
ISSN 1443-0568
No. 21
May 1996
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
AUSTRALIA
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
ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
Tel.: (02) 6262 1646
Fax: +61 6 273 1084
SUPPLY 1: A new document supply
service from the National Library of Australia
![[Charu Sood]](http://www.nla.gov.au/ntwkpubs/gw/21/p1i1.jpg)
Charu Sood, Director, Interlending Services.
SUPPLY 1, a new document supply service from the National Library of Australia, was launched last month.
SUPPLY 1 was developed to provide a valuable service to libraries and organisations affected by the National Library's decision to reduce its overseas collecting.
SUPPLY 1 is a new service offered by the National Library's Document Supply Service which provides material from the library's collection and coordinates Australian interlibrary loan activities.
SUPPLY 1 will assist libraries, businesses and individuals by obtaining copies of reports, conference papers and journal articles from overseas libraries and commercial document suppliers.
SUPPLY 1 is particularly suitable for small to medium sized libraries and organisations which are unable to obtain documents from overseas either because they do it too infrequently or because they do not have the staff expertise or resources.
With SUPPLY 1, customers don't have to worry about setting up deposit accounts with numerous suppliers, learning new systems or remembering passwords. When an order is placed, SUPPLY 1's highly trained staff select the best source to meet the delivery requirements, and facilitate that delivery.
There is a fixed rate of $27.00 for the supply of documents by standard mail, and all charges are in Australian dollars. In most cases, this fee is inclusive of copyright charges.
No registration is required to use SUPPLY 1 which can be used to order information in any subject area, particularly medicine, science and technology and conference papers.
SUPPLY 1 is very flexible and libraries can place orders immediately by using any standard ILL form or requesting system (including ABN ILL, ILANET and email) specifying the SUPPLY 1 service. SUPPLY 1 Order Forms and user guides have also been sent to all National Library Document Supply Service customers.
For further information about the service, please contact:-
Charu Sood, tel: (02) 6262 1265
Email: csood@nla.gov.au
The National Library started cataloguing electronic serials in early 1994. To date only titles which can be identified as Australian and which meet the definition of a serial have been selected for cataloguing. For example, titles must be issued in designated parts for an indefinite period of time. The library now intends to start cataloguing other electronic resources, such as homepages, in the near future.
The two main tools used by the library for cataloguing electronic serials are OCLC's Cataloguing of Internet Resources and the CONSER Cataloguing Manual, module 31, 'Remote Access Computer Files'. If a serial exists only in electronic form, a bibliographic record is created as recommended in these tools. The title, publication statement and other descriptive details are taken from the appropriate on-line 'pages'. The bibliographic record also includes information such as the electronic address of the item, type of computer file and any specific system requirements. Examples include records for The Australian Electronic Journal of Nursing Education (abn96-65127) and Australian News Briefs (abn96-66298).
If a serial exists in both print and electronic versions, only one bibliographic record is created. The library attempts to determine the prime version on which to base the bibliographic description and adds extra details regarding the other version. For example, a record for a print version would have a note saying 'From issue 3 (Nov. 1995) also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http:// ...'. The record would also provide the information needed to locate the electronic resource. As separate ISSNs are assigned to print and electronic versions of a title, both ISSNs would be included in the record. Examples include records for AAO Newsletter (sn86-23954) and Library News (University of Western Australia) (abn91-331478).
There is still much intense discussion in international forums about the best approach for multiple versions involving electronic resources. The National Library's decision to create only one record to describe both electronic and print versions is chiefly a pragmatic one-it is more efficient to add one or two fields to an existing record than to create separate records. It is also easier for users to access one record describing a resource, and be offered a choice of format, than for them to have to search a catalogue for multiple records. At this stage, the 'one record' approach taken by the National Library is only an interim policy. The CONSER Operations Committee May 1996 meeting addressed these issues and the National Library keenly awaits the outcome of discussions. Controlling electronic publications is a new challenge and the library is working toward establishing policies and procedures that are both practical to carry out and beneficial to users.
The National Library hopes that when cataloguing electronic resources, other libraries will make full use of ABN as a shared database. We plan to add our holdings to other libraries' records and encourage other libraries to add their holdings to National Library records.
