ISSN 1443-0568
No. 17
September 1995
National Library of Australia Gateways was edited and designed by Leora Kirwan using desktop publishing software. Please address any comments or enquiries to:
The Editor, Gateways
Network Services Marketing
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT. 2600
E-mail: lkirwan@nla.gov.au
All articles in this publication may be reproduced without written permission on the condition that their source is clearly acknowledged.
National Library of Australia Gateways is issued bimonthly and prepared by the Services to Libraries Division of the National Library of Australia. Subscriptions are available on application at the rate of $A40.00 p.a. from:
Sales and Distribution
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA
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Telephone: (02) 6262 1646 Fax: 61 6 273 1084
At the ABN Annual Users Meeting in July, the Director-General of the National Library of Australia, Warren Horton, announced WORLD 1 as the brand name for the Australian service being developed by the National Document and Information Service (NDIS) Project.
In introducing the WORLD 1 name, the Director-General said that WORLD 1 represents the National Library's vision for the future, where all Australians will have enhanced access to world-wide networked information resources from a personal computer in the home, office or library. In particular, it is aimed at assisting libraries and individuals to obtain documents when their local information resource needs to be supplemented. WORLD 1 will be particularly relevant when the search for information needs to be broadened to a nationwide or international search. The service will facilitate access to documents of all kinds, including print, multimedia and electronic.
WORLD 1 will support the whole document supply cycle from the creation and management of data to the search and delivery of information. The first WORLD 1 service to be released will be the Search service, which is due from August 1996.
Development Project
The development project for WORLD 1 has been divided into a number of phases, with the emphasis on achieving the fastest and most efficient implementation of services. Phase 0, the analysis and design phase of the project, was completed in March 1995. Work is now progressing rapidly on Phase I which will deliver the Search service.
The work done in Phase I to develop the information resource and make it accessible to users, will form the foundation for the development of advanced document delivery, gateway and data creation and management services in subsequent project phases.
Search Service
The WORLD 1 Search service will facilitate the efficient search, location, request and delivery of information of all kinds. It will replace and expand SOFI and Supersearch access to the existing ABN and Ozline data which will be hosted on WORLD 1 as a single resource of linked full text documents, document images and document descriptions. The ability to search external information resources via transparent gateways will also be implemented, but at a later stage.
WORLD 1 users will be able to conduct a search across the whole of the information resource, select individual databases to search, or select and search across multiple databases with a single query.
One of the key strengths of WORLD 1 will be the precise links that it will create between citations, serials and locations. From August next year, the UnCover database will be hosted on WORLD 1. This will link the article titles on UnCover to the serial locations on the NBD, thus creating an extensive index to this holdings information.
When searching WORLD 1, users will also have access to a database of Australian document images for almost all articles indexed by APAIS since January 1995. Users of this database will be able to display immediately a portion of the relevant document on the PC, and then view or download the entire document.
When a user has identified a relevant item, they will be able to exploit WORLD 1's advanced navigation tools to discover more. A user could, for example, navigate from an APAIS citation to the scanned document image or to linked holdings; or, if the data are stored on the system to allow this, they could navigate from an electronic address to the document itself held on another system.
Full support for document requesting will be an integrated part of the Search service.
High Quality Support
High quality support from the National Library, including help desk, documentation and training, will complement the range of online help and tutorials provided by WORLD 1. A range of other customer services will also be implemented in this first release, including a full user registration system.
Cost Effective Searching
The effective cost of Phase I services will be similar to the current systems; however, more charging options will be provided. A range of subscription, site licence and discount options will enable users to tailor their own packages to suit individual budget and usage needs. The exact structures for charging are currently under development.
Access
A state of the art Windows-based graphical user interface will be provided to meet the needs of frequent or advanced users. This is a pictorial point and click interface, for which the software will be provided by the National Library as part of the registration package. It will perform best on a 33MHz 486PC with 8 megabytes of memory. A Macintosh client is also planned to be released as a high priority in the next phase. Less frequent users would prefer to access WORLD 1 via the World Wide Web gateway.
More Information
In November this year, National Library staff will visit every Australian capital city, and also Townsville, to present information on WORLD 1 and to demonstrate a prototype. Invitations will be sent to all ABN and Ozline members in the next month. Any other libraries interested in receiving an invitation are requested to contact Christine Clay, fax:: (02) 6273 1180 or E-mail: cclay@nla.gov.au
Following the 17 July appointment of the Commonwealth's new Chief Government Information Officer, Andy Macdonald, a new Office of Government Information Technology, with about 20 staff, has been established within the Minister of Finance's portfolio.
The CGIO will also lead a new Government Information Services Policy Board, which will provide recommendations through the Minister of Finance to the Government Ad Hoc (Information Services) Committee of Cabinet.
