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The purpose of this article is to present findings from research in the Croatian public libraries on organizational aspects of digitization projects.

This research article is based on research done in 152 public libraries in Croatia invited by e‐mail to participate in the web survey, which was chosen as the most appropriate tool for investigating geographically dispersed libraries.

Findings from the survey indicate a modest number of public libraries engaged in digitization projects. These results can be attributed to unfavorable conditions for initiation of digitization projects. Almost half of public libraries plan to launch digitization projects as soon as necessary conditions for digitization become favorable. Digital content available in the surveyed public libraries already received a positive feedback from users. Instead of mass digitization, public libraries chose systematic digitization of selected library collections. To improve the quality of digitization of library material public libraries need better financial support, additional training of library staff and better infrastructure. The findings indicate that public libraries in Croatia are strongly dedicated to development of digital collections as soon as necessary conditions for launch of their digitization projects are met.

The article contributes to the growing body of knowledge about organizational aspects of digital collection development and digitization in public libraries as well as about the benefits digital collections can provide for libraries in general.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has a great influence on the global system of scientific communication. The existing system is changing towards a new communication paradigm based on the exchange of scientific information in electronic information environment. Scientists are already experiencing changes in the ways they create, find, share, process, store and use scientific information. The aim of this paper is to present results from the research among scientists and teaching staff at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb (Croatia), regarding changes they experienced during the use of ICT in scientific communication.

The first part of the paper offers an introduction followed by a view on the impact of ICT on scientific communication in the second part. The third part presents the research among scientists and teaching staff at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia, and the findings of that research. An online survey consisting of 37 closed and open‐type questions was used as a method of research after an e‐mail invitation calling for participation was sent to scientists and teaching staff at the Faculty.

Participants in the research used ICT for the communication with their colleagues in Croatia and abroad and for the preparation of research, although much less for publishing of the results of their work.

The outcome of the research will serve as an orientation for the planning of a future research on communication into the electronic information environment among the members of the Croatian academic community.

The paper aims to demonstrate the influence of ICT on scientists and teaching staff at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia. As ICT has become more prevalent at universities in Croatia, it is necessary to investigate how it really influences daily activities of academic community members. Each new research contributes to a better understanding of the change of the old communication paradigm based on paper publications under the influence of ICT.

The purpose of this paper is to establish whether or not promotional efforts can help public libraries to become more visible and their services more recognizable in the local community. At present, libraries employ different promotional efforts for their products and services, usually less aggressive than commercial information providers. Their final goal is to reclaim the role of the primary provider of quality information resources and accompanying services from electronic media.

The first part of the paper offers an introduction followed by information about the actual promotional activities in public libraries. The third part of the paper was based on a user survey in five major public libraries in Zagreb, Croatia.

The predominant way of acquiring information about public libraries and their activities is by word of mouth while other means of communication, such as TV, radio and the internet, are used less. The results suggest the need for better use of other, so far inadequately used, communication channels.

The research is limited to five public libraries in Zagreb, Croatia, acting as centres in their respective library networks.

Findings will help librarians in planning new promotional campaigns in Zagreb public libraries.

The paper contributes to the growing body of knowledge about user perception of public libraries in the local community.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from the research carried out among the directors of Croatian public libraries about cooperation between public libraries and the academic community and about promotion of science in Croatian public libraries. Owing to their number, strategic position in society and the skills and knowledge of librarians, public libraries have an opportunity to cooperate more intensively with the scientific community, expand their holdings with science‐related content and to offer new services. Some already cooperate with the Croatian scientific community by participating in joint research projects and in promoting science. Although cooperation with the scientific community is not among their priorities, Croatian public libraries are enthusiastic to continue with this type of activity.

The first part of the paper offers an introduction followed by a short review of the current position of public libraries in society and possibilities for strengthening their position by cooperating with the scientific community (in the second part of the paper). The third part introduces the research among the directors of Croatian public libraries followed by the presentation of the findings of the same research. An online survey consisting of 19 closed questions was used as a method of research. An e‐mail invitation to participate in the research was sent to all public libraries in Croatia.

The outcome of the research may serve as an orientation to the members of the Croatian academic community when planning new cooperation with public libraries and vice versa. The findings of the research may also serve as an orientation to the directors of Croatian public libraries when considering expansions of their holdings with new material related to science and in the development of new offline and online services.

The strategic position of public libraries in society makes them of interest for promotion of results of developments in many areas of human endeavour, including science, by using their holdings, services and premises. According to the research findings, public libraries participate actively in popularisation of science by using their existing holdings and services. Public libraries in Croatia are promoting science actively and are participating in scientific projects led by scientific institutions. Their holdings contain popular science titles, and they offer services to facilitate access to scientific information. Public libraries included in the survey plan to continue with the promotion of science, as they believe that this activity is important for them.

The paper aims to advance understanding of the role of public libraries in Croatia and their role in promotion of science, and contributes to the growth of library and information science literature on topics related to public libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to present the current state of digitization and digital collection development in public libraries in Croatia.

This paper is based on an online survey of public libraries in Croatia on digital collection development and digitization. In total, 165 public libraries were invited to participate in the survey, and Web survey was chosen as the most appropriate tool for surveying geographically dispersed libraries.

The findings indicate that public libraries in Croatia have taken steps towards enlargement of digital content in their holdings by digitizing their existing library collections. Although the number of digital collections in public libraries in Croatia is still rather small, it is expected that it will increase in the near future. It is also encouraging that public libraries started digitization projects on their own, thus gaining the necessary experience and skills that would help them and other libraries in future digitization projects. Still, they need additional education about digital collection development and process of library material digitization.

The paper article contributes to the growing body of knowledge about digital collections development and digitization in public libraries, as well as about benefits digital collections can provide for libraries in general.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from the research of aspects of journal publishing in the field of social sciences in Croatia in changing working conditions caused by the rapid development of information and communication technology.

This paper is based on an online survey of 79 journals in the field of social sciences in Croatia.

Findings indicate a dual publishing nature of the scientific journals as they exist both in the traditional paper based and in the electronic environment. In addition to slow shift towards publishing exclusively in the electronic environment, editorial teams cope with insufficient financial support for the publication of printed versions of their journals, low‐quality of article submissions, badly formatted articles, lack of help to the editor, etc. Researched journals use the internet for the improvement of the interaction with authors, reviewers and readers and digital repositories for long‐term storage of articles. To remain relevant to the scientists in Croatia, researched journals must be led by professional editorial teams whose only job will be management of the journal they work for.

The paper contributes to the growing body of knowledge about current developments in scientific journal publishing under the influence of information and communication technology.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main contents of the 18th BOBCATSSS Symposium, held in Parma, Italy in January 2010, dedicated to the main theme “Bridging the digital divide: libraries providing access for all?”

The report provides a concise presentation of the main themes discussed during the conference.

The topics presented focused mainly on the fields of access and delivery, community support and collections, with some others focusing on leadership and management.

This symposium is one of the few conferences in the world where students are the main characters and participate as organisers, reviewers and presenters of the contributions. Reports on such conferences are of interest to both students and to teachers and professionals.

conference held in Dubrovnik, May 2004, which had the dual theme of human information behaviour and competences for digital libraries.