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Il contributo intende offrire un resoconto e alcune riflessioni intorno alla prima edizione del master biennale internazionale Conservation of antique photographs and paper heritage, svoltosi tra Il Cairo e Catania, promosso dall’Università di Catania, dall’Università di Helwan (Il Cairo), dall’Ambasciata italiana in Egitto e dal Centro italo egiziano per la conservazione delle fotografie antiche e del patrimonio cartaceo (EICAP). Il master ha visto la presenza di 22 studenti egiziani e di numerosi docenti, sia italiani sia egiziani, che si sono alternati nei quattro semestri offrendo un contributo di rilievo all’approfondimento in chiave internazionale delle tematiche inerenti la gestione e la conservazione del patrimonio documentario, in modo specifico, di quello cartaceo e fotografico. Di grande valore e interesse la collaborazione, in margine al master, con istituzioni bibliotecarie di rilievo internazionale quali, ad esempio, la Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Technological advances have permeated all spheres of our daily lives, and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) institutions have not been an exception. These institutions have evolved towards a greater concern for communication with their users, especially through virtual exhibitions. However, the creation of these digital spaces also requires ensuring accessibility for all users. A valuable tool that can facilitate the understanding of the information included is its availability in easy-to-read, which creates a fully accessible environment for anyone interested, including those with disabilities, difficulties in reading comprehension, or limited proficiency in the language. In light of this, the current study proposes an initiative carried out within the framework of the Cultural and bibliographic heritage in the context of GLAM (Libraries, Archives and Museums) Project, in collaboration with the IDEA Lab Research Group of Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). This initiative involves the creation of a virtual room housing part of the library collection of the Library of the National archaeological museum in Spain. Each item within this collection is accompanied by a label translated into easy-to-read. This paper outlines the adaptation process of the exhibition’s written content and details the creation of the virtual exhibition within the context of the third edition of “Built with Bits”. The study’s findings suggest that the implementation of easy-to-read in virtual exhibitions can markedly enhance accessibility and inclusion, enabling a more diverse audience to engage with, appreciate, and comprehend bibliographic heritage.

This paper is concerned with academic research data repositories, and their curators, in different locations across five global regions. Using an ad-hoc sample, we explore the roles of curators in research data repositories and their perceptions of skills and training, research data management (RDM) practices, and the limitations, strengths, and opportunities they encounter in relation to their work. In addition, the study examines the functions of academic research repositories and the extent to which FAIR principles are integrated into repository strategies. Our results show that while some repositories are operated by consortia of higher education institutions and research centers, in some countries research data repositories are still in their infancy, often with only a limited representation led by one institution. Moreover, curators encounter problems with how researchers submit datasets with unclear information for the reuse of the data. We argue that although data repositories are built to comply with FAIR principles, there is still a lot of work to be done in relation to training researchers on how to use data repositories.

International comparative research in the library and information science (LIS) field examines the processes and phenomena related to libraries and other information organizations and their users. with a focus on differences and similarities across countries or cultures. International research is challenging due to language barriers, ethical concerns, and the legacy of the colonial research model. This paper presents an international research project undertaken by members of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Library Theory and Research (LTR) Section which investigated the approaches to teaching research methods in LIS programs worldwide. The paper focuses on the project’s research design, on the research ethical issues and on the collection of multilingual data. It discusses the inherent challenges in conducting international research and outlines the approach to increasing the geographic and linguistic diversity of study respondents. The LTR research team adopted several strategies to recruit participants from multiple countries and collect data in three languages. The recruitment announcements were distributed throughout international and regional mailing lists in multiple languages. The survey instrument was translated from English to Spanish and French, and the interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The authors also discuss the methodological advantages of mixed-methods design and the benefits and limitations of using surveys and interviews in international research.

