Bibliotecas eclesiásticas de Castilla y León. Visibilidad y acceso web

Abstract

Ecclesiastic libraries often go unnoticed, even by professionals in religious fields. Over the 3Mcenturies, these libraries have been an essential resource in the training of clergy and have become both repositories and sources of an invaluable cultural legacy that continues to the present day. Nevertheless, what is the true function of these libraries? Are they mere storage depots for old texts and tomes? Are they able to meet the information and training demands of today´s users? The majority of libraries today are involved in the ongoing process of automation and digitalization, yet this should not be understood as simply automating the processes of acquiring and cataloging their materials. Libraries belong to the sector of professional knowledge, so they must include all the facets of information technology in order to best serve a modern, information-based society. In today´s world, one such facet is the use of the internet for access to and distribution of bibliographical resources. For this reason, the visibility and ease of access to library catalogs online will be analyzed. In parallel, the investigation will make use of surveys to determine the level of automation, digitization projects, cooperation and participation between ecclesiastic libraries as well as their inclusion in social networks and “Web 2.0” sys-tems.