NDL Newsletter No. 103, June 1997

International Symposium:

Current status and future of bibliographic information in Southeast Asian countries

Today libraries all over the world are experiencing unprecedented changes related to the advanced information society, with the new millennium approaching. The NDL is certainly no exception. It is planning to construct in western Japan a new digital facility tentatively named Kansai-kan to be opened in 2002. To help set up its foundation, especially that of the Asian Resource Information Center (also tentative), which is a substantial element of the Kansai-kan, NDL held the International symposium: Current status and future of bibliographic information in Southeast Asian countries.

The symposium was held at NDL from March 10 to 11, 1997. Besides two Japanese lecturers, eight specialists were invited from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The symposium was divided into three parts : acquisition and use of Southeast Asian information in Japan and Australia (Session 1), current status and future of bibliographic information in Southeast Asian countries (Session 2) and discussion (Session 3).

Following the opening address by Mr. Mineo Miyawaki, Director, Administrative Department of NDL at that time, the Symposium started.

• Session 1: Acquisition and use of Southeast Asian information in Japan and Australia
• Session 2: Current statu and fusture of bibliographic information in Southeast Asian countries - country report -
• Session 3: Open discussion and concluding remarks

Session 1: Acquisition and use of Southeast Asian information in Japan and Australia

The session began with the speech of Ms. Fumi Idei, Institute of Developing Economies (IDE, Japan), titled Experience in Japan - Acquisition and Use of Southeast Asian Information in Japan : Focusing on Activities of IDE. IDE was founded, under the IDE Law (April 1, 1960), for the purpose of studying and prompting trade as well as cooperation with developing economies in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. After describing the present state of its activities, she explained its new library project in Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo.

She then outlined the situation of materials relating to Southeast Asian countries in Japan: (1)Most of the such materials are academic and written in English, (2)While there are some vernacular materials, only a few of them are catalogued, (3)In universities vernacular materials are often in a professor's office, not in the library, (4)Considerable percentage of materials is collected by individual researchers, not by organizations. Her last emphasis was on the need for networking among domestic institutions as well as compiling union catalogues in cooperation with Asian colleagues.

Ms. Motoko Nishida, Assistant Chief, Asian Materials Division, NDL, gave a paper titled the Future Plan of Asian Resource Information Center: Acquisition and Use of Southeast Asian Information in Japan. The Center, which will be inside the Kansai-kan, is planned to acquire on a broad front materials both published in and relating to Asia. Through supplying worldwide users with bibliographic information as well as documents themselves, it is aiming to contribute to better understandings and mutual respect among Asian people.

She pointed out that developing networks and databases is essential for fulfilling these functions and for this, cooperation with domestic and foreign institutions, especially libraries in Asian countries, is vital. As for the collections, the first effort is to be mainly concentrated on acquisitions from East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, though all collections will be gradually developed to the full. Staff efficient in Chinese, Korean, etc. will handle these important tasks with ample knowledge of each country.

Dr. Helen Jarvis, Head of the School of Information, Library and Archive Studies, University of New South Wales, Australia, gave a paper titled Southeast Asia in Australian Consciousness: the View from the Library and Information Sphere. Australian interest in Asia has grown markedly in recent years and Southeast Asia, as the part of the continent nearest to Australia, has been the focus of their attention. Attention has been paid to increasing collections of Southeast Asian materials in various institutions. One successful example is the Indonesian Acquisitions Project run through the National Library of Australia.

She went on to mention electronic resources, pointing out that in the past few years Australians have been putting such efforts into developing databases and web sites and providing access to electronic resources in the Asian countries as: BISA database (Bibliographic Information Services on Asia and the Pacific, originally standing for Bibliographic Information on Southeast Asia), Vietnamese Union Catalogue and so on. Another suite of databases developed by the Cambodian Genocide Program is available on the Internet, for which she is working as the Consultant on Documentation.

Session 2: Current status and future of bibliographic information in Southeast Asian countries - country report -

The first speaker, Mr. Blasius Sudarsono, Head of Center of Scientific Documentation and Information, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, reported under the title of A Glimpse to Bibliographic Information Exchange in Indonesia. In Indonesia, efforts to publish catalogues or bibliographies have been made since the late 19th century. The Indonesian National Bibliography, which now the National Library of Indonesia is responsible for and can be accessed on the Internet, was first published in 1953. Again, an attempt to exchange bibliographic information among special libraries in Indonesia was started in 1971 and as a result the first Union Catalogue of Serials was published in 1973 by the Center for Scientific Documentation and Information of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

Now bibliographical work in Indonesia is inevitably related to databases compiled by computers, some of which are already accessible on the Internet. Mr. Sudarsono stressed the necessity of standardization of bibliographic databases and the difficulty of intellectual property rights issues.

Ms. Putri Saniah Megat Abdul Rahman, Head, Department of Resources Development, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, gave a report titled Bibliographic Databases and Networks in Malaysia: towards the Development of Digital Libraries with Local Content Databases. The National Library of Malaysia strategically organized the National Conference on Multimedia Digital Libraries in November 1996 and its focus was on meeting the nation*s information needs of the 21st century. In line with the 10th CONSAL (May 1996) Plan for National Development there were made such recommendations as: the establishment, management and coordination of a nationwide network of multimedia digital libraries, linking all 10,000 libraries, the multimedia digital library as one of the government Multimedia Super Corridor flagship projects, and so on.

