Blackwell’s Book Services Head of Marketing
Phil Coles discusses the role of commercial vendors in collection development
and acquisitions.
COLLECTION
DEVELOPMENT
Convener: Bradley
Schaffner, Head, Slavic Department, University of Kansas Libraries
Speaker: Phil Coles, Head
of Marketing, Blackwell’s Book Services, Ltd.
"Role of Commercial
Vendors in Collection Development and Acquisitions"
Blackwell’s Book Services Head of Marketing
Phil Coles discusses the role of commercial vendors in collection development
and acquisitions.
Why use a commercial book
vendor?
Vendor services:
·
Acquisitions
o
Base services
§
Firm orders, standing orders,
approval plans
§
Single customer service contact
§
Flexible invoicing options
§
Country of origin
o
Electronic services
§
Electronic Data Interchange
§
E-commerce via the Web
·
New title current awareness
·
Approval plan management
·
Bib research
·
Ordering
·
Order status checking
o
Financial services
§
Credit accounts
§
Deposit accounts
§
Fixed price quotations/ pre-payment
invoices
§
Credit arranged through donor
agencies - World Bank, EU, etc.
o
Technical services
§
Book processing
·
Binding/jacketing
·
Spine labeling
·
Security triggers
§
Cataloguing records
·
‘Acquisition’ and ‘full’
level records
·
MARC 21 and UK MARC
Vendors in the future
Vendors and emerging
economies
Speaker: Vania
Grashkina, “St. Cyril and Methodius” National Library,
“Internet and the Perspectives for Development of the Library Collections”
Sofia’s Vania Grashkina prepares to talk
about the Internet and the perspective for the library collection.
Vania heads the Acquisition and Exchange department at the “St. St.
Cyril and Methodius” National Library in Sofia.
Globalization of info and
expansion of Internet lead us to question role of libraries. Libraries are
social places that provide information to all users. Using the Internet
resources results in:
Use of technology requires
analysis - balance of traditional provision of info and IT. Make precise
evaluation of quality and price of electronic resources. Subscription
requirements require a lot of financial resources.
Problem/issue of duplication
of items in print and online forms. If cost is not an issue, it is good for
users to have options of both, but if financial resources are an issue, this is
very important. We must balance price and content.
Providing e-access to info
is a factor for libraries to raise the view of library users of libraries as a
social place. Quality equipment is necessary. Subject specialists and IT
specialists should work together to select resources, with librarians having
final decision about information offerings.
Important approach where
money is an issue - use of networks, especially in academic environments.
Collection development can be done online with vendors such as Blackwell’s.
Blackwell
Book Service Head of Marketing Phil Coles, University of Dayton Special
Collection Curator Nicoletta Hary, and University of Kansas Librarian Brad
Shaffner listen to the English translation as St. St. Cyril and Methodius
National Librarian Vania Grashkina delivers her presentation.
Bulgarian experience of
Internet use in economic crisis:
Consider external factors
- poor phone lines and infrastructures, need of extending local resources
in online world. CDROMs are currently better because they cut down on relying on
unreliable connections to networks.
Open Society, comprised of
70 libraries, provides access to EBSCO, MEDLINE, and access to other databases.
National library allows access to UN library in NY, EBSCO, Medline, and other
databases.
Question: Libraries are
cooperating to acquire databases; have you had any success in negotiating with
vendors to supply databases at a better price because it is a cooperative
venture?
We can use these resources
at a minimum price because this was given to us by the OSF project for Eastern
Europe and covers most of the price of access to databases.
Speaker: Dr. Nicoletta
Mattioli Hary, University of Dayton
A Methodology for Enhancing Religion Collections in East European Libraries
University of Dayton Special Collections Curator Dr. Nicoletta Hary delivers
her presentation “A Methodology for Enhancing Religious Collections in East
European libraries.”
Idea originated with
conversation with Ukraine, Russian and Hungarian librarians. After 1989, users
asked libraries to include book on traditional religions. In Bulgaria, religious
studies is now offered in universities. We have experienced 40-70 years of
reduced religious publishing during the Cold War and have experienced a lack of
collecting religious materials from overseas.
Libraries must assess
current collection of religious materials
1.
Meet specific needs of patrons to meet interests
2.
Offer reliable info in all major world religions
3.
Internet resources on subject
Basic religious collection
1.
Up to date info on all world religions - one copy of sacred books of
major world religions, comprehensive work that covers all world religions. This
is independent of needs of users and should be considered a minimum requirement.
2.
According to needs and beliefs of local community, library should cater
to local needs. Considering diversity of beliefs in Eastern Europe, libraries
will need to have works that cover several religions. Academic libraries will
choose collection based on needs of students - their beliefs and subjects
studied.
