ABN NEWS With Ozline News


ISSN 1039-348X
No. 84
November/December 1995


In this issue ...

ABN News with Ozline News was edited and designed by Leora Kirwan using desktop publishing software. This publication is issued bimonthly by the Services to Libraries Division of the National Library of Australia. From 1996, free subscriptions will be available on application to:

Editor, ABN News with Ozline News
Network Services Marketing
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA A.C.T. 2600

Unless otherwise specified, for further information contact the ABN/Ozline Help Desk on (1800) 026 155 or the Editor on (02) 6262 1580.


WORLD 1 Cataloguing and Gateway Services Announced

[Warwick Cathro, Neil Mclean & Geoff Payne]
During November, the National Library of Australia announced details of the state-of-the-art cataloguing and gateway services to be released in the second phase of WORLD 1.

The Assistant Director-General of the National Library, Warwick Cathro, said the specifications for Phase 2 of the WORLD 1 development project were determined in response to demands from the Australian library community for a modern and efficient cataloguing service. There was also a need to extend the Search Service, to be released in Phase I, with transparent gateways for more advanced searching.

LEFT: Assistant Director-General, Services to Libraries Division, Warwick Cathro, with the two user representatives at the Phase 2 vision workshop, Neil McLean (left) and Geoff Payne




When fully implemented, WORLD 1 will provide a complete range of services including Search, Collection Management and Document Delivery. It will replace ABN and Ozline.

Dr Cathro said development of Phase 2 will begin in March 1996 and services will be released by mid 1997. The Collection Management Service will provide full data creation and management services, including copy cataloguing, original cataloguing and indexing. The transparent gateway service will provide electronic access to external systems using the international Z39.50 protocol which allows one search system to query and retrieve data from databases located on other search systems.

Dr Cathro said the WORLD 1 development project was divided into a number of phases so that each individual service is released as soon as possible.

'The content and timing of each phase is determined in consultation with our current users to ensure a smooth transition from current services to WORLD 1,' he said.

Phase 1, which is currently under development and includes the Search Service and online document requesting, will be released in August 1996.

The content of Phase 2 was determined after a series of workshops held in Australia and New Zealand over the past few months to identify priorities. Key attendees from Australia at the final workshop included Neil McLean (Macquarie University), Geoff Payne (CAVAL), Jan Rosi (Joint Project Director), Jan Fullerton (NLA), Warwick Cathro (NLA), Bryony De La Motte (NLA) and Judith Pearce (Project Business Architect).

Dr Cathro said the group had undertaken a rigorous process to analyse and assess a range of options for the content of Phase 2, taking into account (amongst other things) the needs of the market and the cost of maintaining the legacy systems.

Dr Cathro said Phase 2 will enhance the Search Services released in Phase 1, in addition to introducing the cataloguing module.

The Z39.50 client to be released in Phase 2 will enable powerful and easy access to external databases, such as the US bibliographic network's Online Computer Library Centre (OCLC) and Research Libraries and Information Network (RLIN). Catalogue users will be able to access and search external Z39.50 compliant services, obtain copy cataloguing data and rapidly incorporate this data into their local systems and into the National Bibliographic Database. The National Library will develop partnership arrangements with key overseas sources of cataloguing data to provide support services for users, including a simple registration and billing arrangement.

The Z39.50 client will also deliver improved services to reference librarians and end users, such as students or researchers. The gateway will enable access and searching of a growing number of Australian and overseas Z39.50 databases as if they were part of the WORLD 1 database suite.

Also, during Phase 2, the custom-made graphical user interface for the search and online document requesting services released for PCs in Phase 1, will be made available for Macintosh.

The final phase, Phase 3, will be implemented by the end of 1997 and will include enhancement of the online Document Delivery Service; migration of the interloan system from ABN; Z39.50 server capability; support for Conspectus; and some improved user interface facilities.

Newsflash!

The first stage of migration of ABN data from the existing database to the new WORLD 1 database began on Friday 1 December 1995. The data being extracted includes NBD authorities and bibliographic data, Ozline data and stakeholder data. The data will be loaded onto the IBM SP2, which is the central processing computer, in readiness for transferring to the Oracle database.

Extraction and conversion will take at least 30 days continuous processing over a three month period. During extraction, it will not be practicable to suspend all update activity on the existing ABN database, so a mechanism to handle updated data has been devised. Any change to a location, authority or bibliographic record will be captured and the data re-extracted.

When the WORLD 1 search and document requesting service is first implemented in August next year, only NBD serial data with holdings will be available. Records without holdings will be added to the database in time for the release of the cataloguing service in 1997.

Cataloguing with Ease on WORLD 1

[Julia Trainor]
This article is a precis of a paper given by Julia Trainor at the National Cataloguing Conference in October, outlining some of the impressive advantages awaiting those who catalogue on WORLD 1. The full text of the paper is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/nlasp/article/view/958. Ms Trainor is NLA Director, National Bibliographic Services.

Cataloguers on WORLD 1 will use a state-of-the-art Graphical User Interface (GUI) which will reside on their PCs. The software will be supplied as part of the registration package, and will give cataloguers access to worldwide cataloguing resources. Here are some of the features which cataloguers will enjoy on WORLD 1.

One-stop-shop Cataloguing

Cataloguers will be able to easily obtain records from Australian or overseas databases. If a record is not found in WORLD 1, the cataloguer may use WORLD 1 gateway services to obtain records from other sources in Australia or overseas. The cataloguer's search statement can be framed in the user friendly WORLD 1 format, and then searched against other Z39.50 compliant databases, such as OCLC and RLIN, without rekeying and without knowing the command structure.