The Deputy Director-General of the National Library, Eric Wainwright, has been appointed to the board, which has the following terms of reference:
In consultation with other relevant policy committees, provide policy advice to government on information and communications service issues in general, including the Government's role in the provision and use of these services in a way which meets economic and social objectives by:
(b) identifying support-unities for coordination of infrastructure and delivery of services, and promotion of best practice amongst departments and agencies including the use of outsourcing and partner-ships with industry;
(c) developing a vision for IT and information services in government focussing on the delivery of client services to the public;
(d) providing advice on, and fostering sound practices in relation to :
(ii) the potential for the merger of smaller data centres and their support structures and the savings that can be realised;
(iii) the development of and revision of guidelines for agency corporate information technology, telecommunications and procurement plans and the integration of all such information available to industry in electronic form to facilitate their ready updating by agencies;
(iv) the implementation of more common standards in IT to enable better communication and access to information across agencies;
(v) promote common benchmarking across agencies as a mechanism to improve efficiency and accountability;
(vi) overcoming administrative impediments in procurements, staffing and contracts to outsourcing and partnering with industry;
(vii) fostering a more innovative approach to the development of systems, support of legacy systems, delivery of services, including the use of the lead agency concept; and
(viii) establishing, in consultation with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a database of information on the use of IT and information on the Commonwealth's use of IT.
The National Library anticipates that the new board, which met for the first time on 7 September 1995, will lead to much improved delivery of government information and services in the future.
The National Library of Australia has embarked on a task to prepare a comprehensive guide to its collections relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The preparation of such a guide is a response to the efforts which have been made recently by a growing number of Australian libraries and archives to improve their services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to raise awareness generally of the rich body of material which documents aspects of the history and culture of Australia's indigenous peoples. At the same time, the guide will provide the means by which collection managers can evaluate the quality and coverage of the Library's holdings in this field and plan for more effective collection development in the context of the Distributed National Collection.
Responsibility for the preparation of this guide is being undertaken by National Library staff member John Thompson in the Collections and Reader Services Division. John has an extensive knowledge of the National Library's Australian collections and a wide know-ledge of library and archival resources in the Australiana field elsewhere in the country. The Library believes that the production of a detailed and comprehensive guide to holdings is an essential first step in breaking down the barriers which may have inhibited access by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to significant components of what is an important part of their historical and cultural record. In the research and preparation of its guide to holdings, the National Library will consult with the indigenous community, recognising the cultural sensitivities of certain kinds of archival and documentary material, particularly pictorial records. The Library will also take into account the national protocols which are now in the course of development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander information held in libraries, archives and information repositories.
Within this framework, the National Library is keen to ensure that its guide to holdings is disseminated nationally and that it becomes a useful community resource. Current plans are for the guide to be mounted on the National Library's information server and distribution through the Internet. Hard copy publication is also a possibility.
Work on the guide is in its early phase at present. Consultation and data gathering will be carried out in tandem over the next few months. The aim will be to complete the detailed listing and description of materials by the end of the year and to arrange for the dissemination of the guide during the first half of 1996. Further progress will be reported in future issues of Gateways.
LEFT: Eddie Mabo at James Cook University in the early 1980s. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Bonita Mabo
The National Library hosted a lunch at the Sheraton Hotel, Townsville, on Sunday 5 August to mark the transfer to the Library of the personal papers of Eddie Koiki Mabo. It was attended by Eddie Mabo's widow, Mrs Bonita Mabo, their children, members of the Torres Strait Islander community in Townsville, local government representatives, staff of James Cook University, and four staff members of the National Library. The Director-General presented special leather bound copies of the guide to the Mabo Papers to Mrs Mabo and to the Librarian of James Cook University, Mr John McKinley.
The acquisition of the Mabo
Papers was a complex and lengthy transaction, largely carried out by Glenn
Schwinghamer of the Manuscript Section. For some time the Library has been
looking at ways in which documentation relating to the movement for land rights
and political self-determination of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders
should be preserved. Mabo became a national figure only after his death in
1992, but he was an important activist and his papers constitute a significant
body of source material on that topic.
Although Eddie Koiki Mabo is associated with the celebrated High Court case relating to native title, his papers are not limited to that case. They cover the last 20 years of his life in considerable detail and include papers relating to his various business ventures, Aboriginal educational, housing and cultural organisations, and his involvement in the Torres Strait Islands independence movement. One of the largest series of papers deals with the Black Community School at Townsville, of which Mabo was director for 10 years and which was the first of its kind in Australia. Of particular importance are eight diaries kept by Mabo towards the end of his life and his letters, poems and sketches relating to the Murray Islands.
The Library is in the process of acquiring a substantial collection of transcripts, exhibits and other legal papers documenting the Mabo Case from the Melbourne barrister Mr Brian Keon-Cohen, who represented the plaintiffs before the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court.
This collection will be a major source for legal historians and will complement the personal papers revealing the achievements of Eddie Mabo.
Left: Sir Anthony Mason AC, KBE. AIS photograph from the Pictorial Collection
On Friday 7 July the Minister for Communications and the Arts, The Hon. Michael Lee MP, announced that the Governor-General had appointed the Hon. Sir Anthony Mason AC, KBE as Chairman of the National Library of Australia Council.Sir Anthony replaces Sir Ninian Stephen who resigned on 31 December 1994.
