Abstract:

Information and documentation implies an essential knowledge for good practices in design, for the establishing of project culture and its level of innovation. As a result, the team leading the Design Research Library undertakes actions that encourage research in the field. One of these activities is the Cycle of Conferences on Research on the subject of Design. The Conferences are one of the few proposals in Spain dealing with this specific field of design and with research on design in particular. These activities contribute to establishing a relationship between research, companies and professionals, which encourages innovation and knowledge transfer.
The Case of Documentation Centre of Design is an unusual initiative given its context: because it incorporates the concept of Research Libraries in a professional technological environment where access to information processed and organised for operational goals is provided, facilitating as a result the initial process of search and definition.
The academic experience at universities and at the Universitat Politècnica de València in particular shows that research has originated from PhD studies delivered within PhD programmes in the last decades. In many cases, such studies have been an international reference to the point of conforming whole national PhD programmes on their own.
Academic research on design faces problems when integrating design and research for several reasons. One of the reasons is the lack of communication, that is, there is no pattern for knowledge transfer amongst the different disciplines and the schools or faculties generating this knowledge. On the other hand, each academic environment organises its research activity and thus, dissertations on the subject of design, differently. Consequently, there is no formal or structural coherence amongst institutions. As a result, we could consider the lack of agreement and communication as the main causes for designers not being clearly identified as researchers.
From our point of view, as university, we understand that a documentation centre for design should not be limited to making documentation available. In an era of information and knowledge, it is time to reflect on a society that has gone from being sustained by its production means to being determined by the faculty of communication between producers and consumers. Information and documentation implies an essential knowledge for good practices in design, for the establishing of project culture and its level of innovation. As a result, the team leading this centre undertakes actions that encourage research in the field. One of these activities is the Cycle of Conferences on Research on the subject of Design that has been taking place since the first headquarters of the Centre were inaugurated on April 3rd 2008. The public for these conferences includes researchers, professionals from the private sector, companies, and design lecturers and students who are susceptible to use documentation related to design.

Keywords:

Documentation, Information, Research, knowledge, Innovation, Index, Journal.