Having reviewed the current status of automation and networking in public, academic and special libraries, electronic publishing in Malaysia etc., she went on to present issues and challenges faced by the libraries, including shortage of skilled staff and lack of funding. She ended her report by expressing her conviction that information entrepreneurship within the libraries calls for paradigm shift and new ways of doing things.

Mr. Thein Lwin, Librarian Grade 1, Mawlamyine University Library, Myanmar, whose report was titled Current Status of Bibliographic Information in Myanmar, was the last speaker on March 10. Although at present in Myanmar most libraries are operating by using old methods, there are a few well-funded libraries using advanced techniques and machines. With the cooperation of the Myanmar Library Association, the Central Library and Department of Library Science of Yangon University, a unique library system was developed to improve library standards and education.

To set up area networks in Myanmar, financial and technical assistance is indispensable. He concluded that developed countries like Japan, which have both budget and human resources, should take initiatives to create an Asia Network System.

The first speaker on March 11 was Mr. Rogelio B. Mallillin, Director, Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University. His report was titled Information Processing and Resource sharing in the Philippines. While there have been significant developments in the last three years or so in the creation of electronic databases, this has been concentrated in only a handful of libraries in the Philippines. Concerning local networking, only a few libraries are involved and they are mainly located in the National Capital Region. He described problems relating to networking like: (1)lack of funds to procure hardware and software as well as for personnel training, (2)lack of knowledge on the part of administrators and librarians, (3)poor telecommunication facilities. The availability of the information superhighway or the Internet has made a lot of things possible in international networking in this country. Computer processing of Filipino materials is not a big problem because collection development in libraries is biased to English language publications. Moreover, even if a material is written in Filipino, the Philippine alphabet is very similar to English, hence there is no difficulty converting lists into machine-readable format.

Ms. Ch'ng Kim See, Head, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Library, Singapore, reported under the title of Bibliographic Information of Southeast Asian Materials in Singapore: its Current State and Prospects. Bibliographic information in Singapore is generated and maintained by libraries using their computerized systems. Bibliographic standards adopted are international, mostly based on the U.S. MARC, and Non-Roman script cataloguing is mainly transliterated. A few libraries are beginning to use multilingual software to cater to their non-Roman script cataloguing.

A cooperative bibliographic network SILAS (Singapore Integrated Library Automated Service) has 66 participating libraries and it is planned to allow outside online access as well. Public access to bibliographic files is facilitated by major libraries through the Internet as well. She also described three general concept plans: the information technology 2000 report (1991), the Library 2000 report (1994) and Singapore: the next lap (1991), which provide the general direction of a loosely integrated information technology development strategy for Singapore.

She was followed by Ms. Thara Kanakamani, Director, National Library of Thailand, who gave a report titled Current Situation and Problems of National Network of Bibliographic Information of Southeast Asian Materials in Thailand. In Thailand great attempts have been paid to organize collections of Southeast Asian materials. Moreover, since the early 1980s many databases have been created in nearly every higher educational institution throughout the country. Some libraries have offered on-line public access catalogue to their readers. Integrated library systems for all library operations have been also introduced in nearly every library, many networks have been launched and now the Internet is very popular.

Having explained the functions of the National Library and its databases , she went on to mention National Bibliographic Networks. Great efforts have been made for this but still there are the problems of standardization of forms and formats among different bibliographies of various library institutions. In order to solve this problem THAI NATIS was set up in 1986. She concluded that Japan should be suitable to be an Asian Resources Information Center with the cooperation of each Asian country.

The last speaker at the session, Mr. Kieu Van Hot, Assistant to the Director, National Library of Vietnam, gave a report titled Library Automation and Network in Vietnam. At present there are two bibliographic networks in Vietnam: the public libraries' network led by the National Library of Vietnam includes the National Library of Vietnam and provincial libraries. There is also an information centers' network led by National Center for Scientific and Technological Information and Documentation.

The Internet is now under testing in Vietnam. He pointed out difficulties such as scarce information techniques in libraries, the high cost of data telecommunications, unfamiliarity with information sharing. He is really conscious of the necessity of a more powerful software which can support Vietnamese. The National Library is now taking part in an international project named Vietnam Union Catalogue; and he ended his lecture, emphasizing their willingness to take part in international cooperation.

Session 3: Open discussion and concluding remarks

The country reports were followed by an energetic Q & A session which included topics such as the present state of national bibliography, staff training and transliteration. As concluding remarks, Ms. Kiyoko Tamura, Senior Librarian, Acquisitions Department, NDL, reemphasized the importance of cooperation among participating countries regarding acquisitions, automation and human resource development.

The symposium ended with concluding remarks by Ms. Sakae Edamatsu, Director, Special Materials Department, NDL. After this the participants moved to Kyoto and visited Kansai Science City where the Kansai-kan will be built.