Maria Manuel Borges

Book design program: A transition to a hybrid publishing context

This study is developed within the scientific areas of Information Science, Communication Sciences and Editorial Design. It refers to the hybrid publishing context in which there is a coexistence of electronic and print processes, and to the role played by Information and Communication Technologies. This scenario is conditioned by technical, morphological and cultural transformations, in the words of Roger Chartier, and represents a singular moment to observe the book and its construction processes, valuing it in its various embodiments and contexts. Considering this, the present study sought to contribute to an adaptation of the methodological tools; and an optimization of the designers communication and information flow. In order to achieve these goals we defined two main tasks: i comparative analysis of traditional publishing and hybrid publishing, ii characterization of the designers communication and information flows that exist in the context of hybrid publishing. To do so, we adopted qualitative research methods, with literature review and content analysis. This procedure allowed us to conclude that the publishing industry is making major investments in what concerns organization and capital in implementing hybrid publishing schemes. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of adequacy of design programs in this scenario. This adaptation involves a redirection of the focus of the design program, not towards the control of the final shape of the object book, but to its regulation. This procedure can only be possible with a dynamic information flow in which the editorial subject is flexible and built inside a participatory scheme by the various agents.

Some trends in electronic publication and open access in Portuguese history journals

In the last decades, ICT development and the use of computer networks led to major changes in the way scientists communicate the results of their researches. One of the most important transformations occurred in scholarly communication through the acceleration in the unbounded disclosure of scientific information open access. However, the adoption of new channels varies according to the scientific areas. This study is part of an ongoing research that aims to understand the impact of digital media in the mechanisms of production and dissemination of scientific knowledge within a specific scientific community: historians. This paper will look at whether and how the history journals in Portugal are adopting electronic publishing and providing open access to their contents. To operationalise the study, thirteen R&D Units were contacted and asked to provide a list of the journals published and the format used. Furthermore, the Directory of Open Access Journals DOAJ, Latindex and European Reference Index for the Humanities ERIH were researched. Finally, the websites of Portuguese higher education institutions with History Departments were consulted, with the aim of identifying any periodicals that might not have been previously identified. At the end, twenty-two titles were considered. Data seems to show that universities and History R&D Units increasingly value the free electronic access to research results produced by historians.

As excepções aos direitos de autor em benefício das bibliotecas: análise comparativa entre a União Europeia e a América Latina

The development of the digital environment it became essential a general reformation of copyright legislation, including the exceptions that benefit libraries and similar institutions. This adaptation to the new technological reality is not to process of a satisfactory form in the majority of the countries, not only for the extreme reinforcement of the copyrights, as for the maintenance of a certain pre-digital philosophy. This legislative reform would have to be become fulfilled having in account the interests and the level of development of each country, therefore the objectives diverge between the countries of the North America and the Europe, in relation to the countries of Latin America. The objective of this work consists of analyzing the situation where if they find the library exceptions in the main countries of the European Union and Latin America, examining its differences and similarities. It is concluded that, although the national laws of the European countries not to fulfill to all the requirements demanded in the actuality, contribute to facilitate the work of the libraries in bigger degree of what the laws of the Latin American countries, really deficient, in its great majority.

The European Open Science Cloud: A New Challenge for Europe

The motivation for the creation of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), is to provide computer support and data storage so that research institutions in the European Union can develop their activities in science, technology, and innovation. The European Commission launched the Europe 2020 strategy in 2010 to tackle the transformation of Europe and the world since the beginning of the 21st Century. The main objective of the strategy was to prepare the European Community for the major challenges of the decade and, among the various development and innovation actions, also the creation of an infrastructure in the hybrid or federalized cloud model that would meet the computing needs of these institutions linked to science and research. In this work, we examine the circumstances that led the European Union to create the EOSC. We also present the main characteristics that are part of the concepts of cloud computing, such as the consolidation and dynamic use of shared computational resources. We conclude that the creation of cloud computing infrastructure for scientific research for the European Union is a strategic need for the region and that many technical and social challenges should be considered for its implementation, the latter being the most relevant for the current panorama.

Preliminary Study About the Applicability of a Service-Oriented Architecture in the Oais Model Implementation

The increase of growth and access to digital information in the scope of Open Science requires greater political and technological strength in all the systems that support it. Digital repositories also require special attention to preservation policies and conceptual models. The present work uses a qualitative method of exploratory research. The objective of this research is to contribute to the conceptualization on the OAIS model, its entities, and characteristics in the domain of digital preservation. Additionally, potential challenges were analyzed that are related to the lack of consistency and interoperability that may be present in different software implementations based on the OAIS model. As a result, this work suggests a preliminary study on the applicability of a software architecture based on a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) for the Archival Storage and Access entities in the OAIS model. The aim is to promote more flexibility in the communication between different software implementations based on the OAIS model. The ultimate goal is to develop an interoperable and transparent way to digital content in this new era of contemporary society.

