A Model of Croatian Natural Sciences Information System

Jadranka  Stojanovski
Rudjer Boskovic Institute
Bijenicka c. 54
HR-10000 Zagreb
Croatia

Introduction
Ever since their very beginnings, libraries have been the places where human knowledge has been stored as well as disseminated and shared. They have served for preservation of culture and as such they have been irreplaceable in the process of education. Computers and new information technologies have brought changes into all segments of social activities, particularly into the institution of library. Moreover, it sometimes seems their survival has come into question due to the development of computer technology. 

However, libraries are in a sort of transitional period undergoing dramatical transformations. Conventional libraries in which users have to go through a number of drawers filled with catalogue cards, subsequently trying to find their information along many rows of dusty shelves, repeating the same procedure in various different libraries on different locations, have become an obsolete concept. Information explosion has often made the process of searching for a subject of interest in traditional card catalogues and other paper indexes seem frightening. The user of today is different, his requirements have changed, and thus has his perception of a library. Transformation of libraries has become indispensable.
In libraries new technologies are used for improving the quality of already existing services, as well as for providing the new kinds of services (new forms of information - multimedia and hypermedia, safety of information, access control, ensuring an efficient and quick information retrieval, maintaining the copyright protection, etc.). The new form of information will change library activities along with the users’ perception of the library itself. New forms of library are being created - a virtual library as an electronic superstructure of traditional library ("library without walls"), and a digital library which offers its resources completely digitized. By means of his personal computer and via Internet, now the user can search the catalogues of books, periodicals and other library material from his own home or office.
The motivation for applying new technologies in library systems arises from three main sources:(1) need that the existing library resources be more accessible to users,(2) need that resources be used in a way which is more suitable for the environment,(3) need to make the job of library staff easier.
What do we want with such a system?
Our main goal was to organize a system with an efficient way of access, with as little mediators as possible, covering natural sciences and technical information, i. e. to provide the access to the sources of information contained in the holdings of corresponding libraries in Croatia within one of thematic field  (natural sciences). The system was supposed to induce and organize the creation of domestic information resources (databases, on-line catalogues, reports etc.) so as to make them available for retrieval to the users all over Croatia and the world. The system would also have to ensure the access to foreign information resources relevant for the field of natural sciences. Moreover, the information system for the field of natural sciences had to incite the development of similar systems in other thematic fields.
Further, prior to their participation in the project, some libraries have built 
their own databases of their property (books, periodicals etc.). However, the access was possible only: a) to the library staff, b) on the computer and c) with an interface which could in no case be considered suitable for the user. Taking into consideration the existing infrastructure (CARNet - Croatian Academic and Research Network) and information resources within libraries, it was necessary to organize a system which would:
- connect the libraries which have not yet had the connection to CARNet and Internet, so as to provide quick communication and solve of users’ inquiries by searching domestic and foreign databases and data banks, and to make the inter-library loans faster etc.;
- make the existing databases (of monographs, periodicals, bibliographies, dissertations, master's degree papers, as well as of other material) available to the scientific public by means of network;
- develop databases in the libraries with no databases at all (due to the lack of staff, hardware and/or software) in following order of preference: 1) catalogue databases, 2) bibliographical databases (which would have to grow into the databases with an integral text), 3) factographic databases, as well as those of reference type;
- take care of permanent training of the library employees (permanent professional training, specialized courses and workshops in the country and abroad);
- coordinate the acquisition of monographs, periodicals as well as databases on all the media;

- work on concluding contracts with the world commercial suppliers;
- establish a database of current research projects in the field of natural sciences in Croatia;
- establish a bibliographical database of scientific papers in the field of natural sciences;
- develop a union catalogue of periodical publications in the field of natural sciences;
- develop a union catalogue of monographic publications in the field of natural science;
- give all the data and information in digital form in the use in form of a virtual library for the field of natural sciences.
When commencing the work on the project of natural sciences virtual library, primarily, we have wished to include the libraries which were: a) well organized, b) equipped with computers, c) in procress of  developing local databases, d) willing to implement new technologies in their environments and e) ready to invest at the beginning at least an additional effort in working with these technologies. At the moment, this project involves ten libraries which with their holdings entirely or partly cover the field of natural sciences, and these are:

- The Rudjer Bošković Institute Library- Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering - Library and Information Center- INA Research and Development - INDOC Center- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics - Department of Mathematics - Library
- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics - Central Chemical Library- Pharmaceutical and Biochemical Faculty - Library
- KONČAR - INDOC- Food Processing and Biotechnological Faculty - Library- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics - Central Library of the Department of Physics- Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics - Central Library of the Department of Biology.
In future, we plan to include all libraries which either completely or partly cover the field of natural sciences and, naturally, which are willing to collaborate on such a project. Some of the libraries already involved in natural sciences would in due course have to become either the cores or participants of other thematic subsystems.
In Croatia, we would have to solve the problem of physical dislocation of thematically related holdings in relatively small specialized libraries, which forces the user to wonder from library to library in search for information. We shall try to solve this problem within the scope of this project by constituting a virtual library of natural sciences which will unify the data on holdings of corresponding libraries.
What have we done?
At the beginning of this project, only one library alone had an on-line connection and the experience within network services (Rudjer Boskovic Institute). At the time, some of the libraries worked on the development of local databases, whereas one of them not even had a computer. Generally, we have drawn a conclusion that, due to a number of economic, culturological and sociological reasons, the libraries in the Republic of Croatia were extremely inadequately equipped.

