Research and innovation: Nordic-Baltic strategies for library development: proceedings of the IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting (May 2-3, 2005, Liepaja, Latvia)

Library Association of Latvia National Library of Latvia Liepaja Central Library RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT Proceedings of the IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting May 2-3, 2005 Liepaja, Latvia Riga National Library of Latvia 2005 ORGANISERS Library Association of Latvia National Library of Latvia Liepaja Central Library INTERNATIONAL CO-ORGANISERS Estonian Librarians Association Lithuanian Librarians Association Norwegian Library Association ORGANISING COMMITTEE Inese Auziņa-Smith, Library Association of Latvia Frode Bakken, Norwegian Library Association Aina Krauče, Liepaja Central Library Anna Mauliņa, Library Association of Latvia / National Library of Latvia Daiga Raļļa, National Library of Latvia Andris Vilks, National Library of Latvia Tērbatas iela 75 Rīga, LV-1001, Latvia Tel.: (371) 7312793 Fax: (371) 7312793 E-mail: lbb@lnb.lv Home page: http://www.lnb.lv SUPPORTERS State Culture Capital Foundation (Latvia) National Library of Latvia Liepaja City Council Papers are not edited Responsible for the edition: Anna Mauliņa © National Library of Latvia, 2005 ISBN 9984–607–65–8 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ LIST OF CONTENTS Programme 7 Plenary Session: Science, Technology, Innovation in Libraries Jens Thorhauge, Director General of the Danish National Library Authority European library development: the Danish model 15 Karina Pētersone, Director of the National Library of Latvia Support Foundation The Latvian National Library project – a 21st century challenge and opportunity 23 Meeli Veskus, Counsellor for Library Affairs, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Estonia Strive towards perfection: how are you, Estonian library? 27 Rob Davies, Scientific Coordinator of CALIMERA Coordination Action / MDR Partners (United Kingdom) The CALIMERA research roadmap: the role of local institutions in delivering interactive access for citizens to Europe’s cultural heritage 31 EBLIDA – for libraries: presentation and special discussion Pedro Hípola, Vice-President of EBLIDA / President of the Spanish Federation of Archives, Libraries, Documentation and Museums Associations (FESABID) The European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) 38 Session A: New Digital Environment: the Challenge of Change Regina Varnienė, Deputy Director and Director of Bibliography and Book Science Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Lithuanian cultural heritage digitisation projects 50 Päivi Almgren, Koski Tl Library / Board Member of the Library Association of Finland Small libraries, great challenges: how to become a hybrid library overnight 3 58 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sandra Grijzenhout-Möller, Product Sales Manager - Engineering & Chemistry, Elsevier Science (The Netherlands) Engineering Village 2 (including Compendex, INSPEC and e-books): A platform designed specifically for engineers 64 Gitte Larsen, Head of the Department of Continuing Education & Consultancy of the Royal School of Library and Information Science (Denmark) Preparing for new and changing roles in research libraries and information services 65 Session B: National Digital Libraries and Professional Portals Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen, Counsellor for Library Affairs of the Ministry of Education of Finland Quality portals to knowledge and culture – developing collections and services of hybrid libraries 73 Emilija Banionytė, Director of Vilnius Pedagogical University Library / Vice-President of the Lithuanian Librarians' Association / President of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium; Aušra Vaškevičienė, Head of the Department of Electronic Information of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania / Head of Administration of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium Usage of electronic information in Lithuanian libraries: a comparative study 76 Arne Gauslå, Senior Librarian of the National Library of Norway, National Union Catalogue / NOSP Strategies for the development of NOSP in Nordic and Baltic libraries 84 Jüri Järs, Director of Tallinn University of Technology Library Changes in legal regulation and state funding of Estonian research libraries 94 Doloresa Veilande, Deputy Director of Riga Central Library Projects in local research at Riga Central Library: 2000–2005 101 Anneli Sepp, Vice-President of the Estonian Librarians Association / System Librarian of Library of Estonian Academy of Music / Librarian of Tartu University Library Library co-operation in Estonia: different aspects 105 Anna Mauliņa, Deputy Director of the National Library of Latvia / President of the Library Association of Latvia 107 Innovative solutions in libraries of Latvia 4 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Session C: Information Services in a Digital Environment Aušra Vaškevičienė, Head of the Department of Electronic Information of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania / Head of Administration of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium Irena Kvieselaitienė, Head of the Reference Department of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Information services: new priorities of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania 115 Žibutė Petrauskienė, Head of the Bibliography and Reference Department of Vilnius University Library Electronic information: training of users and dissemination of data about EI at Vilnius 125 University Library Otilija Juozapaitienė, Senior Bibliographer and Regional Literature Specialist of the Readers' Services Department of Plunge Public Library (Lithuania) Informational changes and their impact in Plunge Public Library 133 Birutė Railienė, Head of the Reference Service Department of the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences User education in a research library 138 Daina Puntuka, Head of the Library of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga A cornucopia of information: use of electronic resources by students of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga 142 Päivikki Karhula, Network Services Librarian of the Library of the Parliament of Finland / Editor-inChief of Signum, the Journal of the Finnish Research Library Association Development challenges of network services 152 Session D: Library Performance Measurement, Research and Professional Education Anu Nuut, Chief Specialist on Library Statistics and Standardisation of the Research and Development Centre of the National Library of Estonia Evaluation of library performance – outcomes and impact: current developments in Estonia 5 158 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Baiba Mūze, Lecturer of the Department of Library Science and Information Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia Union catalogue quality control and evaluation in public libraries 169 Anneli Äyräs, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Education of Finland Library performance measurement and evaluation tools in Finnish public libraries 175 Baiba Sporāne, Head of the Department of Library Science and Information Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia The book as entity and phenomenon in library philosophy and research 181 Inese Auziņa-Smith, Lecturer of the Department of Information Science of Loughborough University (United Kingdom) Reading the professional literature in Latvia: implications for research and development 186 Lone Knakkergaard, Second Vice-President of the Danish Library Association Quality based statistic tools and strategies: introduction to current developments in Denmark 198 Lita Hofmane, Head of the Personnel Department of the National Library of Latvia To study and to grow: prerequisites for lifelong education of librarians (results of a sociological research) 6 201 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting “RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC–BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT” May 2–3, 2005 Liepaja, Latvia PROGRAMME MAY 1, 2005 Arrival in Liepaja (directly) 18.00 Leave Riga for Liepaja by a special bus MAY 2, 2005 Arrival in Liepaja (directly) 08.00 12.00-13.00 12.20-13.20 13.30-14.30 14.30-15.00 Leave Riga for Liepaja by a special bus Registration at hotels “Amrita” (Rīgas iela 7/9) or ”Liva” (Lielā iela 11) Early conference registration (Liepaja Latvian Society, Rožu laukums 5/6) Lunch (café “Latvijas 1.rokkafejnīca”, Stendera iela 18/20) Late conference registration (Liepaja Latvian Society, Rožu laukums 5/6) 15.00–16.00 OPENING SESSION CHAIR: ANNA MAULIŅA & FRODE BAKKEN 15.00-15.10 Welcome from Silva Golde, Deputy Mayor of Liepaja Welcome speeches 15.10-15.20 Frode Bakken, President of the Norwegian Library Association, First Vice-President of the National Organising Committee of IFLA 2005 15.20-15.30 Andris Vilks, Director of the National Library of Latvia 15.30-16.00 Musical greeting from Liepaja: handbell choir "Gloria Deo" (conductor Miervaldis Ziemelis) 7 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16.00–19.10 PLENARY SESSION: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION IN LIBRARIES CHAIR: ANNA MAULIŅA & FRODE BAKKEN 16.00-16.30 Knowledge-driven socioeconomic development processes and the growing functionality of libraries Edvīns Karnītis, Leading Researcher of the University of Latvia 16.30-17.00 European library development: the Danish model Jens Thorhauge, Director General of the Danish National Library Authority 17.00-17.20 Lithuanian cultural heritage digitisation and access strategy prospects Rolandas Kvietkauskas, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania 17.20-17.50 Coffee break 17.50-18.10 The Latvian National Library project – a 21st century challenge and opportunity Karina Pētersone, Director of the National Library of Latvia Support Foundation 18.10-18.30 Strive towards perfection: how are you, Estonian library? Meeli Veskus, Counsellor for Library Affairs, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Estonia 18.30-18.50 The CALIMERA research roadmap: the role of local institutions in delivering interactive access for citizens to Europe’s cultural heritage Rob Davies, Scientific Coordinator of CALIMERA Coordination Action / MDR Partners (United Kingdom) Information about the parallel sessions (5 minutes each): 18.50-18.55 18.55-19.00 19.00-19.05 19.05-19.10 20.00 Session A: New digital environment: the challenge of change Regina Varnienė & Päivi Almgren Session B: National digital libraries and professional portals Jüri Järs & Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen Session C: Information services in a digital environment Anita Dūdiņa & Bente Bing Kleiva Session D: Library performance measurement, research and professional education Anu Nuut & Lone Knakkergaard Reception and social evening 8 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ MAY 3, 2005 09.00–10.00 EBLIDA – FOR LIBRARIES: PRESENTATION AND SPECIAL DISCUSSION CHAIR: PEDRO HIPOLA & FRODE BAKKEN 09.00-09.40 The European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA): general information EBLIDA response to the European Commission consultation on the final report of the High Level Group on Digital Rights Management, MarchJuly 2004 EBLIDA response to the European Commission staff working paper on the review of the EC legal framework in the field of copyright and related rights, SEC(2004) 995, 19.7.2004 EBLIDA statement towards an effective scientific publishing system for European research Pedro Hípola, Vice-President of EBLIDA / President of the Spanish Federation of Archives, Libraries, Documentation and Museums Associations (FESABID) 09.40-10.00 EBLIDA meeting with library associations 09.40–10.00 NOSP – NORDIC/BALTIC UNION CATALOGUE OF SERIALS: SPECIAL SESSION CHAIR: ARNE GAUSLÅ 9 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.00–13.10 SESSION A: NEW DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT: THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE CHAIR: REGINA VARNIENĖ & PÄIVI ALMGREN 10.00-10.20 Digital challenges – the library as a physical place Frode Bakken, President of the Norwegian Library Association 10.20-10.40 Lithuanian cultural heritage digitisation projects Regina Varnienė, Deputy Director and Director of Bibliography and Book Science Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania 10.40-11.00 Small libraries, great challenges: how to become a hybrid library overnight Päivi Almgren, Koski Tl Library / Board Member of the Library Association of Finland 11.00-11.30 Coffee break 11.30-12.00 The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS): from Geneva (2003) to Tunis (2005) Andris Vilks, Director of the National Library of Latvia 12.00-12.20 Engineering Village 2 (including Compendex, INSPEC and e-books): A platform designed specifically for engineers Sandra Grijzenhout-Möller, Product Sales Manager - Engineering & Chemistry, Elsevier Science (The Netherlands) 12.20-12.40 The challenge of developing a Latvian library collection policy Ligita Gjortlere, Head of the Law Library of Riga Graduate School of Law / Vice-President of the Association of Latvian Academic Libraries 12.40-13.10 Preparing for new and changing roles in research libraries and information services Gitte Larsen, Head of the Department of Continuing Education & Consultancy of the Royal School of Library and Information Science (Denmark) 13.10-13.30 Discussion 13.30-14.30 Lunch break 10 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.00–13.10 SESSION B: NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARIES AND PROFESSIONAL PORTALS CHAIR: JÜRI JÄRS & BARBRO WIGELL-RYYNÄNEN 10.00-10.20 Quality portals to knowledge and culture – developing collections and services of hybrid libraries Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen, Counsellor for Library Affairs of the Ministry of Education of Finland 10.20-10.40 Usage of electronic information in Lithuanian libraries: a comparative study Emilija Banionytė, Director of Vilnius Pedagogical University Library / VicePresident of the Lithuanian Librarians' Association / President of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium; Aušra Vaškevičienė, Head of the Department of Electronic Information of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania / Head of Administration of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium 10.40-11.00 Strategies for the development of NOSP in Nordic and Baltic libraries Arne Gauslå, Senior Librarian of the National Library of Norway, National Union Catalogue / NOSP 11.00-11.30 Coffee break 11.30-11.50 Changes in legal regulation and state funding of Estonian research libraries Jüri Järs, Director of Tallinn University of Technology Library 11.50-12.10 Projects in local research at Riga Central Library: 2000–2005 Doloresa Veilande, Deputy Director of Riga Central Library 12.10-12.30 Library co-operation in Estonia: different aspects Anneli Sepp, Vice-President of the Estonian Librarians Association / System Librarian of Library of Estonian Academy of Music / Librarian of Tartu University Library 12.30-12.50 A concept for library development – from theory to reality: the experience of Ventspils Library Aigars Krauze, Director of Ventspils Library (Latvia) 12.50-13.10 Innovative solutions in libraries of Latvia Anna Mauliņa, Deputy Director of the National Library of Latvia / President of the Library Association of Latvia 13.10-13.30 Discussion 13.30-14.30 Lunch break 11 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.00–13.10 SESSION C: INFORMATION SERVICES IN A DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT CHAIR: ANITA DŪDIŅA & BENTE BING KLEIVA 10.00-10.20 Information services: new priorities of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Aušra Vaškevičienė, Head of the Department of Electronic Information of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania / Head of Administration of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium Irena Kvieselaitienė, Head of the Reference Department of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania 10.20-10.40 Beating a path towards a knowledge organisation: integration of information services in the Latvian Parliament Anita Dūdiņa, Director of the Information Department of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia 10.40-11.00 Electronic information: training of users and dissemination of data about EI at Vilnius University Library Žibutė Petrauskienė, Head of the Bibliography and Reference Department of Vilnius University Library 11.00-11.30 Coffee break 11.30-11.50 Current library activities in Norway Bente Bing Kleiva, Vice-President of the Norwegian Library Assosiation 11.50-12.10 Informational changes and their impact in Plunge Public Library Otilija Juozapaitienė, Senior Bibliographer and Regional Literature Specialist of the Readers' Services Department of Plunge Public Library (Lithuania) 12.10-12.30 User education in a research library Birutė Railienė, Head of the Reference Service Department of the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences 12.30-12.50 A cornucopia of information: use of electronic resources by students of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Daina Puntuka, Head of the Library of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga 12.50-13.10 Development challenges of network services Päivikki Karhula, Network Services Librarian of the Library of the Parliament of Finland / Editor-in-Chief of Signum, the Journal of the Finnish Research Library Association 13.10-13.30 Discussion 13.30-14.30 Lunch break 12 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.00–13.10 SESSION D: Library Performance Measurement, Research and Professional Education CHAIR: ANU NUUT & LONE KNAKKERGAARD 10.00-10.20 Evaluation of library performance – outcomes and impact: current developments in Estonia Anu Nuut, Chief Specialist on Library Statistics and Standardisation of the Research and Development Centre of the National Library of Estonia 10.20-10.40 Union catalogue quality control and evaluation in public libraries Baiba Mūze, Lecturer of the Department of Library Science and Information Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia 10.40-11.00 Library performance measurement and evaluation tools in Finnish public libraries Anneli Äyräs, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Education of Finland 11.00-11.30 Coffee break 11.30-11.50 The book as entity and phenomenon in library philosophy and research Baiba Sporāne, Head of the Department of Library Science and Information Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia 11.50-12.10 Reading the professional literature in Latvia: implications for research and development Inese Auziņa-Smith, Lecturer of the Department of Information Science of Loughborough University (United Kingdom) 12.10-12.30 Quality based statistic tools and strategies: introduction to current developments in Denmark Lone Knakkergaard, Second Vice-President of the Danish Library Association 12.30-12.50 To study and to grow: prerequisites for lifelong education of librarians (results of a sociological research) Lita Hofmane, Head of the Personnel Department of the National Library of Latvia 12.50-13.10 Networked libraries and the education of librarians Elviine Uverskaja, Head of the Department of Information Sciences of Tallinn Pedagogical University 13.10-13.30 Discussion 13.30-14.30 Lunch break 13 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 14.30–17.00 CONCLUDING PLENARY SESSION: LIBRARIES – A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CHAIR: ANNA MAULIŅA, EMILIJA BANIONYTĖ, ANNELI SEPP Reports from sessions (15 minutes each) 14.30-14.45 Session A: New digital environment: the challenge of change Regina Varnienė & Päivi Almgren 14.45-15.00 Session B: National digital libraries and professional portals Jüri Järs & Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen 15.00-15.15 Session C: Information services in a digital environment Anita Dūdiņa & Bente Bing Kleiva 15.15-15.30 Session D: Library performance measurement, research and professional education Anu Nuut & Lone Knakkergaard 15.30-16.10 Discussion Moderator: Inese Auziņa-Smith, Lecturer of the Department of Information Science of Loughborough University (United Kingdom) 16.10-16.20 Concluding address Anna Mauliņa, Deputy Director of the National Library of Latvia / President of the Library Association of Latvia 16.20-17.00 5th Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting – plans for the future Jens Thorhauge, Director General of the Danish National Library Authority Frode Bakken, President of the Norwegian Library Association Päivi Almgren, Board Member of the Library Association of Finland 17.00-19.00 Free time 19.00 Dinner and social evening MAY 4, 2005 Welcome to the city where the wind is born! POSTMEETING TOURS in Liepaja and its surroundings Enjoy the sun at the beach with the whitest sand in the Baltics Visit Karosta (The Naval Port) – former military base from Tsarist and Soviet time, and participate in a terrifying historical performance “Behind the Bars” in its Old Prison Listen to the world’s largest historic unreconstructed organ in the Holy Trinity Church Relax in the beautiful cafes and restaurants, and much more… DEPARTURE for Riga by a special bus or individually. Have a safe journey! 14 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ EUROPEAN LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT: THE DANISH MODEL Jens Thorhauge Director General, Danish National Library Authority The Danish humorist Storm P has been quoted millions of times for his striking aphorisms, one of them being: “It is difficult to make predictions - particularly about the future.” The simple wisdom of the statement should warn us not to overestimate our skills in predicting what will happen. But on the other hand we must realise that over the past twenty years futures research has assisted us greatly in formulating strategies for the development of our societies. And that predicting the future goes a long way towards planning it. The planning of library services must also build on predictions of the future. And in at least three fields we see very clear changes ahead of us. Some are simple demographic changes: growing number of well-educated elderly, falling number of children, etc. In these changes we may also in the short term include politically planned changes, such as an increase in the duration as well as the level of education for more people and the growing support to research and innovation. A second type of change is related to the fast implementation of new technologies building on ICT, while a third and more complex type of change is the basic structural transformation of our societies from industrial societies into something different – in most countries categorized under the name information - or more and more commonly: knowledge society. Today we cannot see where the changes will take us in the long run. However the world has changed so far into a global information society - and libraries are changing with it that a number of frontrunner changes can be seen as coming mainstream in short and medium terms. So I believe it is possible to detect some trends for the coming years. I see the structural alterations somewhat in the light of the European Renaissance where a number of basic changes in Europe took place in every country - not at the same time but over a period of some 150-200 years, but basically following the same pattern. The present wave of changes is much faster and I venture to predict at least the propagation of already existing services and also quite a lot consequences. Should we push changes? Yes, I think we should, speed up and be in the forefront. It is of course impossible for me to tell colleagues in other countries what should be done if you want to accelerate the process. Each country must follow its own course at its own speed and build on its own traditions, because conditions are so different. What I can do is to tell you about Danish ideas and experiences – and I can outline a general analysis of a major trend in globalisation. 15 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Globalisation If we want to understand the new role of libraries and the potential of the change we must understand the frame for the change that is driving our European societies in these years. When I speak of European countries I am of course well aware that the conditions of life and for changing a society into a modern democratic welfare society are decidedly different. But I do believe that the change is what all European countries are aiming at. And being at a Nordic-Baltic conference we may start our considerations by reminding each other how fast the changes have happened in the Baltic states during the last 15 years. New societies, new industries and businesses, new institutions, new partnerships and a growing wealth. At the same time we all know that the development has happened at a very different speed in many other former socialist countries. But in any case I believe that the development should be seen in a European perspective. In the EU we tend to create the same frames for development and exchange of goods and services for all members. The most appropriate term to describe the process of change going on is probably the most used: ‘globalisation’, which I also reckon is a somewhat inaccurate term. Still, we all recognise the changes. And globalisation means that we are all becoming more and more dependent on each other. It is no longer possible to close the door on the national state, and those few examples of this we see the world have basically failed in providing welfare for their citizens and probably only stay isolated due to despotic rulers. It is very clear when we look at the trends in producing goods. Europe’s industrial workers are losing their jobs - for a short period to colleagues in Eastern Europe, but in the long run the jobs will probably go to further away places, China and India, where they will be a global source for new wealth. Jobs stay in Europe as long as we can compete on quality (special traditions in various countries) which leaves Europe and the rest of the western world with a tremendous pressure to create new jobs. Likewise the globalisation of the big firms means that Europe can deliver jobs for instance in design, marketing, innovation, management and learning. But globalisation also means that national systems won’t work. Not even for instance the Danish model for a welfare society. In the long term we are forced to think in European frames as regards policies, and at the same time we have to be keenly aware that we are competing on the same strategy: that we build on enforcing research and education. You will hardly find many European politicians who do not have strong support for higher education and research on their agenda, even if it is not very popular among people. But as we follow that strategy we also have to be very aware of what we are particularly good at in our countries, realising that to have a chance you should be very good indeed. In Denmark a future strategy for new industries might according to our Innovation Council - build on industries where we have been successful so far: the health industries, the living industries and industries for playing and learning.i In the same breath as we speak of the knowledge society and globalisation we also face a tremendous challenge in our societies: the digital divide, or the information gap, that future researchers and sociologists have been pointing to for some twenty years but which now seems to turn out as a much stronger threat to social stability than we had imagined. 16 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A growing amount of the population in western societies are diagnosed as functional illiterates. In my country it is now estimated that one out of six schoolchildren leaves school after nine years without proper reading and writing skills. The figure is to some extent due to growing immigration and a failed strategy to integrate immigrants in Danish society, but not exclusively so. Also a growing amount of ethnic Danes turn out to be losers in the strong competition and victims of the pressure of innovation. The obvious fact is that there are less and less jobs for unskilled workers, and basic service jobs that could be handled without good reading skills are simply disappearing. The role of libraries What will the role of libraries be in a knowledge society context where education and research and innovation will be at the forefront? And where a growing number of citizens are under pressure to innovate and build new skills to stay on the labour market? And where social and political tension is a result of the very different living conditions between the ‘information have’s’ and the ‘information-have nots’? That is between the population who can manage and is able to benefit from the new conditions and those that are not able to meet the new demands of the labour market? Libraries have always supported the purposes of other institutions and in a historical context library strategies have clearly been a tool for the rulers. A few examples will illustrate my point: In the Middle Ages the libraries were monastic libraries supposed to support the Catholic Church, and even in later centuries we must realise that the only reason we have kept most of the printed books is due to the Inquisition’s keen ability to identify – and keep- dangerous books. In the seventeenth century the library of the absolute ruler was a means to legitimate him, while the public libraries in the late eighteenth century were public to the bourgeoisie as the coming ruling class. And certainly the libraries in the socialist societies were tools to support ‘scientific socialism’ and Marxism-Leninism as the prevailing ideology. The situation today is in principle not different. That is: The modern European library should support the democratic knowledge society, aiming at creating a welfare state for everybody. The difference between the library of a truly democratic society and libraries in all other types of societies that I know of, is that freedom of information is a cornerstone in democracy. Freedom of information means that anybody may publish what he wants to publish or what he can find a publisher for. Of course, he will be responsible as regards legislation on not offending other people without course or spreading false information that may damage other people. If you publish you are responsible in relation to the free press legislation, but there is no censorship, and Internet has actually given ‘Everyman’ a true opportunity to publish. Libraries in my country have for nearly a hundred years built collections on the principles of quality, actuality and diversity – and have not been supporting specific political ideas. Everybody can publish what he wants subject to a number of laws – being obliged to submit a copy according to legal deposit rules which will then be accessible to the public. So libraries are cornerstones in democracy by giving access, in principle, to the whole human record - all published work through out the world. To me the ideological impact 17 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ of this principle is tremendous, and it is a principle that should be promoted. The idea of competent and enlightened citizens as a prerequisite for the ‘peoples’ rule’ - the basic democratic idea - is still as important as in the late 18-th century with Diderot, Rousseau and Voltaire - just to mention the original French inspiration that found supporters and followers in practically speaking all European countries. But libraries have a potential that reaches far beyond ‘general information and enlightenment’. Libraries may deliver specific and needed information to even very small target groups and ultimately to every single individual, tailor-made for your personal profile and needs. And libraries may be cultural institutions of a far more proactive kind than we see in most cases today. It is my impression that most public libraries in Europe are still passive, in the sense that they have a collection that they promote, but they do not very often face difficult problems in relation to culture, they do not have programmes for building cultural identity, which is necessary, even in old homogeneous states like my own - a kingdom where Danish has been spoken for more than a thousand years. They do not have programmes for integrating ethnic minorities or giving ethnic minorities - whom you will find everywhere - an access to their own culture. There is a potential here in public libraries that is not unfolded. And what about a very basic thing such as giving access to the web? Does every public library throughout Europe give access to the web and do they support the citizens who want to have access- actually even in Denmark which has one of the highest rates in the world in terms of Internet access at home, one out of four has no such an access. Maybe they don’t need it? Maybe they want to stay ignorant? I don’t believe so. Everybody wants to be enlightened and everybody should have the chance. Planning library activities for the knowledge society What then may the vision be for a public library in the knowledge society? It is worth remembering that particularly in the early days of ICT, many people were predicting the death of libraries due to the potential having remote access to digital resources. Research libraries do give virtual access now, but the predicted death was at least not instantaneous, and there are not many signs that it will happen. In my country the experience is that users – be they citizens, students or researchers - still use the physical library, but they use it more and more for other purposes than before. In short: Libraries change from traditional ‘book-factory’ libraries into info, learning and cultural centres. The potential of virtual access is that you can integrate access to information in everyday activities; literally speaking we have info at our fingertips and that is a very strong enhancement of information access. The use of the physical library space is for learning, social and cultural activities. The library is still popular as a meeting place, for reading newspapers and journals and of course lots of people still use the library for borrowing books and media. In the university libraries students fight to get a seat because it is a good spot to work and study in. 18 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ For me the two different types of use indicate the hybrid library where virtual services go hand in hand with traditional and new services. The four cornerstones of the hybrid library are: • • • • Access to digital and real material both in the physical and virtual library - access to in principle the human record in whatever published form it may be stored. The access may be to a lending library or it may be to a library where all materials are kept. Web-based access to catalogues, homepage, portals, info-services, a constantly growing e-access to full-text, multimedia, music and streamed video Professional support for searching and learning – web-based or on the spot Inspiring physical spaces for learning, searching, reading, meeting and participating in events, exhibitions, presentations. How do we create hybrid libraries of that quality, how do we support the development? I can answer only by outlining the Danish experience, obviously there is not one but many answers. My answer builds on the Danish tradition. Since 1920 public libraries have been regulated by legislation. The library act has been changed regularly, the last time being in 2000 where a thorough revision pursued the objective of providing new frames to suit the knowledge society. The new web-based services in Denmark Since 1997 the hybrid library concept has been the guiding star in our work step by step to help libraries match the development within the information and knowledge society. Let me describe some of the services and programmes to be found in our hybrid libraries. First of all we see each library as an entrance to a larger network of knowledge institutions, in principle all libraries. But still each library has an identity of its own with a service profile matching local information needs. Traditionally Denmark has had a free interlending relation between research and public libraries, but today the cooperation tends to extend to other services such as e-reference and portals. The Danish model necessitates a coordinating body that can actually provide financial support for the development and take care of the superstructure: standards, national catalogue, web-access, transportation, statistics etc. In Denmark the backbone in the networking libraries is ‘bibliotek.dk’, the national database containing all media titles bought in any library in Denmark. The database is freely accessible to everybody and offers very simple but efficient search and request facilities. When you have identified the title you want to order, you do so with a few clicks, and just have to decide which library you will pick it up from. An e-mail will tell you when it is ready. An extremely efficient national transportation system distributes the requested media every night. 19 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The bibliotek.dk system is a kind of superstructure for the libraries as each library has its own homepage with access to the catalogue and web-based request service as well. The lending system tends to be fully automatic and self-service-based, leaving space for the librarian to carry out more qualified tasks. It is an important point that since 2000 our public libraries have been delivering all kinds of media, text, film, pictures, sound. Books are still the most frequently borrowed material in public libraries (app. 70%), but the use is stagnating while the use of other materials is rising. A new music service opened last year, giving users the possibility to download music files from their home computer. All Danish recorded music has been digitised by the University and State Library in Århus and an agreement made between the right holders, the national library authority and a number of central libraries, but the lending of CDs still dominates the music field. Also videos and multimedia tend to be used more and experiments with e-access to streamed video are running. Another important trend is that the catalogue tends to develop into a portal. Bibliotek.dk gives access to a number of e-services such as • • • • • • • • • e-reference/ask a librarian service open for chat and e-mail service 7 days a week for 82 hours web-guide, that is a subject guide to a selection of the best web sites on thousands of subjects Finfo – special information for immigrants and ethnic minorities in their own language (12 languages) guide for legal questions support for visually handicapped support for children’s homework virtual library for small children promotion and dissemination of fiction in a portal that also offers access to an updated e-dictionary on modern Danish writers, organised and edited by public libraries promotion and dissemination of music, likewise with access to e-dictionaries and sheet music. In Denmark’s Electronic Research Library you will find some ten portals created in a network among research libraries. The topics are for instance: • • • • Portal for art and architecture Psychology Business information Health. 20 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ All these gateways, portals and services are produced by networking libraries. For instance the e-reference is organised in a cooperation between 60 libraries - public as well as academic. The e-zine for fiction is a result of collaboration between some 50 libraries. The result is a very fast and competent service that has led many of the libraries to close their reference desk in the library to give a faster, better and cheaper service on the web. It is noteworthy that Danish research libraries distribute two electronic texts each time they lend a printed one. This is not the case in public libraries. The reason is primarily that articles in English are the most frequently used material in the research libraries. And the international publishers of English language professional journals have for years based their business on e-journals, while Danish publishers are more conservative and stick to printed materials. One day they must surrender. Already now there is a need for access to electronic dictionaries, encyclopaedias, non-fiction, standard handbooks in Danish. I suppose the situation is pretty much the same in other small countries where the national language is not big enough to form a strong market, but the pressure from international trends must force publishers to cooperate on national digital access solutions. The library space What happens with the traditional library space when more and more services are webbased or self-service? In my experience there is a change going on, but much more slowly than the change we face with web-based services. My point is that also the use of the library space is changing. We know from surveys in Denmark that approximately half of the visitors in public libraries are not coming to borrow anything. They come to read newspapers and magazines, use the Internet connection, look something up in an encyclopaedia or get an answer to a legal question. They may come to see an exhibition at the library, listen to a presentation, or even to find a quiet corner to do some homework. The children may come to play, see theatre or film or hear a story. Students study, use the computers or simply the wireless hot-spot. I think that the number of users that do not borrow anything is impressive because very few libraries are organised to meet their needs and wishes properly. The book shelves are still extremely dominant in most libraries, and they are often full of old, scarcely used titles. While proper places to sit, access to coffee, and interesting activities are often hard to come by. Some of the front-runner libraries have worked out new models with space for learning activities, such as regular computing classes and support in searching the web. You will also find more proactive and inspiring exhibition-like presentation of books and media and you will find space for cultural activities. For me the most important point is that libraries think in terms of offering programmes that meet different information needs in the population they serve. Such programmes can aim at social inclusion for ethnic minorities, lifelong learning for many groups, reading programmes and campaigns. 21 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The role of the librarian changes under these circumstances and we se librarians as webmasters, instructors, consults, and of course still as subject specialists. Some recommendations – in spite of my promise To create a hybrid library system libraries must work together and coordinate action. If there is a national coordinator – then that is good. If not, somebody must assume the role. Some kind of policy document or vision should be at hand, outlining the necessary actions. A strategy for competence building, continuing education and new skills in the library sector is a must. Projects setting up new services on such conditions as are available. Models for networking and knowledge-sharing. It is also a general overall recommendation to produce more web-based services. Start by giving the public access to the web in the library, and support them when using the new tool, so that assistance to users can be given on the spot as well as online. Go on by giving access to licensed material - and in academic libraries go for institutional repositories. New cooperation is a third key word. New cooperation could be on learning programmes, on developing services for schools and other institutions and organisations. Lastly I would encourage all libraries to create a clear strategy for their activities on an institutional level. A strategy could include local cultural and information political goals, it might include an analysis of the needs of different user groups and suggestions for how to match them, it might include a map of the cooperative framework - who are the partners, what can the library offer? And it certainly must include a plan for the development of the library. Libraries have a great future in the knowledge society - go for it. i The discussion on globalisation is mainly building on Danish sources such as ’Den danske strategi’ (Mandag Morgen, 2004) (’The Danish Strategy’ an analysis done by the Danish Council on innovation) and ’13 udfordringer tilden danske velfærdsstat’ 2004. 22 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE LATVIAN NATIONAL LIBRARY PROJECT – A 21-ST CENTURY CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY Karina Pētersone Director National Library of Latvia Support Foundation /PowerPoint Presentation/ Information Society – a Given or a Goal? Availability of information differs: • • • • individually occupationally socially regionally The Value or the Price of Information Information is a resource It has great value for the needs of: • all stages of education • professional growth • good business • successful governance Good things are not for free Information has a market value It has a price It has turned into a commodity Somebody has to buy (subsidize) it: • individuals • governments (central or local) • service providers Information must be available in order to have • qualified labor resource 23 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • • high competitive ability locally and internationally high living standards democratic, civic and inclusive society Latvia – member of the EU • • • • Membership has opened new opportunities And new challenges Access to information and competitiveness Government’s initiatives The Government Policies in the information sector National Development Plan National Programme Concept of e-Latvia; Concept of e-Governance; Local Governments Information System Concept; School Information System Concept; Library Information System Concept All of them have libraries in them as end service providers LNL Project – largest national project of the 21st century • • • A spacious, original new building for the needs of the National Library– the Castle of Light Modernization of all public and academic libraries and uniting them in a network of data exchange, union catalogue etc. – the Lightnet Construction of a modern book repository The Castle of Light and The Lightnet Castle of Light or National Library Lightnet • 1000 universal information delivery points (public libraries) 24 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • • • • • • Minimum 5 PC fitted work stations per library The Internet Modules and programming for data exchange and compatibility Training of staff and users Digitally and electronically born content creation (Union catalogue, bibliography, home pages etc) E-governance and e-commerce services available Costs – LVL 12,7 mill. Why is this project difficult for Latvia? • • • • • It demands a huge lump of the budget It is a long-term project and Everybody expects improvement next morning at breakfast time People want money spread per capita not invested in infrastructure And politicians pretend they can do both It needs permanent commitment but the average government longevity in Latvia is a year or less Therefore A special law on the implementation of the project was adopted which defines: • • • • • • The components; The deadline; The commissioning authority; The supervisory authority; The sources of finance nationally and internationally. The fund-raising entity Why is this project feasible for EU money • • • • • • It is essential for the end user in every rural community and all social groups It is part of national policy planning It has a special law on implementation There is an elaborate project for both components It is managed and supervised well There is an independent public fund-raising entity working in close cooperation with the commissioning authority 25 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ When implemented, the project will let every user: • • • • • • Use the library portal, union catalogue and national and international data bases Place a search/order for books or publications at all levels (local, regional, national, international) Obtain universal information service (government, local municipality, EU etc.) Use the internet for private, professional, academic etc needs Carry out e-banking, e-commerce etc. Have the assistance of a specially trained librarian When implemented, the project will • • • • • Provide facilities for availability of culture and information, as well as preservation of heritage Be a step forward in setting up information society Promote regional cohesion Foster a socially inclusive society Raise competitiveness of each individual Every community All Latvia the whole Baltic Sea region 26 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ STRIVE TOWARDS PERFECTION: HOW ARE YOU, ESTONIAN LIBRARY? Meeli Veskus Counsellor for Library Affairs, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Estonia Dear delegates of the 4th Congress of the Nordic-Baltic Librarians, The organizers of this meeting requested a report from the Estonian library administration, and as there is only one person for each field of culture in the Estonian Ministry of Culture, I have the honor to give you a brief overview about the role that libraries play in the Estonian society, how they cope with their responsibilities and what the state can do to develop libraries. I am very grateful for this opportunity to talk in front of such distinguished audience. Libraries have always played a leading role in the development of the society, they are open to innovations. The function of the libraries is to constantly update information, modify it according to the needs of the society and make information accessible to the citizens in a way that is most suitable for them. Libraries in Estonia have managed to cope with the overwhelming information of the past decades quite well. (As we know, information is the precondition for the development and survival of a friendly and progressive society). The libraries in Estonia function in a network, their responsibilities being divided mainly between two ministries – the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research. A Council of Directors of the Research Libraries has been formed at the Ministry of Education and Research with the aim of discussing the challenges and problems of research libraries. The Council also acts as an advisory body to the minister. Research and development is set as a national priority, this means that developing research libraries is of major importance in Estonia. Acquiring scientific information for research libraries has become a regular process. For many years there was no funding at all from the state budget foreseen for research libraries. Since 2003 the state budget allocates funds for nominated research libraries for the acquisition of scientific information this year the total of 42,5 Estonian kroons (i.e. over 2, 7 million euro) has been allocated for this purpose. The availability of up-to-date scientific information is an inevitable precondition for quality scientific research. Research libraries have acted as mediators of the information and they will remain as such. The level of research libraries should be such as to provide all necessary preparation for scientific work. Research libraries include the state university libraries in Estonia, at the moment there are six of them. Funds are allocated according to the national acquisitions plan that has been previously agreed between the universities and the libraries, in consultation with the Estonian National Library. 27 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In addition, the joint acquisition of electronic scientific magazines is funded from the state budget through the Consortium of Estonian Libraries network. Delegates of this congress will also have the opportunity to listen to a more specific report concerning the legislation and joint projects of research libraries in Estonia, presented by Jüri Järs, Director of the Tallinn Technical University Library. Mr. Järs is also the Head of the Council of Research Libraries Directors at the Ministry of Education and Research. The Ministry of Education and Research is also charged with school libraries. Over the past years school libraries have developed the least, especially due to the insufficiency of financial resources. Bigger secondary school libraries are in a slightly better position, yet funding is not sufficient for them, either. School librarians have actively started to analyze this situation. They formed a separate section in the Estonian Librarians Association; their activities are partly financed by the Ministry of Education and Research. Upon the initiative of the section work standards for school libraries were worked out. The situation with school libraries would considerably improve if the acquisitions could be financed from the state budget as is the case with public libraries. One of our most distinguished librarians has recently said that it is most difficult to define the concept “public library”, as the requirements for public libraries are extremely diverse. The world around us has changed, and so have libraries along with it. The contemporary public library has to fulfill several tasks, some of which I shall mention. • • • Libraries supporting life-long learning and e- literacy. Another activity besides the traditional library work is becoming more and more important – this is the user training and the role of libraries in teaching e-literacy to the public. Library programs are complicated and always changing, the use of e-resources requires certain skills. By teaching e-literacy to the public the libraries fulfill the role of social involvement of people in the e-environment. Possessing various databases is not an aim in itself, it is important to teach how to use them and how to secure access to the databases. The libraries play an important role in overcoming the digital split. Libraries as physical space. The library building has to be functionally good both for the librarians and for the clients, i.e. user friendly. The library should not so much concentrate on pursuing statistical numbers, but rather on creating conditions for working. Library as a natural part of living environment. Library as a servicing center in the community. Several libraries (at least in Estonia) are housed in the same buildings with kindergartens, schools, local authorities, which often determines also their function and co-operation with these institutions. Libraries as an intellectual environment – a meeting point for different interest groups. Traditionally several cultural events take place in or near the libraries, libraries have been cultural and social communication venues. The events need not always be targeted to large groups of people; they may also be more marginal and aimed at smaller groups sharing an interest (e.g. ex libris collectors). It is very important how we can satisfy the needs of different interest groups. 