Poles apart – poles on-line

Proceedings of the 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy, 17-21 June 2002, Copenhagen

Edited by Kirsten Caning and Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen

Danish Polar Center 2002 Poles apart – poles on-line Proceedings of the 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy, 17-21 June 2002, Copenhagen Edited by Kirsten Caning and Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen Danish Polar Center Publication no. 10. Copenhagen Danish Polar Center, 2002.

© 2002 Danish Polar Center Cover layout Irene Seiten Printed by Special-Trykkeriet Viborg a-s

Front cover: Photo from The Arctic Institute collection of historical photographs showing students from the Teachers College in Godthåb in the 1860’ies. Photo H.J. Rink/© Arctic Institute.

Back cover: The participants of 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy gathered outside the venue on 18 June 2002. Photo Henning Thing/Polarphotos

19th Polar Libraries Colloquy was supported by the IFLA´97 Fund, NordInfo, and Polar Libraries Colloquy.

This publication may be ordered from Danish Polar Center Strandgade 100 H DK-1401 Copenhagen K Denmark

Phone +45 32 88 01 00 Fax +45 32 88 01 01 Email: [email protected] homepage: www.dpc.dk Internetshop: www.polarshop.dk

ISBN 87-90369-56-4

2 Contents

Hanne K. Petersen: Welcome to the 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy 5

Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen: Introduction 7

SESSION 1: Cooperation in the online age Susan Grigg: Digital archives for Alaska 9 Daria O. Carle and Juli Braund-Allen: ARLIS, a model for successful partnerships in the online age 16 Lynn Lay: A collaborative effort to get online: a story of cooperation, frustration and success 22

SESSION 2: Information loss Victoria Tchourikova: The importance of making access to Russian libraries and archives easy 27 Lyle D. Perrigo: Information and data preservation issues 28

SESSION 3: Databases Kathleen Murray, Gale Dutcher, John Iliff and Susan Elliott: Circumpolar Health Information Center: the first year and hopes for the future 35 Arto Vitikka: Developing a map search interface for Arctic Research Institute database using GIS system integrated with SQL relation database 41

SESSION 4: The library users in the online age Satu Ihanamäki and Maija Koponen: The Polytechnic Library and education in a sparsely inhabited province 45 Martha Andrews: Electronically influenced changes in library users’ behavior: a case study at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) 48 Helena Kokko: The library network and the active users in Lapland 54

SESSION 5: Bibliographic resources Nancy C. Liston: The bibliography on Cold Regions Science & Engineering – now and the future 58 Sharon N. Tahirkheli: The evolution of the Cold Regions Bibliography Project through migration and cooperation 62

SESSION 6: Picture collections Silvia Sarti and Donatella Alesi: New trends of the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme Library: projecting a database of Italian Antarctic expeditions pictures 68 Teresa Mullins: Snow and ice data sets at NSIDC: analog versus digital in issues of cataloging, archiving, and access 70 Grete Dalum-Tilds: Historical Greenland online 75

SESSION 7: Arctic resources and collections Fred Inge Presteng and Berit Jakobsen: Searching for polar information in Norway 83 Julia H. Triplehorn: Library services at the Keith B. Mather Library for its international clientele 86 Sylvie Devers: French Polar research and resources 89 Berit Jakobsen: Libraries at high latitudes 92 Marcel Brannemann: Useful links to two German bibliograhic meta databases 96

3 SESSION 8: Planning the future Elisa Jeremiassen: A Greenlandic Inuk librarian’s point of view on the future of Inuit libraries, language and literature 109 Dorthe Søndergaard Jørgensen and Erika Nielsen: Groenlandica and the Ilisimatusarfik Library – past, present and future 99 James H. Anderson: The ideal University of Alaska Science Library 104

SESSION 9: Polar literature David H. Stam and Deirdre Stam: Silent friends – books and reading on polar expeditions 113 Raimund E. Goerler: Alone, a classic of Polar literature: questions and answers 120

SESSION 10: Polar publishing Ron Inouye and D.W.H. Walton: Publishing and the scientific community 128

SESSION 11: International cooperation Niels Einarsson and Philip N. Cronenwett: Bi-national electronic initiatives: the Stefansson experience 131 Shirley Sawtell: From Baffin Island to Cambridge to Baffin Island: making available a special collection held in the SPRI to the Inuit community of Pond Inlet from where it originated 137

SESSION 12: Historic resources preserved for the future Julia Finn: The Indian Affairs Annual Reports (1864-1990): a unique Canadian history source on the web 141 William Mills: Virtual Shackleton at the Scott Polar Research Institute 145 Brian Walmark and Louise Wuorinen: Whispers from the past. Part II 150 Laura Kissel: Have tape, will travel: the Polar oral history program at the Ohio State University 154 Anne Morton: Arctic America: the Hudson’s Bay Company and Knud Rasmussen’s fifth Thule expedition, 1921-1924 160

POSTERS Brian M. Hartmann and Julia H. Triplehorn: Polar climate resources at the Keith B. Mather Library, Geophysical Institute and International Arctic Research Center 166 Chisato Jimura: Information sources from Japanese polar research organizations 166 Silvia Sarti, Donatella Alesi and Mario Castorina: Italian policy for Antarctic data management: The Siria Project 168

19th Polar Libraries Colloquy Business meeting 20 June 2002 169 Programme 172 List of participants 176

4 Welcome to the 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy

Hanne K. Petersen versity of life on Earth, but apparently it serves Danish Polar Center also as a basin for global pollution transported mainly by atmospheric and ocean pathways from A very warm welcome to Copenhagen, to the Dan- sources located far away from the region. Even if ish Polar Centre and to the 19th Polar Libraries Col- much of the Arctic remains in a natural state, its loquy! Welcome to participants from all of the Arc- nature and wildlife is facing various threats tic countries, and to friends of the Arctic nations. It caused by man. is a pleasure to see you here in Copenhagen, and it The Arctic is highly visible in issues regarding is a special pleasure once again to welcome the the climate change. According to scientific results Greenlandic participants to the colloquy. as well as long-term observations by arctic resi- I hope you will enjoy being in this historic part dents, climate change is already taking place with of Copenhagen. You will find the Danish Polar a strong and largely unpredictable effect on the Centre down the street in the middle of an area arctic nature and arctic communities. where the business of the Royal Greenlandic Climate change is expected to bring about the Trade Company was conducted for more than 200 highest temperature increases on Earth in the Arc- years, until 15 years ago. Our building used to be tic. Thawing permafrost poses dangers to commu- a cooper’s workshop where the barrels for whale nities and industries in many parts of the Arctic oil were made. It was built in 1806 whereas the big and could, with increasing emissions of green- neighbouring warehouse is from around 1765. The house gases, accelerate climate change. Climate big warehouse is now being restored and will be- change may also lead to an acceleration of stratos- come a cultural centre for the North Atlantic na- pheric ozone depletion in the region. Changes in tions. In a few years we hope that the former Roy- ocean currents are possible and carry the risk of al Greenland Trade area will be a centre for North severe effects on living conditions in some parts of Atlantic culture. the Arctic.

I think this colloquy is important for many rea- To respond to these challenges the Arctic Council sons, but I would like to focus on two areas. was established. The Arctic Council is an intergov- The Arctic has a growing visibility in the global ernmental forum for representatives from all the context. arctic countries. The arctic indigenous peoples Capacity building and providing access to participate on a permanent basis. knowledge in the arctic regions and about the arc- I have been a delegate from Denmark in the tic regions is of paramount importance to issues Arctic Council. It is obvious to me that capacity regarding the global climate change. building and cooperation among educational in- During the last century Arctic communities and stitutions in the Arctic is very important for the cultures have remained resilient despite huge so- Arctic communities. cial, demographic and technological changes. Arc- The goal of the Polar Libraries Colloquy, to pro- tic populations depend to a certain extent on tra- vide a forum for librarians and others concerned ditional sources of livelihood, but traditional ways with collecting, keeping, and disseminating polar of using the environment and its resources have information, is extremely important for capacity become economically less viable, partly due to building, both on the local, the regional and inter- technological advances. New economic activities national level. Information on all issues should be are urgently needed to support the populations in retrievable for users anywhere. the Arctic. An outcome of the extended cooperation in the The Arctic is a very special component in the di- Arctic Council is the University of the Arctic. This

5 is an international non-governmental organisation This conference will cover some of the current dedicated to higher education in the Circumpolar issues in digital library research and hopefully North. The University of the Arctic is a decentral- identify priorities for the next phase. The rapid ized university offering programs of academic ed- development of networked information delivered ucation and research, contributing to the regional to users directly through their desktop challenges educational capacity, and stimulating cooperation the traditional role of libraries as a physical space among participating institutions. I see this initia- and librarians as information professionals. How tive also as an opportunity to strengthen the coop- can libraries meet the challenge? Will there be an- eration among the Arctic libraries. other role for librarians – adding value to informa- tion in the public domain. Gateway projects are Another theme of the conference refers to what employing librarians to add value – for example may be the biggest challenge to libraries not only by cataloging it on the Internet. in the Arctic but all over the World, the new infor- I think everyone in this room has been faced mation technologies. It is obvious that information with the fact that getting information is not diffi- technology plays a major role in a region where cult but to get the right reliable information out of distances are enormous and the population scat- the enormous amount of existing information, tered, and where access to education cannot be that is the challenge. taken for granted. I wish that you will have a stimulating and in- Libraries all over the Arctic are providing tools teresting meeting. One thing is absolutely clear for in increasing numbers for educational purposes. me. Despite all new information technology it is Archival collections become accessible on-line, still important to meet like this – face to face – in new information databases are opened every day order for the right spirit for future cooperation to and the distance between knowledge and the stu- develop. dent diminishes.

6 Introduction

Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen man knowledge. Many important historical re- Chair of the Organizing Committee sources are still located in old fashioned ways in libraries and archives. The 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy was held in 2 discussions were conducted during the collo- Copenhagen 17-21 June 2002, in Gammel Dok, a quy, one on information loss, and one on polar renovated storehouse on the harbour front. 59 par- publishing issues. ticipants from 15 different countries attended the 3 posters were presented on the subjects of po- conference. lar climate resources, Japanese polar research or- The theme of the conference was Poles apart – ganizations, and Antarctic data management. poles on-line, and 32 papers were presented during All these presentations show us, that even the four days of sessions. though members of PLC are spread out over a From Alaska to Lapland, we heard about co-op- vast geographic area, we seem to be facing the eration projects ranging from digitizing historic same type of problems and to be engaged in very archives, creation of virtual libraries, to libraries similar types of projects for the future. actually merging their collections. Certainly not A mid-week break included a field trip to the always easy tasks, a lot of hard work, patience, Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, where two en- and dedication are required. Concerns about thusiastic employees guided us through the col- loss of information due to retirement as well as lections and told us about the excavation and due to language barriers were raised. Many new preservation of the ships. The remainder of the databases were presented to the audience in a day was spent in Esrum where lunch was served variety of subjects from health issues to Jesuit at the organic café of the Nature Centre, followed diaries. by a walk through the country side and a visit to The issue of library users not physically using the Esrum Abbey. the library facilities raises concern. Electronic in- During the week there were opportunities to formation changes the behaviour of the users and join tours to the Danish Polar Center, the Royal Li- questions the need for reader space. Will smaller brary’s Department of Maps, Prints and Pho- libraries face the threat of closing down, or will tographs, and the National Museum’s Ethno- we see more libraries providing distance services graphic Collection. like in Finland. Quite a number of libraries have started digitiz- Acknowledgements ing picture collections over the last couple of years. We can now find historical as well as recent The success of the colloquy depended on suffi- photos from both the Arctic and the Antarctic on cient funding, a lot of hard work from the organiz- the web. ing committee, and most important of all enthusi- Library resources and the prospects for collec- astic and committed participants. We were lucky tions in Alaska and Greenland were presented. to have all of those. Polar literature was viewed from new perspec- We received gracious funding from the IFLA´97 tives. Concerns about the future of polar publish- fund, NordInfo, and Polar Libraries Colloquy. Our ing were raised. bookseller Arnold Busck provided us with the con- A session on international co-operation showed ference folders. us how important it is to establish contacts across The organizing committee at the Danish Polar borders and what excellent projects these contacts Center consisted of Kirsten Caning, Kirsten Erik- may result in. sen, Henning Thing, and Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen. Even though a lot of information is available Several other staff members contributed in vari- electronically now, we should not forget that it ous fields. only comprises a small portion of the entire hu- We wish to thank Henrik Dupont and the staff

7 members of the Royal Library’s Department of and her assistants for guiding us through the very Maps, Prints and Photographs for taking the time interesting collection of Eskimo artefacts at the to show us pieces from their magnificent collec- National Museum’s Ethnographic Collection. tion. We also would like to thank Anne Bahnson

8 Session 1: Cooperation in the on-line age

Digital archives for Alaska Project Jukebox, as they see themselves. In finan- cial terms, each project depended on an external partner for most direct costs except the sponsoring Susan Grigg Alaska and Polar Regions Department, curator’s time. This made it possible to experiment Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of without jeopardizing traditional curatorial and Alaska Fairbanks service activities. The transformation of the Wenger Eskimo data- Abstract. The University of Alaska Fairbanks has base for the World Wide Web is nearly complete. been using digital methods to improve access to It is now possible to search it from UAF’s library historical and cultural sources for more than a server http://www.wengereskimodb.uaf.edu on decade. Early projects used CD-ROM, but now the a PC loaded with Internet Explorer 5 or 6. It does preferred method is the Internet. The Wenger Es- not display as well on a Mac, and does not open kimo Database is now available over the World beyond the Web interface through other brow- Wide Web. Most of the Project Jukebox multi-me- sers including Netscape, but we expect to solve dia oral history databases are technically ready for these problems by modifying the search software the Web but it remains to be determined whether to do on-the-fly conversion from XML to HTML. the participants in these projects are comfortable This will also enable highlighting of search with universal access to their interviews. Over the terms in the search results. Once the performance past five years, many Alaska repositories includ- of the database is completely satisfactory, it will ing UAF, UA Anchorage, the Alaska State Library, also be available via the University of Geneva and the Tuzzy Consortium Library have digitized http://www.wengereskimodb.unige.ch. unique materials and put them on the Web. The Besides the convenience of Web access, the next stage is to develop the Alaska Virtual Library maps and illustrations have been rescanned for and Digital Archives. That project is expected to better quality, and the new search engine, a prod- begin this fall. uct of InMagic, Inc., is easier to learn and more ac- commodating to different users’ needs and exper- My colleagues in the Alaska and Polar Regions De- tise. In this brief presentation I will call attention partment have long recognized both the potential to some key features so that readers will be in- of digital technology for making primary sources spired to “Enter” on their own. more accessible and the value of collaboration for turning that vision into reality. More than a decade The first step is to accept the Terms of Use. This is ago, rare books curator Marvin Falk and oral histo- to protect both the remaining copyrights in the se- ry curator William Schneider embarked on two im- lected works and the intellectual property of the portant partnerships: the Wenger Eskimo Data- database itself. base, where Marvin accepted an invitation, and the Next is the main search screen (Figure 1). The Project Jukebox series of multi-media oral history Basic Search is a keyword search of the full text of databases, where the initiative was Bill’s. In techni- the entire database. It will accept truncation and cal terms, the defining feature of both projects is search multiple terms that are linked AND/OR – that they began on CD-ROM before the emergence and directions for these features are just below the of the World Wide Web, and moved toward Web search box. The basic search can also be delimited delivery largely through retrospective conversion. by Eskimo/Inuit group, author, and date. Links to In programmatic terms, both projects were de- both the classification of groups, or Eskimo Distri- signed primarily to make historical and cultural bution, and the list of sources, or Bibliography, are materials available to the Alaska Native peoples at the top of the screen. Because the groups are represented in those materials – in the case of the closely associated with geographic areas, as delin- Wenger project, as others saw them; in the case of eated in Ernest Burch’s 1982 mapping, it should

9 Figure 1. Main search screen for the Web edition of the Wenger Eskimo Database, from the University of Alaska Fair- banks in collaboration with Hubert and Beatrice Wenger.

be straightforward to select the one that will bring And finally, I will call your attention to two spe- up the pertinent items. The date is that of the pub- cial features – a gracious acknowledgement of lication, not the voyage of exploration. various libraries and librarians by Beatrice The Advanced Search adds the capability of us- Wenger, and a charming remembrance of Hubert ing pre-selected index terms. I understand why Wenger by his long-time Geneva collaborator more recent documentary projects have usually Xavier Bouvier. The appreciation of UAF is more digitized printed texts instead of transcribing than we deserve, though the kind words about the them, but I am less convinced of the superiority of Scott Polar Research Institute are just the plain indexing by optical character recognition. Word truth. The remembrance of Hubert Wenger echoes wheels make it possible to browse all words ap- how I have heard him remembered at UAF, pearing in the text and all words used in the in- though I arrived too late to be able to work with dex. Keyword searches can be performed in the him myself. captions as well as the texts. The Map List provides citations for all maps in- I hoped this would be the Colloquy at which cluded in the database, listing them first by coun- UAF would also announce a strong Web presence try, then by citation. The adjacent Maps feature of- for the Project Jukebox oral history databases, fers thumbnail and expanded views of the over- which were demonstrated on CD-ROM at Col- sized maps associated with the texts. The new loquy in Cambridge in 1994. Many more Juke- scans made this feasible. box projects have been completed since then, but

10 the only Jukeboxes on the Web are two small the projects. As understanding of the Web be- projects that were created for the Web http: comes more widespread, it is easier to bring peo- //image.elmer.uaf.edu/exhibits.php. Of course ple to the point of being informed. This project you need audio capability on your computer to will help us discover whether they will be more or get the full effect. less willing to give consent, as the cultural impact In contrast to the Wenger database, where the of the Web becomes more apparent. challenge has been that Hubert Wenger’s vision On a lighter note, we already meet people who was far ahead of the technology, the greatest chal- think that Project Jukebox must be an oral history lenge for Jukebox conversion to the Web is ethical. of popular music. Think how much more puz- Beyond the initial partnership with Apple Com- zling it will be when the disks are no longer pre- puter, Inc., there have been three partners in most sent as a visual cue. Jukebox projects – the university, a government agency most often the National Park Service, and UAF’s more recent digital ventures were designed a community that agreed to preserve and present for the Web, but they are much less complex than its heritage this way. The people who agreed to the Wenger and Jukebox projects. share personal and communal memories did so The first was the Butler Brothers’ Gold Rush, on the understanding that the material would be which reproduces and captions a photograph al- available, typically, in three places: their own com- bum made by a prosperous building contractor munity, the visitor centre of a nearby national from Minnesota who visited Nome in 1901 park, and the university library. These agree- http://image.elmer.uaf.edu/~butler/ (Figure 2). ments, many of which preceded widespread pub- The second was a contract from the Library of lic awareness of the Internet, do not necessarily Congress to digitize 200 of our rare printed maps constitute “informed consent” for having the for the massive digital library project on the meet- recordings available to anyone anywhere via the ing of the Russian and American frontiers in the World Wide Web. northern part of the Pacific Rim For this reason, Bill Schneider and research as- http://frontiers.loc.gov/intldl/mtfhtml/mfdig- sociate Karen Brewster have been giving priority col/uafmp.html. Our contribution was small in to an adequate, affordable determination of comparison with those of Russian libraries, but it whether each person who gave an interview is was a great opportunity for us to learn from the willing to have that interview on the Web. One Library of Congress’s national leadership in digiti- method has been to send letters to participants, on zation. We provided scans and catalog records; the the understanding that an interview can be with- technical sophistication of the Web presentation is drawn from the Web version of a project if the the work of the Library of Congress. person does not want it there, but there will al- And for those of you who remember Dirk Tord- ways be non-responders and some uncertainty off’s film presentation in Winnipeg, there is now a about the level of understanding behind the posi- chance to browse some film clips over the Web if tive responses. With new support from the Na- your desktop software will support it http://im- tional Science Foundation, which has been taking age.elmer.uaf.edu/usr/browse_first.php. more interest in public understanding of science in recent years, Jukebox staff members are about Some other Alaska repositories are much farther to begin exploring the issue of Internet access to along than UAF in making collections accessible oral history more thoroughly. Over the next year over the Web. Most notable is “Alaska’s Gold,” a they will mount Jukeboxes on Web servers that collaboration of the Alaska State Library, Archives, are accessible only at certain regional locations so and Museum http://www.library.state.ak.us/gol- that communities can experience better access to drush/HOME.HTM. Eighteen months after its their own projects and those produced in other launch date, it is drawing almost 14,000 page communities without yet having them universally views per month. available. Then they will discuss regional and uni- Because the site was meant principally for versal access with the people who provided inter- teachers and students, the most inviting point of views and the Native entities that co-sponsored entry is through a menu of “Alaska’s Gold

11 Figure 2. Opening screen for the Web version of the travelling exhibit, “The Butler Bro- thers’ Gold Rush: The Nome Album 1900- 1901,” from the University of Alaska Fair- banks with support from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Themes” (Figure 3). For example, under the head- “Alaska’s Gold Lode.” With 3,500 digitized docu- ing “Discovery of Gold” students can ask “Who ments and a variety of keyword and field-specific Strikes It Rich?” which deals with winners and search options, it has much to offer college stu- losers among the European and American dents, historians, and the general public, though it prospectors who came to northwestern Canada may not be recognized as much as it deserves be- and Alaska, and “Is It Fair?” which looks at conse- cause the appeal to children is so much more quences for Natives. Alaska teachers were deeply prominent. involved in design and selection. The underlying database can also be approached directly through Another major Alaska digital project is that the

Figure 3. Opening screen for “Alaska’s Gold,” from the Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums with support from the U.S. National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

12 Figure 4. Opening screen for the Tundra Times Photograph Project, from the Tuzzy Consortium Library in Barrow, Alaska, with support from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Tuzzy Consortium Library in Barrow has been search,” but the design favors broader explo- digitizing and indexing photographs from the ration. This is to select a subject from an alphabeti- files of the statewide Alaska Native newspaper, cal list and then browse the thumbnail images and Tundra Times, which was published biweekly from brief captions in that category. Another click and 1962 to 1997. This project was based on a grant you have a larger image plus a full catalog record. from the Institute for Museum and Library Ser- I particularly like the way the record identifies the vices, the federal agency that has been most sym- person in the subject role parallel to the person in pathetic to digital access projects. The importance the photographer role. And another click yields an of the project extends beyond the appeal of the in- even larger image, adequate to illustrate a school dividual photographs because the Times not only project or identify a figure in the background. Fi- recorded Alaska Native history in the making nally, there is provision for visitors to compile but also helped make that history by enabling their own photo essays, though this is not active Alaska Natives from different cultures and com- yet. munities to exchange information and coordi- Meanwhile, the Archives of the University of nate political action. Tuzzy Library director Alaska Anchorage has put on its Web site the find- David Ongley could not attend this Colloquy ing aids for its historical manuscript collections as because it coincides with the annual meeting of well as half a dozen small photograph exhibits the American Library Association, but he kindly http://www.lib.uaa.alaska.edu/archives/Overvi gave me permission to introduce the project ew.html. Finding aid projects are not as flashy as http://tundratimes.ilisagvik.cc/ (Figure 4). arrays of photographs, but they do seem to be what senior researchers most desire, and UA An- In this brief introduction, I first want to call your chorage deserves great credit for accomplishing so attention to the treatment of rights. Not only a much with its own resources, in contrast to the de- message about copyright and other legal issues, pendence of most other Alaska projects on grants similar to the Wenger database, but also a strong and gifts. presentation of library and patron responsibilities Individually valuable as these offerings are, followed by a declaration of Indigenous Copy- Alaska institutions recognize that separate pro- right, as set forth at the Second International In- jects focused by theme or by document type will digenous Librarians’ Forum in 2001. never meet the broad need for integrated scholar- Second, let me comment on the range of access ly, public, and educational access to historical and methods. A keyword search is offered as a “quick cultural materials no matter how many are under-

13 taken. They are too specialized in content and re- preparing proposals for two federal competitions. quire too many searches with different tools and Not that I expected immediate success, given our terms, and each institution must put too much ef- limited technical know how, but the planning fort into building infrastructure. We need a collab- process increased our knowledge and demonstrat- orative approach to digitization, from selection ed the need for additional technical support. through production and storage to presentation, Meanwhile, the directors of Alaska’s major li- with a flexible infrastructure that will make it pos- braries began spreading the message in Washing- sible to add materials on different topics instead ton D.C. about the need to improve the availabili- of starting a new project for each topic. ty of Alaska information over the Internet. One idea was a virtual library, a portal site along the Plans for digital collaboration in Alaska have pro- lines of SLED, our Statewide Library Electronic ceeded along two tracks. One took off from a visit Doorway, which includes a statewide license for to my own department in 1999 by the new Presi- online databases and many links to public Web dent of the University of Alaska System. When we sites selected for their value to Alaskans brought out the physical and digital treasures that http://sled.alaska.edu. The other idea was the delight other distinguished visitors, his discon- Alaska Digital Archives, or Alaska History Online, certing rejoinder was to ask how our program re- a single site that would provide digital reproduc- lated to others in the state, and offer funding for a tions of Alaska historical and cultural materials in statewide meeting on that topic. repositories throughout the state. My first step was to organize a panel discussion As a result of the library directors’ appeals, fed- for the next annual conference of the Alaska His- eral funds have been earmarked to develop the torical Society so that I could introduce the idea of Alaska Virtual Library and Digital Archives, affec- such a meeting. The audience responded by sug- tionately known as ViLDA. The proposal to claim gesting areas of collaboration for the conference to these funds has just been completed, and we hope consider. The strongest demand was for a single to begin work in the fall. We will use the award to Web site that would bring together information design and build infrastructure, develop protocols about holdings of many institutions without nec- for selecting materials, and create sufficiently ex- essarily providing digital reproductions. That was citing content to attract additional funding for ex- pre-eminently the voice of historical researchers, pansion. perhaps making up for my not having thought to include them on the panel, but it drew support Here are some key features of the proposal: from curators as well, who would like to know This initial collaboration will be among Alaska’s where to find resources for their own communi- three largest libraries – the Alaska State Library, ties in other repositories. UA Anchorage, and UA Fairbanks – but a primary My second step, with additional funding from measure of our success will be that other libraries Wells Fargo Bank Alaska, was to organize the and other kinds of historical and cultural reposito- meeting, called “Documenting Alaska.” Here as at ries will be able, willing, indeed eager to partici- the historical society, there was no interest in coor- pate in later phases. dinating acquisitions. Instead, the group gave pri- We are promising to digitize and catalog only ority to four needs from the many mentioned in 5,000 items in 12 months of production because brainstorming sessions: developing a curatorial we want to give due attention to developing the component for UAF’s graduate programs in rural infrastructure. development, offering workshops in preservation We will develop just two themes because that is techniques for curators who do not have profes- what we think we can do well with this number of sional training, surveying historical film and items. The selections are “Alaska’s Movement to video holdings statewide, and developing a digi- Statehood” and “Alaska Native History and Cul- tal archives for the state. tures.” We will ask university scholars and repre- The other path to digital archives for Alaska sentatives of Native entities to assist with selec- took the goal as given and focused on fund-rais- tion. Because the Tundra Times archive begins in ing. My contribution was to take the lead in 1962, we will be able to pursue the Native theme

14 with emphasis on the period before statehood, most closely at ContentDM and Hyperion. Con- where our collections are strongest. tentDM is appealing because of its roots in the Most of the 5,000 items will be photographs be- University of Washington’s excellent digital cause they have the broadest appeal and because archives site and its new partnership with the there is a much larger body of practice than for OCLC library cooperative for customer service. other media. We will also include samples of Sirsi Hyperion is our obvious choice among the sound recordings, moving images, texts, and products that are associated with integrated li- graphics in order to develop our ability to handle brary systems because two of the three founding them. libraries will be bringing up Sirsi’s Unicorn li- We will be digitizing still images at two levels brary system within the next year and the third is of resolution for the Web, similar to the Wenger using a system whose creator recently merged and Tundra Times projects – a thumbnail image to with Sirsi. As we make the choice in the next two appear on the screen as the first search result and months – so that we will be able to write up a pur- a larger image with more detail for closer exami- chase order as soon as the funds are awarded – we nation and printing for personal use. will be balancing user, input, and maintenance We will also be digitizing at high resolution to factors and hoping that this does not polarize our produce masters. In this we will conform to U.S. public service, technical services, and systems or international standards, or at least “best prac- staff. tice” insofar as that can be determined. I was glad We will be centralizing both the metadata and to learn, less than two weeks ago, that NISO, the the digital objects because that will provide signif- National Information Standards Organization, icant economies for the three founding institutions and ANSI, the American National Standards Insti- and facilitate later participation by smaller institu- tute, have released a draft Standard for Technical tions. Metadata for Digital Still Images The site will be designed to provide valuable http://www.niso.org, but I would be even happi- content to a wide range of users, from middle er to have draft standards for the images them- school students to community leaders to teachers. selves. As a relative newcomer, I am impressed with the We will make a substantial effort to extend the vitality of amateur historical studies in Alaska in life of our digital masters. We have just begun comparison with the dominance of academics in working with the Arctic Region Supercomputing other parts of the United States. If we can meet the Center at UAF on a pilot application of the re- needs of that audience, we will make a significant search on persistence of digital files that has been contribution to students and professors as well. going on for a number of years at the San Diego We would like to highlight selected items for chil- Supercomputer Center, with partners including dren and casual visitors who want to follow a sto- the National Archives and InterPARES, or Interna- ry line, not perform research, but we are not tional Research on Permanent Authentic Records promising to do that under this grant. in Electronic Systems. We have chosen Dublin Core as our metadata This Alaskan approach to digital archives is in standard. At the high end, our goal is to preserve keeping with the trend throughout the United the possibility of joint searching with our library States for statewide collaboration on digitization catalogs. At the low end, we want to assure broad of historical materials. Almost half the states have participation in post-project expansion by select- projects underway, usually with the state library ing protocols that can be learned in a workshop or the principal public university library in the with no presumption of training in library science. lead. Each participating institution will decide whether In terms of content, they usually begin with to limit itself to the seven mandatory fields or aim photographs. Typically, there are browse, key- for the full fifteen fields that were used for the word, and field-specific searches plus the capabili- Tundra Times project. ty of browsing all of the photographs in a broad We will be choosing one of the new digital subject category. archives software packages. So far we have looked In technical terms, the projects vary in their ap-

15 proaches to centralization or decentralization of ARLIS: a model for successful metadata and digital objects. partnerships in the online age In terms of audience, there is typically an effort to make the site useful to students in primary, Daria O. Carle middle, and high schools, in contrast to the schol- Consortium Library, University of Alaska arly orientation of most free-standing university Anchorage projects. Juli Braund-Allen In my mind, our state library’s “Alaska’s Gold” Environment & Natural Resources Institute, ARLIS, project does not quite count as a statewide collab- Consortium Library, University of Alaska oration because all participants have the same Anchorage boss, but it is ahead of most collaborative projects in offering text, graphics, and still images of three- Abstract. When the Alaska Resources Library and dimensional objects as well as photographs. Information Services (ARLIS) opened its doors in Among the best of the other state-level collabora- 1997 after merging eight unique library collec- tions are Connecticut History Online tions of natural and cultural resources materials, it http://www.cthistoryonline.org/ and the Col- was only the first step in what has become a very orado Digitization Project http://coloradodigi- successful partnership. Now, nearly five years later, tal.coalliance.org/. Technical innovation in the ARLIS continues to be a model for success. In 2001, U.S. has occurred at large research universities as it was one of only three libraries in the United well as the Library of Congress and the National States to win a national service award. This pa- Archives, but their projects do not address Alas- per will outline the progress made since ARLIS ka’s need to sustain collaboration in an environ- debuted, discuss several of the problems encoun- ment that is rich in historical and cultural concern tered, and describe some of the partnerships but weak in technical resources. made with other libraries in Alaska and beyond. It My proposal for this presentation was submit- will also feature collection strengths, new special ted late because I wanted to be certain that the collections added, and web and online access to digital archives project we have envisioned for a these collections. number of years – what one of my colleagues calls “the big database in the sky” – would exist by the It has been almost four years since ARLIS was dis- next Colloquy. Only when there was an excellent cussed at the Polar Libraries Colloquy. In 1998, prospect of funding did the time seem right to Barbara Sokolov and Juli Braund-Allen reported outline our intentions and explain how they are how, nearly a year after its doors had officially shaped by Alaska’s institutional environment and opened, the Alaska Resources Library and Infor- by approaches to digitization elsewhere in the mation Services, more commonly known as United States. ARLIS, was an overwhelming success (Braund- Let me conclude by being the first make a pro- Allen and Sokolov 1999). It succeeded in offering posal for Polar Libraries Colloquy in 2004. At that researchers, students, and the public rich collec- meeting, I hope to be able to introduce the just- tions of Alaska-related natural and cultural re- completed first phase of Alaska’s Virtual Library sources materials, and a staff of librarians with and Digital Archives, which by that time will subject expertise to match. ARLIS had made head- surely have a more evocative name than ViLDA. I way in physically and electronically merging its would also be happy to recruit one of my Alaska eight separate collections, and was also making colleagues to consider the cultural ownership is- the transition from a library whose organization sues that the International Indigenous Librarians’ had been worked out on paper to a library that Forum pursued so decisively in 2001. was learning to “walk the talk.” ARLIS was formed in the mid-1990s by a group of federal, state, and joint federal/state agencies, along with the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). In a pioneering effort, librarians and agency directors banded together to preserve and

16 ensure access to unique arctic resource informa- every year that ARLIS has been open. In 2000, tion when their libraries were threatened with ARLIS had 20,000 on-site users and answered downsizing or outright closure. The partners in- 25,000 requests for information. Of these, nearly clude the Alaska Department of Fish and Game half (48 percent) were public users. Agency per- (Habitat Library); the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- sonnel made up 33 percent of ARLIS clientele, vice (FWS Library); the U.S. National Park Service with the remaining 19 percent coming from the (NPS Collection); the U.S. Geological Survey university student and faculty population (Fact (USGS Library); the U.S. Bureau of Land Manage- Sheet 2002). ment (Alaska Resources Library); the U.S. Miner- als Management Service (MMS Library); the The management structure of ARLIS is unique in Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (Oil Spill that the library is not directed under the hand of a Public Information Center); and UAA, including single librarian, but is instead guided by the the Consortium Library and the Environment and hands of many. This structure reflects how the li- Natural Resources Institute (Arctic Environmental brary came into being – a genesis through years of Information and Data Center). As founders, each teamwork and collaboration by two groups: the agency contributes a share to support ARLIS. founding librarians of the Alaska Natural Re- ARLIS collects material that supports the re- sources Library Group (now called the ARLIS search, management, and development of Alaska Management Team), and the agency executives resources. The library collection emphasizes all as- who comprised the Management Advisory Group pects of arctic regions: ecology and habitat, fish (now known as the Founders’ Board). It also re- and wildlife, geology and mining, oil and gas, cli- flects the strongly held conviction that the needs mate and cold weather engineering, water re- and missions of the founding agencies are of ut- sources and hazardous waste, and subsistence most importance in decision-making and daily li- and historic preservation. In addition, materials brary operations, and that this can best be done about scientific methods and related concepts are through equal representation and close working collected to support the research needs of its ties. founding agencies (Alaska Natural Resources Li- One of the legacies carried over from the years brary Group 1997). A large part of ARLIS’ collec- spent in planning ARLIS is that decisions of the tion is so-called “grey” literature, agency docu- Management Team are made by consensus. The ments, and reports of limited distribution relating founding agencies were dissimilar in so many to the library’s areas of emphasis. These reports ways that the goal of combining their libraries often contain valuable information that quickly into a single functioning entity often seemed unat- becomes irretrievable unless it is collected and cat- tainable. Reaching that goal would not have been aloged. As the “mother lode of Alaska information possible if any one point of view had taken prece- resources,” ARLIS’ goal is to collect and dissemi- dence over any other. Consensus was used inten- nate information to ensure that wise development tionally to preserve agency and librarian commit- of resources and meaningful public participation ment; it ensured that every voice was heard and are illuminated by scientific findings (ARLIS Man- that every need would be accommodated in forg- agement Team 2001). ing the new library. ARLIS provides information and research assis- The original roadmap of ARLIS was drawn en- tance to more than 2,300 agency staff working tirely through consensus. This included the throughout the state. It also serves the diverse in- painstaking process of sketching out how agencies formation needs of the business and legal commu- with different missions, different fiscal years, dif- nities, environmental groups and consultants, ferent reporting structures, different procurement Alaska Native corporations, the petroleum indus- methods, and different personnel holidays, poli- try, miners, educators, and students, as well as cies, and procedures could operate a single library other libraries, locally and internationally (ARLIS whose services and collections could meet a host Management Team 1997). Public service statistics, of differing needs while still providing exemplary including numbers for interlibrary loan, circula- service to users. If one person did not agree to tion, and reference, have continued to increase something, all of the participants sharpened their

17 pencils and went back to the drawing board. Al- der their authority as the former Alaska Natural though consensus is one of the most difficult Resources Library Group, the six agency librarians methods to use in decision-making, its value is became the sole members of the Management high in that everyone supports a decision once it Team. While this transition had the unintended is made. consequences of being disruptive and even hurt- While ARLIS is still managed through the twin ful to some staff, the result has streamlined both efforts of consensus building and teamwork, there effort and workflow for ARLIS. have been some changes since the library opened ARLIS struggled with personnel policies and re- in late 1997. There have also been some unantici- porting structures in part due to the complexity of pated problems. Some of what seemed to flow so its internal organization. Personnel were still well on paper did not necessarily work in actual bound by the policies and procedures of their own practice. Moreover, things were compounded by agencies, but now they were also ARLIS employ- one unexpected and unassailable fact: everyone ees as well. Therefore, part of the task ARLIS had put such lengthy and tremendous effort into faced in developing its own internal working planning ARLIS that they were exhausted, and no structure was, first, to thoroughly understand one had thought to build in any recovery time be- how each agency’s system worked; and second, to tween the planning of ARLIS and its execution. So develop one that met ARLIS’ needs within rele- when ARLIS opened, it came as a bit of a shock vant legal confines. Third, it had to promote that the real work – doing all of the multitudes of ARLIS as a single entity rather than a conglomera- things that constitute a library serving its patrons tion of separate ones. Lastly, it had to make this – was just beginning. Even so, ARLIS was, and is, internal structure easily understood by all em- thriving: agencies and patrons are clearly happy, ployees. usage statistics have steadily climbed, and the li- In addressing this last point, the Management brary has been recognized nationally. But in some Team developed FAQs – frequently asked ques- respects, success has not come easily. As in any or- tions – to make its personnel policies and proce- ganization, there have been growing pains. dures clear. “FAQs about Working at ARLIS” pose When ARLIS opened, all of the employees who questions that, at first, and for any other organiza- worked there automatically became members of tion, seem simple to answer. For example, the first the Management Team. They met weekly to pre- question is: “Who do ARLIS employees work pare budgets, draft policy, and decide on issues of for?” The obvious answer is “ARLIS,” and that is concern in the day-to-day operation of the library. correct. But consider the following: about half of Now that the Team’s numbers had doubled in size ARLIS personnel still work for and are paid by to nearly eighteen members, however, consensus their founding agencies. Another portion are hired was not so readily achieved. Some Team members through UAA’s Consortium Library and paid questioned the need for having all ARLIS staff with pass-through funds from the combined con- present at every meeting. Others were not inter- tributions of the founders. These staff are univer- ested in what they considered to be “manage- sity employees and have a university supervisor; ment” concerns and felt their time could be used each also has an on-site supervisor at ARLIS. In more productively on other assigned tasks. addition, the Consortium Library makes varying Furthermore, it soon became apparent that the in-kind personnel contributions of its own library Management Team approach was a cumbersome, staff and faculty. To complicate matters even fur- if not impossible, structure for dealing with per- ther, a few employees are paid through the ARLIS sonnel issues. There was no mechanism to pro- budget but hired by other founding agencies. As a vide for confidentiality, nor was there any process result, a single ARLIS employee may have a su- in place that would allow decisions to be made pervisor of record, an on-site supervisor, as well outside of the Team. How can you discuss a possi- as a team leader or coordinator based on job func- ble personnel problem when the only available tion. Now you can understand why the second management forum includes the entire staff? question in the list of ARLIS FAQs is: “Who tells These kinds of problems led ARLIS to reorga- me what to do?” nize its Management Team in late 2000. Acting un-

18 Similar complications occur in the ARLIS budget ARLIS, adopting policies, and ensuring quality process. The agency partnership was established service to the public and agencies. Many of its to take advantage of existing infrastructures since members – directors or designated representatives one of the founding principles was to stretch lim- of agencies that have a continuing fiscal commit- ited budget dollars. Over time, and through the ment to ARLIS at or above a certain level – were lead of one of its librarians, the Team has come to the same individuals who had participated in the better understand and work within the intricacies library’s planning stages. The Management Team, of the different fiscal cycles and procedures of most often the agency librarians but also occasion- each founding agency. The Team has become es- ally other staff, meets at least twice a year with the pecially familiar with those of UAA because its Board. These meetings are open to the public, and Consortium Library hires nearly half of ARLIS’ have proven essential to interagency cooperation workforce with pass-through funds. The Consor- and ARLIS’ success. tium Library also acts as purchasing agent, sup- ports ARLIS’ computer network and other library By 1997, ARLIS staff thought they had survived functions, and makes UAA-licensed databases major hurdles just to get the doors open, but, as available on ARLIS computers (ARLIS Manage- previously mentioned, they quickly learned their ment Team 2001). work was only beginning. All of the collections Budgets are prepared by the Management Team were now physically housed under one roof, but and presented to the Founders Board for action. they were shelved separately and accessed Adequate funding is an ongoing problem, and so- through at least eight separate catalogs or retrieval lutions are being explored at local, statewide, and systems. Strategies needed to be developed and national levels. The Founders Board and other ad- the time had to be found to merge these collec- vocates of ARLIS are seeking to have the federal tions into one. For the first few years, ARLIS has agencies’ share of ARLIS funding written into the closed for six to eight weeks every summer so that federal budget as a fixed line item allocation. This staff could concentrate on merging and shifting ef- would help to stabilize funds for ARLIS’ operat- forts, while still remaining open one afternoon a ing costs. Additional ways to support the library week and maintaining daily reference telephone are also being investigated by a newly formed service. Friends of ARLIS group. A number of problems surfaced as the merge Another fiscal challenge ARLIS faces is that it unfolded. Multiple journal collections had to be cannot collect fees. Five of ARLIS’ founding agen- inventoried, consolidated, and then shelved into cies are federal, and collectively they have provid- one. Each of the participating libraries had differ- ed much of the library’s collection, computers, ent levels of cataloging, and the varied cataloging and even furniture. Federal agencies, for the most expertise of the librarians from the different agen- part, are not allowed to accept payment for ser- cies meant that duplicate books often had several vice for their property or personnel. As a result, different call number locations. The computer ARLIS cannot collect fines for overdue books, nor containing the cataloging records for one collec- can it develop specialized fee-based services such tion had been boxed up when its agency library as interlibrary loan or document delivery to offer closed, and some period of time passed before it consulting agencies or other for-profit groups. could be located in the storage warehouse. Many ARLIS cannot undertake fee-based projects that other collections were not automated at all. would offset costs and improve its collections and services, although it can participate in grant-fund- The first step in developing an electronic catalog ed ventures. A solution to this problem must oc- was to transfer easily portable records into a web- cur at the federal level. accessible database. This by no means included all of ARLIS’ materials, but it at least provided a The other piece in the organizational structure of working database as a starting point. In 1998, this ARLIS is the Founders Board. Put in place when database was loaded into the web-based local the library opened, the Board is charged with ap- public library catalog. Two years later, both UAA proving budgets, establishing overall direction for and the Anchorage Museum of History and Art

19 began adding their library records. Today, this ers’ borrowing cards. Library patrons, who previ- shared online catalog makes it easy to do research ously had to have three separate cards – one for in the Anchorage area because multiple libraries the public library, one for the university, and one can be searched at the same time. It has height- for ARLIS – can now check out books at any loca- ened awareness of locally available materials, par- tion with a card from any one of these institutions. ticularly for patrons interested in Alaska’s re- This service is extremely popular and convenient, sources who had not known that ARLIS existed. and has increased access to all of south-central In addition to sharing a catalog, all of the partici- Alaska’s publicly available library resources. pating libraries cooperate in collection develop- In 1999, ARLIS established a presence on the In- ment (ARLIS Management Team 2001). ternet (http://www.arlis.org). Its website features Odds and ends of related materials, additional access to the shared online catalog as well as in- agency documents, and other special collections formation about ARLIS, its collections and ser- not yet included in the shared online catalog still vices, reference assistance, and links to other rele- exist on the ARLIS shelves. These are gradually vant sites. The geographical distances between being added to the catalog as staff and time are communities in a state the size of Alaska make available. Additional materials awaiting process- this service especially important because it pro- ing, including several large collections, are held in vides equal research opportunities to agency a separate area. Occasionally, book records with clientele and other library patrons regardless of different call numbers still appear in the online their location. Researchers in founding agencies catalog, and these are being resolved as they arise. also have desktop access to additional services The summer merge project continues, although provided through ARLIS, such as bibliographic this year the library will keep regular hours dur- databases, interlibrary loan, and electronic docu- ing the process. ment delivery. New collections continue to be acquired. In the Coordinating with state and federal geology past three years, professional-level materials on agencies and groups with mining-related con- bears, moose, and mushrooms have been donated cerns, including the Alaska Miners Association to ARLIS from specialists in these fields who have and several minerals exploration companies, used the library and recognize the depth and val- ARLIS is making Alaska minerals information ue of its collection. The Alaska Department of Fish available to the public. This interagency task and Game added specimens to the furs, skulls, force, called Minerals at Risk and funded by the and bird mounts it had initially donated to ARLIS. U.S. Congress, approaches information-seeking These items, searchable in the online catalog, cir- from a miner’s point of view and tries to simplify culate like books to schoolteachers, scout leaders, access by offering electronic files whenever possi- wildlife artists, and agency personnel doing out- ble. The group has published a Guide to Alaska Ge- reach and environmental education (ARLIS Man- ologic and Mineral Information (also available online agement Team 2001). The literature cited in the en- at http://www.dggs.dnr.state.ak.us/Libguide/ vironmental report for the right-of-way renewal of Section1.htm). Plans for a revised edition are un- the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is soon to be derway. With funding support from this program, housed at ARLIS, and a major collection of aerial ARLIS will be able to catalog all of its geology-re- photographs was recently acquired from the Alas- lated collections by the end of this year (ARLIS ka Department of Natural Resources. ARLIS has Management Team 2001). CIRI, an Alaska Native received selected materials from libraries no corporation that owns an extensive minerals ex- longer maintained by a number of Anchorage- ploration collection developed by Anaconda, a based petroleum companies. It also serves as a lo- commercial mining company, is in the process of cation in the community where public review doc- donating many of its maps, files, field notes, and uments are available for interested parties to read. reports to ARLIS. With financial assistance from the Minerals at Risk program, ARLIS will provide Last year, ARLIS, along with UAA and the local online indexing to the entire collection. public library, initiated a cooperative borrowing Through a recent Alaska State Library grant, agreement, in which each library honours the oth- ARLIS librarians have begun selecting web docu-

20 ments about Alaska and arctic-related resources port a government that works better and costs and connecting them to records in both OCLC, the less. ARLIS librarians also received individual global library cooperative, and the local shared commendations from the U.S. Department of Inte- online catalog. As patrons search the library cata- rior for their participation in this project. log for books, the web address appears in the lo- cation field. This allows remote users the opportu- ARLIS was the recipient of the 2001 National nity to download the document from ARLIS’ web- Award for Library Service from the U.S. Institute site. So far, ARLIS has linked more than 1,000 of Museum and Library Services. ARLIS was one records, and at least 2,000 more are to be added in of only three libraries in the country to receive this the coming months. award, one of the most distinguished given to a museum or library nationwide. The award honors Last fall, ARLIS was accepted as a participating “outstanding libraries that make significant and member of the Collaborative Digital Reference exceptional contributions to their communities Service (CDRS). A pilot project involving the Li- through extraordinary and innovative approaches brary of Congress, CDRS’ goal is to provide pro- to public service” (U.S. Institute of Museum and fessional reference service to researchers any time Library Services 2002). and anywhere. This cooperative service allows li- “ARLIS is a national treasure,” according to Pe- braries to assist users by sending out questions ter Wilkness, former director of polar programs that can best be answered by the expert staff and for the National Science Foundation. The library is collections of participating CDRS institutions from valuable, Wilkness points out, because it includes around the world. Both ARLIS and the Alaska rare and unique federal documents, pre-statehood State Library joined CDRS as providers of infor- publications, industry materials side-by-side with mation about Alaska. Early this year, an upgraded government materials, and many different scien- generation of software was implemented. Due to a tific disciplines about Alaska, all in the same new pricing structure, ARLIS is watching and place.” In her testimonial supporting the award, waiting to see how the service evolves before re- Fran Ulmer, Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor, wrote: newing its membership. “ARLIS is an excellent example of city, state, uni- On another front, ARLIS is working as a data versity, and federal government reaching across partner with the Cooperatively Implemented In- agency boundaries to make resources available to formation Management System (CIIMMS). This the widest constituency” (Fact Sheet 2002). project is a web-based tool that helps users find In its fifth year of operation, ARLIS is thriving and share information about Alaska’s ecology and as it provides quality reference and information natural resources by connecting tabular and service to the people of Alaska, and beyond. geospatial documents to the Internet in a geo- ARLIS has succeeded for three primary reasons. graphically oriented format. Begun in 1998, First, it is an important information resource in CIIMMS offers a broad range of user-maintained Alaska – a “book-poor” state, where, despite a ge- sites, and has funded the processing of additional ographic area one-fifth the size of the contiguous ARLIS documents to enhance the information United States, the total number of all of the books base. Ultimately, the system (http://info.dec.state. in all of the libraries in the entire state is less than ak.us/ciimms) will offer primarily digital access. half the number in the library collections of Stan- Its efforts in developing partnerships on many ford University (Braund-Allen 1997). Second, levels and increasing the availability of resource there is a long history of formal and informal co- information important to Alaska have brought na- operation among libraries and librarians in Alas- tional attention to ARLIS. Soon after the library ka, and this pioneering spirit of pooling resources opened, it received the Hammer Award for its facilitated the establishment and operation of participation in former Vice President Gore’s Na- ARLIS. Third, and most important, there has been tional Partnership for Reinventing Government a sustained commitment by all parties – from the Program. The award was one of 1,200 presented to heads of agencies, to the librarians and techni- teams of federal employees and their partners na- cians, to the private and public users – to preserve tion-wide whose innovative efforts help to sup- and provide access to this valuable and unique

21 collection of materials on Alaska’s natural and Proceedings of the 6th Northern Libraries Colloquy (ed. by cultural resources. J. Braund-Allen & C. Innes-Taylor), pp. 37-39. Anchorage, ARLIS faces new challenges and new possibili- Alaska: University of Alaska Anchorage. ties in the very near future. It is slated to relocate Daley, E.E., ed. [1998]. Guide to Alaska geologic and mineral into UAA’s library addition, a state-of-the-art information. Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysi- cal Surveys, Information Circular 44. building scheduled for completion by 2004. This Fact Sheet, Friends of ARLIS, Alaska Resources Library and move will bring two of Alaska’s major research li- Information Services. 2002. Anchorage, Alaska. braries – the Consortium Library and ARLIS – un- U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, National der one roof. Users will certainly benefit from the Award for Library Service. Available http://www.imls. co-location of libraries whose staff and collections gov/grants/library/lib_nals.htm [5 June 2002]. complement each other. How the two libraries, each with its own identity and mission, will inter- act in such close proximity, has not been entirely worked out. This question, and many more, will A collaborative effort to get online: a no doubt be asked as the move takes place. We story of cooperation, frustration and look forward to finding the answers as a whole success new realm of options and partnering opportuni- ties unfold. Lynn Lay Goldthwait Polar Library, Byrd Polar Research Acknowledgements. This paper would not have Center, The Ohio State University been possible without the help and support of the librarians and staff of ARLIS. We would like to ex- Abstract. The Goldthwait Polar Library (GPL) is a tend our grateful thanks and appreciation to all of very small, specialized library with a very small them for their hard work and dedication in mak- budget allocation. One professional librarian man- ing ARLIS a success. In particular, we wish to ac- ages the library with help from one part-time stu- knowledge the information and documentation dent library assistant. The library is not affiliated provided by the ARLIS Management Team, espe- with The Ohio State University Libraries system on cially the assistance of Cathy Vitale (U.S. Bureau campus and for quite some time operated inde- of Land Management) and Carrie Holba (Exxon pendently of those libraries. In 1996 operating in- Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council). dependently was no longer acceptable. The GPL’s holdings are being added to the University Li- braries’ online catalog (OSCAR) and beginning in References July 2001 records became available in the public Alaska Natural Resources Library Group Reinvention Labora- catalog. tory, Interim Report. 1997. Anchorage, Alaska. At this time the project should only be consid- ARLIS Management Team. 2001. [Nomination for the] 2001 ered a limited success for several reasons. This National Award for Library Service, Alaska Resources Li- project is now in its sixth year and given the size brary and Information Services. Anchorage, Alaska. of the collections within the library, outsiders and Braund-Allen, J. & B. Sokolov. 1999. Alaska Resources Library patrons would undoubtedly expect that the retro- and Information Services. In: Electronic Information and spective part of this project would be complete, Publications: Looking to the Electronic Future, Let’s Not but it is not. This project also necessitates changes Forget the Archival Past: Proceedings of the 24th Annual in library policies and procedures, some of which Conference of Aquatic and Marine Sciences Libraries and are easier to implement than others. In order for Information Centers, and the 17th Polar Libraries Colloquy the Goldthwait Polar Library to succeed in getting (ed. by J.W. Markham, A.L. Duda, & M. Andrews), pp. 201- it’s entire holdings online, it needs the help of sev- 206. Fort Pierce, FL: IAMSLIC. eral different entities within the OSU library sys- Braund-Allen, J. 1997. The Alaska Natural Resources Library tem itself. The project has complexities of its own Group: adapt, migrate, or die. In: Creativity, Lighting the and in some instances cooperating with others has Poles: Collaborative Solutions to Common Problems: Pro- proven to be difficult at best despite the good in- ceedings of the 16th Polar Libraries Colloquy and Partial tentions of all the parties involved. When the ret-

22 rospective part of the project is complete we can plexities of its own and in some instances cooper- objectively assess what worked and what didn’t. ating with others has proven to be difficult at best But for right now, we are just pleased that the col- despite the good intentions of all the parties in- laboration is still intact and producing results, al- volved. though at a much slower pace than was originally anticipated. Time constraints and staffing issues remain the biggest obstacles for completing this project. We The Goldthwait Polar Library (GPL) is a very have the necessary expertise available to get all small, specialized library with a very small budget the questions answered, but the project has taken allocation. One professional librarian manages the a back seat to other library demands. The regular library with help from one part-time student li- patrons of the library have not actually noticed brary assistant and as of July 1, 2002 there will whether or not we are officially online. Most of only be the librarian. The library is not a depart- these patrons reside in our building and use the li- ment library within The Ohio State University Li- brary as they always have. The patrons from out- braries system on campus and for quite some time side only see what we have accomplished thus far operated independently. In 1996 operating inde- by viewing the public online catalog, so they pendently was no longer acceptable and a strate- probably do not even realize that we have more gy was developed for adding the GPL’s holdings resources available to them because it is just not to the University Libraries’ online catalog (OS- visible online. It is also curious to note that most CAR). At the 1998 Polar Libraries Colloquy in of the books that are requested from the outside Iceland I outlined the rationale for the project are not polar related. The most requested books and discussed what we hoped to accomplish are from the collection of the late Kaye R. Everett, (Lay 1999). Now in 2002 we are a little further an agronomy professor and member of the Center. along, but by no means finished. In July 2001 Technical books and manuals about remote sens- some of our library’s bibliographic records be- ing and GIS are also popular. came available in the public catalog (OSCAR) at What our regular library patrons will recognize http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/oscar.html. The li- and respond to is our level of service. Services that brary is represented on the campus map of uni- we provide to our users need to remain the same, versity libraries and has its own homepage with with just a few changes. For example, we will con- contact information and hours (http://www.lib. tinue to have document delivery from the differ- ohio-state.edu/Lib_Info/PLR.html). ent libraries on the main campus, but a permanent At this time the project should only be consid- delivery schedule will need to be enforced. With ered a limited success for several reasons. This the Center’s director backing this initiative, there project is now in its sixth year and given the size will be no more last minute requests. of the collections within the library, outsiders and The daily routine has changed as we are in the patrons would undoubtedly expect that the retro- process of converting everything to the OSU Li- spective part of this project would be complete, braries circulation subsystem. This is a slow but it is not. Several tasks remain, including process particularly for the older material that has adding serial titles and serial holding statements been checked out on a manual charge card. The to the online catalog. The unique titles are not as manual charge cards are at best unreliable. Some- yet fully represented in the online catalog and thing that has been theoretically checked out on these are the ones that should be of the most inter- the manual charge card, may or may not be in the est to users. However, all the duplicate titles are original person’s possession as research groups now in OSCAR. This project also necessitates within the center tend to swap books with great changes in library policies and procedures, some regularity. If the material is then charged out to of which are easier to implement than others. that original person in the circulation subsystem, a In order for the Goldthwait Polar Library to permanent record is created with an official due succeed in an online environment, it needs the date. This might potentially cause more problems help and support of several different entities with- than it solves. We also use the circulation subsys- in the OSU library system. The project has com- tem every day to check for library holds and re-

23 quests. Then if there are requests and holds, we innovators of new technology. For example, they need to decide how to get the material to the pa- were leaders in the development of OhioLINK, tron. That usually involves dropping the book off the Ohio consortium of academic libraries. Neces- at the library pick-up location the patron request- sity dictates that they have experts on the staff be- ed or preparing it for campus mail. This can easily cause there are 19 department libraries on campus be incorporated into our new, permanent delivery (including the GPL) in 19 different locations, all schedule. depending on their expertise. There are eleven smaller subject collections within the Main Li- Another stumbling block to our attainment of suc- brary itself. The OSU Libraries receives 105,000 cessful online management of the library is exper- monographs and over 42,000 serials in a year’s tise or lack of expertise. A single librarian can not time. be an expert in all things and hence problems will They have a web librarian who is developing always arise that require more expertise than one and redesigning the library’s homepage with a person can provide, particularly when trying to great deal of user input. He also helps the staff keep up with technological advances in computer from department libraries upgrade their home- and library science. This fact becomes increasingly pages to make them more user friendly and in more evident as time goes on and the project goes compliance with university rules and regulations. on and on. Training is a necessary component of They have experts who know LC schedules and becoming more efficient and knowledgeable. have a command of even the most minute cata- However, while training may at times be consid- loging rules. They have staff dedicated to solving ered relatively cheap or actually has no associated problems about electronic journal access. They dollar cost, it does require a time commitment, not have a rigorous user education program that ad- only by the person being trained but also by the vises both students and faculty alike on all issues trainer. OSU Libraries has training classes on al- pertaining to information access. So I know they most everything imaginable, but you have to be at know the answers to almost any question I might a mutual starting point before some of the classes pose, but knowing specifically who to contact will even make sense. In my case, I also need to about what is sometimes problematic. On a regu- make judgement calls as to what training sessions lar basis, there is one person in the cataloging de- would be beneficial and which ones I should skip. partment of technical services that helps me, one If I make poor decisions, I will be away from the person in library administration and one person library for extended periods of time, which might in a department library that comes to my aid enhance my networking capabilities, but will not whenever I ask. All of these people and others impart any new knowledge of use to our particu- within the library system have been responsive to lar situation. The opportunities for training are my questions, but I sometimes wonder if I am numerous, but they have to be carefully consid- even asking the right questions. For the most part, ered because of the time factor. The same holds when I do email someone and get an answer, in- true for meetings. There are regularly scheduled variably he or she will tell me that the document meetings for circulation supervisors, public ser- with the answer I need, is actually available on the vices staff and collection development officers. Be- web, but I just didn’t know it or where to look. cause I work alone, ideally any and all of these Can you guess what my next point is? All of this meetings are of potential interest to me. So far, I leads to the realization that our library is only a have not attended any meetings, but instead have small part of a much bigger picture. The OSU Li- relied on information passed through the OSU Li- brary administration, like the Byrd Center, is con- braries listserv. It is through the listserv that I re- tinually facing budget restrictions and cuts. They ceive the most pertinent information and that is too have to make do with what they have, in other also how I know that I need to know something words, make do with less. There is a hiring freeze else. and a continual shifting of job responsibilities to OSU Libraries has experts on every phase of make everything work. In the span of less than six technology and they keep pace with all phases of months, our library has been told that our project technology and in some instances are the actual has become the responsibility of two different

24 people in cataloging. While this is an easy adjust- times our focus shifts to accommodate new mem- ment to make, it does illustrate that this project is bers of our Center and trends in research. For ex- not a high priority project for OSU Libraries. ample, when the library was first established in Previously, I submitted 15 unique titles to the the early 70’s there was little written about global cataloging department as a test to see how the pro- change or global warming and now the library ac- ject would fit into their already strained workflow. tively collects almost everything and anything We then came up with a mutually agreed upon about these multidisciplinary topics. Will this re- number – 50 unique title submissions at a time. search trend continue? I can’t say for sure, but I do From our library’s perspective this number is ac- know that today our research staff needs that ma- ceptable, but their turn-around-time is better than terial and therefore we make it available to them. ours. Presumably it is because they have every- Our user pool is relatively small now, but hav- thing in place to do copy cataloging using OCLC ing our unique holdings, even those that haven’t and adding bibliographic/item records to the staff circulated at present, in OCLC and available on version of the online catalog is routine to them. the web in the online catalog can only increase the All the titles are searched in OSCAR and OCLC number of users we may have in the future. So before they are submitted to the cataloging de- from that perspective, this project is worthwhile. partment as unique titles. While this step is time consuming it does help us eliminate at least two Our library began as a small reading room with embarrassing situations. By checking the titles, we books and journals on the shelves for the benefit should be able catch books that are actually of the research staff of our Center, then known as owned by OSU before sending the information to the Institute of Polar Studies. As we acquired cataloging. We would then add the duplicate titles more material and later on received a small bud- ourselves. Verifying titles in OSCAR and OCLC get for acquisitions, we were still small but our also gives us another opportunity to check our call collection became more noteworthy and unique. numbers and correct any mistakes before the book When a person was hired that actually took li- information gets to technical services. Sometimes brary classes and added Library of Congress call we just find typos and sometimes we find call numbers to the books we began to look more rep- numbers that are so obviously incorrect we notice utable and eventually attracted the attention of them immediately. Fixing past mistakes is yet an- university and library administrators. We resisted other time consuming task, but at least when the changing owners as we could never quite reach an information is keyed into the online system, we agreement about control of the library, primarily do not compound the problem. because of budget issues and job descriptions. Having the GPL’s holdings available on the OSU When I wonder why I am also adding titles to the Libraries online catalog and following their circu- online catalog that have modest circulation statis- lation policies is a workable compromise. At the tics or in some cases, have not circulated at all, I last Polar Libraries Colloquy in Winnipeg, Vibeke am reminded of a remark made by a colleague of Jakobsen aptly pointed out that cooperation is im- mine. Her theory is that as participating members perative if we smaller libraries are to survive in an academic institution we are obligated to (Jakobsen 2001). She is right. We cannot “go it keep all sorts of materials, which may or may not alone” as we do not have the necessary resources, be valuable to researchers at this point in time. But expertise or infrastructure to keep up with new how can we accurately predict what someone will technology. We also cannot survive without the want fifty years from now? The answer is we patrons who want to use our material. And they can’t, so we tend to hold on to almost anything won’t know they need what we have, if they don’t that meets the requirement of our mission state- even know it exists, and that we are here. We need ment. I still receive requests for Institute reports to be visible in the online catalog, in OCLC and on that were published in the late 50’s and there the web to have our patrons find us. Obviously, seems to be a resurgence of interest in information we have made the right decision by accepting about the IGY. In the Goldthwait Polar Library’s OSU Libraries’ offer of assistance. When the retro- case, our mission statement is broad and some- spective part of the project is complete and the cir-

25 culation subsystem is completely up and running, References we will be able to objectively assess what worked Jakobsen, V.S. 2001. Co-operation is imperative for small li- and what didn’t. But for right now, we are just braries. In: Gateways: Archives & Libraries Into the Next pleased that the collaboration is still intact and Millenium: Proceedings of the 18th Polar Libraries Colloquy producing results, although at a much slower (ed. by B.E Kelcey), pp. 72-74. Winnipeg, Polar Libraries pace than was originally anticipated. Colloquy. Lay, L. 1999. Cataloging retrospective conversion project at the Goldthwait Polar Library and the Ohio State University Libraries. In: Electronic Information and Publications: Looking to the Electronic Future, Let’s Not Forget the Archival Past: Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) and the 17th Polar Libraries Colloquy (PLC) (ed. by J.W. Markham, A.L. Duda & M. Andrews), pp. 219-224. Fort Pierce, IAMSLIC.