Cataloguers may download records in real time from other databases to WORLD 1, and then edit those records and add holdings before downloading to the local system. WORLD 1 will automatically map all name and subject headings to the WORLD 1 authority file, and substitute Australian equivalents of LC subject headings if preferred. The record format will be automatically converted to the Australian version of USMARC. WORLD 1 will handle registration with overseas services and the payment of bills in foreign currencies. Libraries will simply register with WORLD 1 and be invoiced for all services in their WORLD 1 bills.

Better quality cataloguing records

WORLD 1 will achieve continuous improvement in the quality and completeness of cataloguing, by merging records rather than replacing them. This will ensure that useful data such as Medical Subject Headings and Library of Congress classification numbers are retained.

Cataloguers may create linking data in the knowledge that WORLD 1 will fully exercise the links between different records in different databases. Examples are links between different versions of a work, or links between the earlier and later titles of serials, or links between a whole document and its parts. WORLD 1 will also support links between embedded references (e.g. URLs) to data which is accessible using World Wide Web, Gopher or ftp protocols.

LC name authorities and LC subject headings will be available as 'resource files'. Cataloguers will be able to select records from LCNA and LCSH, and add them to the WORLD 1 authority file without rekeying. Australian subject headings will increase in number, and WORLD 1 will support the output of Library of Congress subject headings either in their authentic form, or in their 'Australianised' form.

WORLD 1 will encourage and reward the contribution of high quality cataloguing records. Incoming records will be assigned a weighting for their completeness and accuracy. Completeness will be assessed by the presence of specific data elements, while accuracy will be based on the number of validation failures and adherence to standards. The Standards Committee will assign weightings to the various elements of a cataloguing record, and WORLD 1 will provide statistical reports monitoring the quality of data input by a user or group of users.

Record weighting may be used as the basis for a graduated system of credits for contributed cataloguing. This will be fairer than the current flat rate credit, which offers equal rewards for records of unequal value. And instead of requiring ABN staff to rank institutions according to the quality of their cataloguing, WORLD 1 will evaluate the record and not the cataloguer.

Easier original cataloguing

Cataloguers in WORLD 1 will enjoy all the benefits of the Windows environment. They will be able to open concurrent sessions for searching, cataloguing and authority control. Cataloguers will also be able to cut and paste useful data from other records or from the authority file without rekeying. This will enable them to progressively build up the quality and completeness of the cataloguing record. There will be context-sensitive help, including menus and drop-down lists, which will contain the detailed codes and values which apply to each field in the cataloguing record. WORLD 1 will negotiate with copyright owners to incorporate relevant standards into the cataloguers desktop, such as the MARC specification, cataloguing rules, rule interpretations, classification schedules and a range of thesauri.

WORLD 1 will provide work forms for data creation. The work forms will support the USMARC integrated format, and there will be user-friendly explanations in the margin for each MARC field or group of fields. The cataloguer may define work forms for the input and editing of each type of record, and set default work form values for the data entry session. The cataloguer may have more than one work form open at a time, and switch from one work form to the other, for example to perform cataloguing and authority control simultaneously.

WORLD 1 will identify invalid data conditions and give the cataloguer instant feedback at point of entry, in plain English messages. Cataloguing records created on the WORLD 1 client will be loaded to the WORLD 1 database in real time-there will be no more delays caused by overnight processing.

WORLD 1 will provide better support for the monitoring of cataloguing quality. Cataloguers may save their cataloguing records for local review before adding them to the national database, or flag their completed records for central review. Novice cataloguers may have all their work seen by one reviewer, and receive more personal and consistent help and advice. Review of cataloguing will no longer delay access to the record, as records may be searched on the WORLD 1 database even while waiting for review.

Getting ready to catalogue on WORLD 1

Cataloguing on WORLD 1 will be available in 1997. Cataloguers can prepare for the changeover by attending the demonstrations of the Search and Browse prototype, which will tour all capital cities in the new year. Cataloguers should plan to acquire a PC, and gain some familiarity with Windows, perhaps by using a Windows application for word processing. By using the WORLD 1 Search Service, which will be released in mid 1996, cataloguers will exercise their Windows and WORLD 1 searching skills. And of course, cataloguers can participate in the development of cataloguing in WORLD 1 through the ABN Standards Committee and the NDIS-L discussion list.

WORLD 1 to Host Medline Database

[Rob Walls]
Rob Walls
The National Library of Australia announced on 22 November that WORLD 1 will host the highest demand segments of the United States National Library of Medicine's (NLM) flagship database, Medline, from early 1997.

The announcement was made in Sydney by the National Library's online services marketing manager, Rob Walls, at the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Regulatory and Clinical Scientists to the Pharmaceutical Industry (ARCS).

The Medline database is a valuable acquisition for WORLD 1 which, as a one-stop-shop, will offer libraries and individuals advanced search, document requesting and collection management services.

The Medline database contains more than 6 million references to health and medical articles published since 1966. WORLD 1 will host the last four years (1.4 million records) of this extensive database.

Mr Walls said more than 300 Australian medical practitioners, pharmacists and medical libraries already use the National Library of Australia's electronic gateway service to Medline and other NLM databases in the US. He anticipates that demand will grow when Medline is hosted on WORLD 1 as people seeking up-to-date information on health, medical and pharma-ceutical subjects will experience a range of benefits-from improved response times, to a choice in document delivery methods.

Mr Walls said converting Medline from a gateway service to a hosted service will provide the best possible response time, far better than currently experienced across the Internet from NLM in the USA. Also, citations will be linked to serials locations on WORLD 1 thereby providing a choice as to the cost and speed of document delivery. When a useful article is found on Medline, users will be able to order the document either through the NLM's Docline service in the US, through UnCover, or the Australian interlibrary loan system.

In addition, the Medline data relating to Australia will be merged on WORLD 1 with the Australasian Medical Index (AMI), Australia's own premier medical database, to provide a comprehensive index to Australian medical information.

