Número 26, juny 2011

Strategies for successful storage of educational materials in university digital libraries

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Abstract

Objectives. To propose strategies for successful storage of digital educational materials for use at universities. These strategies must be adapted to the characteristics and needs of these materials with regard to their management and preservation and also with regard to their lifespan. These features distinguish teaching materials from research materials and call for a different approach to their management.

Methodology. An analysis of the main barriers and challenges for the implementation and adoption of storage systems for educational materials, based on the specialist bibliography and on prior experiences at international level. The most common barriers and the strategies successfully implemented in other storage systems are discussed.

Results. We propose a set of successful new strategies that place special emphasis on overcoming the sociocultural barriers associated with the interchange and the reuse of educational materials. Success is defined as the use of the storage systems by their potential users - teachers, students and writers of educational resources - in order to contribute and reuse materials and to bring about improvements in teaching and learning. At most Spanish universities the attention devoted to educational materials in institutional storage systems is deficient or unsuited to their specific characteristics and their patterns of production and use. We call for a change of perspective in university libraries and urge them to play an active part in heightening awareness of the importance of this intellectual heritage in digital format.

UB | Facultat | BiD

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Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació
Universitat de Barcelona
Barcelona, juny de 2011
http://bid.ub.edu
Comentaris: http://bidoc.ub.es/rebd/bid_enviar_comentari.php