For further information about the cataloguing of electronic serials by the National Library of Australia, please contact Leanne McKinnon, Senior Librarian, Electronic Unit. Tel.: (02) 6262 1411 or email lmckinnon@nla.gov.au
In January it was reported that the National Library had established a Selection Committee on On-line Australian Publications (SCOAP) to develop guidelines for the selection of on-line publications for national preservation. The committee has now met six times and provisional guidelines for several categories of electronic publications, including e-journals, conference proceedings, literary works and government publications, have been developed.
In order to focus on the policy and procedures required to deal with networked publications and to implement the recommendations of SCOAP, the library set up an Electronic Unit within the Acquisitions Section on 1 April. Over the next six months its four staff will be responsible for the following tasks:
The tasks of the unit reflect the blurring of the boundaries between the traditional activities of acquisitions, cataloguing and providing access to information in the electronic format. The new unit has been set up to bring together expertise and to establish procedures which can then be re-integrated into, and performed as part of, the ongoing technical services functions.
In implementing the selection guidelines developed by SCOAP, the Electronic Unit will provide feedback on the practical outcomes of the guidelines and thus assist with their refinement.
The management of Australia's documentary heritage in electronic format is a complex issue and not one that the library can undertake on its own. It will be necessary to consult and cooperate with creators, publishers and other libraries to ensure ongoing access to this important information resource.
For further information, please contact Margaret Phillips on: tel. (02) 6262 1427 or email M.Phillips@ nla.gov.au
Pictured from the left are : Marie Sexton (NLA), Rachel Jakimow (DNC Office), Dr Ken Wells, Korean Studies Association of Australasia, Magdalen Lee (Sydney University), Andrew Gosling (NLA), Prof. Tony Reid, ANU, representing the Asian Studies Association of Australia, Pam Longley, Latrobe University, Susan Prentice, ANU, Cliff Law, DNC Office (Chair), Michael Evans (ANU), Pam Gatenby (NLA), Ross Coleman (ANU), Dr Jan Lyall (NPO), Chooi-hon Ho (Monash University) and Janice Rickards (Griffith University).
Librarians and academics met on 13 March at the National
Library to discuss Korean language collecting. A copy of the record of the
meeting and resolutions is on the NLA server at
http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/korea/ [now at http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/kcm/].
It was agreed that a Korean working group be set up to follow through the outcomes of the meeting with better co-ordination of limited resources as its aim. As a major trading partner, Korea is increasing in importance to Australia, with closer cultural, political and social links being forged between the two countries.
Copies of the documents mentioned above can also be obtained in print form by contacting Marie Sexton on tel. (02) 6262 1519, or fax (02) 6273 4327
The Interlibrary Resource Sharing Directory has been added to the suite of databases available through OZLINE.
The ILRS Directory is primarily a directory of Australian libraries, although it also contains entries for some other types of institutions. There are over 1,700 entries. Each entry includes name, address and contact information. For those libraries which have supplied the information, the Directory also lists membership of reciprocal interlibrary lending networks, interlibrary loans policy and charges, and fast track membership and charges.
This valuable tool for interlibrary loan officers and other library staff is now even more useful because of the enhanced accessibility provided by the STAIRS information retrieval software already familiar to Ozline users. Access will not be made available via SOFI, the menu-driven search interface to the National Library's on-line services, because of the planned transfer of the Ozline databases to WORLD 1.
The Directory is searchable at the same cost as the other OZLINE databases ($1.00 per minute). However, until the end of June, searching is available free of charge to give interested users the opportunity to test the new database.
A survey of all institutions listed in the Directory was conducted in March 1996 to check the details for each entry. The hard copy version of the Directory will be updated and published as soon as possible using the information obtained from the survey. The online version will be updated soon after.
Late in March, over 160 librarians descended on the beautiful northern Thai city of Chiang Mai for an important seminar on the possible establishment of a National Bibliographic Database (NBD) for Thailand. I was fortunate enough to be one of two presenters from outside Thailand at the seminar; the other was Ms. Fauziah Ibrahim, of SILAS (the Singapore Integrated Library Automation Service).
