Category: In English

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What is open science?

**Detta inlägg är även tillgängligt på svenska**

Open science is a buzzword – especially among policymakers. We read about it it in the two latest government bills on research, we read about it it in UNESCO’s declaration on open science. We also see open science in everyday life, but we usually don’t refer to it as “open science”: researchers publish articles and books open access and share research data for scrutiny and reuse. Already today, open science is (partly) something we do, not just talk about.

Open science is an umbrella term that often includes components such as open access, open data, open educational resources, and citizen science. Step by step, universities and other public authorities facilitate the opening of these components so that researchers can open up their research processes. But open science can also be seen as something larger, where the goal is a society characterized by open science. A society with open science could lead to benefits. Researchers could benefit from increased collaboration and more swiftly building upon each other’s work (as it becomes easier and more efficient to stand on the shoulders of giants).

However, even if it research is open, this does not entail that it is usable and possible to understand. Eliminiating paywalls is far from enough. Other conditions must be met for research to be actually reusable. The dream of open science is beautiful, but it also places demands on us—whether we are researchers or not. Open Access Week can be a way to go beyond the nice words in policy documents and everyday openness to reflect on what is needed for science to lead to real benefits outside academia.

Written by Johanna Nählinder, research support coordinator Linköping University Library

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Use ORCID and verify it in MinIT

**Detta blogginlägg på svenska**

To disseminate research and make it accessible, identifiers such as doi-links for publications and ORCID for researchers are indispensable. By specifying doi-link and ORCID when you describe your research, it becomes easier to create a common thread that links different types of research results in your research process. You simply become clearer as a researcher. Today, more than 1,700 LiU researchers have an ORCID and more and more journals and research funding bodies use ORCID to identify you as a researcher.

Make sure to verify your ORCID so that you are more clearly linked to LiU! LiU now has better support to facilitate those who want to use ORCID. On the page My profile in the MinIT system you can verify your ORCID. If you do not already have an ORCID, you will have the opportunity to create one in the process. The university library will automatically be able to use your ORCID in DiVA so that you are more easily linked to your publications.

Go to MinIT to verify your ORCID – it only takes two minutes

My profile – MinIT (minit.liu.se)

More about open science

Open Access Week – programme, Linköping University Library 2023

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UniSearch interface upgrade

**Detta blogginlägg på svenska**

The library search engine UniSearch has received a new interface. Filters have been moved to directly below the search box. To find out how you can access each item, click the “Access options” button.

The new interface is fully adapted to mobile phones and tablets. Another improvement is that URLs are no longer session-specific, making it possible to save and share a record by simply copying the URL.

In UniSearch, a Discovery system provided by EBSCO, you can search for all types of material, for example scholarly articles and books in the library collections (print and electronic). You can limit your search according to categories such as peer review material and full texts. The “Concept map” feature, found via the left-hand menu, allows you to explore specific research topics.

As a student or employee at LiU, sign in with your LiU-ID to access library e-books and e-journals via UniSearch.

In the left-hand menu, there are also links to My Loans, where you manage your loans and reservations, and “Publications”, the Library’s journal’s list where you can search for journals and e-books.

En sökruta med två träffresultat.

See image in higher resolution

Coinciding with the launch of the new interface, the search box at the library web has also been given a new design:

A search box with the text "Search articles, books and more".

Test the new interface

UniSearch

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Guest blogger Dominik Maiński about his Erasmus+ visit to Linköping University Library

In April 2023, we had the pleasure to host Dominik Maiński for a five-day visit as part of the Erasmus+ program. Dominik is a colleague at the University Library at John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin, Poland. After his visit, Dominik very kindly sent us the following impressions from his stay with us.

Erasmus+ visit in the Library

My name is Dominik Maiński and I work at the University Library at John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin, Poland. My city is located near the border with Ukraine, so we have hosted a lot of refugees from there since the beginning of the war. In addition, I am a historian and an art historian researching contemporary Polish art. My job is also tourist guiding and traveling. In my institution, I specialize mainly in manuscripts, working on a daily basis in the Special Collections Department. My unit deals with the collecting, sharing with users and promotion of our collections, which have over 50,000 items, among which, apart from manuscripts, there are also valuable incunabula, old prints, maps and graphics.

My stay at Linköping University Library lasted 5 days ‒ from 24th to 28th April 2023. I had meetings on the Valla Campus, the Medical Campus and the Campus in Norrköping. It was my seventh trip within the Erasmus+ program. So far, I have had trainings in Iceland, Norway, Finland, Greece, Turkey and Portugal. The work of Scandinavian libraries made the greatest impression on me. Among my trainings so far, the one in the Linköping Library was the most professional and best organized. I would like to thank David Lawrence and Emma Burman, as well as other librarians and employees of the University Library, for hosting me. It was very nice to meet you.

Three people standing at a library enquiry desk.
Dominik Maiński, together with Jenny Aspling Rydgren and Emma Burman during his visit to Campus Norrköping Library.

The work of the Linköping Library and mine are very similar. We also try to base our activity primarily on electronic materials. The Library in Lublin is a more than 100-year-old institution whose headquarters, unfortunately, do not give the possibility of organizing an open access to most collections. We hope it can change in the future. It is impressive that on the Linköping campus, the Library is not only a library but also a place for meetings of employees and students, which makes it the heart of the University. The situation is similar at other Scandinavian universities. In Lublin the main Library is located in the city center, but outside the main academic campus. In addition, we have about 20 departmental libraries.

Besides Linköping and Norrköping, I also visited Uppsala with Carolina Rediviva, Stockholm, Lund and Malmö. It was my first trip to Sweden, but certainly not the last one. I met great people and visited beautiful places. Swedish art galleries and museums, among which the ABBA Museum was most impressive for me, are especially interesting and worth to visit. Swedes are very well organized, nice and playful people 🙂

By: Dominik Maiński, PhD

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Do you have a reading impairment?

**Detta blogginlägg på svenska**

If you are a student with a reading impairment, you can get access to talking books and other support from the Library. In this interview with Åsa Falkerby and Solveig Lundin, two librarians who help students with reading impairment to access Legimus, we talk about the increasing demand for talking books and what is required to get a Legimus account as a student.

In the interview, it was described how reading impairment is a rather wide concept which many students recognize and identify themselves with. According to Åsa and Solveig, many students describe how they experience a lack of focus and difficulties to concentrate when reading lengthier texts. For the same reason, the demand for talking books has increased in recent years.

Today, many beginner university students do not always seem to be used to reading advanced, longer texts. As discussed during the interview, it sometimes may appear as if many students are more used to acquire knowledge by way of audiovisual media from school. During the interview, we asked ourselves whether this could pose a challenge when these students enter university.

What is required to get access to talking books?

To receive a Legimus user account, you must experience reading difficulties which are not merely due to the unfamiliarity with reading. The kind of reading impairment that warrants a Legimus account for talking books, are dyslexia and various neuropsychiatric diagnoses as well as visual impairment (read more: About reading impairment).

If this applies to you, do not hesitate to take part of the support that is available to you. It is a good idea to find out what course literature you will need as soon as possible and explore the various tools you can use to facilitate your studies, Åsa and Solveig point out.

Contact the library

You are welcome to contact us via email to consult one of our special needs librarians. Please describe your reading difficulties as clear as you can since this will allow us to better estimate your needs. As Åsa and Solveig explain, you will get to meet us at the library for more information about how Legimus works. The library also wishes to highlight TorTalk, which is a practical and simple to use application for reading scientific articles out aloud on your computer.

Email

biblioteket@liu.se

By: Cia Gustrén, librarian, Campus Norrköping Library