Future of the Australian National Bibliography :
Report from the Advisory Group


National bibliographies
ANB: scope and content
Distribution of ANB data
ANB: publishing patterns
Cessation of the printed ANB
Formation of the Advisory Group
ANB: stakeholders
Scope of ANB
Recommended scope statement
ANB and the Kinetica Service
ANB: delivery format
Summary of recommendations

National bibliographies

Many countries produce a national bibliography in some form, whether as a printed publication, a CD-ROM, or an online database. Usually this responsibility is accepted by the country’s national library. National bibliographies have three main purposes:

In a vision which was developed during the 1970s, the national bibliography has been seen in the context of “universal bibliographic control”, with the goal "to make universally and promptly available, in a form which is internationally acceptable, basic bibliographic data on all publications issued in all countries". Under this vision, each country would be responsible for the bibliographic control of its own publications.

A number of overseas national bibliographies are now produced on CD-ROM, and others are available free of charge on the Internet. Several other countries, including Canada, have ceased producing a printed version of the national bibliography. Other agencies are reviewing the future of their national bibliography. For example, the British Library has issued a consultation paper on the future of the British national bibliography.

ANB: scope and content

The Australian National Bibliography (previously issued as Books Published in Australia and Annual Catalogue of Australian Publications) was published in print form between 1936 and 1996. From about 1950 onwards, its coverage of the national imprint was reasonably comprehensive.

Originally, ANB listed only material received and catalogued by the National Library. From 1973, it included Cataloguing-in-Publication records, based on data supplied by publishers. From 1991, it included records created by other libraries, if the item had also been received by the National Library. From 1993, it included records for some materials not received by the National Library, although such records could be included only if a Dewey classification number had been assigned by the cataloguing library. From 1995, the content of ANB was determined by an automatic selection process, with items clearly out of scope deleted prior to publication. During this period, the number of entries listed in ANB was arbitrarily restricted by limitations on the size of the printed publication.

The scope of ANB included books, pamphlets of more than 4 pages, serials, printed music and microforms. Electronic publications were included only in the last 2-3 years. Overseas publications with significant Australian content or authorship were added when identified. Individual pieces of legislation were excluded, as were standards, reprints, blank or “to-be-filled-in” books, course notes, maps, motion pictures and video recordings, and sound recordings.

Distribution of ANB data

The Australian national bibliography must be seen in the context of the national and international arrangements for distribution of bibliographic data. Since 1981, our focus in Australia has been on the development of the National Bibliographic Database (NBD), and on the inclusion in the NBD of comprehensive current and retrospective data relating to Australian publications. This data has been distributed selectively to Australian libraries, as MARC records, through online and batch access to the Australian Bibliographic Network (ABN).

The data has also been distributed on a subscription basis. The National Library has exchanged data relating to current Australian publications with a number of overseas national libraries, including the Library of Congress, the British Library, the National Library of Canada, the National Library of New Zealand, and the National Library of Singapore. The same data has been offered for subscription within Australia. While there have been very few subscribers, a key subscriber has been James Bennett, which has used this data to enhance its own database of Australian bibliographic data in support of its services as a library supplier.

ANB: publishing patterns

Originally, ANB was published in weekly (later semi-monthly), monthly and annual printed issues. There was also a four-monthly cumulating microfiche edition. In 1988, the Library published Australian national bibliography, 1901-1950 to fill a significant gap in the national bibliographic record between the Ferguson bibliography and the commencement of comprehensive coverage by ANB.

From the mid 1980s there was a steady reduction in the variety of forms in which the printed ANB was made available. These changes reflected the rising costs of printing and distribution and also the online availability, through the Australian Bibliographic Network (ABN) of the same data.

Publication of the semi-monthly issues ceased in 1985. The publication of an annual cumulation of ANB ceased with the 1993 Annual, following a survey of users which indicated little need for such a product. Subscriptions to the monthly printed ANB continued to fall significantly each year over the period 1993-1996. There had been no recovery of the substantial data extraction and editing costs for ANB over the life of the publication, although printing and distribution costs were fully recovered until the 1990s.

Cessation of the printed ANB

In August 1996 the National Library announced that the printed and microfiche editions of ANB would cease with the December 1996 issues.

