Open access connections: Community of Practice in regional networks of repositories in Brazil.
Knowledge Management. Communities of Practice. Open Access. Regional Networks of Repositories
The regional networks of repositories are part of the Brazilian Network of Institutional Repositories of Scientific Publications in Open Access (RIAA), created by the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT), and intend, through the collaboration of practices and experiences in their regions, to expand the Open Access routes in Brazil, based on the repositories implanted and managed by Higher Education Institutions (IES). This research aims, with a view to Knowledge Management, to propose strategies to foster the consolidation of communities of practice in order to promote good practices for the development of repositories through the Regional Networks of Repositories of Brazil. As specific objectives the research intends to: 1) characterize how knowledge is shared in selected repository networks internationally; 2) characterize how knowledge is shared in Brazil's regional networks of repositories (actions, documents, products, services); 3) identify people, groups and institutions that can form communities of practice in Brazil's regional networks of repositories; 4) detect possible actions, practices, services and products for sharing and integration; 5) perform S.W.O.T. matrix to build strategies to foster communities of practice in the country's regional networks of repositories. The research is characterized by qualitative and quantitative approaches. Bibliographic research is carried out to establish a theoretical framework and documentary research on websites of international and Brazilian networks of repositories to identify the existence of agreements, services and products, to share knowledge in communities of practice. A data survey is also carried out through the application of questionnaires and a focus group on a sample of librarians participating in the repository networks to assist in the diagnosis of S.W.O.T. and in the proposal of strategies to promote communities of practice.