These criteria were recently
used to build a religious collection at U of Dayton, a Catholic institution, to
support new doctoral program.
Methods to encourage gifts:
As many people as possible
must be told about library’s need. Librarians must not be afraid to ask for
donations. Gifts must be acknowledged.
Building collections in
Eastern Europe:
Locally:
Nationally:
Internationally:
Internet resources:
Can replace use of other
reference works and most users can find information themselves. EE libraries who
have access can supplement collection with Internet resources. Librarians must
be aware of which site they recommend and use - check for accuracy and bias.
Participants of the Sofia 2000 conference take
a well-deserved coffee break between the Collection Development and Preservation
sessions.
PRESERVATION
Convener: Vania Grashkina
Tatiana Nicolova-Houston,
University of Texas at Austin,
“The Internet and the Virtual Scriptorium of Slavic Medieval Manuscripts:
Preservation and Access”
University of Texas at Austin’s Tatiana
Nicolova-Houston delivers her presentation.
Tatiana is a Master’s student at the university’s Graduate School of
Library and Information Science.
Like living organisms,
libraries come and go, live and die. Laws of nature are predictable; human
damage and indifference cause greater harm. A dilemma--preservation or
destruction or both?
Research question: What is
the role of the Internet in Slavic medieval manuscripts? Can we speak of a
Virtual Scriptorium?
Focus: South Slavic medieval
manuscripts of the earliest period of their creation and development during the
9th to 14th centuries.
Methodology: evaluation of
manuscript web sites according to: relevancy to the research question,
completeness, searchability, establishing categories of Internet sources, as
follows:
Categories of web sites:
Digitization preserves
original manuscripts and eliminates handling. Traditional preservation methods,
like photocopying, are not preferred by the user. A scriptorium can be built on
the web, bringing more resources to scholars and other interested users.
Web sites come and go. The
Internet is a chaotic source of information. Few sites include dates of
creation. Without careful administration, web sites may contribute to the
recreation of a “dark ages” where information is lost.
Slavic countries have a
proud heritage, but no virtual scriptorium exists. Western libraries
underestimate their Slavic collections. Sites have questionable value. The
Internet contains inadequate representations of the Eastern European traditions.
There is a need to promote
Slavic collections, guard the world’s intellectual capital, learn
technological innovations, archive the Internet, verify Internet sources, master
preservation & access issues, assist the east in economic crisis, and avoid
a “digital dark age.”
Dr. Ani Gergova, who serves as the President
of the Union of Libraries & Information Services Officers, directs a
question to Tatiana Nicolova-Houston following Tatiana’s preservation
presentation.
Question: This paper exposes
the responsibilities of eastern librarians to preserve their valuable
collections. There is a need to education students to create on the Internet.
Which of the Bulgarian organizations has she contacted?
Comment: There have been
some efforts to begin preservation, but additional work is needed. We value
highly our manuscripts which represent our culture over time. We can be proud
that the interests of the researchers are directed toward these treasures. This
report will help us very much.
Comment: A lot of done in
Bulgaria in this respect. The first level is digitalization, but that’s not
important. Description is done by specialists; it can’t be done by one person
alone. There are groups in Bulgaria that are working on preservation. There is a
database which is being built and now has 316 manuscripts. More than 30
manuscripts cannot be described. The problem is that the Slavic world has
different approaches. There are several places in the U.S. and in Europe; none
has the amount of work done on Slavic manuscripts that is being done here. In 10
years we won’t have so many specialists. You need not worry that this work is
not being done.
Response: I am aware of some
of these efforts but could not locate manuscripts on the web. I am tailoring my
education so that I can do preservation work. I’m taking courses that enrich
my knowledge of Slavic manuscripts and languages. I’m applying for grants to
do this work.
I want to help her own
country and come back.
Presenters: Bradley L.
Schaffner & Brian J. Baird, University of Kansas,
“Simple Steps for Evaluating the Condition of Slavic Collections”
University of Kansas Librarian Bradley
Shaffner flips through his notes during his presentation. Shaffner heads
the Slavic deparment at his library.
University of Kansas Preservation Librarian
Brian Baird makes an adjustment on the overhead projector as fellow colleague
Bradley Shaffner delivers their presentation on evaluating the conditions of a
Slavic collection.
Historically, Slavic
publications have been printed on low quality paper and have been poorly bound,
leaving them susceptible to rapid deterioration. A study was recently done to
assess the condition of the Slavic collection at University of Kansas.
17.43% of Russian and Soviet
publications held at the University of Kansas libraries are brittle. 87% of
Russian and Soviet publications held at the University of Kansas Libraries are
printed on acidic paper.
