Redesigning Library Services

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Redesigning Library Services: AManifesto

Michael Buckland

Published in 1992 by the American Library Association. ISBN 0-889-0!90-0.

Notes & CopyrightAn A""endi# has been added to $ha"ter %& but the te#t is other'ise intended to be thesame as the "ublished edition. A (e' minor di)erences may e#ist. $o"yri*ht+ ,he author&ichael . Buc/land& assi*ned the co"yri*ht to this 'or/ to the American Library Associationin 1992 (or "ublication "ur"oses. In 199& 'hen the American Library Association allo'edthis boo/ to *o out o( "rint& the co"yri*ht reerted to ichael . Buc/land. ,his te#t may beused (or non-commercial "ersonal and non-commercial education "ur"oses "roided that

co"yri*ht o'nershi" by ichael . Buc/land is ac/no'led*ed. All other ri*hts resered.

Contentsore'ordPre(ace

1. Introduction 2. ,he Pa"er Library 3. ,he Automated Library 4. Biblio*ra"hic Access 3econsidered 5. ,he 4lectronic Library 6. $ollections 3econsidered

Su""lement to $ha"ter % 7. Serin* the 5ser 8. 6r*ani7ation and Im"lementation 9. ,he $hallen*e

Appendix: Sources

i*ures.1 Search and 3etriee :9+!0; Protocol .2 $ost ,rends+ Labor and achines ocuments


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by the SunSI,4 ana*er.Last u"date uly 20& 1998. SunSI,4 ana*er+ mana*erCsunsite.ber/eley.edu

Foreword

There have been a number of books on the future of libraries and librarianship. Someould sa! that far too man! su"h books have been published. This is be"ause the bulk ofthese books are unrealisti"all! futuristi" or te"hni"all! obsessed or "onsist of len#th! andarid spe"ulations on the future of hi#her edu"ation$ the publishin# industr!$ and the other"onte%ts ithin hi"h e ork. &i"hael 'u"kland(s book falls into none of these"ate#ories. )t is both visionar! and pra"ti"al. There is knoled#e and information in this book that is of immediate use to librarians$ administrators of libraries of all kinds$universit! administrators$ fa"ult!$ boards of trustees$ and all others interested in the futureof librar! servi"e. )t is in this utilit!$ and in the fa"t that this book is pit"hed in themedium term$ that its stren#ths and value "an be found.

*ne of the most tellin# points made b! the author is that$ like it or not$ libraries ill haveto deal ith the provision of a""ess to ele"troni" do"uments. +e ri#htl! and shredl!avoids ar#uments about the e%a"t proportion of su"h do"uments "ompared ith the morefamiliar linear do"uments of !esterda! and toda!. This is pra#matism at its best. Que sera, sera$ and it behooves all of us to plan for hat e kno ill happen before e planfor hat mi#ht happen. )t seems most likel! that the librar! ill be dealin# ithdo"uments of all kinds for the foreseeable future and$ probabl!$ indefinitel!. The mi% ill be different and the librar! of the future ma! look different$ but$ as &i"hael 'u"kland points out$ librarianship has endurin# values and endurin# ends. The isdom of theassessment of the future found in this book is that it keeps those values and ends firml! insi#ht$ hile re#ardin# as sa"red none of the means e use and have used to a"hieve them.

)t is ver! eas! to a""ept the familiar ithout ,uestion. )t is also eas! to assume that the predi"ted future ill remed! the failin#s of the past and present. &i"hael 'u"kland doesneither of these thin#s. +is anal!sis of the -aper /ibrar!- 0the librar! of lineardo"uments "ontrolled b! paper files and the -utomated /ibrar!- 0the librar! of lineardo"uments "ontrolled b! ele"troni" files is de"eptivel! simple$ as are all orthhileinsi#hts. )n readin# the se"tions of this book devoted to these topi"s$ one "an see ver!"learl! here e have been$ here e are$ and here e ma! be #oin#. +is anal!sis is a penetratin# li#ht shone on the familiar that shos those ith e!es to see thatun,uestioned assumptions are dan#erousl! misleadin#. hen the libraries of !esterda!and toda! are "ontrasted ith the h!potheti"al librar! of tomorrothe le"troni"/ibrar!one does not have to a#ree ith ever! ot and tittle of the author(s anal!sis torealie ho important it is to define the destination before one e,uips oneself for the ourne!.

'u"kland(s le"troni" /ibrar! is defined as one -in hi"h do"uments are stored and "an be used in ele"troni" 0or similarl! ma"hine readable form.- There are to importantaspe"ts of this definition. ote that the do"uments are stored and can be used inele"troni" form. irst$ the fa"t that the! are so stored does not pre"lude them bein# printed for use as a "onventional te%t. t present$ the prevalen"e of su"h printin# is

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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makin# a mo"ker! of the -paperless so"iet!- predi"tions that ere so popular a de"adea#o. )t is entirel! possible that the le"troni" /ibrar! ill "ontain not onl! ele"troni" andlinear 0mainl! printed do"uments but also a h!brid of the to in hi"h the librar! a"ts asa kind of publisher"umbookseller providin# hi#h ,ualit! printin#s of ele"troni" te%ts or#raphi"s. This ould$ of "ourse$ have a revolutionar! effe"t on the role of libraries and

the nature of the publishin# and booksellin# trades. The se"ond important impli"ation ofthe definition of the le"troni" /ibrar! is in the fa"t that the do"uments "an be used inele"troni" form. The use of di#ital ele"troni" do"uments "an #o ell be!ond that ofsimpl! readin# a te%t or seein# an ima#e. This fle%ibilit! 0"onferred b! the abilit! to edit$mer#e$ add to$ make subsets of$ rearran#e$ et".$ ele"troni" do"uments ill have profound$and not invariabl! beni#n$ effe"ts of libraries$ librar! users$ and librar! servi"e. These areimportant matters and ever!one involved ith libraries should be "onsiderin# them.

nother "ardinal virtue of this book "an be found in its emphasis on servi"e to librar!users. /ibraries are$ essentiall!$ utilitarian "onstru"ts. That hi"h tends toard the#reatest happiness of the #reatest number is #ood: that hi"h does not is bad. /ibrariese%ist to serve and to be used. &i"hael 'u"kland "learl! shos us the a! to in"rease the

servi"e that libraries "an deliver and to understand the likel! demands of the librar! userof the future. *ne of the sad "onse,uen"es of the "onfusion beteen means and ends thathas been endemi" in librarianship is that too man! have lost si#ht of the simple purposeof librariesto serve as man! people as ell as e "an. /ibraries$ their "olle"tions$ andte"hnolo#i"al advan"e are not #ood in themselves. The! are means to vital endsdisseminatin# knoled#e and information: preservin# the re"ords of "ulture and"iviliation: and raisin# and maintainin# the ,ualit! of intelle"tual and so"ial life. )t is a"onsiderable a"hievement to have not onl! provided a "o#ent anal!sis of the past$ present$ and likel! future of libraries but also to have used that anal!sis to point the a!to the pra"ti"al "onse,uen"es of "han#e. The author has done all the$ too$ in a brief"ompass.

The best books provide us ith insi#hts into$ and ne a!s of lookin# at$ thin#s andideas. This is sometimes "alled the sho"k of re"o#nition. Redesigning Library Services issu"h a book. &ore$ it provides us ith the a!s in hi"h e "an use those insi#hts to do pra"ti"al thin#s that ill improve libraries and librar! servi"e. )n essen"e$ hat the author is tellin# us is

here is here e are and here e have been:

here is the likel! dire"tion in hi"h e are #oin#:

here is the impa"t of the likel! future on libraries$ librar! servi"e$ and librar! users:

and

here is ho e should or#anie ourselves and run our libraries to respond to the"hallen#es of "han#e.

This is a useful book be"ause it is pra"ti"al and an important book be"ause it ill "olorthe a! in hi"h e see libraries. )t is a onderful antidote to the nihilism that has beenindu"ed in some b! te"hnolo#i"al "han#e. )t affirms the importan"e of libraries and


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shos us ho e "an have faith in the future of libraries ithout takin# refu#e innostal#ia. )t is$ in the ver! best sense of the terms$ pro#ressive and forardlookin#.

&i"hael ;orman


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Te"hnolo#i"al "han#e is onl! one influen"e on institutions. There are also "ultural"han#es$ "han#es in politi"al and so"ial values$ e"onomi" "han#es$ and "han#es in hat isknon and understood. The dis"ussion in this book "on"entrates on the lon#term effe"tsof te"hnolo#i"al "han#e on librar! servi"es be"ause the! are si#nifi"ant and be"ause the!appear to be more predi"table than "han#es from other "auses. 'its and pie"es of hat is

predi"ted here do not re,uire a "r!stal ball as the! are alread! happenin#.

) have benefited #reatl! from the ideas and help of man! people$ espe"iall! din '.'ronri##$ &i"hael ;orman$ @olf +A!er$ ;ar! S. /aren"e$ =lifford . /!n"h$ Stephen@. Salmon$ and @a!nard =. Sank$ but the! should not be blamed for defi"ien"ies inhat follos.

1: Introductionurpose of /ibraries oundations of /ibrar! Servi"e

Three T!pes of /ibrar! /ibrar! >sers *utline

PURPOSE OF LIBRARIES

The "entral purpose of libraries is to provide a servi"eB a""ess to information.

The #ood nes is that additional$ different means for providin# librar! servi"e are be"omin# available in a manner unpre"edented sin"e the nineteenth "entur!. The

"hallen#e for all "on"erned ith libraries$ is to determine ho$ hether$ and hen thesene means should be used.

/ibraries e%ist for the benefit of the mind$ but the! have serious pra"ti"al problems"opin# ith the a",uisition$ stora#e and handlin# of the do"uments and re"ords ithhi"h the! deal. &aor "onstraints arise from the te"hnolo#! used as a means for providin# servi"e. n! "han#e in te"hnolo#! that ould have a si#nifi"ant effe"t on themethods available for a",uisition$ stora#e$ deliver!$ or sear"hin# pro"edures "ould haveimportant "onse,uen"es for librar! servi"e. =onse,uentl! a "ontinuin# ,uest forte"hnolo#i"al improvement has been and should "ontinue to be important.

Those responsible for providin# librar! servi"e have been more or less "ons"ious of the

nature of the underl!in# problems to be solved and some of the more #ifted andfarsi#hted #roped toards radi"al solutions based on a deep understandin# of the natureof the problems. The ke! elements of the probable form of the ele"troni" librar! of thetent!first "entur! ere bein# #limpsed$ albeit imperfe"tl!$ b! the earl! 193Cs b! per"eptive thinkers. &ore re"entl! visions of the librar! of the future have beenasso"iated ith spe"ulation on the demise of the book$ the supposed obsoles"en"e oflibrarians$ and other ,uestionable rhetori".


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ith ver! differin# meanin#s and is "ommonl! used attributivel! to refer to books$ ournals$ databases$ and other ph!si"al obe"ts re#arded as potentiall! informative.""ess to a potentiall! informative do"ument depends on identif!in#$ lo"atin#$ andhavin# affordable ph!si"al a""ess to it. +oever$ for someone to be"ome informed$ to be"ome more knoled#eable$ re,uires moreB The reader needs to be able to understand

and evaluate hat is in it. )f hat is found is ree"ted or not understood$ then littleinformin# ill have been a"hieved.

