National Consultative Meeting on the Management of Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications
First National Consultative Meeting on the Management of Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications
Survey of National and State Libraries
Management of Australian
Physical-Format Digital Publications held by Australian National and State
Libraries
- Background to Survey
- Acquiring Australian Physical-format Digital Publications
- Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications: Surveying Your Collection
- 3. Providing Bibliographic Control of Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications
- Providing Access to Australian Physical-format Digital Publications
- Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications: Preservation Issues
- Australian Physical-Format Digital Publications: National Coordination/Collaboration
Background to Survey
The purpose of this survey is to collect information on the management of Australian digital publications which are distributed in multiple copies in physical-formats. There is as yet no universally accepted terminology to describe this category of publication. In this survey, we have used the term physical-format- other terms sometimes used to describe this category of publication include hand-held, physically tangible and portable. All are potentially misleading but, for the purpose of this survey, essentially cover CD-ROMs and floppy disks.
CD audio, video and DAT are not included in this survey, but will be considered at a later stage.
The National Library would like to collect information on this category of material from State Libraries as background to the two day consultative meeting to be held on 27 and 28 October 1997. The aim of this meeting, at which the National and State libraries and the publishing sector will be represented, is to continue the process of developing a national strategy for digital library resources.
While many of the questions in this survey might be answered simply with a yes or no, you are encouraged to provide responses which are sufficiently detailed to clearly represent your librarys activities and intentions. The survey form has been designed to allow distribution of its various parts to the section of your library which has responsibility for the issues identified. You are also invited to supply copies of any additional information you think is relevant to the survey
A summary of the results of this survey are available.
1. Acquiring Australian Physical-format Digital Publications
-
1.1.1. How do you acquire this material?
- actively
- passively
- a combination of the two
1.1.2. On what basis do you acquire this material?
- legal deposit legislation
- voluntary deposit agreement
- voluntary deposit without an agreement
- purchase
- other (please specify below)
1.2. If you acquire this material actively, what sources do you use to locate it?
- The Directory of Australian & New Zealand CD-ROMs
- Australian Multimedia Catalogue (AFC)
- National Bibliographic Database
- publishers and vendors catalogues
- journal, magazine and newspaper reviews
- other (please specify)
1.3. Does your librarys collection development policy specifically cover this material?
1.4. If your answer to Q1.3 is yes, are there criteria other than those in your collection development policy used to select or reject this material?
1.5.1 If your answer to Q1.3 is no, are you currently developing a collection development policy that will cover this material?
1.5.2 If your answer to Q1.3 is no, what criteria do you currently use to select or reject this material?
1.6 If you acquire second copies of this material, either through legal/ voluntary deposit or purchase, are they for:
2. Australian Physical-format Digital Publications: Surveying your collection
-
2.1. Over what period has this material been collected by your library?
- CD-ROMS: <2 yrs, <5 yrs, over 5 years
- Floppy disks: < 2 yrs, < 5 yrs, over 5 years
2.2.1 If possible, please estimate the total number of items of this type held by your library:
- CD-ROMs and floppy disks (combined total)
OR
2.2.2 If possible, please estimate the number of items your library holds in each of these categories:
- CD-ROMs
- Floppy disks
2.3. If possible, please estimate what proportion of your librarys digital publications are in the following formats:
- CD-ROMs
- Floppy disks
2.4. If possible, please estimate what proportion of these items in your librarys collection are unusable (eg due to technological obsolescence or media deterioration).
Please comment.
2.5. If possible, please list some of the major publishers of physical-format digital publications in your collection.
3. Providing Bibliographic Control of Australian Physical-format Digital Publications
-
3.1. How do you provide bibliographic control for these materials?
- catalogue onto ABN
- catalogue only onto local system
- not catalogued
- other (please explain)
3.2. Which fields do you regularly use to describe the disk (eg CD-ROM, floppy disk) component of a publication when cataloguing this material?
Please answer for disk as a monograph, disk accompanying a monograph, disk as a serial, and disk accompanying a serial.
