2. Digital Library Initiatives

2.1 Library Portal Development

In 1999, a group of experts, who are members of the Library and Information Technology Information (LITA), a division of the American Library Association, identified a number of emerging trends that would impact on future library services. (LITA, 1999). Some of the more important trends are:

• The use of technology to help users to customise their access to information resources. Library users who are web users expect customisation, interactivity and customer support. In other words, the approach should be user-focussed rather than library-focussed.
• The use of "push technologies" to assist overloaded information users to select and evaluate resources as well as draw their attention to resources which may be of interest to them on the basis of user profiles or past use of resources in specific subject areas.
• The need to put a human face on the virtual library. Many library web sites place too much emphasis on resources, collections and facts, while users really want an easy means to identify and contact staff who might be able to help them.
• The need to co-opt existing technologies that haven't been used in libraries, and take advantage of cooperative efforts in information access.
• An increasing need for authentication and rights management systems.

In keeping with this philosophy, the Library established a Working Party to work with Information Technology Services to develop a Library portal, which will provide a view of the information space within which users operate. Its importance lies in the fact that it makes use of push and pull technologies. Using pull technology, users, after authentication, can customise their Web access to only show those information resources in which they have an interest. Using push technology, users can be kept up to date by email regarding the latest information and developments in their field of interest or specialisation (a kind of SDI service, except that the parameters and profiles are drawn up by users). The portal also has the capability of providing chat, email and conferencing facilities, and can incorporate Z39.50 information retrieval protocols which will permit distributed searching of multiple databases. It will also be possible for end users (with the right software) to have unmediated access to the resources not only of their home library, but also those of other universities. It would thus be possible for users, once authenticated, to use the portal to search the OPACs of participating libraries, and automatically generate interlibrary loan requests from those libraries, or they can request articles from commercial document suppliers (if permitted to do so by their host institutions). The Library portal will provide a single user-interface for users, and thus provide an integrated view of analogue and digital information resources made available by the Library. We are still in the early stages of development of the Library portal. An examination of a range of possible software that can be used as a basis of the portal is currently being undertaken.

2.2 Voyager Implementation

Another key digital library initiative was the replacement of the PALS library system with the Voyager system. Voyager went live on 14 February 1999 on all campuses with implementation of the OPAC (online catalogue), circulation and cataloguing modules. Implementation of the serials and acquisitions modules began in mid-August and these modules were in full use by the end of September. Migration of serials data has continued beyond then and was not yet fully completed even by the end of the year.

The fact that such a major system cutover was accomplished in very short time (work only commenced in September 1998) and with relatively very minor problems, is a great credit to all the people associated with it, including Endeavor staff, staff from the University's ITS Division, and in particular the Library staff, almost all of whom played some role, and many a very significant role in achieving this very successful result. Special mention should be made of the Systems Librarian, Sue Steele, who managed the entire process and who was involved in all aspects of the project, the data migration, the training of staff, the customisation of the software and the installation of the hardware. Her pragmatic approach, her thorough understanding and knowledge of the Library's data and functional requirements, and her capacity for problem solving, lateral thinking and plain hard work were invaluable.

The Voyager system will support many of the library's digital initiatives, as it is a new state of the art system, and not something evolved out of an old system. As a true client/server application with a clear separation between the client functions, server functions, and database functions, Voyager allows rapid enhancements to the system, and quicker integration of new technologies as they become available.

2.3 Monash Lectures On Line

This service was developed as a replacement for the taped lecture service, and has proven to be extremely popular with students. The number of subjects covered increased from 14 in 1998 to 55 by the end of 1999. The program was particularly popular with law students, who boosted the average number of streams1 per subject to 1,178. The growth in usage of the system is illustrated in the following table:

Table 1. Monash Lectures Online