From: Don Simpson <simpson_at_crlmail.uchicago.edu>
As chair of the Japan Project, a demonstration project of the AAU-ARL
Global Resources Program funded in part by the Mellon Foundation, I wish to
share with this list our updated workplan. As always your questions and
comments are appreciated.
AAU/ARL Japanese Journal Access Project-Proposed Elements
The Japan Project will work to improve access to Japanese journals
through: 1-activities to improve access to Japanese journals available in
North America, and 2-activities to improve access to Japanese journals
available in Japan. Tools developed during the Project will be designed for
end users with Internet/WWW connections.
IMPROVING ACCESS TO JOURNALS AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA
1. National Union List of Current Japanese Serials
In 1991 Yasuko Makino (Columbia) and Mihoko Miki (UCLA) compiled
the National Union List of Current Japanese Serials for most of the larger
U.S. collections willing to report holdings. An updated version of this
List should be the core tool for the Project serving as a primary finding
tool and as a basis for collaborative collection development efforts. It is
regretable that there is no serials file, e.g., OCLC, RLIN, etc., which can
provide the needed information. The Union list needs to be updated and made
available for searching through the Web pages devoted to collecting East
Asian/Japanese library resources.
TASKS
1. Establish procedures and the position of Union List Coordinator for
updating the Union List. Start-up funding will be needed for initial keying
of the updates (additions, cancellations, title changes) and to turn
existing data into a form easily updatable. The Coordinator position is a
start-up function with the goal of turning the existing Union List data
into an updatable format.
2. The East Asian Cooperative World Wide Web server at OSU is the Project's
Web site. Include the Union List as a resource file on that site. 3.
Evaluate building a TOC service on the model of the Latin American Project.
4. Work toward end-user initiated ILL.
2. Collaborative Collection Development-Distributed Model
A January, 1992 Task Force of the National Planning Team for
Japanese Acquisitions chaired by Hideo Kaneko (Yale), developed a set of
recommendations for a collaborative acquisition plan. The Task Force
assumption was that there was probably some unnecessary duplication of
titles while other important titles were not available among North American
libraries. The goal was to increase the number of unique titles held and to
provide improved holdings information for more effective resource sharing.
Those goals remain valid for this Project.
TASKS
1. Work can begin on the distribution of titles prior to the completion of
the Union List updating, although that work should be done as expeditiously
as possible. Participants will submit to the Union List Coordinator a list
of important titles believed not to be available in North America. The list
of titles will be ranked and summarized for review by participants. 2.
Participants agree to maintain at least 2 serial titles from the list or
from unique titles already held. (Some dollar guidelines may also be
needed.) The titles can be added through new funding or by reallocating
from current collection funds. It is anticipated that reallocation will be
needed in order to expand the number of titles held in the U.S. Both the
addition of new titles and any cancellations will need to be coordinated in
order to attain the goal of increasing the number of titles available.
Participating libraries will need
to commit to procedures for insuring the maintenance of uniquely held titles.
3. Collaborative Collection Development-Centralized Model
In addition to the Distributed Model proposed above, the Project
will explore the housing of some titles at the Center for Research
Libraries (CRL). Don Simpson has expressed support for expanding the area
studies programs to include East Asia and a willingness to add Project
serial titles to its already strong Japanese (primarily science) list. In
this model participants in the Project would pool funds to house selected
titles at the Center. CRL catalogs on OCLC, and the records are
cross-loaded into RLIN. Delivery is rapid with either photocopies by ARIEL
or whole serial issues loaned with unlimited loan periods. As with other
area studies programs based at CRL, it is not necessary to be a CRL member
to participate in those programs.
TASKS
1. At the same time participants are designating titles for their
collections, they will also designate titles for housing at CRL. The CRL
titles will form the core of the Japanese Area Studies Program at CRL with
the price of membership set to cover the costs of cataloging the titles and
maintaining them on an ongoing basis. It is anticipated that this cost
would be in the low hundreds of dollars/year.