&u"h has been ritten in re"ent !ears on the possible impa"t of ne te"hnolo#! on -thelibrar! of the future.- This is nothin# ne. )t "ould be that lon# term visions have a benefi"ial effe"t in stimulatin# debate and thou#ht. +oever one ma! suspe"t that littleof the rhetori" and fe of the spe"ifi" te"hnolo#i"al proposals have been of mu"h dire"thelp to those ith the heav! responsibilit! of plannin# for the future of an! parti"ularlibrar!B the administrators$ funders$ librarians$ and librar! users developin# five or ten!ear plans$ "ontemplatin# the hi#h "ost of a maor ne librar! buildin#$ or orr!in#about the relationship beteen the familiar te"hnolo#! of paper and the less familiar$unstable te"hnolo#! of "omputers. The problems of e%istin# libraries are severe. Disions

of ele"troni" libraries seem un"ertain and suspe"t. ven if su"h a vision seems #ood$ it isnot at all "lear that plausible paths of development from here to there have beenade,uatel! mapped.

Redesigning Library Services has been ritten on three assumptionsB

1. There has been insuffi"ient attention to strategic plannin#$ that is$ the makin# ofde"isions relative to a three to ten !ear time frame. e seek to e%amine the middle#round beteen the lar#e literature on possible options amon# the ta"ti"al andoperational de"isions made da!toda! and monthb!month and the seepin#visions of endless$ interlinked ele"troni" villa#es. The latter offer little "ontinuit!

ith present e%perien"e and "an make those ho are dependent on e%istin#servi"es understandabl! nervous. Some people are enthusiasts for ele"troni"solutions: other ant to avoid the hi#h "ost of "ontinuin# present operations.

2. disproportionate amount of attention has been paid to ne informationte"hnolo#!. )t is not reall! that too mu"h attention has been #iven to it$ but ratherthat not enou#h "riti"al attention has been #iven to the "hara"teristi"s of thefamiliar te"hnolo#! of paper. e adapt to hat e adopt. hat is familiar tendsto be transparent. )t ma! take some "ons"ious effort to appraise "riti"all! andevaluativel! hat e are so a""ustomed to.

3. There is$ in fa"t$ "onsiderable e%perien"e on hi"h our strate#i" plannin# "an be

based$ more than is #enerall! realied.

Suppose that one ere "har#ed ith makin# re"ommendations "on"ernin# the developmentof a librar! servi"e over a three to ten !ear ran#e$ hat sort of "on"lusions mi#ht one be ustified in rea"hin#? The purpose of this book is to su##est some #eneral bases for plannin# or$ at least$ to provide a #eneral frameork for thinkin# about future librar!servi"es. 0dvi"e on pro"edural details for handlin# spe"ifi" plannin# a"tivities "an befound in numerous mana#ement te%ts.


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The purpose bein# pursued in librar! servi"e is the provision of a""ess to books$ ournals$and other informative materials. /ibraries have never had a monopol! sin"e mu"h ofhat is in demand is also available in personal "olle"tions$ bookshops$ from personal"onta"ts$ and$ indeed$ from other sorts of libraries. +oever$ even if it is not a monopol!$it is "learl! the maor role and ni"he of librar! servi"e. o$ in addition to the "ustomar!

diffi"ulties in providin# librar! servi"e$ the radi"al "han#es in the te"hnolo#! available asmeans for providin# servi"e leaves the future un"lear.

)n su"h a situation e need to be prepared to retreat to first prin"iples. /ibrar! servi"e is a bus!$ servi"eoriented a"tivit!$ ith a deepl!rooted emphasis$ refle"ted in the professional literature$ on pra"ti"al and te"hni"al matters$ on means$ rather than on ends$and ta"ti"s rather than strate#!. There is so mu"h more ritten$ for e%ample$ on ho to build "olle"tions than on the roles that "olle"tions pla!. There is so mu"h more on ho to"reate "atalo#s than on ho "atalo#s are used. evertheless$ there is "urrentl! a health!aareness that maor "han#es are likel! and a re"o#nition$ for e%ample$ of some"onver#en"e beteen librar! servi"es$ "omputin# servi"es$ and tele"ommuni"ationsservi"es$ of probable "han#es in the publishin# orld$ and that librar! mana#ement is$ at

least in part$ "on"erned as mu"h ith the mana#ement of servi"e as ith the mana#ementof books. 0See endnote 1.

FOUNDATIONS OF LIBRARY SERVIE

/ibrar! servi"es have to basesB

the role of librar! servi"e is to fa"ilitate a""ess to do"uments: and

the mission of a librar! is to support the mission of the institution or the interests of

the population served.

)nterpretin# these to #eneral statements for an! #iven situation provides the foundationsfor effe"tive librar! servi"e.

The first statement stimulates us to ask ho -fa"ilitate$- -a""ess$- and -do"uments-should be interpreted and ho the role of the librar! servi"e is related to the roles of the book trade$ "omputin#$ and other servi"es. +itherto the dominant interpretation has beenthe udi"ious assemblin# of lo"al "olle"tions as the onl! effe"tive means of providin#"onvenient ph!si"al a""ess to do"uments$ au#mented b! biblio#raphi" tools and advi"e.

The se"ond #eneral statement entails that the determination of hat should be done is

uni,ue to ea"h spe"ifi" "onte%t.

%aminin# strate#ies for the development of librar! servi"es re,uires that three"onditions be metB

1. e need to distin#uish beteen means and ends. The purposes of and justification for$ librar! servi"e should not be "onfused ith the te"hni,ues and


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te"hnolo#ies adopted as means for providin# servi"e$ even thou#h our options arelimited b! the available te"hni,ues and te"hnolo#ies.

The lon# period of relative stabilit! from the late nineteenth "entur! up to the197Cs in the means for providin# librar! servi"e is ust the kind of situation inhi"h it be"omes eas! for the distin"tion beteen ends and means to be"ome blurred. So lon# as there is but one prin"ipal means to an end 0even ithvariations in details and in s"ale$ more of the end is a"hieved b! more of themeans and the distin"tion beteen ends and means has little si#nifi"an"e in pra"ti"e. 'ut this blurrin# of the distin"tion hinders dealin# effe"tivel! ithalternative means if and henas nothe! be"ome available.

The advent of novel$ alternative means for servi"e in"reases the need to think"learl! about the ends of librar! servi"e. The ends ma! not "han#e ver! mu"h$ butthe! are likel! to need to be reinterpreted and reaffirmed at intervals in a "han#in#orld. )n an! "ase$ responsible sele"tion of means depends on prior sele"tion ofends.

2. lternative means do need to be e%plored a##ressivel! otherise the options illnot be knon. ith that e need to distin#uish beteen ta"ti"al 0shorttermmeasures and strate#i" 0lon#term measures.

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3. The adoption of a series of te"hni"al innovations$ su"h as relative shelf lo"ation0shelvin# books relative to ea"h other rather than on spe"ifi" shelves$ improved"atalo#in# "odes$ more s!stemati" approa"hes to shelf arran#ement and sube"t"lassifi"ation$ "ard "atalo#s$ and sustained efforts at standardiation and"ooperation: and$

4. )n the tentieth "entur!$ a trend toards selfservi"e$ ith open sta"ks and publi""atalo#s.

Terminolo#! has evolved$ the s"ale of operation is mu"h in"reased$ and te"hni"al refinementshave been made. evertheless e%amination of earl! issues of College and Research Libraries$ of fift! !ears a#o$ and of the Library Journal $ another fift! !ears before that$shos that man! of their underl!in# "on"erns are still strikin#l! "ontemporar!. Thefolloin# three t!pes of librar! provision$ based on the te"hnolo#! used$ provide a"onvenient frameork for dis"ussin# future librar! servi"e.

>ntil re"entl! libraries( te"hni"al operations 0e.#. pur"hasin#$ pro"essin#$ "atalo#in#$ and

"ir"ulation and librar! materials 0primaril! te%ts ere both based on paper and"ardboardB e "all this the -aper /ibrar!.- Stri"tl! speakin#$ libraries have ala!sin"luded materials other than paper su"h as "la! tablets$ vellum$ film$ and so on$ but theseother media make little differen"e for our present purposes.

*ver the past to de"ades$ libraries( te"hni"al operations have be"ome based on"omputer te"hnolo#! hile the librar!(s materials still remain overhelmin#l! on paperand paperlike mediaB The -utomated /ibrar!.-

The prospe"t that librar! materials$ as ell as librar! operations$ ill in"reasin#l! be inele"troni" form indi"ates a further "han#e in the means of librar! servi"eB The -le"troni"/ibrar!.- See table 1 belo.

Technical Operations Library Materials

aper /ibrar!aper aper

utomated /ibrar!=omputer aper

le"troni" /ibrar!=omputer le"troni" media

The "on"ept of the le"troni" /ibrar! is important be"ause librar! materials illin"reasin#l! be available in ma"hinereadable form$ users ill need a""ess to them$ andaccess will, therefore, have to be provided . *ne "an spe"ulate about the eventual balan"e beteen paper materials and ele"troni" materials or$ if one ishes$ on the prospe"ts for

paperless libraries$ but these issues are of little si#nifi"an"e "ompared ith the underl!in#assumption that arran#ements for a""ess to some materials in ele"troni" form ill have to be provided. Toda! libraries are$ or are be"omin#$ utomated /ibraries$ ith the

imminent prospe"t of needin# to evolve$ at least in part$ into le"troni" /ibraries. Sin"e paper do"uments 0and other nonele"troni" media su"h as film seem unlikel! to

disappear$ e ma! e%pe"t the utomated /ibrar! and the le"troni" /ibrar! to "oe%istindefinitel!. &ore spe"ifi"all!$ e "an e%pe"t$ and should plan for$ an! real librar!

servi"e to be a blendB part utomated /ibrar! and part le"troni" /ibrar!.


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The shift to "omputerbased te"hni"al operations and$ more espe"iall!$ the advent oflibrar! materials in ele"troni" form indi"ate the prospe"t of radi"al "han#es in the means of librar! servi"e. /ibrar! materials in ele"troni" form differ si#nifi"antl! from traditionalmedia. )n parti"ular$ unlike paper and mi"roform$ it is possible to make ele"troni" mediaavailable so that the!

"an be used from a distan"e$

"an be used b! more than one person at a time$ and

"an be used in more different a!s.

The si#nifi"an"e of these three differen"es is profound and ill be e%amined in somedetail.

LIBRARY USERS

+o are the "ir"umstan"es of librar! users "han#in#? art of the anser is that some ofthose hom the libraries are funded to serve are themselves adoptin# ele"troni" habits$makin# in"reasin# use of the ne information te"hnolo#! of "omputers$ ele"troni"stora#e$ and tele"ommuni"ations in addition to the old information te"hnolo#! of pen$ paper$ and photo"opier. The ne ele"troni" tools provide poerful options for orkin#ith data$ te%t$ and ima#es. s e%amples$ "onsider the redu"tion in labor no re,uired for produ"in# revised do"uments$ for "omple% "al"ulations$ for ima#e enhan"ement$ and forthe statisti"al anal!sis of lar#e sets of data and passa#es of te%t.