International comparative research in the library and information science (LIS) field examines the processes and phenomena related to libraries and other information organizations and their users. with a focus on differences and similarities across countries or cultures. International research is challenging due to language barriers, ethical concerns, and the legacy of the colonial research model. This paper presents an international research project undertaken by members of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Library Theory and Research (LTR) Section which investigated the approaches to teaching research methods in LIS programs worldwide. The paper focuses on the project’s research design, on the research ethical issues and on the collection of multilingual data. It discusses the inherent challenges in conducting international research and outlines the approach to increasing the geographic and linguistic diversity of study respondents. The LTR research team adopted several strategies to recruit participants from multiple countries and collect data in three languages. The recruitment announcements were distributed throughout international and regional mailing lists in multiple languages. The survey instrument was translated from English to Spanish and French, and the interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The authors also discuss the methodological advantages of mixed-methods design and the benefits and limitations of using surveys and interviews in international research.

The main goal of this research is to give a vision of the main challenges faced by Spanish publishers because of technical change, analyzing its digital transformation. Subsequently, this work proposes different publishing business models currently tested in the market, from which publishers can take advantage by expanding the portfolio of their products and services. Besides, this study outlines and formulates possible future scenarios to deepen the Spanish publishers’ cultural and business functions and encourage them to assume a proactive position on innovation. The main conclusions of this research are the following: first, the Spanish publishing sector presents two lines of business that coexist as complementary and not as substitutes: on the one hand, the paper book and, on the other, the e-book; second, the innovative caution of Spanish publishers is holding back the development of the e-book market on the supply side, given the low volume of works published digitally compared to those on paper; third, the lack of joint digital initiatives, that is, between the different agents of the book value chain, has caused hardware manufacturers and Internet service providers to enter the book industry, surpassing, in many cases, traditional industry players in the creation of new business models for digital content; and finally, the current pandemic situation has represented a turning point in the attitude of a part of the Spanish publishing sector, forced to focus on the need to carry out an accelerated digital transformation to continue with its activity, for which the Covid-19 has indirectly catalyzed, as a collateral effect, the urgency of organizational change.

Social exclusion in later life involves the marginalization of older adults from all aspects of life in today’s society and requires a significant change in public and social policy in ageing societies. Particularly excluded from all aspects of life are (older) people suffering from some form of dementia. Public library services are tailored to meet the informational and recreational needs of all population groups and are particularly suited to help overcome problems of exclusion. However, the research indicates that dementia library services are still in their very beginnings in most countries, including Croatia. This paper presents the goals and results of two projects carried out by the Department of Information Sciences of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University J. J. Strossmayer in Osijek, Croatia. Those projects deal with information needs and public library services of people with dementia (in particular, Alzheimer’s disease) and their caregivers.

The paper reviews challenges and opportunities that the Department of Library and Information Science of St. Petersburg State University of Culture (Russian Federation) faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Didactic problems were caused by a lack of experience among teachers in organizing undergraduate and graduate digital learning (DL). There were two types of technological problems: a lack of a proper LMS system and a lack of proper computers and software in teachers’ and student homes. There wasn’t any clear and strict policy of DL but in some way, this has provided flexibility in the organization of the DL process. Besides, the lockdown and the isolation situation were psychologically quite hard to deal with: it caused constant anxiety and the feeling that one is late with everything while working 24/7. To deal with these issues, we developed some new DL strategies, used technologies that were ‘in hand’: Zoom videoconferencing and Russian social network VKontakte, compensated for the lack of the equipment at home by increasing flexibility of teaching and learning developed the DL environment that included learning and teaching materials and the digital library. We organized the DL process using didactic strategies such as delivering short interactive lectures via Zoom and then keeping their records. We focused on problem-based and project-based learning online motivating students to work together exploring professional problems through projects and research that needed a deeper knowledge in the field. We also found new ways of assessment and evaluation of students’ learning progress with online quizzes and solving cases. To manage anxiety, we strengthened the supervising and mentoring work. With the new challenges and trends of the pandemic, the Department has been preserving its educational traditions that allowed for the improvement of the quality of education.