26 Session 2: Information loss

The importance of making access to Integration of education and research. Located in the Russian libraries and archives easy center of Akademgorodok, Novosibirsk State Uni- versity is the home of almost half of the Siberian Victoria Churikova Branch of the Academy of Sciences. Novosoft Company, Institute of Mathematics, More than 40 research institutions exist around Novosibirsk, Russia it. Students are taught by teachers who take an ac- tive part in research and the practical training of I would like to describe the whole situation in the students is carried out in research institutes af- Russia using the example of the Academic City in ter the first three years of basic theoretical train- Novosibirsk. We assume it is similar all over the ing. country except for Moscow. So, the university provides continuous training The Academic City or Akademgorodok was cre- of scientific and educational personnel starting ated in 1957 just after the government decided to with a specialized physics and math school for 15 establish the Siberian Division of the USSR Acade- years old students, then university itself, a post- my of Sciences. graduate course for the candidate’s degree and, fi- The University was opened in 1959. The first nally, a doctorate degree. lectures were delivered in the building of a sec- ondary school and the first dormitories for the Libraries. Of course, all the institutions and the students were just tents in the forest. But the best University have their own libraries. Some of them academics of the country taught them. This tradi- are big and some are smaller. The students of NSU tion is still alive. have access to the most updated scientific achieve- At first, there was only one department of nat- ments, including computer facilities. ural sciences which combined mathematics, The State Public Scientific Library is the largest li- physics, chemistry and geology. Now there are ten brary in Siberia and the Far East and one of the departments, and they include the humanities. leading research institutions of the country in the In forty years NSU has trained around 28,000 fields of librarianship and bibliographies. researchers. Although it is a rather small and young The library stock comprises over 12 million vol- higher educational institution (only around 5,000 umes in a wide range of branches of science. students), Novosibirsk State University is one of There is a unique collection of manuscripts and the most famous and prestigious universities in early printed books. Russia and one of the top three training specialists The Library of the Novosibirsk State University in fundamental research and advanced skills. was based on personal donations. Now it is one of Special features of NSU include an exceptional the biggest in the Academic City. Since 1991 the li- student-to-professor ratio (4 to 1) and close links brary-information processes have been automat- with research institutes of the Siberian Branch of ed. All new books were indexed on card and in the Russian Academy of Sciences. electronic catalogs. The electronic recordings exist NSU has a special system of selecting talented in USMARC format. students. This system, the so-called Olympiad sys- Radical changes in the sphere of information tem, has been operating for 38 years. The universi- technologies made it possible to create principally ty arranges multi-stage competitions among chil- new media for information and document access dren in physics, math, informatics, chemistry and in the library. Since April 2000 the researchers, biology. These Olympiads cover the territory of teachers and students of Novosibirsk State Uni- the whole Russia and only the best among the versity have an opportunity to work with biblio- best are invited to the special physics and math graphic, reference and full-text databases, on the boarding school of NSU where they study for 2 Internet or on CD-ROMs. They may also use the years. catalogs of other libraries of the city, the country

27 and abroad. All students have an Internet access Information and data preservation issues and the Internet catalog works now. However, all the databases are in Russian. It Lyle D. Perrigo means, you can not exchange with foreign col- Alaska Office Director, U.S. Arctic Research leagues. Commission The search of new models of development of the library are connected with the participation in Abstract. Industrial and business organizations, different grant projects, programs, competitions. universities, governmental agencies, scientific and The project “Open electronic library for learning technical organizations, and other groups routine- and research” includes the preparation and unifi- ly lose valuable data and information. On many cation of electronic information materials of differ- occasions, these losses are not known nor are their ent nature, unification of their description and ac- implications understood when they occur. In other cess from Internet. The basis of the information instances, losses occur because technological ad- system “Alise” is information stock on the Oracle vances make access to older data and information Application Server. difficult, if not impossible. Some types of data and We should emphasize that all the catalogs in the information are treated casually with little University library and all the institutions’ libraries thought as to what will be done with them after are in Russian. In order to use them international- their intended purposes. The lack of widespread ly we should translate all the materials into Eng- efforts to acknowledge and avoid data and infor- lish. It is a great job. How can it be done? mation losses compound the problem. Losses im- pede scientific and technical processes but also Novosoft possibilities. Who will do it? I can propose have long-term economic implications. the Novosoft company. It is an IT-company, which Librarians try to cope with classical issues related exists for more than 10 years and works success- to acquiring, storing, managing and providing ac- fully on the international market. It is very impor- cess to conventional materials but often do not tant that it is registered both in U.S. and Russia. It have sufficient resources to be as effective as has already fulfilled many successful projects with needed. Like their scientific and technical col- foreign colleagues. We propose that you order any leagues, views vary widely among librarians on kind of information from Russia and especially what, if anything, needs to be done to improve from the Siberian Academic centres and we can data and information preservation. These dif- process, translate and send the materials to you in ferent perspectives often depend upon experience any convenient format. and the breadth of their contacts with other disci- For example, if you want to get the catalog in- plines. formation from the Geophysical Institute, we will This paper is based on observations, interviews, make you a list of those institutes in Russia, the contacts with librarians, and reviews of selected list of their libraries, their catalogs in English and parts of the literature. Comments are offered on the lists of publications in the field you order. We ways to create more interaction between scien- may create any other possibility if you like. tists, engineers, and librarians. You are welcome to visit our web site at http://www.novosoft-us.com. Introduction. An examination of the literature con- cerned with data and information1 reveals a plethora of issues and problems. These range from those concerned with having sufficient funds to file valuable collections of northern oil and gas system collections given to a library to those con- cerned with long-term preservation of digital ma- terials to technological obsolescence to lack of recognition of the value of certain types of person- al information by scientists and engineers. Little emphasis is found on creating a broader aware-

28 ness of these problems and finding new ways to copies. Most of the attention at that time was enlist support in overcoming these difficulties. placed on getting religious materials and the clas- This paper identifies certain ways that might be sics into print for various readers. Heretofore, in- used to better meet and solve these problems. formation was in the form of handwritten manu- Information on what the author believes are scripts or carried in the minds of memory special- major issues and how they may be solved are pro- ists. Little of what was carried by the memory vided in two sections. The first provides findings specialists concerning historical events, discover- and observations and second, a discussion of the ies, and governmental issues was captured by major issues with the identification of potential those using Gutenberg’s invention initially. One solutions. Following these sections are a summary, estimate places this loss of information as being conclusions, and recommendations, acknowledge- 95% of what had been available to people in earli- ments, and references. er times. Data and information loss is not a new event. We need to revisit loss issues on an on-go- Findings and observations. The author used conven- ing basis so that librarians and the members of tional sources for the material contained in this various business, intellectual, scientific technical section. Included are recent testimonies before communities are aware and will help take steps to governmental agencies, discussions with librari- minimize or avoid such losses. ans, presentations and comments at technical con- Library and Repository Issues. The prime ferences, and comments by a number of engineers method currently for ensuring long-term accessi- and scientists. The gist of what was learned from bility is to be sure that there is a paper copy of the these sources is summarized below to show the data and information and that it is distributed to breath, complexities, and issues involved with this other committed libraries which have similar in- problem. As often occurs when treating complex terests. issues, there are some overlaps but these involve Tileston’s testimony covered other issues also. different facets and perspectives. Another problem before many librarians today is As a point of departure, this study was stimu- the need for more funds to handle collections do- lated by testimony given by Nancy Tileston before nated by agencies, industry, and individuals. Un- the U.S. Arctic Research Commission in 2001 (Tile- fortunately, most donations come without funds stone 2001). She commented that the computer to catalog and process them. Currently over 95% age has coopted many words and phrases associ- of the operating costs at Alaska Resources Library ated with the organization, retrieval, and preser- and Information Services (ARLIS), Anchorage, AK vation of information. Some of the more basic are spent in handling materials. She addressed the principles were being shoved aside as being bor- need for funding to be included in agency operat- ing or old-fashioned. Such was the case with the ing budgets to cover data and information preser- phraseology “information infrastructure.” There is vation and access issues. Money should be sought nothing more basic to the foundation of knowl- to cover such expenses when project budgets are edge than a library, yet, when many now think of developed by agencies and other groups that de- this phraseology they believe this is built solely pend upon the services that ARLIS and similar upon cables, connections, and speed. Tileston ac- groups provide. knowledged that this approach to information S. Campbellsaid the biggest information loss is- was important to the librarian but it was simply sue currently facing librarians in Alberta results another format with its own characteristics and when governmental publications that are shown inherent challenges. She appealed for a broader on web sites are discarded after a few months. No examination of the issues and implications of this efforts are made to save them because the agencies all too common, current approach. see no economic benefit in doing so. Another area of concern is the loss of data and information pos- A historical perspective. In 1985 Boorstin described sessed by operating companies when they do not the impact of the printing press upon publications have effective records management systems. Also (Boorstin 1985). This change meant that reading a major contributor to such losses are from merg- materials were prepared rapidly and in many ers of companies. Mergers often lead to changes in

29 the records management personnel and tech- from continuing usage of current techniques and niques; these increase losses. These losses have an the lack of attention to obsolescence and aging. impact on libraries because companies frequently J. Varney (1999) noted that data and information give such data and information to them when it is recording formats have grown exponentially in re- no longer of economic or operational benefit. cent years. Without consistent and reliable access These materials can be valuable to libraries be- to what is stored in these various formats, the sum cause they provide background material on re- of society’s knowledge cannot continue to ad- sources, the engineering techniques employed, vance. To avoid losses, preservation tactics have to and details about when certain events occurred. be developed that are as reliable as the traditional Another concern of librarians in Alberta, ac- method used by librarians of making printed ma- cording to Campbell, are the policies of certain terials. Also, she noted that electronic formats are companies such as Elsevier which now only offers fragile so special steps must be taken sooner journals electronically. Whether access is perpetu- rather than later to avoid losses. al or for a given time is based on a contract. A sub- The advantages of using digital technology are stantially higher price will provide perpetual ac- tempered by the overriding question of how it cess; no paper copies are generate and sold by this will be available and accessible in the future. An- organization. The electronic sale of books by some other complicating factor comes from the replace- companies, especially the smaller ones, can result ment of new devices and software on a three to in losses if those companies go out of business. five year cycle. Even under the best storage condi- One of the big issues in recent years for some tions, digital media are fragile and have a limited U.S. government agencies is rescuing data and in- shelf life. Not doing anything actually contributes formation in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) Levi- to the loss of data and information. In another tus 2002). The four data centers of the National point Varney said that the costs and technical, le- Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) are in- gal, and organizational complexities of moving volved in these efforts so access to measurements digital information into the future raise the great- made across Russia over the years will be avail- est fear about the life of information for future able to U.S. and other scientists. These measure- use. Further, the owners or custodians who can no ments are needed for realistic global analyses of longer meet these expenses and difficulties will climatic conditions and a better understanding of deliberately or through failure to act, destroy their oceanographic conditions. There are no other stored objects without regard for future use. known sources for such data. The rescue efforts The results of studies by Van Bogart (1996) of are complex and must be launched under the aus- storage variables on the life expectancy of digital pices of intergovernmental organizations such as materials should alert users to some serious prob- the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commis- lems. Temperature and humidity are key vari- sion, the World Meteorological Organization, in- ables. Serious effects on high quality magnetic ternational projects, and bilateral agreements. tapes from storage at 68° F (20° C) with a relative These take substantial amounts of time and funds. humidity of 40% can be expected in 10-20 years. If These are complex exchanges. They may involve stored at 50° F (10° C) and a relative humidity of transcribing data in manuscript form or from 25%, their life ranged from 30 to 100 years. Effects transposing electronic media which are degrad- of these same two conditions result in life ex- ing. Acquiring such data is generally a labor-in- pectancies for CD-ROMs of 10 to 50 years and 30 tensive task and often requires the expertise of the to 200 years. Buffered, permanent paper under the scientists who gathered the original data. latter conditions should last for 500 years.

Impacts of obsolescence and aging. The emphasis in Awareness. Contacts revealed that the amount of this subsection is on the impact of different preser- awareness concerning limitations of magnetic and vation conditions for storage of magnetic disks electronic files varied widely. Two examples are and tapes as well as CDs containing data and in- given to show the extremes of this issue. One of formation. The impacts on retrieval and preserva- the speakers at the American Society of Civil Engi- tion are briefly discussed to show what can result neers’ Cold Regions Engineering Conference in

30 Anchorage, Alaska, in the period May 20-22, 2002, operational lives of their various systems. This in- was pleased with the river flooding and water terest could be a positive indication of more atten- flow data he had recorded. These had been saved tion being directed to data and information loss is- electronically and would be available for his and sues. others to use in the future. The author posed a In response to a question about his experience question about how long the speaker expected with data and information losses, Winston Revie, these data to be available. The speaker made a CANMET, related what occurred in an Ottawa nebulous response but he was aghast when it was foundry. An employee who had worked there cre- suggested that he and his successors may be limit- ated a database of problems concerned with its ed to a few years only, unless special precautions operation. After 20 years he decided to return to were taken. New Zealand. He retired and did so but not be- W. Sarvis (2001) said that the Anacortes Muse- fore alerting the foundry staff that he had com- um follows a rigorous policy of transcribing oral piled a database and it was on the hard drive of history tapes soon after their recording. This is his computer. About a year later he returned to done to avoid loss of such information on the Ottawa to visit with friends. While in the Ottawa magnetic tapes because they start to deteriorate in Area he inquired of the foundry about the use of a few years. Anacortes, WA, is a small town of the database he had created. He was told that the about 12,000. The awareness of the museum oral foundry company had replaced all of their com- history curator of long-term loss problems sug- puters some months earlier. His database was lost. gests that some organizations are doing a com- He was hired as a consultant to help the foundry mendable job of keeping their members up-dated reconstruct and reconnect with its past experi- on such issues and encouraging the only known ences. method currently of preserving valuable informa- H. Webster believes that a major cause of data tion on magnetic tapes acquired from interviews and information losses in industrial organizations of local residents. The reasons for Sarvis’ aware- today are the result of frequent job changes by ness and approach should be determined so that younger staff members.(12) These job changes often something similar could be employed by others. lead to the loss of valuable data and information because no steps are taken to acquire personal in- Data and Information Losses. Dave Webster (2002) of formation and to have electronic and printed Colt Engineering presented a paper titled sources clearly identified before the departure of “Pipeline Design and Installation and its Benefits these personnel. to Pipeline Integrity.” He said a recent pipeline C. Smith, a computer modeler, has encountered surveyed by Colt Engineering had been in place difficulties in finding data from studies sponsored for about 40 years. The early pipe-to-soil measure- by or otherwise involving her employer a decade ment data could no longer be found so comparing or more in the past. What was apparently useful current pipeline performance with times past was data generated on these projects was not archived. not possible. He said that industry and the corro- Such data are needed in the preparation of geo- sion community needs to establish and maintain graphic information systems (GIS) relating to en- databases. vironmental changes. Contacting the scientists in- G. Desjardins of Calgary leads a company volved in those projects has not been overly suc- which provides analyses of pipeline inspection cessful. Many retired some years ago and no and corrosion measurement data for oil and gases longer recall where the data and information was industries in the province. In a discussion with placed. him the author learned that their current focus is Smith also commented about the expenses in- on generating responses quickly. Desjardins ac- volved with archiving data. In the agency where knowledged that the data used for these analyses she works it takes as much as 10% of the project would likely not be available for significant peri- funds to archive data. This may have been a con- ods of time. However, he was keenly interested in tributing factor in not archiving such material in providing an access service so that such data times past. could be used for the oil and gas industries for the

31 Avoidance and manipulation. Contact with an engi- Discussion. This section will be broadly focused neer and a long-time acquaintance in Alaska re- and treat issues accordingly. The lack of attention vealed some troublesome comments about what in many groups and disciplines on data and infor- can occur when controversial data and informa- mation preservation and loss is disconcerting. It tion are generated for a state agency. The project could well lead to the modern equivalent of the he mentioned was to identify access corridors Gutenberg effect where very large amounts of across federal lands in Alaska. Because of the na- valuable data and information were lost. Further, ture of his input, he will not be identified nor there is no broad approach currently being used shown as a formal reference. This individual con- widely in the U.S. to inform the scientific and ducted a study to identify routes throughout Alas- technical communities as well as other groups ka to about 8,000,000 acres of Statehood Entitle- about this problem. Librarians play a key role in ment Act lands. The new corridors were to con- addressing this issue but so should computer spe- nect with and expand tidewater, roadway or rail- cialists and web masters. It is a perplexing ques- road systems currently in existence with known tion as to why more of the latter are not involved mineral, oil, timber, and other resource areas. or were not readily identified as being so commit- A 26-month study identified about 100 corri- ted to the avoidance of data and information loss- dors and spur routes. The study results and files es. of data and information were forwarded to the Perhaps, data storage, even in non-electronic agency sponsoring the work. The study results forms, has been considered an archival issue were not formally noted and released for publica- rather than one addressed by librarians. With the tion or the public even though $300,000 of public exponential growth of electronic files of one type funds were spent for this effort. Lost or inaccessi- or another, this now affects all groups. Some com- ble data and information such as described here mon ground and approaches are needed to ensure also impacts the librarian. They spend significant that valuable records of use to librarians and oth- amounts of time and funds trying to find some- ers are preserved. thing that is inaccessible. One approach to this problem is to increase The results were to have been used to set aside communications between those concerned with access lands for those corridors. In one instance information loss issues and other sectors of mod- land for selected Southeastern Alaska corridors ern society. There are doubtlessly a large number was subsequently removed from any roadway de- of methods for achieving such a goal. Some ap- velopment by the Federal Government even proaches include working with the media, briefin- though the Statehood Entitlement Act provides gs of legislative members of government, discus- for such selections. Of the approximate 100 corri- sions with agency leaders about the nature and dors or so identified, only 12 have been trans- impact of these problems, presentations to various ferred to the State of Alaska. A federal agency has organizations and disciplinary groups, and identi- done little or nothing on another 29 priority corri- fying individuals in other sectors who could act as dors identified to them in 1993. A few private or- “carriers of the message.” Perhaps most helpful in ganizations are selecting some of these corridors the near term would be for PLC to make a sus- and trying to make arrangements to block or tained effort to get other groups of librarians to charge fees for access. Two copies of the report address these problems collectively. Individuals and files were sent to the state agency which for- who are not librarians but aware of the issue warded one to an Anchorage office and a related should be working with their professional col- one in Juneau. Dissimilation and publication of leagues to create a broader awareness. The panel the results of the study have been limited to a few discussion at PLC 1998 concerning collaborative copies being sent to the Alaska Miners Associa- efforts between scientific/technical societies and tion. A wider distribution would have avoided or librarians is an example of one method of involv- made difficult some of the blockages and similar ing people of diverse backgrounds in the discus- events that have occurred recently. sion of loss issues (Perrigo et al. 1998). Another approach would be to make contact with the manufacturers of computer information

32 transmittal systems. Such discussions are general- possible methods for encouraging cooperative en- ly more fruitful, if some comments were made deavors between librarians and other disciplines during such meetings about the economic benefits to combat loss and promote the development of of the development of better preservation materi- new preservation methods as well as the system- als and systems that will readily allow access over atic application of current procedures to avoid time. Some aspects of this suggestion may be those difficulties. overly idealistic but all such developers and man- ufacturers are looking for ideas that may be ad- Acknowledgements. The author gratefully acknow- vantageous to them in a competitive sense. ledges the comments and suggestions offered by The problems of personal information loss are librarians and many others about information and long-standing. They have been described previ- data losses issues. Nancy Tileston and Sandy ously at PLC. The issues related to personal infor- Campbell, librarians, commented on perplexing mation loss problems also have been discussed at problems and the need for some new approaches NACE Northern Area Western Conferences since to loss problems. The former also kindly reviewed 1995 (Perrigo 1995, 2001). The first of these presen- the manuscript of this paper to help keep it fo- tations led to a panel discussion of this issue at the cused on subjects of interest to those who would PLC 1996 (Perrigo et al. 1996). Another step in the be attending the Polar Libraries Colloquy in process of making others aware that NACE mem- Copenhagen. Campbell was a member of a panel bers and corrosion engineers are concerned about at PLC 1988 on cooperative endeavours between information losses was taken in 1999. A paper was librarians and scientific and technical societies. given at the National Oral History Association This approach continues to be another means for Conference to alert them that others beside oral broadening the understanding about preservation historians were interested in avoiding the loss of issues. The comments offered by engineers and valuable information (Perrigo 1999). Making fur- scientists were useful in assessing current think- ther contacts with the latter organization would ing about loss and preservation issues. These can likely be of benefit to both organizations. It could be used as points of departure for all of us in also be a step toward building a broader basis of broadening attention to these problems. concern for these issues across disciplines and in- terest groups. References A longer term approach would be to encourage more universities and colleges to include a com- Arctic Data and Information: Issues and Goals. 1989. Find- pulsory course in their curricula to make students ings of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Issue No. 3. familiar with libraries, how they operate, and the June major issues facing libraries and data/information Boorstin, D.J. The Discoverers, Vintage Books, A Division of preservation organizations. Having such a course Random House, New York. 1985. would be a venue for alerting students about the Levitus, S. 2002. NOAA National Data Centers: data rescue in information and data loss issues at the beginning the Former Soviet Union, Testimony before the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Arlington, Virginia. January 24. rather than later in their careers. Whether some Perrigo, D.B. and L.D. Perrigo. 1995. An Information Prob- universities now require such a course to qualify lem with Corrosion Cost, Efficiency and Safety Implica- for a bachelor’s degree is not known to the author tions. Proceedings of the NACE International Canadian Re- but formerly some universities in the United State gion Western Conference, Corrosion an Economic Oppor- did so. tunity, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. February 19-22, pp 91-107. Summary and conclusions. Comments were offered Perrigo, L.D. 1999. The use of oral history techniques to ac- about the diverse issues involved in information quire information for corrosion control design purposes. and data losses. Included were examples of what National Oral History Association Annual Conference, An- can occur if preservation steps were not taken in a chorage, AK, October. number of different disciplines. Creating a broad- Perrigo, L.D. 2001. The use of oral history techniques to ac- er awareness of these loss issues and preventative quire cold climate corrosion control information. Proceed- steps is necessary. Suggestions were made about ings of the NACE Northern Area Western Conference,

33 Shining a Northern Light on Corrosion, Anchorage, Alas- Varney, Janice. 1999. Preservation of digital data. University ka. February of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. March 15. Perrigo, L.D., M. Andrews, S. Campbell, and W.J. Mills. 1998. Webster, R.D. 2002. Pipeline design and construction data Panel discussion of collaboration between scientific soci- and its integration with pipeline integrity, Proceedings of eties and libraries: benefits and arrangements. Adden- the NACE Northern Area Western Conference, Edmonton, dum, Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the In- Alberta. February 19. ternational Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Centers (IAMSLIC) and the 17th Polar Libraries Colloquy (PLC), Reykjavik, Iceland. September 20-25. Note Perrigo, L.D., N. Flanders, D.B. Perrigo, M. Treadwell. 1996. 1. The author uses a terminology that makes a distinction Panel discussion of significant problems caused by the loss between data and information. The former embodies sets of personal information from retirements. Proceedings of of numbers or specific items which encode the values of the 16th Polar Libraries Colloquy, Anchorage, AK. June 17 – some variable measured by a device or acquired under 22. certain conditions or unrefined records and like items. In- Sarvis, W. 2001. A report from the curator, Fidalgo Traveler, formation embodies statements that represent answers Quarterly Publication of the Anacortes Museum Founda- to pre-formulated questions or that described the out- tion and Historical Society, Anacortes, WA. Vol 2, Issue 3 come of expected alternatives based on data. It may also September. describe historical collections and like materials. This ter- Tileston, N. 2001. Information Infrastructure Issues: Byting minology is an adaptation of a definition used by the U.S. the Books, or the Role of Paper in the Digital Age. Testi- Arctic Research Commission in a broader way for the mony before the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, An- physical sciences. chorage, Alaska, September 11, 2001. Van Bogart, J.V.C. 1996. Long-term preservation of digital materials. National Preservation Office Conference on Preservation and Preservation and Digitisation: Principles, Practices, and Policy, University of York, England. Septem- ber 3-5.

34 Session 3: Databases

Circumpolar Health Information Center: tion, the Arctic Athabaskan Council, and the the first year and hopes for the future Gwich’in Council International. The main activities of the Council focus on the protection of the environment and sustainable de- Kathleen Murray velopment as a means of improving the economic, University of Alaska Anchorage, Consortium Library social and cultural well being of the Arctic. The Council meets at the ministerial level every other Gale Dutcher year. The Chair and Secretariat of the Council ro- Head, Office of Outreach and Special Populations, tates every two years among the eight Arctic na- Division of Specialized Information Services, tions, beginning with Canada from 1996-1998, the National Library of Medicine United States from 1998-2000 and Finland from John Iliff 2000-2002. University of Alaska Anchorage, Threats from environmental contaminants, par- Consortium Library ticularly persistent organic pollutants and metals, Susan Elliott and their potential bioaccumulation in the food University of Alaska Anchorage, supply play an important role in the dietary Consortium Library health of countries where hunting and fishing are widespread. Cancer, liver disease and alcoholism Abstract. The Circumpolar Health Information are among the prevalent chronic conditions afflict- Center (CHIC) is envisioned as the US node of the ing many inhabitants of the Arctic. Emerging in- Arctic Health Disparities Research Dissemination fectious diseases are an ever-present danger, and Network. The goal of the broader network is to the thinning of the ozone layer over the Northern serve as a central point of recognizance for human Hemisphere puts people’s skin and eyes at in- health efforts, including research, surveillance, ed- creased risk. ucation and training, communication and out- The United States has been an arctic nation reach activities. The CHIC is still in its infancy since the purchase of Alaska over a century ago. and this paper will discuss Year One objectives: National security, economic development and sci- maintaining and expanding the web site, forming entific research are important U.S. interests in the the Users Council, and creating multiple web ac- Arctic. U.S. Arctic policy emphasizes environmen- cessible databases. One desired outcome of this tal protection, sustainable development, human presentation/paper is that international data will health and the role of indigenous people. Also im- become part of the Center’s databases and web portant is the inclusion of indigenous knowledge site. in the activities of the Arctic Council’s five Work- ing Groups. Background. The Arctic Council was established on As the United States assumed chairmanship of September 19th, 1996 in Ottawa, Canada, to pro- the Arctic Council during the years 1998 through vide a forum to address the common concerns 2000, government representatives wished to leave and challenges faced by the Arctic nations and the a lasting legacy. Health in the Arctic became the peoples of the Arctic. The members of the Council area of choice. The National Institutes of Health are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, (NIH) became involved and requested the in- the Russian Federation, Sweden, the United States volvement of the Division of Specialized Informa- of America, and a number of Permanent Partici- tion Services at the National Library of Medicine pants: the Association of Indigenous Minorities of since one of the major issues affecting the Arctic is the North, Siberia and the Far East, of the Russian the bioaccumulation of environmental toxins and Federation, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the pollutants. The work at NIH has been led by Dr. Saami Council, the Aleutian International Associa- Phil Chen, Senior Advisor, Office of the Director,

35 NIH. It was through his efforts that in fall 2000 • Searching for data and research by census track NLM committed to develop an Arctic Health web and other political divisions site to help organize and disseminate pertinent • Inclusion of grey literature health information affecting the Arctic. The web • Linking to existing resources and those under site is envisioned as the U.S. node of the Arctic development by state, Native Alaskan groups, Health Disparities Research Dissemination Net- and others, rather than duplicating this work. work. The goal of the broader network is to serve This requires the development of partnerships as a central point of recognizance for human as well as the use of tailored searching tools to health efforts, including research, surveillance, ed- facilitate searching across multiple sites ucation and training, communication and out- • The archival nature of the resources must be de- reach activities. termined and plans created, where necessary.

Web site. The Arctic Health Website is now avail- First year objectives. The first year objectives are the able to the public (http://arctichealth.nlm.nih. web site, creating the Users Council, and develop- gov.) The Health Sciences Information Service of ing various databases. the Consortium Library at the University of Alas- ka Anchorage, has assumed responsibility for Maintaining and expanding the web site. Before managing this resource. We will continue to ex- adding or modifying any existing pages, we plan pand and update the web site to include more to do usability testing to observe how a person en- health topics affecting the Arctic region, as well as ters and navigates through the web site. Ques- links to telemedicine web sites, research projects, tions such as how does the design work for the in- surveillance, education, training, and outreach ac- tended population will be answered The Interna- tivities in the Arctic region. NLM will physically tional Standards Organization definition of usabil- transfer the files containing the web site pages to ity is the “effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction UAA in June 2002. with which a specified set of users can achieve a NLM will work with UAA to establish a users specified set of tasks in a particular environment.” council. NLM will participate on this board, (Norlin 2002) Since this site will be the main door which will have authority to determine policy, pri- into a host of arctic health information collections, orities, and partnerships. it is important that the site is easy to use. We be- A discussion was held at the University of Alas- lieve this usability testing a necessary first step in ka Anchorage in January 2002, to discuss a process developing and maintaining the site because it is to share health information. While there is not yet important to remember that users are the only consensus on the full range of activities that will ones who really know if a web site works for them. be included in this project, a number of topics and Usability testing will also uncover our use of issues are likely candidates for inclusion in the ex- jargon … why do we expect others to understand panded web site. Recommended topics/issues the terms Indexes and Databases or cutsey names were: for our online catalogs? We really cause enormous training issues for ourselves by ignoring our users • Arctic health research – including the names vocabulary! and contact information of investigators, popu- There are three ways to test web sites: the think- lations under study, and the location of the re- ing-out-loud protocol, where one user is observed search while completing one or more specified tasks, the • Existing data sets co-discovery method, where two or more users • Annotated bibliographies work together to accomplish a task, and the ques- • Annotated lists of web sites tion-asking protocol, when a user is asked direct • Links to key organizations questions about the task being performed or • Preformatted searches for important research about the Web site. The goal is to have the user topics complete a set of real tasks and then compute • Frequently asked questions (FAQs) their success rate. The University of Alaska Anchorage Consor-

36 tium Library (UAA) has done usability testing of Camtasia to test the Arctic Health website. The the main library pages for the last year and a half software will be loaded on a laptop which can be using the thinking-out loud method. The first rule connected to the Internet. A microphone is used to of this method is don’t listen to users. (Krug, record the verbalized thought process. A list of 2000), watch what they do in a controlled setting, tasks will be given to the user, and after making rather than only, or mainly listening to what they sure they understand the process, we will disap- say. Krug has two other operating guidelines to pear. The software creates a movie that records keep in mind, “testing one user is 100 percent bet- each mouse click, and keyboard entry. Their spo- ter than testing none” and “testing is an iterative ken thoughts will also be recorded. We will then process.” He mentions that representative users analyze the data and revise the web site as need- are not critical – unless you are designing the site ed. And then test again! with a specific population in mind. The UAA Con- A major concern will be whether or not dis- sortium Library web site is designed for a general parate audiences will be able to use a single site audience … we grab anyone who comes in the effectively. How many of you think we will be de- door to test pages. While the Arctic Health site signing two sites? may be used widely, it is being designed for arctic Do not confuse usability testing with focus researchers and the Alaska native population as it groups. A focus group provides impressions in a primary audience. Our mantra is “Many small group setting. In contrast, user testing is one per- tests over time will improve the web site design”. son accomplishing one or more tasks. Focus Krug lists the following steps to implement us- groups help to set design goals, use testing refines ability testing. the use of the product. Use testing means that the USERS are the focus! It is also not validation but • Form usability testing team / establish goals evaluation. • Script the tasks and objectives Why would you want to do usability testing? • Recruit users / compensate them Mainly to uncover problem areas on your website. • Set up room and schedule Within our profession, we tend to suffer from a • Test drive the test with library volunteers “We know best” philosophy – our expertise can be • Test with “real users” and record results a disadvantage because librarians see themselves as • Analyze the data / revise the web site advocates for their users, we think we know what • Test again, and again, and again [italics are this they need. Users tests are NOT the creators of the author’s emphasis] site or other “expert” users giving impressions and input, or the boss or other influential persons Historically, usability testing was the domain of making decisions. large companies and cost thousands of dollars for When should you NOT do usability testing? each product. Nielsen, in 1989, pointed out that When you are unwilling to make changes to your you don’t need a usability lab and you don’t need web site, for whatever reasons – political, lack of lots and lots of tests. In fact, testing five users will staff, etc,) often uncover 85% of a web site’s usability prob- Problems uncovered with the web site will be lems (Nielsen 2000). Krug uses two methods to taken to the Users Council. test an active site: “get it” testing and key tasks testing. “Get it” tests discover if the user under- Users Council. The Users Council will be formed stands the purpose of the site, how it is organized, later this summer. This group will be composed of and how it works. Key task testing asks a user to key potential users of the site: arctic scientists, do something and a record is kept of how well Alaska natives, and individuals from NLM and they do it. With key task testing you often get bet- UAA. One of the first issues the Council must ad- ter results if the user has some control over the dress are the definitions being used, and the scope tasks they are given, rather than ask them to find of the site. For instance, there are distinctions X, ask them to find “a book on a topic of interest among such terms as arctic, sub-arctic, circumpo- to them”. lar, and “covering all of Alaska.” What is meant We will be using a software program called by health: physical, environmental, mental, and/

37 or spiritual? Since health and health care are web service developed in this project will use pro- viewed holistically by the Native Alaskan popula- prietary software. We will use software that is tion, resources must reflect that perspective. This freely available and adaptable to anyone. Because web site may be an important tool for planning re- of the significant potential for international inter- search activities, engaging communities, and de- est in the data and the developed Web services, veloping partnerships and the content should re- using Open Source Software will make the new flect that. Traditional healing is a very sensitive is- data on the Arctic Health website open to all. sue for the native communities. Different villages and communities may take a different stance on Inuit Health Database. As noted above, one of the what, if any, information they would be willing to initial projects will be to make the Inuit Health share electronically. Much of this information ex- Database available on the Web. This listing of ists only orally and has never been written down. health literature is currently available only in Indeed, writing may not be an acceptable method print and in a proprietary database that is not to capture this information and other formats available via the Internet. should be explored such as audio or video. It is Our plan to make this data available on the web also possible that very little traditional healing will involve: material will ever become part of this site. It is important to note that this web site is one of 1. The Inuit Health Database data will be stored several that NLM is developing to target specific on a server running the Open Source Linux op- population groups, health issues, or geographic erating system (a proven platform for this type areas. This web site will serve as a template for of service). the organization and development of these other 2. The web server software will be Apache, an- sites. other Open Source Package that is currently by The Council will also have to decide on a name far the most common website server on the for this new entity. What’s in a name? To date, two web (see http://www.apache.org/ for more de- contenders have surfaced: the Arctic CHILD (Arc- tail). tic Center for Health Information, Literature and 3. The database will be constructed using Post- Data) and CHIC (Circumpolar Health Information greSQL. This robust database is highly scalable Center). Both have positive and negative aspects. and an Open Source application of long stand- The Council will create policies and procedures ing. and will have the authority to determine how the 4. The programming language, which will get web site grows and changes. these elements (the operating system, web serv- er, and database application) to “talk and work” Databases. We envision a number of web accessible with each other, will be the Open Source script- databases on the site, the first being a literature ing language PHP. Developed exclusively for database, created from the Inuit Health literature Web applications, PHP is also a good choice for which currently exists as a book and in a local our project because of burgeoning expertise in ProCite database, and will expand to include this scripting language by our project devel- health information beyond just the Inuit popula- opers. tion. Alaskan health grey literature will be added as well. Lastly, a contacts database will be created. Rationale for the Design of the Web-based Inuit Health All of these will require careful planning and im- Database. In any database, a critical component of plementation. design is defining the entities, i.e. the basic objects or things that comprise the database (see Web Open Source Software. One of the goals in adding Database Applications with PHP & MySQL, new resources to the Arctic Health web site is to William’s and Lane, p506). In language or gram- use Open Source Software. This requires that all matical terms, entities are analogous to nouns. For software comply with the so-called “copylefted” example, the Inuit Health Database in its current legal standard of the Free Software Foundation form is essentially a listing of citations to health (see http://www.fsf.org/ for more detail). No literature on the Inuit. For the purposes of data-

38 Columns: Columns: Columns: Title Format Location Row Whale meat and dental health Book Smalltown PL

Table 1. base creation, then, each citation can be consid- meat and dental health”, a book, located in the ered an entity. Public Library of Smalltown, could be put in table There are other objects, or things, within the form as in Table 1. Inuit Health Database which will be retained in Here, the row defines the entity (the actual cita- the web database. For example, there are broad tion), while each column provides an attribute classifications that group the citations by topic. that further describes and distinguishes the entity. These classifications will be expanded and altered In database terminology, a row (or entity) is some- to provide controlled natural language queries times referred to as a record, and the columns (or within the database. Each classification, or topic, attributes) are referred to as fields. will be an entity within the database. An important consideration in designing rela- The citations have also been grouped, in the tional databases is to try to eliminate duplication ProCite version, “type of paper” Narrative Per- of information. Duplicate data increased the size sonal, Narrative Historical, Clinical Treatment, or of the database and slows performance. In addi- Clinical Etiology. These groupings will be retained tion, duplicate data requires more time, and if re- in the web database, each comprising an entity vision is needed requires extensive effort. and providing a way for researchers to find mater- Duplicate data can be countered by determining ial based upon this criteria. Yet another grouping relationships between entities within a database at is by geographic locations. This geographic break- the beginning. For example, in the Inuit Health down will be retained, expanded upon, and re- Database, authors are obviously entities, as well worded within the web database. as attributes because those who wrote the works Database creation begins with the broadest helped to define the citations. Consequently there brush strokes or the big picture view. It is impor- is a relationship between citation entities and au- tant to define entities and attributes before jump- thor entities in the Inuit Health database. In terms ing into the more familiar world of records and of language or grammar, relationships among en- fields. tities are roughly analogous to verbs. Following the definition of entities within the Consider the following fictitious author and ci- database, attributes can be assigned to more fully tations: Sandra Smith wrote “Native Health in describe the entities. In terms of language or Nome” in Northern Health, “Native Health in grammar, attributes are analogous to adjectives or Homer”, in Arctic Health and “Native Health in even adverbs. For example, each citation contains Tok” in Arctic Health. a title (the name of the thing) or the location of the These could be presented in three tables as in item (whether physical as in the location of a book Table 2. or other print document, or a URL or other means By having the author in a separate table and the of locating Internet resources). Attributes help to journals in a separate table, the details for each more fully describe the entities, to help distin- item are listed only once. The relationship be- guish one from another. tween the entity citations, the entity authors and With the development of attributes, we are be- the entity journals, is linked through fields in the ginning to create tables within the database. Ta- citation table (e.g. Author ID and Journal ID). If an bles provide a visual mechanism to get a sense of entity changes (such as the author becoming Asso- the database. Tabular representations of databases ciate Professor Sandra Smith at Polar College or are composed of entities (which are rows or the journal Northern Health changing location to records) and attributes {which are columns or New York City), the change is recorded only once fields). in the respective entity table. However, the change For example, a fictitious citation for, “Whale in these entities is reflected in each citation entity

39 Author Table Columns Columns Columns Columns Columns Author ID Position First Name Last Name Affiliation Row 1 Instructor Sandra Smith Arctic College

Journal Table Columns Columns Columns Journal ID Journal Name Location Row 1 Arctic Health White Horse Row 2 Northern Health Dillingham

Citation Table Columns Columns Columns Title Author ID Journal ID Row Native Health in Nome 1 2 Row Native Health in Homer 1 1 Row Native Health in Tok 1 1 Table 2.

in one fell swoop because of the links among the Conclusion. If we build it, who will come? We hope tables. the arctic research community, Alaska natives, health care providers, and other residents of Alas- Current Status of the Inuit Health Database. As of ka. We know that administrators within the Uni- this writing, the design for the Inuit Health Data- versity of Alaska system will be interested as well base will be composed of at least twelve tables, all as NIH. By speaking here at the Polar Libraries linked by a variety of relationships. The database Colloquy, we hope to encourage international visi- will include the existing data but will be designed tors as well. to include any new data via simple web forms. I’m here today because the Arctic community With a proper eye toward developing this re- has a tradition of cooperation. I want to make sure source, soon all of the Inuit Health Database, will as much arctic health information is available on be available to anyone with a web browser and an the Arctic Health website as possible. With this Internet connection. goal in mind, I polled the PLC listserv and had a number of responses. With permission, I will add Future Projects. Following implementation of the these suggestions to the Arctic Health web site. Inuit Health database, we plan to create addition- Ideally, I would love to find one or more ongoing al resources that will be database driven. These in- partners to continue building this site. Or separate clude a database of research projects and another nodes could be developed – perhaps funding database of contacts within arctic health research. could be found from your federal governments. In each instance, the projects will use Open Source One last possibility – I mentioned the Arctic software and be designed with the utmost care to Council Working Groups at the beginning of this ensure each project database is efficient and fully talk – to qualify for funding as a working group relational. One aspect of this efficiency permits initiative, a partnership of at least two member online entry of information by a variety of inter- countries is necessary. The US and perhaps your ested participants. Data from universities, tribal country could begin that partnership. health consortia, the native science foundation, and directly from the scientists can be easily added. Our last major goal for the first year will be to find a way of searching across databases … a one-stop-shopping approach to Arctic Health in- formation.

40 References gine to information providers that are approved Krug, S. 2000. Don’t Make Me Think: a common sense ap- by a quality control system. proach to web usability. Que, 2000. Nielsen, J. 1989. Proceedings of the Third International Con- Introduction. There was a need to transfer the data- ference on Human-Computer Interaction. Boston, MA. base of the Arctic Research Institute into a new Nielsen, J. 2000. Alertbox column “ Why You Only Need to system because the one of the University of Lap- Test with 5”, March 19 2000. http://www.useit.com/alert- land was cumbersome to use and very unstable. box/20000319.html Even though Arctic Centre and the University Norlin, E. 2002. Usability Testing for Library Web Sites: a paid a lot for the maintenance and license of the hands-on guide. American Library Association software, we did not get any improvements. As it would be expensive to replace the old soft- ware with a commercial database solution, we de- cided to do what we could with available re- Developing a map search interface for sources and also use student work from local col- Arctic Research Institute Database using leges. The project has the following phases: GIS system integrated with SQL relation database • Prepare a GIS file containing locations of re- search institutes and add the coordinate infor- Arto Vitikka mation for each research institute in the old Arctic Centre, University of Lapland database system • Import data into the SQL Server Abstract. Arctic Centre is maintaining a database • Develop database structure of Research Institutes doing research in the Arctic • Build the applications to edit and view data in and Antarctic Regions. The database system used the SQL database earlier was a free-text database software that al- • Evaluate and selecting suitable software to lowed boolean searches from text documents. show GIS-information on the web There was need to do also searches based on the • Build the web application that combines the GIS location of the institute. Several solutions were interface and the data that is in the SQL data- evaluated for the map interface. The most suitable bases solution was to export the database into SQL Serv- • Develop user interface. er database system and use MapXtreme software from MapInfo for the map interface. This project Creating a GIS file with locations. MapInfo Desktop had following sub-projects: creating the SQL data- Mapping software was used to create a file that base and exporting the data, inputting the geo- contains the towns where research institutes are reference data into the institution records and situated. From this file the coordinates were ex- then finally building the map interface applica- tracted manually for each institution and saved tion. The same technique has been applied to into the former database system. This part of the show traffic data from the Barents Euro-Arctic process took a lot of time and was quite unexcit- Transport Area. The address of the database is: ing. http://www.arcticcentre.org/databases I will also shortly present the Barents Informa- Importing the data. The former database software tion Service project proposal that Arctic Centre was a free-text database and the records could be (Liisa Kurppa as main coordinator) together with exported as one text-file where the beginning of the Working Group for Information Technology of each document was marked with special separa- the Barents Regional Council is preparing for the tion character. Table 1 shows all the information Interreg IIIa KolArctic program. The purpose of for one individual institute as one document, but the project is to create a portal that offers struc- there was a loose structure and tags showing tured information on the Barents Euro-Arctic Re- where one part of the document started, for exam- gion (BEAR) and establish a dedicated search en- ple the name of the institute or the keywords. In gine for information on BEAR and to offer this en- order to import the data into an SQL database,

41 *** AINS – Dokumentti nro 1 Saatuja rivejä 34/34 Database structure. The database tables were de- /IN *INSTITUTE: Syktyvkar State University signed to extract keywords from the data and

/CP CONTACT PERS: Khudyaev Sergei, Dr. store them in a separate keyword table. Links be- /AD ADDRESS: Octobrosky Prospect 55 tween the institutes and keywords are created 167001 KOMI REPUBLIC with a table that contains the id-fields of the insti- RUSSIA tute and the keywords. The database structure TELEPHONE: +7 821 24 3-68-20 and relations are shown in Figure 1. TELEFAX: +7 821 22 3-18-88 E-MAIL: [email protected] URL: Application for managing data. The web pages that /KW KEYWORDS: mathematics physics are needed for browsing and editing the data chemistry biology economics history were done using VB Script programming lan- philology humanities guage. The databases are managed using standard law finno-ugric browser and the user is identified by userid and /PC PUBLICATION: the SSU bulletin for all the fields of research and “Roobezh” for Social password. Fifteen asp (active server pages) files and Political Sciences. Besides, the with VB Scripting were needed for the mainte- SSU issues the newspaper “Verbum”. nance of the data. REMARKS: Established: 1972 Staff: about 352 full and part-time GIS application. MapXtreme software was used to professors /CO Coordinates: E50.82 ; N61.67 create the map interface for web user between the Syktyvkar data in the SQL Server and the locations in the GIS file. MapXtreme creates an image file from the GIS Table 1. Exported record from the former database sys- tem. data for the browser, no extra components or plu- gins are needed. The user can navigate in the map using Zoom In/Out and Center tools. It is possi- where the information is stored in separate ble to have different layers on the map when the columns, an SQL script that could recognize the user zooms into smaller scale, for example roads, beginning and end of each field was programmed. rivers etc., but for the sake of clarity and speed This worked out quite well, but the input data these themes were not used. was not very consistent and there was a lot of Using Info-tool user can select locations from manual work to tidy up the data later. the map and the application creates a link to the data in the SQL Server database. The institutes are identified using the X and Y coordinates that the MapXtreme gives for the selected location and comparing them with the data in the institution table. Figure 2 shows the technical concept of the system. The web application for the map was done with VBScript programming language. A lot of sample code from the demo applications which came with the software could be used. There is good technical support site, a discussion list where you can send questions and getting answered the next day. This site is acts also as an archive storing old questions and answers.

User interface. Developing a user interface that is simple and easy to use is the most difficult task. Since self been so involved with the designing and building the system it is difficult to see it as some- Figure 1. Database structure and relations. one who uses it for the first time. The application

42 has been tested with people who were not famil- iar with it and they were given a task to find an institute by its location. Most difficult for new user is how to learn to use the map. After finally learning it they find it useful and “nice”. Many test users went straight to search form and found the institute using it.

Conclusions. Since the work was done in between other duties the project took quite a long time, this was started about three years ago. Using the Figure 2. System diagram for the web application. labour from local collages and employees from labour office the costs were kept low. The most ex- pensive was the MapXtreme software. Creating user interface is demanding and this process is References still going on. The database is at the address: SQL Server Books Online, 1988-1998. Microsoft Corporation. http://www.arcticcentre.org/databases

Barents Information Service – project (BIS) In the BIS-project the information concerning the Barents region will be collected and arranged as a user-friendly www-based information product. At the same time the project aims at making the Barents region more well-known globally. Until now the information of the Barents region has been collected in several places and scattered in separate countries. Implementation of this project requires synergy of the information providers and expert organisations and the transformation of common centralised services as an electric information product. It is the intention to start the work in the beginning of 2003. The first steps will be: To coordinate and reorganize systematically a network of information providers of the region (statistics, tourism, traffic, population information, energy production, customs information, etc.), to promote the networking of expert organisations, and to unify the information production as a Internet-based information package. The objective of the project is to work in very close cooperation with other organisations nationally and interna- tionally within the whole Barents Region. The information providers commit themselves to constant supply of updat- ed information through the www-portal. The data contents of the portal consist, among others, of the following:

• Experts and expert organizations of different fields, e.g. science, research and education • Project databases • Maps and links to maps sources • Barents working groups by sectors, e.g. indigenous people • Existing portals: cross border customs, road and traffic • environment (environmental impact assessment, natural resources, energy) • population (e.g. population structure, indigenous people) • statistics • tourism • article services and news services, e.g. North West Russia News, Newsletter from Murmansk Barents Information Cen- tre, RAIPON Newsletter Indigenous “Peoples World” • calendar in events and official BEAR News at regional level

The existing telecommunication infrastructure and the information and communication technology cooperation in the Barents Region, as well as already produced and new www-portals will be utilized in the project. The re-established Working Group for Information Technology of the Barents Regional Council serves as the pro- ject support, and the team members will be bound to the project as experts and contact persons. There will be also cooperation with the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Barents Regional Council and the Barents Regional Committee.