/ibrar! servi"es have to do ith support for learnin#$ both the stud! of hat others have

dis"overed and resear"h to dis"over hat is apparentl! not !et knon. Eet the librarian(srole is often ver! indire"t. The librarian(s "on"ern$ rather than bein# ith knoled#eitself$ is usuall! ith representations of knoled#eith te%ts and ima#es. urther$ mu"hof the time$ the "on"ern is not reall! ith the te%ts themselves$ but ith te%tbearin#obe"tsB the millions of books$ ournals$ photo#raphs$ and databases that fill our libraries(shelves. /ibrarians #enerall! assist$ not b! #ivin# ansers dire"tl!$ but b! referrin# thein,uirer to a book. Someho e need to maintain the underl!in# "on"ern ith hoindividuals a",uire knoled#e. /ibrarians must "on"ern themselves ith ho individualsuse information 0books$ ournals$ et". and also ith ho the! be"ome informed andknoled#eable.

The old information te"hnolo#! of pen$ paper$ and$ latterl!$ photo"opier did not

en"oura#e mu"h departure from librar! use as -read$ think$ rite.- )n "ontrastfor somethe ne information te"hnolo#! is transformin# the use of librar! materials$ ith"omputerbased te"hni,ues for identif!in#$ lo"atin#$ a""essin#$ transferrin#$ anal!in#$manipulatin#$ "omparin#$ and revisin# te%ts$ ima#es$ and data. holl! ne dimensionof the use of librar! servi"es is emer#in#. hat ould do more for users$ for thedevelopment of librar! servi"e$ and for rapport ith users than providin# assistan"e thatkeeps pa"e ith these "han#es?


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OUTLINE

)n the ne%t "hapter$ e revie some "hara"teristi"s of the aper /ibrar!$ its stren#ths$

eaknesses$ and persistent attempts to remed! or "ompensate for the inherent limitationsof the te"hnolo#! of paper. Then$ e briefl! summarie the utomated /ibrar! and oure%perien"e ith it in =hapter 3.

lon#side the development of the utomated /ibrar! has been the parallel developmentof "omputerbased biblio#raphies. )n =hapter 4$ some of the si#nifi"ant impli"ations ofthe automation of biblio#raphies and of libraries( te"hni"al operations are e%plored.

The rise of ele"troni" do"uments and the nature of the le"troni" /ibrar! are outlined in=hapter 5. Some of the "onse,uen"es of the rise of ele"troni" libraries for "olle"tiondevelopment are "onsidered in =hapter 6.

The needs and "han#in# environment of librar! users are "onsidered in "hapter 7 andsome mana#ement "onsiderations in "hapter 8. The final "hapter$ "hapter 9$ provides asummar! and some "on"lusions.

)t seems that the relative stabilit! of the past "entur! is but a prolo#ue to another periodof radi"al "han#e$ "omparable in si#nifi"an"e to that of the late nineteenth "entur! ithits e%"itin# renaissan"e of ideas and te"hni,ues. This time "han#e is enabled less b! neideas than b! a "han#e in the underl!in# te"hnolo#!$ hi"h is all the more reason toreassess our assumptions about future librar!. s operations and servi"es be"ome more"omple% and more "apitalintensive$ ad ho"$ uns!stemati" de"isionmakin# "an leadlibrar! servi"es don unprodu"tive paths. =orre"tin# mistakes be"omes e%pensive and

disruptive.

=reative plannin# needs to be "entral$ be"ause of the superiorit! of plannin# over merel!rea"tin# to events. efunders$ providers$ and users of librar! servi"esneed to refle"t"reativel! on hat e do and h!. lannin# offers us a "han"e to "reate the future.

Notes on Chapter 1: Introduction 1. @a!mond F. eff$ -&er#in# /ibraries and =omputer =entersB &anifest


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le%ibilit! of paper do"uments=atalo#s in the paper librar!Separation of "atalo# from te%tSeparation of users from "atalo#s and do"uments*penin# hours

lread! in useTimeS"aleioneers

The aper /ibrar! has problems asso"iated ith it that need to be set forth in order to provide a basis for a balan"ed vie of the utomated /ibrar! and of the le"troni"/ibrar! and for a "learer appre"iation of the "ontrastin# "apabilities of the aper /ibrar!$the utomated /ibrar!$ and the le"troni" /ibrar!.

PAPER TE!NOLO'Y

aper is an instan"e of a traditional$ -hard "op!- medium. Stri"tl!$ paper is not the onl!traditional medium in libraries$ but$ sin"e other traditional media$ su"h as vellum andmi"rofilm$ have "hara"teristi"s that are substantiall! the same$ e "an$ for our present purposes$ subsume them under paper. e use paper as the predominant e%ample and thes!mbol of hard "op! media in #eneral.

/ibrar! servi"es as e kno them best are based on the te"hnolo#! of paper. =ard$ as in"ard "atalo#s$ is but a stiff form of paper. /ibraries( te"hni"al operations are steadil! bein# "omputeried and$ thereb!$ paper libraries are no bein# transformed into hat eare "allin# utomated /ibraries. The aper /ibrar! proved effe"tive and durable for ane%tended period. evertheless$ the problems inherent in the aper /ibrar! are real andsubstantial. Throu#h sheer familiarit!$ e ma! "ease to be "ons"ious of the "onstraints ofhat e re#ard as normal. eople orr!$ as the! should$ about the advanta#es anddisadvanta#es of usin# "omputers$ but the advanta#es and disadvanta#es of usin# paper$hi"h is thorou#hl! familiar$ #et little attention. The serious limitations of the paperlibrar! need to be revieed e%pli"itl! if e are to make an informed and balan"edappraisal of the other options$ the automated librar! and the ele"troni" librar!. 0Seeendnote 1.

1. aper is a stri"tl! lo"alied medium. )t and the user must be in the same pla"e atthe same time. "op! elsehere "annot be used. )t or a "op! must be in the same pla"e as the ouldbe reader. This ma! sound foolishl! simple$ but it hasenormous pra"ti"al "onse,uen"es and dominates the desi#n and operation of the

aper /ibrar!$ of the traditional librar!.

2. sin#le paper do"ument "an$ in #eneral$ onl! be used b! one person at a time.

3. aper "opies of do"uments "an be made b! reprintin# and b! photo#raphi" andmore modern repro#raphi" means$ but the same limitations appl! to a "op! as tothe ori#inal. )t is as mu"h a lo"alied do"ument as the ori#inal. a"similetransmission 0-fa%-$ hi"h is be"omin# popular for short do"uments$ "an provide


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a remed!$ but onl! b! #ettin# aa! from paper and usin# the transmission of anele"troni" "op! of the do"ument as an intermediar! beteen the paper ori#inal inone pla"e and "reation of a paper "op! in some other pla"e.

4. aper as a medium is rather infle%ible. )ndividual "opies of a do"ument "an haveannotations added to them and$ ith suffi"ient standardiation$ paper do"uments"an be interfiled. 'ut paper do"uments reall! do not lend themselves to bein#mer#ed$ divided$ reformatted$ and restored to earlier versions.

5. =olle"tions on paper be"ome bulk! and "reate stora#e problems.

PROBLE(S OF T!E PAPER LIBRARY

Local %ature of &aper ocuments

'e"ause paper is a stri"tl! lo"alied medium$ a "op! in the Dati"an /ibrar! is of littleimmediate benefit to a ouldbe reader in +on# Fon#. )t follos from this limitationthat$ in prin"iple$ there ou#ht to be a "op! of ever! needed do"ument in ever! lo"al

"olle"tion here it is #oin# to be needed and that "op! should have been "olle"ted and pro"essed for use before it is needed. Stated differentl!$ ever! individual librar!"olle"tion ou#ht$ in theor!$ to in"lude a "op! of ever! do"ument that its users ill ant. )tis the lo"alied nature of paper that makes us ant our librar! to be "onvenientl! lo"aland our 0and ever! other librar! to "ontain a "olle"tion of materials that is not onl!skillfull! sele"ted but is also as lar#e as "an be afforded.

The lo"alness of paper do"uments remains an unsolved "onstraint. "onse,uen"e is thatea"h librar! "olle"tion is more or less skillfull! sele"ted to mat"h the needs of those usin#it$ hi"h is a #reat advanta#e over findin# oneself in a vast arehouse of indis"riminatel!assembled materials$ hether paper or ele"troni".

.S. librar!buildin# boom of 1967 to 1974$ "onstru"tion asnot keepin# pa"e ith the amount of spa"e needed to house the reported in"reases in the


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number of volumes held. 0See endnote 3. )n =alifornia$ the "ost of "onstru"tin# ande,uippin# "onventional a"ademi" librar! spa"e is approa"hin# I2C per volume. That the>niversit! of =alifornia needs telve miles of additional shelvin# ea"h and ever! !ear tohouse the #roin# paper "olle"tions of the nine "ampuses is a si#nifi"ant problem.

'ooks "an be stored more "ompa"tl! than on standard$ open a""ess shelvin# hi"hsupports around 12.5 volumes per s,uare foot of floor spa"e. >nfortunatel! "ompa"tstora#e te"hni,ues su"h as denser forms of shelvin# or rele#ation to remoter$ "heaperspa"e redu"e the a""essibilit! hi"h is the primar! purpose of a librar! servi"e.

&i"rophoto#raph! developed almost as earl! as photo#raph! itself and its potential as a"ompa"t alternative to paper as soon re"o#nied. &i"rophoto#raph! also offered asolution to another serious te"hnolo#i"al "onstraint of paper te"hnolo#!B the makin# of"opies. &i"rofilm a"hieves both "ompa"tness and eas! reprodu"tion. These virtues erenoti"ed b! those ho orried about the defi"ien"ies of the aper /ibrar!. The 'el#iando"umentalist aul *tlet$ for e%ample$ proposed the use of standardied mi"rofi"he in19C6. +e sa mi"roforms not as a repla"ement for the book$ but rather an e%pansion of

the paper book into a ne and more versatile form. )n 1925 *tlet and the 'el#ianinventor @obert ;olds"hmidt des"ribed an easil! manufa"tured -mi"rophoto#raphi"librar!-. )t "omprised versatile -po"ketsied- viein# e,uipment and a portable "abinetone meter ide$ one meter hi#h$ and about ten "entimeters deep holdin#$ on mi"rofilm$18$75C volumes of 35C pa#es ea"h$ the e,uivalent of 468 meters of "onventional librar!shelvin#. 0See endnote 4.

'le(ibility of &aper ocuments

"onstraint of paper do"uments is their infle%ibilit!. &i"rofilm is little help in thisre#ard. &i"rofilm "an be "opied$ but alteration of the te%t on it is even more diffi"ult thanalterin# te%t on paper.

aul *tlet anti"ipated the idea of h!perte%t$ hereb! te%ts are fra#mented in smaller units0nodes to be related to ea"h other in "omple% and "han#in# a!s. >nfortunatel!$ thedismemberin# and rearran#in# of paper do"uments$ althou#h feasible in prin"iple$ hassevere limitations in pra"ti"e$ espe"iall! if one seeks to #o be!ond biblio#raphies anden"!"lopedia arti"les.

Catalogs in the &aper Library

The standard form of "atalo# for most of the nineteenth "entur! as bookform.*""asionall! a small printed edition as produ"ed to distribute knoled#e of the librar!(sholdin#s to users and to other libraries. 'ut bookform "atalo#s are infle%ible andin"onvenient to update. *ne has to rite in additions and deletions$ insert ne pa#es$ respa"e e%istin# entries$ start separate supplements$ andJor produ"e a ne edition. =ard"atalo#s as an innovation offered s"ope for the "ontinuous and unlimited insertion$alteration$ repla"ement$ and removal of entries$ but multiple "opies of "ard "atalo#s areune"onomi"al and diffi"ult to maintain.

