Special libraries, their collections

and Libraries Australia

Ann Ritchie
LAAC : Special Libraries representative
Laurel Paton
Libraries Australia
 Collections

Broadly defined as ‘the knowledge base of the organisation’,

collections comprise:
• External / internal publications
• Print and electronic formats
• Owned (purchased, permanent)
• Accessed (leased / subscribed / contracted)
• Linked (freely available via the internet)

All covered by Collection Development / Access Policy

Why are special libraries’ collections valuable?

The basis of all reference / research services for:

• The libraries’ clients i.e. their organisations and their users

• Integral to the national research information infrastructure

 Collections add value for clients

• We need to add value beyond the search engine

Challenges for the great libraries in the age of the digital native,
Dame Lynn Brindley 2009

• the difference between Google and us? It’s us!

Steven Abrams 2008
 Value for national research communities

‘Of primary importance, is the development of a high level

strategic framework which can act as a guide to policy makers
and funding agencies concerned with the information
infrastructure supporting the Australian research community.’

Australia’s Information Future, Neil McLean 1999

 A national strategy: the UK example

• Something has to give, we can’t afford to amass physical

material
• We need to be careful to preserve our research information
infrastructure
• We have to acquire as well as dispose of information
resources responsibly
• We must have a coordinated solution to protect the
information infrastructure on which all our research activity
depends
– UK Research Reserve: a shared service, Debbie Shorely, 2010
 Heritage book collections

There has never been a greater need for library professionals

able to assist in the discovery, interpretation and description
of heritage book content as libraries try to electronically
record the existence of significant book collections in state,
special, and even local public libraries and museums.

Heritage book collections in Australian libraries,

Matthew Stephens 2009
 Research collections in Australia: a national study

..there has been a level of acknowledgement that many special

libraries include valuable research content .. the practical
difficulties of including these libraries within the scope of
collaborative planning and management for the research library
sector have meant that they have been excluded.

Sharing the collective wealth of Australian research libraries,

Paul Genoni/Janette Wright 2010
 The ANBD

• National union catalogue, compiled since 1981, hosted by

NLA
• Contains catalogue records of >1,000 Australian libraries,
obtained from several sources
• Accessible via Libraries Australia & Trove
• Holdings info assists decisions about acquisitions &
cancellations
• Contains info about uncatalogued collections, incl 54 Special
Libraries
Special libraries = 50% of membership, contribute 7% of holdings
 Special Libraries’ Collections Project

Aim

To highlight and showcase Australian special libraries’

collections as an integral part of the national information
infrastructure and the research fabric of Australia
 Project Objectives
• to assess the extent to which the collections of Australian
special libraries are recorded in the ANBD
• to facilitate participation of special libraries in Libraries
Australia
• to provide access to special libraries’ collections at least at the
‘collection summary’ level through LA and Trove
• to allow cooperative collection development and management
decisions
• to promote the value of special libraries in the national
information infrastructure and in their organizations
 2008-09 Survey
Australian National Bibliographic Database

Aims:

• to ascertain currency and coverage of the ANBD, and

• to discover gaps in coverage

 Objectives - to identify:

1. extent to which the collections of Australian libraries are

recorded on the ANBD
2. types of material most likely/unlikely to be recorded
3. existence of formed or special format collections of
published/unpublished materials which are not recorded
4. patterns of contribution/non-contribution amongst
particular library types
5. key factors affecting ANBD contribution.
 No. of Responses

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
National,
State,
University

Other tertiary

Public

School
Special -
More than 200 valid responses

Corporate
Special -
Health
11 corporate, 8 health, 4 local govt

Special - Law
Survey Responses

Special -
Federal
Special -
Local
Special -
State
TAFE
96 from special libraries: 33 state govt, 28 federal, 12 law,
 Special libraries’ responses

• 96 responses from Special Libraries

• 74 responded to Q15, providing 88 comments:

If your Organisation hasn’t contributed records for this

material to the ANBD can you indicate the key reasons why?
Please indicate if there are different reasons for specific types
of materials
Key factors affecting Special Libraries’ contributions to
ANBD

1. nature of collections

2. local challenges and resource limitations

3. availability & the implication that material is available for

resource sharing or inter-library loan
 #1. nature of collections

• Confidential nature of material e.g. Commercial in Confidence, protected

research content
• Historical material relating only to the organisation – corporate memory
• Rare and valuable nature of content (e.g. York Gate Geographical and
Colonial Library)
• A primary role of the library as custodian or curator of materials
• Restricted or limited subject content (e.g. Sugar, radiation protection)
• Culturally sensitive material
• Format of material is unique and/or valuable (e.g. posters, photos, diaries,
film, unpublished scripts, etc)
#2. local challenges and resource limitations

• Lack of staff resources

• limited skills/expertise (in cataloguing?)
• Lack of time
• Cost
• Local practices/local systems issues
 #3. Availability

Responses often inferred that records on ANBD equated with

material being available for inter-library loan or resource
sharing.

There were many indications of unwillingness to have material

available to users outside their organisations.
 #3. Availability

Issues included:

• Licensing (electronic resources)

• Privacy and copyright
• Valuable, precious or confidential nature of resources
• Lack of staff
• Library policy
 Special Libraries and Libraries
Australia – a strong relationship

Laurel Paton
Libraries Australia
 Collection-level cataloguing and annotated collection
entries in Libraries Australia

• Collection-level cataloguing can provide libraries with an

effective response to lack of time, lack of resources and
backlogs.

• Libraries Australia members can take advantage of Trove’s

powerful search features to expose collection lists, finding
aids and other uncatalogued or briefly catalogued material.
 Identification of collections in
Australian Libraries Gateway (ALG)

• Contains information about approximately 5,200 Australian

libraries

• It’s free and libraries do not have to be members of Libraries

Australia to have or maintain an entry in ALG

• Entries in ALG are displayed in OCLC’s WorldCat Registry

 Australian Library Interlending Resource Sharing
Directory (ILRS)

• Primary source for finding a contact for ILL and document

delivery services in Australia

• Directory of Australian National Union Catalogue (NUC)

symbols

• Can list types of material held, loan policies, special

conditions, etc
 Cataloguing and Holdings
• There are 3 methods for contributing bibliographic records and/or holdings
to Libraries Australia

• Even if document delivery is not permitted, the input of bibliographic

records in Libraries Australia still provides many benefits for resource
sharing and resource management

• Record Import Service (RIS) supports loading of local system data, in a

range of formats, into Libraries Australia

• Global Holdings Update is a free Libraries Australia service

 Further information

• Libraries Australia Help Desk

• Libraries Australia Training

 Engage and Share ideas

• Libraries Australia presence on ning –closed to members only

• Trove Forum – open

• Contact Libraries Australia

 Where to from here?
• Work with Libraries Australia Advisory Committee to make
recommendations about practical ways to facilitate SLs
participation

• Reference group contacts from subsector networks e.g.

AGLIN, ALIES, HLA, LLG, LOSS etc

• Collaborate with national studies about special library

collections and factors influencing participation in Libraries
Australia
 Discussion of the issues

What are your thoughts on ways to encourage

exposure and sharing of unique and special
collections?