The Ethno-Cultural,Linguistic and Ethical Problems of the “Infosphere”

If we wish to extend co-operation among the different peoples of the world on the basis of information exchanges, we must do more than create the global information infrastructure and highway which form the technological basis for the information society of the 21st century An effort must also be made to resolve sensitive issues involved in mutual understanding between peoples belonging to different cultures and speaking different languages. This will not come about if the tendency for some languages and cultures to dominate others is allowed to persist. A long-term international programme of action is needed to preserve cultural diversity and multilingualism in the infosphere. The basic forms of such action could include: preservation — by means of the appropriate media — of the cultural heritage of peoples with no written language; the development of computer translation systems; extension of the study of the most widely spoken languages (in terms of the number of speakers) in secondary and higher education; the elaboration and adoption of general ethical standards for the writing, reviewing and citing of scientific publications, particularly articles in periodicals; the elaboration of agreed scientific terminology in different languages; the development of co-operation on the inclusion of national literature in international databases; the devising of ways and means of protecting the infosphere from pollution. Given the world-wide importance of such action, it would be appropriate to conduct it under the auspices of UNESCO and of the International Council of Scientific Unions, as was done in the late 1960s and early 1970s for the UNISIST programme.     

International relations and the spread of information worldwide

The world is too small to function within borders. Librarians have recognized the need for mutual respect and co-operation between nations, and the importance of their role in achieving this end. IFLA represents the interests of librarianship and has established various core programs that address common concerns. Aspects of international co-operation include the needs for preservation of materials, resource sharing through international networks, international telecommunications, librarian exchanges and materials exchanges. Obstacles to technology, finances and cultural differences must be overcome. Developed nations must assume an open and helpful attitude toward sharing technology with underdeveloped nations so that they can begin to thrive, standards of living improve, and economic markets open. Librarians can effect major changes in the way information is transmitted across borders, thereby shaping information policy and the resulting world order.     

International relations and the spread of information worldwide

The world is too small to function within borders. Librarians have recognized the need for mutual respect and co-operation between nations, and the importance of their role in achieving this end. IFLA represents the interests of librarianship and has established various core programs that address common concerns. Aspects of international co-operation include the needs for preservation of materials, resource sharing through international networks, international telecommunications, librarian exchanges and materials exchanges. Obstacles to technology, finances and cultural differences must be overcome. Developed nations must assume an open and helpful attitude toward sharing technology with underdeveloped nations so that they can begin to thrive, standards of living improve, and economic markets open. Librarians can effect major changes in the way information is transmitted across borders, thereby shaping information policy and the resulting world order.     

Preparing our Societies for the Multimedia Environment: Ukrainian Experience and the Need for International Co-operation in Digital Literacy

The Ukrainian Society, after introducing the computer literacy course for secondary schools in 1986, is trying to reach the next stage of digital literacy through the development of a National Informatization Programme. Some results of the programme are described: the incorporation of telematics into the educational system and Internet literacy for teachers and students, free of charge and in local languages; the development of regional and local nodes of educational institutions and their incorporation into a national network; the participation of non-governmental organizations in the financing of educational programmes; and the development of a national ethics Net-Codex. Ukraine, as a typical “country in transition”, needs international support in digital literacy through co-operative projects; some proposals for such co-operation are given.     

Preparing our Societies for the Multimedia Environment

The Ukrainian Society, after introducing the computer literacy course for secondary schools in 1986, is trying to reach the next stage of digital literacy through the development of a National Informatization Programme. Some results of the programme are described: the incorporation of telematics into the educational system and Internet literacy for teachers and students, free of charge and in local languages; the development of regional and local nodes of educational institutions and their incorporation into a national network; the participation of non-governmental organizations in the financing of educational programmes; and the development of a national ethics Net-Codex. Ukraine, as a typical “country in transition”, needs international support in digital literacy through co-operative projects; some proposals for such co-operation are given.     

拓展现代图书馆的服务功能—谈我馆创办金华市科技信息中心和吴弗之艺术中心

21世纪图书馆的服务是以数字化，网络化为基础，服务的内容是全方位的，服务的要求是多层次的。图书馆在做好文献信息服务的同时，必须拓展图书馆的服务空间，加强图书馆信息传播与交流中心的功能和市民终身教育和文化娱乐的功能。这是现代化图书馆的发展的趋势。     

The practical power of human rights: how international human rights standards can inform archival and record keeping practices

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the preeminent international instrument elaborating on the rights of Indigenous peoples. It contains the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of Indigenous peoples all over the world. As a consequence, the Declaration provides a blueprint for Indigenous peoples, governments and other third parties around the world to respect the rights and roles of Indigenous peoples within society. At its core, the Declaration is based on the principles of self-determination, good faith and participation in decision-making. In this paper, I outline how the principles of the Declaration can and should influence archival and record keeping practices. I suggest we need to harness the practical power of human rights. In exercising our right to participate in decision-making, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can demonstrate this practical power. It is critical that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are substantive and major stakeholders in determining appropriate archival and record keeping processes for Indigenous culture, cultural property and knowledge.     

