II Seminar of Environmental Documentation Centers and Protected Natural Areas

Naturgune Babestu Eta Ingurumeneko Dokumentazio-Zentroen II. Mintegia
II Seminario de Centros de Documentación Ambiental e Espazos Naturais Protexidos
II Seminari de Centres de Documentació Ambiental i D'Espais Naturals Protegits

National Environmental Education Center, Valsaín (Segovia), from 24 to 26 September 2003 

Rosario Toril. Rosario Toril. Documentation Center of CENEAM.
Montserrat Grabolosa. Documentation Center of the Natural Park from Zona Volcánica of Garrotxa. Environment Department of the Generalitat of Catalonia.

This second edition of the Seminary was also celebrated in CENEAM (Valsaín, Segovia). It organized by National Environmental Education Center (CENEAM) from Environment Ministry with the collaboration of General Management of Natural Patrimony from Environment Department of the Generalitat of Catalonia.

In this second edition, the following objectives intended to strengthen:

• To promote a coordination network, which allows exchanging experiences, information and documents; and also makes possible cooperation in projects.
• To know the actual situation of Documentary Centers. For us, personal knowledge and possibility of seeing what each information sector are doing will be the key for future collaborations.
• To give tools to improve the management of a Documentation Center where is located in a natural protected and/or environmental space, in relation to information and document— resources, information and knowledge, new technologies, quality system management, among others.
   

Participants have been experts associated with Especialized Documentary Centers management in environment and-or natural protected spaces. Following the first edition, the majority participation of these members in the second edition was considered essential. We also wanted to allow other Entities, which permits us to stretch our vision and enrich the Seminar's contributions. Another opinion was the geographical origin. That was because we wanted more representatives from the Autonomous Communities and an interest in showing some experiences.

The content structure has changed in this edition since we have adjusted to the rules established for the Permanent Seminars organized by CENEAM: more participation of the attendees and less presence of speakers. In addition, it considered that these speakers should be people from outside the group attending the Seminar. This year, we have established two blocks of experiences— one aimed at collection, information, and knowledge management and the other oriented to the functions and services of a Documentation Center. There presented two talks on digital libraries and digitalization. These presentations have used so that each participant could ask questions or raise doubts to the speaker. These presentations were the following:
 

• La digitalización como recurso para la Gestión Documental. Eva Fonteboa y Víctor Deutsch. Telefonica Solutions.
  The presentation was divided into two parts a more theoretical and the other more practical. On the theoretical part, they referenced fundamental aspects of document and knowledge management through an Audit and a knowledge part. In the case of the other part, which was practical, they performed out the process of image digitization that the CENEAM performs. They talk about the presence of image formats, markers, the scanner used.
  
  
• Bibliotecas digitales. Pilar Cid. Autonomous University of Barcelona.
  This intervention lays the cards on the table with some terminological problems about the idea of digital libraries. Moreover, it also tries to define what is and is not a digital library based on definitions, legislation, and practical examples. The characteristics, opportunities, and problems as well— which since now can be detected— are revised, and the new role librarians should assume.

A numerous experiences were told and finally presented the following:

FUNDS MANAGEMENT

• Búsqueda y aportación de material al CEMA (Centro de Estudios del Medio Ambiente). Susana Fernández Herrero. Director of Centro de Documentación (Documentary Center) CIP (Identification Sanitary Code)/ FUHEM (Employee's Home Foundation).
  It made a presentation of the Fundación Hogar del Empleado (Employee's Home Foundation) and its Environmental area. It suggested getting into the following website: http://www.fuhem.es.
  
  
• Planning and organization of new funds from the absorption of other libraries. Cristina García Fernández. Agriculture, Fishing and Food Ministry.
  The organization and solutions adopted when receiving funds from other libraries are described. They comment on the possibility of requesting duplicate documentation.
  
  
• Access to the database via Web: classification system and thematic search strategies. Iñaki Gandariasbeitia Ugalbe. HEGOA's Development and Cooperation Institute.
  It exhibited a presentation from Centro de Documentación HEGOA and the main line of its work: politics and acquisition management, deposits, customer service, information services, finance with human resources, computerization of CDOC (Cyber Defense Cooperation Center), etc. An emphasis is placed on its classification system and access to its database via the web on the server of University of País Vasco http://www.hegoa.ehu.es
  
  
• Contribution to the computerization of the CEIDA Documentation Center. Jacinto Prieto. CEIDA-Bilbao   [spanish version ( 221 KB)] - [euskera version ( 219 KB)]
  It provided very specific information on the project objectives, scope of actions, current status, requirements, proposal, and evaluation of management tools. One of the points assistants found so interesting was the economic quantity of the new system and system implementation schedule with the approximate costs of tools.
  
  
• Preparation of the thesauri of the CENEAM CD. Rosario Toril. Documentation Center CENEAM.
  It presented the indexing tools used by CENEAM— thesaurus from the Library, an adaptation from Environment Ministry's Thesaurus; the image thesaurus for the audiovisual archive and the beginning of a toponym thesaurus.
   