Similarl!$ ith an! hard"op! form of "atalo#$ ea"h form of a""ess re,uires a separatese,uen"eB one "ard for the author: another "ard for the title: another "ard for ea"h sube"t


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headin#. hether interfiled or in separate se,uen"es$ the bulk in"reases relentlessl!. ora""ess b! "all number an additional set of "ards are re,uired. The usefulness of a "atalo#"ould be #reatl! e%tended b! providin# separate -anal!ti"al- entries providin# dire"ta""ess to parts ithin books and ournals$ but man! more "ards ould be needed. Tosear"h b! date$ hi"h ould sometimes be useful$ ould re,uire !et another set of "ards.

The "ost of the "reation$ housin#$ and$ espe"iall!$ maintenan"e of ever lar#er filesin"reases steepl!: so does the effort re,uired to sear"h in them. There is no te"hni"alreason not to have lots and lots of "ards providin# man! different kinds of a""ess in "ard"atalo#s$ but the e"onomi" disin"entives are persuasive.


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b! Dannevar 'ush$ @alph Sha$ and others as the -mi"rofilm rapid sele"tor- and formedthe te"hnolo#i"al basis of the ima#inar! -&eme%- information ma"hine. 0See endnote 8.

Separation of !sers from Catalogs and ocuments

or the aper /ibrar! the assemblin# of substantial$ ellsele"ted lo"al "olle"tions is a

ne"essar!$ but not suffi"ient "ondition$ for effe"tiveness. /o"al means -near to users- but$as @obert T. Kordan stressed$ there is in pra"ti"e a si#nifi"ant differen"e beteen -near tousers- and -here the users are.- 0See endnote 9. Studies of the use of sour"es ofinformation 0libraries in"luded have invariabl! revealed that usa#e is in pra"ti"e hi#hl!sensitive to ph!si"al a""essibilit!B >sa#e falls off ,uite steepl! even over ,uite smalldistan"es su"h as a fe blo"ks in the "ase of a publi" librar! and the other side of "ampusfor a"ademi" libraries. Kordan(s 197C book$ )omorrow*s Library$ is interestin# as a poi#nant$ preautomation attempt to redress eaknesses inherent in te"hnolo#! of theaper /ibrar!. ith the aper /ibrar! the user must make a ourne! to the librar! to"onsult the "atalo# and$ short of a personal do"ument deliver! servi"e$ must visit thelibrar! to "onsult a do"ument if it is$ in fa"t$ believed to be there.

'oth the desire for pro%imit! and the desire for reliable "ontrol fuel the popularit! ofdepartmental libraries in universities and nei#hborhood bran"hes of publi" libraries.dministrators ma! orr! that su"h de"entraliation is ineffi"ient$ asteful$ and anindul#en"e of users( inertia. 'ut "ostbenefit 0in "ontrast to "ost minimiation dependsheavil! on the amount of use. >serfriendliness in librar! servi"e in"ludes providin#servi"e to 0or "lose to herever the intended users are.

"pening +ours

The aper /ibrar! and the "olle"tions in the utomated /ibrar! need human bein#s touse them and to supervise them. =omputers "an be left unattended. aper /ibraries

"annot. ven ith -e%tended- hours$ fe aper /ibraries are open tent!four hours ada!$ seven da!s a eek. &ost aper /ibraries are "losed$ alloin# neither a""ess norservi"e$ most of the time.

lready in !se

'e"ause onl! one person at a time "an use a sin#le paper do"ument$ there is ala!s a"han"e that the do"ument !ou ant is bein# used b! someone at the time hen !ou antit. The hi#h "ost of pur"hasin# "opies ahead of time$ the diffi"ult! of predi"tin# demand$and the limited possibilities for makin# "opies make this problem diffi"ult to resolve.urther$ be"ause of the hi#hl! lo"alied nature of paper and libraries( limited openin#hours$ most libraries fa"ilitate the use of paper do"uments b! permittin# them to be borroed$ "ommonl! for eeks at a time. The effe"ts of lendin# do"uments areintensified be"ause the demand for do"uments in ever! librar! is hi#hl! skeedB Some books are more popular than others and users tend to ant the same do"uments. The"ombined effe"t of these features of the aper /ibrar! is to redu"e drasti"all! the "han"esthat the book !ou ant ill be available hen !ou ant it$ even if the librar! is open.Stud! after stud! of a"ademi" libraries has indi"ated that the "han"e of findin# a bookthat !ou ant is around 6C per"ent$ assumin# that the librar! does on a "op!. )n other


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ords$ standard performan"e for a aper /ibrar! is little better than a 5C5C "han"e that ado"ument a"tuall! in the "olle"tion ill be available hen one looks for it. 0See endnote1C.

)ime

s paperbased s!stems be"ome lar#er and more "omple%$ their use be"omes more andmore time"onsumin#. The ph!si"al separation of "atalo# from te%t and of user from both"atalo# and te%t in"rease.


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4. or aul *tlet$ see his -nternational "rgani1ation and issemination of 2nowledge/ Selected Essays$ trans. anded. b! . 'o!d @a!ard 0msterdamB lsevier$ 199C. or mi"rofi"he see pp. 8795 and for the mi"rophoto#raphi"librar! see pp. 2C413. lso see . 'o!d @a!ard$ )he !niverse of -nformation/ )he 3or4 of &aul "tlet for

ocumentation and -nternational "rgani1ation. )< ubl. 52C. 0&os"oB D))T)$ 1976. @obert '. ;olds"hmidtand aul *tlet$ La conservation et la diffusion internationale de la pens5e/ Le livre microphoti6ue$ ))' publ. 1440'russelsB )nternational )nstitute for 'iblio#raph!$ 1925. *n p.6 *tlet and ;olds"hmidt note that ele"troni"tele"ommuni"ations had #reat potential for a""ess to do"umentsB -Gue ne rOserve la tOlOvision aprPs les dO"ouvertesrO"entes?-5. rit


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1. &u"h of the ork involves the a""urate updatin# of re"ords in files. The tasksinvolved are #enerall! tedious$ repetitive$ me"hani"al in nature$ and lendthemselves to "omputeriation$ even thou#h the re"ords ma! be "omple% andarran#ed in "ompli"ated a!s.

2. utomation is likel! to improve "osteffe"tive performan"e b! in"reasin#a""ura"!$ b! redu"in# the rate of in"rease in "osts in laborintensive a"tivities$ and b! in"reased effe"tiveness. )t should be"ome possible to do some tasks morethorou#hl! than levels of staffin# usuall! permit ith manual pro"edures$ su"h asthe re#ular "laimin# of unsupplied issues of periodi"als$ or b! doin# thin#s that"annot in pra"ti"e be done in paper files$ notabl! sear"hin# for "ombinations of"hara"teristi"s.

3. utomation permits de"entralied a""ess to re"ords. librarian in a bran"h librar!"an verif! the status of an order ithout maintainin# dupli"ate files$ travellin# tothe order department$ or askin# other staff to interrupt their ork in order to findout. user "an "he"k to see hether a book is out on loan ithout travellin# to

the librar! to see hether it is on the shelf.

=onsiderations of servi"e$ of "ost$ and of the humane use of staff all ar#ue for the use of"omputers to ease the burden and to in"rease the effe"tiveness of handlin# librar!re"ords.

STANDARDS

'rin#in# order to "haos and a"hievin# "ollaboration both depend on sharedunderstandin#B on standards. /ibrar! servi"e has lon# depended on shared standards$ ofhi"h the adoption of standardied "atalo#in# "odes and standardied sube"t"lassifi"ation s"hemes are to ver! important e%amples. These to e%amples and most

librar! standards ma! fa"ilitate automation and make "omputeried pro"edures more"osteffe"tive$ but the! have little to do ith "omputers dire"tl!.

To standards have enormous strate#i" importan"e for the utomated /ibrar!B

1. The &"hine @eadable =atalo#in# 0&@= "ommuni"ations formats for "atalo#re"ords define ho "atalo# re"ords 0and potentiall! other biblio#raphi" re"ords"an be "ommuni"ated from one "omputer s!stem to another. This national 0)S*Q39B2 and international standard 0)S* 27C9 is no more than tent! !ears old.lthou#h rather "ompli"ated and "umbersome$ it provides a ne"essar! basis forthe e"onomies throu#h standardiation that is essential for the development of the

utomated /ibrar!.2. &ore re"ent$ mu"h less ellknon$ but of "omparable strate#i" importan"e$ is

the -Sear"h and @etrieve- standard$ sometimes "alled the -/inked S!stemsroto"ol$- 0)S* 1C162J1C163: >S )S* Q39B5C. 0ndnote 1. )n the first tent!!ears of the utomated /ibrar! one ould use one online "atalo# or one online biblio#raph! at a time. fter finishin# the use of one s!stem$ one "ould then"onsult anotherone at a time and separatel!. 'ut as the number of differents!stems in"reased$ ea"h usin# "ommands that ere more or less different from the


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others$ and re,uirin# tele"ommuni"ations to more or less remote sites$ theadvanta#es and the in"onvenien"e of usin# not onl! one(s lo"al s!stem but alsoother$ different$ remote s!stems be"ame in"reasin#l! "lear.

The sensible alternative$ for an!one interested in usin# "omputers$ as to tr! keep theadvanta#es and to dele#ate the in"onvenien"e. )nstead of ithdrain# from one(s lo"alonline "atalo# in order to use another$ one ould prefer to "ommand the lo"al online"atalo# to e%tend the sear"h to other online "atalo#s elsehere on one(s behalf and toretrieve and to present the results. )n prin"iple$ this removes from the user the need to bother ith the tele"ommuni"ations and possibl! unfamiliar "ommands needed for theother online "atalo#s. 0See fi#ure 3.1.

a+ ,it#out t#e -Searc# and Retri.e- $rotoco/ a u0er can connect wit#

.ariou0 on/ine cata/o20 and *u0t 3now #ow to u0e eac#

%+ ,it# t#e -Searc# and Retrie.e- 45)6:789 $rotoco/ t#e u0er need on/&

3now #ow to u0e t#e /oca/ cata/o2 and #ow to in0truct it to e;tend a 0earc#

to ot#er 0&0te*0

Fi2ure )+1+ -Sear"h and @etrieve- 0Q39B5C proto"ol

)n theor! an! remote online "atalo# "an be"ome an e%tension of one(s lo"al "atalo# iththe differen"es in "ommands made lar#el! transparent. ;ettin# one "omputer to -Sear"hand @etrieve- from another "an$ in prin"iple$ be e%tended to a variet! of biblio#raphi"

files 0"ir"ulation$ a",uisitions$ biblio#raphies$ and so on. This is a ne development. '!1991 the national and international standards ere bein# revised to a"hieve "ompatibilit!$softare developers had formed a -Q39B5C implementors #roup$- and earl! versions ere

be"omin# available.

The &@= standard enables "omputerbased biblio#raphi" data to be shared and the-Sear"h and @etrieve- standard enables retrieval s!stems to be shared. The lon# term"onse,uen"es of both are enormous.