28 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • Libraries as e-communication spots. By communicating via e-services the inhabitants of smaller villages may also feel part of a larger community and will diminish the feeling of seclusion. Creating virtual services and conditions for diminishing dissimilarities. Places for satisfying practical needs – e.g. bank services. Possibilities to use free Internet access. Co-operation between different levels – the importance of international cooperation is growing. Creation of an information portal uniting all libraries. By being an EU member state we need to secure access to all data stored in libraries for every member state, and to have access to information portals of libraries in other countries A library can only fulfill its tasks if a devoted and innovative librarian is employed, if the local authorities and the state agree on the development principles for libraries and if the library is housed in a contemporary building. How are these issues resolved in Estonia? The role of a modern librarian has changed to such extent that the younger generation does not recall the earlier stereotype of an elderly lady with spectacles and her hair up in a bun anymore. The librarian today comprises several roles, even in the most modest village library it is not sufficient to just lend out books. The librarian has to constantly learn, in order to keep herself up-to-date. In the framework of the Professions Act (2001) it was possible to set up the standards for the work of librarian and establish a common system of qualifications. Another important issue is the relationship between the state and the local authorities. I dare say that during the past ten years our public libraries have undergone a considerable development, which seems to continue at full speed. On national level public libraries have been developed in close co-operation between the state and the local authorities. The aim has been to find ways how the network of public libraries as well-functioning information providers can be put to use most effectively under the new conditions, making use of newly opened opportunities. The services of public libraries are easily accessible for the majority of the Estonian population, in nearly every community with even 100 inhabitants there is a library. It is namely the village where the library plays a very important role; often it is the only public institution providing a service on site. The traditional function of the library, which was to educate people and provide various cultural activities, is now supplemented with a much wider task of securing access to information sources available in the whole world, even if theoretically only. In future we should look upon the library as a hybrid library, which provides both traditional services but also access to other mediums. Considering the vast development of the electronic environment, it is of utmost importance that libraries should start making use of electronic services. It is the state’s responsibility to provide possibilities in this field. With fairly little resources the Ministry of Culture has provided all public libraries with the internet access. This secures everyone with an equal opportunity to use e-services. The internet access is especially valuable in smaller countryside towns and villages. Let me give you a few examples: until the end of 2005 it is possible to consult the paper version of the periodic bulletin of legal acts and regulations that are passed in Estonia, called Riigi Teataja, in public libraries, but starting from next year the bulletin will only be available in an electronic version. The state will no longer provide public libraries 29 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ with the printed versions of the bulletin not merely in order to save money, but mainly because the on-line database includes full texts of the laws and also amendments and supplements to legal acts. Librarians are trained by the State Chancellery of Estonia to be able to support library users to use this electronic database. An electronic information system URRAM, which is based on the joint database of Estonian public libraries, has proved to be successful. Electronic borrowing no longer is a dream, it has become a reality. These two state projects have influenced the development of public libraries most during the past years. In addition to these projects, I would also like to mention the nationalization of the library for the blind people and connecting it to the common libraries network. This means that library services for the blind and the visually impaired people have improved to a great extent recently. The library is affiliated to the Ministry of Culture. Co-operation between the state and the local authorities in constructing library buildings and in renovating them has been very successful. During the past five years every county library has finally got new larger rooms, which are designed to fit into the environment of the town. About a dozen smaller libraries still wait for the situation to improve with their buildings, this is foreseen to be resolved in the near future. And finally, the continuous development of libraries is dependent on the system of annual subsidies. Certain decrease in the number of public libraries may result from the administrative reform that Estonia slowly is undergoing currently, yet each case is considered individually and the aim remains to make library services available everywhere in Estonia. In conclusion I may say that the present situation with Estonian libraries is quite good, changes that have taken place over the past ten years have brought libraries closer to the customers. However, we shall continue looking for new initiatives and activities both on national, regional and local level. I wish you all interesting continuation of the meeting here in Liepaja! Thank you! 30 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE CALIMERA RESEARCH ROADMAP: THE ROLE OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS IN DELIVERING INTERACTIVE ACCESS FOR CITIZENS TO EUROPE’S CULTURAL HERITAGE Rob Davies Scientific Co-ordinator, CALIMERA Co-ordination Action MDR Partners, London, United Kingdom The goals of the FP6 IST cultural heritage research work programme are of key significance for local institutions (public libraries, museums and archives). Equally, they can play a vital role in achieving those goals by applying innovative technologies and strategies from the priority research areas and transforming them into helpful services which can be easily used by ordinary citizens in their everyday lives. If they are to be centrally involved in future IST calls addressing community-based cultural heritage services, local cultural institutions need to identify a solid basis for their own R&D priorities, backed by an analysis of the issues which deserve European support. The CALIMERA Research Roadmap addresses these issues form a user-driven function perspective. INTRODUCTION The goals of the FP6 IST cultural heritage research work programme are of key significance for local institutions (public libraries, museums and archives). Equally, the institutions can play a vital role in achieving those goals by applying innovative technologies and strategies from the priority research areas and transforming them into helpful services which can be easily used by ordinary citizens in their everyday lives. If they are to be centrally involved in future IST calls addressing community-based cultural heritage services, local cultural institutions need to identify a solid basis for their own R&D priorities, backed by an analysis of the issues which deserve European support. The CALIMERA 18 month Co-ordinating Action (December 2003-May 2005) is monitoring technical developments and solutions already emerging from IST and national research and assess their potential as widely transferable technologies for use by local institutions. It is co-ordinating and sensitising the stakeholders including professional networks, national and local authorities and industrial players, laying the groundwork for participation in future calls. CALIMERA will increase sharing of best practice, mobilising and adding European value to IST-based national programmes, producing guidelines and benchmarking tools with a special focus on the needs of local archives and museums and addressing the needs of the end user by identifying a framework for focused research on usability/ease-of-use. 31 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ This co-ordination and preparatory work is underpinned by a high-impact dissemination programme targeted at decision-makers, managers and professionals, including a portal website providing access to best practice, relevant research and innovative solutions. Full versions of all documents referred to in this paper can be found on www.calimera.org. Finally CALIMERA is developing the agenda and working structures for collaboration on local services with Europe's research partners globally and nurture the involvement of the countries of South East Europe, which may be the next candidates for EU membership. CALIMERA RESEARCH ROADMAP [1] The ‘Research Roadmap’ addresses actions which are needed to secure maximum impact and opportunity, in a rapidly developing digital and networked environment, for local cultural heritage institutions across Europe and beyond. The Research Roadmap should be read in conjunction with other CALIMERA reports and especially in relation to its Report D2 on business models and issues Within the scope of ‘local cultural heritage institutions’ we include museums, libraries, archives, galleries and the increasing number of public and private institutions, within the local area, which are associated with cultural activity. Since such activity impacts strongly on such core concerns as learning and economic activity, the latter for example through tourism, the application of the research roadmap is extensive. CALIMERA has been tasked with working towards an outline for research in this field, defining its role “to ensure better use of technology so that ordinary people can participate more actively in the information society through the work of their local cultural institutions, such as libraries, museums and archives mediating services.” There is a “need for a relevant renewed strategy for societal applications, building on the eEurope 2005 Action Plan, which involves Europe and its partners in making better use of ICT and network infrastructure, working towards effective, integrated approaches to usable local services with the potential to contribute significantly” in many areas of society. The Roadmap draws on the findings of the CALIMERA “Business models and issues report” [2]. The former report presents a number of obstacles to and drivers for the adoption of technological solutions for local archives, libraries and museums. Many of these obstacles and drivers represent important issues where more research is needed. Examples drawn together in a pervious CALIMERA ‘research portfolio’ exercise provide us with knowledge of the range of new activities taking place and innovative solutions being employed in local cultural institutions, which can pave the way for providing a model for research in this area. Such a model is presented below. We are indebted to many individuals for their contributions to the thinking which is represented in the Research Roadmap report, and for their critique of it. It is particularly important to acknowledge the influence of the DigiCULT Support Measure, and its 32 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ excellent series of technology watch reports and other publications. One of its early reports suggested that the key challenges facing Europe’s cultural institutions include the requirement: • “to provide access to the riches of European cultural heritage by enabling interoperability between its various sectors. This can only be achieved if issues associated with variation in standards and interoperability across these sectors can be addressed; • to build tools and systems to tackle the increasing volume of material needing to be digitised and maintained in accessible forms; • to address the technological, intellectual,legal and economic problems related to archiving and long-term preservation of cultural heritage content; • to unlock cultural heritage resources by offering personalised,highly interactive, stimulating, hybrid environments and shared spaces to foster the construction of cultural heritage content; and, • to enable players from different sectors and users to participate actively in creating enriched environments for cultural heritage services by building easy-to-use, intelligent, collaborative and highly interactive tools and systems for non-technical users.” The present report, which has been informed by DigiCULT’s and others’ thinking, is an attempt to map the research required to enable local cultural heritage institutions to play a full part in developing a usable, useful and enjoyable European ecultural landscape. Defining functions The diagram on the next page (Fig. 1), has been developed as a way of illustrating the range of different functions which need to be supported by systems operated by or on behalf of local cultural heritage institutions. It is important to emphasise that the diagram is provided purely to offer a functional view: it does not suggest specific systems, nor does it suggest that there is one-to-one mapping between functions and systems – most, if not all, real world systems will support multiple functions. In the diagram, the end-user (i.e. the member of the public who makes use of the local cultural institution) is at the centre. A cartoon image is used to indicate the typical enduser’s multitasking within multiple roles, balancing different demands on time, skills and interests. The inner ring of functions are those which the user wishes to perform – such matters as asking for information or undertaking formal or informal learning. The outer ring contains those functions which the institution carries out – for example, acquiring resources, describing them and interpreting them. It should be emphasised that there is no one-to-one mapping between user functions and institutional functions, and that as a functional diagram this presentation has nothing to say about the range of functionality which any individual system would support. 33 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A final limitation of the analysis is that functions have different levels of complexity. For example ‘learning’ is a complex activity that will almost certainly involve ‘asking for information’; but equally, ‘asking for information’ may well become a ‘learning’ experience. This illustrates that this report should be read only as an indication of where research is needed to support a range of simple and complex functions; it is not a guide to specific R&D projects or application scenarios, although these are used to illustrate the argument. Identify and Acquire Preserve Describe Ask Provide Validate Publish Interpret View Create Learn Affirm Share Acquire Discuss Enjoy Enable Assess Design Teach Disseminate Communicate Fig 1: defining user and institutional functions As stated, our conclusions should be read in conjunction with other CALIMERA reports and especially in relation to its D2 Report, which was concerned with business models and issues [2]. Some other key considerations Without rehearsing all those issues, we would draw attention to the critical role of national organisations (ministries of culture or equivalent and other relevant bodies) in policy making and coordination. We believe that there is evidence that where there is a lack of national policies the development of local services is constrained. A research issue would be to explore this topic in depth, uncovering such evidence and isolating good practice. 34 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ It is also important that the contribution which local cultural institutions make to European society should be better understood. While we recognise the difficulties of funding such research under the IST Programme, this does not diminish its importance. Continuing efforts are needed to assess impact. We would also note that the development of staff skills – which includes broader issues such as the appreciation of the potential of new technologies and attitudes which are positive towards their adoption – will be critical to success. Research which addressed these issues would be valuable. Turning to the specific issues described in this report, it needs to be emphasised again that the analysis of research and development questions by function is not intended to imply that single function responses are desirable. Indeed, quite the opposite – there is a major challenge to develop integrated systems which address multiple challenges and provide seamless services for users. However, we cannot address the research roadmap without undertaking analysis of the issues into their separate challenges. What is important is that researchers synthesise their responses and show how multi-functional services can be developed to meet real-world requirements. The issue of standards compliance, and the use wherever possible of open standards, will remain critical. The difficulties and challenges of this for the local institution should not be underestimated, partly because standards often require high levels of technical understanding but more especially because the environment (eg. local or regional authority) in which the institution operates must also be committed to standards compliance. It is helpful that national authorities are addressing this issue and mandating standards. Because there is great scope for sharing solutions between institutions at the local level, it is particularly important that whenever feasible software should be open source. However, this must not be at the expense of maintainability and sustainability: there will be occasions when a proprietary product is appropriate because of the support which it receives. The long term sustainability of solutions must remain a major issue. Too often highly innovative and indeed far-sighted developments have failed to become embedded in services, for a whole variety of reasons. We believe that steps are needed to avoid such products failing to negotiate the gap between the ‘development’ and ‘deployment’ phases. Contributors to this work have frequently emphasised that usability (in the broadest sense) and ease of use are absolutely critical to success. This implies that user requirements must be clearly understood from the outset, not just in terms of functionality but in terms of presentation. This can be coupled with a ‘design for all’ approach which recognises the requirements of disabled and other ‘non-standard’ users from the outset. 35 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ This leads naturally to consideration of the interface devices which users are likely to exploit. While the PC, with screen, mouse and keyboard, may be fairly ubiquitous at the moment we are seeing a much wider range of end-user technologies being brought into play. Mobile devices are now commonplace, and starting to be exploited by the cultural sector (especially with the capabilities of 3G); game consoles are in very wide use but have hardly yet broken out of their user ghettos; digital television will undoubtedly be taken for granted by the end of the current decade; looking to the future, intelligent devices will exploit ambient technologies. Local cultural institutions need to make use of all these in offering attractive and user-friendly services. In reviewing these options, it is necessary to consider carefully what value is added by services for the time and effort that the end-user expends. Over-complex systems which merely confuse the end-user will not attract sustained use. This then leads to the question of bi- and multi-lingual support. This has been referred to in the above discussion under a number of functions (primarily ‘ask’) but must be tackled systematically across all services within what is now a networked Europe. While part of the effort may be expended on translating content (perhaps dynamically) it is also important that this effort extends to the presentation interfaces – providing multi-lingual icons and buttons on screen is a simple example. What are the key elements that should be given priority for research? We have been unable to identify unanimity on this question among the Calimera consortium but we suggest that the following represent the majority view: • A greater focus on understanding and describing the user requirement. Local cultural institutions must be focused on their users, but these are not monochrome. We need to specify in detail what different kinds of users want and expect from their interaction with and participation in cultural pursuits which are or can be enabled by technology. The local cultural institution has deep understanding of citizens’ needs, preferences, ambitions and dreams. • Tools to enable users to create content together with systems which allow that content to be managed systematically and sustainably. Creation should be seen not only as an individual but critically as a shared enterprise, with tools to enable this to happen. The local cultural institution becomes a true centre of creativity. • Systems which couple together learning and enjoyment, placed within a clear local (and thus relevant to the user) context. Learning services may require – and would almost certainly benefit from – collaborative development with (often accredited) learning providers and require development of skills by the staff of the cultural institutions. The creative local institution is also a learning institution. • Dissemination and communication of information about the content and services of the local institution, to users and potential users, between users (as they share the 36 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ treasures that they find) and to other institutions. The local institution becomes a focal point in the mind maps of citizens and related services. • Interoperability between systems to ensure that integrated services can be offered at the point of user interaction – which may be within other bodies’ portfolios of services – so that the institution is fully involved in the life of the citizen. The local institution’s services mesh seamlessly into the panoply of technology-based and other services with which individuals interact, and become a natural part of everyday life. The watchwords for the local cultural institution, then, are: citizens / creativity / learning / communication / involvement References [1] P. Brophy, “CALIMERA research roadmap”. January, 2005. [2] C. Dallas. “Report on business models and issues”. November, 2004 37 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE EUROPEAN BUREAU OF LIBRARY, INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION ASSOCIATIONS (EBLIDA) Pedro Hipola Vice-President of EBLIDA President of the Spanish Federation of Archives, Libraries, Documentation and Museums Association (FESABID) Spain EBLIDA: European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations: General Information /PowerPoint presentation/ What is EBLIDA European umbrella organisation of library, archive and information sectors & professionals Founded in 1992 and expanding! 38 Full members : national associations of EU & EFTA Member States 122 Associate members : EU & other European countries: individual library, archive, information & museum institutions Who are EBLIDA EBLIDA Council: Annual meeting of all members [Estoril (Portugal), 14 – 15 May 2004; Cork (Ireland), 2005] Executive Committee: 10 elected members’ representatives from different European countries: geographical balance President: Jan Ewout van der Putten (NBLC, The Netherlands) Vice – President: Pedro Hípola (FESABID, Spain) Secretariat: non-bureaucratic, flexible & efficient (Director, EU Information Officer & Administrative Assistant), hosted by NBLC in The Hague Director: María Pía González Pereira (Spanish) EBLIDA mission To promote & defend the interests of the library, archive & information sectors & professionals Lobbying at European level : 38 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • EU Institutions: European Commission, European Parliament, Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions, Council • Other International Organisations: WIPO, WTO, Council of Europe Encouraging & supporting members’ national lobbying actions EBLIDA Objectives Stated in EBLIDA Constitution Increase cohesion and influence of library, archive & information sectors & professionals in Europe Identify relevant European policy issues and lobby for favourable outcome Raise awareness & disseminate information Extend membership (new 10 EU members & applicant countries) Why EBLIDA 1988 new European Community initiatives on copyright 1990 European Commission Library Research Programme, now part of the IST Programme 1992 European Directive on PLR 1992 – 1997 The role of culture in Europe enhanced [Art. 151 Amsterdam Treaty, 1999 (former Art. 128 Maastricht Treaty, 1992)] European legislation Legal instruments : regulation, directive, decision, recommendation, opinion, resolution, green & white papers, communication, notice, study About 80% of national legislation derives from the EU legislation-making processes A Directive defines the results to be achieved in a particular area. Directives must be implemented into national law, usually within 2-3 years [Internal Market proposals are usually drafted as Directives] Recent legislation Proposal for Directive on measures and procedures to ensure the enforcement of IPR (30 January 2003) Aimed at combating counterfeiting & piracy EBLIDA lobbied for: Safeguarding library, archive, information & educational institutions legitimate functioning 39 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ limiting scope and application to commercial-scale counterfeiting & piracy Deletion of criminal sanctions EBLIDA achieved successful balanced outcome Quick approval under Co-Decision procedure (due to enlargement): 13 months Recent Legislation Proposal for a Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications (March 2002) Aims at simplifying rules relating to professional qualifications & facilitating free movement of professionals in the Internal Market Co-Decision procedure ongoing EBLIDA Executive Committee approved action (October 2003) New EBLIDA Working Group on Professional Education (2004) Pending legislation EU Copyright Directive: implementation outstanding in some EU countries PLR Directive implementation outstanding: European Commission starts action against 7 EU MMSS Database Directive: European Commission review Internal Market Harmonisation not achieved yet EBLIDA activities Lobbying At European level: EBLIDA Secretariat Lobbying key legislation & policy makers at EU Institutions and International Organisations Produce Position Papers & Statements in response to proposals of legislation & policy guidelines At national level: EBLIDA Members & Working Groups Working group discussions & consultations Exchange information & Coordination with Director EBLIDA activities Informing our members Hot News & Update on EU developments : monthly overview of European legislation European Policices Funding opportunities, tenders, calls for proposals Questions by MEPs News and events of interest to the library & cultural heritage community 40 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ EBLIDA activities Informing our members EBLIDA Mailing list EBLIDA website To keep up-to-date in-between printed publications To encourage exchange of views and enhance direct involvement of members EBLIDA activities Expert working groups Copyright and related rights (IPR, PLR) WTO issues (GATS, TRIPS) Professional Education (Recognition of Professional Qualifications, EHEA, Accreditation) EBLIDA projects CALIMERA (Cultural applications: Local Institutions Mediating Electronic Resources Access) 18 months duration Objectives: Identify R&D priorities for local cultural institutions Cooperation between libraries, archives and museums Sensitise stakeholders (professional networks, local & national authorities, industrial players), on IST solutions for use by local institutions and citizens EBLIDA Projects CALIMERA EBLIDA role: Core partner belonging to Management Board Leading WP 4 (Dissemination, Networking and Training), with overall responsibility for quality assurance of dissemination and international networking Total budget allocated to personnel & travel: 26.408 Euros The future EBLIDA Strategy for the Future 2004 - 2007 Review process to assess mission, objectives and resources Wide member consultation (website & Council meeting 2004) Provide EBLIDA with a solid purpose and defined goals for the next crucial years Strengthen cooperation among members (libraries, archives & information sectors) Identify members’ needs 41 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Remaining at the forefront of information & cultural heritage institutions in Europe!! María Pía González Pereira Director P.O. Box 16359 2500 BJ The Hague The Netherlands gonzalez.pereira@debibliotheken.nl Tel: +31-70-309 0551 Fax: +31-70-309 0558 email: eblida@debibliotheken.nl www.eblida.org Response to the European Commission consultation on the final report of the High Level Group on Digital Rights Management, March-July 2004 EBLIDA, the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations, is an independent, non-profit umbrella organisation of national library, archive and information sectors associations and institutions in Europe. EBLIDA represents the interests of its members to the European Institutions with a focus on intellectual property rights, DRM, information society, education and culture matters. EBLIDA promotes access to information and culture in the digital environment for the purposes of education, research and private study. EBLIDA welcomes the initiative taken by the European Commission in setting up the High Level Group on Digital Rights Management. However, EBLIDA considers it a missed opportunity for the European Commission not to include a representative of the library community amongst the members of this Group. Libraries as content intermediaries and managers of information have a vast amount of experience, especially university libraries, in dealing with access to and use of content by users within a secure network and the rights management thereof. EBLIDA is most willing to propose suitable 42 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ representatives, especially of the university library community, to the High Level Group meeting in November 2004. 1. DRM and Interoperability EBLIDA welcomes the definitions as set out in this report. They are clear and simple. EBLIDA supports the conclusion of the report that it is important that DRM ensures and enhances consumer’s choice and competition. Choice and competition can only be achieved if consumers can shop around in order to obtain the best price and are able to negotiate the licensing terms that they require for the use of the content. This is very important for content intermediaries such as libraries. Nevertheless the reference to “strong licensing terms” on page 8 raises our concerns in this respect. Does “strong” mean non-negotiable licensing terms or only limited use allowed? 2. Private copying levies and DRM systems EBLIDA agrees with the HLG members that double payment to rights holders in the respect of private copying levies and technical measures (payment on the basis of a levy and payments on the basis of a licensed use) must be avoided. 3. Promoting migration to legitimate services on the Internet EBLIDA supports the European Commission and the industries fight against piracy and the need of migration to legitimate services on the Internet. However, not all free of charge uses of content obtained from or transferred over the Internet should automatically be classified as piracy. Copyright laws around the world recognise free of charge uses of material protected by copyright. These are called the exceptions to copyright. DRM systems must respect such exceptions granted to users of copyrighted material under their national copyright laws. Exceptions to copyright are part of the balance of legal provisions and we are disappointed that the HLG has accorded them so little attention. They are very important to users, and, in principle, the exceptions legitimise the right holders' monopoly so they should always be taken into account by right holders. It is therefore very important that the licences for the access and use of on-line content include a compulsory standard clause stating that nothing in this licence shall override the provisions of statutory exceptions to copyright pertaining in the legal jurisdictions where the material is to be used. EBLIDA is pleased with the acknowledgement by the European Commission that it is under a duty to examine within the context of Article 12 Contract Committee, whether acts permitted by law are being adversely affected by the use of effective technological measures (so called “the technological lock up”). We would like to offer our full support in any examination the European Commission plans to undertake. Other issues to be taken into account in respect of DRM systems are: Data protection 43 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lawful circumvention Clear labelling and guidance: permitted and restricted uses of material should be evident to purchasers before they make their purchase DRM systems must be user friendly Data protection We fully agree with the European Commission that consensus amongst stakeholders and acceptance by consumers is essential for DRM to work successfully. Likewise we fully share the European Commission’s concern about DRMs’ ability to trace the user’s behaviour and support its view that the user’s privacy should be preserved. Security levels should be appropriate for the content. Technical developments must not be driven only by the mass entertainment industry, which may have different requirements to the scientific and academic communities. Circumvention Circumvention of technical measures in special cases must be possible e.g. for legal or voluntary deposit, preservation and archiving, in order to safeguard the availability of material for future generations. Digital Rights Management Systems must be user friendly Digital content must be easy to access and use. User friendliness is crucial for DRM systems. The acceptance of the user will only be encouraged by the friendliness of the system. The Hague, September 2004 44 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Response to the European Commission staff working paper on the review of the EC legal framework in the field of copyright and related rights, SEC(2004) 995, 19.7.2004. EBLIDA, the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations, is an independent, non-profit umbrella organisation of national library, archive and information sectors associations and institutions in Europe. EBLIDA represents the interests of its members to the European Institutions with a focus on intellectual property rights, DRM, information society, education and culture matters. EBLIDA promotes access to information and culture in the digital environment for the purposes of education, research and private study. EBLIDA welcomes and greatly appreciates the European Commission work as regards the review of existing legislation in the field of copyright and related rights with a view to safeguarding and improving the coherence of the existing legislation and to assess whether any inconsistencies on the definitions or on rules on exceptions and limitations between different Directives hamper the operation of the acquis or have a harmful impact on the fair balance of rights and other interests such as those of users of information. EBLIDA believes that there is a lack of coherence in the existing legislation and has expressed its concerns regarding the inconsistencies between the Database Directive and the Term Directive and between the Database Directive and the InfoSoc Directive to the Commission over the last few years. EBLIDA disagrees with the Commission that several issues relating to the Database Directive should be dealt with in the separate report to be submitted by the Commission regarding the Database Directive pursuant to its Article 16 (3). There is a great need amongst the members of EBLIDA for immediate guidance from the Commission on the issues as set out below as they are causing unnecessary confusion and harm the legitimate interests of the users and of libraries and archives as producers of databases. The first issue that we would like to raise concerns the Term Directive in relation to the Database Directive as this will be part of the first round of codification. The second issue is in respect of the relation between the Database Directive and the InfoSoc Directive. 1. Term Directive versus Database Directive 45 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Database Directive provides for two different terms of protection of databases. Databases that are eligible for copyright protection are protected until 70 years after the death of the author. Databases protected by the sui generis right are protected for 15 years from 1 January of the year following the date of completion. One of the characteristics of a database is that it can be updated. Many databases are updated frequently e.g daily/hourly. According to Art. 10(2) any substantial change to the content of the database shall qualify the database resulting from that investment for its own term of protection. This would potentially give such database owner perpetual protection. This is against the spirit of the Berne Convention and moreover it conflicts with the term of protection for author’s rights as set out in the Term Directive. EBLIDA believes that databases protected by the sui generis right should be granted a maximum protection in line with the Term Directive and should not exceed 70 years irrespective of how many times it was updated or the content was changed. 2. Database Directive versus the InfoSoc Directive The Database Directive introduced the concept of a lawful user. This concept was not adopted in the InfoSoc Directive. The InfoSoc Directive refers to users. This has caused confusion for users and producers of databases. A contributing factor has been that the Database Directive does not provide for a clear definition of a lawful user. EBLIDA has always advocated that the lawful user is a user permitted to access and use a database on the basis of a statutory right or on the basis of a licence. Unfortunately, most rights holders define a lawful user only as the user who has obtained a licence for access and use of such database and do not recognise access and use on the basis of a statutory right. The interpretation of Art. 6.1 and the effectiveness of Art. 15 hinge on the definition of lawful user. Therefore, EBLIDA urges the Commission to consider the inclusion of a definition of lawful user in the codification of the Database Directive. EBLIDA is firmly of the opinion that the concept of a lawful user must include a user making use of a statutory exception, which is by definition a lawful use. Art. 6 of the Database Directive lists the exceptions to the restrictions provided for in Art. 5. Art. 6(1) contains the “normal use” exception and Art. 6(2) the limitations such as the use of a database for private purposes and research purposes. The “normal use” exception has caused great confusion because it is not clear what normal use is and why the limitations in Art. 6(2) do not qualify as “normal use”. According to Art 15, only the normal use of the content of a database cannot be overridden by contract law. The codification of the Database Directive would be an opportunity to either make the distinction between normal use and the limitations clearer or to apply Art. 15 to Art. 6(2) as well. This issue is especially important since the face of journal and book publishing has changed dramatically over the last years. Most publications are available in dual formats and an increasing number of journals, especially in the scientific, technical and medical fields, are only available electronically as part of a database. Journals therefore are increasingly available only as databases. 46 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The question is which Directive prevails: the Database Directive or the InfoSoc Directive. According to Article 1 of the InfoSoc Directive, the InfoSoc Directive shall in no way effect existing Community provisions such as the Database Directive. Yet according to Recital 20 of the InfoSoc Directive, the InfoSoc Directive develops the principles and rules of the Database Directive and places them in the context of the Information Society. These are contradictory statements and have caused a huge amount of confusion especially in cases where products purchased by libraries for use by their users simultaneously qualify as databases and as literary works of a different category. The Commission’s analysis of the issue in paragraph 2.2.4.1 of this working paper has caused even more confusion as it seems that neither the Database Directive nor the InfoSoc Directive prevails in such instances. According to the Commission the respective provisions of the InfoSoc Directive cannot be invoked to the Database Directive. EBLIDA urges the Commission to provide immediate guidance on this issue in this working paper. Nevertheless, in this respect EBLIDA welcomes the conclusion of the Commission that an exception for the benefit of people with a disability under Article 5(3)(b) of the InfoSoc Directive should be included in the Database Directive and that it should apply with respect to databases protected by copyright as well as those covered by the sui generis right. EBLIDA also welcomes the Commission’s conclusion that a further exception to the reproduction right (similar to Art. 5(2)(c) under the copyright chapter of the Database Directive for the benefit of libraries should be considered. EBLIDA believes that the same should be considered for 5(3) (n) as both provisions are related. The adoption of Art. 5(3) (n) in the Database Directive would provide libraries and archives with the possibility to make the databases, created as a result of the reproductions made on the basis of Art. 5(2) (c), accessible to the public on-site for private study and research purposes. This is extremely important for national libraries and research centres. The archiving of cultural heritage is very expensive and it would be unreasonable if such institutions were to need additional permission from rights owners and have to pay an additional fee in order to provide access to the materials that they archived. This would be especially unfair since they would have already paid for the material included in the database and as well as incurring the cost of archiving of such material. It would be inequitable, and against the interests of the information society, if they were to have to pay for the same product again: they need to be authorised to make it accessible within their own institution. The Hague, October 2004 47 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ EBLIDA Statement Towards an effective scientific publishing system for European research EBLIDA welcomes the timely initiative of the Commission to conduct a study1 on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publications market in Europe. EBLIDA, the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations, is an independent, non-profit umbrella organisation of national library, archive and information sector associations and institutions in Europe. EBLIDA represents the interests of its members to the European Institutions with a focus on intellectual property rights, DRM, information society, educational and cultural matters. EBLIDA promotes access to information and culture in the digital environment for the purposes of education, research and private study. EBLIDA supports the vision of open access to research material, which has been defined as ‘free availability on the public Internet, permitting users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial legal or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the Internet itself.’ There are two main routes to achieving open access, and we wish to register our support for both. The first one is open access journals. The number of open access journals has been growing in recent years, with some publishers offering their entire journals on an open access basis, and others offering it only for selected items. The second route is self-archiving, where authors deposit the final, post peer reviewed, electronic version of their articles in their private archive, an institutional, or subject-based, repository. A growing number of publishers expressly permit self-archiving of the final version of the research output. This is encouraging; however the majority of those publishers do only allow limited use of such self-archived copy. Usually use is allowed within the institution that owns the repository and for private study purposes only, not for educational or teaching purposes. EBLIDA believes that open access to European research is a win-win strategy that has tremendous potential reconciling the ownership of intellectual property rights in research findings and the economic interests of the publishers of such findings. 1 European Commission study on the economic and technical evolution of the scientific publication markets in Europe: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/research/press/2004/pr1506en.cfm 48 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Open Access would be easier to achieve if commercial publishers do not require the assignment of intellectual property rights by the owner of such rights as a condition of publishing the research outputs in a commercial publication. This has been the standard model used by a majority of commercial publishers and, because of the monopoly they thereby achieve, it has allowed them to increase annual subscription charges of research publications by 10% or more. Some commercial publishers are changing their policy and are asking owners of intellectual property rights for a licence to publish the research findings, thus freeing the author, as mentioned above, to deposit the peer reviewed research findings in their own or in an institutional repository. We believe that raising the awareness amongst owners of intellectual property rights of the consequences of the assignment of intellectual property rights and the non-exclusive licensing of such rights to commercial publisher would benefit the access of information, the use of such information and open access initiatives enormously. We would recommend that the Commission set up a working group with representatives of the European higher education community, other research institutions and publishers with the aim to agree on model licensing terms for the publishing of research outputs in commercial publications. In a fair and balanced environment such terms should allow for the depositing of a copy of the peer reviewed article in an open access local repository or a subject repository and which can be used for private study, research, education and teaching purposes. This would contribute to create a more effective and efficient system for scholarly communication inside and outside the European Union. The current system where outputs of research funded from the public purse have to be bought at a high price from external commercial bodies in order to gain restricted access to the same research outputs needs to be brought to an end as soon as possible. The Hague, April 2005 49 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ LITHUANIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DIGITISATION PROJECTS Dr. Regina Varnienė Deputy Director and Director of Bibliography and Book Science Centre Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania The possibilities of co-operation between memory institutions – libraries, museums and archives on the basis of the Integrated Virtual Library Information System are examined in this presentation. The National Library of Lithuania has received the support from EU Structural Funds for the creation of the Integrated Virtual Library Information System. The selection criteria of objects of the Lithuanian cultural heritage to be digitized are highlighted here as well as the collections and documents selected for digitization during the project implementation period 2005-2007 are reviewed in this presentation. Introduction The positive interest regarding the co-operation between museums, libraries and archives was initiated in 1998 during the implementation of the 5th EU Framework Program on Scientific Studies. The new direction of cultural policy, “Digital Heritage and Cultural Content” aimed at the initiatives of culture digitization, has emerged in one part of this program called “Technologies of Information Society”. The above mentioned programs have been a huge benefit to libraries, museums and archives since they promoted the co-operation between the institutions by preparing international projects, receiving a financial support for their implementation and solving a number of problems concerning the management, long-term preservation and distribution of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is included into the implementation processes of strategies formulated by Lisbon Council in 2000. The strategy implementation vehicles are reflected in the strategic plans on electronic Europe - eEurope 2002 and eEurope 2005, which cover the following: - organisation of co-operation between the memory institutions and their integration into the information and culture policy; preparation of projects on digitization of cultural heritage and their implementation by establishing unified systems and promoting co-operation with business partners; distribution of cultural heritage by using information and communication technologies. Although the long-term preservation of cultural heritage is covered by the strategic program of the Lithuanian Long-term Development Strategy of State and the Provisions of the Lithuanian Cultural Policy [1, 2], the mentioned documents do not include the 50 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ issues concerning the co-operation between memories institutions during the process of digitization of cultural heritage and organisation of its distribution within the information medium of eEurope. During the period of 2003-2004 the Lithuanian National Library carried out some planning activities in parallel with fulfilment of its functions on the long-term preservation of published cultural heritage and aiming to pay the attention of state institutions to the demand for integration into the medium of European electronic content. As a result, 13,3 million litas were received from EU Structural funds for the digitization and access of cultural heritage, and the draft of the concept of cultural heritage digitization and access was prepared. The main beneficiary of the project is Martynas Mazvydas National Library of Lithuania. Lithuanian Art Museum and Archives Department of Lithuania are the project partners. The implementation of the project will be carried out in 2005-2007. This presentation reviews the possibilities of co-operation between Lithuanian Memory Institutions during the digitization of the Lithuanian cultural heritage on the basis of a virtual library. The virtual library - the basis of co-operation between the memory institutions. 1. Demand for the national program of cultural heritage digitization. The birth of digital technologies, in general, has changed the processes of storage, preservation, control and distribution of cultural heritage. In parallel, the role of memory institutions – libraries, museums and archives, has altered as well. Cultural heritage, in general, is divided into tangible and intangible cultural properties, while the intangible cultural heritage consists of psychic and verbal cultural values. The tangible cultural values include movable and immovable cultural properties. According to the Law on the Protection of the Movable Cultural Properties of the Republic of Lithuania [3], the movable cultural values are defined as the movable material production of society and human activity that have been created 50 years ago or earlier and has been representing a huge cultural value. Author’s literary works, songs, fairy-tales, sagas, customs, traditions and spectacles are defined as the immaterial or spiritual cultural heritage. According to the data presented in article by N. Kligiene [4] approximately 70 Internet sites from Lithuania contain the examples of cultural heritage. The digitized exhibits are presented in the sites of museums providing a greater possibility and easier access for remote users to get aquainted with the object of cultural heritage available in various museums of the country. 51 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The site of the Lithuanian Archives Department, (www.archives.lt), also contains a virtual library where the Digest of Lithuanian Archive Funds is currently under reconstruction but the document search system is operating. Also, the examples of digitized published documents may be found in the sites of the libraries of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, www.mab.lt, Vilnius University, www.mb.vu.lt, and M. Mazvydas National Library of Lithuania, www.lnb.lt. Although, a number of memory institutions – libraries, museums, archives, have been recently implementing different activities of cultural heritage digitization and presentation in Internet, their actions have not been co-ordinated yet in the country, therefore, they are mostly accidental and dependant on various subjective reasons and opportunities. Meanwhile, such activities must be implemented purposefully in accordance with the Lund Principles [5] and Lund Strategic Plan [6] in order to secure: • • • The creation of the unified digital information environment of Lithuanian cultural heritage by the memory institutions and other authority bodies responsible for the cultural heritage; The digitization and distribution of the Lithuanian cultural heritage on the basis of the unified virtual library system; The formation of an efficient infrastructure of the digitization of Lithuanian cultural heritage to warrant the obligation of the memory institutions – libraries, museums, archives and others responsible bodies for the preservation of the cultural heritage, to pursue the constant activity of long-term digitization of the cultural heritage. The following tendencies have become the basis of the concept on the digitization of and access to the Lithuanian cultural heritage. The programmes created on the basis of this concept will become very important normative acts for memory institutions in digitization and access of cultural heritage. The concept of the digitization and access of the Lithuanian cultural heritage is a very significant document that changes the viewpoint of the memory institutions regarding the co-operation in order to allow the optimal possibilities for the long-term preservation and distribution of the national cultural heritage. 2. “Creation of the Lithuanian Integrated Virtual Library Information System” project. The Lithuanian M. Mazvydas National Library of Lithuania carried out the projection activities in 2003-2004 in order to establish further perspective of the LIBIS development and insure the implementation of library’s main functions as a memory institution. In parallel with the above mentioned concept of the cultural heritage digitization the experts of the National Library of Lithuania have been preparing the project of the “Creation of Virtual Environment of Lithuanian Integrated Library Information System” (2004) covering the digitization of the old and rare documents as well as the access to them. 52 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The results of this project were employed during the preparation of the feasibility study of the “Creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System” (2004) prepared by the Italian company “A.R.S. Progetti S.r.l.” by which the Lithuanian experts were chosen. Apart from the feasibility and project documentation were prepared as well. The support from the EU Structural Funds for the implementation of the project “Creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System” was received in 2005, in accordance with the 3rd priority’s 3rd measure, “The Development of Information Services and Infrastructure” of the Single Programming Document approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in 2004 (Lietuvos zinios, 2004, No. 123-4486) [7]. At the beginning of 2005 13,3 million Litas (about 4 million Euros) from EU Structural Funds were received for the project “Creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System”. The project “Creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System” aims at forming a solid network of libraries, museums and archives by digitizing the cultural heritage and making it available through the public and free access interfaces to all users in Lithuania and world-wide. The basis for the creation of the Integrated Virtual Library is the Lithuanian Integrated Library Information System (LIBIS) which consists of the Local Automated Information Systems (LAN) of 75 Lithuanian research and public libraries and local subsystems. The main local subsystems operating within the LIBIS are the Union Catalogue, the National Bibliographic Databank and the Archive of Electronic Resources. The main beneficiary of the project, Martynas Mazvydas National Library of Lithuania, represents the only beneficiary of this project. The project has a Project Management Group consisting from a project leader, accountant and 3 coordinators. The main objective of the Integrated Virtual Library Information System is a very close connection with the Concept of the Digitization of Cultural Heritage of Lithuania in order to ensure the interactive and free of charge usage of the objects deposited in the memory institutions – libraries, museums and archives for the users from Lithuanian and worldwide. The specific objectives of the project are the following: • • To create of the databank of digital cultural heritage of memory institutions; To provide users with e-services of virtual libraries on the grounds of the created databank. The main criteria of published cultural heritage selection for digitization based on the recommendations of Minerva and Minerva Plus programs and the tradition of Lithuanian press history are the following: • • the historical period any document was published or compiled; the language of a document; 53 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • • the rarity and uniqueness of a document (the number of extant copies); the content and scientific value of a document; the physical state of a document. The list of collections intended for digitization was compiled during the period of project implementation on the basis of the assessments of the Lithuanian press and book history and the periodization of the old Lithuanian book as well as the criteria defined in the Minerva and Minerva Plus programs. The objects selected for digitization include a number of books dated 1547-1863; the documents of the Press Ban period (1864-1904); the Lithuanian books in Latin of XVI – XVII c.; the Lithuanian books in Polish of XVIIXVIII c.; Lithuanian foreign press released until 1940s; legal acts and other formal documents of the Republic of Lithuania of the inter-war period (1918-1940). The total number of pages the NLL has intended to digitize is 3 327 654. According to the value of the objects stored in the archives and their importance to the society the church registers of birth, marriage and death of the Roman Catholic Church dated 1599-1930. 