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3rd National Roundtable on Libraries & Asia
Report on the Implementation of Recommendations

16 February 1995, National Library of Australia, Canberra

A. South Asia
C. Networking, E-Publications and the Internet
D. Training and Staff
F. Bibliographical Access to Asian Materials
Outcomes of Meeting on DNC Collecting Agreements for Asian Materials


A. South Asia

AA 1

That the National Centre for South Asian Studies conduct a wide survey of South Asianists in Australia, their research interests and resource needs. Their existing databases of South Asianists and their interests will be used. Timetable : 30 June 1995.

Progress to date: Australia-India : a directory of our links/compiled by Marika Vicziany and Clement Paligaru (Melbourne, National Centre for South Asian Studies, February 1995). 412p. has since been published and provides an extensive listing of their research interests.

NCSAS will arrange for mapping these research interests and resource needs, using the conspectus methodology and for a group of Melbourne librarians to match researchers and collections and prepare a report for the DNC Office.
Timetable : December 1995

Progress to date: Not yet undertaken.

That, as part of the survey, the Library of Congress be approached to obtain available information about the procedures and functioning of the LCCAP South Asia, including cost information and level of acceptance by the participants.
Timetable : by December 1995.

Progress to date: NLA is preparing this information for distribution later this year on the operations of the Library of Congress in South Asia. (A member of NLA's staff will be visiting Indian book suppliers including the Library of Congress Office in New Delhi in early 1996 while on holiday in India).

AA 2

That NLA examine its current level of acquisitions from South Asia and consider strengthening this activity, in co-operation with other collecting institutions.
Timetable : by December 1996.

Progress to date: Included in NLA's planning for commencement in early 1996 and completion by the end of the year.

AA 3

That the research application, headed by LaTrobe University, be re-submitted for 1996 RIEF funding and that other sources of funding be sought to redress the balance of library resources and services available for the study of South Asia.
Timetable : by 30 June 1995.

Progress to date: Australian Research Council Research Infrastructure and Equipment Fund (RIEF) proposal submitted in mid-1995 by LaTrobe and Curtin Universities. It has been successful. A workshop is planned for late 1995 to coordinate library participation.

AA 4

That NLA mount on its information server the union list of South Asian newspapers, prepared by NCSAS. Timetable : by April 1995.

Progress to date: Completed. Mounted at: http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/gen/saintro.html

AB1

That the DNC Office issue a call for Australian libraries with Asian materials to indicate areas in which they are willing to discuss collecting and access agreements, so that by the end of the year there is information available.
Timetable: October 1995

Progress to Date: The DNC Office has been working closely with the Asian Roundtable Reference Group to organise this meeting to provide a forum to discuss existing collection agreement activity and agree on further action.

AB2

A That the DNC Office encourage a network of collecting and access agreements for Asian materials to be negotiated. Timetable: completed by December 1996, then ongoing.

B That the DNC Office should try to collect information on semi-formal agreements already in existence.

Progress to date: A See activity under Resolution AB1; B A letter was sent out to libraries with significant Asian collections in mid October requesting information on collection agreements at local, regional, national and international levels covering completed and in-process. This information has been compiled and provided as a background document for this meeting.

AB3

That those libraries with interests in Asian library materials document existing strengths and current collecting emphasis using Australian Conspectus. Completion by December 1996 and ongoing.

Progress to date: Since the Asian Roundtable meeting the following libraries have completed Conspectus assessments of their collections and provided information to the DNC Office on their collection strengths:

  • Griffith University;
  • University of Sydney, and;
  • Melbourne University

The following libraries have recently commenced undertaking Conspectus assessments of their collections:

  • La Trobe University; and
  • Murdoch University.

AB4

A That, in all future DNC collecting agreements, the inclusion of standardised preservation agreements which include the recording of preservation intentions and actions on appropriate databases be encouraged.

B Collecting and access agreements should follow uniform models in wording. The draft will be prepared by the DNC Office in collaboration with the National Preservation Office and the National Bibliographic Services Branch.
Timetable: Completed by June 1995.

C Different Models of collecting agreements should be prepared, consortium, multilateral, bilateral. Drafts should be mounted for comment on the DNC listserver.
Timetable: Completed by December 1995.

Progress to date: A joint work between the DNC Office and the National Preservation Office has commenced on the development of standard preservation agreements for inclusion in collecting agreements.

B The ACLIS Collecting Agreement has been updated by the DNC Office and mounted on the Internet to provide electronic access to the document. Copies of the document has also been distributed by the DNC Office as part of the documentation given out at DNC presentations.

A decision has been made at this stage not to try to construct model agreements covering different types on consortia relationships. Instead the DNC has been actively copies.

C. Networking, E-Publications and the Internet

AC 1

That NLA ensure that the design of the NDIS system facilitates an extension of its functionality's to accommodate the display and searching of records in non-roman scripts.
Timetable : 1997+

Progress to date: National CJK System operational in late 1995/early 1996. World 1 to incorporate script facilities at a later stage.

