No. 133, October 2003

Development of Electronic Library
Infrastructure System in NDL

This is a translation of the article of the same title in the NDL Monthly Bulletin No. 508 (Jul. 2003).

Currently, a dynamic change is demanded in library services.  One of the essential factors to fulfill the demand is to build an information system for those services.

The National Diet Library (NDL) has been constructing the Electronic Library Infrastructure System as its mission-critical system since 1998, aimed at drastically reorganizing the mechanization of work to fit the present NDL purposes and functions. Before that, from the 1970s, the mechanization had been developed focusing on the host computer.

Though the Electronic Library Infrastructure System development will not be completed until autumn 2004, the major functions began operation to coincide with the opening of the Kansai-kan of the NDL in FY 2002.  Following is the outline of the Electronic Library Infrastructure System.

1. Purposes and system structure
The three purposes stated in the "Development and implementation plan of the Electronic Library Infrastructure System" (December 1998) are as follows:

• Support for the NDL services
• Provision of the NDL digital library service
• Integrating the services of the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, and the International Library of Children's Literature, and in particular developing a system to make the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan operate as one.

To accomplish these purposes, we planned to rationalize procedures and standardize rules by developing an integrated system where previously we had a separate system for each task.  For instance, we have dozens of different bibliographic databases depending on the type of materials.  The functional subsystems were to be built on the shared system infrastructure, which consists of network and hardware (see diagram below).

Electronic Library Infrastructure System  Conceptual Diagram (PDF file) 

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Acquisitions and Cataloging Subsystem
- creates bibliographic and other data of library materials and manages various materials.

Data Management Subsystem
- controls and maintains the integrated bibliographic database which accumulates bibliographic and management data.
- outputs products including JAPAN/MARC.

Information Provision Subsystem
- makes it possible to access data including bibliographic data and request materials through the NDL-OPAC.

Digital Library Subsystem
- provides digital library services such as digitized materials database and networked information resources collection.

Operational Subsystem
- is a common system to all of the component systems.

External Coordination Functions
- liaise with other systems including the Japanese Periodicals Index online processing system.

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2. Organizational structures and background of system development 
The Information Systems Division of the Administrative Department plays the key role in development system development except the Digital Library Subsystem of which the Digital Library Division is in charge.  However, this development project relates to all of the work in the NDL, so staff members in charge of related services and the Information Systems Division formed a team to develop each subsystem.  They are involved in consideration and decision for subsystem specification, test operating and introduction of the subsystems.  Development work is outsourced.

In FY1998, the first year of the project, we carried out an analysis of all the work of the Library as preliminary research.  In December, we mapped out the "Development and implementation plan of the Electronic Library Infrastructure System" with the target year of FY 2004 and drew up the basic design based on it.

We were in a developmental stage in FY1999.  At first, we developed periodicals accession and the bibliographic data creation system of the Acquisitions and Cataloging Subsystem.  Then we designed and developed the integrated bibliographic database of the Data Management Subsystem.  In FY2000, we started developing binding/shelving function, product output function and the NDL-OPAC.  In addition, we launched the development of the Digital Library Subsystem.

In order to prepare for the full-scale system operation at the time of the Kansai-kan opening in FY 2002, we developed and upgraded the acquisitions/material management function, bibliographic data creation function and the NDL-OPAC in FY2001. We also transferred data from the old system.  Prior to the Kansai-kan opening on October 7, 2002, the NDL-OPAC and the Digital Library from the Meiji Era of the Digital Library Subsystem were opened to the public on October 1, 2002.

In the Kansai-kan, an independently created Kansai-kan visitor management system made online reserving and copying services available.

In FY2003, we are expanding the functions developed in FY2002, completing bibliographic data transition, and adding retrospective bibliographic data of Western books and old Japanese books to the NDL-OPAC to open to the public.  The Tokyo Main Library visitor service system development has been launched and will be released in October 2004.

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3. Achievements and problems of the system
We can say that the system has more or less accomplished the above three purposes.  In particular, it is obvious that remote access services such as data provision of the Japanese Periodicals Index via the NDL-OPAC and copying service for registered users has become feasible through the Electronic Library Infrastructure System.  Not to mention realization of the Digital Library functions.

However, five years from FY1998 were not enough to develop such an extensive system.  A large amount of labor was spent in carrying out several projects simultaneously such as the reorganization of the NDL, the opening of the Kansai-kan and the International Library of Children's Literature.  The integrative system is so huge that we must admit that its complexity causes not a few problems.

The development of the Electronic Library Infrastructure System continues and it needs more improvements for stable operation.  On the other hand, there are limitless demands for a library service system.  We have to carry this experience over into the future and consider the next stage.