Special libraries, their collections
and Libraries Australia
Ann Ritchie
LAAC : Special Libraries representative
Laurel Paton
Libraries Australia
Collections
Broadly defined as ‘the knowledge base of the organisation’,
collections comprise:
• External / internal publications
• Print and electronic formats
• Owned (purchased, permanent)
• Accessed (leased / subscribed / contracted)
• Linked (freely available via the internet)
All covered by Collection Development / Access Policy
Why are special libraries’ collections valuable?
The basis of all reference / research services for:
• The libraries’ clients i.e. their organisations and their users
• Integral to the national research information infrastructure
Collections add value for clients
• We need to add value beyond the search engine
Challenges for the great libraries in the age of the digital native,
Dame Lynn Brindley 2009
•
the difference between Google and us? It’s us!
Steven Abrams 2008
Value for national research communities
‘Of primary importance, is the development of a high level
strategic framework which can act as a guide to policy makers
and funding agencies concerned with the information
infrastructure supporting the Australian research community.’
Australia’s Information Future, Neil McLean 1999
A national strategy: the UK example
• Something has to give, we can’t afford to amass physical
material
• We need to be careful to preserve our research information
infrastructure
• We have to acquire as well as dispose of information
resources responsibly
• We must have a coordinated solution to protect the
information infrastructure on which all our research activity
depends
– UK Research Reserve: a shared service, Debbie Shorely, 2010
Heritage book collections
There has never been a greater need for library professionals
able to assist in the discovery, interpretation and description
of heritage book content as libraries try to electronically
record the existence of significant book collections in state,
special, and even local public libraries and museums.
Heritage book collections in Australian libraries,
Matthew Stephens 2009
Research collections in Australia: a national study
..there has been a level of acknowledgement that many special
libraries include valuable research content .. the practical
difficulties of including these libraries within the scope of
collaborative planning and management for the research library
sector have meant that they have been excluded.
Sharing the collective wealth of Australian research libraries,
Paul Genoni/Janette Wright 2010
The ANBD
• National union catalogue, compiled since 1981, hosted by
NLA
• Contains catalogue records of >1,000 Australian libraries,
obtained from several sources
• Accessible via Libraries Australia & Trove
• Holdings info assists decisions about acquisitions &
cancellations
• Contains info about uncatalogued collections, incl 54 Special
Libraries
Special libraries = 50% of membership, contribute 7% of holdings
Special Libraries’ Collections Project
Aim
To highlight and showcase Australian special libraries’
collections as an integral part of the national information
infrastructure and the research fabric of Australia
Project Objectives
• to assess the extent to which the collections of Australian
special libraries are recorded in the ANBD
• to facilitate participation of special libraries in Libraries
Australia
• to provide access to special libraries’ collections at least at the
‘collection summary’ level through LA and Trove
• to allow cooperative collection development and management
decisions
• to promote the value of special libraries in the national
information infrastructure and in their organizations
2008-09 Survey
Australian National Bibliographic Database
Aims:
• to ascertain currency and coverage of the ANBD, and
• to discover gaps in coverage
Objectives - to identify:
1. extent to which the collections of Australian libraries are
recorded on the ANBD
2. types of material most likely/unlikely to be recorded
3. existence of formed or special format collections of
published/unpublished materials which are not recorded
4. patterns of contribution/non-contribution amongst
particular library types
5. key factors affecting ANBD contribution.
0
TAFE
Special Federal
Special Local
Special State
Special - Law
Special Corporate
Special Health
School
Public
Other tertiary
University
National,
State,
No. of Responses
Survey Responses
More than 200 valid responses
96 from special libraries: 33 state govt, 28 federal, 12 law,
11 corporate, 8 health, 4 local govt
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Special libraries’ responses
• 96 responses from Special Libraries
• 74 responded to Q15, providing 88 comments:
If your Organisation hasn’t contributed records for this
material to the ANBD can you indicate the key reasons why?
Please indicate if there are different reasons for specific types
of materials
Key factors affecting Special Libraries’ contributions to
ANBD
1.
nature of collections
2.
local challenges and resource limitations
3.
availability & the implication that material is available for
resource sharing or inter-library loan
#1. nature of collections
• Confidential nature of material e.g. Commercial in Confidence, protected
research content
• Historical material relating only to the organisation – corporate memory
• Rare and valuable nature of content (e.g. York Gate Geographical and
Colonial Library)
• A primary role of the library as custodian or curator of materials
• Restricted or limited subject content (e.g. Sugar, radiation protection)
• Culturally sensitive material
• Format of material is unique and/or valuable (e.g. posters, photos, diaries,
film, unpublished scripts, etc)
#2. local challenges and resource limitations
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of staff resources
limited skills/expertise (in cataloguing?)
Lack of time
Cost
Local practices/local systems issues
#3. Availability
Responses often inferred that records on ANBD equated with
material being available for inter-library loan or resource
sharing.
There were many indications of unwillingness to have material
available to users outside their organisations.
#3. Availability
Issues included:
•
•
•
•
•
Licensing (electronic resources)
Privacy and copyright
Valuable, precious or confidential nature of resources
Lack of staff
Library policy
Special Libraries and Libraries
Australia – a strong relationship
Laurel Paton
Libraries Australia
Collection-level cataloguing and annotated collection
entries in Libraries Australia
•
Collection-level cataloguing can provide libraries with an
effective response to lack of time, lack of resources and
backlogs.
•
Libraries Australia members can take advantage of Trove’s
powerful search features to expose collection lists, finding
aids and other uncatalogued or briefly catalogued material.
Identification of collections in
Australian Libraries Gateway (ALG)
•
Contains information about approximately 5,200 Australian
libraries
•
It’s free and libraries do not have to be members of Libraries
Australia to have or maintain an entry in ALG
•
Entries in ALG are displayed in OCLC’s WorldCat Registry
Australian Library Interlending Resource Sharing
Directory (ILRS)
• Primary source for finding a contact for ILL and document
delivery services in Australia
• Directory of Australian National Union Catalogue (NUC)
symbols
• Can list types of material held, loan policies, special
conditions, etc
Cataloguing and Holdings
• There are 3 methods for contributing bibliographic records and/or holdings
to Libraries Australia
• Even if document delivery is not permitted, the input of bibliographic
records in Libraries Australia still provides many benefits for resource
sharing and resource management
• Record Import Service (RIS) supports loading of local system data, in a
range of formats, into Libraries Australia
• Global Holdings Update is a free Libraries Australia service
Further information
• Libraries Australia Help Desk
• Libraries Australia Training
Engage and Share ideas
• Libraries Australia presence on ning –closed to members only
• Trove Forum – open
• Contact Libraries Australia
Where to from here?
• Work with Libraries Australia Advisory Committee to make
recommendations about practical ways to facilitate SLs
participation
• Reference group contacts from subsector networks e.g.
AGLIN, ALIES, HLA, LLG, LOSS etc
• Collaborate with national studies about special library
collections and factors influencing participation in Libraries
Australia
Discussion of the issues
What are your thoughts on ways to encourage
exposure and sharing of unique and special
collections?