This International Training Program is planned to take place mainly in
May 9 - July 28, 2003.
The initiative has been
approved by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) and is sponsored by the
Belgian Government (the directorate named DGOS since December 2002). This fits
in a series of similar international training activities that have been
organized since 1991, named MIST 1, 2, 3, KNOW-HOW and STIMULATE 1 and 2.
This initiative is aimed primarily at persons with a
university degree, who work in universities, information and documentation
centers, and libraries, including of course university libraries, and who have
a few years of practical experience.
The term Active Training Environment in the title of
the project is not only made up to obtain the acronym STIMULATE for the
training program, but it reflects our wish to really create an environment in
which each participant is stimulated to get involved actively, supported by the
lecturers and the infrastructure provided by the training program. This fits
well into the general, worldwide trend away from "teaching" to
"learning management".
The main aim of this
International Training Program is to offer a stimulating learning environment
to participants, who have a function as information intermediary in the area of
science and technology, so as to sharpen their skills in collecting, storing,
retrieving, presenting and managing information, which can be of great benefit
to the teaching and research activities going on in their institute and to the
further development of their organisation and region.
More specific objectives are:
--to provide participants with a clearer view on the
importance of information in general and for their environment in particular,
--to guide them in retrieving information that is publicly accessible on an
international scale, and
--to learn them to store, organise, present, manage, publish information
resources at personal, institutional, regional or national level.
After being actively involved
in this International Training Program, every participant will have improved
the ability to
-- appreciate and explain the importance of access to information for
their organisation
-- retrieve information from the Internet
-- present information to users and potential users, using appropriate
information technology
-- store information for later retrieval and access by potential users,
using information technology
-- train interested persons in the use and management of information,
using appropriate presentation techniques
-- apply quantitative methods in decision making related to information
systems and services
-- contribute to the planning of the (further) development of an
information service
--communicate through the Internet with users of information,
information providers, colleagues,…
It is our intention to organise the sessions in such a
way that
--the first month is a module at introduction level,
--the second month is a module at intermediate level, and
--the third month is a module at a more advanced level.
Thanks to this approach and organisation it may make sense exceptionally to
participate during only one or two of the three months, depending on expertise.
However, the available scholarships are granted only to persons who will
participate for the full three months.
To start with, the
participants are offered an orientation tour of the University and the Library.
Then some of the following subjects are covered. Of course, due to the limited
available time, not all the mentioned subjects can be discussed in each
training program, but a SELECTION will be made by the organisers, depending on the
availability of suitable expert lecturers.
Microcomputer systems: hardware.
Microcomputer
operating systems.
Microcomputer systems: applications software.
Text editing; word processing; desktop publishing.
Presentation of data, using a microcomputer.
Creating charts to present information.
Data communication; computer networks.
Internet.
Internet services.
Electronic mail.
World-Wide Web; hypertext and hypermedia.
Disks for computers.
CD-ROM.
CD-ROM in a local area network.
CD-R, CD-RW, DVD.
Image processing; graphics file formats; photo/image editing.
Multimedia / Hypermedia.
Data-communications networks and librarians.
Selecting and procuring a computer system; writing a proposal for a computer
implementation.
Providing access to information through public Internet workstations.
Client-server systems.
Introductory concepts about
information.
Internet-based information resources: introduction.
Bibliographic databases.
The information industry and the information market.
Online information retrieval and database searching.
Search tactics and strategies.
Internet search engines.
Information available free of charge.
Online access databases about journal articles.
Electronic newsletters and journals.
Computer-network based interest groups.
Patent information.
Online systems versus CD-ROM.
Citation searching.
Theoretical and quantitative aspects of information retrieval.
Evaluating the quality of information sources.
Evaluation of information retrieval strategies and systems.
Basic, fundamental,
theoretical concepts.
Software packages for local storage and retrieval of bibliographic information.
Introduction to the CDS/ISIS software package for information storage and
retrieval.
The application of CDS/ISIS: searching, editing data in a database, output of
selected data to file or printer; developing a database structure; indexing
data for fast retrieval; ISIS for Windows; WINISIS; history and future of
Formats: MARC; application of MARC in
Databases (and
Downloading of information and record format conversion: principles.
Downloading of information and record format conversion: application of Fangorn
with
Library automation.
Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs).
Archives and records management.
Archives in the domain of science and technology.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): an introduction.
