CORDIS Archive

Telematics for Libraries - Projects

CAMILE

Updated: 22 NOV 99

Additional information is available from the CAMILE web site . (http://www.dmu.ac.uk/~camile/)

Concerted Action

This is a concerted action in the area of performance measurement and decision support in libraries.

Call Topic(s)

Call topic 3: Development and testing of tools for the management and administration of library services in an electronic environment.

Project description

CAMILE brought together experience and expertise in library management through the partnership of four existing Libraries Programme projects working in the area of decision support in libraries under FP3. It is anticipated that such co-operation will lead to long term consensus, the development of common approaches and ultimately the development of new standards.

Organisational approach

The action exploits the outcomes of existing research activities, extending these through the development of common themes and the extension of communication processes. The approach was to:

• Build consensus on the issues and activities relating to library and information management, including decision making performance measurement and indicators, and the measurement and assessment of quality, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
• Provide a framework for technical and theoretical discussion, formulation of common policies and the development of standards.
• Bring together activities and ideas at a national level and contribute at European and international level to the identification of areas/topics worthy of further investigation and research.
• Provide a forum whereby information on new research areas, common issues and challenges can be relayed back to EC projects and programmes.

Key issues

CAMILE addressed the issues of:

• Pproject interaction and cooperation
• Ddissemination and exploitation of results

Actions and Results

The action provided for information sharing beyond the life of four projects funded under FP3 ( DECIDE , DECIMAL , EQLIPSE , MINSTREL) by means of three major initiatives:

• Workshops were held in the UK, Greece, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Ireland. Each workshop was an intensive one-day event which brought together interested librarians, library suppliers, library schools and others in order to establish a level of common understanding and communication concerning management information. Regional issues identified by local associate partners are integrated into the sessions and relevant local experts are invited to speak.
• The CAMILE Discussion List provides a forum for interested library professionals from all over Europe to discuss the themes identified by CAMILE. The list provides librarians with the opportunity to relate their personal experiences, ask questions and debate the issues raised in the workshops. The list has over 250 subscribers from more than 25 different countries.
• The CAMILE Web Site disseminates information generated by the project to as many people as possible, and is designed to complement and have close ties with the CAMILE discussion list

Impact

This concerted action helped lead to a greater and more effective use of management information tools and techniques in libraries in Europe. It encouraged the use of European focused performance measures and contributed to greater communication of information between libraries.

The involvement of a range of library system suppliers ensures the take-up of results into new generations of library systems. The contribution of library schools ensures the penetration of ideas and actions into the library profession. The concertation helped to establish communication between interested libraries, which will be continued after the end of the project.

Information is available from the contact below and from the Web at: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/~camile/
To subscribe to the CAMILE list, send the message "subscribe camile" to the address: majordomo@mmu.ac.uk

Coordinator

Other Partners

BORGES addresses both problems by: