Learning objectives
The course provides the basic tools to get to know the principal aspects and goals of Science Information and Documentation, describes its fundamental issues, the application fields, and the tools for the activities of the professionals in this sector.
The first part of the course provides the fundamental knowledge at the very bases of the discipline, the possible research fields, the tools available to professionals of Science Information and Documentation, with reference to the main typologies of databases for research, their structures and features. Specific attention will be dedicated to the concept of accessibility and interoperability, with specific reference to national and European project for the digitization of cultural heritage, of its descriptive information for the creation of shared databases.
The second part of the course focuses on documentation and cataloguing of cultural heritage, according to regulation and standard patterns issued by the Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities. Moreover, attention will be dedicated to the tools to support and control cataloguing activires, the descripion of cataloguing fluxes and activities, also through seminars and in-class exercises.
Course unit content
PART I
1. Science information and documentation: introduction to the discipinary fields
2. Libraries, bibliographic researches and bibliographic citations
3. New technologies and new tools for documentation
a. Multimedia documentation
b. Participative documentation
c. Practical applications: case studies
4. Accessibility and interoperability
5. Preserving digital data
6. Authority control: databases for authority files
7. Databases and national and European projects
PART II
8. Cataloguing and documenting Italian cultural heritage
a. Definition
b. Actors
c. Tools
9. Cultural heritage: typologies, definition and cataloguing methods
10. Catalogue files
a. Historical catalogue files
b. Computer cataloguing patterns
11. Catalogues and cataloguing databases
12. Exercises and seminars
Bibliography
Books
Part I and II
- A. Salarelli, Introduzione alla scienza dell’informazione, Milano 2012 (6 CFU exam: full text; 12 CFU exam: chapters 1, 2, 3 + annexes I, II and III).
- G. Marzano, Conservare il digitale, Milano 2011 (chapters: 1, 2, 5, 10, 11,12, 13)
Part II
- S. Vasco, Beni culturali e catalogazione: principi teorici e percorsi di analisi, Roma 2002 (chapters I, II, III, IV).
- Lo spazio, il tempo, le opere. Il catalogo del patrimonio culturale, Milano 2001 (pages 1-84).
Articles (available on the Web)
Part I and II
- N. Benvenuti, “Social tagging e biblioteche”, in Biblioteche oggi, April 2007, pp. 35-42.
- M. Guerrini, “Libraries are for users”, in Bollettino AIB, vol. 50, n. 4 (December 2010), pp. 357-363.
- L. Candela, D. Castelli, P. Pagano, “Le biblioteche digitali: origini ed evoluzioni storiche”, in DigItalia, year IV, n. 2, 2009, pp. 36-60.
- V. Alberani, E. Poltronieri, “Documentazione e scienza dell’informazione: interazioni con la biblioteconomia”, in Bollettino AIB, vol. 43, n. 2 (June 2003), pp. 189-211.
- M. T. Natale, “Europeana Data Exchange Agreement”, in Bollettino AIB, vol. 51, n. 3 (July-September 2011), pp. 245-253.
Furhter reading (suggested)
- C. Revelli, Citazione bibliografica, Roma 2010
- A . Capaccioni (a cura di), Ricerche bibliografiche. Banche dati e biblioteche in Rete, Milano 2011
- F. Antinucci, L’algoritmo al potere. Vita quotidiana ai tempi di Google, Roma 2009
Regulations and cataloguing standards presented during the lessons will be published on the web learning environment of the course and discussed during the exam.
Teaching methods
In-class lessons and exercises.