WORLD 1 will also provide access through transparent electronic gateways to other NLM databases, including those parts of Medline not hosted on WORLD 1. The transparent gateway service, available in 1997, will use the international Z39.50 protocol which allows one search system to query and retrieve data from databases located on other search systems.

WORLD 1 users will be able to search this entire medical resource by using the same easy-to-use interface utilised for all WORLD 1 databases.

To meet the needs of the widest range of users, access to WORLD 1 will be via the WORLD 1 client's graphical user interface interface or through a web browser, such as Netscape.

WORLD 1 Presentation at VALA

The National Library of Australia, in conjunction with the 1996 VALA (Victorian Association for Library Automation) Biennial Conference and Exhibition, will present a prototype of the WORLD 1 Search Service.

This premier event will take place on Monday 29 January at 2.00 pm in the La Trobe Theatre at the World Congress Centre, Melbourne. This is the first in a series of FREE presentations that will be held in all capital cities and Townsville in early 1996. Dates and venues are listed below.

National Library Assistant Director-General, Services to Libraries, Warwick Cathro, and the Joint Project Director, Jan Rosi, will present and demonstrate a prototype of the search and browse interface for the WORLD 1 service. The search and browse interface is what people will see and use when conducting inquiries on the new service. It is a state-of-the-art pictorial point and click interface, known as a graphical user interface (GUI).

Features such as selecting a database, defining data elements to search, combining search terms, online display and limiting search results will be shown. Other features such as natural language searching, fuzzy matching, relevance ranking, relevance feedback (find more like this), and cross database searching will be explained.

Progress on the project and details on what will be released in subsequent phases will also be outlined.

Invitations to attend this event will be sent to all ABN and Ozline customers. Anyone else who is interested is also welcome to attend. Please RSVP to WORLD 1 Marketing at least one week before the date, on fax: (02) 6273 1180; toll free 1800 026 155 or E-mail: market@nla.gov.au

29 January   Melbourne    World Congress Centre        2.00 pm                  
                          La Trobe Theatre                                 
7 February   Canberra     National Library of          2.00 pm                  
                          Australia                                        
                          Theatre                                          
8 February   Sydney       Powerhouse Museum            2.00 pm                  
                          Coles Theatre                                    
13 Feburary  Adelaide     Adelaide Convention Centre   2.00 pm                  
                          Meeting rooms 10 & 11                            
14 February  Perth        Parkroyal Perth              2.00 pm                  
                          Stirling Room                                    
16 February  Hobart       Sheraton Hobart Hotel        2.00 pm                  
                          Ballroom South                                   
19 February  Townsville   Travelodge                   9.30 am                  
                          Board Room                                       
21 February  Darwin       Beaufort Hotel               9.30 am                  
                          Ballroom 1                                       
23 February  Brisbane     Convention Centre            2.00 pm                  
                          Plaza Level, Room P3                             

Joint Meeting of the Network Committee
and the National Library's Corporate Management Group

[Network Committee & CMG, 11/96]

The Network Committee meeting with the Corporate Management Group, November 1995

The Network Committee's final meeting for 1995 departed from the traditional two-day format. It was preceded on 15 November by a workshop in which committee members combined with members of the National Library's Corporate Management Group to consider the WORLD 1 business plan. A further departure from tradition was the convening of morning meetings for both of the subcommittees-Enhancements and Charging-before the committee met for a day and a half of formal business. This schedule was chosen to provide the most effective means of covering the many WORLD 1 issues to be considered.

The committee received reports on and considered a number of topics in addition to WORLD 1. Major items considered were:

Network Services Branch promotion plan for 1996

The plan for publicising ABN/Ozline in 1996 emphasises the facilities of the interlibrary loan module and the National Bibiliographic Database. Promotional activities will include attendance at a number of trade exhibits and seminars, demonstrations of the services, and production of brochures. ABN/Ozline publicity will be integrated as far as possible with that prepared for

WORLD 1 and, in the case of trade exhibits, both ABN/Ozline and WORLD 1 will be presented. The key objective for the marketing group next year will be to ensure that existing ABN/Ozline customers are well informed of all aspects of the WORLD 1 service and are able to make a smooth transition to it.

Communications network changes

The existing leased line (SNA) telecommunications network is gradually being replaced with Internet connection to the National Library services. Internet will be the only means of connection to WORLD 1. With a view to optimising the expenditure required to establish the necessary connection to ABN/Ozline, the Network Committee agreed that no new leased-line connections would be installed after 1 March 1996. New and intending ABN/Ozline full service customers will be informed of this decision, and advised about their options for Internet access. This will ensure that ABN/Ozline customers do not purchase equipment or software which is no longer useable when WORLD 1 commences full operation by late 1997.

Charging Subcommittee

Derek Whitehead reported on the meeting of the subcommittee, whose main business is charging for ABN/Ozline in the lead up to the introduction of WORLD 1 and establishing the principles for WORLD 1 charging. Decisions on the actual level of 1995-96 charges for ABN/Ozline, and the initial charges for the WORLD 1 Search Service will be set at the regular meeting of the Charging Subcommittee early in 1996. The chief principles for setting WORLD 1 charges are considered to be:

In addition to the principles, the subcommittee considered the role of site licences, and their likely level of purchase, in the charging structure. They considered that correct prediction of this matter will be of major importance.

Enhancements Subcommittee

Geoff Payne chairs this subcommittee and he presented its report to the committee. The subcommittee had considered developments in the NDIS Project and document delivery requirements for the WORLD 1 service and other developments in the document delivery area. A major development is the CILLA (CAUL Interlibrary Loan Administration) project, a proposal submitted to the Vice Chancellors' Committee and CAUL for a new local ILL module which will provide a stand-alone document requesting and request management service for its customers. The Enhancements Subcommittee suggested that the National Library should work with a number of ABN/Ozline users to develop workflows which will accommodate the changes brought in by WORLD 1. These workflow analyses could then be used as advice to other customers in their implementation of WORLD 1.

