Bridging the digital divide: a review of current progress (original) (raw)

The scientific article in the age of digitization

2006

1-1.txt for the inaugural edition. 4 Henshaw 2001. 5 An important source for the history of early e-journals is a survey by Hitchcock et al. (1996), who at the end of 1995 identified over 100 'online' journals in the domain of science, technology and medicine (STM), of which 35 were 'electronic only'. Another early overview is given by Roes (1994), who identified 39 refereed scientific electronic journals, adding the note that 'compared to the over 130.000 printed journals the phenomenon of the electronic journal seems to be insignificant.' 'in the midst of a radical transformation spurred by advances in computer technology ... the next century may well witness the extinction of the original scientific 'paper' appearing on paper. ... And the long-term effect of electronic preparation and publication of manuscripts may be as profound as when the scientific article evolved from scholarly letter writing and books in the seventeenth century'. 11 The idea of an electronic revolution in scientific communication is related to ideas about the 'liberation from print' and the explosive effects of electronic text. Lanham argues that electronic text will 'disempower the force 9 For a comprehensive review of predictions and speculations regrading the future of academic libraries see Sapp and Gilmour 2002, 2003. 10 Lu et al. 2002. 11 Harmon and Gross 2003, session 5, in marked contrast with the author's more cautious and critical outlook in Gross et al. 2002, p. 231-234: '... whether in the form of ink on paper or pixels on a computer screen, the scientific article will remain the medium of choice for establishing new knowledge claims ...'. ' ... each discipline has very deep rooted reasons for the way it is constructed and the way scholarly activity is undertaken. Fundamental change will only come when the scholars are satisfied it will be in the interests of the discipline. The form of change will be determined from within the discipline rather than from outside sources ...' 22 So while there are many claims for a 'revolutionary' role of the electronic journal, empirical studies seem to indicate a more limited role predicated on conservative mechanisms and traditional cultures of practice within scientific communities. 'However, the communication systems of science (and other social systems) are much older than the computer age, and have, through centuries, developed important characteristics such as source criticism, principles of rhetoric, standards for publishing, and so on. All this represents production, dissemination, and use of information, which is the declared object of research in information science. The understanding of this social system is a precondition for establishing computer-based systems to make the system more efficient.

Library Adventures in a Digital Age: Observations and Questions

RBM, 2014

Libraries have been essentiaL to my role as a physician-historian working for twenty-six years in an academic health sciences center. They are the repositories of thousands of years of medical evidence, even if it comes in forms that are increasingly disparaged: paper and anecdote. While writing my dissertation in Paris, I fell in love with old books and manuscripts. Reading, holding, and touching those beautiful-if barely legible-papers instilled a joyful and durable eagerness to work with them and to expose my students to their power.

Digital libraries: barriers or gateways to scholarly information?

The Electronic Library, 2003

Unprecedented desktop access to scholarly information has been made possible by the introduction of digital libraries. The powerful combination of digital publications, specialist and generalist databases, sophisticated search systems and portals enables scholars and students to rapidly examine a great variety of the literature in their own disciplines and those new to them. Access is available globally 24 hours a day without geographical limitation. * Biographical note: Alex Byrne chairs the Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE -http://www.faife.dk) and is a member of the Governing Board of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA -http://www.ifla.org). He is the University Librarian and a Deputy Chair of the Academic Board at the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia where he can be contacted on Tel +61 2 9514 3332, Fax +61 2 9514 3331, alex.byrne@uts.edu.au. Digital libraries: barriers or gateways to scholarly information? -ALEX BYRNE -15/10/2003

Archives, Archivists and Internet. New devices within old sciences

Archives, Archivists and Internet. New devices within old sciences, 2019

This essay aims to shed light on the intriguing domains of archives through a cross-disciplinary approach encompassing Comparative Public Law, Legal History and Philosophy. The core subject matter tries to delineate both the potential within digital archives and their prospective contribution to information management, considering its quasi-exponential growth. To contextualize these traits a general reflection about past and contemporary institutional frames, coupled with a brief methodological excursus on technology, has been undertaken also in order to figure out how past experiences' resolutions may offer performative solutions to informational issues at any stage.