43 Definitions GIS (Geographical Information System): GIS is a system of hardware and software used for storage, retrieval, map- ping, and analysis of geographic data. Spatial features are stored in a coordinate system (latitude/longitude, state plane, UTM, etc.), which references a particular place on the earth. Descriptive attributes in tabular form are asso- ciated with spatial features. Spatial data and associated attributes in the same coordinate system can then be lay- ered together for mapping and analysis. GIS can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, and development planning. http://www.nwgis.com/gisdefn.htm) SQL (structured query language): A database query and programming language originally developed by IBM for mainframe computers. It is widely used for accessing data, querying, updating, and managing relational database systems. There is now an ANSI-standard SQL definition for all computer systems. Relational data model: A method of organizing data into two-dimensional tables made up of rows and columns. Relational database: A collection of information organized in tables, each table models a class of objects of interest to the organization (for example, Institutions, Experts, Publications). Each column in a table models an attribute of the object modeled by the table (for example, Name of the institute, Address). Each row in a table represents one entity in the class of objects modeled by the table (for example, the Danish Polar Center, Copenhage). Queries can use data from one table to find related data in other tables. Relational database management system: A system that organizes data into related rows and columns. SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS). (SQL Server Books Online)

44 Session 4: The library users in the online age

The Polytechnic Library and education in Polytechnics are mostly multi-field and regional a sparsely inhabited province institutions of higher education, emphasizing working life contacts in their operations. Com- Satu Ihanamäki and Maija Koponen pared with universities, polytechnic studies are Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library more practical oriented. The intake for 1999 ac- counts for 66 % on average of the relevant young Abstract. Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library serves the age group within the entire higher education sys- schools and colleges within the Rovaniemi Educa- tem. tional Federation of Municipalities. The basic task The polytechnics were established during the of the library is to meet the information needs for reform process of the 1990’s. They were formed on studying and teaching as well as to support the re- the basis of the institutions that had formerly pro- search and development activities of the schools vided post-secondary vocational education by and colleges. raising their standards and by joining several in- During the last years the polytechnic has been stitutions to create multi-field polytechnics. The widening it’s learning environment into virtual aim of the process was to strengthen regional de- and web-environments. Distance learners should velopment and the co-operation between the have the same access to library services than on- polytechnics and small and medium-sized enter- campus students, to both printed and electronic prises and providers of welfare services. More- collections, reference services and end-user train- over, the purpose of establishing strong, multi- ing. field units was to create new degree programmes Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library has taken it’s first to serve the needs of the changing working life. steps in distance services (or web-based services). A network of 29 polytechnics covers the entire We will start a distance course, which includes country. Because of their regional nature, poly- end-user training, information search and man- technics are mostly maintained by municipalities agement skills, information literacy and evalua- or federations of municipalities. In some cases, lo- tion. We are also developing further courses for cal authorities have established limited companies different degree programs. to maintain a polytechnic. All Finnish universities are owned by the state, whereas all polytechnics Introduction. Rovaniemi Polytechnic plays an im- are either municipal or private. Polytechnic de- portant role as an educational institution and an grees are higher education (Bachelor’s) degrees active regional participator in Lapland. Similarly, with a professional emphasis and usually take 3.5- in the polytechnic library we hope to be able to ex- 4 years. In 2000 about 24,000 new student places tend our services to the large area of Lapland. were created with the polytechnics. New educational methods and environments, Rovaniemi Polytechnic was established in 1996. such as distance and e-learning in general, require It has about 3,000 students. The Polytechnic com- new practises and services. In libraries this means prises eight schools, and all of them have had an that interactive library systems, net-based infor- important role in providing professional educa- mation services, virtual courses and electronic tion and expertise in the Rovaniemi area for many archives should be available for the clients. decades. The Polytechnic concentrates on tourism, software engineering, high technology and cold Background. The Finnish system for higher educa- climate expertise. Other focal areas are utilisation tion consists of two parallel sectors: universities of the possibilities offered by Barents region co- and polytechnics. Universities emphasize scientif- operation, rural business management and devel- ic research and offer studies to a doctorate level. opment of sparsely populated areas and welfare

45 services. Rovaniemi Polytechnic is maintained by students with sufficient end-user training and in- the Rovaniemi Educational Federation of Munici- formation services. palities. In addition, the federation maintains five The library is organized according to collec- other vocational colleges. The total number of stu- tions, databases and the expertise of the personnel dents is approximately 6,500. into four special libraries on Tourism, Welfare ser- vices, Technology and Natural resources. The col- The library. Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library was es- lections are emphasized especially on the demand tablished by merging the small library units of the of the degree programmes of Rovaniemi Polytech- polytechnic schools in one organisation. The new nic. The aspect of the North is well represented in library started its operations in January 2001. The the collections, which include about 90,000 books, library serves all the schools and colleges within serial publications, theses, magazines and videos. the Rovaniemi Educational Federation of Munici- The supply of electronic materials is versatile. palities. It provides services in ten library units. Easy access to library resources is essential for The basic task of the library is to meet the infor- students. The location of the library should be mation needs of students and teachers as well as good and the opening hours practical and flexible. to support the research and development activi- Because the Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library has ties of the schools and colleges. It also provides in- ten library units and the number of the staff is formation services for work and business life and only thirteen, the opening hours are at the present it operates as an open library for other customers more restricted than desired. Yet, one of the posi- than the polytechnic or college students and staff tive aspects of being scattered all over the town is as well. that each library unit is located close to the clients The library belongs to the Aurora library sys- in the schools. Libraries are becoming more popu- tem, which is the prevailing system in the public lar than before. In 2001, 310,000 client visits were libraries in Lapland. The cooperation between the recorded. Some 160,000 material units were polytechnic library and the public libraries in the checked out. region is very close. However, the polytechnic li- During the past few years library has systemati- braries in Finland are gradually, in 2002 and 2003, cally trained clients in how to search and acquire entering a new system called the Voyager. The information. The aim is to give students training transitional period in the Rovaniemi Polytechnic in basic information search as they start their Library will be over in the summer 2003. The deci- studies, and furthermore, to support them during sion to take up a new library system will hopeful- the course of their studies to improve their infor- ly improve the library’s cooperation with scientif- mation research skills. The ultimate goal is that ic libraries. The Union catalogue of Finnish Poly- once the students are working on their thesis, technic Libraries will also improve the access to their skills to search and evaluate for information collections of the libraries. Still the library also would have developed so that they are able to needs cooperation with public libraries. Many dis- produce reliable information themselves. It would tance learners use the Rovaniemi Polytechnic Li- be ideal if the teachers and the librarians could brary through their own municipal public library work together in training the students to find in the form of inter-library loans. In addition, valuable information for their studies. Good col- Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library and the University lection policy in library supports end-user train- of Lapland Library are considered as the central ing, too. scientific libraries in Lapland as well Kemi-Tornio Virtual teaching and learning is a developing Polytechnic Library and Information Services. field in the educational system in polytechnics as on other educational levels. In e-learning students Library and information services for students. must be more critical as they look for information Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library offers students a resources, use them or produce information them- learning environment with good collections, es- selves. The new situation requires new divisions sential electronic databases, an adequate amount in the duties of teachers and librarians. Teachers of computers and effective, flexible lending ser- and librarians have to work together to acquire, vices. The library also focuses on providing the look for and establish information for e-learning

46 purposes. It is also vital that the services of a li- ate answers are the important aspects of contact brary can be obtained over the Internet. teaching. The same means are not available as such in a virtual learning environment. We have End-user training in e-learning environment. tried to make the course as detailed as possible in Rovaniemi Polytechnic and Kemi-Tornio Poly- order to avoid ambiguity. Information specialists technic Libraries started a project called “Virtual act as tutors in the virtual course. Their experience information acquisition environments” in the au- in teaching can anticipate the students’ need for tumn of 2001. The project is part of the national support. virtual project of the polytechnics. The project The role of the information specialist in the aims at involving libraries in virtual learning envi- graduation process of the student is to give infor- ronments and improving know-how in informa- mation and guidance about use of up-to-date tion search on basic and field-specific levels. In sources and references and their availability for addition, the project aims to develop and improve the thesis. In the thesis workshop the student gets accessibility and availability of electronic materi- help from his/her tutors, the information special- als. Output of the project will be for example: ists and the clients who have commissioned the study. The project of the Kemi-Tornio Polytechnic • virtual course in basic information search and Rovaniemi Polytechnic also includes a plan to • field-specific virtual courses in information develop virtual information services to support search students during the whole course of their studies. • virtual thesis workshops In addition, the polytechnics aim to create a meta- database of virtual learning objects. Starting from the beginning of the autumn term of The project of the Rovaniemi and the Kemi- 2002 the Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library will Tornio Polytechnic is corresponding with the na- arrange a compulsory information search and lit- tional virtual strategy of the polytechnics in Fin- eracy course for new polytechnic students. land. Libraries offer their clients electronic materi- The objectives of the course include the follow- als and tutoring in how to use them. Furthermore, ing: “Student perceives the meaning of personal libraries have the know-how about metadata of and continuous information search and literacy the digital materials and web-sources. This is es- skills as part of his/her learning process and as an sential in creating archives for the digital learning important aspect in the development of his/her objects. personal professional competence. The student should be able to use and choose from the selec- Distance learners and electronic materials. As dis- tion of information resources available. S/he tance learning becomes more common, the distri- should also be able to critically assess the informa- bution of printed materials becomes more prob- tion from these sources. S/he should also be lematic. Sending books across the province with aware of the copyright issues and legislation con- long distances is slow and relatively costly. The cerning the use of the information from these students have to pay for these services and there- sources.“ fore the position of students who participate in The basic course emphasizes the technology of contact teaching and those who are distance learn- acquiring information. Advanced courses, which ers is not equal. Some books are out of print and are field-specific, offer information about field- new editions cannot be ordered anymore etc. specific sources, their substance and literacy. The Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library has tested several minimum level of the information retrieval skills methods and ways to make course books avail- is also defined. able for distance learners: reference library collec- We are looking for the success and applicability tions in partner schools and dissemination of this course in a virtual learning environment. through traditional means of long-distance lend- Experiences from contact teaching have shown us ing services. In addition, the library has carried that students need somebody to show them “by out a project in which introactive library services the hand” how the database works and where the were tested so that customers who had an access mistake happened. Direct feedback and immedi- to the common database of the library, could use

47 the system to reserve books directly from the the moment there are about 6,000 full-text online shelf. These books were then delivered to the li- journals, 90 reference databases, dictionaries, and brary which the customer had indicated for the reference books. reservation price (without the long-distance lend- ing fee). This practise increased the logistic ex- penses of the library. Therefore, the only economi- References cal solution seems to be electronic books and peri- Ammattikorkeakoulujen virtuaalistrategia. Arene, Kirjasto- odicals. ja tietopalvelutyöryhmä. http://www.arene.fi/suomi/ylaku- In the Undergraduate Library (University of va.cfm?pageID=83&top=otsikko_kirjasto.cfm. 31.12.2001. Helsinki) some of the most popular and out of Education in Finland: Polytechnics. 16 pp. Ministry of Educa- print course materials have been digitized and tion, Helsinki 1999. transferred to the web. The costs have been cov- FinElib. http://www.lib.helsinki.fi/finelib/english/index.html. ered by a project. (Rouvari 2002). On the one 17.5.2002. hand, the copyright of the Finnish materials was Rouvari, Ari: Virtual university projects. University of Helsin- free, but on the other hand, the process of digitali- ki, Undergraduate Library. http://www.opiskelijakirjasto. sation proved to be relatively expensive. Maybe lib.helsinki.fi/hankkeet/eng/index.htm. 16.5.2002. digitalisation of some materials would be the so- Virtuaaliset tiedonhankintaympäristöt. http://www.tokem. lution in the Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library, or fi/virtaa/virtaa.nsf. 16.5.2002. within a bigger consortium, too. The usage of electronic materials in distance learning is complicated by the user agreements with the database producers. In worst cases these Electronically influenced changes in authorities may even eliminate the possibility of library users’ behavior: a case study at use. In most cases the agreement entitles members the Institute of Arctic and Alpine of the organisation to use the database in the net- Research (INSTAAR) work of the Educational Federation of the Munici- palities. Martha Andrews Electronic materials for the academic libraries in Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University Finland are acquired through the FinElib consor- of Colorado tium as a centralized procedure. FinELib, the Na- tional Electronic Library, acquires Finnish and in- Abstract. The typical researcher at INSTAAR now ternational resources to support teaching, learning begins his/her quest for appropriate resources by and research. Science-specific expert groups pro- performing an online search in his/her office. On- pose electronic publications to be acquired. line library catalogs and reference databases FinELib negotiates user-rights agreements for quickly link the user to full text journal articles electronic resources on a centralized basis for its through the University of Colorado Libraries sub- member organisations. scription services. An increasing number of users The university libraries receive central govern- now confine their use of the literature, polar and ment funding via the Ministry of Education. An otherwise, to electronically available resources in a agreement on how the costs are divided has been ‘virtual’ library. These people no longer, or only signed between the university libraries and the rarely, appear in a ‘real’ library to search for fur- universities. The Ministry of Education financially ther materials. supports the participation of the polytechnics and The profound effects of this recent change in the provincial libraries in the consortium. In addi- user behaviour are documented in this paper, us- tion to the central government funding the uni- ing both empirical and qualitative evidence col- versities, polytechnics and provincial libraries fi- lected while preparing a ‘white paper’ on the fu- nance all acquisitions out of their own budgets. ture of the library at INSTAAR after 2002. Demo- The National Library charges the polytechnics, re- graphic changes, administrative decisions and the search institutes, and provincial libraries annually physical division of INSTAAR personnel into two for acquisition services and for extra services. At buildings are also discussed.

48 It is hoped that this paper will generate feed- partmentally tenured faculty who are also IN- back as to whether or not other libraries are expe- STAAR fellows, carry out their main research and riencing similar changes and particularly how we, laboratory work at INSTAAR. However, IN- as librarians, can react to these changes effectively STAAR does not grant degrees, and all students while maintaining quality service. work through one of the university departments also. Introduction. The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Re- In 2000 and 2001, twenty one students complet- search (INSTAAR) is an interdisciplinary research ed nine Ph.D.s, eleven M.Sc.s, and one MA. Of institute of the Graduate School of the University these degrees granted, three were through engi- of Colorado. INSTAAR emphasizes the environ- neering departments, three were through the ge- mental and social sciences (anthropology, biology, ography department, and fifteen were through the engineering, geography, and geology), especially geology department. The ratio of Ph.D.s to M.Sc.s as they pertain to high altitudes and high latitudes and M.A.s has remained constant at 50:50 over the and to former cold environments of the Quater- past 33 years, during which time 264 degrees were nary period. INSTAAR investigates how these en- granted to INSTAAR students. It may be assumed vironments affect, and are affected by, natural and that the twenty one students finishing degrees in human-induced processes on local, regional, and 2000 and 2001 were responsible for a large portion global scales, using a holistic approach to earth of the library use in the preceding seven or so system science. INSTAAR celebrated its 50th an- years which coincides with the length of journal niversary last September! circulation statistics discussed later in this study. Throughout its 50 years INSTAAR has main- The specialized nature of the collection, and its tained a special library collection, now known as convenient location within the INSTAAR research the Reading Room. In the 1960s this collection, complex, have ensured its survival to date. How- then called the Mountain Library, was supported ever, as anyone familiar with the provision of in- by the university as an official branch library at formation resources recognizes, this is a dynamic INSTAAR’s Mountain Research Station (MRS). business and over the past 5-10 years technologi- INSTAAR still maintains a small collection, ad- cal changes have affected the very nature of scien- ministered as part of the Reading Room, at the tific inquiry and communication. INSTAAR sci- MRS. In 1970 the university discontinued its sup- ence, once focused on Quaternary glaciation in port at the same time as INSTAAR moved from its North America, has become widely diversified in main campus offices to its present east campus fa- concert with new scientific funding initiatives at cility. INSTAAR felt the need to continue to have an international level. Therefore reading and pub- its own specialized collection for two reasons. lishing habits have expanded from ‘cold regions’ First of all, the 3 km. distance from the main cam- and geology into journals covering ecological ap- pus generated a need for frequently used materi- plications, global and planetary change, biogeo- als to be on the premises. Second, INSTAAR needs chemistry, hydrology, geophysics, and computer to archive and make available unique materials sciences, etc. Information technology during the not available on campus. The Reading Room is 1990s has come of age in terms of supplying, to staffed with one professional librarian with appro- the desk top, full text of scientific articles in addi- priate subject background, and one library assis- tion to a range of other web based research mate- tant. The Reading Room collection now numbers rials such as data files, preprints, etc. These some 3600 monographs, 400 theses, nearly 200 changes in scholarly habits and technology have journal titles, and over 2,500 reports. had significant impacts on our Reading Room at Some 100 scientists – faculty, research scientists, INSTAAR, as they have to other polar science li- visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and grad- braries to a greater of lesser degree. uate students – use this collection to support their This paper and this venue present me with an teaching and research needs. INSTAAR typically appropriate opportunity to discuss changes intro- has about 50 graduate students resident at their duced above, and their impact on the future of IN- main facility on the University of Colorado east STAAR’s library. I plan to retire at the end of 2002 campus. These students, under supervision of de- and have been put in charge of a transition team

49 tasked to evaluate the current state of the Reading stitute with increasingly diverse interests. This Room and recommend the direction it should take larger institute now occupies space in two build- after 2002. The team is to consider three scenarios: ings rather than the one that held the whole group 1) keeping the Reading Room status quo, 2) for thirty years. putting more resources into the operation, or 3) Each of the three research groups was invited to discontinuing it completely. A decision regarding set up an informal meeting in the Reading Room the future of the Reading Room will be made in to discuss, with the librarian and members of the the fall of 2002. The materials developed to aid in transition team, a number of issues regarding this decision making process are presented and their group’s information use and the future of the discussed in this paper. Reading Room. The Past Global Change Group and the Geophysics Group each set aside an hour Methodology. Qualitative data were collected for these discussions. The Ecosystems Group de- through an interview process designed to allow clined the invitation for a group discussion but input from all of the nearly 100 scientists at IN- did e-mail some comments. STAAR. Quantitative data were assembled using Issues discussed were chosen by the transit book and journal circulation statistics kept manu- team to elicit information thought to be valuable ally, and computerized databases of book, journal, in their decision making process. These are: and theses holdings. For administrative purposes the INSTAAR di- 1. Information finding habits – procedures used rectorate has been divided for the past several to locate reference materials for various pur- years into three research focus groups – Past Glob- poses; al Change, Geophysics, and Ecosystems. The Past 2. Use of other libraries on the university campus Global Change Group, including the Center for and at nearby federally supported facilities; Geochronological Research, has fifteen graduate 3. Influence of electronically delivered informa- students and three tenure track faculty members tion – the impact of electronic delivery of infor- in the geology department. The Geophysics mation; Group has nine graduate students and three 4. The impact of the recent division of INSTAAR tenure track faculty members in geography, engi- into two buildings; and neering, and geology. The Ecosystems Group has 5. Suggestions for the future of the Reading Room twenty-three graduate students and four tenure after 2002. track faculty in the biology, geography, and engi- neering departments. There are also several re- Information finding habits. All users begin their in- search scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and visitors formation searches at the office computer, search- in each group. The present balance of students ing a range of reference databases, electronic jour- among groups, with approximately half being in nals, and web sites with data and other types of Ecosystems, is a recent shift. information presented electronically. Past Global Although the INSTAAR directorate recognizes Change Group members are most likely to use the that the community formerly provided by a uni- Reading Room to check out needed materials of fied group has been somewhat compromised by all types, to use databases only available in the this division, it does make sense in an enlarged in- room, and to browse. This group has traditionally been dominant in terms of graduate students, but this is changing. The Geophysics Group has very % in % % similar, although less frequent, use patterns. The collection used difference Ecosystems Group uses the Reading Room less Geography and geology 41 69 +28 than the other groups. These differences in use are Bio-sciences 26 12 –14 illustrated in Table 1 and Table 2. Atmospheric sciences 12 14 +02 Other (general science, In Table 1 the 3,600 books in the INSTAAR col- anthropology, history, lection are divided into subject areas in the first forestry) 19 05 –14 column, into % in the collection in the second col- Table 1. Book circulation data umn, and INSTAAR book circulation records col-

50 lected from 2000 to 2002 are shown in the third % in collection column. The fourth column shows the % differ- Geosciences 51% ence between columns two and three. The % dif- Regional 20% ference between holdings and use for the geo- Bio-sciences 18% Other 10% sciences and biosciences agrees with the group re- sponses regarding use of books. Table 2 shows Table 2. Subject breakdown of journal holdings. that the % of geosciences holdings in the journal collection is at least as dominant as it is in the book collection, and later journal use data (Figure cost saving measure, no accessions records are 1 and Figure 2) demonstrates that, one again, the kept for these titles. bioscience collection is underused when com- Journal circulation statistics shown below pared to the geoscience collection, which is not should be seen in the light of several caveats. too surprising given the historical dominance of Among these are: the changing population of the the Quaternary research at INSTAAR. user base, the possibility of one user skewing records, and the fact that circulation statistics (we Use of other libraries. The first two groups make ex- do not keep in-house use statistics) by themselves tensive use of the following libraries in addition to do not reflect total use numbers (Noga et al. 1994). the Reading Room: Earth Sciences Library, Journal circulation statistics concerning the six- Math/Physics Library, and Engineering Library teen most frequently checked out journal titles on the main campus; National Snow and Ice Data 1995-2001 are presented in the following two fig- Center in a neighbouring building; the National ures. The sixteen titles are divided into those eight Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder and available to INSTAAR in print only (Figure 1) and the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver. The Ecosys- those eight available both in print and online (Fig- tems Group is likely to use the main CU Libraries ure 2). collection which includes all of the biology collec- Figure 1 (complete or nearly complete print file tion, as well as the Earth Sciences and Engineering available at INSTAAR) shows that, from 1995 Libraries on campus. through 2001, use of these titles consistently ac- counts for roughly the same percentage (ca. 35%) Impact of electronic availability of journals. All three of all checkouts. There is some yearly variation in groups report heavy use of electronic journals. the composition of this 35%. Geology and the The University of Colorado subscribes to thou- GSA Bulletin show a marked decline in use while sands of electronic journals, including the Sci- the Annals of Glaciology and the Journal of enceDirect package from Elsevier which includes Glaciology show a rise in use. nearly 1,000 titles. Journals in this package, and Figure 2 (electronic version available, usually from most other vendors, typically go back until from 1997) shows more variation between the about 1997. The Elsevier subscription will no years for the eight titles although the total of ca. longer include paper copy. The university sub- 65% remains consistent. Circulation of Nature scriptions are available to all users with a univer- peaks in 1998 and declines each year following. sity computer address. Science circulation declines after peaking in 1998 Both the Geophysics Group and the Ecosystems and 1999, but not as much as Nature. Boreas, Group believe that it is now the business of the in- Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecolo- ternet to supply journal publications electronically gy (Palaeo3), and Quaternary Research do not even though there is not complete coverage in show a decline until 2001. The other three – The their fields of interest. (References listed in all stu- Holocene, Journal of Quaternary Science, and dent theses for 2000 and 2001 showed that about Quaternary Science Reviews actually show an in- half of the journals used were electronically avail- crease in checkouts of the printed version in 2001. able.) It was not within the scope of this study to in- The Reading Room now accessions 78 ‘core’ vestigate the use and acceptance levels of elec- journals. Over 100 other titles are kept in order on tronic journals at INSTAAR, but fortunately such the shelves, but due to lack of demand and as a a study was conducted in 2000 at the Goldthwait

51 100 Figure 1. Journal circulation (print Annals Glaciol. AAA Research only available). Can. J. Earth Sci. Ecology GSA Bulletin 80 Geology Jour. Glaciol. Paleoceanog.

60 PERCENT 40

20

0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Year

Polar Library at the Byrd Polar Research Center, frequently mentioned disadvantages of using which has a very similar user base (Nekrasova electronic journals were: network dependency, 2002). In a very detailed study she lists several ad- graphic quality, and reading on the screen vantages and disadvantages of electronic journals (Nekrasova 2002: 32, Figure 6). In my own experi- which affect scientists use and acceptance of this ence here at INSTAAR, graphic quality is also a medium. She found that a majority of those sur- concern, but the complaint I hear most often has veyed preferred print over electronic format even to do with the lack of cover to cover inclusion of when both were available for the same title print journals in electronic versions. (Nekrasova 2002: 27). She also found that the most

100 Boreas Holocene Jour. Quaternary Sci. Nature Palaeo3 80 Quaternary Res. Quaternary Sci. Rev. Science

60 PERCENT 40

20

0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Figure 2. Journal circulation Year (electronically available).

52 Impact of the division of INSTAAR into two buildings. support for the Reading Room, b) INSTAAR’s The Geophysics Group is located in an adjacent own policy of support for the Reading Room building, which houses the entire group and its ahead of other facilities, and c) use of space for computing facility, along with some members of the Reading Room were raised; these are ongo- the Ecosystems Group. The Geophysics Group ing issues at INSTAAR. The present INSTAAR feels that this location affects how often they use director does not feel that the $40K budget per the Reading Room. They did not feel that being year for the Reading Room is a large sum for able to consult the databases (books, theses, re- what is provided, and at this time space is not ports) now searchable only in the Reading Room, an issue. at their desks, would enhance the likelihood of their visiting the Reading Room. Since they usual- The Ecosystems Group, in their written response ly need to visit a campus library anyway, they do from a very limited number in the group, present- not bother to visit the Reading Room first. The ed a different view of the future of the Reading Past Global Change Group is most conveniently Room. They see the issues raised in number 6 located to the Reading Room, and the Ecosystems above as serious constraints to INSTAAR. They Group did not reply on this issue. feel that a teaching assistant or a graduate student should be employed “to maintain the operation” Suggestions for the future of the Reading Room. The of the Reading Room at a much reduced level in Past Global Change Group and the Geophysics terms of space, collections, and services. Group both support the option of retaining the Reading Room as it is at present, BUT with some Conclusions and recommendations. The results of major changes: this study in scholarly communication demon- strate that new technologies and the associated 1. Emphasis on journal holdings should decline changes in library user behavior will require new commensurate with provision of electronic sub- approaches in the management of information re- scriptions through the university. sources at INSTAAR. The case study at INSTAAR 2. Concentration of budget resources on the both reflects and personalizes issues facing many monograph collection should provide a ‘niche’ science libraries (Topical Session … 2002). location for specialized books either no longer Based on user interviews and data kept regard- afforded by the university or necessary for IN- ing Reading Room use, it is concluded that: STAAR’s mission, such as atlases and other ref- erence materials. 1. Information finding habits are changing, with 3. Special collections in the Reading Room (theses, users making fewer visits to the library and reprints, older books on the polar and alpine re- acquiring more information from the internet. gions) should be maintained, enhanced, and There is little indication that they are using better advertized to users (all three groups fewer books, theses, reports, and reference agreed on this). books. 4. The new professional staff should have the 2. ‘Real’ library visits, although visibly declining skills to stay current with changes in informa- in number, still include visits to several campus tion delivery formats and should communicate and nearby federally supported facilities. these skills to the Reading Room user commu- 3. Electronic journals in particular are changing nity through presentations at in-house seminars user habits considerably, although these and by hosting an open house with refresh- changes are in the early stages. A trend has ments each semester. started which shows that users are gravitating 5. It was also suggested that the Reading Room toward use of electronic reference databases, should become the central information point for data sets, and full text delivery of journal arti- all if INSTAAR’s information needs and should cles. Although users perceive that either they provide the most up to date computers with are, or could be, using the internet almost exclu- color printers for general use. sively for journal needs, data show that in reali- 6. Other issues such as a) the lack of university ty it is still necessary to use journals existing

53 only in print form, and sometimes preferable to The library network and the active users use print versions of electronic journals. in Lapland 4. The division of INSTAAR offices into two build- ings has been accompanied by a decline in users Helena Kokko from the building which does not contain the Juvenile Department, the Regional Library of Reading Room. Lapland 5. Two of the three research groups within IN- STAAR, Past Global Change and Geophysics, Abstract. Aurora is a library network run by twelve are clearly in favour of retaining the Reading public libraries in Lapland. The Aurora libraries Room at its present level with several changes. have a common register of borrowers and library cards are valid in all libraries. Based on the findings presented in this paper, I In the autumn 2001 three separate projects be- will ask the transition team to recommend that the gan, two of which try to find out more flexible numerous thoughtful suggestions for improve- ways in the resource sharing of the library net- ment of the present facility be incorporated into a work by allowing the customer to act more inde- new library policy upon my retirement at the end pendently. of 2002. The customers in the project named Rekku are Two suggestions should be emphasized: able to make reservations themselves and to order material available on the shelf through the collec- 1. Concentration of the collection to provide mate- tion database on the Internet. The project also rials not available electronically nor on campus, tries to find out flexible ways of transporting the including placing more emphasis on IN- material daily over long distances, between li- STAAR’s ‘special collections’ such as theses, fac- braries in different parts of Lapland. ulty reprints, and older monographs about Arc- The project named Alli deals with both the tech- tic regions. nical success of the resource sharing of the sepa- 2. Improve interaction with users by scheduling rate library systems, as well as the willingness of regular seminars and open house opportunities the customers to make interlibrary loans them- at least once a semester. A particular effort selves via the Internet. should be made to accommodate the interests of The third project called Olli focuses on the co- the Ecosystems Group as their faculty increases operation and divison of labour between libraries and their students become dominant in num- and schools in teaching information search. bers at INSTAAR. Public libraries in Finland have formed 80 co-op- eration groups and about half of the public li- References braries belong to one of these networks. Aurora is Nekrasova, N. 2000. Investigating special-library patrons use one of the most extensive library nets. and acceptance of electronic journals. A Master’s Research The Aurora library system of the libraries in La- Paper submitted to the Kent State University School of Li- pland was established in 1992. From the begin- brary and Information Science In partial fulfilment of the ning it included 5 libraries from various parts of requirements for the degree Master of Library and Infor- the Lapland province and has in ten years ex- mation Science. 43 pp. + appendices. Unpublished. panded into 12 public libraries and the libraries of Noga, M., Derksen, C.R.M. and B.E. Haner 1994. Characteris- the Rovaniemi Polytechnic. The Aurora library net 2 tics of geoscience serial use by faculty and students. Geo- covers a great part of the 63,000 km area of the science Information Society Proceedings 24:61-98. Lapland province with about 109,000 inhabitants, Topical Session: New Heights in Geoscience Information: Ac- of which 47% are borrowers. cess and Technology 2002. GIS Newsletter, no. 194:3. A common collection register is the backbone of the Aurora libraries. It is maintained collectively so that new acquisitions are registered in the li- brary which first gets the material. In ten years the collections of the Aurora-libraries have grown as

54 well as the number of borrowers and visitors. Last patrons have an opportunity to make a special, so year there were over 2.5 million loans and over 1.8 called Intro Active agreement with the library, get- million visitors. ting a quicker than before arrival notice of the re- In 2001 the database contained over 1.3 million served material by e-mail or as a text message into records, mainly printed material. The benefit of a mobile phone. The patron gets the notice in less the common system can also be seen in the joint than 15 minutes after the reserved material has use of the material. Inter-library lending among been returned. He can also reserve material which the Aurora libraries is active: in 2001 about 9,000 is currently on the shelf of the local library. He can inter-library loan requests were made, of which check his loans and avoid futile overdue pay- 70% could be provided by another Aurora library. ments by asking notices of approaching return Joint use is alleviated by a common patron regis- dates into his e-mail. ter: one card goes for all Aurora libraries. The service also includes the opportunity to fol- The power of co-operation is also reflected on low new acquisitions of the Aurora libraries by the speed of development of the library system, as defining search profiles of subjects of interest. In well as on the services provided to the patrons. defining the search profile the patron can use au- During the years 1996-1998 the Aurora data com- thor, title, subject headings or classification num- munications net was developed in a separate pro- bers. If he wants, he can limit the search profile by ject. As a result, the Aurora database was trans- language, material or library. When the acquired ferred to the Internet. material matches the search profile, the patron re- The patron has an opportunity for remote use of ceives a notice via e-mail. the library from school, place of work and by The libraries for their part can approach the pa- home terminal even outside the opening hours. trons by sending them notices of e.g. events The patron can do the following things: search the arranged in the library or of exceptional opening collection database, make reservations for materi- hours. al which is on loan, cancel his reservations, renew his own loans and check his own personal cus- Virtual bookshelves. The new service also offers vir- tomer data. tual bookshelves, which the patron can make on the net and name them as he wishes. The patron New services. This Aurora Intro system has been can, for example, gather and maintain a list of ma- realized by taking into use another server through terial pertaining to his hobbies or material he which all customer use is directed. In this equip- needs at work by copying references found in ment a so-called duplicating application is run to searching the Aurora collection database into the transfer data real-time between the production virtual bookshelves he has established. There can database and the user-database. Data is trans- be as many virtual bookshelves as the patron ferred in both directions. All changes happening wishes and he can maintain the shelves by copy- in the lending, booking, customer or volume data ing or deleting references according to his wishes. as well as in acquisitions order control are trans- The references on these shelves can be comple- ferred real-time from the production database. mented by the patron’s own comments, and a no- Data about renewing loans, making bookings and tice can be ordered into one’s email to remind deleting bookings is continually transferred from when this work in question is needed. the Aurora Intro server. Introduction of the new net services is connect- In order to use his customer data on the net, the ed to the experiments which started last year, the patron needs a personal password given by his li- objective of which is to find out new ways of han- brary in addition to his customer identification dling inter library lending as well as to improve code. Use of this service is free of cost. In four the joint use of the collections of the Aurora li- years this service has become known and it is braries. The idea of the experiment is to provide used abundantly: there are 41,000 entries on aver- the patrons with opportunities to make reserva- age per month. In 2001 500,000 entries were regis- tions, more independently than usual, from the tered. collections of the libraries involved in the project. In 2001 this Aurora service was expanded. The At the same time it is of interest to find out the

55 technical success of the joint use of the collections the material is sent directly to the home address of of the various libraries, as well as, the willingness the patron. It is also possible to order copies of ar- of the patrons to use a remote lending service. Or- ticles into one’s e-mail from the Repository Li- dering loans from other libraries requires access brary. rights into the IntroActive and involves only ma- The experimenting time of the joint use of li- terial which is on the shelf. The Ministry of Educa- braries’ collections has been quite short. It always tion has granted funds for the project. takes time before the patrons find out about the new services. Deducing from the experiences of Resource sharing. Four Aurora libraries, including this spring, the interest of the patrons has mainly the Regional Library of Lapland, have a project in been directed to the collections of other Aurora li- resource sharing. The patron searches and locates braries. It is planned that in the near future the the material he needs in the common collection clients could order material from whatever Auro- database. If the needed material is found on the ra library by themselves. shelf of one of the participating libraries, the pa- tron makes a reservation and chooses the most Teaching the patrons. During the past winter these convenient library from where he can fetch the new net services have been introduced in a school material. The reservation made by the client is and library teaching project concerning informa- printed out in the library where the reserved ma- tion management. In the course of this project the terial is, and there it is fetched from the shelf and students acquainted themselves with information sent to the library appointed by the client. The pa- search techniques and learned to use essential in- tron gets a notice via e-mail that the reserved ma- formation sources from the standpoint of their terial has arrived. schoolwork as well as to evaluate them. The other project in the joint use of the collec- Teaching of information search included writ- tions is directed outside the Lapland province. ing an essay on paper or as a web site. Three pairs The participants of the project are the Regional Li- of co-operators have taken part in the project: The brary of Lapland, Oulu City Library, and Tampere Regional Library of Lapland – Lyseonpuisto High City Library all of which have the same adp-sys- School, Kolari Muncipal Library – Kolari High tem and IntroActive services. This project concen- School, Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library – School of trates on the self-service remote lending for the Catering and Institutional Management. patrons. The patron registers into the database of Thinking about the uselfulness of these new net another library via IntroActive pages. During the services, in the long run, they could benefit a stu- registering process the patron becomes a tempo- dent in his studies, for example, in independent rary client for the other library. A temporary bor- searching, locating and getting into use the need- rower code is created for him when his name and ed source material from the library where it can be address data are transmitted to the other library. obtained fastest. The patron searches the material from the data- Source references which are relevant to an essay base and makes a reservation. In the project the can be gathered into virtual bookshelves supplied client gets the booked material directly to his with one’s own comments, for example, about the home address. usefulness of the source. The virtual bookshelves The Regional Library of Lapland experiments can also be useful in planning a schedule for stud- remote lending also from the Repository Library ies – the student can order a notice in his e-mail situated in Central Finland. The collections of the about a book to be read for the exam. The material Repository Library include books, magazines and in the virtual bookshelves could also be used for tape recordings which research libraries and pub- making a list of sources. During the project the lic libraries have disposed of from their collec- students were encouraged to make good use of tions. The patron registers himself into the collec- the services. Towards the end of the project, a tion database of the Repository Library by a sepa- feedback about the use of the net services was rate library code given to him by the Regional Li- gathered from a rather small group of students. brary of Lapland and gives his address in connec- The students had had only a short time to try out tion with making an order. Also in this experiment the services, but they felt that these were mostly

56 beneficial. According to the answers the students there are well over a thousand users. According to had tested nearly all of the services. Nobody had available statistics, 15 % of them have virtual booked material outside the Aurora libraries, and bookshelves and 20 % follow the new acquisitions material on the shelf was reserved mainly from of the library. According to the experiments under the library situated in the student’s own locality. way and according to the former remote use of the More than half the students replied that they had Aurora-database presumably the most used of the made virtual bookshelves, although in the ques- new services would be various electronic notices tionnaire they were not asked about the actual into e-mail, booking material on the shelf, as well purpose for using them. as remote lending from the Aurora libraries in- volved in the test. It seems that the services bene- The new net services have been at the disposal of fit most of all the patrons who are active users of our patrons by way of trial less than a year. It al- library services. In the future it would be interest- ways takes some time to introduce new services ing to find out more exactly which services the pa- and get the patrons aware of them. At present trons use and for what purposes.

57 Session 5: Bibliographic resources

The Bibliography of Cold Regions Science engineering and broad coverage of the physical and Engineering – now and the future sciences. The disciplines and subject matter re- mained varied and covered every topic relating to Nancy C. Liston cold regions imaginable. Some of the highlights of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Information the research include technical consulting on the Technology Laboratory environmental impact and engineering of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, work on inland navigation Abstract. In 1998 the Cold Regions Research and of rivers, which included study of ice jams and the Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Hanover, NH be- related flooding, to the more mundane issues of came one of seven laboratories composing the En- frost heaves, airfield construction, and water qual- gineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). ity in cold environments. With a new paradigm of research in the Corps of CRREL’s product is knowledge – knowledge of Engineers and many changes in mission and priori- the winter battlefield, of the environment, of basic ties, CRREL moved away from traditional cold re- physical processes, and of engineering technology gions research and was unable to sustain the pre- that works in the cold. For this knowledge to be vious and increasing level of funding for the Bibli- put to use, either to solve an immediate problem ography of Cold Regions Science and Engineering. or to serve as the basis for future research, it must The Library of Congress had compiled the bibliog- be properly managed. In 1998, CRREL became re- raphy since 1951, with great success, accuracy, and aligned with the newly established Corps of Engi- quality coverage. The increasing costs required neers Engineer Research and Development Cen- that CRREL and the National Science Foundation ter, which is composed of seven laboratories – prepare a request for proposal for the continua- four in Mississippi, one in Illinois, one in Virginia, tion of both the Antarctic Bibliography and the and CRREL in New Hampshire. The realignment Bibliography of Cold Regions Science and Technol- shifted organizational responsibility for the Bibli- ogy. This presentation focuses on the process, cur- ography to the Information Technology Laborato- rent status, and future projects of the Bibliogra- ry (ITL) located in Mississippi. The actual spon- phy of Cold Regions Science and Technology. In- sorship remains with CRREL; I am, however, an cluded is a discussion of the aging arctic research ITL employee. Managing CRREL’s ever-growing staff at CRREL and other institutions as it affects accumulation of cold regions knowledge is the job the archiving and retrieval of information. The of the information management elements within purpose of this paper is to raise awareness and the Information Technology Laboratory residing stimulate discussion rather than present definitive in Hanover, NH. solutions. If the reorganization was not confusing enough, in 1999, CRREL and the National Science Founda- Introduction. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tion (NSF) initiated a joint request for proposals has sponsored the Bibliography on Cold Regions for the continuation of the Bibliography on Cold Science and Technology since 1951. The Snow, Ice Regions Science and Technology and the Antarctic and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE) Bibliography. NSF has sponsored the preparation and the Arctic Construction and Frost Affects Lab- of the Antarctic Bibliography since 1962. The oratory (ACFEL) were combined in 1961 to form Antarctic Bibliography is unique; no other bibliog- the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Labo- raphy covers all the world’s serious operational ratory (CRREL) in Hanover NH. From 1961 to and scientific Antarctic literature. The compilation 1998, CRREL remained an independent govern- and editing of the Antarctic Bibliography were co- ment research laboratory, within the Corps of En- located with the Bibliography on Cold Regions gineers, with the specialized mission of cold re- Science and Technology at the Library of Congress gions research, including the varied disciplines of since the beginning of both bibliographies. Spon-

58 sorship costs had escalated during the 90’s. The tourism, biological and geological sciences, car- advent of the Web and digital processes seemed to tography, expeditions, medical science, and po- point toward soliciting new approaches for litical geography. preparing the bibliographies, with associated cost • The bibliographies would be in the English lan- savings. I should be clear that the issue was never guage except in the field for original language quality or content within the Bibliographies. In or transliterated title. fact the total number of records entered in the Bib- • The citations included in the Antarctic Bibliog- liography on Cold Regions Science and Technolo- raphy would be no less than 2000 per year and gy reached, in 1998, an all time high of 6,762. Guy 5000 per year for the Bibliography on Cold Re- Guthridge, NSF, is the project manager for the gions Science and Technology. Antarctic Bibliography and has participated in the • Within 2 years of the award, the gap in Antarc- Polar Colloquy in the past. Guy manages the tic coverage for the period between the end of award for these bibliographies for NSF. the Library of Congress coverage and the begin- ning of the new award would be eliminated. Carrying on. On 7 July 2000, the National Science • A computer searchable file, including all Foundation awarded an estimated $860,000 to the records of both bibliographies, would be made American Geological Institute to continue the available. That number was approximately Antarctic Bibliography and the Bibliography on 225,000 items at the time of the award. Cold Regions Science and Technology for 5 years. • The authority files of the Library of Congress This award was made after the two submitted would continue to be used for indexing the bib- proposals were carefully evaluated. NSF would, liographies. for the first time, co-sponsor with CRREL the Bib- • Each sponsor would receive a computer ex- liography on Cold Regions Science and Technolo- portable file in USMARC-format file when the gy in addition to their continued total support of project ends. the Antarctic Bibliography. NSF is administering • Abstracts would be written for every article en- the 5-year award and we are nearing the end of tered in the Antarctic Bibliography except when the second year. an author abstract exists. The American Geological Institute, a federation • A Web-based database would be developed to of 35 geoscience societies, has 32 years of experi- make both bibliographies completely searchable ence building databases and compiling bibliogra- on the Web. phies. The Institute produces GEOREF, the com- • The bibliographies would be made available via prehensive geoscience bibliography with more CD-ROM semiannually or more often. This re- than 2.3 million records. The Institute can use its sponsibility could be with another vendor such substantial resources and experience to provide as NISC. NISC’s Arctic and Antarctic Regions significant cost savings to the sponsors. (AAR) service contains a million bibliographic The bibliographic service that was outlined in records of literature published from 1800 and the requests for proposals included the following earlier to the present. The world’s largest collec- major requirements. tion of international polar databases includes the following databases: • The awardee would cite worldwide journal arti- • Bibliography of Arctic and Russian Geology cles, organizational reports, books and book (1984–present). Cambridge Arctic Shelf Pro- chapters, dissertations, patents, and conference gram, UK, including an unrivalled collec- proceedings that relate to physical science and tion of Russian geological works (44,000 engineering in cold environments for the Bibli- records). ography on Cold Regions Science and Technolo- • Arctic Bibliography – digitized in 1999 by the gy. Web sites are also being added to the bibli- American Geological Institute with funding ographies now. For NSF the interests are geo- from NSF. The original bibliography covers graphical, being limited to the Antarctic and the the literature through the early 1970’s. The Southern Ocean, but covering all disciplines references with English abstracts are from the pertaining to that region, including industry, project’s 16 published volumes and the un-

59 published 17th volume (114,716 records in- comprehensive is the product, the better the end cluded). result search will be. • ASTIS – Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary (43,500 records). Document delivery. The availability of full texts has • C-Core – Center for Cold Ocean Resources changed under the current award. No longer can Engineering, Memorial University of New- the CRREL library or the Antarctic stations rely on foundland, St. Johns, Newfoundland (34,300 microfiche files of every cited item. We would records included). hope to continue to work toward a solution for • Citation – World Data Center A for Glaciology making full text digitally available in the future. (Snow and Ice), University of Colorado, Boul- Establishing a one-stop source of full text informa- der (38,400 records). tion is not an easy thing to do with the copyright • SPRI – Scott Polar Research Institute, Univer- hurdle to navigate. The technology to digitize sity of Cambridge (123,600 records). documents and provide them electronically is • USBGN – Antarctic Place Names; U.S. Board available. It is the administrative nightmare to on Geological Names’ Official Place Names provide for simple copyright solutions that com- index: descriptions, elevations and coordi- plicates full-text delivery. The digital rights are a nates for over 12,000 sites (12,300 records cur- problem if you do not own a copy of the actual rently). document. AGI and CRREL will survey the extent • BOREAL – Canadian Circumpolar Library, of CRREL ownership of the documents that we University of Alberta Library, Edmonton, Al- want to digitize, and to what extent the docu- berta, Canada (285,000 records). ments are in the public domain. The goal would • Yukon Bibliography – Canadian Circumpolar be to have full text available electronically to the Library, University of Alberta Library, Ed- CRREL research staff. The issue of interlibrary monton, Alberta, Canada (4,800 records). loan would need to be addressed at that point. • INAC – Department of Indian and Northern Time is of the essence with determining how to Affairs, Northern Development, Canada solve the full text delivery, because the microfiche (72,400 records). and microfilm from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s are be- ginning to deteriorate. The demise of this collec- Cooperation. It has always been the goal of NSF tion will be a scientific loss. and CRREL to build international liaisons with The largest change for the CRREL bibliography other institutions for shared inputting of cited was the removal from the award requirements of items to assure completeness and to reduce search the need for a microfiche copy of every item. The and compilation cost. At one point we considered CRREL library had furnished about 70% of the bib- the possibility of developing a system whereby liographic material to the Library of Congress over authors could do their own input directly into the the history of the project. CRREL continues to sup- database through a Web form, with quality control ply materials to AGI. NSF does not own the items by the awardee. We have given up on this propos- indexed in their bibliography. The CRREL library al as experience has shown that direct input leaves receives materials from individual scientists, insti- indexing severely inconsistent and degrades qual- tutions, governments, universities, and private or- ity. The question that I propose to this group is, ganizations engaged in cold regions science and what can we do to penetrate the scientific commu- engineering. The materials were sent to the Library nity and provoke a sense of ownership, beyond of Congress and were returned after microfiching the sponsoring institutions, for these bibliographic to the CRREL library for permanent archiving. The centerpieces? Even within CRREL, we constantly items now owned by CRREL and indexed in the remind researchers to include us in the distribu- Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Tech- tion of their publications. More comprehensive in- nology are available through interlibrary loan clusion from all scientific communities would from the CRREL library or through document de- raise the intellectual bar on the quality of the in- livery from AGI. AGI has a fee schedule in place put to these information tools. Multiinstitutional for document delivery. This will be a new process input benefits everyone. The broader and more for many of the bibliography users.

60 Current awareness. AGI writes short monthly high- The monthly awareness listings on the CRREL light lists for the Antarctic Bibliography that are website in 1998 produced 20,736 individual hits. featured on the first page of the Web site. In addi- From October 1998 to March 1999 (6 months) Cur- tion CRREL, sends e-mail announcements to our rent Antarctic Literature had 47,662 views, 19,805 research staff when a new file is added to the user sessions, and was CRREL’s fourth most re- database each month. There will no longer be any quested web page. During the same period, the printed documents. The last volume of the printed Library of Congress web site recorded 22,744 indi- bibliography was volume 54, 2000. The current lit- vidual logons. These figures would be augmented erature is currently available only in electronic by the users of the NISC disc, which has 57 indi- form to the CRREL staff. For those of you unfamil- vidual subscribers. iar with the database, go to www.coldregions.org Outreach to the international community is an- and after entering the supplied user id, “COLD” other task that was highlighted in the solicitation. and password “USER”, visitors to the website can Institutions that establish cooperative agreements search the database by keyword, author, or year of with AGI will gain access to portions of the bibli- publication. The search returns include title, ographies at no cost. For other users, the sponsors source, and a link to more information including have authorized AGI to shift some portion of the pages, notes, series, and publisher information. By project’s financial support to non-federal sources being maintained and continually updated, a by establishing user fees and cost sharing. Com- database that is an accumulation of over 40 years prehensive coverage of the published and grey lit- of materials on science and technology at work in erature is a critical goal. AGI has used several the world’s cold regions provides a security for re- types of international data exchanges in building searchers who know that they have reviewed all GEOREF and will seek to establish cooperative work conducted on a cold regions subject. arrangements with polar research organizations. NSF and CRREL will encourage the polar commu- The future. Over the years of involvement in this nity to work with AGI to help maintain the quali- Bibliography, I have heard many examples of how ty and comprehensiveness of these bibliographies. a search has helped to save hours of unnecessary There is room for discussion on whether the ad- research because the answer was already in the lit- vent of the Web has made bibliographies such as erature and found through the Bibliography. I these obsolete. I maintain that the validity of the have heard stories of how money was saved by sources, the one stop-shopping availability, and not reinventing something or heading off a possi- the ready access is much more efficient than dis- ble incorrect approach to a problem. The EXXON persed resources, even using push-technology library called the day the Exxon Valdez went and current awareness technology. aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and Government websites are an impressive portion wanted to know how to find material on laser ig- of the Internet, both in content and reliability. niting the oil spills efficiently and immediately. However, even the government websites have in- The military was supported when the Marine air- creasingly uncontrolled content. It is dangerous to craft went down in Gander, Newfoundland, in the believe that scientific and technical information is 80’s and they had to secure the site before an in- available comprehensively on the Web. At the coming snowstorm. They called the CRREL li- Special Libraries Association meeting in 2002, a brary for references and contacts to provide im- VP for content management at IBM estimated that mediate aid. The Washington DC government and 1/100th of 1% of all information is in electronic for- the Transportation Safety Board used the bibliog- mat. This is not unrealistic when you consider the raphy to learn of our ice penetrating radar to lo- Web is a very recent arrival to the on-line world of cate the aircraft black box after an ice related crash information retrieval. I would contend that the into the Potomac in January 1982. These dramatic majority of full-text articles available have been stories are examples of how our bibliographies are published since 1993. CRREL research reports, for used. Value is added to the scientific community example, are available in full-text at http://www. by having these bibliographic tools as comprehen- crrel.usace.army.mil/library/intro_pub.html since sive and accessible as possible. 1994. That leaves about 70 years of information

61 that is not retrievable using Web search engines. stitute, and the AGI. We ask that documents that These materials can be found by searching library are published by your organizations be made catalogs or proprietary databases. The actual text available directly to AGI, NSF, or CRREL. We of the document would not be there. The expedi- would again like to revisit opportunities for direct ency of the Web makes it both convenient and dan- input to these bibliographies using the format and gerous. It is tempting to download information classification schemes that AGI has established. from the Web, rather than pursue a more relevant The ultimate purpose of these specialized bibli- article in a library. We are all aware that anyone ographies is to ease scientists’ access to polar re- can publish on the Web and that process leaves us search literature. An additional benefit is improv- open to invalid and inaccurate information. ing access to polar research results for non-polar scientists, educators, students, and other interest- Conclusions. I maintain that databases such as ed groups. Continued liaison and cooperation in- Cold Regions will be around for the future. One of ternationally will support the long-term quality, my personal concerns, which will be addressed in existence, and relevancy of these bibliographies. a panel later this week, is the loss of grey informa- We need your help in this endeavor. tion with each retirement of a polar researcher. Grey information is defined as material that is not published, such as communications, data that support written reports, collegial exchanges, and The evolution of the Cold Regions internal reports of an organization. CRREL is not Bibliography Project through migration bringing new polar researchers into our organiza- and cooperation tion either at the rate or with the youth that we did in the 60’s and 70’s. With each retirement, box- Sharon N. Tahirkheli es of valuable material arrive in my office. We cull American Geological Institute through and archive the information as appropri- ate. Each time this happens, I am amazed at the Abstract. In July 2000, the American Geological In- materials that I find that were never entered into stitute (AGI) took charge of the Cold Regions Bibli- the Bibliography and that are still important and ography Project and began work on the Antarctic valid scientific documents. However, many orga- Bibliography. Three months later, with the com- nizations and retired researchers do not always pletion of Volume 54, the Bibliography on Cold think to deposit their personal libraries in estab- Regions Science and Technology was also trans- lished libraries. I have had calls from academic ferred to AGI. Bearing in mind that coverage and polar scientists indicating they would like to do- quality of the bibliographies should remain very nate their materials and we usually gladly accept. much the same, several objectives were outlined However, as we will discuss, there is no institu- for the transfer and migration of the bibliogra- tional process for archiving this material. We have phies. The Antarctic Bibliography had ceased oper- also had libraries that are no longer collecting in ation in October 1998 and a major objective for the polar area, such as the National Geographic AGI was to close the gap in coverage over the first Society. Libraries are unsure what to do with their two years of the project. On average, the Antarc- collections. CRREL inherited the National Geo- tic Bibliography had covered 2000 items per year graphic collection gladly. The CRREL library has and was, at the time of the awarding of the grant, also engaged in finding homes for duplicates. A almost two full years behind. A second major ob- collection that CRREL has supported is the Ilis- jective was to distribute both databases via CD- agvik College library in Barrow, Alaska. CRREL ROM and the Web in ways that would make it has a special partnership agreement with Ilis- possible to recover some of the production costs agvik. for the bibliographies. A third objective was to We continue to ask the Polar Libraries Colloquy promote cooperative agreements with other orga- to assist in the establishment of designated ex- nizations that collect and produce polar informa- change arrangements, such as those between tion. Cooperative agreements with institutions British Antarctic Survey, Scott Polar Research In- such as Scott Polar Research Institute are seen as a

62 means of reducing production costs, increasing ing of the grant to be begun in two stages. First, coverage and fostering wider distribution. A fu- the AGI was to immediately begin work on the ture objective includes the examination of ways to Antarctic Bibliography followed by assumption of incorporate new data into the bibliographies to management of the Bibliography on Cold Regions enable end-user access to full-text in a Web envi- Science and Technology three months later. The ronment. This includes supplying URLs for full-text grant would run for five years. The AGI brings and/or exploring linking to publisher sites. With considerable expertise in bibliographic develop- two-years of experience with the integration of ment to the project. GeoRef, the 2.4 million record the two bibliographies into the AGI production geoscience bibliographic database, has been pro- system, the basic production system for the Cold duced by the AGI since 1967. Staff members (28) Regions Bibliography Project is in operation and currently add approximately 80,000 records to the beginning to meet its objectives. file each year from more than 3500 scientific jour- nals. GeoRef has grown significantly through a Introduction. In July 2000, the American Geological collaborative approach to bibliographic produc- Institute (AGI) began to take charge of the Cold tion. By working with its counterparts at many ge- Regions Bibliography Project. The Project, with ological organizations throughout the world, the funding from the U.S. National Science Founda- AGI has managed to develop cooperative cata- tion and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research loging arrangements that allow GeoRef to cover of Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), had resided at the world’s geoscience literature, make it accessi- the U.S. Library of Congress since the early sixties. ble to users, maintain quality of the records, and The project consists of two components, the keep costs at a reasonable level. In addition, AGI Antarctic Bibliography and the Bibliography on Cold has almost twenty years of experience with fee- Regions Science and Technology. The two bibliogra- based delivery of full-text through the Document phies had been produced in print and distributed Delivery Service. to libraries via CD-ROM and Web-based files. The project had resulted in a combined file of approxi- Goals. Goals for the Cold Regions Bibliography mately 220,000 records and was widely recog- Project include goals for each Bibliography, as nized as the most comprehensive bibliographic well as general goals for both. For the Antarctic file for polar scientific literature. Bibliography the goals include maintaining the The Antarctic Bibliography portion of the project comprehensive coverage of the files by covering at had ended in mid-1998 at the Library of Congress. least 2000 items per year, closing the gap in cover- At that time the Bibliography contained 60,000 age caused by the hiatus from mid-1998 to mid- items which covered the time period from 1961 to 2000, including informative abstracts, producing early 1998. Geographic coverage included the con- and distributing e-mail listings of some new items tinent of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean north added to the file each month, and to developing to the Antarctic Convergence. Sub-antarctic is- cooperative arrangements for distributed cata- lands north to 40 degrees S latitude and the south- loging. For the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science ern tip of South America that is used a staging and Technology the goals include adding at least area for visits to the continent are also included. 5000 items per year, producing a monthly alert, Subjects covered include all physical and biologi- tracking publications of the CRREL staff, and ad- cal sciences, tourism, logistics, and expeditions. dressing special topics as needed by the CRREL The Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Tech- staff. Joint goals included distributing the bibli- nology portion of the project was continued by the ographies via CD-ROM and Web-based files, re- Library of Congress through the end of September ducing the cost of production of the bibliogra- 2000. By the time the project ended the Bibliogra- phies via shared cooperative efforts and subscrip- phy contained 180,000 records and covered the tion-based distribution, maintaining digital files of time period from 1951 to early 2000. This Bibliog- uncopyrighted materials, providing access to ma- raphy covered all physical science and engineer- terials through various document delivery mecha- ing for a cold environment. nisms, and maintaining the high-quality of the In July 2000, the AGI was notified of the award- original bibliographies.

