The CARM (CAVAL Archive and Research Materials) Centre was developed in the nineteen-nineties by CAVAL, a not-for-profit cooperative owned by a group of university libraries in Victoria, Australia. The Centre was developed as a shared last copy repository for low-use published materials and, as it filled, a market assessment of demand was commissioned. This article describes how a new business model was developed and implemented for the construction of Stage 2 (CARM2). It also outlines lessons learned from the management of the original facility, ongoing issues associated with ownership and governance and trends away from the shared collection model.
This paper describes a pilot project for the benchmarking of library statistics for Asian Academic libraries. Methodology: The project was facilitated through the development, setup and management of an online statistics service for a group of 22 academic libraries in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. CAVAL, an Australian library consortium, managed the project with sponsorship provided by the iGroup, Asia. The objectives were to develop and provide an online statistics website, to improve the collection processes for the individual libraries and to develop a sustainable service for statistical benchmarking. The paper describes the design and implementation of the pilot project, outlines some of the challenges and concludes with an evaluation. Findings: The pilot project was an opportunity for libraries in the region to participate in the creation and usage of a shared statistical database. At this point in time the utility and value of cumulative statistical collections is not standard practice in Asian libraries. As a consequence participation in the project was an opportunity for library staff to gain some experience with the practicalities, and to raise their awareness of the need for a critical mass of centralized data in order to benchmark. Practical implications: CAVAL will maintain the Asian Online Statistics website into the future. Some of the participating libraries are keen to continue to contribute data and to grow the database, however for this to happen further funding will be required. Discussions are ongoing as to how this can be achieved.
PurposeThis paper aims to outline the transition of two libraries from one automated interlending system (OCLC VDX) to another (Relais ILL).Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides historical background and context for the change, the transition planning, processes undertaken to ensure success, and the challenges and lessons learned along the way.FindingsThe authors report that, although the transition process went fairly smoothly, libraries planning for a similar transition should build some flexibility into their overall planning process and be prepared to pay close attention to their communication processes.Originality/valueLibraries planning a transition from one interlending system to another will find this paper quite useful. Any library using either the VDX or Relais interlibrary systems will find the appendix of comparable ISO ILL terminology helpful as well.
This paper describes and comments on the evolution of systems librarianship in Australia through two strands – the author’s personal work experience in libraries since 1977 and her professional involvement with the Victorian Association for Library Automation (VALA). The Proceedings of the 11 VALA Conferences and the Australian journal LASIE, which has been published since 1970, are used as reference material. The results of an informal survey of VALA members and other interested Australian librarians are also incorporated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.