Conservation science: Reflections and future perspectives

The ICCROM Forum 2013 on Conservation Science resulted in a series of recommendations for improving the relevance and impact of science within cultural heritage conservation. These recommendations are outlined in this paper. Central to the Forum recommendations is the responsibility of conservation science to provide benefit through research and innovation. This relies on shared strategic vision and good governance, to identify priority needs and align efforts accordingly. To enhance the effectiveness of conservation science research, it is imperative to adopt an approach based on needs assessment, collaboration, and sharing. However, to establish whether desired goals are being met, systematic assessment of what is delivered and how it is used is required. Evaluation tools provide a structured way to identify needs and to measure results, offering a basis for learning and improvement. A new initiative is outlined, launched by ICCROM in follow-up to the Forum, to develop a common framework for needs and outcome assessment for heritage conservation science. To achieve this will require participation and support at multiple levels, and collaboration is called for to continue and sustain this effort.     

Conservation institutions as agents of change

Key messages to conservation institutions were drafted during the ICCROM Forum 2013 on Conservation Science so they could, in turn, influence the profession. The first message is a general statement of the fact that conservation science is an essential part of conservation. The other messages provide guidance to conservation institutions so that they can achieve maximum impact. Conservation institutions should engage in research and development that anticipate issues, provide sustainable solutions and guidelines, and are conducted in a transdisciplinary way; share resources and expertise to be more efficient, increase access and reduce inequalities; and assume a leadership role, promote conservation, and ensure knowledge is made available. The key messages, five altogether, are reproduced in their entirety in this article, which provides further elaboration and development of each message as well as avenues for making positive changes in strategic areas.     

档案学跨学科研究之我见

跨学科研究是近来学界研究的热门,本文从档案学跨学科研究的先天基础与后天条件入手,对档案学跨学科研究进行了SWOT分析,并在分析其优势、劣势、机会、威胁的基础上提出了"站稳脚跟,发展基础理论"与"摆正心态,切准合作契机"的发展对策。     

田野调查:人类学方法在图书馆学中的应用

田野调查是人类学标志性的科学方法,与文献研究、问卷调查、科学实验、案例分析等方法相比有着自身的特点。田野调查法的原则、技术可以移植到图书馆学研究之中,适用于研究图书馆事业的边缘地带,从多方面说明研究对象,展示原生事物存在的合理性及其寓意。现有图书馆学的田野调查实践,也证实了人类学方法与图书馆学交叉是有效的。图书馆学借鉴人类学田野调查方法,有助于丰富自身方法论内容,也有助于提升图书馆学跨学科研究的能力。参考文献31。     

Shifting the focus to people: Global societal priorities and the contribution made by conservation science

During the ICCROM Forum on Conservation Science in 2013, one of the main themes discussed was the ability for conservation science to contribute to global societal priorities. Today's world is in many ways globalized. Human actions have an impact at local as well as global level. Information travels fast, more or less in real time. To set up a framework for international interactions and cooperation, the majority of the recognized nations have joined the United Nations and signed the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Global societal priorities are various and wide-ranging. This paper deals primarily with those that are referred to under the UN Millennium Development Goals and the term Sustainable Development. The first aims to fight extreme poverty, raise education levels, achieve gender equality, combat diseases, etc. The second deals with the interconnecting systems of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. A core aspect in the discussion is that culture and cultural heritage is integrated in all human activities, yet is diverse because culture holds various values, meanings, and functions for different groups in society. Cultural heritage is a powerful tool to reach and interact with people. It can be used for good and for ill. For conservation science as a discipline to take its professional responsibility seriously, it should contribute to the multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary environment of conservation, and enhance its benefits for society. Through advanced research it can provide historical perspectives and raise awareness of traditional methods, transforming it into ‘easily accessible’ knowledge. It can also contribute by providing facts and information that can open up different narratives based on the same cultural historical realia. Examples of how that can be done are given under the headings: social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Finally, addressing the global conservation community, the following three areas are recommended for future development: the need for process managers and facilitators; the need for active participation in the global sustainability challenges, and the need for inspirational role models and case studies.     

Sprouting STEMs: Recruiting future science librarians through an undergraduate science information internship

The challenge of recruiting science librarians is an ongoing issue, despite efforts to isolate, address, and remedy the deficiency. Most research has focused on investigating why current science librarians chose their careers and on ways library information science (LIS) programs can entice Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) candidates into science librarianship. At Brooklyn College, librarians created a science information internship for undergraduate science majors. By exposing these students to librarianship as a potential career path, we hope to attract and groom future science librarians. This article discusses the development of the internship, the challenges and successes of the pilot, and the assessment of the pilot for improvements and expansion.     