The problem addressed in the paper lies within the field of social robotics of media and social communication studies. The primary objective is to partially verify the occurrence of the phenomenon of the uncanny valley. It would occur in relation to anthropomorphic robots carrying out selected professions of high social respect. The second objective is to establish the level of a person’s sense of security depending on the type of services performed by the robots. The third purpose is to determine the correlation between various professional activities and anxiety of service recipients. The data was collected by means of a survey conducted on a target group of post-millennials by means of a questionnaire which assessed the images of anthropomorphic robots of varying degrees of similarity to humans who performed professions of high social prestige: university professor, physician, nurse, qualified worker, accountant, salesman. Some of the characteristics of the mentioned professions also feature a modern librarian, herein referred to as a librarian – an erudite of the digital era. The inference was carried out based on the distribution of marks and the Chi-squared independence test. The study indicates a premise that there exists the uncanny valley, and that there exists a relationship between the level of trust and confidence and the type of work the robot performs.

The lack of a definition of what it means to teach Digital Humanities (DH) that is unanimously agreed upon allows us to reflect on educational objectives and methodologies with the aim of shaping the identity of the digital humanist. The opening of the international Master's degree program in Digital Humanities and Digital Knowledge (DHDK) at the University of Bologna aims to contribute to the discussion by developing a possible DH teaching model. Setting out from the experience developed through this project, the Knowledge Organization and Cultural Heritage (KO and CH) course, one of the first year's compulsory modules, has been designed following a specific principle. While teaching how to move from data to knowledge and how to manage this process as an iterative workflow, this course emphasises the role of DH theories, methodologies and techniques. This paper aims to introduce the scope and content of the KO and CH course. In particular, it focuses on the guidelines required to create a project in the domain of Linked open data, by working on data, models and methods coming from libraries, archives and museums (LODLAM). Linked open data (LOD) is considered to be the primary methodology for managing KO issues in the context of LAM. For what concerns the interpretation of cultural heritage memories, the implementation of DH theories and methodologies is the added value to the project's design, modelling and implementation.

Spanish A pesar de que la investigación del usuario constituye un área de estudio consolidada y con unos límites establecidos, su abordaje para aquellos investigadores no familiarizados con ella, entraña dificultades de tipo terminológico. Este tipo de investigaciones se pueden encontrar, al menos, bajo cuatro epígrafes distintos: estudios de usuarios o de necesidades y usos de la información (User studies o Information needs and uses studies), estudios de comportamiento informacional o comportamiento de búsqueda de información (Information behaviour o information-seeking behaviour), estudios de las prácticas de información (Information practices) y estudios de la experiencia de información (Information experience). Este trabajo presenta un análisis de las coordenadas teóricas y metodológicas básicas a partir de las cuales comprender qué hay detrás de estas expresiones, por qué comenzaron a emplearse y qué tipo de investigación se puede encontrar bajo esos cuatro epígrafes. Se pretende facilitar a los profesionales e investigadores interesados en esta materia, la recuperación exhaustiva de la bibliografía especializada así como la lectura crítica atendiendo a esas consideraciones teóricas y metodológicas. English Despite the fact that user research constitutes a consolidated area of study with established limits, it can entail terminological difficulties for researchers who are not familiar with it. This type of research can be found, at least, under four different epigraphs: user studies or Information needs and uses studies, information behaviour or information-seeking behaviour, information practices and information experience. This paper presents a basic analysis of the basic theoretical and methodological features from which to understand what is behind these expressions, why they began to be used and what kind of research can be found under these four epigraphs. The aim is to facilitate the exhaustive retrieval of specialized bibliography, as well as critical reading, taking into account these theoretical and methodological considerations.

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Florentine flood, the paper focuses on the progression of book conservation. Over the last few decades, it changed from being a traditional restoration treatment to an interdisciplinary intervention – that needs solid historical foundation, scientific research and practical skills – aimed at slowing down the deterioration process with respect for the volumes’ historical features, their original structures and their materials. In this evolution, some events such as the St. Gallen Conference (1898) and the salvage of the burned manuscripts of the University Library in Turin (1904) were certainly important steps, but the experiences at the National central library of Florence after the overflowing of the Arno river (1966) played a strategic role.