Changes and developments in Greek libraries

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Papazoglou ◽  
Eva Semertzaki

Greek libraries have experienced a tremendous evolution towards modernization during the last few years. The lack of tradition in libraries and the existence of an educational system based on the single textbook did not favor until recently the development of libraries in Greece. However, the European Community action aimed at enabling European libraries to play an important role in the information market, and the Community Support Framework, through which libraries could be funded at the national level, allowed for a dynamic set of actions for Greek libraries. All types of libraries, academic, public and school are moving ahead – 500 school libraries were established in secondary schools alone. In the academic libraries, the horizontal action can be proud of the creation of a consortium called HEAL LINK that shares journal subscriptions and will also operate a Union Catalog of bibliographic records. Library‐related organizations such as the National Documentation Center and the National Book Center, offer additional support in this movement of progress. This paper describes these initiatives and others.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanlan Mao ◽  
Maria Fernandes-Jesus ◽  
Evangelos Ntontis ◽  
John Drury

Abstract Background Community engagement and volunteering are essential for the public response to COVID-19. Since March 2020 a large number of people in the UK have been regularly doing unpaid activities to benefit others besides their close relatives. Although most mutual aid groups emerged from local neighbourhoods and communities, official public institutions also fostered community volunteering, namely through the community champions scheme. By considering a broad definition of COVID-19 volunteering, this article describes a systematic review of the literature focused on one broad question: What have we learned about COVID-19 volunteering both at the UK national level and the more local community level? Methods A rapid review of the literature in peer-reviewed databases and grey literature was applied in our search, following the PRISMA principles. The search was conducted from 10 to 16 of October 2020, and sources were included on the basis of having been published between January and October 2020, focusing on COVID-19 and addressing community groups, volunteering groups, volunteers, or community champions in the UK. Results After initial screening, a total of 40 relevant sources were identified. From these, 27 were considered eligible. Findings suggest that food shopping and emotional support were the most common activities, but there were diverse models of organisation and coordination in COVID-19 volunteering. Additionally, community support groups seem to be adjusting their activities and scope of action to current needs and challenges. Volunteers were mostly women, middle-class, highly educated, and working-age people. Social networks and connections, local knowledge, and social trust were key dimensions associated with community organising and volunteering. Furthermore, despite the efforts of a few official public institutions and councils, there has been limited community engagement and collaboration with volunteering groups and other community-based organisations. Conclusions We identified important factors for fostering community engagement and COVID-19 volunteering as well as gaps in the current literature. We suggest that future research should be directed towards deepening knowledge on sustaining community engagement, collaboration and community participation over time, during and beyond this pandemic.


1987 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Tömmel

When the European Community (EC) created the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD) in 1975, regional policy was established at an international level for the first time ever. Because of the chosen instruments and the ‘additive’ mechanism of implementation—via the administrative bodies of the member states—this policy seemed at first to mean little more than a reinforcement of regional policies at a national level. Since then, the EC has considerably intensified its regional policy and diversified its instruments. However, the recent reforms of the Community's regional policy serve not only to achieve (certain) development effects with respect to the economic structure of less-developed areas, but also as a means of reorganizing governmental (planning) bodies and regional development policies in the member states, that is, as a means of inducing modernization and differentiation of state intervention in the countries concerned. Thus, the EC intervenes’ in the affairs of the member states: Not in the shape of more or less authoritarian intervention by a superior body—EC powers do not permit this—but via the indirect effect of market mechanism. Subsidies are the economic incentive to collaborate.


Author(s):  
Nina H Di Cara ◽  
Jiao Song ◽  
Valerio Maggio ◽  
Christopher Moreno-Stokoe ◽  
Alastair R Tanner ◽  
...  

Background  Disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic pose an overwhelming demand on resources that cannot always be met by official organisations. Limited resources and human response to crises can lead members of local communities to turn to one another to fulfil immediate needs. This spontaneous citizen-led response can be crucial to a community’s ability to cope in a crisis. It is thus essential to understand the scope of such initiatives so that support can be provided where it is most needed. Nevertheless, quickly developing situations and varying definitions can make the community response challenging to measure. Aim     To create an accessible interactive map of the citizen-led community response to need during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, UK that combines information gathered from multiple data providers to reflect different interpretations of need and support. Approach      We gathered data from a combination of official data providers and community-generated sources to create 14 variables representative of need and support. These variables are derived by a reproducible data pipeline that enables flexible integration of new data. The interactive tool is available online (www.covidresponsemap.wales) and can map available data at two geographic resolutions. Users choose their variables of interest, and interpretation of the map is aided by a linked bee-swarm plot. Discussion    The novel approach we developed enables people at all levels of community response to explore and analyse the distribution of need and support across Wales. While there can be limitations to the accuracy of community-generated data, we demonstrate that they can be effectively used alongside traditional data sources to maximise the understanding of community action. This adds to our overall aim to measure community response and resilience, as well as to make complex population health data accessible to a range of audiences. Future developments include the integration of other factors such as well-being.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Jan Pojedyniec