In making the decision to cease the printed ANB, the National Library recognised that the most important form of distribution of the Australian national bibliography has been through the NBD. The NBD has provided bibliographic data for the Australian imprint through prompt cataloguing by the National Library, the State libraries and other Australian libraries. After the introduction of the ABN Supersearch facility in the late 1980s, it became possible for online searches to be confined to items published in Australia and/or items about Australia, and for these searches to be limited to selected publication date ranges.

Essentially, then, the printed ANB was discontinued because of falling demand for the publication and because it had become clear that the online publication of this data had become the dominant distribution method.

The National Library received some critical comments in 1996 following its decision to terminate the printed ANB. These comments expressed regret that a useful selection tool would no longer be available.

In response to these comments the Library has made available, through its ftp server, monthly files of Recent Australian Publications. However, it is clear that these files do not meet all of the requirements of former ANB users (in terms of both content and format of the files) although some users have welcomed the electronic format because of the ease of distribution. As the Recent Australian Publications files are not edited to remove unsuitable records, considerably more data is being made available than was possible in ANB. However, for selection purposes the files are rather inconvenient, and need to be printed out to be used. Separate files each month also list the previously excluded records which lack a Dewey number, although arrangement in main entry order makes them less useful than a classified sequence for selection purposes.

Formation of the Advisory Group

It was clear in early 1998 that there was a continuing concern by former ANB users, and particularly by selection librarians, that their needs for an Australian national bibliography product were not being adequately satisfied by the combination of online access to the NBD, and access to the Recent Australian Publications files. Following discussion of the issue by the Council of Australian State Libraries, the National Library established the Australian National Bibliography Advisory Group. The Group was to have a limited life. It would formally advise the National Library, but its report would be available for discussion by the Council of Australian State Libraries. The terms of reference of the Group were to advise the National Library on the need for a national bibliographic product, including consideration of :

The membership of the Group was:

Warwick Cathro, National Library (convenor)
Tony Beale, Northern Territory Library Service
Sandra Henderson, National Library
Jan Maslen, La Trobe University (since July 1998)
Ann Miller, La Trobe University (until July 1998)
Roxanne Missingham, CSIRO
Sue Moir, State Library of NSW
Beth Reece, LISWA
Anne Robertson, State Library of Queensland
Penny Scott, State Library of Victoria
Joyce Searle, State Library of South Australia
Janet Thorp, State Library of Tasmania

(Ann Miller and Roxanne Missingham were added to the group after its first meeting, to give broader representation of the libraries with an interest in ANB. Jan Maslen replaced Ann Miller who has retired from La Trobe University).

ANB: stakeholders

It is possible to identify several stakeholder groups for the Australian national bibliography:

For some of these stakeholders, such as the selection librarians, it is important that the national bibliography contain a set of records with a clearly defined scope.

Scope of ANB

The Advisory Group noted the importance of a clear definition of scope for the Australian national bibliography. Even if the national bibliography exists only as an online service, the stakeholders need to understand clearly which categories of library material or information resource fall within its scope, and which do not. In particular, it is crucial that potential users are aware of exclusions from the scope.

The issue of inclusion of overseas publications is a major point of difference between national bibliographies, with some (eg British National Bibliography) excluding all foreign publications, while others (such as Canadiana) devote much time to identification of relevant overseas-published items for the national bibliography. Where overseas publications are included, there can be varying definitions of “local interest” in such publications.

It is the view of the Advisory Group that “Australian items” should include those published in Australia as well as those published overseas which have significant Australian content or which have an Australian creator, compiler or major contributor. In order to identify such items it is important that cataloguers flag them as Australiana in Kinetica. Other information, including address data for minor publishers and price, is also seen as desirable, and needs to be included by record creators.

Other points where wide variance in policy is found include stated minimum size for listed publications, and the inclusion of items not held by the compiling library but catalogued by other contributing libraries.

The majority view of the Advisory Group is that a national bibliography should include all published Australian items, which are those available to the public free or for sale. This includes CD-ROMs and other physical format electronic publications, Internet publications, and video and sound recordings. To ensure that there is a comprehensive coverage of motion pictures, video recordings and sound recordings, it is recommended that the National Library and the National Film and Sound Archive explore mechanisms for the inclusion of this data.