TE!NOLO'IAL TRENDS


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Those ho predi"t te"hnolo#i"al trends are unanimous on "ertain points. )f$ for la"k ofan! #rounds for doin# otherise$ e a""ept their proe"tions and e%trapolate themforards for a fe !ears$ e rea"h some simple plannin# assumptions "on"ernin# thene information te"hnolo#!B

1. )mproved performan"e b! "omputers$ if "ontinued$ ill result in "omputin# poer be"omin# e%tremel! ine%pensive$ ith a trend toard a "omputer on ever! desk.

2. Tele"ommuni"ations ill be"ome ubi,uitous$ "onvenient$ and ver! lo "ost per"hara"ter transmitted.

3.


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These prin"iples do not ne"essaril! appl! in all "ir"umstan"es but the! do seem reasonable#uidelines for improvin# the "osteffe"tiveness of librar! servi"es in orth meri"a.

E


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=: Bi%/io2ra$#ic Acce00 Recon0idered'iblio#raph! and 'iblio#raphi" ""ess 'iblio#raphies The =atalao# @e"ondsidered The =atalo# @edefined@e"onstru"tion &ultiple lo"ations &ultiple inde%es uture 'iblio#raphi" Strate#!rom lo"al to #eneral 'e!ond the )ndividual 'iblio#raph! Summar!

This "hapter dras attention to online biblio#raphies and su##ests that the "ombinationof online biblio#raphies and online librar! "atalo#s ill lead to a radi"al "han#e in ho

the "atalo# is defined and "onstru"ted. lso$ instead of thinkin# of online biblio#raph!as the use of individual biblio#raphies that happen to be online$ e shall think more interms of online use of a referen"e "olle"tion. 0ndnote 1.

BIBLIO'RAP!Y AND BIBLIO'RAP!I AESS

The term bibliography is used in several a!s to denote the stud! of books and themakin# of des"riptions of books. +ere e are "on"erned ith biblio#raph! as the makin#of lists of books$ arti"les$ and other do"umentsb! sube"t$ b! author$ and b! otherattributesand the makin# of inde%es to those lists. 0ndnote 2.

$ibliographic access is perhaps the best available term for the hole apparatus of a""ess

to re"ords of all kinds 0te%tual$ numeri"al$ visual$ musi"al$ et".$ in all kinds of stora#emedia 0books$ ournals$ mi"roform$ "omputer stora#e$ disks$ and so on. %amples of thesorts of biblio#raph! under dis"ussion in"lude Chemical bstracts$ nnual Review of -nformation Science and )echnology$ $oo4s in &rint $ Readers* 0uide to &eriodical Literature$ and the rts and +umanities Citation -nde(.

'iblio#raphi" a""ess in"ludes three "entral "on"ernsB

1. -dentifying documentsB hi"h do"uments e%ist that mi#ht be of interest? Theessen"e of biblio#raph! is the identifi"ation and enumeration of do"uments thatould be of interest. hi"h ritin#s b! some spe"ified author? hi"h arti"lesabout some sube"t? hi"h books published in some time$ pla"e$ or lan#ua#e? )tis a matter$ on the one hand$ of "reatin# useful des"riptions of do"uments$ and$ onthe other$ of identif!in# do"uments that fit an! #iven des"ription.

2. Locating documentsB 'iblio#raphies des"ribe do"uments$ but the! do not usuall!tell !ou here a "op! "an be found$ least of all here the nearest "op! "an befound. )t is "atalo#s that indi"ate here "opies ma! be found.


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"hara"teristi" of a "atalo# is that it indi"ates a lo"ation. )f it did not e shouldden! that it is a "atalo#.

3. &hysical access to material B )dentif!in# and establishin# the supposed lo"ation ofa do"ument is not the same as havin# a "op! of the do"ument in ones hands$ "loseenou#h to read. s ri" &oon$ former president of the meri"an /ibrar!sso"iation$ remarked$ -) never kne a reader ho anted a book Rri#ht no(ho left the librar! ildl! enthused b! findin# a "atalo# entr! for it.- 0ndnote 3.h!si"al a""esssome "ombination of the user #oin# to the do"ument and thedo"ument bein# brou#ht to the useris a matter of lo#isti"s and te"hnolo#! hi"he shall dis"uss in =hapter 6.

BIBLIO'RAP!IES

The "omponents of this biblio#raphi"al universe are numerous as ell as varied.'esterman(s 3orld $ibliography of $ibliographies lists 117$187 biblio#raphies and asrestri"ted to an in"omplete enumeration of separatel! published biblio#raphies.

n important feature of biblio#raph! in this sense is that it is primaril! "on"erned ithorks and editions of orks rather than ith individual "opies of do"uments. biblio#raph! on a"ademi" freedom mi#ht ell in"lude a referen"e to$ sa!$


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The ne%t lo#i"al development ould be to provide links from the referen"es in the biblio#raphies to libraries( holdin#s re"ords. )f one ere to find an interestin# referen"e toan arti"le hile sear"hin# Chemical bstracts online$ for e%ample$ it ould be anobvious amenit! if one "ould move automati"all! from the biblio#raphi" referen"e to astatement of lo"al libraries( holdin#s of the periodi"al "on"erned. This kind of servi"e is

be#innin# to be provided. ven better$ one ould like to kno hether that parti"ularvolume is "urrentl! available and to be able to send a re,uest for a "op! of it.

T!E ATALO' REONSIDERED

'iblio#raph!$ as noted above$ deals ith published orks in a #eneral fashion and is notordinaril! "on"erned ith individual "opies of orks. )n "ontrast$ librar! re"ords are$ ofne"essit!$ ver! mu"h "on"erned ith individual libraries$ individual "opies$ and$ for thatmatter$ ith individual librar! users. 0ndnote 4.

/ibrar! "atalo#s$ as e "urrentl! kno them$ are "omposed of a "ombination of biblio#raphi" re"ords and of librar! holdin#s re"ords$ "ontainin# both #eneral statements

about editions of orks and also spe"ifi" statements about individual "opies and theirindividual lo"ations in parti"ular libraries. *ne mi#ht even ar#ue that$ #iven thelimitations of the te"hnolo#! of paper and of "ardboard$ the onl! pra"ti"al a! ofa"hievin# this linkin# of biblio#raphies and librar! re"ords in the nineteenth "entur! asto "reate an additional third set of re"ords "ontainin# elements derived from ea"hB themodern librar! "atalo#.

/ibrar! "atalo#s var! "onsiderabl! in format a""ordin# to the te"hnolo#! in useB in bookform: on "ards: in mi"roform: online. urther$ if librar! "atalo#s are seen as a brid#e beteen biblio#raphies and librar! re"ords$ it has to be re"o#nied that this is a brid#e beteen to movin# and "han#in# obe"ts as biblio#raphies and internal librar! pro"edures both evolve.

arl! librar! "atalo#s ere inventories of hat as on the shelves. The printed "atalo# of 162C of the 'odleian /ibrar! of *%ford >niversit! is re#arded as si#nifi"ant be"ause itlisted books in author order re#ardless of here the! ere shelved. This$ then$ as thelibrar! "atalo# as an authorordered findin# list of books.

The transformation of librar! "atalo#in# to its present form "ame in the nineteenth"entur! hen it as ar#ued that simple author a""ess as not enou#h and that a different$more sophisti"ated$ and more elaborate approa"h as needed.

The "lassi" definition of the purpose of a librar! "atalo# is that of =. . =utter$ hostated that the -obe"tsof a "atalo# ereB

1. To enable a person to find a book of hi"h either

. the author

'. the title is knon

=. the sube"t


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)n terms of =utter(s definition of the purpose of a librar! "atalo#$ almost all of the dataneeded are biblio#raphi"al and ould be "ommon to an! other librar! "atalo# or

biblio#raph! that listed the same edition. The e%"eption is the lo"ational informationB the parti"ular "all number and details of ea"h "op!$ as needed. The lo"ational data ould not

be the same as those found in other libraries( "atalo#s listin# the same ork.

)he Catalog as a form of $ibliography.

)n the broader perspe"tive of biblio#raphi" "ontrol$ librar! "atalo#in# "an be seen as aspe"ial "ase of biblio#raph! defined b! the interse"tion of to subsetsB

1. /ibrar! "atalo#s use one parti"ular level of des"riptionB the edition of themono#raph and the title of the periodi"al. &ore detailed 0-anal!ti"al- "atalo#in#is possible and "an be found$ espe"iall! in small$ spe"ialied libraries$ but is nott!pi"al.

2. The set of re"ords in a librar! "atalo# is further defined #eo#raphi"all!B there"ords that pertain to the holdin#s of a "olle"tion$ a librar!$ or$ for a -union"atalo#-$ to to or more libraries.

)t is important to stress that the limitation b! level of des"ription 0mono#raph edition$ ournaltitle$ hi"h e%"ludes the more detailed levels of a""ess 0ournal arti"le$ "onferen"e paper "ommonl! needed$ is a matter of standard pra"ti"e$ not of prin"iple. %"ellente%amples "an be found of librar! "atalo#s that also provide entries for arti"les in periodi"als and individual "ontributions ithin books. *ne e%ample is the -nde(8Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon80eneral*s "ffice, !nited States rmy$ publishedin 188C$ hi"h evolved into the -nde( #edicus and no #EL-%E . nother publishede%ample is the Catalogue of the Library of the &eabody -nstitute of the City of $altimore$18831892$ hi"h states in the refa"eB

This "atalo#ue is "onstru"ted on the idea that the best possible "atalo#ue is thathi"h best makes knon to the avera#e reader the entire "ontents of a librar!. )t isintended to anser the three important ,uestionsB )s a #iven book in the librar!?re the orks of a #iven author there? hi"h books$ arti"les$ and informationdoes a librar! "ontain on a #iven sube"t? perfe"t "atalo#ue ould furnish"omplete ansers to all these ,uestions.- 0ndnote 6.

+oever$ te"hni"al and "ost "onsiderations resulted in the #eneral pra"ti"e of omittin#detailed 0-anal!ti"al- a""ess$ espe"iall! to arti"les in periodi"als$ leavin# that importantrole to publishers of biblio#raphies and inde%es mainl! operatin# outside of librarianship.

/ibrar! "atalo#s should be seen as a form of biblio#raph!. That the! are not normall!thou#ht of as biblio#raph! is lar#el! an a""ident of semanti" "ustom and of a tradition oflibrar! or#aniation that asso"iates the "atalo# ith "atalo#ers in te"hni"al servi"esdepartments and biblio#raph! ith referen"e librarians in publi" servi"es departments.

rom an operational perspe"tive the librar! "atalo# "an be seen as a useful amplifi"ationof re"ords that are unavoidabl! needed an!a!. The information in a "atalo# "an beuseful in a variet! of a!s to librar! staff and librar! users. The differen"e beteen


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modern librar! "atalo#s and those before the late nineteenth "entur! is essentiall! that themodern "atalo#s have a mu"h lar#er biblio#raphi"al superstru"ture added to the lo"ationalinformation than had previousl! been the "ase.