The seminar was organised by PULINET, the Provincial University Library Network, and its energetic president, Dr. Rujaya Abhakorn, who is also Director of the Chiang Mai University Library. While most of Thailand's university libraries will have installed integrated local library systems by 1997, there is no mechanism to share the cataloguing of Thai and other books within the Thai library community. The aim of the seminar was to explore the benefits and feasibility of establishing an NBD for Thailand.
The seminar attracted a strong attendance which reflected a very good representation of the Thai library community. There were participants from the library Association of Thailand (led by its President, Prof. Khunying Maenmas Chavalit), the National Library of Thailand (led by its Director, Mrs. Thara Kanakamani), 32 university libraries, 13 special libraries, 13 school libraries and seven public libraries.
In her introduction to the seminar, Khunying Maenmas spoke of the importance of information and knowledge to human development, and the role played by bibliographic control and bibliographic technology in supporting global access to recorded knowledge.
Fauziah Ibrahim presented an overview of SILAS, stressing the benefits of shared cataloguing and the sense of belonging which it has brought to the SILAS participants. At a later session, Fauziah gave a demonstration of the Singapore National Bibliography on CD-ROM.
As it happened, this became more of a demonstration of the abilities and persistence of the seminar's technical support team, including the systems staff from Chiang Mai University. For some obscure reason, Fauziah's CD-ROM screens would not project through the data projector which handled Powerpoint slides with ease. After several attempts to solve this, the programme was rearranged while the technicians removed the PC. Halfway through the next session, the technicians returned with a different PC and attempted to project the CD-ROM screens. Still no luck. Finally, with 15 minutes of the two-hour session remaining, the technical team entered the hall for the third time. This time the PC was in pieces. Several cards had been replaced and the CD-ROM drive was hanging over the top of the casing. This time, success!
While this drama was occurring, the seminar listened to a series of presentations from sectoral representatives of the Library Association of Thailand. The academic libraries supported the concept of a Thai NBD, and expressed their willingness to cooperate. The needs of the special libraries were, it was argued, more likely to be met by improved access to subject databases such as that provided by the private TIAC (Technical Information Access Corporation) service. The school and public libraries made it clear that they do not have the resources to participate at present, or to exploit the necessary technology. Indeed, the relatively weak state of automation of the public libraries may represent one of the major obstacles to a cross-sectoral bibliographic network for Thailand.
On the second day, I gave on overview of the experience of the Australian library community with ABN, and of the benefits which were being sought through the WORLD 1 development. These were some of the issues which I covered:
The discussion groups which met on the second day of the seminar generally supported the concept of a Thai NBD. However, several of these groups reported a vigorous debate on the competing claims of the centralised and distributed models for the NBD. I attempted to assist the seminar by summarising my understanding of the benefits and requirements of each approach.
I suggested that the distributed approach (based on local catalogues accessible through the Z39.50 protocol) was intrinsically more elegant, in that the data was not duplicated and was more up to date, while the overheads of a central database were avoided.
On the other hand, there was as yet no example of the distributed approach working effectively on a national scale; which is not to say that Thailand could not be the first to achieve this.
The distributed approach requires a high level of library automation across the country, and a good communications infrastructure. It also requires that local systems have the Z39.50 capability, and that the libraries concerned are willing to pay the vendor's additional charges to install this software. This Z39.50 capability needs to include the capability to 'broadcast' searches simultaneously to a large number of other sites.
For the distributed approach to meet the needs of document access, support for the Interlibrary Loan Protocol is also required. Very few, if any, local systems support this protocol as yet.
I suggested, based on our experience in Australia, that libraries still wanted a single, large, convenient database to use for copy cataloguing. Once such a resource is available for copy cataloguing, the union catalogue becomes a by-product which is easy to build, because holdings information is deposited when a record is copied.
On the other hand, the libraries would like to do their subsequent catalogue maintenance locally. This makes it imperative that a national bibliographic system be based on standards to support distributed features such as checking local systems or overseas databases for additional information. The whole system can then migrate to a more distributed approach, as that becomes more practical.
I found this seminar to be a particularly stimulating experience. Towards the end of the seminar, I jotted down these impressions of our Thai colleagues on my notepad: 'gracious, good humoured, sophisticated, technically aware, Internet aware, conceptual, thoughtful, welcoming'.
