ALA Annual Meeting, June 16, 2001
European Union
The EU is designing a Law Portal which should/ might come on line by this fall. It should address some of the indexing that fell through the cracks with the break-up of SCAD database on March 1.
Depository libraries have begun to receive a monthly CD from Eurostat which appears to give us more access to data/ publications. The CD uses a browser to connect us (via a password) to Eurostat data. Barbara Sloan is investigating these new developments. The Eurostat doesn't seem to have a consistent interface for letting you know whether you will get the full text/data or an abbreviated format. Of course, Eurostat DOES put a prominent button on each page for you to ask a specific question...this usually means connecting you to a Data Shop for a FEE.
I also received a letter last week announcing Mme Isabel Loff's retirement. She was the Head of the Sector for European Documentation Centres. She was a supportive figure in Brussels, and I am sure that she will be missed.
As many already know, this spring, the EU had posted a second round of grants for European Studies Centers. The first cut of the applications has been made, and the finalists should be announced sometime this summer (I believe.)
I'm sure there is much that I am missing, but I wanted to let you know about the Law Portal. It sounds like it may combine access to the legislative documents and legal and court documents in one place. But I have no specifics to pass along...just keep checking what's new.
Mary Gay Anderson
Food and Agriculture Organization
Taken from the David Lubin Memorial Library, Report of Activities 2000.
The Micro-CDS Isis internet search interface to the Library catalogue available at
http://www4.fao.org/faobib/ continues to improve access to the FAO Library collections. To further develop electronic product delivery, collaboration with the other United Nations and agency libraries has been intensified. The United Nations shared database, UNCAPS, was improved and updated. The FAO Library was one of the first participants in the United Nations Library Consortium.
FAO Library now provides access to over one million books, 6,100 printed journal titles received regularly, 4,000 electronic full text titles, a total of over a million quality pages online. Innovative partnerships with other UN agencies and donor organizations have been developed to try to optimize scarce resources.
The David Lubin Memorial Library serves as the institutional memory of FAO and in this capacity is often the only holder of project, field and technical reports. To provide wider electronic dissemination, the Library collaborated in providing source documents for scanning and converting FAO documents for electronic access and dissemination. Due to the success of the low cost TIFF image production trials conducted in 1999 this output was introduced into the normal photocopying workflow of FAO documents. It was proved to be a viable solution to supplement full digitisation and to bridge the gap for archive copies after the discontinuation of the microfiching of FAO documents.
The Library web pages have been revised to include new books, links to electronic journals and new links to full text resources.
Sandy Peterson
June 12, 2001
International Labour Organization (ILO)
World Employment Report 2001: Life at Work in the Information Economy is due to be published in June. A free copy on CD-ROM is available through the website at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/support/publ/booksoon.htm
International Labour Review 2001 will be available free online with purchase of a paper subscription. It has not been published yet.
The Cost of Social Security 1990-1996 appears only on the ILO web site
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/socsec/publ/css/cssindex.htm
The last paper version was the 14th international inquiry 1987-1989 (published in 1996).
The ILO has not published a complete catalog since 1994. If you think your library may be missing some publications, ILO Headquarters will be happy to send you a list of titles sent on standing order. Send an e-mail request to: cabrera@ilo.org
You may pick up ILO promotional materials at the door at the IDTF Annual Meeting.
Catherine Shreve
June 11, 2001
International Monetary Fund
The joint IMF/World Bank Library staff has developed "Pathfinders" of interest to IMF and World Bank staff on its website http://jolis.worldbankimflib.org/Pathfinders/index.html.
These are by country and subject and may prove of interest to librarians looking for information on the following topics:
banking, economic development, finance, foreign investment, IMF and World Bank Group, international trade, poverty, privatization, public sector, and statistical information.
Currently countries covered are:
Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank & Gaza, Yemen. More country pathfinders are promised.
By selecting a country, the pathfinder will help lead the way to library resources including news sources, new library books and articles, electronic journals, statistical resources, selected web sites and key databases (though some are restricted to IMF/World Bank users). Sometimes a button is displayed indicating that precise search strategies have been set up to link the reader directly to a list of articles on the topic.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/res/ople/ople.htm
This website lists projects in progress, organized alphabetically by area department and by functional and special service department, and is updated periodically. The scope of research in the IMF reflects developments in the international economy and the changing circumstances of member countries. So, e.g., one could find who is working on a guide for monetary and financial statistics, or Greece’s labor market, or sanctions and civil conflict. For the truly persistent, e-mail addresses of researchers are provided for follow up contacts.
Vida Margaitis 6/12/01
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
No one from OECD will be able to attend the International Documents Task Force meeting in June, as we are in the process of transferring our computer and fulfillment operations to a new company.
The following is an update on several fronts.
