.

·        Comment on participants´ feed-back to each lesson

·        Coordinate group chats on specific topics

·        Evaluate participants and Campus facilities during the course

For CLACSO´s course, professors dedicate an estimated two hours a day during the course.

Life in the Campus during the course

            A typical week for participants attending the course.

Friday: download the class from the Campus and the bibliography in full text (Friday was chosen so as to provide weekends for participants having full-time jobs)

From Saturday to Friday:

- read the weekly lesson and the bibliography

- send comments following instructions from the professor

- read comments from other participants and from the professor

- participate in weekly chat with other participants and the professor

Limitations of distance courses vía Internet

            Experience has provided feed-back about limitations of these new training platforms, mainly

·        The process of group integration is slower than in traditional face-to-face courses.  The absence of body language makes it more difficult to understand participants reactions to comments.   It helps to have an opening session for individual informal presentations, and in each chat it helps having the first minutes for informal contacts.

·        Cultural-geographical diversity of the group results in very diverse ways of participating and contributing to the group discussions.   It requires clear coordination so each participant is active within the group.

·        Teachers and students are exposed to a greater dedication than had been foreseen.  Mainly because it is a new technology, and because of the excitement of sharing a course with participants from diverse geographical and cultural environments.

Evaluating results

            The quality of continuing professional education provision is something that is of concern to the providers of continuing professional education, to the professionals who are ´consumers´ of continuing professional education, to the libraries and other organizations where the ´consumers´are employed, and to the communities they serve (Clyde, 2003).

In the case of CLACSO´s course on “Virtual Libraries and the Social Sciences”,  quality has much to do with meeting the needs of its network staff who are expected at the end of the course to be active in creating Web access to their publications.

During the course, participants are evaluated by professors in their contribution to the debate of theoretical issues introduced in class and the bibliography, and in the successful completion of practical exercises required during the course. To receive the course certificate, participants have to approve 80% of the course requirements.

Key elements

·        Clear definitions (objectives, expected results, participants´ profile, course contents, course dedication of faculty and of students)

·        Pro-active attitude in faculty and Campus coordination

·        Training faculty for participants in the use of the Campus

·        Bibliography in participants´ language

·        Shared experiences with other institutions delivering distance courses vía Internet

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Babini, D.;  Fraga, J. (2004).   Bibliotecas Virtuales para las Ciencias Sociales.  CLACSO, Buenos Aires, 120 págs.   URL:  http://168.96.200.17/ar/biblio/biblio.html

Cetto, A. M.; Alonso, O. (2002).  “Challenges for the scientific community – a perspective on Latin America”.  At International Conference on Scientific Electronic Publishing in Developing Countries.  Valparaíso, Chile, September 2002.

Cetto, A. M. (2000), UNAM, México. ¿Qué futuro tienen las revistas latinoamericanas”.  En Las revistas científicas latinoamericanas: su difusión y acceso a través de bases de datos,  147-153

Clyde, L. A. (2003)  “Continuing Professional Education for the Information Society”.   IFLA Journal.  Vol. 29 No 1, pp. 18-24.  Retrieved April 2003 from http://www.ifla.org/V/iflaj/ij-1-2003.pdf

Ezeiza Pohl, C. E. (2003).  Lineamientos para la publicación científica electrónica en la Argentina.  Tesis de Maestría en Política y Gestión de la Ciencia y la Tecnología.  Universidad de Buenos Aires, Centro de Estudios Avanzados.   Buenos Aires,  171 págs.