63 interest to the Bibliography on Cold Regions Science ABBREV_TITLE 1 S ABSTRACT 2 S and Technology. ANT_ACC_NO 3 S Merging the production system into the GeoRef ANTAR_TERM 4 M production process posed several challenges. Geo- ANTARCTIC_VOLUME 5 S AUTHOR_AFFILIAT 6 S Ref’s production system is a proprietary, internal- CITY_OF_PUB 7 S ly-designed system based on UNISIST, a standard CONFERENCE 8 S COPY_RECORD_NO 9 S bibliographic record format intended to facilitate CORPORATE_AUTHOR 10 M record exchange. The format of GeoRef records is COUNTRY 11 S significantly different from the STAR format. A CRELA 12 S CRREL_ACC_NO 13 S sample of the fields used by GeoRef is included in CRREL_AU 14 S Table 2. It was necessary to maintain the repro- CRREL_REPORT_NO 15 S CRREL_TERM 16 M ducibility of the structure of the original file and, DATE_CREATED 17 S at the same time, produce a file that could be con- DATE_OF_PUB 18 S verted to USMARC format. The ability to merge ET_AL 19 S FIRST_AU_AM 20 S both types of old records with the new records FOREIGN_TITLE 21 S into a unified, online, searchable file was also re- FORM_OF_ITEM 22 S GEOGRAPHIC_TERM 23 M quired. The GeoRef production system was designed Table 1 STAR data elements (partial). by GeoRef staff to handle text-based records with relative ease. A major component of the system is a duplicate checking algorithm that effectively prevents inclusion of references to the same mate- Migration. In September 2000, the Project files rial. This duplicate checking system also enables were transferred from the Library of Congress to the system to spot duplicates should they be sup- the AGI. The Library of Congress had used the plied by cataloging partners. A major question STAR system for maintaining the database. The upon receipt of the files from the Library of Con- STAR system is a well-known software package gress was whether a duplicate checking compo- for text information management that provides nent for the Cold Regions Bibliography Project web-based retrieval options for library catalogs. should be developed. In the end, the decision was Both bibliographies were stored in a single file made to use the GeoRef module and manually with a system of shared fields and separate fields. verify material dated prior to the startup date of This approach of storing records in a single file the project. A second component of the system is had advantages as some records were appropriate the serials control system. The serials file creates for both files. A sample of the field tags used in basic records for all journal citations. Within the the Library of Congress version of the file is in- file, the date received and who supplied the data cluded in Table 1. can be tracked. This is a critical file as materials The Library also provided controlled vocabu- are borrowed from many libraries and cooperative lary lists for both files. The Antarctic Bibliography arrangements exist with at least seventeen distrib- vocabulary was general in nature and hierarchi- uted cataloging groups for GeoRef. A third com- cal. Geographic names followed the format of the ponent, the document management system, en- U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The Bibliogra- ables tracking of records from the start of the pro- phy on Cold Regions Science and Technology was duction process through the end. As records travel more detailed and consisted primarily of terms for through each step, the system monitors who has a snow, ice, and other components of a cold envi- document and what action was last applied to the ronment. Along with the vocabulary lists, the Li- document. The system is flexible enough to han- brary provided detailed coverage descriptions for dle changes to procedures, addition of fields and both bibliographies supplying details on past de- generation of new products without the need to cisions regarding limits to coverage. For example, refer to outside technical support. A full-time pro- K-12 education was originally given no place in grammer handles all aspects of the production either project, but in recent years had become of system.

64 Challenges in migrating the Cold Regions Bibli- A01 ISSN (International Standard Serial Number), ography Project to AGI were many. The primary e.g. 0016-7606 challenge involved determining what had been A02 CODEN 6-character serial code, e.g. BUGMA6 A03 Serial title The ISDS Key Title is used, when covered already by both bibliographies and what available. had been covered only for the Bibliography on Cold A05 Volume number of serial Regions Science and Technology. Records from the A06 Issue number of serial A07 Other identification of serial Library of Congress detailed the last issue covered A08 Title of analytic* Original language title, for the latter, but provided no information on the transliterated title, or modified title. There may also be a translated title. Antarctic Bibliography. Even with the information A09 Title of monograph* on the last issue covered, gaps existed. In the end A10 Title of collection* it was determined that the only effective way to A11 Person-analytic* (author unless otherwise noted) A12 Person-monograph* locate gaps was to manually search, on an item- A13 Person-collection* by-item basis, many of the journals central to the A14 Affiliation, primary-analytic A15 Affiliation, primary-monograph cold regions literature. A complicating factor was A16 Affiliation, primary-collection the fact that many journals had already been re- A17 Corporate body-analytic* viewed for geoscience coverage, so it was neces- A18 Corporate body-monograph* A19 Corporate body-collection* sary to backtrack through large blocks of the sci- A20 Pagination-analytic, e.g. 23-35 entific literature. A21 Date of publication A22 Date, other* Vocabulary differences were another adjust- A23 Language of text* Abbreviation and language, ment. As noted before, the two bibliographies e.g. FR @French used two separate sets of controlled-vocabulary A24 Language of summary* A25 Publisher* Includes name, city, and country terms. After examination of the online versions of A26 ISBN* (International Standard Book Number) both the Antarctic Bibliography and the Bibliography A27 Edition on Cold Regions Science and Technology, it became A28 Number of pieces-collection A29 Pages-monograph, e.g. 235 apparent that both sets of vocabulary had been A30 Meeting name* merged for use in searching. The option to merge A31 Meeting location Includes city and country A32 Meeting date both together into one searchable field for the pur- A39 Report number* poses of the Web file seemed the simplest. Consis- A41 Degree-granting institution tency with the terms used in the past was of the A42 Degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral) A43 Availability of document* Organization where utmost importance. The Antarctic Bibliography con- document may be obtained. Used for reports and tained hierarchical geographic structures. By us- theses. ing the GeoRef Thesaurus with its set of 13,000 ge- Table 2. GeoRef Data Elements (partial list). ographic terms, it was possible to duplicate the same hierarchical structure. For the extensive cold-related terms used by the Bibliography on Cold classify references in the older print version of the Regions Science and Technology, new terms were in- Antarctic Bibliography). troduced into the GeoRef internal vocabulary and A major adjustment for the system was the ad- existing vocabulary was manipulated to produce dition of an abstractor to the staff in order to pro- the desired set of terms. duce original abstracts for the Antarctic Bibliogra- New fields were also required for handling phy. GeoRef, while including author abstracts, types of data not normally covered for GeoRef. does not contain abstracts for publications that ei- For example, patents are not generally covered by ther do not contain abstracts or prohibit their use. GeoRef and contain several types of information Lastly, the need for a separate tracking system that is not normally part of other types of publica- for CRREL loans became apparent. The CRREL li- tions. In addition, both bibliographies had specific brary provides about 50% of the materials that are fields necessary for tracking specific needs of the referenced in the Bibliography on Cold Regions Sci- project, such as the CRREL author publication ence and Technology. As the materials are returned number (a special number assigned to journal and to the library, it is necessary to include the final conference publications by CRREL staff) and the CRREL identification number along with the Antarctic category (the subject groupings used to book. The GeoRef production system is designed

65 internally to produce the final number as the last of this project. In order to improve comprehensive step in the process and uses a temporary number coverage and reduce total cost, a distributed cata- during the interim time period. A system for per- loging effort is essential. Cooperative agreements manent number assignment at the beginning of must, however, work within a framework of cer- the process was developed. tain requirements. The AGI must ensure that the format remains consistent and that the quality of Distribution. In prior years the two bibliographies the data produced does not change. Informative had been distributed by NISC as part of the Arctic abstracts must be provided for the Antarctic Bibli- & Antarctic Regions suite of databases. It was ography references. Original materials must be ac- clear that continuance of this method of distribu- cessible to users. tion was in the best interests of the users of the In late 2000, an understanding was reached files. In early 2001, an agreement was reached with the Scott Polar Research Institute to work on with NISC to continue providing the databases to adding data to the Antarctic Bibliography. The SPRI users through both the CD-ROM and Web-based generously provided some materials for the time systems. Several options existed for formats in period when the Antarctic Bibliography was dor- providing the data to NISC. The STAR format had mant and AGI began the process of determining been the format of choice by the Library of Con- how to proceed with ongoing cooperation. Even- gress. USMARC is the standard format that many tually, a list of series was established for SPRI to libraries use and that could be produced easily cover on a regular basis. This has the advantage of from the GeoRef internal format, but as AGI had making it possible for all parties to know what the previously worked with NISC on adding the Arc- other is planning to do. For books and grey litera- tic Bibliography to this suite of databases, a sim- ture, a file was established of all items identified pler format had already been developed for load- as potential Antarctic candidates. This file con- ing data. This format was selected for supplying tains every item that AGI has begun to work on, the new data and the STAR format was used as but has either not finished or has not transferred necessary for additions and corrections to prior to the final Antarctic Bibliography. SPRI was given materials. access to the file. In this way, new items of interest AGI obtained the domain name coldregions.org encountered by SPRI can be searched in this file for the main web site for the project. From this before consideration is given to cataloging them. Web site users can gain access to both the Antarctic SPRI forwards references on a quarterly basis to Bibliography and the Bibliography on Cold Regions AGI where they are reviewed and the controlled Science and Technology. Each month a listing of vocabulary is edited. new items added to the latter is generated and Preliminary discussions had been initiated with sent to the CRREL library where it is loaded as a the appropriate groups in Spain, Italy, and New pdf file. Links to this file are found on the Zealand. However, finalization of other coopera- www.coldregions.org site. Until recently, an e- tive agreement has not been completed for vari- mail listing was being generated on a monthly ba- ous reasons. Further efforts to develop coopera- sis for the Antarctic Bibliography. The e-mail high- tive agreements will continue. lighted some of the new materials going into the Antarctic Bibliography. In June 2002 the process be- Document delivery. A last major goal of the project gan to undergo a change to an alert that is linked is to maintain access to original materials in some from the homepage. Visitors can select categories form for the users. The GeoRef Document Deliv- and scan through new additions to the file for the ery Service has been in existence since the early month by category. A calendar of relevant meet- eighties. The Service is registered with the Copy- ings is included on the site and anyone with a right Clearance Center and has provided materi- meeting to advertise is encouraged to e-mail de- als to a variety of GeoRef users throughout the tails to the Webmaster. last twenty years. As part of the Cold Regions Bib- liography Project the Document Delivery Service Cooperation. Cooperative database development is was extended to handle orders derived from the a major goal for the Antarctic Bibliography portion users of the bibliographies. Our document re-

66 searcher uses libraries in the Washington DC area ty can link to Cross-Ref and obtain access to the including several major government libraries and public portion of a given journal. When users the Library of Congress. In addition, uncopyright- have subscription access to journal, either through ed materials are available from digitized copies. individual or institutional subscription, the link Materials owned by the project supporters are will usually allow direct access to the full-text. available on archival microfiche. In the case of co- The Project microfiche files represent another operating institutions, a part of every arrange- major option for full-text delivery. Many materials ment is the option of using Inter-Library Loan or covered by the project are archived on microfiche. some other mechanism to gain access to materials Digitization of some portion of the microfiche is cataloged. The bulk of the items requested to date being considered. Intellectual property rights is- have been either to original CRREL reports or to sues and cost are currently being explored. older Russian literature. Full-text access via the Web is the next big step. Where we are today. Our accomplishments over the The versions of the files available through NISC last twenty months include integration of the files are linked in some cases to full-text. In addition, into the GeoRef production process; completion of AGI is embedding URLs where appropriate for more than 14,000 references; design of the web material that is freely available on the Web. Digital site; distribution of updated files via CD-ROM Object Identifiers are also added to records if they and Web and initiation of the cooperative agree- are supplied. The Digital Object Identifier is a per- ment with SPRI. Over the next few years, our manent identifier for individual articles and stays goals are to consolidate our procedures, continue the same no matter how often a URL might to assess coverage, expand the use of the web site change. Using a handler program, a DOI can be and extend cooperative agreements to include used to locate materials even when the material more organizations. moves. The DOI does require the cooperation of the publisher in keeping the handlers up-to-date. Future options for full-text access may involve References accessing the Cross-Ref system. Cross-Ref is a sys- Dierickx, Harold and Alan Hopkinson, compilers and editors tem devised by publishers to allow document in- 1986. Reference Manual for Machine-Readable Biblio- terlinking and allows libraries and bibliographic graphic Descriptions. Paris: UNESCO, UNISIST International systems to obtain DOIs that publishers won’t pro- Centre for Bibliographic Descriptions (UNIBID). vide freely. Within Cross-Ref, over 120 major pub- Goodman, Barbara A., editor. 2000. GeoRef Thesaurus. lishers are working together to keep DOIs up-to- Alexandria, VA: American Geological Institute. Ninth edi- date and to interlink content. A bibliographic utili tion.

67 Session 6: Picture collections

New trends of the Italian Antarctic ice at an elevation of 2.800 m., from which here and Research Programme Library. Projecting a there emerge stacks and domes of scientific observa- database of Italian Antarctic expeditions tions…“ Ardito Desio (1987). pictures The starting point is a citation contained in a trav- Donatella Alesi and Silvia Sarti el journal published by Ardito Desio, a well- ENEA Antarctic Project – Biblionova known Italian geologist, mountain climber and memorialist who recently died at the honourable Abstract. The paper describes the project of a pic- age of 102. tures database that documents all the Italian The long period makes evident the paradox Antarctic expeditions, people involved in the orga- which everyone sees when travelling and working nization and technological equipment, from 1985 in Antarctica: as historical document and aesthetic to the present. image, the photograph of an Antarctic site always After a brief description of collection develop- shows this paradox. ment and preservation, some considerations about This characteristic has been also acknowledged different kinds of users will be discussed. The suc- in Frank Hurley’s and Herbert Pointing’s works, cess of the project named “Adopting a school the first photographers who captured fashionable from Antarctica” (see 18th PLC proceedings) and images in Antarctica. the growing interest of public opinion in Italy to- We are not allowed to define Shackleton and his wards the Antarctic continent, have changed and companions less than “contemporary Argonauts” extended the role of final users interested not (Baroni 2001). only in Antarctic pictures as scientific documents, Therefore, we remember the detailed informa- but also as amazing images. tion of Scott Polar Research Institute picture li- According to the growing influence in support- brary edited by Philippa Smith on the Endurance: ing the scientific dissemination of Antarctic re- the documentary images are at the same time search in Italy, the PNRA library can play a gate- “spectacular” portraits of panoramas and way role between two different requests: the sci- “unique” pictures of everyday life (see 18th PLC entific community and the so-called end users (stu- proceedings 2001). dents, media, Internet “navigators”). Far from attesting the historical meaning of The paper gives an overview of criteria estab- “heroic age”, the photograph collection of the Ital- lished for selecting the huge collection (about ian Antarctic Programme has a value in itself and a 50,000 pictures) and for constructing a key words public heritage of a nation involved in Antarctica. list with the aim of making the database available The collection stores photograms and motion on the Internet. pictures which document 17 scientific campaigns of the “modern era”. They show the paradox men- “While flying with deep emotion on the path that half a tioned above and librarians have to take it into ac- century before had been covered by Amundsen and count for the availability of collection itself. Scott to reach the Pole I was thinking of the huge ef- We keep in mind that Antarctica is a public her- forts and difficulties that those brave men had overcome itage of humankind, not a private property (Suter with their comrades… 1991). At the same time, we give prominence to When the aircraft started to lose altitude and then to the risks of running conflicts of interest between slide on ice, another type of emotion caught me, think- scientific research needs and tourism impact. ing that I was on one of the cusps of the Earth that I had David Drewry wrote that “tourists are drawn, dreamed so many times, not only in my young years. magnetically, to Antarctic bases and research sta- But what is the real fascination of the South Pole? tions where their visits can be disruptive to sci- The landscape is not attractive; it is a boundless area of ence programmes“ (Drewry 1994).

68 Far from simplifying answers, the question is: tographs and 7,000 slides. The material descrip- how could we turn the paradox of function and tion is strictly connected to the physical support of fashion into a challenge and a change? the document and, as a consequence, inventory Here the Antarctic library establishes its institu- and preservation are considered in the same way. tional role of conservation, documentation, dis- The storage also consists of motion pictures: docu- semination, promotion of scientific research in mentaries and radio-TV interviews amounting Antarctica. about 150 hours filmed. As you know (Alesi 2001), the Italian Natio- Photograms are filed in acrylic sheets, in boxes nal Antarctic Research Programme has been de- protecting the sheets and in a cabinet with a prop- veloping a strategic plan of scientific dissemina- er temperature. Digital images are preserved in tion on different aims and levels: the efforts and high definition, on electronic support. support to the researchers involved in the pro- The collection consists of pictures from the 1st gram and the activities in primary and secondary Italian Antarctic expedition in 1985 till today. A schools. huge heritage of images showing the whole of the Together with these two kinds of users, the sci- activities carried out during 17 Antarctic cam- entific community and school pupils, we have to paigns: stations, means of transport, landing craft, consider media journalists and Internet “naviga- technological equipment, research activities, peo- tors” because the network is the virtual space ple, views, icebergs, flora and fauna. where curiosity grows as soon as the information We have immediately realized the characteris- availability grows. tics of the main part of these kind of documents: So, building a photographic collection, the li- its value first of all as scientific and technical doc- brary has to take into account user needs and uments, and only for the earliest images as histori- aims and has to be aware of that paradox: the dis- cal proof. semination of Antarctic photography on the Inter- The authors are all members of the expeditions, net excites public interest on wilderness and envi- in many cases non-professional photographers. ronment beyond the priority of environmental So, we provided a preliminary selection of not protection. They are all real users and their num- perfect and out-of-focus images. ber can grow indefinetely. In other words, be- The “ad hoc” media working group, created by tween promotion and protection, our role consists Antarctic Project, decided to use an appropriate of management of the paradox. software of management, cataloging and indexing In this way our library confirms its mission: to images. After a market analysis, the software organize documents with a triple aim: documen- called Media Manager has been chosen. Media tation, dissemination and conservation. Manager is a digital asset management system To reach this aim the library has to define: docu- that stores, tracks, searchs and retrieves large vol- mentary heritage, users typology and requests, umes of multimedia files. It is a client/server aims of the organization who has produced the database program with a nonproprietary open ar- documents; by the synthesis of these three ele- chitecture for working with a mix of computer ments we have fixed standards for a uniform de- platforms and server software. scription of Antarctic pictures. We need a simple and flexible database for We have just acknowledged what kind of users managing texts, images, sound, video and other look at the Antarctic pictures: on the one hand sci- media files available for previewing them entific community, on the other school, media, In- (through thumbnails, extended views and down- ternet navigator, the general public. loading of original files) over Internet connec- We have also talked about PNRA aims: give tions. Media Manager allows us to classify each support to the scientific and technological activi- document with regards to users typology. ties and promote into the Italian public opinion The software offers a more specialized solution the dissemination of the knowledge on Antarctica. of image availability on the web. We have created With regard to collection analysis, actually the an appropriate dialog box containing the follow- Italian National Antarctic Research Programme ing tags: File name, date entered, size file, type has about 27,000 photograms, 25,000 digital pho- file, job, author, image number, category, subcate-

69 gories, keywords, short description, long descrip- impressed by the mysterious fashion of the conti- tion, user note. nent, like the sound of Homeric sirens. Particularly attention has been dedicated to the connections between keywords tag, short and/or long description tags and categories/sub-cate- References gories because each one contributes to classify the Alesi, D. 2001. Information Is Not Pasta: the Antarctic Library enormous amount of images and to identify every Changes in the Gateway Age. In: Gateways: Archives and single detail. Libraries Into the Next Millennium. Proceedings of the 18th As William Mills told at the last PLC Confer- Polar Libraries Colloquy (ed. by B.E. Kalcey), pp. 2-5. Win- ence about the work of expedition indexing, the nipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Polar Libraries Colloquy. controlled terms we can use have always been Antartide: terra di scienza e riserva naturale. A cura di C. Ba- produced by the expedition itself, despite of na- roni. [Siena], Terra Antartica Publication, 2001. tional differences. He acknowledges the “utility of Desio, A. 1987. Sulle vie della sete dei ghiacci e dell’oro: “expeditions” as a means of unifying a variety of avventure straordinarie di un geologo. Novara, Istituto materials generated by, or relating to, a specific Geografico De Agostini, 1987, pp. 325-326. expeditionary undertaking“ (Mills 2001). Drewry, D.J. 1994. Conflicts of Interest in the Use of Antarc- We agree upon the importance of date and geo- tica. In: Antarctic Science. Global Concerns (ed. by G. graphic site in indexing an image of Antarctic ex- Hempel) pp. 12-30. Berlin, Springer. pedition, but the question is how to determine Mills, W. 2001. Expedition Indexing and the Organization of precisely the enormous variety of equipment, in- Polar Materials. In: Gateways: Archives and Libraries Into the Next Millennium. Proceedings of the 18th Polar Li- struments, “ice” sites which a photography cap- braries Colloquy (ed. by B.E. Kalcey), pp. 103-106. Win- tures every time. nipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Polar Libraries Colloquy. We have selected two sources: the authority file Smith, P. 2001. The SPRI Picture Library – Opening Up the of CRREL (Cold Regions Research and Engineer- Collections. In:. Gateways: Archives and Libraries Into the ing Laboratory) subject terms, considered as a the- Next Millennium. Proceedings of the 18th Polar Libraries saurus, and the research projects founded by the Colloquy (ed. by B.E. Kalcey), pp. 129-132. Winnipeg, Man- Italian Programme. itoba, Canada, Polar Libraries Colloquy. The first source offers nowadays a more de- Suter, K. 1991. Antarctica. London, New Jersey, Pluto Press. tailed list of terms particularly appropriate for lo- gistic and equipment, two of the main subjects of our pictures; the second one is a product of the programme itself and consists of the Italian re- Snow and ice data sets at NSIDC: analog search system involved in Antarctica (researchers, versus digital in issues of cataloging, aims, objectives, results, equipment and instru- archiving, and access ments, sites). In the context of research project, the picture, like the research itself, has been cap- Teresa Mullins tured. National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data In other words, indexing Antarctic images Center for Glaciology, Boulder means to join controlled language and natural lan- guage centred on the Programme activities in- Abstract. The National Snow and Ice Data Center volved in scientific research. (NSIDC)/World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder In this sense – and only in this one – we ac- is a national information and referral center in knowledge different activities between Polar support of polar and cryospheric research and, as archives and an Antarctic documentation centre. such, it archives and distributes digital and analog To conclude, it’s easy for us to answer to the snow and ice data. The issues of indexing, cata- question “how do we know that the Antarctic en- loging, assignment of metadata, archiving and dis- vironment is fine?”, which David Walton has re- tribution for digital data, especially geospatial cently written in Antarctic science. data, have taken on new practices, standards and Thanks to technology, the Antarctic library and terminology as the discipline and its user base have photography are changing, but we’ll be always grown. In order to broaden the current user base

70 of geospatial data management best practices and ment discussion. In order to broaden the current to establish standards that are recognized by the user base of geospatial data management best library, archive and business communities, an ef- practices and to establish standards that are recog- fort must be made to distinguish the similarities nized by the library, archive and business commu- and not the differences in practice. This is especial- nities, an effort must be made to distinguish the ly true as technology and funding make more ana- similarities and not the differences in practice. log geospatial collections available in digital form, This is especially true as technology and funding (work frequently done by the library and archive make more analog geospatial collections available communities), and as business applications are in digital form, (work that is frequently done by found for the use of geospatial information. the library and archive communities), and as busi- ness applications are found for the use of geospa- The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)/ tial information. World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder is a na- During the last year the Library at NSIDC has tional information and referral centre in support been working on the data management of several of polar and cryospheric research and, as such, it analog data sets, including SSM/I passive mi- archives and distributes digital and analog snow crowave satellite remote sensing validation data and ice data. Currently, the majority of the digital from in the form of film negatives and photo- data at NSIDC consist of remotely sensed satellite graphic prints, and the original paper ice charts images, while the analog data are comprised pri- from the National Ice Center. It has also started a marily of heritage collections of photographs, ra- digitization project converting historic glacier dio echo soundings, and ice charts, or of new vali- photographs into digital data with accompanying dation data in the forms of film negatives and metadata and an online searchable database. prints. The WDC, Boulder also houses a biblio- These projects provide the background for this pa- graphic collection of books, journals, reprints and per, with emphasis on the Glacier Photograph other published and grey literature, in both paper Digitization Project and standards and practices and electronic formats. used in the process of converting it and making it Though the theory behind the data manage- available online. ment processes of digital and analog collections is In the United States, many members of the li- similar, it can differ greatly in practice as we have brary community use the USMARC, (Machine learned in the process of adding electronic materi- Readable Cataloging), format standard for the cat- als to the library collection and in developing aloging of material in an electronic environment, metadata and searchable catalogs for data sets be- and the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, ver- ing converted to a digital format. The issues of in- sion 2, Revised edition (AACR2 Revised) to stan- dexing, cataloging, assignment of metadata, dardize the cataloging done. Many different the- archiving and distribution for digital data, espe- sauri are available for the use of standard termi- cially geospatial data, have taken on new prac- nology and controlled vocabulary to aid in the tices, standards and terminology as the discipline search for material by subject, including the Li- and its user base have grown. Though these brary of Congress Subject Headings. Classification changes have involved those in the library and standards used include Library of Congress, archival communities, these standards can chal- Dewey Decimal and the Universal Decimal Classi- lenge the practices and standards established long fication systems. All of these standards that aid ago within the fields of library and archival sci- the librarian in the indexing and cataloging of ma- ence. And, though those involved have been suc- terial have been around for quite a while, and cessful in establishing best practices that are fol- have undergone frequent updates to reflect lowed by small groups within their respective changes within the community over time. Though government and academic circles, they have yet to these standards were developed for the cataloging incorporate the larger library/archive or business of all information within “the universe of knowl- user bases. Comparisons of MARC to FGDC and edge,” they became associated primarily with bib- Dublin Core, and of cataloging to metadata prepa- liographic material and were not widely adopted ration are inevitable parts of this data manage- within the archival, records management, scientif-

71 ic or business data communities. With the advent ternational standards it could, there is no way yet of the World Wide Web and the ease of creation of of knowing if it will be adopted by the interna- web pages by the general public, questions have tional community. arisen about standardization for the cataloging of Because the National Snow and Ice Data Center digital objects. Various standards are developing, is an information and referral centre that archives but metadata creation, that is, the creation of data data, data management practices and standards about other data, has yet to develop widely ac- are of great concern to us. However, it is frequent- cepted international standards. To meet more spe- ly project managers, computer programmers and cific needs for the cataloging of digital objects, the specialists in GIS who develop these best prac- library community, (specifically the Office of Re- tices, and not library, archive or information sci- search at OCLC), began working with others to ence trained personnel. Sometimes this leads to develop the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. frustration as project leaders “recreate the wheel” Dublin Core has attempted to narrow the data ele- because they are not familiar with the history of ments and qualifiers used to the fewest possible, cataloging and indexing theory. At NSIDC, the Li- thus allowing non-librarians and those unfamiliar brarian position supervises the library collection with indexing and cataloging theory to create as well as the non-digital or analog data sets metadata for digital objects. The Dublin Core Data housed there. As the non-digital data sets are digi- Elements include title, creator, subject, descrip- tized, tension about the data management prac- tion, publisher, contributor, date, type, format, tices utilized for them is inevitable between the identifier, source, language, relation, coverage and various groups involved. rights, making them similar to the fields recog- Glacier Photograph Digitization Project – Ana- nized by AACR2 and MARC. log to Digital Within the community of users of geospatial The Glacier Photograph Digitization Project at data, it was recognized that more specific stan- NSIDC is funded through NOAA’s National Cli- dards were needed for expressing geographical matic Data Center’s Climate Database Moderniza- and geophysical spatial information. In the United tion Project (NCDC’s CDMP). The World Data States, the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, Center for Glaciology, Boulder at NSIDC is fund- created by the Federal Geographic Data Commit- ed by NOAA and it is as a NOAA affiliate that tee (FGDC), is the content standard for digital these funds were obtained for the project. NOAA geospatial metadata. The FGDC was formed in frequently uses these monies for data rescue pro- the early 1990s to coordinate the development and jects that involve the digitization of analog data use of geographic data. It consists of representa- that is at risk of being lost or that have not been tives from a variety of U.S. federal departments, easily accessible to users because of their format. including the Department of Commerce, National One of the primary advantages of digitizing data Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is that it can make it more accessible to users Library of Congress and National Archives and around the world, provided it has the appropriate Records Administration. These groups hope that metadata accompanying it. Before requesting the standard will be adopted by all areas of gov- funds, NSIDC worked hard to determine our pro- ernment and within the public and private sectors ject goals and objectives, and the criteria that we for the use of maintaining metadata about geospa- would use for the selection of photographs for the tial data. It does not attempt to determine imple- project. A large stipulation for receiving the fund- mentation criteria for the standards, though it is a ing is that the scanning work must be done by an highly detailed content standard that requires outside contractor, thus requiring NOAA and its training and/or expertise in cataloging theory and affiliates to complete an extensive preparation the use of geospatial information in order to im- process before Statements of Work can be final- plement successfully. The National Spatial Data ized. I will now cover some of the elements of our Infrastructure includes a Clearinghouse for the Statement of Work. data being cataloged. It is, however, a national The study of historic glacier photographs is an standard only, and though it has tried to incorpo- excellent source of information about glacier rate whatever currently existing national and in- change. The National Snow and Ice Data Center is

72 the repository of several thousand glacier pho- and the JPEG image will be attached to the meta- tographs collected by the American Geographical data for each photograph. The TIFF image will be Society, and we also have prints from the U.S. stored separately as the archival image, but will Navy and the U.S. Geological Survey. The digiti- be available for users upon request. In order to en- zation of these photographs will inform users of sure that requirements for the project are met, a the existence and availability of these images and startup and testing phase will first be performed provide greater access to the images. It will also with a limited number of photographs, (50). Qual- be an important first step in a project to display ity control will be performed on all work complet- matching images of the same glaciers over time, ed by the contractor, and the requirements for the thus providing an instantaneous visual represen- project which are listed below will then be fine- tation of climate change. tuned. When the CD-ROM with the 150 test im- The goals for this digitization project are: ages, (3 formats for 50 photographs), is received by NSIDC, NSIDC will take one week for quality • To increase knowledge of the existence of the control and then will contact the contractor with photographs to the glaciological community any problems, issues, or concerns. Final project and others of interest; scheduling will also be determined, such as the • To increase availability of the images to the user frequency of shipments to contractor, time to al- community; low NSIDC for quality control, time for contractor • To provide the highest quality digital reproduc- to correct problems, etc. Baseline values will also tions of the photographs available, thus cutting be established of target images for noise, flare, and back on the need to use the original archival im- scanner geometry. The contractor will have a vari- age and aiding in the preservation of the origi- ety of obligations to the safety of the images while nals; they are in their control, including assuring that • To provide proper archival storage to this sub- the scanner being used does not cause harm or set of glacier photographs. damage to the photographs. Damage could be caused by excessive heat, excessive light, and Future plans (Phase Two) include securing addi- abrasions to the photographic surface. No food or tional funding that will enable us to obtain current drink will be kept near the photographs while glacier photographs matching the existing historic they are offsite. The contractor will wear white photographs. Approximately 2000 photographs cotton gloves whenever the photographs are han- will be used in this project. Criteria we are using dled. The photographs will arrive to the outsourc- for their selection include that they are held by ing location in polyester sleeves. These sleeves NSIDC with no copyright restrictions to their use, should be removed for the scanning process, but that they represent glaciers that have shown re- should be reapplied immediately upon comple- treat over the last one hundred years, probably as tion of the scanning process. Care will be taken to a result of climate changes, or that are suspected avoid directly touching the photographic surface of fluctuation due to climate change, and that they with hands or fingers. When not being scanned, are good quality images that show substantial the individual lots of photographs will be stored portions of the glacier. out of direct light and heat, away from water, in a The contractor for the project will reproduce a secure location. Many of the images to be scanned set of three digital images from the original photo- are mounted on cardboard. In no case should the graph. The originals are black and white photo- cardboard be included in the scanned image and graphic prints ranging in size from 2”x 3” to 10”x in no case should the photographic print be re- 10”, and 8.5”x11”. The reproductions will be: 1.) moved from the cardboard. Loss or irreparable an uncompressed archival image (TIFF), 2.) a com- damage to the images will result in financial pressed reference image (JPEG), and 3.) a thumb- penalties. nail image in either GIF, PGN, JPEG or TIFF, de- The master/archival image will be the highest pending upon the test scanning done on the first quality image possible, TIFF, with version 5.0 or fifty photos. The thumbnail images will appear on 6.0 headers, uncompressed, unedited, at 600 dpi. the short displays when a search is performed, An 8-bit greyscale will be used, with 1800-6600

73 pixels across the long dimension, depending on Date Date of Digitization the size of the original print. This resolution will Date Date of original be the actual optical resolution of the capture and Spatial coverage Latitude and Longitude not achieved by interpolation. (2 separate fields) The compressed reference image will have a tonal depth of 8-bit greyscale and will be saved in Progress and Problems to Date. Though we were the JPEG format. It will be approximately 640 pix- awarded the funding for 2002 CDMP in December els on the image’s long side. This resolution will 2001, the actual work for all NOAA 2002 projects be the actual optical resolution of the capture and did not begin until May 30, 2002. During the first not achieved by interpolation. The JPEG compres- week of June, NSIDC sent the test batch of fifty sion will yield average compression of 10:1 for photographs to the contractor, and we are current- greyscale. JFIF format/headers will be used. ly waiting for the CD-ROM of the scanned im- The thumbnail image will have a spatial resolu- ages. Since the librarian is attending this confer- tion of 150 pixels on the image’s long side, with ence, she trained two staff members from the Op- tonal depth at 4 bits per pixel. Because of possible erations Department in the Quality Control that licensing problems with GIF, a JPEG compressed would be needed for the test image scans while format may also be used for this image. she was gone. NSIDC is creating an online searchable database What we have learned so far from this project is of the images being scanned that we will mount that any digitization, whether done by a contrac- on our web site after completion of Phase One of tor or in-house, is labour intensive. Outsourcing the project (2002). We originally considered using the work, though possibly efficient and cost-effec- off-the-shelf software for this database, but be- tive in the long-run, increases the initial labour be- cause of security concerns with the server, we de- cause of the extensive preparation work and qual- cided that in-house staff would create it. It is an ity control that must be done. Preparation work SQL relational database using PHP with basic includes cutting off any unnecessary edges and HTML. This database consists of fourteen fields, writing unique control numbers and other meta- (plus some fields for administrative data), and data on the back of each print, as well as building eight of these are searchable. It is based largely on the inventory that will be sent with each batch of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative element set, photographs and that is incorporated into the but because location description is not as devel- database we are using for the creation of our on- oped within Dublin Core as it is in the FGDC’s line searchable catalog. The librarian is doing this NSDI, additional geospatial information is being work alone, on a part-time basis, though others added based on the NSDI standard. The fields in are aiding in the creation of the Sybase database the Glacier Photograph Digitization Project Data- on the Web. NSIDC hopes to complete the project base are: by the end of summer 2002, depending upon the time schedule set by the contractor and the Identifier Unique Number amount of time required for quality control of the Title Glacier Name images. Quantifying the QC has been the most Creator Photographer difficult aspect of the planning process. At the end Subject Controlled glacier vocabulary of the summer, NOAA will be accepting requests developed in-house for 2003 CDMP funds and NSIDC will begin de- Publisher NSIDC veloping goals and objectives for Phase Two of the Rights Free to use with identification project. We are happy with the work that we have of NSIDC completed thus far, and optimistic that additional Description One photoprint, with size funding will be available for the remainder of the Format Photographic print; Imaged project in which we place matching pairs of pho- Source Original source of photograph, tographs online for glacier-fluctuation comparison usually AGS purposes. The database will be mounted on the Spatial coverage State and country of glacier NSIDC web page at http://nsidc.org. location We have also learned that though we are at-

74 tempting to follow data management best prac- tices, a standard is not of use if it is not adopted by the user community for which it is intended. Since many of the “standards” we are using are still in developmental stages, we have no way of knowing if others will accept them or if our belief in them will be justified. We in the information science community are working in a time of flux and uncertainty. It is thus both frustrating and re- warding to be involved in these projects and to work with those from other fields and disciplines. In order to increase the reward, we need to re- member that discussions about the processes we are following, with input from the largest commu- nity possible, are necessary.

Historical Greenland on-line

Grete Dalum-Tilds Polar Photos, Danish Polar Center

Abstract. The Arctic Institute collection of pho- Students from the Teachers college, Godthåb. 1. Pavia 19 tographs consists of photographs from historical years, the mother of mixed race, the father European. 2. Greenland. The collection spans a century, from Julius 15 years, both parents mixed race. 3. Eli, 15 years, approximately the 1860’s until the 1950’s including both parents mixed race. 4. Johan, 15 years, both parents mixed race. Photo H.J. Rink/© Arctic Institute. photographs from expeditions, missionaries, colo- nialists, and ethnographers. Recently the collec- tion has received funding from the Ministry of Culture to begin scanning the photographs and project that I will present to you did not have a ti- register the information into a database that will tle and the funding was still pending, therefore be accessible on the net. At the Polar Libraries Col- the somewhat sweeping title of this paper. The loquy I will discuss why it is important to make the photo database itself now has the title “Arctic Im- collection accessible on the web and what conse- ages”, and the goal is to scan 20,000 photographs quences it may have for the understanding of the from the Arctic Institute collection of historical history of the people of Greenland and research in photographs in order to secure and preserve the Greenland. original material. The photographs are to be regis- tered and catalogued into the photo database, in The Collection. The Arctic Institute collection of his- order to ensure public access and minimize wear torical photographs consists of 60-80,000 negatives on the originals. The photographs will then be ac- and positives ranging from the 1860’s to 1979 cessible on the Internet. when Greenland received home rule. The core of the collection is from 1890 – 1940. The collection is Siulleq – a previous attempt. Siulleq is a multimedia owned by the Danish Arctic Institute and is man- database about Greenland published in 1990 on aged by the Danish Polar Center. The Arctic Im- laser disc by the Danish Public Radio and Televi- ages project is a special collaboration between the sion. For the last 10-15 years there have been dis- two institutions, supported by the Danish Min- cussions that the collection of historical pho- istry of Culture. tographs from Greenland should be made digital- ly accessible. In 1985-90 DRIVE (Danmarks Radios On-line. When I first decided to do this paper, the Interactive Video Experiment) undertook the huge

75 Kuannia of Uummanaq, also called Pitsania. On the pho- The painter Harald Moltke at work. Photo The Danish tograph he is approx. 30 years old. Photo Gustav Holm Literary Greenland Expedition (1912-14)/© Arctic Insti- Expedition to East Greenland (1884-85)/© Arctic Insti- tute. tute.

project to gather over 40,000 stills and other infor- concerning approx. 10,000 stills, but without suc- mation about Greenland from a wide range of cess. Danish institutions. In order to make the information accessible, it Arctic Images (Arktiske billeder). Everything has up was published on the hip media of the day; a until now, been registered by hand into binders, Macintosh computer reading photographs from a listing negatives and descriptions by number, and Laser Disc controlled by a Hyper Card database. in a card catalogue divided by subject. The only Our copy of the system is still in working condi- way to browse the collection has been in person, tion, when it is set up. It was recently packed or to have us pre-select images, and send photo- away because of space problems, since it requires copies. 2 monitors, as well as the disc player. – The photocopying accelerates the wear on the In an old conference paper I found a quote by collection, and it is a very tiresome way for people Peter Looms, one of the people working on the to select photographs second hand. project at Danish Public Radio and Television stat- – Curators in local museums in Greenland often ing that: “As and when low cost digital formats operate on very small budgets, so they rarely have emerge, we plan to transfer our applications to the option to go and do research in person. And them.“ Unfortunately there has never been suffi- since the collection holds a large number of cient funding for any upgrades. For the last two unique photographs from Greenland before years I have tried to get an agreement with the WW2, access to searching the collection should be Danish Public Radio and Television station about better. getting copies of the original meta-data and scans – Conservation of original negatives and posi- relating to the Arctic Institute photo collection, tive material is an issue, and some materials are

76 disintegrating due to age and usage. Often only newer collections that can’t be treated under the positives exist from some collections, so every- current grant, us having given the highest priority thing must be treated as original. to the oldest material. We hope to raise money for For these reasons applications were written, the newer collections independently, as the project and on a special 3 year grant from the Ministry of is an ongoing task that should not end with the Culture, we have been given the option to scan special grant in 2004. and register into a database information about Because the archive has been a collection of 20,000 of the oldest and most rare photographs. photographs primarily from the colonial adminis- tration and in some incidents the only existing Prioritizing. In prioritizing the material, it was de- photographs from certain areas or events, priority cided to register all photographs from before 1930. was given to accessibility. We chose a database in The collections after 1930, are selected by a com- which the information and the photographs go di- bined criteria based on the historical interest of rectly on the net, and are immediately searchable the photographs, and the rarity of the subject. We once the information is entered into the data- also decided to scan and register collections bulk – base. including all photographs. Some not so interesting In the description of each photograph there is photographs are scanned in this way, but it also an option to add a comment, with corrections, gives a unique opportunity to get a pre-edited added stories, or identification of places or people. view of the collection, in particular in the cases Also, the user can order a photograph. We have where we have the whole of a photographer’s already received more orders from people who work. Unfortunately there are large and important want prints of their grandparents or ancestors, in

Harald Moltke and Markus with the pelt of the expeditions first polar bear, Melville Bay 1903. Photo The Danish Liter- ary Greenland Expedition (1912-14)/© Arctic Institute.

77 The first dining room in Ammassalik 1894. Photo F.C.P. Rüttel/© Arctic Institute.

the few months since the database opened in er, and are backed up on DVD and CD. April, than our total for the last few years. There Since storing large amounts of data has become are now 2200 photographs in Arctic Images very cheap, it is our intent to keep the high resolu- tion files uncompressed on a hard disc, since this Safety copies. All photographs are scanned in high will make future mass -conversion and transfers resolution, to ensure that a print or new negative to updated storage media much easier. can be made from the scan if necessary. The reso- lution is meant to prevent loss of information, not Preparations. In order to plan the work it is neces- to reproduce the original charm or aura of the sary to evaluate the size and character of the work photograph, since this is not possible. The data- of each photographer, or collection. Some are very base has been customized for our purposes but is uniform in type of material and quality, others are based on standard elements, so that it can be re- in very mixed formats and materials. For this pur- constructed in the case of a complete breakdown. pose we are making lists of negatives and posi- The data management company backs up the tives, and to show you some examples I have database on tape, and we get a copy on CD every picked 5 photographers’ collections, all from be- quarter. The high resolution scans are stored in fore or around the turn of the century; Hinrich J. uncompressed tiff files on a hard disc image serv- Rink, 1860-70, The Gustav Holm Expedition To East

78 Greenland 1884-85 photographed by Norwegian himself the first photographer living in Greenland Hans Knutsen, The Danish Literary Expedition To in the 1860’ies. Greenland, photographed by Ludwig Mylius The collection comprises one album and a total Erichsen and Knud Rasmussen, the missionary of 65 hand coloured positives. C.F.S. Rüttel and the medical doctor Regnar Bentzen. Gustav Holm Expedition to East Greenland (1884-85). The expedition travelled by umiak, the traditional H.J. Rink (1819-1893). Trained as a geologist and skin boats of Greenland, from Narsaq to Ammas- geographer, Rink started to take an interest in salik, and photographs were taken by the Norwe- Greenland, and in particular the local communi- gian mineralogist and photographer, Hans Knut- ties and how the Danish administration was af- sen (1857-1936). fecting the people. He photographed landscapes as well as people Between 1848-1871 he spent most of his time in during the trip. In comparing the collection of Greenland as an administrator and in 1857 he prints and negatives that we have, to the pho- brought one of two printing presses to Godthåb. tographs of the expedition members and adversi- He started publishing texts in Greenlandic, and in ties shown in books from the time (shown as etch- 1861 he started “Atuagagdliutit”, the first newspa- ings based on photographs) we know that not all per in Greenlandic, with the help of Lars Møller, photographs are in our collection, but the pho- who’s son was to be the first Greenlandic photog- tographs of the east Greenlanders are. rapher, John Møller. Rasmus Berthelsen was the These photographs mainly document the physi- first editor of the “Atuagagdliutit”. H.J. Rink was cal traits of the East Greenlanders and their cloth-

Building a house for Rüttel, the first missionary in Ammassalik 1894. Photo F.C.P. Rüttel/© Arctic Institute.

79 Mrs. Bentzen with newborn boy 1909. Photo R. Bentzen/© Arctic Institute.

ing and amulet styles, in an act of mechanical reg- the Denmark-expedition to the north East Coast of istration. The collection comprises around 100 Greenland). Other Danish participants were Knud positives, and negatives. Rasmussen, who was later to spend a great deal of time among the Inughuit of Kap York (only pro- The Danish Literary Greenland Expedition (1902-04). nounced Thule later by Peter Freuchen). Also on The expedition took place from 1902-04 with the the expedition were the painter Harald Moltke, intention to travel the whole West Coast of Green- and on the southern part of the expedition the land, and across the Melville Bay. The purpose medical doctor Alfred Bertelsen. was to collect information from the still heathen They used photography as well as drawing to parts of Greenland, in particular the Polar Eski- document the expedition. They documented mos of Thule, an area not under Danish rule at the themselves, their hardships, comical situations, as time. The expedition was lead by Ludvig well as the Greenlandic characters they met on Mylius–Erichsen (who later lead and perished at their way. Although not strictly ethnographic, this

80 Playing billiards, Ivigtut. Photo R. Bentzen/© Arctic Institute.

expedition represents one of the first expeditions from 1894-1904. The collection comprises 400 neg- in Greenland taking a broader interest in the tradi- atives and positives including a large number of tional life and mythology of the culture of Green- stereograms and 60 autochromes. land. Bringing an artist instead of a scientist tak- ing photographs is a step in the direction of docu- Regnar Bentzen (1869 – 1950). He was a doctor in menting the people of the land as individuals, and Greenland 1897-1920. Our collection consists of not just the inhabitants of the land. family and social photographs, documenting the The collection comprises approx. 70 nitrate neg- life of the Danish families around and after the atives. turn of the century. It also contains photographic “jokes”, and it is quite evident that photography Fredrik Carl Peter Rüttel (1859 – 1915). Photograph- was a hobby for him, in the sense that he was very er and missionary, he took the first, and maybe involved but not always so serious. only, autochromes in Greenland in 1910. Au- He worked in Ivigtut, Jakobshavn and Juliane- tochromes is a colour technique introduced by the håb. Lumiere brothers in 1907 in Paris. The pho- The collection comprises 1100 negatives. tographs seem only to have been for his personal use, and they show a strong tendency towards Conclusion. By publishing the photographs in an pictoralism. open-ended database, we hope for the project to The second group of photographs shown here be kept up to date, and maintained as the main ac- documents his work, and working conditions, in cess and collections management tool. We hope Ammassalik where he worked as a missionary that the database will offer the possibility of new

81 3 women posing as the 3 muses, Julianehåb 1907. Photo R. Bentzen/© Arctic Institute.

insights, and ways of looking at the photographs Greenland have embarked on a similar project in the collection, and will make it available to and other institutions holding collections of his- laypersons, as well as scholars. torical photographs from Greenland are on the We hope that the database will also be of great way. We hope to share our experience and to use it help for closer collaboration and exchange of in- as a base for further development of the collec- formation with institutions in Greenland and tion. abroad. The organization of local archives in

82 Session 7: Arctic resources and collections

Searching for polar information in databases on the web. Some full text information Norway is found on the sites of various research programs and institutions. Fred Inge Presteng The Norwegian Polar Institute, The Polar Introduction. Norway has traditions as a polar na- Environmental Centre tion, and polar heroes such as Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen are known all over the polar Berit Jakobsen world. Fortunately, Norwegian polar history and The University Courses on Svalbard polar research is very highly regarded among Norwegians. To some extent this is mirrored in re- Abstract. The polar traditions of Norway are mir- search institutions, museums, libraries and collec- rored in most Norwegian libraries. The polar col- tions in Norway. Polar collections are not always lections are, however, seldom on special display or on special display or in special catalogues – in special catalogues in these libraries. Using the searchable databases are therefore of great help. union catalogues BIBSYS or SAMBOK is the best We would like to bring you in touch with the way of searching and locating this literature. The most significant digital polar information re- National Library and other institutions have pub- sources in Norway. Information about Norwegian lished their most important picture collections as polar territories made available in other countries

Bibliograhic databases holding polar records. BIBSYS (Norwegian-English) http://wgate.bibsys.no/search/gen?lang=E SAMBOK (Norwegian-English) http://www.nb.no/baser/sambok/english.html

Sámi bibliographic databases Sámi Bibliography (Norwegian-English) http://www.nb.no/baser/samisk/english.html Sámi Special Library (Norwegian) http://webhotel.mikromarc.no/ssb/sam/mikromarc/ssearch.idc?dbAlias=ssb Sámi University College (Norwegian – English – Sámi) http://wgate.bibsys.no/search/gen?base=BIBSYS&bibl=SAMALL&lang=E

Picture archives and collections Fridtjof Nansen http://www.nb.no/baser/nansen/index.html (Norwegian, c. 3,500 entries) http://www.nb.no/baser/nansen/english.html (English, brief version, c. 1,300 entries) Galleri NOR (Norwegian) http://www.nb.no/gallerinor/ Roald Amundsen (Norwegian) http://www.nb.no/baser/amundsen/ Tromsø University Museum (Norwegian) www.uit.no/fotoarkivet/

Selected links from Norwegian web sites with a polar focus Arctic programmes & projects ACIA – Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (Norwegian) http://acia.npolar.no/ ACSYS/CLIC – Arctic Climate System Study (English) http://acsys.npolar.no/ AMAP – Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (English) http://www.amap.no/ Arctic Portal (English) http://www.unep.net/arctic/ IASC – International Arctic Science Committee (English) http://www.iasc.no/ NAMMCO – The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (English) http://www.nammco.no/

83 Research and education The Auroral Station in Adventdalen, Svalbard (English) http://haldde.unis.no/ EISCAT (English) http://www.eiscat.uit.no/eiscat.html Kings Bay (English) http://www.kingsbay.no/ Longyearbyen Public School/High school (Norwegian) http://www.longyear.vgs.no/ The Norwegian Polar Institute (Norwegian-English) http://www.npolar.no/ * Environmental Monitoring of Svalbard and Jan Mayen – MOSJ (Norwegian – will be translated to English) http://miljo.npolar.no/mosj/ * Environmental Information Svalbard – MIS (Norwegian) http://miljo.npolar.no/mis/ * Ny-Ålesund Large Scale Facility for Arctic Environmental Research (English) http://www.npolar.no/nyaa-lsf/ * Research in Svalbard (English) http://www.npolar.no/ris/ Norwegian Polar History (Norwegian-English) http://www.polarhistorie.no/uk/index.htm The Roald Amundsen Centre for Arctic Research (Norwegian-English) http://www.arctic.uit.no/English/index.html Svalsat (English) http://www.svalsat.com/ Tromsø Geophysical Observatory (English) http://geo.phys.uit.no/ UNIS – The University Courses on Svalbard (English) http://www.unis.no/

Museums The Arctic Museum “Aarvak” at Brandal (Norwegian-English-German) http://www.museumsnett.no/ishavsmuseet/ Ethnographic Museum – University of Oslo (Norwegian) http://www.ukm.uio.no/etnografisk/nettutstillinger/arktis_start.html The Fram Museum (Norwegian-English-German-French) http://www.fram.museum.no/ The Polar Museum (Norwegian) http://www.polarmuseum.no/ Tromsø University Museum (Norwegian – brief version in English) http://www.imv.uit.no/ Zoological Museum – University of Oslo (Norwegian) http://www.toyen.uio.no/zoomus/isbjorn/

Information resources The Governor of Svalbard (Norwegian – brief version in English and Russian) http://www.sysselmannen.svalbard.no/ Laws and regulations (Norwegian – some also in English) http://www.sysselmannen.svalbard.no/laws_en.htm Jan Mayen 71N 8W (Norwegian-English) http://home.no.net/janmayen/ Longyearbyen Public Library (Norwegian) http://bibliotek.svalbard.com/ The Northern Lights Route (English) http://www.ub.uit.no/northernlights/eng/index.htm State of the Environment Norway (Norwegian-English) http://www.environment.no/Topics/Polar_areas/polar_areas.stm Store Norske [The coal mining company at Svalbard] (Norwegian, some English) http://www.snsk.no/ Svalbard and the Polar Region (Norwegian) http://odin.dep.no/md/norsk/internasjonalt/svalbard/index-b-n-a.html Svalbard – The Arctic Pearl (Norwegian-English) http://www.svalbard.net/eng/ The Svalbard Pages (Norwegian-English) http://www.svalbard.com/ Svalbardposten (Norwegian) http://www.svalbardposten.no/

Web sites with a Sámi focus The Nordic Saami Institute (Norwegian-Sámi-English) http://www.nsi.no/ The Sámediggi (Sámi-Norwegian-English) http://www.samediggi.no/ Sámi Bibliography Project (Norwegian) http://www.ub.uit.no/fag/samisk/Prosjekt.htm Sámi Library Service (Sámi-Norwegian) http://troms.kulturnett.no/bibliotek/samisk/ Sámi University College (Sámi-Norwegian-Swedish-Finnish-English) http://www.samiskhs.no/

will not be described here. We focus on Norwe- an exception for some Sámi (Lappish) resources. gian resources for the High Arctic, i.e. the islands The Antarctic is also included in this presentation. north of the Norwegian mainland. We only make Some Norwegian sites are not always given the

84 time, and funding, needed to reach a high interna- ography covers Sámi relevant literature, and Sámi tional level. Yet Norwegian sites are often in Nor- language literature published in Norway from wegian and English, so most of the information is 1945 until 1987, and from 1993 until the present therefore available for a larger audience. time. There are 9700 records representing several types of documents as books, and serials, and ana- Bibliographic databases. The BIBSYS database is an lytical entries as chapters in books, and articles in important tool for locating sources of polar infor- journals. Norwegian is used as subject headings in mation in Norway. BIBSYS is a shared library the database, Sámi subject headings will, however, database, and also a household system, for all the be introduced later on. Already in use are the lan- university libraries, the National Library, colleges, guage codes for the different Sámi dialects. Sec- and most of the research institutions in our coun- ondly, there is a joint Sámi bibliography project try. The database is rapidly growing – 99 libraries aiming to give easy access to Sámi references in are currently participating – and almost all larger databases in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. For research institutions are now included. It consists the time being several databases are needed to get of about 3 million records corresponding to about access to this bibliographic information. BIBSYS is 8 million physical documents. The University most likely to be the database host for a union cat- Courses on Svalbard has participated in BIBSYS alogue. As part of the project a thesaurus is also since 1994, and the Norwegian Polar Institute col- under construction. lection was recently included. Handling of inter li- brary loans is an integrated part of the system. All Picture databases. The National Library has collect- Nordic libraries are already registered as users in ed thousands of pictures from the expeditions of BIBSYS and have a user-ID. Other libraries can ob- our two most famous polar explorers, Fridtjof tain a user-ID by contacting the National Library. Nansen, and Roald Amundsen. These pictures There are of course lending restrictions on a lot of have been digitized and registered in databases the old literature. These restrictions can often be that are free available on the net. found with the holdings information for each The full version of the Nansen database con- record. tains about 3500 pictures, but this is only in Nor- SAMBOK is the Norwegian union catalogue of wegian. There is an international version contain- monographs, hosted by the National Library. The ing 1300 pictures. This version is translated into database contains about 3.1 million records from French, Spanish, and English. The pictures are about 400 Norwegian libraries. One important dif- from the years 1860 to the 1930’s, and paintings ference between BIBSYS and SAMBOK is the and drawings by Fridtjof Nansen are also includ- number of libraries included. All county libraries ed. The quality of these digital pictures is only and the largest public libraries participate in good enough to be viewed on screen, and better SAMBOK, none do so in BIBSYS. There are also a quality pictures can be ordered from the National number of special libraries and small research in- Library. stitutes that do not participate in BIBSYS. Another The Amundsen database contains more than important difference is that BIBSYS is a household 3300 pictures from the life and expeditions of system shared by its member libraries, while Roald Amundsen. The pictures are from the 1870’s SAMBOK is a union catalogue in the traditional to 1928. Pictures from several institutions and per- sense of the word. For ILL services – interlibrary sons have been included in this extensive collec- loans – libraries need a password obtainable from tion. The Amundsen database is only in Norwe- the National Library. gian, and has not yet been translated to any other The Sámi literature is found in many biblio- language. According to the National Library, they graphic databases representing library holdings in have no immediate plans to get the information all kinds of libraries in Norway. Specially made translated. The Amundsen and Nansen databases Sámi bibliographies are, however, very important have similar user interfaces with the same search for the Sámi language and culture. Firstly, there is options. The Amundsen pictures can also be or- a Sámi bibliography in Norway published on the dered from the National Library. web by the National Library of Norway. The bibli- Galleri NOR is hosted by the National Library

85 and contains 69.000 pictures. Most pictures are shelving with metal beams bracing the shelves, from 1880 to 1950, and the quite well known Nor- motion-sensor lights overhanging the shelves, wegian photographer Anders B. Wilse is the most electrical outlets and lamps on all the tables, mo- figured photographer in this database. Most of the bile aisle shelving with overhanging lights, lock- pictures are from mainland Norway. There are able book trucks. Many of the design ideas were also some pictures related to polar areas and Sámi a result of library visits at the colloquy in Fin- areas. The pictures are owned by the Norwegian land. Museum of Cultural History, and better quality The library provides special services to the re- prints can also be ordered. For the time being it is search faculty, staff and students. These services in Norwegian only, the English version of this include: collection development and publication base is under construction. exchange with a focus on increased coverage of Tromsø University Museum has published a Japanese and polar materials, 24 hour library ac- quite extensive picture database on the web. The cess for staff and GI/IARC visitors, library brochures database contains about 50.000 pictures from 1850 and tours in English, Japanese, and Russian, inter- until the present time. They are mostly from the library loan (same day as requested), reference northern part of Norway, and a few hundred pic- verification and journal copying. tures are from Svalbard. Polar expeditions very of- ten started in the northern part of Norway, so Introduction. The Keith B. Mather Library is the many interesting pictures can be found in this special library supporting the research at the Geo- database. Unfortunately the information and user physical Institute and the International Arctic Re- interface are available in Norwegian only. search Center (IARC). This library is here to help There are two more picture databases that will expedite research with special services for the re- be published on the web. The Norwegian Polar search staff and is funded by the Geophysical In- Institute’s picture library contains about 40.000 stitute and IARC. The Geophysical Institute was pictures from the polar areas. There is currently a established by an Act of Congress in 1945 and the digitizing project running, and the database is ex- legislation states that there will be a Director, Sec- pected to be on the net in a few months. The old- retary and Librarian – so the library has played an est picture in this collection is from 1872. Most of important role since the very beginning. The Inter- the pictures are from the expeditions of the Nor- national Arctic Research Center (IARC) is a new wegian Polar Institute in the Arctic and the center next door to the Geophysical Institute. The Antarctic. building was 60% funded by the Japanese and The Polar Museum in Tromsø holds a collection now houses four Japanese agencies: JAMSTEC – of about 6000 pictures from arctic sealing, hunt- Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, ing, and expeditions. Also the Polar Museum has NASDA-National Space Development Agency of an ongoing digitizing project to make the pictures Japan, ESTO – Earth Science and Technology Or- available on the net. ganization, and Frontier – a cutting edge climate change research agency as well as the Atmospher- ic Science Department, National Weather Service, Library services at the Keith B. Mather Geodata Center and the Library. Library for its international clientele International staff. The library provides library ser- Julia H. Triplehorn vice to approximately 470 staff in both buildings Keith B. Mather Library, Geophysical Institute, and 100 graduate students in physics and geology. International Arctic Research Center Staff means everyone from the principal investiga- tors to the technical staff in the machine shop. Of Abstract. The Keith B. Mather Library is the special these, approximately 25 per cent are foreign na- library supporting the research at the Geophysical tionals. The majority are from China, Japan and Institute and the International Arctic Research Russia, with the others from Armenia, Columbia, Center. A visual tour of the library may be helpful United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Australia, to understand the library’s special features: case Korea, Canada, India, and Switzerland.