In the past ANB did not include material of 4 pages or less. The restriction becomes meaningless for electronic publications, and it is more appropriate to allow the cataloguer to assess whether an item is significant enough for inclusion. This is increasingly the policy of other national bibliographies, where a size restriction is seen as limiting access to some important unique material.

A majority of the Advisory Group believes that a national bibliographic product should not include unpublished or restricted material (that is, material which is not widely available), theses, ephemera, standards or legislation (Acts, Statutory Rules, Bills). While this was not a unanimous view, most representatives were satisfied with accessing this information in other ways, such as through the web site of the Australasian Legal Information Institute (AUSTLII) at http://www.austlii.edu.au/primary.html. Of course, records for such material can continue to be added to the NBD.

The Advisory Group believes that it is appropriate to continue to include Cataloguing-in-Publication records within the scope of ANB.

Recommended scope statement

In summary, the Advisory Group recommends the following statement of scope for the Australian national bibliography:

The national bibliography includes all significant published Australian items, apart from prescribed categories, as defined below.

“Significant” means that the item is judged by the cataloguer to be of more than ephemeral interest. Any printed item of more than 4 pages would be deemed to be significant, except for reprints, blank or “to-be-filled-in” books, and course notes.

“Published” means: (i) in the case of Cataloguing-in-Publication records, that the item is in preparation and is intended to be made available to the public free or for sale; (ii) in the case of other records, that the item was, at the time of its publication, available to the public free or for sale, ie its access is not restricted.

“Australian” means that the item is published for the Australian market by a publisher which has an office or branch in Australia, or that the item has an Australian creator, compiler or major contributor, or that the item has significant Australian content or subject matter.

“Prescribed categories” means theses, legislative materials (acts, statutory rules, bills) and standards.

“Item” means an information resource published as a complete entity, in any format including printed materials (whether text, cartographic or music), microforms, sound recordings, motion pictures and video recordings, electronic publications (whether physical format or online) and combinations of these formats (such as kits).

ANB and the Kinetica Service

The National Library has advised that, in the soon-to-be-implemented Kinetica system, a flag or indicator will be used to identify those records which are included in the national bibliography (subject to the qualifications set out below). Users of Kinetica will be able to search for these items, then use the Kinetica search facilities to narrow the search to particular date ranges, subject areas, or format types. It would also be possible to generate a product, such as a CD-ROM, based on the ANB flag.

The Kinetica software will set the majority of ANB flags automatically, based on values in two of the fields in the cataloguing record, 008 Positions 15-17 (Country of publication code) and 043 (Geographic area code). It will be necessary to extend the allocation of flags by manual means, identifying those items which conform to the scope statement given above, but which lack Australian identification in the 008 and 043 fields. All cataloguers creating or editing records directly on Kinetica will be encouraged to flag such items as they process them. The National Library will undertake a retrospective project to identify and flag such items in the NBD as of late 1998.

However, it will not be possible through the current Kinetica software to ensure that all items which fall outside the ANB scope statement are not given the ANB flag. The reason is that the ANB flag will be turned on automatically for all items which have the relevant codes in the 008 and 043 fields, irrespective of publication status, access limitations, or significance. The Advisory Group recommends that the National Library should seek an enhancement to Kinetica which would keep the flag turned off where a cataloguer has determined that the item falls outside the ANB scope.

ANB: delivery format

The principal form of delivery of the national bibliography will be its online delivery through the Kinetica service. Kinetica will allow pre-packaged searches of the NBD to be performed, based on the ANB flag and on Dewey range. It would further allow these searches to be restricted by format, type of material (such as government publications), date and state of publication. It will be possible to make these searches through the web interface provided by the Librivision product. The Advisory Group understands that the National Library intends to ensure that the NBD is made available, through this interface, to the scholarly and research community. Consequently, the Kinetica version of ANB should be promoted as the primary, authoritative and up-to-date source of the national bibliography.

The Advisory Group notes that users will be able to restrict searches by format, limiting their searches to any of the following categories: printed text materials, cartographic materials, printed music, microforms, sound recordings, motion pictures and video recordings, and electronic publications.