The potential role of citizen conservation in re-shaping approaches to murals in an urban context

Public visual spaces, populated by a blend of community murals, unauthorised street art, and historic painted mercantile signs, are often the mark of an urban environment that is both progressive and eclectic. Changes in the aesthetic and cultural value of these urban mural forms have led to an increase in the appreciation and, in some instances, promotion of their artistic merit and cultural significance as examples of public art. However, examining the significance of these works, with a view to implementing a conservation approach is problematic. This is due to a number of practical and theoretical considerations that are primarily a result of the ephemeral existence of urban murals outside conventional exhibition spaces, and issues associated with their often fragmented ownership and uncertain authorship. Consequently, larger thinking on the interpretation, conservation assessment, and advocacy for the conservation of urban murals are required. Key to defining and implementing such strategies is contextualising the public visual spaces that these murals occupy and, as part of this, the local and wider communities’ perception of these murals as culturally significant objects as well as fostering awareness and understanding of appropriate measures aimed at their conservation. This paper examines the role of citizen science, or crowd-sourcing, of local community members in establishing a conservation dialogue and generating conservation- relevant data on urban murals. It looks specifically at a project involving a collection of in situ historic painted mercantile signs — also known as ghost signs — in the City of Port Phillip, Melbourne, Australia. The project fostered the establishment of an informed and open dialogue between conservation specialists and participants from the local community on the significance of local ghost signs whilst transferring knowledge on conservation processes and assessment methods. Working directly with community members, a programme was designed in which conservation and community knowledge of these urban art forms, could be collected and exchanged across digital platforms. This enabled researchers to examine how citizen science can be utilised as a research tool as well as a means to advocate for the conservation of collections of urban murals. It created the opportunity to consider the role of non-specialists and shared authorities in the collection and collation of conservation- relevant data and how information generated from what we call citizen conservation projects, can inform the way in which conservators evaluate and prioritize the conservation of urban cultural heritage. The data gathered and interpreted proved to be the most effective means of ‘conserving’ these often ephemeral forms of cultural material.     

Reporting on a survey of peer-reviewed publishing in cultural materials conservation: perceptions,preferences, and decision-making

Specialist publications are an important part of professional and disciplinary development. They serve to communicate research; enable the development of a shared, contestable, and expanding knowledge base; support the educational programmes that advance the profession; grow practice; and inform the evolution of the discipline. In conservation, professional and peer-reviewed journals and other forms of publications support cultural, organisational, and scientific development; facilitate new and improved forms of conservation professional practice; enable the growth of a distinctive research-led discipline; and help conservation to more effectively compete with other disciplines for influence and funding. This paper reports on the findings of a study that investigated conservators’ opinions and experiences of peer-reviewed publishing. This study examined the value conservators place on the dissemination of their research; the obstacles to, and incentives in publishing; the views held by conservators of the benefits of publication to themselves and the field; and the impact of the field's inherent interdisciplinarity on the pattern of conservation publishing. Eighty-six conservators (conservators and conservation scientists) and ten journal editors completed an online questionnaire focusing on the communication of knowledge within the field of cultural materials conservation. Findings suggest that while the peer review process is valued, a significant number who responded indicated a preference for forms of communication other than in peer review journals or publishing in general.     

Engaging in research: challenges and opportunities for health library and information professionals

This year's virtual issue (the 6th in the series) has been published to coincide with the European Association for Health Information and Libraries’ (EAHIL) 2015 workshop (10–12 June, Edinburgh): Research‐Minded: Understanding, Supporting, Conducting Research. This event is being run in collaboration with the International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists and the International Clinical Librarian Conference. Although research has always been a central part of any librarian's role, until recently health librarians and library users and funding bodies assumed that librarians were ‘midwives’ – there to assist students, clinicians, academics and managers set up and carry out their research. The notion of the librarian as a professional with a research agenda, who understands research methods, submits research grants, and publishes, is a relatively new perspective. If librarians are to take an evidence‐based approach to their profession they need to acquire research skills. This is the rationale for the 2015 EAHIL workshop. To support the workshop, this virtual issue contains six original articles published in Health Information and Libraries Journal over the last 2 years that demonstrate the range of research activities carried out by health librarians, as well as a review article and articles from each of the three feature columns. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

Education and research in archival science: General tendencies

This text is essentially based on works carried out for a research which was subsidized from 1997 to 2000 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The goal of this study was to examine the general tendencies of education and research in archival science. First, a review of the literature published from 1985 to 1998 allowed us to establish a state of the art. Then, a survey was completed with a questionnaire which has been sent to educational institutions, national archives institutions and researchers. Answers were received from more than 70 different countries. With regards to the education program, the analysis of data shows that there have seen notable progresses. More than the growth of the number of programs, we must especially recognize the constant improvement of its contents, which is achieved in conformity with the propositions made in the literature. As for the research, it exists a community of ideas about fields and themes to be privileged even if there is an apparent division of the researchers into two groups. The first group distinguishes itself by its cohesion by unanimously recognizing a small number (nine) of priorities in research in archival science. The second group shows multiple interests which cover 30 research themes. The author conclude in saying that the development of education and research in archival science are on their way, but nothing has yet been won. It is important to accentuate the efforts to insure a durable life to education and research as pillars of the discipline. This text is an overview of a project which has been subsidized by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) from 1997 to 2000. It has been presented in September 2000 in Seville (Spain) at the 10th Symposium of the Section for Archival Education and Training of the International Council on Archives (CIA/SAE).     

