The University of Sheffield
Corporate Information and Computing Services

5 Knowledge management

General principles

Members of the University require access to both internally- and externally-generated information in order to execute their duties or to undertake their research or programme of study.

The University will therefore procure access to that part of the external knowledge base required in order to meet its members' information needs, to the extent that resources permit. This will include refereed journals in print and electronic form, research monographs, student texts, report literature, recordings, multimedia materials, and data. The University will also provide indexes, abstracts and other forms of secondary material to facilitate resource discovery and navigation.

The costs of providing access to research information and to learning resources for taught students will be considered integrally with the business planning of new academic developments.

Data and information management is an integral part of the research process, and researchers should consider this aspect of their research projects. The University will comply with the requirements of research sponsors in relation to the dissemination of research outputs, such as the open archiving of research papers, and will extend its capacity to advise on data and information solutions for research.

The efficient management of the University´s records is necessary to support its core functions, to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations, and to contribute to the effective overall management of the institution.

The University will assist its members in the creation and dissemination of new knowledge, and will protect and exploit its intellectual property. It will respect the intellectual property and copyright of other organisations and individuals.

Operational considerations

The University will provide appropriate information resources locally, or through networked access or document delivery. This will include sustained development of our library collections of books and journals in print and electronic form.

There should be close liaison between academic staff and Information Services on new academic developments, and the adequacy of existing information resources should be taken into account in proposing new programmes and accepting research proposals.

The University will provide infrastructure to enable researchers to deposit copies of their research output in an appropriate open access repository.

The University should ensure effective oversight and management of all copyright and intellectual property rights issues, and the awareness of these should be raised significantly.

Awareness of new possibilities for electronic publication and dissemination of information should be maintained, including developments in the global information marketplace.

A records management service will be established and appropriate polices put in place to ensure that records vital to the overall operation of all parts of the University are identified, preserved and managed correctly.

The University should have the capacity to digitise a range of print-based, manuscript and photographic materials in order to facilitate access and preservation.

Documentation