PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Niedersächische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen and the Cornell University Library, in cooperation with North American colleagues in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), request 90,000 DM for a two-year project to improve German - North American resource sharing and to extend access to German parliamentary documents through the development of digital archives and interoperable systems. This is a cooperative library effort among United States, Canadian and German research institutions with strong German library collections and demonstrated institutional commitment to research in German political science and history. This project emerged from the Research Libraries Project of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is a component of the AAU/ARL common action agenda. A central thrust of the proposed work plan is trinational exchanges of information and practical experience with electronic resource sharing. Technological advances now enable libraries to process, store, and retrieve information in digital form. With the constraints of distance removed, new information services create unique opportunities for partnership among research libraries in North America and Germany. The project will promote experimentation and will provide a test bed for developing transnational resource sharing agreements. The primary project goals 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) test linking between North American and German libraries to expand access to specialized research resources. The project will focus on two specific activities:
These project components will enable us to develop the techniques and procedures essential for German political scientists, and ultimately scholars in other fields, to take full advantage of the economies and efficiencies promised by electronic delivery mechanisms. We will thus address issues such as the local implications of decisions to rely on remote collections, the legalities and logistics of copyright clearance for German government publications, cataloging and indexing requirements, and cost analyses and sustainable free structures for effective cooperative programs.
This project requires funding for six activities:
The project envisions contributions of $3,000 from 20 participating universities over the two-year period, in addition to in-kind support from Cornell University Library, the Library of Congress, the Niedersächische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen and other German institutions. The project requires support from TransCoop of $60,000, or the equivalent of 90,000 DM.
This proposal will first describe the project's institutional background. It will follow with more detailed descriptions of what we seek to accomplish and how we will proceed, and end with our project budget.
North American research libraries have a strong tradition in the collection of literature published in Germany. Richard Dorn, in an article in the Harvard Library Bulletin published in 1973, chronicled the first hundred years of the Otto Harrassowitz firm and its role in the building of substantial collections of German literature in American libraries through the provision of millions of volumes of publications over the course of a century. Annual production of books and journals in Germany continues to be high, and the importance of the materials is such that availability and easy access are essential for historical scholarship and political decision-making in North America. As an outgrowth of a study on acquisitions of Western European materials completed in March 1992 by a subcommittee of the Western European Specialists Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, James Spohrer and Michael Olson, Librarian for Germanic Collections, Harvard University, developed a project to assess the holdings of U.S. libraries in German political science materials. Spohrer and Olson concluded that "U.S. research library collecting for German political science for the period under consideration [1985-1992] falls short of adequacy in every significant category [important works for any U.S. research library with an interest in German politics; important works which should be held in at least one U.S. research library; relevant English-language titles; and relevant titles in languages other than German or English]...." This study highlighted the need for a more comprehensive collection policy in the area of German political science. One way to close the gaps is to achieve increased cooperation among North American and German research libraries. By improving the efficiency of collecting and providing access to an important segment of German political science publications, the libraries will be able to conserve resources which they can direct to the collection of important, unique German political science and historical publications. Since demand for timely access to German publications continues unabated, North American libraries, finding their resources inelastic, are seeking new and cost-effective ways to provide access to materials. Cooperative collection development, based on agreements to share publications acquired on the basis of a systematic plan to divide up responsibility for acquiring, cataloging, serving, and preserving materials in a particular topical or geographic area, has enabled libraries to expand their coverage. Arrangements to share materials have frequently been imperiled, however, by local perceptions and experience that an item must actually be held on site to be truly accessible. Yet, with the proliferation of publications, and the increasingly higher costs of acquiring materials, libraries must either reduce the number of items they collect or develop a new model for access to information. Through a digital, networked environment, libraries now have the means to transcend the impediments to cooperation engendered by the need to maintain a permanent physical object in a given location.
The Association of American Universities, in collaboration with ARL, in 1993 established the "Research Libraries Project" to address the prospects for research libraries at this time of both heavy pressure and unprecedented opportunity. The AAU Task Force on Acquisition and Distribution of Foreign Language and Area Studies Materials, charged with finding ways to improve access to foreign language resources, was one component. The Task Force developed an action plan calling for research libraries to share responsibility for collecting foreign imprints and to ensure shared access within a "distributed North American collection of foreign materials." The Task Force also recommended that this goal would be met through three demonstration projects, one focused on social science documents published in Germany. (The other projects are on Latin American studies and Japanese science and technical information).
In the future a North American and ultimately international information system will be realized. Rapid technological advances make it possible to build a seamless web of interconnected, coordinated, and interdependent research collections that are electronically accessible to geographically distributed users. Linking collections transnationally will allow libraries to maximize user access and to minimize cost. In the new model, research libraries will integrate in-print, local collections with networked regional, national and international information access and delivery services. In such a networked, distributed system, libraries will play central roles as both providers of research materials as well as access points for users to identify these resources that will be increasingly in electronic form.
The proposed project aims to test the opportunities and challenges of moving to distributed, networked collections. The German publication output is abundant, and the literature of political science and history is important for supporting and enhancing the North American understanding of Europe and vice versa. Yet, at a time when the significance of global politics and interaction is increasing, U.S. and Canadian libraries are recognizing that it is becoming more and more difficult for them to sustain comprehensive foreign language collections. Not only does the acquisition of a growing number of titles evade them, but even acquiring a selected number of titles strains their budgets when they take into account the processing, servicing, and preservation needs of library materials.
