Distributed National Collection Research Articles

Basket Case!

Queensland has some 400 public museums and art galleries. Large or small, these are all dedicated to caring for their part of what is often called the ‘distributed national collection’ and to permanently documenting a segment of our history — social, natural or otherwise. Each of us who steps inside such an institution to help in this effort is liable to become lost to this world for the rest of our working life. We are all, in some sense, collectors, and we tend to be very loyal to ‘our’ subject matter.

Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff: Establishing the Methodology Towards a Distributed National Collection of Agricultural Heritage

This paper describes initiatives in collections audits and mapping, and the recognition of significance of objects in UK museum collections, in particular the concept of a Distributed National Collection. Over a three-year period the subject specialist Rural Museums Network undertook the Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff programme of linked studies and specialist seminars to achieve a classification for specific (and relatively easily identifiable) groups of agricultural heritage material. Summary results are given for combine harvesters, tractors, and dairying equipment. Associated studies were developed for threshing machines, traditional farm wagons and carts, and rural trades and crafts material preserved in museums. Other topics await funding opportunities. The methodology is argued to be robust, supporting good stewardship of effective collections.

The Distributed National Collection Revisited

The Distributed National Collection Revisited

Distributed National Collections: Concept and Reality in Two Countries

The ‘distributed national collection’ is a scheme whereby the British Library envisages completing agreements with other libraries to facilitate the development of specialized subject-based research collections in order to make the most of total national resources. The implementation in Australia of a similar scheme, the Distributed National Collection (DNC), was proposed during the late 1980s and 1990s, with the National Library (NLA) as a main advocate, and a great deal of enthusiasm was generated. The use of Conspectus was envisaged, and a DNC Office was set up at the NLA. It failed for various reasons: Conspectus proved unusable, the NLA had to cut back its own acquisitions, and financial restraints forced other libraries to look after their own interests. In the UK, the initiative for collaborative collection development has been driven by the British Library and the Higher Education Funding Councils. The UK has some features which give it a better chance of success - for instance, the responsible office should be independent of all the main players, whereas in Australia this responsibility could be carried only by the National Library; the UK has a more established network of research libraries, including a number outside the higher education/national library nexus; and the existence of BLDSC is highly beneficial. However, key challenges lie ahead, notably the complexities of managing the scheme, the time needed to put it into operation, the commitment demanded from participants (notably some sacrifice of local interests required for ‘deep resource sharing’), and obtaining the initial acceptance needed from users.

Slouching Towards Calvary: Where to the National Collection?

ABSTRACTThis paper provides an overview of recent cooperative collecting activity in Australia, particularly with regard to the concept of a ‘national collection’. It considers the reasons for the failure of the Distributed National Collection, including discussion of the roles played by the National Library and libraries operating under the auspices of the Council of Australian University Librarians during the 1990s. It concludes by advocating a way forward with regard to the continued development and implementation of a national collecting agenda.

History of the book in Australia: impacts of public policy in the second half of the twentieth century

To the memory of Dietrich Hans Borchardt, bibliographer and friend, 1916–1997This article, based on a paper delivered at the 1997 HOBA (History of the Book in Australia) conference, discusses the implications of the term ‘history of the book in Australia’. Consideration focuses on official publications in Australia and the impact of the 1964 Report of the Erwin Joint Select Committee on Government and Parliamentary Publications. The place of official publications in the collections of major libraries and their value as items for international gift and exchange between libraries are discussed. Next, the role of public institutions is considered, especially that of the National Library of Australia's attempts to develop the ‘national collection’. The idea of the Distributed National Collection is reviewed, and the need for clarity on what is understood by a ‘national collection’ is stressed. A case is stated for a non-parliamentary committee of inquiry into problems of acquisitions and resources now confronting Australian libraries generally and the National Library in particular. The article concludes by examining the future of the important nineteenth-century collections of the Australian parliamentary libraries. A note of caution is sounded against taking ‘use’ as the guiding criterion for deciding whether to sell off or discard books from these libraries.

Building a Virtual National Serials Collection Using the MEADS System

University libraries in Australia are now facing a crisis of unimaginable proportion, and their ability to supply the scholarly information required to support teaching and research has been seriously impaired by the inexorable annual rise in the cost of serials, and by falls in the value of the Australian dollar. While Australian universities collectively spent $86.5 million on serials in 1996 and acquired some 290,426 serial titles, the lack of cooperation and rationalisation has meant that considerable duplication exists. This paper argues that contrary to the current belief that any collecting agreement based on the Distributed National Collection concept can only be achieved with additional funding from the Commonwealth Government, the Australian university system can easily fund the creation of a great scholarly collection of serials for use by the nation merely by increasing the average expenditure on libraries from 5.1% to 5.3% of total university expenditure.Once the national collection has been built, virtual access can be provided using a model of access and document delivery called MEADS (Monash Electronic Access and Delivery of Serials). This is d Web-based document delivery system that provides a browsable database of the contents pages of the relevant serials which authorised users can access, and use to send request for the supply of journal articles. The contents pages are linked electronically to participating consortium member libraries which can supply the articles automatically to the user within an agreed turnaround time. The system has many advantages in that it is targeted, cost effective, and particularly suitable for a multi-campus university environment. There are, however, many issues that need to be resolved before a national MEADS system can be implemented successfully. They include the management of the national collection, decisions regarding whether the collection should be distributed or housed in one central location, the funding of the infrastructure and labour costs and so on.