36 document collections compiled of 1382 files stored in the State Historical Archives of Lithuania were selected for digitization on the basis of the formulated criteria. Apart from this amount manuscripts and archival documents reflecting the identity of Lithuanian social layers and communities, i.e. parchments, documents from Synod Collection of Lithuanian Evangelical Lutherans (1413-1438), the collection of historical acts of the Lithuania Minor, etc., will be digitized as well. The total number of pages the archives have intended for digitization is 180 000. In accordance with the importance and physical state of the documents stored in museums the works of graphics, watercolours and folk graphics, photo negatives, positives, and slides displaying the exhibits of historical and artistic photography will be digitized. A number of maps, paintings, drawings, objects of bionistics and sfragistics, textile items and pictorial works will be digitized as well. The total number of pages and objects to be digitized by the museums is 98 000. The overall number of pages and objects to be digitized during the implementation period (30 months) of the project is 3 605 654. In order to obtain the most efficient access to the documents stored in IVLIS the following tasks will be solved: • • • creation of the engine of efficient access to digital documents; guaranteeing the bibliographic control of digitized objects, that has already been materialized with the help of operating LIBIS National Bibliographic Data Bank module; preparation of a copyright protection engine. Having implemented the project “Creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System” the digitizing centres will function in the National Library, the Lithuanian Art 54 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Museum and the Central State Archive. These centres will provide new services in respect of quality. After 30 of months of project 2699167 pages will be recognized as omni-textual and 906487 as images which will be entered into the database and presented to the users via Internet by means of created documents search system (a portal of virtual library). The main server containing the digital cultural heritage will have a link with currently widely used LIBIS catalogue, www.libis.lt, allowing the users to get the full-text of a digitized object through the bibliographic record. The documents digitized by the Lithuanian Archives will have a link with the Digest of Lithuanian Archival Fund, www.archyvai.lt. The images digitized by the Lithuanian Art Museum will have a link with the Integrated Information System of the museums called LIMIS. The IVBIS architecture was built in accordance with the benefits of NCSTRL (Network Computer Science Technical Reference Library) model. IVBIS is created as an allocated system that controls its central and local information in local servers of Museums and Archives. However, the scheme of cultural heritage digitization and its management formed in the framework of this project will alter when the general national program will be created where the management engine of this process will finally be defined. The Creation of IVBIS Management System requires taking the following steps: • • formation of IVBIS maintenance and development group; establishment of digitization subdivisions. According to the order passed by Directors of all member institutions the Digitization subdivisions will be established in the Lithuanian National Library (22 employees). In 2005 some additional funding was allocated for the NLL from the State Budget for salary fund of 22 employees. The Working Group in the Lithuanian Archives Department will include 11 persons funded from the Lithuanian State archival system. 7 persons will be appointed from the present staff to work in the project (3 from the Lithuanian State Historical Archive and 4 from the Lithuanian Central State Archive). The Working Group of Digitizing Centre in the Art Museum will include 20 employees. Some additional funding has been requested from the budget for the establishment of 5 new positions. Only the managers of the project will be funded from the EU money. The benefits of the project: 55 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. The project of “Creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System” has brought the problems of the long-term preservation of national cultural heritage by digitization, the demand of national viewpoint regarding the management of cultural heritage and the benefits of memory institutions integration into the European electronic content space to state’s notice. 2. The creation of Integrated Virtual Library Information System will allow to develop the relationship between the national memory institutions on the grounds of the uniform objectives and tasks, work flows, information databases and standardization. 3. The implementation of the project will allow rendering new e-services, to prepare requirements for the unified form for presentation and exchange of information in the Internet. After the implementation of this project the accessibility and continuation of cultural heritage will be secured: • • • • electronic resources data bank of libraries, archives and museums will be created the virtual services of which will be available to the users from Lithuania and abroad; currently available electronic services of public sector useful for the majority of Lithuanian residents will be updated and upgraded, and the quality of public sector electronic services will be improved; the access to the digital full-text documents stored in public libraries, archives and museums will be guarantied as access to the digital catalogues of documents will function, document retrieval engine will operate and possibility to order a document will be secured; open and free of charge access to the virtual library information system will provide equal possibilities for all users regardless their sex, age or place of residence; Also the abundance and variety of digital documents will be guaranteed because of the following factors: • over 3 million 605 thousand pages of original manuscripts, newspapers, old books, metrics, chronicles and other especially valuable and historically important documents will be digitized; Lithuanian cultural heritage will be preserved, and the original documents will be passed on to the upcoming generations. Residents will have no necessity to go to museums, archives and libraries in order to familiarize with very valuable documents and literary works because they will be accessible through virtual library. 56 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ List of reference: 1. Valstybės ilgalaikės raidos strategija: patvirtinta Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo 2004 m. lapkričio 12 d. nutarimu Nr. IX-1187. www.lrv.lt/main.php?cat=303&gr=1&d=3003 2. Lietuvos kultūros politikos nuostatos: patvirtinta Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės 2001 m. gegužės 14 d. nutarimu Nr. 542. www.lrkm.lt/EasyAdmin/sys/files/KPN.doc 3. Kilnojamų kultūros vertybių apsaugos įstatymas: patvirtinta Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo 1996 m. sausio 23 d. Nr. I-1179, papildyta 2004 m. balandžio 22 d. Nr. I-1179. Law on Protection of Movable Cultural Properties of the Republic of Lithuania: approved by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania under the act of January 23 1996 No. I-1179 (as amended by April 22 2004 No. IX-2161). Lithuanian version: www.lrkm.lt/EasyAdmin/sys/files/kilnojam_2004_4.htm English version: www3.lrs.lt/cgi-bin/preps8?Condition=233360 4. KLIGIEN , Nerutė. Lietuvos kultūros paveldas skaitmeninėje terpėje. Informacijos mokslai. ISSN 1392-0561. T. 31 (2004), p. 82-104. 5. The Lund principles. www.cordis.lu/ist/directorate_e/digicult/lund_p_browse.htm 6. The Lund Action Plan. www.cordis.lu/ist/directorate_e/digicult/lund_ap_browse.htm 7. Lietuvos bendrojo programavimo dokumentas 2004-2006 metams: patvirtinta Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės 2004 m. rugpjūčio 2 dienos nutarimu Nr. 935. Single Programming Document of Lithuania for 2004-2006: approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania under the act of August 2 2004 No. 935. Lithuanian version: www.ivpk.lt/main.php?cat=63&gr=2 English version: www.ivpk.lt/en/structural/spd.doc 57 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ SMALL LIBRARIES, GREAT CHALLENGES: HOW TO BECOME A HYBRID LIBRARY OVERNIGHT Päivi Almgren Koski T1 Library Board Member of the Library Association of Finland The future of small libraries depends increasingly on their ability to keep up with the continuous changes in digital and virtual information society. Luckily, they are not alone in ansvering the challenges of hybrid librarianship. The question of my heading, how to become a hybrid library overnight, is already partly answered by the Finnish Library Act 1998, under which the Finnish public libraries are given a shared responsibility for citizen information service in digital environments. This entails meeting several challenges. Libraries have to ensure equal access to knowledge by making new technology and new materials available to everyone, alongside the traditional library services and materials, and also to ensure that sufficient skilled staff be available to guide the customers in the use of new materials. Further, according to the Finnish Library strategy 2010, the public library in information society is no longer a single, physical entity but a hybrid, its functions a blend of traditional library services and a digital library that conveys only digital material. The prerequisites for the citizens’ information service are: hybrid libraries, a more versatile role for libraries, and further development of the library network. So, in fact all public libraries, large or small, should already be hybrid libraries and my question remain rhetoric, haven't we had six years to become law-abiding. The law did not, however, simultaneously state any obligations to increase the libraries’ funding to meet the challenges presented. The problems that small libraries may face on the road towards hybrid librarianship have one common nominator, resources. If small libraries have any difficulties in abiding the law, it is not for lack of trying but for lack of resources. We have always been living and working in information society. The only difference is that nowadays the information comes increasingly in digital form. The means of passing information on to its users may have changed radically, but the main task of public libraries remains the same it has been throughout history, scary words like electronic or digital describe changes in form, not necessarily in the content of information. Libraries continue to do what they have long and honourable traditions of doing, offering citizens equal opportunities for learning, cultural heritage and joy and for developing the abilities required for active citizenship, regardless of regional, social or economic circumstances. Due to changes in terminology equal circumstances must now include also technical circumstances. Increasing attention must be paid to those future and present citizens who either cannot afford internet or technical equipment or who are not familiar with their use. 58 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ What then do these challenges mean in practice? How does a small library become lawabidingly hybrid? Luckily, we have the Finnish Library Policy and the Finnish Library Strategy 2010 as our everyday guidebooks on our way towards hybrid librarianship in information society. Regional library network Koski Tl municipality ( 2553 inhabitants) is situated in Western Finland, some 60 kilometres from Turku. The library has a personnel of 2,7; library director, one fulltime and one part-time (70%) library worker. Administrative library services are sold to neighbouring municipality Mellilä since 2001. We have 33 weekly opening hours. Statistical nutshell 2004: Collections 28 040, total budget expences per inhabitant 45 €, 27,9 loans per inhabitant, 13,9 visits per inhabitant. For small libraries networking is of essential importance. Finland has a strong and long tradition of libraries co-operating, well over 70 % of Finnish public libraries are part of some regional library network. Koski Tl is part of Loimaa subregional network, Loistolibraries (Brilliant libraries), consisting of ten municipal libraries. The starting principles of co-operation were to promote equal and increasing funding of library services within the subregion and to improve and unify our service standards, thus to be better able to offer equal library services to all customers in the subregion. We have one sub-regional library database, including both library catalogues and customer registers, in use since April 2004 (http://loisto.kirjas.to). In the future, our purpose is to achieve co-ordinated acquisition policies and to focus on special interest areas in collections, especially in case of electronic and digital material. This, to be of use to customers, requires in turn the development of subregional interlibrary loan-system. Simple logistics between libraries are not too hard to develop, but to have surplus value to both customers and libraries, co-operation in collection policies has to be achieved first. E-books are affordable also to small libraries. Through subregional library network, we have a common licence for buying and lending e-books, at the cost of one tenth of the prize we would have paid singly. E-books available in Finnish are redistributed by one supplier, EweLib, so the range of available titles is as of now quite limited. It is easier to become a hybrid library regionally than locally. A regional library network can, in the best of cases, offer services that no small municipal library alone could provide. In the future, the emphasis might shift even more towards maintaining locally the physical library space and more traditional library services, while offering regionally the wider digital library services. Virtual and mobile services 59 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In a hybrid library the service is available both in the physical library and as remote, virtual and mobile services. Our library system, ATP Origo, allows customers to search library collections, to renew loans, make reservations and use custom profile services to create custom profiles and virtual shelves according to personal interest or need of material, or to get notification of acquisition of new material fitting the personal customer profile via the internet. The Ministry of Education funds various projects for developing library services, one example being our mobile services project ‘Library in the palm of your hand’ together with Aura library and Hämeenlinna provincial library, carried out in 2002 and 2003. Our library system already has arrival notification and due date notification by SMS to offer, as a result of our project customers now have the added possibilities of renewing loans, making reservations and searching the library catalogue by SMS or WAP services. Our second, ongoing mobile services project is On the Map. Together with Aura and Ulvila libraries we develop library material localization services to be used via the internet or per SMS. The customer can, for example, check beforehand which material is presently available in the library and where it is situated. The service can be used either at home or while visiting the library. The development of mobile services can be considered as one step towards providing more equal access to library services, regardless of opening hours or distances from the library. The development of new virtually used services requires technical equipment and the ability to use them, furthermore also the resources to teach customers in their usage. The results of Library in the palm of your hand-project show clearly that SMS services are becoming more and more widely used, due to their simplicity. For small libraries, the time and personal resources that teaching customers demand is often a problem. With SMS messages, there is actually nothing much to teach. The Finnish legislation degrees that library is a basic municipal service, and further that the use and loan of library materials are free of charge. Concerning the new mobile services, the question of who is to pay for their use, the customer or the library, has already arisen. Even if libraries get funding for carrying out new projects, the maintenance costs of new extra services must be carefully calculated beforehand. There isn't much sense to offer however brilliant new services to customer only to discontinue them after the project funding has ended. Answering the demands for more diverse library material In order to be a hybrid library, lending books is not enough. Collections should include CD-ROMs and DVDs, e-books and other new types of recordings, digital material; webservices, such as licenced web-material; full texts, articles, reference databases which the library has acquired the right to use. This list from the Library strategy 2010 is enough to make every librarian of a small library breathless. If not otherwise, then financially. Some new forms of material are expensive and still should be included in the collections, not 60 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ instead but in addition to more traditional material. We still have the responsibility left to preserve our cultural heritage and pass it on to the future generations. We still lend books and encourage children and young people to read. Fennica database, the http://fennica.linneanet.fi Finnish National Bibliography is available for all. The national electronic library FinElib is developed by the Finnish national library. Through centralized negotiations the material licences are reasonably prized, allowing also smaller libraries to acquire the use of reference databases otherwise far too expensive. Presently, in Koski library we have licences to use National Biography, Ebsco and Mediearkivet. Most of the reference databases available through FinElib are in English or do not include fulltext material, which limits their usefulness for most of the customers of small libraries. Through the funding of Ministry of Education the library online catalogues Linnea: including Linda (Union catalogue of Finnish university libraries), Manda (Union catalogue of Finnish public libraries), Viola (Union catalogue of Finnish music) and ARTO (Reference database of Finnish articles) are available for public libraries. Last, but not least, the Fennica copy cataloguing license for the year 2005 is paid for all public libraries. This lessens essentially the duplicated workload and frees personnel to other tasks. On national level, the project of Information Retrieval Port of Libraries.fi is presently developing a user-friendly search interface. Hybrid library customers can use traditional collections, digital and web-material, as well as licenced material. With both manners of usage, the staff is responsible for customer education. Guidance is needed in use of web-services and work stations, whether the customer wishes to use services from home computer or to use databases offered in library work stations. Also the more traditional sort of information service is still offered by staff. Small libraries seldom have enough personnel to guide customers as thoroughly as would be needed, also, the lack of resources for further professional education is a problem. Naturally, small libraries can, and even should participate in virtual content producing and not be satisfied with reaping the fruit of services developed on national level. Even the Library Act decrees developing virtual and interactive library services as part of our responsibilities. Our provincial library, Turku, has a notable role in supporting projects of digitalizing local subject matter. First part of their development of Finland Proper regional information retrieval port includes Varsi and Vaski (database of Finland Proper writers). Next phase, in which also the Loisto libraries are actively taking part, is to include local article references and other local material into the reference database. 61 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The role of a small library in the national library network is becoming more and more that of a gatekeeper. We offer local gateways to national and regional virtual services, the physical space in which new virtual possibilities can be accessed. This will also be our greatest strenght in the future. As gateways to virtual future we are irreplaceable. As small but very hybrid libraries, we continue to offer traditional, local services based on human contact and personal services while simultaneously making best possible use of all digital possibilities. We embrace the old while not rejecting the new, creating a hybrid that works for customers as well as for libraries. Without small libraries, offering equal library and information services to all citizens will not be possible in the future. Educating future citizens of information society Living in the information society requires constant development of skills to navigate the evershifting seas of information. If lifelong learning is the requirement for all citizens of information society, it is doubly so for the library staff providing services for them all. Librarianship has changed radically in the last decade or so. From manual loan card systems and information retrievals in library we have moved on to use the most complicated library databases and web searches as part of our daily routines. Hybrid libraries need hybrid librarians. The rising average educational level of customers makes new demands on the personnel, simultaneously as the average educational level of public library staff has fallen. In small municipalities, being a hybrid librarian is easier said than done, lacking as we usually are the adequate financial resources or time for continuous further professional education. The role of provincial libraries in educating librarians in their region in the use of databases and other new forms of digital information is essential. As our services have an important influence on learning, teaching and promoting active citizenship, co-operation with the educational sector is natural and increasingly important. There are very few professionally managed school libraries in Finland. Students and teachers use the local public library for services that should be provided by the school, especially in the small rural communities. At the same time, small libraries are often faced with the challenge of how to answer the growing demands for services with decreasing personnel and funds. For us co-operation with the educational sector has proven to be a fruitful solution. Every decision maker in a small community sees the importance of offering proper education and school facilities for children, while it is sometimes very frustrating to try to get the same authorities to realize the ever increasing importance of library services. By proving to be indispensable for the school services the library also gets higher visibility, never unwelcome! In Koski Tl we have a combined school center for secondary comprehensive school and gymnasium of three neighbouring municipalities; Koski Tl, Marttila and Mellilä, totalling 36 teachers and 350 pupils. Four years ago the school building was renovated and extended, the extension including a space for a school library. Together with head masters we envisioned a plan for hiring a shared library worker for the public library and the school library. The costs are divided between the library (70%) and school sector (30%). In three years we have achieved: 62 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ - a school library open 13 hours a week - a shared library system for the library and the school library - reorganization of the school library collections, cataloguing and indexing them to the library database - co-operation in acquicitions Our share (70%) of the library worker has enabled us to begin a project of teaching systematic information retrieval for secondary comprehensive and gymnasium students, on all class levels. As a further result, the library has secured a visible and permanent role in the knowledge strategies and curricula on all educational levels in our municipality. Finally Libraries in small municipalities function as centres of culture and information, as supporters of community spirit, the shared livingroom for all inhabitants. They provide physical, local solidity in the ages when, according to Marx, all that is solid melts into air. They are oases of calm and stability in a constantly fluid and floating world of information and cultural change. In addition, with the support of national and regional administration, of provincial libraries and the whole national library network, small libraries have frames and guidelines within which to answer the increasing amount of challenges that information society and its citizens set to them. Not alone, it is easy to see the challenges of digital development as exciting opportunities rather than threats to the future of small libraries. Working together, we have indeed managed to unite the past and the future, managed to become hybrid libraries overnight! Sources: Finnish Library Act (904/1998) Finnish Library Policy Programme Finnish Library Strategy 2010 63 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ENGINEERING VILLAGE 2 (INCLUDING COMPENDEX, INSPEC AND E-BOOKS): A PLATFORM DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR ENGINEERS Sandra Grijzenhout-Möller Product Sales Manager Engineering & Chemistry, Elsevier Science The Netherlands /General outline/ Engineering Village 2 (www.engineeringvillage2.org) is a platform that has been designed specifically for engineers, engineering students, researchers and information professionals. You can search and browse • • • • • Compendex going back as far as 1884 Inspec including the Inspec archive going back to 1896 NTIS database Referex Engineering, a broad collection of more than 300 e-books ENGnetBASE, an e-book collection from CRC Press in the field of engineering Other CRCnetBASE collections: NANOnetBASE, MATERIALnetBASE and CHEMnetBASE including the latest edition of the Handbook of Chemistry & Physics. 64 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ PREPARING FOR NEW AND CHANGING ROLES IN RESEARCH LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION SERVICES Gitte Larsen Head of the Department of Continuing Education and Consultancy Royal School of Library and Information Science Denmark Introduction: The hybrid library, as it is developing today, combines the physical library and the netbased. The physical library means the classical library: the collections, the study place for students and researchers, where the staff is taking care of collection development and management, and serve the users with all kind of materials and reference and enquiry services. An increasing amount of efforts and resources are, however, being spent on the provision of access to electronic resources and services and today’s challenges are content management, creation of institutional repositories, copyright negotiations, licence agreements and digital rights management. Qualified guesses from directors of Danish research libraries are, that 50-65 % of total staff resources goes into net-based activities. Library staff is heavily involved in projects on developing e-services, creation of subject portals and gateways, and to customise access to e-resources to the individual faculty, the individual researcher and student. But how does the electronic library materials influence on library loans and usage? Library statistics from Danish research libraries from 2003 shows that 62% of library loans are ‘down-loans’ (print -outs of e-journal articles) and it is estimated that the use of electronic resources in Denmark’s Electronic Research Library (DEFF) will increase by 25% per year during the next couple of years. How might this influence on performance planning of the entire staff? What are the emerging roles of research libraries and librarians and what education & training needs emerge from those new roles? Research libraries are close connected to their mother educational institutions. In the Nordic countries, universities are facing a lot of challenges: the population of students are changing (from elite to mass education), knowledge production in new forms (i.e. Open Archives); the demands for life long learning; globalisation. These changes impact the role of libraries to be an active player in knowledge production. Libraries have to create interfaces to the global knowledge system, tailored to the individual university; the task is to import knowledge, make knowledge available and provide information sources for the individual. 65 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Core skills of librarians are still relevant – if not more relevant – in electronic information provision. These core skills include information handling, training and facilitating, evaluation and customer service. Core skills as cataloguing, classification (knowledge organisation), information retrieval, reference work and user education are fully applicable in an electronic context and all have a place in facilitating the effective use of the Internet changing information environment. It is expected that library staff are capable in offering high quality services to the users, who are visiting the physical library. Likewise, it is expected that they have the sufficient knowledge and skills needed for developing and maintaining electronic services and for making available relevant services and facilities demanded by the web-user. Collection development is as important as previous, but in this context, new and revised strategies for e-resources acquisition have to be set up in the individual library, matching the user’s needs and expectations. Libraries have to join consortia and other “buying clubs” and skills in contract negations is emerging. Emerging skills in the electronic information environment are communication, negotiation and collaboration. Collaboration on ‘Ask a Librarian’ virtual reference services, such as the Danish ‘Biblioteksvagten’ (with participation from 35 public libraries and 13 academic libraries working in turns) have demonstrated that ability to cooperate virtually across institutions and the ability of accumulate experiences and knowledge sharing are important personal skills. Marketing, branding and communication skills have been key competencies amongst library staff in the physical library. Serving remote library users calls, however, for additional competencies in using suitable techniques for meeting the user in the electronic environment, such as direct marketing, SMS communication, writing to the Web and Web-design. In order to meet the needs and expectations from the remote library user, knowledge of measuring and evaluation of the use of electronic services (usability tests) is important. Do we know who the users really are? – Do we know, what they expect and whether they are satisfied with the services provided from the library or not? A recent usability study carried out in 11 Danish research libraries showed that the content of the web-sites consisted of a lot of information not demanded by the users. Most remote users used Google for information retrieval as their first choice – not the OPAC of the library. Buying access to e-journals is very expensive. A key issue in collection management for research libraries is therefore to monitor if the budget for e-resources is spent cost- 66 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ effectively. Use statistics and performance management for electronic journals are some of the highly relevant issues library staff is facing right now. It is a challenge to the staff to match particular needs and demands of different user groups and to library management staff to ensure that the competencies and skills in the organisation are able to match the needs of the user – wherever he might be located. Development of knowledge, skills and attitudes – 3 competencies of equal importance Competencies are in this context defined as the combined knowledge and experience that makes the individual able and willing to take the right decisions in the daily working environment. This definition is important, because it emphasises, that competencies are not equal to professional formal qualifications only. In the Royal School of Library and Information Science, we annually offer a selection of app. 200 different training courses and seminars for all kind of library staff in addition to formal continuing education, such as our Master Programme in Library and Information Science. In order to stimulate new skills and competencies, I take 6 different approaches into account when deciding what type of topics we want to cover. These are: • • • • • • New knowledge – with the emphasis on theories and methods New practical skills (qualifications and personal skills) Updating practical skills New inspiration “Hot topics” – orientation on ongoing policy and legal issues Development of the organisation o the individual staff member o the team / the unit o the management level o the entire organisation On new recruitments, library directors want staff with a good (and broad) educational background, combined with strong personal and social competencies. What does these demands indicate and how will they influence on existing staff and recruiting policy? New recruitments: Competencies: Knowledge – skills and attitudes A recent study amongst 53 US library directors of academic libraries provides us with an interesting profile for recruitment of new staff for the libraries at the entrance to the 21st. century (Bridges, 2003). 67 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ When expressing wishes to educational background it is interesting to note that they are demanding a solid broad education – not a specific one. Personal skills and attitudes as expressed in the figure below were considered more important than professional qualifications. Knowledge Skills • • • • • • • A solid broad education Knowledge of technology “Ability to tell the difference between new technology and necessary technology” • • • • Attitudes Customer service skills Teaching skills Creativity Ability to market library services Interpersonal ability Drive to learn Communication skills Ability to think conceptually • • • • • • • • • • Intellectual curiosity Risk taking Sense of humour Optimism & enthusiasm Flexibility Confidence Empathy Patience Assertiveness Tolerance for change Similar recruitment profiles are demanded from the director of Copenhagen Business School Library in an interview in the Spring 2005. According to him, the new profile of his staff will focus on personal skills, such as ability to advice, to structure, to communicate, to teach and to marketing library services. The distinction between knowledge, skills and attitudes could be illustrated by an example from a workshop organised by the IFLA Section on Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning (CPDWL) held in Buenos Aires august 2004 on skills for Information Literacy Instruction. The participants in this workshops identified at least 35 different skills and techniques, which they considered relevant for the library staff involved in information literacy training (no priority order). It might seem overwhelming for those librarians, who are going to teach next week to meet all these suggested competencies. In the following I have tried to use the 3 categories to classify all the suggestions from the workshop – by this exercise it became obvious to me what needs formal continuing education actions and what new skills and attitudes can be acquired by training courses and in-house training. The needs for knowledge as a backbone for information literacy training expressed in the workshop show that librarians in this context are working on new ground and want competencies in topics, which are traditionally a part of school teachers curricula. Knowledge included foundations in areas such as:Philosophy of teaching; Information literacy concepts; Teaching styles and learning styles; Learner-centred teaching; Principles (Active Learning, Case study methods, Collaborative learning, Peer 68 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ critique and feedback, Problem-based learning); Evaluation (formative and summative methods). (New competencies by participation in formal continuing education, such as Master Programmes in Learning and Teaching) Skills included practical areas such as: Planning the instruction (Goals and objectives Lesson plan and outlines); Presentation skills; Asking and answering questions; Managing the time; Discussion management; Starting the session- Handling questions. Tools: Handouts – Presentation software – Web pages – Learning management systems, etc.) Evaluation: Evaluating your teaching, Assessing student learning, Evaluating a program. (New competencies by participation in courses, professional interest groups, learning-bydoing) Personal Skills and Social Competencies are a combination of skills, which can easily be obtained by training courses, and skills and attitudes that are more linked to individual personality. These include: Potential partners (getting in contact – agree on collaboration); Connecting with students; Voice and body language; Creating a learning environment; Resolving difficult situations. (New competencies by participation in courses, professional interest groups, learning-by doing): Development of new skills and competencies in local institutions There are still some important aspects to ponder. How to maintain competencies that have been acquired maybe long time ago? How do we add new competencies at the speed demanded by the user’s preferences and behaviour? Library managers have to be forward looking and concentrate actively on competence development. It is not enough to dispatch the staff to yet another continuing education course or a conference. In order to make a successful staff performance planning, it is necessary to start with an analysis of future tasks and roles of the research library and go through the four steps outlined in the figure below. 69 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Skills identification, performance planning Analysis of future tasks and roles Identification of existing competencies Priority of new tasks Development of new competencie s Time horizon should be: roles and tasks 3 years from now Suggested for external activities • • • • • • • • Participation in projects across institutions/ across sectors Participation in professional networks /interest groups Participation in formal continuing education programmes Participation in external training courses Participation in conferences and seminars Study visits Job exchange Establishment of new formal partnerships Suggested in-house activities • • • • • • • • • In-house training / instruction by colleagues Knowledge exchange with colleagues Action learning / learning by doing Job rotation Reading Testing new products / services Mentoring programmes Benchmarking Trial and errors 70 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • Good management Good management Resources needed When planning for new skills and competencies it is necessary to take into account that sufficient resources should be made available in the institution. Participation in formal continuing education programmes, training courses and professional conferences requires separate budget allocations. Participation in external networks for knowledge exchange and conducting projects with colleagues from other libraries and across sectors seems to be very valuable for developing new competencies. Well-known in-house initiatives as listed above will also be usual for achieving new skills. In the Section of the IFLA on Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning there is an ongoing work on developing a set of recommended guidelines for continuing education. In this context we have been discussing the difficult issue: “What is the minimum of resources needed for continuing education?” It is probably not possible to give an ultimate answer to this question. I have asked a sample of Danish research library directors on their average resource allocation for continuing education and training. On this basis, I recommend the following figures: 10% of staff’s working hours as a minimum for training and professional development (external + internal activities). In terms of budget, 25 -30 % of the total budget should as a minimum be allocated for the development of new services. 71 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Suggestions for further reading Ashcroft, Linda: Developing competencies, critical analysis and personal transferable skills in future information professionals. In: Library Review, 2004 (53) no.2, pp. 82-88 Bridges, Karl (Ed): Expectations of librarians in the 21st century. Greenwood, 2003. Farmer, Jane and Fiona Campbell: Identifing the transferable skills of information professionals through mentoring. In: Education for information. 1998 (16) pp.95-106. Haglund, Lotta: Mentoring as tool for staff development. In: Health Information and Libraries Journal. 2004 (21) pp.61-65. Smith, Ian: Continuing professional development and workplace learning 8: human resource development – the return on the investment. In: Library Management. 2004, (25) no.4, pp.232-34 Staffing the hybrid library. Bertelsmann report [Online] www.public-libries.net Taylor, Valerie: Mentoring: A key resource to develop professional and personal competencies. In: Information Outlook, 1999. p.88. 72 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ QUALITY PORTALS TO KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURE DEVELOPING COLLECTIONS AND SERVICES OF HYBRID LIBRARIES Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen Counsellor for Library Affairs of the Ministry of Education of Finland The Finnish library network is extensive and the services of the public libraries are very diligently used - 21 loans per inhabitant in 2004 make 109,7 million loans per year for a population of 5 million people, that is 1,24 % more than in 2003. Lending of books increased with 413 000 loans, 0,50 %, lending of other materials with 3,17 %. About 66 million library visits make 13 visits per inhabitant and year, 1,21 % more visits than in 2003. The www-visits have increased with 18,50 % at the same time, that is six and a half million more visits than in 2003, 41,5 million virtual visits during 2004. The hallmarks of the multiservice or hybrid library is not only related to collections available in electronical as well as in printed form, but just as much to the developing of both virtual and traditional services. Actually, in Finland, the virtual services don’t seem to bring down the demand for material collections and face-to-face services. Todays’ library users can easily localize interesting material on the web - however, books and other items have to be picked from the shelves, registrered and packed and posted or transported from one library to another. One third of public library costs relate to logistics according to a report carried out by the Ministry of Transports and Communications and the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2004. Locistics, including the use of RFID (radio frequency identification), total automatisation of certain processes like handling CD:s and the development of transport systems between networking libraries have become main issues. Other main issues in the age of the multiservice libraries are the promoting of comprehensive literacy as well as media or digital literacy. Reading promotion, traditional authors´ visits and book talks in libraries and schools as well as web sites, sometimes interactive, about books, reading, authors - and book talks - are strongly on the agenda. Teaching information retrieval to school classes, students and other groups of adults are other traditional library services performed now in a new way, using computers and information technology, presenting data bases besides the book shelves. However technically advanced the library services are there is still, actually more and more so, the essential, the contents in focus; language, the importance of understanding concepts and deeper meanings, of being able to combine and compare with a mediacritical attitude. And there is more to it than being able to use different sources of information and being aware of variations in reliability and validity. Other civic skills, part of needed social equity, are learning to communicate by various channels, 73 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ networking and developing skills to use the net for one’s own purposes and for producing one’s own material on the net. In the vision of the Finnish Library Strategy there is a well-functioning national library network with adequate technical infrastructure, fast telecommunications and efficient systems and services. Offering access to a wide range of culture and quality information retrieval as a matter of course also includes offering access and guidance in communicating with municipal and state authorities and using the virtual channels developed for this purpose. Currently libraries can apply for terminals, connections and training related to this as part of the national knowledge society program. Centralized services Licensing negotiating services for public libraries are purchased by the Ministry of Education from FinElib, the National Electronic Library. The use of the National library catalogues, including now also copy cataloguing, is bought from the National library. The prospective national portal encompasses the whole range of library and information services. The House of Knowledge was initiated already in 1995, today it is libraries.fi with four full-time editors for producing and coordinating web services for public libraries and their users, tomorrow it will be part of the national portal, Citizens´ portal of knowledge. Regional cooperation More than 85 % of the public libraries belong to some regional network with common computer systems and home sites and joint catalogues on the web, common lending cards and an increasing number of inter-library loans between the libraries in the network. Regional portals offer cooperation with other doers in the fields of education and culture, strengthening the identity of the regions. Extensive regional virtual libraries include public libraries and libraries at universities and polytechnics, sometimes also museums´ collections. There are targeted services for students, elderly people and children and adolescents made in regional library cooperation. Local library work Libraries cooperate with other municipal services, with schools and kindergartens, and add visuality and widen the field of information on their home sites in cooperation with local museums, archives and other cultural institutions or organisations - even tourism can sometimes be included. Smaller libraries often struggle with limited resources, with recruiting competent staff. Expectations are high though, everywhere, users of the knowledge society are well educated and demanding. Local libraries are important cultural meeting places, often the only ones in the community. 74 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting new challenges State grants, 1,5 million euros, are annually distributed for producing centralized services and for regional and local projects. This year many libraries applied for grants for working with definitions of currently needed librarian expert knowledge - 2005 is the year of expert knowledge in Finland so this is quite appropriate - and for regional inservice training. There are many projects concerning cooperation with educational institutions, including pedagogical training for librarians and information retrieval training for teachers and students as well as library-produced training material on the web. Regional portals are extended and targeted services for children and young people are developed in regional cooperation. Information to library users about reserved books now ready to be collected at the library is given by e-mail and SMS, and customers can use their mobile phones to have a look at library catalogues. Even the National Library offers access to national library catalogues by making a mobile phone call. Digi-tv opens up new possibilities. All this is part of an extended accessibility, just as more diverse virtual library services and full-text material (licenses permitting) made available also from the home computer. Centrally produced services level off the varying standard of services and collections in different parts of the country, acquisitions budgets, for instance, vary from two to fourteen euros per capita in Finnish municipalities. Developing versatile virtual library services certainly also offer solutions to part of the accessibility questions connected with physical handicaps or old age. With new generations of "computerized" people retiring in the future most of the digital divide between generations is certainly going to be bridged in our part of the world. There are other challenges to rise to. The possibilities of developing individualized virtual services are tremendous and only a small part of the sources of information and knowledge are public domain - is there a limit for library services free of charge? Currently there is much talk about consolidation of municipalities for larger service areas. Is this really the solution to the so called zip code lottery, the service level and quality of services depending so much on domicile? Access to information and knowledge is crucial in a democratic society. What kind of information and knowledge would be so essential for a good life, so important for national identity in terms of cultural heritage, so constitutive for citizen skills and democratic rights that it should be offered to all and paid for, partly or totally, by the state or the municipalities? And, some 93 % of newly produced information being born digital - are citizens really ready for this, are they in possession of the necessary means and the needed skills? Are libraries ready? 75 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ USAGE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION IN LITHUANIAN LIBRARIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY Emilija Banionytė Director of Vilnius Pedagogical University Library Vice-President of the Lithuanian Librariens’ Association Aušra Vaškevičienė Head of the Department of Electronic Information of the Information Centre of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Head of Administration of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium The paper provides information on the usage of electronic databases in Lithuanian research and public libraries. The data collected from the libraries in 2005 is compared with the data collected in 2001. Provides statistical data. Background and goal Four years ago, at the III Nordic – Baltic Meeting of Librarians held in Tallinn, a first study on the usage of electronic documents in Lithuanian libraries was presented [1]. Since then the situation has radically changed; therefore we decided to provide you with the up-dated information. The most important change started with the establishment of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium (www.lmba.lt) which was found in December, 2001. At present there are 31 members, including national, academic, significant state, county public and research institute’s libraries. The main objectives of the Consortium are: promoting of the creation of virtual libraries, preparation and implementation of advanced technology and innovative projects in the libraries; subscription to electronic databases for Consortium members and other libraries [2]. Although few big research libraries also started delivering services as Consortium – they are subscribing to databases for themselves and other libraries as well – none of them are legally registrated as the consortium nor is this their main activity: o Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania acts as the consortium (or administrator) for public libraries for subscription to two Lithuanian databases: LITLEX and ELTA. Both subscriptions are fully funded by the Ministry of Culture. o Kaunas University of Technology acts as consortium for six academic libraries getting access to IEEE Xplore database. The subscription if fully funded by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation. o Ministry of Education and Science continues subscription to ISI Web of Science for two biggest universities: Vilnius University and Kaunas University of Technology. The subscription is fully funded by the ministry. 76 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ o Three libraries are subscribing to law information (databases WestLaw and HeinOnLine) via the Consortium of Legal Resource Centers and Legal Information Specialists which has its headquarters in Latvia. This paper will not cover compilation of databases, as all academic, significant state and public libraries are using sophisticated software and compile their catalogues and local databases. Two big library automation projects are still running in Lithuania: LIBIS (Lithuanian Integrated Library Information System) for the national and all public libraries and LABT (Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network) for all academic libraries. In 2005 we can state, that all significant state, all academic (including colleges and research institutes) and all public libraries are using library automation system. In 2004 the Ministry of Education and Science had finally chosen unified software for school libraries, but the system is not running in all schools yet. School and college libraries will not be covered in this paper. Questionnaire The aim of the questionnaire was to get information about the usage on subscribed online databases in Lithuanian libraries. The questionnaire was very simple – only 10 questions to be answered. The data was collected in February – March, 2005, exactly four years later the previous questionnaire. It was sent to all 31 members of the LMBA Consortium and all 60 public libraries. Altogether to 91 libraries. We have received 29 answers (93,55%) from LMBA members and 20 from the public libraries (33,33%). The paper is based on these answers and on the data available for the LMBA Consortium. While in the study of 2001 we tried to overview how libraries are equipped with tolls to use electronic information, this was not necessary in 2005, as all libraries (with the exception of the village branches of public libraries that are not covered in this paper) have and use PCs both for their everyday work and to serve their readers. All use internet. While in 2001 only 40% of public libraries were able to offer PCs connected to the internet for their readers, all academic libraries enjoyed internet services. The situation today is different – due to several governmental and private initiatives (worth mentioning “Langas į ateitį” www.langasiateiti.lt ) even all public libraries (except all the branches in villages) are offering internet services for their readers. Start of delivering Internet services for the users and the first on-line database subscribed According to the collected data most research libraries introduced internet services for their readers in 1995, although two libraries started offering internet in 1992 and 1994. Three internet reading-rooms were opened in most advanced public libraries in 1998. The greatest jump in introducing internet services in research libraries was in 1996 -1997, while in public libraries – in 2001 – 2002 (see figure 1). Few research libraries started ordering databases on CD-ROMs in 1991-1992. The greatest expansion in usage of on-line databases started with EBSCO Publishing in 1999 when this database was offered by the Open Society Fund-Lithuania. For public libraries 77 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ the first widely used on-line database was Bibliographic database of Lithuanian articles, which was offered for the market by the National Library in 2000. A. LMBA libraries 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Internet services The first on-line database offered B. Public libraries 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Internet services The first on-line database offered 78 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 1: When libraries started offering internet services and on-line databases for their users: A – in the LMBA libraries; B – in the public libraries. Subscription to on-line databases Libraries were asked to list the subscribed databases in the questionnaire. It turned out that public libraries are mainly subscribing to Lithuanian databases, only few subscribe to EBSCO Publishing, Integrum and Oxford Reference Online. The most advanced public libraries are: Šiauliai City Municipality Public Library which is subscribing to greatest amount of databases – 7 altogether, and Utena A. and M. Miškiniai Public Library which is subscribing to 6 databases. All the rest enjoy the subscription to 2-4 databases. In average public libraries are subscribing to 3, 4 databases (data from the questionnaire). We know that this figure should be smaller if all libraries would have answered to the questionnaire. The situation is very much different in research libraries. Only 3 members of the LMBA Consortium are not subscribing to a single database. Five research and academic libraries are offering over 10 databases for their readers. In average the research library is subscribing to 5, 7 database. 27 research libraries answered that they are subscribing to databases via the LMBA consortium, 6 – via Kaunas University of Technology, 5 – via Lithuanian National Library, 2 – via the Ministry of Education and Science, 3 – via the Consortium of Legal Resource Centers and Legal Information Specialists, 4 – via other consortiums. All 60 public libraries are getting access to LITLEX and ELTA databases via the National library, 8 of them are subscribing to various databases via the LMBA consortium. 54% research libraries and 50% public libraries are subscribing to databases directly from the publishers. Even 94% of them (97% research and 94% public libraries) would prefer to do this via consortium. User training It is very important for librarians themselves to know how to use databases and to be able to teach the users. This is not simple. Therefore the LMBA consortium provided a set of trainings called “How to Search in Data Bases: Train the Trainer” in 5 biggest cities: Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, and Panevėžys. These trainings were provided using the grant from the Open Society Institute in Budapest and had great effect on further user training. 