German Resources Project
14 June 2002, Atlanta, GA
German Resources
Project
* About the Project
* Project Goals
* How to Join the Project
*Staff and Advisory Board
* FAQ (under development)
WORKING GROUPS:
* Collection Development
* Document Delivery
* Digital Libraries
* Bibliographic Control
Participating Libraries
* Partners in Germany
Guests: Klaus Kempf, Eckhard Blume.
Absent: Mary Jackson
Tom thanked Lou for his service as co-chair, Deborah for her service as Project Director for the Global Resources Program, Michael for his work as Webmaster, and all working group coordinators. He also announced that Jeff Garrett is the chair-elect. A special welcome was extended to our German guests Klaus and Eckhard.
GLOBAL RESOURCES PROGRAM.
Deborah reported on the Global Resources program. It has existed for
over 5 years and has 7 active projects. Since the Mellon grant has been
expended, there is some question whether ARL remains the appropriate
organization. Seven library directors have pledged $65,000 total
as bridge money to continue the projects and to look for foundation
funds or matching arrangements to continue. One goal is to look
for a (part-time) replacement for Deborah. The ARL directors are
interested in international partnerships, and there is some sense that
there needs to be a commitment of dues money from ARL. … What about
dues for the GRP? That may be possible, but it should not undermine the
Global Resources projects as a whole. … Money is important in carrying
the GRP forward. Although we want a strong central office for support,
we also want some budget that the steering committee could use as it
chooses.
REPORTS FROM THE WORKING GROUP COORDINATORS
Bibliographic Control
Roger reported that the German translation of AACR2 is about to go to
press, and the published version may come out for IFLA. Efforts
of the GRP made this possible. While there is some resistance to
AACR2 in Germany, this will allow people at least to read the rules.
Collection Development
Barbara reported that new partners have been added to the contact
partners list, including anthropology and engineering. Die
Bibliothek der Deutschen Literatur cataloging project is moving forward
(5 checks remain outstanding, however, and need to be paid). The
project is 2 weeks from being finished. The Xipolis and Erfurt projects
are moving along. The German Digizeit serials digitization project is
of interest to members.
Digital Libraries
Michael reported on the Digital Library meeting at the Bibliothekartag,
and repeated the request of many German colleagues there that other
working groups also hold meetings in Germany. Ewald described the new
DFG-NSF initiative, which is looking for collaboration between equal
partners in two key areas, collections and services. One goal is to
find digital collections that are distributed and improve
availability. Another is to foster cooperation to learn how to
collaborate. Jeff suggests a GRP project working with A group
from Stuttgart has contacted Jeff about a digital project to enhance
cataloging records in US libraries. … Suggestions were also made
about how the website should promote resources in Germany.
Document Delivery
Lynn reported on the suspension of the document delivery service via
ARL. We need to make sure that older bills have been paid, so that
we can work out the financial mechanism for next phase.
UB-Göttingen will handle the billing and forward them to ARL to
disburse from the deposit account. The billing and accounting pieces
are variable and difficult. Not everyone can do credit cards or
pay individually. Some places are ordering through GBV Direct. There
seems to have been a communication problem that needs resolution
face-to-face. The request to stop ordering in January did not stop
libraries from ordering, and ultimately the accounts had to be closed
on 1 May. The goal is to settle these problems within two months. …
Phase II will be using RLG software for ordering documents from US
libraries. It will get a new timeline and move forward. Testing
should begin in 2 months.