Sir Anthony retired as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
in April of this year and his extensive knowledge of the law and public affairs
should greatly assist the council in its work. His first formal meeting was
held on 4 August.
The National Library established a Digital Services Strategy Group in 1994, to coordinate and support a range of digital library projects being planned, or already underway, in the Library. The Group was formed with the aim of gathering information about digital library developments, looking at the issue of standards for digital material, and addressing the library's priorities and strategies for conversion of collection materials, electronic publishing, access to digital materials and the handling of digital material.
The Group is now chaired by Kerry Webb, the Director of Digital Library Projects, and has allocated funds during the current financial year to a number of projects. These include:
Further information on the National Library's digital projects may be obtained from Kerry Webb, telephone (02) 6262 1535 or E-mail: kwebb@nla.gov.au
The National Library is currently engaged in a number of activities relating to copyright and intellectual property issues.
The Copyright Law Review Committee is now reviewing the Copyright Act, 1968 (Cwlth), and the National Library, together with the National Film and Sound Archive, has been working on a submission regarding the legal deposit provisions of the Copyright Act.
At present the National Film and Sound Archive relies on donations of material to carry out its mandate of preservation and access for moving picture and sound materials. The National Library receives legal deposit copies of printed publications, but does not receive microforms, electronic output or any other forms of publishing in this way. Both institutions believe that the development of comprehensive legal deposit legislation is essential to the preservation of the cultural heritage materials each collects.
The National Library has produced a draft agreement for producers of CD-ROMs and other electronic publications who wish to deposit copies of their products with the Library. A separate agreement for the purchase of CD-ROMs and other electronic publications has also been produced. It is expected that this may result in the acquisition of a number of nonprint publications not presently received through legal deposit. These agreements have been sent to a number of publishers for comment and response.
The Library plans to develop its own internal policy on copyright. The Library is an owner and user of copyrighted materials; it is a major provider of services from copyrighted materials; it is a creator and publisher of original works; and with the introduction of the WORLD 1 service, will be a collector of copyright usage information. Following consultation with a number of areas within the Library, it is expected that the draft policy will be available on the National Library's server towards the end of the year.
There is a likelihood that Australia's electronic cultural heritage will not be recorded for future generations. This has prompted the National Library of Australia to seek the voluntary deposit of CD-ROMs and other electronic media from electronic publishers.
CD-ROM publishing is flourishing in Australia, as is publication on floppy disc and other electronic media. Publications cover a wide variety of topics including Australian birds, art, the Great Barrier Reef, minerals, snakes and games. Many of them are multimedia, with sound, pictures, and moving images as well as text.
The National Library has an important role to play in ensuring the survival of Australia's cultural heritage. The Copyright Act contains legal deposit provisions to reinforce this role. Under these conditions, publishers are required to deposit a copy of all paper-based materials they publish. This covers books, newspapers, journals, maps, music and pamphlets. It does not cover electronic media.
The Library has begun to approach the producers of electronic publications to deposit their works on a voluntary basis. The result has been very positive and the Library has begun to receive discs for its collection. These are catalogued and the records made available via the Australian Bibliographic Network as well as being published in the Australian National Bibliography.
Electronic publications are expensive to produce and the Library is careful to make sure that it does not affect the commercial interests of producers. It has drawn up a set of conditions to govern the use of electronic publications in the Library and to prevent unauthorised copying. Access is limited to one user at a time within the Library building.
Voluntary deposit is regarded as an interim measure until such time as the Copyright Act is changed to include guaranteed deposit for the Library.
For more information contact: Margaret Henty on (06) 262 1496 or E-mail: m.henty@nla.gov.au.
The National Library is now offering a range of services to publishers through the Internet. Orders can be placed for ISBNs, ISSNs and Cataloguing-in-Publication records via the Library's home page. Information about these services, together with forms to request data electronically, can be found under the heading Services to Publishers, at http://www.nla.gov.au/services/serv_pubs.html. Contact with the individual agencies is also available through E-mail, at isbn@nla.gov.au; issn@nla.gov.au; cip@nla.gov.au.
The Library includes a list of Australian electronic journals in its server which now contains over 260 of these titles. Most of the journals are available gratis and are hot-linked to the list for easy access. The list can be found at: http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/ausejour.html
To be included in this list, publishers of electronic journals on the Internet can register their titles through the server and can request an ISSN at the same time http://www.nla.gov.au/services/ejrego_form.html
The Towards Federation 2001 Working Group on High Priority Cross Sectoral Projects held its first meeting, in February 1993, to raise funds for, and then oversee, projects of 'high priority cross sectoral benefit'. Members of the working group are Eric Wainwright (Convenor) National Library of Australia; Robyn Collins, State Library of Tasmania; Fran Awcock, State Library of South Australia; and Janine Schmidt, University of Queensland.
In February 1995 the group wrote to the Australian Council of Library and Information Services (ACLIS), the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the Council of State Libraries (CASL), the Council of University Libraries (CAUL) and the National Library requesting funding support for new and existing projects. In response to this request a fund of around $A80 000 is available to support new projects into 1996.