First, we are in the midst of transferring our computer and fulfillment operations from a temporary in-house arrangement - following the ending of the previous arrangement - to a new fulfillment company. During the period of the temporary in-house fulfillment, which started on February 15 and is expected to end on July 1, the Washington Center has been in the difficult position of not having access to subscription, standing order, invoicing, and shipment data, so customer service was difficult. We have done our best to fill the claims and orders that have come in, but we have not been in a position to be able to enter new subscriptions or standing orders or make changes in existing subscriptions and standing orders. And we were not able to reproduce invoices or check records. All such actions will resume shortly. Paris did manage to keep periodicals and standing order plan shipments going during this period and if you find you are missing anything, please let us know. A listing of books and periodical issues published and shipped during the first half of 2001 is available at:
http://www.oecd.org/publications/distribution/
The specific website for the listing of books is:
http://www.oecd.org/publications/distribution/GSO-00001P1.htm
The new computer/fulfillment operation (OECD Distribution Center) will be operated in Letchworth, UK and Exton, Pennsylvania. Under these new arrangements, all subscription issues, standing order plan issues, and books sent out under subscriptions, standing order plans, and SourceOECD plans will be sent out of the warehouse in Letchworth (north of London) in the UK. Under discussion is a plan whereby for standing order plans and SourceOECD plans, instead of sending out books individually as published, books will be sent on a once-a-month basis and under standing order plans, an invoice will be sent matching the monthly shipment. This will mean more OECD invoices for those of you under OECD standing order plans, but it should enable you to get the books processed through your systems and on the shelf sooner. It will also enable us to hold down prices, and shipping will be less expensive. Please let us know what you think.
Invoicing and subscription renewals will also come from the Letchworth, UK office, but payments on invoices for customers in the US can be made to the Exton, Pennsylvania address. The Exton, Pennsylvania location will have a customer service team to serve American clients by taking orders and payments, dealing with claims and other problems, and answering questionsand it will have sufficient stocks of publications to fill ad hoc orders. OECD's 800 number (800-456-6323) will be directed to the Exton office. Mail can still be sent to the Washington DC address (it will be forwarded to
Exton). Suzanne Edam and I will remain in Washington and will continue marketing OECD publications including SourceOECD, and to back up the folks in Exton when questions come up that they cannot answer. We expect the Exton, Pennsylvania office in the US to be up and running by 2 July 2001. Invoicing for the first half general standing order and selective standing order plans will take place after operations go live on 2 July 2001.
We wish to apologize once again for all the difficulties we've been having over the past year and are very hopeful that this new solution will prove to be much better.
As far as SourceOECD is concerned, about one-third of our almost one hundred general standing order plan holders in the United States have now converted to SourceOECD, and we even have a few new subscribers. Almost all clients are taking the complete package that includes SourceOECD/Studies, SourceOECD/Periodicals, and SourceOECD/Statistics. Based on the limited usage data we have so far, our US subscribers consistently have among the highest number user sessions compared to subscribing institutions from other countries. May marked a milestone for SourceOECD. We registered a 50% increase in user sessions to 65,613. We also registered our 1,000 th institution as a SourceOECD user (periodical subscribers are rapidly taking advantage of online access to periodicals to which they subscribe).
On May 10th we released the Preliminary Edition of Economic Outlook without any hitches (also in French and German). By the end of month 2288 copies of complete Preliminary Edition had been downloaded plus a further 1149 individual chapters.
At the beginning of May, the SourceOECD site was relaunched, with periodicals now integrated into the SourceOECD pages (previously users were directed to the ingenta site). 2001 publications are now up to date on SourceOECD and gradually, improvements are being made to the statistical files. Among the improvements that are planned for the future are the addition of quick links within the SourceOECD portal for themes and periodicals, and later for specific books, so librarians can link directly from their online catalogsbreaking up more publications into chaptersand the addition of what are now loose-leaf services such as the Model Tax Convention, the Guidelines for Testing of Chemicals, and the Transfer Pricing Guidelines. We recognize that speed of access is a key issue and ingenta, the host of SourceOECD, is working on it.
There were a few glitches on SourceOECD toward the end of May 2000 when ingenta relaunched their site. Ingenta is working hard to fix the problems that resulted.
If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact Suzanne Edam or myself. We look forward to seeing you all at the Midwinter meeting.
Matt Brosius matt.brosius@oecd.org
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Rene Gutierrez, a librarian at the OAS Columbus Memorial Library, reports that the standing order for all OAS publications is still on hold. He is the one responsible for selling the OAS Official Documents on microfiche, and he also serves as the contact for purchasing OAS publications. An order for publications can be sent to him by e-mail (RGutierrez@oas.org), and he will send the publications with an invoice for payment.
A new microfiche set is available: Actas del Consejo de la OEA, 1948-1969. These are the verbatim minutes of the Council of the OAS, 1948-1969. The set is accompanied by a Spanish index. This replaces an earlier set, which covered 1948-1960, on 3x5 microfiche or microcard. This new set consists of 462 microfiche and costs $550 for Diazo and $1300 for Silver Halide, plus $25 shipping and handling.
The Spanish/English periodical Inter-American Review of Bibliography, may appear only on the web in the future. This is currently under discussion. The last paper issue published is vol. 49, no. 1/2, 1999. It is not known at this time whether or not issue no. 3 will be published in paper or only online.
A recent report from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is The Human Rights Situation of the Indigenous People in the Americas. This may be requested from the Commission.
Marian Shaaban, June 13, 2001