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Imirce is LIVE - Thousands of Irish emigrant letters now available online

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The University of Galway Library is pleased to announce that Imirce is now live. Imirce is a digital repository of thousands of Irish emigrant letters and memoirs dating from the late 1600s through to the mid-20th century. The letters and memoirs were collected from the Irish diaspora community in the U.S. and Ireland over five decades of research by Kerby A. Miller, Emeritus Professor of History at University of Missouri and Honorary Professor of History at University of Galway. Miller donated his collection to the University of Galway Library in 2021. Visit Imirce at imirce.universityofgalway.ie . The initial phase of Imirce has concentrated on organising the collection of emigrant letters gathered by Kerby A. Miller and establishing a digital platform for these documents. The Kerby A. Miller Collection totals more than 150,000 pages, including approximately 7,000 letters, along with other important historical documents from Irish emigrants and their relatives, such as memoirs, gene

University of Galway Staff Publications - a Library Display

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To showcase recent publications by University of Galway staff, we have gathered a selection of titles for display on the ground floor of the Library. The displayed titles provide a snapshot of the research currently taking place in the University. The Library aims to acquire a physical copy and e-book (if available) of every publication by University of Galway academic staff.  If you have a new book due to be published, please let us know via the  Purchase Request form  (or alternatively email acquisitions@universityofgalway.ie). Collection Development /  Forbairt Bailiúchán

New titles in Artificial Intelligence - a Reading List

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    As part of expanding the Library's resources in Artificial Intelligence, we have ordered a range of new e-books covering the experience and application of AI to higher education. These titles cover some of the following subjects:  introduction  AI in education academic integrity  pedagogy case studies For added ease of access we have a created a  browsable reading list of these new titles. All titles are also available from the Library Catalogue  along with many other resources about Artificial Intelligence from our collections.                                                      Collection Development

A step closer to the new Library and Learning Commons

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Next week sees a major milestone in the journey towards a new Library and Learning Commons for the University of Galway.   Planning permission was received back in August 2023 for this landmark building for the University campus and Tuesday February 6th, will see enabling works commence on the riverside site of the new building.   This will include the closure of a small car park to the south of the Kingfisher and preparations begin for the demolition of existing sheds and buildings to make way for the new building.   The new Library and Learning Commons is a development that will be welcomed by the University’s student community, who have been crying out for spaces that are more conducive to modern learning needs.   The current James Hardiman Library opened its doors 50 years ago, at a time when learning was a solitary affair and information access was through print journals and hard-copy books.   Learning in the 21 st Century is more collaborative, more technology-enabled and more c

Publishing data

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Authors have various options for sharing and publishing data. Preference should be given to discipline specific, community recognised repositories which are well subscribed and supported within the discipline. They have the expertise and resources to deal with discipline specific data. There are hundreds of such repositories worldwide with community specific standards. The Registry of Research Data Repositories ( re3data.org ) is a widely used source of information about them.  If a suitable disciplinary-specific repository is not available, then a general repository that handles a variety of data types could be used.  Zenodo  is recognised as a good option. It is a trusted multi-disciplinary repository funded by the EU and run by CERN. It accepts datasets as well as publications, presentations, posters, multimedia and software. Datasets deposited will get a DOI (persistent and unique identifier). It can be used for long-term preservation and sharing of research results, but not for da

Attending the first NORFest to give a talk on Community, Technology and Open Repositories

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In early November, I attended the first National Open Research Festival (NORFest: https://norf.ie/norfest-2023-programme/ ) a two-day event run by the National Open Research Forum (NORF) and the Digital Repository Ireland (DRI) at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. The organisation and running were led by Dr Daniel Bangert, NORF’s National Open Research Coordinator, shortly before taking up his new position as Director of 4TU.ResearchData in the Netherlands.   My talk, ‘Strengthen and align Ireland’s network of open access repositories,’ was part of Lightning Talk Session 2: Achieving 100% Open Access to Research Publications, a very interesting and varied panel of speakers chaired by Dr Marion Boland, Head of Research Policy at Science Foundation Ireland.                                              https://twitter.com/dri_ireland/status/1720081331361841236/photo/1    At 7 minutes, the talk was a short overview of the progress of a two-year NORF-funded project to align Ireland’s netwo

Advancing Open Repositories in Ireland: A Survey and Strategic Recommendations for National Progress

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The survey reveals fragmented metadata practices in Irish repositories. Highlighting the urgent need for national cooperation and standardisation. The goal is now to elevate Irish open repositories and align with European and International best practices and standards. Staffing disparities highlight the need for dedicated resources with recommendations for collaborative national initiatives and training. Introduction The survey of Open Repositories in Ireland was conducted between April 24 and May 30, 2023, as part of the National Open Research Forum (NORF) funded project on strengthening and aligning Ireland's Open Repositories . This survey engaged stakeholders from educational, governmental, and research institutions, seeking to evaluate key performance indicators related to repository provision and management. The resultant findings offer critical insights into the current state of open repositories in Ireland and pave the way for strategic recommendations to advance the open

Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders: new e-resource

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Access to Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2021) second edition, published by Springer is now available. This major online reference work explores autism through a wide range of issues. It contains 3,745 fulltext entries and covers topics across the following major conceptual areas of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, including: Research trends and findings Behaviour/speech Communication Treatments Education The Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be accessed via the library catalogue.   Collection Development / Forbairt Bailiúchán