Developing a web site; HTML,
CSS, XML, XSL; intranets; developing an intranet.
Information architecture; evaluating web sites.
Methods for access to databases through Internet: telnet, http/WWW, Z39.50,
Open Archives Harvesting protocol…
Dynamic web pages.
Developing co-operative
community WWW sites. Web contents management systems.
Setting up an electronic newsletter.
Extensions of the classical WWW. (Client-based and server-based).
Document+program hybrid systems
Statistics for information
science and for library management.
Business plans for libraries and information centers.
Using spreadsheets in the management of libraries and information centers.
Collection development.
Consortia of libraries for the acquisition of electronic journals and
databases.
Scientific writing methods.
ISBD = International Standard Bibliographic Description.
Formats for computer-based cataloguing; MARC formats.
National libraries and national bibliographies.
Knowledge organisation: subject classification schemes; thesaurus systems,
ontologies.
Citation analysis.
Assessing the influence of scientific journals; citations and impact factors.
The bibliometric laws.
Scientometrics.
Management of a library and information service.
Architecture of libraries.
Orientation of information users; relations with information users.
Interlibrary lending and co-operation; document delivery: an introduction.
Development of a national or regional information network.
The information society.
Cultural aspects of the information society and information technology
transfer.
Copyright; information security; trans-border data flow.
Writing a project proposal (for instance related to the establishment of an
information network).
Conservation/preservation of printed documents.
Conservation/preservation of digital documents.
Informetric aspects of the Internet.
Artificial intelligence and knowledge representation in information science.
Electronic journals: implementation in a library.
Integration of e-learning environments and library services.
Libraries involvement in scientific publishing.
International co-operation projects.
About half of the time, the participants are guided by
experts invited to the university. They use the other half time to solve
problems, to make exercises, to use microcomputers and the Internet, to prepare
discussions, for self study...
Besides the formal, guided course activities, the
participants have access like any regular student at our university
--to several rooms equipped with microcomputers
connected to the Internet,
--to the university library which offers printed material, CD-ROMs and PCs with
Internet access,
--to the university restaurant at low student prices.
In addition to the courses taking place at the
university campus, study visits are organised. Possible visits:
--to the Royal (National) Library, in Brussels,
Belgium
--to the European Patent Office in Brussels, Belgium
--to the Information Service of the Geology Department of the Royal Museum on
Africa, in Tervuren near Brussels, Belgium
--to the postgraduate school on information and library science which is
organised at that university, guided by a inter-university board
--to the libraries of the University of
--to the library of the KUL (university) in
--to VLIZ marine science information and documentation center near the sea
coast in Oostende/Ostend,
--to the Documentation Department of the KIT (the Royal Tropical Institute),
and to the high school on libraries, documentation and information, both in
More culturally oriented guided visits are also
organised; these may include trips to the old cities of
-- Welcome reception with
drinks and appetizers.
-- Evening with tasting of
some of the world famous Belgian beers and some Belgian food.
-- Farewell gathering with
drinks and appetizers.
Free of charge (!) for 12
participants from developing countries, selected by the organisers, VL.I.R.
(the Flemish Inter-university Council) and DGOS. They also receive a grant to
cover the costs of accommodation and an airplane return ticket. The detailed
grant application form is available as a PDF file through the Internet from http://www.vlir.be/
and more directly from http://www.vlir.be/os/icpitp/download.htm.
There you can also find an explanation of the procedures to apply for the
grant. That PDF file can be printed with the suitable program provided free of
charge by Adobe through the WWW: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.
Grant applications must be
received by VLIR before the end of January! (Do NOT send requests for a grant
or any other correspondence about the grants to the organisers, but only to
VLIR: scholarships@vlir.be)
If this procedure is not
suitable for you,
you can ask your local Belgian embassy for a printed version of the application
form for the grant, or
you can ask more information through email: scholarships@vlir.be (or Maarten.Timmermans@vlir.be).
The ideal participant applying
for a grant is younger than 40 years, and will be able to apply what has been
learned directly in a professional scientific or technical environment
afterwards.
8 persons can participate
after paying a tuition fee that is small in comparison with similar programs.
