Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs
Professor Michael Brittain
Margaret Colmer
Allan Christie
University of South Australia
December 1996
96/13
Evaluations and Investigations Program
Higher Education Division
© Commonwealth of Australia 1996
ISBN 0 644 47310 X
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Government Publishing Service. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the manager, Commonwealth Information Services, Australian Government Publishing Service, GPO Box 48, Canberra ACT 2601.
This report is funded under the Evaluations and Investigations Program of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
5. Testbed Study—Recommendations for Testing
Appendices
Appendix 1: Overview of the IDA Web Site
Appendix 2: Relevant Organisations
Appendix 3: Database Structure and List of Records
Appendix 4: Project Participants
Glossary of Key Terms and Acronyms
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The Integrated Document Access (IDA) project has been undertaken to provide the Council of Australian University Librarians with a test framework for developing an integrated approach to access and delivery of print and electronic publications. This project involved critical reviews and evaluation of:
The main sections of this report cover the following:
The first section of this report presents a series of recommendations for test-bed activities for improving access to document access and delivery. The aims, definitions and parameters of the project are then provided in detail.
The methodology section includes the steps undertaken by the project team to develop guidelines for evaluation of relevant projects, search and retrieval tools. This involved the development of categories, which were refined throughout the duration of the project and incorporated in the design of a flat file database to assist the IDA project team to enter and search through the extensive amount of information gathered through electronic and traditional print sources.
To support consultation and feedback methods, a site was established on the publicly accessible World Wide Web to promote the IDA project. This facilitated widespread feedback from Australian and international researchers, academics, librarians and information managers who subscribed to the IDA electronic list. The project has attracted particular interest from the library and information community. The site will be maintained until March 1997 and will be updated to include new projects and feedback.
The outcomes of the methods undertaken in the initial stages of the project, highlight the need for an integrated document delivery system which is manageable by the wider community. It is necessary to take a very broad approach to solutions to the problems of information retrieval and access, given the varying needs and capabilities of user groups, which range from academics to business people and the general public.
Projects were evaluated and reviewed under the following categories:
In concluding this section, a discussion of possible solutions and architecture issues is provided. This includes a summary of the work by Owen and Wierz (1996) who focus detailed attention on models which provide a path towards networked library services. These models include a networked library model, comprising of electronic resources and storage facilities and a knowledge environmental model aimed at public library services.
The latter section of the report discusses the recommendations for the test-bed study in further detail, including the identification of components that will result in the development of robust integrated systems. The appendices of the report include an annotated bibliography, glossary of key terms and acronyms, examples of the reviews of major projects and the structure of the database and associated list of records.
In conclusion, in the review of the integration of print and electronic information, the IDA project team focused primarily on the contemporary information sources which include library information, commercial services (electronic and CD-ROM databases) and Internet/networked sources. What was found was that very few resource discovery or retrieval projects exist which effectively span the electronic and print information worlds.
Attempts to develop integrated systems have mainly occurred in the United States and Europe. These attempts have included development of electronic, digital and virtual libraries. Electronic libraries are projects based on an existing library service, digital libraries integrate a number of resources around a core of digitised information, while virtual libraries usually refer to systems which are primarily comprised of a number of web-based links, organised around no specific physical library collection.
To be successful, such libraries must be based around a solid core of original content. Tertiary institution libraries are well placed to index, organise and make accessible the significant information output of academia and should be in the forefront of such endeavours. In Australia, establishment of electronic libraries is at a critical developmental stage, and there is a clear need for a more coordinated approach to their creation. Progress in this area would be improved by creating a specific dedicated project with adequate staff funding. This report highlights other methods of information retrieval including various gateway services as well as union catalogues such as OhioLINK. The strengths and weaknesses of each are featured.
The IDA project involved a detailed evaluation of traditional Internet search tools, including robot types, subject catalogues and indexes to electronic publications. Document delivery was also assessed as part of the IDA project. It is apparent that all electronic systems are moving towards having some capability in terms of electronic document delivery, whether it be an ordering process, a delivery of hard copy process, or transmission to the desktop with the ability to print to a local printer. When formulating a test-bed study, it is therefore important to acknowledge and include some element of document delivery.
An extensive review of related projects (see IDA web site http://www.ida.unisa.edu.au/) has highlighted the following components of a test-bed study (pilot project/feasibility study) that will ultimately result in robust integrated retrieval systems.
The components include the:
Within each of these projects the following features should be present:
1.1 one or two subject areas be chosen as the basis of a project which attempts to construct a comprehensive interface to print and electronic resources and which provides a delivery mechanism for the chosen resources; and
1.2 appropriate institutions be funded through the Federal Government for a trial period to undertake the project on behalf of Australia’s research libraries.
2.1 A project be established to provide focus and continuity for GILS development. This internationally prestigious project would be relatively inexpensive and would:
Note that GILS refers to Global Information Locator Service not the Government Information Locator Service
3.1 Universities be encouraged to install free and/or commercial Z39.50 service software in their integrated library management systems (ILMS). The library and commercial information retrieval community have developed free products which may be utilised in some situations.
3.2 The Federal Government provide funding support to deploy Z39.50 capability across all universities.
3.3 Implement a Z39.50 Web interface project which examines the development and effectiveness of a single search interface layered across distributed databases such as library OPACs. The developments which will enhance these interfaces be monitored.
3.4 Provide focus and leadership for a Java implementation of a Z39.50 origin
4.1 A National Electronic Resource Discovery and Analysis Centre be established and that this centre be under the aegis of some established national body to safeguard its longer term maintenance.
4.2 In order to establish this national collaborative centre, federal government funds be sought to support its establishment phase (up to three years).