Meetings for 1996

The Committee set the dates for its meetings and the Annual Users Meeting in 1996. These dates are:

The committee recommended that the Annual Users Meeting should be held on 16-17 July.

The committee also received advice that it had not been possible to arrange a venue and accommodation for delegates in Darwin for July 1996 (the peak of the tourist season), and accordingly agreed that next year's Annual Users Meeting should be held in Canberra.

Canberra was selected to allow the participation of a large number of people who are involved in the NDIS project and WORLD 1 implementation. It is also the most suitable venue for WORLD 1 demonstrations followed by discussions with individual users on their migration to the WORLD 1 Search Service.

CAUL Interlibrary Loans Project (CILLA)

The Council of University Librarians (CAUL) is planning to develop a local interlibrary loans administration system which, together with WORLD 1 developments and the JEDDS software project, will deliver to Australian libraries a powerful combination for managing interlibrary loans and document delivery. To this end a proposal for funding has been submitted to the Department of Employment Education and Training under the National Priority (Reserve) Fund, Library Projects for Improved Infrastructure - Network Information Support - Tier III: New and Innovative Projects.

The proposal reflects the fact that interlibrary loan departments, particularly those in academic libraries, are under stress because of greatly increased business and because local managements are dealing with a complex mix of manual and computer-based systems.

A significant amount of work has been done in North America and Australia to identify the principle elements of the proposed new local system. These include customised support for patron request management, tracking, generation of form letters and reports, links to bibliographic utilities, OPACs, patron files, circulation and reservation systems and both local collection and financial management systems.

If funded, the CILLA project will adopt a two-phased approach to development. In the first phase it will develop a local system which will act as a quasi-client to WORLD 1. The second phase will see the development of a stand-alone system customised to Australian and US specifications.

Timeboxing with the NDIS Heavyweights

It's now common knowledge that WORLD 1 will soon deliver some seriously important, ground-breaking services to the library community and beyond. Less well known are details about the timebox-the working medium where these services are gestating. In its physical manifestation, a timebox contains tables, chairs, rubbish bins, whiteboards, textas and people. There's nothing different or challenging about those in a work place; but what about the chocolates, soft toys, funny money, post-it notes, pieces of string and Lego?

The concept of the timebox was introduced to the NDIS Project team by its developer, Debra Pulak, a CSC employee who flew from the US to initiate staff members from the national libraries of Australia and New Zealand in its use. Catalyst constructs are used in XAD-Accelerated Application Development-and one of these is the timebox. It's applied to the whole project and managers from the NLA and the NLNZ are nuts about it.

What drives a timebox? Not unexpectedly, the short answer is time. Time serves the external force-in this case the need to develop a business concept rapidly and with the highest possible degree of funcionality-and dictates the working procedure for a team which must produce a result against the constraints of dedicated timelines and an immovable deadline.

Here's how it works.

Size [Debbie Campbell]

Each timebox (there are six in Phase 1 of WORLD 1 development; three running contiguously in round one, followed by another three in round two) has a fixed number of people, with defined skills, who must deliver a pre-specified set of discreet business procedures. Six to eight members is the optimum size of a team; any more and there is a risk that 'silent noise', or personal agendas, might start to take over. Surprisingly, team players are chosen for their skills alone; personality traits are not a factor because experience has proved that a common goal, coupled with an inflexible deadline, produces a satisfactory group dynamic in this type of endeavour.

RIGHT: Acting Project Manager, Debbie Campbell


Composition

Each timebox includes a person from NLA and a person from NLNZ who is responsible for decisions about business requirements. There is a database member from CSC (the project management firm) to update database design; a team leader, also from CSC, who coordinates the group; and three programmers. Occasional subject experts from the environment in which WORLD 1 will operate-for example, Rod Stroud from the National Library of Australia's Reference area-are consulted about local workflows and requirements.

[The Timebox] Participant guidelines, aka 'the rules'

Six participant guidelines, those also harboured by model families, prevail in each timebox. They are:

RIGHT: The System Support Timebox: Mary Gorman, Kay McAlister, James Spooner, Adam Hilhorst, Simon Oldfield (Jenny Rutledge was absent).

Modus operandi

Work periods resemble what used to be known as brain storming sessions and are

confined to five hours a day, with a break after three to ward off mental exhaustion and temporary insanity. Burn-out is a defined risk, especially as the team members from the first round of three timeboxes in a phase move, with their achieve-ments, into the second round, and must then attend an intensive adjourning workshop to analyse successes and failures and suggest further improvements.

And those six toys? M&Ms get the creative juices going; monopoly money simulates a driving force in the outside world; Lego pieces are used to build and change the system; post-it notes are moveable and therefore indicate that a construction is in an experi-mental stage; string is used to link the components of screen design before coding starts; and Cat, the mascot who moves from timebox to timebox, brings the warm and fuzzies of the real world in to NDIS team members.

The six timeboxes answering to business architect, Judith Pearce and acting project manager, Debbie Campbell in Phase 1: Search Services, are Search & browse, System support, Stakeholderservices (user registration), Document and item delivery, User support; and Billing.

Integration testing for this phase is scheduled for March 1996, with acceptance testing planned for April through June.

Interlibrary Resource Sharing: New Survey

Early in 1996 the Products and Services section will be sending out a survey to all libraries included in the 1994 edition of the Interlibrary Resouce Sharing Directory, as well as to those libraries whose details were received after it was published.

The survey will be 'personalised' for each institution, showing the information for that institution, with spaces provided for adding and amending details. There will be new questions on Premium track supply, a service which did not exist when the last survey was held, and on individual library lending policy.

