Undoubtedly, the international BIBLIO webinar entitled “BIBLIO-Exchanging ideas on transforming Libraries in the digital age“, was a very interesting initiative attracting more than forty (40) participants! It was organized online on 29th March 2022 by the ALL DIGITAL (AD) network, BIBLIO project partner in Belgium, in cooperation with the project partners and within the framework of the «ALL DIGITAL Weeks-ADWs 2022» campaign.
It triggered the interest of library professionals, experts and practitioners, representatives of authorities and institutions, active citizens, and more generally anyone interested in the digital evolution within the library world.
DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU), within the framework of the implementation of the “BIBLIO: Boosting digital skills ad competencies for librarians in Europe” EU project.
Gabriela Ruseva, Communication Officer of ALL DIGITAL coordinated the webinar and the session was launched by a welcome speech by Peter Palvolgyi, Chief Executive Officer of the AD network, who explained briefly the goals of the ADWeeks 2022 campaign.
The speeches started by Nicola Barbuti, University Aldo Moro Μπάρι, BIBLIO Coordinator who focused on the significant contribution of the project findings to the digital transformation of the Library services. Speaking the truth, he declared that various organisations from Europe, Africa and Asia have already expressed their interest in exploiting the BIBLIO tools for upgrading their operation.
More precisely, Alteo Valentini from EGINA, Italian partner, analyzed the content of BIBLIO and its findings regarding ► the two emerging job profiles of the Community Engagement and Communication Officer (CECO) and the Digital Transformation Facilitator (DIGY) ► the methodology of the BIBLIO modular blended training program that takes into account the different levels of digital skills of Library professionals ► the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) of the project which was completed with great success attracting thousands of participants all over the world and ► the Specialization Courses (SCs) currently undergoing which are included in the BIBLIO blended training course and will be followed by the work-based learning activities in Libraries.
This was followed by speeches delivered by Library professionals representing the project partner countries of Italy, Latvia, Bulgaria and Greece, who take part in the BIBLIO modular training program – they recognized the innovative nature of the project in terms of both the vocational training aspect and the certification of qualifications based on European standards.
The DAISSy Research Group of the Hellenic Open University (HOU), the Greek Biblio partner, was represented in the panel of Library professionals by Mrs Angeliki GIANNOPOULOU, Librarian at the Distance Library and Information Centre of the HOU (DLIC-HOU), who delivered a speech about “Implementing IoT and Cloud Services for transforming remote e-resource access”. She emphasized the nature of Libraries throughout their long history, as organizations that preserve and promote the cultural heritage of countries. Libraries evolve and use new practices and methods to serve the demands of their users and react to their new roles arisen. As a result, the use of state-of-the-art technologies (such as cloud services) for connecting libraries with citizens worldwide, is highly recommended. In addition, Angeliki explained that while the role of public Libraries is changing, the part of the Internet of Things with technologies, such as the RFID machine to machine (M2M) communication, could enhance the efficient collection of data and create more extended user profiles.
The webinar was completed by brief remarks made by the Library professionals who recognized the valuable use of the BIBLIO tools in the accomplishment of their daily tasks at work, aiming at the provision of integrated services to the library users.
The «BIBLIO-Boosting digital skills and competencies for librarians in Europe» is an Erasmus+ KA2 Sector Skills Alliances EU project (2019-2022) that addresses the skills gap in the library/archives sector due to the digital transformation that is changing the role of Libraries. The DAISSy Research Group of the HOU is a member of the ALL DIGITAL network, is the Greek BIBLIO partner and implements the project in cooperation with the Distance Library and Documentation Centre (DLIC) of the HOU.
Stay tuned and find out more about the BIBLIO project and other activities of DAISSy-HOU:
- Website : http://daissy.eap.gr/en/, https://www.biblio-project.eu/
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