86 Visual tour. A visual tour of the library may be 24 hour library access. This is the most popular li- helpful to understand the library’s special fea- brary service we offer. All faculty, staff, graduate tures. Many of these were developed after visiting students and visitors are given a magnetic card libraries in Finland at the colloquy. which admits them to the Mather library after The library is open 24 hours a day for the GI hours. This service is particularly important for and IARC staff. Access after hours is made with a short term visitors who need to do a lot of re- magnetic card which opens the front door of the search while they are in Fairbanks. Many visitors IARC building and the Mather library. Regular li- save their reference lists until they get to this li- brary hours are M-F, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. This brary because all the high latitude geophysical magnetic card will also be the charge card for the materials are here in one place. new 3M circulation system when it is installed in Since the journals and reserve books never cir- the near future. culate, they are always available for use. Books are The journals are the most important part of any checked out after hours in a special notebook. scientific library and the Mather library is no ex- These books are added in the circulation system ception, subscribing to 350 journals from around the following morning. the world, primarily English language but also Japanese, Russian, and Chinese. These can be Journal photocopying and reference verification. This copied on a Xerox slant page copier designed so is the second most popular service. Faculty, staff that it does not break the spine of the volumes. and visitors give the library staff lists or bibliogra- Special consideration was given to the shelving phies of materials needed for their research. The in the library, because Fairbanks could have as library student staff are trained to locate and pho- much as a 7 earthquake on the Richter scale. The tocopy the needed materials within copyright shelving is unique for a library – case shelving compliance. Copies are 5 cents per page and this which is a box with a metal plate in the back. It is charged to the investigators grant. If there are a weighs 43,000 lbs; the floor was built to support lot of items, the student’s time may also be this weight. The shelving is tied with a metal charged to the grant. This works well since re- beam bracing so they will move as a unit in an searchers are frequently inefficient in locating li- earthquake. The library allowed for 20 years ex- brary materials. Economically it is advantageous pansion space. when you compare the salaries of the students The lights are all motion-sensored overhanging and the research staff. the shelves – they save energy but are also a safety If the documents are located in another library factor at night. The light bulbs are just now being on campus, the library provides courier service to replaced after 3 years. All the tables have lamps pick up the materials. If the items cannot be locat- and electrical outlets for laptop computers. The fa- ed, the items are borrowed through interlibrary cility is now wireless which makes it convenient loan. for our foreign visitors. On the lower level the mo- bile aisle shelving has overhanging lights to en- Collection development. As mentioned in the visual able the user to easily find materials on lower tour, the journals are the most important part of shelves. The patrons also have access to this area this scientific collection. All the journals are in 24 hours a day. Lockable book trucks are available hard copy – the library owns no microfiche or mi- for visitors to store research materials when they crofilm. Since, the journals are arranged alphabeti- are not in the library. Four offices for visiting sci- cally by the title on the cover, the foreign visitors entists are available for short term visitors to GI or are easily able to locate the journals they need. IARC. Electronic journals are available to the staff desk- With this brief overview of the physical library tops if the paper subscription price includes the facilities, the following section will be a descrip- electronic version free. tion of the special services provided to the re- In addition to the journals, the library has an ex- search faculty, staff, students and visitors. These tensive collection of books, reports and data that services support the research projects of the Geo- support the high latitude geophysical research – physical Institute and IARC. approximately 68,000 items. Books are usually

87 purchased in English to support the research ef- funds are used. All periodicals and books were forts in both buildings. A large number of gift sent in M-bags; this is a canvas bag holding about books and journals are received annually and 50 lbs and costs $.79 a lb. (American) to mail. They these are integrated into the collection if appropri- usually arrive in foreign countries in approxi- ate. In addition, the library also administrates and mately 3-6 months. To date we have never lost a catalogs the Alaska Department of Transportation shipment. collection from this facility. It is one of the major transportation collections in the U.S. Tours. The library has approximately 10-12 inter- Special considerations have been made to ac- national visitors per week. Individual tours are quire books, journals and reports from other inter- given each visitor with emphasis on his specific national agencies. Major research institutes have subject area. At present tours are given in English been contacted to exchange publications. Visitors or Japanese. If the tour is given in Japanese, the frequently bring publications as gifts and the li- patron seems willing to use the library immediate- brary is able to establish communication with ly. their agencies. Locating Japanese and other inter- national vendors has been a challenge. Currently Library brochures. The library has the following we are ordering most Japanese materials through brochures to help our international visitors be- one vendor with only a few direct orders such as come acquainted with our services and publica- the Japanese newspaper. tions: One of the first purchases in the new building was a Japanese newspaper and news magazine. A • Library services brochure (English and Japan- large percentage of the Japanese staff come to the ese) library daily to read the newspaper. Also the li- • Books for writing research papers (English) brary has the local Fairbanks newspaper which is • Japanese Journals and Reports held at the Math- frequently scanned for cabins, apartments, cars. er Library The library also keeps Consumer Reports, and • Alaska books in the Mather Library other guides for purchasing cars, cameras and computers which many of our visitors need. Interlibrary loan. The library has an extensive na- tional and international interlibrary loan network Cataloging. New materials are cataloged within 24 and can provide same day service if requested. hours of their arrival in the library. Our Japanese Recently the library has been designated as the cataloger has a degree in Library Science both only worldwide depository for the IAVCEI Pro- from the United States and from Japan. She is cur- ceedings (International Association of Volcanolo- rently entering library holdings into OCLC. In ad- gy and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior); the li- dition, she is entering the Japanese holdings into brary is receiving many requests for these. Nu- the Japanese academic database, National Insti- merous requests come in for the Alaska Depart- tute of Informatics. She also writes a regular col- ment of Transportation materials and the North- umn for Advanced Visual Communication Center, ern Sea Route collection for which we have the a Japanese journal which supports educational in- only complete set in the U.S. stitutes (including libraries) to improve their elec- tronic communication. Communication. Good communication in provid- ing these services is extremely important. All of Publication exchange. Journals that are duplicates to our visitors read English, but some speak only the ones in the collection are used as gifts to visit- minimal English. In these cases, we have the user ing research staff and students for their institu- write down the information needed. Some com- tion’s libraries. The last two years we have sent munication problems can be avoided by speaking materials to the following countries’ libraries: Ar- slowly and not using slang. The Japanese library menia, Columbia, Canada, Russia, Japan. Usually staff act as liaisons to the Japanese research staff the librarian is able to find an organization or per- assisting them with reference questions, book or- son to donate the funds for shipping; no state ders, locating and copying materials. The other

88 foreign nationals work with the rest of the library glaciology, oceanography, biology and the human staff for the above library special services. As pa- sciences. trons walk out the door, the library staff always The Fonds polaire Jean Malaurie has been given ask if they found what they needed. It is a good li- the library holdings of IPEV, representing app. brary practice and may identify items that need to 15,000 books and 80 serials which will progressive- be purchased or borrowed on interlibrary loan. ly enrich our on-line library catalog. The Fonds po- To build friendships between the staff in the laire has taken part in the publishing of an impor- IARC building, the library staff organized weekly tant book on the Art of the Great North lunches. These were not a great success. Perhaps next year we will try monthly ones. Our best so- A few historical features. The history of French Polar cial events have been book signings and the cele- exploration is punctuated by some famous names bration of International Special Librarians Day such as Jules César Dumont d’Urville, who dis- when the foreign national staff told about the li- covered the Adelie Land in Antarctica in 1840, braries in their countries. Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot who led twelve sci- Better communication is our ongoing challenge. entific expeditions both in the Arctic and the The library hopes to be able in the near future to Antarctic between 1903 and 1936, Paul-Emile Vic- have additional students as liaisons and to create tor founder of the French Polar Expeditions (EPF) guides to library information. in 1947 who organised more than fifty expeditions In conclusion, this paper has been an overview in Greenland and Antarctica and Jean Malaurie of the services provided to our international clien- who created the Center of Arctic Studies in 1957 in tele. The Mather staff look forward to working Paris. One can notice that French involvement in with you and your library in locating Alaska and Polar exploration and research has been in the Arctic high latitude geophysical materials on past mainly due to individual initiatives rather global change, aurora, arctic air pollution, gla- than to a national will. ciology, volcanoes, earthquakes, and remote sens- ing. Present French research in the Antarctic. The French Institute of polar research and technology (IFRTP), created in 1992 from the merging of the EPF and French polar research and resources the French Austral and Antarctic territories (TAAF) was recently renamed the Paul-Emile Vic- Sylvie Devers tor Institute (IPEV) after its founder’s name ; locat- Fonds polaire Jean Malaurie ed in Brest, along the Brittanny coast, it is a public agency which provides facilities for Polar research Abstract. The Center for Arctic studies (EHESS) in carried out by about 50 researchers belonging to Paris is still active as a teaching, research and pub- different laboratories. The IPEV is mainly involved lishing unit. A French-Russian expedition, headed in the development of scientific programs in the by Professor Jean Malaurie will take place on an Antarctic and austral regions, fewer in the Arctic, ice-breaker along the northern coasts of Siberia in and it also carries out oceanographic programs the Summer of 2004 to study biological as well as from the supply ship Marion Dufresne. human topics. This institute manages the Dumont d’Urville The IPEV (Paul-Emile Victor Polar Institute) has scientific base in the district of Terre Adélie, which replaced the IFRTP; as a public agency the institute can house 30 to 60 people depending on the sea- provides facilities for polar research carried out by son. Supplies are brought in by ship, the Astrolabe. laboratories and researchers linked to public struc- During the austral winter, the base is totally isolat- tures, and it has taken part in the renovation of a ed. In 2003-2004, a permanent French-Italian sta- French scientific base in Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen, tion called Concordia will open in the center of the in oceanographic campaigns aboard the Marion continent about 1,000 km from Dumont d’Urville. Dufresne in Antarctica and in the building of the For six years a provisional base, Dome C, has been new Antarctic station Concordia. Research has open there from December to February. been conducted in geophysics, climatology, Other scientific research takes place elsewhere

89 on the continent, generally involving international • The main Polar oceanographic programs deal cooperation, such as the ice-coring programs Vos- with climate and global change. Those phenom- tok and Epica. ena are studied through palaeoclimatology and Besides the Terre Adelie district, France owns biochemistry analyses in co-operation with the three subantarctic islands which have the status of international marine global changes study pro- overseas territories: Crozet, Kerguelen and Ams- gram. Three ships are used for those programs: terdam-Saint Paul. Each of those islands houses a the Marion Dufresne, the La Curieuse and l’Astro- scientific base open throughout the year, although labe an ice-breaker which shuttles five times a more active in the summer period: Port-aux-Fran- year between Australia and Antarctica. çais on Kerguelen island, Alfred Faure on Crozet, • In the ecological field, research includes the and Martin de Vivriès on Amsterdam. Their sup- study of the native flora and fauna and of plying is provided by the Marion Dufresne which is ecosystem disturbances induced by human ac- also fully equipped for deep ice-coring. tivities. Populations and the behavior of Emper- French research programs in Antarctica cover a or penguins have been studied for over 50 broad range of topics in earth, life as well as the years. Albatrosses are now equipped with human sciences. The main themes include: miniature Argos sensors that allow the study of their migrations and explain their progressive • In external geophysics, cosmic radiation mea- disappearance. Few specialists are also involved surements, auroras and ionospheric movement in rehabilitating destroyed ecosystems : for in- observations are taken in cooperation with the stance, six cows were introduced on Amster- international network Superdarn (Superdual dam island in 1871 by a farmer who abandoned Auroral Radar Network) which covers both them. There were 2000 in 1988 causing ground North and South Polar regions with eight degradation, and threatening some rare species radars in the Arctic and six in the Antarctic. like the Amsterdam albatross and the only na- • Internal geophysics since the four bases are tive tree (Phylica nitida). Today the environ- both seismic (World Web Geoscope) and mag- ment has been restored. Physiologists study the netic (World Web Intermagnet) observatories adaptation of species to their harsh environ- • Studies of the upper layers of the atmosphere ment and the mechanisms of thermos regula- which as one already knows are affected by the tion and energetic strategies adapted to climatic so-called phenomenon of the ozone hole. Since changes by invertebrates, fish, birds and mam- 1989, measurements of ozone and nitrogen mals. dioxide volume as well as studies about stratos- • Several programs deal with Antarctic marine bi- pheric clouds and solar UV radiation are per- ology and biodiversity: let us notice that studies manently carried out at Dumont d’Urville of native micro-organisms have led to applica- which takes part in the world network for de- tions in biotechnology. tection of stratospheric change (NDSC) • Finally, a few programs of medical research are • Concerning lower layers of the atmosphere, as carried out at the Antarctic and austral stations, our Austral and Antarctic stations are distant dealing with the psychological and physiologi- from any artificial or natural pollution source, cal adaptation of human beings to long-term they are perfect observatories for the study of isolation. They allow the construction of models gases causing the greenhouse effect or radioac- which can be applied to space flights for in- tivity. The Amsterdam station is the best stance. equipped to perform such analyses. • In glaciology, France is involved in two ice-cor- French Arctic research. In the Arctic, where France ing programs, Vostok and Epica, started in 1997 has no territory, the situation is quite different. in Dome C. The collected data allow reconstruc- Since 1980, an Arctic research network (GDR tion of the climate history over 400,000 years, “Arctic studies” which will be renamed “Polar since the ice-caps contain earth’s climatic mutations” in the near future) operates in France: archives such as gases, dust and aerosols con- this research organisation gathers about thirty re- fined in successive snow layers. searchers from twelve different laboratories and

90 universities. In a multidisciplinary approach, re- land by Jean Malaurie. Other French specialists search carried out concerns earth, life as well as study Nunavut toponymy and ethnolinguistics, human sciences in Svalbard, continental Norway, political changes among the Sami of Northern Iceland, Northeast and Northwest Greenland, Sweden and Norway, Canadian Indian identity Northern Canada and Northern Siberia. and cultural revival, and since 1991 and the open- In co operation with this Arctic network, the ing of the Soviet far north to western scientists, Center of Arctic studies created by Professor Jean reindeer breeders from North-east Siberia Malaurie in Paris in 1957 developed a wide range (Chukchee, Yuit, Yakut, Yukaghirs) focusing on of activities from research and teaching to organis- demographic trends, traditional food habits, ing international symposiums and film festivals, health and the survival of shamanic beliefs and publishing monographs, proceedings and serials rituals. Michele Therrien, a French linguist, teach- and collecting information. es the Inuktitut language at the National Institute Research in the earth sciences are focused on of Oriental Languages (INALCO) and takes part the priority themes established at an international in an international PhD school project for the level by the International Arctic science committee study of Arctic societies (IPSSAS) which started in (IASC); these concern dynamic geomorphology, Nuuk some weeks ago. sea-ice and remote sensing, glacial hydrology, cli- Since 1992, the Center of Arctic studies works in matology, continental glaciology and palynology. close co-operation with the Polar Academy in Many of those studies take place in Svalbard, Saint Petersburg. This academy offers a training where France set up fifty years ago a scientific sta- program designed for northern Siberian natives tion, named after the French geographer Jean Cor- who intend to head the local and regional authori- bel; it consists of four buildings offering facilities ties. for up to ten people and is located close to the vil- Professor Jean Malaurie is planning a French- lage of Ny Ålesund. Another base called Rabot Russian expedition for the summer of 2004 along (Charles Rabot was a French specialist in the his- the north east coasts of Siberia, aboard a Russian tory of Polar exploration) is located in Ny Åle- icebreaker when both French and Russian re- sund and can also welcome ten people. In the sur- searchers will tackle various geophysical, biologi- roundings, scientific research has been carried out cal, medical and human questions. for more than thirty years especially in the fields of biogeography, climatology, geomorphology, hy- French resources. The library of the Center of Arc- drology and seabird physiology often in co-opera- tic studies was set up in 1957 and in 1992 it tion with the Norsk Polarinstitutt in Tromsø. moved to become part of the library of the Na- For 40 years, research on Arctic natives has been tional Museum of natural history where it was devoted to the study of social, cultural and demo- renamed Fonds polaire Jean Malaurie. Its holdings graphic mechanisms of men’s adaptation to their now include 25,000 monographs, 20,000 reprints, specific environment and the analysis of evolu- 600 serial titles as well as microforms and maps. tionary processes in these small Arctic societies They deal with the Arctic and the Antarctic re- linked to the development of contacts with the gions and cover all topics from physical and nat- western world. Actually Arctic communities have ural sciences to human sciences. In 2000, the Po- given up their nomadic way of life, modifying the lar Institute (IPEV) donated its entire library to past balance between man and his environment the Fonds polaire thus enhancing its holdings with and leading to significant sociocultural and eco- 80 serial titles and 15,000 monographs and scien- nomic changes: activities, way of life, family struc- tific reports. tures, social and economic organisation, religious With the sponsorship of the French Gas Board, beliefs and practices have been greatly affected. we were able to buy some old and rare books on Several different communities have been studied: Polar exploration. The catalogue is computerised two Inuit isolates, one in Ammassalik in East and accessible on the web on the site of the Muse- Greenland, furthering the research undertaken in um library i.e.: http://www.mnhn.fr/muscat 1934 by Paul-Emile Victor and Robert Gessain, It takes part in a large database which gathers and the other in Thule, in Northwestern Green- all French universities libraries catalogues and

91 presently contains some 4,5 million bibliographic nity, Ny-Ålesund (78°50’N), houses a small book references. This national catalog called SU (Uni- collection, which is most likely the northernmost versity server) can be consulted at the following book collection in the world. address: http://www.sudoc.abes.fr The Fonds polaire offers a service of interlibrary Introduction. Libraries and collections holding po- loans in France and abroad. Approximately 500 lar literature etc. have often been presented at Po- monographs are added every year. It is now the lar Library Colloquies. Also, reference books such only French polar library. as “Keyguide to information sources on the Polar After eight years of preparation, we were proud and Cold regions” by Mills & Speak (1998), and of the publishing in October 2001 of a book devot- resources on the web such as Polar and Cold Re- ed to the Art of the Great North which studies and gions Libraries and Archives (2002) give a good analyses artistic expressions, both traditional and overview of these resources. There are, however, contemporary, of all circumpolar peoples: Atha- no records of the northernmost libraries. paskan and Algonquin Indians, Inuit of Canada and Greenland, Yupit, Inupiat and Aleut of Alas- Methods. Locating the northernmost libraries can- ka, Same of northern Scandinavia, North Siberian not be done without any limitations – the survey peoples and Ainus of northern Japan. The influ- is therefore limited to more permanent settle- ence of this art on contemporary western artists ments that are inhabited by quite a steady work- such as the surrealists and Matisse is also demon- ing force and their families. Likewise, military or strated. semi-military camps are not covered in the survey. Finally, a website created by two young French This makes it far easier to locate the infrastructure Polar enthusiasts is worth mentioning: and the libraries. Besides, bases on floating ice http://www.transpolair.com. It records recent and tiny weather stations would probably not and current Polar events such as news of Jean- house any libraries at all. Nor would a trapper’s Louis Etienne who is presently drifting aboard a cabin house a library. small capsule, the Polar Observer, from the North Maps, some books, and a lot of web sites have Pole through the Arctic ocean. been consulted. Scientists and others working in the High Arctic have been of great help. Living in Longyearbyen (78°10’N) has also been an advan- References tage, in knowing quite a few high latitude li- Institut français pour la recherche et la technologie polaires braries beforehand. : rapport d’activité, 1999-2000. La recherche polaire. 2001. Le Journal du CNRS 138 : 12-22. Results of the circumpolar survey of libraries. The sur- Malaurie, Jean, ed. 2001. L’Art du Grand Nord. Paris : vey began by heading to Greenland. Qaanaaq, the Citadelles & Mazenod. local Inuit village near Thule Air Base, has a pub- lic library with around 8,000 to 10,000 books. There is, however, a small settlement further north – Siorapaluk (77°45’ N). It is often referred to as Libraries at high latitudes the world’s northernmost naturally inhabited set- tlement, and here they have a school combined Berit Jakobsen with a church and a small public library (Qaanaaq The University Courses on Svalbard Department of Culture and Education homepage). Station Nord in Northeast Greenland is a military Abstract. The world’s northernmost libraries are to outpost. be found in Longyearbyen (78°10’N) on Svalbard. Further west, Ellesmere Island in Arctic Canada There are 3 rather small libraries in Longyearbyen: is an interesting area, and Ausuittuq, or Grise the school library in the southern part, the public Fjord, is the northernmost civil settlement at library in the central part, and the library at the around 76°N in Canada. Alert (82°30’N) on the University Courses on Svalbard in the northern northern part of Ellesmere Island should, howev- part of the settlement. The small research commu- er, be mentioned, as it is sometimes referred to as

92 the northernmost permanently inhabited settle- Hornsund (77°N) has a rather small collection of ment in the world. But this is a settlement based books etc. on military activity, to which is recently added re- Sveagruva (77°50’N) in van Mijenfjorden is a search. Eureka, a little further south, is also semi- mining community with no library. Miners and military, so these two settlements will not be in- staff working in Svea spend most of their spare cluded in this survey. time in Longyearbyen, were they can visit the Heading even further west, we come to Alaska. public library. This is not so interesting as its land masses end The Russian settlement in Barentsburg (78°N) around 71°N. Arctic Russia is, however, far more on the east side of Grønfjorden is also a mining interesting, as many islands are located in the community – or a company town – with around High Arctic. Some islands are even located around 900 inhabitants. In Barentsburg, a culture center 80°N. However, these islands of the north do not built in 1988 holds a public library in addition to have any civil settlements. swimming pool, an indoor sports arena, and a cin- The survey ends at Svalbard. Here there are set- ema. tlements and libraries very far north. Longyearbyen is situated in Adventfjorden at 78°10’N, and has a population of around 1700 in- A closer look at the Svalbard libraries and collections. habitants. The community is based on mining as The Svalbard Treaty makes it possible for many well as education, research, and tourism. nations to run activities on Svalbard (Ulfstein 1995). Longyearbyen is easily accessible by regularly The settlements, the libraries and the collections scheduled commercial airline flights, and serves will therefore mirror the different nations involved. as the gateway to the other places on Svalbard. The settlements are found from 77°N (Hornsund), The libraries in Longyearbyen are found at the to 78°50’N (Ny-Ålesund), and there are no roads school, and at the University Courses on Svalbard connecting the settlements to each other. (UNIS). There is also a public library. Starting on the southern part of Svalbard, a Pol- The previous Russian mining settlement Pyra- ish research station located in Isbjørnhavna in miden (78°40’N), on the western side of Billefjor-

93 den, once had a library. The settlement was closed library. A full-time librarian and a part-time li- in 1998, and most of the books were moved to brary assistant keep the library running. During Barentsburg. winter-time they keep the library doors open for In Ny-Ålesund at 78°50’N, there are research 27 hours weekly. In 2001 the public library had a stations belonging to several nations. The logistic collection of 15,221 books, and had 26 journals company Kings Bay runs the infrastructure for sci- and 5 newspapers in subscription. It also had entists who inhabit the stations. For the time be- around 192 audio recordings of books, and 287 ing, Ny-Ålesund has a very limited family settle- videos. 2 computers with web access were in daily ment – in 2001 the first baby since 1963 was use by the patrons. 10,508 publications were bor- brought there with her parents (Kings Bay home- rowed in 2001, and they received 323 inter library page). There are many research stations, and prob- loans. Recently, the public library got hold of ably most of them have a reading room. At Sver- about 15 hours of old radio recordings of inter- drupstasjonen for instance, the research station views with trappers etc. on Svalbard. The library run by the Norwegian Polar Institute, they have also has their electronic catalogue published on the Encyclopedia Britannica, some handbooks and the web (Ødegaard 2002). The library activities some theses and dissertations. The collection only (baby groups, kids groups, reading groups etc.) fills about 7-8 shelves, and it is not yet catalogued. play an important role for the inhabitants of There is also a small collection of polar literature Longyearbyen – especially the newcomers. The li- in the lounge of the cantina building belonging to brary’s polar collection is also very popular. Kings Bay. The very first public library in Longyearbyen An even closer look at the Longyearbyen libraries was the labourer’s library, “Arbeiderbibliotheket i and collections. In the southernmost part of Longyear City”. It was established in October Longyearbyen, the Gallery has on display a collec- 1919 (3 years after the mining company was estab- tion of polar literature collected by Henrik Varm- lished). There was also a collection of books in the ing, who was formerly the head of office in Store church. During the 2nd World War the church was Norske, the coal mining company. The original completely destroyed and “Arbeiderbibliotheket” Varming Collection had around 400 books, and 60 had its collections spread around in town. Just af- maps. The old maps in particular, are very rare ter the war, “Arbeiderbibliotheket” bought (Sveum 1992). In 2001, the collection received around 1200 new books. The church library was about 535 “new” books, and 169 duplicates, from not immediately rebuilt. In 1947, it was suggested the private collection owned by Varming. More- to merge the two libraries, and in 1949 it was de- over, the collection received 330 publications from cided to establish a board for the public book col- the Norwegian Polar Institute. The collection is lection, “folkeboksamlinga”, with representatives now called Svalbardsamlingen (The Svalbard Col- from the governor, the church, the women’s or- lection), and Svalbard is the major focus of the col- ganisation and the labour organisation. (Enne lection. Polar literature in general is also present- 1993). From January 1997, the public library was ed. The most significant part of the collection is taken over by Svalbard Samfunnsdrift. catalogued, and it has been published on the web The University Courses on Svalbard (UNIS) is in early June 2002 via the web site of Longyear- situated in the northernmost part of Longyear- byen public library. byen. About 300 students and faculty at UNIS, There is a school and a small school library in and some scientist at the Norwegian Polar Insti- Longyearbyen. In 2002, around 220 pupils (includ- tute’s branch office in Longyearbyen, use the li- ing 32 high school students) went to school in brary for their studies and research. Students and Longyearbyen. The school library has one em- staff change very often, and many nationalities are ployee, a teacher, and the library is open 3 hours a represented (UNIS 2002). One librarian is running week. Statistics for 2001 show that a total of 509 the library. The library is usually open for every- books were borrowed from a collection of around one 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, faculty 4400 books. The electronic catalogue is not yet and graduate students at UNIS have access 24 published on the web. hours a day. 142 journals and 10 newspapers were Further north in Longyearbyen there is a public in subscription in 2002, and the library had

94 around 4000 books. The library’s catalogue is however, very strict regulations on stations in the hosted by the statewide cataloguing database BIB- north, so families are not likely allowed to stay. SYS, and it is published on the web. In addition, 8 When the scientific station Ny-Ålesund is back to subscribed databases were available for the li- normal, the northernmost book collection is prob- brary patrons. The databases provide a good start- ably Svalbardsamlingen at the Gallery in ing point for students and staff requesting articles Longyearbyen. and books from UNIS and from other libraries. Numbers of Inter library loans indicate a high li- Acknowledgements. I would like to thank Stephen brary usage as 1,216 publications and article Dutton and Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen for copies were received from other libraries in 2001, improving my English. I am also very grateful to whereas the UNIS library only sent out 212 publi- Ole Humlum for kindly supplying the maps pre- cations or article copies to other libraries. Patrons sented during the talk. Last but not least thanks borrowed 2,278 publications, and 238 patrons are addressed to Malin Daase for the drawing of made active use of the library in 2001 (monitored the “Polar Bear Librarian” presented during the by use of BIBSYS) – yet many more visited the li- talk and in this paper. brary. UNIS started in 1993/1994 and was initially based in the same building as the Norwegian Po- References lar Institute’s branch office in Longyearbyen. In Enne, K. E. and K. Myrene 1993. Bibliotekvirksomheten i August 1995, UNIS moved to a new building, and Longyearbyen. [s.l.] : K.E. Enne. Hovedoppgave ved the first librarian was employed. About 300 books Statens bibliotek- og informasjonshøgskole. and some journals belonging to the Norwegian Mills, W. and P. Speak 1998. Keyguide to information Polar Institute’s branch office in Longyearbyen be- sources on the Polar and Cold regions. London : Mansell. came the start of the library’s collection. The li- Sveum, T. 1992. The Arctic collection of Henrik Varming: cat- 2 brary is rather small (93 m ). There are plans for alogue of books and maps. [Tromsø] : University Library of an extension of the UNIS building, and a larger li- Tromsø. Tromsø Museum. brary is planned. Ulfstein, G. 1995. The Svalbard Treaty: from terra nullius to Norwegian sovereignty. Oslo : Scandinavian University Concluding remarks. The High Latitude Arctic does Press. not hold many civil settlements. Svalbard is in a Ødegaard, L. 2002. Historiske NRK-opptak i biblioteket. Sval- special situation. The northernmost Russian li- bardposten 20: 17. brary is located in Barentsburg (78°N) on Sval- bard. The three libraries in Longyearbyen (78°10’N) are the northernmost on Svalbard. The UNIS library is the northernmost library of the URLs settlement, and therefore the northernmost of the Longyearbyen school. http://www.longyear.vgs.no (9 world. Further south in the settlement, the north- June 2002). ernmost public library, and the northernmost Kings Bay. http://www.kingsbay.no/ (9 June 2002). school library are found. Longyearbyen public library. http://bibliotek.sval- The scientific stations or military bases further bard.com (9 June 2002). north have not been part of this study. In Ny-Åle- Polar and Cold Regions Libraries and Archives. sund (78°50’N), the scientific station has, however, http://www.urova.fi/home/arktinen/polarweb/po- become a little more of a community as a family lar/lblibdir.htm (2 June 2002). with a child is living there for a period of time. For Quaanaq Department of Culture and Education. the time being it is therefore holding the northern- http://geocities.com/thetropics/resort/9292/Avaner- most book collection in the world. The search for suup/Atuagaateqarfia (8 June 2002) other families at other research stations is, howev- UNIS. http://www.unis.no/ (11 June 2002). er, not carried out with great accuracy. There are,

95 Useful links to two German bibliograhic ability of the target systems and cannot give more metadatabases functionality than they do. If you click your way through the hit list you are linked to the target Marcel Brannemann system and leave the KVK. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine The system was developed at the University Li- Research brary in cooperation with the local Faculty of In- formatics. Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog (KVK) (The Karl- Die Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek (EZB) sruhe Virtual Catalog) http://www.ubka.uni- (Electronic Journals Library) http://www.biblio- karlsruhe.de/hylib/en/kvk.html is a meta search thek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/ is a service to facil- interface which allows you to access library cata- itate the use of scholarly journals on the internet. logs on the Internet. At the present time KVK pro- It offers a fast, structured and unified interface to vides access to the German union catalogs, the access full text articles online. It comprises 11,679 German National Library Catalog and further- titles from all areas of research, 1,171 of which are more to important library and union catalogs available online only. There are 2820 journals worldwide. It starts a simultaneous search and which are accessible free of charge to anyone, in- gives you a standardized hit list. As the KVK does dicated by a green icon. not have its own database it depends on the avail-

96 Session 8: Planning the future

A Greenlandic Inuk librarian’s point of echists. Our libraries could not work to the benefit view on the future of Inuit libraries, of the Greenlandic people without the invaluable language and literature enthusiasm and knowledge of these local librari- ans. Elisa Jeremiassen Today 6 Greenlanders educated as librarians are The National Public Library of Greenland working in all of Greenland. We were all educated in Denmark and I was made Head of Nunatta At- Abstract. As national and legal deposit library uagaateqarfia in 1994. Our staff of about 30 per- Groenlandica collects, secures, and registers all sons is two thirds Greenlandic and one third Dan- material edited and issued in Greenland and is re- ish today. sponsible for its preservation for posterity. Here Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia is the central library of you can look for answers to special questions Greenland, the public library of Nuup Kom- about Greenland, Inuit and the Arctic. It is possible munea, and the national scientific library of to borrow books from our research collection ac- Greenland. cording to the lending rules of Nunatta Atua- gaateqarfia. Technological development. Since 1993 our library In this paper I will give my impression of the sta- lending system and catalogue has been a database tus of our library and the Inuit language and liter- serviced by a Danish company, CSC, formerly ature today. The paper pays special attention to Danish Data Electronics. Our mutual library net- our technological and digital status and points out work is still under heavy construction. So far the future fields of work and hopes for even more co- database, which originally was meant to serve operation with other polar libraries. only Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia, now contains and services also the libraries of the Health Care Edu- Introduction. Greenland is governed by Denmark. cation Centre, the Commercial School and the A homerule agreement was made in 1979 and al- communal library of the Teachers Seminary, the though more and more areas of responsibility are Grammar School and the Social Workers Educa- handed over from Denmark to Greenland, Green- tion Centre. The future university campus is plan- land is still not autonomous. Greenland has about ning to use our data-system as well. Direct con- 55,000 inhabitants of whom about 13,500 live in nection is only possible for libraries situated in the capital Nuuk. Nuuk is a typical administrative Nuuk. The public libraries outside Nuuk are not town, home of the Greenland Homerule Adminis- connected to our database yet. More institutional tration and The Central and National Library of libraries are planning to join us soon. This in- Greenland among other administrative and edu- cludes the Greenland Institute of Natural Re- cational institutions. The municipality of Nuuk is sources, the Knowledge Centre on Children and huge, about 87,000 km2 or twice the size of Den- Young People, the Greenland Bureau of Statistics, mark. The main language is Greenlandic with the Greenlandic Bureau of Minerals and Petrole- Danish as second and English as third langu- um and of course the University Library. ages. The Internet reached Greenland in 1996. The National library of Greenland joined the test The libraries. Libraries in Greenland go back to the group and had access to the Internet as early as beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1925 an or- fall 1995. The library database has been available ganised library system for all of Greenland was on the Internet since 1998 via our homepage at initiated. Most libraries in Greenland are placed in www.katak.gl the local public schools and most of the people working as librarians are connected to the school Greenlandic language and literature. The Green- system. Often they are educated as teachers or cat- landic libraries do their cataloguing in DanMARC

97 and use the Danish classification system for public starting with Atuagagdliutit in 1861. Here also ap- libraries with a few local adaptions. Most books in peared the first newspaper pictures printed in our main library are in Danish. colour in the world. About 5000 titles total exist in Greenlandic. This Newspapers and periodicals have always flour- is a lot compared to other Inuit languages, but still ished in Greenland and are a good source to not enough, when you consider, that they include Greenlandic life, debate, and thoughts today and outdated information and administrative material yesterday. of only historical value and that many highly rele- When the Greenlandic Homerule took responsi- vant subjects have yet to be treated in Green- bility for cultural affairs and primary education in landic. 1979, Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia consequently be- The Greenlandic language is very much alive, came the national and scientific library of Green- however, and the new orthography from the land. 1970’ies is used. Fortunately new novels for adults Culture and education were among the first ar- and children appear every year. eas to be transferred to the Greenlandic Home- But the difference between new and old orthog- rule. A natural consequence was that the responsi- raphy creates problems for the library users. El- bility for the making of a Greenlandic index of our derly people generally prefer the old orthography periodicals and newspapers was also transferred and young people the new. Fortunately we also from The Royal Danish Library to Nunatta Atua- meet elderly people who read the new orthogra- gaateqarfia in 1985. Unfortunately it proved im- phy as well. If the subject is interesting young possible to transfer or find funding for the work people are able to read the old orthography. on the index. The lack of funds has left Greenland The Greenlandic Homerule Office of Language with an incomplete index covering only the years officially recommends production of reading mat- 1950 to 1974 and a single volume from 1985. Most ter for children in Greenlandic to support the con- newspapers, especially the two largest, are bilin- tinued existence and development of the Green- gual in Greenlandic and Danish. landic language. Thanks to the Internet we may now create our The Greenland Home Rule supports Green- index gradually as a database rather than as a landic books through support to our national pub- published book, and offer access to users via our lishing company Atuakkiorfik. This is necessary homepage. In 2000 we started a pilot project em- because small editions in a language spoken by ploying a Greenlandic librarian part time. This only 55,000 persons are not commercially sustain- was done partly to document the costs of an index able. To encourage the writing and translating of to ease fundraising inside and outside the Green- books into Greenlandic, the Homerule introduced landic Homerule System. Unfortunately we have a system of public lending right fee in 1993. had to stop the project again for financial reasons. The book develops and strengthens the lan- Carl Christian Olsen, the Greenlandic Home- guage of every single person as well as our ability rule Office of Language, strongly supported our to listen to new and other voices. This is what project: “I am most happy to support Nunatta At- makes the publishing of translated books in uagaateqarfia’s application for money for a digital Greenlandic, and Greenlandic books in foreign index of newspapers and periodicals. There is a languages important. Thus we can develop our clear need to base documentation of the continu- understanding of the outside world and give the ing Greenlandic democratization process on pri- rest of the world access to our own culture as we mary sources. see it. During our work on the statement of language policy it has again become evident how great is Primary sources in the libraries. Greenlanders and the need of access to primary and untranslated other Inuit have a strong oral tradition of story- sources of the documentary material. This need telling. This tradition still lives despite the fact grows proportionally with the number of students that more and more books are being published in and researchers writing papers and dissertations Greenlandic every year. today. Greenland has a strong newspaper tradition The lack of access to untranslated primary

98 sources will easily create projects based on sec- Groenlandica and the Ilisimatusarfik ondary sources only. This very much damages the Library – past, present and future value of the research of our students. All students studying the process of democratization have a Erika Nielsen right to demand access to the actual sources, un- Groenlandica less you want to force an one sided presentation of the material. To avoid future biased research on Dorthe Søndergaard Jørgensen Greenlandic history and secure documentation University of Greenland and understanding of the Greenlandic society and its development a digitized GATI is an indispens- Abstract. Groenlandica is the name of the national able part of our future University Campus Ilim- library of Greenland and together with the Ilisima- marfik homepage.” tusarfik Library at the University of Greenland the Unfortunately the Greenlandic library system largest research libraries in Greenland. This paper has not yet been able to solve the problem of ac- will outline the history of the library system of cess to and indexing of our primary sources from Greenland and give a presentation of Groenlandi- newspapers and periodicals. We hope and work ca and the University library today. Groenlandica to develop understanding for this strong need. participates in two Nordic programmes to improve Fortunately we can digitize today. The exiting access to important sources of information. Finally, West-Nord Project digitizes old newspapers and the paper will report on the plans to establish a periodicals and the methods developed here will new centre for education, research and documen- be of great value in the future. The next speakers, tation, Ilimmarfik, where the two libraries will be Dorthe S. Jørgensen and Erika Nielsen, will tell merged. you more about this fascinating project. How do you deal with the primary sources in Literary history. The Greenlanders have had access other parts of the polar regions? What do you do to books in Greenlandic for more than 200 years. in Nunavut and in the other areas with small lan- Between 1790 and 1850 local missionaries in guage groups in the polar region? Are we all on Greenland received more than 16,000 books, most- the same tentative starting level or have you per- ly religious, to be distributed free of charge among haps visions of another future? Might we in the a population of about 3,000 people. Most West- future gather all relevant information sources in Greenlanders were literate in Greenlandic as early one large database, where all users will have easy as 1860. access to this important material? How could we With the standardization of Greenlandic orthog- start such a project? raphy in the 1850s by Samuel Kleinschmidt (a Finally I want to thank you for your attention Moravian missionary, linguist and much more), and hand out the first official invitation to a semi- and with the publishing of the newspaper Atua- nar on the conditions for small languages and gagdliutit from 1861, Greenlanders gained access their literary production. The seminar takes place to non-religious literature and began to express in Nuuk in September 2003. I hope to see you themselves publicly in writing. Atuagagdliutit is a there. treasure, as cultural and printing history. The first colour illustration in a newspaper was published in Atuagagdliutit in 1861, a woodcut showing the American navy visiting Nuuk.

Library history. The first plans for libraries in Greenland were outlined as early as the 18th centu- ry. These libraries were reserved the Danish colonists and the few Greenlanders who mastered the Danish language. In the first half of the 19th century missionaries established small collections for the local population. Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia

99 Figure 1. A visit of the American navy was shown in colours in the first issue of the national newspaper Atuagagdliutit, 1861.

(The Public and National Library of Greenland) bookshops and auctions all over the world we was founded in 1925, but the first library legisla- have succeeded in replacing almost everything. tion came in 1956. One of the first Parliament Or- There are still holes in the collection, but we have ders resolved by the new Home Rule Government a large collection of unregistered material which in 1979 was for the library system. With this order may fill them. Greenland took over the responsibility for the li- In 1976 the library moved into the present brary system and for the preservation and regis- premises which is now much too small. tration of material published in Greenland. Objective. The objective of Groenlandica is to es- The history of Groenlandica. As a result of the first li- tablish a national and a foreign collection. The Na- brary legislation in Greenland in 1956, the first tional collection consists primarily of material ac- qualified librarian, Hans Westerman, was em- quired according to parliament order on legal de- ployed. Hans Westerman was in charge of the cre- posit. Books, newspapers, magazines and other ation of the present Greenlandic library system in printed material which illustrate the material and the fifties and also in reforms after the establish- spiritual development in Greenland. The foreign ing of Home Rule in 1979. collection consists of books and other material Westerman started the Groenlandica-collection about Greenland, Inuit, the Arctic and other sub- in the fifties, primarily as a museum for the old jects of importance for the Greenlandic society. and valuable Greenlandic publications and manu- scripts. In 1968 a fire ruined most of the collection, Groenlandica today. Groenlandica is today a depart- but luckily the manuscripts of Samuel Klein- ment of Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia and acts as the schmidt were rescued. national library. Groenlandica administers preser- Through gifts and purchases from second-hand vation and registration of the legal deposit, manu-

100 scripts and other material of national interest and ed to register their collections in the database and purchases and registers the foreign collection. Be- hopefully the university will soon be able to do sides, Groenlandica is responsible for the Green- the same. landic national bibliography and for answering domestic and foreign inquiries. Projects. Apart from the day to day work Groen- Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia’s roles as national li- landica has different projects. Lots of time is used brary, central library for Greenland and public li- for relocating material because of lack of space brary for Nuuk give a very broad user group from and cataloguing unsorted material piled up leisure time readers to students, national and in- through the years. In 3 years we have spent DKK ternational researchers. Groenlandica mostly ser- 100,000 on binding periodicals. Groenlandica also vices researchers and students. takes part in external projects, eg. the Center for The collections of Groenlandica and of the pub- Knowledge of Children and Young People, two lic library are registered in the same database digitizing projects and Ilimmarfik, the centre for (www.katak.gl). Groenlandica does not have its research and education (see below). own reading room, and patrons have to share the reading room with users of the public library. The Center for Knowledge of Children and Young People. staff of Groenlandica is 1 head of department, 1 li- In the fall of 2001 the parliament decided to estab- brarian, 1 technical assistant and 1 unskilled em- lish a documentation centre about the conditions ployee. In addition to the shared areas, Groen- of children and young people in Greenland, a landica has 350 m2 stack room and office. All the Centre for Knowledge of Children and Young collection is placed on closed shelves, the national People. Groenlandica serves in the affiliated com- and special collections in a fireproof room. mittee. Presently the centre is placed in the Min- The special collection consists of several smaller istry of Social Affairs and Labour, but it is sup- collections, among others the rescued collection of posed to be a part of the coming campus Ilim- Samuel Kleinschmidt’s notes, Greenlandic writers’ marfik where collections of the center will be in- manuscripts and books, collections of audiovisual cluded in Groenlandica. materials, and a collection of non-Greenlandic books from before 1870. Digitizing projects. Groenlandica participates in According to the legal deposit act, 3 copies must two digitizing projects: Tiden and Vestnord. be deposited, and Groenlandica buys a 4th copy Tiden is run by the National libraries of Norway, for lending. Due to the increasing publishing ac- Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, and Vestnord is tivity in Greenland together with increasing run by the National Library of Iceland in coopera- awareness of the legal deposit rules, the collection tion with the National Library of the Faeroe Is- is growing rapidly and space has become a major lands and Groenlandica. The projects will have a problem. mutual interface on the Internet, expected to be On 1 January 2002 c. 20,000 titles (c. 57,000 accessible by the end of 2002. Both projects are books) were registered in the database, half of funded by Nordinfo and other foundations. them in the national collection. Most of the peri- Two different methods are used for the projects. odicals and the special collection are not yet regis- Tiden microfilms newspapers while Vestnord uses tered in the database. In 2001 the circulation was digital camera. 706 and the budget for 2002 is 170,000 DKK. The Groenlandica contribution to the project Tiden is microfilming the newspaper Atuagagdliu- The database. Nunatta Atuagaateqarfia started tit from the start in 1861 to 1999. In the project computer registration and lending in 1993. The Vestnord Groenlandica digitizes the Greenland first to be registered was the public library collec- code of statutes, Nalunaerutit, 1905-1952, the mag- tion and next those Groenlandica books already azines Sujumut 1933-1948 and Avangnamiok’ 1913- catalogued in the database. The rest of the collec- 1948, and the register to Meddelelser om Grønland tions are registered little by little, the national and (Monographs on Greenland) 1879-1983. foreign collections were done in 1997. In 2001 3 external educational institutions start- Inuit Institute. Ilisimatusarfik is a very young uni-

101 versity. The first proposals for an institution in The history of The Ilisimatusarfik Library. The library Greenland named Inuit Institute was made in the has always been important to Ilisimatusarfik, and Provincial Council for Greenland in the fall of when the university moved into the new building, 1974. Its task was to do research in Greenlandic the library got the whole ground floor of the side culture and language at a university level and to wing. From the start there was an employee at the teach the subjects. A preparatory commission was library, though not always a trained librarian and set up, but never assembled, and the idea was left not always full-time. until Home Rule was established. In April 1980 The library’s collection consists of about 18,500 the minister of Education and Cultural Affairs ap- books, and we subscribe to 123 periodicals. The pointed 3 Greenlanders to give a report about an collection covers mainly anthropology, archaeolo- “Inuit Institute”. The commission submitted their gy, history, sociology, politics, economics, linguis- report in November 1980 and during the fall ses- tics, media, theology and philosophy. sion in 1981 of the Greenland Parliament, the min- Although the library is rather new, it has a lot of ister proposed an act for the Inuit Institute. The older books related both to Greenland and to the act was passed on 16 October 1981. In the summer teaching subjects, donated by individuals and ed- of 1983 the Inuit Institute opened on the first floor ucational institutions, national and international. of a newly built extension to Nunatta Atuagaate- In 1991 the computer registration started, but qarfia and received the first students 1 February unfortunately not in a library system but a data- 1984. A theological institute was also established base-system called Freebase, which we still use. in 1983 Hopefully we will have the collection registered in the national database soon. Ilisimatusarfik. In 1987 the Inuit Institute and the The library covers 72 m2 (about 425 meters of Theological Institute were merged and moved to shelves) and the librarian’s office is 14 m2. The an old but totally renovated Moravian Mission theological library is placed in a classroom and Station from 1747. The name was changed to Ilisi- duplicates are placed in one of the computer matusarfik/University of Greenland and the first rooms. statute was given in 1989. There were 3 depart- In 2001 the accession was 663 books, the circula- ments: Department of Greenlandic Language, Lit- tion was 1062 and the interlibrary loans were 534 erature and Media, Department of Culture and of which 188 were copies. The interlibrary loans Sociology, and Department of Theology. The De- are mostly loans from Groenlandica, from the lo- partment of Culture and Sociology comprised cal education institutions and from research li- both cultural and administrative studies and was braries in Denmark. in 1990 divided into Department of Cultural and We get a very fine service from the research li- Social History and Department of Politics and braries in Denmark. It is mainly the State and Uni- Economics. versity Library and the Royal Library we borrow Today the building only contains some class- from, but we also use the other University Li- rooms, the library, computer rooms, lunchroom, braries, the Business Schools and the National Li- and a few offices. Other offices, 2 more classrooms brary of Education. Books from outside Denmark and the university administration are scattered are ordered through The State and University Li- over 3 houses in the neighbourhood. Furthermore brary. the university disposes of 3 houses to accommo- The library’s budget is 200,000 DKK for books date visiting lecturers. and periodicals. 40,000 for each department and Today Ilisimatusarfik has 15 teachers (of which 40,000 DKK for shared acquisitions (newspapers, 1 is president), 1 head of administration, 1 senior dictionaries, books on study skills, IT and library clerk, 1 caretaker, 1 librarian and about 100 stu- technique). dents. In 2001 we admitted our first PhD stu- dent. Ilimmarfik. As you have heard both Groenlandica Until today 50 bachelors have graduated from and the university have far too little space. A situ- Ilisimatusarfik, and 26 of them have also taken ation we share with several other institutions in their masters degree. Nuuk. The idea of building a campus big enough

102 for several research institutions started at a confer- two-storey building, close to the reception, the ence on advanced studies in 1993. In 1996 four in- archive and the canteen with 515 m2 open library, stitutions with serious space problems sent a pro- including reading rooms and circulation desk, 139 posal to the Home Rule Government of building a m2 fireproof room, 131 m2 offices and processing house for them on the site next to the newly built department, a total of 785 m2. The reading rooms Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and they will also be used by visitors to the National Ar- called the place Ilimmarfik. Ilimmarfik is the word chive, which will be housed in the same building. for a place where knowledge is produced or But even though a lot of work and money has where the spirit can travel. been but into the Ilimmarfik project, the parlia- Today eight research and educational institu- ment and the government have not yet granted the tions are involved in the planning for Ilimmarfik: necessary funding for the project. The budget for University of Greenland, School of Social Work, Ilimmarfik is DKK 159 mio. of which it is hoped to School of Journalism, Institute of Education, get DKK 60 mio. from various foundations. The Groenlandica, The National Archive, Statistics latest report says that the building process will Greenland and the Language Secretariat. start no sooner than 2005, so we will have to put The objective of Ilimmarfik is to create an up-to- up with our small spaces for a few more years. date framework for academic training, for re- search and for safekeeping and wider accessibility of Greenland’s cultural treasures. An architectural References competition was held in 1999 and the winning Hansen, Klaus Georg 1996. They came, they saw, they read – prize was given to KHR A/S in cooperation with images of Greenland before 1850. Umeå: Umeå University Tegnestuen Nuuk. Further planning is carried out Department of History of Science and Ideas. (Working Pa- by an interim board of directors consisting of the per / The Northern Space. The International Research Net- leaders of the participating institutions in cooper- work on the History of Polar Science ; no 5) ation with the Ministry of Culture, Education Re- Ilimmarfik – a centre for education, research, documenta- search and Church. tion and communication 2001. Nuuk : Department of Cul- In Ilimmarfik, Groenlandica will be merged ture, Education, Research and Church with the libraries of the other participating institu- Langgård, Per [1989]. To be a very small university in a very tions into a National Research Library and will small society. Nuuk : Ilisimatusarfik give access to a unique fund of knowledge, which Nielsen, Erika 2002. The National Library of Greenland. today is invisible on closed shelves or in some cas- Alexandria 14(1) es in libraries without librarians. Nyeng, Per 1997. Library imprints on the worlds largest is- The combined library will be part in the study land. Bibliotekspressen 15:416-417 and research environment and an information Oldendow, Knud 1959. Printing in Greenland. Copenhagen. centre for the whole of Greenland and for the rest Ejnar Munksgaard Limited of the world. Optimistically, by then all the collec- Petersen, Robert 1986. Ilisimatusarfik (Inuit Institute). tions are registered in the national database. Nordic Journal of International Law 55(1-2):154-157 Today librarians who are trained in public li- Petersen, Robert 1988. The University of Greenland. Arctic braries perform the library service for the academ- Medical Research 47(1):13-17 The University Campus : a landmark in education and re- ic world in Greenland. In Ilimmarfik it will be an search in Greenland 2002. Nuuk : The Ministry of Culture, improvement to be able to consult subject special- Education, Research and the Church ists to secure the quality of the selection of materi- Westermann, Hans 1969. The library system in Greenland : al, key words etc. an account of current developments. Scandinavian Public The National Research Library in Ilimmarfik Library Quarterly 2(3) will hopefully help make education and research Westermann, Hans 1969. The library system in Greenland : a tempting occupation for the Greenlandic youth, some historical aspects. Scandinavian Public Library Quar- so that Greenland in the future will get re- terly 2(2) searchers with a knowledge of the language, the Westermann, Hans 1981. Greenland’s library service culture, the society and the nature. through 150 years. Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly The plans now include a library situated in a 14(1):16-19

103 The ideal University of Alaska Science UASL, which could open as soon as seven years Library from now in a thoroughly renovated existing building, will solve two traditional problems fac- James H. Anderson ing the UAF Library system. These are an increas- University of Alaska Fairbanks ingly acute lack of space for materials, services and user activity, and the need to consolidate science Abstract. The ideal University of Alaska Science Li- materials on the part of the now bifurcated cam- brary (UASL) will meet the many information pus where most of their users are located. The needs of the University’s and other scientists and statement presented here, painfully abridged to students which still cannot be met except through meet the space constraint, represents a more com- a library, even in the digital age. It will be a major prehensive document which is the first essential, factor in UAF’s continued preeminence in high-lat- to guide the broader planning process and fund itude research, instruction, and science informa- raising for UASL. tion service. It will contain a substantial book col- lection, because books will remain a medium of Introduction. The University of Alaska Fairbanks choice. It will have space for book collection ex- (UAF) is the only high-latitude doctorate-granting pansion for at least 25 years, and it will remain university in North America and one of just a few flexible and adaptable to new technologies and in the world. UAF has long been a leader in re- concepts in science information service much search and instruction concerning high-latitude longer. It will provide a comprehensive array of places, phenomena, processes, resources and peo- journals, individually selected, like new books, on ples, and now it is experiencing major growth in the basis of the Science Librarian’s knowledge of physical and biological science activity and fund- ongoing and new research and instructional pro- ing acquisition. grams. Unlike most books, all journals available The capacity at UAF for providing science infor- digitally will be acquired in that form and made mation materials, online resources and services is desktop-accessible by UAF and associated person- in increasing jeopardy as research and instruction nel anywhere they have Web access. Print-form expansion continues. Thus a new science library is backruns of many journals not yet digitized will be needed at UAF, as a physically separate compo- held in partial fulfilment of UASL’s role as a major nent of the University’s main Rasmuson Library. repository of the published record for high-lati- An overview of the need and research methodolo- tude sciences. In addition to online journals, UASL gy is followed by a description of the ideal Uni- will provide access to comprehensive indexing of versity of Alaska Science Library, or UASL. The the scientific literature and to certain carefully se- full description, available from the author, is the lected no-cost supplemental Web sites. As most of first essential in the UASL planning process, even these various resources will be Z39.50-compliant, though it will continue to evolve as science infor- all will be brought together in a single integrated mation concepts and resources continue to library information system. change. The ideal UASL will be a symbiosis of the digital Certain assumptions and opinions and the and physical information realms. It will provide an broader UASL vision presented here are those of abundance of environmentally conducive people the author and others in the science information space, furnished and equipped to optimize indi- leadership realm and are not necessarily agreeable vidual, group and online intellectual activity and to some persons. to minimize distractions. That activity will be en- hanced by informal and organized information lit- Methodology. Analyzing the need for a new UASL eracy instruction, all in the broader philosophical is based on conditions readily apparent to the context of scientism. The ideal UASL will promote, UAF Science Librarian, his colleagues and much with its physical, digital and instructional re- of his constituency. Design of the ideal UASL has sources, scientism as the most appropriate world- two major foundations. First, a great deal of ongo- view for advancing human physical, intellectual, ing research and thought concerns the future of cultural and spiritual well-being. Finally, the ideal the library in general and the nature of science in-

104 formation and its accessibility. Application of rele- making it well known that he is always eager for vant results from so much intellectual activity, as recommendations for book and journal acquisi- reported in the contemporary print and online lit- tions and other aspects of service (Anderson erature, is the primary contribution to UASL de- 2002b). sign. Second, an ambitious and responsible sci- The third reason a user survey was not conduct- ence librarian will work to know the broader mis- ed is the assumption that a diligent science librari- sion of his institution, the specific information an will know of resources and services that should needs of the diverse members of his constituency, be provided but about which most of his con- and how providing for the latter complements the stituency is not clearly aware and would not be former. Assuming this knowledge in conjunction able to articulate in a survey or otherwise (Win- with a substantial knowledge of the relevant liter- ston and Dunkley 2002). As the sources cited indi- ature, one is qualified to prepare a science library cate, one can take advantage of a very substantial design worthy of review, appropriate adjust- amount of contemporary and forward-looking re- ments, and approval by colleagues and con- search and thought. stituents as well as architects and construction Fourth, and most persuasively, many user sur- managers (Leighton and Weber 1999: 8). Even so, veys are reported in the literature, and a few of ongoing evolution of the design is not only to be these have been quite instructive for UASL design expected in a changing science information envi- (Hiller 2002, Salwasser and Murray-Rust 2002, ronment, but will be essential for realizing the Greenstein and Healy 2002, Baruchson-Arbib and most nearly ideal facility (Arms 2000, Bazillion Bronstein 2002). However, as the UASL planning and Braun 2001, Crawford 1999, Leighton and We- process continues, one or more user surveys ber 1999, Riggs 2002, Webb 2000). might be implemented, guided by such presenta- The ideal UASL is defined on the basis of five tions as those of Covey (2002) and Junion-Metz criteria. First, it will meet all the regular needs of and Metz (2001). its users, both within the physical library and else- where, in terms of print and digital information The Need. According to its mission statement, UAF resources and in terms of reference and other ser- “... as the nation’s northernmost Land, Sea, and vices. Second, it will meet certain needs that many Space Grant university and international research in its constituency might not have clearly realized center, advances and disseminates knowledge they had, particularly in terms of bibliographic through creative teaching, research, and public and information literacy instruction. Third, UASL service with an emphasis on Alaska, the North will be sufficiently imposing both physically and and their diverse peoples” (www.uaf.edu/uni- in terms of its collections and services to be an in- vrel/plan/draft/plan.html). tellectual hub of the UAF campus. Fourth, as a Two of six specific goals in its strategic plan primary repository of the scientific record for (idem) call for UAF to “be a world leader in arctic high-latitude regions, it will be an information re- research and related graduate education” and “an source for other institutions and agencies in Eu- academic gateway to the North Pacific and the rope, Russia and other countries as well as in Circumpolar North.” Thus a substantial mandate North America. Fifth, and most importantly, the is imposed on its Rasmuson Library system to ideal UASL will be adaptable to future major support this mission and these goals with infor- changes in conceptual and technological aspects mation materials and services. of science information form, access and use. The UAF campus has become bifurcated In many cases, designing new libraries draws (Leighton and Weber 1999: 15). Instruction, re- on user surveys. Such a survey was not done to search and service in mathematics, engineering, inform this first design of the ideal UASL for four technology and the arts and humanities are based reasons. The most practical one was that the UAF on Lower Campus, which is the original campus. Science Librarian did not want to burden his con- The sciences, on the other hand, are now almost stituency with yet another demand. The second exclusively on a newer part of campus, the West reason is the Librarian makes it a point to interact Ridge. The migration there began in the late 1950s with his constituency regularly, particularly by when space became limiting on Lower Campus.