Sample surveys were sent to a range of libraries for comment and the form is currently being revised with a view to the helpful suggestions received in response.

The despatch of the surveys will be advertised on the Daily News early in the new year.

Document Delivery Workshop

A workshop was held on 10 November 1995 to clarify the document delivery support services to be delivered as part of the NDIS Project and the timetable for delivery of those services. The workshop also aimed to confirm that what is delivered by WORLD 1 for document delivery will meet market and user needs. Attendance was by invitation and involved the Expert Advisory Group for Document Delivery and other people, from Australia and New Zealand, with expertise in the field.

Judith Pearce, the NDIS Project business architect, gave a presentation on what each phase of the project would deliver. Phase 0 (completed) involved an analysis of requirements and development of the system design. Phase 1 will provide powerful searching, integrated information resource and document requesting from the desk top. It will include access to full text and images stored on WORLD 1, copyright support, links from citations to holdings and document requesting via the current system or direct to designated suppliers. Phase 1 is scheduled to be delivered in the second half of 1996. Phase 2 will deliver transparent access to third-party databases, enhanced searching and document requesting, upline loading and cataloguing and indexing services.

The group heard from Neil McLean (Macquarie University) about the rigorous process used by the NDIS vision workshop in making the decisions about the Phase 2 developments which now involve cataloguing. Document delivery will be further developed in Phase 3 of the project.

Phase 3 of the project will deliver a full range of document delivery support services including the ability to upload and download request details, up-to-date information about suppliers, ISO ILL protocol support, Z39.50 item order (as server), and document delivery billing.

The group defined the critical document delivery support services for WORLD 1 as :

The need for a sophisticated and comprehensive local document request management system which would meet the needs of large users, such as the university sector, was identified as a key concern. The workshop recognised that several key functions required of this local system, such as holding patron information, will fall outside the scope of a central system like WORLD 1. To this end, participants heard about a proposal to develop a separate local document request system, known as CILLA, in Australia (see the previous article ).

The workshop agreed that it will be important for such a product to be developed outside the NDIS Project, to provide a complete document delivery infrastructure for the university sector. It was agreed that such a product would need to have complete compatibility with WORLD 1 and would also have connectivity to local integrated library management systems.

The workshop also identified the need for WORLD 1 to ensure that small libraries with less complex requirements than the academic sector, are given access to document request management services with the full range of functions available to users of current systems. Enhancements to ensure connectivity with local systems will also be required.

New Full Service Users

[ATO Logo]

LISS in the ATO, Brisbane Region

The Library and Information Services Section (LISS) provides a comprehensive library and information service to all Australian Taxation Office staff in the Brisbane CBD, Chermside and Upper Mt Gravatt branches. A library providing reference services, research loans, interlibrary loans and user-education training is located in each of the three offices, though cataloguing, purchasing and distribution are performed on a regional basis.

LISS is part of the wider ATO network of 26 libraries throughout Australia. All are valued and have a high profile within the organisation. The ATO library network is a formalised one. Branches work together collaboratively on policy issues, standards, and the electronic services provided to clients. A weekly bulletin appears on Taxlan and all ATO library managers and the library director meet once a year for an annual conference.

Not surprisingly, LISS's collection focuses on taxation, corporate and administrative law, business, finance, accounting, computer technology and training and development. There is also a collection of management texts and videos. Information is retrieved through a variety of formats including loose-leaf publications, acts, legislation, CD-ROM and, online databases.

The ATO library network has recently introduced a national online union catalogue called Techlib Plus, on which cataloguing, OPAC and circulation functions are performed. The acquisitions, serials and ATO thesaurus modules are expected to come online in 1996. All ATO libraries are electronically linked, providing uniform records and a vast resource-sharing database to all clients.

LISS has recently become a full member of ABN, with a separate NUC symbol for each of the three Brisbane libraries. This allows records to be downloaded into the Techlib system after matching against ABN, which leads to the subsequent contribution of uniquely identified holdings to the NBD. All holdings for ATO material are added to ABN, except for publications produced exclusively for ATO officers.

LISS staff members also access ABN when compiling bibliographies, undertaking reference work and searching for interlibrary loan locations.

Waverley Library, NSW

Since commencing in 1964, Waverley Library has proudly provided one of the most effective public library services in New South Wales. In common with other, similar services, its declared aim is to deliver a library and information product to meet, without discrimination, the educational, informational, cultural and recreational needs of its community.

[Waverley Municipal Library] In accordance with its obligations under the Sydney subject specialisation scheme, Waverley Library has within its resource collections of more than 240,000 items, extensive in-depth holdings in the fields of Spanish and Portuguese language and literature, law and public administration. Its reference collection is amongst the largest in Australian local government libraries, containing some 30,000 books, 420 periodical files, a detailed community information resource and over 50,000 items dealing with local studies and genealogy. Other strengths lie in the areas of Jewish history and culture and children's resources.

RIGHT: Waverley Municipal Library has a large clientele.


Waverley is an inner suburb of Sydney, with a population of 60,000. The library's 33,000 registered borrowers include 8,000 from other areas and the library acts in many ways as a 'regional' rather than just a local resource. Statistics show that in the vicinity of 40,000 visits are made to the central building each month.

Waverley Library employs the fully-integrated Book Plus software on an IBM AS400/200 hardware-based system. Enquiries on its OPAC screens each year number some 340,000. The library's annual loans exceed 625,000.

The first stage of conversion to ABN has involved the downline loading of 80 000 records for those items with ISBN's.

Maintenance on these continues and Waverley is now looking at beginning full MARC conversion of the remaining 100 000 catalogue records early in 1996. All records for new stock are downline loaded and holdings are added.

It is believed that, increasingly, the move to ABN will streamline and integrate acquisition and cataloguing processes, eventually releasing significant staff time for other purposes. Access to ABN has, additionally, facilitated bibliographic searching and interlibrary loan operations.

