TransPa_BA, a tool for improving active public disclosure of library and archive information

Abstract

A project to develop a tool to improve active disclosure by libraries and archives of the information stipulated in Spain’s Transparency Act 19/2013 is presented. In transparency, as in any other goal, assessment is imperative to improvement, the objective pursued by TransPA_BA, a tool designed to evaluate the active public disclosure of information on websites. Its adaptation from MESTA (Spanish acronym for transparency assessment and monitoring methodology) is described in this article. The result is a table comprising 20 or 21 indicators for libraries (state-run and university) and 22 for archives and their respective scoring criteria. The ultimate aim is to enhance website transparency by enabling Spanish libraries and archives to measure their performance in that regard. Institutions using the tool, results in hand, will be in a position to modify their websites as necessary to allow citizens using their services readier access to the relevant information.