The Development of Digital Libraries in Taiwan the Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18

1 Introduction The development of The rapid development of information and digital libraries in telecommunication technologies, especially Taiwan the emergence of the Internet and WWW, is gradually innovating every facet of human life. Hao-Ren Ke and As to why the Internet is so popular, we think that the content appearing on the Internet is Ming-Jiu Hwang an essential factor. After all, it is valuable and quality content that makes the Internet meaningful and go deeper and deeper into human life. Among the diversity of Internet content, the digital library (DL) plays an important role in the acquisition and dissemination of information. Taiwan, one of the four small dragons in The authors the Asia-Pacific region, started her National Hao-Ren Ke is an Associate Professor at the National Information Infrastructure (NII) Program Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of in 1994 (Kuo, 1999). At the present stage, China. the achievements of Taiwan's NII Program E-mail: [email protected] include: Ming-Jiu Hwang is an Associate Researcher at the (1) All primary and middle schools, as well as National Science Council, Taiwan, Republic of China. universities, have connected to Internet. E-mail: [email protected] (2) The Internet population has rapidly exceeded 4 million, and is one of the highest ratios in the Asia-Pacific region. Keywords (3) Internet applications, like long-distance Libraries, Museums, Internet, Taiwan, Interlending, learning, the digital library, electronic Electronic publishing commerce, and electronic government have been developing vigorously. Abstract Introducing quality content into the Internet At the opening of the twenty-first century, developments of and leveraging the Internet as a channel for digital libraries have been attracting the attention of many accelerating the dissemination and sharing of countries and Taiwan is no exception. The purpose of this academic research are among the primary article lies in delineating recent developments of digital goals of Taiwan's NII Program. Establishing libraries in Taiwan. This article first quotes a definition of a digital libraries with cultural-, educational-, or digital library, and based on this definition, an overview of research-oriented content is obviously an some of the digital library programs in Taiwan is presented. effective strategy for achieving the goals. In These programs are divided into four categories: consequence, quite a large number of preservation of Chinese and Taiwanese culture; activities regarding digital libraries are being establishment of domestic research digital libraries; provision undertaken in Taiwan. of foreign research digital libraries and integration of So, what is a digital library? In the conventional and digital libraries. literature, there are many definitions of the term.Inthisarticle,wechoosetousea seemingly most logical definition from the Electronic access viewpoint of librarians, which was proposed The current issue and full text archive of this journal is by the American Digital Library Federation available at (1998): http://www.emerald-library.com Digital libraries are organizations that provide the resources, including the specialized staff, to select, structure, offer intellectual access to, interpret, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of The Electronic Library collections of digital works so that they are Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . pp. 336±346 readily and economically available for use by a # MCB University Press . ISSN 0264-0473 defined community or set of communities. 336 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

Based on the above definition, Cleveland (1) National Palace Digital Museum; and (1998) gave some of its characteristics. One of (2) NSC Digital Museum Program. these characteristics is: Digital libraries are the digital face of traditional National Palace Digital Museum libraries and include both electronic (digital) as well The National Palace Museum (NPM)[1] is as print and other (e.g. film, sound) materials. internationally well-known for its tremendous Cleveland (1998) also thought that: and splendid collection of Chinese treasures. In reality, digital libraries will not be a single, The scope of NPM's collection comprises complete digital system that allows users to representative art works from every stage in promptly access all information, for all disciplines, from anywhere around the world. the history of Chinese civilization from the Instead, they will most likely be a collection of early Neolithic Age (about 10,000 to 5,000 disparate resources and disparate systems, catering BC) to nowadays. The material types of the to specific communities and user groups, collection include ceramics, jades, bronzes, created for specific purposes. They also will miscellaneous artefacts (such as studio items, include, perhaps indefinitely, paper-based lacquer wares, enamels, carvings, costumes, collections. and curios), painting and calligraphy Given the above definition and characteristics (including tablet