-Warwick Cathro
![[CJK Team]](http://www.nla.gov.au/ntwkpubs/gw/21/p6i1.jpg)
The team which brought you the CJK System. Left to right: Linda Groom (Project Director), Tien Dao, Murthy Manchella, Yumiko Tsuji, and C.P. Tang
Member libraries of the National CJK System are expected
to begin 'real work' on the system during June and July. The National Library's
Asian Collections Section plans to be among the first to catalogue on the
system, starting in June. Andrew Gosling, Chief Librarian, Asian Collections,
has been monitoring the building of the database.
'Each day,' he commented, 'we saw CJK characters appearing in more and more of the bibliographic records to which our holdings are attached. The work involved, had we been adding these characters manually, would be enormous'.
The building of the CJK database began on 17 April, with the full load taking around six weeks. After duplicates are removed, the size of the CJK database will be around 450 000 records. The load will begin with records from CJK language records from ABN, LC, RLIN and OCLC.
Now that the database has been built, member libraries that prefer to use the Wade-Giles scheme for Romanisation of Chinese will be able to start cataloguing, adding holdings, and extracting MARC records from the database. For member libraries that prefer to use the Pinyin Romanisation scheme, a copy of the database will be created with the Wade-Giles data converted to Pinyin. This database is expected to be available in early July.
New members are welcome; registration forms can be obtained by contacting Yumiko Tsuji or CP Tang on the CJK Help Desk. Tel.: 1800 026155 fax: (02) 6273 1180, email: ytsuji@nla.gov.au
![[Lycett Album]](http://www.nla.gov.au/ntwkpubs/gw/21/p7i1.jpg)
The National Library of Australia's Register of Nationally Significant Materials
A National Library treasure. A watercolour painting from the Lycett Album held by the Pictorial Section
Recognition of the need for a register of nationally significant material arose in the aftermath of the National Library fire ten years ago. At that time, the library did not have a disaster plan, nor did it have a comprehensive listing, a location plan, or a priority rating for salvage of its treasures and significant collections. The library has since developed a disaster plan and an accompanying register of its most significant collection materials; both are updated regularly. Material on the register is assigned a priority rating between one and four by the collection managers, with priority one items comprising the library's treasures. The priority rating takes into account factors such as, uniqueness, rarity, monetary value, associated value with other collection material held by the library, and historical and heritage significance to Australia.
The register is now an important collection management tool providing a sound basis for judgement in considering collection management issues. It identifies item type, section of origin, assigned priority rating, collection size and, location and exhibition or loan status. The register took some time to develop and has undergone significant revision as the library grappled with issues such as determining the significance of documentary heritage materials, deciding what materials should be included on the register, and how to assign priority ratings. The ACLIS task force paper on documentary heritage was a useful guide for considering significance issues and for taking decisions when developing the register. The library is currently upgrading the register to an Excel database, which will provide greater flexibility in application and use. Obviously this information requires special security arrangements; these have been considered and are in place.
The recent 'invisible' disaster, the shut down of the NLA air conditioning system due to the discovery of asbestos in air conditioning ducts, has highlighted the usefulness of the register. The register proved invaluable to Preservation Services and the collection areas in planning and managing the removal of collection items at risk to more stable environments within the library.
As mentioned earlier, the initial catalyst in developing the register was the need for this information in formulating the library's disaster plan. However, the register also enables more focused consideration of other important preservation and collection management planning issues. These include, security, housing, access, reformatting, and strategic preservation planning.
Although labour intensive, this has been a project well worth doing.
Traditionally, the largest and most varied collections of personal papers in the library have tended to be those of writers and politicians. This is understandable, given the discursive nature of their activities. In contrast, it is rare to find an artist whose papers are rich in correspondence, as well as covering an extended period of his or her life and ranging across numerous other categories of material such as diaries and drafts of manuscripts.
