Hello all,

 

Please see the below announcement from Research Libraries UK.

 

Best,

Gayle

 

 

 

Virtual Reading Rooms and Virtual Teaching Spaces: survey closes Friday 11^th June

 

Link to the survey: Virtual Reading Rooms and Virtual Teaching Spaces

Survey closes: Friday 11^th June 2021 

 

Research Libraries UK, working with its national and international partners, is conducting a major survey regarding the development and delivery of Virtual Reading Room (VRR) and Virtual Teaching Space (VTS) services in libraries, archives and special collections, around the world.

 

Many collection-holding institutions have been actively exploring new and innovative ways through which digital access can be provided to their collections. This need has been enhanced by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The closure of libraries, archives, and museums to researchers during the height of the pandemic, restricted access during successive periods of national lockdown, and on-going social distancing rules, have significantly disrupted the ability of scholars to conduct research.

 

In response to these challenges, research libraries, archives and special collections, and museums and galleries have been experimenting with the provision of geographically remote digital access to heritage and cultural collections through the creation of Virtual Reading Rooms (VRRs) and Virtual Teaching Spaces (VTSs). 

 

What do we mean by a Virtual Reading Room or a Virtual Teaching Space?

 

VRRs and VTSs provide human-mediated remote digital access to collections without digitisation. Through the use of live streaming and visualisers positioned within physical research spaces, scholars, teachers or members of the public can view and digitally engage with an institution's heritage and cultural collections, asking for these to be positioned and repositioned by a member of staff, to enable their research. These are emerging and bespoke services which provide another means of user-responsive access to collection materials.

 

A link to a video demonstration of a Virtual Reading Room service is included in the survey preamble.

 

Complete the survey: 

 

This survey asks a series of questions about the development and use of Virtual Reading Rooms (VRRs) and Virtual Teaching Spaces (VTSs) within institutions.

 

Please complete this survey if you or your institution has developed or is intending to develop a VRR or VTS service. We welcome submissions from any institution and from around the world. A PDF of all survey questions is available on request.

 

Link to the survey: Virtual Reading Rooms and Virtual Teaching Spaces

Duration: 20-25 minutes to complete

Survey closes: Friday 11^th June 2021

 

Results: The results of this survey will be published by RLUK on its website and will be shared with its partners once the survey closes. A summary of the survey results will also be shared at a workshop on Friday 2^nd July at the Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities conference (www.dcdcconference.com). 

 

For further information about this survey and the work of Research Libraries UK in this area, please contact: [log in to unmask]

 

 

Dr Matthew Greenhall

Deputy Executive Director

Research Libraries UK

 

Email: [log in to unmask]

Office: 020 7862 8643

Mobile: 07432 768566

Website: www.rluk.ac.uk

 

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