Preserving the Past
for the Future
the importance of archival
information in forestry
Roger Mills
Biosciences and Environmental Sciences Librarian
and Manager, Oxford Forest Information Service
Oxford University Library Services
August 2005
Trees matter
• In many
disciplines:
– Forest and plant
sciences
– Taxonomy
– Climatology
– Environmental
change
– Geography
– Ecology
– Etc etc
–
–
–
–
Earth sciences
Biochemistry
Medicine
Development
studies
– Economics
– Social sciences
– Law
Data about trees
• Takes a long time to collect
• Maybe several generations
• How to keep comparable data
accessible
• The Oxford story
– Hanging on in quiet desperation
is the English way
For example
I am working for a German biodiversity
research group studying the forests of
Kakamega in Kenya and of Budongo and
Mabira in Uganda. We are attempting to
trace the forest cover changes for these
areas and I have heard that you have some
archives relating to them. Is that true?
I am interested in old maps or absolutely
any written archival material relating to
these forests, and of any date, but the older
the better (12-12-04)
It was a most
productive
visit to your
library for
'grey'
literature on
the useful
plants of
tropical
Africa for the
PROTA
project
(11-01-05)
I am writing to enquire about a book which I understand
my Grandfather wrote when in the Indian Forestry
Service. He retired in October 1926, so I imagine it was
written before that time, but I really don't know….The
reference I have seen was "Henry Farrington, the Chief
Conservator, was a specialist on botany; he was the
author of a very useful flora of the trees of the Northern
and Berar Circles". (11-01-05)
I am trying to track down a
report by C. E. Lane Poole
who was an Australian
forester. He wrote a report
called "The Forests of
Erromago" in 1948. Erromago
is an island in the New
Hebrides (now called
Vanuatu) ….It may well be a
semi-manuscript , rather
than a formal publication. (51-05)
following a search of your online catalogue, I see that you
retain the following journal :Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur
das Forstwesen…..the one that
I am interested in is by COAZ,
J, entitled "Kulturversuch mit
auslandischen holzarten inder
Waldung des Schlosses
Marschlins, Gemeindegebiet
von Igis, in Graubunden". It
was published in 1917…
(15-12-04)
IUFRO
• Information Clearing House to record
forest data planned 1906 for
Switzerland
• War intervened, funds lost to inflation
• British Imperial Forestry Institute
founded 1924
• Gathered UK-generated reports,
indexed in Current Monthly Record
• Passed to Imperial Forestry Bureau
1938
• Forestry Abstracts 1939-
Clearing House
• IFI/IFB – Oxford by default
• Post-WW2 declaration: ‘authors should
generally send a copy of their work to
Forestry Abstracts’
• Free deposit still works
– With a little help from my friends
•
•
•
•
CABI/Oxford Agreement still current
Recording/storing/retrieving not free
Why should Oxford pay?
Why? Why? Why? Why?....
Threat no. 1
• Space
• New building 1950, completely full by
1960
• Microfilming programme funded by
Ford Foundation 1964
• Through support of one man – Frank
Wadsworth, USDA
• Three-year funding stretched to 30
years through sales
• Now going digital – at a price
Threat no. 2
• Academic priorities change
– Undergraduate teaching: forestry >
agricultural science > biology
– Postgraduate teaching: forestry >
forest science > environmental
science
– Research: whole plant > molecular
• And will change again…
Threat no. 3
• Institutional re-organisation
• Departmental reorganization: forestry /
botany / agriculture > Plant Sciences
1985
• CABI centralization – away from
Oxford 1987
• ‘Oxford’s Forestry Felled’
• You don’t do forestry any more, do
you?
• So why should I send you my stuff?
Threat no. 4
•
•
•
•
£££££££
Resource allocation
Full economic costing
Reduce staff
– 1985: 12 >1995: 8 > 2000: 2.5
• Reduce space
– 1985: 3000m > 2000: 2000m
– You can’t keep a growing lad down
Something’s got to give
•
•
•
•
Restructuring
100 libraries > one library
Gradually
Plant Sciences > OULS: Nov 2000
Identity crises
• Oxford Forest Information Service
– Collections may move, service
remains
• But not everywhere
• UK agriculture: 50% of
organizations in membership of
IAALD/Aslib merged, moved,
changed owners, role, funding
source in past decade
Lest auld acquaintance be
forgot
• IUFRO Directory
• Joining hands:
– EBHL / CBHL
– FORELISE
– GFIS
New publishing paradigms
•
•
•
•
•
•
Speed communication
Wider communication
Multiple versions
Multiple formats
Archival conversion
Oxford-Google: 1 million 19th
century books being digitised
• Oxford Digital Library
• Oxford Eprints
The Biggest Threat of All:
It’s on the web
• Well it was….
• Race against time for
– Electronic archiving
– Electronic legal deposit
– Preserving e-mail?
•
•
•
•
•
Born digital – die digital
Endless refreshment
Endless cash
Who pays?
And why? why? why?
We’re working on that…
• The Problem of the UK Forest
Research Programme Archive
• Closing in March 2006
• 320m shelving
• 40 years of research, £50m of
public money
• Who keeps it? Who makes it
searchable? Who pays?
Who cares?
• We do!
• So it’s just as well we’re still
alive…
• And kicking:
Please join us!