The project presents an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in U.S., Canadian, and German research libraries in testing network access to federal and regional government documents. Although the traditional model has been for many institutions to acquire substantial holdings, this project will pursue the potential of access to digital materials as a supplement or replacement for collecting the hard-copy originals. To achieve success in this area of the project, the partners will take stock of current holdings and access to these materials, and will develop a list of electronic equivalents and their sources. Working with their German counterparts, the ARL libraries represented in the project will seek to promote alternative forms of access, such as access to digital documents, that will reduce the cost of acquiring, archiving, and providing document delivery for these materials, and which will, at the same time, increase the reliability and timeliness of access to them.
In Germany the following libraries besides the State and University Library of Lower Saxony in Göttingen will take an active part in the project. Die Deutsche Bibliothek as national deposit library (Dr. Picard), Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin as national special collection library for "Parlamentaria" (Dr. Jammers), Senatsbibliothek Berlin as national special collections for publications of citys etc. (Dr. Lux), Bibliothek des Deutschen Bundestages (Dr. Coing) as head of the Task group of parliamentary libraries. Landtag Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf as center for documentation of parliamentary papers (Dr. Vogel, Köhler, Kemmerich), Bibliothek der Bürgerschaft Hamburg (Dr. Wellens). Members of these institutions are willing to give a paper at the conference to be held in May, 1998 (Deutscher Bibliothekskongreß). Librarians and documentalists of the regional parliaments will be invited.
The partners, the Niedersächische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen and the Cornell University Library, on behalf of the Association of Research Libraries German Demonstration Project, will proceed accordingly.
June 1997 to 1. determine the availability of selected government June 1999 documents from Germany in digitized form August 1997 2. review the list of digital resources and recommend other materials as candidates for digitization June 1997 to 3. exchange information on availability of June 1999 electronic resources August 1997 4. exchange information on the digital information infrastructure in North America and Germany, including data structure, use of metadata, and plans for archiving June to 5. plan conference to be held in conjunction August 1997 with the Frankfurt Buchmesse in fall 1997. Attendees: Representatives of ARL libraries participating in the German Demonstration Project, representatives from Niedersächische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek, German parliamentary libraries, the Deutsche Bibliothek, and Bibliothek der Bürgerschaft Hamburg. September/ October 1997 Purpose of the meeting: --Discuss plans for digitization of German sources --Discuss digitization initiatives within the ARL community, especially the work of the National Digital Library Federation --Review intellectual property, copyright, fair use, and other legal issues that affect distribution and access to documents --Develop a plan for increasing content available for access in Germany and for North America --Establish common standards or best practices that promote interoperability and permanent archiving of electronic documents October 1998 6. North American and German participants evaluate cost savings potential of electronic access versus traditional acquisition, organization, storage, and preservation of print materials October 1998 7. North American and German libraries participants will consult with users to assess their satisfaction with digital access and the utility of the product December 1998 8. Prepare a report on accomplishments, findings, and recommendations for further action. January to 9. Disseminate report to appropriate organization March 1999 (German Studies Association, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, American Historical Association, American Political Science Association, the Deutscher Bibliothekartag and the German research library community)
In addition to the staff, the primary partners, Niedersächische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen and the Cornell University Library, others participating will be members of the Association of Research Libraries. ARL will provide administrative support for the project, coordination with other demonstration projects, communication with the North American research community as a whole, and project evaluation.
An ARL Working Group on the German Demonstration Project consisting of seven librarians and scholars specializing in German political science, will provide general counsel concerning North American project policy. Sarah E. Thomas, Cornell University Librarian, and Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services at The Library of Congress, co-chair the Working Group. The members of the Working Group are:
ARL Staff:
Roger Chickering
Department of History Deborah Jakubs
Georgetown University Head of International and Area Students
Duke University
Konrad Jarausch
Lurcy Profesor of European Duane E. Webster
Civilization Executive Director
University of North Carolina
Information Liaison:
Michael Olson
West European Bibliographer Martha Hsu
Harvard University ALA, Western European Specialists Section
Subcommittee for the Collaborative Collection
James Spohrer Development in German Social Sciences
Librarian for Germanic Collections Cornell University
University of California at Berkeley
Winston Tabb, Co-Chair
Associate Librarian for Library Services
Library of Congress
Area Specialist
Library of Congress Advisor:
Sarah E. Thomas, Co-Chair Margrit Krewson
University Librarian German and Dutch
Cornell University
Karin Wittenborg
University Librarian
University of Virginia
This proposal frames the issues for a project to improve access to German publications in the fields of political science and history through a project constituting a strategic and collaborative effort by North American research libraries and exploration of ways to collaborate with German libraries in addressing issues in electronic resource sharing. It seeks funding to demonstrate the feasibility of cooperative collection development buttressed by access to digital information in a networked environment. Through its implementation, research libraries will surmount the barriers imposed by time and space and offer scholars an unparalleled way to access German publications. It will also broaden and enrich the ongoing dialogue between North American and German libraries, and, by achieving these goals, will facilitate and advance scholarship, research, and understanding in the field of German political science, government, and history.
TransCoop Partners
Research Assistant (Germany) 15,000 DM 10,000 DM
Research Assistant (ARL/Cornell) 15,000 DM 45,000 DM
Travel
--Working Group meeting 10,000 DM
in Washington, DC (seven
participants plus a German
Advisor)
--North American Digital Library 15,000 DM
experts to Bonn/Frankfurt
--German participants in one-day 5,000 DM
conference
Conference 2,500 DM
Conversion of Documents 25,000 DM 30,000 DM
Publicizing of Results 2,500 DM
Overhead 16,000 DM
Total 90,000 DM 101,000 DM
set:leh
11/20/96
Revised: 01/20/97
Library of Congress