Projects currently being supported by the Working Group include:
Details of all current projects, information on how to contribute to the fund, and information on how to apply for funding are available through the DNC Office home page on the NLA Webserver at URL http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/meetings/prog795.html, or may be obtained from Rachel Jakimow, Administrative Support to the Working Group, DNC Office, National Library of Australia, Canberra (telephone 06 262 1522, fax 06 273 1133, E-mail: r.jakimow@nla.gov.au)
Since the National Library's information server was officially launched on 6 March 1995, the WWW site has continued to grow. From the NLA home page (http://www.nla.gov.au) you are able to explore a wide range of Australian and international resources.
Significant additions in the month of July were:
Additions in the month of August:
You can check the new additions to the National Library's site at any time from: http://www.nla.gov.au/new/. Just follow the hyperlinks!
The Pictorial Section recently purchased a portfolio of photographs by the Aboriginal photographer Ricky Maynard, entitled 'No more than what you see'. This collection, which was sponsored by the South Australian Department of Correctional Services, documents the Aboriginal experience of imprisonment in South Australia.
The photographer was granted access to four South Australian prisons: Yatala Labour Prison, Northfield Prison Complex, Port Augusta Prison and the Cadell Training Centre, and over a two-month period-August and September 1993-he captured these subtle, poignant, thought-provoking images.
Ricky Maynard has said that he hopes the viewer will appreciate the images for their aesthetic and technical quality, but, more importantly, he would like people to take another look, to wonder why Aboriginal people are so over-represented in the prison system, and to try, even in the smallest way, to work for social change.
Many of the photographs are captioned. For example, a page of photographs of a prisoner exercising in a small, concrete yard with high walls, is accompanied by the quotation: 'When I run, it's a physical and mental form of training because the scenery never changes, the monotony of the prison routine and our running track can drag you down if you let it'. Another photograph, of a man staring into a mirror, has the caption 'There are no mirrors, all the ones we have here are steel so that you can never see yourself, you're always distorted'. Others need no captions: a young boy gazes longingly through the wire of the prison fence; a man withdraws into the corner of a bleak and featureless prison cell, and a woman with a sad, resigned expression stands in front of a wall on which are displayed several photographs of her children.
For Ricky Maynard, photography as an art form can never be separated from its social value, and his work continues a long tradition of ethical and humanistic documentation.
The Library does not often acquire manuscripts on the open market and, when it does so, it is usually through long-established antiquarian dealers or auction houses, such as Quaritch and Sotheby's. It therefore came as a surprise when some manuscripts were offered for sale at a recent Canberra Antiquarian Book Fair. The Library made two quite contrasting purchases.
The first acquisition comprised a small group of papers, photographs and publications which had been in the possession of a daughter of a former Australian Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Cook. Cook had a long political career, but he was always overshadowed by more colourful colleagues, such as Sir George Reid and W.M. Hughes. He began his working life as a coal miner and accounts of his life are usually headed 'Pit Boy to Prime
Minister'. Like Hughes, he was an English migrant, who briefly led the newly-formed Labor Party in the New South Wales Parliament, and switched to the Federal Parliament in 1901. Cook became a leader of both the Free Trade and Liberal parties, served as Prime Minister in 1913-14, and was displaced as Leader of the Liberal Party by Hughes following the conscription split in 1916. He served as Minister for the Navy in 1917-20, Treasurer in 1920-21, and in 1921 followed another former Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, as Australian High Commissioner in London. He died in Sydney in 1947.
Cook left very few personal records, although the Library does hold a collection of papers he accumulated while attending the Imperial War Conference and Peace Conference in 1918-19. The collection that has just been acquired is important in that it includes a number of diaries and notebooks, dating from 1909 to 1924, which record some of his thoughts and ideas in his own handwriting. There are also a number of photographs, including a few depicting him as a young man, one or two official documents, and a collection of publications and articles assembled by his daughter. The most colourful document is an illuminated address presented to Cook by the residents of Wallerawang when he transferred to the Federal Parliament in 1901.
The other purchase at the Book Fair was a manuscript written and illustrated by or for a young girl at roughly the time that Cook was Prime Minister. 'Chorkles' lived in Echuca and was the daughter of a Doctor Moss, but she has yet to be fully identified. 'Chorkles Book of Rhymes' consists of 12 pages of verse, each verse accompanied by a drawing of 'Chorkles', her cats, neighbours, sombre or manic citizens of Echuca, and even King George V.
The Library has a small collection of children's manuscripts and this slim volume is a delightful period piece which, no doubt, will be displayed and reproduced often.
The National Library recently acquired some of the papers of the late Oskars Pumpurs, town planner and architect, who died in 1992 aged 72. Pumpurs was a practising advocate of ecologically sustainable development long before most people had heard of it and was also an early exponent of neighbourhood planning. He worked for the National Capital Development Commission and its predecessor, the Department of Town Planning of the Department of the Interior, during the period of Canberra's most prolific development-from the 1950's to 1982.
