Join Libraries Australia—Australia’s Premier Resource Sharing Network
Are you a special library? The National Library is extending an invitation to all special libraries to join Libraries Australia and experience the many benefits of participating in Australia’s premier library resource sharing network.
Some six hundred special libraries (corporate, government, and health libraries) and their customers already enjoy the benefits of being members of Libraries Australia.
Libraries Australia, formerly known as Kinetica, provides a range of services to support the cataloguing, reference and interlibrary lending activities of all Australian libraries, enabling them to work more efficiently and productively. A new pricing model in July 2005 replaced transaction-based searching of the national database with an annual subscription.
An annual subscription to Libraries Australia provides libraries and their customers with unlimited access to the Australian National Bibliographic Database (ANBD), the national union catalogues of New Zealand and Singapore, the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the Research Libraries Group databases. Libraries also have the option to search other databases such as OCLC WorldCat and APAIS on a fee per search basis. MARC records can be easily downloaded and imported into local catalogues eliminating the need for original cataloguing and saving both time and money.
In addition, an annual subscription enables libraries to take advantage of the interlibrary lending and document delivery system. Using Libraries Australia Document Delivery, libraries can easily create and track interlibrary loan requests or order resources online from commercial suppliers. The National Library of Australia manages all the related financial transactions. Libraries can set the default charges to $0 for those libraries with whom they have reciprocal lending arrangements.
The Libraries Australia search interface is simple to use and searches can be limited to specific formats such as journals or videos. An advanced search facility allows libraries to limit the search to resources held by libraries in their own state or territory. Libraries can opt to enable personalised access to Libraries Australia: this is particularly useful for special libraries. A personalised ‘account’ facility allows users to take advantage of the alert feature, which is a regularly generated search query on a particular topic. An email alerts users to new material as it is added to the database in their area of interest.
Contact the Libraries Australia Helpdesk on 1800 026 155 or librariesaustralia@nla.gov.au if you would like more information.
Fran Wilson
Director, Resource Sharing Services