The library has recently been fortunate in acquiring some papers of painters and sculptors which are remarkable for their quality and variety. In seeking to document the lives and work of Australian artists, the library is careful to distinguish between research resources and the actual output of the artists, the latter belonging more to the collecting scope of galleries. Occasionally it is evident that some items, such as sketchbooks, are integral to the papers, so these become part of the library's holdings. Illustrated manuscripts are also ideal acquisitions because of their combined literary and visual appeal.
The painter Clifton
Pugh was noted not only for his portraiture but also for the strong bush themes
in his work. He was involved in Labor Party politics and was active in the
Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board and the Visual Arts Board of the Australia
Council. The papers of Clifton Pugh, which were acquired this year, date from
1944 until his death in 1990. This large and outstanding collection documents
his life in great detail, as well as his business and political interests and
to a lesser extent his relationship with family and friends. Included in the
papers are letters (some dating back to his young days and his military
service), diaries, legal papers, notebooks, manuscripts, exhibition catalogues,
cutting books, photographs, sketches and sketchbooks. Amongst the
correspondents are politicians, especially Labor politicians, and other public
figures.
A substantial collection of the papers of artist Noel Counihan, dating from the 1930s to 1994, has been acquired from his widow, Pat Counihan. Noel Counihan (1913-1986) was a painter, cartoonist and illustrator with a socialist-realist style and radical outlook. His art is represented in numerous Australian galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia. He travelled extensively and his work was widely exhibited in Australia, Europe and Russia. A communist, his passionate concern with civil rights and free speech led to conflicts with authorities. After his death, Pat Counihan continued to maintain records of exhibitions, books, correspondence and articles concerning her husband.
The Counihan Papers contain a long sequence of correspondence (including a letter from Arthur Streeton in 1934), an equally long run of articles, reviews, catalogues and invitations connected with Counihan, appointment diaries, published or photographic copies of Counihan's artwork (especially cartoons), typescript memoirs, a manuscript history of Russian art, articles and speeches by or about Counihan, and a few photographs and books about him.
The sculptor Guy Boyd, of the celebrated Boyd family of artists, was also the nephew of writer Martin Boyd. His widow Phyllis recently presented to the library papers which document not only Guy Boyd's artistic career but also touch on Martin Boyd and give insight into the couple's involvement in causes such as the campaign to free Lindy Chamberlain and the movement Women Who Want to be Women.
In 1995 the publication of extracts from the diaries of Judy Cassab drew acclaim for their compelling accounts of her progress from wartime suffering to success as a portraitist. The library holds a series of transcripts of the original diaries, to which the artist periodically adds further volumes. The series currently dates from 1944 to 1993.
Among smaller acquisitions relating to artists are:
Through its active program of seeking all types of personal papers, the library continues to build on its resources for the study of artisitc endeavour, from traditional to contemporary, and encompassing all media and themes.
During 1995, the National Library's Information Services area developed three documents outlining the type and level of service offered via the reading rooms to the following categories of users- researchers, tertiary students and school students. Each of the documents outlines the basic services available to that group in the form of reference assistance, access to materials, and education services. On the back 'In more detail' provides specific information about particular services. The documents have been made available in reading rooms and are given to users when appropriate.
Schools are supplying a letter of referral to the National Library for students who have exhausted the resources of the school library, recommending assistance above the level that would normally be provided to them. Use of the standard letter of referral has not been high so far. It does appear that consultations with the school library associations have resulted in more appropriate use of the National Library by school students than previously. A further round of consultations with these bodies is planned before June.
Comments from researchers when given the document that relates to services provided to them have been very positive, the most frequent comment being, ' I didn't know you had...(naming a particular service) !'
It has been very helpful when faced with the annual influx of university students to be able to give them the tertiary students document, to explain why the library does not provide multiple copies of textbooks or operate a closed reserve. This allows staff to spend more time with the researchers, who are prime clients.
New Products
The DNC Office is pleased to announce the release, on June 1 1996, of two new versions of the WLN Conspectus Software (Australian version) which will be available in addition to the current DOS version.
Windows version 6.0
The Windows version of the WLN Conspectus software operates on IBM- compatible microcomputers. The benefits of this version are that it can be used with either laser printers or wide carriage dot matrix printers. It uses the standard Windows operations, including dialog boxes, and status bars. Files can be exported to a network location, a hard drive or a diskette. There is a user preference dialog box which can be used to set the date matrix to Australian usage, as well as setting caps lock and num lock. In the Assessments comments field, paragraphs can be created using the 'Enter' key.