The cartographic component of the Pumpurs Collection is housed in the Map Section. Included in the collection is material relating to the planning of the major Canberra town-centres of Woden and Belconnen as well as the suburbs of Kambah, Watson and Hackett. The collection also incorporates a series of plans for the satellite township of Gungahlin which has been constructed only recently.
Plans for proposed new developments in the New South Wales locations of Queanbeyan and Murrumbateman, which border the Australian Capital Territory are part of the collection. Plans for the township of West Murrumbidgee in the ACT, which was never built, are also included. Composite plans submitted for the Canberra design competition in 1912 are another interesting component of the Pumpers Collection which can be viewed in the Map Room.
Daniel Djurberg originally published his map of Polynesia, where the word Ulimaroa was first used to describe Australia, in Stockholm in 1780. The map went to further editions in Stockholm (1790 and 1797) and Vienna (1789 and 1795).
The National Library purchased the first Austrian edition in June 1995 from British dealer, Faupel.
The Library's Strategic Plan Service to the Nation, Access to the Globe states that 'Our collections are intended to provide a base for our primary clients-those Australians engaged in the formulation and transmission of knowledge, particularly in research, policy development, authorship and creative endeavour-now and in the future'.
Recently, the Library has been in the process of defining its clientele and determining the levels of service which will be provided to each group. Three major groups of clients-researchers, tertiary students and school students-have been identified; a document describes each group and the services available to each. Levels of Service for School Students has been finalised and in late July was sent to teacher librarians and the principal in every primary school, secondary school and college in the ACT and surrounding areas of NSW.
School students of any age may continue to use the Library as individuals and will be shown how to access the collections. Because school students are not the Library's primary clientele, the full range of services, such as interlibrary loan, online searching, etc. will not be available to them and direct assistance with school projects will not be provided. However, students who have visited their school library and exhausted its resources can bring a letter of referral signed by the teacher-librarian. When this is received, the full range of services will be available to that student. This form of access is particularly important for final year students pursuing independent studies where it would not be reasonable to find appropriate materials within the school library. Students will not have access to unique materials such as manuscripts; however, frequently these are available in alternative formats, either in print or in microform.
As the Library is a research library, teachers with a class group will not be able to bring the group to the reading rooms and conduct tuition. Such groups, by their very nature, disturb other readers and their activities are more appropriate in the school library or the classroom. The Library offers to schools on interlibrary loan newspaper microfilm, microfiche material, books and sometimes serials. Special tours of the Library revealing its role, functions and activities may be booked through the Cultural and Educational Services Division (contact Lynette Pullen on (02) 6262 1271).
School students form 12% of the Library's users, due in part to the fact that the ACT has no State library which could provide advanced services to the local community, including students in this category. The implementation date for the new level of service to school students was 1 September 1995. The documents for levels of service to researchers and to tertiary students are out for comment and it is hoped that they will be implemented by early October 1995.
It is hoped that all three levels of service documents will help the community, the users and the Library to understand how the Library is able to serve its different client groups.
Copies of the Levels of Service for Schools and the Letter of Referral can be obtained from Averill Edwards, Principal Librarian, Information Services Section, telephone (02) 6262 1604; fax (02) 6273 5081 or E-mail: a.edwards@nla.gov.au.
Direct Internet access has been available to Library clients since March 1995 through four public access terminals in the Main Reading Room and two in the Petherick Reading Room. There are some differences in access between facilities in these two reading rooms as they serve quite different clientele. Access through one PC in the Map Reading Room has been available since January and access in the Newspaper/Microform Reading Room, via two PCs, is planned for October 1995.
Main Reading Room
Access to Net resources is available for browsing/surfing/driving the superhighway. Access to e-mail and to newsgroups is not possible through these dedicated Internet PCs. Discs will soon be available from the Library Shop, but for the moment users must bring their own if they wish to down load information. Printing is not available at the present time. Initially, access was to text only but now, in response to user requests, a graphics interface via Netscape is offered.
A brief survey has been running for Internet users, with a surprisingly high response rate. Ninety-nine per cent of respondents praise the service, delighted that they can surf the Net. Most say they are finding what they want and this appears not to be just university students checking to see if a title is on interlibrary loan. Generally, the service is rated 'very useful', and there have been some valuable suggestions for improvements.
Some users have never been on the Net before while others are old hands. A full age range accesses the PCs-from school and tertiary students, to public servants and retired people. While some find it hard to know what to do initially, Netscape and World Wide Web provide lots of practical prompts. Some brief guide sheets with lists of useful sites have been produced. In the coming year these will be developed further, linking them to specific subject areas covered by the Library. They will also be available on the Library's information server.
No formal training is offered for users in this reading room, although reference librarians are on duty to give some limited assistance.
Petherick Reading Room
This serves our prime clientele and access is by readers ticket only. There are two Internet PCs in the Petherick Reading Room and a wider range of services is provided. Users can order print copies of documents overnight, irrespective of length, and can also downline load to their own discs. Individual tuition in the use of the Net is available to every ticket holder on request. Demonstrations are given on a regular basis to users in this reading room and following on from these, individual training and identification of appropriate sites can be made for ticket holders interested in pursing their subjects further.