105 While these two distinct areas of campus are only the ability of the Science Librarian and his col- 1.2 km and a healthy hike apart, that is too far for leagues to provide information literacy instruc- science personnel to take full advantage of physi- tion. A major and essential feature of any academ- cal library materials, facilities and spaces accord- ic library is its people space (Bazillion and Braun ing to modern standards of convenience. 2001, Bennett 2001, Demas and Scherer 2002, The UAF BioSciences Library (BSL), a compo- Mann 2001, Riggs 2002, Williams 2002), and BSL is nent of Rasmuson Library, is located on the West increasingly lacking in that (Anderson 2002c). Ridge and serves UAF users and many others in the broad realm of the life sciences. In addition, a Books. Most science librarians see no reason to as- splendid new special library nearby, independent sume, with the advent of electronic books, or e- from Rasmuson Library, serves needs of re- books, that the demand for books in print form for searchers in the Geophysical Institute (GI) and In- teaching and research purposes will decrease sig- ternational Arctic Research Center (IARC) in the nificantly (Anonymous 1999, Bazillion and Braun realm of physics, astronomy, meteorology and ge- 2001, Bennett 2001, Bridges 2001, Crawford 1999, ology. A succinct overview of these two libraries Kniffel 2001, Mann 2001, Negroponte 1996, Riggs and their holdings and services is at their Web 2002). Books in the traditional form, presenting sites, www.uaf.edu/library/collections/biosci/in- scientific and technical information at length and dex.html and www.gi.alaska.edu/services/li- in depth, will remain the medium of choice for se- brary. rious study and thought, even as lighter and pop- Unfortunately, BSL occupies antiquated space ular book-length writings might become more built in the 1960s. Growth in life sciences research common in e-book form. Thus there will continue and instruction since then has pushed BSL to its to be a need for additional space to accommodate physical limits, and now major new programs new books in libraries, especially in science and with much new funding are increasing the pres- research libraries. sure for materials, services and space all the more. UASL will be a major research library, and as In addition to its on-campus obligations, BSL has such it will be a holder and provider of original responsibilities for branch libraries and related information in the sciences, and there is inevitably services in UAF’s remote research facilities (An- an increase over time in such information (Bush derson 2000, 2002a, 2002c). 1945). Ongoing acquisitions of older research ma- In the broad realm of the physical and earth sci- terials in print form, as by donation from retiring ences, there is a considerable amount of UAF ac- faculty members, will also require physical expan- tivity on campus and elsewhere outside of GI and sion space. IARC. The Departments of Chemistry, Geology/ The truly ideal UASL will provide book expan- Geophysics and Physics are separate entities, al- sion space indefinitely into the future. Of course though each shares some faculty members and no mortal can see that far ahead, and the alloca- graduate programs with GI and IARC. Thus Ras- tion of expansion space requires adopting certain muson Library has a substantial responsibility in assumptions (Leighton and Weber 1999, Webb this subject realm as well. There is a large collec- 2000). For UASL these are (1) expansion space for tion of books and journals for the physical and 25 years from the time of opening will be ade- earth sciences in the main library on Lower Cam- quate, (2) from then on, the rate of acquisition of pus. However, as those faculty members and stu- books and other publications in print form will dents are mostly located on the West Ridge, the decrease substantially, and (3) any further space materials in the main library need to be trans- needed beyond that time will be acquired through ferred there, into a new UASL. construction of physical additions to the library, The lack of space in BSL inhibits further growth and the design of those will be future enterprises of its book collection and precludes the transfer of separate from the design presented here. physical sciences materials from Lower Campus. To push the concept of ideal to the optimum, it Beyond that, it is affecting very seriously the abili- is recommended that UASL have space for future ty of students and others to use the Library for collection expansion equal to twice that occupied reading, study and intellectual interaction, and by the collection with which it starts. That collec-

106 tion will comprise the present 60,000 books in defined as those specifically requested by users, BSL, the perhaps 14,000 additional ones that will and accessory titles, those not specifically request- be added in the seven years before UASL can rea- ed but determined by the Science Librarian as sonably be expected to open, the approximately needed to provide adequate coverage of the vari- 66,000 books in physics, geology, chemistry and ous subject areas. In addition to the individually related disciplines currently housed on Lower selected titles, Rasmuson Library provides online Campus, plus the approximately 7,000 books that access to numerous so-called peripheral titles for will be added there. From these, an estimated the sciences by virtue of their inclusion in the 5,000 books will be withdrawn during the next journal collections, or package deals, of several seven years. Thus the net total of books for the publishers and vendors (Frazier 2001). A complete UASL startup collection will be 142,000. At an av- list of some 4,000 titles is at the Rasmuson Library erage of 15 items per shelf foot (Anderson 2002c: Web site, www.uaf.edu/library. 15), about 9,500 feet of shelf space will be needed Providing access to online journals requires ac- for the startup collection, plus another 9,500 feet cess as well to online indexes of journal contents, for 25, or 30, years of expansion, for a total of including the contents of backruns in print form. 19,000 linear feet (5,791 m). For the sciences, Rasmuson Library with BSL cur- The 19,000 feet of shelving, with standard spac- rently subscribes to 17 primary indexes, 7 addi- ing between units, would occupy on the order of tional databases providing indexing and some 25,000 ft2 (2,232 m2 ) of floor space (Leighton and amount of full-text coverage, plus six major jour- Weber 1999). However, it is quite feasible to di- nal collections. All of these resources, plus a num- vide a collection into a high-use component and a ber of less important indexes for the sciences and larger low-use component, then to shelve the lat- several encyclopedias, are accessible by UAF and ter on compact shelving in an area relatively unat- associated personnel anywhere in the world they tractive as people space, such as a basement. In have Web access. The ideal UASL, as a digital mil- the ideal UASL, that division of the collection will lennium facility, will provide remotely accessible reduce the total amount of floor space for book and adequate indexing across all the sciences. shelving to an estimated 15,000 ft2, or 1,394 m2. The 57 percent of selected life sciences journals now online is probably similar for the physical Journals. The outlook for journals in the sciences is and earth sciences. This percentage is expected to quite different from that for books (Butler 1999, increase to near 100 by the time UASL opens some Carlson 2001, Flecker 2001, Reich and Rosenthal seven years from now. Thus it is clear that the 2002, www.publiclibraryofscience.org). While a amount of space in the ideal UASL necessary for relatively small portion of scholarly books in the new journal issues will be very small relative to future will be in digital form, most, if not all, jour- that for books. Moreover, the amount of space nals for the sciences will be in that form and there- needed for backruns of journals will decrease con- by potentially desktop-accessible. This is because siderably from that currently needed as more and the technology is available, the economic incen- more runs are digitized and made accessible via tives and arrangements are becoming irresistible online collections (Arms 2000, Carlson 2001, (Arms 2000, Goldstein 2002, Salwasser and Mur- Flecker 2001, Reich and Rosenthal 2002, Salwasser ray-Rust 2002), and, most of all, researchers and and Murray-Rust 2002). students almost overwhelmingly prefer the com- However, it appears quite likely that the back- mon-sense convenience and economy of desktop runs of some older and less common scientific pe- accessibility (Anderson 2002b, Hiller 2002). riodicals will never be digitized and made gener- Currently BSL subscribes to 686 individually se- ally available as such. Thus the ideal UASL will lected journals and other periodicals for the life need to provide physical space for those materi- sciences, and 388 of those, or about 57 percent, are als. As science moves quickly forward, researchers online. Rasmuson Library, of which BSL is a part, are increasingly dependent on the science of the subscribes to many more selected titles for the past. Current models build on past discoveries, physical and earth sciences. These selections are and such building obviously requires access to the designated by Anderson (2002b) as essential titles, past publication of those discoveries (Bush 1945,

107 Bridges 2001, Butler 1999, Flecker 2001, Mann variable in quality, more and more professional at- 2001, Schaffner 2001). tention is being directed toward researchers’ and The amount of space UASL will need to contain students’ access to and use of them (Bazillion and journal backruns can only roughly be estimated Braun 2001: 181, Brown and Krumholz 2002, because it is not known how far digitization will Whitmire 2002). For UASL it is appropriate that go over the next few years. Currently print-form this attention be considered in the broader context journals in BSL occupy space approximately twice of science and its constant stream of new findings that occupied by books (Anderson 2002c). A con- and syntheses and their applications to human in- servative estimate for the future calls for a reduc- tellectual, physical and spiritual well-being. tion of backrun space by 50 percent, which would Much has been written on the increasing impor- be equal to the space now occupied by books. In tance of science to society at large, as by Tudge the preceding section it was determined that 7,500 (2001) and Shermer (2002). Indeed, the ideal ft2 (697 m2) of space would be required for the UASL will promote the concept of scientism, de- UASL startup collection of books. The foregoing fined by Shermer as “... a scientific worldview that analysis calls for an equal amount for the shelving encompasses natural explanations for all phenom- for journal backruns. ena, eschews supernatural and paranormal specu- Finally, a certain small amount of expansion lations, and embraces empiricism and reason as space will be allocated in the ideal UASL for on- the twin pillars of a philosophy of life appropriate going additions to the print-form journal collec- for an Age of Science.” In Alaska, wildlife man- tion, for the few journals still available only in that agement is a special example of the need for in- form and for certain high-use titles. That will raise creased scientific attention, to counter regulatory the total space requirement for print-form periodi- actions based on uninformed and environmental- cals to 8,000 ft2. Adding that to the 15,000 ft2 pro- ly degrading personal agendas (Van Ballenberghe jected above for the startup book collection and its 2002). 25 to 30 years of expansion brings the total for phy- The ideal UASL will promote scientism and in- sical materials in UASL to 23,000 ft2, or 2,137 m2. formation literacy, and serve specific scientific and medical information needs, well beyond its imme- Other Online Resources and Science Information Liter- diate UAF constituency. As local public and acy. Science librarians are well aware that an in- school libraries can contain only a minor portion creasing amount of literature and various forms of of the high-latitude scientific record, UASL will be data for the sciences are being made available on obliged to facilitate access to its own materials the Web at no cost to anyone who can find it there and online resources by members of the broader and use it. Many efforts are being made to impose population and other research and resource man- some order on the confusing chaos of such re- agement entities (Anderson 2000, 2002a). sources and to identify and make readily accessi- The service desk in the ideal UASL will be occu- ble those of quality and most relevant to specific pied by a librarian or library assistant all the time constituencies (Clement 2000, Greenstein and the library is open. That will optimize the ability Healy 2002, Lee 2002, Salwasser and Murray-Rust of staff members to promote information literacy 2002, Sisson 2000). In the ideal UASL, librarians as users attempt to deal with the diverse multi- will monitor the Web and the literature (e.g. Riley tude of digital and physical resources. Even in 2002) for new information to be reviewed and early 2002, the UAF Science Librarian is aston- evaluated in the context of research and instruc- ished by how many BSL users appear to be only tional activities in UAF. Those determined to be of vaguely familiar with the concept of the library value will be listed as links at the UASL Web site. catalog and with how readily it can provide intel- The ideal UASL will contain an electronically lectual and physical access to the information replete smart classroom with a capacity of per- needed, whether in print or digital form. The un- haps 30 individuals, primarily to facilitate orga- familiarity is not relieved by the habit of some li- nized instruction in information literacy. With in- brary workers in referring to the catalog only by formation resources for the sciences and other its specific local pet name. That obfuscates any in- subject areas becoming so numerous, diverse and structional function concerning the library catalog

108 as a concept and as an essential and widely acces- provisions will facilitate writing and editing as sible tool. well as information retrieval. These concerns for fundamental aspects of in- The functionality of the people space in the ide- formation literacy will remain valid even as the al UASL will derive largely from the availability ideal UASL will provide as fully integrated an on- of print and digital forms of information for the line library system as possible. That will take ad- sciences, from its furnishings, and from the in- vantage of the increasingly widespread imple- struction and assistance of library personnel. Its mentation of the Z39.50 standard, bringing cata- functionality will be further enhanced by its aes- logs, indexes and other online resources together thetic qualities. A proper visual and sonic environ- through a single user interface. Thus the distinc- ment is essential not only to the suitability of a li- tion between these diverse information entities brary as a place to be, but also to the ability to will become less apparent to the user. Instead of a work effectively, without distraction (Bazillion hodgepodge of interfaces, each with its own idio- and Braun 2001, Mann 2001, Bennett, 2001, Demas syncrasies, it will be necessary to learn only one and Scherer 2002, Williams 2002). The ideal UASL interface. Nevertheless, the user’s effectiveness in will take advantage of a large private collection of this streamlined and seamless environment will original nature-oriented paintings potentially be enhanced by an understanding of basic biblio- available at no cost. As such it will serve inciden- graphic principles. tally as an art gallery, and as that will be aestheti- cally appealing, it will further promote effective People Space. The amount of space projected above intellectual activity. for materials in the ideal physical-digital UASL, A major feature of the UASL visual environ- 23,000 ft2, is modest compared with other major ment will be the windows in the main people academic science libraries. However, the ideal places. These will be sensible in size, placement UASL will need to provide at least as much addi- and number, which will be in stark contrast to the tional space for library users as for the startup atrocities in “fenestration” that architects in the book collection. The literature is exhaustive on the past have imposed on some UAF campus build- value of public, academic and many special li- ings (Anderson 2002c). Most UASL windows will braries as places, in the traditional sense, for indi- face south, which is the critical direction at high vidual reading and study, for intellectual interac- latitudes. To preclude future design and architec- tions and group study, and for information litera- tural improprieties, the Science Librarian and oth- cy education (Bazillion and Braun 2001, Bennett er members of the UASL Planning Committee will 2001, Crawford 1999, Demas and Scherer 2002, work closely with architects and engineers from Mann 2001, Riggs 2002, Williams 2002). the earliest stages. The people space in UASL will be furnished by In the ideal UASL special attention will be de- a number of individual study carrels and small- voted to maintaining a conducive sonic environ- group tables appropriate to the size of its user ment, free from the many noises plaguing modern community. It will provide network connectivity society that can be not only physically distractive throughout for the use of personal computers, it but psychologically stressful. As just one example, will provide an adequate number of permanent the UAF campus with its long winters is frequent- computer workstations, and it will provide in- ly insulted by the backup beeping of snow re- struction space and equipment (Bazillion and moval equipment. In most cases that serves no Braun 2001, Leighton and Weber 1999). Most of useful purpose, but there is an all-too-inclusive le- the furnishings will be distributed in one large gal requirement that such equipment and many reading room also containing the service desk and other noisy vehicles always produce the superflu- close to the librarians’ and other staff offices. Six ous nerve-wracking warning when backing up. of the tables will be located in as many separate Unfortunately the idiotic racket can be heard in- group-study rooms, with closable doors, around doors with the windows closed. That added to the periphery of the main reading room. All car- other unnecessary sonic impositions _ like most rels and study tables will be fitted with network computer beeping, keypad twerdling, cell phones outlets for the use of personal computers. Those blurting electronic bastardizations of a famous

109 Bach theme, and even dogs barking in cars brary. Instead, it is often feasible to renovate or thoughtlessly parked nearby _ can seriously im- add on to an existing structure, and those possibil- pair effective and efficient intellectual activity. ities are discussed by Leighton and Weber (1999: To help assure an appropriate sonic environ- 28) and others. Such a possibility exists for the ment, the ideal UASL will be fitted with windows ideal UASL in the form of an existing building having at least three layers of glass separated by that will be mostly vacated when a new life sci- vacuums. Of course that will also enhance the ences building, now in the advanced planning thermal efficiency of the building, thereby de- stage, is constructed nearby on the West Ridge. creasing the consumption of heating fuel in a cold For its new use, the existing building has the ad- climate and in a world where the supply of that is vantage of being centrally located and situated increasingly problematic. Indeed, the “need” for somewhat higher and more imposingly than the petroleum exploitation in Alaska’s scientifically surrounding buildings. Unfortunately, a signifi- and aesthetically exquisite Arctic coastal plain is cant aspect of its “imposition” is its ugliness, stark driven substantially by inefficiency, extravagance and windowless even in its primary south-facing and waste. A conspicuous example is the wide- orientation. That design atrocity, plus certain oth- spread use of off-road motor vehicles, especially er aspects of its structure, inappropriate even to snowmachines, as a demented form of recreation, the building’s present uses, will need to be cor- a great scourge on Alaska’s precious nature. rected for UASL to be ideally functional. The ideal sonic environment of UASL will also The building on the UAF campus potentially provide white noise, or “acoustic perfume” to available for conversion to the ideal UASL has a mask unwanted sounds that intrude despite the total square footage on three floors of approxi- structural protections (Bazillion and Braun 2001: mately 35,000 (3,252 m2). Earlier it was explained 50, Leighton and Weber 1999: 481). If the sound of that book startup and expansion space plus space the HVAC system is not adequate, a white noise for journal backruns and future print-form issues generator will be installed. That will feature ad- will amount to 23,000 ft2. It was also explained justable volume so that protection can be en- that people space should be at least equal to book hanced during snow removal or other sonically collection startup space, or 7,500 ft2. UASL will disruptive activities. The interior white noise will need in addition on the order of 1,000 ft2 each for also mitigate the stresses imposed on others by oc- its smart classroom and offices. The total comes to casional slovenly library users, as with open- 32,500 ft2. If the entire building can be converted mouth and audible gum chewing and popping. to library use, then the all-important people space can be made more nearly ideal with the allocation External design, location and name. Academic li- to it of as much as 10,000 ft2, or a little over 900 m2. braries are widely recognized as physical as well The role and status of UAF as a major center of as intellectual hubs of their campuses (Bazillion high-latitude-oriented research and instruction and Braun 2001, Leighton and Weber 1999, Riggs was emphasized at the outset as an essential con- 2002, Webb 2000). The ideal UASL will exemplify text for designing the ideal UASL. Therefore, a li- this philosophy of library physical status and the brary name containing the word Fairbanks, as in intellectual utility it promotes. UASL will not UAFSL, would not convey the full service value need to be monumental, but it will need to be cen- and stature of the facility. The more generic and trally located, readily recognizable, reasonably at- streamlined UASL will be ideal. That name will tractive visually, and inviting in appearance best represent the University as a single entity of among the complex of research buildings on the international repute, and in any case there are no West Ridge. Thus it will do for that area what the other separate science libraries in the multi-cam- main Rasmuson Library building does for Lower pus system with which it might be confused. Campus, although that structure’s role as a cam- pus centrepiece and workplace is impaired by its Acknowledgments. Carol Haas provided critical in- ill-conceived architecture. formation concerning integrated online library In many cases it is not necessary to construct a systems and valuable technical assistance. She wholly new building to accommodate a new li- and Colleen Sullivan and Cathi Massay reviewed

110 a first draft, and all three have otherwise con- tion on the Internet. In: Academic Research on the Inter- tributed to the author’s broader vision for the ide- net : Options for Scholars and Librarians. H. Laurence and al University of Alaska Science Library. W. Miller, Eds. Haworth Press NY. p. 271-292 Covey, D. T. 2002. Usage and Usability Assessment : Library Practices and Concerns. Digital Library Federation and References Council on Library and Information Resources. www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub105/contents.html. Anderson, J. H. 2000. Aquatic and marine science informa- Crawford, W. 1999. Being Analog : Creating Tomorrow’s Li- tion sources in Alaska, p. 235-256. In: IAMSLIC 99 : Recast- braries. American Library Association, Chicago. ing the Nets. J. W. Markham and A. L. Duda, Eds. Demas, S. and J. A. Scherer 2002. Esprit de place : Maintain- IAMSLIC, Fort Pierce FL. ing and designing library buildings to provide transcen- Anderson, J. H. 2002a. The Alaska Marine Library. A Com- dent spaces. American Libraries 33(4) (April): 65-68. prehensive Proposal. Document available from author at Flecker, D. 2001. Preserving scholarly e-journals. D-Lib Mag- [email protected]. azine 7(9): Anderson, J. H. 2002b. Optimizing journals access for uni- www.dlib.org/dlib/september01/flecker/09/flecker.html. versity aquatic and marine sciences personnel, p. 97-117 Frazier, K. 2001. The librarians’ dilemma : contemplating in Managing Resources in a Sea of Change. J. W. the costs of the “Big Deal.” D-Lib Magazine 7(3): 9 p. On- Markham, A. Duda and D. Hyett, Eds. IAMSLIC, Fort line at www.dlib.org/dlib/march01/frazier/03frazier.html. Pierce FL. Goldstein, H. 2002. Gaining Independence : A Manual for Anderson, J. H. 2002c. The University of Alaska Science Li- Planning the Launch of a Nonprofit Electronic Publishing brary : Information for High-Latitude Research and Venture, Version 1.0. Scholarly Publishing and Academic Learning in the Digital Millennium. A Prospectus. Docu- Resources Coalition (SPARC), Washington DC. ment available from author at [email protected]. www.arl.org/sparc/GI. Anonymous 1999. Here to stay 2.01 : The top ten reasons Greenstein, D. and L. W. Healy 2002. National survey docu- why the Internet will not replace the public library. ments effects of Internet use on libraries. CLIR issues 27 www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/8823/stillhere.html. (May/June): 1-4. Arms, W. Y. 2000. Digital Libraries. MIT Press. www.clir.org/pubs/issues.issues27.html#national Baruchson-Arbib, S. and J. Bronstein 2002. A View to the Hiller, S. 2002. How different are they? A comparison by Future of the Library and Information Science Profession : academic area of library use, priorities, and information A Delphi Study. Journal of the American Society of Infor- needs at the University of Washington. Issues in Science mation Science and Technology 53(5): 397-408. and Technology Librarianship Winter. Bazillion, R. J. and C. L. Braun 2001. Academic Libraries as www.istl.org/istl/02winter/article1.html. High-Tech Gateways : A Guide to Design & Space Deci- Junion-Metz, G. and D. L. Metz 2001. Instant Web Forms sions, 2nd ed. American Library Association, Chicago. and Surveys for Academic Libraries. Neal-Schuman, New Bennett, S. 2001. The golden age of libraries. The Journal York. of Academic Librarianship 27(4): 256-259. Kniffel, L. 2001. Editorial : For some things paper is better. Bridges, K. 2001. Why traditional librarianship matters : The American Libraries 32(7): 36. rush to embrace electronic services endangers our core Lee, S. D. 2002. Building an Electronic Resource Collection : values. American Libraries 32(10) (November): 52-54. A Practical Guide. Library Association, London. Brown, C. and L. R. Krumholz 2002. Integrating information Leighton, P. D. and D. C. Weber 1999. Planning Academic literacy into the science curriculum. College & Research and Research Library Buildings, 3rd ed. American Library Libraries 63(2): 111-123. Association. Bush, V. 1945 (2002). As we may think. The Atlantic Online. Mann, T. 2001. The importance of books, free access, and li- www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer/bushf. braries as places _ and the dangerous inadequacy of the htm. information science paradigm. The Journal of Academic Butler, D. 1999. The writing is on the web for science jour- Librarianship 27(4): 268-281. nals in print. Nature 397(6716) (21 January): 195-200. Negroponte, N. 1996. The future of books. Wired 4(2) (Feb- Carlson, S. 2001. JSTOR’s journal-archiving service makes ruary). www.media.mit.edu/~nicholas/Wired/WIRED4- fans of librarians and scholars : But some worry about 02.html. loss of paper copies and about cost issues. Chronicle of Reich, V. and D. S. H. Rosenthal 2002. LOCKSS : A perma- Higher Education 47(46) (27 July): A26, 3p, 2c. nent Web publishing and access system. D-Lib Magazine Clement, G. 2000. The web of life : Natural science informa- 7(6) www.dlib.org/dlib/june01/reich/06reich.html.

111 Riggs, D. E. 2002. Editorial : New libraries remain an excel- Van Ballenberghe, V. 2002. Predator control in Alaska. The lent investment. College & Research Libraries 63(2) Spirit : News from the Alaska Wildlife Alliance 21(1) (Win- (March): 108-109. ter/Spring): 4-5. Riley, O. C. 2002. Environmental health : Sites that focus on Webb, T. D. 2000. Building Libraries for the 21st Century : protecting our natural resources. College & Research Li- The Shape of Information. McFarland & Co., Jefferson NC. braries News 63(5): 350-354 Whitmire, E. 2002. Disciplinary differences and undergradu- Salwasser, J. and C. Murray-Rust 2002. Assessing the need ates’ information-seeking behavior. Journal of the Ameri- for a natural resources digital library. Issues in Science can Society of Information Science and Technology 53(8): and Technology Librarianship Winter. 631-638. www.istl.org/istl/02-winter/article2.html. Williams, J. F. 2002. Shaping the “Experience Library.” Schaffner, B. L. 2001. Electronic resources : A wolf in sheep’s American Libraries 33(4) (April): 70-72. clothing? College & Research Libraries 62(3): 239-249. Winston, M. D. and L. Dunkley 2002. Leadership competen- Shermer, M. 2002. The shamans of skepticism. Scientific cies for academic librarians : The importance of develop- American 286(6) (June): 35. ment and fund-raising. College & Research Libraries Sisson, J. E. 2000. Biology sites on the World Wide Web : A 63(2): 171-182. brief survey, p. 63-73 in Academic Research on the Inter- Worlock, D. R. 2001. The best and worst of times : What net : Options for Scholars and Libraries. H. Laurence and winners will emerge from the battles over access to schol- W. Miller, Eds. Haworth Press, NY. arly data? Nature 413(6857) (18 October): 671. Tudge, C. 2001. Why science should warm our hearts. Amer- ican Educator 25(4) (Winter): 28-29-46.

112 Session 9: Polar literature

Silent friends – books and reading on scribed by John Maxtone-Graham. From arm- polar expeditions chair adventurers to management consultants, new polar enthusiasts are reliving the exploits of David H. Stam those bold souls who traversed icy land and History Department, Syracuse University, seascapes on foot, by boat, on sledge, on ski, by New York plane, on snowmobile, and even – in Shackleton’s case – on the seats of their pants. Their routes Deirdre Stam have been traced on maps, their descendants root- New York Center for Books and Reading ed out and pumped for oral history, their diaries ransacked for data on their logistics and weather Abstract. After food and shelter, reading and writ- and clues to their mental states, their stories be- ing were fundamental preoccupations of polar ex- come the stuff of novels and poetry, and still the plorers and adventurers. Writings were often curiosity of polar devotees is unsatisfied. Their ba- meant to be public, and are generally well known. sic questions remain: Who were these people? Reading, however, has received little attention de- What motivated them to face such hardships? spite indications that it was a constant activity for What could have been in their heads? many, particularly during the dreary winter peri- In their search for answers, modern students ods, north or south. This paper will explore de- have largely overlooked the fact that many polar scriptions of reading, from Frobisher in the 16th adventurers, and especially the officers and scien- century to the Scott-Amundsen South Pole base in tists, spent almost as much time at their books as 2001, with special reference to shipboard and base they did running dogs, man-hauling sledges, libraries. The findings are suggestive of social leaping among ice-floes, or weathering storms on stratification, personal motivation, religious preoc- icy decks. Fogged in, snowed in, wintered in, iced cupation, nationalistic fervour, and latent romanti- in, or just ‘done in’, they typically spent countless cism among men usually seen as more muscular hours reading books, consulting books, discussing than mental. books, memorizing books, creating books – even on occasion smoking a page or two. “On the night of January 30, 1916, a frail, white- What follows is a small selection from their per- haired gentleman retired to the bedroom of his sonal journals and diaries as well as from second- house in London’s Eccleston Square. Once un- hand accounts of polar exploration. This is not a dressed, he swung expertly into a hammock and, balanced history of polar reading, but rather a as he had done for more than seven decades, read small sample of writing about polar reading, pre- himself to sleep in traditional Royal Navy fashion: sented in rough chronological order, showing only One hand held his book, the other a candle, exact- the tip of the immense iceberg that constitutes po- ly as he had learned as a midshipman in 1844. lar reading. But on this occasion, fatigue overcame him with The tale can begin with Martin Frobisher’s third a rush. The burning candle slipped from his fin- voyage in 1578, combining his earlier search for gers, toppled among the bedclothes [and] ignited the Northwest Passage with an abortive plan to the blanket. Dense smoke filled the room. Before establish a mining colony on Baffin Island. The list anyone in the house could intervene, Sir Clements of supplies for the colony included three Bibles, Markham, then in his eighty-sixth year, dozed three Books of Common Prayer, 24 Psalm books, into eternity…. Directly over his smoldering ham- and 24 catechisms, not a surprising list given Fro- mock hung a perfectly good electric light.”1 bisher’s orders “to banishe swearing, dice, and There is no doubt that polar history is a ‘hot’ cardplaying, and filthy communication, and to topic, though not perhaps as enflamed as in the serve God twice a day, with the ordinarie service, case of Sir Clement as somewhat fancifully de- usuall in Churches of England …” Whether this

113 was enough to supply the spiritual needs of the evening service, and found that they inspired us fifteen ships of Frobisher’s expedition is not on each perusal with so strong a sense of the known.2 omnipresence of a beneficent God, that our situa- Somewhat more is known about William Bar- tion, even in those wilds, appeared no longer des- ents’ reading during his attempt to discover the titute ...”5 Northeast Passage in 1596-97. According to L.P. John Ross continued Parry’s tradition of literacy Kirwan, when Barents’ winter house at Ice Haven training in his 1829-33 expedition aboard the Vic- was discovered in 1871 near Novaya Zemlya, the tory, described by Fergus Fleming as a Royal contents were found to have been scattered by Navy ship supplied with “a small library of Arctic bears but surviving were some charts and books reference books supplied by a grudgingly im- including a Dutch translation of the 1580 Cathay pressed Admiralty. Like Parry, Ross kept his men journals of Albert Pet and Charles Jackman which busy ‘til evening when from 6 to 9 p.m., Ross Barents had obtained from Richard Hakluyt, to- oversaw a school covering reading, writing, arith- gether with an old sea-chest. In the chest, “frozen metic and navigation.”6 together in the ice, were print and copper engrav- Franklin’s ill-fated search for the Northwest ings depicting in elaborate Renaissance style clas- Passage aboard Erebus and Terror in 1845 was at sical scenes such as Pallas, Juno, and Venus in the least well-supplied with reading matter: “Despite presence of Paris, and biblical events such as the the cramped quarters, the two vessels still had meeting of Esau with Jacob, all intended for the room for luxuries. The Erebus had a library of edification of the people of Cathay.”3 1,700 volumes, while the Terror carried 1,200, in- We have found relatively little from the 17th and cluding everything from narratives of earlier arc- 18th centuries, apart from sporadic references. The tic expeditions and geographical journals to nineteenth century, however, is rich with refer- Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby and bound ences, corresponding to a period in Western Eu- copies of Punch magazine.”7 rope that saw dramatic expansion of reading Elisha Kent Kane’s best-selling account of his among all classes. search for Franklin (1853-55), Arctic Explorations The voyages of John Ross and William Parry in (from which we take our title), speaks of the 1818 and 1820-21, again in search of the North- agony of giving up his “silent friends, my books” west Passage, were notable for their emphasis on on abandoning ship after two years iced in, but re- crew morale: according to Pierre Berton, “trunks luctantly discards them along with “useless da- of theatrical costumes were packed aboard along guerreotypes.” He later noted the needs of the with the mandatory printing press, the magic lan- baker for fuel in preparing food under difficult tern, and a full library of books that would be used circumstances: “he kneaded the dough in a large in the schoolroom Parry intended to establish. In pickled-cabbage cask, fired sundry volumes of the that long Arctic night he was determined that his Penny Cyclopedia of Useful Knowledge, and con- unlettered crew would learn to read their Bibles verted … almost a whole barrel of flour into a … by year’s end, every man had learned to read.”4 strong likeness of the staff of life.”8 Meanwhile, Sir John Franklin was searching for Julius Payer, leader of the Austro-Hungarian the passage over land, but not without reading Tegetthoff expedition to the Bering Sea and Novaya matter. His Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Zemlya in 1872-74, praises the value of books Polar Sea in the years 1819-20-21-22 [1824] includes while awaiting spring and the chance to explore an account by his expedition doctor, John Richard- new lands: “We could enjoy the indescribable son, during the worst of their ordeals: pleasures of good books, all the more that we “Through the extreme kindness and fore- were far from the busy haunts of men, and that thought of a lady, the party … had been furnished the presence of danger clears and sharpens the with a small collection of religious books, of understanding.” Among the cold tomes, which which we still retained two or three of the most “smoked” when opened in the warm cabin air, portable, and they proved of incalculable benefit were Milton’s Paradise Lost, Shakespeare, books on to us. We read portions of them to each other as science, and “a whole tribe of romances, which we lay in bed, in addition to the morning and were read with never-ending delight.”9

114 Regrettably, we must pass over many signifi- cant expeditions for which reading experiences are recorded, such as Nordenskiold’s 1872 Swe- dish expedition, the Nares expedition of 1875, the Greely expedition starting in 1881, and the earlier Robert Peary explorations, to move hurriedly on to a trio of polar explorers and bookmen, Nansen, Scott, and Amundsen. Nansen’s famous ship, the Fram, as described in Farthest North (1898), was well equipped for read- ing: “the saloon was transformed into a silent reading-room. Good use was made of the valuable library presented to the expedition…. If the kind donors could have seen us away up there, sitting around the table at night with heads buried in books or collections of illustrations, and could have understood how invaluable these compan- ions were to us, they would have felt rewarded by the knowledge that they had conferred a real boon….”10 Nansen was less well supplied with reading matter on his sledging journey after leaving the ship. His rescuer, Frederick G. Jackson, aboard the Windward, could also complain about the “want of Figure 1. Fridtjof Nansen in 1897, having drifted for more books and a better selection of them. With two years after leaving the Fram, reading aboard the Arctic volumes especially we are very badly pro- Windward after his rescue. Frederick G. Jackson, A vided.” The ship was at least able to provide Thousand Days in the Arctic. New York and London: Nansen with some reading matter after his long Harper and Brothers, 1899. p. 511. ordeal11 (Figure 1). Perhaps the best documented ships’ library and expedition reading is for the books aboard Discov- ery during Scott’s British National Antarctic Expe- Hazell’s Annual, the Statesman’s Year Book, and dition of 1901-04. A complete, printed catalog of some others, provide an ample field for support- the ship’s library, topically arranged, indicated lo- ing one’s own opinion, refuting one’s opponent, cations of individual titles as distributed among or at least for confusing the issue.” All of these ti- the officer’s quarters as well as the mess deck. tles were in Scott’s cabin, and later moved to the Much can be made of the class distinctions implic- Hut at Cape Royds. Here is Scott’s account of ex- it in the catalog, for example in the location of al- tended reading during a November storm while most all of the polar historical literature in Cap- sledging: “The men spent the rest of the day con- tain Scott’s cabin, the scientific literature in those fined to their tent, where Wilson read aloud from of various officers, and almost all fiction and The Origin of Species, the book chosen as reading recreational reading in the enlisted men’s mess material for the southern journey.” The men took deck. turns reading aloud until ‘their freezing fingers re- Scott himself reports on the utility of the refer- fused to turn the page.’12 ence works to settle dinner time arguments: “Af- In his 1903-07 search for the Northwest Passage ter ‘the King’ has been drunk there is generally a on the Gjoa, Roald Amundsen described the visit of rush for reference books, and there is a good deal an Eskimo to their ship: “Their favourite diversion of twisting to suit the reference. Our reference when they visited us on the vessel was to look at books are fairly numerous…, [including] the Cen- the illustrated books. At first they generally set the tury Dictionary, the Atlas, Whitaker’s Almanack, pictures upside down, but with our assistance they

115 soon got used to the proper way of looking at Scott expedition, The Worst Journey in the World them. Now, as luck would have it, we had hardly (1922), which is especially remarkable for his in- anything else but pictures of the Boer War … not vocation of books and reading on a voyage where very pleasant even to us, and the Eskimo impres- there were many readers. sion of ‘civilization’ derived from these pictures Robert Bartlett, ice master for Stefansson’s Kar- could hardly have been happy and alluring.” luk, 1913-16, and many other voyages, was among During his earlier explorations of the Arctic, ac- the best read of polar diarists: “The Karluk had a cording to Roland Huntford, Amundsen met two good library and we saved a number of books members of the Danish Greenland Literary Expe- which enabled some of us to catch up a little on dition, Knud Rasmussen and Mylius Erichsen. our reading. We read such books as ‘Wuthering “The two Danes never forgot that meeting with Heights,’ ‘Villette,’ and ‘Jane Eyre,’ besides more Amundsen. They had lost their books and faced a recent novels. My own constant companion, winter without anything to read. Amundsen gave which I have never tired of reading, was the them a spare set of Goethe’s works that he had on ‘Rubaiyat’ of Omar Khayyam … This book I have board. The pleasure of that unexpected gift in the carried with me everywhere since then, until now, polar darkness was a delighted memory for the if it had not been repaired in various places by rest of their lives.” surgeon’s plaster, I believe it would fall to pieces.” Huntford recounts a more disturbing experi- Bartlett’ in his reading did encounter other ence involving books in the Antarctic during problems: “Before I began to recover from this Amundsen’s South Pole conquest: “By a ludicrous swelling of the legs, I developed an acute attack of mistake the Nautical Almanac for 1912 had been tonsillitis. It was the first trouble of the kind that I forgotten, the 1911 edition only being landed, and had experienced in all my Arctic work. I recall a single copy to boot. One night it was set on fire that on the North Pole expedition … Macmillan by an oil lamp. The flames spontaneously extin- and Doctor Goodsell opened a case of books and guished themselves as they reached the page be- both came down with violent head colds. The fore the vital tables. Amundsen took this as an books were brand new books, too; apparently omen … he was now obliged by the Almanac to they had been packed by a man with a cold”15 reach the pole before the end of the year.”13 Just as books could threaten, so could they Matthew Hensen’s account of Robert Peary’s sooth: Bartlett’s protagonist, William McKinlay of North Pole expedition of 1908-9 includes this de- the Karluk, reports yet another use of expedition scription of the ship’s literary provision: “On books: “Then I had my first smoke in many board ship there was quite an extensive library, es- months – a cigarette made from the bark and pecially of Arctic and Antarctic topics, but as it leaves of one of Hadley’s freemasonry books, of was in the Commander’s cabin it was not heavily which he had several.”16 patronized. In my own cabin I had Dickens’ ‘Bleak We can hardly ignore Shackleton’s legendary House,’ Kipling’s ‘Barrack Room Ballads,’ and the Imperial Transantarctic Expedition of 1914-17, giv- poems of Thomas Hood; also a copy of the Holy en the reading matter stocked aboard Endurance. Bible, which had been given to me by a dear old Even more telling than the books aboard ship was lady in Brooklyn, N.Y.”14 the reading matter that Shackleton kept with him Those on board Peary’s Roosevelt expedition in when the ship went down. According to Hunt- 1908-09 had recourse to a portable lending library, ford, “In his scanty personal belongings was a tidily packaged in a wooden bookcase and bearing page from the Book of Job with the verses … ‘Out the inscription American Seamen’s Friend Society, of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost Loan Library Department. One of many such li- of heaven, who hath gendered it? The waters are braries distributed by the Society, it was aboard hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is when Peary made his trip to the North Pole, and frozen.’ This he had torn from the Bible presented could at the time claim to be the world’s northern- by Queen Alexandra to Endurance. He had also most library, and is now at Mystic Seaport. kept the page with the 23rd Psalm … and the fly- Again we must reluctantly pass over Apsley leaf inscribed by Queen Alexandra….”17 Cherry-Garrard’s classic account of the second Returning to the North: Ada Blackjack, the only

116 survivor of Stefansson’s Wrangell Island expedi- North Greenland Expedition of 1952-54 exhibited tion, gives new meaning to the expression “to on the walls of its hut a photograph of Constable’s throw the book at someone.” Reporting on her iso- famous Haywain, or hay wagon, surrounded oth- lation with her weakened and dying fellow sur- er pictures of naked women, with this commen- vivor, Errol Lorne Knight, Blackjack reports in her tary from Mike Banks: “We also thought that it diary: “Apr. 28. Still blowing hard all day today I was the plain duty of four lonely men to have a stay in my sleeping bag and yesterday because I’m pin-up, so we cast about for one and Taffy found not feelling well I do nothing but reading Bible. an advertisement in a Danish paper depicting a “Apr. 29th…. And knight said he was pretty sick very finely endowed night club artiste, one Anna and I didn’t say nothing because I have nothing to Laurie, unencumbered by too many clothes. She say and he got mad and he through a book at me was framed [and] we grew very fond of her…. By that secont time he through book at me just be- some mischance she died a sad death by crema- cause I have nothing to say to him. And I didn’t tion, and for some time we were inconsolable.”21 say nothing to him and before I went in my sleep- Another minor example comes from Operation ing bag I fell his water cup and went to bed.”18 Deepfreeze in 1957-58: “I dropped in on Willie In another setting, involving the contact of na- Sumrall and took his picture. He was reading Lee’s tive peoples with the Bible, McKinlay recorded a Lieutenants. He has the biggest collection of pin- translation of Psalm 23 which had gone from Eng- ups in camp…. He quit reading Gone with the Wind lish into Inuktikut and back again into English: after only a hundred pages because ‘there wasn’t “The Lord is my great keeper; he does not want enough sex and the South was losing.’”22 me. He shoots me down on the beach, & pushes Captain Finne Ronne on his 1957-58 expedition me into the water.”19 to Ellsworth Station on the Weddell Sea experi- Of Richard Byrd’s various expeditions, excep- enced extremely bad morale on his command, as- tionally good library provision was made for the suaged by reading and some degree of pictorial second Antarctic expedition in 1933-35 at Little pornography. We cannot document the latter America. Although the base curfew was 10 p.m., claim, but one of the authors of this paper did per- “most of the men had had small bunk lights – lit- sonally see it on the walls and radio equipment at tle lamps run from flashlight batteries or kerosene Ellsworth Station. lamps made from fruit jars, or even lanterns – Both Ronne and his antagonist John Behrendt which made it possible to read for half an hour or did at least agree that there was good book provi- so after the main lights went out. But when the sion for the wintering party. Ronne wrote later fire died the air chilled quickly. The hands would that “It was a blessing that we had plenty of read- get cold, the breath would begin to freeze, and ing matter in camp. We had not only one library – one by one the bunk lights would wink out.”20 but two. The one for the use of all the men in Again we have to pass over The British Trans- camp was located in the hobby-room in the recre- Greenland Expedition 1934, rich as it is in book ation hall … Usually, when they had read them lore, especially in Martin Lindsay’s book, Sledge. they were brought back to the library again or Many other Arctic and Antarctic expeditions pro- passed on to someone else.” Ronne did get agitat- vide further evidence of the often pivotal role of ed about books not signed out from the scientific reading, in which the shift from the sacred to the library and at times sounds like a stereotypic cir- secular, from divinity to Dickens, from prayer culation librarian.23 book to porn is all too evident. Our final example of polar books and libraries is The history of polar pictorial pornography does an account received in July 2001 from an astro- merit brief attention. Many of the early explorers physicist at the Amundsen-Scott base at the South clearly had pietistic and puritanical views where Pole. The scientist, Chris Martin, reports that the the discussion if not the existence of pornography collection now at the base is more than half recre- would have been unthinkable. By the end of ational reading, roughly 3000 volumes, plus a World War II the subject had emerged from the small group of reference works, and with scientific closet and the puritanical emphasis of comman- works related to base research, perhaps 6,000 vol- ders had pretty well disappeared. The British umes in all. The remaining books are related to

117 Figure 2. “Comfort before Elegance,” Fun, June 12, 1875, p. 244.

Antarctica and include first editions and copies au- For some, even more painful than the rigours of tographed by early explorers. Access to e-journals the land itself is the fear of having no reading is dependent on the individual scientist’s home whatsoever. Our concluding quotation comes campus access. There is no assigned librarian; he from the journal of George Tyson, following his describes the collection development policy as “ac- astounding trip on an ice-floe after the abandon- cumulation by gift and abandonment.” The base ment of Polaris: “Jan 29 [1873]. Oh it is depressing collections also include over 7,000 movies, mostly in the extreme to sit crouched up all day, with on Beta, “so people are increasingly spending their nothing to do but try and keep from freezing! … time watching movies instead of reading books.” No books either, no Bible, no Prayer-book, no Barry Lopez has eloquently assessed the impor- magazines or newspapers – not even a Harper’s tance of books for the polar traveller: “To travel in Weekly – was saved by any one … It is now one the Arctic is to wait…. A traveler may be stranded hundred and seven days since I have seen printed for days in the vicinity of a small airport, tethered words! What a treat a bundle of old newspapers there by the promise of a plane’s momentary ar- would be! All the world over, I suppose some peo- rival or by the simple tyranny of plans. In these ple are wasting and destroying what would make circumstances I frequently read journals of explo- others feel rich indeed.”25 ration, especially those dealing with regions I was It was only two years later that a satirical car- in. I read in part to understand human presence in toon on the craze for polar literature appeared in a landscape so emphatically devoid of human life the British magazine, Fun, (June 12, 1875, p. 244), … The land, whatever its attributes, is made to fill amply demonstrating Tyson’s point about careless a certain role, often that of an adversary, the bete readers (Figure 2): noire of one’s dreams…”24 Young Lady: “What is Lazy Lawrence reading?

