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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide, through a set of indicators, an overview of the way in which Spanish institutional repositories are run and the services they offer their respective institutions and other users. The selected descriptors are based on aspects related to technology, procedures, content, marketing and the personnel responsible for managing repositories. Design/methodology/approach In order to establish the indicators, a thorough review of the literature was carried out to identify existing indicators that are used to assess repositories. These were divided into five categories (technology, procedures, content, marketing and personnel) with a total of 48 components. An online survey was conducted with the repositories managers of 66 Spanish research institutions in order to verify the degree of fulfilment of the selected indicators. Findings The survey received forty-six responses, which represented a response rate of 69 per cent. Of these, 44 came from universities and two from research centres. In total, 65 per cent of the repositories have the capacity to import data from and export data to other university systems, mainly Current Research Information System (32 per cent). Most repositories have mechanisms for the large-scale import and export of metadata and digital objects (83 per cent). The use of altmetrics in repositories is widespread (44 per cent). Authors and librarians deposit most frequently (37 and 32 per cent, respectively), in spite of the fact that 44 per cent do not have full-time staff working in the repository. In more than 80 per cent of the repositories, between 90 and 100 per cent of the deposits are full-text documents. With respect to the tools used to promote the repository within the institution, these are primarily face-to-face training sessions (82 per cent), followed by support materials such as manuals and help pages (65 per cent). The academic authorities encourage open access among researchers in 56 per cent of cases, a significant element in repository marketing. Originality/value This work proposes a model based on five dimensions and 48 indicators to assess institutional repositories. This approach has been applied to Spanish institutional repositories to provide up-to-date information about their management procedures and promotional methods and the services they offer authors and the university community. This overview of Spanish repositories has provided an insight into the way in which repositories have evolved in recent years and allowed potential improvements to be identified based on the most advanced repositories. This model can also be exported to assess institutional repositories in other countries.

Comunicación presentada en las X Jornadas CRAI, celebradas en Logroño, los días 28-29 de junio de 2012. Se expone la evolución del grupo de formación de la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Navarra, y su desarrollo en las competencias informacionales y formación de usuarios desde el año 2002 hasta hoy en día.

Resumen: El objetivo de este estudio era investigar si las bibliotecas universitarias que pertenecen a universidades británicas de pequeño y mediano tamaño están adoptando el concepto de centro de recursos para el aprendizaje, y qué consecuencias se han derivado desde el punto de vista de los servicios, espacios y estructura del personal. Se investigó también la provisión de recursos electrónicos, especialmente el desarrollo de plataformas de enseñanza virtual. Interesaba conocer si todos los cambios llevados a cabo en los últimos años eran debidos a una mejora del apoyo al aprendizaje. Se estudiaron también las estructuras organizativas y los servicios con el objetivo de conocer cómo se están desarrollando y si el cambio de servicios y de edificios está afectando el apoyo a la investigación.

El papel del bibliotecario académico está siendo discutido en el ámbito anglosajón. Se definen los conceptos de aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida y alfabetización en información, destacando la importancia que se les ha dado en el Reino Unido, Australia y los Estados Unidos en los últimos años. Se discute si las destrezas del aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida, especialmente la que se considera más importante, la alfabetización de la información, debe ser incluida en el plan de estudios universitarios. Las conclusiones destacan que la conveniencia de que los bibliotecarios adquieran formación pedagógica para impartir este tipo de clases y de que se colabore con los docentes para incluir y desarrollar esta asignatura en el plan de estudios. Se considera especialmente necesario que los bibliotecarios sigan actualizándose cada vez más en las habilidades de búsqueda, evaluación y recuperación de la información.

This year UKSG awarded six sponsored delegate places to students who had answered the call for applications.The following is an amalgam of excerpts from their reports on impressions and experiences of the 27th UKSG Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Learning and teaching techniques are changing in the new electronic environment. Students are asked to gather information from different sources, most of them in electronic formats. Libraries have to adapt their buildings and services to meet their users needs continuously. Amongst the means librarians have included to support learning are electronic based information and learning resources, a better provision of IT technologies, working environments for different types of learning, digital reference services, information literacy skills and the possibility of accessing all these facilities, resources and services at any time. The conclusion indicates that librarians should continuously improve electronic information and learning resources, as well as discovering new ways to approach students.