Dear Working Group,
I apologize for not being in touch soon after our meeting in Chicago. It was hard to assess just where we were and what might happen at that time, although I thought our discussion was useful in defining the problems we saw. Briefly stated, the electronic infrastructure was not yet in place to address the cooperative collection development of monographs, ARL was talking about connections with German libraries to get electronic access to documents, LC was going to try to catalog German material more quickly so we would all have the records, and CRL was showing some interest in the titles that the Olson-Spohrer study showed were lacking in North American libraries. The union list of newspapers done by Kurt and his NYC colleagues was clearly a model for a wider list to be created. It was generally agreed that WESS could play a role in drawing attention to the initiatives that exist or are in development, but we did not decide how to go about that.
But now there has been some progress. Below is a memo from Jutta Reed-Scott, a letter from Duane Webster that will go to Directors of ARL Libraries, and a progress report on the AAU/ARL German Demonstration Project. Jim Spohrer has agreed in principle to be the part-time Project Coordinator, so we can look to him for up-to-date developments in the future.
One interesting development: LC will make available to participating libraries the cataloging records of the Deutsche Bibliothek. This could be useful for local cataloging, but may also offer an opportunity for us to pursue the idea of periodic lists of current monographs that have not been selected by any North American libraries. Those of you who are more technically knowledgeable than I am may be able to comment on the likelihood of being able to download certain sections of what I am assuming will be the weekly bibliography into a shared, interactive, electronic site. We can talk about this further in San Antonio, to see if it is feasible and/or desirable.
Meanwhile, please let me know if you have any thoughts about how our working group might proceed at this point -- what needs do you see that we might be able to address?
Thanks,
Martha
TO: ARL Working Group on the German Demonstration Project
From: Jutta Reed-Scott
Re: Project update
I am sending you below a copy of the invitation letter that will be sent to all Directors of ARL libraries. As you will see from the attached status report, we have not yet been successful in raising the needed funds for supporting the Project Coordinator and related project costs. We have scaled the budget back to about $100,000 but that sum still is a large fund-raising hurdle.
The good news is that the Library of Congress has worked out the details of making the cataloging records of the Deutsche Bibliothek available to libraries participating in the project. The second welcome development is that Jim Spohrer has agreed in principle to serve as Project Coordinator on a part-time basis.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
To: Directors of ARL Libraries
From: Duane E. Webster, ARL Executive Director
Re: Participation in German Demonstration Project
Date: October 31, 1995
I am writing to invite your library's participation in the AAU/ ARL German Demonstration Project. Libraries participating in the project will be able to take advantage of newly negotiated access to German cataloging records.
For the past year the Working Group for the German Demonstration Project, chaired by Winston Tabb, has developed the work plans for this demonstration project. The initial planning phase has concluded, and we now seek the participation of ARL libraries to implement an array of project activities.
The project goals for this demonstration project are to 1) improve complementary systems for acquiring, cataloging and document delivery of German political science materials among ARL libraries; and 2) work with partner libraries in Germany to provide network access to German government documents.
The project will focus over the next two years on four specific activities:
1. We will seek the cooperation of German research libraries and German government agencies in locating or encouraging development of digital versions of German government documents.
2. We will collaborate with the Niedersaechsische Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek in Goettingen to test network access to regional government documents.
3. We will test a system for coordinating acquisitions of monographs and we will develop complementary systems for cataloging and document delivery.
4. We will identify serials published in Germany that are critical for furthering scholarship, but are not widely held in North America, and devise a strategy to ensure that at least one US or Canadian library commits to acquiring, serving, and preserving each title.
Although we have not yet been successful in obtaining grant funds for a Project Coordinator, we have made progress on several fronts. The Library of Congress has made special arrangements so that libraries in the Project will have access to the files of the Deutsche Bibliothek mounted at the Library of Congress. Assuming that there are at least twenty ARL libraries who wish to gain access, the shared annual subscription cost would be approximately $650 per library. Access to the Deutsche Bibliothek cataloging records will be available via Z39.50 or potentially other avenues. The Library of Congress is finding a 90t hit rate for recent materials. Participating libraries will also have access to the vendor files of Puvil (for Spanish materials) and Casalini (for Italian materials), because they are mounted in the same resource file as the Deutsche Bibliographie.
Attached to this letter is a summary of project activities to date. We will be glad to send you additional information. If you are interested in participating in this Demonstration Project and if you wish to have access to German cataloging records, please contact Jutta Reed-Scott. She may be reached by e-maiI (jutta@cni.org) or telephone (617 736-4734). I look forward to your response.
ATTACHMENT
Progress Report on AAU/ARL German Demonstration Project
A key goal of the AAU/ARL common action agenda is to improve access to and delivery of international research resources. Implementation efforts of a network-based, distributed program for coordinated development for foreign acquisitions continue. During the initial phase, the German demonstration project is one of three projects. The other two target research materials that originate in Latin America and Japan. ARL's Research Collections Committee provides overall guidance for these projects. Jutta Reed-Scott is primary staff liaison.
The primary project goals of the German demonstration project are to: (1) assure effective and timely access to and delivery of German language research materials through electronic resource sharing and improved interlibrary document delivery services; and (2) explore and encourage reliance on linking with German libraries to expand access to specialized research resources. The Library of Congress, under the umbrella of ARL and AAU, is providing organizational support for this project. Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services, Library of Congress, serves as chair of the Advisory Committee.
The project scope focuses on German politics and public life since 1945. The project will encompass three categories of materials in this arena: monographs; serials; and federal government documents. The Working Group on the German Demonstration Project has developed its initial work plan and is currently laying the groundwork for specific collecting and processing assignments.
Currently, work is underway to generate a comprehensive list of journals that fall within the project scope. Efforts are also being made to determine the availability of German government documents on the Internet.
The project wail also promote currency in processing German materials. A two-pronged strategy is proposed. The Library of Congress is exploring the feasibility of expanding the cooperative cataloging project in German materials. The Library of Congress is making available the Deutsche Bibliographie on the LC server to provide access to German cataloging records to libraries participating in the German Project.
Finally, the project is actively investigating the feasibility of building the electronic platform for the sharing of economic, policy related, legal and other information among North American and German research libraries. A small nucleus of research libraries in Germany is interested in pursuing a joint project with ARL. We have reached agreement in principle with the Niedersaechsische Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek in Goettingen to develop a pilot project to make available state documents via the Internet. Using the soon-to-be established WebDOC server, the Niedersaechsische Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek would create image files of selected classes of regional government documents and offer electronic access to project participant libraries. Discussions will be held in late November with Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, Director General, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, about the possibility of obtaining digital versions of government documents at the national level.
The project will provide significant benefits through improved bibliographic control of materials, broader coverage, collaborative strategies in making materials available with concomitant avoidance of acquisitions costs. Two critical strategies are partnering with research institutions in Germany and expanding the availability of electronic resources.
Jutta