Nowadays biosecurity in libraries is a critical issue not ignored by the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Central Library, where we are promoting with hard work and creativity the virtual resources available to the entire community, since research and academic training should continue.
Databases for searching and accessing digital contents are one of the tools that allow to download texts related to all areas according to the needs. In the case of the UPN, they are available to students, teachers and collaborators 16 per subscription paid, among which we find NAXOS, Scopus , EBSCO and Web of Science. In addition, there are other with free access.
Alejandro Toro, Assistant Director of Library, Documentation and Bibliographic Resources, explains that right now it is important to have a clear idea of the impact that technology will have, to use it in a critical way, but additionally it is necessary a pedagogy from the merely procedural point of view. Therefore, his team offers virtual training through the Microsoft Teams platform, focused on access, evaluation, use, differentiation and submission of information based on search strategies.
The staff of the Central Library gives courses in specialized information search, use of Turnitin (a University tool to quotation control and plagiarism detection), handling of bibliographic quotations and APA references, among others.
Additionally, there is an institutional repository, which gathers and disseminates all the scientific, academic and cultural production of different divisions of the Institution. It contains theses of undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs; audiovisual educational resources, books and journals produced by UPN, and other series of documents.
Officials, graduates, professors, students, and researchers can access these resources that today are used by a large part of the community but can still reach to many other members of our Institution, because the goal is that despite this situation the needs of finding sources may be met from a distance.
"People have been very responsive to everything we are offering them. Regularly we receive requests for training to know the use of all these tools," says Toro, adding that he and collaborators have had to think about what they have to offer amid this crisis.
Universidad Pedagógica Nacional continues to be committed to quality training for Colombia's teachers, which includes the possibility of continuing to work for new generations through digital options provided by our Central Library.