Libraries who already hold a copy of the DOS version of the WLN Conspectus software may copy existing data into the files in the new version. This may be done by exporting data onto a diskette and importing it into the new version, or by copying data on the hard drive directly from your old files into the new ones.
Macintosh version
The Macintosh version of the WLN Conspectus software is similar to the current DOS version. This version provides printer drivers for printers most commonly used with Macintosh computers.
New pricing framework for the WLN Conspectus software
In order to cover the costs associated with the WLN Conspectus software, including the development of enhancements such as Harvard-Yenching divisions, recording of preservation information and METRO music Australianisation, software training, DNC Office support, and the production of free reports, etc., it has been decided to increase the price of the software concurrent with the release of the new versions.
A new pricing framework has been developed which includes an initial fee plus an annual renewal fee, together with a discount rate for library groups that wish to purchase copies of the software. The new price will apply to all versions of the software.
Single library purchase
Single libraries will pay an initial fee of $400.00, with an annual renewal fee of $115.00, which will fall due 12 months after the signing of the contract by both parties.
Group library purchase
Groups of libraries will pay an initial fee of $300.00 per copy required, with a yearly renewal fee of $80.00 per copy, which will fall due 12 months after the signing of the contract by all parties.
Examples of groups of libraries using the software may include the following:
What if I already have a copy of the software?
Current holders of the software will not be required to pay the renewal fee until their current contract expires (April 1997). At this time a new contract will be negotiated which will incorporate a renewal fee of $115.00.
If a library chooses to purchase an additional version of the software it will be liable to a separate fee for each version. It will therefore pay the initial fee of $400.00 for the new version at time of purchase, plus a renewal fee of $115.00 which will fall due 12 months after the signing of the contract by both parties. In addition the library will be liable for a renewal fee of $115.00 for the version already held. This will fall due in April 1997.
If a library wishes to change to an alternative version of the software (i.e. Mac or Windows, instead of DOS) it must undertake to destroy the previous version and send a statement to that effect to the DNC Office before the alternative version is released. The library will be liable for an upgrade fee of $115.00 for the new version.
The fee will include the automatic supply of all upgrades of the software in the version supplied (DOS or Mac or Windows).
How to order
Please send orders for the WLN Conspectus software to:
Sales and Distribution
National Library of Australia
Canberra
ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
All purchasers of the software are required to sign a contract agreement with the National Library.
Enquiries
Rachel Jakimow, Australian Conspectus Manager
DNC Office
National Library of Australia
Canberra ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
Tel:
06 262 1522
Fax: 06 257 1703
Email rjakimow@nla.gov.au
Highlights over the March-April 1996 period, included the addition of the following resources to the National Library's Website:
News from the National Library:
Papers and presentations made by staff
News from other agencies and organisations within our site:
Further information about additions to the NLA Website may be obtained from http://www.nla.gov.au/new/
From 10-12 April, National Library of Australia staff member, Margaret Kennedy, attended the CODI (Customers of Dynix Inc.) Conference in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Margaret is the president of the Australian and New Zealand user group, CODA (Customers of Dynix Australia Inc.), and she attended the conference as the group's representative.
Approximately 550 delegates from all over the United States, as well as representatives from DUG (UK Users Group) and CANDU (Canadian Users Group) gathered in Saint Paul. There was also a good delegation from Ameritech Library Services (the Dynix Australia parent body), and a representative from the Canadian office.
A major focus of the conference was system security. The US user group has, for some months, been investigating issues of system security, and its report and recommendations were presented on this occasion. Ameritech Library Services has taken up many of the recommendations in the report.
There was also a great deal of emphasis on the changing roles of system administrators, and on customer support. A number of presentations looked at ways in which system-generated reports could provide the statistics which many institutions produce for performance monitoring, collection analysis and problem solving.
The conference provided an excellent opportunity to catch up with new and pending products, and to liaise with many people from a wide range of libraries in the United States. What was notable was the commonality of experiences, and the willingness of the United States user group to share its considerable resources with the international community. CODI has been in existence for some years longer than the other user groups, and has built up a rich resource of skilled members. CODI also manages an electronic list for Dynix users, which many in Australia and New Zealand find invaluable.
