The Collaborative Reference Database Project of

the National Diet Library of Japan

ByKiyoko MURAKAMIAssistant Director

Domestic Materials Acquisition DivisionAcquisitions Department

National Diet Library of JAPAN

April 1, 2004NCC Annual Open Meeting

Library services via Internet from 2002

NDL-OPAC Remote users can not only search bibliographic dat

a but also request copies of the found materials via the Internet

Digital library projects Digital Library from the Meiji Era Rare Books Image Database Digital Navigation Service (Dnavi) Web Archiving Project (WARP)

Collaborative Reference Database Project

One of the projects that the NDL also launched in 2002

An experimental project in digital library services

The project has just finished the original three-year experimental period

Will be released to the public from FY2005

Objectives of the Project

To collect and accumulate reference examples from all kinds of libraries in Japan and make a nation-wide database

To provide via the Internet to the world

To examine new possibilities of reference service in cooperation with libraries nationwide

The basic idea of the project

The NDL has long accumulated a heap of reference records in paper form that were hardly ever used again

Most of the databases which individual libraries have produced to keep their own reference records are too small to be useful

The basic idea of the project is to put these unused or underused reference records into one usable database

If such a database is available to everyone, it can be used as a tool for information and search

Progress of the Project

We started the system design in FY2002

We first invited the libraries to participate to the project in FY2003 and 148 libraries became members

With 4,500 case data, experimental operation started in FY2004

Two meetings were held to exchange information

Verification items

Effectiveness of reference examples when released on the web

Improvement in libraries' reference work enabled by the integrated database of reference examples

Methods of library cooperation using the database

Standard format for exchanging and sharing reference examples

System Framework

　 The Collaborative Reference Database System consists of four databases

1. Database of reference examples consisting of reference queries and answers

2. Database of manuals to find resources on specific subjects

3. Database of information on special collections (e.g. private collections) held in each library

4. Database of profile data of member libraries

Functions of the System

Member libraries can

input data such as reference examples and manuals directly onto the databases

produce data in the standard format and register massive amounts of data in block onto the databases

search across the four databases at the same time

use bulletin board function which helps exchange of information between members

Options to control access to database

To ensure the protection of personal information and privacy, reference records cannot be opened to the public without some kind of restriction

Three options to control access to the data: for their own reference only open to the member libraries open to the public

Each member library should be responsible for protecting its own data

Samples of display flow

Main display flows are shown as follows

Search page 　　　　 Results page

Detailed record page

Current State of the Project

Reference examples: 12,000 items Manuals: 171 items Data on special collections: 178 collections Member libraries: 283 (first 148) participants

Public libraries (60%), Academic libraries (27%), Special libraries (10%)

The level of access: for their own reference only: 50%open to the member libraries: 10%open to the public: 40%

Agenda and Perspectives

There are still several unresolved matters that we need to tackle

We need to increase the number of member libraries and the amount of data

We are planning to call for participation from overseas

We need to draw up an instruction manual to maintain the quality of the data

Enhancement of the system functions

We have added functions: Browsing, searching by analogy, and

displaying keywords To attach images when registering data and

to insert a comment on other members’ reference data

Member libraries can set up bulletin boards divided by subject

In the future, we will need new functions such as a collaborative answering system ・・・

Users’ queries became more complex…

Today anybody on the Internet can make easy instant searches

When users cannot find an answer on the Internet, they have come to turn to libraries more often than before

At the same time the queries have become more complex and sophisticated than before

Responsibilities in library reference

There are many popular question-answering services on the Internet

The merit of this system is the reliability of the answers because reference librarians can provide for users based on credible information sources

For today’s reference librarians, it is one of the most significant responsibilities to guarantee the credibility of information

For more information

Please contact ;

Digital Library Division, Projects Department

Kansai-kan of the National Diet Library

8-1-3 Seikadai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto JAPAN 619-0287

tel: +81-774-98-1475

fax: +81-774-94-9118

email: info-crd@ndl.go.jp

Thank you for your attention