Introduction: At present there are 36 state higher vocational schools in Poland. Each of them hosts a library, which is an indispensable element of the process of higher education. Aim of the study: The purpose of the study is to outline a characteristics of the academic libraries which have been functioning since the beginnings of state higher vocational schools in Poland.Material and methods: The basic method used was an analysis of a survey of 20 libraries that had responded to the survey (out of the 36 existing ones). The questionnaire contained both closed and open questions. The study included several self-chosen library activity areas and a few selected functionality indicators. Results: Most of the libraries surveyed share space with other university units. The prevailing use area is up to 100 thousand m2, with the storage area being up to 100 thousand volumes. All the libraries provide free access to shelves; 12 of them run science information centres. Using Internet home pages with a view to communicating with a reader is still not common. Formally, 13 libraries have created special departments , but none has had heads of the departments appointed. Only 3 libraries have had deputy directors appointed. A functionality indicator comparison has demonstrated that state higher vocational school libraries are very close to public university libraries; when compared to private university libraries, however, their results are very often higher.Conclusions: State higher vocational school libraries form a specific network of university libraries and fulfil similar tasks at the same time and at the same level as most academic libraries in Poland. Their specifics is indicated by less extensive organizational structure, smaller use and storage areas as well as non-autonomous budget implemented from the central level of a university


Author(s):  
Sarah Edore Edewor ◽  
Agatha Osivweneta Ogbe

Over the past decades, the food systems in developing countries have transformed rapidly. However, the rise in social inequalities has negatively affected, the vulnerable groups as the benefits associated with these transformations are still skewed. This chapter examined the role of gender inclusiveness in promoting sustainable food systems. Employment trends revealed that agricultural employment was higher among males. Five asymmetries (assets, access to agricultural market, access to technology, resilience and risks, and decision making) were identified as limitations to sustainable food systems stemming from the gender differentiated roles. The gender action learning system methodology was adopted using strategies such as empowering men and women through community action learning during catalyst workshops, gender mainstreaming for innovation and institutional change at organizational level, and through advocacy network for policy improvement at the national level. The study concluded that gender inclusion played a crucial role in achieving sustainable food systems.


Author(s):  
Andriyana Andreeva ◽  
Galina Yolova

The study analyzes the influence of artificial intelligence on labor relations and the related need to adapt to the legal institute of liability in labor law with the new social realities. The sources at European level are studied and the current aspects of liability in the labor law at a national level are analyzed. Based on the analysis, the challenges are outlined and the trends for the doctrine, the European community, and the legislation for the introduction of a regulatory framework are identified.


Author(s):  
Rick Anderson

What do we mean when we say “libraries”? Obviously, there are many different kinds of libraries with a variety of missions: Public libraries, corporate libraries, hospital libraries, subscription libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries all exist to do subtly but significantly different things. Since this...


2020 ◽  
pp. 147490412098097
Author(s):  
Carmen Flury ◽  
Michael Geiss ◽  
Rosalía Guerrero Cantarell

The Community Action Programme for Education and Training for Technology (COMETT) played a key role in paving the way for increased cooperation between the member states of the European Community (EC) in the field of education and in the promotion of intra-Europe mobility. In this article, COMETT is considered as a non-traditional education and training programme for solving economic challenges in the context of technological change that was focused on the training of a highly skilled workforce. The process of setting the agenda for COMETT is studied through an analysis of official EC policy documents and archival material from the EU’s historical archives in Florence. Our analysis suggests that the challenge posed by new information technologies acted as a catalyst for a new approach to education governance that was based on closer cooperation between European universities and industry. Promoting intra-Europe mobility among highly skilled workers and students was a key part of the programme, which defined an economic and social strategy for Europe in response to technological change. Educational and social goals were secondary in the design and implementation of the COMETT programme, which, first and foremost, was motivated by the EC agenda to boost the competitiveness of European industry.


Author(s):  
Chin Ee Loh ◽  
Annie Tam ◽  
Daisuke Okada

In this global, multicultural world requiring greater levels of literacy, independent learning and collaboration, the school library as a learning hub needs to meet the needs of 21st century students. However, more information about how different countries’ school library policies and practices is required for nations to learn from each other. This professional panel brings together three presenters from Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan to engage with the issue of what counts as a future-ready library in their own contexts of reading and learning. Each presenter will focus on the current trends, challenges and innovations in their own contexts, with particular focus on national policies, practices and librarian education. Significant parallels and differences across the different systems will be discussed. Implications for developing future-ready school libraries and librarians at national level will be discussed.


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