A new 4,000+m² library building is planned for Waverley by 1997.

Peninsula Institute of TAFE

[CD-Rom and Internet Corner, Peninsula College of TAFE Library] The R.W. Brazenor Library services students at the Peninsula Institute of TAFE (formerly Frankston College of TAFE) in Frankston, a bayside suburb 40 km south
of downtown Melbourne. The Institute has 9000 full and part-time students enrolled over three campuses-Frankston, Bonbeach and Rosebud-and 460 full-time and part-time staff members, in addition to 200 sessional teaching staff. Students attend from the southern Melbourne suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula, as well as outer suburban areas from Dandenong to Cranbourne.

The Library has 4990 enrolled borrowers. The collection includes 34 307 monographs, 256 serial titles, 2255 video recordings, as well as compact discs and music cassettes for recreational lending.

Particular strengths of the collection include art, computing, travel and tourism, rural studies and business.

Like some other Victorian TAFE libraries, Peninsula is currently converting its automated system from Starlite to DRA, which will offer an improved service to students and staff, particularly for OPAC searching, online self-reservations, and reserve room applications.

Peninsula has been a full member of ABN since February 1995 and has added holdings since then. With the implementation of DRA, records will be downloaded to tape and then uploaded into the local system. Systems librarian Michael Cunningham says, 'We are currently experiencing a 97% hit-rate with our searching, which has increased the through-put of cataloguing considerably. We are also using the inter-library loans module with success, and would encourage other TAFE Libraries to adopt this service'.

The Library will soon be offering Internet access for students and staff to augment the already extensive reference services which include more than 25 CD-ROM full-text and citation databases.

New headings in APAIS Thesaurus

The National Library's APAIS section recently completed its annual review of APAIS thesaurus terms. Altogether 31 new headings have been added to the APAIS Thesaurus. This year, in response to feedback from APAIS users, special emphasis was given to terms in the arts. After reviewing the volume of literature being indexed in the arts, substantial changes were made to headings in the Aboriginal arts, general art and music fields. In the past, headings in these areas have been heavily utilised making the scanning of articles cumbersome for both online and hardcopy users of APAIS. A list of the new and deleted headings appears below.

New thesaurus headings

Aboriginal artists                  Folk music                           
Aboriginal children                 Instrumental music                   
Aboriginal literature               Jewellery                            
Art history                         Musical instruments                  
Art festivals                       Orchestral music                     
Asian studies                       Paintings                            
Bark paintings                      Performance art                      
Ceramics                            Portraits                            
Country and western music           Printmaking                          
Craft                               Republicanism                        
Cultural tourism                    Rock music                           
Decorative arts                     Rock paintings                       
Drawings                            Taxation law                         
Ethnomusicology                     Urban consolidation                  
Feminist art                        Women artists                        
Film festivals                                                           

Thesaurus heading deletions

Current cost accounting             Handicrafts                          

Users will be able to search for articles under the new headings from 1996. Please note that the major purpose of the Thesaurus is to provide subject terms for APAIS indexing, so some otherwise worthy terms suggested by subject experts were not accepted simply because there was not a sufficient volume of literature being indexed on the subject.

For further information contact Vera Dunn, Thesaurus Librarian, APAIS.

Tel. (02) 6262 1650 or E-mail apais@nla.gov.au

APAIS Thesaurus: A List of Subject Terms Used in the Australian Public Affairs Information Service, 5th edn., Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1994, $A17.50 (postage included) is available from Sales and Distribution, National Library of Australia, Canberra ACT 2600. Tel. (02) 6262 1664.

The Thesaurus is also available on disk for $A150.00.

Revisions to Australian Periodicals in APAIS

Since 1963, a number of periodicals have been chosen for comprehensive indexing in APAIS because of their importance in their fields. All articles-with the exception of those less than one page in length, book reviews, notes and imaginative literature, including poetry or short stories-are indexed from these periodicals.

The periodicals indexed are listed in the front of each issue of APAIS. Periodical titles considered for inclusion or deletion from this list are reviewed each year. In 1996 the following additional periodical titles will be comprehensively indexed:

Other changes to the list of comprehensively indexed APAIS periodicals are as follows:

No longer comprehensively indexed:

Periodicals which have ceased publication:

Periodicals which have changed their titles:

For further information contact Gaye Gericke, Senior Indexing Librarian, APAIS. Tel. (02) 6262 1650 or E-mail apais@nla.gov.au

Let's Talk TOC

Following consultation with ABN users, which showed strong support for the Blackwells Table of Contents (TOC) enhanced records, the subscription for TOC records has been renewed for 1995-96. The comments from users explain the value of the TOC records:

'... best thing since sliced bread ... essential for composite works, collections of essays, conference proceedings etc...'
'... useful to read online and decide whether the book is the one you want without going to the shelves ...'
'... an excellent way of deciding if the title is what is required for interlibrary loan ...'
'... a great time saver for the cataloguers here ...'

The Table of Contents information makes TOC records much longer than the average MARC record. While modern library systems have coped well with the long records, the ABN system has had many problems processing the records, and has rejected up to 5% of them. ABN's subscription to TOC records has been changed to limit the length of TOC records to 3,000 characters, so that all records can be loaded successfully. Long TOC records which cause processing problems are manually edited by NBD staff to limit their length. The National Library is discussing with Blackwell North America what options there might be for obtaining the unabridged TOC records for loading into WORLD 1.

Display of TOC records in local systems

While TOC data provides greatly improved access, the sheer volume of the data can clutter up online displays and make them difficult to scan. The INNOPAC system has provided for this by prompting the catalogue user with an option to view the Table of Contents data. If the user exercises this option, the TOC data is displayed in an attractive format resembling the Table of Contents in the book. The INNOPAC system has been designed to receive the TOC data in a special field, MARC field (970), instead of the standard field (505), and INNOPAC users are understandably interested in receiving their TOC data in the special field.

