Search

This paper is the result of research whose objective was to investigate the genesis of Library Parks as an expression of political and architectural discourse in Colombia. For this purpose, a methodology based on a comparative historiography of the phenomenon of libraries and educational buildings built in public parks as a government policy at the beginning of the 20th century, and later, in the interstice between the 20th and 21st centuries, is proposed. The conclusions show that, contrary to the general perception, the library park model is not an ex novo phenomenon of the contemporary world. In this sense, the results evidence not only the identification of a set of antecedent projects of this phenomenon, built between 1932 and 1940, but also a set of existing correlations between political and architectural discourses, as a predetermining reflection of a system of thought that gave rise to the library park model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the relation between public, education-related infrastructure and the quality of education in schools using a case-study of the construction and implementation of two large public libraries in low-income areas in Bogotá, Colombia. We assess the impact of these libraries on quality of education by comparing results in national test scores (Saber 11°) for schools close and far from these libraries before (2000-2002) and after (2003-2008) the libraries' opening. We find non-statistically different from zero differences that could be attributed to the libraries' implementation. We also introduce Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition on Difference-in-Differences (DiD) estimates in order to assess if variation of traditional determinants of test scores for mathematics, verbal and science explain the result estimates. These results are robust to alternative specifications of DiD, a synthetic control approach and an alternative measure of distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document tries to share the experience of the Center of Technical Information of the Colombian Oil Institute by designing and implementing a project based on knowledge management which has achieved positive results in the positioning and levels of use of the resources and services of the library. Indicators mainly controlling the level of satisfaction with the service and effectiveness of the exhibitions. The aim is incorporating these experiences in the programs of companies belonging to ECOPETROL Managerial Group at national and international level. This practice proves that it is possible to design and to implement a model for libraries, based on knowledge management, and taking into account that at library the codified knowledge predominates. It is also affirmed that the success of the project lies on the team work developed with creativity and enthusiasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some historiographic approaches for studying the circulation, reading and uses of books in Nueva Granada in the Modern Age are presented, that may be useful to discern their social, political and cultural implications for the history of this region of Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instructional design of an online course in documentation that would serve as a benchmark for future practical training for librarians and other actors benefiting from the National Plan for Reading and Libraries and the National System of Bibliographical Heritage Ministry of Culture - National Library of Colombia, motivated the development of the research on the implementation of virtual training mode, in the continuing education sector or business, as an alternative to traditional training practices, which will enhance students' independent learning, and contributing to rationalization of available resources in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a historical approach to the National Museum of Colombia, in order to analyze the representations of the Nation and its inhabitants exhibited between 1880 and 1912. First, it refers to some of the features of the Museum, taking into account its development during the nineteenth century and the social and cultural function it fulfilled; it then studies how collections were established by examining their origin and type of object gathered at the time, discussing how objects were classified in relation to the segment population and the variation of this classification during this period. Finally, it exemplifies how specific segments of the population were represented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]