Conversion of the Library to CRAI

Action: Conversion of the Library to CRAI

Area: Adaptation and implantation of the European Higher Education Area

Action: Conversion of the Library to CRAI (Learning and Research Resource Center)

Objetives: This new model conceive of the University Library as an active work center, which offers information and logistic support to the new undergraduate and postgraduate programs as well as the European Research Area.

This action aims to contribute to the sixth objective of Campus Carlos III which is the Culmination of the adaptation to the European Higher Education Area.

During the past three years organizational and structural changes have been implemented in the UC3M Library, following the respective national and international recommendations, suggestions, and norms.
 

Organizationally speaking, this new model includes:

• Integration of new university structures under the Library’s physical structure and organization:
• Language Resource Center attended by personnel linked to the University Language Center in the 4 Campus Libraries. Among the Language Rescource Center activities are: conversation groups in different languages, self-study methods and systems, and University non-credit language classes, etc.
• Computer rooms from which campus teaching software can be accessed.
• Rooms for individual or group work equiped to carry out this type of activity: blackboards, PCs, etc.
• “Workshop Room”. A space in the 4 Campus Libraries for faculty support to prepare teaching materials: formatting, presentations in different formats, integrating audiovisuals, etc.
• Participation of Library personnel in the interdisciplinary subject taught in all degree programs on “Search Techniques and Use of Information”(3 ECTS credits), in collaboration with the Library Science and Documentation Departament. In academic year 2010/11 the same course has been implemented in postgraduate degree programs. Both actions are in the international line “Information Literacy”, which is based on obtaining competency and skills in the use and access of information and technology.

Special conditions for access and use of physical and bibliographic resources for postgraduate students:

• PC loans, which can be reserved beforehand
• „Group work spaces, which can be reserved beforehand

In the area of infraestructures:

• Remodeling of Circulation Desk & Services spaces to facilitate the one “ventanilla única” (one-step information counter) model
• WIFI in all of the buildings with 100% coverage
• Progressive wiring of work spaces to facililtate mobile device access
• Project for a new Postgraduate Resource Center for Learning and Research, in the projected new building, which began construction in March 2011. In this project, teaching rooms are incorporated into the Library space to thereby obtain a higher level of integration between Teaching, Learning and the Library.
• As research support
• Progressive increase in specialized information resources, which are acquired institutionally or by the library consortium.
• Start up of an Institutional e-Archive repository with the aim of giving international visibililty to scientific production results, according to the Open Access initiative. At this moment, the integration of the system of Research Management is being worked on: Universitas XXI-Research and the e-Archive repository,to foster the collection of scientific information and its open publication.
• Start up of digital editon of scientific and monographic journals published by the University.