Running and planned activities

The library sub-programme within the UR-Sweden programme for research, higher education and institutional advancement held an important and fruitful meeting with the library directors on October 16th in Kigali.Since then, we really think that we can talk of ourselves as a team, the URLDT. That is, we have been in this together for so long, but the meeting was important for us to share ideas, tasks and responsibilities. Both Swedish team leaders were present, since Anna was there online via Skype. During the meeting we agreed on many things: responsibilities for organising different trainings, things to prioritise and when. How to handle the e-resources (as seen in earlier blog posts), when to try to work on the digital repository, how to continue with the process of the library management system/integrated library system with experts in Borås etc.

Since then, two trainings have taken place. One focused the building up of the library web page. Tuve Nordius delivered a basic web content management course for members of staff that will be working with the web. This has been possible thanks to the cooperation with the ICT sub-programme as well as with the IT service within the UR.  Tuve will come back as soon as possible after Christmas for a follow up on this course -- and hopefully we will have a library web after that.

Secondly, the library directors have been workning on management and communication in a workshop with professor Elena Maceviciute. The workshop was well received and a follow up will be organised after professor Maceviciute's assessments and discussions with the group.

A job shadowing trip to Sweden for the shared ideas and concepts of how a modern multi campus research library works with its systems, its organisation and its users has been postponed, though. The idea was for the team to have a common understanding of what needs to be in place and what processes there within that are important. The libraries of the SLU (the Swedish University of Acricultural Sciences) in both Uppsala and Alnarp, as well as the library at the University of Borås were ready to receive the team.

What else is on the agenda? Remember that we need to focus on availing resources first -- and then to work with usage.

• We continue our training and competence building efforts. Anna will come back for a longer period in February, to look at e-resourses and work closely with librarians again. Cascading workshops are still needed.
• We have planned to come back for the web content -- so that you as librarians can manage your own web page (respecting the design of the UR and relying on a web aministrator. There is up to date still no common catalogue, but the e-resources will be found centrally, and via college/campus web pages. We will also emphasise the user perspective in relation to the web content.
• So in parallell to the trainings, there is technical work going on, where the IT department is very helpful.
• There is a digital repository to set up. We have appointed one librarian to work on it and to facilitate a targeted training for this.This is, however, a complicated process that first of all requires preparations regarding the organisaton of the resources within the repository and then needs to be incorporated into the server and software. And in all steps there is need of competence. 
• When it comes to the library management system/the integrated library system, discussions are ongoing. The University of Borås is ready to give more advice here. 

Well, this is a (short) update. A small delegation from the University of Borås plans to travel to Kigali for discussions and meetings in January or February. We are looking forward to that!