Nonstandard users: The Library

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Non-standard usersThe Library

• Raf Dekeyser
• K.U.Leuven

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Why do libraries network? (1)

• Cataloguing
• Copy-cataloguing (exchange of records)
• Search access (useful for ILL!)
• Collective catalogues (e.g. Worldcat)
• merged catalogues or virtual joint catalogue
• importance of standards for metadata (MARC21,
  Dublin Core) and exchange of information (Z39.50)
• Integrated library management systems (in
  network)
• cataloguing, circulation, acquisition, user
  control...
• historical shift from dedicated terminals to
  client/server system to direct web interfaces

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Why do libraries network? (2)

• Interlibrary loan
• Search and order
• Electronic delivery
• Accounting
• Evolution from national towards large
  international networks

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Why do libraries network? (3)

• Database access
• Bibliographic databases
• on campus server
• shared in library consortium
• web access to publisher
• Full text journals
• special offers for consortia
• Books, theses, courseware
• publishers network with printing on demand
• allows for broad distribution of rare books and
  cultural heritage documents
• New possibilities archives of scientific data
  (e.g., detailed output of experiments or
  calculations, genetic codes...)

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Why do libraries network? (4)

• Electronic Reference Service Ask a librarian
  (e.g. QuestionPoint from LC OCLC)
• Network for knowledge sharing
• Automatic routing of questions, based on
  collection of strength profiles
• 24/7 staffing becomes possible!
• In USA already installed in large public library
  networks

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New model for scholarly communication

• Network of institutional e-print archives
• inspired by Los Alamos arXiv (Ginsparg)
• metadata exchange through OAI metadata protocol
• harvesters provide intelligent access to
  documents
• Valuable alternative for commercial journals?
• financially competitive
• ideal for author-paid model
• problems to make it acceptable to research
  community
• Validation method (peer review)
• important success factor
• technical solution still lacking
• collaboration from learned societies requested
• Internet allows for new methods for evaluation
  and impact measurement

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Requirements

• Interface software for (simultaneous) search and
  retrieval access to diverse database
  systems(different standards, metadata-sets,
  languages,...)
• Intelligent full-text search engine
• translations new life for non-English books and
  journals (important for Humanities!)
• simultaneous search through thousands of
  repositories!? (e.g. JISC test of 500,000
  students essays against 800 million websites and
  archives for plagiarism The Times 8/1/03)
• Foolproof quality label management system for
  peer review control
• Fast exchange of large multimedia files