118 Arctic Explorations! Not much in your line, sure- 14. Hensen, Matthew A. A Black Explorer at the North Pole. ly!” Foreword by Robert E. Peary, Rear Admiral, U.S.N. Intro- Lazy Lawrence: “Oh isn’t it? What can be pleas- duction by Booker T. Washington. Lincoln, Nebr.: Univer- anter in this weather than to lie out here with a sity of Nebraska Press, 1989. p. 39. [First published as A cigar and a “Cobbler,” and fancy yourself one of Negro Explorer at the North Pole, 1912] 15. Bartlett, Robert A. The Karluk’s Last Voyage: an Epic of an icebound and devoted band.”26 Death and Survival in the Arctic, 1913-1916. As Related by her Captain, Robert A. Bartlett. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. p. 101-2, 269. Notes 16. McKinlay, William Laird. Karluk: the Great Untold Story 1. Maxtone-Graham, John. Safe Return Doubtful: the Hero- of Arctic Exploration. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976. ic Age of Polar Exploration. New York: Scribner’s, 1988. p. 121. p. 1. 17. Huntford, Roland. Shackleton. NewYork: Ballantine 2. Frobisher, Martin. The Third Voyage of Martin Frobisher Books, 1987. p. 503-04. to Baffin Island 1578. Edited by James McDermott. Lon- 18. Blackjack, Ada. Typescript Diary, 1923, p. 6. Diary original don: Hakluyt Society, 2001. p. 69. and typescript is in STEF MSS. 8 at Dartmouth College. 3. Kirwan, L. P. A History of Polar Exploration. New York: Quoted with permission of the Dartmouth College Li- Norton, 1960. p. 31-33. brary. 4. Berton, Pierre. The Arctic Grail: the Quest for the North 19. Quoted in Niven, Jennifer. The Ice Master: the Doomed West Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909. New York: 1913 Voyage of the KARLUK. New York: Hyperion, 2000. Viking, 1988 [Penguin Books 1989]. p. 46, 49. p. 67. McKinlay’s diary (July 16, 1913) is in the National 5. Franklin, Sir John. Journey to the Polar sea. Koln: Koene- Library of Scotland. mann, 1998. p. 441. 20. Byrd, Richard E. Discovery: the story of the second Byrd 6. Fleming, Fergus. Barrow’s Boys. London: Granta Books, Antarctic Expedition. New York: Putnam’s, 1935. p. 202. 1998. p. 284. 21. Banks, Mike. High Arctic: the story of the British North 7. Beattie, Owen, and John Geiger. Frozen in Time: the Greenland Expedition. London: Dent, 1957. p. 104. Fate of the Franklin Expedition. Vancouver, B.C.: Grey- 22. Behrendt, John H. Innocents on the Ice: Memoir of Stone Books, 1987. p. 13-14, 39. Antarctic Exploration. Niwot, CO; University of Colorado 8. Kane, Elisha Kent. Arctic Explorations: The Second Grin- Press, 1957. p. 159. nell Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, 1853, 23. Ronne, Finn. Antarctic Command. Indianapolis: Bobbs- ’54,’55…. [2 Vols.] Philadelphia: Childs & Peterson, 1856. Merrill, 1961. p. 202. Vol. II, p. 196, 216. 24. Lopez, Barry. Arctic Dreams: Imagination and desire in a 9. Payer, Julius. New Lands within the Arctic Circle. Trans- Northern Landscape. New York: Scribner’s and sons, lated from the German. London: Macmillan, 1876. Vol. I, 1986. p. 357. p. 207, 295. 25. Tyson, George Emory. Arctic Experiences: containing 10. Nansen, Fridtjof. Farthest North. New York: Modern Li- Capt. George E. Tyson’s Wonderful Drift on the Ice-floe, brary, 1999. p. 105-06. a history of the Polar expedition…. New York: Harper 11. Jackson, Frederic G. A Thousand Days in the Arctic. New and brothers, 1874. p. 257. York: Harper, 1899. p. 88, 420, 511, 513, 588. The illustra- 26. Reprinted in Victorian Comfort: a social history of design tion shows Nansen reading after his long ordeal (p. 511). from 1830-1900, by John Gloag. London: Adam and 12. Scott, Robert Falcon. Voyage of the Discovery. London: Charles Black, 1961. p. 62 John Murray, 1905. Cheap edition, 1937, p. 594. 13. Huntford, Roland. The Last Place on Earth. New York: Modern Library, 1999, p. 86, 364. [First published as Scott and Amundsen, 1979]

119 Alone, a classic of polar literature: phase of polar exploration. His book is an epic of Questions and answers man against himself.” The Times of London de- clared “… this is a book which may go on the 1 Raimund E. Goerler shelf with Scott’s.” Since its publication, Alone The Ohio State University, Byrd Polar Research has stood as a classic in polar libraries as well as Center Archival Program in the general literature of adventure and survival. Richard Byrd was a national hero and an inter- Abstract. In 1938, G.P. Putnam’s Sons published national figure for research and exploration in Alone, which has become a classic in polar libraries Antarctica until his death in 1957, but the years as well as in the general literature of adventure thereafter have been ones of controversy about and survival. Essentially, the book is an autobio- him and his accomplishments. Byrd’s claim to be graphical account of Admiral Richard E. Byrd while the first to fly over the North Pole is more in dis- wintering alone in a hut in the interior of Antarc- pute now then it was in 1926. A year later he be- tica in 1934. The gripping drama of the book is came the third, after Charles Lindbergh, to fly Byrd’s suspicion that his stove is leaking carbon from the United States to Europe but two books monoxide fumes. Thus, the stove that provides have questioned his ability as a navigator and as life-sustaining warmth is also poisoning him. In leader of the expedition.2 Byrd’s achievements in 1997, a televised docu-drama presented a far dif- his first expedition (1928-30) when he flew across ferent picture of Byrd and the experience that led the South Pole have never been questioned. But to Alone. Byrd appeared as a vain, deceitful, and the last study of this expedition, the first to use publicity-driven figure, who because of his miscal- Byrd’s papers at The Ohio State University, por- culations, placed his expedition in jeopardy, espe- trayed him as an insecure leader who demanded cially those who risked their lives to rescue him. absolute loyalty, took credit for the accomplish- Byrd’s papers and related collections at The Ohio ments of others, and was as much worried about State University provide answers or insights to sev- his public image as he was about scientific ad- eral questions. First, how much of this sensational vancement.3 Thus, it was only a matter of time be- book is based on documentation? Second, was his fore a less than interpretation of Byrd and his ex- rescue as serendipitous as the book claims? And fi- perience as presented in Alone, should appear. nally, how much of the book was written by Byrd The purpose of this presentation is to assess the himself? historical records and answer the following ques- tions: Why did Byrd decide to stay alone? Was In 1938, G. Putnam’s Sons published Alone, by Ad- Byrd actually ill? Was the rescue effort as miral Richard E. Byrd. Essentially, the book was serendipitous as stated in the book? Did Byrd ac- an account of Byrd’s survival during the second tually write the book? As is often the case in histo- Byrd Antarctic Expedition from March to August ry, documents are sometimes not sufficient to 1934 when he wintered alone in the interior of reach definitive conclusions but the Papers of Ad- Antarctica to make weather observations and ob- miral Byrd and related collections at The Ohio serve meteor showers. In the process, the admiral State University do provide some answers. nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Re- viewers at the time raved about the new book. Byrd’s story vs. the docu-drama. Fundamentally, One wrote “ A great and living book, a book of Alone is a tale of heroism. According to the book, importance in the lives of men … This story in its one of the objectives of Admiral Byrd’s second ex- events is a breathless and almost shattering dra- pedition to Antarctica (1933 to 1935) was to estab- ma, one of the most intense and moving dramas lish a weather station in the interior of Antarctica of our own or any time.” Another commented: and for the first time to systematically create a me- “There never was a book like it because there nev- teorological record during the winter. When logis- er was an adventure quite like it. If it took courage tical difficulties prevented the transportation of to survive the ordeal, it likewise took courage to enough supplies for three people, Byrd chose to tell about it. Admiral Byrd has written something go himself rather than put any member of his ex- more than a mere historical account of a personal pedition at risk. Before leaving, Byrd instructed

120 his staff not to attempt a rescue during the Antarc- ego and his public image as a hero, to put his own tic winter. Within two months, the Admiral be- life and the lives of other at risk to achieve publici- came ill from carbon monoxide poisoning, which ty. As one of the consultants for the docu-drama he attributed to a faulty stove. Part of the drama concluded in a previous work “ Byrd’s Advance of Alone is that the very source of life, heat from Base episode was an ambitious attempt to inscribe the stove, was also killing him slowly by gradual himself in history as a figure of heroic propor- poisoning. In this dilemma, Byrd did not call for a tions, a brazen, self-seeking stunt whose primary rescue effort because he feared that a journey aim was to generate drama and perpetuate the through the Antarctic night and over hidden fame and celebrity he had become …”6 crevasses was too dangerous. His rescue hap- If Byrd’s ego caused the adventure at Advance pened serendipitously when his men sensed prob- Base, then the first question to ask is what the ad- lems in Byrd’s failure to keep scheduled commu- miral expected to accomplish there. In Alone, Byrd nications by radio and proposed expedition to ob- emphasizes that Antarctica could be a major factor serve meteor showers. That expedition was the in shaping global weather patterns. For Antarcti- opportunity to rescue Byrd. ca, the meteorological records in 1933, the first In 1997 a British company produced “Richard year of the expedition, were practically non-exis- Byrd : Alone in Antarctica,” a docu-drama that ap- tent, the work of a dozen or so expeditions. More- peared on public television in the United States.4 over, the existing weather records related to It recreated Byrd’s shack, or Mountain House as it coastal conditions; no one had ever recorded an was called, and used a balding actor who was Antarctic winter from the interior. Establishing a more than a little clumsy to portray Byrd, who weather station at the foot of the Queen Maude had a full head of hair and had been an athlete in mounts was to be a significant accomplishment to college. In one scene the docu-drama has Byrd understanding weather.7 Advance Base was to be contemplating suicide by eyeing a bottle of sleep- a pilot station; in the future, Byrd predicted that ing pills – which is taken from Alone – and con- there would be a string of weather stations fessing that his life had been a failure. In the throughout Antarctica that would not only cap- depths of this mental depression, the actor says ture meteorological data but would provide warn- that he regretted having lied about the North Pole, ings to the rest of the world about impending something which is definitely not in Alone. Of this storms and changes in climate. time, Byrd wrote in his own account: Byrd’s papers point to another objective for Ad- Great waves of fear, a fear I had never known vance Base. It was to be one of a menu of dramatic before, swept through me and settled deep within. offerings of the expedition that would attract and But it wasn’t the fear of suffering or even of death sustain the attention of the public. As a privately itself. It was a terrible anxiety over the conse- funded expedition, Byrd had a significant concern quences to those at home if I failed to return. I had for relations with the news media and drew finan- done a damnable thing in going to Advance Base, cial support from newspapers, film, and for the I told myself. Also during those hours of bitter- first time radio. A contract with Columbia Broad- ness, I saw my whole life pass in review. I realized casting System (CBS) provided Byrd the sum of how wrong my sense of values had been and how $100,000 for radio broadcasts from his base at Lit- I had failed to see that the simple, homely, unpre- tle America to Argentina, where it was relayed to tentious things of life are the most important.”5 New York City. CBS sold commercials to General This is hardly a confession of fraud. In the dra- Foods, the maker of Grape Nuts Cereals, as the fi- ma, Byrd was obsessed with the financial prob- nancial sponsor of the arrangement. Thus, listen- lems of the expedition and determined to return ers in distant parts of the United States could hear to his colleagues earlier than planned. Desperate news from Antarctica, news that was carefully to escape from his own folly, Byrd arranged the scripted by Charles Murphy, a professional writer rescue and encouraged his rescuers to push on and a publicist under contract to Byrd and narrat- and put their own lives at risk for his. Thus, the ed by popular CBS broadcaster Harry Von Zell. hero of Alone became the anti-hero of “Richard Byrd’s need for dramatic accomplishments of Byrd: Alone in Antarctica.,” a man driven by his the expedition was apparent in the planning of

121 the expedition. In 1932 when Commander Lincoln two-man project.”11 He feared that two men stay- Ellsworth announced that he and former Byrd pi- ing so many months in confined quarters could lot Bernt Balchen were planning the first trans- result in disharmony, as one became bored and continental flight across Antarctica Byrd tried to dangerously annoyed with the other. A third per- change Ellsworth’s mind. One letter complained son, Byrd believed, would provide more interest that if Ellsworth did the last spectacular thing in for the others and could have a balancing and Antarctica by flying from coast to coast, it would soothing impact. not be possible for Byrd to undertake his private At this point, one can only speculate why Byrd expedition without fear of bankruptcy. After all, told Paramount that two men were to stay in Ad- the most dramatic achievement of Byrd’s first ex- vance Base when in Alone he maintained that two pedition had been the flight across the South Pole; was never in consideration. At this time while the he needed another spectacular event to finance expedition was still in the United States, Byrd was the second expedition.8 gathering supplies for three people to occupy the From the beginning, Byrd expected that the base. It is possible that Byrd had in mind when weather station would figure prominently in the writing Cohen that only one person would occu- newsworthy stories from Antarctica. Particularly py the hut. One can imagine that if Byrd had told noteworthy as evidence is Byrd’s correspondence Cohen that the head of the expedition – and the with Emanuel Cohen of Paramount. In 1928 Para- star of the movie – would be away from the base mount had supplied a camera crew for Byrd’s ex- and placing himself in peril, Paramount would be pedition, which resulted in the film “With Byrd at even more fearful of investing in the movie. the South Pole.” In June of 1933, however, Byrd’s In 1990, Norman Vaughn’s book, With Byrd at negotiations with Paramount were in a difficult the Bottom of the World appeared. Although the state. In the Great Depression, Paramount was book is mostly about Vaughn’s participation as a fearful of investing capital for at least two years in member of Byrd’s first expedition, a concluding Byrd’s expedition, especially if it would be little chapter states that Byrd invited Vaughn to join the more than a re-make of the first one. Byrd assured second expedition and to winter with Byrd at Ad- Cohen that the second expedition would face vance Base. Vaughn claimed that in the spring of more ice, do more flying, and create more news 1933 Byrd told him that he was revising the plans than the first expedition. The admiral asked Co- and would stay alone at Advanced Base. Vaughn hen to keep this letter strictly confidential and concluded that Byrd’s had decided to have all the said “The point that I want to make clear with you publicity for himself by being alone.12 is that I will go to infinite pains to get the proper Vaughn’s account, however, seems unreliable kind of a movie. It is one of the ways that I can for several reasons. First, he presented the Ad- keep from being a bankrupt. … You will find plen- vance Base as a place for four men, not three, a ty of drama this time…from the fact that two men statement that is not supported by any other evi- will spend the winter night at the foot of the dence. Second, Vaughn claimed that he was in- mountains only 300 miles from the Pole, where volved in gathering supplies for Advance Base. the temperature will be, as I have said, as low as Actually, Paul Siple had that responsibility. In 90 degrees [below zero].” This weather station Siple’s account, there is no reference to Vaughn.13 had become the dramatic equivalent of the trans- Finally, it seems doubtful that Byrd would reveal continental flight undertaken by Ellsworth and his secret plan to Vaughn. If Byrd confessed to Paramount committed itself to doing a movie.9 Vaughn his plan for a solitary stay, his reasons for Byrd’s letter to Cohen is also evidence of how doing so are unclear but the consequences were: fluid Byrd’s plans were. As stated in Alone and in Vaughn withdrew from the expedition. In all like- the expeditionary history Discovery published in lihood, if Byrd had planned from the beginning to 1935, the plan was for an advanced weather base be alone in the Antarctic winter, he kept it to him- to house three men – preferably two meteorolo- self. Even Byrd’s wife, with whom Byrd confided gists and a radio man – for one winter. 10 In Alone, much, appeared to be unprepared for Byrd’s soli- published in 1938, Byrd stated that “…I resolved tary vigil. Before leaving for the interior, the Ad- from the beginning not to have Advance Base a miral sent her a coded radiogram and assured her

122 “… if you knew how I had planned the whole was necessary to pay debts after exploration. thing, I don’t believe you would be worried. … I Byrd’s own papers contain many expressions of swear to you that I will be more careful than I concern, especially from the National Geographic have ever been, as careful as it is humanly possi- Society, the New York Times, and General Foods.16 ble. It is my faith in your poise and great strength Personal motivation is the most difficult to doc- that makes it possible for me to do this thing.”14 ument and most subject to interpretation. Byrd’s None of this evidence is conclusive that Byrd papers at The Ohio State University do not con- had planned from the beginning that the weather tain a diary for this period. So, one can only spec- station would have only one occupant. It is possi- ulate if the admiral was seeking to draw publicity ble that the Admiral kept both options – a solitary to himself personally rather than to the expedi- experience or a group of three – open until the last tion, or was this really a desire to seek privacy, a moment. Even Vaughn admits that the gathering personal adventure, and prevent others from of supplies for more than one continued. Finally, falling into harm’s way. Certainly, the motivation in Antarctica severe weather conditions that de- could have been all of the above. However, it is layed landing and unloading, an accident that dis- also important to remember that in Byrd’s person- abled one of the airplanes, and problems with the al history there had been previous acts of self-sac- tractors and dogs crossing a heavily crevassed rifice for others. During the first expedition to area forced Byrd to make two important changes. Antarctica, Byrd dove into the sea to rescue a The site of the weather station became 120 miles member of his crew who had fallen overboard.17 from the coast rather than further inland as In this historical context, Byrd’s expressed concern planned. Second, Byrd decided that given the about not putting members of his crew into physi- severity of weather and land conditions, the sta- cal jeopardy should be considered as a valid fac- tion should be staffed by one person rather than tor, if not the only one, in his fateful decision. attempt to move supplies for three. While the decision to staff the base with one Was Byrd really ill at Advance Base? The absence of person may have been the logical result of the a diary for Byrd is unfortunate and even puzzling. physical circumstances of the expedition, the deci- In Alone are many quotes from Byrd’s own diary, sion for Byrd himself to be the sole occupant and that diary may still exist because Byrd’s pa- stirred great controversy. The Admiral made the pers arrived from the family at OSU in 1985. We decision quickly, without consultation, and he did do know that previously, at least part of the collec- not call for a volunteer. In Alone, Byrd explained tion had been in the possession of another party that he longed for the adventure and the privacy, and did not reach OSU until 1990. One can only no mean consideration in the cramped quarters of speculate about whether the diary or other materi- an Antarctic expedition, and that he had full confi- als remain in the hands of others. dence in his staff. Furthermore, Byrd did not want One researcher has questioned whether Byrd to put any of his men deliberately in a dangerous was really seriously ill. In this context, the rescue situation that he himself would not dare to face.15 of Byrd grew from a desire to have a great story That decision, however, brought much criticism, for the media and to satisfy Byrd’s own desire to especially from Byrd’s financial supporters when escape the monotony of his solitary confinement they learned of it after Byrd had already reached and return to Little America and be more in touch Advance Base. with the expeditionary plans and its finances.18 Critics could not understand why the leader of The producers of the docu-drama included sever- the expedition would be away for months and al scenes in which Byrd was greatly distressed by place himself in such a location that a rescue the state of the stock market and the bills of the would be very difficult and perhaps impossible. expedition. In their interpretation, the carbon- As not only the leader but also the owner of this monoxide story gave the expedition a dramatic private expedition, investors had reason to fear boost, made Byrd a suffering hero, and provided that the expedition would fail financially if Byrd, an excuse to return early. the public hero, was not able to lecture, give per- Historical evidence exists to prove that Byrd sonal appearances, provide stories, and do what was, in fact, seriously ill and that the effects of

123 that illness lingered for years thereafter. One of understand, cherish and protect your mother and the missions of Advance Base was to observe me- secondly to emulate her in all matters. Model teor showers. In Byrd’s papers, there is a journal yourself as much as you can after her for she is the of his observations. On June 4, Byrd recorded an finest person in the world.”23 The similarities be- entry that accounted for five days. To explain the tween the letters are so striking that they must missed days of observations, Byrd wrote in the have been written by Byrd and at a time of ex- margin “My physical condition has been quite treme uncertainty about life and death. desperate.”19 This record coincides in dates with Finally, there is evidence that not only was Byrd the chapter in Alone, which bears the title “De- very ill at Advance Base but that the effects of that spair” in which Byrd admitted that he did little in illness lingered for years. In 1938 Byrd wrote to order to conserve his energy. “All that I could rea- Thomas Poulter, the man who led the rescue team, sonably hope for was to prolong my existence for that his health still suffered “… my cardiograph a few days by hoarding my remaining resources; shows that even though three and half years have by doing the necessary things very slowly and elapsed since you reached me at Advance Base, I with great deliberation. So long as he did that and am only two thirds of the way back to normal.”24 maintained the right frame of mind, even a very ill man should be able to last a time.”20 Was the rescue accidental? In Alone, the rescue is Another document also proves that Byrd’s con- portrayed as serendipitous. On June 14 Dr. Poulter dition was desperate. In Alone, the Admiral re- requested to undertake a journey into the interior ported that he wrote messages to his family to be to observe meteor showers.25 On June 21st Byrd en- found in the likelihood of his death and declared couraged the trip to Advance Base only if in Poul- that he had a better appreciation of the doomed ter’s view it could be undertaken without sub- Robert Falcon’s Scott when he wrote “For God’s stantial risk. The Admiral, if the book is correct, sake, look after our people.”21 Although the origi- did not explicitly tell anyone that he was in need nal letters are not in the collection, there is a type- of rescue because he did not wish to put a rescue script copy of the letters. The one to Byrd’s chil- party at risk by crossing crevasses through the dren focuses almost entirely upon their mother: constant darkness of Antarctica and in the ex- “It is my honest opinion that there has never in treme cold of winter. However, Byrd also made it this world existed a fine, more intelligent or more clear to Poulter that the trip could enable the Ad- beautiful character than your darling Mommie. miral to return from Advance Base early because Now I have known her a very long time and most of the state of finances of the expedition and the intimately and so I know well what I am telling desire to return to Little America to begin the field you…So because of these things, my last wish of operations earlier than planned. There was to be you is to be gentle, sweet, sympathetic, under- no hint of personal danger at Advance Base. As standing and loving with her….Give her, my chil- Byrd phrased it in Alone, “When I talked to Little dren, the great love she deserves and forgive me America…, I would give Poulter a carefully- for my expedition.” 22 phrased directive, urging him to hasten prepara- Of course, one can question the authenticity of tions for the early journey, and yet phrased so this letter of despair and resignation because the carefully that he would have no reason to read original has never been found. Another letter any personal urgency into it. It had to be handled written at a different time but similar circum- that way, or not at all.”26 In Byrd’s own mind, his stance parallels the Advance Base letter remark- encouragement to Poulter was to create the op- ably. In 1926, as Byrd prepared to leave for the portunity for a rescue. North Pole, he wrote a letter that was not to be Essentially, the answer to this question requires opened unless he died during the expedition and answers to two other questions. Who knew what then to be read to his son, Richard Byrd Jr. Like and when did they know it? For both, there are the letters at Advance Base, the style and focus of answers in the extensive documentation of the pa- this letter is almost entirely filled with praise and pers of Admiral Richard Byrd. Evidence exists to states “My last words to you my boy are to beg show that others knew about Byrd’s difficulty you to consecrate your life to two things – first to with carbon monoxide poisoning well before the

124 rescue attempt in August. The New York Times on Poulter’s authority to command an expedition, es- June 24, 1934 carried the story “Byrd Made Dizzy pecially if the intent was to relieve Byrd, because By engine Fumes – Admiral, Alone at Antarctic the Admiral himself had warned them before he Camp, Escapes Poisoning from Carbon Monox- left not to attempt a rescue. Persistently, Poulter ide.”27 On June 25, Byrd received a message from argued in favor of the expedition and minimized John McNeil “relieved to know you recovered the difficulties. Pete Demas, who had been with quickly from Carbon Monoxide fumes…“28 On Byrd at the North Pole and during the first expe- June 28, Charlie Murphy reported to Mrs. Byrd dition to Antarctica also pressed for the expedition that her husband had been through a “Punishing “Now, due to the fact that Admiral Byrd is fed up ordeal” and that tractors would be sent to ad- with his stay out there, which has proved more vance base late in August to bring Dick back. than he thought it would be, he is making a mild “And on July 1, 1934, Murphy relayed to Byrd’s suggestion that he would like to get back to Little wife: “Following today from advance Base quote America, and he hopes we have intelligence have learned how to handle heater and engine am enough to act and bring him back, and at the same very careful no risk now from fumes. All’s Well.”29 time serve scientific work to be done which is of Clearly, others knew about Byrd’s difficulty with the utmost value to our scientific expedition.”31 carbon monoxide and its sources, and Byrd did Another member, Quinn Blackburn, challenged not keep this a complete secret. Murphy and Poulter to define the trip as either The extent to which Byrd’s colleagues at Little one motivated by science or by Byrd’s desire to re- America knew the scale of his suffering is less turn to Little America. Murphy replied coyly that clear from the evidence. There are at least two crit- the trip was for science but that Admiral Byrd “is ical items in the Papers of Admiral Richard E. anxious to get back.” Blackburn asked bluntly Byrd. First, is the log of Charles Murphy, who was “Then why not say the reason is to bring back Ad- responsible for writing radio communications, the miral Byrd”. Murphy replied “Because I did not stories from Little America and who talked to want to put Admiral Byrd in the position of hav- Byrd at Advance Base from Little America. De- ing to ask men to come for him. He is leader of the spite having released the earlier story to the New expedition and is entitled to the same protection York Times, on July 1, Murphy recorded “It is in- as other men. I don’t pretend to know the man but creasingly my conviction that he [Byrd] was really I can see certain facts in the situation. As I told anxious to have this journey attempted; and I you last night, the report that he is in distress is can’t escape the belief that something is decidedly without basis; nevertheless he wants to come back wrong out there.” Later, in the same document if he did not stress it now. It would be all very Murphy confides “I cannot escape a strong un- well for a leader to get out there and say “I want easiness – a compelling suspicion – that some- you to come out and get me.” He has left it to us.” thing is wrong with Dick. There is no logic for it; To which Demas added “Just what Murphy he has never hinted it; still, it is there, arising brought out is to bring out the point I thought again and again in my mind. Of course it is partly everyone here would feel it was not necessary to intuition, and intuition is partly supported by the bring out. We all have intelligence. Why we are on subtle changes in the character of his brief con- the staff is because we have some background. tacts with us; and these changes are not so much Practically every man here who was on the last indicated as implied.”30 From the lapses in com- expedition is on it and they all know that Admiral munication with Byrd, Murphy surmised that Byrd would not ask any man to risk his life; and something was amiss. yet when he thought your life was in danger, he Confusion is apparent at Little America in the came out for you.” Clearly, the men knew that the discussion of Thomas Poulter’s expedition to ob- expedition was to return with Byrd and that Byrd serve meteor shows and return Byrd to his base. wanted the trip to take place as soon as possible.32 So intense was the debate that the group main- Heroic efforts to reach Byrd followed. From mid tained minutes. Some opposed the venture, argu- July to August 2, the first effort resulted in failure, ing that it was too dangerous and should be post- when the team lost sight of the flags that marked poned until later in the season. Some questioned the trail. Another effort took place from August 4

125 through 6 but failed because of mechanical diffi- with Byrd’s original diary and consulted the Ad- culty, On August 9 the diary of Alton Lindsey, a miral frequently. For example, in August of 1938 member of the expedition, noted “The Admiral Byrd tells Murphy “I, too, think, and have thought Calls for Help. Message radioed by the Admiral from the beginning, that is a matter of taste as to pleading, ‘Come at once!’ He gives the impression whether or not we have this dairy written to Mrs. of being in dire straits, getting weaker, can’t crank Byrd and the children. You see the diary is (the generator) for more than a word or two at a crammed full of statements directed to Marie (and time, in the contacts.”33 Finally, Poulter, the loyal less frequently the youngsters). I have deleted Demas, and Bud Waite, radio operator, struggled nine-tenths of it…It is somewhat like the matter of 74 hours at –55 F, to reach Byrd on August 11. publishing the letter I wrote when I was so ill. It Lindsey’s diary for August 11 reported that Byrd would seem to be bad taste – undressing in public had been reached: “The Admiral has been too or something of the kind – to publish them. It weak to take much care of himself since July and would have been different if I had not survived.” has let his hair & beard grow. He staggered out of In addition, Byrd debates with Murphy how the hatch and awaited them. Until he recuperates, much of the work should include Byrd’s philo- Poulter is going to stay there, meanwhile observ- sophical observations, which Murphy claimed ing meteors … Byrd reports anxiety over CO poi- took away from the drama of the book: “ I speak soning caused him to keep the shack too cold.”34 now of your statement that what I said about time Apparently, Byrd had saved himself from the car- and space, etc. slows up the book. Of course, it bon monoxide poisoning, which the radiograms slows up the book. I realized it when I sent it on to indicated he was managing, by ventilating the hut you. However, I don’t see why there could not be so well that it reduced the temperatures to dan- a few of my remarks about these matters includ- gerously low points. Curiously, however, the first ed. Some few of the things I said might be of inter- message from rescuer Poulter to Little America est to a great many people.”37 Another letter, this states “The fumes got REB about June 1. He didn’t time from Murphy to Byrd, makes it clear that send for help because he didn’t think it was the there was an original manuscript and that Byrd thing to do.”35 Years later, when writing Alone, was the author: “To make sure that I wasn’t doing Byrd finally admitted to Charlie Murphy that he you an injustice, I again read your Mss. last night. had, in fact, been rescued: “I had succeeded in Some of it, as I said, is very good. Nearly every- making myself think that I was not (in a sense) thing necessary is in the Mss., but it is in solution rescued. Now that I go over the facts carefully and still. To make a book you must precipitate it out. analyze them, I have concluded that I fooled my- The diary form is to blame for this. You jump from self, but I was, nevertheless, honest about it in that one thing to another. But this, you may say, is the I did not realize that I was doing it. I subcon- way the diary was. The reader, though, is entitled sciously made the facts fit what I wanted to be- to something better. And to hold and impress him lieve. In this book, I am putting down the facts you must give him something better. You must or- whatever they show.”36 ganize your ideas and impressions, giving him the facts and impressions in order, and building al- Did Byrd write Alone? The absence of the diary ways toward a dramatic and coherent pattern.”38 from which Byrd in Alone quotes frequently and Clearly Murphy and Byrd were a team in writing the responsibilities and abilities of Charlie Mur- Alone but the original work did begin with Byrd, phie as the publicist of the expedition raise doubts even though the original diary of Byrd’s at Ad- about how much of Alone originated with Byrd vance Base has never been found. and how much was the imagination of Murphy. In their financial arrangements, Murphy received Conclusions. The evidence in Byrd’s own papers compensation for Alone, even as he had for previ- and in related collections is sufficient to justify ous works that appeared as Byrd’s own, including four conclusions. First, that his experience of suf- Skyward, Struggle, and Little America. fering and survival at Advance Base in 1934 was Numerous letters between Murphy and Byrd genuine, rather than a story to develop drama and prove that while Murphy wrote Alone, he began enhance the commercial value of the expedition.

126 Second, that the motivation to winter by himself 13. Siple, Paul. 1936. From Scout to Explorer: Back with Byrd at Advance Base remains open to scrutiny and in- in the Antarctic. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Son’s, p. 59. terpretation. A solitary adventure may have been 14. Radiogram, Richard E. Byrd to Marie Ames Byrd, un- thought of at the very beginning of the planning dated (1934), Byrd Papers, File 5452. in order to achieve maximum publicity for Byrd 15. Alone, pp. 31-32 16. Matuozzi, pp. 37-42. and the expedition. On the other hand, it could 17. Rodgers, Eugene. 1990. Beyond the Barrier: The Story of also have been only one of several possibilities, Byrd’s First Expedition to Antarctica. Annapolis: Naval In- with circumstances dictating the final decision. stitute Press, p. 78. Third, the rescue itself was not serendipitous but 18. Matuozzi, pp. 51-54 resulted from a plea for help, however thinly dis- 19. Notebook, May 30 to June 4, 1934, Byrd Papers, File guised by Byrd himself. Finally, the book Alone 3685 was a collaborative effort that did, in fact, begin 20. Alone, pp. 173-174. with Byrd and his diary, which has yet to be 21. Alone, pp. 181-182. found. 22. “Admiral Byrd’s Letter to His Children,” Byrd Papers, File 5449. 23. Richard Byrd to Richard Byrd Jr., April 28, 1926, Byrd Pa- Notes pers, Accession 19961, Box 1, File 6. 1. Book Review Digest. 1938, pp. 148-149. 24. Richard Byrd to Thomas Poulter, January 12, 1938, Byrd 2. Montague, Richard. 1971. Oceans, Poles and Airmen: Papers, File 6698. The First Flight over Wide Waters and Desolate Ice. New 25. Alone, pp. 206 – 207, 218-219 York: Random House, pp. 117-136; Balchen, Bernt. 1958. 26. Alone, p. 217 Come North with Me. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., pp. 27. Matuozzi, pp. 56-57. 87-122, 148-192. 28. Matuozzi, p. 53; John McNeil to Chas Murphy, 25 June 3. See Rodgers, Eugene. 1990. Beyond the Barrier: The Sto- 1934, Byrd Papers, File 6865. ry of Byrd’s First Expedition to Antarctica. Annapolis: 29. Matuozzi, p. 53; Murphy to Mrs. R.E. Byrd, June 28, Naval Institute Press. 1934, and Murphy to Mrs. R.E. Byrd, 1 July 1934, Byrd Pa- 4. This docudrama was broadcast on PBS in the United pers, File 6875. States as part of a series entitled The Adventurers. 30. Transcript from diary of Charles Murphy, July 1, 1934, 5. Byrd, Richard E. 1938. Alone. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Byrd Papers, File 6499. Sons. p. 178. 31. Minutes of a meeting of the staff, July 15, 1934, Byrd Pa- 6. Matuozzi, Robert. Troubled Icon: Richard Byrd and Polar pers, File 4597. Exploration as Media Event. Columbus: The Ohio State 32. Ibid, p. 4. University (MA Thesis). p. 44. 33. Papers of Alton Lindsey, Acc. 199815, Folder 14, The 7. Byrd. Alone. pp. 12 –13. Ohio State University Archives. 8. Matuozzi, p. 15; Byrd to Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth, May 11, 34. Ibid. 1932, Byrd Papers File #6345. 35. Papers of Amory Bud Waite, Accession 19851, box 1, The 9. Richard E. Byrd to Emanuel Cohen, June 1, 1933, Byrd Ohio State University Archives. Papers, File #2673. The Ohio State University Archives. 36. Richard E. Byrd to Charles Murphy, August 7, 1938, File 10. Richard E. Byrd. 1935. Discovery: The Story of The Sec- 6672, Byrd Papers. ond Byrd Antarctic Expedition. New York: G.P. Putnam’s 37. Richard E. Byrd to Charles Murphy, August 10, 1938, File Sons. p. 155 6672, Byrd Papers. 11. Alone, p. 16 38. Charles Murphy to Richard E. Byrd, July 1, 1938, File 12. Vaughn, Norman. 1990. With Byrd at the Bottom of the 6672, Byrd Papers. World. New York: Stackpole Books, pp. 172-177.

127 Session 10: Polar publishing

Polar Publishing company, and run by an independent board for the benefit of the science community. This way the Ron Inouye subscription costs can be kept down and the prof- University of Alaska Fairbanks its re-invested in science. This publishing tradition of volunteer editors David Walton, editor in chief of Antarctic Science, and reviewers is not fully embraced by all scien- and a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey in tists. As in all areas of life there are a significant Cambridge, England, published a stimulating edi- number of “free-loaders” who refuse to contribute torial in Antarctic Science (vol.13, p.225, 2001) en- to the public good but expect the system to service titled “Publishing and the Scientific Community” their manuscripts. Editors obviously have difficul- [as Appendix] which precipitated his invitation to ty vetting articles when requests to review are un- discuss publishing during the Polar Libraries Col- met, and there is a growing problem of getting loquy. What follows is an amalgam of Walton’s good referees who will undertake the task in a presentation and the ensuing discussion with the reasonable time. Whereas editing an academic audience. journal used to be considered an honor for the in- Directing his comments to scientific publishing, dividual and his/her institution, these days this is Walton observed how control is concentrated in a seen to be a chore that undermines the measured small number of multinational companies such as output of a Department in the assessment exercis- Elsevier and Springer, but that such a concentra- es and should thus be discouraged. To ensure this tion is not necessarily good for the scientific com- happens many academic institutions now seldom munity. Scientific publication requires authors, re- provide support or recognition for such efforts. viewers, as well as purchasers and subscribers re- Yet without the journals there is no output, so in gardless of who does the publishing. As the large this activity as well the requirements of the com- publishers gain more control of the publications, munity at large are ignored in efforts to meet bu- they can increase the prices to the exclusion of reaurocratically devised output standards. What many previous individuals and institutions. Thus have scientists done to attempt to redress this bal- those who produce the original material and those ance? If results are anything to go by far too little who use the final publication may have their has been done so far. choice of a publication route limited by commer- The hierarchy of journals plays a significant role cial pressures exerted by monopoly companies. in what journals are purchased. The higher recog- Scientific publication is becoming more frag- nition journals with high citation indices, like Sci- mented, in part due to increased specialization. ence and Nature, publish primarily papers for With greater focus, the market for these publica- ideas, and often with little data. Generally most tions is generally smaller, so subscription costs are material needs to be published in a more complete higher. For commercial houses, the overhead and form, with data, in the disciplinary journals, but profits become a part of the consumer’s price and again the value attached to the citation index a dominant position can lead to massive increases rather than the best audience for the paper is like- in journal prices to increase profitability for the ly to influence the choice for many hard pressed publisher. Learned societies use different pricing scientists whose career now depends on meeting systems and, since they have a confirmed society output measures of dubious value. readership and rely upon unpaid volunteers for Publishing is being changed by technology. much of the editing work their journals are gener- Whereas technology has generally improved pub- ally much cheaper. Thus there is increasing polari- lishing, it is also altering the published materials. sation between the learned societies and commer- In a recent move by AGU it abolished the page cial publishers. One way forward is that taken by numbers for articles, giving them only digital op- Antarctic Science. It is now owned by a charitable tical identifiers. Many users are completely unpre-

128 pared for this sudden change and have objected Commission in the UK as being potentially strenuously. Increasingly journals are turning to against the public interest. Those who buy Reed parallel electronic and paper delivery whilst new Elsevier journals at present will know that their electronic only journals are staring up every year. subscription rates are some of the highest in the Whilst there would appear initially to be large world. It is not obvious that scientists will see any savings in electronic only the long term archival benefit from this takeover. Indeed, what will hap- future of the material seems not to have been ad- pen to the provision of information to working dressed. scientists as library budgets decline everywhere? These electronic services are growing unevenly. Is increasingly expensive equipment for experi- Whereas manuscript submission, editing, review mental use really more important than the litera- and production are much more efficient, using for ture? Governments will say that the Web will instance the new Web-based packages to monitor meet scientists needs to which my reply is that and control manuscript progress, the cash costs of much of its content is uncontrolled rubbish and it dealing with large numbers of unsuccessful pa- certainly does not replace the quality controlled pers by this system can be high. In addition the material available in the journals. So our first con- amount of unvetted material on the Web is prolif- clusion for the future could be that consolidation erating rapidly leading to difficulties in judging of ownership of journals is bad for science and un- the quality of some of the scientific information less, there is a significant change in library fund- available. ing, many commercial journals are likely to price Many of these difficulties are not new and oth- themselves out of the general market, leaving only ers have been developing slowly over recent those published by learned societies or charities at years. The library community has not been able to an affordable level. Bad news. make enough common cause with the scholars so A second worrying trend is the increasing diffi- far to influence the direction and costs but per- culty all of us are finding in making time to do haps new initiatives in Europe and North America our bit as reviewers. Nobody gets any credit for have the potential to take on the major publishers reviewing papers – or even these days for being an and limit at least some of the damage they are unpaid editor – yet both are critical to continuing causing. Much of the blame for the present situa- the structure of peer review that determines ac- tion though must rest with the science community ceptability of papers and ultimately pay, promo- who have failed to rally themselves and their soci- tion, grants and prestige in the science communi- eties against these damaging trends. Indeed, the ty. How is it that our political masters seem to learned societies themselves could have amelio- think we should do all this work in our spare time rated the problem by publishing more journals since by modern management definitions it is themselves instead of leaving it to market forces. “unproductive”, or “fails to generate income” or Walton suggested there was still time to act but “is not a useful output indicator of innovation”. this would only slow rather than eliminate the Do any of these people understand how science changes. works? More to the point do they care? More bad news. Thirdly, just how many times do we need to be Appendix: Publishing and the Scientific told that electronic publishing will shortly sup- Community plant the printed versions of journals and books? Publishing is changing rapidly, as is the manage- Technological advances will make it easier and ment of much of the scientific community world- more convenient to use and the development of wide. Unfortunately there are features of both that “electronic paper”, allowing you to read the jour- should give considerable cause for alarm if one nal in bed or on the plane, is not that far away. cares to look forward a few years. Let’s begin with The establishment of electronic archives for com- the remarkable consolidation of ownership in sci- plete runs of key journals is already well ad- entific publishing culminating in the latest move - vanced for some subjects. And yet I worry that fu- the acquisition of Harcourt by Reed Elsevier – ture researchers, relying entirely on material iden- which has been investigated by the Competition tified by keyword searches, will never see the ma-

129 terial that allows the interdisciplinary idea to de- ty we seem so far to have made little impact in velop, will be forever locked into a narrow spe- convincing others that scientific information ciality as browsing will no longer be as easy. should be cheaply and widely available, that re- These are not the only trends that we should be viewing and editing are as essential to the scientif- concerned about but, since publications are the ic process as writing papers, and that electronic output indicator most highly valued by the politi- publishing is not a universal panacea. Continuing cal system and the basis on which science itself to sit on our hands will leave our fate in their develops, they are probably the principal determi- hands – those with different agendas to scientists. nants of our future opportunities. As a communi David W.H. Walton

130 Session 11: International cooperation

Bi-national electronic initiatives: the As this paper represents joint, bi-national pro- Stefansson experience jects, it is only fitting that its preparation be a joint effort. The portions of the paper that treat the Niels Einarsson work of the Stefansson Institute in Akureyri and Stefansson Arctic Institute the exhibition entitled The Friendly Arctic were written by Niels Einarsson; the portions relating Philip N. Cronenwett Dartmouth College Library to Dartmouth College and the Encyclopedia Arctica were written by Phil Cronenwett. Abstract. Two electronic projects relying to a con- siderable extent on digital presentation have been The Stefansson Institute. The Stefansson Arctic In- jointly created by two institutions separated by a stitute (SAI) was established in 1998, operating large part of the Atlantic Ocean. “The Friendly under the auspices of the Icelandic Ministry for Arctic” is a travelling exhibit taking advantage of the Environment. The role of the Institute is to: multi-media to visually present unique hand-tint- ed lantern slides used by Arctic explorer Vilhjálmur • promote sustainable development in the cir- Stefansson in his lectures. These images, provided cumpolar north and strengthen Icelandic partic- by the Stefansson Collection at Dartmouth College ipation in this endeavor, Library, underline and affirm Stefansson’s positive • facilitate and coordinate Arctic research in Ice- and constructive view of the North and its indige- land, nous people, a view which is relevant to contem- • be a forum of cooperation with regards to mul- porary discourse and policy in the Arctic. “Encyclo- tidisciplinary research and international events pedia Arctica” is an electronic publication of the and projects, encyclopedia created by Stefansson nearly 50 • collect and disseminate research material and years ago and never published. The electronic information on circumpolar issues, publication, scheduled for later this year, will in- • provide facilities for scholars pursuing research clude selected essays from the original manuscript relevant to SAI’s agenda, and as well as articles written by Stef and others about • advise the government on northern issues. the project. This presentation discusses the mutual advantages and value of such joint projects as A number of projects and activities underway at these as well as some of the technical problems the Institute deserve mentioning. The Human Di- encountered. mensions of Arctic Environments is a web-based information project con- Introduction. For the last four years, the Stefansson cerned with Arctic cultures and environments, Arctic Institute, a research institute initiated by the with a broad comparative focus on critical issues, Ministry of the Environment of Iceland has formu- problems and opportunities which face the peo- lated and maintained a series of close links with ples of the circumpolar North today. Launched by Dartmouth College in the United States, because of SAI in November 2000 with funding from the Eu- the College’s Institute of Arctic Studies and the Ste- ropean Commission, the project involves coopera- fansson Collection on Polar Exploration, a part of tion with the Arctic Centre in Rovaniemi, Scott Po- the Dartmouth College Library. As a result of the lar Research Institute in Cambridge, the Institute mutual interests of these two organizations, sever- for Arctic Studies and the Stefansson Collection at al joint initiatives have been attempted. What fol- Dartmouth College, the University of Iceland In- lows is a brief description of each institution, a dis- stitute of Anthropology, and the University of cussion of two of our initiatives, and concluding Akureyri. remarks on some of the issues that arose during Designed to meet the needs of northern peoples the development of these initiatives. as they face the challenges of a rapidly globalizing

131 world, the University of the Arctic has begun to problems encountered in the North today but also make important contributions to higher education lift out success stories and processes to be studied in the emerging circumpolar region. The Stefans- and adapted as fuel for building human and social son Arctic Institute and the University of Akureyri capacity and enhancing community viability across share a seat in the Council of the University of the the region. Circumpolar international initiatives Arctic, and participate in developing the Universi- and networks in which SAI participates include ty’s Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies Program. the International Arctic Science Committee, the The Northern Research Forum (NRF) Nordic Arctic Research Programme, the Nordic provides a platform for effective, Polar Group, and the University of the Arctic. policy-relevant discussion and the sharing of re- The Stefansson Arctic Institute is located in search on northern issues. Meetings are held bien- Akureyri, Iceland’s Capital of the North, which is nially with the participation of a wide variety of a growing center of Arctic activities and events. scientists, policy makers and representatives of Two of the Arctic Council’s secretariats are located other stakeholders. The first NRF was held in in Akureyri – CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora Akureyri in November 2000. The second NRF will and Fauna) and PAME (Protection of the Arctic take place in Veliky Novgorod, NW Russia in Sep- Marine Environments) – and the town of 15,000 tember 2002. The secretariat for the NRF is shared people is gaining a reputation for hosting Arctic- by the Stefansson Arctic Institute and the Univer- related workshops, conferences, and other events. sity of Akureyri. Such activities are expected to grow during Ice- SAI holds the secretariat for the Circumpolar land’s chair of the Arctic Council, 2002-2004. Agricultural Association, a non-governmental or- The staff at the Stefansson Arctic Institute in- ganization concerned with northern agricultural cludes scientists who are actively engaged in in- science, practice and policy. The 4th Circumpolar ternational research projects dealing with marine Agricultural Conference was held in Akureyri in mammal use and conservation, sustainable land August 2001, organized by SAI and the Icelandic use and environmental change, and traditional Agricultural Research Institute . ecological knowledge systems. SAI has enjoyed, SAI is the Icelandic coordination office for the and further welcomes, visits by scholars to work North Atlantic Biocultural Organization and present on their research. . NABO is a non-governmental regional research co-opera- The Stefansson Collection. The Stefansson Collection tive with over 450 members in 14 countries. began as the private research library of Vilhjálmur NABO includes 28 major northern research cen- Stefansson. When Stef returned from the Canadi- ters in North America, and northern Europe. an Arctic Expedition in 1918, he continued to SAI now also hosts the secretariat for the State write extensively about his experiences in the of Sustainable Human Development in the Arctic northern polar regions and his reputation as an Report, an international initiative under the aus- authority on all things polar continued to grow. pices of the Arctic Council. Also called the Arctic Even though Stef had access to several major li- Human Development Report, the principal prod- braries in New York City, where he lived for three uct of this project will be a scientifically-based decades, he began to acquire polar books, jour- overview and assessment written for the non-spe- nals, offprints, photographs, and manuscripts cialist, highlighting issues of particular concern (Cronenwett 1998). for Arctic livelihoods, human well-being and com- The collection grew rapidly as Stef scoured munity viability. This will be the first comprehen- bookstores throughout the United States and cor- sive assessment of human conditions in the entire responded regularly with book dealers, other po- circumpolar region, with the aim of providing an lar scholars, and friends seeking to locate materi- instrument in assessing progress toward sustain- als, both rare and not-so-rare, for his growing li- able human development, a tool to educate the brary. The size of the collection became legendary, public, and a handbook for policy makers en- to the point that books were stored in cabinets un- gaged in international cooperation in the Arctic. der sinks in the several apartments Stef kept in As a baseline, the report will not only identify Greenwich Village in New York.

132 During the decades of the rapid growth of the The extensive experience he gained laid the foun- collection, Stef began to visit and lecture at Dart- dation of a philosophy of life, which later gave mouth College. In 1951, he and Evelyn decided to rise to both admiration and disputes among his move permanently to Hanover and the collection contemporaries. Vilhjálmur was a world famous was moved to Baker Library, the main library on man and a prolific writer. He wrote over 20 books campus that year. Evelyn was named Librarian of as well as nearly 400 articles and essays on most the Collection and remained so until 1963 when subjects in the sphere of Arctic studies. Because of she took a leave of absence from the College. his global perspective, varied connections and In the first few years following Evelyn’s depar- versatile scholarly abilities, Vilhjálmur was to ture, the collecting scope for materials was revised many people the very epitome of Arctic research; and many very important parts of the collection indeed he was sometimes honored with the title of were dispersed. As a result, the value and impor- “Mr. Arctic.” His friends, however, called him tance of the collection was weakened. In the past Stef. He lived most of his life in Greenwich Village two decades, as a result of a renewed interest in in New York, where he met his wife Evelyn. She the collection, it has been completely recataloged, worked with him in their research library, which the manuscript collections reprocessed with new was in its time among the world’s most extensive finding aids, and the photographic collections and libraries in the field of Arctic studies. In 1951 they vertical files are currently being reprocessed and moved, with their library, to Dartmouth College in stabilized with new access tools being created. Hanover, New Hampshire. These projects have been generously funded by Stefansson lived for a time with an Inuit woman the US Department of Education, the Gladys by the name of Fannie Pannigabluk who was his Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Evelyn Ste- seamstress, travel companion, and ethnographic fansson Nef Foundation. informant. Together they had a son named Alex Stefansson, born in 1910. According to local ac- The Friendly Arctic Project. ‘The Friendly Arctic – counts, they were married the Inuit way. Due to The Vilhjálmur Stefansson Legacy and Vision different aspirations the relationship, however, Traveling Exhibit’, developed as a joint project did not last. Alex Stefansson’s six children live in with the Dartmouth College Library, has been a the Northwest Territories of Canada, in Inuvik most important activity of the Stefansson Arctic and Sacks Harbor. Institute. The exhibit features a selection of Vil- During the period of Vilhjálmur’s stay in the hjálmur Stefansson’s photographs, manuscripts northern regions of Canada and Alaska he record- and publications, excerpts from his diaries, and ed in his diaries detailed descriptions of native other texts and items. communities, travel, weather patterns, fauna and Stefansson’s photographs and notebooks affirm local features. This material provided him with an his positive image and constructive attitude to- inexhaustible supply of sources for his books, arti- wards the Far North and its inhabitants. They cles and lectures. But within the pages of these di- bear witness to a resourceful and energetic people, aries there are also to be found other little known worthy of our respect, whose culture and technol- descriptions of the author’s travels across the ogy successfully adapted to the natural environ- landscape of his inmost thoughts, which may oc- ment. A basic principle of anthropology adhered casionally be seen in the midst of all the factual in- to by Vilhjálmur, is that only by placing oneself in formation. It is here that we meet a complex indi- the situation of other people, is it possible to un- vidual who carries with him his Icelandic cultural derstand them. Such is also the spirit of The heritage and a radical political philosophy – all Friendly Arctic exhibit. While the visitor’s route while struggling with loneliness and despair, af- takes us across vast Arctic regions of North Amer- fection as well as friendship and joy. ica, following Stefansson’s footsteps, it is marked Vilhjálmur undertook his first expeditions when by the milestones of his diary entries, giving us in- he was a student of anthropology at Harvard Uni- sight into his experiences and thoughts. versity. These were journeys to Iceland in 1904 Stefansson’s stay in the north left a lasting im- and 1905 for the purpose of obtaining human pression on him, both as a person and a scholar. bones for research in anthropological anatomy.

133 Vilhjálmur Stefansson was best known, however, him for having left the ship and for the tragic for his extensive scientific expeditions into the un- events which followed. explored regions of Northern Canada. But no man is an island, and during his north- Stefansson’s expeditions constitute impressive ern explorations Vilhjálmur had much contact and achievements, in the fields of both exploration communication with the local people. Unlike con- and research, and include numerous elements of temporary heroes of the extreme north, Vilhjálmur the societies and natural environment of the did not travel around or across the Arctic regions; north. Vilhjálmur spent a total of ten winters and he travelled into their cultures and environments. seven summers traveling through the northern re- He was often asked if he had reached the North gions. With his companions, he traveled on foot Pole, to which he replied that he was a scientist, and by dog sledge, covering a distance of approxi- not a tourist. mately 32,000 kilometers, often in extreme condi- One of Vilhjálmur Stefansson’s best-known tions. Vilhjálmur’s first journey to northern Cana- books was The Friendly Arctic; a title which Vilhjál- da was in 1906-1907, when he spent the winter mur expected would present a challenge to many among the Inuit of the Mackenzie Delta. During of his contemporaries who did not share his ap- this period he became familiar with the Inuit lan- proach to northern regions and their inhabitants. guage and was able to gain first-hand knowledge The cover of the book presents a man dragging a of their culture and way of life. He wrote the book freshly killed seal, a photograph of Vilhjálmur Hunters of the Great North as well as a number of himself. This was his favorite photograph, al- articles about his stay with the Inuit. though it does not please present day animal pro- Stefansson undertook another expedition to the tectionists. It does, however, remind us of a funda- Arctic during the years 1908 to 1912, accompanied mental aspect of human adaptability in northern by Canadian zoologist Rudolf M. Anderson. On regions, i.e., people’s right to utilize nature’s re- this expedition Vilhjálmur was able to collect new sources. and important anthropological evidence when he, The legacy of the explorer and anthropologist for example, was the first anthropologist to study Vilhjálmur Stefansson is closely connected with the culture of the Copper Inuit on Victoria Is- human-environmental relations, the sustainable land. use of natural resources and the survival of north- In 1913, Stefansson set off on the Canadian Arc- ern communities. Perhaps his legacy is of primary tic Expedition, which lasted for five years, the importance because he has, more than anyone longest continuous Arctic expedition to be under- else, changed the image of the north from a barren taken up to that time. His main objective on this eternally frozen wasteland into a region of diverse occasion was the geographical exploration of the character, which deserves the attention of the in- Canadian North-West, which is now the territory ternational community. We live in changing times of Nunavut. Among other achievements derived and the current focus of awareness has certainly from this expedition was Vilhjálmur’s discovery been shifted north. This has been a rapid develop- of areas in the Canadian archipelago, unknown to ment, transferring the Arctic regions to a central Europeans, namely the islands of Borden, Brock, position with regard to environmental issues, in- Meighen and Lougheed. As a token of gratitude ternational co-operation and resource governance for this accomplishment, the Canadian govern- and use. ment in 1952, named one of these islands after Stefansson was often referred to as the “Prophet him. Stefansson Island lies to the north of Victoria of the North.” An important aspect of his philoso- Island. Early during the expedition the ship, Kar- phy was that by learning from the indigenous luk, was trapped by ice in the Beaufort Sea and peoples who have adapted so ingeniously to Arc- Vilhjálmur went with some men on a hunting trip tic environments we would come to realize the to get fresh meat. During the trip a sudden storm potential of the northern regions. For this to hap- drove the Karluk away from shore and in spite of pen, we have to open our minds, be free of preju- much effort, Vilhjálmur was unable to get back to dice and willing to learn from the indigenous in- the ship. The Karluk was subsequently lost along habitants. with eleven crew members. Later, some blamed Vilhjálmur Stefansson’s philosophy was contro-

134 versial and did not meet with much understand- the exhibit visit the Scandinavia House in New ing from many of his contemporaries, who York. showed little appreciation of his role as an advo- cate for the Inuit way of life. In fact, many of the The Encyclopedia Arctica Project. The Encyclopedia Arctic explorers took little interest in the people Arctica was a massive, comprehensive reference who lived in the far north and their cultures. Ste- tool planned and created by Stef and a team of ex- fansson stood out with his progressive attitudes, perts between 1946 and 1951. Because of the Cold his efforts to resist cultural and national chauvin- War and McCarthyism in the United States, the ism, and his critical view of the European cultur- principal funding agency for the project, the U. S. al intrusion into the lives of the indigenous peo- Office of Naval Research, abruptly halted funding ple of the north. In his lectures on the Arctic he in 1950 and, without appropriate financial sup- often used Inuit society as mirror to help his port, the work was never published. Instead, it American audience to reflect on their own soci- was put together in typescript and a microfilm ety. Why were they not happy, in spite of all their made of the work. Use of the 21,000+ frames of material wealth? He claimed to know people microfilm was the only method of access for a half who owned almost nothing in terms of material century (Cronenwett 2000). belongings and yet were the happiest humans he The second joint project undertaken by the Ste- knew. Thus, Vilhjálmur Stefansson was engaged fansson Institute and the Stefansson Collection at in cultural criticism long before this became fash- Dartmouth is an attempt to publish, in electronic ionable. form, a significant portion of the Encyclopedia Arc- The Icelandic Nobel Prize author Halldór Lax- tica so that this remarkable resource will be avail- ness was well acquainted with the works of Vil- able to a wider public than it is today. As the Ste- hjálmur Stefansson and indeed used his descrip- fansson Institute had taken the lead in conceiving, tions of Inuit life frequently in his writings. In an funding, planning, and producing the Friendly essay he wrote in 1927, he said of Vilhjálmur that Arctic exhibition, the Stefansson Collection at “... he has perhaps one of the widest perspectives Dartmouth agreed to do the same for the Encyclo- of all those who write books nowadays and the pedia Arctica publication. Planning for this project most vivid panoramic view of the multiple facets began with intensive meetings in both Akureyri of human life...”. and Hanover in June and November 2000 and The Friendly Arctic exhibit started its journey at March and April 2001. At a critical point in the the Akureyri Art Museum in November 2000, planning, the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Foundation then went to the Reykjavik Art Museum, Haf- provided Dartmouth with an unrestricted grant narhusid, moved on to the New Iceland Heritage that we determined, after consultation with Eve- Museum, Gimli, Manitoba, then off to the neigh- lyn Nef, was appropriate to use as funding for this bouring Icelandic Library, University of Manitoba, project. Winnipeg. It was on display at Nunatta Sunakku- Because the essays and articles in the encyclope- taangit Museum, Iqaluit, Nunavut, in early 2002, dia were drafted more than a half-century ago, we and then voyaged to McNamara Alumni Center, have been hesitant to publish the entire body of University of Minnesota, for the Icelandic Nation- material without review and consultation. As a re- al League of North America Convention. It will sult, we determined that a body of scholars repre- next be opened at the Montshire Museum of Sci- senting the various Arctic disciplines should be ence, Norwich, Vermont, USA, 1 November-8 De- gathered to assist us in our deliberations. The cember 2002 in conjunction with Stefansson honorary sponsors of the project are former Presi- Memorial Lecture at Dartmouth College, deliv- dent of Iceland Vigdis Finnbogadottir and Evelyn ered by Dr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Stefansson Nef. The advisory committee consists Iceland. It will be on display in Arktikum of the of eleven scholars from six polar nations repre- Arctic Center in Rovaniemi, Finland, June to Sep- senting the physical and biological sciences, social tember 2003, and at the North Atlantic Cultural sciences, and the humanities. The principal inves- Center (Nordatlantisk Brygge) late 2003, or early tigators, the authors of this paper, will consult 2004. After this, there are also proposals to have with the advisory body on a regular basis.

