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The CGIAR Virtual Library: Harnessing New Technologies for Scholarly Access to Agricultural Information

The CGIAR Virtual Library: Harnessing New Technologies for Scholarly Access to Agricultural Information . Mila M. Ramos, Chief Librarian, IRRI Luz Marina Alvare, Head, Library & KM, IFPRI Peter Shelton, Inf. and Communications Consultant, IFPRI Yuni Soeripto, Former Head Librarian, CIFOR

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The CGIAR Virtual Library: Harnessing New Technologies for Scholarly Access to Agricultural Information

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  1. The CGIAR Virtual Library: Harnessing New Technologies for Scholarly Access to Agricultural Information Mila M. Ramos, Chief Librarian, IRRI Luz Marina Alvare, Head, Library & KM, IFPRI Peter Shelton, Inf. and Communications Consultant, IFPRI Yuni Soeripto, Former Head Librarian, CIFOR CONSAL XIV, Hanoi, April 2009

  2. Coverage of this presentation • Urgent need for research products to reach end-users • The CGIAR and agricultural research • The CGIAR Virtual Library – linking researchers with information • Strategic marketing using Web 2.0 tools • Challenges faced by the Virtual Library team

  3. Returns on Investments in Agricultural Research • Strong link between investments for research and innovation and agricultural productivity growth • Gap between the conduct of research and adoption of technology • Urgency of disseminating research results promptly

  4. How Accessible is Your Agricultural Information? • Assumption among organizations that their information are accessible when actually they are not • Little attention given by research projects to communication and dissemination • Access to published articles are normally fee-based • Preference of scientists to publish in peer-reviewed reputable journals with limited accessibility • Lack of sharing and sustainable collaboration to enhance accessibility • Absence of repositories for access to intellectual outputs of an organization

  5. Current Scenario in the Information World • Huge volume of agricultural research outputs • Knowledge sharing is no longer a function of time and geographical location • Ever-evolving IT tools that can be used for knowledge sharing • Recognition of the bigger roles of libraries but with a different “profile” • The Open access movement is gaining ground • Better and more efficient avenues (WWW tools, Mobile phones) for dissemination are available

  6. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) • a benefactor of public investments in agricultural research • started in 1971 as “a strategic partnership of countries, international and regional organizations and private foundations supporting 15 international research Centers”

  7. The Mission of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) “to reduce poverty and hunger, improve human health and nutrition, and enhance ecosystem resilience through high quality international agricultural research, partnerships and leadership”

  8. The 15 CGIAR Centers

  9. The CG Virtual Library: Description • Gateway to Global Agricultural Knowledge; a library portal where CGIAR research outputs can be searched and retrieved on a single platform • Launched in 2006 through the initiative of CGIAR information managers (IMs) and IT experts (ITs) • URL: http://vlibrary.cgiar.org/V?RN=197040778 • extension of traditional library services beyond physical boundaries • runs on Metalib (Ex Libris) SFX version 4 platform

  10. What else does the CGVirtual Library offer? • simultaneous searching of several databases and CGIAR library catalogs and the CGIAR's Core Collection Database • hyperlinks to the full texts of thousands of publications • enhanced current awareness of CGIAR research

  11. Impact of the CGVLibrary • An average of more than 17,300 visitors per month in 2007 and 2008 • 80% of CGVlibrary visits were made by users from the developing world

  12. Marketing the CGVLibrary • Actual and Web-based seminars (Webinars) – distance training • Poster and Paper Presentations in International Conferences – Kenya (IAALD-Africa-2006), the United States(AgNIC-2006); Rome (Web2forDev-2007) and again in the US (SLA-FAN Annual Mtg, Seattle, Wash. 2008), etc. • Information flyers/brochures (English and Spanish) - widely distributed worldwide

  13. Other Marketing Venues • Journal Articles and Book Chapters: - 2 articles published in the IAALDQuarterly Bulletin in 2007 and in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Information in February2009 - a book chapter in Handbook of Research on Digital Libraries: Design, Development and Impact, in 2009 (Ramos, et al. 2009). • Blogs, Web sites, and Online Newsletters – featuring the CGVLibrary

  14. Why the Use of Web 2.0 tools? The new generation of WWW tools are effective in marketing any product as they reach more people with no expense at all 1.596 billion people are using the Internet as of March 31, 2009 and 657 M of these are Asians Social networking is enjoyed by people of all ages As of January 2009, the top social networking sites, e.g. Blogger, Facebook, and MySpace, had more than 540 M members and is growing daily

  15. Social Network Users Figures from Pew Internet Project Data Memo

  16. Web 2.0 Tools Used by the CGVLibrary • CGVWiki – Launched in April 2007, this site enables interactive addition of new resources as well as revision of existing ones. • URL - http://cgvlibrary.pbwiki.com/FrontPage?msg=Please%20enter%20the%20wiki%20password

  17. CGVLibrary Wiki

  18. Other Web 2.0 Tools Used CGVLibrary blog – Blogging is one of the most popular avenues for information dissemination

  19. CGVLibrary Blog at http://cgvlibrary.wordpress.com/

  20. Live Skype Service • Skype name: CGVLibrary • started in February 2009 • Center librarians from various parts of the world look after this site on a staggered basis everyday • A 2-hour time slot, convenient to their time zone, is assigned • Center librarians answer live questions from worldwide users

  21. Future Initiatives with CGVLibrary: Phase 2 Targets • Improved Resource discovery - for researchers in the LDCs who can access AGORA, HINARI, and OARE • Mash-ups – combine CGVLib data CGIAR with other resources like Google Books, etc. • Data Exchange - provide a good platform to make publications of other organizations accessible by creating OAI-PMH information providers services, and through RSS feeds. • Improved Interactive interface with users

  22. Viability will depend on: How IMs and ITs in the CGIAR system will face the challenge of developing the CGVLibrary • Capacity building among ITs and IMs (Awareness and use of web2.0 tools and other applications) • Software upgrades and maintenance • CGIAR management support • Strong and sustained collaboration among IMs, ITs, and scientists in the CGIAR system.

  23. “We are undeniably entering a world where the best jobs, the best positions and the best strategies are in the field we have chosen – libraries and information science. It’s time for us to find our voices and use them.” – Stephen Abram, President, SLA (From Information Outlook, 12(12):33. Dec. 2008) Thank you

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