Archives' call to Digital Humanities: a case study of Portuguese Municipal Archives

The availability of digitised cultural heritage content held by archives and other memory institutions improves their visibility, facilitate and increases access to information, allowing new kinds of research of digital heritage, namely Digital Humanities. This study intends to report how Municipal Archives of mainland Portugal are ensuring access to their digitized cultural heritage content. For this purpose, an analysis was held to collect data about online catalogues with digital objects linked to the archival description in 278 Municipal Archives of mainland Portugal. The data revealed that the openness of the primary information sources preserved by the municipal archives, which can be reused by all those who need them and particularly by digital humanists, is still in infancy.

Digital preservation policies of the institutional repositories at Brazilian Federal Universities

Purpose This paper aims to verify the implementation of digital preservation policies at the institutional repositories (IRs) of Brazilian Federal Universities. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used involved the verification of the information available in the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR) and on the websites of the IRs, to confirm the existence of published digital preservation policies. In this study, a sample of the 26 IRs of Brazilian Federal Universities registered with OpenDOAR, which represents 68 per cent of these repositories, was used. Findings The main conclusion is that the IRs of these universities do not have any published digital preservation policies, even though some repositories state their intention of preserving digital material in their institutional information policy. Originality/value The stakeholders of IRs need to implement a programme to guide their activities to preserve digital materials in the long term. In fact, similar to examples worldwide, this programme should take the form of an institutional commitment outlined in a digital preservation policy. IRs at Brazilian Federal Universities still have a long way to go to guarantee access to digital materials in the long term.

O APOIO DAS BIBLIOTECAS À INVESTIGAÇÃO CIENTÍFICA EM PORTUGAL: uma revisão da literatura

A investigacao cientifica assenta em conhecimento cientifico previo, o que torna as bibliotecas num pilar fundamental de acesso ao conhecimento e a sua criacao. Este artigo procura refletir sobre a relacao entre a investigacao cientifica em Portugal e as bibliotecas, que dao acesso a uma parte nuclear dos recursos de informacao, centrada em duas vertentes: (i) o posicionamento das bibliotecas como suporte da investigacao cientifica num ambiente de oferta generalizada de informacao disponivel em linha e (ii) o modo como sao percecionados pelos investigadores os servicos oferecidos pelas bibliotecas de investigacao e universitarias em Portugal. Este trabalho assenta numa revisao da literatura seguindo a proposta cronologica de Manuel Heitor (2015) para a evolucao da ciencia portuguesa. Os dados apresentam dois itinerarios interpretativos que giram em torno dos contributos dos profissionais de informacao e da investigacao universitaria em Ciencia da Informacao. Conclui-se que nao existe ainda um estudo profundo dedicado ao apoio das bibliotecas a investigacao cientifica, havendo espaco em aberto para a prossecucao de um trabalho desta natureza. Palavras-chave: Bibliotecas; Investigacao cientifica, Portugal; Revisao da literatura

Os arquivos empresariais em Portugal: do tradicional ao cloud computing

As empresas tem o dever de salvaguardar os documentos e de gerir a memoria organizacional. O desempenho desse papel depende do grau de sensibilidade e de registro de atividades. Neste estudo, refletimos sobre iniciativas internacionais de preservacao dos arquivos de empresa, incidindo no caso portugues, e finalizamos com tendencias no uso das tecnologias nestas organizacoes. Nesse intento, realizamos uma revisao bibliografica de textos cientificos e consultamos uma dezena de diplomas, contrastando os dados obtidos. Os resultados e as conclusoes revelam uma tendencia para a replicacao de modelos e o carater precoce, intermedio ou tardio das iniciativas internacionais, desencadeadas pelas empresas ou por parcerias com instituicoes publicas, destacando-se arquivos e universidades. Primeiramente, o foco esteve na protecao e na valorizacao do patrimonio, acrescentando-se, mais recentemente, objetivos tais como a organizacao e o acesso a informacao. As iniciativas nacionais nao fogem a regra, notando-se alguma novidade na quantidade e na qualidade das materias legisladas, sem incidencias, nos diplomas, em medidas concretas de preservacao da informacao digital. No uso das tecnologias, as iniciativas de modernizacao associam-se a Administracao Publica e a assimilacao de processos derivados dos ambientes eletronicos. A comparacao com outros paises europeus revela um uso pouco intensivo dos servicos na nuvem.

Hybrid publishing design methods for technical books

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a characterization of the editorial design methods of technical books in a hybrid publishing context. Design/methodology/approach The paper starts by characterizing editorial design as a discipline itself within graphic design, which is then further identified as in urgent need to adapt strategies to technologies, communication processes and existing information flows. Along with the literature review, the paper includes an analysis of one particular case study, O’Reilly Media. Findings The paper provides arguments to conclude that the classical approach to the designer’s workflow should be reviewed and the way of framing the editorial problem should also be different: it should focus on the content. Originality/value The paper includes implications for the improvement of digital workflows and design processes in the STM hybrid publishing field.