42 participants of the trainings provided 80 trainings themselves, so training 1117 users. According to the questionnaire 89,7% of research libraries and 65% of public libraries provide regular trainings for their readers. After such trainings the number of users is growing immediately. 79 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Although the situation is getting better with each year, quite a lot of students studying by correspondence (usually these are older people) have no or very poor knowledge how to use PC. Some elder teachers also face the same problem. Public libraries are complaining about poor knowledge of librarians how to use databases, therefore train-the-trainer courses are very much needed for librarians. Most readers of the public libraries are more used to printed information, therefore they express little interest to databases. Problems We have asked libraries to list problems they face while subscribing to databases and using them. No wonder the greatest problem is lack of money – 43% of all the libraries face this problem, 29% have language problems, 7% still miss equipment for the use of electronic information (see figure 2). A. LMBA libraries 6% 2% 10% Budget - 41% 41% 5% Qalification - 15% Language - 21% No interest - 5% Technical - 10% Not needed - 2% Other - 6% 21% 15% 80 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ B. Public libraries 3% 3% 3% 3% Budget - 44% Qalification - 2% 44% Language - 42% No interest - 3% Technical - 3% Not needed - 3% 42% Other - 3% 2% Figure 2: Problems the libraries are facing in subscribing to and using databases: A – in the LMBA libraries; B – in the public libraries. Most users of the public libraries prefer to find information very quickly. As only students know how to search databases, the librarians must help the others. Most specialists working in the province can not find information themselves. If the library has a good information specialist, the users are lucky. Not all public libraries have such specialists. Most users in the province are not interested in new technologies, they do not want to learn. This situation can be proved not only by our questionnaire, but also by the sociological research which was recently conducted under the request of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. According to this research one third of inhabitants of Lithuania do not read books [3]. Even research libraries are complaining about language problems (both for staff and users), PC literacy among elder students and teachers. These problems cause psychological problems when some people can not find information in the electronic catalogue, not to talk about foreign databases. Special libraries (medical, agricultural) are complaining about low availability of specialised databases. They would like to subscribe to specialised databases via the consortium using governmental funds allotted for databases, while the consortium is more concentrated towards general databases. The users do not like bibliographic databases, they demand full text immediately. Only few use interlibrary loan or electronic document delivery. The main reason – this service is fee based. 81 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Most users are asking for remote access to databases, but only few database providers are offering this luxury. The users do not understand why they can use EBSCO Publishing and Oxford Reference Online from home, while can not use other database the same way. Some libraries are complaining about complicated tender procedures that are very bureaucratic, big publishers do not care about these requirements and do not bother themselves answering needed questions. Smaller academic libraries are complaining about shortage of staff for work with databases. Who is paying? As one can notice, money is the biggest problem to get a desired database. No surprise – since Lithuania joined the EU in May 1, 2004 – all publishers changed their pricing policy towards our country. Our biggest advantage is participation in the eIFL project (www.eifl.net) that brings us not only lower prices and better licensing conditions, but know-how knowledge as well as networking with other countries. Open Society Fund-Lithuania (www.osf.lt), the first promoter of on-line databases for libraries paid a great role in persuading the Ministry of Culture to allot special funds for the electronic resources. Therefore this ministry was the first governmental agency which started partially funding subscription to EBSCO Publishing since 2001. The Ministry of Education and Science started allotting special funds for database subscription since 2003. Although the amounts are growing with each year, the research community is not satisfied with the information they have access to. From the very beginning libraries decided that the funds must be used only as partial payment for foreign on-line databases. This is because libraries feel bigger responsibility when they share the cost themselves. The exception was done for two Lithuanian databases for the public libraries – the Ministry of Culture fully paid access to LITLEX and ELTA to all public libraries in 2005. Another exception – ISI Web of Science. The Ministry of Education and Science is paying for the subscription to this database for two Universities since 2001. Since 2003 the British Council is sponsoring subscription to Cambridge Journals Online. 2001 Ministry of Culture Ministry of Education and Science 60 000 0 2002 60 000 0 2003 2004 80 000 400 000 87 059 465 000 2005 (planned) 201 000 630 000 Table 2. Special governmental funds for database subscription (in Lithuanian Litas). 1 EURO = 3,4528 Lithuanian Litas. Summary and the future 82 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ As the LMBA Consortium is subscribing to databases not only for research libraries, but for public libraries as well, we can give some observations. Research libraries are much more active users of electronic information. This is because of their users need. But not only. The activity and qualification of librarians is also important. Most libraries do not imagine their lives without on-line databases. Users are getting used to this service not only in research libraries, but in public libraries as well. Although the amount of databases subscribed by libraries is growing each year, user needs – the ones that do read - are growing faster. In order to satisfy these needs libraries will need more databases. This means more money, more work, more training, etc. As all the databases use different interface and different search mechanism, it is complicated both for the users and librarians to get to know all of them. Therefore libraries started looking for one gateway to all e-resources they are subscribing to. Academic libraries have chosen exLibris product Metalib with SFX, while the significant state and public libraries are still exploring the market. The fact that few big research libraries started delivering services as Consortium and variety of library interests showed that one consortium is not enough. The same library might be subscribing to on-line databases through several consortiums. Therefore in four coming years – or even sooner - you might hear about the new ones. References 1. Usage of Electronic Documents in Lithuanian Libraries / Emilija Banionytė and Elena Macevičiūtė // Libraries in Knowledge Based Society : Proceedings of the 3rd Nordic - Baltic Library Meeting October 25-26, 2001 Tallinn, Estonia / Estonian Librarians Association.- Tallinn, 2001. - p.244-249. 2. Statute of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium. Last updated: 19 February 2004. Cited 12-03-2005. On the Internet: [http://www.lmba.lt/apie/angl/eistatai1.htm] 3. Skaitymo mastas, kryptingumas ir poreikiai: Sociologinio tyrimo ataskaita. Last updated: 08 March 2005. Cited 19-03-2005. On the Internet [http://www3.lrs.lt/ pls/inter/w3_viewer.ViewDoc?p_int_tekst_id=40096&p_int_tv_id=440&p_org=0] 83 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ STRATEGIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOSP IN NORDIC AND BALTIC LIBRARIES Arne Gauslå Senior Librarian of the National Library of Norway National Union Catalogue/NOSP A formidable increase in free searches and an encouraging increase in paid orders seem to suggest, that NOSP still has a future. Since the agreement with NORDINFO stipulates, that NOSP should be financed by income on its use, and the present use does not generate enough income to cover the cost of running NOSP, it is urgent to find new strategies for the financing and expediency of its services. Such strategies may include sharing costs on a Nordic basis with a view to free ordering, or changing the price policy; faster copy delivery, free dispatch of copies and loans between the Nordic countries. For the moment 1309 Nordic and Baltic libraries are more or less regularly contributing reports of their holdings to the NOSP database through the National NOSP centres. After a few years of decrease in the use of NOSP, the year 2004 showed a formidable increase in searches in the NOSP database, a staggering 124,9 %, and paid orders increased by 22,2 %, from 2003. At the same time the number of paying subscribers to the ordering service NOSP-on-Web decreased from 386 to 341, 7,2 %. (For further statistics, see Appendix 1) These numbers strengthens our belief, that NOSP still may have a future. At least it shows, that those still subscribing to the NOSP-on-Web ordering facility use it more. Could it be, that the gap between the increase in free searches and the increase in paid orders suggest, that libraries are performing the free searches in NOSP, and then order the article copies in Subito? What strategies could be taken to cope with that? LOOKING BACK When Norway took over the NOSP Centre in 1992, the agreement with the now closeddown NORDINFO (Nordic Council for Scientific Information) stated that the costs of running the NOSP centre should be covered by the income from the sales of the product. The agreement further acknowledged the participating partners a right to receive machine-readable NOSP-data free of charge for "national purposes". Since searches now are free, and NOSP was to be financed through paid use of it, the financial situation is considerably weakened, as there are now some fewer subscribers to the ordering facility than previously. Prior to 1992 the partners had to pay for this data and the payment represented a third of the total costs of running the NOSP database. At present Denmark (Danbib) and Sweden (Libris) include the NOSP holdings information in their services thus making it less 84 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ interesting for Danish and Swedish libraries to subscribe to NOSP on Web. During the discussions held at the Lysebu seminar in Oslo 1998, Denmark, and to some extent Sweden, expressed willingness to pay for the edited data. Hence, the new NOSP contract that was signed by all participating countries in 2000/2001 states: “The Participants have the right to receive edited data from the National Library of Norway in machine readable form. The price may be subject to negotiation between the two parties.” As appendix 2 to this paper is an evaluation of the use of NOSP, conducted as a survey among NOSP libraries in 2002 that concluded with a problem of delivery time and finance. Based on the result of this survey the meeting of NORON (a forum of Nordic Directors General of State Library Authorities and National Librarians) in January 2003 decided to grant an annual contribution of EUR 17.500 toward the cost of running NOSP for the years 2003 and 2004. This was to be shared between the Nordic countries according to a key set up by the Nordic Council of Ministers, based on the Gross National Product: Denmark 23,8 %, Finland 17,7%, Iceland 1,1%, Norway 23,4% and Sweden 34,2%. We are happy, that from 2000/2001 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Faeroe Islands joined the cooperation and the name was changed to Nordic/Baltic Union Catalogue of Serials. We have appreciated very much their faithful and regular contributions to NOSP. Because of the economic situation, the Baltic countries have so far not been included in the proposed payment to NOSP, although their shares would have been quite small. Since the number of libraries subscribing to the NOSP-on-Web ordering facility is decreasing, the management of NOSP has created a deficit for the National Library of Norway. This means, that we actually sponsor NOSP from 2005, beyond our share. BIBLIOGRAPHIC QUALITY NOSP was the first union catalogue, which used bibliographical data from the Paris ISSN International Centre as the primary source for the bibliographical records. When verified bibliographic data is not found in the ISSN database, they are taken from New Serials Titles (-1970) and Ulrich list of serials (1970-74). About 180.000 serials have ISSN. For the about 230.000 serials without ISSN, the national union catalogues or the national bibliographies of the Nordic and Baltic countries are used to verify bibliographical records. The selection, preparation and extension of records in NOSP are the responsibility of the national union catalogues or national bibliographies in each country. All of this guarantees a high bibliographical quality of the NOSP products. NOSP covers references to approx 410.000 serials in 1.309 libraries in the Nordic and the Baltic countries. With a few exceptions due to technical problems, new and revised holdings data are received four times a year from the nine cooperating countries and merged into the database. When false, missing or cancelled ISSN are discovered, these data are sent to 85 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ISSN Paris, which, in their turn may alert the responsible ISSN centres in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Thus, NOSP is also a valuable source for the work at the ISSN Paris. NOSP is the only database listing and maintaining the combined holdings of serials in the libraries of the Nordic and Baltic countries, and might as well be used as a budget support to each library, if the number of subscriptions in a library has to be reduced. FUTURE STRATEGIES Since the last edition of the NOSP Directory to Nordic and Baltic libraries balanced on the verge of a financial deficit, we conducted a survey of more than 400 Nordic libraries in March this year, asking whether the NOSP Directory should be continued. 85% of the respondents answered “No”. So this publication will be discontinued. The 2002 survey revealed that “NOSP is a much appreciated service, but the present level of subscriptions to NOSP-on-Web does not generate enough income. New sources of income must be found, and soon.” We are planning to evaluate all the Norwegian union catalogues during 2005, including whether to continue or close down NOSP. During 2004, a Government-initiated total reorganisation of the National Library of Norway, led to all vacant positions’ being frozen. Unfortunately, the NOSP manager retired in December 2003. This, together with the insecure future of NOSP, has left the position of the NOSP manager vacant for more than a year. Only the technical side of NOSP, the merging of the incoming data, has been taken care of. If this is to be changed, we depend largely on finding a viable strategy for managing NOSP in the future. Ideally, searches and ordering should be free for unlimited use for all. Some possible first measure strategies for the survival of NOSP could be: By permanently sharing the cost between the participating countries’ National libraries by percentage, based on each country’s gross national product, we could either: • • Close down the present article copy ordering facility and export the NOSP-data for free national use to all participating countries, or Make the use of the present article copy ordering facility free for all libraries. If external financing is not, or only partially granted, we could also change the price policy of the subscription, hoping that a lowered initial subscription cost would incite more libraries to subscribe. If NOSP is going to cope with Subito’s reliability and short delivery time, it would be equally important to reduce the delivery time. If a larger number of the big libraries would oblige themselves to NORKVIK1, we might be a long way towards that goal. This agreement obligates the participating libraries to respond to article copy orders within 24 hours. At present only 14 Nordic libraries participate in NORKVIK. Compared to NOSP’s 1309 participating libraries, there are only 267 NORFRI2 libraries in the Nordic countries. This agreement allows the participating libraries to send copies 86 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ and loans free of charge and postage between the Nordic countries, based on the idea that the cost of exchanging loans will be equalized in the long run. Many more libraries could thus contribute to an overall reduction of the expenses of billing and money transfer. The National Library of Norway welcomes all interested colleagues to a seminar in a separate room for an informal brainstorming on strategies for the future of NOSP. APPENDIX 1: to Arne Gauslå’s paper on Strategies for development of NOSP in Nordic and Baltic Libraries: STATISTICS ON FREE SEARCHES AND PAID ORDERS IN NOSP, CONCLUDING THE YEARS 2000-2004 NOSP 2000 2001 % 2002 Free searches 583.888 288.018 70.363 41.166 -41,5 26.734 -35,1 360 397 +9,4 392 -1,3 Paid orders NoW subscr.3 Contributors4 -51,7 259.918 % ca. 900 ca. 1.000 ca.+10 2003 % 2004 % -9,8 214.176 -17,6 481.750 +124,9 1.2585 ca.+25 17.465 -34,8 21.349 +22,2 -1,6 341 - 7,2 1.294 +2,9 1.309 +1,1 386 FOOTNOTES 1 http://www.nrl.fi/nvbf/poul/ 2 http://inet.dpb.dpu.dk/nvbf/norfri.htm 3 Number of subscribers to NOSP-on-Web 4 Libraries contributing a report about their periodical holdings to NOSP via their national NOSP centres. 5 In 2002 about 250 Danish public libraries were added to the contributors to NOSP. 87 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ APPENDIX 2 to Arne Gauslå’s paper on Strategies for development of NOSP in Nordic/Baltic libraries: Nordic and Baltic Union Catalogue of Serials (NOSP) future services and organisation Draft report of Survey October 2002 Written by Siv Hunstad, Brodd 1. The assignment The National Library of Norway has asked Brodd to do a survey on the use of NOSP. Planning of future services and organisation will be based on the collected data. The study was initiated by NORON and financed by NORINFO. NORON is the forum for The Directors General of Research Documentation, Academic and Special Libraries and The National Librarians of the Nordic countries. Please note that within this report, when nothing else is stated, the term Nordic countries includes the following: Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. It was agreed to base the study on the following two surveys: a) Interviews with key players, selected from the NOSP partnership and from libraries involved in ILL services within the Nordic countries. b) A web based survey, inviting a broad range of Nordic libraries to come forward with their views on NOSP. This report is based on the findings of the two surveys. Information from the ISSN International Centre (Paris), the SVUC project (Nordic) and the SUNCAT project (UK) is also taken into account. A summary of statistics from the web survey is available in Appendix 1. Please note that comments the respondents have come forth with, will not be published, but have been a valuable source of information for this report. The reporting is focused on analysing the market for the NOSP service, including areas for improvements. 2. NOSP The Nordic/Baltic Union Catalogue of Serials (NOSP) contains references to serials available in Nordic countries. NOSP is based on a cooperation between national union catalogues and national libraries by merging data from The ISSN International Centre with location and holding information from the participating countries. 88 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Article copies may be requested from the holding libraries via the online ordering service. NOSP covers all subject areas. 3. Why a union catalogue The idea of a union catalogue for serials was first on the agenda in 1956. However, it took a number of years before NOSP was established as a tool for interlibrary lending. As a union catalogue, NOSP has focus on the following tasks: * * * Give easy access for libraries and library patrons to information on serial holdings in Nordic countries. Make available and increase the use of library holdings within the Nordic countries. Make available and increase the use of documents published within the Nordic countries. The only way of efficiently addressing these tasks has been through the gathering of records for titles and holdings from relevant sources into a common, physical database. Until very recently there has been no alternative solution. But now, the use of Z39.50 to establish joint access to relevant Nordic resources, must be addressed. This is discussed in chapter 5 "Technological issues". 4. The Findings Decrease in use Statistics on the use of the NOSP database shows a significant decrease in use. The survey shows the following major factors behind the observed decrease: 1. A great number of libraries prefer other sources than NOSP. This has nothing to do with the quality of NOSP or NOSP service. The problem is delivery time and fees charged by the libraries. Most Nordic libraries deliver too late and charge to high fees. Some libraries use NOSP for verification of serials titles, but order articles copies through other channels. 2. NOSP records are included in the DANBIB database and most Danish libraries use NOSP records through Danbib. Many Danish libraries know they are using NOSP records. 3. NOSP records are included in the Libris database and an increasing number of Swedish libraries use NOSP records through Libris. However, in Sweden the focus has been on Libris interlibrary lending. Few are aware of the availability of NOSP records in Libris. 4. More college libraries have joined the BIBSYS cooperative in Norway. Within the BIBSYS cooperative, there is a preference for BIBSYS interlibrary lending. 89 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Electronic serials and fulltext databases are as a general rule not registered in NOSP. Increased use of such resources will result in decreased use of NOSP. Such resources are often available through consortium agreements, limiting the availability of these resources to a given group of students and staff. 6. Increased use of the Internet as a primary source of information. Students, staff and all other library users, perform their own searches, at home, at work, in the library or anywhere else. All this taken into account, printed serials are still much in demand in libraries. The main reasons for not using NOSP are the delivery time and the charging policies for Nordic libraries. This issue must be addressed. Printed serials face heavy competion from their electronic counterparts, and also from other Internet based resources. This competion will increase as more serials are converted to continuing resources. NOSP quality The general impression is that the NOSP database is regarded as a high quality resource, appreciated by the Nordic libraries. Quality issues are not the cause of decreasing use. However, some areas for improvement have been identified. 1. More frequent updates of the NOSP database will improve quality. 2. Improved procedures for cooperation with the ISSN International Centre in Paris will improve quality both of the NOSP and the ISSN databases. This should include regular reporting of "ISSN request" to the ISSN Centre in Paris, when no ISSN match is found for serials normally expected to have an ISSN. 3. Inclusion of more bibliographic information on serials will improve quality. This should include linking of related titles. NOSP - pricing and economy Most libraries find NOSP prices reasonable. The problem are fees from the delivering libraries, not payment for NOSP services. There is one exception - public and school libraries seem to be more price sensitive. Income from subscriptions to NOSP products are supposed to cover the costs of running the NOSP Centre. The present level of subscriptions do not generate enough income. The National Library of Norway can not run the service for a long period of time without cost recovery. 5. Technological issues In the history of NOSP, technology and organisation have been the issues. In the present situation this is not the case. 90 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The choice of establishing the NOSP Centre as part of the National Library in Norway has been a happy one, and made it possible for the NOSP Centre to serve its users well, and also to improve products gradually. The present web solution with ordering facilities is easy to use for anybody interested. Concerning the use of Z39.50, there are three factors to be taken into account: a) Use of Z39.50 to give joint access to a large number of databases does not work well. The limit is 10-12 databases with the present day technology. Complexity of the searches might alter this limit up and down a bit, but on average the figure is 10-12, which means that Z39.50, from a technological point of view, might be used to join the national union catalogues to give joint access, like in the SVUC project. Clumping all single, Nordic libraries holding serials through Z39.50 is not feasible; again, with present technology. b) Bibliographic information has a complex structure. Given great acceptance for international standards, there still is plenty of room for differences in registration practices. This is particularly the case with serials. This is a problem to be faced with when gathering records into a union catalogue, which easily ends up with a duplication problem. Good algorithms for duplication control has to be found, bearing in mind that when facing the cardinal sin of deleting information that should not have been deleted, duplication is to be preferred. The problem is even greater when using Z39.50. It becomes a matter of recall and precision, basically a case for bibliographical control rather than a technological issue. Matthew J. Dovey has described this very accurately in: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/dovey/ c) Due to the lack of standards for holdings, the function "item order" is not available in most Z39.50 applications. You can find a serials title, but you can not put an order for an article. Conclusion: This is not the time to discharge of a well running web based NOSP service for a new and unproven Z39.50 solution. This being said - the possibilities the Z39.50 gives us, are promising. The Nordic library community, including NOSP, should put Z39.50 to use in projects, and gain experience. And we might make some good use of it for particular purposes. Both Sweden and The UK are now implementing the Marc21 format, a giant step forward. Widespread use of the Marc21 format, copy cataloguing, export and import of bibliographical and holding records, improved services from the ISSN Centres, improved standards for holdings and other activities will gradually give us better odds concerning bibliographical control. Z39.50 might be, or will be, the solution at a later stage. 91 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. The NOSP challenges 6.1 The Decrease in use 6.1.1 How to cover costs The interviews and survey show that NOSP is a much appreciated service, available through more than one channel. But the present level of subscriptions does not generate enough income. New sources of income must be found, and soon. Use of NOSP records through Danbib and Libris do not result in income for the NOSP Centre. The NOSP contract includes the following statement: - "§ 3.4 The Participant has the right to receive edited data from the NLN [= National Library of Norway] in machine readable form. The price will be subject to negotiation between the two parties. The data can not be sold or given to a third party without the written consent of the NLN." Contributions in the form of bulk payments for each country might be an alternative to the present subscription system. A combination of bulk payment and subscription might be considered. 6.1.2 The delivery time and fee problem. This is really a problem outside NOSP's scope. It is up to the library authorities and politicians, and the Nordic libraries themselves, to solve it. Subito is at present the most used source for ordering articles, and it is fast, reliable and cheap. Subito is a frontend organisation for a number of German libraries. The price of an article copy and the time span for delivery are set by the German politicians. It must have been quite a challenge for German libraries to meet these demands. German libraries were not known to be fast, or cheap, previously. It is not known if the German libraries manage to cover their costs, but this is an interesting question, indeed. In the Nordic countries, Norfri and Nordkvik are positive initiatives to overcome this speed/time problem. 6.1.3 The availability of electronic serials and fulltext databases. This is a copyright issue. Requires an initiative from the library authorities. More and more serials are converting to these forms. The ISSN organisation has great attention on what they call continuing resources. Iceland has managed to negotiate a common agreement for all libraries in the countries. But they are not allowed to deliver to libraries outside Iceland. Hopefully more countries can get such general agreements. "Permission granted for ILL transactions", at least within the Nordic countries, must be part of these consortium agreements. 92 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ These resources must be catalogued in a suitable way as part the library holdings and be available in NOSP. 6.1.4 Copies as file attachments or by fax This is a copyright issue. Requires an initiative from the library authorities. Subito normally forwards all copies as file attachments to an email. This is the case also when the original document is in paper form. Nordic libraries prefer this form of delivery. It is fast, reliable and easy to print out by the library for the library patron. There is some concern that Subito might not be within the boundaries of present European copyright law. Nordic libraries in general, adhering to common understanding of copyright law, do not deliver the same service. Though they would very much like to. From the library point of view the best thing would be if the file attachment from the delivering library could be passed on electronically to the library patron requesting the article. This procedure saves a lot of work and paper handling. And would be appreciated by the library patrons. But it is not acceptable from a copyright point of view. 6.2 Recommendations for quality improvements These are ideas for long term improvements. * The NOSP partners should investigate the possibility of more frequent updates, including the feasibility of some sort of replication between the national union catalogues and NOSP. The possibility of two-way replication might be considered to ensure consistency. * The NOSP partners should investigate the possibility of improving quality by closer cooperation with the international ISSN Centre and with the national Centres. The ISSN International Centre has a tender out for new software for the ISSN database, requesting among other things Z39.50 functionality. This new software might give new opportunities for smooth processing. Efficient workload distribution between The ISSN International Centre, national ISSN Centres and national libraries must be in focus. * More information available on serials. The Draft Invitation to Tender for the Provision of a National Serials Union Catalogue for the UK Education and Research Community includes in appendix 1: SUNCAT Statements of Requirements. The Tender documents is available at: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/pub02/suncat_tender.doc This document points out areas for improved bibliographical information. In the NOSP context this might be done by allowing Zsearches on demand against the national union catalogues where this is relevant, or CONSER in other cases. * * * * For detailed response statistics, see http://www.nb.no/nosp/Sluttrapport.pdf (English) 93 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHANGES IN LEGAL REGULATION AND STATE FUNDING OF ESTONIAN RESEARCH LIBRARIES Jüri Järs Director Tallinn University of Technology Library Estonia In this paper the changes in legal acts and regulations concerning the operation of Estonian research libraries are examined and an overview about the state funding of these libraries is given. The cooperation activities of research libraries in the fields of coordinated collections development and joint supply of electronic resources are also described. Legislation The core of Estonian research libraries is owned by six universities, which are bodies governed by public law. Until 2001 the roles, tasks and funding of these libraries at the national level were not regulated on the basis of and pursuant to procedure established by law. They were funded from the study budgets of the universities which were not sufficient for guaranteeing the supply of scientific information, but they were offering public services free of charge for everybody. For the universities this funding is based on the state order of students for the corresponding academic year and besides teaching expenses it hardly covers the expenses for buying textbooks. Only the National Library of Estonia had the official regulation (National Library of Estonia Act, 1998), which specified its tasks as national, parliamentary and research library in the field of humanities and social sciences. Thanks to the study organised together by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research the development plan of Estonian libraries was compiled in 2000, which specified the objectives and the priorities together with strategy, actions and their specific goals. The necessary financial resources for funding the acquisition of research libraries were also calculated. This development plan and the activities of the chancellor of the Ministry of Culture initiated the cooperation between libraries and the Ministry of Education and Research in the field of legal regulation of the status of research libraries. As a result the Ministry of Education and Research introduced a draft legislation for changing Organisation of Research and Development Act. These changes were accepted by the Parliament in 2001 and a research library was defined as an institution or part of it which goal is: 94 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ - to guarantee the availability of scientific and technological information according to its acquisition profile at the national level; to promote research and development activities; to support life-long learning for all people in Estonia. An archival library was specified as an institution or part of it which main goal is the permanent preservation of information carriers as national cultural heritage. By the Act the Ministry of Education and Research has the commitment to coordinate the creation and updating of the common acquisition plan of research libraries and to arrange the funding of research and archival libraries from the state budget. These changes of the Organisation of Research and Development Act entered into force since 2002. At the next step the requirements for a research and archival library and the conditions and rules for nominating them were specified by the regulation of the Ministry of Education and Research in 2002. By this regulation the requirements for a research library are as follows: - the main task (specified in statutes) is to collect, to process, to preserve and to make available the information supporting research and development activities; the destination group is research workers; public access to free of charge basic services; the availability of the system for selecting adequate information and the conditions for preserving and using it; the collections are developed at least in two subject areas from the following: natural sciences, technological sciences, medical sciences, agricultural sciences, social sciences, humanities. The requirements for an archival library are as follows: - - the main task (specified in statutes) is to collect, to process, to preserve permanently and to make available the information carriers about Estonia or containing information concerning Estonia, which are published in Estonian or in Estonia; the collections are open for research workers; the collections are formed according to the Legal Deposit Copy Act (1977) and by additional acquisition; the conditions for collections maintenance are in accordance with the Archival Rules (Governmental regulation, 1998). The requirements for both (research and archival libraries) are as follows: - - the collections are described and classified according to the international standards which are valid in Estonia; the library carries out research and development activities, publishes reports of its activities, is engaged in acquainting the research and development institutions and researchers, creates bibliographical databases; the collections are reflected in the common electronic catalogue of Estonian libraries. For getting nominated the owner of the library must submit an application with different appendices (the statutes, development plan, acquisition plan, annual report, financial 95 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ report, self-evaluation report etc). The applications will be evaluated and the proposals for nominating or refusing will be made by the special commission at the Ministry of Education and Research. The commission consists of the representatives of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Council of Research and Development, Board of the Rectors of public universities, Estonian Union of Scientists, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Education and Research. Officially the research and archival libraries will be nominated by the Government of Estonia at the proposal of the Minister of Education and Research for a five-year period. At present the nominated research libraries are: - Tartu University Library (2002) Tallinn Technical University Library (2002) Academic Library of Tallinn (Pedagogical) University (2002) Estonian Agricultural University Library (2004) In 2005 the commission proposed to nominate also the Library of Estonian Academy of Arts and the Library of Estonian Academy of Music, but they are not yet nominated by the Government. The nominated archival libraries are: - Archival Library of the Estonian Literary Museum (2002) Tartu University Library (2002) Academic Library of Tallinn (Pedagogical) University (2002) State funding Proceeding from the Organisation of Research and Development Act the Ministry of Education and Research has allocated for the acquisition of research and archival libraries the funding (in thousands euros) as follows: Tartu University Library Tallinn Technical University Library Academic Library of Tallinn (Pedagogical) University Estonian Agricultural University Library ELNET Consortium Reserved Total research libraries: Archival Library of the Estonian Literary Museum Tartu University Library Academic Library of Tallinn (Pedagogical) University Total archival libraries: Total state funding: 96 2003 320 217 320 543 - 2004 371 288 249 51 812 - 2005 633 422 160 70 1042 38 1399 1770 2364 32 32 32 38 38 38 38 45 141 96 115 224 1495 1885 2588 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ELNET Consortium received the funding as the operator of joint supply of electronic resources for research libraries. The first funding was received in 2003 and the distribution principles and allocation coefficients between research libraries were principally based on the agreement between the Board of the Rectors of public universities and the Minister of Education and Research. The Council of Research Libraries, including the directors of research libraries, the director of National Library, the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research, was formed in 2003 as an advisory institution at the Ministry of Education and Research. The regulation about common acquisition plan of the research libraries and about organisational activities concerning the state funding of research and archival libraries entered into force in 2004. By this regulation the common acqusition plan is the basic document for collecting and making available the information supporting research and development activities at national level. For getting the state funding the owner of research library must submit the application each year. The amount of funding is decided by the special commission at the Ministry of Education and Research (mentioned above) taking into consideration the role of the library in the common acquisition plan, the content and the amount of research and development activities of the corresponding university, the consistency of collections development etc. At present there is no detailed model available for distributing the funding between libraries and the decisions have been made case by case each year. The Ministry is planning to work out more detailed principles in 2005. The owners of the libraries receiving state funding must also deliver the expenditure report each year and to indicate the other sources for covering the acqusition expenditure. Coordinated collections development Estonian research libraries have more than three decades of history in coordinated collections development. Two large studies of collections and their use were carried out in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s the list of central research libraries and their operation principles, the fundamentals of collection development and the acquisition plan of research and special libraries were specified by the regulations of the Minister of Culture and Education. These regulations fixed the division of tasks between 15 Estonian research and special libraries. In the acquisition plan 6 domains with 57 subjects (based on the classification of Estonian Science Foundation) were used as responsibility areas and three acquisition depth levels were specified as follows: A - as completely as possible; B - selected items; C - few selected items. It is hard to assess how these regulations and the methodology used had effect on the real coordination of collections development because: - the regulations did not guarantee additional funding for fulfilling these tasks; 97 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ - there was no online information system available for sharing operatively data about the existing collections and current orders of participating libraries; the acquisition levels were library-oriented and not specified in details; the classification scheme of Estonian Science Foundation was too general and did not cover all the topics of research and development; it was also complicated to use it in practice, because Estonian libraries are classifying their collections according to UDC. For achieving the real effect it was necessary to get additional funding, to implement common information system and to change the structure of the common acquisition plan. Unfortunately the applications and activities for getting additional funding for collections development had no principal results until the end of the century. In 1997 research libraries started learning, testing and adapting the common information system, which was taken into use in 1999. The use of integrated online information system became an important precondition for working forward on the common acquisition plan. After discussions it was decided to use UDC for specifying detailed responsibility areas and to replace library-oriented acquisition levels with the levels which content is exactly defined. RLG Conspectus was first introduced to Estonian research libraries in 1997 and was further used as an example in this field. Conspectus gives a framework for cooperative collections development. In RLG Conspectus the content of each acquisition level is exactly specified and marked with acquisition depth indicator (level code) as follows: 0 - out of scope; 1 - minimal level; 2 - basic information level; 3 - study support level; 4 - research support level; 5 - comprehensive (maximal) level. These levels are used cumulatively - each higher level contains the lower ones. They could also be adjusted with comments, language codes etc. In the first phase some research libraries started the pilot project, which aim was to compile its own acquisition plan by UDC using acquisition depth indicators according to RLG Conspectus. The result of this work was presented as matrix, which rows mark subjects by UDC and which columns contain level codes. The analysis of the filled up matrix indicated that in our case it was not suitable to use the whole set of RLG levels and the cumulation principle could not always be accepted. As a result three acquisition depth levels without cumulation were used: - basic information level; study support level; research support level. During 2002-2003 the first version of the common acquisition plan was compiled for the Ministry of Education and Research including the acquisition profiles of three nominated research libraries and National Library. Only basic information level and research support 98 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ level were specified, because the state funding could not be spent on textbooks – the funding of the study support level is the commitment of the universities. The content of each level has been exactly defined for common use. If the coverage in different libraries coincides, they can agree, who will have the basic responsibility in this subject, and instead of duplication, the funding can be used for strengthening other subjects. The main goal of these activities is to use the limited funding more effectively at the national level. This acquisition plan was approved by the Council of Research Libraries and submitted to the Ministry of Education and Research. The common acquisition plan is updated once a year and it is one of the basic documents for the Ministry in the process of deciding the funding coefficients between research libraries. Joint supply of electronic resources Estonian research libraries started the trials of paid online databases in 1998. At the same time the tasks of the ELNET Consortium (which was formed for creating the common integrated information system) were broadened and the working group for coordinating the supply of electronic resources was formed. The first contracts were signed in 1999 when three libraries jointly purchased EBSCO databases. Since 2000 ELNET Consortium has successfully participated in the eIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) project initiated by the Open Society Institute. Since 2001 ELNET Consortium has been carrying out the tasks of negotiating and contracting with the suppliers of online electronic resources as an operating institution representing the common interests of Estonian research libraries. The usage statistics of e-journals has always been high, but it was impossible to fulfil the expectations of the researchers towards e-library because of the lack of funding. In 2002 the first (on one occasion only) financial support of the Ministry of Education and Research in amount of 64 000 euros for purchasing EBSCO databases established preconditions for significantly wider access to e-library in Estonia. In 2003 the state financial support allowed to increase considerably the number of jointly subscribed eresources. In 2004 10 e-journal packages (more than 10 000 titles), 7 abstract databases and 5 other packages (factographical, dictionaries, reference works, e-books) were subscribed through ELNET Consortium. The number of the libraries participating in consortium-wide access reached from 2 to 9 depending on packages. Thanks to the country-wide license more than 100 Estonian libraries and institutions got access to EBSCO databases. So we may say, that there is at least one case available when a “big deal” is a very good deal. As the license fees are rising from year to year it is very important to guarantee the increase of state funding for continuing the existing subscriptions. In Estonia there was no VAT fee laid down for e-resources before joining the European Union. In 2004 the new Value Added Tax Act entered into force and the libraries must pay 18% VAT for the purchase of all e-resources and e-services. Comparing the state funding in 2003 and 2004 the growth was about 269 000 euros (49,5 %), but this growth did not allow to increase considerably the number of databases, it covers only the rise of license fees and the value added tax which was added. 99 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The national-wide coordination of the needs for electronic resources, centralized negotiations and contracting through ELNET Consortium has many advantages. Firstly, the same financial resources enable cooperating libraries to buy more because of their bigger critical mass. Secondly, in some cases the negotiations about the price and conditions are very complicated and there is not enough professional competency in each library. There are different methodologies available for calculating the license fees and it is very important to achieve the optimum solution in price and performance. By this model majority of the trials of non-subscribed databases are organized centrally by ELNET Consortium but the evaluation of databases using end-user assessments and opinions, usage statistics, impact factors etc, is the task of member libraries. The evaluation results will be summarized and discussed by the working group and the list of necessary electronic resources with approximately calculated expenses will be compiled. Of course, the wish-list is always larger than the real financial possiblities and the final decision for the joint supply will be made by the Council of Research Libraries and the Ministry of Education and Research. Following the example of the Finnish FinELib the goal is to establish a targeted financed e-library with additional funding from the participating institutions to ensure Estonian researchers with a critical amount of scientific information. In 2003 the additional funding from the participating libraries was about 61 000 euros, in 2004 – about 148 000 euros. The main precondition for organizing the joint supply through ELNET Consortium is that there must be at least two libraries interested in obtaining a certain electronic resource. Of course many specific e-resources which are not in the focus of more than one library are negotiated, contracted and paid by the libraries themselves. 100 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ PROJECTS OF LOCAL RESEARCH IN RIGA CENTRAL LIBRARY: 2000-2005 Doloresa Veilande Deputy Director Riga Central Library Local research is an important part of the work done at Riga Central library. This part of work has been especially developed after Latvia regained its independence when big variety of documents became available. Local research at Riga Central library can be divided into the following periods: 1. The years forbidden themes: • • • • • 1991– 1996 when our employees paid attention to previously History of churches; History of cultural heritage; History of books and their authors; Repressions of period of stalinism; Cultural and economic life in the years 1920 – 1930. 2. The years 1996 – 2000 when the competition ‘”The best research of the local history” was organized at Riga Central library and its branch libraries. When libraries received the proper equipment, making video films on library events and interesting nature and culture heritage in the neighborhood became very urgent. As this work was put in order the promotion of the results of this work became important. The first thematic bibliography of Riga Central library - Riga in Latvian fiction - called „ I Ring in Your Bells, I Sound in Your Stones” was published at that time. 3. The year 2001 – till now is the time when Riga Central library is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Research of library history is the main work of local studies. Thematic bibliography of Riga Central library - Riga in Latvian Fiction was published at the end of the year 2000 when getting ready to celebrate 800 years anniversary of Riga. It also contains fiction translated into German, English and Russian. The main purpose is to help Riga Central library and its 45 branch libraries in their study of local history. This edition is also widely used by students, teachers, cultural workers and others interested in history of Riga. Bibliography consists of 26 chapters, such as : Riga City Council, Cultural institutions, Industries, Parks, Gardens, Riga at the turn of an epoch , Architectural monuments, Monuments and sculptures, parts of Riga, Cemeteries, Green areas, Memorial sites, Countryman and Riga, Dedications to Riga and etc. There are also alphabetic indexes of persons and subjects. 101 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bibliography contains fiction from the very beginning of Latvian literature until 1998. There are 2247 discriptions, the oldest dates back to 1868. Janishevsky Karlis has written story „Adventures of an honest young man in Riga when looking for a job. – Jelgava: [Stefenhagen and son]. It is more complicated to create a thematic bibliography of fiction as index of non fiction, because the opinion of bibliographer about the value of each literary work could be different. Bibliographers got information about fiction from the collections of Riga Central library and its branch libraries, National library of Latvia, J. Misinsh library as well as Library of University of Latvia. In 2005 Riga Central library received additional financing from Riga City Council to be able to perfect the mentioned editions with recent publications as well as to create modern data basis with digital photographs and full texts in the chapter „Dedications to Riga”, considering the law on copyright. Data basis will be available on the web site of Riga Central library www.rcb.lv, web site of Riga city www.riga.lv and on a CD in January 2006 as a part of Riga Central library 100 years anniversary. The second edition of bibliography will be also published in a book format in April 2006. Many branch libraries of Riga Central library are situated in architectural monuments. As history of the premises makes up one part of library history, in 2004 Riga Central library realized two projects on remarkable architectural monuments sheltering libraries. Project „Riga from the Point of View of Architectural Monument -1” contains digitalized information on architectural monument situated at 206 Brivibas street where the branch library „Vidzeme” is located since 1928. This building is designed by architect Florian fon Viganovsky finished in 1895. It is not only a remarkable piece of wooden architecture, it also has experienced busy cultural life at the beginning of 20th century: • Readings organized by aloofness society„Morning Star” used to attract men of letters of the epoch. • It used to be community house. • Zeltmatis (E.Karklins) Theatre Studio was open for theatre admirers. • Riga public library No. 9 was opened in 1928. I.Krumins, Zeltmatis, V.Lacis, Rainis, Aspazija, A. Brigadere have taken part at cultural events organized there. Building has rich history which is not published and available for the public. We did extended research, compiled and digitalized materials creating contemporary data basis available on a CD. 102 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Project was carried out in co-operation with National History Archive of Latvia. Work group explored documents at collections of branch library „Vidzeme”, National library of Latvia and documents found at National History Archive of Latvia dating back to the period from 1895 till 1940: • • • • • • • On history of construction; On architectural style; On history of the place; On history of the property; On cultural activities; On aloofness society „Morning Star”; On history of the library etc. Project was supported by Culture Department of Riga City Council. As the first project proved to be successful, we worked out the second project „Riga from the Point of View of Architectural Monument – 2”. Within our second project, the same kind of work was done on architectural ensemble „Ziemelblazma” which shelters Riga Central library branch library Ziemelblazma. It took us six months to create data basis on architectural ensemble „Ziemelblazma” in co-operation with National History Archive of Latvia as well as Museum of Riga History and Navigation. Architectural ensemble consists of: • • • • • Green school – kindergarten (1900, M. Rinkas street 13); Burtnieku house (1907, Ziemelblazmas street 38); Progymnasium (1907, Baltas baznicas street 14); Culture palace „Ziemelblazma” (1913, Ziemelblazmas street 36); Ziemelblazma park (1905). It is a remarkable architectural ensemble as well as a place with busy cultural life during the 20th century: • • • • • • • • • • Vecmilgravis singing society (founded in 1902); Aloofness society „Ziemelblazma” (1903); Vecmilgravis social society; Vecmilgravis aloofness society; Choir of aloofness society „Ziemelblazma” (1904); Ladies’ committee; Ziemelblazma amateur theatre; Symphonic orchestra „Ziemelblazma”; Neapolitan orchestra „Lyre”; Public library (publicly available from 1911). 