rubbings, embroideries, of a digital library, this article delineates tapestries, and fans), rare books, and several remarkable activities of digital libraries historical documents. The number of objet in Taiwan. These activities are roughly d'art in the NPM total around 700,000. classified into four categories and will be Among the NPM collection, three kinds of elaborated in sequence: popular art works are chosen first as the (1) preservation of Chinese and Taiwanese contents of the NPM Digital Museum culture; (NPDM) (Tsai, 1999). They are: (2) establishment of domestic research digital (1) enamels from the Ming and Ch'ing libraries; dynasties; (3) provision of foreign research digital (2) the Famous Album Leaves of the Sung libraries; dynasty; and (4) integration of conventional and digital (3) Buddhist scriptures and related drawings. libraries. The enamels from the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties digital museum show precious enamel wares from the Ming and Ch'ing 2 Preservation of Chinese and periods. In addition, the characteristic, Taiwanese cultures origins, production methods, and differences Preserving cultural objects in their digital of various kinds of enamels are also presented format has aroused international attention. for education and research. The advantages are manifold. First, cultural The Sung dynasty was a golden epoch in objects have their physical lifespan. the history of Chinese calligraphy and Frequent exhibitions and unfavorable painting, and NPM collects considerable preservation environments may even quantities of these kinds of art works from this shorten the lifespan. If digital surrogates, dynasty. The purpose of the Famous Album instead of physical objects, are used for Leaves of the Sung Dynasty digital museum exhibitions, the chance of damage can be lies in exhibiting the marvelous reduced. Second, benefiting from Internet accomplishment of calligraphy and painting and DL techniques, cultural objects can be of the Sung period. introduced to the public beyond the Buddhism is one of the most prevalent limitation of time and space. It is expected religions in Taiwan. NPM has gathered about that with the power of the Internet, people 400 volumes of Chinese scriptures and 154 may cherish the value and beauty of culture leaves of Manchurian and Tibetan sutras since more than ever. the Sung dynasty. The Buddhist Scriptures Several endeavors to create cultural- and Related Drawings digital museum offers related digital libraries (we often call this the public a deeper understanding about kind of digital library a ``digital museum'') Buddhism by showing related illustration in are ongoing in Taiwan. In this section, we NPM's collection and from other domestic present two of these efforts: and international institutions. 337 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

In addition to exhibiting a large amount of interdisciplinary cooperation. To encourage digitized art works, most of which are Joint interdisciplinary cooperation, the working Picture Expert Group (JPEG) images, several groups of each theme project should at least techniques are integrated into NPDM. For consist of three groups of professionals: instance, a powerful query system is provided (1) subject experts of the theme project's for users to discover digitized art works content; efficiently and effectively. Visible and invisible (2) computer and multimedia technologists; watermarks are attached to online images for and protecting intellectual property rights. (3) scientists of library and information Furthermore, virtual reality enables users to organization. browse, rotate and move digitized art works in Table I outlines the first year's theme three dimension. projects. They cover categories from With the uniqueness of NPM's collection, Taiwanese culture, Taiwanese natural objects since January 2000 NPDM has been selected and Chinese tradition. In the second year, as one theme project of the NSC Digital more theme projects have been chosen and Museum Program, which is described in the are ongoing. The second year's theme next sub-section; moreover, NPM will also projects encompass categories from religion, participate in the National Digital Archive life science, Chinese medicine, and Program, which is a national level program Taiwanese folk artists, as well as the attempting to digitize and archive cultural and aforementioned categories, as indicated in historical relics and is foreseen starting from Table II. the year 2001. For the purpose of developing common technologies and sharing them with theme NSC Digital Museum Program projects, the program funds a few supporting The NSC Digital Museum Program[2], technology projects. The topics of supporting started in July 1998, is an inter-organizational technology projects comprise culture and program for establishing digital museums natural resource atlas (or GIS), literary with Taiwanese and Chinese cultural content. network, standards and toolkits for metadata The program is supported and subsidized by and query, user behavior review and analysis, the National Science Council (NSC) of the information and multimedia, and