National Library of Australia: What Future for the Strategic Plan?

The collapse of WORLD 1 has caused questions to be asked about the National Library's centralised leadership of the Australian library system. This failure of key electronic aspects of the National Library's Strategic Plan (1993–98) should prompt an independent—preferably a one-person—review of the Plan as a whole and, more specifically, of its three main themes: the National Library's new overseas collecting, electronic access, and Australia's Distributed National Collection (DNC). Scholarly critics of the Plan have strongly objected to its culturally discriminatory collecting policy, which has involved 60% cuts to the intellectually vital material from Europe and the United States. These cuts have already been made, without any proof of adequate electronic alternatives and without an effectively functioning DNC. The latter would require binding inter-library agreements about collecting patterns now and in the future. Yet minimal progress has been made towards such a goal. In discussions about the DNC and the National Library's cuts in overseas collecting, emphasis has been placed on the allegedly available electronic alternatives to print materials. In fact these alternatives are often not efficiently accessible. But even if they were, the debate has paid too little attention to the major problem of the costs of electronic access. These must be borne by the users, who are charged regardless of their capacity to pay. Any National Library savings from electronic alternatives to print will be funded by a heavy shift of costs to general readers, and to those working in universities. This also raises the question of the cost of access to knowledge in a democratic society, where the right to know has been a vital ingredient of responsible citizenship.With the collapse of WORLD 1 and the consequent damage to the National Library's Strategic Plan, there is now the opportunity for a positive and nation-wide response to an otherwise negative situation. In what has been described as ‘a national crisis for Australian libraries’, it is time for the whole of the library system to embark on a new kind of collective effort. It needs to mobilise the full range of its talents, rethink its sense of direction, and engage in spirited advocacy to improve library funding, both government and private.

Colloquium on the Distributed National Collection

AbstractOn 10 and 11 March 1993 a Distributed National Collection (DNC) colloquium was held at the Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide. Participants included Australian university librarians, state librarians, and representatives from ACLIS, CSIRO and other library services.The aim of the colloquium was to bring together all major library groups to discuss issues relating to the DNC and to see whether agreement could be achieved to proceed with the development of the concept of a Distributed National Collection. Broad agreement was achieved and the National Library of Australia (NLA) was asked to consider taking responsibility for the co-ordination of the DNC nationally. The NLA accepted the thrust of this motion.The university libraries and the state libraries will be major players in developing the DNC. Alison Crook, NSW State Librarian, introduced the colloquium by providing an overview of its effectiveness, achievements and potential. Helen Hayes, University Librarian, University of Melbourne, provided a university perspective.

A Dreary Topic? The Distributed National Collection: Some Notes

ABSTRACTThe author, a retired Parliamentary Librarian of New South Wales, questions both the extent to which the Distributed National Collection has been clearly thought through as well as its practicability, given present economic conditions. He envisages a major role for The National Library, perhaps implementing smaller parts of the concept rather than the whole Grand Design.

The Distributed National Collection: a university perspective

The Distributed National Collection: a university perspective

Universal Availability of Non-book Materials in Australia

A study of how the principles of UAP (Universal Availability of Publications) have been applied to non-book materials and their availability in Australia is presented. The author considers in detail the principal elements of UAP : publication, bibliographic organization, retention and interlending. The recently developed concept of the distributed National Collection is seen to be helpful in achieving many of the aims of UAP. The Australian Bibliographic Network (ABN), a cooperative online shared cataloguing facility which includes non-print records, will likewise help to increase awareness of what is available. Barries to UAP are identified : copyright, and neighbouring rights, the non identification of AV publishers, and the obsolescence of formats.

The Distributed National Collection, Conspectus, Resource Sharing and Cooperative Collection Development

The Australian Libraries Summit made several recommendations in the area of collection development. Most of these have been accepted by the Australian library community, although debate about the benefits and costs of Conspectus continues. Problems perceived in the Conspectus methodology could lead to uneven participation in cooperative collection development in Australia.

The National Library of Australia: Present State and Future Directions

The conclusion of the 1988 Ministerial Review of the National Library of Australia (NLA) together with the Australian Libraries Summit meeting of the same year resulted in a repositioning of the library in its relations to government and the Australian library community. There has been a deliberate attempt to raise the profile of the library and knowledge of its role in information delivery. Three key issues over the next few years will be the development of the collections, the use made of them and how decisions are reached on service priorities as staff numbers decline. The Summit meeting had unanimously adopted the concept of a Distributed National Collection for Australia, and in its support of this the NLA has fostered the development of an Australian Conspectus, is funding the Australian National Bibliographic Database (which underpins the Australian Bibliographic Network established in 1981), and has adjusted its own collection development policy. The library is also committed to a total review in 1991 of the Australian bibliographic system, in association with other large Australian libraries; and a major consultancy has been addressing issues related to the document delivery role of the NLA. The library has a strong interest in widening its already active library support programme to appropriate Asian and Pacific countries, and in leading a much wider Australian involvement in international library activities across the board.

Science and Technology and the ‘Distributed National Collection’

This paper was prepared for the Seminar on The Distributed National Collection which was organised by ALIA's Acquisitions Section and held in Perth on 30 September 1990. It discusses the concept of the Distributed National Collection and the desirability and feasibility of its application to scientific and technical information. The role of key stakeholders and overseas developments are considered. An Australian model for STI provision is recommended.

The Distributed National Collection

The Distributed National Collection