By the middle of 1995, the libraries, participants in the project, were equipped with the indispensable equipment, i.e. hardware (personal computers and printers), and in early 1996 all the libraries were connected to the network (either via Ethernet, or via modems). In addition to the CDS/ISIS software package, which most of the libraries had already been using, we purchased the software package for processing the periodical publications (SandPlus). With the work station (SUN Station 20) and scanner HP (ScanJet IICX) we have immediately started to work on developing the WWW servers, thus making all the data available to the users.
Now, each of the libraries is represented by a WWW page on CARNet and Internet, thus offering to users all the information on library which is required: its structure, central institution, library collections, working hours, staff, e-mail addresses, contact telephones and everything users might need in the retrieval of primary information which is still, unfortunately, mostly placed locally either on paper or on a disk or CD-ROM.
During 1995, we have intensely worked on the input into the databases of monographs, whereas during 1996 and 1997 our work has mostly been focused on the input into the databases of periodical publications, thus introducing a novelty into the libraries. For the time being, SandPlus software package which is used for the input of periodical publications has just a few modules (Acquisition, Current Arriving, Catalogue, Export/Import, Print, Back-up). It provides complete processing of periodical publications and, what is most important, in some later phases, through the network, the users will have an insight into the current periodicals which would arrive to the library. The databases of periodicals are organized by years.
Now, in the unified catalogues there are about 70.000 monographic publications and the data on 2.000 jornal titles of  three to six years ago (depending upon the library). We have also worked on the databases of dissertations, as well as Master's and Doctor's Theses, and local bibliographies. Taking into consideration the lack of an integrated on-line library system, a software package which would unify, i. e. integrate all the activities of a library and which would be simultaneously transparent to the users for all kinds of searching, subscriptions, orders etc., and as such, the distributed local databases shall be unified, i. e. integrated on the server "nippur.irb.hr.", indexed and made available to the users via Web. Although the searching is not sophisticated, according to our estimates , for the time being it satisfactorily meets the requirements of our users.
Besides, these databases are relatively small, and thus simple and easy for searching.
Considering that in Croatia there are no standards for specific Croatian signs, the users have been left the possibility to choose the type of font in which their personal computers had been preset. A selection of four code pages used most frequently in Croatia has been forseen:

1. ASCII2. ISO8859-23. CROSCII4. CP125
Thus, we have achieved that users should not be concerned about the codes hidden behind "their" Croatian signs as seen on their screen. Users can simply type-in for instance a surname "Tadić", and the program takes further care of whether the searching results are in corresponding units or not, although originally the database itself uses a code different from the one in the user’s computer.
In the libraries-pariticipants, the librarians themselves update their databases, the same as any other information and documents using the network, whereas the unified catalogues work in such a way that they search the most updated versions of databases. The librarians have also mastered the HTML language for designation, so that they create their own documents and present them in the format adjusted to the WWW network space. The main idea is that the entire system is maximally distributed, as much as it is possible if considered the technical and program circumstances (hardware and software).
Other resources on CARNet and Internet are also being regularly gathered and updated, and then offered to the users following the thematic subgroups relevant for the field of natural sciences.

Plans
In the next period we plan to complete the processing of periodical publications, as well as to work out the bibliographies in the institutions which have not been done before. Further, we plan to continue the input of monographic publication holding, as well as that of dissertations, master's and diploma papers. Our aim is to transfer the complete data within the natural science library holdings into our databases.
Furthermore, it is necessary to solve the question of library software, because with the software packages we use now, it is impossible to achieve any further progress in the quality offer of resources. Besides, transferring the specific format data from personal computers, then transferring them on to the Unix station and processing, requires an additional and unnecessary effort. There are various different integrated library systems covering all the computer platforms, they are numerous and their quality is getting better, while at the same time their price continues to drop. We have to find a financier and purchase one.
In future, we shall particularly emphasize the digital information, local databases and documents with integral texts. Natural sciences are rich with a variety of resources, the multimedia display of which would be both useful and attractive on the network. Further, for the purpose of preservation, protection and a better access to the users, the question of digitalization of ancient and valuable books, as well as of other precious resources should be considered. 
We shall continue to use our unified catalogues in order to coordinate the supply and thus save considerable amounts of money which could be subsequently invested in the purchase of databases (on-line and CD-ROM).

Our library staff will be trained particularly in regard to new technologies, especially network services. This is the only way, the libraries would be able to keep their users and to offer them the services they would expect.
For the end
The information has changed, the user has changed, and if the library still wants to keep the role it had in the past, it has to change too. Even if we speak of a new, changed, electronic /virtual/digital library of the present and future, two approaches are possible:
- conservative, seeing computers in libraries,- visionary, seeing libraries within computers.
Both approaches are mutually interwoven in the concept of virtual library this project aspires for. Possibilities offered by a virtual library represent a strong incentive for development in the sphere of librarianship, but the librarians in our country should also become active participants and initiators of changes and not just passive observers. In the time of increasingly sophisticated network tools for information retrieval, it might happen that libraries would become more and more frequently avoided by users.The hope for survival of libraries and librarianship derives from another further point: today we already have the situation that enormous quantities of information incoming on our screens have considerably surpassed any possibility of storing, administrating or searching. "Infoglut" - the information overload, is a chance the library experts must and can use for their affirmation.
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