+oever$ a librar! "atalo# has some si#nifi"ant short"omin#s as a tool of a""ess. )n"ontrast$ published biblio#raphies are$ or "an beB

more "omplete 0e%tendin# be!ond a #iven librar!(s "olle"tions$

more sele"tive 0fo"usin# on the interests of spe"ifi" "lientele and so$ in theterminolo#! of information retrieval$ of -hi#her pre"ision-$

more "apable of spe"ial arran#ements 0as opposed to standardied universal s"hemesof "lassifi"ation and of sube"t headin#s$

more fle%ible 0be"ause ea"h ne biblio#raph! "an be done differentl!$

more detailed 0indi"atin# individual papers ithin periodi"als$ arti"les in nespapers$

and papers ithin "onferen"e pro"eedin#s$

more des"riptive 0"ontainin# abstra"ts of the "ontents$

more easil! deplo!ed to "over ne topi"s of interest as needed$

more e%pertl! "ompiled 0be"ause biblio#raphers are more likel! than "atalo#ers to bee%pert sube"t spe"ialists$ 0ndnote 7

more "oherent 0be"ause biblio#raph! starts ith a topi" around hi"h sele"tedreferen"es are assembled$ hereas$ in "atalo#in#$ do"uments are assi#ned tosube"ts$

more "osteffe"tive 0be"ause a biblio#raph!(s usefulness is not limited to anindividual librar!.

=atalo#ers have denied these assertions and made "ounterar#uments that$ for e%ample$lo"al "atalo#in# 0unlike biblio#raphies published for a #eneral audien"e permits a""essto be adapted to lo"al "ir"umstan"es and "an in"lude items not in"luded in published biblio#raphies.

)n the late nineteenth"entur! debate beteen biblio#raphers and "atalo#ers$ biblio#raphers unsu""essfull! ar#ued that the investment made in lo"al librar! "atalo#in#ould be better spent in the improvement of biblio#raphies that "ould be published and

ould be$ therefore$ of idespread usefulness.

@a!nard Sank restled ith ho libraries "ould "ombine the advanta#es of biblio#raphies ith the ne"essit! of lo"al re"ords. suffi"ient reason h! he asunsu""essful as that$ in the last resort$ the te"hnolo#! of paper and of "ards simpl! didnot lend itself to the ph!si"al inte#ration of biblio#raph! and "atalo#. Sube"t biblio#raph! 0other than "atalo#in# has developed durin# the tentieth "entur! lar#el!outside the mainstream of librarianship$ ith maor roles in the "reation of and provision


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of a""ess to biblio#raph! pla!ed b! individual s"holars$ professional and s"holarl!so"ieties$ #overnment a#en"ies$ and private firms 0su"h as 'oker$ /o"kheed$ andilson.

)wo &erspectives Caricatured

The differen"e beteen a biblio#rapher(s perspe"tive and that of a "atalo#er "an beillustrated b! "onsiderin# ho ea"h mi#ht approa"h the provision of biblio#raphi"ala""ess to$ sa!$ a "hemistr! librar!. 'oth fantasies are e%a##erated for the sake ofemphasis.

biblio#rapher responsible for a "hemistr! librar! mi#ht take the point of vie that thereis a published biblio#raph! of the literature of "hemistr! that should be the users( prin"ipal tool of a""ess to the entire relevant literature in"ludin# the subset that happensto be held in a parti"ular librar!. The strate#! mi#ht then be to arran#e for plentiful use of Chemical bstracts$ perhaps b! mountin# a "op! online lo"all!$ then seekin# to link the"itations in Chemical bstracts to the librar!(s holdin#s re"ords. erhaps the link "ould be

made b! usin# the )nternational Standard Serials umber 0)SS for ea"h periodi"al titleand the /ibrar! of =on#ress "atalo# "ard number 0/== or )nternational Standard 'ook umber 0)S' for ea"h mono#raph. )n the meanhile the librar!(s re"ords ould alsohave )SS$ /==$ )S'$ or similar numbers atta"hed. 0This te"hni,ue is su##ested aseviden"e that linka#e is feasible. *ther approa"hes are possible but outside our presents"ope. )n this s"enario$ the librar! user ould sear"h Chemical bstracts and be able toas"ertain the librar!(s holdin#s hen interested. ossibl!$ as an option$ sear"hes "ould beautomati"all! limited$ at least initiall!$ to entries ith links to librar! holdin#s re"ords.lternativel!$ that subset ith librar! holdin#s links "ould be separated out as anunusuall! detailed -"atalo#- of lo"all! held material. /o"all!held material not or not !etin Chemical bstracts ould pose a problem. ossibl! su"h material "ould be "ontributed

to Chemical bstracts if on "hemistr!: perhaps other biblio#raphies ould need to beused for other sube"ts. Some lo"al supplementation of the files ould probabl! beunavoidable. 0This linkin# of a biblio#raph! ith librar! holdin#s re"ords has beenimplemented e%perimentall! for the medi"al and health s"ien"es for the nine "ampuses of the >niversit! of =alifornia b! addin# re"ent !ears of the &


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as a "onvenient basis for the derivation of re"ords for the lo"al "atalo#. This "ooperativedatabase$ ith mu"h broader "overa#e than an! one librar!$ ould be available to thelibrarians$ but not$ in pra"ti"e$ to librar! users. Chemical bstracts ould be of #reatl!redu"ed value be"ause it ould dupli"ate "atalo# re"ords for ever!thin# in the librar!.

This small vi#nette identifies the e%trava#an"e of a "atalo#based approa"h "omparedith a biblio#raph!based approa"h and invites more e%tensive e%amination of the potential role of biblio#raphies in the future of the "atalo#.

T!E ATALO' REDEFINED

Reconstruction +o should the identifi"ation and lo"ation fun"tions be approa"hed in the future? To thee%tent that the "ard "atalo# as a produ"t of the limitations of hat is no lon#er the preferred te"hnolo#!$ the development of even the most sophisti"ated ele"troni" versionof the "ard "atalo# "ould represent mis#uided "reativit!$ reminis"ent of the "ontinuedrefinement of sailin# ships after steam had be"ome the preferred sour"e of poer. To #et

a better perspe"tive on future librar! servi"e e should stand ba"k from the "onventional"atalo# and tr! to vie it from first prin"iples.

Three elementsbiblio#raph!$ librar! re"ords$ and do"umentsprovide the neededin#redients. 'iblio#raphies ill "ontinue to be published: do"uments "ontinue to be"olle"ted: and libraries have to have their "op!spe"ifi" inventor! and status re"ords.=omputerbased pro"edures enable re"ords to be linked in a!s not previousl! feasible.The folloin# approa"h is su##estedB

1. Sin"e biblio#raphies "onstitute the prin"ipal means of identifi"ation$ there should be e%tensive$ "onvenient a""ess to biblio#raphies re#ardless of te"hnolo#!.

2. 'e"ause it is ne"essar! not onl! to identif! but also to lo"ate material$ it should bemade possible hen sear"hin# biblio#raphies to as"ertain the lo"ation$ "allnumber$ and availabilit! of "opies of do"uments in lo"al librar! holdin#s.

3. )t ould be "onvenient to have an option hereb! sear"hes in biblio#raphies"ould be limited to the holdin#s of one or more parti"ular libraries.

4. )t should also be possible for a librar! user to forard a "op! of a biblio#raphi"re"ord to librar! staff as a re,uest that a "op! of the do"ument represented be sentin the ori#inal$ in photo"op!$ or b! telefa"simile.

These relationships are represented in fi#ure 4.2.

Fi2ure =+"+ Simplified relationship beteen biblio#raphies$ holdin#s re"ords$ and do"uments


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There are pra"ti"al problems to be solved in linkin# biblio#raphies ith libraries(holdin#s re"ords. +oever$ there appears to be no obvious te"hni"al reason h! online

biblio#raphies should not routinel! be linked to libraries( holdin#s re"ords$ "allnumbers$and "ir"ulation status for do"uments. *n"e that is appre"iated ho ould ant to settle

for less?

nother a! of des"ribin# this "han#e in the relationship beteen biblio#raphies$"atalo#s$ librar! holdin#s re"ords "an also be shon in terms of the "ontents of there"ords involved. art a of fi#ure 4.3 shos the "onventional re"ords stru"ture of fi#ure4.1. art b of the fi#ure shos the simplified stru"ture of fi#ure 4.2.

a+ on.entiona/ record 0tructure for %i%/io2ra$#& cata/o2 and /i%rar&

#o/din20 record0

%+ Si*$/ified record 0tructure for /in3ed %i%/io2ra$#& and /i%rar&

#o/din20 record0

Fi2ure =+)+ =onventional and linked re"ord stru"tures

The use of "omputerbased te"hni,ues to a"hieve the #oal of e%tensive biblio#raphi"ala""ess combined with "allnumber and availabilit! information for do"uments invites a

maor re"onsideration of the roles and relationships beteen librar! "olle"tions$ biblio#raphies$ and internal librar! pro"essesB

1. 'iblio#raphies should be vieed$ not so merel! as librar! resour"es$ but rather asa dramati" enri"hment of biblio#raphi" a""ess far #reater than "an be provided b!the "atalo#. ot onl! does the a""ess provided b! biblio#raphies #reatl! e%"eedthat of "atalo#s in fineness of inde%in# but also the sheer ,uantit! of re"ords andtheir variet! are both far #reater. ontrivial intelle"tual a""ess to the publishedre"ord depends on a""ess to biblio#raphies. =onventional "atalo# re"ords$ limitedas the! are to editions of mono#raphs and titles of serials and to lo"all! oned


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material onl!$ are simpl! not in the same lea#ue in terms of providin# biblio#raphi"al a""ess.

2. *peratin# re"ords of libraries 0a",uisitions$ "ir"ulation$ serials re"eipts$ et".should be automated henever feasible. )n the "ase of a",uisitions$ "ir"ulation$and other useful information$ these re"ords should be made a""essible to users$and to other libraries$ to the e%tent se"urit! and priva"! "onsiderations permit.

3. The re"ords in biblio#raphies ill need to be linked to libraries( holdin#s re"ords.This implies some "han#es. either the traditional marketin# throu#h "entraliedretailers 0e.#.


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databases of "atalo# re"ords$ or elsehere. ven -ori#inal- "atalo#in# is usuall! derivedfrom 0or verified a#ainst e%tant biblio#raphi" re"ords as far as is pra"ti"al.

The man! different forms of sube"t inde%in# found in biblio#raphies is a "ompli"ation.>sers ith spe"ialied interests should benefit more from spe"ialied inde%in# than fromthe standardied approa"h to sube"t "atalo#in# used in #eneral 0and man! spe"ialiedlibraries. ttemptin# to harmonie a 'abel of different kinds of sube"t headin#s$ inde%es$and "lassifi"ation s"hemes ould pose serious diffi"ulties. This variet! is alread! presentin e%istin# biblio#raphies$ but ithout the benefit of links to holdin#s re"ords. The prospe"t of providin# librar! users not onl! ith e%tensive$ "onvenient online a""ess to aide ran#e of biblio#raphies$ but also ith inter"onne"ted a""ess to biblio#raphies$"atalo#s$ and to libraries holdin#s is an e%"itin# prospe"t.

#ultiple locations e developments in tele"ommuni"ations enable online "atalo#s 0and online biblio#raphies to be "onsulted from a distan"e. *ne "onse,uen"e is that it be"omes possible for several libraries to share the same "atalo#$ should the! ish. union "atalo#

brin#s to#ether the re"ords of to or more libraries$ hether a union "atalo# for all bran"hes of a sin#le s!stem$ or a shared online "atalo# for to or more different librar!s!stems$ or a resour"e of "atalo# re"ords 0notabl! *=/=$ the *nline =atalo# /ibrar!=enter$ in


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the >nited States have felt able to afford sube"t headin#s as ell as sube"t"lassifi"ation$ but additional approa"hes$ althou#h "learl! desirable$ ould beunthinkable in the aper /ibrar!.

