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Observes that in today’s digital world, not many things continue to operate in the traditional manner. This is because the ways of living and working demand new technology, new tools and new methods. This is the case for libraries too. They have to adapt to this new digital world because their traditional way of working with books and papers cannot cover any more new customer demands and their applications. The advent of the virtual library is usually presented as a positive development for library users. Presents a new way of organizing such a virtual library, an interactive support software and an application using fractals and chaos models of the way this new approach can be used. Focuses on such applications because their important feature is not their final picture but the way in which this picture is generated, and changes through time.

Describes the impact of chaos theory in social systems and the phenomena that result from it, drawing attention to related phenomena in the state of the library today. It then considers the factors that lead library systems to exhibit chaotic behaviour. These factors are the plethora of technological tools and the variety of software and interfaces, the dependence of resource providers and the increasing supply and diversity of information resources. The changes dictated by these factors influence the internal operations of the library, communication between libraries, the methods and channels of providing user services, the time taken to access information and knowledge, and the numbers and variety of users and their unique ways of searching. In conclusion, the organisational changes in libraries dictated by the unpredictability and instability of the present state are identified, including the organisational transition of library management, staff education concerning the new tools and resources, and user education about assist search techniques.

A state of the Art trend analysis of the Library and Information science reveals that the Library world is in the midst of the technological restructuring. Every branch of library work changes continuously because of the technological facilities, although the missions and goals remain unaltered. The libraries belong to these professional divisions which involve the innovation and technology transfer in everyday life. In most of the cases innovation either as a product or as a procedure goes into the libraries, it's not a phenomenon produced by them. On the strategic level libraries on average have developed the ability to collect, process and assimilate technological innovation. On the organizational level libraries follow the changes which technology transfer dictates such as close co-operation with computer centers and external commercial information suppliers, software and hardware suppliers, science and technology achievements, etc. It is too common to libraries to develop routines and Best Practices for every task, derived by the technology they use, for the cost decrease, the time save and the increase of the effectiveness and efficiency. The innovative process is the kind which libraries could adopt, as innovation is composed of the systematic retrieve of changes and systematic analysis of the opportunities which these changes could contribute to economic and social improvement. Innovation above all, is a social procedure, as it is interpreted in terms such as creativity, desires, fantasy and the ability to take risks and to change. So innovation and technology transfer differentiates the role of the librarian and extends it beyond the limits of the information intermediary. The librarian in order to involve, anticipate and especially produce innovation has to learn how to learn, as libraries have to learn how to change. The presentation will be a methodological one and will focus on Best Practices, the definition and a short report, how they combine with the library functions and how they produce innovative processes and new Best Practices. An evaluation of Best Practices according the Value Analysis method is included as a prerequisite of the final choice of which practice is characterised as Best and which not.

This book contains a plethora of different viewpoints and research results from all over the world, bringing them together to provide a global perspectiveon the various issues that comprise "open access". Topics include copyright, best practices and management, open access and society, repositories, journals, publications and publishing, services and technology, quality andevaluation. The book offers a holistic focus on open access and can serve as a useful learning tool for students and professionals.

PurposeThis paper aims to describe a data analysis methodology using data‐ and knowledge‐mining techniques focused on libraries. It concerns data analysis techniques in general, as well as ways in which they could be applied to library management. The ultimate purpose of this data process is to make the exported information useful to decision makers, so as to help them with decision making and strategy planning. This will lead to a more efficient organisation of the internal processing, and to improvement of the services offered in a library.Design/methodology/approachMethodologies based on knowledge and data mining are used to analyse the real data in one specific case study library (Library of Technical University of Crete, Greece) in order to describe the concept better. The results obtained concern the extraction of information about the inter‐relations of data and the definition of factors that can be used in library management and strategic planning. The scope of the paper is to show how data coming from libraries can be analysed to give useful results for decision‐makers, in order to improve the services they offer.FindingsThe paper provides a detailed list of all existing data resources in a library and describes step‐by‐step an analysis methodology based on processes of knowledge discovery and mining from given data. It refers to general principles that should be used for choosing the data to be processed and for defining the way the data should be combined and connected.Research limitations/implicationsThe research reported in this paper can be extended to define other new indicators regarding the quality of services offered to libraries by using a greater amount of data for analysis.Practical implicationsChanges should be made in the way of choosing data for analysis. The way of choosing data here is based on a methodology according to knowledge and data‐mining principles. A definition of new indicators about the quality of services in libraries should be derived from this methodology.Originality/valueThe new thinking in the paper is in the way librarians and decision‐makers in libraries have to use data. The paper shows a way of choosing data that will be able to produce useful conclusions after a well‐described analysis. The paper will be useful for librarians and library managers who want to plan strategies for improving the services they offer.

Περιέχει τη περίληψη Team working is inherent to human being. Literature has concluded that work brings satisfaction and high performance if rewards instead of punishment as well as self-control and self- direction are to be established. Commitment on the goals is the function which connects rewards with achievements. This working environment presupposes the commitment of the administration; this is also the whole environment in which staff can liberate their initiatives, fantasy and creativity. This is the working way for staff to undertake their responsibility and risk on their decisions and innovative solutions. Greek libraries implement the innovation and technological changes which happen in libraries worldwide. It was a question, if these technological changes are followed by the organizational ones and which are the responses of the staff. The research is based on a questionnaire and is analyzed by Q-Analysis. The survey aims to determine the organization of Greek libraries and the differences between them if there are. It also aims to conclude to some recommendations, relative to libraries™ legislation and cooperation.

Περιέχει το πλήρες κείμενο Reports highlights of a conference held at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, 1-5 June 2003, focusing on the current and future role of libraries in higher education in the networked environment of the 21st century. Presentations covered the state of the art, new projects, and theoretical aspects of the theme, including the development of digital library initiatives, e-learning, institutional repositories, open access journals, and virtual organization in libraries.

Περιέχει το πλήρες κείμενο Knowledge management (KM) is a current technique in organisational theory and management. The knowledge-based organisation is the organisation of the future and libraries have much to learn from industry and business. The rules and tools of KM contribute to information and knowledge sharing and delivery throughout the world, as globalisation facilitates communication. Consortia, consisting of libraries of various strengths, power, age, collection, staff experience and specialisation, can operate using the concepts of KM in order to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency, as well as to share the expertise developed in the services of member libraries. Either at the organisational level or in the provision of services to users, the members of the library consortia could gain more benefit if they viewed themselves as a trans-organisational scheme of a knowledge-based community. The paper describes such a model drawn from industry and from the theory of the firm, adjusted to the library's context and functions. It will also make a brief reference concerning the benefits of implementing the model.