103 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ As all the buildings are rich in history, we found and digitalized documents on the period of time from 1900 till 1940 when the Green School was established. When working at this Project we made investigations in all available documents on architectural ensemble „Ziemelblazma”. Most important information was digitalized. Data basis are available on the web site of Riga Central library where one can find not available previously facts on: • Ensemble of buildings (articles, photographs, maps, postcards, reconstruction layouts); • Manufacturer– patron of literature and arts August Dombrovsky (biographic facts, articles about him, photographs, memories of contemporaries etc.); • On social organizations and institutions located in these premises until 1940. • On outstanding personalities - writers, poets, cultural workers, artists, library employees and other people who have lived or worked in these premises or have taken part in events organized there. Less important documents are available in bibliography. Riga Central library branch library Ziemelblazma has worked systematically with documents on the architectural ensemble. After Latvia regained independence library employees received lots of old photographs of Vecmilgravis made when A. Dombrovskis lived there. They have also established contacts with relatives of A. Dombrovskis who live in other countries. “Yearbook of Riga Central library” is a new result of our research work. We have published Yearbook 2003 and Yearbook 2004. It can be called a diary of Riga Central library with a lot of attention paid to theory and practice of local studies. Popular is the chapter called “Talks all year round” with interviews with employees of our libraries who have long work and life experience. We found very important the chapter called „Our experience” where one can get acquainted with most important events and our priorities all year long. Chapter “Life Long Learning” tells about one of our priorities – continuing education for employees of RCL. Important information can be found also in chapters „Riga Librarians in Foreign Countries” - gives insight into their study tours, seminars and visits to libraries in different countries; “Chronicle of Most Important Events” and “Publications on Riga Central library”. 104 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ LIBRARY CO-OPERATION IN ESTONIA: DIFFERENT ASPECTS Anneli Sepp Vice-President of the Estonian Librarians Association System Librarian, Library of Estonian Academy of Music Librarian, Tartu University Library /General outline/ LIBRARIES IN ESTONIA In January 2004, there were 1176 libraries in Estonia of which • • • 80 were research and specialty libraries; 573 were public libraries; and 523 were school libraries. Last year 819.707 users, 11.7 million visits and 18.3 million loans were recorded in libraries. The majority of visits (70%) and loans were made in public libraries. Library collections consist of more than 76 million documents. In total, 3.031 librarians are employed in Estonian libraries. ASSOCIATIONS (2 big and 2 small) • • • • ELNET Consortium (12 libraries) Estonian Librarians Association (733 librarians) Association of Estonian Music Libraries = Estonian branch of IAML (14 libraries + 5 individual members) Association of Estonian Art Libraries (10 libraries) INSTITUTIONS • Estonian Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture allocates support to public libraries for the purchase of books and documents. The Ministry also covers a part of staff costs for county libraries and provides financing for the purchase of inventory and the development of IT projects. The Ministry is also the initiator of the ´internetisation´ project of public libraries. 105 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Public Library Council operating at the Ministry of Culture is an advisory body whose task is to coordinate the activity and development of public library issues. • • • • • Council of conservation cultural heritage in libraries, museums and archives: Preservation of national cultural heritage has been during the last years actively discussed both on institutional and state levels. As a result, at the end of 2003 a special working group by the Ministry of Culture put together preservation guidelines titled „State strategy of digital preservation of Estonian cultural heritage for years 2004-2007”. This document defines cultural heritage as objects of historical, scientific, cultural, social, technological or other value, which, regardless of their physical location, are valuable to be preserved for future generations and, using the most expedient technologies must be accessible for public use. Research and Development Centre, National Library of Estonia (2004) - has started to work in following areas: Information about libraries in Estonia: standardization, statistics, bibliographic information etc Information, training for libraries and librarians Terminology Coordination of development of library and information services in Estonia. 106 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS IN LIBRARIES OF LATVIA Anna Mauliņa Deputy Director of the National Library of Latvia President of the Library Association of Latvia The meeting of the European Council in Lisbon in 2000 forwarded one of the priorities of the new member states of the European Union – co-ordinated elaboration and implementation of innovations policy to raise their competitiveness and promote development. The current situation shows that the percentage of innovative enterprises in Latvia is 19 %, but the percentage of the state’s financing for research and development constitutes 0,45 % from the gross output of the country. In older states of the European Union it constitutes approximately 2 %. The contribution of the private sector is critically low – only 0,16 % of the gross output. (IRC Latvijas ziņas, Inovāciju Rosināšanas centra izdevums Nr.55, 2005.gada janvāris). Dynamics of change In 2003 the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia approved the National Innovations Programme for 2003 – 2006 to provide for favourable environment for innovations and research (MK 08.04.2003, Rīkojums Nr. 205). I have no information what impact it has on other fields, but the libraries of Latvia are really on an innovative stage. The year 2005 is a radical turning point in library life as the mega-project Gaismastīkls of the National Library of Latvia (NLL) has taken a rapid course of development. The software company Microlink, the winner of the competition of the Ministry of Culture, proposes to supply 1 658 computers to 738 state and municipal libraries, to provide 255 internet connections and to ensure the training for 400 members of library staff within the time of 150 days. The programme Gaismastīkli has been assigned 12 743 500 LVL, from those 3 741 060 LVL are planned to be expended this year. There is also a real hope to receive the support from the funds of the European Union in the amount of 1,15 million LVL. NLL on its turn has received 4 162 975 LVL for the management of the construction project, and 533 391 LV for the state-significance repository of low demand literature in Silakrogs. In other words: such an intensive stream of big money has not entered the library field ever before. Libraries, librarians, information resources and money is in the centre of public attention and discussions. All of us are ready for constructive, effective and concordant actions, so that on November 18, 2008, the splendid Gaismaspils (the Palace of Light) is erected on the bank of the Daugava. Still it is not possible to move forward without research. In fact inquiries, evaluation of situations, the estimation of the economic efficiency of library performances and the added value of libraries for the economy of the state is taking place in all areas of the library work. 107 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The dynamics of the changes has affected NLL most of all within the context of its new building. Seven working groups were established in February 2005 formed from the members of NLL staff and administration. They have been established according to the sectors and special services in the existing library structure. They are: 1 Collection management and the flow of documents – 19 members, chaired by the executive director of NLL Dzintra Mukāne; 2 Acquisitions, bibliographic services and databases – 8 members chaired by the deputy director of NLL, the head of Bibliography Institute Anita Goldberga; 3 Readers service and the flow of library users – 19 members chaired by the deputy director Ināra Mutule; 4 Collection and services for children – 5 members chaired by the deputy director of NLL, the head of Library Development Institute Anna Mauliņa; 5 IT and security systems – 8 members chaired by the head of Automation Department Antonijs Kipāns; 6 Staff planning and training – 5 members chaired by the head of the Personnel Department Lita Hofmane; 7 Facilities’ management and operation – 5 members chaired by the deputy director Kazimirs Platacis. These seven working groups examine the real situation in all of the departments, and make SWOT analyses and elaborate detail future strategy for the smallest subunits from current viewpoint and within the context of the new building. The concept of the content of the new building is being established. On many problematic questions the practice of Denmark, Sweden and Netherlands is considered as an example. Common discussions and brainstorms are arranged, the analyses of specialists listened to. The joint seminar of the administration of NLL and the Royal Library of Sweden (RLS) was particularly interesting and beneficial. Interesting conclusions can be made when comparing the activities of the RLS Library Co-operation and Development Department (BIBSAM) and the NLL Library Development Institute (LDI). BIBSAM in Sweden is performing the same functions as the state agency Culture Information Systems (KIS) and LDI in Latvia. The independent budget of BIBSAM is 27 million EU, it makes 10 % of the budget of RLS. It has 11 staff members. BIBSAM focuses its attention on the development of education, science and research, in other words, on research libraries leaving outside their attention public library sector and the questions concerned with it. The desire of Swedish specialists is to include the problematic issues of public libraries into their supervision area in a near future. The bases of LDI strategy up to now have been public library sector: consultative, methodical work and other activities basically targeted to public library audience. Research, special and school libraries have stayed beyond the attention of LDI because of the lack of financial and personnel resources. Our future challenge is to turn towards the problematic questions of research libraries and special libraries and to promote the solutions of school libraries’ financing. Following the example of BIBSAM we might establish the legal supervision of libraries and related fields all over the state. BIBSAM staff includes 5 lawyers. In Latvia the Library Department of the Ministry of Culture performs the juridical work, the juridical 108 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ security including. My opinion is that this department should be extended. The elaboration of Laws and other normative documents, and their interpretation and explanation in particular shall be extended. Libraries in Latvia: year 2004 At present the following libraries are operational in Latvia: • • • • • • 1 national library; 31 libraries of higher educational institutions; 880 public libraries; 53 special libraries; 1 principal non-specialized library; 1 103 school libraries, colleges of professional education including. In 2004 – 2005 the funding of 863 local public libraries changed for the most part. Since 1995 the increase of funding has been 8 – 10 % annually on the average. But in 2004 the financing from municipal budgets is uppermost. Municipalities have cardinally changed their attitude towards public libraries. After years-long actions of the protection of libraries, explanation of their significance, sharing foreign experiences, and mainly after the stormy discussions on building, or not building the National Library, a positive turning-point has reached the society and the politicians of Latvia concerning the support of libraries. In many villages, smaller towns and state-significance cities new palaces of light are erected. It is an innovative trend in library development. Unfortunately the number of libraries and library users decreases. The negative demographic balance determines it. In 2004 there has been a turning- point, though not very radical, concerning the librarians’ salaries. For a small extent but still the salaries of staff in public libraries, in NLL and in the Library for Blind have increased. Still they are far from being adequate. Statistics – the child of sorrow in Latvia The creators of the international library statistics database LIBECON have expressed their opinion that many countries do not participate in providing information for this database for a single reason: they are not able to provide information on school libraries. Unfortunately Latvia is also among those countries. On one side – schools are the property of municipalities; on the other side – the Ministry of Science and Education (MSE) acts as their governor. The Library Development Institute of NLL on its turn is responsible for official library statistics together with the Central Bureau of Statistics, of course. When the Central Bureau of Statistics delivers the forms to fill school libraries do not respond, they ignore them because the position of MSE towards library statistics is negative. The appeals of the Ministry of Culture and the Library Council of Latvia remain a voice in the Sahara wilderness. As a result about 1 100 school libraries that constitute about half of all the libraries of Latvia are not included. We can slightly imagine what our library work looks like on a world scale. But the thing still remains as it is. In future the new statistics standard LVS EN ISO 2789 : 2005 Information and documentation. 109 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ International library statistics will be published, and the previous version – LVS ISO 2789:1991 cancelled. According to the new standard we will have the possibility to consider all the juveniles attending schools to be library users, as it is in reality. Standards: elaborated but not available The Standardization Department of NLL and the Technical Committee of the Standardization of Museum, Archive and Library Work MABSTIK is performing the translation, adaptation and adjustment of the international standards collaborating with a wide circle of specialists of the related fields. Since 1997 24 international standards and other normative documents have been adopted as the standards of Latvia. The state limited responsibility company Latvijas Standards is the registration authority having exclusive rights for the publishing and selling standards. The adaptation of the international standards is intense, in theory it completely meets the needs of libraries, archives and museums. But the availability of these standards in practice is under threat because: 1. The price of one copy of a Latvian standard as stated by Latvijas Standarts is 2 – 57 Ls. For instance, the price of a standard containing 80 pages is 22,55 LVL. Even the large libraries of Latvia are not able to purchase standards for such a high price, notwithstanding the fact that the standards are necessary practically in every department of the library. All in all there are about 2 500 libraries, archives and museums in Latvia, and a large part of the registered standards is necessary in each of those institutions. 2. Latvijas Standards infringes the Law ‘’On the supply of legal deposit copies of publications to the National Library of Latvia’’, it does not supply NLL with the legal deposit copies of all the published standards. That means the standards as the documents witnessing of the development of the state will not be preserved for the coming generations, and their indexing in the national and international bibliography is under threat. 3. Latvijas Standarts has expressed a threat to bid the publication of the drafts of museum, archive and library standards on the website of the Ministry of Culture thus making obstacles for the discussions on the drafts among the professionals of the appropriate fields. 4. Following the decision of the meeting of chairmen of the technical committees of standardization Latvijas Standarts does not deliver the author’s copies to the translators and compilers of standards. The motivation is that this way the copyright laws will be better respected, as the standard translators and compilers might make and distribute illegal copies. Furthermore, the translators, compilers and those performing adaptation loose their right of intellectual property at the moment the standard is certified and registered by Latvijas Standarts. 110 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ For the Library Council of Latvia and for the whole of librarians’ domain, as well as for MABSTIK, such a limitation of the availability and use of the normative documents is unacceptable. Our opinion is that Latvijas Standarts has become a hindrance to the standardization instead of being its promoter. The negotiations with the Ministry of Economics and with Latvijas Standarts continue. Gradually we observe that the policy of the hearts-of-stone officials of both institutions becomes milder. Censorship still wants to live It is the greatest real achievement of the Eastern Europe that we have no official censorship any more. Though its recurrences still appear here and there. Thus recently a Parliament member of Latvia after reading the book by Miriam Stoppard “Questions children ask: How to answer them” Riga, ZvaigzneABC, 1998 (translated from the edition: London, Dorling Kindersley, 1997) raised a large noise. As a result the Security and Order Committee of the Riga City Council, Riga Centre for Drug Addiction Preventive Treatment, and the Education, Science and Culture Commission of the Parliament demanded to withdraw this book from public libraries. M.Stoppard (1937) is a worldwide known writer of popular science books and encyclopaedias devoted to children and juvenile problems. She often participates in the broadcasts of the British radio and television. Presently the world wide web (www.amazon.com.uk) offers her bestsellers “Having a baby”, “The new pregnancy and birth”, “Contraception, pregnancy and birth” and other. The book “Questions children ask: how to answer them” gives answers to complicated questions of children (sex, AIDS, gays and lesbians, outrage, dependence, etc. The answers are arranged on 4 levels according to the age of the child – from 2 to 11 years of age. Two pages of this book (90-91) give an untrue information “Marijuana does not cause dependence. In this respect it probably does less harm than cigarettes [...] Light drugs like “Ecstasy”, marihuana, LSD and “magic mushroom” does not cause dependency”. Though the opinions of specialists worldwide are contradictory on these issues. The statements of the author are ambiguous, even unhealthy and dangerous, still, let us remember that the book addresses parents and not children, and the parents are vital and quite knowing and able to judge for themselves. The librarians’ viewpoint is that there is no necessity to withdraw this book from public libraries because as a whole it is considered a positive publication. It is acknowledged and demanded (in 2001 the second edition of it was published in England). Besides censorship does not exist in our country, and the confiscation of the work after a relatively long time would make an unnecessary noise in Latvia and abroad. Libraries of Latvia have never performed the function of censors, even in 111 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ tsarist Russia and under the soviet regime. Only court might decide the fate of the book. Everything came to good end, still the question remains: what is to be done. Is any supervision needed over the publishing of children and juvenile books? How shall we name such a supervisor? Will it be the forgotten censor again? The financial censorship in Latvia grows and flourishes, of course. On the average one hour of the internet access costs 0,50 LVL. There are the discussions whether it is much or not so much, but nobody speaks of the internet access free of charge. The world’s practice and the comparison of the innovative potential of the European Union, USA and Japan witnesses of the fact that more free (also free of charge) access to information causes more rapid and more firm development. The internet access for payment in the Eastern Europe is an obstacle for the development of science, art and everyday life. This is the axiom for everybody to remember, - librarians, self-government leaders and state officials. Registration, accreditation and regionalization of libraries Since 2000 the Library Department is operational at the Ministry of Culture. It performs the registration of all the libraries. Now there is no doubt about the number of libraries at least. The accreditation of all libraries is going on. That is also the competence of the Library Department of the Ministry of Culture. In fact it is putting in order library documentation, defining functions, strategy, aims, tasks and forwarding visions. Still there also exist certain problems. The main of them is so called regionalization, in other words, the selection of the main library of the region that should form the regional joint catalogue, perform methodical and supervision work, care for continuous professional education, arrange seminars, conferences and discussions. It is obvious that none of the village libraries, though very good, large, with excellent technical equipment can perform the function of the main library of the region is spite of the agiotage of its local selfgovernment. There are 4 problematic region centres in Latvia in connection with socalled region-significance cities – Daugavpils, Rēzekne, Liepāja and Jelgava. Till 1990s central district libraries were operational in these cities, and they were oriented to supervise their rural libraries. At the beginning of 1990s these libraries were disbanded, their collections divided among other libraries. As the result the main city libraries had to take over the responsibility to supervise also the situation of the other libraries of their region. Resources were necessary to perform this work – appropriate financing and staff, and somebody had to pay. There are still cases of disagreement in self-governments, as the district councils are not willing to pay the city libraries for their service concerning rural libraries. The result is that city libraries act only in the interests of the city ignoring the needs of the rural libraries. There are no joint regional catalogues, and no professional methodical assistance available. Still my opinion is that in the near future the real everyday life will lead to reasonable solutions, and the main city libraries will become regional institutions and do the job. 112 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Legal deposit – is the new Law expected to clear things up? NLL like other national libraries worldwide is responsible for the national intellectual potential, – the preservation of the published culture heritage, the compiling of the national bibliography, and providing for the availability of these resources. Legal deposit copies form the bases of the national collection. They are delivered to NLL according to the Law free of charge. Presently the Law “On the supply of legal deposit copies of publications to the National library of Latvia” passed on October 16, 1997, is in force It states the publishers are to supply 14 mandatory copies. The number of copies is too large, it serves also as the source of acquisitions, and that contradicts the international practice. Regional scientific libraries are also receiving legal deposit copies, all in all those copies make 35 % of annual acquisitions. The patience of publishers is exhausted and new solution is necessary. In 2003 publishers and librarians agreed on drafting a new Law. The draft of the new Law stipulates 7 legal deposit copies. It refers also to electronic online publications, thus providing the possibility of their archiving as one of the tasks of NLL. For the time being the new Law is still got stacked in the labyrinths of the Cabinet. It is difficult to judge whether the new Law will provide for timely supply of the legal deposit copies. The system of penalties is not so tough that the publishers might care to respect it. (In 1920s-1930s the print-runs of new publications were totally confiscated in case of not supplying the legal deposit copies). At present a large amount of double actions in preparing bibliographic descriptions of the new national publications is typical. NLL is responsible for the supply of timely bibliographic information to the regional and village libraries. The legal deposit copies lay on the bases for preparing the bibliographic information. If the legal deposit copies are not supplied, or supplied very late, no bibliographic information is available, or it is outdated. Thus a magic circle appears: the main district libraries reproach NLL for not including the records of recent publications into the national bibliography databases timely. The regional libraries having already purchased the new publications are urged to make their own bibliographic records with all the consequences – errors and inaccuracies. The project of the State Joint Library Information System VVBIS defines centralized information creation and supply model. According to it each library may import the information prepared by NLL to their catalogues. The improvement of the system of legal deposit shall be oriented to this direction. Future prognosis: Voyage for discovery On November 18, 2008 the new building of NLL will be erected on the bank of the Daugava, as the government of Latvia has festively announced. With the big agiotage that has arisen about the construction of the new building of NLL practically in all districts of Latvia the construction, renovation, designing of library buildings has been started. In 2008 more and more village and town libraries will enter new or renovated premises, and all the libraries of municipalities and schools will be computerized. 113 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The national digital library of NLL will embrace the intellectual essence of all times, beginning with the first Lutheran mass published in Latvian in 1525 that perished in the ashes during the fire in the Lybeck Catholic Church, till the global masterpieces of the modern world. The people will be more English-language-skilled, still they won’t forget their own tongue. A library without the internet connection will seem untypical and obscure. The vision of libraries, archives and museums will be like entering three institutions through one door. This will be the digital door open all the time and for everybody. Library will always be the voyager for discovery, and it is not so essential whether it will be a virtual library without walls, a small private oasis with romantic ancient books, or all-embracing hybrid library. The personnel will change radically – more and more male persons will wander along the rows of shelves and computers. Already today the Royal Library of Sweden attests it, as 39 % of the staff are men. The nature of librarian’s work will change, and the librarians will become the owners of private bureaus for information search, structuring and analyses. More and more lawyers, system administrators, harvesting specialists, artificial translation specialists, and other professions will be engaged in library work. The digital-born information will grow and spread aggressively. Still it will not be able to drive out the old good books. It might happen that the BalticNordic co-operation will disappear because we’ll have found out everything about each other. The annual imposing forums of IFLA that have no equivalents concerning their geographic and membership coverage might be transformed, and possibly limited, because in the huge conference halls we often see always the same faces. Though that might be only a short transition period. Worldwide meetings will be reborn, with an irrational power they will call together librarians cyberspace librarians, information navigators, system creators, internet brokers and search engineers. Sunny way to Oslo to the 71st General Conference of IFLA –Voyage for discovery! Translated by Laimdota Prūse 114 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ INFORMATION SERVICES: NEW PRIORITIES OF THE MARTYNAS MAŽVYDAS NATIONAL LIBRARY OF LITHUANIA Irena Kvieselaitienė Head of the Department of Electronic Information of the Information Centre Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Head of Administration of the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium Aušra Vaškevičienė Head of the Reference Department of the Information Centre Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Information services for remote uses become more and more important for libraries’ patrons. Users prefer to get information sitting at the offices or at home. Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania provides services and resources which can be used off-site. The library should define the patrons’ population and publicize information and a ways to get it on the Web site. The level of services to be provided should be defined and announced as well as the mission of the services. Library must strive not only to provide the best service to their users but also to teach patrons how to use resources available to them. Virtual reference should be undertaken with a view to the long-term integration of the service with the rest of the institution's reference services. The article presents possibilities to use services of the National Library of Lithuania for virtual users. Virtual reference together with the new sub-system of LIBIS is presented. Preface Interactive services also referred as virtual or electronic services having been provided lately in hundreds of libraries, ranging from research libraries to small public libraries. These new kinds of services have significantly affected both library information resources and services provided. Having established library Internet source as a common type of information patrons can raise questions and get answers by e-mail at libraries websites or the Internet discussion forums notwithstanding their location. Moreover they can use the information arranged by libraries. At present the following interactive services are provided at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (further referred as NLL): book search and order in the library catalogues, service Ask a Librarian, the catalogue of web electronic resources, Interlibrary Loan services and others. Recently use of these services has increased together with the ever growing process of introduction and use of Internet services in Lithuania. According to TNS Gallup Media data, in 2004 28.1% of the population had computers at home, and 23.5% of the population has used the Internet at least once a week and 29.2% - at least once a month [1]. 115 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Internet Website: Gateway to Library Services Users who get into the library in a virtual way can see the digital „face“ of the library. It is impossible to state exactly what part of the users of the library’s website have readers' cards. On the other hand, it is not of utmost importance since anyone at the site www.lnb.lt has to be provided with detailed information and efficient services. Therefore our responsibility is to guarantee that anyone should get access to those services regardless of their nationality, geographic location or age. It would be difficult to define the goals of the library’s website users. However, hardly a major part of them have logged into it just from curiosity. According to the data of 2004 the NLL databases were searched by more than 4 millions virtual users. Our goal is to provide them with efficient and detailed information. Not all the users look for information about the library working hours, reading rooms, venues or rules how to register as a library reader. Today it is common to use a number of our services and resources off-site. One of the priority services of our library as well as other libraries are library catalogues and databases. Remote users have possibilities to search a required document in the online catalogues: NLL Online Catalogue, the Card Catalogue, the National Bibliographic Data Bank (NBDB) and also the LIBIS Union Catalogue. The catalogues are beeing developed using original software – the Lithuanian Integrated Library Information System (LIBIS). NLL Online Catalogue provides information on all the documents published in Lithuania and also publications in foreign languages, notes, maps, periodicals and serials, records in CDs, electronic documents which were added to the collection of the library in 1992 and later. The NBDB provides all the bibliographic records of documents published since 1998. Since 2003 records of articles from Lithuanian periodicals and Lituanica records, the 19th century retrospective bibliographic records from Lithuanian periodicals, issued in Minor Lithuania and USA have been harvested. Bibliographic records of documents in Hebrew and Yiddish since the beginning of publishing of Jewish book since 1789 when books were printed in Gardinas by Romany publisher till 1940 are also included. The Union Catalogue provides access to information on documents located in the collections of the libraries which use LIBIS software. At present the Union Catalogue includes bibliographic records of 75 libraries. The Card Catalogue provides information on books, notes, place names, personalities received in the library up to 1998. One of the most popular services among users is book order in the NLL Online Catalogue. Orders are placed three days in advance. This service is provided 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Periodicals, microforms and CD-ROMs are still ordered only at the library. The publications on the open shelves may not be ordered. 116 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Table 1. NLL catalogues usage statistics in 2003 - 2004. Connections per day LIBIS Union Catalogue 2003 1 116 2004 3 261 NLL Online Catalogue 3 099 2 805 Card Catalogue 6 627 6 007 10 842 745 12 818 NBDB Total: Average data transmitted per day, Mb 2003 5.50 LIBIS Union Catalo gue 17.91 NLL Online Catalo gue Card Catalo gue NBDB 23.41 Total: Connections from different hosts 2003 2004 1 116 3 261 3 099 2 805 6 627 6 007 10 842 745 12 818 The statistics of requests shows the popularity of the library catalogues (table 1). In 2004 there were 12 818 connections to the NLL web catalogues on average and transmitted 44.20 Mb data per day. According to the detailed statistics, commercial organizations and Lithuanian users constitute a major part of the virtual users. However, there are a number of requests from Poland, Holland, Germany and other countries. The statistical information harvested in 2003 and 2004 is not analogous, therefore some cells in table 1 are left void. Analytical databases prove to be a significant tool in the reference work. They are used by specialists and users not only at the library but also outside Lithuania. Moreover, remote users can use the following library databases: • Bibliographical Database of the articles from Lithuanian periodicals (1994-2002) archive. The database is for registered users only. It is also available on CD. • The library compiles and provides access to Bibliographical Database of the Official Documents of the European Union which is available on-line. Users are provided with information on the European Union official documents since 1992, ordering of the documents’ copies is also available. The NLL website presents detailed information on Lithuanian publishers. At the beginning of 2004 an electronic catalogue of the Lithuanian Publishers was arranged. This catalogue is based on questionnaires distributed and also data acquired by ISBN, ISMN, and ISSN Lithuanian agencies. Information on publishers of books, serials, music, electronic resources is collected in the data base. Users are provided with factual data as well as useful information on publication issuing procedure, services provided, links to 117 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ addresses and other information about the organizations the publishers cooperate with. Lithuanian printing reviews and legal acts which are to be followed are put in separate units. As regards remote users Interlibrary Loan should be mentioned. This service is provided to remote users both in Lithuania and abroad. Documents are ordered by post, telephone, e-mail and online. The loan period is determined by the loaning library; however, it cannot exceed a month. Services are fee based. The national library offers some electronic publications to remote users. The publications provide information on forthcoming publications in Lithuania, press statistics, newsletters on depositary funds, etc. As new information technologies have firmly established in the libraries databases for subscription it has become common to include information resources as part of the library collections. At the beginning of 2005 NLL subscribed to 5 Lithuanian and 15 foreign databases. The first subscribed database to which remote users had access to was EBSCO Publishing. We have made calculations taking into account the connections our users made. In 2003 even 55.5% of the connections were made not from the library and in 2004 – 55.6%. This type of service was of utmost significance at the period when our library was closed for readers for 4 months (in the autumn, 2004) due to reconstruction works. Since the beginning of 2005 remote users have had a possibility to get passwords of the database Oxford Reference Online. Only registered readers who are obliged to follow the general rules of the library and for using the Internet are provided with the passwords. In order not to infringe copyright this type of service is provided only to the citizens of Lithuania. Since 2002 the specialists of Information Centre have arranged a catalogue of useful web links Electronic resources on the Internet and have made it accessible to the users. The catalogue is available through the Library homepage while subject references are also included in the web pages that provide information about the reading rooms. In the web links’ catalogue information is collected and arranged on subject basis. References are carefully selected, however, the more detailed information about the page is submitted to users - in what language it is available, the specific reference if it is needed and also short comments are provided. While selecting the references we take into consideration Lithuanian information users. The heading How to Search Lithuanian Websites if You Do Not Know Lithuanian is presented in the English version of the web page. Individual Services The different digital references have been developed gradually on the basis of technical possibilities such as Ask a Librarian, Ask Us, Ask Your Library, Ask the Library and others [3]. World libraries providing these types of services use e-mail reference, different web forms, chart reference or web contact centres. Till 2005 the National Library of Lithuania provided these services only by e-mail. 118 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The first requests by e-mail were already received in 1995. However, there were only few requests and it was not difficult to cope with, therefore there was no need for a centralised system. The recent growth in number of the Internet users in Lithuania when the young people prefer virtual way of communication has given rise to the growth of electronic requests. As the main e-mail address was not indicated for the users, requests were addressed to different divisions of the library. Very often different divisions responded to the same requests. Having analysed the websites of foreign libraries and how the virtual services are handled the NLL decided to use the experience of other libraries and to introduce a new interactive service. The service Ask a Librarian is provided since October 2001. Having introduced this new type of service users are to fill in a special form. The certain conditions which are to be followed by the library are also indicated. There was no appointment of a specialist to fulfil this task therefore the staff of the Information Centre are responsible for the requests. Some requests are redirected to other divisions if there is a need. The staff of the Information Centre meet 93% of the received requests. The staff respond to users bibliographic and factual requests by e-mail, basic information about the library, its collections, reading rooms, catalogues and services is provided. Subject requests require special arrangement. Copying, scanning of required documents is provided and then sent by e-mail, post or fax. Requests are fulfilled within 48 hours on working days. The content of requests is changing constantly. At first our users sent us simple questions while now they have become more complex. Arrangement of subject lists or other complex requests are charged according the price-list of the Library. We have been trying to limit these types of requests because of an unconvenient way of payment, however, a large part of the requests namely are of this type. Therefore we are planning to offer an opportunity to make payment by mobile phones. While responding to our requests we always indicate or advise to use the nearest library one could address to in order to use NLL catalogues, databases and also indicate the Internet resources useful to seek information, how to use databases subscribed by library, etc. Almost every interactive communication with a user provides a possibility to impart information about electronic resources and their usage. Therefore information specialists become teachers as well. Chart 1 presents statistical data of requests fulfilled over 10 years (1995-2004) at the Information Centre. According to the chart, a number of requests has increased. Over the last 2 years (2003-2004) more than a half of all requests submitted over the decade were fulfilled. This can be explained partly because of the development of the Internet services in our country. Since few years ago we received requests only from the largest cities while at present we are getting them from remote locations. 119 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1% 1% 4% 3% 6% 27% 1995 - 37 or 1% 5% 1996 - 45 or 1% 1997 - 152 or 4% 1998 - 103 or 3% 8% 1999 - 216 or 6% 2000 - 212 or 5% 2001 - 323 or 8% 2002 - 796 or 20% 2003 - 968 or 25% 2004 - 1037 or 27% 20% 25% Chart 1. A number of requests received at the Information Centre in 1995 – 2004. The steady growth of interactive services affects the change of requests. Users have been offered by an expanded possibility to seek the useful bibliographic information and fulltext documents by themselves. They address to librarians in a virtual way only for consultation or in case of a complex request when they are unable to find an answer for different reasons. These services demand much qualified work of a bibliographer. This tendency has also been proved by Carol Tenopir in the article Virtual Reference Services in a Real World having surveyed 70 libraries [4]. As can be seen from the chart 2 users usually ask about the library services, venues, training or working hours. Subject requests constitute a significant part (31.3%). A substantial number of requests are on law, politics, economics, statistics, literature and linguistics (chart 3). These requests are redirected to special reading rooms which have compiled fascinating information collections. 120 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ About library‘s servines, events, contacts, etc. - 19,9% 10,2% 19,9% Subject requests - 31,3% 3,8% Search of a particular document - 16,9% 11,4% Search on the Internet - 6,5% Regional studies (localities, family names, provenances, etc.) - 11,4% 6,5% Requests from librarians - 3,8% 31,3% 16,9% About persons - 10,2% Chart 2. Distribution of requests, 2004. 1,8% Law, politics - 19,6% 2,0% 2,1% 3,3% 19,6% Economics, statistics, management - 17,1% Literature, linguistics - 16,2% 4,9% History - 12,4% 7,9% Education, pedagogics - 7,9% Genealogy - 4,9% Geography - 3.3% 12,4% Religion - 2,1% 17,1% Health care - 1,8% 16,2% Other - 2,0% Chart 3. Subject requests, 2004. 121 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The majority of requests have been received from Lithuania. In 2004 these requests constituted 85.7% of all requests. The most frequent foreign requests reached us from the USA (3.2%), Germany (2.3%), and Russia (1.6%). The geography of requests is shown in the chart 4. 0,8% 1,2% 2,0% 1,2% Lithuania - 85,7% 1,6% 2,0% USA - 3,2% 2,3% Germany - 2,3% 3,2% Russia - 1,6% Brazil - 0,8% Great Britain, France - 1,2% Latvia, Italy, Izrael - 2.0% Ireland, Belgium, Poland, Greece - 1,2% Other counties - 2,0% 85,7% Chart 4. Geographical location of the received requests in 2004. Remote users highly appreciate qualified work required to fulfil their requests. In 2004 108 users expressed their gratitude, some patrons donated some books to the library. Moreover, one response to a request has been placed in a publication [5]. Information Centre News by E-mail Today you can easily get lost in the data flow. Moreover, the abundance of documents available on the Internet can complicate even more the search for information. Therefore it is important to get the latest news about the recent publications available only in libraries. In order to spread knowledge and Information Centre’s news rapidly since 2003 we have started to supply a new interactive service – distribution of the publication NLL Information Centre Newsletters by E-mail. This service has been providing information about the recent publications in the reading rooms of the Information Centre complemented by professional comments as well as information on subscribed databases and other databases for limited access, also events, opening ceremonies in the library, etc. The service is available in Lithuanian only. 122 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Problems and Future Prospects Virtual reference service allows librarians to help patrons’ access information in a virtual environment. Such type of service has positive and negative features. Virtual reference lacks the face-to-face communication that is an integral part of reference service. And it takes several communication efforts between the librarian and the user to make sure that the information provided answered the user’s question. To foster knowledge, connect people with information, and promote the library, librarians must continue to evolve and learn. In order to promote information and access to information, librarians constantly need to stay up to date with technology, to improve knowledge of foreign languages, searching on the Internet and other information sources. Users want more online resources, including access to full text material and not just abstracts. Library needs not only time and the staff but also the funds for ensuring subscription to full text databases and creation of the new ones. The Library used possibility to get funding from the European Union Structural Funds by starting the project Creation of an Integrated Virtual Library Information System. It will ensure the usage of the full text resources available in the libraries, archives, and museums. Users prefer to get much more information on-line or via virtual references. This influence the number of library’s visitors, delivering services at the library. It is very important to record not only statistical data in the library but the virtual services of the library as well. The standard ISO 2789:2003 International library statistics is approved in Lithuania and we hope that it will help us to show the value and impact of virtual references. Digital reference service has introduced new opportunities as well as challenges for librarians, users, and vendors. Librarians should embrace this challenge and seek out new and improved methods to provide reference service. As a result a subsystem of LIBIS has been developed with special function to provide the service Ask a Librarian. It guarantees a better distribution of requests to different divisions of NLL, to control the efficiency and quality of answers, protect from viruses, spam, to transmit enormous amounts of information, handle payments for the services by mobile telephones and also receive necessary statistical data. Virtual bibliographers representing the National Library of Lithuania are taking part in creating its image. Their immediate, precise and detailed answers have to meet a variety of needs. A wide geography of requests, different languages and subjects require professional qualification and responsibility. While supplying interactive services it is necessary to improve a quality both of answers and services. There are mixed feelings in the profession of librarianship about what the future of digital reference holds. Some librarians feel that traditional library services will fade away, while others think it is here to stay and will evolve. The general feeling is that digital and traditional services will coexist. 123 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ References: 1. TNS Gallup – Duomenys – Interneto vartojimas Lietuvoje. Last updated 2004-12-22. Cited: 17-03-2005. On the Internet: [http://www.tns-gallup.lt/orig/lt/data.php?id=9&page =1] 2. Nacionalinės bibliotekos katalogai: užklausų statistika. Cited: 14-03-2005. On the Internet: [http://www.lnb.lt/lnb/selectPage.do?docLocator=81&inlanguage=lt&pathId=2] 3. Rosch, Herman. Digital Reference in Germany – an overview and experiences on the need for qualifications: 69thIFLA General Conference and Council, August 1-9, 2003, [http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla69/papers/107g-Roesch.pdf]. 4. Tenopir, Carol. Virtual Reference Services in a Real World. // Library Journal, 2001, Vol. 126, Issue 12, p. 38 - 39. 5. Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. Aquel a quien la fama quiere dalle el nombre que se tiene merescido : 105 versions et 16 illustrations d'un fragment de Miguel de Cervantes / choisi et préfacé par Carlo Alvar et Jenaro Talens. - Genève : Noël, 2004. - 149 p. : iliustr. - (El Dragón de Gales). - Tekstas daugiakalbis. - ISBN 84-96408-05-1 124 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ELECTRONIC INFORMATION: TRAINING OF USERS AND DISSEMINATION OF DATA ABOUT EI AT VILNIUS UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Žibutė Petrauskienė Head of the Bibliography and Reference Department Vilnius University Library, Lithuania Today libraries meet with a number of problems related to electronic resources of information and organization of information spread. The report analyses achievements of Vilnius University Library in the field of user and specialist training how to use electronic information resources and its significance. Different ways and measures of spreading information about EI and their importance to the results of usage of electronic resources are discussed in the report using methods of analysis, material generalization and synthesis. The report is based on general reports of VU departments, overviews of statistical data and results of questionnaire investigation. Role of libraries in the age of electronic information It is very easy to get lost in the abounding mass of electronic information. Upon the appearance of electronic information the work of libraries traditionally connected with informational and educational functions, was raised to a new and higher level. New goals emerged that were related to the innovations of informational world: • • • • • To select electronic information, to evaluate it, to determine the policy of acquisition of electronic information resources To ensure access to resources of electronic information, to create and develop technical basis To render electronic information services with regard to readers demands To spread information about EI to users and their training. To raise professional qualification related to EI resources, to obtain new skills and knowledge, to ensure qualitative services of readers Upon appearance of WWW, and its rapid development opinions may be heard that libraries are unnecessary or they will become only traditional repositories for document storage and archiving. Possibility to obtain information in the Internet from work or from home place was the principal argument of sceptics. Why should we need a library if we may find everything in the Internet? There is no doubt that there is plenty of information in the Internet however when a user starts looking for some specific information he meets with certain problems. Where to find information? How to look for it, how to formulate an inquiry, and how to write it? How to find the information that would be really useful and could satisfy the user’s needs? How to use that information (how to save, to copy, to transfer to computer 125 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ memory, to print, or to send it by e-mail)? Users lack knowledge, search skills, they face technical and technological difficulties. It is one of reasons, why libraries and their qualified personnel still play an important role; they teach, inform and consult. Another problem met by electronic information user is accessibility of information. Internet offers plenty of useful scientific information that may answer scholarly needs. Opinions appear more and more often that scientific information must be spread freely and accessed without limitations. Free accesses to EI initiatives and projects become more and more popular in the world. (arXiv.org E-print archive, http://arxiv.org/; Directory of Open Access Journals, http://www.doaj.org/; Budapest Open Access Initiative, http://www.soros.org/openaccess/ and others). However it have been determined that greater part of information, especially scientific full text information, necessary to the education and study process is encompassed in databases, electronic books and journals. It is not accessed freely; it is fee-paying, and secured by passwords or firewalls. Therefore libraries become intermediaries, connecting-links between information suppliers, aggregates and users. Libraries provide access to paid electronic information resources thus enabling the users to search them. It is obvious that libraries do not lose their position, they rather establish new guidelines in their work: they cultivate informational literacy, develop services of electronic information, and create their own effective user information systems. According to Ch. L. Borgman, „in the age of information you must choose not between libraries and computer nets. It is rather the task to envisage how to procure better access to information and to enhance the market of ideas ” [1]. Electronic information resources at VU Library Organization of the “stock” of electronic information resources at libraries was stimulated by the following circumstances: • • • • Rapid development of electronic information and increase of its influence upon users Rise in prices of printed production designed for education and studying Initiatives of scientists and users demand to shorten the period of appearance of scientific production in print Boost of use of electronic resources is associated with EI features, enabling multitude of users to use the information at the same time, easy storage and copying of necessary documents, as well as possibility to reach the desirable information from any workstation at work, home, libraries, reading rooms, and classrooms. At the beginning of 1993 the first book was catalogued using computer at Vilnius University Library. This date may be considered the starting point of Vilnius University Library electronic catalogue creation. Electronic catalogue and possibility to search publications via Internet was one of the first electronic information services at the University Library. Since March 1994 the electronic catalogue became accessible via Internet. 1 December 2000 the user service subsystem started to operate. It became 126 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ possible to order books from electronic via Internet and to renew their use term from any workstation. Internet usage potentials allowed VU Library to start organizing access to global information resources. Freely accessed from network information does not satisfy the demands of academic community. Scientific information required by university scholars, professors, and students is accumulated in databases (DB) that are accessible only to subscribers. Since 1998 forty databases have been tested in VU Library. Some of them have been subscribed. First acquaintance with databases at VU Library started in 1998 when Vilnius University was offered to test for some time (one, two or three months) the databases UMI, ANBAR, MCB University Press, Emerald. At the end of 1999 VU Library jointly with other Lithuanian libraries started to subscribe the first full text database - EBSCO that is being used up to now. In 2001 VU Library and Kaunas University of Technology became subscribers of the database ISI Web of Science. Each year the number of subscribed databases is increasing – this year our readers may use 7 databases: EBSCO, ProQuest, Science Direct, Springer LINK, Cambridge journals online, ISI Web of Knowledge, IEEE/IEE. Subscription of the databases Emerald, Oxford University Press a.o. is in prospect. Spread of Knowledge of electronic information at VU Library Increase of EI resources at the Library conditioned the development of electronic information services and the demand to disseminate information among users about electronic information present at the Library. For this purpose we used potentials of the homepage of the Library, sent information by e-mail, organized informational days for readers and provided other similar measures. The homepage of the Library performs an important informative role organizing information spread to the users. Analysing the experience of Vilnius University Library it may be stated that information about EI resources is being spread in the Library homepage using different ways. The first version of the Library homepage was created in 1994 and was used mostly to disclose the activities of the Library. The new version (2003 m.) was updated by information about EI resources, EI services and options of their usage. The homepage presents the electronic catalogue of the Library, the rules of ordering publications, the readers are acquainted with the potentials of electronic catalogue how to find, to order, to renew book lending via internet. Databases accessed via Internet are presented as well as those in CDs, with their description, access data, manuals how to use. Library readers are offered WWW resource lists that are collected, evaluated and classified according to the subjects. An important way of spread of news about electronic information is usage of e-mail. All news about electronic information services is being sent by e-mail to faculties, dean’s offices, to all academics and lectors who have their e-mail. This kind of service has been provided since 1998. The information is being sent with regard to researcher’s demands. 