)n the shift from the aper /ibrar! to the utomated /ibrar! the te"hnolo#i"al "onstraintshave "han#ed. )nde%in# that is merel! me"hani"al "an no be provided ithout investin#lo"al labor in their "reation. >sin# the ords in titles for -title ke!ord- sear"hin# in anonline "atalo# is a #ood e%ampleB *nl! "omputer pro#rammin# and "omputer hardareneed be added$ not more "atalo#in# staff. =itation inde%es "onstitute another #oode%ample of a useful$ me"hani"al$ supplementar! approa"h. )nde%in# that is not simpl!me"hani"al "an in prin"iple be obtained$ b! a",uirin# biblio#raphies$ for e%ample$ andused to -enri"h- the "atalo#.

FUTURE BIBLIO'RAP!I STRATE'Y

'rom local to general Sin"e it no lon#er matters mu"h here a "atalo# or biblio#raph! is lo"ated$ a "han#e of

perspe"tive be"omes possibleB )nstead of "on"entratin# on the lo"al "atalo# and lo"all!held biblio#raphies$ one "an think more sensibl! in terms of all biblio#raphies and"atalo#s$ or$ at least$ of all -netorked- biblio#raphi" resour"es. )n pra"ti"e this means all biblio#raphi" files that are available throu#h netorks and held b! institutions illin# to"ollaborate.

The basi" fun"tional re,uirements for a more #eneral$ -netorked$- "ollaborative$ oruniversal approa"h to librar! "olle"tions in"lude the folloin#B

1. The overall biblio#raphi" "overa#e should be as "omplete as possible in providin#a""ess to the hole of human knoled#e.

2. &ultiple a""ess points should be provided$ minimall! b! sube"t as ell as author.

3. )t should be a distributed s!stem in that ever!one should be able to have a""ess toit and that it should be possible for files to be partitioned and "opied foreffi"ien"!.

4. 'iblio#raphi" re"ords should be "orre"t$ "on"ise$ "orre"table$ and e%pandable.

5. The biblio#raphi" universe should be built up pei"emeal from e%istin# sour"es.

6. 'iblio#raphi" re"ords should state here "opies of the do"uments are lo"ated.

7. The biblio#raphi" re"ords should provide a basis for ,uantitative studies of publi"ation patterns 0-bibliometri"s-.

8. The biblio#raphi" s!stem should help to prote"t intelle"tual propert!.

These are$ ith onl! sli#ht revision$ the ei#ht fun"tional spe"ifi"ations for a universalapproa"h to biblio#raphi" "ontrol enumerated b! +enri /a ontaine and aul *tlet henthe! set out in 1895 to develop their >niversal 'iblio#raphi" @epertor!$ lon# before"omputers be"ame available. Their eventual failure$ fift! !ears and man! million "ards


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later$ as as mu"h a tribute to the limitations of the te"hnolo#! of paper as it as to theorld ars and "hroni" underfundin# that also beset them. 0ndnote 9.

$eyond the -ndividual $ibliography utomatin# a "atalo# or pla"in# a biblio#raph! online ea"h represents a substantialte"hnolo#i"al development. 'ut to think onl! of an individual online "atalo# or of anindividual online biblio#raph!even bein# aare that there are several different online"atalo#s and numerous individual biblio#raphies available onlineis to think in terms ofthe "ard "atalo#s and published paper biblio#raphies of the aper /ibrar!. maor"onstraint of the te"hnolo#! of paper is that files "annot easil! be reformatted$ linked$interfiled$ or otherise "ombined in d!nami" a!s. This "onstraint is not "hara"teristi" of online s!stems. hat if$ instead of thinkin# of individual biblio#raphies$ e ere to base our thinkin# on the knoled#e that there are lar#e and #roin# populations of biblio#raphies and "atalo#s online$ in"reasin#l! "onne"ted b! tele"ommuni"ationsnetorks$ and "ontainin# re"ords that "an$ in prin"iple$ be linked$ "ombined$ andrearran#ed? hat "ould happen if instead of thinkin# of -online biblio#raph!- as usin#a bibliography online$ e ere to follo the lo#i" of ele"troni" te"hnolo#! step further

and think instead of a collectivity of bibliographies online$ in effe"t of usin# a referencelibrarya sieable universe of biblio#raphiesonline?

hen "onsiderin# multiple biblio#raphies 0and "atalo#s it "an be helpful to think of thevarious differen"es beteen s!stemsB


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"atalo#$ in a medi"al biblio#raph!$ and in a "itation inde%. ll three ill havemore or less differin# biblio#raphi" re"ords for the same do"umentB The "atalo#ill have a standard "atalo# re"ord and a note of the lo"ation of ea"h "op!: themedi"al biblio#raph! ma! "ontribute a different$ detailed sube"t des"ription andan abstra"t: and the "itation inde% "an "ontribute list of other orks "ited in it and

another list of orks that "ite it. Combining these des"riptions "ould improve biblio#raphi" a""ess substantiall!.

3. %tend a sear"h to other a""ess points. =itations have to be sear"hed in a "itationinde%. The abilit! to sear"h on other features su"h as sear"hin# b! ords ithin atitle or abstra"t$ or b! the lan#ua#e or date of the do"ument$ varies si#nifi"antl! beteen s!stems.

4. Tr! another s!stem that has a better or different netork of "ross referen"es.

5. %tend a sear"h to another s!stem be"ause it has spe"ial sear"hin# abilities$ su"has identif!in# pairs of ords that o""ur "lose to ea"h other$ or e%tend the sear"h

b! donloadin# results into a personal "omputer for more detailed anal!sis0-postpro"essin#-.

i#ure 4.4. summaries the four "ombinations that emer#e as retrieval is e%tended from onefile to multiple files and from one retrieval s!stem to "ombinations of retrieval s!stems.

Fi2ure =+=+ %tended retrieval

SU((ARY

'iblio#raphi" a""ess "omprises three elementsB identif!in# do"uments$ the realm of biblio#raphies: lo"atin# "opies of do"uments$ the underl!in# purpose of "atalo#s: andobtainin# a "op! of a do"ument$ the role of do"ument deliver! and "olle"tion

development.

)n the late nineteenth "entur! "atalo#s ere made available on "ards and an elaborate biblio#raphi" superstru"ture 0and identif!in# role as added. fter to de"ades ofautomatin# e%istin# biblio#raphies and "atalo#s$ it has be"ome possible to rethink hatshould be done in terms of the "apabilities and "onstraints of "omputers rather than thoseof paper 0and "ard.


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The prospe"t of a nefound abilit! to link biblio#raphies and librar! holdin#s re"ordssu##ests a re"onsideration of the biblio#raphi" 0identif!in# elements of "atalo#s and ane perspe"tive on the use of biblio#raphies as a dramati" enhan"ement and$ in a sense$ a partial repla"ement for "onventional "atalo#s.

The rise of tele"ommuni"ations and the fle%ibilit! of "omputers mean that it be"omes pra"ti"al to use biblio#raphies and "atalo#s that are at a distan"e as ell as those that arelo"al. )t also be"omes more feasible to use more different inde%es than previousl!. The#eneral effe"t of these "han#es is to "han#e the perspe"tive from lo"al to #eneral and toe%tend our vie of online sear"hin# from sear"hin# on individual biblio#raphies toe%tended sear"hes on multiple biblio#raphies usin# multiple retrieval s!stems. Thelinkin# of biblio#raphi" s!stems throu#h a -Sear"h and @etrieve- standard 0Q39B5C provides a basis both for addin# a""ess to more different files and for usin# moredifferent retrieval te"hni,ues on an! #iven file.

These possibilities su##est that$ in future librar! servi"es$ biblio#raphi" a""ess "ould bedeveloped to support$ from an! orkstation an!here$ the kind of sear"hin# that "ould be

done$ tediousl! and imperfe"tl!$ in a elle,uipped referen"e "olle"tion of a ver! lar#e$resear"horiented aper /ibrar!. +oever$ -"ould be- and -ill be- are not the same.+ere e have "on"entrated on ,uestions of desi#n and te"hnolo#!. "ompli"atin# fa"toris that te"hnolo#i"al "han#e also affe"ts the produ"ers of biblio#raphies$ publishers$vendors of online servi"es$ and others in the librar!(s environment$ as ell as therelationships amon# them. )t seems likel! that "onfli"tin# interests beteen thestakeholders ill prove more of a "onstraint on the development of future librar! servi"esthan narroer ,uestions of desi#n and te"hnolo#!.

Notes on chapter 4: iblio!raphic access reconsidered 1. This "hapter dras on &i"hael 'u"kland$ -'iblio#raph!$ /ibrar! @e"ords$ and the @edefinition of the /ibrar!

"atalo#$- Library Resources and )echnical Services 33 01988B299311.2. or a #ood introdu"tion to biblio#raphi" a""ess see atri"k ;. ilson$ )wo 2inds of &ower/ n Essay on $ibliographical Control 0'erkele!$ =alif.B >niversit! of =alifornia ress$ 1969: @onald +a#ler$ )he $ibliographic Record and -nformation technology. 2d ed. 0=hi"a#oB meri"an /ibrar! sso"iation$ 1991.3. ri" &oon$ -The Tree from the ront$- library Journal 89$ no. 3 01 eb. 1964B574.4. See @a!nard =. Sank for the rival merits of biblio#raphies and "atalo#s -Sube"t =atalo#in# in the Sube"t


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7: T#e E/ectronic Li%rar&The le"troni" /ibrar! le"troni"


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2. ubli"ation of paper "opies and also in ma"hinereadable form$

3. ubli"ation in ma"hinereadable form onl!$ and

4. ubli"ation of information in ma"hinereadable form in an en"!"lopedialikedatabase. 0ndnote 1.

evertheless$ the -full te%t- of do"uments in ma"hinereadable form has been #enerall!absent from librar! servi"es until re"entl!$ in "ontrast ith the pro#ress made in makin# biblio#raphies$ "atalo#s$ and numeri"al data available in ele"troni" form.

ELETRONI DOU(ENTS

The "hara"teristi"s of ele"troni" do"uments differ #reatl! from those of paper do"uments$hi"h ere dis"ussed in =hapter 2B

1. le"troni" do"uments are not lo"alied. ;iven tele"ommuni"ations "onne"tions$an ele"troni" do"ument "an be used from an!here$ ithout one even knoin#

here it is stored #eo#raphi"all!.

2. )n pra"ti"e several people "an use the same database or ele"troni" re"ords at thesame time.

. le"troni" do"uments are easil! "opied.


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and in"reasin# amounts of older material ill be"ome available as ele"troni" do"uments.)n sele"ted areas$ notabl! literature$ te%ts have been "onverted for resear"h purposesB ll"lassi"al ;reek te%ts and in"reasin# ,uantities of medieval and modern literar! te%ts arealread! available in ele"troni" form.


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4. hen li#ht use of remote material is needed. or a thorou#h readin# of ado"ument that is not available lo"all!$ obtainin# a paper "op! b! interlibrar! loanould probabl! be preferred. )f$ hoever$ use ere li#htto "he"k here and therein the do"ument or to skim the do"ument superfi"iall! to see hether or not amore "areful readin# ould be arrantedrapid a""ess b! tele"ommuni"ations to

an ele"troni" "op! "ould be attra"tive.