watermark. Taiwan government. Before the program, a The program also holds seminars, training few disparate digital museums had actually courses, and conferences for popularizing the been created, like NPDM introduced concepts, techniques, and education of digital previously. The program tries to integrate all museums. In addition, newsletters are these separate endeavors and facilitate the published periodically to publicize related sharing of techniques and experiences of information. building digital museums. There are three goals to be achieved by the program (Chang, Future perspectives 1999): In addition to NPM and the institutions (1) it expects to arouse the public's attention participating in the NSC Digital Museum in creating delicate Internet content; Program, many other museums, libraries, and (2) it seeks to enable cooperation of various research organizations in Taiwan have long disciplines essential for creating digital preserved a considerable amount of precious museums; cultural and historical treasures worth (3) it emphasizes experience sharing and digitalizing and presenting on the Internet. development of key technologies in To transform these treasures into their multimedia and library/information digitalized counterparts, a national-level science. program with larger vision and administrative The program adopts several approaches to authority than the NSC Digital Museum realize the above goals. First, a number of Program is required. Recently, such a theme projects covering multiple categories program named National Digital Archive has are picked out and funded. The criteria for been recommended by a strategic review choosing theme projects include content board (SRB) meeting on information, depth and richness, technical strength, electronics, and telecommunication of the educational value of content and level of Executive Yuan, and is anticipated to start 338 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

Table I The first year's theme projects of the NSC Digital Museum Program Category Theme project Main organization URL Taiwanese culture Tracing the Tamsui River National Taiwan University http://mars.csie.ntu.edu.tw/tamsui/ Taiwanese Aboriginal Academia Sinica http://www/sinica.edu.tw/*pingpu/ Taiwanese natural Taiwan: the Butterfly Kingdom National Chi-Nan University http://digimuse.nmns.edu.tw/ objects Taiwanese fish Academia Sinica http://fishdb.sinica.edu.tw/*fishdmp/ Taiwanese plants Academia Sinica http://www.sinica.edu.tw/*hastwww Chinese tradition Treasures from Han dynasty tombs Academia Sinica http://www.sinica.edu.tw/*hantomb/ Firearms in the Ming and Ching dynasties National Tsing-Hua University http://vm.nthu.edu.tw/digi.museum/ Philosophy and literature Academia Sinica http://www.dmpo.sinica.edu.tw/*words

Table II The second year's new theme projects of the NSC Digital Museum Program Category Theme project Main organization Chinese culture National Palace Digital Museum National Palace Museum Religion The world of Xuan Zang and Silk Road National Taiwan University Taiwanese folk artists The Yu Yu Yang Digital Museum National Chaio-Tung University Taiwanese culture The history of Taiwanese buildings I-Sou University Life science The magic of the human body Taipei Medical College Chinese medicine Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion Chinese Medical College Taiwanese culture and natural objects Creatures and cultures of the Lan Yu Island National Chi-Nan University

from 2001. Several national museums, create local research digital libraries. The two libraries, and research organizations are centers are the Science and Technology proposed to participate in the program, Center (STIC) and National Central Library including the Academia Sinica, National (NCL). Central Library, National History Museum, National Museum of Natural Science, and Science and Technology Information so on. Center (STIC) Established in 1974, STIC[3], under the jurisdiction of National Science Council 3 Establishment of domestic research (NSC), aims to enhance scientific and digital libraries technical research and development in the Republic of China (ROC). Over the past 25 Scholars and scientists need to acquire up-to- years, STIC has been assisting scientific and up date information to advance their research. technical research and development by From the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web offering access to a great diversity of domestic (WWW) has offered many opportunities for and international information resources. In scholars and scientists to rapidly obtain and the era of digital library, the STIC has exchange related information on their adjusted its policy to better meet the research. Especially, the proliferation of requirements of the research and education WWW-based reference databases and community. At the present stage, STIC's electronic journals is revolutionizing the way missions regarding the digital library include: scholars and scientists communicate their (1) developing digital libraries with domestic research results. information resources (described in this In this article, we introduce two kinds of section); developments that offer research