Map Reading Room
Access to the Internet has been available from the Map Reading Room since early 1995. In most cases, users need assistance from staff to find appropriate overseas sites or databases. Access to specific sites is often slow as sites such as the US Board of Geographic Names Gazetteer, are extremely popular.
Newspaper Reading Room
With the arrival of new equipment in October, access to the Net by the public will be available through two PCs using Netscape. The facility to search the Net will be provided with downline loading to disk but there will be no means of printing. It is expected that much of the use will be to genealogical sites but an increasingly long list of full text sites for newspapers is currently being compiled and will be available to users, both in print form and on the Library's information server. This will extend the collection of newspaper titles available to users.
Internet Cafe
Access to the Internet through two PCs has been available since May 1995 in the Brindabella Bistro, the Library's cafeteria for visitors and staff. Users can search the Net while having a cup of coffee or eating lunch. Some brief printed user guides are available but no staff are on hand to provide assistance. There are no print or downline loading facilities linked to these terminals which are designed to allow visitors to test the Net and form some idea of the kind of material present, as well as how to get around. Serious users are referred down to the Main Reading Room where staff assistance is available.
Australian libraries that use Romanisation in their cataloguing of Chinese material will be able to migrate from the Wade-Giles Romanisation scheme to the Pinyin Romanisation scheme, using the Australian National CJK System. This migration has been made possible by a computer program developed by CJK project staff, Murthy Manchella and CP Tang, at the National Library of Australia, and is based on the work of Karl Lo, University of California San Diego.
The program reads bibliographic records in USMARC format, identifies Wade-Giles data in the records, converts the data to Pinyin and reassembles the USMARC records. The program will be used by the National CJK System to convert Wade-Giles bibliographic records received from the Library of Congress, OCLC, RLIN and ABN. The converted records will be loaded to a multilingual database of half-a-million Chinese, Japanese and Korean bibliographic records.
Since the National CJK database is about to be built, it is an ideal time to convert the data to Pinyin. Some of the member libraries of the CJK system, however, have large numbers of Wade-Giles records in their own library systems, and there are a number of practical problems in converting these to Pinyin. These libraries require an assured source of Wade-Giles copy cataloguing for some time to come, while they study the impact of converting their own data to Pinyin. For this reason, the Australian National CJK System will provide parallel databases-one containing Chinese records using Pinyin and one containing Chinese records using Wade-Giles. The two databases will be cross-updated and will contain mirror images of each other's bibliographic and holdings data. The INNOPAC software, on which the CJK System will run, has demonstrated its flexibility by being able to support these parallel databases although this requirement was not foreseen when INNOPAC was selected.
While this cross-updating involves duplication and additional work for the CJK project staff, it is seen as essential in allowing Australian Wade-Giles libraries to migrate to Pinyin at their own pace. The National Library will make the conversion program available to CJK member libraries to convert the Wade-Giles records in their own library systems.
No date for the demise of the Wade-Giles database has been set; its existence will be reviewed in two year's time.
Below are a number of frequently asked questions about the conversion program and the parallel databases.
How reliable is the conversion program?
The program will not reliably convert a subfield that consists entirely of words that are valid in both Wade-Giles and in another language or Romanisation scheme e.g. 'Lung' or 'No tan'. Such subfields are rare; none has been found in testing so far. A more common problem is the conversion of the Wade-Giles word 'ti' which has been used by many cataloguers for characters which have two equivalents in Pinyin: 'di' and 'de'. The program converts 'ti' to 'di' whenever the 'ti' occurs in the imprint (250) field, because in imprints 'ti' is unambiguous. In all other fields the program flags the data as a doubtful conversion and sends it for human review. In tests, 45% of the 'ti' conversions have required human intervention to produce the correct result. The reviewing process is, however, quite fast-about two records a minute.
In the largest test run so far, during which 8000 Chinese records in a file of 20 000 LC CJK records were put through the program and the human review process, CJK Project staff members have not found any conversion errors.
How are names such as 'Chiang Kai-shek' treated?
Names such as Chiang Kai-shek, Confucius and Sun Yat-sen, which have been established in Western catalogues in forms that are not strictly Wade-Giles, are left unconverted. Names that contain an English word e.g. Michael Wu, are also left unconverted.
How are titles that contain mixtures of English and Wade-Giles treated?
In such titles, as, for example, 'Apple tien nao' the Wade-Giles words are converted to Pinyin and the English words are left untouched. In some cases a Wade-Giles title may contain words which are also valid in other languages, for example the words 'I' and 'pen' are valid in English and Wade-Giles, and the words 'cho' and 'chu' are valid in Pinyin and Wade-Giles (though with different pronunciations). These mutually valid words would be converted incorrectly if the program simply looked at each word and converted it. For this reason the program uses an algorithm that looks at the entire subfield, examining the word's context much as a human being would do. A small number of doubtful cases are sent to human review.
Could the program be used to convert authority data?
With modifications, the program could almost certainly be used to convert authority data. The Australian National CJK Project will consider extending the program to cope with authority data during 1996.