虚拟学术社区科研合作建立阶段的影响因素

虚拟学术社区科研合作的建立阶段直接影响到合作的形成与成效,对虚拟学术社区科研合作建立阶段影响因素进行研究至关重要。文章基于相关理论,归纳出虚拟学术社区科研合作建立阶段的影响因素列表;提取及整理丁香园新站友成长版的用户数据,利用质性分析软件NVivo11对其进行开放性、主轴和选择性编码,识别出虚拟学术社区科研合作建立阶段的影响因素。识别出包括3个主范畴、14个副范畴在内的虚拟学术社区科研合作建立阶段的影响因素,分别为个人因素、人际因素和社区因素。研究发现,不同类型的用户建立合作时受到不同因素的影响,且影响程度不同。     

Rural library service in the Republic of Kiribati

This paper reflects on the outcomes of a project undertaken in 1997/98, and examines issues relating to the development of the managerial expertise that underpins the library and information services in Latin America and the Caribbean. It reviews the results of surveys of schools of Librarianship and Information Sciences and a small selection of employers in the region, examining the congruence between the needs of the employers and provision by the schools and possible explanations for an apparent mutual lack of awareness of modern management techniques. Proposals for developing management expertise include: enhancing access to indigenous professional publications and teaching materials; developing a Hispanic language distance-learning programme for library managers; improving research into the job market and skills requirements; and developing an electronic network for communication between the schools. The role of international agencies and technical co-operation projects is assessed, and attention is drawn to the need for a more positive approach to overcome the issues surrounding the transfer of management know-how between different cultures.     

LIS curriculum in French-speaking West Africa in the age of ICTs: The case of Benin and Senegal

LIS training programme in Africa date from early independence period. In French-speaking West African area, few countries have an LIS school. The existing schools have been created in partnership with either an international organization or a northern country. The curriculum delivered is not always updated as in developed countries. The main objective of this article is to measure the gap between LIS curriculum as actually delivered in developed and developing countries in the age of the information and communication technologies (ICTs). A couple of schools were chosen—English and French-speaking area—from Northern America and Western Europe; their curriculum served as basis for evaluating those in West African French-speaking countries. The conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that LIS curriculum in Africa has changed less since the schools’ first creation and ICTs are not present as in Western countries. This trend brings out the problem of the curriculum pertinence and the competitiveness of the graduate students in the international employment market.     

新时期大学图书馆发展模式探讨

对新时期大学图书馆的发展趋势进行了探讨，认为随着数字图书馆的飞速发展，大学图书馆将发生巨大变化，但是图书馆作为高校学校文献信息中心的地位不变，为教学和科研服务的宗旨不变，传承学术，提供文化科学知识，传递科技信息的功能不变，所承撮的教育职能和情报职能更不能改变，大学图书馆应树立人本位的办馆思想，最大限度地满足各类读者的文献信息需求，并积极投身于数字图书馆的建设之中，在全球人大图书馆网络中占有一席之地。     

Management Development for Libraries and Information Services in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper reflects on the outcomes of a project undertaken in 1997/98, and examines issues relating to the development of the managerial expertise that underpins the library and information services in Latin America and the Caribbean. It reviews the results of surveys of schools of Librarianship and Information Sciences and a small selection of employers in the region, examining the congruence between the needs of the employers and provision by the schools and possible explanations for an apparent mutual lack of awareness of modern management techniques. Proposals for developing management expertise include: enhancing access to indigenous professional publications and teaching materials; developing a Hispanic language distance-learning programme for library managers; improving research into the job market and skills requirements; and developing an electronic network for communication between the schools. The role of international agencies and technical co-operation projects is assessed, and attention is drawn to the need for a more positive approach to overcome the issues surrounding the transfer of management know-how between different cultures.     

国际文化关系中的图书馆

Libraries as a type of cultural institutions have sustained their role as bridges interrelating people of different nations and promoting mutual understanding of them. They also broaden the nation s influence in international affairs. The basic activities of them are of 2 ways: 1) The direct way of starting overseas library programs, and 2) Participation of libraries at home in projects of international cultural exchanges and co-operation. These activities are subject to various aspects of politics, technology and culture,especially the political one which serves directly the foreign policy of the government.This is also the library's main feature in international cultural realtions.International organizations play an important role in this field.     

