The Source: news about digital libraries and library innovations from around the web

Introducing The Source

Archives in Web 2.0: New Opportunities

From the Ariadne website

Archives are using Web 2.0 applications in a context that allows for new types of interaction, new opportunities regarding institutional promotion, new ways of providing their services and making their heritage known to the community. Applications such as Facebook, Flickr and YouTube are already used by cultural organisations that interact in the informal context of Web 2.0. This article aims to describe how Web 2.0 can work as a virtual extension for archives and other cultural organisations, by identifying impacts and benefits resulting from the use of Web 2.0 applications together with some goals and strategies of such use.


The ABC of copyright

From the UNESCO website

This booklet is intended to provide to all who are concerned with the creation, circulation and transfer of knowledge replies to certain questions they may have on the subject of copyright. It has no other objective than to clarify a complicated subject by translating legal language into language that can be easily understood by everyone.


Cultural capital: A manifesto for the future

From the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council (MLA) website

The publication shows how investing in culture and heritage can help Britain's social and economic recovery from recession. It demonstrates with facts and figures that a fifteen-year period of investment has created a public appetite for culture that continues to grow, and that the arts, heritage, museums, libraries and archives make a strong contribution to the economic and social well-being of Britain.


Usability inspection of digital libraries

From the Ariadne website

Usability studies and digital library development are not often intertwined due to the existing cultural model in system development. Usability issues are likely to be addressed post-hoc or as a priori assumptions. Recent initiatives have advanced usability studies in terms of information environment development. However, significant work is still required to address the usability of new services arising from the trends in social networking and Web 2.0.
The JISC-funded project, Usability and Contemporary User Experience in Digital Libraries (UX2.0), contributes to this general body of work by enhancing a digital library through a development and evaluation framework centred on usability and contemporary user experience. Part of the project involves usability inspection and research on contemporary user experience techniques. This article highlights the findings of the usability inspection work recently conducted and reported by UX2.0. The report provided a general impression of digital library usability; notwithstanding, it revealed a range of issues, each of which merits a systematic and vigorous study. The discussion points outlined here provide a resource generally useful for the JISC Community and beyond.


The global information technology report 2009–2010

From the World Economic Forum website

This report measures the extent to which 133 economies from both the developed and developing worlds leverage ICT advances for increased growth and development through the methodological framework of the Networked Readiness Index. A number of essays and case studies on sustainability and best practices in networked readiness are featured, together with a comprehensive data section - including detailed profiles for each economy covered and data tables.