127 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lately the activeness of users has considerably increased in the sphere of solving various questions associated with EI at the Library, there is a certain feedback: we receive positive evaluation and criticism, users submit various wishes, possibilities of subscription of EI resources are discussed as well as issues related to the search in databases, different problems that emerge in the work process are being solved. Information on electronic resources held at the Library and services may be found in the newspaper of Vilnius University Universitas Vilnensis, in the homepage of Vilnius University, in the notice boards at the University. Presentations of databases are being organized as well as training for the Library staff. The Library work experience is publicized participating in conferences and seminars reading reports on various subjects. Training of users „The slowest part of any computer is the user“, says Peter Squier, president of the Information Technology Training Association. „If you want optimal performance from your system, the best return you can get is by upgrading your user“ [2]. The concept of the teaching library and the librarian as teacher will require a fundamental shift in the role of professionals. The historic role for the library and librarians has been largely collection and building centered with the individual (faculty or student) coming to the library to seek assistance or to locate material. The new paradigm of the teaching library, librarian as teacher, is one in which librarians actively seek out users in a variety of settings to provide instruction about information resources and to assist them in acquiring skills in locating and evaluating information. Using a variety of methods and locations for teaching (e.g., classrooms, interactive networks, multimedia presentations and computer assisted instruction), librarians will create a "library without walls". Effective spread of knowledge about electronic information resources has a direct influence upon the quality of science and education process, and helps the users to assess properly and to choose the right resource, saves their time and labour expenditures. Alvin Toffler warns us that the ignorants of the future are not going to be the ones who do not know how to read and write (“illiterates”) but those who do not know how to find and get access to relevant information (so called “information illiterates”) [4]. Students, lecturers, scientists and other Library readers find useful information in the VUL homepage however that is not sufficient. This supposition was confirmed by a survey “Electronic services at Vilnius University Library” made by the Library in 2002. The aim of the survey was to find out how frequently the users use databases, electronic catalogue and CDs, how they rate these services of the Library and which channels of user information are most effective. During the survey 250 questionnaires have been distributed among six faculties: (Economics, Philology, History, Communication, Mathematics and Information, and Law), and 224 respondents have responded to the questionnaires [3]. 128 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Generalization of the results of the survey showed that almost half of respondents (46 proc.) have used databases however only 7 percent frequently searched for information in them. It was stated that about 50 percent of the respondents use electronic information resources provided by VUL, however such results are not considered as positive. The analysis of the questionnaire data led to the conclusion that one of the most effective ways to improve user information about EI resources is the Informational Days at faculties. They were organized throughout October-December in 2002–2004. 11 faculties and Institutes have been visited with 34 presentations; VUL homepage and its potentials were presented as well as databases, their particularities and the information contained in them, electronic catalogue, potentials of information search, book ordering, and other facilities, CD collection and options of their usage. Presentations were prepared by a group of 4 persons, best specialists in their sphere. The leader of the group (coordinator) coordinated all organizational issues with representatives delegated by each faculty. During those presentations direct communication with the audience brought forth many questions, suggestions and critical comments concerning organization of access to electronic resources, EI acquisition policy and information spread. However it must be noted that not all of the faculties pay proper attention to the informative education of their lecturers and students. (1 chart). Chart 1 Informational days at the faculties, 2002-2004 C h N em at is ur tr al y S H Ec is c. on to o ry Ph mi c C Hu ilo s om m lo m an gy u M ni itie at ca s he ti m on at M In st ed ics itu ic te ine IR PS Ph ilo La so w ph y 5 4 3 2 1 0 2002 2003 2004 Without positive attitude of faculty leaders it is very complicated to organize presentations of Informational days. The Library plans to keep providing this form of 129 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ information spread and from the beginning of the next year strives to include presentations of knowledge of electronic information in the curriculum of first grade students as mandatory. Enhancement of staff qualification The librarian's role should be characterized by visibility and vitality. Specifically, librarians should be highly visible and well integrated into the activities of their institution and the community they serve. This means that academic librarians should be valued as essential to the teaching, learning and research activities of the university. Librarians, not solely the collections or the library building, should be valued and considered an integral member of the university teaching and research team. Most important, librarians should be seen as part of the solution – contributing to quality education, rather than as part of the problem – contributing to escalating costs. Librarians need to be bold and imaginative in defining their role and decisive in acting upon it. They should be visionary in conceiving of the present and in imagining the future, and they should be willing to take the risks inherent in translating their vision into action even though many in the academic community may be as wedded to tradition and what is comfortable as are many librarians. Qualitative development of services of information technologies at the Library is directly dependant upon the qualification of the staff of the Library. Recently the development of lifelong learning human resources started to be promoted to ensure competence and demand of appropriate specialists. Especially great attention must be devoted to the work in the sphere of reader services. Qualified specialists are necessary who are capable to consult about information search both in traditional information sources as well as in the Internet and databases. They must also know how to work with text and graphic processing programs, and provide scanning, printing, copying and CD recording services. Libraries face a number of problems: on the one hand it is necessary to improve continually library staff qualification with regard to rapid development of informational technologies and need to provide qualitative information to the users; on the other hand unnaturally small investment that the Library may allot to raise qualification of the staff, impedes this process. One of the ways to get out of this situation is rational usage of the existing financial resources and human resources. At the end of 2003 at VU Library a work group Continual training and qualification raising strategy was established to determine strategy of qualification improvement and continual training of VU Library personnel, to investigate their professional needs, to organize thematic courses, seminars and lectures. At the beginning of 2004 a questionnaire was prepared and disseminated at the library to find out informational needs of VUL employees. The analysis of the results of the investigation defined the following skills necessary to the operating personnel: • • Computer literacy Evaluation of information resources and adjusting to a specific user 130 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • • • Mastering of the integral library information system ALEPH Competence to perform information search in electronic information resources: internet, databases Capability to consult readers how to search in the electronic catalogue, on-line databases, compact discs Knowledge of copyright, information rights and other legal documents regulating library activities With regard to these provisions it was decided that library staff needs supplementary and consistent knowledge about information search via Internet, databases at Vilnius University Library, MS Office programme package options. It was also decided to enhance collaboration with the Faculty of Communication and invite them to read lectures on different topical issues to library employees. The following courses were held: • Databases at Vilnius University Library. Content of the course: Presentation of databases, acquisition, statistical analysis of usage, information search, and copying. 69 library employees mostly from the operating sphere heard the course. • Information search in the Internet. Content of the course: Internet – short history, structure. Internet service types. Functions and options of Internet Explorer browser: menu, toolbars. Recording of parts of network information, sending and printing. Search system options. Overview of Lithuanian search systems. Internet resources for research and studies. 28 Library employees heard the course. • Cataloguing in UNIMARC. 24 Library employees heard the course. The following lectures were organized: Professors of VU Faculty of Communication read lectures Professional ethics of a librarian, and Functions of modern information centre and introduction into information management. The invited lecturer held the seminar Management and prevention of conflicts. Participation in courses The Library strives to implement the mechanism of “stuntmen training” (a way of teaching when employees who have already acquired certain skills/knowledge teach their colleagues) VU Library financed courses of computer literacy at the Centre of Economics for two librarians: • MS Excel and • First principles of work on personal computer. At present similar training courses are held for Library employees. Conclusion The increasing amount of information, especially electronic information, available to users and the ways in which it can be accessed has in theory made it easer for users to get the information they require. However, in practice there is now certain danger that they 131 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ can be overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive making it difficult to locate the exact information they seek as well as overseeing issues of accuracy and authenticity. The role of librarian as both user-educator and intermediary is prevalent in this environment. It is evident that different institutions take part in the formation of information community however in this process libraries play one of the principal roles. The role of librarians in this context is to help users find relevant information they require, then provide them with the tools to access and use the resources for their individual needs. The priority objective of library activities is to spread information about electronic information resources, to ensure qualified information designed to science and education process, to train users and library professionals, to improve their skills and to ensure lifelong learning. Theses goals have to be implemented bringing in different ways and measures. Bibliography: 1. BORGMAN, Ch. L. Nuo Gutenbergo iki globalios informacijos infrastruktūros. Kaunas, 2003, p. 185. 2. JAKOBS, Paula. OS Rollouts Hinge on User Training. Computerworld [interaktyvus], [žiūrėta 2005 m. balandžio 11 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1202383029;relcomp;1 3. MANŽUCH, Zinaida. Elektroninės paslaugos Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekoje: „Info dienų” maratonas. Universitas Vilnensis [interaktyvus], 2003, nr. 2 (vasaris) [žiūrėta 2003 m. birželio 10 d.]. Prieiga per internetą: http://www.vilnensis.vu.lt/nr-26/index-26.html 4. TONTA, Yaşar. Internet and Electronic Information Management // Electronic Information Management for PfP Nations. Canada, 2002, p. 2. 132 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ INFORMATIONAL CHANGES AND THEIR IMPACT IN PLUNGE PUBLIC LIBRARY Otilija Juozapaitiene Senior Bibliographer and Regional Literature Specialist of the Readers’ Services Department Plunge Public Library Lithuania The first computers and other information hardware changed the work of Plunge Public library essentially. New information technologies brought new services, to the library comes new users. Library users get more various services. The image of the library increased. The library became the center of information of the town. The work of the librarians changed too. Now all the librarians have computer in their working place and could not conceive of working without it. The population of Plunge district is 57 274, the population of the town of Plunge is 24 739. The Public library of Plunge was established in 1939. Plunge Public library has following departments: - Completing and ordering of printed matter and methodical Service for readers Center of information and education of adults Literature for children. The Public library of Plunge has 16 branches in rural area and one branch in the same town. The fund of the library is 70 765. Every year the Library gets approximately 10 thousands of new books. The library has for about 4 000 readers and 36 000 visitors a year. There work 15 specialists in town and 16 in rural libraries. At the 1998th the public library of Plunge was starting its computerization. The first two computers, two printers and Internet come to Plunge Public library. At first nobody in the library could use these computers because didn’t know how to use. New hardware forced need of change in library personnel quality and their new skills and knowledge. In practice any task in the library that was performed in manual mode before has changed; even if walls, buildings etc. are the same, tools, for task realization are completely different. It made a situation difficult for every member of the library staff. New technology was a reason to change person to acquire professional prestige. A lot of librarians meet new possibilities with a big interest. So a few librarians from our library was sent to the computer literacy courses. The other librarians was studying computer by themselves. After month all the librarians could use computers for their need. It changed essentially the work in the library. Librarians could seek information in the Internet for library readers and for themselves. They could answer more readers’ queries. Librarians 133 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ could to keep information and other documents in computer. They could write, use e-mail and etc. Internet gives the beginning for searching support funds for the library and write projects. In 2001 was written the project “Plunge Public library – the center of information and education of adults”. The project was based on the implementation of new information and communication technologies. Realizing this project in January of 2002nd in Plunge Public library was opened the Center of information and education of adults. It started a wide program of informal training of adults according to the principle ”I learn during the whole life”. Plunge Public library gets three new computers, scanner, printer, methodical documents and various electronic dictionaries, learning programs for library readers. An information service has raised new requirements for librarians. The amount and diversity of information require special information seeking skills and knowledge. For librarians emerges the goal to input their knowledge for creation of the information society in Plunge district. So in the Center of information and education of adults wellversed library staff began working with library users and educating them information technology. They teach library users who want to learn to work with computer. They help them to search information in the Internet, to make e-mail, to write, to copy, to make the tabs and other computer literacy they need. Librarians become as a teachers, consultants, user-educators. Of cause they help not for everybody. Many of computer users are yang people who know about computer and Internet better than librarians and they work themselves without librarians help. From that time as the library gets computers for library users, they can search information in Internet and write papers, to keep chats. They can use e-mail, to read news from the entire world. They can use various electronic programs, to study foreign language, to scan and do copies they need. It is a big input of librarians to creating the society, of new quality in which all its members will use information and its latest technologies intensively in their daily life activities: work, studies, leisure, communication. The staff of the library now is high-qualified specialists, they have prepared and fulfilled some projects, meant to educate community and all of them are computer-literate and are ready to teach other members of community computer literacy. But librarians are not technical specialists, engineers, who can work with, complicate computer system, with different networks, operating system and solve various hardware problems. Changes shortly described above led to separate a new specialization in library profession, and to employ representatives of different professions, rarely found earlier in libraries. First of all it was necessary to employ computer specialist. It was a quite a big problem in our library, because library cannot offer as a good salary for him as many other places, e.g., banks. In spite of that the administration engaged a good computer specialist, who solve problems that arise every day. Computer specialist regularizes all our computers and other technologies, he teaches librarians and library users of computer literacy too. 134 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Computer specialist helps us to create our library website. Now we have our website and everybody in the world with Internet help can know about our library. The librarians regularly put information about library events, exhibitions and other news in to Plunge Public library website. There are information about library work, departments, collections and etc. The new library service attracted many new library users. Our computers become very popular among yang people particularly – boys. Many of these boys have never read in the library earlier, but now they spend some hours per day with Internet. Adults students who earlier only borrowed the books and magazines from the library, now they spend much time searching information in the Internet and writing their papers. Computers and Internet for library users originate pay service in our library. It comes the possibility to have the additional money for the library. In 2003rd Plunge Public library gets a few new computers from Culture ministry. These computers were dispensed to all Lithuanian libraries for the realizing Lithuanian Integral Library Information System (LIBIS). These computers were intended for working in LIBIS. Now there are four computers in the completing department and one computer in service department for making records to the biggest Union Computer Catalogue and for complement the books in LIBIS and two computers in bibliographical reading room for making records of the articles from the district newspapers. It very changed our work. Earlier librarians from completing department and bibliographers wrote records on paper cards using pens – now they have a special program (LIBIS) and do it with computer. All these work saves LIBIS program. The Plunge Public library is integrated into unified library information system and exports records to the Lithuanian National M. Mazvydas library where is the Center of LIBIS. As a result we have Union electronic catalogue of the books and articles we have in all Lithuanian libraries. It is a beautiful if we can use it. We can look is in any Lithuanian library the book we need and in what library it is. We can found books in various subjects we need. Earlier librarians had to call to each library and to ask or to look to bibliographical index books. There are books of bibliographical index and books of subject bibliographical index in the Public library of Plunge, but to use them is not so comfortable and so fast as to use computer catalogue. It changed bibliographical work very much. Now many readers’ queries we can answer using Internet and this LIBIS program. The search of information is faster. We can found information, which we could not found without the (LIBIS) program. For example: we can do require written one word and we get all articles where are about this word. All the libraries makes bibliographical records every day and exported them to the joint catalogue every week. So we have very new information about all significant articles written in Lithuanian newspapers, magazines and books. LIBIS changed our work in all essentials: our work changed, service changed and become more efficiency and more quality. The work with computers and Internet is paid in Plunge Public library. Many readers come to use computers and pay for service. But there are many people who cannot to pay. Economic situation in the town is rather complicated – 10,6% of population is unemployed, many people get only minimum salary for their work. Social problems are 135 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ serious and it is not easy to solve them: 54 problem families in the town and 120 children grow in them. Their information literacy is very low. Following the data of the research done by Open Lithuania Fund 31% of Lithuanian population can use computer, 19,5% have searched in the Internet, 31% do not know what the Internet is and what possibilities it offers. In Plunge, the town, which is far from the capital, in periphery, these indexes, is even lower, as the level of poverty is higher, potential of intellect is lower. Most people of Plunge lack motivation why knowledge is important and why it is necessary to learn to use a computer, they do not realize that information is value that can help to solve most problems. Considering that problem in 2004th librarians from Plunge Public library wrote the project “Free Internet for social infringeable groups of population in the Public library of Plunge”. This project was meant for members of community of Plunge, firstly, for so called extreme and mostly unsafe groups of people – the unemployed, disabled, pensioners, children and youth from poor and problem families, inmates of Children’s Home. It was the joint project among Plunge Public library, and Rotary clubs from Plunge and Belgium city. The project wins we have got a big total of money. Realizing the project was opened the center of Free Internet for welfare recipient people. This center – it is four computers, scanner, printer and duplicator. Welfare recipient people can to use them for free. Now every day in to Free Internet center came many yang people from poor families, disable people, unemployed and pensioners. To the Plunge public library came the new library users, new readers, who have newer visited the library earlier. The number of library users increase. This center helps to solve very serious problems in town, such as separation of various social groups of people and young people being busy. In the process of creation of information society it is extremely important to give equal possibilities to use modern information technologies to all the members of the community (now part of people due to poverty cannot afford personal computer or use the Internet services they have to pay for). As a result of this center: - Information literacy increase in the town of Plunge; Social separation between separate groups of people decrease; Digital literacy improve the life of socially infringed groups: it help looking for a job, changing profile of work, satisfying the needs of communication; It helps to solve problem of children and youth being busy. Changes to the library are going very fast. Librarians have to be in time with new information technologies. They are researching information needs of the library users, doing analysis how are using the various documents in the library and in accordance with these analysis librarians are forming a fund of electronic and other documents. Library fund constantly changes. We get the books but more and more we get electronic documents. In future there will be completing electronic books, distance learning program and other electronic documents for library users. 136 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now the librarians are making computer catalogue of the books we have in our library. They just did 8740 records (till April 1st). Librarians will finish that work in a short time and the fund of the Plunge Public library be fully integrated into information system of the country. After these work all Lithuanian libraries and other users will know what books there are in Plunge Public library. There are many regional ethnographical materials, albums, photography, typescripts and handwriting documents in the bibliographical department. About some of these documents librarians have written in the library website, but it should be great use if we make the records of these material and bring them into Union Catalogue. I think it will be in a future. Plunge Public library every year was arranging various events, conferences, now librarians mostly are arranging seminars for adults: teachers, librarians other specialists and businessmen. Seminars give them an actually information they need. For example, this year in September the Center of information and education of adults organize the seminar “The vista of using of new technologies”. Sometimes the Center organized international seminars in which librarians are trying to make useful social contacts with specialists from abroad. Foreigner specialists have more experience of working with new informational technologies, and information changes in their libraries are faster. Every time the Plunge Public library was culture center of town community. Here culture events, exhibitions, meetings are organized, various public organizations gather for their activities. Now the library has become the center of information and education, library solves serious problems of community. Seven years ago in Plunge Public library was only two computers and two printers. All librarians shared them. Library users had no possibilities to use computers. It was not comfortable. Now we have 24 computers. 10 of them are for our library users other – for library staff. The last year library had 5070 visits in the Center of information and education of adults, visitors used Internet for 2100 time and librarians answered 820 readers’ quires using Internet. These numerous are increasing every year. Changes are increasing very fast too. New technologies occupy our library, came new library users, new events, the library staff is the same but it have to work and to create conforming to all changes. 137 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ USER EDUCATION IN A RESEARCH LIBRARY Dr. Birute Railiene Head of the Reference Service Department Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences In the paper a background of user education in a research library is described, followed by the picture of changing environment not only in libraries, but is information society all together. Librarians have recognised other sources of information, which scholars use besides research library. Librarians have to improve their professional competences to meet the challenge of educating users in research libraries. Background Before describing the education of the user of a research library from education in other library, one has to be certain when the term “research” is applied to a library. Generally the distinction research library have from other types of libraries are collection policy and research activity, but these criteria are attainable for other libraries also. • Collection policy. Research libraries collect in greater depth than other libraries. Their holdings include also scientific literature and historical collections, special literature collections. Learned and professional societies have had libraries since their foundation; they existed primarily to meet the scientific needs of the members. Historically special research libraries were joined or affiliated to big research libraries, but usually scientific units (laboratories, societies, institutes) develop their special libraries. • Research activities. Research libraries perform research in librarianship and other congener sciences. As the keepers of valuable collections, librarians are also analysing them and publishing. Scientific activities in research libraries are either performed by special research departments, or by entire staff. The history of user education begins long before the concept was born. Even before Samuel Swett Green (1837–1918) in his often quoted speech at the ALA Conference in 1876 advocated „improved personal relations between librarians and readers“. Librarians were promoting the services and collections of libraries; though major practise were library use instructions, some librarians had insisted on the importance of reference work and reader’s advisory work. We thank Samuel S. Green for the initiative of first reference desk, American universities – for the initiative to introduced library use rudiments into the curricula. Such was the general policy in public and school libraries. Discussing the educational role of librarian in a research library, one has to beware of pitfalls the term itself hides. Historically – at the very origin of research libraries, the function of preservation generally prevailed over those of use. For ages research library policy and practise were tailored specifically to limit use (but not the information). Only selected individuals were 138 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ consulted by a librarian, who was the one to select the users. Libraries were limiting the consultations by appointment. When under the pressure of historical and economical conditions the regular opening hours were announced they were extremely brief; the rules to use thoroughly collected research libraries then were far from user education. The complexity of collections in research libraries became a real challenge for the public access and service issues. Majority of research libraries still do not permit to take the documents outside the premises, major parts of research library holdings are not openly accessed. Change A librarian has come a long way from a traditional role of that of “custodian, collector and cataloguer”. The library card catalogue’s primary role as a “finding device” has changed into interactive source of library holdings within one country or even wider. Library classification was accepted as knowledge classification, librarians made an essential contribution to preserving and organizing records of scholarship. The change, which brought common literacy and enlightenment, encouraged librarians of research libraries to open the gates of scientific treasures to public. Not the last consideration was the changing librarian. Not any more the rule was an elderly, incommunicative scholarly man, who also looked after a library. More people with special library education were employed; their professional vocation was a promotion of collections they were responsible for. There you can feel the conflict arising – for centuries scholars were used to search for facts and information themselves, privacy and secretness was not an exception. But the situation was changing – librarians started implementing all those “strange engines”: at first – card catalogues, then – computers (though invented not by librarians), and each novelty was advertised not only by traditional means, but also polling scholars at sleeve. User To improve the services, research librarians try to know their users and their needs better. Not only formal, but also informal interrogations of scholars showed, that as information seekers, they are interested in two things: • Convenience. Scholars usually have very tight schedule, they are occupied not only in research, but also education at universities. Competitiveness in research is extremely high; the first announcement of results may turn to nothing many years of hard work. The information they need must be precise and in time. • Reliability. As consumers, scholars are interested in any and all information of their professional activity. They want to be up-to-date within their and related fields. Scholars value research library as repository of the record of scholarship, the work of gathering, organising and maintaining the scientific records. Scholars could not accept research library’s incompleteness. 139 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In the whole world the volume and complexity of scholarly information continues to grow exponentially, though limits for keeping up with it remaining the same (access to the latest information in a library always was conditional, as the period of time scientific results are published in a monograph is approximately 10-25 years, in magazine article 510 years, in conference proceedings 1-5 years). Technologies dispense information in formats, passing by libraries: reports, manuscripts, e-mail and internet. Electronic publishing offers time-saving and cheaper solution for scientific writing, scientific journals develop internet access, even withdrawing printed version. Electronic connections started a new era in scientific communication. Though scholars value the effort research libraries have invested and continue to invest in gathering, organizing and maintaining the scientific information, they have individual information-seeking methods: • Information from other scholars. It is achieved via informal communication (teacher-pupil communication, collegial communication, meetings at conferences, study visits, etc.); • Citation. The method is important for student and beginning scholars, before they become actively involved in networks, though it is also valued by eminent scholars; • Journal browsing. Titles include important journals of the investigated field, also less relevant ones. Titles are personally subscribed by scholars, achieved from their colleagues or found among library subscriptions (printed, databases), also free content on internet. Education Though the level of collection processing, search and virtual accessibility differs, the main trend for user education in research library may be generalized as: • Education in information search strategies. Specially prepared information for scholars is useful, only it has to be proposed “politically correct”. Depending on the qualification, scholarly achievement or even age of a user – such information should be visible, accessible, but not a mean of information literacy test. • Education in possibilities of information sources. As an expert of information sources, librarian should explain the importance of information literacy, time and labour saving features of information sources. Such practice is rather demanding for librarians. Facing the IT changes and new possibilities, research libraries developed new information search devices for their users. You can hardly find a reader, who knows nothing about electronic catalogue or virtual library, specialised databases or full text databases. Digitization projects (usually initiated by libraries) help to access rare and fragile documents virtually .Yet the main area of concern for the users is the inaccessibility of information to those without the necessary IT skills. 140 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Conclusion Discussing a research library user education among colleague librarians, the activity, mentioned above, should not be directed only to a user of a library. In the age of life-long education each individual may be considered as a pupil, since the speed of IT development is not pulling down. Librarians are learning change of information environment together with users, yet also are solving the service improvement topics. Research librarians are encouraged to participate in research process, as information professionals; they are encouraged to advance their scientific knowledge. Librarians are the persons, interested in and familiar with the issues of copyright, database administration, homepage development. Research libraries invite scholars to participate in library council activities, as advocates and consultants of library activities. As we all know, “lookers-on see most of the game”. Literature 1. Green, Samuel S. Personal Relations between Librarians and Readers“ : [interactive, accssed on 2005-04-13 on internet] : < http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/DIS220/personal.htm >. 2. Price, Gwyneth. User Education in Higher Education: Helping Academics Join the Learning Environment. In: IATUL conference : [interactive, accssed on 2005-04-13 on internet] : < http://www.iatul.org/conference/proceedings/vol09/papers/price.html >. 3. Smith, Eldred. The Librarian, the Scholar and the Future of the Research Library. – New York ; et al. : Greenwood Press, [1990]. – 119 p. 141 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A CORNUCOPIA OF INFORMATION: USE OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES BY STUDENTS OF THE STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS IN RIGA Daina Puntuka Head of the Library Stockholm School of Economics in Riga Latvia The Stockholm School of Economics in Riga offers a three-year undergraduate and a two-year executive MBA programs. Our school was established in 1994 to: Offer an integrated academic institution of excellence, useful for the Baltic region Train and graduate students from the Baltic region in a bachelor programme in Economics and Business. Assist to create a sustainable development of the Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian economies by supplying graduates with modern economics training. Participate in applied research in areas relevant for the long-term development of the economies in the Baltic States. Offer executive training and up-grading to the business community and society at large in the region. At present our school enrolls 366 undergraduate and 45 executive MBA students. Last autumn we celebrated our 10th anniversary and it made us all employed in different departments to look back at what we have been doing and whether we need any improvements in our activities. In 1994 the library was started from scratch- it means that we had only empty premises with empty shelves. The most outstanding feature of our school in comparison with other higher education institutions was that we supplied each student with textbooks in all subjects. It means that we bought 100 copies of each textbook. It considerably increased the number of our stock in a relatively short time. The next step was to purchase monographs in different fields of economics and business to enrich our collection of textbooks. We got a generous donation from a Swedish businessman, who donated 4 million Swedish crowns to purchase books only. He did not allow us to use his donation to subscribe to any electronic sources. So we had to think about ways how to supplement our collection of printed materials. The school was equipped with a modern computer laboratory where students had free access to Internet. The first electronic database we subscribed to was Reuters, which offers not only economic and financial data, but also a wider scope of information. Students learned how to use the database at their Information Technology and Communication course. The next step was to implement library automation system and electronic catalog. It was implemented gradually starting from 1998. In year 2000 we had a completely new OPAC on Internet and we had to think about the user instruction. The Library Consortium of Latvia offered an opportunity to subscribe to the EBSCO database and also try out some other well-known full-text databases as Proquest, Science Direct, etc. As our library has a very limited space, we decided to subscribe to a number of periodicals in electronic 142 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ format, namely, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, International Financial Statistics, etc. A number of electronic databases are available throughout the school and accessed using IP addresses. It is even possible to use databases from home computers, for example, EBSCO and Countrywatch. These two databases are of great importance for our students when they write reports or graduation thesis. As our school has students from Lithuania and Estonia remote access of these databases is essential. At present our school subscribes to 17 business information databases. This is a rather serious financial investment and we would like our students and other library users to enjoy the full capacity of theses resources for their study and research needs. In order to promote the resources available in the library and through it in the whole campus and even beyond its borders, we have been offering our students library instruction lessons. They usually consist of two parts, where one deals with traditional sources and general insight in information resources, as well as explaining the pluses and minuses of both- printed and electronic. The other part is about our electronic OPAC and electronic databases. In order to revise the efficiency of our library course, I made a survey among our students to find out their opinion. First of all, I sent out the survey questionnaire to all 366 students and this is what I received back- some with comments and some without them: Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 TOTAL 30.6% 40.5% 28.9% 100.0% 37 49 35 121 Which year are you in? 121 49 37 35 30.6% 40.5% 28.9% 100.0% Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 TOTAL This chart shows that only one third of the target group chose to reply. I should say that the low rate of responses may be due to the fact that majority of our bachelor students are 143 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ convinced that all information is easily and instantly available on the Web. Another point of view is that information is for free. At our library lessons we try to convince our students that we pay a lot of money to purchase the databases and we even cannot afford to subscribe to such valuable sources as ScienceDirect, EconLit or JSTOR because they are too expensive for our small school. But, of course, our school employs a lot of foreign lecturers, who come to the school with fully prepared hand-outs and it looks like information offered is for free. The low rate of response means also that the library has not been persuasive enough to convince students, that they could do much better, save their time and improve their scores if they attend library instruction. Every year the administration of our school carries out interviews and surveys, where they try to find out about the positive and negative impacts on students academic performance. Library issue is also included in these sessions, but usually we get only positive responses. The only negative feature is overdue fees. Out of 10 possible points the library usually gets 8. The next question was about the purpose of visiting the library. How often do you use the SSE Riga library for each of the following purposes (1= Daily; 2=At least once a week; 3= At least once a month)? Fractions To use electronic resources or work on personal computer 51% 67% 38% 60% 26% 33% 11% Year 1 Daily 0% Year 2 At least once a week 14% Year 3 At least once a month 144 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fractions To use periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers) Daily 51% 55% 41% 41% 23% 8% 4% 9% Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 At least once a week 69% At least once a month Comments concerning the usage of the library included several statements, that the library is used as a place where to work on personal laptops and teamwork. Each reader’s table in our library is provided with an Internet outlet and students may access the school’s network. In order to find out the training needs of our students I was also interested whether they attend other libraries. Number of Students Do you use other academic libraries for research purposes? 121 100 21 17.4% Yes 82.6% 100.0% No TOTAL The comments included also statements, that our students use other academic libraries to use their electronic databases. They mentioned the National Library of Latvia as well as e-libraries on the Internet. During our library orientation lessons we introduce our students to other libraries, their websites and resources available there. We also stress the 145 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ importance of Interlibrary loan- local and international, which provides a good support for such small school as ours. We show our students how to use union catalog of Latvia and also the Libris of the Nordic countries. I would like to thank Nordic librarians for supporting us and sending articles and books via International Library Loan. It is important to teach our students that no one library is able to provide all necessary information. And nowadays using the Web it is easy to find, which library owns the needed material. We also want to encourage our students to develop broader understanding about information resource division and accessibility. So that when they leave for studies in other universities for their next academic grades, they are prepared to use catalogs and databases effectively. Have you had library instruction before you entered the SSE Riga? Number of Students 121 91 30 24.8% 75.2% Yes 100.0% No TOTAL Those, who had had library training, got it at school or public libraries. It means that the Baltic school and public libraries are also thinking about their user education. Number of Students It is important for students to know how to use information sources both in printed and electronic form: 121 52 62 6 43.0% Strongly agree 51.2% Agree 1 0 5.0% 0.8% 100.0% Neutral/ Undecided Disagree 146 Strongly disagree TOTAL IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ We can see from the responses that the majority of respondents consider library instruction to be important. I think that library instruction programs should be broader incorporated in the activities of our libraries starting from the very first library visits of our young generation. Then this process sequences and integrates different competencies throughout the person’s educational course and academic career. It also serves as a good background for life-long learning. The basic information searching skills should be taught at the SSE Riga: Number of Students 121 61 38 16 31.4% Strongly agree 50.4% Agree 5 1 13.2% 4.1% 0.8% Neutral/ Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree 100.0% TOTAL They also agree that the school has to provide instruction in information search. The importance of the following tools for your studies 4.8 Average rank 5 4 3.9 3.7 3 4.2 2.2 2 1 0 Online catalog Internet CD-ROM Online databases databases Printed materials Students had to use the scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest positive score. Here we can see that students perceive all sources of information as important. So our hybrid library serves their needs concerning the scope of information carriers. 147 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Based on your library experience, which of the following topics should be taught more Explaining library policies 2.4 Finding printed materials 3.2 Using online databases 3.9 Using CD-ROM databases 3.3 Search on Internet 3 Online catalog 3.2 0 1 2 3 4 5 Average rank The scale of 1 to 5 was offered here as well and we can see that the usage of online databases should be taught more. Thus we have decided to apply for assistance to the administration and request more time for teaching online databases. Number of Students To me as a student the library instruction was: 121 38 41 29 7 6 5.0% Very valuable 31.4% 33.9% Valuable Of average 24.0% 5.8% Of some Of little or value no value 100.0% TOTAL Comments concerning this question were about having more hands-on practice. Students wanted to have practical tasks. Some mentioned that learning by doing they consider to be the best approach to instruction. We provide library instruction at the beginning of the first year only. It concerns both the undergraduate and the master degree students. We felt that students need more training before they write their thesis. That is why I provided the following statement: 148 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Number of Students I would like to have a separate instruction before the bachelor paper writing 121 58 47.9% Yes 63 52.1% 100.0% No TOTAL The positive and negative replies are approximately of the same number. The supporters of this statement would like to get more information about available information sources, online databases, which include working papers of different universities. Some respondents are interested in the evaluation of the Internet sources, their validity and accuracy. Students also suggested to provide more information on social science information gateways. They also express the need to refresh their searching knowledge in order to use the available databases more productively. Number of Students Are there any other information resources you would like the library to offer and/or include in library instruction sessions? 121 94 27 22.3% Yes 77.7% 100.0% No TOTAL The responses to the question about other resources included comments on having special instruction sessions on particular electronic resources e.i. Lursoft, Reuters, statistical databases, career development resources. 149 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ These comments triggered us to invite specialists, who work with the particular databases to explain in more detail the opportunities of their resources. Such training was provided for Lursoft database, which offers a very expensive service and the users have to be very careful to formulate their needs in order to rationally spend their money. Reuters database was used by the members of our students’ Investment fund and they also had a special training how to use the stock indices more efficiently. The librarians as trainers mostly teach how to use the online public access catalog, EBSCO and Countrywatch databases. Our training sessions, which are offered for the 1st year students are only 2 academic hours – 45 minutes for general introduction to different resources and their accessibility, 45 minutes for introduction into online OPAC and electronic databases. Our students consider it not enough for efficient usage of resources. I should mention also that our library is open to outside users and we are heavily engaged in teaching our visitors how to use our resources. You may see that our students and staff constitute only 19% of the total number of our users. 70% of all are from outside. They also need to learn how to use not only the library and its printed resources, but also our online catalog and databases. We do not have any special courses, it is done individually for each customer. You can also see that 10% of our users are our graduates, who say that they became information addicts while studying in our school. They have discovered the importance of information in business, education and daily lives. They understand that there is no use to invent the bicycle repeatedly, one only has to access what is already available in the information cornucopia in printed and electronic format. Users of the Library Number of Users 2302 1607 229 117 124 125 5% 5% 5% 2% Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 EMBA 46 33 21 10% 1% 70% 1% Graduates Lecturers Outside SSE Riga Users Staff 150 TOTAL IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ All in all I may say that our visitors and new students are computer literate. They know how to use the information technologies. Our task is to teach specific things how to search, evaluate and use information for academic purposes. Our library web site serves as a distance learning tool. First of all, the OPAC is provided with a lot of explanations and examples how to use the catalog, where to start the search and how to do it effectively. OPAC offers an extensive Help system. Our electronic catalog is the only one in Latvia, which offers the possibility to put hold on borrowed books and file a request for those, which are on shelves. This function makes our users life easier, allowing to use the library remotely, thus saving their time. We in our turn can show what additional services are available in the libraries nowadays. The online databases are also included in the homepage, so that the remote users may visit the site although they do not have the ability to have access to full-text information. They can investigate the source and then decide whether it is suitable for their purpose. Nowadays all databases offer extensive Help functions. In order to obtain remote access to databases or exchange information our readers may use the function E-mail Librarian on our website. We also offer our local databases of bachelor and master thesis in .pdf format. It is an additional source of electronic information available for all our users. Some of our school’s Working papers are offered full-text. All these features serve as an additional reminder that the library is not a room full of dusty books and journals. Another aspect I would like to talk about is the cooperation between the library and the faculty of the school. I am grateful to our school’s administration which understands the importance of information literacy in its broadest sense of meaning. Library instruction is considered important, but we have still to convince our administrators that the students, who participated in the survey, have expressed their wish to extend the course. We are ready to expand our instruction throughout the 3 years of studies and accommodate them to the particular needs at the given stage of studies. We also understand that the syllabus is tough and it is hard to find time for additional lectures. But the survey we have completed shows that the number of students, who wish to have additional instruction is big enough to offer them an elective course in information literacy. Our local lecturers are well-informed about the library instruction and often include library tasks in their lectures. Students have to find an article from Harvard Business Review or find out whether the library has in its collection the monograph suggested for additional reading in the subject. This way we try to expand the given time for library instruction and incorporate it into the whole study process. Who is teaching students at the information literacy lessons? Our library employs 2 full-time librarians and 2 assistant librarians, who work on weekends or sometimes in the evenings. Only one of our librarians has got master’s degree in library science. So it has been important for the library to get opportunities to engage in systematic and continual professional development. All our librarians regularly attend training sessions offered by the electronic database developers and providers. We attend courses dealing with information technologies and Internet developments. We enjoy ongoing training sessions, but also listen to our students’ opinions and ask for their assistance if needed. 