Trial of TOC data in field 970

In order to distribute TOC data in field 970, it must first be ascertained whether this would be acceptable to Australian libraries which do not use the INNOPAC system. A trial is under way to enable Australian libraries to load the 970 fields to their local systems and report the results. Test records have been sent to libraries using the following systems: ADLIB, Dynix, GEAC, INNOPAC, PALS, STARLITE, Stowe, URICA and VTLS. However, progress has been very slow, due to the need for libraries to modify their MARC loading programs to receive and index the 970 fields. Only the Stowe and VTLS sites have successfully loaded the test data so far. The ideal solution would be to offer users options for the format of their TOC data in MARC records, but this is not likely to be implemented in ABN. With National Library systems resources being devoted chiefly to the development of WORLD 1, changes to the current ABN system are being strictly limited. If any libraries wish to participate in the TOC 970 trial, please contact Lindy Brindle on 1 800 026 155, or E-mail lbrindle@nla.gov.auto receive your test records.

WORLD 1 Connections Coming Up!

Although it has seen several changes in format and has acquired a secondary title along the way, ABN News with Ozline News has reached its readers 84 times since January/February 1982.

In 1996, to reflect current developments, it will be replaced by a completely new-look newsletter called WORLD 1 Connections which we hope you will find even more informative. Please remember, suggestions for new or expanded areas of coverage are always welcome. It's our way of sharing your network with you!

Global Deletion of ZNUC Holdings

The National Bibliographic Database and Standards Section is now offering a global deletion service for the ZNUC signon.

The section will globally delete all your library's holdings from the ZNUC signon if the following criteria are met:

For the NBD staff to globally delete holdings under the ZNUC signon, please send a letter or fax to the address below. Remember to include the following details in your request:

The address is:

Jacob Young
NBD & Standards Section
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Tel. 1800026155 or +616 2621119
Fax: +616 2731180
E-mail: j.young@nla.gov.au

Protection of Australian CiP records on the NBD

ABN participants may have noticed lately that Australian Cataloguing-in-Publication (CiP) records are now being coded at high level by use of the LCD field. This change has occurred because it was found that some Australia CiP records were being replaced by incoming Library of Congress records. This meant that some records which qualified for inclusion in the Australian National Bibliography were not actually appearing because they had been replaced before the record had been selected for ANB. National Library staff input data in the NOQ field of any record to be searched for ANB but this NOQ field disappears if the record is replaced. The record then fails to be selected for inclusion in the bibliography.

The matter was discussed at the Standards Committee meeting held in September 1995 and a resolution (ABN/SC/1995/RES/18) was passed approving the use of the LCD field to protect Australian CiP records from replacement by overseas records.

Any queries may be directed to Angela Brown, Editor, Australian Natonal Bibliography, on (02) 6262 1163, or E-mail: abrown@nla.gov.au, or fax (02) 6273 1180.

US Government Publications on Interlibrary Loan

The National Library of Australia has been a selective depository library for federal US government publications under the US Depository Library Program for a number of years. The United States Government Printing Office is making these publications available on CD-ROM and floppy disks, and increasing numbers of United States government publications are becoming avaliable in electronic formats.

When these materials are received in the National Library they are catalogued onto ABN so that libraries around Australia can identify where they are held. The Library is willing to make these titles available through interlibrary loan.

Normal borrowing procedures for interlibrary loans apply and the charges are the same as for a loan.

For further information please telephone (02) 62621629 or (06) 2621421.

Visual Reality Summer School

The National Library of Australia's first summer school 'Illustrating Ideas: Established and Emerging Formats', will be held on Saturday and Sunday 20-21 January 1996.

The summer school will explore the hows, whys and who's who of Australian illustration. Summer school leaders include cartoonist Judy Horacek, comic artist and graphic novelist Glenn Lumsden, book illustrator Anne James, hypertext publisher Rosie Cross and comic and multimedia artist Sam Young. Participants in the workshop sessions will have a difficult choice to make between illustration and mini comic workshops, an animation film program led by Dennis Tupicoff and multimedia and Internet demonstrations.

Registration for the summer school is $A155 and includes morning and afternoon teas but not meals or accommodation. The day rate is $A80 and the rate for students, concession holders, staff and Friends of the National Library of Australia, is $A145. Applications should be addressed to:

Education Section
National Library of Australia
Parkes Place
PARKES ACT 2600

To register your interest, please contact Lynnette Pullin on tel. (02) 6262 1271, fax (02) 6273 4493 or E-mail lpullin@nla.gov.au

[Mad Hatters]

ALIA Public Libraries Conference 1995: Lighter Side

The conference was held at the ANA Hotel, Sydney, and included a trade stand mounted by Southern Scene, a library supply company specialising in audio and large print books, which was celebrating 25 years of service. To add a lighter side to the proceedings the company encouraged visitors to the stand to pose for photographs in chapeaux of their choice. Caroline appears here in one of her more restrained selections.

Rob Walls and Caroline Scharrer (Network Services Marketing) let the ALIA Public Libraries Conference go to their heads in mid November.


Ftp of Bibliographic Records

The National Library has begun a pilot project in file transfer protocol (ftp) of bibliographic records for libraries which receive regular tapes or diskettes of their holdings and/or bibliographic changes.

These libraries need to have Internet access and reasonable systems support is desirable.

There are seven libraries involved in the pilot project, ranging from large to smaller institutions. Data received successfully by the libraries has been in AUSMARC and USMARC unspanned format. In most cases it has been loaded easily to local systems but where institutions have required extra support, this has been provided by the National Library's systems staff.

If the project proves to be a success and the libraries involved wish to continue receiving their records in this manner, the service will be offered on a more formal basis.

