Simple and free: improved access to specialist literature for academics
The Georg Eckert Institute research library and three well-respected partner institutions have been granted funding by the DFG (German Research Foundation) with which to establish a specialised information service (FID) to serve educational sciences and pedagogical research.
The aim of the programme is to create a custom-designed information service for individual disciplines. Improvements to structure should simplify access to specialist literature. The specialised information service will provide materials and resources for research purposes far beyond the current core library services. One key aspect of the service is to provide simplified and free access to digital resources.
Through the FID, for example, the research library at the GEI provides (as do the other partners listed below) digitised copies of individual volumes from its historic collection, in response to user requests. It is also continuing to expand its collection of non-European textbooks. Researchers will also be able to use the specialised information service to procure discipline-specific literature from the educational sciences and pedagogical research, which had, until now, only been available through interlibrary loans. “Joining this consortium will strengthen communication between all the FID partners as well as with the individual research communities” confirmed Simone Lässig, director of the GEI. “As a result of the increased dialogue and intercommunication the overall information supply will be enhanced.”
The German Research Foundation’s line of funding “Specialised Academic Information Services” makes provisions for the special subject collections (SSG), which were established in the 1950s, to be transferred to this new funding programme. The GEI is responsible for the special subject collection: textbooks.
In the next three years the information services listed below will receive funding of 5.87 million Euros:
- “Specialist information service for the performing arts” University Library Johann Christian Senckenberg, Goethe University Frankfurt/Main
- “Specialist information service for educational sciences and pedagogical research” The German Institute for International Educational Research, Frankfurt, the Research Library for the History of Education, Berlin, University Library Erlangen-Nürnberg, Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig and the Humboldt University Library in Berlin.
- “Specialist information service for mathematics“, Göttingen State and University Library and the German National Library of Science and Technology, Hannover
- “Specialist information service for pharmaceutics” Braunschweig University Library and The Institute for Information Systems at the Technical University Braunschweig, (Professor Wolf-Tilo Balke)
- “Specialist information service for theology“,Tübingen University Library
Further information regarding the “Specialised Academic Information Services” funding programme can be found here: http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/infrastructure/lis/funding_opportunities/informationservice_science/index.html