digital (2) bringing in the most useful foreign libraries to scholars and scientists in Taiwan. academic and research digital libraries The first kind creates digital libraries with (described in the next section); and (3) establishing a national interlibrary loan domestic research content; the second kind system to improve the quality and brings in digital libraries with international efficiency of document delivery service research content. We shall describe them in (described in section 5). this and the next sections respectively. This section focuses on the endeavors of STICNET, STIC's first online database two governmental information centers to system, made its debut in 1988. STICNET 339 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346 was a proprietary online service system and articles of the ROC. The latter is a sketch of offered users the ability to retrieve R&D institutions in Taiwan. bibliographic and directory information from Furthermore, STIC has developed a 13 databases seven STIC-developed and Web-based system called Government six foreign leased. In 1997, STIC replaced Research Bulletin (GRB) that contains all the old STICNET by a new Web-based research reports of government-funded system that leverages the most advanced researches. Regarding the NSCROC DL-technology. Presently, the new electronic journals, it is an electronic journal STICNET comprises data contained in 30+ archive that currently preserves the electronic databases, five of them are international version of six NSC-published academic scientific and technical databases leased from journals. abroad and others are domestic databases, mostly developed by STIC. The domestic National Central Library (NCL) databases in STICNET can be classified into The NCL[4] is the sole national library of the two classes: ROC. The missions of NCL are to assist (1) bibliographic databases; and academic research, sponsor cultural and (2) catalog databases. educational activities and promote the . Bibliographic databases. There are, in professional development of librarianship in total, 12 bibliographic databases. The all of Taiwan's libraries. To fulfill her most important ones are Abstracts of missions, NCL gathers abundant collections, Research Projects of the Republic of including Chinese rare books, ROC China (ROC) (1986-), Abstracts of government publications, contemporary Research Reports of ROC (1970-), Chinese and Taiwanese books and Abstracts of Journal Articles of the periodicals, Sinology studies materials, ROC ROC (1988-), Abstracts of the NSC- doctorate dissertations and master theses, and Awarded Research Papers (1985- so on. 1996/07), Abstracts of the NSC- NCL ushers in the digital millennium with Granted Research Papers Presented its WWW-based ``Remote Electronic Access/ at International Conferences (1991-), Delivery of Document Services'' (READncl). Abstracts of Conference and Seminar Opened in February 1998, READncl offers Papers of the ROC (1991-), and end-users the ability to retrieve information Abstracts of Doctorate Dissertations (index and full-text) about the rich collection and Index of Master Theses in the of NCL via the Internet. Equipped with an ROC (1987-1995/02). e-commence mechanism, READncl allows . Catalog databases. Several union users to read full text directly on screen, or catalogs are compiled into delivered via copy, fax, or e-mail. To STICNET, including union catalogs accommodate interlibrary loan (ILL), an of non-Chinese scientific and online document delivery service is available technical journals available in the for ILL representatives of all Taiwan's ROC, scientific and technical books libraries to request and fetch full text directly available in the ROC, scientific online (Sung, 1999). instruments and equipment of the READncl comprises more than nine ROC, Chinese scientific and systems with over 1.5 million entries, nearly technical periodicals in the ROC, and 5 million pages of text images, and also links scientific and technical periodicals in to over 22,000 articles via the WWW. Its the mainland China, and so on. contents encompass the following types: STICNET has an English version, . books; STICNET-E. Research papers of the ROC . periodicals; . dissertations and theses; (1988-) and R&D institutions in the ROC . government information; constitute the contents of STICNET-E. The . singular documents; former includes articles with English . contemporary art and literature, etc. bibliographic information from three partly bilingual databases built by STIC: conference and keep on increasing daily. papers of the ROC, research reports of the Designated by the Ministry of Education ROC and scientific and technical journal (MOE) as a depository library of the ROC 340 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346 theses and dissertations, NCL has developed faculties and students. In 1995, NCTU an online system for accessing bibliographic executed an experimental project named information of the ROC theses and InfoSpring (Ke and Chang, 1999a; Ke et al., dissertations, which is also a part of 2000) for offering her patrons the service of READncl. Graduate students are obligated to