Libraries of the future: from the ivory tower to open knowledge
Subject: Multidisciplinary
The library director of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education and the director of Library and Learning Resources at the UOC sat down to discuss the challenges of open knowledge and the social impact of research.
How can universities harness their research to help tackle pressing global issues? What role do university libraries play in opening up knowledge to society? How can we encourage open-access publishing for research? Can a library's layout influence users' creativity and flexibility?
Yolanda Maya, library director at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico, and Ciro Llueca, director of Library and Learning Resources at the UOC, used their time on camera to reflect on a number of issues, including the challenges of open knowledge, the need to raise the profile of university-generated research, the importance of building knowledge networks, and the characteristics of the libraries of the future.
Research and its impact on society
According to Yolanda Maya, "Everything that the Institute does is intended to have a short- or medium-term impact." The library director went on to mention several research projects that focus on different areas of study, such as health and information technologies, and which aim to tackle important social issues in keeping with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
After listening to what Maya had to say, Llueca concluded that research of this nature reflects how "universities are contributing to the transformation of our societies by creating tangible objectives that have a direct impact on people".
Opening knowledge
The two directors then moved on to another topic of interest: the content available in the repositories of their respective institutions. When asked about how the Monterrey Institute approaches the drafting of open publishing policies, Maya said that "what would really be interesting, beyond one-off open publications, is open science".
Flexible, collaborative spaces
When the conversation turned to how the Monterrey Institute had revamped its library facilities, Maya shared her thoughts on transforming library spaces and updating the skills of library professionals to meet users' needs, saying that, "Libraries are transforming. They have always been centres of knowledge, but we are looking for them to be centres of collaboration, too; we want to create inspirational spaces that invite you to be there".
The latest BiD monograph, coordinated by Maite Comalat and Ciro Llueca himself, contains an article written by Yolanda Maya in which she provides a detailed account of how the Monterrey Institute has transformed its library.
Check out the full conversation between Yolanda Maya and Ciro Llueca.