- Field (or equivalent for non-ABN users)
- General material designation
- File characteristics area
- Collation
- System requirements note
- TED Technical details note
- TYF Type of file or data
- TDF Technical Details access
- TY MAT Type of material code
- System requirements for accompanying material note
- Subject headings
- Other
3.3. What specific information would you like to see on the packaging/ labelling on the publication to adequately fill in this record?
- hardware platform
- processor speed
- RAM
- hard disk space
- CD-ROM drive speed
- type of monitor
- resolution
- sound card (+ version number)
- operating system (+ version number)
- other software (+ version number)
- software drivers (+ version number)
- minimum requirements for operation
- recommended requirements for operation
- whether software is supplied
- year of manufacture
- copyright warning
- licensing conditions
3.4.1. Is the cataloguing for this material based on viewing the title screen?
- CD-ROMs: yes, no, sometimes
- Floppy disks: yes, no, sometimes
3.4.2. If not, is this due to lack of:
- equipment
- human resources
- financial resources
- other (please specify)
3.5.1. If possible, please estimate the proportion of this material you copy catalogue.
3.5.2. Do you edit these copy catalogue records (i.e. to include additional information)?
4. Providing Access to Australian Physical-format Digital Publications
Access to Australian physical-format digital publications may be provided in a range of ways and may be subject to a variety of conditions or restrictions. Please provide as much information as possible to fully describe access arrangements in your library.
-
4.1. What arrangements does your library currently have for the provision of access to these materials?
- licensing arrangements
- networking arrangements
- hardware and software available for staff
- hardware and software available for users
- interlibrary loan arrangements
- other access arrangements
4.2. Are usage statistics kept for these materials?
5. Australian Physical-format Digital Publications: Preservation Issues
-
5.1. Do you intend to provide long-term access to this material?
5.2. Do you have preservation policies which cover this material?
If yes, please supply.
5.3. Have any consultative mechanisms been used to establish suppliers/producers needs and preferences with respect to the preservation of physical-format materials?
5.4. Are you developing any strategies to overcome problems with technological obsolescence and/or operating software problems (eg migration procedures)?
If yes, please describe.
5.5. Do you have additional copies of physical-format materials (eg in printed, digital or other formats) for back-up purposes?
- printed formats
- digital formats
- other formats (please specify)
- comments
5.6. Name the areas of your library which is responsible for the following functions in relation to physical-format materials:
- Function
- selection and acquisition
- cataloguing
- storage
- provision of access
- preservation
5.7.2. Have additional resources been allocated to manage this material?
- 5.7.2 If yes, has this been through:
- funding reallocation
- new sources
Please describe, making reference to resource issues, both at the present time and in the future.
5.8.1. How are physical-format materials stored in your library?
- separate run
- main collection
- combination of the above
5.8.2 If the material accompanies a publication in printed format, are they stored together or separately?
Please comment.
5.9. What are your librarys security arrangements for these materials (e.g. bar coding, security tags, tattle tapes, Pro-Loc or similar boxes)?
5.10.1 Does your library apply labels to identify these materials?
5.10.2 Where are they placed on the item?
5.11.1. Does the bibliographic record provide adequate information for the preservation management of this material?
5.11.2 If the answer to 5.11.1 is no, do you require further information stored on a separate system?
Please describe:
6. Australian Physical-format Digital Publications: National Coordination/Collaboration
-
6.1.1 Do you favour a cooperative approach to providing long-term access to physical-format materials?
6.1.2. If yes, which approach do you favour?
- Responsibility distributed between:
- all State libraries and the National Library
- some State libraries and the National Library
- some other partners involved
- some other cooperative arrangement (please explain)
6.1.3 On what basis should responsibilities be allocated?
- geographically (e.g. by State)
- subject-based
- by genre (e.g childrens material, training software)
- other (please explain)
For further information contact:
-
Charu Sood
National Initiatives and Collaboration (NIAC)
National Library of Australia
Telephone: +61 (0)2 62621571
Facsimile: +61 (0)2 62734535
E-mail: csood@nla.gov.au
Return to the National Consultative Meeting
Last updated 16 January 1997
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