A main entry order or other non-classified arrangement is not useful for selection purposes.. It would be highly desirable to allow users of Kinetica to browse the contents of any search result set in Dewey order, given that such an arrangement is useful and was available to the users of the former printed ANB and to the users of the current Recent Australian Publications files. Consequently, the Advisory Group recommends that this enhancement be sought by the National Library.

The Advisory Group does not recommend that a paper version of ANB be established. While paper is a convenient format for scanning, it may be more efficient to ensure that users of the Kinetica version are able to easily print all or part of the ANB file according to local needs.

Some members of the Advisory Group consider that there may be value in a CD-ROM version of the retrospective ANB file, provided that there is sufficient market to justify the cost of its production. The Group therefore recommends that the National Library test the market for a retrospective ANB on CD-ROM, updated at a suitable frequency, to serve as a record of national publishing and to meet the needs of some user groups.

As far as is possible for a cooperatively developed resource, the information provided about each item should conform to the data requirements for a basic level national bibliographic record, as set out in the document Functional requirements for bibliographic records, published by IFLA (http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/VII/s13/projects.htm).

In the case of non-mainstream publications, there is a need for selection librarians to obtain publishers’ addresses and other contact information. The Advisory Group recommends that libraries and/or the ISBN Agency include this information in the bibliographic record at the time of cataloguing.

Summary of recommendations

  1. That the National Library adopt the following statement of scope for the Australian national bibliography:

    The national bibliography includes all significant published Australian items, apart from prescribed categories, as defined below.

    “Significant” means that the item is judged by the cataloguer to be of more than ephemeral interest. Any printed item of more than 4 pages would be deemed to be significant, except for reprints, blank or “to-be-filled-in” books, and course notes.

    “Published” means: (i) in the case of Cataloguing-in-Publication records, that the item is in preparation and is intended to be made available to the public free or for sale; (ii) in the case of other records, that the item was, at the time of its publication, available to the public free or for sale, ie its access is not restricted.

    “Australian” means that the item is published for the Australian market by a publisher which has an office or branch in Australia, or that the item has an Australian creator, compiler or major contributor, or that the item has significant Australian content or subject matter.

    “Prescribed categories” means theses, legislative materials (acts, statutory rules, bills) and standards.

    “Item” means an information resource published as a complete entity, in any format including printed materials (whether text, cartographic or music), microforms, sound recordings, motion pictures and video recordings, electronic publications (whether physical format or online) and combinations of these formats (such as kits).

  2. That the Kinetica version of ANB be promoted as the primary, authoritative and up-to-date source of the national bibliography.
     
  3. That the National Library seek an enhancement to Kinetica which would keep the ANB flag turned off where a cataloguer has determined that the item falls outside the ANB scope.
     
  4. That the National Library ensure that users are able to conduct pre-packaged searches of the NBD, with the possibility of limiting searches to (a) those records which include the ANB flag, (b) any Dewey range, and (c) any of the following format categories: printed text materials, cartographic materials, printed music, microforms, sound recordings, motion pictures and video recordings, and electronic publications. The pre-packaged search will enable a user to request, for example, “the ANB package for September 1998”, which will contain all September records in scope for ANB, sorted in Dewey order, within the format and Dewey limitations specified by the user at the time of the request.
     
  5. That the National Library seek an enhancement to Kinetica which would allow users to browse the contents of any search result set in Dewey order.
     
  6. That the National Library not produce a printed version of the national bibliography.
     
  7. That the National Library test the market for a retrospective ANB on CD-ROM, updated at a suitable frequency, to serve as a record of national publishing and to meet the needs of some user groups.
     
  8. That, to facilitate access to publishers’ addresses and other contact information for non-mainstream publications, libraries and/or the ISBN Agency include this contact information in the bibliographic record at the time of cataloguing.
     
  9. That, to facilitate access to relevant items published overseas, libraries flag such items as Australiana when entering a record onto Kinetica.
     
  10. That the Kinetica Cataloguing Workflows Expert Advisory Group consider ways of increasing voluntary compliance with recommendations 8 and 9.
     
  11. That, to ensure that there is a comprehensive coverage of motion pictures, video recordings and sound recordings, it is recommended that the National Library and the National Film and Sound Archive explore mechanisms for the inclusion of this data in the national bibliography.

 


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