Library staff training and development is a crucial element in ensuring positive user experiences within libraries. A staff component consistently exposed to relevant training and development interventions should not be underestimated.
This paper will explore the processes and methods used at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Libraries (CPUT Libraries) to ensure that its staff has well planned and relevant learning opportunities and interventions. An overview of skills development in South Africa as well as policies, guidelines and procedures that inform the process will be discussed. The paper further unpacks a holistic staff development approach, namely, a three year special skills plan, a performance management process including development needs, annual training plan and implementation.
Collaboration and partnerships between various stakeholders are crucial for the success and effectiveness of the implementation process, viz, university human resources learning and development (HR L&D) department, Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), Cape Library Consortium (CALICO) and accredited training providers. The paper will also discuss some return on investment (ROI) strategies.

Click here for access to the fulltext article.

The DK front page is made up of three main panels including an “Introduction”, “List of Communities” and a search and menu bar on the right.

Multiple entry points

DK can be searched by author, title and subject which the most common keywords used.  The DK hierarchy consists of Communities, Sub-communities, Collections and Items.  The Items referred to are the actual digital records / documents.  Selecting a community will take you to the sub-community and so on till you reach the collection after which a list of items can be searched or browsed.  This type of search will yield results within a specified collection.

Keywords may also be used directly in the Search Digital Knowledge box or by using the Browse box.  This type of search will yield results across the entire database.

DK can be accessed at the following URL:  http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/xmlui/.

DK is administered by the Institutional Repository Librarian:

Mr MP Snyders (snydersmp@cput.ac.za).

Digital Knowledge (DK), the CPUT Institutional Repository, contains a collection of research materials, including theses, produced by CPUT staff and students.  In order to make this database searchable we use metadata that helps us arrange the database in a logical order.

Metadata is information about information.  For DK, metadata includes information such as the name of the author, the title of the document, the file format and type of document.  Metadata also describes the subject areas covered and whether or not the document may be reproduced or used under specific conditions or license agreements.

This image shows a typical DK metadata record containing the name of the author, the year the document was issued and short description and part of the abstract.

When search terms or key words used to find information through a web browser match the metadata used to describe an item, then your chances of finding that precise item are higher.  Metadata, therefore, helps you find or get closer to the information you’re looking for.

The following video explains how metadata is used in a library setting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIMPESZplII

DK can be accessed at the following URL:  http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/xmlui/.   DK is administered by the Institutional Repository Librarian:

Mr MP Snyders (snydersmp@cput.ac.za).

If Open Access will increase my citation rate, how will I know if my published articles are available through Open Access (OA) repositories?

Check the policies of the journal you’ve published in, or intend to publish in.  You may find that the journal does not allow for depositing your articles in OA repositories.  Some journals allow depositing pre-print and post-print versions of the publication in an OA repository.  Some journals place an embargo period on the uploading of a publication into an OA repository, i.e. there are strings attached.  The embargo period may be anything from as little as a few months to 24 months or more.  An embargo could also be permanent.

The website SHERPA/ROMEO (http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/) assists in identifying the OA permissions granted by various journals.  If the journal you intend to publish in is listed with SHERPA/ROMEO, then you just type in the name of the journ

If you intended journal in not listed with this site, then you will have to enquire from the journal editors themselves regarding OA permissions.

The following 8 minute video will explain OP in further detail:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5rVH1KGBCY

DK can be accessed at the following URL:  http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/xmlui/.  DK is administered by the Institutional Repository Librarian:  Mr MP Snyders (snydersmp@cput.ac.za).

The Open Access movement has been, and continues to be, fueled by the low cost of distribution through information and communications technologies such as the World Wide Web to which the broader public has had widespread access since the 1990’s.

Open access (OA) is the practice of providing unrestricted access via the Internet to peer-reviewed scholarly research. It is most commonly applied to scholarly journal articles, but it is also increasingly being provided to theses, book chapters, and scholarly monographs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access

DK, the CPUT Institutional Repository, is an online Open Access repository.

What does Open Access mean for me?

At its’ most basic level Open Access is directed at increasing access to peer-reviewed scholarly research at no cost.  Free access to research can change lives, especially in the developing world where resources are severely limited.  This is especially true where potentially life-changing research remains out of reach when payment is required.

For students, researchers and the general public Open Access also allows access to vast research resources that enhance further research and development.  Publishing in Open Access journals and repositories also increases visibility of the research materials which can lead to increased citation.

The following two links to videos on You Tube explain Open Access as well as the benefits of Open Access:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9Jh_GffRPU&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAGEqqjL5TA

DK can be accessed at the following URL:

http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/xmlui/

DK is administered by the Institutional Repository Librarian Mr MP Snyders (snydersmp@cput.ac.za)