The costs mentioned do NOT
include air travel, meals and accommodation, but do include transport from the
airport upon arrival, course materials, study visits and social activities. The
cost of living in
-to participate during the full period: 2400 Euros
-to participate during 2 months only: 1800 Euros
-to participate during 1 month only: 1000 Euros
-to participate to particular items selected from the program: 30 Euros per
module of a half day
To register and pay the tuition
fee, send the form (see below) by classical mail together with an international
bank transfer payable to
University Library V.U.B., Pleinlaan 2, B-1050
BRUSSEL, Belgium,
with no need for any bank account numbers.
If however this simple procedure is NOT suitable for you, then you can transfer
the required sum of money to the following bank account of the V.U.B.:
Fortis Bank located at
Warandeberg 3 in B-1000 Brussel, Belgium, account number 001-0686459-66;
and do not forget (!) to mention as a remark: for WD006240 BIBL WER3
The money
received by the VUB must be transferred internally to this account of the
University Library. (Without this remark, the money may be not retraceable.)
We recommend to register as
early as possible: first come, first served: the arrival of your participation
fee determines who can participate.
The organisers of the Program
normally book a single room in advance as accommodation for each participant,
unless a participant writes us that they take care of accommodation on their
own; participants pay for their own accommodation. If we can book well in
advance, then we can normally find accommodation for about 300 euro per month;
however, a late receipt of the tuition fee can force us to book a more
expensive room.
E-mail (Internet): stimulate@vub.ac.be
or Paul.Nieuwenhuysen at vub.ac.be or
Patrick.Vanouplines at vub.ac.be
(change at in @ when you want to use one of these addresses.)
Fax 32 2 629
2693 (or 2282) Tel. 32 2629
2429 (or 2609) Telex 61051 vubco-b
Classical mail: Paul NIEUWENHUYSEN (or Patrick
VANOUPLINES)
STIMULATE-ITP, University
Library, Free University Brussels = Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, BELGIUM
The training is mainly organized at the University
Library of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (V.U.B), close to the rich cultural
city of Brussels, Belgium.
Information about Brussels (and Belgium) can be found
through the WWW; see for instance:
http://www.brusselsdiscovery.com/
http://www.interknowledge.com/belgium/
http://www.timeout.com/brussels/
http://www.trabel.com/brussel/brussels-touristattractions.htm
As study trips are perhaps organised to places in
neighboring countries like The Netherlands and France, participants should try
to obtain also a visa for those countries (so called Schengen visa).
The course director is Dr. Paul Nieuwenhuysen,
professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and guest professor at the
Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen, Science and technology librarian, and Head
of the information and documentation department of the Vrije Universiteit
Brussel.
Other official supervisors and co-promoters of this
program are
--Prof. Dr. Ludo Simons, University of Antwerp, president of the Steering
Committee of the inter-university postgraduate study program on Information and
Library Science.
--Prof. Dr. Raf Dekeyser, K.U.L., Leuven, physicist and head of the K.U.L.
university library, one of the largest libraries of Belgium.
Participants obtain a certificate when they have
participated actively and successfully.
The Free University of Brussels (Vrije Universiteit
Brussel - V.U.B.) campus is located just outside the centre of the city, and
can easily be reached by Metro (subway), tram and bus.
More information about this training program can be
found on the WWW starting from: http://www.vub.ac.be/BIBLIO/itp/
Participants can of course bring a notebook or laptop
computer, if they have one available.
Feel free to distribute this document; this version is
dated
REGISTRATION
FORM
to STIMULATE, University Library, Vrije Universiteit
Brussel (V.U.B.), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 BRUSSEL, Belgium
I want to participate. Therefore I send this as a letter and pay the registration fee as described in the announcement of the International Training Program.(So the following is NOT the form to apply for a grant. Do not send this unless you pay the registration fee.) a. Family name (surname): ...............................(married female participants please fill in maiden-name as well as name of husband)b. First or given names (according to your official passport): .............. Personal address: ................................... ..................................................... Country:............................................. Electronic mail address Telephone, fax, telex: Date of birth:Place of birth: Nationality: Sex: male / female Present employment: a. Name and address of employer: ................. ............................................... ............................................... b. Since: ../../.. c. Position – function - specialization d. Telephone, fax, telex and/or e-mail of the employer: Education - studies: Name of institute Degree Date Knowledge of English: writing: ........ speaking: ........ reading: ....... Have you been abroad earlier? Please specify: Duties that you will carry out after returning to your country: ................................................................. ................................................................. Date and signature: Please include a recent photograph, as this will simplify identifying you upon arrival.