The representatives of the UK, Canadian and Australian user groups were invited to present papers. The presentations of the DUG and CODA representatives were unfortunately scheduled for the afternoon of the last day of the conference. However, the presentations were enthusiastically received, and seemed to create considerable interest.
Margaret Kennedy's paper focused on local concerns, with regard to issues such as custom programming, software upgrades, loss of functionality after some upgrades, and the need for international cooperation in ensuring the development of a product which meets the needs of customers in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the US.
While in Saint Paul, Margaret had the opportunity of talking to the CODI Board about international cooperative activities, so that local Australian and New Zealand enhancement requests can feed into Ameritech product development. Fortunately, there is a willingness on the part of the CODI Board to liaise with the international user groups in this process as much as possible.
![[Turkish Books]](http://www.nla.gov.au/ntwkpubs/gw/21/p14i2.jpg)
After attending the 61st IFLA Conference in Istanbul last year, the manager of the Australiana Collection Development Unit, Richard Stone, acquired some interesting titles for the National Library of Australia in Turkey and Greece.
Among the titles were two books with vivid covers featuring, among a great many other things, the ubiquitous kangurular.
LEFT: Turkish kangaroos
The Gelibolu Peninsula Historical National Park,
separated from the Turkish mainland by the Dardanelles, embraces all the major
sites of the Gallipoli campaign. Richard was able to visit its museum and
purchase a number of cards, brochures and pamphlets involving Anzac activity
for the library's collection.
War history also featured in Greece, particularly in Crete where Australians participated in the 1941 campaign. The Greek publisher Efstathiadis has published two accounts of the campaign documenting Australian involvement: Flowers of Rethymnon: Escape from Crete, by the Australian author Lewis Lind and Crete 1941:Eyewitnessed, a compilation of memoirs and accounts featuring substantial Australian content. A bookshop in the main Cretan town of Iraklion, also yielded a Greek translation of the award winning The Mules Foal by Greek-Australian author, Fotini Epanomitis.
The National Library actively collects Australiana published overseas via its blanket order agents, and through profess-ional visits by staff members.
In February 1995 the National Library introduced a public access Internet Service for its readers. The Service aims to provide access to the growing range of information which is available, sometimes with greater ease than through an equivalent print source.
The Internet service has proved to be very popular, with terminals often regularly booked. Responses to a continuous survey have so far shown that people appreciate the service and find the Internet useful 75% of the time for locating information.
Providing access to the Internet in the reading rooms, though, has raised a number of issues for the library. These are addressed in the recently released 'Code for Use of the Internet by Readers', which briefly covers the library's expectations of readers and the limitations of the service provided. Other libraries implementing public Internet access may be interested in the National Library's code.
The code
Acceptable use
The National Library is a research institution. It provides you with access to the Internet for study, reference and research purposes, for personal communications or for recreational use. You can, however, access your own electronic mail account if you already have a signon and a password. You must not use the terminal for commercial purposes.
Basis of access
The National Library provides you with access to the Internet at your own risk and does not guarantee the authority or accuracy of any information found on it. You will not hold the library responsible for:
Access
Time limits are set on Internet terminals as they are often heavily used. If you want to use the Internet terminals, you should make a booking in advance. If you do not have a booking, you will be asked to relinquish terminals to readers with prior bookings. The terminals can only be booked by one person at a time; no group bookings are available. Access to information from the Internet is provided free of charge on a self-help basis.
![[NLA Internet Cafe]](http://www.nla.gov.au/ntwkpubs/gw/21/p13i1.jpg)
Printing
No printing facilities are provided for Internet terminals.
You may download to disk within your booked time period. If downloading runs beyond this time and another reader has a booking, you will be asked to cease down-loading. Time required for downloading from the Internet is unpredictable.
You may buy disks at the National Library shop. Please ensure that your disks are virus free before downloading and follow the downloading instructions provided.
Copyright and copying
Material on the Internet is protected by copyright. When downloading information to disk, please refer to and comply with any copying directives given by the author of that material. Also refer to the Copyright statement beside each terminal.