5. hen rapid communication is desired$ espe"iall! ithin a dispersed #roup that isnot "onvenientl! available at the same time and pla"e$ the use of ele"troni" mailhas "onsiderable advanta#es over ordinar! mail and$ for some purposes$ overtelephone.

ote that these e%amples do not in"lude the usual notion of solid$ s!stemati"$ "onse"utivereadin#. The! "ould be re#arded as e%"eptional "ases around the frin#es of -normal- useof do"uments$ but in some "ir"umstan"es$ as hen #eo#raphi"all! separated ,uantitativeresear"hers "ollaborate$ these e%"eptions "ould add up to substantial amounts of a"tivit!and a si#nifi"ant proportion of total use. le"troni" do"uments add ne possibilities for

the use of te%ts and$ in this re#ard$ "onstitute an enhan"ement that is valuable in its onri#ht.

REINVENTIN' T!E LIBRARY

hat are e to ith a do"ument in ele"troni" form? There is little "hoi"e but to do thesame as e do ith a paper do"ument or ith mi"rofilm do"umentB

=atalo# it and$ as ith manus"ripts$ pa! "areful attention to hi"h version or state ofte%t it is.

Store it in some a""essible pla"e.

;ive it a "all number.

nsure that pertinent biblio#raphi" and lo"ation data are a""essible in or throu#h biblio#raphi" databases.

There seems no real alternative. ;iven that ele"troni" do"uments e%ist and are be"omin# pro#ressivel! more important$ to i#nore them ould be to provide a pro#ressivel! less"omplete librar! servi"e. librar! administration mi#ht "hoose to retain an e%"lusive"on"entration on paper$ mi"rofilm$ and other lo"alied media$ but that ould mean thata""ess to ele"troni" do"uments ould have to be found throu#h other "hannels$ su"h asthe "omputer "enter. The result ould be a split in the provision of librar! servi"eB the

-librar!- providin# a""ess to onl! some kinds of do"uments: and another or#aniation providin# the balan"e of the librar! servi"ethat hi"h involves a""ess to ele"troni"do"uments.

The si#nifi"ant differen"e ith an ele"troni" do"ument is that if !ou have the "all number it should in prin"iple be possible$ from an! orkstation$ to #ain a""ess to it remotel!$vie it$ donload it$ and$ in brief$ -use- it. Think ho mu"h simpler and ,ui"ker it ould be if librarians and$ even better$ librar! users "ould obtain their on interlibrar! -loans-


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0no$ te"hni"all!$ "opies or e%"erpts on a selfservi"e basis$ re,uirin# the toleran"e butnot the time or ener#! of the staff of the librar! from hi"h it is obtained. This "han#eould be rather like the "han#e from havin# "losed librar! sta"ks$ in hi"h librar!emplo!ees had to fet"h ea"h book for users$ to open sta"ks in hi"h librar! users "ouldobtain and e%amine books b! themselves. Similarl!$ in the le"troni" /ibrar!$ librar!

staff ould be mainl! "on"erned ith "reatin# and sustainin# the s!stem so that users"ould serve themselves.

Selfservi"e$ hoever$ is a mi%ed blessin#. )t also assumes standardied$ intelli#ible pro"edures$ presupposes some e%pertise on the users( part$ and ma! make it less eas! forthe servi"e providers to kno hat is #oin# ell and hat is not #oin# ell. Eet it ma! be the onl! affordable a! to support lar#es"ale librar! use.

PRIOR E


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BIBLIO'RAP!I AESS IN T!E ELETRONI LIBRARY

The advent of te%t in ele"troni" form$ the step from the utomated /ibrar! to thele"troni" /ibrar!$ has to profound "onse,uen"es for biblio#raphi" a""ess and "atalo#desi#n. irst$ "ard "atalo#s are$ ne"essaril!$ ph!si"all! separate from the ph!si"al 0paperdo"uments that the! des"ribe. ;iven the te"hnolo#! of paper and of "ardboard$ it "ouldnot be otherise. urther$ use of the do"uments involves ph!si"al handlin#$ often borroin#. +oever$ to the e%tent that both "atalo# and te%t are in ma"hinereadableform$ both ould be remotel! a""essed from the same orkstation and the former ph!si"al separation beteen "atalo# and te%t be"omes unne"essar!or$ at least$transparent and irrelevant to the librar! user$ ho should be able to move effortlessl! beteen "atalo# and te%t. The "atalo# mi#ht be sear"hed and one or more "atalo# re"ordsretrieved. Then the user mi#ht ant to e%amine the "ontents of a book. book on paper ismore than a mere strin# of "hara"ters sin"e there is an e%tensive internal stru"ture ofreferen"esB from the table of "ontents to "hapters and sometimes se"tions ithin "hapters:form the inde% entries to numerous points in the te%t: and$ often$ internall! from one partof the te%t to another. 0Te%ts in ele"troni" form ith this "onne"tive apparatus are knon

as -h!perte%t-. +ere$ a#ain$ the basi" ideas ere anti"ipated earl! in the "entur! b! aul*tlet and his -mono#raphi" prin"iple-$ but the "onstraints of the te"hnolo#! of "ardboard$looseleaf binders$ "uttin# and pastin# simpl! do not lend themselves to effe"tiveh!perte%t.

)n an online orld the user "ould move to the table of "ontents b! depressin# a ke!$ thenon to e%amine a "hapter. e%t the user mi#ht ant to look for spe"ifi" terms or names inthe inde%$ online$ then move to spe"ifi" pat"hes of te%t$ a#ain online. Sin"e the te%t isonline one "ould e%pe"t a "on"ordan"e providin# a""ess to all of the te%t. The user mi#htabandon that te%t$ follo up a referen"e 0from inside the te%t or from a "itation inde% toanother te%t$ #o ba"k to the "atalo# re"ords to look for another book$ or s"an the sube"t

headin#s ith a vie to reformulatin# the sear"h. There ould be a "ontinual "han#in#$-oomin# in- and out beteen a broad vie and fo"us on details. )t is not that the familiar data elements of the "atalo# re"ord ill have disappeared or that the identif!in# andlo"atin# fun"tions are an! less important$ but rather that the "atalo# ill effe"tivel! havedisappeared as a re"o#niabl! separate$ ph!si"al entit!. )nstead$ the "atalo# data ould be part of a mu"h broader set of data elements and the "atalo# fun"tion ould have be"omeone feature in a suite of related fun"tions in online librar! use.

The se"ond "onse,uen"e for biblio#raphi" a""ess and "atalo# desi#n in an le"troni"/ibrar! is that the traditional ustifi"ation for havin# a "atalo# be#ins to disappear.+istori"all! a librar! "atalo# as a #uide to lo"al holdings. Eet for a librar! user hat

matters is "onvenient access to te%ts. ith do"uments on paper$ hat is lo"all! oned is0appro%imatel! and imperfe"tl! hat is "onvenientl! a""essible. )n pra"ti"e$ studies haveshon that$ at least in universit! libraries$ users t!pi"all! "annot find 4C per"ent oflo"all! oned material on the shelves hen the! seek it. +oever$ ith "onvenienttele"ommuni"ations$ the ph!si"al lo"ation of an ele"troni" te%t is substantiall! irrelevant.


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biblio#raph!$ or union "atalo#$ of hat is "onvenientl! a""essible rather than the mu"hnarroer "on"ept of a "atalo# of hat happens to be lo"all! stored.

Three elementsdo"uments$ biblio#raph!$ and holdin#s re"ordsremain the neededelementsB


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%+ E/ectronic Li%rar& 0i*$/ified record 0tructure of /in3ed %i%/io2ra$#&

/i%rar& #o/din20 record0 and docu*ent0

Fi2ure 7+1+ utomated and le"troni" /ibrar! re"ord stru"tures

There appears to be no obvious te"hni"al reason h! a""ess to online biblio#raphies andunion "atalo#s should not e%tend to in"lude the "all numbers of ele"troni" do"umentsherever lo"atedust as e ould ant the "all numbers of lo"al holdin#s of paper

do"uments in the utomated /ibrar!. ho ould ant to settle for less?

To the e%tent that te%ts be"ome available in ele"troni" form$ the hole vie of librar!"olle"tions "han#es. The lo"ation and onership of "opies of te%ts be"omes a te"hni"aldetail for librarians but irrelevant to the readerB hat "ounts is hat is "onvenientl!a""essible. ;iven modern tele"ommuni"ations$ an! attempt to restri"t users( attention tolo"all! stored ele"troni" do"uments ould be a travest! of lon#established traditions oflibrar! servi"e.

T!E AR!ITETURE OF T!E ELETRONI LIBRARY

hat ould it take to build an le"troni" /ibrar! and$ indeed$ to make le"troni" /ibrar!servi"e "ommon pra"ti"e? To develop a librar! ith ele"troni" do"uments e do notappear to need to dra on an!thin# in librarianship that is different from e%istin# prin"iples. @ather$ as ith paper and ith mi"roform$ e have to interpret the samefamiliar prin"iples in a!s appropriate to the te"hni"al "hara"teristi"s of the medium.ith ele"troni" do"uments$ even more than ith mi"roforms$ adheren"e to standards isimportant for pro#ress. le"troni" do"uments should themselves be in standard formats.Standards are needed for "atalo#in# ele"troni" do"uments. =ommuni"ations formats areneeded for "onve!in# ele"troni" do"uments. Substantial and "ompatibletele"ommuni"ations proto"ols are of #reat importan"e. &u"h ork needs to be done in

developin# and adoptin# "ompatible national and international standards for "hara"ters$ima#es$ do"uments$ tele"ommuni"ations$ and so on. lso$ of "ourse$ the "on"ept of anle"troni" /ibrar! assumes a substantial and e%pensive infrastru"ture of "omputin#"apa"it!$ data stora#e$ and tele"ommuni"ations$ hi"h in turn$ re,uires e%pertise forsu""essful use. These investments are bein# made an!a! in some of the "onte%ts inhi"h librar! servi"es are bein# provided.

OE


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lthou#h the #roth in ele"troni" do"uments "an be e%pe"ted to be dramati"$ the proportion of do"uments that are available in ele"troni" form 0relative to paperdo"uments ill var! #reatl! from one situation to another. urther$ as noted above$ forsome purposes paper do"uments are preferable. ot all do"uments ill be available inele"troni" form. aper do"uments are unlikel! to disappear and it is undesirable that the!

should. So dis"ussion of the aper /ibrar! versus the le"troni" /ibrar! is likel! to be oflimited benefit. Kust a fe basi" issues are important for plannin#B

1. le"troni" do"uments are be"omin# in"reasin#l! important and arran#ements to provide a""ess to themthe le"troni" /ibrar!must be developed and is bestvieed as additive. The orld is "han#in# and this additional form of librar!servi"e appears to be not onl! desirable for librar! users but also inevitable.

2. /ibrar! servi"es from no on ill have to provide a""ess to paper do"uments andto ele"troni" do"uments a""ordin# to their users( needs. )n other ords$ librar! plannin# should be based on the assumption that all libraries ill evolve intosome combination of an utomated /ibrar! and an le"troni" /ibrar!. The

balan"e beteen paper do"uments and ele"troni" do"uments "an be e%pe"ted tovar! idel! beteen libraries and over time. hat the balan"e is at an! #iven

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