Science for Wales

Science for Wales sets out the Welsh Government vision for science, the key initiatives they will take and how they measure success.

How the strategy was developed

Science for Wales has been prepared for the Welsh Government by the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, Professor John Harries; his team; and members of the Science Advisory Council for Wales.

The strategy was developed after consultation with internal and external science stakeholders. It supersedes ‘A Science Policy for Wales 2006’.

It tells some hard truths but offers a constructive way ahead both for what we can do to help science thrive and what we expect our partners (e.g. in higher education and business) to address to make this strategy a reality.

Sêr Cymru (Stars Wales)

The strategy introduces a new initiative ‘Sêr Cymru’ (Stars Wales). It comprises funding (up to £50 million over five years) for new academic ‘stars’ and National Research Networks in:

• Life sciences and health
• Low carbon, energy and environment
• Advanced engineering and materials

Science for Wales also proposes the development of a new national innovation strategy, and stronger coordination and leadership of science engagement activities through the National Science Academy.

Download:
Science for Wales-A strategic agenda for science and innovation in Wales

Great expectations: what do students want and how do we deliver?

Bookings are now open for the first CILIP ARLG Conference.

Newcastle University, 25-27 June 2012

The biennial CILIP CoFHE and UC&R Conference has become a significant date in the academic library professional’s diary. It provides the opportunity to share expertise, experience and knowledge in one of the most challenging and rapidly changing sectors of the profession. The two groups have always worked well together and have always been closely aligned. Now. of course, CoFHE and UC&R have formally combined to form the Academic and Research Libraries Group (ARLG), making this sixth joint study conference all the more relevant.

The conference will examine the key role that academic libraries and their staff play in both the learning cycle of the student and the wider demands of the institutions they serve. There will be wide ranging plenary sessions from the professions’ leaders and influential voices:

* John Hogan, Registrar at Newcastle University
* Tony Durcan, Director of Culture, Libraries and Lifelong Learning at Newcastle City Council

Another popular feature of the joint study conference is the practitioner led workshops which all delegates are encouraged to take part in. This year we have over thirty such workshops for delegates to choose from, under the headings:

* Student Experience
* Skilling the workforce for the future
* Collaboration and partnership
* Expectations in a Digital World
* Measuring Impact and Quality

Details of the full workshop programme and the booking form can be accessed here

The Milne Collection – An American Civil War Library

The Milne Collection is one of Swansea University Library’s foremost resources for students, staff and visiting researchers and is available on a reference basis for research and scholarship.

The collection of approximately 2,500 books was gifted in 2010 to the American Studies programme at Swansea University and continues to grow.

Among the most impressive holdings of the collection is a wide array of government documents, including the Presidential papers of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant, as well as those of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Other highlights include House and Executive documents dating back to 1860, army and navy records, as well as personal and diplomatic correspondences from many Union and Confederate government and military leaders.

The collection boasts hundreds of personal narratives – including many post-Civil War veterans’ writings and recollections – and is particularly strong on Civil War battles and campaigns; individual generals and other officers; fighting units and regimental histories; common soldier letters, diaries, reminiscences and autobiographies; strategy, tactics, weaponry and leadership; military manuals and organizational and support provision – especially medical and surgical services.

More broadly, the collection also includes a comprehensive array of materials relating to Civil War naval and maritime studies; many items are concerned with both the Union and Confederate home fronts and civilian life; local and state studies; the role of women and slavery during the Civil War era; newspaper and other reportage commentaries; and contains a large number of atlases and encyclopedias.

For more information on the Milne Collection, please contact Dr. Ian Glen, Arts and Humanities Librarian: E-mail: i.glen@swansea.ac.uk

Re-­‐skilling for Research

Re-­‐skilling for Research:  An investigation into the role and skills of subject and liaison librarians required to effectively support the evolving information needs of researchers

RLUK has published a major report by Mary Auckland on the changing needs of researchers and the effect on the subject/liaison role within libraries.

As research activities evolve, research support must evolve with them. RLUK has been keen to determine what the new requirements of researchers are, and how best these needs can be met by the library.  We want to place the needs of researchers in the context of the libraries current offering, and look at how we must change to fulfil the new demands placed upon us.

This report, Re-skilling for Research, takes us a long way to mapping these requirements. It looks in detail at researchers’ information needs and begins to outline the skills and knowledge that are required to meet those needs. The Report offers a comparison of different models of library support for researchers, with valuable comparisons of current job descriptions. Finally, issues around the training opportunities for subject librarians to acquire the additional skills and knowledge they will need to fulfill their new roles are explored.

Download the report: http://www.rluk.ac.uk/content/re-skilling-research

Welsh Libraries Marketing Innovation Awards 2012 – Swansea University wins again!

There must be something in the water in Swansea! It is the second year running that they have won the HE category in these awards supported by the Welsh Government.

This year the entry was the Celebrating Swansea University Authors project.  The project involved videoing academics talking about writing and the books that they have published, with posters to accompany.  You can see the videos on: http://www.youtube.com/user/CelebrateSUAuthors

Swansea were commended for creative use of the available technology and very clever use of the partnerships with academic staff.  ‘This type of offer demonstrates a clear understanding of the needs of the user and is fully sustainable and replicable.’  The use of QR codes works really well with the target audience and illustrates user insight really well.

Gregynog Colloquium 2012

Just a reminder of the dates this year: 11 to 15 June.

New tool launched by Cardiff University provides insights into e-resource usage

 A new tool launched by Cardiff University’s information services directorate and JISC allows people to assess the popularity and use of e-resources so they continue to deliver value for money.

Download Raptor for free: http://iam.cf.ac.uk/trac/RAPTOR/wiki/Software/Overview

Eileen Brandreth, director of university IT at Cardiff, said: “I am confident that Raptor will make a real difference to education institutions looking to maximise value from investments in e-resources. The information that Raptor provides will enable institutions and individual Academic Schools to assess the best value and most useful e-resource subscriptions for their students and researchers.”

People using Raptor can produce statistics on e-resource use whenever they are needed in as much detail as they require – for example, usage by an individual university department.

Chris Brown, JISC e-Research Programme Manager, added: “The Raptor tool has successfully gone through beta testing and incorporated user feedback prior to the release of this version, which is ready for production deployment. With universities looking at the potential cost savings and efficiencies, the Raptor tool provides valuable statistics on resource usage. It can analyse a variety of log files and present important information, not only promptly, but most importantly, in an easy to understand and visual way.”

The fully-released Raptor system lets institutions view usage statistics from different access management systems in use across the education sector.

Chris added: “The team at Cardiff have used their wealth of experience in this area to build a tool that is easy to install, use and is extremely powerful.”

The launch of the tool follows the JISC webinar on the Journal Usage Support Portal which can also help librarians assess their subscriptions. http://jusp.mimas.ac.uk/

The Raptor system focuses particularly on federated access systems, where online resources request access authorisation from the ‘home’ institution of the visitor, resulting in easier single sign-on access for users.

Raptor is also now available for both Linux and Windows servers, further widening the potential audience.

Find out about a series of workshops for staff at institutions interested in benefiting http://iam.cf.ac.uk/trac/RAPTOR 

See how this project fits into JISC’s wider support for libraries http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/aim.aspx