A reasonable number of libraries, over and above the seven in the pilot project, have already expressed an interest. The National Library expects this interest to increase because, overall, it is a very efficient way of receiving records.

If you would like any further information on the ftp of records, please call the ABN Help Desk on 1 800 026155 or E-mail networks@nla.gov.au

Daily News Highlights

British Library records form Library of Congress

A recent Daily News item advised clients that ABN now receives BNB records via the Library of Congress, rather than directly from the British Library.

Clients receiving Collection 3 printouts of new headings may have noticed headings labelled SUG-V and SUPSV. This is LC's way of flagging that the authenticity of the heading has not been checked. Indicator 2=V (=4 in MARC records) means that the source of the heading 'has not been specified'.

Headings containing this indicator value can be output via DLL and ReMARC. Local systems, however, might need to be changed in order to cope with the new data. Unfortunately, these hEadings will not appear on cards or microfiche products as the relevant output programs contain no instructions regarding indicator value 2=V.

The development will be referred to the Standards Committee for consideration. Meanwhile, the NBD Section would like to hear from any clients experiencing problems with these headings.

Please contact Lenore Kennedy via the Help Desk (1800 026 155) or E-mail: lkennedy@nla.gov.au

As a partial solution, clients are advised that they may change the 'V' to an 'L' in the biblio-graphic record prior to adding their holdings-provided, of course, that the heading is valid.

18 October 1995

New Look HEAPS

If you have had a look at the Health Education and Promotion (HEAPS) database on Ozline recently you will have noticed that it is leaner and has a different look. The production of the database has been taken over by Prometheus Information which has changed the format of the records and taken the opportunity to discard out-of-date material.

HEAPS contains nearly 4000 records providing information on health promotion activities and materials available in Australia and New Zealand.

To access HEAPS, logon to Ozline and choose the database.

20 October 1995

Calling all pictorial cataloguers

The National Library has recently drafted guidelines for cataloguing collections of pictorial materials and has distributed these guidelines for comment.

The guidelines are being developed to promote local and national access to these collections by assisting cataloguers, particularly in public libraries, to prepare collection level records on the National Bibliographic Database for their photographic collections.

The guidelines are intended to be consistent with ABN standards, presented in a concise and easy-to-use format.

If you have catalogued a collection of photographs or any other pictorial materials and would like to comment on the guidelines for your institution, please request a copy from Karen Simm, National Bibliographic Database and Standards, tel. 1800 02 6155, fax (06) 273 1180, E-mail ksimm@nla.gov.au

Comments should be addressed to Lenore Kennedy, Acting Manager, National Bibliographic Database and Standards: tel. 1800 02 6155, fax (02) 6273 1180, E-mail: lkennedy@nla.gov.au

14 November, 1995

WORLD 1 data extraction

As NBD authorities, bibliographic, Ozline and stakeholder data is extracted as part of the current migration of data to the new WORLD 1 database certain benefits will emerge.

Probably the most gratifying for cataloguers is the collapsing of the collection views of records. As the data is pulled off the current database, only one collection view of the biblio-graphic data is extracted, so there will be no duplication of headings. Also, the extraction process connects all bibliographic and authority data to USMARC.

We have tried to connect all data to the most recent USMARC format, making the database as uniform as possible-5 December 1995

Christmas and New Year operating hours

All ABN and Ozline services (including Supersearch and SOFI) will be available through Christmas and the New Year break.

The systems will be brought down for NITLY processing at the times below, but will otherwise be available 24 hours a day throughout this period.

The down times will be EST 5-8 pm on 22 Decmber, 7-9 pm on 29 December and 7.45-8.30 am on 21 January 1996. Help Desk service will be available only from 9 am to 5 pm on 27-29 December.

7 December 1995

National Bibliographic Database Statistics on 1 December 1995

Bibliographic file             11 512 180                                
Holdings statements            23 029 816                                
Authority file                 1 421 384                                 
Orig cat records               1 738 893                                 

MARC Records Available on 1 December 1995

ANB                 1972-present                                         
LC BOOKS            1968-16 Oct 1995                                     
LC SERIALS          1973-4 Oct 1995                                      
LC FILMS            1972-4 Oct 1995                                      
LC MUSIC            1984-4 Oct 1995                                      
LC MAPS             1973-4 Oct 1995                                      
LC CJK BOOKS        1988-4 Oct 1995                                      
LC CJK SERIALS      1991-4 Oct 1995                                      
TOC                 1994-9 Oct 1995                                      
USGPO               1976-31 Oct 1995                                     
USNLM BOOKS         1984-31 Sept1995                                     
USNLM SERIALS       1984-31 Sept1995                                     
BNB                 1971-11 Oct 1995                                     
CANADIANA           1974-14 June 1995                                    
NZNB                1982-26 Sept1995                                     
NZBN original cat   1982-17 Oct 1995                                     
SNB                 1967-30 Sept1995                                     

Categories of Bibliographic Records on 2 December 1995

Total Bibliographic Records    11 512 176                                
Interims                       28 394                                    
Full Bibliographic Records     10 985 782                                
Books                          9 427 651                                 
Serials                        1 069 563                                 
Nonbooks                       1 016 962                                 

Nonbook Categories on 2 December 1995

Cartographic materials         234 871                                   
Sound recordings               259 792                                   
Motion pictures & videos       171 726                                   
Music scores                   173 840                                   
Filmstrips                     25 528                                    
Pictorial materials            36 539                                    
Slides                         16 914                                    
Manuscripts                    25 031                                    
Kits                           6 538                                     
Transparencies                 2 835                                     
Charts                         1 725                                     
Games                          1 586                                     
Other                          6 042                                     

Return to ABN NEWS with Ozline News Home Page

Last updated 18 December 1997