151 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES OF NETWORK SERVICES Päivikki Karhula Network Services Librarian of the Library of the Parliament of Finland Editor-in-Chief of Signum, the Journal of the Finnish Research Library Association /PowerPoint presentation/ Facts of Finland • • • • • • High level of ICT penetration (Internet connected computers, mobile phones) Hight level of library use, comprehensive library network High educational level Powerful academic data network Co-operation between the public and private sectors Competitiveness Finnish model ”an aspiration to combine a dynamic technological and economic thinking with the use of new technology in order to promote social equality and general prosperity” (Castells & Himanen) Strategies and policies • • • • Government programs Information Society Programme Sectoral strategies by various ministries Ministry of Education - Education, Training and Research in the Information Society (1995-1999; 2000-2004; 2005-2008) Focus on e-learning Focus on Open Access Information Society programme & libraries Emphasis on • • • Access to information Provision of digital services and content Competence and learning 152 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Copyright legislation • Upgrade the library system to meet the needs of the information society The Finnish Library Policy Programme for 2001-2004 • • National library net seen as a whole Public and research libraries split up within the state administration - Ministry of Education / Ministry of Culture - Public libraries under the Library Act and Library Decree (1998) run and financed by municipalities - University libraries, polytechnical libraries and special libraries no national law or regulations run and financed by their organisations The Finnish Library Policy Programme for 2001-2004 ”all citizens shall have access to knowledge and culture, regardless of their financial circumstances or where they live, is seen as a valuable basic right.” Library strategy 2010 The Ministry of Education is now preparing a national library strategy extending to 2010 – – – – - “a smooth state library administration with a functional national library net” Hybrid libraries Access to information Accessibility of library and information services Geographical and social equality National co-operation • • • Council for Finnish University Libraries Councils of other library sectors - Public libraries - Polytechnic libraries - Special libraries The National Library 153 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ - Services for all sectors Research and special libraries • • • • • National library – Helsinki University library - Acts as a service and development unit for the nation’s libraries - Promotes national and international co-operation Universities/university libraries - 20 universities/university libraries Polytechnical school libraries - 29 libraries Special libraries - Approx. 35 major research institutes under various ministries The National Repository Library - Serves both public and research libraries Finnish Research Library Association • • • • Founded 1929 700 members Contributes professional development Goals and activities especially on... - National level collaboration: umbrella organisation for library associations... - Information literacy - Quality and assesment issues - Interlibrary loans - Metadata, subject description -International co-operation National library ● ● ● ● Co-ordinating services National union databases Consortium for electronic resources (FinElib) Digital library service environment - Traditional (“integrated”) library system (Voyager) - IR portal (Metalib portal, SFX linking software - Ex Libris) - Digital document archive (ENCompass for Digital Collections Endeavor Information Systems) 154 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Collaboration/co-operation projects • • • Municipal/regional portals, subject gateways - Regional co-operation between different type of libraries and public administration organisations increasing (eg. Portals) - Virtual library -project (Renardus) Collaboration with acquisitions - ”Tietokartta”, subject based resource map of the Finnish Academic Libraries Open Access –projects - FinnOA, individual projects Collaboration/co-operation projects • • • Information literacy - National Information Literacy -project (Council for the Finnish University Libraries, 2004-2006) Interlibrary loans - National ILL -project (ILL Committee of the Finnish Research Library Association, Linnea2 consortium ILL Committee, public libraries, Linnea2 ILL evaluation group) - Universal borrowing in partial (one-way) use between the National Repository Library and some University Libraries) Collaborative reference services - Ask a librarian (public libraries + Library of Parliament) Individual efforts • • • E-publishing Development of learning environments Mobile phone services (SMS-based services) Nature of work • • Hybrid libraries - Parallel use of printed and electronic resources Guidance and training for users - Learning environments - Information literacy - Online reference services Electronic resources 155 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • • Require new approaches to cataloging, subject description, acquisitions E-books Multimedia Electronic/network services • • • • Users • • • • • • Quality Information architecture and design Multimedia How to utilize networked environment - Social innovations - Development of new type of services (current awareness, topical, interactive and mobile phone services) More remote users Target groups Communication and feedback are needed Real time services, 24/7 services, extension of working time Availability of resources is not enough – new approach is required Usability, accessibility Co-operation, collaboration, consortias • Increasing co-operation will change the work flows, working methods, nature of work and decision making procedures - Eg. outsourcing, centralizing/decentralizing, vertical/horizontal management, teams/specialists - Practical impacts on copy cataloging, standards • Various forms of co-operation - In-house (parent organisation) - Subject base - Regional (eg. regional/municipal portals) - National - International Technology • • Smaller, faster, wireless and more intelligent technologies Variety of service models 156 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • - Manual, automatic, remote, mobile Integration vs. Personalization - Portals, collaboration - Open architecture, standards Training, competence • • • • • • Subject expertise Pedagocical skills Technological skills Co-operation and management - Quality and assesment - Centralizing/decentralizing/outsourcing Planning and organizing skills Flexibility To conclude... • • Democratic society - We are working so hard to make information society real through libraries - What do we get with these powerful tools? Where do we get? - E-euphoria Limited resources - Balancing between staff – print/electronic resources – sw/hw - Co-operation - Open access - Open source 157 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ EVALUATION OF LIBRARY PERFORMANCE – OUTCOMES AND IMPACT: CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ESTONIA Anu Nuut Chief Specialist on Library Statistics and Standardisation Research and Development Centre of the National Library of Estonia Measurement of library effectiveness is continuously actual: continued efforts to find ways to evaluate library effectiveness, include - quality improvement, benchmarking, performance measures and standards setting. Use of library performance measurement methods give possibilities to improve library performance effectiveness through using organisation management theory and helping libraries to better understand their organisations needs for innovation. Evaluation and a system of measures were intended to support: • • • • Planning Resource management Operational function and service management Promotion, marketing. TQM in the concepts used, especially user orientation and effectiveness. For quality accreditation process, as international equivalent, is used ISO standard (ISO9000). Performance measurement and quality appraisal is important and useful for every library. As every library has specific objectives, goals and responsibilities, then there is need to develop specific performance indicators for every library type, which will reflect their performance quality, quantity and effectiveness adequately. The effectiveness of library activities is part of social development model, so it is important to evaluate a library’s impact on the society and treat the role of a library within socio-economical model of social development. That means, in planning library activities and developing library and information policies the following concepts have to be considered — the effectiveness, efficiency and economics. Library performance measurement and assessment are a part of the library management process, and information necessary for measurement (for instance, library statistics) is management information. The results of the evaluation process should form the basis of library network and library system development. Library performance measurement (quantity and quality) surveys are necessary and supportive for: • • • • evaluating library work effectiveness; strategic planning of library activities, budget planning and redistribution; developing acquisition policy and principles of a resource library to avoid duplication and cut the costs, working out financial basis of libraries acquisition; drawing up library development plans. 158 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ An important consequence of continuing change is that serious consideration must be given to the management, performance measurement and evaluation of libraries in order to support the development of modern, service-oriented library. Key issues of modern research libraries are: • • • • • • Integration into institutional life; Strategic planning; Performance measurement, measurement of output, input and impact of services; Participative management; Service orientation; Consultation and reference work. To measure library statistics we measure input (income/expenditure; collection size/additions, number of staff, study places/PC, cataloguing data) and output (loans/inhouse use, reference transactions, ILL/document delivery, user training lessons, attendance’s at events/exhibitions, amount of services/media/facilities/ offered, amount of use). Inputs are the resources that libraries invest (money, staff, workstations, online commercial databases). Activities are the library services/resources that the inputs actually generate (licensed resources availability, story hours, training sessions). Bertot (2004a) Outputs are the number of services/resources generated from the library investments (number of workstations, number of database licensed, print materials purchased). Outputs assessment involves the identification of the number of library activities that patron use (number of database sessions, number of database items examined, number of training sessions conducted, etc). Quality assessment involves determining the degree to which users find the library services/resources (outputs) to be satisfactory. Economic value is time saved, effect on the economics of a community and a commercial firm and of an institution, financial economy. User satisfaction is rather qualitative assessment of library outputs. Possible methods to measure outcome are to measure financial value, social impact, information literacy and academic/professional success. Outcomes assessment seeks to determine the impact of the library’s services/resources (again, outputs) the library service and resource users, or benefits, changes in skill/knowledge that library users derive from library services/resources. Libraries seeking user-based assessment results of library resources/services and they need to use several strategies of measures (to measure outputs, outcomes and impact). 159 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Libraries need to know investments (inputs) spent to offer services (outputs) in order to determine the perceived quality (quality assessment) and impact (outcomes) of those services/resources. It is not easy to develop measures and collect statistics related to networked resources and electronic services. Indeed library budget tied to performance results and accreditation and value of outcomes, that means – libraries had to decide what should be their outcomes and determine how connect measures and statistics to those outcomes. What is outcome? For measuring outcomes we measure • • • accountability (limited resources, computing resources, results based budgeting, public reporting, increasing demand of services); management of resources (planning, allocating resources, optimising outcome, monitoring effects of change; promotion of the library’s role (computing ways of information provision and communication of benefits, influence on policy makers). Outcomes of libraries can be divided into short terms outcomes (information gained, problems solved, time saved, information seeking skills improved, IT skills improved) and into long-terms outcomes (information literacy, improved academic success, better career chances, changes in behaviour as reading, use of information etc. Here are several types of outcome in the library organisational assessment context: • • • Desired outcomes – connected with institutional goals and quality standards, Actual outcomes – are the real achievement or production levels for an outcome of interest as measured actually at a given time; Outcomes of interest – institution choose to focus of attention at a given time, relevant outcomes on local level, which can impact and measure meaningfully. An outcome is a clearly identified result or end product that occurs as a consequence of individual or combined activities from units at the institution. It is preferred or desired state and ideally clarifies specific expectations of what should be products from the institution. An institutional outcome can be defined and measured in such a way that evidence is available to determine the amount or degree to which the outcome does, in fact, occur The outcome assessment process consists of following: Environment; Vision; Mission and Goals of the Institution; Objectives, goals, cues, budgeting; Library Action; Other Units Library co-operate with; Communication; Outcomes of interest; To know, that the institution’s mission is fulfilled an goals met we must assess results; To select measures to indicate that goals are being achieved; To do measures using appropriate indicators; Fraser, B., McClure, Ch. (2002) 160 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ It is valuable to incorporate assessment data into decision-making processes, as it appears to be a function of leadership need for management information, interest in assessment as a decision-making tool, organisational culture. The future of libraries and librarianship is intimately associated with outcome assessment and accountability, as well as competition for diminishing resources. Library services and performance assessment consists of several activities: Performance measures using several methods and indicators; Assessment of outputs and outcomes, inputs and incomes; Evaluation of service quality. The electronic era of the 21st century has brought big changes to the libraries working condition and services. Web-based electronic services create new conditions and possibilities for libraries that substantially differ from traditional library model. Library performance evaluation and methods used for assessment electronic library performance and services are slowly implemented in library management and strategy development. Management by results is used in libraries as well in all other fields. Performance measures proceeds from the evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency, use of resources, quality of services etc. The best way to use new methods for performance measures and evaluation in electronic library is to implement standards. Measuring the performance of individual library services and processes is currently well developed in the world, but it is difficult to identify the overall organisational performance of libraries. The process of evaluation of overall organisation requires all aspects of organisational performance to measure: Leadership and innovation; Strategy and planning process, strategic directions; Organisational culture; Leadership throughout the organisation; Environment and community contribution; Strategy and planning process; Understanding the business environment; Development and application of resources; Data, information and knowledge; Collection and interpretation of data and information; Integration and use of knowledge in decision making; Creation and management knowledge; People; Involvement and commitment; Effectiveness and development; Health, safety and well-being; Customer and market focus; Knowledge of customers and markets; Customer relationship management; Customer perception of value; Processes, products and services; Innovation process; Supplier and partner processes; Management and improvement of processes; Quality of products and services; Business results; Indicators of success; Indicators of sustainability; Information and knowledge; Overall statistical data; Staff - human resources; customer and information market; Processes and data; Products and services; Business results etc. There are 12 principles of business excellence to take into consideration: Directions (clear directions allows organisational alignment and a focus on the achievement of goals); Planning (mutually agreed plans translate organisational direction into action); Customers (understanding what clients value, now and in the future, influences organisational direction, strategy and action); Processes (to improve the outcome, improve the system and its associated processes); 161 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ People (the potential of an organisation is realised through its people’s enthusiasm, resourcefulness and participation); Learning (continual improvement and innovation depend on continual learning); Systems (all people work in a system, outcomes are improved when people work on the system); Data (effective use of facts, data and knowledge leads to improved decisions); Variation (all systems and processes exhibit variability, which impacts on predictability and performance); Community (organisations provide value to the community through their actions to ensure a clean, safe, fair and prosperous society); Leadership (senior leadership’s constant role-modelling of these principles and their creation of a supportive environment to live these principles, are necessary for the organisation to reach its true potential). What can be measured in Electronic Library? Network technology infrastructure: hardware, equipment and software, network resources, electronic network and electronic services. Extensiveness: extent of network provided services as measured by standards (ISO/TR 20983) such as the number of Web page access, number of remote logins and sessions, etc. Information resource content: networked electronic information resources accessible and preserved locally or remotely, and the means by which search, retrieval, and activation is achieved through administrative, descriptive, and structural metadata and coding. The current state of library technology infrastructure development reflects complex of measures. Performance measurement of libraries requires librarians to transform quantitative input and output data collection concepts and structures into a qualitative outcome assessment framework. Based on recent developments, libraries face opportunities to define and develop new criteria for measuring performance through the development of indicators related to network services and electronic media. Development of standard definitions and terms, procedures, and measurement methodologies related to library performance requires that librarians rethink how to describe and demonstrate value. Young (2004) Electronic Services: Percentage of Population Reached by Electronic Services; Percentage of Expenditure of Information Provision Spent on the Electronic Collection, Retrieving documents use – as number of documents used per session, percentage of rejected sessions, percentage of remote OPAC sessions, percentage of virtual visits, percentage of information requests submitted electronically, workstations available per capita, workstations use rate, electronic service training lessons per capita, percentage of library staff providing and developing electronic services etc. 162 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Efficiency: those resources required to provider or access networked information services and digital media resources as measured by standards such as peak-hour connections to servers, bandwidth, etc The Internet is an integral part of library service that can take many forms – an extension of library collection and resources through licensed and digitised content, a gateway service through public access workstations and interaction with the library through such services as digital reference. We have much to learn about library involvement with and use of network-based resources. So we do have much to learn regarding customer perceptions of network-based service quality, outcomes and other assessment techniques. Bertot (2004b) Is it possible use statistics for measures and evaluation? Traditionally descriptive statistics about libraries represent information about inputs and outputs. Over the last several years there had been big changes in standards reflecting new characteristics, data collection methods and new trends in libraries – new electronic environment. Descriptive library statistics are traditionally collected and reported for the following purposes and applications: Managerial and administrative – data used for measuring economic efficiency, productivity and change; Research and analysis – statistics used to perform trend analysis, testing, model formulation, research and development, and identifying innovation; Policy planning and development - statistical information and analysis used to plan for improvement, to determine grant allocation and support, to support advocacy, to justify legal reforms; Market analysis and planning – data used to analyse demand, to identify, segment, and develop markets, for use in determining licensing contractual terms. Statistical benchmarking in the management of libraries, as part of a mission oriented and performance related approach to achieving optimal service. It is complex, including factors such as the need to demonstrate value for money, the achievement of targets and meeting of standards, and increasing climate of performance related approaches to management. Statistical benchmarking has one goal – the improvement of library services. Benchmarking is a collaborative process, it require further research. Creaser (2004) Assessment is a set of initiatives of the institution takes to review the result of its action, it is management by results. Each organisation requires data collection and the relating of data to a planning process that addresses accountability, improved service, productivity, and informed decision making. There are four main perspectives to use for assessment in academic libraries context: • The institution and the communities served in the life of the library (self assessment) 163 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • • • The library in the life of the institution (assessment toward accomplishing the institutions mission, productivity of learning process and research) The library and institution in the life of the user/customer (customer-centred assessment – service quality and satisfaction) The library and institution in the life of stakeholders (assessment institutional effectiveness and efficiency in relates to funding or accreditation). Hernon, P. and Dugan, R. (2004) Library performance measurement tools are indicators. Library performance indicators focus on evaluation of library performance by measuring effectiveness and organisational performance, by assessing needs, testing, identifying gaps&high-risk areas, improving accountability, and by establishing benchmarks and baselines. Performance indicators focus on management using unbiased information to improve decision making, to reduce risks, and to solve problems. The emphasis of performance measurement includes drawing comparisons that are useful to co-ordinate, prevent duplication, to perform stakeholder consultations, and to focus on outputs and outcomes. Performance measurement enables managers to do comparisons, to plan strategy, to formulate budgets, to plan and evaluate program results, and to set goals required to achieve success. We can use library statistics as valuable management information, when accountability made accordingly to standards; appropriate definitions and data are reliable, comparable, and relevant. Using performance measures we can: Evaluate: Measure effectiveness, Organisational performance; Identify baselines; test; identify gaps&high risk areas; improve accountability Manage: Improve decisions; Reduce risk; Solve problems, Assess needs. Compare: Co-ordinate, Prevent duplication, Stakeholder consultations, Outputs, Outcomes. Plan Strategy: Formulate budget; Plan program; Plan results; Set goals; Assure achievement. Output measure expressed in quantitative or qualitative measures, quantitative measures based on library statistics or valid measures (e-metrics incl.) Different countries implement management tools and approaches in different ways. The national culture, libraries network structure and standards setting can probably provide a tentative explanation for many of the variations. The concept of national culture could provide explanations for the way new ideological movements as reinventing government, new public management and the like are implemented as institutional imperatives in different countries. It is obvious, that there must be a certain match between the basic assumption of an organisation and the assumption rooted in managerial approach or tool. It is about the culture of the organisation. This culture is important as a zone of acceptance in relation to which tools and managerial approaches are conceivable and legitimate in a given institution. Pors (2004) 164 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A Culture of assessment is an organisational environment, in which decisions are based on facts, research, and analysis, and where services are planned and delivered in ways that maximise positive outcome and impact for customers and stakeholders. Lakos (2002) The model – Focus/Value/ Purpose matrix, highlights some of the organisational factors that influence the use of evaluation in libraries: whether the organisation’s focus is internal or external, whether it places greater value on input or output, and the strength of its commitment to use evaluation methods to help the organisation plan and change, this model explain culture of assessment. Cullen, Calvert (2004) Libraries that change lives have real impact. Measures of impact are the most valuable measures of all – but they are also the most difficult. Impact evaluation tries to achieve: • • • to influence policy makers, to check whether past decisions are having the anticipated results, to provide comparative data with which to monitor the effects of change. Impact evaluation gives the broader picture of performance assessment by considering it within the organisation assessment model. The evaluation of impact should then become a natural part of the whole process of performance measurement within an organisation (such as a library) rather than something to be evaluated in isolation. Craven, Brophy (2004) Estonian libraries have started performance measurement analysis, however this has not yet developed into a systematic and regular process to support development of organisational activities, provide basis for planning activities, development policies, state financial policy and procurement of state resources; However as each library has specific objectives, goals and responsibilities, there is a need to develop specific performance indicators for every library type, reflecting their performance, quality, quantity and effectiveness adequately; Some research projects of a larger scope were initiated in 1994-2000: • • to pursue the study in the field of performance measurement at a more advanced level; to analyse information needs and general user satisfaction of target populations and quantity of library performance, including library statistics analysis. Library statistics was used in the research project of Estonian Science Foundation Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Research Libraries in Estonia (based on library acquisition, collections, services, librarians` qualification, expenditure and cost analysis). 165 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The National Library of Estonia (NLE) is responsible for collecting, recording and analysing statistics of Estonian print production and libraries. Summarised reports of national library statistics are issued every year in paper form and published electronically on the homepage of the National Library of Estonia. http://www.nlib.ee/110 Library statistics is a valuable source for library performance measurement, results of the evaluation process should form basis of library network and library system development. NLE accepts library statistics surveys as basic information of current situation. Additionally we apply Common Assessment Framework (CAF) self-assessment methods and models to improve main processes of library work and organisational structure and accomplish several quality assurance methods (as target group surveys, user satisfaction surveys, public relations audit etc). There are an increasing interest in developing theory and applying quantity and quality management principles and techniques to all library and information sectors. Librarianship standardisation - during last years the activities of Estonian libraries was reorganised accordingly to the IFLA and ISO standards, drawing up Estonian standards. The Estonian Centre of Standardisation (EVS) is co-ordinating body for standardisation in Estonia and NLE has co-operation agreement with EVS. There are registered at present more than 20 technical committees (TC) in the EVS, among them TC 4 (EVS/TK 4) Information Technology and TC 22 (EVS/TK 22) Information and Documentation, which mainly support library and information science standardisation. Technical Committees as well as co-operation partners have been mostly engaged in preparing the original Estonian standards and in preparation of adoptions in translation method. They give comments on drafts of Estonian standards and are informed by EVS on the current work of their corresponding European or international TCs. We have good co-operation with ISO/TC 46 Information and documentation, SC 8 Statistics and performance evaluation. The working group (WG) of standardisation on LIS was established in the NLE in 2001 and the aim of the WG is preparation of drafts and adoption of ISO and IFLA standards on LIS. The main area of standardisation is library statistics, library performance measurement and performance indicators, print production statistics, library terminology, cataloguing and bibliographic descriptions (ISBD’s), preservation and digitalisation, ICT, metadata etc Library standardisation in Estonia http://www.nlib.ee/7943 The effectiveness of development library performance is closely related to the degree of participation in international projects, and associated with awareness of European and international developments trends in the field of LIS, the same co-operation on national level. 166 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ There is a need to develop standards in relation to the outcome/input/impact of library and information services in accordance with several types of information sectors and library models. These can be useful management tools and are valued by accrediting bodies, but they must be based on empirical research, as well as on performance measurement and benchmarking. There is a need to develop standards for data collection and other approaches to standards may be necessary in the more complex areas as service quality and satisfaction or outcomes, where cultural and cognitive characteristics of users variable and can be invalidate results. References: Bertot, J.C. (2004a) Libraries and networked information services: issues and consideration in measurement. In: Proceedings of the 5th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services. Library Measures to fill the void: assessing the outcomes. Edited by Sandra Parker. An IFLA satellite pre-conference, 28-31 July 2003, Newcastle, Northumbria University, UK. P. 311. Bertot, J.C. (2004b) Libraries and networked information services: issues and consideration in measurement // Performance Measurement and Metrics, Volume 5 Number 1, pp. 11-19. Craven, J., Brophy, P. Evaluating the longitudinal impact of networked services in UK public libraries: the Longitude II project In: Proceedings of the 5th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services. Library Measures to fill the void: assessing the outcomes. Edited by Sandra Parker. An IFLA satellite pre-conference, 28-31 July 2003, Newcastle, Northumbria University, UK. P. 223-227. Creaser, C. (2004) Measuring and comparing: statistical benchmarking for academic libraries. In: Proceedings of the 5th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services. Library Measures to fill the void: assessing the outcomes. Edited by Sandra Parker. An IFLA satellite preconference, 28-31 July 2003, Newcastle, Northumbria University, UK. P. 58-63. Cullen, R., Calvert, P (2004) Organisational factors affecting the delivery of service quality in academic libraries. In: Proceedings of the 5th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services. Library Measures to fill the void: assessing the outcomes. Edited by Sandra Parker. An IFLA satellite pre-conference, 28-31 July 2003, Newcastle, Northumbria University, UK. P. 166-172. 167 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fraser, B., McClure, Ch. (2002) Toward a Framework of Library and Institutional Outcomes. ARL E-metrics projects Information Use Management and Policy Institute. January, 2002. 42 p. Hernon, P. and Dugan, R. (2004) Different perspectives on assessment and evaluation: the need to refine and link them. In: Proceedings of the 5th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services. Library Measures to fill the void: assessing the outcomes. Edited by Sandra Parker. An IFLA satellite pre-conference, 28-31 July 2003, Newcastle, Northumbria University, UK. P. 2330. Lakos, A. (2002) Defining a culture of assessment, culture of assessment toolkit http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/yrl/reference/aalakos/Cutoolkit.html Pors, N. O. et al. (2004) The employment of quality measures in libraries : cultural differences, institutional imperatives and managerial profiles. // Performance Measurement &Metrics. The International Journal for Library and Information Services, Volume 5 Number 1, pp. 20-27. Young, P. (2002) Electronic services and library performance measurement: A definitional challenge In: Proceedings of the 4th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services. Meaningful Measures for Emerging Realities. Edited by Joan Stein, Martha Kyrillidou, Denis Davis. An IFLA satellite pre-conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. ARL, Washington. P. 51-66. 168 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ UNION CATALOGUE QUALITY CONTROL AND EVALUATION IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES Baiba Mūze Lecturer of the Department of Library Science and Information Science Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia Information society requires provision of access to information and opportunities to transform information into knowledge. Task of the libraries is to offer new qualitative information services in order to create prerequisites of implementing the economic and social tasks of the society. It is the public libraries, who have “strategic role in the formation of information society, as they promote the strengthening of the society identity, economic development, life-long learning and cultural diversity” (3). UNESCO Public Library Manifesto (1994) emphasizes: “The public library, the local gateway to knowledge, provides a basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development of the individual and social groups. The public library is a living force for education, culture and information, and as an essential agent for the fostering of peace and spiritual welfare through the minds of men and women” (2). Delivery of information services to the inhabitants of the region is based on the collections of the public libraries of the region. Therefore it is essential to create regional union catalogues, in order to gather information about all information resources of the region and to create common points of access. It enables the patrons to locate the necessary information faster and to choose the most appropriate mode and place of acquisition. Library law of Latvia determines that the main library of the region “creates the union catalogue of the relevant administrative territory collections and provides its availability to each of the involved libraries” (1). Library is a social institution and the quality of its services affects the society development opportunities. In order to determine the potential of soci-economic development, one must first assess the level of the resources and services offered by the libraries. Former library operation assessment did not take into account the economic concepts and methods. In the current economic conditions library operation assessment more and more emphasizes economic aspects, like marketing, quality measurement, audit and implementation of quality systems. It is explained by the main mission of the library - to offer qualitative services and to improve constantly the library service system. Only the public library preserves its significance in the social system, providing the opportunities of self-improvement to every member of the society. According to the definition of library quality provided by the international standard, the usability and quality of the catalogue as a part of the library service system, “is the feature expressing the library ability to provide the patrons’ needs” (5, p.13). Library catalogue quality and value size depends on whether the analysis of the patrons’ needs 169 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ performed and the cataloguing method is elaborated, how valuable is the cataloguing process, what is the knowledge of the cataloguing professionals and opportunities of the library management system. Quality of the electronic catalogues must be assessed in a common system, analyzing the factors determining the quality and value of the catalogue-product (records which describe every item and in total reflect the library collection) and catalogue- service (searching and other opportunities). Quality - totality of features and qualities, characterizing validity, correspondence (4, p.421). In order to determine the quality, one must assess the correspondence of catalogues to the standards and other regulations. Value - validity, significance (4, p.850). Assessment of the catalogue usage value is based on the analysis of usage opportunities and patron satisfaction. Quality determining properties are those significant to the catalogue users. Therefore the quality is not determined by its creators and its tasks, but by its users and his/her benefits. Quality measure is not an absolute value, it depends on the particular situation - purpose, type of the search request and other determining factors. In order the public libraries provided free and equal access to qualitative information and the necessary informational services to the local inhabitants, union catalogues must be comfortably and comprehensively used. It determines corresponding tasks to information processing - in the process of cataloguing the information is supplemented by added value. Situation in Latvia Creation of public library electronic catalogues began at the end of 1990ies. During the last years the number of catalogues and the amount of information they contain, has dynamically increased. Library cooperation tendencies are more and more visible. One of the most significant cooperation models is creation of public library regional union catalogues. Majority of the regional libraries are creating electronic union catalogues and providing their availability in the Internet environment. At present the state significance library and regional public library union catalogue audit is taking place, in order to assess their quality and usage value. Audit methodology is based on Charles Cutter’s statements about the functions of the catalogue and IFLA work-group conceptual model of functional requirements for the bibliographic records. Audit result analysis’ report is expected in autumn 2005, and it will provide a detailed survey of usability of catalogues in Latvia and their correspondence of the quality criteria. From 28 regional libraries majority is already creating or will begin in the near future regional union catalogues. Unfortunately their accessibility, usability and quality differ. 170 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In order to characterize the current situation, the author selected 22 regional catalogues available on the Internet. The analysis did not incorporate the 6 library catalogues, which at present are available only locally in the library. The analysis covers comparison of machine-readable records of the books popular in Latvia, which are in the collections of all public libraries and also the usability of the catalogues in general. The main indicators analyzed for determination of the catalogue quality and usability value are: • • • • • Accessibility; Information access points; The scope of bibliographic information; Holdings information; Usability opportunities. Accessibility From the 22 selected catalogues 4 are not available to patrons due to technical problems. Operation speed of the available catalogues also differs. Two of the catalogues are nearly impossible to use because of the slow operation. The rest of the catalogues comfortably offer searching in several databases - union catalogues, local history database and other bibliographic databases. It provides the patrons with enhanced opportunities in information retrieval. Figure 1 Possibility to choose the database (on the left side) 171 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Information access points Machine-readable catalogue records create the main access points in order to retrieve the information. One must note that all catalogues include main entry and added entries. All public library catalogues, in distinction from the state significance library union catalogue and national bibliography database, create the main entry for the individual author in the language of the published text. Majority of the catalogues indicate the author’s name in the original language in added entry. All records contain compulsory record elements, which provide access to the information. However one must note the differences and drawbacks in indicating the access points (different UDC indices, subjects, lack of added entries etc.). The scope of bibliographic information The records contain the necessary scope of the bibliographic information, in order to characterize the publication. All records contain the compulsory elements, but optional elements are present only in a small part of records. Notes supplementing the included information are in very few records. From the selected records only in a few cases MARC records contain additional information with a picture (cover of the book), links or other information. Therefore the information included in the records does not correspond to the Cutter’s statement about the function of the catalogue - to assist in choosing the publication. Figure 2 Additional information with a cover of the book 172 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bibliographic elements are treated differently. Several differences are insignificant and do not affect further usage (e.g. physical description, usage of square brackets, abbreviations etc.) Holdings information All union catalogue records contain holdings information about the libraries or branches that own the particular item. Several union catalogues also indicate the shelving index. Union catalogues indicate information about all libraries where the particular item is available - address, telephone numbers etc. It helps the patron to choose the library where to acquire the material. Figure 3 Holdings information in the union catalog of Riga region Unfortunately only several regional libraries at present have purchased the circulation module and have automated the circulation process. Union catalogues of these libraries reflect also the availability and status of the items. None of the libraries currently use the opportunity to order, book or prolong the loan term remotely. Usability opportunities Machine-readable records can be viewed in several forms, form which the patrons usually prefer the standard element form or bibliographic record. Significant features are possibility to create lists of sources and print them in the form of bibliographic records. 173 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ One can conclude that union catalogues provide an opportunity to use a uniform information access point, in order to employ all resources of the region. They are a significant basis for providing the information services in the region. Unfortunately only a part of public library union catalogues in Latvia are available to remote users and they cannot fully employ all opportunities offered by the automated system. Union catalogues contain the main characterizing information about each publication and provide access points. Holdings information is convenient to use. Libraries themselves create the catalogue records, they do not employ the centralized cataloguing advantages, as at present only several regional public libraries have acquired Z39.50 client. Employment of National bibliographic database is inhibited by the delayed deliveries of the obligatory copy, which in turn does not provide timely processing of acquisitions and centralized download of data in other libraries. It explains the differences in the records, which may affect the retrieval opportunities. State integrated library information system implementation in Latvia will provide an opportunity to improve the automation opportunities in each public library, creating union catalogues as the main information access point, promoting the development of services and opportunity for each public library to become a part of the united service system. Bibliographic references 1. Bibliotēku likums [Library Law] [online]. 2002. [cited 20-04-2005]. Available: http://www.km.gov.lv/UI/main.asp?id=13185 2. IFLA/UNESCO Public libraries Manifesto [online]. 1994. [cited 20-04-2005]. Available: http://www.ifla.org/VII/s8/unesco/eng.htm 3. Kopenhāgenas deklarācija [Copenhagen Declaration] [online] : Kopenhāgenas konference “Publiskās bibliotēkas un informācijas sabiedrība” 1999.gada 14.15.oktobrī. 1999. [cited 20-04-2005]. Available: http://www.km.gov.lv/UI/Main.asp?id=10104 4. Latviešu valodas vārdnīca [Dictionary of the Latvian language] : A-Ž. Rīga : Avots, 1987. 883 lpp. 5. LVS ISO 11620 Informācija un dokumentācija. Bibliotēku darbības rādītāji [ISO 11620: Information and documentation, Library performance indicators]. Rīga : VSIA Latvijas standarts, 2001. 127 lpp. 6. LVS ISO 5127 Informācija un dokumentācija. Vārdnīca [ISO 5127 Information and documentation – Vocabulary]. Rīga : VSIA Latvijas Standarts, 2004. 160 lpp. 174 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ LIBRARY PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION TOOLS IN FINNISH PUBLIC LIBRARIES Anneli Äyräs Counsellor for Cultural Affairs Ministry of Education of Finland In Finland, the Libraries Act decrees that both the Ministry of Education and the local library service conduct evaluations. The Ministry maintains a statistical database in support of these evaluations. It allows time series comparisons, comparisons between local authorities, and the calculation of various parameters. In 2001 the Library Policy Committee put forward some quality recommendations which can be used as benchmarks in evaluation. The Ministry of Education, assisted by the provincial offices, evaluates the development of library services annually by means of some central parameters. Apart from basic services, each year the evaluation also focuses on some specific aspect of library services. The findings are published both in book form and on the internet. New challenges facing the evaluation of Finnish library services arise from the measures and parameters of cost-effectiveness, value for money and performance used in local economy, which should also be applied to libraries. The Finnish Library Act (904/1998) has a separate chapter on evaluation. According to Section 6: The municipality shall evaluate the library and information service it provides. The purpose of the evaluation is to improve access to library and information library and information services and the quality and cost-effectiveness of the services. Each municipality is obliged to take part in evaluation referred to by this clause. Decisions about national evaluation and about national participation in international evaluations shall be made by the relevant ministry, which shall carry out the evaluation together with the Provincial State Offices. The municipality shall contribute to the evaluation referred to in this subsection. Salient findings of the evaluation shall be made public. In Finland library services form part of the statutory local services. The aims of library services are laid down at a very general level in the Library Act: ... to promote equal opportunities among citizens for personal cultivation, for literary and cultural pursuits, for continuous development of knowledge, personal skills and 175 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ citizenship skills; for internationalisation; and for lifelong learning. [...] to promote the development of virtual and interactive network services and their educational and cultural contents. For evaluation, one must (1) choose the evaluation criteria; (2) collect data; (3) determine the point of comparison; and (4) draw conclusions. Statistical data do not readily lend themselves for measuring or assessing quality. However, we can presume that some data, such as new acquisitions, the number of trained personnel or opening hours, indicate something about the quality of services. Customer satisfaction is generally left for the local authorities or libraries to gauge. In 1999, Statistics Finland interviewed 2000 persons about their library use and its importance for them. Some 82% of the respondents used the library annually. The library services met the expectations and needs of 56% of the respondents fully and those of 27% fairly well. Questionnaires specific to a municipality or a library enable library services to be gauged in more detail: how quickly one gets a new book; how well the opening hours meet the library users' needs; how willing the personnel is to serve; how friendly the service is; how knowledgeable the personnel is; etc. Evaluation criteria and data collection In Finland the foremost tool for national library evaluation is the annual library statistics published by the Ministry of Education. The data in the Finnish Public Libraries Statistics Database (www.libraries.fi) and its maintenance are the responsibility of the Culture and Media Division of the Ministry of Education. The database contains data from 1999 onwards. Each year's data are published in March the following year. The municipal libraries update their data directly into the database, but the provincial state offices verify the data before the statistics are published. The database contains numerous − mostly traditional − statistical data, which have been combined into parameters. The definitions used in the statistics are based on the ISO standard. In most parameters, the statistical data is in proportion to the number of inhabitants (e.g. loans /inhabitant, book acquisitions /1000 inhabitants). Some indicators measure efficiency (e.g. loans, total/person years, lending circulation= loans/collection). As regards electronic transactions, there have been some problems regarding the compilation of statistics, and the data have been collected on a trial basis so far. In 2005, an electronic transaction is defined as follows: "A virtual visit to the web site of the library by a client not physically present at the library; the visit may comprise several different transactions, just as a physical visit to the library. Visits made to different pages of the web site during one visit are not counted as separate site visits. Visits to the web site made from terminals situated in the library are not counted as electronic transactions. The estimated number of visits to the web site is based on the visitor counter at the site or on reliable sampling." There will be many other problems to solve regarding web service statistics in the coming years. 176 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Ministry of Education database allows comparisons between different local authorities and between one municipality and the national or regional data. It is possible to create ranking lists of different statistical data, for instance, which municipalities have the largest number of loans per inhabitant or which municipalities have the smallest number of acquisitions per 1000 inhabitants. The database also enables time indicators from 1999 onwards. Point of comparison In its 2001 report, the Library Policy Committee put forward some quality recommendations for library services on a trial basis. They relate to accessibility, service provision, the use of services and financing. A. Accessibility 1. Location The service point at least within a radius of 2 km or a bookmobile stop at least 1 km for 80% of the inhabitants 2. Library system Computer-based, conforming to the recommended standards (technical standards, cataloguing standards, open interfaces) 3. Internet connections 4. Opening hours One terminal for library users /1000 inhabitants Sufficient and rightly deployed/placed opening hours B. Services 1. Book acquisitions Minimum 400 books /1000 inhabitants 2. Other material acquisition Minimum 100 recordings /1000 inhabitants 3. Newspapers and periodicals 5. Personnel 15 annual subscriptions /1000 inhabitants, the minimum is 45 (+ net magazines) Minimum 100 sq.m./1000 inhabitants; location, condition One person-year/1000 inhabitants 6. In-service training Minimum 6 training days/person-year annually 4. Premises C. Use 1. Library visits 10 visits/inhabitant (+ distance use separately) 2. Lending 3. Borrowers D. Financing 18 loans/ inhabitant Minimum 45% of inhabitants 1. Operational expenditure Minimum national average unit cost (gross expenditure minus income from services sold to other local authorities and local consortiums) 177 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ So far, we have not been able to agree on a recommendation for opening hours. Similarly, the recommendation concerning operational expenditure is only satisfactory. The sizes of Finnish municipalities vary greatly, ranging from 250 inhabitants to 550,000 inhabitants. The number of library service points varies accordingly. One recommendation for all the municipalities may not be enough. Even so, the recommendations are only roughly indicative. Individual local authorities are often better served by comparisons between municipalities of the same size and with the similar library networks. Conclusions The national evaluations have been jointly conducted by of the Ministry of Education and the provincial state offices. The annual basic evaluation uses the following parameters: − − − − − − − accessibility of service points (library network) operational expenditure/inhabitant person years/ /1000 inhabitants book acquisitions/1000 inhabitants other acquisitions/1000 inhabitants loans/inhabitant physical visits/inhabitant In Finland, library services are considered a basic social service, just like the school system and the social and health services. This means that the evaluation of library services forms part of the evaluation of basic local services. The annual evaluation also includes a more focused assessment of some aspect of the services in order to ensure the best possible evaluations with the personnel resources available. We have looked into changes in library services from 1991 to 1999, the extent and quality of personnel resources, and the accessibility of library services. In 2003 we focused on book acquisitions and found that: Books are still by far the most popular library material, even though demand for other materials is rapidly growing. In 2002, books accounted for 73% of the overall lending, 85% of all acquisitions and 90% of the collections. At their present level, the appropriations for material acquisitions will not ensure a sufficiently high quality and a large variety of book collections in all libraries. In 2002, book acquisitions represented some 10% of the overall library expenditure, but there were vast differences between municipalities. Where a small municipality in the archipelago may spend about 14 euros per inhabitant, a medium-sized rural municipality may only spend 2 euros. At the national level, however, book lending grew by nearly three per cent from 2001 to 2002. Library materials must be supplemented by new, current materials every year. New books are in the greatest demand, but some literature has a lasting value. Acquisitions 178 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ and disposals must be in balance. In 2002 the disposal of books was only 3.8 % of the collection, while the international recommendation is around 8%. The low level of both acquisitions and disposals undermines the freshness and quality of collections. The circulation is an indicator describing the lending of books in relation to the number of books in the collection. The median circulation in 2002 was 1.37, ranging from 0.25 in a small archipelago municipality to 4.12 in a major city. Circulation can be boosted by means of intermunicipal cooperation and effective logistics. This has already been done in many regions, where libraries have formed library pools. But cooperation should still be enhanced. The collections of children's and youth literature are appraised according to the recommendations put forward after an evaluation and development project conducted in the north of Finland, known under the acronym PARKKI. PARKKI recommended that the library collection should contain at least eight volumes per every resident aged between 0 and 14. The recommended number of acquisitions is one volume per child. On average, Finnish libraries have 11 volumes per child, but for instance the major cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area have only 4-6 volumes per child. The average national figure in acquisitions is 0.6 volumes. As the public library is a very important factor in promoting literacy and inspiring children to read, it is vital to ensure that children's and young people's books are acquired in sufficient numbers and that public libraries have expertise in this field. The evaluation led to the following conclusions: Achieving the recommended acquisition does not necessarily guarantee a serviceable collection. The new forms of material have not supplanted traditional books. In many municipalities, book acquisitions remain below recommendations. The renewal in library collections is very slow. Libraries need other libraries' collections but even joint material registers do not guarantee brisk circulation. The conclusions led to the following recommendations: Libraries should agree on a regional collection policy. Book acquisitions must be secured by means of sufficient appropriations. The monitoring of acquisitions and disposals must be developed. disposal and acquisition rates must be as similar as possible. 