An introductory discussion about National Library of China's development of a Chinese Newspaper Digital Repository mechanism

Newspapers can preserve vast amount of first-hand historical information for research.They are reliable and valuable primary sources for studies on politics,economy,society,humanities,science and technology,culture,folkways and customs of a country for a specific period of history.Accordingly,these authors in this paper support that a Chinese Newspaper Digital Repository(CNDR)initiative led by National Library of China(NLC)be firmly established and put into operation in quick order.These authors' conviction and assertion are made only after they have given a careful study and analysis of the problems of current newspaper preservation methods,including print newspapers preservation,preserving newspapers by microfilming technology,and digital publication of newspapers.These authors also have taken into consideration of the legal issues involved about such an undertaking.Based on the review of the efforts and achievements on long-term preservation of newspapers home and abroad,these authors have critiqued the technical scheme of the NLC' Chinese Newspaper Digital Repository,including such important factors as system design,metadata schema,system structure,and the achievements of this project in Phase I.Finally,these authors have recommended that a collaborative operation mechanism and also a new comprehensive service paradigm in the realm of information delivery be established in CNDR's overall strategic planning.

The ARQUIGRAFIA project: A Web Collaborative for Review Only Environment for Architecture and Urban Heritage Image

Purpose:This paper presents the ARQUIGRAFIA project,an open,public and nonprofit,continuous growth web collaborative environment dedicated to Brazilian architectural photographic images.Design/methodology/approach:The ARQUIGRAFIA project promotes the active and collaborative participation among its institutional users(GLAMs,NGOs,laboratories and research groups)and private users(students,professionals,professors,researchers),both can create an account and share their digitized iconographic collections in the same Web environment by uploading their files,indexing,georeferencing and assigning a Creative Commons license.Findings:The development of users interactions by means of semantic differentials impressions recording on visible plastic-spatial aspects of the architectures in synthetic infographics,as well as by the retrieval of images through an advanced system search based on those impressions parameters.By gamification means,the system often invites users to review images’in order to improve images’data accuracy.The pilot project named Open Air Museum that allows users to add audio descriptions to images in situ.An interface for users’digital curatorship will be soon available.Research limitations:The ARQUIGRAFIA’s multidisciplinary team gathering professorsresearchers,graduate and undergraduate students from the Architecture and Urbanism,Design,Information Science,Computer Science faculties of the University of S?o Paulo,demands continuous financial resources for grants,for contracting third party services,for the participation in scientific events in Brazil and abroad,and for equipment.Since 2016,significant budget cuts in the University of S?o Paulo own research funds and in Brazilian federal scientific agencies can compromise the continuity of this project.Practical implications:The open source template called+GRAFIA that can freely help other areas of knowledge to build their own visual Web collaborative environments.Originality/value:The collaborative nature of the ARQUIGRAFIA distinguishes it from institutional image databases on the internet,precisely because it involves a heterogeneous network of collaborators.

Implementing Open Access Policy:First case studies

When implementing open access, policy pioneers and flagship institutions alike have faced considerable challenges in meeting their own aims and achieving a recognized success. Legitimate authority, sufficient resources and the right timing are crucial, but the professionals charged with implementing policy still need several years to accomplish significant progress. This study defines a methodological standard for evaluating the first generation of open access policies. Evaluating implementation establishes evidence, enables reflection, and may foster the emergence of a second generation of open access policies.While the study is based on a small number of cases, these case studies cover most of the pioneer institutions, present the most significant issues and offer an international overview.Each case is reconstructed individually on the basis of public documents and background information, and supported by interviews with professionals responsible for open access implementation. This article presents the highlights from each case study. The results are utilized to indicate how a second generation of policies might define open access as a key component of digital research infrastructures that provide inputs and outputs for research,teaching and learning in real time.