WWW-based electronic resources. Mirror enter the bibliographic information of their sites of several electronic resources were theses and dissertations to the system. From installed locally in NCTU for overcoming the year 2000, NCL has started a new slow connection speed to original sites, mostly program similar to the Networked Digital located in the USA. The mirror sites installed Library of Theses and Dissertations included IDS from CSA, SDOS from (NDLTD)[5]. In this program, graduate Elsevier, Ei Compendex Web from Ei, SCI students are encouraged (not enforced) to and SSCI from ISI, and over 20 databases submit their theses and dissertations from OVID. These mirror sites were shared electronically. among other academic subscribers in Taiwan As well as NCL's digitalized collection, with permission from publishers, under NCL cooperates with professional groups and consideration for resource sharing. academic organizations in creating digitalized InfoSpring's experiences in resource sharing content in specific disciplines. The ``Tang- and mirror site management were later Sung Literary Studies'' is such an example. transferred to CONCERT in 1998. Co-conducted by NCL and Yuan-Chi Several issues were raised when academic University from 1997, this study intends to libraries in Taiwan attempted providing enhance exchange of research results and electronic resources for their patrons, shared network resources. A digital library is including: established to gather full-text T'ang poems (1) expensive subscription fees; and prose (about 35 million words), Sung (2) complicated licensing agreements; and poems and prose (about 31 million words), (3) scarce technical staff for solving network- and the bibliographic data on related research and computer-related problems. published since 1970. Because the above issues could not be solved by any single library, academic libraries in Taiwan started thinking about the possibility 4 Provision of foreign research digital to establish a consortium to tackle them. libraries In September 1998, a library consortium In this section, we focus on a government- with a goal to bring in electronic resources supported library consortium named cost-effectively was established. This CONCERT that makes digital libraries with consortium is named Consortium On Core international research content available to Electronic Resources in Taiwan the research and academic community in (CONCERT) (Ke et al., 1999a)[6]. Taiwan. Before we elaborate on this Attempting to achieve its goal, CONCERT consortium, we will briefly describe an adopts the following strategies: experimental project conducted by the (1) Implement a resource sharing policy by National Chiao-Tung University (NCTU), integrating national resources, including many valuable experiences of which have funding, manpower, hardware and been transferred to CONCERT. For clarity, software, and technical knowledge. all the terms ``WWW-based reference (2) Assist members to improve network databases and electronic journals'', infrastructure, including the provision of ``WWW-based electronic resources'', or just local servers for building mirror sites of a ``electronic resources'' are used few databases, so that members can interchangeably in this section to denote access available electronic resources with digital libraries with international research satisfactory connection speed. content. (3) Enable a collective purchasing mechanism in order to acquire electronic Background resources in a cost-effective manner. National Chiao-Tung University (NCTU) is (4) Negotiate licensing agreements with a forerunner in Taiwanese universities that information providers on behalf of provide WWW-based electronic resources for members. In this manner, the time and 341 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

effort of each individual member spent on beneficial to establish a level playing field for license negotiation and review can be members' research environments, STIC and saved. MOE prefer this strategy if pricing is (5) Establish a long-term and stable affordable and reasonable. mechanism for using foreign databases. (6) Catch and understand the requirements Database access approaches of academic research, evaluate and make Although users can seemingly access the available needed electronic resources needed information services ``any time, any promptly. place'' in the global Internet era, at the present stage it is far from true because of the All colleges, universities, junior colleges, limited Internet bandwidth. To make research institutes, and non-profit effective use of the collections of CONCERT, organizations in Taiwan are eligible members of CONCERT. At present, CONCERT has it is very critical to offer members a speedy (at about 163 members. STIC and MOE are the least acceptable) network connection for funding and administration agencies of using these databases. Taking into CONCERT. Especially, the International consideration the Internet infrastructure in Resources Division of STIC is responsible for Taiwan, CONCERT adopts two kinds of the regular operation of CONCERT. database access approaches: (1) Access through mirror sites installed