Does the program produce monosyllabic or polysyllabic Pinyin?
It produces monosyllabic Pinyin, except where the Wade-Giles term consists of two hyphenated words-in such cases the hyphenated Wade-Giles words are combined into one Pinyin word. For example, 'Chung-kuo' is converted to 'Zhongguo'and 'Teng Hsiao-p'ing' is converted to 'Deng Xiaoping'.
How portable and flexible is the program?
The program is written in C. At present the program has only been compiled for DEC machines, but compiling it to run on other Unix machines would not be much extra work. There are a number of tables and parameters in the program, which provide it with some flexibility. The human review function can, for example, be bypassed.
Since the program is a stand-alone program, and takes in and outputs records in USMARC format, it would be suitable for use by any library receiving Wade-Giles records from any USMARC source, or by any bibliographic utility that wished to offer its users the option of receiving USMARC records containing Pinyin.
Can I have a copy of the program?
Copies of the program are not yet available. The program will, during the building of the CJK system database between now and October, be put through large-file testing and probably further refinement. It has yet to be documented.
Libraries other than member libraries of the CJK system may be charged for a copy of the program when it becomes available.
Further information is available from:
Linda Groom, National CJK Project Manager, National Library of Australia, ACT 2600.
Telephone (02) 6262 1246; fax (02) 6273 4327; E-mail: lgroom@nla.gov.au
ABN is Australia's largest supplier of catalogue records. Around 700 libraries now receive copy catalogue records from ABN. Of these, 250 also contribute original cataloguing to the National Bibliographic Database (NBD).
ABN provides a range of catalogue products to meet your needs. USMARC or AUSMARC format records can be delivered to your local system instantly via ABN's downline loading service, and downline loading is now available via leased lines or the Internet. Alternatively, catalogue records are available via magnetic tape, diskettes, off-screen capture, microfiche catalogues or catalogue cards.
Each year ABN supplies Australian libraries with over seven million MARC records. This large volume of records means that ABN is able the keep the cost per record low. The average cost per copy catalogue record supplied by ABN is between $A0.20 and $A1.50 depending on the number of records supplied, the type of catalogue products requested, and whether the library contributes original cataloguing to the NBD. This estimate includes all inquiry, communication, service and MARC record charges. ABN also pays a $A7.00 credit for each original record ($A3.50 for close copy records) and $A0.48 for each holding contributed to the NBD. These credits help reduce the average cost per record supplied and make ABN an even more attractive source of records. In addition, by cataloguing with ABN and contributing holdings and/or original cataloguing to the NBD you are helping to build a major resource for all Australian libraries.
ABN's charges compare favourably with other sources of catalogue data. In most cases the cost per catalogue record supplied by ABN will be less than half of the cost of a record supplied by other comparable services. In addition, ABN adds value by providing quality customer service which includes a Help Desk with toll free telephone and locally-based training agents.
The NBD now contains over 11 million bibliographic records including over 1.6 million records contributed by ABN participants. Other NBD sources include the Library of Congress, U.S. National Library of Medicine, British Library, and the national libraries of Canada, Singapore and New Zealand. Such a large and comprehensive database means that most libraries have a hit rate on ABN of at least 70 per cent and many have a hit rate of over 90 per cent.
With low costs and a high hit rate it's no wonder that ABN is Australia's first choice for cataloguing. For more information please contact the Help Desk on 1 800 026 155, fax (02) 6273 1180 or E-mail: networks@nla.gov.au
Ms Minoru Inahama, (above left), arrived in June on secondment from the National Diet Library of Japan as the thirteenth Diet Library staff member to come to the National Library since the scheme began in 1965. She succeeds Ms Keiko Harada, who returned home at the end of June after three years in Asian Collections.
Minoru attended the International Christian University, Tokyo, where she majored in Japanese Language and Linguistics prior to her employment at the Diet Library. Her experience there has been largely concerned with technical services, and includes working in the Acquisitions Department, the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau, and the Books Department of the Bibliog-raphy Division.
During her secondment in Asian Collections, Minoru will be working with the Japanese collection, in particular carrying out selection, cataloguing and information service duties. She will also be strongly involved in the implementation of the National CJK System.
The second new face in Asian Collections is that of Ms Tieke Atikah (above right, with Minoru Inahama) who was promoted to the recently created position of Professional Officer 2, Indonesian. Tieke, who has a Master of Library Studies degree from Loughborough University, England, has extensive library experience, in Indonesia-especially at the central library of the prestigious Institut Teknologi Bandung-and in Australia. She has worked at the National Library since 1989, and since 1991 has been cataloguing the Indonesian intake. In her new role as head of the Indonesian Unit, she and an assistant will be dealing with a broad range of activities relating to the Indonesian collection. These include technical service and reference functions, and involve liaison with the Jakarta-based National Library of Australia Regional Officer, Asia.
