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3 - Mapping and library services at UOC: a preliminary case study for BPC and UOC
- from Part 1 - Best practice for the use of mobile technologies in libraries
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- By Pep Torn, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Anna Zuñiga Ruiz, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Carme Fenoll Clarabuch, Catalan Government's Head of Library Services, Spain
- Edited by Gill Needham, Ally Mohamed
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- Book:
- M-Libraries 5
- Published by:
- Facet
- Published online:
- 08 June 2018
- Print publication:
- 10 June 2015, pp 31-34
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- Chapter
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Summary
Introduction
The project ‘Mapping and library services at UOC’ is the result of a study of options for co-operation between the Public Libraries of Catalonia and the Open University of Catalonia, and is a good example of the potential for co-operation between different public service oriented entities.
Below we will describe the territory in which the project is to be implemented, the main characteristics of the participating entities, the Public Libraries of Catalonia and the Open University of Catalonia, to then explain the role of mobile applications in the Open University of Catalonia and how their use enables new services to be conveyed, the fruit of the co-operation between two entities.
Catalonia is a country in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula with a population of 7.5 million people: 1.7 million living in the capital, Barcelona, and over 4 million living in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
The public libraries of Catalonia (www.biblioteques.gencat.cat) (hereinafter BPC) form part of the library system in Catalonia. In 2012, the 370 member libraries received 25.2 million visits and made 16.3 million loans, while there are 3.3 million public library card holders. The libraries are places of cultural and social dynamism distributed throughout the territory that contribute to integration and facilitate access to content and resources of interest to citizens.
The Open University of Catalonia (www.uoc.edu) (hereinafter UOC) was founded in 1995 with the mission to provide people with lifelong learning and education opportunities. The aim is to help individuals meet their learning needs and provide them with full access to knowledge, above and beyond the usual scheduling and location constraints. The UOC has 60,096 students, with more than 40,000 graduates. The university offers undergraduate and master's degrees, postgraduate and specialist courses, PhDs, short open courses and incompany training, in different areas of knowledge ranging from arts and humanities, health sciences, information and communication sciences, law and political science, economics and business studies, IT, multimedia and telecommunications, psychology and education sciences, city management and urban planning, tourism, and information society, to food systems, culture and society.
The UOC Virtual Library (www.biblioteca.uoc.edu), hereinafter VL, is a virtual library in that it does not have a building accessible to the public; the website of the Library is the library itself. The Library can be accessed from inside the campus, and from the UOC portal.
4 - M-library in an m-university: changing models in the Open University of Catalonia
- from PART 1 - M-LIBRARIES: DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE WORLD
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- By Dora Pérez, Library Director of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Pep Torn, Technical Director of the Open University of Catalonia Library
- Edited by Mohamed Ally, Gill Needham
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- Book:
- M-Libraries 2
- Published by:
- Facet
- Published online:
- 08 June 2018
- Print publication:
- 12 May 2010, pp 35-50
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Introduction
One of the early images used by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) to explain its educational model when it was created in 1995 was that of a young man seated under a tree, working on his laptop computer. The image was not so specific as to be able to determine whether the student was working in his garden, in a city park or in the middle of a mountain range, but it was evident that he was a student ‘on the move’.
The spirit of the UOC includes mobility. The appearance of mobile technologies – m-technologies; of newer and ever more mobile devices than the first laptop computers of the 1990s – m-devices; and of suitable formats for consultation using these devices – m-formats – is a panorama of continuity for universities such as ours that made a commitment to ICT from the start, as the basis of their project, and to virtuality as a medium.
Virtuality today, however, is a widely implemented model in the university world, and evidently the Spanish scene has ceased to be the exclusive domain of the distance university. Many degrees, courses or subjects are offered in e-learning or blended learning formats by the traditional universities, and this means, among other things, that the collections and services of the libraries of these universities have adapted this model to a greater or lesser extent. What is the case, then, for mobile devices, the latest devices to appear on the virtual scene? What is the implication for the UOC and its library regarding the adaptation of collections and services for this type of device?
In this chapter, we look at the Spanish situation regarding m-technologies on the basis of surveys conducted between April and May 2009 with the directors of Spanish university libraries. At the same time, we show the path taken and the present situation of the UOC, the university where we work, in terms of the use of m-technologies, m-formats and m-devices.