Because 87% of all Russian
and Soviet publications are printed on acidic paper, they run the risk of
eventually losing all of these materials. A survey of the condition of materials
in a library’s collections is the first step towards gaining a better
understanding of the magnitude of preservation problems. This information is
important in developing a comprehensive preservation program.
In simplest terms, a
preservation survey evaluates randomly selected books to determine the general
condition and life expectancy of a collection. This survey used a form created
on Microsoft Access with scripted answers listed in pull down menus. The survey
instrument provided help screens at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
The survey instrument
records data on a volume-by-volume basis. It allows flexibility in how the data
are analyzed to provide a wealth of information. Standardization of survey
process allows cross collection comparative analysis. The survey focused on the
condition of the paper and binding of each volume, and examined how well the
volume has held up to use. Paper is tested for brittleness using the double-fold
test. Paper is folded over at the corner and creased, then folded the other
direction. If it breaks after two such folds the paper is considered brittle.
When titles are brittle they
are reformatted using preservation-quality xerography. To reduce reformatting
costs, the University of Kansas Libraries work cooperatively with other research
libraries to preserve brittle Slavic titles. This cooperative program is called
“SlavCopy.” Learn about “SlavCopy” at this web site: http://www.ukans.edu/~slavlib/slavcopy.html
The authors are currently
working with the National Endowment for the Humanities to secure funding to
further the efforts of SlavCopy to expand their preservation efforts into East
Central Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. They will be looking to
develop strong cooperative relationships with major research libraries in
Russia, Ukraine, and East Central Europe.
Condition surveys are the
first step in developing a comprehensive program to preserve Slavic materials
for future generations of students and scholars, and in preparing competitive
grant applications to public and private agencies for financial support.
For additional information,
see:
“Into the Dustbin of
History? The Evaluation and Preservation of Slavic Materials,” College and
Research Libraries 60:2 (March 1999):144-151.
“Extinguishing Slow Fires:
Cooperative Preservation Efforts” available on the Web at: http://www.ala.org/acrl/titles99.html
(After accessing this page you will need to click on the title. The paper is in
PDF file format.)
Comment: He is running one
of the best Slavic collections in the U.S. Over the last 30 years Slavic
librarians have made important contributions to Slavic culture.
Comment: Dr. Dimchev
expresses his gratitude to Bradley for his work.
Presenter: Borjana
Savova, Open Society Foundation, “The Open Society Foundation and the
Development of Bulgarian Libraries”
The Foundation is part of a
network that extends through eastern Europe and through Asia. The activities
started in 1990 and is linked to the work of the Alliance of Universities for
Democracy. This presentation will summarize what the Foundation has done.
The priority of the
Foundation has been to help libraries overcome the transition to a democratic
society. The mission of the organization is to help librarians overcome these
difficult times and to keep the role of the library in society a valuable source
of information. It is the only organization in Bulgaria that has a priority
related to libraries. The program doesn’t distinguish among types of
libraries; it supports all types, public and private.
In the beginning a number of
major tasks were outlined, and policy was developed with the philosophy that
what they did should be helpful to all libraries in the country. They sought
support from government agencies, other NGOs, and private agencies.
The Society has organized
workshops and other educational activities as a high priority of the
organization. Local and international experts were involved in drafting
curricula, providing equal access to libraries. Librarians were given the
opportunity to participate in courses from the Library of Congress, the French
National Library, and others. There were many activities that helped librarians
learn all over the world.
Most of the initiatives took
place with the support of many partners. Following are some recent projects.
There were numerous donations of literature books worth more than $6 million.
Another project were music donations on CDs. The realization of such projects
were accomplished through partnerships with many organizations around the world.
They continue to look for additional sources of funding.
The development of the
library and information network, a study of automation of Bulgarian libraries.
This project resulted in development of local networks and automated workplaces.
46 of 63 libraries now have access to the Internet. An electronic national book
catalog has been developed, along with some of the records from other national
catalogs.
With time the project
underwent change but remained true to its goal to be independent and to assist
library development.
Comment: We are grateful to
the Foundation; it has had a great impact on the preservation of culture. What
are the future plans?
Response: The Foundation
will continue to work in its field. They are in the process of reorganization.
She would like to believe that they will work to further the cause of Bulgarian
libraries.
Comment: There is no other
cultural institution in this country that supported higher education and
libraries. Had it not been for this Foundation we would not be in our current
state. She proposes that preservation of manuscripts is a difficult problem and
that new technology will be purchased to enable digital preservation of
manuscripts.
Comment: A library director
expressed her gratitude for the work of the Foundation which supplied libraries
with the tools to communicate with donors. You helped us build the image of a
public library, improving our image in our community.
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