PURPOSES AND SERVICES 

• Actividad de las bibliotecas INIA en temas del medio natural. Carmen Pérez Muñoz. Documentary Service, Library and Publication from INIA.
  It presented INIA and its activities. Moreover, it emphasized the importance of producing good annual reports to help disseminate the work carried out. As an example, its last published report is given: the documentation, library and publications service of INIA in data: Year 2000, which includes datas from Document Section, RIDA (Agricultural Information and Documentation Network), UTED (Electronic Documentation Transmission Unit), bibliographic information, from the Library, from the  Publication Section, etc. 
  
  
• Plan de márketing del servicio de intercambio de información y documentación con el Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa. Montserrat Grabolosa. Responsible from Documentary Center from Natural Park of Zona Volcánica de la Garrotxa.
  It presented a practical marketing case of Exchange information and documentation service to the Center: the main aspects of the Plan, environment analysis, marketing service, market segmentation (type of users), economic resources and human needs, evaluation and Plan control, etc.
  
  
• Towards a virtual library. Javier Puertas. Europarc España.
  The experience of document compilation— carried out by Europarc España— is presented.
  
  
• Nuevas tecnologías y calidad en la Administración: experiencia en una biblioteca especializada en medio ambiente. Gloria Oller. Department of the Environment from Regional Goverment of Andalucia.
  The written communication in terms of quality is briefly commented on since Reyes Boralla —the person who wrote it and came to the Seminar last year— is not present at the Seminar. Gloria Oller explains how best to resolve the library services when there is a physical change of location.
  
  
• Recopilación de documentos para la Guía de Recursos de Educación Ambiental.
  Clotilde Escudero. Information Area from CENEAM.
  It shows the summoned resource and the compiled contents. The general lack of knowledge about the existence of this resource and the amount of information it contains is evident.
  
  
• Puesta en marcha del servicio de información y documentación del Centro de Recursos Ambientales de Navarra. Jorge Iriarte Ollo. Technic from Environmental Resources Center from Navarra.
  It was commented, its objectives, the aim it intends to fulfill, the 4 working areas which have— one of which is the Information and Documentation Area. Then, they spoke about the new Servicio de Information and Documentation Service, highlighting its objectives and services. They also present the Guide of environmental resources of Navarra, which they consider being one of the main tools of the service. They suggested the website: http://www.crana.org.
  
  
• "Collserola Conta Contes" suitcases: an experience of disseminating nature and environmental readings for boys/girls. Teresa Canyellas Isern. Consorci Parc de Collserola.
  The books and bibliography on the environment included in the educational suitcases produced by Parc de Collserola are discussed, using a story as a guiding thread.
  
  
• Accessibility in a documentation center: Agreement with ONCE. Teresa González Lozano. Water and Environment Documentary Center.
  The high number of users with visually impaired users who receives the Center (close to a ONCE office) has led its managers to reach an agreement with ONCE. The objective is to adapt the Center to people with visually impaired users.
  
  
• Creación y dinamización de la sección infantil del CD del CENEAM. Rosario Toril. Organizer from Documentary Center from CENEAM.
  Discusses how the children's section was created, its organization, and its classification. The diffusion of this fund was made through various storytellers, taking advance of a Cultural Journey in Valsain. They analyze the obtained results.
   

INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
 

• Environmental information in environmental associations. Alejandro de la Cueva Martín. Document Funds for Environment.
  It presents Fons de Documentació del Medi Ambient: their origin, the tradition of compiling press cutting, and others. It underlined an electronic formulary for loaning documents, available through their website: http://www.uv.es/~fonsmeda. It also presents the bulletin “La Casa Verda”.
  
  
• The website of the Biblioteca Central del MAPA. Pilar López de Arriba Guerri. Agriculture, Fishing and Food Ministry.
  It discusses the resources available on its website and how it organized them.
  
  
• Gestión del conocimiento en el PNZVG y su CD. Montserrat Grabolosa.
  After a brief introduction about the starting point of the project and the information audit diagnosis previously carried out, the progress map was presented with the main tasks carried out in the park. In order to successfully carry out the project, the main axes of the project —people , content, processes and technology— were described in detail. They also presented the team, the work plan and the budget foreseen, explaining the initial phase until the current state. Due to the lack of budget and staff, the activities carried out so far are focused on improving the existing mailing database in the park, increasing the number of usable fields. This represents a much-needed cost reduction for the continuation of the project.
  
  
• Sistema de gestión de los espacios naturales protegidos de la Diputación de Barcelona y de los Centros de Documentación. Àngels Bermejo. Park Services of Barcelona Council.
  It revises the structure and objectives that pretended to get on Barcelona Council's Documentation Network. Moreover, it also describes their function, website working and diffusion of Centers principally through their website: 
  http://www.diba.es/parcs/centresdoc.asp. As well as is essential the collaboration with the Municipal library service and communication in Journeys and seminars like this.

1. Javier Puertas from Europarc España will send an invitation to new attendees. The reason is to join them on the Red Iris CDENPMA (Documentary Center, Natural Protected Spaces and Environment) mailing list, which works as a forum for discussion and exchange.
2. To learn more deeply about what in each center is done, we compromise to fill in a sheet with all the details of each Documentary Center.
3. Commitment to exchange publications that are published in the different entities, as far as possible.
4. It proposed to create two thematic working groups of good practices: Virtual Libraries and thesaurus.
5. The CRANA from Navarra offers to host the third edition of the Seminar.
6. There is a discussion on how the group participates in the Seminar and how to carry out organization and coordination from the activities. Although, the issue remains open due to lack of consensus.