locally in Core program Taiwan. In general, the Internet speed The core program of CONCERT is to offer from Taiwan to information providers' foreign electronic resources in a cost-effective original sites is not satisfactory. To tackle way. Databases are chosen as ``core'' this problem, with the permission from collections of CONCERT mainly according and cooperation of information providers, to the investigation of Wu (1997) and the use CONCERT establishes mirror sites of statistics from several foreign databases locally in Taiwan for databases of CSA, served by STIC in these years. STIC also Ei, Elsevier, ISI, and OVID, and users proactively recommends electronic resources access the local mirror sites instead of the as the core collections of CONCERT. original sites. In this manner, the Up to May 2000, CONCERT made performance is enhanced significantly. available over 60 reference databases and STIC purchases most of the shared e-journal systems from Academic Press, Bell central servers, storage space, and & Howell, CSA, EBSCO, Ei, Elsevier, Gale, software for building mirror sites. It is Grolier, IEEE, ISI, OCLC, OVID, Springer- also possible for a particular member Verlag and Swets. willing to act as a consortium host to take CONCERT adopts two licensing models charge of the installation and for subscribing to electronic resources: maintenance of databases. In this case, (1) group purchasing; and the consortium host will buy the (2) national-academic licensing. necessary equipment from its own budget (the databases of CSA and Elsevier are For a database subscribed to by the group- examples). Strong technical support is purchasing model, CONCERT leverages very essential for successfully installing union strength to negotiate with information and maintaining mirror sites. NCTU now providers for the best possible price and manages most mirror sites for sharing the rights. Members subscribe to this kind of experiences learned from the InfoSpring electronic resource according to their Project (Ke and Hwang, 1999b). individual needs and pay the subscription fee (2) Access through Internet. This is the mostly by their own local budget (a ordinary way to use databases. Members proportion of the subscription fee is connect to the database servers installed subsidized by MOE in the year 2000). and maintained by information providers. National-academic databases are subscribed to by academic members with the The above two approaches have their pros funds supported by STIC and MOE. All and cons. CONCERT chooses an academic members are allowed to use these appropriate approach for using a specific databases without paying any extra money. As database according to the evaluation of the national-academic licensing model is several factors (as shown in Table III). Please 342 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

Table III Criteria for choosing either the mirror site or Internet approach System (the ILL system) from September 1998. Its goals are to expedite the ILL Comparison Mirror site Internet process, improve the patron service, and Set-up and maintenance cost Expensive Cheap reduce the workload of librarians by Connection speed Good Bad adequately utilizing the computer and Add-on values Many Few network technology. Accompanying this Policy (IPs' and CONCERT's) Depends Depends system, an interlibrary loan service center (the ILL service center) has also been built refer to an earlier article written by the since July 1999 to offer services and authors (Ke et al., 1999a) for detailed assistance to participant libraries. comparisons between the two approaches. System characteristics Briefly, the functionality of the Taiwan 5 Integration of conventional and digital ILL[7] system is very similar to that of the libraries OCLC ILL system. The following elaborates on the characteristics of the Taiwan ILL According to the definition and system. characteristics of a digital library given in the (1) WWW-based working environment and introduction, both electronic and paper centralized database. The system is a materials co-exist in a digital library. The UK WWW-based system. Through the Electronic Libraries (eLib) Programme evens WWW, patrons and librarians can use the term ``hybrid library'' to emphasize perform ILL-related actions on this this reality (Rusbridge, 1998). For managing system, including searching the serial a hybrid library, it is a big issue to provide union catalog, filling out online request seamlessly integrated services that encourage forms, and processing interlibrary loan patrons' resource discovery and information requests. A centralized database is built to use, in a diversity of formats and from a store the serial union catalog and the number of local and remote sources. information about libraries, patrons, and Without doubt, in a hybrid library, ILL transactions. interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery (2) Integrated serial union catalog. The serial services (DDS) would continuously play an union catalog contains about 30,000 important role for assisting patrons to obtain journal titles (foreign, Taiwanese, and the needed information that is not owned by