179 The IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Collaborating libraries must use the most efficient and cost-effective transportation systems possible with a view to speeding up circulation. The use of licensed web materials and the acquisition and use of e-books were estimated in 2004; the report will be published during the spring of 2005. New challenges In recent years, Statistics Finland has calculated the value for money in different public services at the request of the Ministry of Finance. In library services, value for money is calculated on the basis of operational expenditure and physical visits. At the Ministry of Education, we have been dissatisfied with this parameter and discussed it with the Statistics Finland official, who has admitted that it does not sufficiently describe the entity of library services. We need to develop an indicator which uses a weighted combined measure to calculate the division of expenditure. This measure should include the largest possible number of different library services whose use can be measured with the least possible effort, preferably automatically. Another challenge derives from the municipal sector. Local authorities are adopting a producer model in their economies. Each administrative sector is a service producer with a product or products to sell to the local authority. The municipal leadership and the service provider agree on the price of the service and the quantities to be bought. What is the library's product? How is it priced? The Rovaniemi Town Library in Lapland has received a grant from the Ministry of Education for investigating the matter. Some local authorities have already applied the system, using loans as the library product. But this is altogether too narrow and one-sided a measure for library services. I do not believe that the definite answers will be found with the Rovaniemi study, but it will take us one step forward. 180 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE BOOK AS ENTITY AND PHENOMENON IN LIBRARY PHILOSOPHY AND RESEARCH Baiba Sporāne Head of the Department of Library Science and Information Science Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia During the all long way of development of our civilization’s history of culture the most important role belongs to book: mental heritage of all generations, all that had been created and reached by mankind, all were and are kept in books. Therefore we may define the book as phenomenon, reflecting the subjective content of our consciousness, as phenomenon of culture and social environment, which keeps the essential point of the matter. Authors goal is not to analyse, reveal or describe external view of book, but to try to explain that point, which determine books consciousness and significance. Book in the wide meaning (independently from material form – printed, electronic or another form) – is accumulative form of human beings actions and can be characterized as social phenomenon, as sign and symbol and one of forms of social memory – i.e. informational memory. For understanding the idea of book important role plays aspects of gnozelogical and axiological thinking (philosophical point of view, philosophical thinking), characterizing the place of book in reference (or learning) process, in social information keeping procedures, communicative value of book, manifested in communication processes. Phenomenon in philosophy – rare, unusual thing, existing only in consciousness, subjective content of our consciousness. Book as phenomenon in library philosophy could be described as phenomenon of culture and social environment, keeping its existence in itself, discover and express itself by itself without trying to describe book outward, but explain book and find essential point determinating the significance of book essence. Real existence of book and/versus book as phenomenon – have we reached the end of the book? Phenomenons are existing in the deepest layers of consciousness, discovering beings, realities, ideas, not material forms. Person can comprehend, experience, understand books internal being, make value from book as phenomenon, not book as piece of material culture. Communication with book – the highest form of man’s intellectual development. This highest form we can examine from various points of view. Gnozeological aspect – the place of the book in persons knowledge assimilation processes, information dissemination and heritage for next generations, reference or learning tool. Book can be investigate as information memory of human beings, storage of experience. Axiological aspect – book as phenomenon includes culture, social and communicative values. 181 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hermeneytical aspect – helps us via books to understand and interpret mankind knowledge and accumulated gained experience. Semiotical aspect – symbol is interpreted as highest of signs, therefore we can study the book as phenomenon in culture context as symbol and metaphor. For understanding book as phenomenon is semiotical aspect, we should stress the communication idea: semiotics as culture science investigates the world of notions, all aspects of culture we can see as the content of communication. Book we see as the basic component of culture, therefore we see book as sign and phenomenon (including many other signs), the semiotical system of culture. Nowadays, when book as phenomenon of culture and communication tool in its physical manifestation is under the threat of retreat in remote plan of activities of civilization, i.e. in the condition of crisis, is under the threat of perishing, change of status or transformation, we need to formulate the point of the matter. Book is the mirror of those, who look in this mirror (and who create this mirror too), and its idea can be found in the human being brain. Therefore book is very closely connected with man and society as human intersubjective action tool. With this tool are realized various purposes of personalities and groups of personalities. Exactly this physical form was suitable for realizing definite goals before five thousand years and during centuries transformed from grafitis, clay plates, papyruses till electronic virtual books. Therefore if we take personality or society as the accounting point, the book is the indirect communication tool of mankind members, tool for transmitting messages. At the same time appear the message author and the message user. All three appear simultaneously, and we cannot say, who from the system “author-book-user” is the very first. Another aspect – book as the tool, communicative tool, self-created as the result of man’s mental activities (as the same tools as spade or axe, only with different goals) for specific goal – social communication (including religion, philosophy, fiction, thinking a.o.) and historical memory. If we take for granted, that only live in society and taking part in communication processes make human being as human being (I + Others = I as personality), then we can take for granted, that book is one of the most important tools in this system. The possibility and ability to read book is the joint unit of skills of social communication, taken in the highest degree and giving the new skills to change social and cultural environment. Book as the communicative element (separated from such tool as spade, that digs soil) digs the consciousness of user/reader, and created by man, transforms this same man. Is it possible, that this same changed man will favour the death of the book? Author opinion is, that it could happen, but only in the matter of form, not in essential. The end of the book, the printed text and of old-style reading is a real possibility, not an academic joke or a post-structuralist conceit. After the paperless office, the paperless house has arrived, along with the virtual library, the electronically collated document resource, the screen-networked business memorandum. On its way is the electronic book, transcultural internet. The battle for mastery between page and screen is over and it seems clear who 182 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ has won. But it does not mean, that the book as the tool of social communication is over, it only changes its physical appearance. How the book will look in nearest future, would it be possible to call it “book”, do the changes of historical form will change the name “book” and its point of the matter, we will see very soon. Authors opinion is, that the changes of material form cannot change the philosophical and social existence of book and point of the matter. We needed, need and will need tool of social communication, mankind memory storage, information heritage, and all this is combined in The Book, and it does not matter, in which form it appears and how we will call it. The essential features will be the same – to serve every human being with all needed experience and knowledge. Only one problem can appear already in nearest future, and library science has obligation to investigate, explain and mark possible ways to solve this problem - the problem of reading. It may not seem possible that our interest in books is dwindling. But the number of books is not the point. What should concern us as librarians and library researchers is not the risk-taking impulses of publishers, nor the question of whether the desk terminal will replace the shelving unit as the repository of texts. What concerns us is the business of reading at all. There is no doubt that the act of reading is in decline. According to various surveys, most young people have better things to do today than read books. Destruction of reading habits, language, processes of thought and sensibility as much as of a library is the research-worth direction for library researchers. We should create the unite system from book phenomenon (in every form), library and library research with fundamentals of library philosophy for basing on the future of book and future of reading. Book as the informational memory of mankind discover ideas, truth, consciousness, not superficial facts or things. We comprehend the book as the material of internal experience of our consciousness. Phenomenology as philosophical branch formulates the book as phenomenon which depends on personality perception, experience, understanding, system of values. In research the space of book in the society we should take into consideration the dynamic intercommunication between book, personality and society. Communication with book – the highest form of intellectual development of personality. We all realize ourselves in communication with books – we not only read and keep them, but use them as our “memory on shelf” (in every material form – from papyri till various electronic forms). It is the way of intercommunication between the world and knowledge surrounded in books and personality internal world. The history of book is the history of human mental development, reflected personality internal evolution, losses, victories, might and weakness. Book and personality both exist in close intercommunication. Personality creates book, and book creates personality, the authority is mutual. Reader (also library reader or user) becomes the co-author of book. Creative process is double-sided, therefore book as phenomenon is eternal while we accept the statement about human being or personality as eternal phenomenon. 183 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Book as the mankind informational memory exist in the library space (library space as cosmos, library environment, library network) in various material forms: as clay tablets, papyri, printed materials, electronic forms a. o. Therefore it is possible to investigate book as social and cultural; phenomenon, its history, functions, influence sphere, existence notion and forms. It means to investigate four groups of conditions: Conditions of origin; Conditions of existence; Conditions of development; Conditions of function. Those groups determine also the main directions of research in library-book space. Conditions of origin: *knowledge as impulse of beginning; *guaranty of knowledge use possibilities; *memory function; *cumulative function; *communicative function. Conditions of existence: *intellect and book as the result of activities of this intellect (both in creating and using and creating additional value during this using process); *amplitude of perception; *social environment, society, personality; *librarians personality and ethics; *rational and irrational (as sphere of normative acts and decisions and irrational destruction as the basis of new creative process). Conditions of development: *user-friendly and user-orientated information sources (including books) and its distribution and popularizing systems on the basis of arranged system of knowledge, virtual resources and: manuscripts, printed books and another sources, e-documents; *information arrangement → distribution → search → resources; *system “library (books a. o. sources) + museums + archives. Conditions of function: *memory function; *knowledge arrangement function; *free information function; *information analysis function; *information systematization function. The new culture-historical paradigm means that we think of or use the book not as material object but as life function. Book as knowledge basis now means that information or information society – knowledge, introduced in integrated library and information systems of communications. Book phenomenon in changed and changing environment of library and information systems, arranged knowledge systems, user-friendly and user-orientated culture means following research directions (with thought that book is taken in the widest meaning, not only as printed edition in super (or not so super) binding!): Historical (library, bibliography, book science, information science) investigations; Knowledge management (library collections, classification systems, terminology, information (including books) resources, copyright, information systems, metadata, bibliographic description a. o.); 184 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Library as social institution (as system together with museums and archives) that is the manager and broker of knowledge system and personality; Information literacy (readers, users, theory of reading, measurement of information quality); Information resources. Book not consists of the highest or only truth. Book is the labyrinth which leads to the knowledge and wisdom. The same way as the philosophy, book offers aspects, not answers. The most important feature of book – it serves as the knowledge keeper (“the brain on the shelf”), because the human being – creature, who remembers and is aware of his history, who thinks historically, “because today’s man started not from the fact, that he is human being, but he inherits forms of existence, ideas, life experience of his forefathers” [3] with help of the books, - and it does not matter, in what material form. Book is the essence of consciousness, not peace of paper. Therefore book is eternal. As the life on the Earth. Information sources 1. K LE, Maija. Filosofija / Maija Kūle, Rihards Kūlis. Rīga : Zvaigzne ABC, 1998. 656 lpp. ISBN 9984171191 2. BIRKERTS, Sven. The Gutenbetg elegies : the fate of reading in an electronic age. Boston; London : Faber & Faber, 1994. 231 p. ISBN 057119849 X 3. ORTEGA Y GASSET, José. Bibliotekāra misija Bibliotekārs un lasītājs, 1991, 104.-125.lpp. 4. The Cybercultures reader / ed. By D.Bell, B.M.Kennedy. London; New York : Routledge,2000. 768 p. ISBN 0415183782 185 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ READING THE PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE IN LATVIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Inese Auziņa-Smith Lecturer of the Department of Information Science Loughborough University United Kingdom Reading habits of librarians as described in the professional literature are briefly discussed, together with some of the reasons why it is important to keep and to develop journals in so-called minority languages. There is a tradition of professional literature in Latvian dating back to the 1930s, interrupted by World War II and the subsequent Soviet period, but restored in 1989 with the renewal of the Library Association of Latvia. Its development from the pre-war journal Bibliotēkārs [Librarian] to Bibliotēku Pasaule [World of Libraries] of today is outlined. There is some comparison with sister publications in Estonia (Raamatukogu [Library]) and Lithuania (Tarp knygų [In the World of Books]). All of these, at different levels of depth and accuracy, have summaries in English. How the professional press of the Baltic States is reflected in LISA is also examined. Since LIS journals, like any other professional literature, are meant to be read, the paper concludes by discussing the results of a recent survey on the professional reading habits of librarians, LIS students and LIS academics in Latvia. Introduction The idea for this paper came from research that started as background for a paper that will be presented at the open meeting of the Library and Information Science Journals Section of IFLA at the World Library and Information Congress: 71st IFLA General Conference and Council “Libraries – A Voyage Of Discovery”, August 14–18, 2005, Oslo, Norway. Very little has been written in the professional literature about how librarians read or make use of LIS journals. It appears that librarians do read them (e.g.,Weaver, 2002; Haddow & Harvey, 2003), but it is questionable how much use is made of the research reported in the articles (Turner, 2002). Riggs (1994) implies that the professional literature is not really satisfying the interests of librarians. Others (Bell, 2000) indicate that keeping up with developments is now more based on using e-resources than reading the traditional library literature, although some of these resources (Bell, 2004; The Informed …, 2005) are an eclectic blend of the traditional sources presented in their eversion together with born-virtual electronic sources. The advantage of these e-resources is that many of them are freely (i.e., without cost) available to all those who have access to the Internet. For example, the e-journal Information Research (2005) even has a section called “What’s in the open-access e-journals” (2005) (Fig.1), which provides live links to well-known titles such as Ariadne (1996- ), D-Lib Magazine (1995- ), Journal of Digital Information (1997- ). 186 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fig. 1. Links to e-journals from Information Research All the recent research, such as can be found, about librarians and information workers reading the professional literature, has been in English. But what about LIS journals and their readership in small European countries that have a language that only national expatriates understand outside the borders? And what about the colleagues who are not fluent in the so-called ‘major European languages’ (English, German, French, etc.)? Who writes? And for what? Why professional journals in minority languages? “Who needs LIS journals in Latvian, when so few people read Latvian as compared to English or German?” Good question?… For Latvian one could substitute Estonian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak or even one of the Scandinavian languages – any language that is not widely known outside its own borders – and ask the same question. The answer is obvious to those who speak the language: it is an integral part of their identity and culture. Equally, the terminology of the LIS profession devised in the local language gives a unique identity to the profession and facilitates its research and development, as well as best practice. LIS journals in the local language provide the primary outlet for the dissemination of investigation and application. To develop a professional vocabulary in one’s specialist field is, in a way, to define and “own” that area. Responses to an LIS reading survey carried out at the 8th Congress of the Library Association of Latvia (23 February 2005) and at the University of Latvia Department of Library Science and Information Science (28 February – 18 March 2005) overwhelmingly supported this and suggested that there should be even more professional literature available in Latvian. How this information can be made available to an international audience is another matter. 187 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ LIS journals in Latvia To set the local context, it should be noted that the history of professional journals in Latvia has spanned two thirds of the 20th century and that the current journal struggles to survive in the 21st century with each issue that is produced. Unpredictable budgets and shortage of manpower have caused perennial problems, but the will and intention to survive are strong. Compared to LIS journals in Estonia and Lithuania, those in Latvia have had a more varied and precarious existence (Table 1). This does not imply that colleagues in our sister republics have had an easier time than those in Latvia, but one stable LIS journal in each country over a long period of time does them much credit, as does the fact that both journals have an attractive, bi-lingual Internet presence (Raamatukogu, 2005; Tarp knygų, 2005). Table 1. Latvian LIS journals Title of journal Dates of publ. Bibliotēkārs [Librarian] March 1937 – March 1940 Bibliotēkārs [Librarian] Nota Bene [Note Well] Es Daru Tā [I do it like this] Bibliotēkas Pasaule [Library World] Bibliotēku Pasaule [World of Libraries] Issue nos. Frequency Issuing body Library Association of Latvia May 1989 – June 1991 no. 1 – 4 3 per year, except only 1 in 1940 irregular April 1992 – Sept. 1993 1994 – 2000 + (1995 – 1999) 2000 – 2003 no. 1 – 3 irregular no. 1 – 13 (+ theme suppl. A–G) no. 14 – 24 semi-annual 2003 – present no. 25 – 3 issues per year 3 – 4 issues per year Library Association of Latvia [no.4. also National Library of Latvia (NLL)] NLL and Library Association of Latvia Library Advisory Service of the NLL Library Advisory Service of the NLL, no.20– publ. by the Library Development Institute of the NLL Library Development Institute of the NLL The subtitle of the first LIS journal published in Latvia, Bibliotēkārs [Librarian], was Žurnāls Bibliotēku Darbiniekiem un Grāmatu Mīļotājiem [Journal for Library Workers and Book Lovers], clearly showing its intended audience. Book lovers was meant in the broadest sense – readers, publishers and booksellers. The subjects covered by Bibliotēkārs from 1937 until March 1940, when the last number was published, emphasized practical and informative matters, because at that time there was no LIS education. There was regular news of the activities of the Library Association of Latvia, lobbying for library legislation, and articles on distinguished librarians and other cultural workers. 188 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ From March 1940 until May 1989 there was a hiatus in Latvian LIS journal publication. Ene Riet (2002, pp.185-192), editor of the Estonian journal Raamatukogu, reports a similar situation in Estonia. On the other hand, Lithuanian librarians started Tarp knygų in 1949 and even have a journal devoted to children’s literature, Rubinaitis, since 1994. When the Library Association of Latvia (LAL) was renewed in May 1989, it published a broadsheet, and so the pre-war journal Bibliotēkārs gave its name to a new incarnation that is difficult to describe or characterise. Four issues of Bibliotekārs were followed by the more philosophical Nota Bene (NB). This journal continued the tradition of its predecessor, publishing articles related to problems and practice in Latvian libraries, libraries abroad and Latvian library cooperation with them, information about LIS conferences and events, in Latvia and overseas alike. There are also some articles from overseas librarians, translated into Latvian. One should remember that in the early 1990s, very few librarians knew English, but the interest in librarianship beyond Latvia’s borders was intense. Issue no.3 was first in thinking of possible international interest and provided a list of contents in English. Changes in personnel at the National Library of Latvia, as well as the problems and uncertainties that the early years of independence brought, put an end to Nota Bene. It was superseded in 1994 by a publication called Es Daru Tā [EDT – I Do It Like This] (issued by the Library Advisory Service of the National Library of Latvia). The aim of EDT was methodological and it emphasised the results of practical applications and personal experience in public libraries. EDT was very popular, though not very exciting in appearance; some librarians also complained that the title was rather unsophisticated and sounded cumbersome when translated into English. Nevertheless, EDT admirably filled a niche and even published a series of seven themed supplements. Fig. 2. Bibliotēkas Pasaule (no.14-24, 2000-03); Bibliotēku Pasaule (no.25- , 2003- ); 189 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ In 2003 EDT changed title to Bibliotēkas Pasaule [Library World] (Fig.2) and widened its scope to include research articles and translations of articles from mainstream LIS academic and research journals. There was a subtle and appropriate change in direction to reflect the drive to automation and Internet based resources in Latvian libraries, while not denying the traditional values of printed materials. Further widening of scope resulted in another title change, rather subtle to those not familiar with Latvian grammar – it became Bibliotēku Pasaule [The World of Libraries] (Fig.2). The intention was not to concentrate so much on public libraries, but to make the journal more generalist in scope. Short summaries in English were added. The journal very much encourages articles relating to best practice and problem solving, but there is a perennial problem of finding librarians who can, and will, write such articles. Bibliotēku Pasaule is visually attractive, though not as glossy as its Estonian and Lithuanian counterparts – Ramaatukogu and Tarp knygų. There are hopes for a more glossy production, but this must be weighed against concern about increased costs. Ramaatukogu and Tarp knygų (Fig.3), have e-versions with summaries in, respectively, Estonian or Lithuanian, and English. An internet Latvian library portal has been discussed for some time, and when it becomes reality, Bibliotēku Pasaule will have an e-presence there, making it far more accessible than it is at the moment to an international audience. It is also hoped that Bibliotēku Pasaule might become a peer-refereed (or at least partly refereed) journal. This would encourage more research to be written up and published. Fig. 3. E-version of Tarp knygų 190 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Internal LIS newsletters The primary function of professional literature is communication, and LIS journals are not the only ones to perform that function. Parallel to the journals runs publication of newsletters and magazines of particular libraries or library networks. These are normally internal publications, but many of them are also available outside the library concerned. If examples of best practice and problem solving are needed, then in Latvia an excellent illustration of an easily available publication of this kind is the Riga Central Library network’s news bulletin Jaunās Vēstis (2005). Baltic librarianship viewed internationally through LISA Reading the professional literature logically links with writing for it. Authors of articles normally scan previous reports of research and then build on the context supplied. How are the Baltic countries represented in the professional literature? Curiosity led to a quick search of LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts) to see how Baltic librarianship would become evident in the most familiar LIS abstracting and indexing database. There are records about LIS activities in the Baltic, but they do reflect neither Baltic LIS journals nor the three Baltic languages. None of the three Baltic journal titles resulted in a search hit and none of the records revealed an article written in one of the Baltic languages. On 11 March 2005, a LISA keyword search on Latvia*, Lithuania* and Estonia* as separate terms found a total of 447 records that ranged in date of publication from as early as 1969 to June 2004 (Lithuania – 147 hits, 33%), from 1971 to April 2004 (Estonia – 173 hits, 39%), and from 1973 to Spring 2004 (Latvia – 127 hits, 28%). These totals include a small number of duplicate records, in which the Baltic States were discussed as a group. Who wrote these articles? One can see (Fig. 4a-c) that, for whatever reason, the Estonians and Lithuanians have been far more active in contributing to the professional literature at international level than the Latvians. Figure 4a. LISA records on Latvia (by author) 1973 – 1990 1991 – Spring 2004 Latvian 39% Latvian 49% Other 51% Other 60% Latvian ? 1% Latvian ? 0% 191 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Figure 4b. LISA records on Lithuania (by author) 1969 – 1990 Ot her 1991– June 2004 Lit huanian 40% Ot her , 42 Lit huanian, 49 47% Lit huanian? Lit huanian?, 14 13% Figure 4c. LISA records on Estonia (by author) 1991 – April 2004 1971 – 1990 Other 33% Other 37% Estonian ? 0% Estonian 67% Estonian 50% Estonian ? 13% What was the origin/language of the journals in which the articles were published? In answering this question, one can notice a pattern (Fig. 5a-c) that represents the historical reality of the Baltic States, i.e., switch of Russian to English. Fig. 5a. LISA records on Latvia (by origin/language of journal) 1973 – 1990 Other 0% English 9% 1991 – Spring 2004 Other 6% Germ/Fr 9% Russian 2% Scandinavian 21% Scandinavian 2% Germ/Fr 6% Russian 80% 192 English 65% IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fig. 5b. LISA records on Lithuania (by origin/language of journal) 1991 – June 2004 1969 – 1990 Other 5% Russian Other 5% English Germ/Fr 12% 5% Scandinavian 2% 14% Germ/Fr 8% Scandinavian 5% English 71% Russian 73% Fig. 5c. LISA records on Estonia (by origin/language of journal) 1991 – April 2004 1971 – 1990 Other 2% Russian 63% Other Russian 2% 9% Scandinavian 17% English 20% Germ/Fr 15% Germ/Fr 6% Scandinavian 0% English 66% Further investigation is needed to discover why abstracts of articles in Raamatukogu, Tarp knygų, and Bibliotēku Pasaule are not found in LISA, because all three journals have a section called “Summary”, which includes brief abstracts in English of the main articles in each issue. Reading the professional literature: survey results During the 8th Congress of the Library Association of Latvia (23 February 2005) and subsequently at the University of Latvia Department of Library Science and Information Science (28 February – 18 March 2005) a survey was carried out to discover if librarians and librarians-to-be read the professional literature, what they thought of Bibliotēku Pasaule, what suggestions they might have for improvement, what would they like to see more of, what languages they could read and to what level of fluency. Librarians everywhere tend to be cooperative colleagues, so the response rate was pleasingly high (197/300, 65.3%) among librarians and only slightly less so from LIS students (135/239, 56.5%). The majority (65%) of congress respondents were from public libraries and represented middle to top management (68.7%), with 77.7% of them having been librarians for 11-20, or more than 20, years. Almost all (97.4%) reported that they read the literature for professional development (87.6%), to prepare papers (23.3%), to support studies (18.7%) or for research (8.3%). It was no surprise, given relatively low wages and the cost of the literature, that most (81.9%) read at the library where they 193 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ work, followed by almost half (48.2%) using the Internet at work to access professional literature. However, optimistic as the above statistics may seem, they hide a reality that is not so encouraging. Respondents were asked to indicate which journals they read out of a list of 27 journals (Appendix, Table 2 – all responses). It must be gratifying to their publishers that 75% of librarians read every issue of Bibliotēku Pasaule and a further 23% read it now and then, and that 32% (every issue) and 39% (now and then) read E-Pasaule. Nevertheless, these figures mask that fact that for 57.5%, these two journals are all that they read of the titles specified in the list. It should be noted that the range of titles was selected to give the widest choice of well-known titles available in places where colleagues and students would be likely to access them. Also, a variety of languages was represented: Latvian, English, German, Estonian, Lithuanian and Russian. It is not surprising, given the age profile of librarian respondents, that, after Latvian, the four Russian journals lead in popularity over those in other languages, though their readership (16-25%) was not particularly high. A graphic representation (Appendix – Fig. 6) shows this divide very clearly. As regards language ability, it was no surprise that almost all respondents (94%) considered themselves “very good” in Latvian, but it had been expected that more would be better than they considered themselves at English and Russian. It is, therefore, no wonder that the respondents overwhelmingly supported the idea that Bibliotēku Pasaule should be published more frequently, there should be more LIS journals (and especially LIS educational materials) in Latvian. Hundred of suggestions were made for improving Bibliotēku Pasaule, listing subjects that should be included and subjects that readers wanted more on. Another frequent suggestion was the Bibliotēku Pasaule should be available as an e-journal. All the suggestions and criticisms have been passed on to the editor of the journal, who has the unenviable task of trying to match possibilities with desires and expectations. Conclusion: Implications for research and development For a variety of reasons, which include a combination of high cost, lack of time, problems of access and language ability, most librarians (and students for that matter) do not read much beyond Bibliotēku Pasaule and, to a much lesser extent, the Russian journals. Nor do librarians write much for the international LIS press that is abstracted in LISA. So how, in these circumstances, do they carry out research or disseminate findings? As evidenced by the LISA analysis (Fig.4a) more non-Latvians write about Latvian librarianship than do Latvians themselves. How is information about innovation and best practice disseminated, if not through the professional literature? Three ways were noted in survey responses: participation in seminars/meetings/conferences and courses, and browsing the Internet. This is, of course, good for individuals, but what about the wider good? Does it matter that research and best practice minimally informs local library development? Does it matter that information about the many interesting and exciting developments in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia is almost ‘secret’ by virtue of being readable only by those knowing the local language? This author thinks that it does matter. 194 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The conclusions that can be drawn from the survey results are not meant as a value judgement of LIS colleagues and students in Latvia. Nevertheless, wouldn’t it be gratifying if more could be done to bring librarianship and other information work to the attention of a wider, international audience? Bibliography Ariadne, 1996- . Available at: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/, [accessed 25.04.05]. Bell, S.J., 2000. To keep up, go beyond: developing a personal professional development plan using e-resources outside the bounds of library literature. C&RL News [online], 61 (7). Available at: http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues/julyaugust3/keepupgob…, [accessed 15.03.05]. Bell, S.J., 2004. Steven Bell’s Keeping Up web site: Resources for librarians. Available at: http://staff.philau.edu/bells/libresources.htm, [accessed 15.03.05]. D-Lib Magazine, 1995- . Available at: http://www.dlib.org/, [accessed 25.04.05. Haddow, G. & Harvey, R., 2003. How much professional literature do Australian librarian read? Disseminating information retrieval research results to Australian LIS professionals. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 44 (3-4), 246-257. Information Research: an International Electronic Journal, 2005. Available at: http://informationr.net/ir/, [accessed 25.04.05]. The Informed Librarian Online, 2005. Available at: http://www.infosourcespub.com/book4.cfm, [accessed 15.03.05]. Jaunās Vēstis, 2005. Available at: http://www.rcb.lv, [accessed 28.02.05]. Journal of Digital Information, 1997- . Available at: http://jodi.tamu.edu/, [accessed 25:04.05]. Raamatukogu, 2005. Available at: http://www.nlib.ee/html/inglise/anded/rk/iindexrk.html, [accessed 21.03.05]. Riet, E., 2002. The development of Raamatukogu as a special library journal of independent Estonia. In: Leich, H.M., ed. Libraries in open societies: proceedings of the Fifth International Slavic Librarians’ Conference [held in Tallinn, Estonia, July 26-28, 2000]. New York: Haworth Press. Riggs, D.E., 1994. What librarians are seeking in the professional literature. Library Hi-Tech, 12 (4), 5. Tarp knygų, 2005. Available at: http://www.lnb.lt/lnb/content…, [accessed 21.03.05]. Turner, K.J., 2002. Do information professionals use research published in LIS journals? [Paper given at the 68th IFLA Council and General Conference, August 18-24, 2002]. Available a: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/009-118e.pdf>, [accessed 09.03.05]. Weaver, S.M., 2002. The professional reading habits of American librarians. [Paper given at the 68th IFLA Council and General Conference, August 18-24, 2002]. Availabble at: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla68/papers/009-118e.pdf, [accessed 09.03.05]. What’s in the open access e-journals?, 2005. Available at: http://informationr.net/ir/titlepages.html, [accessed 25.04.05]. 195 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Appendix Table 2. Professional journals read by survey respondents L = Librarians (n=193); S = Students (n=126 ); A = Academic staff (n=9) Title of journal Reading frequency Every issue, if possible L% S% Now and then A% L% S% Don’t know or No answer A% L% S% A% 75 37 78 23 56 22 3 6 0 32 21 44 39 66 44 30 13 11 0 1 0 0 17 11 100 83 89 Computers in Libraries The Electronic Library IFLA Journal International Information and Library Review 1 0 11 4 28 56 95 72 33 2 1 22 5 28 33 93 71 44 3 1 22 12 41 67 85 58 11 1 0 22 5 18 33 94 82 44 Journal of Documentation Journal of Information Science Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 0 0 0 2 7 22 98 93 78 1 0 11 5 28 22 94 72 67 2 0 56 7 26 11 91 74 33 LIBER Quarterly Library Administration & Management Library & Information Science Research Library Collections, Acquisitions & Technical Services 1 0 22 3 12 33 96 88 44 4 0 0 4 19 11 92 81 89 2 0 44 8 27 33 90 73 22 0 1 0 2 10 11 98 90 89 Library Quarterly Libri Local Studies Librarian Public Library Quarterly Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis [Library Research and Practice] 1 0 22 6 12 33 93 88 44 1 0 11 3 3 44 97 97 44 1 0 11 1 10 11 98 90 78 2 0 11 4 6 22 94 94 67 2 0 11 3 10 0 95 90 89 1 0 11 4 6 11 95 94 78 Bibliotheksdienst [Library Service] Raamatukogu [Library] Tarp knygų [In the World of Libraries] Би и ия [Bibliografiya – Bibliography] 0 0 0 3 6 11 97 94 89 Bibliotēku Pasaule [World of Libraries] E-pasaule [E-World] Izglītības iestādes bibliotēkāra rokasgrāmata [Handbook of Educational Institution Libraries] Би и [Biblioteka – Library] Би и и [Bibliotekovedenie – Library Science] Н ч ы и ич и и и и [Nauchnye I Teknicheskie Biblioteki – Scientific and Technical Libraries] 1 0 0 1 2 11 99 98 89 0 1 0 1 2 11 99 97 89 3 0 33 13 29 33 84 71 33 5 2 22 19 35 22 76 63 56 5 2 44 20 38 22 75 60 33 6 1 56 11 31 22 83 68 22 196 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fig. 6. Professional journals read by librarians 0 10 Bibliotēku Pasaule [World of Libraries] E-pasaule [E-World] Izglītības iestādes bibliotēkāra rokasgrāmata [Handbook of Educational Institution Libraries] Computers in Libraries The Electronic Library IFLA Journal International Information and Library Review Journal of Documentation Journal of Information Science Journal of Librarianship and Information Science LIBER Quarterly Library Administration & Management Library & Information Science Research Library Collections, Acquisitions & Technical Services Library Quarterly Libri Local Studies Librarian Public Library Quarterly Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis [Library Research and Practice] Bibliotheksdienst [Library Service] Raamatukogu [Library] Tarp knygų [In the World of Libraries] Би и ия [Bibliografiya – Bibliography] Би Би и и [Biblioteka – Library] и [Bibliotekovedenie – Library Science] Н ч ы и ич и и и и [Nauchnye I Teknicheskie Biblioteki – Scientific and Technical Libraries] 197 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ QUALITY BASED STATISTIC TOOLS AND STRATEGIES: INTRODUCTION TO CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN DENMARK Lone Knakkergaard Second Vice-President of the Danish Library Association /PowerPoint presentation/ Committee Outset, 2004 • • • Evaluation of the Act on Libraries (2000), by Danish Ministry of Culture March 2004 concluded “that the law and the extended service principle is implemented” Despite factual differences in service level in the approx. 269 municipal library systems varying from 900 down to 100 DKK per inhabitant Thus counteracting or “handicapping” - national co-operation and interlending library system based on a “certain level of quality” - Danish citizens right to access to information and culture of “a certain quality” The Committee should investigate • • • Would it be relevant to develop new quality instruments – and if so Where new quality definitions and indicators would be relevant for Danish public libraries to provide an updated, quality-based library service Specify the character of any new instrument, including identifying ways of developing such instrument What makes new quality instruments relevant? • • • • • The law evaluation and it’s main conclusion An existing demand for more precise goal setting and service specifications – in providing efficient library service. Since UBIS 1997 The need for promoting access to information of a certain quality for all Danish citizens – as part of permanent democracy development and integration Development of the Information Society (or Knowledge Societies) depending on the individual’s access to knowledge and life long learning, e.g. via information literacy, libraries etc. (”Det nye Danmark”, WSIS, EU’s eEurope) Demographic and geographic differences of the 100 new municipalities, deriving from the revised Danish infrastructure -(1.1.2007) based on larger and fewer municipalities 198 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ • An increasing number of cultural tasks of the new municipalities – putting a lot of financial pressure on the cultural sector as such S B S (www.sbs.bs.dk) - 2005 New national benchmark system for public libraries • • • • • • • • • Collections E-resources Staff Loans Visits to the physical library Virtual visits – down loans Work stations – access points Users Budget and accounts What kind of quality focus? New instruments must • • outline direction of local library plans & wanted development clarify to which degree a municipality at any time fulfil a requested national ”service level” In order to at the local level - provide public knowledge and political understanding of library priorities and needs for improvement at national level – ensure a known, high quality library service for all citizens and a comprehensive national library system 1st Recommendation Yes – it is considered relevant to have a new set of Danish quality instruments • To promote updated and high level library service • To underpin the societal role of the public library 2nd Recommendation A national strategy stating the overall requested goals and the required effect of public libraries to the individual as well as to society as such - followed by 199 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A practical tool, a set of quality measures promoting a certain development based on quality and efficiency, and exposing to what degree the service is carried out The practical tool - Rec. 2 Should cover four main areas of the library activity: • • • • Economy Services and processes Innovation and competencies Users and other connected parties It should be a balance score card model, with indicators reflecting ongoing as well as planned local development and priorities 3rd Recommendation • • • • Debate on recommendations at DB Annual Congress, March 2005 How to proceed – Executive Board May Meeting, 2005 Action concerning a national Strategy, Autumn 2005-2006 Any action concerning a Survey on the proposed practical measurement tool, 2005-2007 Expected outcome: • • • Upgrading of the local political awareness and decision making - process Transparency and greater awareness of local priorities – for citizens, politicians and employees Enhancement of the importance of libraries • In their role as the local access point to information and knowledge • To society as such (maintaining democratic structures) • To the co-operating national library system 200 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ TO STUDY AND TO GROW: PREREQUISITES FOR LIFELONG EDUCATION OF LIBRARIANS (RESULTS OF A SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH) Lita Hofmane Head of the Personnel Department National Library of Latvia Last year the most important research on the needs of continuing education was carried out at Latvian libraries. The subject is exceedingly essential, because ever increasing demands are set forth for librarians in forming the new information society. Librarians are forced to acquire new knowledge. At present the library accreditation (certification), which has successfully started at our libraries envisages to raise the professional qualification of our staff members. There is no secret that Latvian libraries have hired many librarians who has no special education in Library and Information Sciences. The aging of the staff is obvious. A great many of experienced colleagues have received a graduation diploma about a decade ago. They have failed to take part in qualification courses, seminars or exchange their experience. The existing situation encourages advancing a well-considered continuing education and training program for librarians on a state level. The Library Expert Board of the Centre of Continuing Education of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia, having been established within the framework of State Integrated Library Information Systems (SILIS) stated that firstly there is an urgent need to obtain an objective information about the self evaluation of library officials, taking into account knowledge and skills in various aspects of library activities, paying attention to those aspects which deserve the maximum concentration for successful realisation of the work. In order to clarify it a professional group of sociologists and experts has carried out a research in all groups of Latvian libraries: the National Library of Latvia (NLL), the Latvian Academic Library, libraries of higher educational establishments, municipal and public libraries, special and school libraries. 1290 inquiry forms were disseminated for acquiring the data. Municipal public and school libraries were represented most of all. 40% of the specialists, who are in charge of the library and do the working process, expressed their point of view concerning the study requirements, 29 % perform separate processes and accordingly 20% and 11% are responsible for the working process and are at the head of libraries. 201 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A great part of respondents consider that the main task of their duties is to organize library services and readers’ service. The greatest part of respondents was from the age of 46 to 55, and from 36 to 45, too. From 18 to 25 were of less number. It means that the proportion of young people at libraries is rather small (insignificant). Librarians with 21 years and more length of service have answered actively. It is worth mentioning that library officials with less than 5 years length of service have shown great interest in continuing education. Obviously long lasting one working process stimulates getting into routine, and hinders professional perfection. Analyzing the indices of self- estimation of professionalism, special and general knowledge, it is important to acknowledge that in general they are very positive. Only 3% of the respondents have evaluated their knowledge as insufficient. Most of the respondents have evaluated their knowledge as satisfactory (They make 55%). Analyzing the answers in different educational groups, it is seen that the officials with comprehensive secondary education and special secondary education in other branch have evaluated their knowledge as exceedingly low. However the employees with a higher education in Librarianship have given themselves the highest self- esteem. Examining the self-evaluation of professionalism and taking into account the type of a library, it is clear that the librarians of the Latvian Academic Library have evaluated this facet (aspect) as good, but the employees of special and school libraries have put the lowest mark to their knowledge. Most frequently respondents consider their knowledge as good pertaining to the work with readers (41%), the organisation of the collection (34%), the organisation of the collection and its preservation (34%). Respondents consider that they lack special professional knowledge (their knowledge is insufficient) in the following aspects: • Metadata standards (84%), • Data transmission and other standards (79%) • Digital library (72%) • Library building and reconstruction (68%). It is quite clear because only a comparatively tiny part of the staff is connected with these processes. However the disturbing fact is that a half of the respondents has acknowledged their knowledge to be insufficient in vital spheres of the library – information technologies, technical equipment, data transmission network, accessibility of electronic information, participation of Latvia in EU and other international institutions. 202 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Not all the subjects where the knowledge is low are important for the library. The inquiry enlightens what aspects urgently deserve additional knowledge: • Forms of library service and co-operation with readers (58%) • Formation of information resources and processing (57%) • Information technologies in libraries (57%) • Formation and organisation of the collection (57%) • Library administration and management (56%) • Information and knowledge society and librarians (47%) • Library system in Latvia (40%) It should be taken into account that the greatest number of respondents serves readers thus stirring the greatest interest to this subject. The results prove that priority of education depends on the age of respondents. If a librarian is older the interest to library collection, organisation, readers’ service, and information technologies at libraries is lower, however the interest to library administration and management grows. Presumably this tendency is connected with the length of service of librarians. Owing to this they become more competent in the basic processes of a library (information technologies is an instrument not a goal in itself), besides librarians get higher (leading) posts in the library system. It should be taken into account forming the target groups of continuing education. Respondents with higher education are aware of giving priority to professional perfection, making it as a positive stimulus (motivation) for life long education. Examining these priorities it should be stressed that library officials would like to improve their knowledge in the following spheres: • Acquisition policy, profile, co-ordination; • Organisation and preservation of the collection; • Electronic information resources (this subject is especially acute at school and municipal libraries; • Union catalogue (the knowledge about the union catalogue is evaluated as extremely low at school libraries); • Databases (this issue is acute at school and municipal libraries); • Search engines; • Compilation of Internet resources and archiving; • Information and reference services. Analyzing the self-evaluation of general knowledge (social, communicative, organising skills) officials gave the highest esteem to the ability to work individually and co-operate with colleagues, to communicate with readers, and plan one’s and other colleagues’ work. The lowest evaluation was given to the ability to read and communicate in foreign languages, work out and implement projects, speak before an audience. More than a third part of the respondents wish to master these skills. 203 IV Nordic-Baltic Library Meeting RESEARCH AND INNOVATION: NORDIC-BALTIC STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ________________________________________________________________________________________________ It is worth considering that 13,4% of the respondents has not mentioned any subject to perfect themselves in. The level of general education is evaluated higher than professional one, and 23% of the respondents believe that the level of general education is sufficient and additional training is not necessary. I consider that every leader of a library should seriously think over how to motivate their officials in raising their competence, accordingly how to evaluate continuing education as an essential professional component, not as a single event allowing to continue their work at a library. It is good that many librarians understand the role of education in their professional and individual growth and in forming their career. At present libraries or regional libraries, or professional organisations plan the activities of continuing education. Regional centres of continuing education have started to operate. Their development and formation of new centres is supported by two thirds (2/3) of the respondents, others fail to have any point of view in this aspect. Municipal public and school libraries have been active in acquiring continuing education during the last two years. The employees of LAL have been rather reluctant. 74% of the respondents have acquired continuing education, however 25% have not raised their qualification. The main reasons are lack of means, high price for courses, amount of work, insufficient offer of themes, and low quality of courses and lecturers competence. Respondents are interested to participate in courses, seminars, exchange of experience not only in their own library, but in regions and Riga, too. It should be pointed out that smaller libraries and specialists doing one process are interested in studies in a region or on the spot, but specialists and directors of larger libraries want to acquire education in Riga or abroad. This factor is essential in arranging continuing education. In total respondents positively evaluate continuing education, its mainstream development and they yearn (want) for new perspectives in acquiring education. Accordingly attention should be paid to the age of target groups and the factor of a working place (at what library the group works), and education of officials, likewise. It should be stated that several of the requested subjects have already been embodied in teaching modules. However much is to be done –new modules should be worked out, lecturers- experts, the best in their branch should be found. The most important is that within the framework of SILIS sufficient resources have been envisaged for every Latvian librarian to improve his /her knowledge, and to acquire competence corresponding to his/her position. It will raise the prestige of a librarian and bring nearer the time when library development will be a priority of the state culture policy. 204