Until this extension occurs, NLA will ensure that transparent, easy-to-use interfaces exist from the NDIS system to the National CJK system.
Timetable : when the CJK system is operational.

Progress to date: Gateways will be provided from ABN and NDIS to the National CJK system.

AC 2

That all Australian libraries with significant Asian collections ensure that information concerning their collections, services and special projects is either included in their institution's own Web page or supplied to the web pages of the Coombs Computing Unit, ANU.
Timetable : June 1995.

Progress to date: Encouraged through wide distribution of the Outcomes of the 3rd National Roundtable on Libraries and Asia through publication in Gateways and Asian Studies Review.

AC 3

That ASAA encourage researchers in Asian studies to ensure that information concerning their research projects is either included in their own institution's web pages or supplied to the web pages of the Coombs Computing Unit, ANU; also, that libraries and researchers in Asian studies ensure that up-to-date information about relevant groups and discussion lists is forwarded to the Asia-Pacific Meta Resources Register of the Coombs Computing Unit, ANU.
Timetable : June 1995.

Progress to date: As in AC 2, this has been encouraged by publicity in various journals including the ASAA's Asian Studies Review, following the Roundtable.

AC 4

That the Coombs Computing Unit, ANU. will establish an informal e-publications guidelines & Standards Working Group involving librarians, academics, publishers, IT professionals and members of various bodies concerned with standards.
Timetable : December 1995

Progress to date: Dr Mathew Ciolek advised that there had been rapid progress in this area and he did not see the need for further action.

AC 5

That the Coombs Computing Unit, ANU will establish an informal vernacular scripts special interest group to deal with information about handling the Latin and non-Latin scripts...
Timetable : December 1995

Progress to date: Dr Mathew Ciolek advised, as in AC 4, that there had been progress on these topics in other fora and he no longer saw the need for these groups.

AC 6

That NLA encourage the extension of the UnCover document delivery service to roman script serial titles from the region.
Timetable : December 1996

Progress to date: Being considered as part of the introduction of World 1; however, would require development of an infrastructure to supply such documents.

That other similar projects be encouraged for script languages such as the proposal for Chinese serial titles being prepared by ANU.
Timetable : being developed; 1996?

Progress to date: ANU has developed and mounted on its server both a Chinese and Indonesian language title page service.

AC 7

That the ALIA Asia Pacific Special Interest Group be asked to develop, possibly in conjunction with other bodies, such as the ALIA Information Science Section, a proposal for the funding and establishment of a clearinghouse for specialist subject/country guides dealing with information from and about the Asia-Pacific region.
Timetable : December 1996.

Progress to date: APSIG National Committee is considering this resolution at present.

AC 8

That ALIA and ASAA be asked to establish an annual joint honorary award for Excellence presented to the developers of the best Asia-Pacific information resources based on the quality of its content and compliance with electronic publications standards. The ALA Asia Pacific Special Interest Group could be asked to investigate its feasibility.
Timetable : December 1996.

Progress to date: APSIG National Committee convener (A.L. Ketley) has consulted Dr Beverley Hooper on this. There is support from ASAA. Mechanisms to carry this out need further thought. It seems likely that the award would not be limited to electronic formats.

D. Training and Staff

AD 1

That Mrs Chooi-hon Ho head an informal group to ascertain the education and training needs of the information profession with regard to Asian services and prepare a plan of action.
Timetable : December 1995.

Progress to date: Mrs Ho has set up the informal group. Action taken is set out below.

AD 2

That the informal group (AD1 above) seek the views of the principal employers of library and information science graduates in the Asian subject area on the numbers of staff required over the next ten years and the skills required through a pilot survey.
Timetable : December 1995.

Progress to date : Questionnaire prepared and distributed in September 1995.

AD 3

That the informal group obtain information from Australian library schools on their current and proposed Asia-related programs.
Timetable : December 1995.

Progress to date : Questionnaire prepared and distributed in mid-1995.

AD 4

That the group investigate the feasibility of producing a directory, possibly in electronic form, of currently qualified Australian library and information personnel having Asia-related expertise.
Timetable : December 1996

Progress to date : Task has completion date of over one year.

AD 5

That APSIG be asked to propose a workshop or sessions on training and staffing needs for Asian subject areas at the 1996 ALIA Biennial Conference in Melbourne in October 1996.
Timetable : October 1996.

Progress to date : Mrs Ho has undertaken considerable planning work. APSIG has requested workshops at the ALIA conference, 1996 from the Conference Program Committee.

F. Bibliographical Access to Asian Materials

AF 1

The most significant files of Australian library data which should be loaded to the NBD are:

(i) East Asian serials (including newspapers)
(ii) East Asian monographs; and
(iii) Asian serials generally (including newspapers)

Within these categories, the data from the ANU, NLA, University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney are the most important. These priorities are recommended on basis of level of use.

Libraries with these data may need to seek outside funding for the significant costs associated with data preparation, data upgrading (e.g. with vernacular script) or format conversion. Possible sources of funding include the ARC (if an infrastructure project can be developed) as well as Asian foundations in Hong Kong or Taiwan.
Timetable : December 1995.

