Why do we care about heritage places? Heritage conservation theory and practice have assumed that these places are intrinsic to the idea of community and that their conservation is of public interest. Yet heritage places, as recognized by governments, do not necessarily have overwhelming support for their conservation, despite better processes to include multiple values. Some elicit a strong sense of connection, others are a ‘foreign country’ to be visited. Finally, some are forgotten though remain officially recognized as part of a ‘national heritage’. The relevance of these places is a deciding factor in their fate. In parallel, the concept of lieux de mémoire (place of memory) highlights the nature of those places that do not require official recognition to exist and to engage communities in their conservation. Their significance often clash with the purpose of legislation and government agencies because these tend to focus on processes based on facts and consensus. The relevance of these places to a community may not be captured and conserved by official means. This thesis explores the expressions of relevance of recognized (official) and unrecognized (unofficial) heritage places by studying the case of Grand Pré in Nova Scotia (Canada), a community with more than a century of official and unofficial heritage status. The case study reveals the various roles and responsibilities emerging from state and community initiatives to highlight differences in the nature of heritage places. By contrasting the roots of the mainstream heritage conservation movement and of the community-driven assignment of value to certain places, this thesis establishes characteristics that distinguish ‘historic places’ from lieux de mémoire. That distinction creates a path towards improved definition, conservation, and relevance of heritage places. This thesis concludes by proposing an approach to conserving heritage places based on their function as an evolution from current values-based conservation.

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Eutrophication due to enhanced nutrient concentrations can affect marine communities by altering the species composition of macroalgae and marine invertebrates, where certain species have shown tendencies to increase. The aim with this study was to assess how the species composition changed in relation to the distance from a nutrient enriched stream discharge. The study was conducted in an area with rocky shores and Fucus vesiculosus as the dominant alga, and also included the mouth of the eutrophic stream Kvarnabäcken. Macroalgae and invertebrate abundance was examined in eight locations (including an unaffected reference location) at different distances from the mouth of Kvarnabäcken. The concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were measured in the marine locations as well as in the stream. Although Kvarnabäcken displayed elevated nutrient concentrations, no distinct nutrient gradient was detected in the marine locations due to distance from the stream. The abundance of invertebrates and macroalgae varied to some extent in the locations, where the location in the immediate mouth area showed most differences, which contributed to the conclusion that the direct impact of nutrient discharge is limited. Although there are aspects indicating that the alterations in animal and algae abundance are consequences of nutrient discharge, other factors that regulate community composition must be considered when evaluating eutrophication in marine communities. / Övergödning kan påverka marina samhällen genom att artsammansättningen av makroalger och marina evertebrater ändras till följd av förhöjda närsalter, bland annat genom att vissa arter tenderar att öka i förekomst. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om artsammansättningen av marina evertebrater förändrades i relation till avståndet från ett utsläpp från en bäck med förhöjda närsaltkoncentrationer. Studien utfördes i ett område med klippiga stränder och Fucus vesiculosus som den dominerande algen och inkluderade även mynningen av den övergödda bäcken Kvarnabäcken. Förekomst av makroalger och evertebrater undersöktes i åtta lokaler (en opåverkad referenslokal inkluderad) längs kusten på varierande avstånd från bäcken. Koncentrationerna av totalkväve och totalfosfor mättes i de marina lokalerna och i bäcken. Trots att Kvarnabäcken visade höga halter av närsalter, visade inte resultatet någon tydlig näringsgradient från bäcken, medan det fanns en antydan till förändrad förekomst av evertebrater och alger i lokalerna. Lokalen närmast utsläppet skiljde sig något från övriga, vilket kan indikera att den direkta påverkan av näringstillförsel kan vara begränsat. Därtill är det viktigt att understryka att även om skillnader i förekomst av evertebrater och alger i lokalerna kan bero på närsalter från bäcken måste övriga faktorer tas hänsyn till vid undersökningar av marina samhällen.

This is a talk prepared for The Bahamas At 40: Reflecting On The Past, Envisioning The Future Conference. This talk will be given in a session entitled: Small Island Sustainability on June 13, 2013.

Purpose: This paper explores the use of blogs as a platform for providing reference service, and discusses Lyceum, an open source software project from ibiblio.org, for this purpose. Design/methodology/approach: The following topics are explored: the evolution of libraries' uses of blogs, the advantages of conducting the reference transaction as a collaborative effort, and the use of blogs as an environment that fosters collaboration. The argument is made that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services Findings: It is argued that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services. Lyceum, an open source blogosphere application, is discussed as an environment for blog-based reference service. Originality/value: To date, blogs are not being used by a library reference services, and by few online reference service unaffiliated with libraries. This paper will be useful to libraries and other reference services interested in conducting the reference transaction as a community effort.

Research has repeatedly shown that computer-mediated communications (CMC) lead to higher levels of disclosure of personal information (Tidwell and Walther 2002). Recent studies have examined the role of increasingly common social media and social network services (SNS) on disclosure in a variety of contexts (Mazer et al. 2007; Tufekci 2008). The combination of personal demographic data, taste preferences, public disclosure of friend networks and now increasing usage of tools for instantly updating status (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) has, we believe, fundamentally altered users' understanding of the temporality of information and its (semi-)permanence. This study investigates users' willingness to disclose information with respect to how long ago that information may have been created or captured. Users were more willing to share items as time passed. Potentially, a "Later Button" should be put into practice to address this latent willingness (40% of sharing scenarios) to disclose information at a later date.

Purpose: This paper explores the use of blogs as a platform for providing reference service, and discusses Lyceum, an open source software project from ibiblio.org, for this purpose. Design/methodology/approach: The following topics are explored: the evolution of libraries' uses of blogs, the advantages of conducting the reference transaction as a collaborative effort, and the use of blogs as an environment that fosters collaboration. The argument is made that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services Findings: It is argued that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services. Lyceum, an open source blogosphere application, is discussed as an environment for blog-based reference service. Originality/value: To date, blogs are not being used by a library reference services, and by few online reference service unaffiliated with libraries. This paper will be useful to libraries and other reference services interested in conducting the reference transaction as a community effort.

This 105-page report is deposited with permission of the Digital Library Federation which retains copyright. It is freely available in html and pdf formats at the DLF Web site or may be purchased in softcover edition for $20 from DLF. / This report, commissioned by DLF, provides an overview of a diverse set of more than thirty digital library aggregation services, organizes them into functional clusters, and then evaluates them more fully from the perspective of an informed user. Most of the services under review rely wholly or partially on the Protocol for Metadata Harvesting of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI-PMH). Each service is annotated with its organizational affiliation, subject coverage, function, audience, status, and size. Critical issues surrounding each of these elements are presented in order to provide the reader with an appreciation of the nuances inherent in seemingly straightforward factual information, such as "audience" or "size." Each service is then grouped into one of five functional clusters: open access e-print archives and servers; cross-archive search services and aggregators; from digital collections to digital library environments; from peer-reviewed "referratories" to portal services; specialized search engines. This publication was deposited with permission of the publisher (Digital Library Federation Council on Library and Information Resources Washington, DC.).

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Ηλεκτρονικές κοινότητες μάθησης και υπηρεσίες εξατομίκευσης / E-learning communities and personalization