从引文分析看档案学与图书馆学、情报学的学科融合

从引文分析的角度,利用档案期刊论文的参考文献来研究档案学借鉴图书情报领域相关知识情况及其随时间变化的发展趋势,同时,对学科交叉部分进行词频分析,把握图情档三学科关注的共同问题。从而体现出信息化战略背景下,档案学的研究对象和研究内容的拓展和延伸。     

Fractional counting of citations in research evaluation: A cross- and interdisciplinary assessment of the Tsinghua University in Beijing

In the case of the scientometric evaluation of multi- or interdisciplinary units one risks to compare apples with oranges: each paper has to be assessed in comparison to an appropriate reference set. We suggest that the set of citing papers can be considered as the relevant representation of the field of impact. In order to normalize for differences in citation behavior among fields, citations can be fractionally counted proportionately to the length of the reference lists in the citing papers. This new method enables us to compare among units with different disciplinary affiliations at the paper level and also to assess the statistical significance of differences among sets. Twenty-seven departments of the Tsinghua University in Beijing are thus compared. Among them, the Department of Chinese Language and Linguistics is upgraded from the 19th to the second position in the ranking. The overall impact of 19 of the 27 departments is not significantly different at the 5% level when thus normalized for different citation potentials.     

Citizens as customers: Exploring the future of CRM in UK local government

Customer relationship management (CRM) is seen as a key element in delivering citizen-centric public services in the UK. However, CRM originated in the private sector as a technology to support customer acquisition, retention and extension (cross-selling). The appropriateness of this technology to organizations striving to meet complex goals such as improving the quality of life for vulnerable people is open to question. This paper uses the results of recent UK electronic government CRM programs to show that the focus for many local authorities has so far been systems integration, CRM-enabling call centers and the provision of routine transactions online. More advanced authorities are planning to use CRM to help them understand their citizens better. But more can be done. To this end, the paper proposes an alternative model of CRM progress which moves beyond transactions and customer insight and encourages citizens to co-produce the public services they consume.     

The science of medical librarianship: investing in the future

Information science is changing from an applied service-oriented activity to a basic research discipline. The library profession must earn a central place in this endeavor, and must address a number of important issues. These include ownership and intellectual property rights, a stronger research component for the profession, development of quality assurance systems for health information services, and a conceptual framework for training and career development of health sciences library technicians. The future of medical librarianship as a profession depends on a lasting commitment to research, a clear vision of the profession's fundamental mission and of the library's place in society.     

浅析信息法学研究方法中的价值与效率维度

信息法学研究方法的每一次更新与跃进都会导致人们对信息法的认识的进一步深化。随着信息科学和法学的不断发展,我们需要对信息法学研究方法中价值分析进行重新定位,以及在方法研究中适当引入效率的视角。     

Conserving a boundary: The conservation and management of a Berlin Wall mural

In 1991, five segments of the Berlin Wall, first painted by renowned contemporary artists Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny, were bought at auction, transported to the USA, and placed in an outdoor environment that severely advanced the deterioration of the painted surface and reinforced concrete substrate. This paper discusses aspects of the conservation treatment and management plan for these painted segments of the Berlin Wall. The strategy and criteria for the conservation program were defined by a multidisciplinary team that comprised conservators, concrete specialists, and engineers; the deliberations of this team also led to an appropriate treatment and management plan. The choice to intervene at a minimal level meant treatment was restricted to stabilization rather than restoration or reconstruction of deteriorated areas. Additionally, the team decided to reinstall the pieces indoors to reduce future deterioration.     

信息分散下的信息行为——基于国外图书情报学领域跨学科研究的回顾

按照“理论基础、行为特征和应用改进”的研究框架,对国外图书情报学领域跨学科信息行为的研究进行综述。本文将“信息分散下的信息行为”作为该领域跨学科信息行为研究的主要研究对象和理论基础;从信息分散理论和文献计量学对信息分散的证明两方面说明信息分散理论的研究情况;从弱信息理论和行为、跨学科信息行为模型和信息偶遇三方面说明跨学科信息行为的研究情况。将跨学科信息行为的特征总结为:依赖人际渠道的信息获取;以知识融合和创造为目标的研究合作和知识构建;具有群体差异性,人文社会科学跨学科研究特性明显。从改进信息服务以及改进信息检索和信息系统两方面整理跨学科信息行为的应用研究。参考文献84。