4. WWW Access to Japanese Journal Information
There are many libraries and commercial services making information
about Japanese journals available. CARL Uncover includes a large number of
journal titles in Japanese. JICST (the Japanese Information Center for
Science and Technology) is another source underutilized by North American
libraries. JICST is particularly important for its concentration on science
and technology, disciplines not well covered by ARL libraries. The most
useful of these sources need to be included on the Web pages devoted to the
study of Japan along with explanations of their coverage and methods of
access.
TASKS
1. Identify sources which provide photocopies of journal articles and link
to the ARL Project Web site. Provide information/instruction on useful
sources.
5. Retrospective Conversion
Largely because of the expense of converting files containing the
Japanese script, retrospective conversion of Japanese language records has
lagged that of other segments of the card catalogs of ARL libraries;
sometimes romanized records appear in local OPACs, but not in the national
files. A recently conducted survey of the status of retrospective
conversion in ARL libraries holding 40,000 or more volumes of Japanese
language materials has identified collections with significant serial
holdings which are still unconverted. Significant unconverted files are one
of the reasons why it is necessary to incur the expense of creating and
maintaining a separate National Union List of Current Japanese Serials.
Retrospective conversion of those files should be part of the Project.
TASKS
1. A grant proposal for a serials recon project is being developed.
IMPROVING ACCESS TO JAPANESE JOURNALS AND JOURNAL ARTICLES IN JAPAN
As in the U.S. and other parts of the world Internet-available and
Web-based resources in Japan are multiplying rapidly, and it is important
for U.S. users to be able to make use of the wealth of information becoming
available. North American libraries should avoid duplicating resources
easily available from the country of origin. There are a number of
barriers, however. Many users familiar with the Japanese language do not
yet have the hardware/software needed to search and display information
from files including kanji. Some Japanese resources require payment for use
and, while the cost may not be prohibitive, payment mechanisms are
difficult and complicated.
6. Zasshi kiji sakuin-Japanese Periodicals Index
The Zasshi Kiji Sakuin (ZKS) is an important index to Japanese
journal publications produced at the National Diet Library. In August,
1996, the ZKS became available through the National Center for Science
Information Systems (NACSIS), a national bibliographic processing system
for Japanese libraries. There are many other files of interest on NACSIS
include the Current Contents of Academic Serials in Japan, a table of
contents service for academic serials in all fields. However, unfamiliarity
with NACSIS services, difficult payment mechanisms and limited hours of
availability for North American users are serious barriers.
TASKS
1. The NCC has submitted a grant to the Center for Global Partnership for a
training program for librarians and end users. If the grant is received,
five librarians would be trained at NACSIS in mid-1997 and these librarians
would then do training sessions for other librarians and end users at a
number of North American sites.
2. Work with NACSIS to develop simplified payment mechanisms and increased
hours of use outside Japan.
7. Electronic Journals from Japan
A number of Japanese serial titles, particularly those from
research institutes, are available over the Internet.
TASKS
1. These titles need to be included in the National Union List of Current
Japanese Serials, as well as on the Web pages of libraries whose users
would find them of interest.
8. Cooperation with Japanese Academic Libraries Although
interlibrary borrowing and lending among Japanese libraries is not as well
established as it is in the U.S., the development of the NACSIS ILL system,
the recent economic constraints that even Japanese libraries are facing,
and the increasing amount of bibliographic information available through
NACSIS and other bibliographic systems are encouraging the development of
shared resources among Japanese libraries. Initial conversations with a
number of Japanese librarians encourage us to approach the Japanese library
associations to expand international library cooperation, particularly for
interlibrary borrowing and lending. Initial efforts will focus on
"non-returnables", i.e., photocopies of journal articles.
9. Evaluate Project Impact
The overall goal of the Project is to increase access to Japanese
journals/articles. Before the Project begins, benchmarks should be
established in order to measure progress once implementation begins.
Don Simpson, President
The Center for Research Libraries
6050 South Kenwood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60637-2804
(V) 773-955-4545x335
(F) 773-955-0862
simpson_at_crlmail.uchicago.edu
http://wwwcrl.uchicago.edu
Received on Wed Jan 15 1997 - 09:13:43 EST