Models of Digital Cooperation

ABSTRACT

Three cooperative digital library projects (American Memory; the Publication of Archival, Library, and Museum Materials program; and the Minnesota Digital Library) are analyzed for evidence of the costs and benefits of cooperative digital library projects for digital conversion generally.     

Some Musings on the Aberdeen Woods Conference and Law Library Cooperation

Abstract

Taking as her starting point the ideas presented at a recent conference on cooperative collection development, Ms. Hinchcliff discusses their applicability to the academic law library world. The issues under scrutiny are some of those most under consideration today, topics like new initiatives in scholarly publishing, cooperative purchasing of electronic resources, and preservation. Many of these ideas are examined in light of recent proposals made by the American Association of Law Libraries.     

Cooperative Digital Initiatives: A Prescription for Success

ABSTRACT

The author discusses the Center for Research Libraries' role in fostering collaborative projects, reports on new developments in digital initiatives and services, and points to models of cooperative projects for consideration by the Slavic information resource community.     

Cataloging the Congressional Serial Set

ABSTRACT

Many librarians question the usefulness of the traditional cataloging of difficult historic sets in a time when more and more information moves either to the Internet or is digitized outright. One of the most challenging sets to catalog is the United States Congressional Serial Set, a 14,000+ (and growing) mega serial comprised of five monographic sub-series. The Congressional Serial Set is an anomaly since it is both monographic and serial in nature. This article examines the intricacies in cataloging government publications in an electronic atmosphere using one House document in the Serial Set as a guide and examines the two commercial digitization projects currently underway.¹     

Best Practices in Cooperative Collection Development

ABSTRACT

Best practices in cooperative collection development are based on interviews with 18 successful programs, which fall into three categories of cooperative effort: selection of print; electronic acquisition; and access, storage, and preservation. Questions probe opportunities, barriers, best practices, and lessons learned. Findings are collapsed into three areas of analysis: formation and founding; decision making, organization and administration; and funding and infrastructure. The successful cooperatives displayed best practices in four important areas: communication and consultation, goals and focus, flexibility and adaptability, and technological infrastructure.     

Schoolmen and Humanists

ABSTRACT

This article, the first of two on electronic text and electronic text centers, looks at the period from the end of World War II to the late Eighties. It is a survey of the early history of working with electronic texts and a number of major initiatives, projects and standards are discussed. The author argues that electronic texts can only be understood in the wider context of humanities computing which during this period mistakenly modeled itself after work done in the pure and social sciences. Such an emphasis was based on a limited view of the computer and has now been largely superseded by developments in technology more propitious to humanistic endeavor.     

The Center for Research Libraries and Cooperative Collection Development

Abstract

The environment for cooperative collection efforts has significantly altered in the last five years due to online public access catalogs, technology changes, and economic realities. One of the most effective mechanisms for establishing a cooperative collection agenda including providing access to a much richer bank of resources, making the most economical use of funds, and setting a shared political agenda is the establishment of library consortia. The changes that have made this a viable model are considered in light of the role of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) as a partner in the cooperative collection development agenda.     

When the Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Development of Cooperative Service and Resource Sharing in Libraries: 1876–2002

SUMMARY

This article will look at the historical development of cooperative service and resource sharing in libraries. Interlibrary Loan, union catalogs, library consortia, and electronic reference, have all impacted library work in the past century. The dissolving of walls is one of the main themes of library history in the 20th century. The developments of these years has clearly put the ability to use both human and institutional resources at the heart of contemporary library service. In looking at how this came to be, this article will examine developments in societal infrastructure and technology that made cooperative schemes both possible and economical. This article will also discuss how these developments have forced libraries to consider cooperative ways to respond to their primary service function. Lastly, conclusions will be drawn about how the emerging cooperative environment is changing the educational role of the librarian.     

Virtual Desk

Abstract

This paper will address the issues involved in establishing a statewide system of library support for distance learners and the ongoing challenges to be met. A primary consideration is how to establish continuity of service and provide an integrated experience for the user, despite contingent funding and distributed responsibility. Issues include selection of and access to electronic resources, improvements to Interlibrary Loan services, inter-library cooperative agreements, and providing and promoting reference services for students and faculty of multiple institutions.     

Making the Common Uncommon?

Abstract

Many libraries have entered into cooperative or consor-tial agreements to reap the cost benefits of electronic purchases, to share a library system vendor, or to divide collection-building responsibilities. However, among such cooperating libraries the formal coordination of approval plan profiles has seldom been attempted. Many questions need to be answered before a group of libraries could enter into a cooperative approval plan. Would the political and administrative costs of designing and maintaining a cooperative profile be sufficiently offset by a broadened overall collection among cooperating libraries? To what degree do libraries acting independently achieve the same approval plan results that a formal coordination of profiles would generate?

The Triangle Research Libraries Network (Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is comprised of four geographically-close institutions that have been building cooperative collections for more than 50 years. Some of their agreements have been quite formal and others have been quite informal.

This study looks at the degree of approval plan overlap among TRLN libraries; at circulation data for these overlapping titles; and at lists of titles not acquired within the consortium. The results may inform the question of whether separate, uncoordinated approval plans already meet the need of the TRLN consortium, or if consortial approval plan cooperation might benefit the group.