the mainland Chinese journals) owned by 300 library itself. The challenge is how to bring a or more Taiwanese libraries. Patrons can range of technologies and services together for query the union catalog to identify location creating an ILL/DDS service meeting the of serial documents they need and then requirement of patrons and the librarians. issue an online ILL request. As recently as two years ago, few patrons in (3) Patron-initiated material requests. The Taiwan could submit ILL requests system enables patron-initiated material electronically. Most patrons mailed or requests by letting patrons fill out online brought paper request forms to the ILL ILL request forms. For requesting a serial borrowing offices of their libraries, and then document, a patron may search the serial the borrowing offices would mail or fax the union catalog first to find out a certain paper request forms to lenders. Most ILL journal he/she wants to request, and then lenders used fax or the Taiwan Postal Service the journal title and other necessary for photocopies, rather than the newly information will be carried to the ILL emerging Ariel mechanism. For book request form automatically. Patrons may delivery, most libraries used the Taiwan choose at most three lending libraries to Postal Service. In such a circumstance, the process their requests in sequence (i.e. average turnaround time of ILL requests was if a preceding library fails to fulfil a long. Furthermore, no national method was request, the request will be forwarded available to handle the process of billing and automatically to the succeeding library). payment. As to book requests, currently no union The situation has changed. STIC and catalog is built into the system; NCTU started developing the Taiwan nevertheless, patrons can still write a Serial Union Catalog and Interlibrary Loan blank request form. 343 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

In case no domestic libraries own the service center takes charge of the process needed material, a patron can still issue of invoicing and payment. an international ILL request by writing a blank form. The borrowing office of the Current status corresponding library will then determine STIC and NCTU launched this system to send the request to a specific (Taiwan ILL system[7]) in September 1999. international document supplier The eligible libraries for using the system are (commercial or non-commercial). the member libraries of InterLibrary (4) Library-mediated ordering. Librarians are Cooperation Association (ILCA) ± up to now involved closely in processing ILL ILCA has 427 member libraries including requests. For instance, an ILL request academic, research, public, and military should be verified first by borrowing libraries. At present, 304 (70 percent) of librarians before it is sent out to lending ILCA libraries exploit the system for their libraries. A request will go through a daily ILL operation, and 241 (80 percent) of number of transaction states before it is the libraries using the system participate in completed (no matter success or failure), the process of centralized billing and such as waiting for verification, waiting payment. The 30 percent of ILCA libraries for processing, in process, waiting for not joining the system are mostly public and picking up by patrons, request successful, military libraries, and the primary reasons for request rejected, among others, and not joining the system are lack of computer/ either borrowing or lending librarians are network infrastructure or security regulation responsible for switching these states, for connecting to the Internet (for military according to the real processing status of libraries). Conflict with the internal the request. accounting procedure is the major reason why (5) Traceable ILL states and statistics. The a few libraries do not take part in the system keeps track of the states of all ILL centralized billing and payment. requests, which is beneficial for librarians Table IV indicates some statistics and patrons to know the current calculated from November 1999 to March processing status of requests. 2000. Obviously, the performance of using Furthermore, the system generates the system is becoming better and better statistics regularly, including the number during this period. An in-depth comparison of requests, average turnaround time, fill with the performance of the times before the rate, number of requests per journal per ILL system appears is being undertaken. library, etc. Libraries can use these statistics for improving the ILL Future perspectives performance and establishing their The ILL system has been employed by ILCA collection-development policies in the members for only nine months. All participants long run. regard this system as a useful tool to enhance (6) Centralized billing and payment. The their daily ILL operation. In order to meet the model of billing and payment for ILL expectation of Taiwanese libraries, NCTU and transactions can be decentralized or STIC should keep improving system functions centralized. The traditional billing and according to the responses of librarians and payment model is decentralized. In