Progress to date: East Asian data dependent upon implementation of the National CJK system which is still to become operational. Funding applications might be made in 1996?

AF 2

That Australian libraries with Asian collections should continue to contribute holdings data for current acquisitions promptly to the NBD, including the National CJK system when it is implemented. Where online cataloguing is not feasible, libraries should contribute current update files twice a year until the implementation of upline loading in NDIS.

All libraries with significant collections of Chinese, Japanese and Korean materials should contribute their bibliographic and holdings data to the National CJK Database on an ongoing basis.

All libraries with existing machine readable files of bibliographical records for Chinese, Japanese and Korean materials, which have not yet been contributed to the NBD on ABN, should contribute these records directly to the CJK database in the format specified by the National CJK Technical Committee.
Timetable : ongoing.

All libraries with South Asian holdings contribute these to the NBD. The RIEF proposal (AA3) should include funding for this.

Progress to date: National CJK System still to be implemented. These proposals were described as "Best practice/Desirable".

RIEF proposal for South Asia does include funding for addition of records to the NBD. Method of addition to be resolved in the workshop at Flinders University in mid-December 1995.

AF 3

That proposals for ARC funding of Projects for the cataloguing or retrospective conversion of data for Asian materials should include provision for the acquisition and contribution of relevant existing data sources to the NBD as an integral part of the project.
Timetable : ongoing.

Progress to date: RIEF proposal on South Asia, submitted in 1995, does include funding for addition of data to the NBD.

AF 4

That Australian libraries with Asian collections report to the NBD the location of preservation master negative microforms and to record preservation intentions, especially in the case of preservation reformatting.
Timetable : June 1996.

Progress to date: These resolutions are under Best practice/Desirable. They have been given publicity in various ways.


Outcomes of meeting on DNC Collecting Agreements for Asian Materials

Tuesday 7 November 1995
National Library of Australia Council Room

Participants: Tony Arthur, Director, Information Services, University of Melbourne; Ross Coleman, Collection Management Librarian, University of Sydney; Michael Evans, Associate University Librarian, Collection Management, Australian National University; Pam Gatenby, Director, Reader Services Branch, NLA; Andrew Gosling, Chief Librarian, Asian Collections, NLA; Chooi-Hon Ho, Associate Librarian, Information Services, Monash University; Beverley Hooper, President, Asian Studies Association of Australia; Cliff Law, Director, Distributed National Collection, NLA; Magdalen Lee, East Asian Librarian, University of Sydney; Pam Longley, Divisional Librarian, Serials, La Trobe University; Jan Lyall, Director, National Preservation Office, NLA; Marie Sexton, Principal Librarian, Asian Collections, NLA; Eric Wainwright, Deputy Director-General, NLA.

Resolutions

The following resolutions of the 7 November meeting (in bold) stem from the resolutions of the 3rd National Roundtable on Libraries and Asia (included in italics)

Collection Development and Collecting Agreements

[AB1: That the DNC Office issue a call for Australian libraries with Asian materials to indicate areas in which they are willing to discuss collecting and access agreements]

1. That given the increasing interest in Korean collections and services, the DNC Office convene a meeting on Korean collecting and access issues early in 1996, to include the major stakeholders: the Australian National University, Griffith University, La Trobe University, Monash University, Swinburne Institute of Technology, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney as well as the National Library.

[AB2: That the DNC Office encourage a network of collecting and access agreements for Asian materials ... Support should be sought from the user community e.g. academics, researchers etc.]

2. That the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA), through Professor Beverley Hooper as its President, ascertain the views of ASAA members on the current situation and their needs in relation to document delivery of Asian materials. The results will be forwarded to the DNC Office.

[AB3: That those libraries with interests in Asian materials document existing collection strengths and current collecting emphases using the Australian Conspectus.]

3. That libraries with Asian materials be urged to give priority to assessing their Asian studies collections broadly using Conspectus, with the DNC Office as co-ordinator.

Bibliographic access to Asian materials

[AF1: The most significant files of Australian library data which should be loaded to the NBD are:

(i) East Asian serials (including newspapers)]

4. That institutions with major East Asian language serial and newspaper collections be urged to place a high priority on including these on the NBD and report to the DNC Office by February 1996 on their strategy for achieving this over the next two years.

[(ii) East Asian monographs]

5.A. That the Roundtable Reference Group be urged to encourage preparation of a strong submission in 1996 for Research Infrastructure and Equipment Funding (RIEF) to allow the inclusion of Australia's existing Chinese language monograph holdings on the NBD, in particular the holdings of ANU, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney and the National Library.
B. That in order to improve RIEF funding for Asian collections and services in Australia, the DEET Research Library Infrastructure Group composed of representatives of the AVCC, CAUL, NLA and DEET be advised of medium term priorities for funding. The DNC Office will call for and co-ordinate suggested priorities.

Andrew Gosling
17 November 1995

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