Belgium

Directorate-General For The Information Society And Media

Description

Information technology and telecommunications

Sujets

• Informatique
• Marketing et communication

Informations

• Publié par: DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-THE-INFORMATION-SOCIETY-AND-MEDIA
• Nombre de lectures: 17
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Commission of the European Communities
information management
STATE OF THE ART OF THE APPLICATION
OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
IN LIBRARIES AND THEIR IMPACT
ON LIBRARY FUNCTIONS IN BELGIUM
Report
EUR 11036 EN/7
Blow-up from microfiche original Commission of the European Communities
information management
STATE OF THE ART OF THE APPLICATION
OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
IN LIBRARIES AND THEIR IMPACT
ON LIBRARY FUNCTIONS IN BELGIUM
Prepared by:
Universitaire Instelling Antwerp
Belgium
Project Code: LIB-2/7
FINAL REPORT
Directorate-General
Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation
1988 EUR 11036 EN/7 Published by the
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Directorate-General
Telecommunication·, Information Industrie· and Innovation
Bailment Jean Monnet
LUXEMBOURG
LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the Commission of the European Communities norany person acting on behalf
of then is responsible for the use which might be made of the following
information
ECSC—EEC—EAEC Brussels - Luxembourg, 1988 III
Executive summary.
This survey aims to cover the introduction of (and the
future plans about) NITS (New Information Technologies)
and the interlending situation in some thirty Belgian
libraries. All computerized research and public libraries
are covered, together with a representative sample of
special libraries.
In the first chapter of the report a general introduction
to and survey of the library cooperation in Belgium is
given. It is noted that cooperation is limited and
mainly based on voluntary agreements between particular
institutions or individuals. In a final paragraph the
importance of NITS (New Information Technologies) as
perceived by Belgian librarians, is discussed.
The second chapter gives a description of the major
automated systems presently available in research and
public libraries and in a sample of special libraries.
It is noteworthy that Belgium has produced two systems
marketed internationally, namely: Dobis/Libis and
Vubis. Most Belgian research libraries are completely
or partially automated; the most important system is
Dobis/ Libis network, which groups a dozen libraries.
The public library sector is developing a plan for
shared cataloguing and catalogue access. Generally it
is expected that the introduction of automated library
systems will continue in the near future.
The second chapter contains three paragraphs, describing
the automated systems available respectively in the
research or public or special library sectors. In turn
each paragraph describes the types of computer and
systems used, the functions which are automated or will IV
be before 1988, the contents and the characteristics of
the database, and finally of the online public access
catalogue.
The third chapter succintly describe the extent in
which automated housekeeping functions are introduced.
Two functions, namely circulation and the production of
accession lists are available (or will be shortly) in
some three quarters of the libraries surveyed.
The fourth chapter surveys the online use of external
databases. It also mentions Belgium's place in the world
market of database makers and online hosts.
The fifth chapter described the interlending situation.
In this field the report notes:
a) a low volume of interlending requests;
b) a low satisfaction rate;
c) a high dependence on foreign libraries.
The sixth and concluding chapter discusses the areas in
which the European library collaboration, with beneficial
results to the public, may be enhanced; it proposes:
1) in the field of shared cataloguing:
a) the advancement of a standardization in the field of
- descriptive,
- subject and
- analytical cataloguing
The term "analytical" is here used to designate
articles and component parts. The dichotomy between
cataloguing standards used in libraries on the one
hand and in documentation work on the other ought to
be investigated; the end user needs an access to all
relevant material, not only to booktitles. b) The advancement of the use of coded cataloguing
concepts (alingual cataloguing) and of authority
files with switching mechanisms, should be extended
to meet the European problem of the multilingual use