other end-users. Thorough statistics should be words, a library has to bill every library gathered for the purpose of analyzing ILL borrowing materials from, and pay every performance and supporting the establishment library lending materials to, it. In this of collection development policy of decentralized model, librarians have to participating libraries. spend a lot of time on the routine process STIC and NCTU plans to further develop of billing and payment. this system into Taiwan's ILL/DDS portal OCLC's implementation of the ILL fee site. The idea is to integrate all domestic management (IFM) system in 1995 is the ILL/DDS sources into the system, as the first endeavor to build a centralized system has a well-controlled workflow and billing and payment model. The Taiwan centralized billing and payment model. For ILL system contains an ILL ree instance, at present the ILL system lacks a management mechanism similar to book union catalog; nevertheless, NBINET OCLC's IFM system, and the ILL developed by the National Central Library 344 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

Table IV Preliminary ILL performance measurements for the Taiwan ILL system November December January February March 1999 1999 2000 2000 2000 Total ILL requests 6,383 8,460 7,543 6,323 11,658 Completed rate (success and failure) 97.1% 97.4% 96.9% 96.6% 95.8% Fill rate 81.1% 81.7% 84.1% 85.6% 85.0% Average turnaround time (hours) 294 294 304 294 241

(NCL) is renowned as a powerful tool of Museum, and a government-supported, cooperative cataloging and union catalog for inter-institution program named the NSC books. If we integrate NBINET with the ILL Digital Museum Program. The NSC Digital system, NBINET can play the role of a book Museum has paved the way for making a union catalog in the ILL system. Besides, model of inter-organizational cooperation in some organizations in Taiwan have already creating digital museums, and we believe its established bibliographic databases for their experiences will be useful in implementing collections and offered ILL/DDS. However, the National Digital Archive Program which most of these bibliographic databases and will be initiated in the near future. their associated ILL/DDS are separate or just The digital library is a powerful tool for allow users to write online request forms. If obtaining research information. The efforts of we can integrate these bibliographic databases two governmental information centers, the into the ILL system, users and librarians will Science and Technology Center (STIC) and face a unified system that conveniently National Central Library (NCL), to create requests and serves all kinds of materials. local research digital libraries have been Currently, about 30 percent of ILCA described together with a newly established libraries do not use the ILL system for their library consortium ± the Consortium On Core daily ILL operation due to a variety of Electronic Resources in Taiwan reasons. This situation bothers many (CONCERT) which aims to bring in participating libraries, as their librarians have international research digital libraries in a cost to handle some requests in the traditional and effective manner. manner. The ILL service center may act as a Facing an era of hybrid traditional and broker in the future. In other words, all digital libraries, libraries have to assist patrons libraries not using the ILL system can send to get all the needed information, either requests to the Service Center, and then the paper- or electronic-based. Taiwan now has Service Center will dispatch requests to implemented an interlibrary loan system to participating libraries. The ILL system may adopt the improve the ILL performance, and it is international ILL standard (ISO 10160 anticipated that this system will grow into an and10161) for future communication with integrated ILL/DDS portal system, which in other international ILL systems, like OCLC's the long run will allow patrons of Taiwanese ILL system. In this manner, a global ILL/ libraries to obtain all the needed information DDS mechanism can be created for Taiwan conveniently and promptly. libraries, and we can approach the ultimate goal of the hybrid library further. Notes

1 National Palace Museum, http://www.npm.gov.tw Conclusions 2 NSC Digital Museum Program, http://mars.csie. ntu.edu.tw/~dlm This article has given an overview of 3 Science and Technology Information Center, some of the digital library programs http://www.stic.gov.tw currently executed in Taiwan. These 4 National Central Library, http://www.ncl.edu.tw programs are divided into four 5 Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), http://www.ndltd.org/ classifications. Regarding the preservation index.htm of Chinese and Taiwanese culture, we have 6 Consortium on Core Electronic Resources in Taiwan, described an individual organization http://www.stic.gov.tw/fdb endeavor, the National Palace Digital 7 Taiwan ILL System, http://ill.stic.gov.tw 345 The development of digital libraries in Taiwan The Electronic Library Hao-Ren Ke and Ming-Jiu Hwang Volume 18 . Number 5 . 2000 . 336±346

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