Presented in collaboration with MetLib, Management of Library Associations, and Copyright and Legal Matters Sections
Tentative Program
Morning Session – E-books in libraries – a snapshot of e-book licensing policy/ principles around the globe
Part 1 (9:30am – 11:00am) :
A. Introduction and chair – Gerald Leitner
The capital of Kazakhstan Astana city hosted a forum of librarians on "Commonwealth Libraries: Integration, Innovation and Access for All" from 26 to 28 September 2012. The city which was previously named the cultural capital of the Turkic world, was declared the cultural capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the international forum "Eurasian culture in the New World" held earlier in the year.
There is a growing need for standards, as these are increasingly being used as tools to achieve policy aims, says Martina Sindelar, representing the European Commission's Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, Key Enabling Technologies and ICT. She is, together with colleagues from DG Connect, responsible for the European Commission Multi-Stakeholders Platform on ICT Standardisation. "That is why it is important that standards are developed in a open, transparent and democratic way."
2 - Summary:
A new site has been recently launched as part of the European FP7 ‘Personal Health Systems (PHS) Foresight’ project with the objective to provide a forum for long-term coordination and strategic guidance across different PHS areas of application.
Emerald Group Publishing Limited has announced the next batch of articles available in open access as part of its ‘special partnership’ with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
European citizens are becoming increasingly mobile, and upcoming opportunities are growing for students and citizens alike.
One major issue in helping mobility is decreasing the administrative burden linked to moving; how can a citizen easily carry over his personal information from one administration to another? How can a student provide access to his course curricula and results to a new university?
The Section's mid-term meeting will be held in Paris from 3 May - 5 May.
Kind thanks to the Bibliothèque Publique D'information and Section member Annie Dourlent for hosting
2 - Summary:
On 21 February 2013, UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, launched an online platform, ‘UNAIDS Science now’, which highlights scientific papers published on HIV, especially those papers that are particularly relevant to the United Nations high level targets.
2 - Summary:
In March 2013, the Federal Government announced the creation of a new management system for secure access to online public services and eGovernment applications.
Britain's public service broadcasting corporation BBC is making available as open source the code for building HTML-based TV software solutions, called TAL. "Sharing the TV Application Layer should make building applications on TV easier for others, helping to drive the uptake of this nascent technology", the organisation explains.
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A smartphone designed for elderly people has been developed by global technology company Fujitsu.
When setting up the Stylistic S01 phone the user inputs their age, which customises some aspects to work differently. For example, the audio frequency range will be optimised for older people so they can clearly hear the voice of the person they are speaking to, and the phone can also slow down the speech of a caller without losing audio quality, again making it easier to understand.
Up to 200 blind and visually impaired people are to be trained to use a package of smartphone apps that can help with communication and everyday tasks, with £14,000 of funding allocated by the UK government.
An updated version of a free web content accessibility checker, originally developed because its creator was frustrated at the limitations of similar products, has been launched in JavaScript to allow wider usage.
QUAIL ( http://quailjs.org/ ) is a piece of software that uses more than 200 tests to assess if web content conforms to the widely used Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
By Tristan Parker
After being diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, Neil Cottrell used various forms of assistive technology to help him study. He went on to develop his own autocorrective software, Global AutoCorrect, forming the company LexAble to develop and market it. Global AutoCorrect has now sold about 10,000 copies. E-Access Bulletin spoke to Cottrell about how his own innovations helped him achieve a first-class degree at university and start his own business.
E-Access Bulletin: How did it all begin?
