VALA2002 Proceedings

VALA2002, the 11th VALA Biennial Conference and Exhibition was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia from 6 – 8 February 2002. The theme of the conference was e-volving information futures.

The following programme was presented at VALA2002. See also the archived VALA2002 conference web site.

VALA is the process of copying old conference abstracts, papers, and presentations onto the new VALA portal. VALA2002 papers will be made available from this section of the VALA web site.

Registering on the VALA web site also allows you to post your own comments about all of the presentations and papers at VALA’s biennial conferences. When commenting please refrain from inappropriate remarks and be aware of VALA’s online code of conduct.

All works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License unless specifically stated.

VALA2002 Session 13 Feighan

Gee, I didn’t think it was going to be that much: a report on the issues and implications of technically sustainable and affordable bandwidth for Australian libraries

VALA2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 13: e-nabling Infrastructures
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:00 – 14:30
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/vala2002-session-13-feighan

David Feighan and Peter Schmidt

VICNET, Vic

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VALA2002 Session 13 Feighan Paper 305.00 KB

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Abstract

This paper explores the dilemma of increased bandwidth requirements and costs in the light of stagnant or decreasing library budgets, and how one group of Australian libraries have attempted to resolve this problem by shared networking and consortia purchasing. Increasingly, library services are dependent on Internet bandwidth to deliver information services, and the bandwidth required for, as well as the cost to deliver, these on-line services is increasing. As the delivery of on-line services has become a core library business, speed and reliability have become increasingly important, as has the recurring cost of bandwidth, but library funding does not always recognise these facts. The Internet industry has become more complex and offers greater choice for delivery (terrestrial, atmospheric, satellite) as well as offering a wide array of cost structures, but these offerings are not necessarily the best solution for the libraries involved. Pricing and technical options often have hidden costs and though they may suit current needs, increased usage makes the costs prohibitive. This paper draws on practical experience in delivering sustainable cost-competitive bandwidth solutions to libraries and looks at how collaborative solutions can offer benefits to the participating libraries.

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VALA2002 Session 13 Fitzgerald

From Aardvark to Xylophone to bandwidth from telephone:

VALA2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 13: e-nabling Infrastructures
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:35 – 15:05
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/vala2002-session-13-fitzgerald

Brendan Fitzgerald and Frances Savage

VICNET

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VALA2002 Session 13 Fitzgerald Paper 36.79 KB

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Abstract

The benefits and implications of online information delivery are now beginning to be understood. Libraries Online and Rural Libraries Online have since 1998 been developing Internet access in Victorian public libraries. Funded by State (Multimedia Victoria) and Australian Federal (Networking The Nation), these projects have provided a whole of Library approach to e-services which includes provision of bandwidth, infrastructure, ICT skills and content. The specific projects such as Satellite delivery of bandwidth, Rural POP’s, Victoria’s Virtual Library (www.libraries.vic.gov.au), and the Gulliver consortium are discussed, as is the experience of working with 44 partners with very different needs and capacities and the associated ongoing issues.

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VALA2002 Session 14 Aulich

Self-service — the revolution’s here!

VALA 2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 14: e-services
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:00 – 14:30
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/vala2002-session-14-aulich

Michael Aulich and Christine Mackenzie

Brisbane City Council Library Services

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VALA2002 Session 14 Aulich Paper 52.48 KB

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Abstract

Increasingly public libraries are recognising the need to move from the supermarket checkout model of operations to upskilling their scarce staff to provide information and outreach services to their communities. Hiring more staff is not generally an option in these times, and it is imperative that libraries encourage their customers to move increasingly to a self-service paradigm, particularly for circulation.

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VALA2002 Session 14 Lawton

Wireless Web For Public Libraries

VALA 2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 14: e-services
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:35 – 15:05
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/VALA2002-session-14-lawton

Trevis Lawton

Online Services Development Coordinator, City of Joondalup Library Services
http://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

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VALA2002 Session 14 Lawton Paper 39.56 KB

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Abstract

The development of wireless technologies over the past twelve months has seen rapid expansion of the types of services that can be provided to mobile phones and personal digital assistants, with much more to come. Libraries must acknowledge the change in communication methods as a long term opportunity and begin planning for expanding market share by developing different types of services that take advantage of the new medium. The City of Joondalup Libraries have trialled a wireless website that offers basic services in order to better understand the challenges of the future.

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VALA2002 Session 15 Cunningham

The Open Road: language technology developments and public library services

VALA 2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 15: e-nabling Technologies
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:00 – 14:30
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/VALA2002-session-15-cunningham

Andrew Cunningham

Multilingual Technical Project Officer, Accessibility and Evaluation Unit, VICNET, State Library of Victoria

Larry Stillman

Accessibility and Evaluation Unit VICNET, State Library of Victoria, and Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Community Networking Research, Monash University

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VALA2002 Session 15 Cunningham Paper 517.37 KB

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Abstract

Language technology and access to the internet are crucial components in the development of flexible and responsive library services to culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Minority and emerging languages need public access. Internet access is one way of breaking the linguistic barriers that have been erected around minority and emerging languages. This paper reviews the Open Road multilingual website (www.openroad.vic.gov.au) from a technical perspective, outlining current strengths and limitations of major operating systems and browsers in the display of different character sets. Some solutions for entry and display of languages are offered for public access systems in public library environments.

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VALA2002 Session 15 Webb

Factors which influence the successful implementation of digital technology in Aboriginal communities

VALA 2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 15: e-nabling Technologies
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:35 – 15:05
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/VALA2002-session-15-webb

Phillipa Webb

Northern Territory Library and Information Service

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VALA2002 Session 15 Webb Paper 769.43 KB

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Abstract

The success of digital library projects in Native American, Canadian Indian and Alaskan Villages has been characterised by broad based resource support, which is virtually non existent in remote locations in Australia. This paper identifies the opportunities that exist to improve the success of digital projects which will ensure that Australia’s Indigenous peoples have the opportunity to collaborate with an emerging alliance of Indigenous Nations across the globe.

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VALA2002 Plenary 6 Besser

Moving from Isolated Digital Collections to Interoperable Digital Libraries

VALA 2002 PLENARY 6: Howard Besser
Friday 8 February 2002, 17:00 – 18:30
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/vala2002-plenary-6-besser

Howard Besser

UCLA School of Education & Information Studies

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VALA2002 Plenary 6 Besser Paper 149.17 KB

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Abstract

Online collections do not yet function like conventional libraries. Many digital collections are experimental and lack service components, and few have preservation components. The function of searching across collections is a dream frequently discussed but seldom realized at a robust level. This paper discusses how we might move from isolated digital collections to interoperable digital libraries. It first examines how early efforts to construct digital collections were perceived as experiments rather than operational libraries. It then discusses various conventional library components that are necessary to deployment of operational digital libraries. Finally, the author points to functions (such as infrastructure, robust metadata, and preservation components) that can be deployed to move us from isolated digital collections to interoperable digital libraries.

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