An examination of monographs in four selected Library of Congress classes supplied to the TRLN libraries by Yankee Book Peddler over a six month period in 1997 provided data to examine issues surrounding a consortial approval plan. The degree of overlap among the four institutions was defined, and circulation statistics showed whether books acquired by multiple libraries had a high level of use. A list of YBP titles not acquired by any of the libraries during the same timeperiod wasalso analyzed, to examine whether formal cooperation might have usefully broadenedtheoverallcollection.     

K-12 Instruction and Digital Access to Archival Materials

Abstract

Providing K-12 schools with digital access to archival materials can strengthen both student learning and archival practice, although it cannot replace direct physical access to records. This article compares a variety of electronic and non-electronic projects to promote teaching with primary source materials. The article also examines some of the different historiographical and pedagogical approaches used in archival Web sites geared for K-12 instruction, focusing on differences between the educational sites sponsored by the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.     

News You Can Use: Contemporary SDI and Anticipatory Reference for Government Information

ABSTRACT

Government information is becoming available to citizens more quickly than ever before due to electronic dissemination via the Internet. Two projects that rapidly capture, organize, and publicize regionally relevant government information are examined: Government News for Montana and New Mexico News Plus. These news-based sites serve as tools for collection development and digital archiving, proactive reference, content alerting services, information literacy, promotion, and outreach. Issues to consider and suggestions for the application of these services at other libraries are discussed.     

Scandinavian University Press's Role as a Publisher in the Digital Future

Summary

The level of activity among libraries and publishers in Scandinavia with regard to electronic journals is relatively low. However, the interest in and discussions of this subject are widespread and it is on almost everybody's agenda. Some electronic journals are considered, including the Nordic Journal of Philosophical Logicand several pilot projects are also presented and discussed.

There are considerably more initiatives in the international arena, and one important conclusion is that the development of electronic versions of scientific journals makes the world “smaller,” that is, it is less difficult for the regional publisher to reach the international community of scientists. Many of the challenges that publishers face in the world of e-journals are considered, including copyright, fair use, one-stop-shopping, access control, printing, pricing and licensing.

The traditional system of scholarly communication has emerged over a period of hundreds of years and is now well-established regionally as well as internationally. This article attempts to identify whether there are specific characteristics with regard to new ways of disseminating scientific results in the Scandinavian region, and looks into practical experiences from the development of electronic journals.     

Textile conservation in Spain

Abstract

This paper offers a topical overview of textile restoration and conservation in Spain. It discusses the distribution of collections and conditions of research and training. The main textile workshops are described, together with their most important projects, past, present and future.     

E-Journals,Kansas Style

Summary

The presentation, “E-Journals, Kansas Style,” looks at the traditional roles that researchers, publishers, and libraries have had in the production, distribution, cataloging, and archiving of peer-reviewed journals. This discussion then went on to talk about a few of the factors in today's academic society that have seen these roles begin to change: spiraling cost, the technology boom, and WWW ease in publishing, to name a few. The focus of the presentation then turned to the cooperative undertaking between the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center (HSRC), Kansas State University, and the KSU Libraries, and their joint venture to produce a peer-reviewed electronic journal.     

An Interlibrary Loan Network Among Academic Libraries of Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Global information explosion, escalating prices of books and periodicals, fiscal constraints, and above all, demand for faster supply of information through electronic means has forced the academic libraries, world-wide, to share their resources through local, national, and regional cooperative networks to fulfill requirements of their patrons. The article presents a model plan of an interlibrary loan network (ILLN) among academic libraries of Saudi Arabia and discusses its organizational structure, governance, operational requirements, finances, etc. The proposed ILLN will be formal, regular, and systematic to provide greater cooperation, coordination, efficiency, cost effectiveness, and will ensure comprehensive sharing of available resources.     

They think all of this is new: Leveraging librarians' project management skills for the digital humanities

ABSTRACT

This article will explore how to develop the holistic project management planning (PMP) mindset in different parts of the library when undertaking digital humanities (DH) projects. PMP skills do exist within libraries and librarians, but organizational alignment typically does not allow for the most effective applications of librarians' PMP skills to DH projects. This article will explore how the skills of public services librarians, technical services librarians and administrative librarians align with the PMP phases and the challenges that each kind of librarian has to overcome in completing successful DH projects.     

Electronic Resources Management Systems

SUMMARY

The management of electronic resources is one of the most challenging issues facing academic libraries today. Integrated library systems are often unable to manage these resources using existing architecture, but many vendors and individuals are developing systems as either stand-alone or components of their integrated library systems. This paper outlines the investigation, evaluation and implementation process of one library that served as a beta test library with an integrated library system vendor to develop an electronic resource management system. The challenge of developing standards that address both interoperability and diverse libraries and resource types is highlighted.     

Cooperative e-Book Cataloging in the OhioLINK Library Consortium

Since 2004, members of OhioLINK's Database Management and Standards Committee have worked together to produce and distribute bibliographic records for over 44,000 electronic books. Using historical evidence, as well as the personal experience of key personnel, this article examines the ways in which division of labor, cataloging standards, and procedures are negotiated within the consortium. Two case studies illustrate the ways in which cooperative e-book cataloging projects are created, developed, and adapted in response to changing circumstances. Challenges to current practices are discussed, and recommendations are offered to other libraries and consortia preparing to embark on cooperative cataloging projects.