Equipment
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![[The Map]](http://www.nla.gov.au/ntwkpubs/gw/21/p14i1.jpg)
The National Library has been fortunate to acquire, a rare, hand-coloured and highly decorative issue of a map showing the route taken by the French Jesuit embassies of 1685-6 across the Indian Ocean. The copy is engraved by the Venetian cartographer and engraver Vincenzo Coronelli.LEFT: The map
Franciscan friar and mathematician, Vincenzo Maria Coronelli
(1650-1718) founded the world's first recognised geographical society, the
Academia cosmografica degli argonauti, in Venice in 1680. A prolific publisher,
Coronelli's output included globes, charts, atlases, geographies and travel
guides.
The map acquired, Route maritime de Brest à Siam...was published in 1687 by the French geographer, publisher and engraver, Jean Baptiste Nolin. The map describes the sea route taken by the Jesuits sent by Louis XIV to accompany the embassies to Siam. Places and dates of arrival are logged on the map. The west coast of Australia is displayed along with a cartouche which describes the coastline.
A new National Library publication draws on the Oral History Collection's recent Australian Astronomers project
Australian Astronomers: Achievements at the Frontiers of Astronomy, by Dr Ragbir Bhathal, is the latest in a tradition of publishing valuable source materials from the National Library's collections. Australian Astronomers, like its precursors Self Portraits (interviews with writers), Artist's Portraits (with artists) and Portraits in Science (with scientists) contains edited extracts of oral history recordings with prominent Australians.
In this case the source material came from a series of interviews with 18 of Australia's best-known astronomers, recorded as part of the Australian Astronomers Oral History Project, sponsored by the National Library of Australia.
Each oral history recording can range from one to 10 hours in length. The prime challenge in selecting extracts from a number of these for publication devolves mainly onto the specialist compiler engaged by the library. Their task is to meld from this wealth of material a combination of the essential, the most interesting, the least known and/or the best known (if an interesting new viewpoint is expressed) and the most controversial (bearing in mind legal and personal sensitivities). The compiler also provides an informative overview of the subject.
All of this activity takes place within defined publishing parameters. Because of the technical nature of the material in the astronomers' interviews, Dr Bhathal and National Library staff decided that more interpretive material was needed than had previously been included in similar publications.
Decisions such as these are not taken lightly, but with full awareness of the extra work which is required-not just from Dr Bhathal in researching and writing several thousand extra words of text and hand-drawing all the diagrams which eventually went into the book, but from the editorial and design staff whose task it is to combine the extra text and illustrations into a manageable length of book. The designer, in particular, worked many hours computer-enhancing the hand-drawn diagrams.
Even so, the astronomers book is considerably longer than most Library publications. Dr Bhathal's explanatory text, glossary and listing of milestones in Australian astronomy ensures that the book is accessible to a much wider audience than just specialist astronomers.
The purpose of the library's oral history program is to record for future researchers details of individual lives, and people's perceptions of their work, working environment and events they have been associated with. To encourage a frank recounting of experience, an interviewee can specify that access to the recordings be closed for a specific period, or indeed not be available until after their death. In such cases, the published extracts (cleared by the interviewee) may be the only publicly available record of their thoughts.
ISBN 0 642 10666 5, rrp. $A24.95
The aim of the award is to improve the quality of Australian-produced audio books by recognising the endeavours of producers and narrators of high quality publications; increasing awareness of the importance of audio books; and promoting their unrestricted availability to all members of the community.
Audio books eligible for the award must be produced between 1 June 1995 and 31 May 1996.
The Trish Trinick Prize for the best-selling audio book between 1 June 1995 and 31 May 1996, which may be either an Australian or overseas-produced title, is also being offered again this year.
Entries for the TDK Australian Audio Book Award closed on 3 June 1996 but those for the TRISH TRINICK PRIZE will not close until 1 August 1996.
A shortlist of entries will be published in October and the winners will be announced at a presentation function at Old Parliament House, Canberra on 12 November.
For information and entry forms contact the TDK Award Coordinator on tel. (02) 6262 1289, fax (02) 6273 4493.
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