Ms Angie Sabumei (pictured below with Mike Reddy, NLA), a librarian with the Papua New Guinea Institute for Medical Research, recently completed a working visit to Australia. She undertook three months specialist training at the Woden Valley Hospital Library, before taking up a work attachment within the National Library to gain broader experience of current Australian library practice in selected areas. During her time at the National Library she had placements in Cataloguing, Serials, Document Supply and Information Services.
Angie's visit to Australia was sponsored by Ausaid, formerly AIDAB.
The Australian Committee on Cataloguing (ACOC) met at the National Library on 28 August. The minutes of the meeting appear on the National Library's information server at URL http://www.nla.gov.au/lis/stndrds/grps/acoc/acoc30.html
Australian Thesaurus
Funding has been received from the Working Group on High Priority Cross Sectoral Projects, for a national survey of thesaurus usage in Australian libraries. The results of this survey will be used as a first step in establishing the feasibility of an Australian thesaurus, as recommended in Towards Federation 2001 resolution RC11. The survey will target a reasonable sample of special libraries. Academic libraries will be selected on the basis of the Henty survey into indexing activity, and all State libraries will be surveyed. A Steering Committee comprising Pam Dunlop, Margareta Nicholas and Janet Thorp will oversee the project. A Request for Proposal will be issued to at least three consultants, and the selected consultant will finalise the survey form, analyse the results and submit a final report by June 1996.
AACR2
Ann Huthwaite reported on the last meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) for the Revision of AACR2, including prep-arations for the publication of AACR2 in electronic format. It is planned to publish AACR2 as a SGML electronic text in three versions: an archival version, a working version and an official version. Preparations are also under way for the forthcoming International Conference of Cataloguing Experts. In order to avoid problems experienced after the Multiple Versions Conference, where the recommendations have not been followed up, JSC will hold a meeting immediately afterwards to assign responsibility for the carriage of the decisions of the conference.
ACOC considered a number of proposed revisions to the Anglo American Cataloguing Rules, including description of illustrations, description of computer storage on magnetic disks and optical discs (CDs), and cataloguing of interactive multimedia. The next meeting of JSC will be held in Washington, D.C. in May 1996.
Dewey
Giles Martin, who represents ACOC on the Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee, described his collaborative work with representatives of the Library Association and the British Library on the question of literary warrant for classifying Internet resources. Other tasks planned are a proposal for an expansion of the area tables for Australia, and the need for more subdivision under Aboriginal languages and groups of people. The next meeting of this committee will be held in Washington, D.C. in November 1995.
Review of ACOC
The parent bodies of ACOC (ALIA, ACLIS and the National Library) are planning a review of ACOC and other standards bodies, in order to determine what are the most appropriate mechanisms for delivery of standards advice over the next few years. After the precise terms of reference have been developed, a review committee will be established.
In 1996 ACOC will meet on 29 March and 26 August. For more information about any aspect of ACOC's work, please contact one of the members: Pam Dunlop (NLA), Helen Hoffmann (La Trobe University), Ann Huthwaite (QUT), Giles Martin (University of Newcastle), Susanne Moir (State Library of NSW), Margareta Nicholas (University of SA), Janet Thorp (State Library of Tasmania) or Julia Trainor (NLA).
ABC Books recently launched Women of the Land: Stories of Australia's Rural Women As Told to Ros Bowden. The book was a collaborative effort between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Library.
The idea came from ABC Radio's Rural Department, which in 1994 launched the ABC Rural Woman of the Year Award. Nina Reimer of ABC Books approached Ros Bowden, formerly of ABC Radio's Social History Unit, to interview a number of women who had participated in the inaugural award.
The Library's involvement in the project has been twofold.
Firstly, financial assistance was given to allow Ros Bowden to research and record the interviews. In all, 24 women were interviewed in all states. Secondly, as a result of the joint publication, master tapes, transcripts and photographs will be deposited with the Library's Oral History and Pictorial Collections.
According to Bowden, 'country people are beginning to be regarded as almost another culture, a different kind of Australian, stuck in Akubra hats and the ways of the sixties. Such people may well exist but I met only cheerful and strong women and their families-very aware of contemporary issues, especially as they affected their industry.'
Olive Cotton: Photographer / Photographs and captions by Olive Cotton.
With an introduction by Helen Ennis and a personal memoir by Sally McInerney.
Olive Cotton is one of Australia's most respected photographers. Olive Cotton: Photographer presents the story of her career spanning six decades. The 67 works reproduced are selected from her earliest photographs taken with a box Brownie, her exhibition work of the 1930s, commercial work from the Max Dupain Studio during World War 2, the 'country' years when she was raising a family and photographing nature, her return to public prominence in 1985 with her first solo exhibition, and her more recent works.
Each photograph is accompanied by Olive Cotton's own commentary where she speaks, in most cases for the first time, about her compositions. Helen Ennis' introduction reveals some of the complex factors that have shaped Cotton's photographs and photographic career, while a biographical memoir written by Cotton's daughter, Sally McInerney, provides a personal glimpse into the life of a photographer in country Australia.
Olive Cotton: Photographer is a beautifully produced survey of Olive Cotton's finest photographs dating from the 1930s up to the present day.
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