NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARIES perspectives from Russia and Scotland

NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARIES: perspectives from Russia and Scotland FRED GUY Director of Information and Communications Technology NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

SCOTLAND RUSSIA 400 YEARS • Mercenaries in Muscovy • Physicians to the Tsars • “Caledonian Phalanx” of entrepreneurs architecture to shipping, industry to photography MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

COLLABORATION • Private sector - airlines; railways; IT • Public sector - funding agencies MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

Creation of an Information System for the Russian State Library TELRUS 9705 December 1998 -June 2000 TACIS EUROPEAN COMMISSION - DG 1 A Directorate General for External Relations MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

NATIONAL LIBRARIES: FUNCTIONS • Acquisition - legal deposit; purchase; donation; exchange • Retention • Preservation • Access MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL: History • Founded 1862 as Moscow’s first free public library • Known as The Library of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumiantsev Museum or Rumiantsev Library • 1919. Lenin signed Resolution to increase staff • 1921. Became a state depository MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RUMIANTSEV LIBRARY MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

HISTORY (CONT) • 26 th January 1924 named after V. I. Lenin • 6 th Feb. 1925. State Lenin Library of USSR. • 1955. New building opened • 1992. Russian State Library • 1994. Modernisation Plan • 1996. Plan revised • Estimates. $750, 000 MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL - MAIN BUILDING MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL - Entrance Hall MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL - Main Reading Room MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

NLS: History • Founded in 1680 s as Faculty of Advocates Library • 1710 1 st Copyright Act (Queen Anne) • 1925 National Library of Scotland Act MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

NLS - George IV Bridge MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

NLS - George IV Bridge MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

GEORGE IV BRIDGE - Entrance Hall MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL: Statistics • 3023 members of staff • 42, 000 items (books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps). • 7, 000 visitors daily (ca. 1, 500, 000 pa) • 30, 000 items circulated daily • Lof C 1, 000 visitors • BL 500, 000 MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL - Storage area after refurbishment MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

NLS: Statistics • 250 staff • 8 million printed items inc. rare and priceless items (eg. Gutenberg Bible) • 1. 6 million maps • Manuscripts, music scores • 230, 000 items pa via legal deposit MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

PROJECT OVERVIEW • Specification, selection and implementation of a modern, scaleable computer system • Analysis of data and data flows and input of data into system • Preparation of a “business” strategy including means of sustaining system beyond project completion MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

Creation of an Information System for the Russian State Library • TACIS funded • 1, 000 Euro over 18 months • Money via EU member countries MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

TACIS • EUROPEAN COMMISSION - DG 1 A Directorate General for External Relations • Technical Assistance to the New Independent States (former republics of the Soviet Union except Baltic States) and Mongolia • Since 1991. 3000 projects worth ECU 3, 300, 000 • For transfer of know-how thereby fostering development of market economies and democratic societies MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

THE PROJECT • NLS a consortium member. Leader British Council. Other partners Jouve SA (France) & EDS-LANIT (Germany/Russia). Experts also on procurement and marketing. • Providing advice • Writing reports • Working with Russian colleagues • Overseeing a key component MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RSL: Automation history • 1970 s investigations • 1990 VTLS (USA) package • 1996 Specification prepared jointly with National Library of Russia • 1998 MEKA • 1999 Aleph 500 (Israel) selected MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

NLS: Automation history • • 1978 -1985 -1987 1988 -1999 - MARCH 2000 LOCAS (British Library) SCOLCAP VTLS (USA) Voyager (USA) RFG/NLS

PROGRESS TO DATE • • • Server (SUN 450) installed Aleph 500 installed Data (retroconverted) + MEKA data loaded Training plan prepared Systems librarian training delivered + training on Unix MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

BUILDING THE DIGITAL LIBRARY • • Acquisition Retention Preservation Access MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

ACQUISITION - NLS • In house projects: maps; manuscripts; photographs • Deposit of Ordnance Survey data • Voluntary Code. MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

RETENTION & PRESERVATION NLS • Policies being developed • Awaiting outcomes from CEDARS and NEDLIB MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

ACCESS - NLS • NLS WWW SITE - WWW. NLS. UK • INHOUSE ACCESS DATABASE MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS NLS • New Opportunities Fund Proposal • Use of En. Compass - software from Endeavor Information Systems Inc. • Large scale co-operative project using, for example IBM Digital Library MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS RSL • Memory of the World - First Printed Slavic books of 15 th and 16 th centuries; archival material relating to Dostevsky and Pushkin • Access via http: //SUN 450. agir. ru/memory MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

FUTURE PLANS - RSL • Project to digitise 50, 000 books including many in foreign languages • SFX Reference Linking Software Solution from Ex. Libris MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS

CONCLUSIONS • Acquisition. In house digitisation strategies to be determined. Legal deposit only voluntary at present. • Retention and preservation. Awaiting outcomes from other projects. • Access. Rudimentary. • Collaboration. Essential. MARCH 2000 RFG/NLS