Glossary

A

Archives

The term archive has up to twelve definitions depending on the context of use. It may be a physical space such as "an organization that collects the records of individuals, families, or other organizations" or a "division within an organization responsible for maintaining the organization's records of enduring value." The term can also refer to the actual records themselves housed in an archive. A person can consult an archive in the archive.

C

CIFAL

CIFAL is a French acronym (Centre International de Formation des Autorités/Acteurs Locaux), which translates into English as "International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders," and they are "established in collaboration with host local authorities/institutions, private sector partners, UNITAR and other United Nations (UN) organizations. Each CIFAL Centre is a hub for capacity building and knowledge sharing between local authorities, national governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society."

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CIFAL Victoria

CIFAL Victoria is a UNITAR (United Nations Institute of Training and Research) and University of Victoria (UVic) partnership. It is one hub within a larger network of 33 other CIFAL training centers across the globe. It is the first and only CIFAL center on the west coast of North America.

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Citizen Science

Citizen Science is an umbrella term for an approach to knowledge production (especially scientific enquiry) in which the general public plays an active role. Its core idea is that non-academic members of the public – "citizens" – conduct or even lead scientific/scholarly research that has real-world impacts.. The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), for example, defines it as "any activity that involves the public in scientific research and thus has the potential to bring together science, policy makers, and society as a whole in an impactful way."

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Cultural Heritage

UNESCO defines cultural heritage as "the legacy of physical artefacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations."

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Cultural Heritage at Risk

According to the Canadian Conservation Institute's Guide to Risk Management of Cultural Heritage, risk is "the chance of something happening that will have a negative impact on our objectives".

Applied to cultural heritage it means that "many things can happen that will have a negative impact on heritage collections, buildings, monuments, sites, and on our GLAM institutions' objectives concerning their use and preservation."

G

GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums)

Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums, short: GLAM is an umbrella term referring to the four main types of societal institutions dedicated to collecting, describing, preserving, and making publicly accessible humanity's tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including published works, unpublished institutional records, artworks, historical documents, scholarly materials, digital assets, and knowledges about cultural practices and their traditional and local contexts.

I

IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations)

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is an international independent, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization. As an umbrella organization its mission is to be an advocate for libraries, library associations, information professionals, and the communities they serve globally.

IFLA was formed in 1927, and its headquarters are in The Hague in the Netherlands.

K

Kula – Library Futures Academy

Template:Definition Kula

O

OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession)

OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) is a set of principles that was developed by the First Nations Information Governance Centre to create legitimate exceptions to common open access mandates and requirements that are increasingly common in academic publishing.

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Open Government

Open Government is defined by the Government of Canada as:

A governing culture that holds that the public has the right to access the documents and proceedings of government to allow for greater openness, accountability, and engagement.

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Open Knowledge

The concept of Open Knowledge is built on the idea that most knowledge is a public good which should be "free to access, use, modify, and share"

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Open Movement

The Open Movement is a philosophy advocating for knowledge as a public good. Not a centralized 'movement' in the literal sense, it unites decentralized communities and initiatives through shared principles of participatory processes, unrestricted access, and reusability, summarized under the rubric Openness.

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One Librarian, One Reference (1Lib1Ref)

The 1Lib1Ref (One Librarian, One Reference) campaign invites librarians and other information professionals, as well as the general public to improve Wikipedia by adding missing references to the open encyclopedia's articles.

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Open Science

Open Science is a research reform movement advocating for transparent, collaborative, and accessible scholarly research and practice across all scholarly disciplines and communities. It is part of the broader Open movement, which promotes openness as a societal norm through principles like inclusivity, equity, and shared knowledge creation. Rooted in practices such as open access, open data, and open methodology, Open Science seeks to democratize knowledge by removing barriers to participation, mobilization, public access to and reuse of research outputs.

P

Post-Custodial Archives

Post-custodial archives are archives in which the creator(s) of the content to be preserved "maintain control of their archival records while archivists/information professionals provide management support."

Post-custodial activities are in contrast to traditional archival processes, such as acquisition and appraisal during which an archivist/archive assumes custodial control of the collection or fonds.

Post-custodialism provides archivists & information professionals a "valuable framework for archival practice" as a way to respond to:

• The growing body of documentation in digital and paper forms.

• Postmodern theories of "authenticity" in archival practices.

S

Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA)

The unit called Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) at the UVic Libraries serves as the institutional archive, preserving the 'organizational records of enduring value' at the University of Victoria.

T

Toolkit

A toolkit is a curated collection of resources, tools, and guidance designed to support specific activities or workflows.

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Toolkit for Citizen Science

A citizen science toolkit provides resources and practical support for individuals and communities engaging in citizen science, which is the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research.

U

UNESCO

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a United Nations (UN) agency "dedicated to strengthening our shared humanity through the promotion of education, science, culture, and communication comprised of 194 member states. It's primary area of responsibility is in safeguarding heritage.

The agency's main office is in Paris, France. UNESCO is governed by a General Conference that elects a Director-General every four years.

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UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science

The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science was released in 2021. Its main purpose is to shape international academic policy through common definitions, providing Open Science principles and standards, and outlining core values that inform them. It proposes actions for member states to support Open Science at all levels.