of library catalogues.
c) The advancement of standardization of the internal
formats, among others between the different Marc-
formats and Unesco's CCF (Common communication
format).
d) Amore exact definition of the level of descriptive
and subject cataloguing (e.g. of the minimal level
cataloguing description).
2) In the field of shared catalogue access:
a) fostering the study and implementation of the OSI-
model.
b) the promotion of the accessibility of bibliographic
databases, either:
- in real time, thus requiring further attention
to be given to the transborder telecommunication
problems and costs.
- or, in off line mode, by supporting exchanges
(incl. downloading) of records, between European
databases and also with non-European databases.
3) In the field of document delivery of photocopied
journal articles:
The elimination of barriers to transborder exchanges:
- physically by fostering electronic document delivery,
along the lines of the Doedel program.
- financially by aiming at a uniform (and possibly
low) European tariff and an efficient mechanism
for fund transfer. VI
- operationally by expanding the overall collection
available for interlending possibly by augmenting
the number of delivery centres willing (like BLLD)
to work on a European scale. Privately, we think
that BLLD's collection only covers about 2/3 of
currently user-expressed needs, especially for
non-English or non-scientific materials.
- operationally by promoting a union catalogue of the
holdings of such European delivery centres.
- operationally, by advertizing and promoting only
those document delivery centres where fast and
user oriented service is guaranteed.
A) In the field of loans:
The elimination of the barriers to transborder exchange
of books.
The problems are parallel to those cited in (3) above
but in addition standard procedures will have to be
developed to guarantee an indemnity against damaged
or lost items. An Association of European Bona Fide
Libraries has been suggested to take care of this
aspect and of the problem of fund transfer. Membership
should be open to all libraries willing to adhere to
the convention.
Support will be needed to encourage the production of
union catalogues of loanable items but only of those
Bona Fide libraries, who choose to function also as
supplying library and guarantee a fast and user
oriented service. VII
Contents page
Executive summary IIJ
0. Introduction 1
0.1 Objectives
0.2 Methodology
0.3 Belgium: the general scene 2
0.4 The Belgian librarye A
1. General overview 8
1.1 Factual introduction
1.2 NITS (New Information Technologies) as 21
perceived by the libraries surveyed
2. Computerized library catalogues 2A
2.1 Main machine-readable catalogues
2.2 Summary description of the machine-readable 25
catalogues available in the Belgian research
libraries
2.211 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) 25 2 Royal Library 29
2.213 Antwerp University 32 A University of Liège5
2.215 Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) 38 7é libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Al
2.218é catholique de Louvain (UCL)
2.3 Description of automated systems available in A7
Belgian public libraries
2.311 Dutch speaking Belgium A8 2 Frenchgm 52
2.A Description of automatic systems available in 63
selected special libraries in Belgium
2.All The Quetelet library (Brussels) 65
2.A12 The National Bank of Belgium (Brussels) 67 3 Solvay (Brussels) 6
2.AIA Debora (Maredsous)9
2.5 Funding 75
2.6 Major collections of national importance not 7
yet automated
2.7 Assessment of difficulties encountered 7
3. Automated management functions 77
A. Online use of external databases 83
A.l Online information: Belgian files
A.2 Missing in Williams' surveyA
A.3 External database searching5
5. Mechanisms for interlibrary lending (IL)8
5.0 Introduction 8
5.1 Key regional, national and international inter- 92
lending agencies
5.2 Major tools used to identify and localise 93
requests
5.3 Summary description of the interlending networks 98
5.A Macro-statistics 10A
5.5s of costs and budgets 111
5.6 Future plans 113
5.7 Assessment of the interlending situations IIVIII
6. General conclusions 120
6.1 General trends for the application of NITS 12
6.2 Library cooperation
6.3 Possible areas of an increased European 121
cooperation
Appendix 1 List of acronyms used and glossary ofA
the main technical terms x 2 General bibliography7
Appendix 3 List of libraries and systems surveyed, 133
and/or of persons contacted x A Dutch and French versions of the 135
questionnaires used
Appendix 5 Specimens of the main union cat