Affective Experiences of International and Home Students During the Information Search Process

An increasing number of students are studying abroad requiring that they interact with information in languages other than their mother tongue. The UK in particular has seen a large growth in international students within Higher Education. These nonnative English speaking students present a distinct user group for university information services, such as university libraries. This article presents the findings from an in-depth study to understand differences between the search processes of home and international students. Data were collected using an online survey and diary-interview to capture thoughts and feelings in a more naturalistic way. International students are found to have similar information search processes to those of home students, but sometimes face additional difficulties in assessing search results such as confusion when dealing with differing cultural perspectives. The potential implications for information service providers, particularly university libraries, are discussed, such as providing assistance to students for identifying appropriate English sources.     

Information within a system of the basic categories of a planetary analysis

At the turn of the 21st century a methodological analysis of the planetary development of civilization became a topical issue in world science. Such an analysis is based on a framework of categorical concepts adopted for active use in globalistics, namely, the biosphere, sociosphere, technosphere, noosphere, and infosphere. The given context provides a new perspective on the phenomenon of information and informatics, with the latter having experienced increasing demands as a popular scientific discipline in the field of information. In the contemporary setting, these phenomena can be adequately evaluated only in connection with the above concepts.     

国外信息资源管理研究进展及热点分析——基于IRMJ和JASIS的分析

为反映国际信息资源管理领域研究进展与热点内容,本研究对2003-2008年国际信息资源管理领域IRMJ和JASIS两大权威期刊文献进行了梳理和归纳.在理论探索与技术应用层面,本体理论、形式概念分析(FCA)、语义学、数据挖掘和以计算机为中介的交流(CMC)这五个方面存在着不同程度的相互交叉和渗透,是目前信息资源管理研究的热点;在人文价值与社会经济层面,知识共享将代表未来知识管理的发展趋势;在用户信息行为和满意度研究中,以用户为核心的理念将成为研究和应用的指导思想.而跨语言与文化差异方面的研究重点则是在保留现有的语言和文化多样性的基础上实现人类异类语言和文化间的无障碍信息沟通和知识交流.关于信息道德、隐私保护与青少年信息安全问题还需要继续研究和探索.     

Teaching Information Literacy Courses in The Context of Library and Information Science Education in Bulgaria: Challenges and Innovative Approaches

ABSTRACT

The article examines the application of innovative approaches in the information literacy training of library and information science students in Bulgaria. The change of the educational paradigm in the field is presented based on recent developments in one of the oldest Bulgarian institutions that prepares librarians and information specialists—the State University of Library Studies and Information Technologies. The active learning strategies suitable for information literacy skills development courses are studied by the use of three methods: “learning by doing,” “interaction in the learning group,” “learning by trial and error” within the practical training of students. The prospects for transforming information literacy instruction through the elaboration of digital educational games and a game-based learning model in the frame of the international project tiLIT are also outlined.     

“Sentences like these:” Multicultural information dynamics and international diversity of thought

Multicultural information dynamics is exploratory cross-cultural research of the information-seeking behavior of a group of eighty-four Egyptian and American reference librarians asked to choose from websites in different languages. This paper, the fourth in a series, focuses on national, monolingual, and multilingual subgroups, and provides multi-tiered analyzes of websites clicked, reasons given for clicking, preferences for machine translations vs. original foreign language websites, decision making when choosing non-native language hits, and foreign language anxiety. Findings of the research show that information seekers of both nationalities are reluctant to cross cultural lines at the basic level of retrieved Internet information hits. Further results delineate differences and similarities in motivations, circumstantial preferences for original languages or machine translations, and comparative information-seeking behavior of subgroups. The research has implications for improving search performance in the fields of global knowledge dissemination via website and search engine design, library science, and international scholarship.     

Digital Libraries in the Central African Sub-region: A Case Study of Cameroon

Valuable research is being carried out in the developing countries but researchers are hampered by not being able to access, use, and share essential scientific information. Nurturing a capability for creating local information collections is an effective strategy for sustained long-term human development as knowledge fostering cultural and scientific exchange can be assembled, thus increasing international understanding. Digitization offers the promise of increasing access to resources while preserving the original information. Digital libraries provide access to an integrated collection of print, electronic, and multimedia resources delivered seamlessly and transparently to users regardless of their physical location or the location and ownership of the information.This paper looks at the current state and future perspective of digital libraries in Cameroon, which is a reflection of the situation in the Central African sub-region where she is the leading nation. It outlines the advantages and disadvantages of digitization and proposes an urgent overhauling of the information infrastructure to lay down the basis of knowledge acquisition, storage, transfer, and management; else the notion of digital libraries will continue to be a myth. We need to start now to begin our journey on this revolutionary and evolutionary path toward this future learning environment.