135 At the outset of the project, we experimented from geology, permafrost, and engineering in the with several methods of transferring the type- first two volumes, to zoology in volumes three script text to electronic file. First, we scanned a and four, plant sciences in volumes five and six, large series pages to tiff and pdf format from the meteorology and oceanography in volume seven, bound manuscript. Interesting problems were en- anthropology and archaeology in volume eight, countered when the typescript was a carbon or transportation in volume nine, the Soviet north in even a second or third carbon. In order to make volume ten, territorial sovereignty and history in the text readable, the resolution had to be such volume eleven, Alaska in volume twelve, Canada that the per-page file size was enormous. Then, in volume thirteen, Greenland in volume four- too, some of the notes written by editors, includ- teen, and biography in volume fifteen. A massive ing Stef himself, were not easy to read when they addendum to volume fifteen, and a miscellany in were in the margins. Second, we scanned files di- volume sixteen as well as an addendum volume rectly from the microfilm and discovered that, to it, complete the encyclopedia. even though this was a generation removed from Because of the importance of the biographical the original, we obtained better and cleaner re- sections of the encyclopedia, we decided to focus sults in both tiff and pdf formats. on volume fifteen and the addenda in the first Third, we ran the files through an optical char- phase of the project. The first layer of website, acter recognition filter and determined that we which will be accessible this autumn from both were getting approximately an 85% capture rate, the Stefansson Institute and the Dartmouth web- much too poor to use to reproduce the entire en- sites, will consist of introductory and explanatory cyclopedia without the use of significant resources matter, including Stef’s first announcement of the to edit and clean up. We did determine, however, project in the journal Arctic. The second layer will that the ocr product will provide us with remark- provide tables of contents and indexing for the ably complete indexing when each pdf page is su- various volumes. Finally, the third layer will con- perimposed on the comparable ocr page. Fourth, tain the encyclopedia entries themselves. Each bi- we gave careful consideration to re-keying all ographical essay will be a separate file so that it 21,000+ pages to provide the cleanest and most ac- will be very easy to navigate through the many cessible body of information from this remarkable volumes. document. After giving this possibility careful The second phase of the project, scheduled for consideration, we determined that this was not a 2003, will be to run the files through an ocr scan to viable alternative since much of the value of the provide indexing. As noted above, this process encyclopedia was in the notes and comments in provides us with at least 85% accuracy which will Stef’s handwriting and the various layers of edito- create an index far more comprehensive and re- rial attention given to each entry. While it is possi- fined that manual indexing or an indexing pro- ble to recreate all of this using coding, layers, and gram would create. By underlaying the pdf file standard diplomatic edition tags and symbols, we with ocr scanning, an index can be quickly and ef- determined that the intellectual value gained in ficiently created. this process would not be worth the effort. Then, Whether or not we will want to, or be able to, too, the file size for each page would be signifi- scan and provide web-based access to the entire cant; even a brief essay that was marked up and in corpus of the encyclopedia is yet to be deter- a series of layers would utilize dozens of mined. Some materials have aged exceptionally megabytes. well; other materials may contain information that We finally decided, based on these test files and is quite simply no longer accurate. One concern test use by selected researchers, that scanning that must be addressed is the issue of potentially from microfilm to tiff format and then conversion inaccurate – because of the age of the materials – to pdf files produced the most useful result. This, or misleading information being mounted on the then, is how we will proceed in the first phase of web and not recognized as an historical document the project. A second consideration was deciding by users surfing. As all of us are aware, there is a on which parts of the encyclopedia to focus in on stunning amount of misinformation to be found for the test. The encyclopedia ranges in scope on the World Wide Web. To prevent inadvertent

136 misuse of dated material in the Encyclopedia Arcti- From Baffin Island to Cambridge to ca, we plan on devising a brief statement that will Baffin Island. Making available a special be stamped on each page indicating that this is an collection held in the SPRI to the Inuit historical document and does not necessarily rep- community of Pond Inlet from where it resent the most recent, most accurate information originated now available. Shirley Sawtell Conclusion. The measure of success of any project Scott Polar Research Institute Library such as the two described in this paper lies in the quality of the work and the number of individuals Abstract. In 1929, The Rev. Canon Jack Turner and who have the opportunity to see and participate The Rev. Harold Duncan established the Anglican in the use of the initiative either interactively or mission at Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Northern Cana- virtually. In the case of The Friendly Arctic modifi- da. During 1990’s Rev. Harold Duncan and the fami- cations were required in several of the venues to ly of the late Canon Jack Turner presented the Scott accommodate differences in voltage; technical Polar Research Institute with various collections of specifications for lighting, sound, and videotape; books, museum artefacts, lantern slides and cine and the need to redraft or translate some texts. films. The Scott Polar subsequently transferred the These were relatively easy to correct and modify. cine films onto video, the master which is held in That the exhibition was and remains a success is the Picture Library at Scott Polar. A copy was sent to without question. The increased number of the Community of Pond Inlet where much of the venues clearly indicates an exceptionally wide original filming was done. Two copies were given range of international interest in the exhibition. to the Turner family, one of which is going to be The second project had rather difference issues. deposited in an archive in Canada for reference. These included decisions on the best technique to This paper describes how the collection was ac- scan, index, and present the data so that the final quired, and how a relationship was established product could be used without concern for plat- between the Library at Pond Inlet and Scott Polar. form or program. Then, too, the use of an adviso- References to parts of the collection are held on ry body to assess potentially dated materials will the Scott Polar Library database SPRILIB, and on prove helpful as the project becomes more robust. the Picture Library database. Developments are Our success in both these projects has also been taking place for a ‘Virtual Museum’, whereby mu- predicated on a large measure of trust and confi- seum artefacts can be viewed through the web. dence in the other institution. Without this crucial This kind of online access can be a means in bring- human element, and the fact that both institutions ing Polar communities and the Polar libraries clos- have the advantage of finding themselves on the er, and we look forward to more collaboration of same side of the digital divide, well-versed in this kind in the future. electronic communication, this transatlantic coop- eration, and indeed contribution to the interna- In 1920s, The Rev. Canon Jack Turner and The Rev. tionalization of the Arctic, would have been less Harold Duncan established the Anglican mission easy to achieve. at Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Northern Canada. During 1980s and 1990s Harold Duncan and the family of the late Canon Jack Turner, presented References the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) with vari- Cronenwett, P. N. 1998. The Ceaseless Quest for Knowl- ous collections of books, museum artefacts, edge: Stef and His Collection at Dartmouth. Dartmouth lantern slides and cine films. College Library Bulletin, 39(1): 48-60. This paper describes how the collection was ac- Cronenwett, P. N. 2000. The Encyclopedia Arctica: A Gate- quired, and how a collaborative relationship was way Opened, a Gateway Closed. In: Gateways: Archives established between the Library at Pond Inlet and and Libraries Into the Next Millennium, Proceedings of SPRI Library. I will describe how parts of the col- the 18th Polar Libraries Colloquy, pp. 28-33. Winnipeg: lection have been made available to the communi- Polar Libraries Colloquy, 2000. ty at Pond Inlet.

137 In 1929 Harold Duncan and Jack Turner, mis- Progress’ in Syllabics, and a little booklet called sionaries from the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary ‘The Way of Salvation’. Society sailed in the Hudson’s Bay Company ship, During the Polar Library Colloquy in Cam- the Nascopie to Pond Inlet on the northern shores bridge in 1994, I had a phone call from Dan Wein- of Baffin Island, where they established the Angli- stein, an American friend of the Institute, who can Mission. With the help of the local Inuit, they was flying his private plane up to Pond Inlet. I built the mission house, which was also used as a was invited to join him, and it was during this church. This had to be completed in a few weeks, field trip that I established links between the Li- before the winter set in. While Harold Duncan brary at Pond Inlet and SPRI. I spent some time looked after the mission at Pond, Jack Turner trav- with the Librarian Philippa Ootoowak who intro- elled by dog sledge to many camps in the area in- duced me to some of the Elders, who spoke to me cluding the communities of Arctic Bay and Moffit through an interpreter of their fond memories of Inlet, some hundred miles away. Unfortunately, the early years of the mission. Philippa showed due to ill health, Harold returned to England in me her local history collection, which included 1934, while Jack continued to run the mission. some photographs taken by Jack Turner, and Hen- Jack returned to England on Sabbatical in 1934 ry Toke Munn who was a trader in the North Baf- and 1939, during which he travelled around Eng- fin region during the 1930s. We have since had a land giving cine film presentations to raise money visit from Lynn Cousins, the granddaughter of for the mission. one of the elders Lydia Kyak, who was a young In 1988, Harold Duncan donated his Arctic col- child when the mission began. Lynn came to SPRI lection to the SPRI. The collection includes muse- to work on our Henry Toke Munn photograph um artefacts, books, and lantern slides. The arte- collection. Later, with the help of Sue Rowley, facts are displayed in the Museum at SPRI. daughter of the explorer Graham Rowley, we Among them is a walking stick made from a nar- made a video of this collection. A copy of the video whal tusk with a walrus ivory handle, and a was given to the Library at Pond Inlet, which walrus tusk carved with syllabic letters. These compliments the Munn collection held in their Li- letters were developed by missionaries for pho- brary. Philippa Ootoowak has since visited SPRI netic rendering of the Inuktitut language. The several times, and her niece Julia worked here as a letters are transliterated as ME TE MU TU LE volunteer, and then as Librarian’s Secretary. the Inuktitut word for Pond Inlet, the place On my return from Pond Inlet, I found an inter- where Metemutule lived. Other items include a esting film in the Scott Polar collection, ‘Arctic Pi- cribbage board made from Walrus ivory, a dog oneers of Baffin Land’. ‘Religious Films Ltd used whip made from walrus hide with an ivory han- some of Jack Turner’s cine film taken in 1930’s dle, and a selection of bead work made by some and later produced this film. The film includes of the Inuit women of Pond Inlet. At present, we scenes of Missionary life in the community with are developing the idea of a virtual museum, on sub titles portraying the Christian message such which items from this collection may be dis- as ‘The glorious dawn streams over Baffinland – a played on the Scott Polar Web page. This project symbol of hope for the future of these Children of God.’ will make our collections known worldwide, I traced the film company CVTV, previously and this particular collection will be of interest to ‘Religious Films Ltd’, who gave their permission the community of Pond Inlet from where it origi- for a copy to be made and sent to the community nated. of Pond Inlet. This was treasured by many of the The Rev. Duncan collection also includes sever- people, some who are on the film. It was nice for al boxes of lantern slides which are stored in our the younger generation to see their grandparents Picture Library, and Harold’s Arctic diaries, now as children, and to see what Pond Inlet was like in kept in the SPRI Archives. Among the books in 1920s and 1930s. This was the beginning of the this collection, is the book of Isaiah, which Harold collaborative link between the Library at Pond In- transcribed into Syllabics. This was published by let and SPRI. the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1939. An- A few years later, the Turner family presented other interesting publication is the ‘Pilgrims the Institute with many reels of cine film taken by

138 Jack Turner on his travels in Baffin Island, his In 1992 the Polar History Group of the Scott Po- lantern slide projector and several more boxes of lar Research Institute established the Oral History lantern slides. At present, references and abstracts Project. Its purpose was to provide an audio-visu- to the Jack Turner and Harold Duncan collections al record of those people who have either worked of published works can be found on SPRILIB, the in the polar regions, or have contributed to polar Scott Polar Library catalogue. References to the science or exploration. Maria Pia Casarini-Wad- lantern slides can be found on the SPRI Picture Li- hams and myself made a video interview of brary database Polar Pictures which can be found Harold Duncan’ s memories of his time in Pond on www.spri.cam.ac.uk/lib/pictures.htm. Inlet from 1929-34. A recording of this nature has I returned to Pond Inlet in 1997 on a field trip provided a valuable and permanent record of funded by SPRI, visiting a number of community Harold’s work which complements his collection libraries on the way. These included Arviat and of artefacts, slides and diaries he gave to the Insti- Rankin Inlet on Hudson Bay, and Iqaluit. In tute in 1989. The video includes shots of some of Rankin Inlet I was presented with a prayer and the photographs and artefacts with a commentary hymn book by The Rev. Paul Williams. by Harold. I spent a week in Pond Inlet working alongside A few years ago, The Rev. Howard Bracewell, Philippa Ootoowak in her new iceberg shaped li- Anglican Minister at Pond Inlet in 1960s-1970s, brary. In return for hospitality during my stay in gave a Saturday night lecture at Scott Polar, which Pond Inlet, money was made available to transfer was recorded as part of the Oral history project. the Jack Turner cine films onto video. One set was We would like to interview Laurie Dexter, who given to the library at Pond Inlet, and two sets to was minister at Pond Inlet during the late 1970s- the Turner family, one of which is to be deposited 1980s. Laurie took part in the expedition Polar in one of the main university libraries in Southern Bridge, in 1988, a joint Canadian-Soviet expedition Canada. which crossed the Arctic Ocean via the North It was interesting meeting some of the elders Pole. Laurie was subsequently awarded the Order who were children when the Mission was found- of Canada. He now leads expeditions in the polar ed, including Rebecca and her family. Rebecca regions, and lectures on tourist ships. was an adopted daughter to Jack Turner and his The Duncan and Turner collections are among wife Joan. Sadly Jack died very suddenly in 1947, materials currently being consulted by Dr Michael when Rebecca and a friend were outside breaking Bravo and Dr Nancy Wachowich. up ice and carrying it indoors. They saw a seal in Dr. Michael Bravo is one of the co-ordinators of shallow water near the shore and called Jack who the M.Phil programme at Scott Polar, and is also was in the house. He hurriedly grasped his rifle, doing some research into Protestant missions and and slipped it under his arm, and as he helped Re- the expansion of the Inuit Arctic. He writes, ‘The becca carry the ice up the steps, the rifle went off work of missionaries is a critical resource in writ- and shot him. After an emergency evacuation to ing a history of the expansion of the Arctic Re- Winnipeg, he sadly died. gions. These collections provide a vital resource I spoke through an interpreter with two elders, for understanding the early reception of Chris- Lydia Kyak and Cornelius Nutarak who spoke tianity in the Baffin Region of Arctic Canada. The very fondly of the missionaries. Cornelius brought role of missionaries in Arctic Canada has never out a diary which he had kept in the late 1920s and been adequately assessed within the wider con- 1930s and spoke of the happy times he had spent text of imperial or nationalist expansion. Through with the missionaries. It has meant a great deal to collaborative research with northern institutions the whole community at Pond Inlet to have copies in Canada, these collections may contribute to re- of the Turner films, which provided them with a thinking some basic assumptions about Arctic his- pictorial link to their roots and history. This in turn tory. An assessment of the missionary experience has provided Scott Polar with the opportunity to in Pond Inlet provides a basis for a further com- become involved on a practical level with an Arctic parison of Inuit experience of Christianity in community. We hope that more links such as this northern Canada and Greenland. Over the last can be established in the future. three centuries, mission traffic between the two re-

139 gions was an important historical force linking British and Foreign Bible Society. 1927. The New Testament their histories. Collaboration with Danish scholars of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ translated into Baffin has been a fruitful and important aspect of exam- Land Eskimo. London. British and Foreign Bible Society. ining the Canadian context.’ British and Foreign Bible Society. 1939. The book of the Dr. Nancy Wachowich lecturer in Social Anthro- prophet Isaiah. London. British and Foreign Bible Society. Bunyan, John. 1910. Kristumiup kilangmut avkusinikut in- pology at the University of Edinburgh, has been gerdlanera singnagtugkatut takordlugak [Christian’s vi- carrying out research into Inuit/Qallunaat en- sion of a journey to escape destruction]. counters with different groups of people such as Flint, Maurice S. 1949. Operation Canon. A short account of the missionaries, Hudson Bay Company and the life and witness of the Reverend John Hudspith Turner RCMP, who had an impact on the lives of Inuit ... missionary of the Bible Churchmen’s Society in its Eski- communities from the late 1920s. Currently she is mo field. London: Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society. working with Igloolik Isuma Film Corporation re- Flint, Maurice S. 1954. Revised Eskimo grammar. From the searching archives for a film they are planning work of Rev. E.J. Peck, D.D., ‘Apostle to the Eskimos’. that will be set during the early 1900s during the Toronto: [n.pub.] early contact period. Nancy has spent some time Nungme. Iliniarfigssup Nakiterivtane Nakitigkat. at Pond Inlet. Peck, Edmund James and Walton, W.G., comps. 1930. Por- This has been an interesting and rewarding pro- tions of the Book of Common Prayer together with Hymns ject to have been involved in, and we look for- and Addresses in Eskimo. London: Society for Promoting ward in the future to developing more links of Christian Knowledge, this kind between polar libraries and polar com- Scripture Gift Mission. 193-? The way of salvation. London. munities. Scripture Gift Mission. Turner, Canon John Hudspith. 193-? Arctic Pioneers of Baffin Land. 1 reel of 16mm silent monochrome film pho- References tographed and directed by Canon John Hudspith Turner, and produced by ‘Religious Films Ltd. at a later date. Anon. 1917. The book of Psalms. London: British and For- eign Bible Society. British and Foreign Bible Society. 1925. Aglait Ivsornaitut Genesis Exoduselo [The book of Genesis]. London: British and Foreign Bible Society.

140 Session 12: Historic resources preserved for the future

The Indian Affairs Annual Reports (1864- information about many First Nation communi- 1990): a unique Canadian history source ties. on the web From the earliest years until after World War II, the annual reports consist mostly of letters from Julia Finn departmental agents and superintendents report- Departmental Library, Indian and Northern Affairs ing on conditions in individual communities and Canada regions. The reports also contain medical, school and survey reports, maps, census information, Abstract. A variety of federal departments have and figures for land holdings and sales. been responsible for the Indian Affairs portfolio in Canadian history. Each of these departments has The annual reports have always been an impor- published Indian Affairs Annual Reports as a tant source for claims research. First Nations may record of its administration. These annual reports petition the Government of Canada with a claim are extremely important in claims research, but that a treaty or other agreement with the federal are also a unique source of Canadian history. In government has not been fulfilled. This may in- 1997, the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada volve claims of illegal disposition of community (INAC) Departmental Library created a six CD-ROM land, or a breach of obligation arising out of gov- set of the digitized Indian Affairs Annual Reports ernment administration of community funds. The from 1864 to 1990. In May 2002, the INAC Depart- claim may also involve a dispute regarding popu- mental Library and the National Library of Canada lation totals for a given period of time. Population completed a joint project to create a Web version size would have been used to calculate a grant of of the annual reports for the National Library’s reserve land to a First Nation. (Indian and North- Digital Library of Canada at http://www.nlc- ern Affairs Canada 1993, p.19) bnc.ca/indianaffairs If a claim presented by a First Nation is accept- ed by the Government of Canada as having merit, At least eight federal departments have been re- a government negotiator is assigned to find a res- sponsible for the administration of “Indian Af- olution. If the claim is not accepted, or the resolu- fairs” in Canadian history. The latest department tion arrived at in negotiation is unsatisfactory to responsible for the portfolio is Indian and North- the community, the First Nation may choose to ern Affairs Canada, created in 1966. seek redress through litigation. Both the Govern- Annual reports for Indian Affairs have been ment of Canada and First Nations rely on the an- published since the early 1860s. The last annual nual reports for historic information that can be report was published in 1990. In 1991 the annual used to resolve outstanding claims. report was integrated into the department’s bud- The Government of Canada is also currently en- getary report, the Estimates Part III (which now in- gaged in addressing thousands of claims by vic- cludes the Report on Plans and Priorities and the tims of physical and sexual abuse, who were en- Performance Report) and the Government of Cana- rolled as students in residential schools that once da’s Public Accounts. existed for Aboriginal children. (Indian and The early Indian Affairs Annual Reports pro- Northern Affairs Canada and Canadian Polar vide a unique look at Canadian history, both the Commission 2001, p. 12) Once again, the annual good and the bad. Like any other country, Cana- reports are an important source of information on da’s history includes stories of injustice and preju- these institutions. dice. The annual reports are one of the few sources of While the Indian Affairs Annual Reports are heavily

141 Figure 1. Indian Affairs Annual Re- port, 1905, p. 189

used for researching claims and court cases, they A decision was made to add to the CD-ROM also contain vast amounts of information that product the scanned images of the more than could be used by First Nations to develop com- 40,000 printed pages of the annual reports and munity histories or curriculum material for Schedule of Indian Bands, Reserves and Settlements. schools. Unfortunately, few communities and Researchers would use the search engine to search schools have access to the reports. Complete sets the digitized text to find relevant paragraphs. A are normally found only in government and uni- message throughout the searchable database versity libraries in larger cities, where claims re- would warn researchers to verify any “important searchers are usually located. information” against the image of the original In 1995 the Indian and Northern Affairs Depart- printed page. A link to the appropriate image mental Library made a decision to digitize the In- would be supplied. dian Affairs Annual Reports from 1864 to 1990. Including the scanned images of the printed The initial concept was to produce a single CD- pages provided a solution to the problem of data ROM, containing a database of the contents of the accuracy in the searchable database, but it also in- annual reports that would be searchable by key- creased the product to a set of six CD-ROMs, con- word. A single CD-ROM could be easily repro- taining a total of three Gigabytes of information. duced and distributed to all Canadian First Na- The costs of reproducing the product for distribu- tion communities and schools. A searchable ver- tion were now significantly increased. sion of the reports would assist claims research. Multiple CD-ROMs also affected how the prod- The Schedule of Indian Bands, Reserves and Settle- uct would be used on a personal computer. Annu- ments from 1902 to 1992 was also to be included in al reports were grouped by years on each CD- the project. The schedules contain information ROM, but frustrating error messages appeared such as band name, reserve affiliation, location, when a user attempted to use a single CD-ROM at land holdings, etc. a time. Searches run on a single CD displayed re- As the digitizing of the annual reports began, a sults for the entire range of years from 1864 to major concern developed around whether or not 1990, with pages in order of “best match to a any of the printed text could be corrupted during search,” not in chronological order. This problem digitization. Spell check software could, in theory, was compounded by the large number of hits pro- be used to identify a digitized word that appeared duced by a search. The annual reports contain no misspelled. There seemed, however, to be no way fixed fields that would allow for really precise to verify whether or not numbers were being ac- searching. curately captured in the searchable database. Nonetheless, claims researchers had to be certain Since the CD-ROMs could not be used individual- that the numerical data they were retrieving from ly, users were required to download the contents the CD-ROM for a negotiation or court case was of all six CDs into a single large database. Many of as it appeared in the published original. Without the First Nation communities and schools who this assurance, the CD-ROM would be useless to were originally targeted as recipients of the Indian them. Affairs Annual Reports CD-ROMs would not have

142 Figure 2. Indian Affairs Annual Report, 1892, p. 316.

computers with sufficient speed and memory to could improve services to Aboriginal Canadians. use the product. The Working Group was especially interested in In 1997 the six CD-ROM set of the Indian Affairs identifying materials that could be digitized and Annual Reports was released, using a search en- delivered to researchers through the Internet. gine called GreenBook. The Indian and Northern (Gamache 2001, p. 18) Affairs Departmental Library decided to limit dis- Almost immediately, a joint project was pro- tribution of the CD sets to organizations involved posed between the National Library of Canada in claims research. On completion of the CD-ROM and the Indian and Northern Affairs Departmen- project, the Library began immediately to lobby tal Library, to create a Web version of the Indian for funding to create a Web version of the Indian Affairs Annual Reports, to be made available Affairs Annual Reports. through the National Library’s Digital Library of In October 1999, Dr. Roch Carrier was named Canada. National Librarian of Canada. A renowned Cana- The images and searchable text of the Indian Af- dian author, Dr. Carrier’s focus at the National Li- fairs Annual Reports and the Schedule of Indian brary can be summed up by this statement on the Bands, Reserves and Settlements were stripped from National Library’s Web site: the 1997 CD-ROM and combined with a search “With enthusiasm, I will ask the employees of engine developed internally by the National Li- the National Library, the university community, brary for the Digital Library of Canada. authors, publishers, librarians, professional asso- No money was available to address the original ciations, persons working in new media and gov- problem of the accuracy of numerical data in the ernment information agencies to contribute to searchable database, and so, once more, images of finding the best ways to preserve our collective the more than 40,000 pages in the original print memory in order to make it accessible” (Carrier documents had to be loaded onto the Digital Li- 2000). brary. A link would again be provided to the ap- Soon after Dr. Carrier’s arrival, a number of Na- propriate image from any HTML page retrieved tional Library working groups were created, to by searching. However, unlike the original CD- look for ways in which the National Library could ROMs, the loading of images has no impact on the be made to be “a Library for all Canadians” Web site. (Gamache 2001, p. 3). The Working Group on Col- In May, 2002 the Indian Affairs Annual Reports lection Policies took on the task of preparing a re- (1864-1990) was launched on the Digital Library of port and recommendations on Aboriginal re- Canada site at http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/indianaf- sources and services at the National Library. fairs. The Working Group approached many organi- Advertizing of the Indian Affairs Annual Re- zations and individuals, including the Indian and ports Web site is just now getting under way, and Northern Affairs Canada Departmental Library, yet, in the first month alone, there were 36,000 hits for suggestions on how the National Library on the site.

143 Figure 3. Indian Affairs Annual Reports Web Site, Advanced Searching Screen.

While some First Nation communities and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 2000. Information schools still do not have access to the Internet, Sheet: Definitions. Ottawa, the department. many do, and more are getting connected every Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Canadian Polar month. Commission 2001. Performance Report. Ottawa: Public This joint project of the Indian and Northern Af- Works and Government Services Canada. fairs Departmental Library and the National Li- brary of Canada is the best option to date for mak- ing the Indian Affairs Annual Reports an accessible resource for First Nations. Note. The term “First Nation” used in this paper is a term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the References word “Indian” which many people found offensive. Al- Carrier, Roch 2002. National Librarian Roch Carrier: Introduc- though First Nation is widely used, no legal definition of it tion. http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/national-librarian/a6-150- exists. Among its uses, the term “First Nation peoples” refers e.html#nlc001499 to Indian people in Canada, both Status and Non-Status. Gamache, P., L. Martin and M. Nowosielski 2001. “All our Re- Many Indian people have also adopted the term “ First Na- lations”: Aboriginal Resources and Services: Report and tion” to replace the word “band” in the name of their com- Recommendations. Ottawa: the National Library. munity. (Indian and Northern Affairs 2000, p. 1). Indian and Northern Affairs Canada 1993. Federal Policy for the Settlement of Native Claims. Ottawa: the department.

144 Virtual Shackleton at the Scott Polar Scott and Shackleton corresponds to relations be- Research Institute tween certain other explorers, who found them- selves pitted in the public mind as competitors William Mills and were then obliged to compete before the same Scott Polar Research Institute sponsors for means to achieve comparable same goals. Despite this unfortunate legacy, when the Abstract. Although Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackle- Institute was established as a memorial to Scott ton’s expedition ship, was famously crushed by ice and his four companions in the Polar Party, Shack- in October 1915, by no means everything went leton was one of the first to state that he wished down with her. Not only did the entire crew sur- all papers relating to his expeditions to be depo- vive but so also did many journals and artifacts, a sited in time at the Institute. ‘In time’ in this case good number of which have found their way was eventually to mean more than 70 years. through gift, loan and purchase to the Scott Polar Although Shackleton himself was thoroughly Research Institute. With Shackleton’s three expedi- supportive of the Institute’s mission as an interna- tions the subject of intense popular and scholarly tional depository for polar information, in the interest, the Institute clearly faces a considerable light of his disagreements with Scott not everyone task in making these materials – many of them felt that an institute named for Scott was necessar- highly fragile – as accessible as practicable and ily the most appropriate place for materials sur- with the help of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foun- viving from his expeditions. This feeling deep- dation a start has been made. This paper provides ened over decades when, following the First a brief account of the Virtual Shackleton pro- World War, a cult grew up around Scott and his ject. companions in which their deaths were interpret- ed as emblematic of courage in the face of extreme Background to the project. How does a small univer- adversity. Generations of children in the British sity department, principally concerned with re- Empire were brought up on this inspiring story search and teaching, cope when an individual whilst Shackleton was largely forgotten. In 1979, with whom it is closely associated suddenly be- Roland Huntford published Scott and Amundsen, a comes a figure of international popular interest book largely researched in the Institute but one and the subject of numerous exhibitions, films and doing it no favours. For the legend of Scott the books? In most respects, this is a highly enviable great polar hero, Huntford substituted an alterna- situation offering great opportunities, but it can tive myth in which Scott was viewed as in all re- also pose certain problems. In this paper, I shall spects incompetent and bearing primary responsi- discuss the extraordinary growth of interest in the bility for the death of his men. Here is not the career of the British Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest place to discuss this work, nor the subsequent de- Shackleton (1874-1922), its effects on the Scott Po- bate, but Huntford’s book was widely read and lar Research Institute, and the genesis of the Virtu- extremely influential. The debunking of Scott was al Shackleton project. not without implications for the Institute, which The Scott Polar Research Institute is of course found itself commemorating a man who, whether dedicated not to Shackleton but to his first leader justly or not, was now viewed by many as the and later rival, Robert Falcon Scott. Preserved in epitome of bungling English amateurism. Other the Institute’s Archives are letters which make polar institutions have suffered similarly in the manifest this rivalry, which was never more in- light of reevaluations of their founding figures. tense than when Shackleton, having tired of wait- Two examples here are the Peary Arctic Museum, ing for Scott to lead another expedition south, de- Bowdoin College, and the Byrd Polar Research termined to organize his own expedition and in Center, Ohio State University, following contro- doing so was forced by circumstance to cut across versies whether either reached the North Pole as the latter’s plans. Relations between the two men claimed. were in any case tense following Scott’s decision What the Scott Polar Research Institute has been to send an unwilling Shackleton home early on experiencing during the last decade has been a far during his first expedition. The rivalry between rarer phenomenon, whereby a previously compar-

145 atively disregarded figure has achieved a promi- piecemeal fashion. Table 1 gives an indication of nence beyond that experienced during his life- when some of the more important collections time. There is no Shackleton Institute or Shackle- were received. ton Research Centre, but in 1998 a Shackleton Memorial Library was opened at the Institute It will be noticed that what was a dribble has re- born of a desire to give due recognition to both cently become a flood. In this, the opening of the the leading British figures during the ‘Heroic Era’ Shackleton Memorial Library has certainly been a of Antarctic exploration (1895-1922). The new li- factor making the Institute appear a more natural brary is in fact dedicated to both Sir Ernest and his home for Shackleton as well as Scott materials. son Edward, Lord Shackleton, a polar explorer in With a few exceptions, most of the items and col- his own right but primarily known as a statesman lections listed above were presented, with just a with polar interests. There is no question but that few purchased or acquired on long-term loan. By use of the name Shackleton helped ensure the far the most important recent acquisition is the raising of sufficient funds to complete a major ex- Shackleton Family archive. Formerly the personal tension to existing facilities. Whilst appreciation of possession of Sir Ernest himself, this very large the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton has collection of papers, journals, photographs, books, been growing for several decades, the key event and artifacts came to the Institute by a very was the opening of a major exhibition about his roundabout route. On Sir Ernest’s death, they second expedition in the American Museum of passed to his widow, Emily Mary Shackleton. Fol- Natural History, New York, timed to coincide with lowing her death in 1936, the bulk of the collection publication of an article in the National Geographic was taken charge of by Shackleton’s daughter, Ce- and a book Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary cily. Subsequently consulted by James and Antarctic expedition, both by Caroline Alexander, Margery Fisher for their definitive biography of who was also the moving spirit behind the exhibi- the explorer (1957), access was unavailable to any tion. Characteristic of modern interest in Shackle- later scholar and later biographers have had to ton is its focus on his second expedition, which rely on transcripts and notes made by the Fishers failed in all its objectives, rather than on his very (now also deposited at the Institute). It was even successful first expedition, during which he came rumoured that the original records might have within 180 km of the South Pole whilst members been destroyed. This, however, proved not to of his expedition also reached the South Magnetic have been the case and in 1999 it came into the Pole and completed the first ascent of the volcano custody of the executors of Mrs Rena Dodds, a Mt Erebus. What has caught public interest is not distant cousin, who had inherited it on Cecily’s Shackleton’s inability even to land on Antarctica death in 1957. Thanks in particular to Sir Ernest’s to attempt the first continental crossing, but the grand-daughter, The Hon. Alexandra Shackleton, extraordinary story of how he brought all of his in December 2001 the Institute was able to an- party back to safety in the face of every possible nounce that, with the exception of the books and difficulty. It is indeed one of the greatest of true some other dispensable items, the Shackleton stories, polar or otherwise, and the qualities of Family Archive had been presented to the Insti- leadership exhibited are today used to inspire fu- tute. Whilst the entire collection is of the greatest ture business leaders, just as in the past Scott’s interest, the most exceptional items are Sir journey from the Pole inspired the children of pre- Ernest’s diaries from all four Antarctic expedi- vious generations to exert themselves to the ut- tions. The scraps of paper recording notes made most for their country. One suspects that both on the ice after the sinking of Endurance are also Scott and Shackleton would have been equally particularly evocative, and no less fascinating is surprised by the use later generations made of Sir Ernest’s private evaluation of the various expe- their expeditions. dition members. Artifacts include the ‘post-box’ in Whilst many of the most important materials which contributions to South Polar Times were de- concerning Scott were presented relatively soon posited on Scott’s first expedition and a fine bust. after the Institute’s foundation in 1920, the Shack- In any year other than 2001, precedence would leton collections have been acquired in a more have been given to the five lots purchased or ac-

146 Pre-1932 R.W. James diaries 1914-16 WSP 1938 Sir Raymond Priestley diaries and notebooks 1907-09 1942 George Marston paintings and sketches 1907-09 1914-16 WSP 1943 Frank Worsley’s journals 1914-16 1914-16 WSP 1946 H.R. Mill Bequest – correspondence 1907-09 1914-16 WSP 1914-17 RSP 1961 A. Keith Jack – Meteorological records 1914-17 RSP 1966 8 volumes of press cuttings 1907-09 1914-16 WSP 1914-17 RSP 1966 F.A. Worsley’s journals, 1914 and 1916 1914-16 WSP 1966 Frank Hurley’s personal album 1914-16 WSP 1971 F. Wild diaries 1907-09 1914-16 WSP 1971 E. Wild diary 1914-17 RSP 1971 T.H. Orde-Lees diaries 1914-16 WSP 1974 Photographs taken by Sir Raymond Priestley 1907-09 1981 A. Spencer-Smith diary 1914-17 RSP 1997 G. Marston oil paintings 1914-16 WSP 2001 E.H. Shackleton diaries and correspondence 1901-04 1907-09 1914-16 WSP 1921-22 2001 A.H. Macklin diaries 1914-16 WSP 1921-22 2001 Quest archive 1921-22 Quest photographic archive 1921-22 2001 R.S. Clark biological archive 1914-16 WSP 2002 Wordie Endurance archive 1914-16 WSP

Abbreviations: RSP Ross Sea Party WSP Weddell Sea Party

Table 1. Chronology of major accessions to the Shackleton collections.

quired on long-term loan at the Christie’s Polar the Wordie Archive. Sir James Mann Wordie was Sale, September 2001. With the aid of grants of the official archivist of Shackleton’s second expe- £186,207 from the National Heritage Memorial dition and as such one of the most significant col- Fund and £28,484 from the Antarctic Heritage lections of papers concerning this expedition was Trust, the Institute was able to purchase Macklin’s passed down within the Wordie Family, covering holograph diary of the period from the sinking of both Weddell and Ross sea parties. Outstanding Endurance to the rescue from Elephant Island, items include the logbook of the relief ships Emma amongst the most detailed of all primary sources and Yelcho (autographed by Shackleton), maps of for Shackleton’s second expedition, and the Quest Point Wild, and the transcribed diaries of Andrew MS. Archive, including Shackleton’s death certifi- Jack and Reginald James. cate and Macklin’s account of his death. Three Whilst scholars have been allowed access to other lots purchased at the same sale by a private some of the materials, inevitably it has been some- benefactor have been placed on long-term loan what restricted and, with a few exceptions, noth- with the Institute. These are the Photographic ing has previously been on view to the general archive of the Quest, the archive of Robert Selbie public. Clearly, there is an onus on the Institute to Clark, biologist on Endurance, and Macklin’s re- make its Shackleton collections as accessible as constituted journal of the expedition up until the practicable, not just to the many authors writing sinking of Endurance when his original diary was books and articles, but also to the general public. lost with the ship. The most recent acquisition is Indeed, this was a condition of the National Her-

147 itage Memorial Fund’s grant. Before this can be The Endurance Timeline. For the Weddell Sea Par- done, however, the collections must be acces- ty, the most important primary materials are Sir sioned, subjected to appropriate conservation Ernest’s diary and correspondence; the diaries of measures, and catalogued. Reginald W. James, Dr Alexander H. Macklin, Captain Thomas H. Orde-Lees, and Frank Wors- Virtual Shackleton. With so much to do to process ley; the biological archive of Robert S. Clark; the collections, design of the Virtual Shackleton Frank Hurley’s ‘Green Album’, one of his four website is still at an early stage. The remainder of surviving ‘Blue albums’, and a large number of this paper outlines some of the ideas currently un- lantern slides and prints; several paintings and der consideration. drawings by George Marston; and 13 water- Designing a Website is not so very different colours by Walter E. How and his half-model of from mounting an exhibition, except that in this Endurance. In addition, in 1998, the Institute ac- case we want to create a site which will provide a quired the last surviving relic of Endurance herself, scholarly resource as well as an introduction to a spar used subsequently as a distress signal flag the Institute’s wealth of Shackletonia. The most fa- pole on Elephant Island. Whilst some of these cov- mous expedition – strictly the most famous part of er only a short period, a few contain relevant ma- an expedition – is the story of the Weddell Sea terial for the entire expedition. Thus, thanks to the Party during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedi- unique ‘Green Album’ (P66/19), we have pho- tion of 1914-17. This lends itself to a straightfor- tographs by Hurley from departure to rescue. ward linear treatment in which each episode oc- Frank Worsley’s journals also cover the complete curs in succession with little need to give account expedition; in his case, including the boat journey of events occurring at the same time elsewhere. in James Caird and the crossing of South Georgia. These episodes are outlined in the chapter titles of On the other hand, after abandoning Endurance, Sir Ernest’s own account South (Shackleton, 1919): Sir Ernest himself appears to have had time to Into the Weddell Sea, New land, Winter months, keep a diary only at Patience Camp, where the ex- Loss of the Endurance, Ocean Camp, The march pedition remained from 30 December 1915 between, Patience Camp etc. through to 6 April 1916 (MS 1537/3/7). Apart Only once Elephant Island has been reached from Worsley, the most detailed source for the pe- does the party divide, with Sir Ernest and five riod from Endurance’s abandonment onwards is others undertaking the perilous but successful the diary of A.H. Macklin (MS1588), which is use- voyage to South Georgia in James Caird, leaving fully complemented by various materials the the other twenty-two to await rescue on the is- same author wrote afterwards to describe earlier land. This linear structure suggested the idea of events. The diaries of Orde-Lees and James both The Endurance Timeline, one possible way in begin on the ice. Any earlier diaries they may which the website could tell the story of the Wed- have kept were not brought back. The manuscript dell Sea Party whilst at the same time displaying sources are stunningly complemented by Hurley’s primary materials held in the Institute. The basic photographs and Marston’s paintings. For obvi- concept is simple: to represent each of Sir Ernest’s ous reasons, there are no Hurley photographs for chapter titles on a separate page and to illustrate the episode described by Shackleton as ‘The es- what happened during this episode by relevant cape from the ice’. He could not risk drenching his photographs, paintings, diary entries and corre- camera as the three small boats threaded their spondence. Whilst such an approach works best way through the pack by means of narrow leads for the Weddell Sea Party, similar timelines could and across the open ocean to Elephant Island. For- be constructed for the Ross Sea Party of the same tunately, it is just this episode which is best illus- expedition – The Aurora Timeline – as well as for trated by Marston’s paintings, the Institute pos- the first and third expeditions – The Nimrod Time- sessing four oils which Marston painted later on line and The Quest Timeline respectively. In each the basis of his recollections of the voyage. case, the intention would be to use chapter titles Up until the abandonment of Endurance – chap- from the standard accounts (Shackleton, 1909; ters 1-4 in South – the chief surviving sources, at Joyce, 1929; Wild, 1923). the Institute or indeed anywhere, are Hurley’s

148 ‘Green Album’ and Worsley’s first diary the next stage will be to photograph each sheet (MS733/1). South’s next three chapters describe and post its digitized image on the Virtual Shack- the period between 1 November 1915 and 6 April leton website. Viewers will then be able to browse 1916, when ‘Patience Camp’ was abandoned hav- through the entire album and, through clicking, ing drifted sufficiently far north to be near the enlarge both photographs and, possibly, annota- edge of the pack. Much of the little primary mate- tions to full-screen size. rial for the next chapter ‘The escape from the ice’ Whilst there are at least three other copies of was written – or in the case of Marston, painted – Hurley’s ‘Blue Album’, all differ in detail, and this afterwards, as those keeping diaries secured them volume merits similar treatment to the ‘Green Al- as well as they could against being drenched. bum’. Such is the interest in Shackleton and in Worsley, however, made entries throughout, as in- Hurley’s work specifically, that we aim to post im- deed he was required to do for purposes of navi- ages of all prints and lantern slides in the collec- gation. Chapter 9 – ‘The boat journey’ – describes tion, arranging them in chronological order inso- James Caird’s epic 1450 km voyage. The only pri- far as can be done with accompanying notes and mary source here is Worsley’s second diary (MS finding aids. 296), which still bears the marks of the soaking it Whilst none of Shackleton’s other expeditions then received, though the Institute also possesses has a photographic archive of such quality as his the chronometer and watch he used to navigate Weddell Sea Party, the Institute possesses many by. For the 36-hour crossing of South Georgia, we photographs of his first and second expeditions as have only Worsley’s ‘rough memory map’, drawn well as an album from Scott’s first expedition, shortly afterwards. Worsley’s diary ends the day which includes over 200 photographs taken by before they set out. The period of 105 days spent Shackleton himself. The Picture Library is current- by the remaining members of the expedition on ly digitizing these images and it is intended to in- Elephant Island is altogether better represented clude them in the Virtual Shackleton website. with photographs by Hurley, paintings and draw- ings by Marston, and diary entries by James, Conclusion. A grant from the Gladys Krieble Del- Mackin and Orde-Lees. Whilst they had time mas Foundation has enabled the Institute to begin enough to keep their diaries up-to-date, shortage work on the essential preparatory work for Virtu- of paper kept most entries brief. al Shackleton. The two projects described in this paper are just a start, but they represent natural Hurley’s ‘Green album’ and other photographic collec- beginning points. At present the Institute does not tions. For many visiting the Institute, the most en- plan to reproduce its holdings on the web in their thralling single object is Frank Hurley’s personal entirety. The worries are these: include everything photograph album. The ‘Green Album’ represents and who will want to edit or publish scholarly Hurley’s selection of those photographs he con- editions of the correspondence and diaries? Who sidered his best, annotated with descriptions and indeed will wish then to visit the Institute? On the comments. Apart from the 100 glass plates now in other hand, given limited space and resources, we the Royal Geographical Society and 20 Paget don’t wish to stimulate popular demand to such colour plates in the Mitchell Library, New South an extent that it is so overwhelming that we are Wales, these include the only photographs surviv- unable to meet it. Between the Scylla of an unvisit- ing prior to Patience Camp, 400 other plates hav- ed Institute and the Charybdis of one awash with ing been smashed on the ice by Hurley and Shack- humanity, the goal is to design a facility which leton to reduce weight. Many of the album’s im- will meet those interests which are best accommo- ages are unique. Because of its fragile state, it has dated remotely – e.g. publishers’ requests to re- been disbound and each separate sheet placed in a produce photographs – whilst ensuring continu- Melinex envelope. This fragility also means that ing scholarly and popular access to the Institute it- very few can be given the privilege of perusing it self in manageable numbers. Unlike Shackleton, in full. To meet the constant demand of publish- we aim to avoid shipwreck! ers, all the photographs have been digitized and

149 References Whispers from the Past, Part II: an Fisher, M. and J. 1957. Shackleton. London: Barrie. update on the work of the Western Lake Joyce, E. 1929. The South polar trail. London: Duckworth. Superior Jesuit Diaries Project Shackleton, E.H. 1909. The heart of the Antarctic. London: Heinemann. Brian Walmark Shackleton, E.H. 1919. South: the story of Shackleton’s last Nishnawbe Aski Nation expedition 1914-17. London: Heinemann. Wild, F. 1923. Shackleton’s last voyage. London: Cassell. Louise Wuorinen Lakehead University

Abstract. This presentation will discuss the ongo- ing work of the International Committee for the Study of the Jesuit Relations Concerning the Lake Superior Ojibwa. The goal of the committee is to assemble, transcribe, translate and annotate the diaries and mission papers written by Jesuits who worked among the Ojibwa people at the western end of Lake Superior. A number of the diaries which were thought to no longer be in existence were discovered a few years ago in the archives

Figure 1. The first accurate map of Lake Superior, the so-called Jesuits Map, was drafted in 1670 and identified the loca- tions of the Society’s missionary activity. (Courtesy of the Thunder Bay Historical Society).

150 and contain a wealth of information about the the original French as well as maps, pictures and native people of the region. The first phase of the an introduction. project focuses on a portion of a diary written by Father Chone and Father Fremiot starting in July Historical Context. With the arrival of Father 1848 at Grand Portage. Chone, S.J. by schooner at Pigeon River on the north west shore of Lake Superior over 150 years Background. In 1998, a group of researchers inter- ago, an important, if little known chapter of Cana- ested in the history and development of the area dian history began, the re-establishment of a at the western end of Lake Superior got together Catholic missionary presence on Lake Superior’s to form “The International Committee for the north shore. As a member of the Society of Jesus, Study of the Lake Superior Jesuit Diaries and Mis- Father Chone followed, by then, the long estab- sion Papers”. Since that time, the committee has lished principles of the order as laid down by its undergone a change of name and the membership founder Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) when he has been expanded but the original goal of the founded the order in 1534. Shortly after it was rec- committee remains the same, that is, to assemble, ognized by papal decree, the Society attracted transcribe, translate and annotate the Jesuit diaries Catholic scholars from across Europe to join its and related documents created by the Jesuit Fa- ranks. Early members of the Society such as thers posted at Pigeon River and Fort William Christopher Clavius, S.J. (1538-1612), Matteo Ricci, commencing in the year 1848. From the beginning S.J. (1552-1610), Christopher Scheiner, S.J. (1575- it was agreed that the best way to present the di- 1650), Francois De Anquilon, S.J. (1546-1617), were aries and related documents would be in a CD- only some of the Fathers who laid the foundation ROM format. of the well-known Jesuit tradition of scholarship, dedication and service. The Society, more com- These documents contain a vast amount of infor- monly known as the Jesuits, has maintained a rep- mation relating to the Ojibway people of the area utation for outstanding scholarship, a commit- and describe in some detail early contact with Eu- ment to teaching, and missionary activity, which ropeans as well as traditional ways of life. The di- accelerated the spread of Catholicism to India, aries start in 1848 with the return of the Jesuit mis- China, Japan and the Americas. sionaries to the area. This is a particularly signifi- The Jesuits began their missionary activity es- cant point in the history of Ojibway people in this tablishing their first outpost in Goa in 1542 quick- part of northwestern Ontario since the Robinson ly expanding their influence throughout Southeast Superior Treaty would be signed in 1850. Events Asia and by 1601, Matteo Ricci had established a and negotiations leading up to the signing of this mission within Peking. treaty are included in the writings of the Jesuit In Canada, one of the first Jesuit missionaries to missionaries. Until recently the diaries were arrive in the Great Lakes Basin was Father Rene thought to be lost but fortunately were discovered Menard, S.J. who wintered on the south shore of in an archives amongst other related material. Lake Superior in 1660-61. One of the first decisions made by the Commit- Shortly afterwards, Father Claude Allouez, S.J. tee was to create a pilot project, which would be- established a mission and built what was proba- come a model for the format of the entire initia- bly the first chapel on the western shore of Lake tive. In addition, it is anticipated that the pilot Superior at Chequamegon Bay in what is now the project can be utilized by the Committee to secure United States. An energetic man, Father Allouez the necessary funding to complete the rest of the and two First Nations guides crossed Lake Superi- project. The pilot project is near completion. The or, passed the future site of Fort William and pad- CD-ROM contains two years, 1848 and 1849, of dled to Lake Nipigon. There, the party discovered the diary written by Father Jean-Pierre Chone a village of the Nipissings, Catholics who fled (1808-1878) and Father Nicolas Fremiot (1818- their traditional lands in the wake of Iroquois ex- 1854) initially at Grand Portage and later at Fort pansionism. Father Allouez spent two weeks with William. It includes an electronic copy of the origi- the Nipissings and celebrated what is believed to nal journals, a transcription and a translation of be the first mass on Lake Nipigon.

151 Figure 2. By the 1880s, the Jesuit Mission was an important institution in the rapidly growing community of Fort William. (Courtesy of the Thunder Bay Historical Society).

By the 1730s, Father Charles Messaiger, S.J. had til the 1840’s that the Jesuits could continue their established a chapel, the first chapel in Fort work in the Great Lakes Basin. William in northwestern Ontario. He was fol- Prior to the suppression, the Society of Jesus lowed by other Jesuit fathers who served the spiri- had carried out missionary work in the Sault Ste. tual needs of those who lived and worked at the Marie area and all along the south shore of Lake Fort William trading post. Fort William, however, Superior. Once re-established in the Great Lakes was destroyed by fire in 1765 and operations were Basin, the Jesuits expanded their operations to the subsequently transferred to Pigeon River, which western shores of Lake Superior. In Fort William, became the great gateway to the West until the the Jesuits worked not only with the European American Revolution. The Jesuit fathers moved employees of the fur trading companies but with their mission as well. the Aboriginal people who had moved closer to Meanwhile, events were unfolding in Europe the forts for economic reasons. that would have a far-reaching impact on Jesuit In the Northwest, the Ojibway people trapped missionary activity around the world. After years and prepared the furs for trade at Fort William. of anticlerical attacks, particularly intense in They also provided company officials with fresh France and Portugal, the Pope dissolved the Soci- meat, fish and other foodstuffs. Many of these ety in 1773. In Canada, the Jesuits were spared the outposts were completely dependent on the Abo- immediate impact of the papal decree since the riginal people to supply enough food for the win- Bishop of Quebec refused to publicly proclaim the ter months. It is not surprising that some Aborigi- news of the Jesuit suppression. Still, it was not un- nal people who lived near the fort also provided

152 Figure 3. Anemki or Thunder Mountain in the Ojibwe language, known today as Mount McKay, is an area that remains a place of spiritual significance for the local Ojibwa. (Courtesy of the Thunder Bay Historical Society).

day labour when required. Fort William was living in the area around Fort William. With the transformed almost overnight by the establish- return of the fur trading post to Fort William, it ment of a permanent international border be- was only a matter of time before the Jesuits would tween the United States and British territory in reluctantly transfer their mission back to the Lake- North America in 1783. head. Suddenly finding themselves on the wrong side At least one area Chief had lobbied the Jesuit to of the border, Canadian fur traders needed to relo- accelerate the transfer of the mission headquarters cate their operations north. In 1798, Roderick from Pigeon River to Fort William much earlier. McKenzie re-discovered the Kaministiquia route, Chief Peau de Chat of Fort William tried to per- the traditional trade route of the Ojibway people suade the Jesuits that such a move was in the best to the west. Construction of a new trading post interests of both the fathers and the Ojibway. Al- began almost immediately and when it was com- though Father Chone had met with the Chief the pleted three years later, it was renamed in honour previous year, he could not be persuaded to move of William McGillvray of the North West Compa- his headquarters. There were simply no facilities ny. Fort William quickly became a hive of activity. for the Jesuits at Fort William. To entice the Jesuit Until 1814, there were only a small number of cab- fathers, Chief Peau de Chat offered to build a ins built by the Aboriginal people, mostly located house and a chapel for the missionaries if they on the opposite site of the Kaministiquia River. agreed to move their headquarters north of the The First Nations population grew around the fort border. Father Chone had good reason to remain as economic activity increased. Between 1829 and in the United States. By remaining on the Ameri- 1831, there were about 190 First Nations people can side of the border, Father Chone hoped to

153 avoid the problems that he had with the British Have Tape, Will Travel: The Polar Oral authorities during an earlier encounter at Wik- History Program at The Ohio State wemikong. At first, the Jesuits hoped that the University Ojibway at Fort William would simply relocate to the mission at Pigeon River. Father Chone had in- Laura J. Kissel tended to travel to Fort William to persuade Chief Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, The Peau de Chat to bring his people to Pigeon River. Ohio State University Initially, the chief agreed to the move but later changed his mind. Many of the First Nations peo- Abstract. In November of 1999, the National Sci- ple of Grand Portage, Pigeon River and Fort ence Foundation awarded the Byrd Polar Research William were closely related belonging essentially Center a grant in the amount of $50,000 to sup- to the same band. Many moved freely across the port the proposal, “Talking Science and Explo- border between these three communities and uti- ration: Preserving the American Heritage of Polar lized much of these lands as a hunting ground. History Through Oral History Interviews.” The What is most significant about the Jesuit mis- main objective of the grant was to interview fifty sionaries was their devotion to record keeping es- scientists, military personnel, and veterans of polar pecially in the maintenance of their journals and expeditions who were active in the Arctic and mission diaries. These journals challenge much of Antarctic during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The the conventional wisdom concerning relations be- audiotapes and supporting documentation would tween the missionaries and the First Nations in be preserved and maintained at The Ohio State the nineteenth century. The journals also reveal University Archives and made available for re- that relations between the Hudson’s Bay Compa- search. ny and the Jesuit missionaries were cordial. The To date, 86 interviews have been conducted, re- factor at the HBC post turned a blind eye to the sulting in 164 cassette tapes of information, and construction by the Jesuits of several buildings in- exceeding the requirements of the grant. In addi- cluding several houses and chapel on company tion, careful spending of the grant money has al- land even through it violated company policy. The lowed transcription of 59 interviews. A complete journals also reveal some of the early terms that list of the interviews conducted to date, including the Ojibway of Fort William would demand in ex- abstracts for those interviews, appears on our web change for a treaty with the Province of Canada. page at: http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/arvweb/ As expected, the journals provide keen observa- polar/oralhist/interviewed.htm. In addition, all in- tions into Ojibway customs and practices such as terviews have been cataloged in the traditional the annual work cycle. The journals also discuss sense. Records appear in the OSU Libraries online the relative success of the missionary education catalog, with links to the abstracts listed at the Po- among the Ojibway youth. lar Archives web page. This paper will discuss the entire Polar Oral Conclusion. The Committee is currently complet- History project, from its inception to date. Topics ing the final edition of the pilot project. Initial re- will include details concerning the interview action to the project has been positive. It is hoped process, as well as record keeping and access con- that the project will provide a new generation of cerns, including access via the Internet. Finally, fu- scholars with easier access to these original docu- ture issues concerning the project will be dis- ments without the usual damage associated with cussed. working with paper in such a fragile state. The lessons learned by the Committee could also be Introduction. The United States has been active in utilized by other librarians, archivists and scholars Arctic and Antarctic exploration for the last eight to protect and disseminate other documents to a decades. The explorers and scientists who led the wider audience of academics without the associat- way to scientific advances in the polar regions ed risks to the original manuscripts. during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and those who were the first scientists of the International Geo- physical Year (IGY), possess a wealth of informa-

154 tion about the development and history of polar of the polar regions.” A list of 100 potential inter- investigation. While many books and articles have viewees was created by Captain Shoemaker and been written about these early expeditions, first was an essential component of the grant proposal. hand details were often not recorded. In fact, Especially important would be to conduct inter- many leaders of early private expeditions restrict- views with scientists and explorers whose experi- ed the writing by participants so that the expedi- ences were not recorded in any other format. tion leaders could sell their accounts first. Many of Specifically, the team of interviewers would ob- these explorers and scientists are still living, but tain taped information from and about persons ac- the opportunity to record this information would tive in polar research from the 1920s through the soon be lost, since many potential interviewees 1950s. The tapes and all accompanying documen- were/are in failing health. The proposal to tation would reside in the OSU Archives and launch an oral history program to capture this would be made accessible to other scientists and information was therefore based on an immediate scholars engaged in polar research. These inter- need. views would be the foundation for developing a The Polar Oral History Program is a logical ex- continuing program for the future, and the basis tension of the Byrd Polar Research Center for the long-term goal, which was to develop a Archival Program (BPRCAP) at The Ohio State continuing oral history archival program at OSU, University (OSU). In fact, historically, oral history through regular interviews of those who work in programs in the United States have been based in the field of polar research. archival collections; libraries and archives com- monly house and provide access to oral history Preparing to Conduct Interview. Early in the grant, a collections (Ritchie 1995, 131). The Byrd Polar Re- Polar Oral History Advisory Board, composed of search Center (BPRC) is one of the oldest polar Dr. Roger Trask, Dr. Dean Allard, Dr. Robert Rut- science programs at any university in the United ford, and Dr. George Mazuzan, was formed to States. Many scientists have been associated with provide guidance for the project. The members of the Center during some part of their polar careers. the board were selected based on their expertise in In addition, there are several prominent historical history and/or polar studies. The first meeting of collections housed in the Archives. These include the board was held on November 15, 1999, at the the Papers of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Sir George National Science Foundation in Washington D.C., Hubert Wilkins, the American Polar Society, the and included Captain Shoemaker and representa- Frederick A. Cook Society, and related other col- tives from OSU and the National Science Founda- lections.1 The interviews generated as a result of tion. This first meeting served to outline the pro- the Polar Oral History Program are an excellent cedures for the project, including the details about complement to these existing collections. the goals of the project, the methodology for achieving those goals, and the specifics concern- Objectives of the Project. In November of 1999, the ing who would be interviewed. In addition, future National Science Foundation awarded a grant of tasks were also discussed, such as the storage of $50,000 to support the proposal, “Talking Science the tapes, the transcription process, and access and Exploration: Preserving the American Heritage of concerns. Polar History Through Oral History Interviews.” Following the initial meeting with the advisory Captain Brian Shoemaker of the American Polar board, the team developed standardized proce- Society, and Dr. Raimund E. Goerler, chief dures for conducting the oral history interview. archivist of the Byrd Polar Research Center wrote There are several excellent sources that outline the the successful proposal (please contact the author steps for conducting oral history interviews (Oral for a copy of the proposal). History Association 2000; Ritchie 1995; Sommer The overriding short-term goal and major objec- and Quinlan 1999). It is important to note that this tive of this project was “to talk with, record, pre- paper is not intended to be an inclusive guide to serve, and make available audio tapes of inter- conducting oral history, but rather a synopsis of views from fifty to one hundred people who were the process at OSU, with an emphasis on certain active in the early years of modern investigation key points and particular aspects of the project.

155 For a thorough discussion on “how to do it,” been made, and they had agreed to be inter- please refer to one of these more comprehensive viewed, the interviewer asked the interviewee for sources. a comprehensive resume. The interviewer also re- In developing the procedures for interviewing, searched print publications written by or about the project team recognized that the interviewer the interviewee. This helped the interviewer to should bring some professional expertise to the form a list of potential interview topics and ques- project. Interviewers should be trained in the in- tions. The question lists were shared among the terview process. Dr. Goerler had received formal project team, as well as with the advisory board. oral history training through two different work- This was an important step in the process, particu- shops sponsored by the Society of American larly in the early phases of the project. It ensured Archivists. The primary interviewer, Captain that a standardized set of core questions were Shoemaker, had also been formally trained during asked while tailoring each interview to the inter- a 3-week course on conducting oral history taught viewee’s respective career. The interviewer also by Charles Morrisey. Morrisey is well known in shared the questions with the interviewee in ad- the oral history profession, and has been working vance of the interview, and invited the intervie- as a free-lance oral historian since 1975 (Ritchie wee to add questions. Many guides to conducting 1995, 18). In addition, the Midwest Archives Con- oral history caution against this, because it is ference regularly sponsors a workshop on con- thought that it may cause the interviewee to give ducting oral history. Fortunately, one of these a rehearsed answer, rather than a spontaneous re- workshops was scheduled in mid-October of 1999, sponse. However, the project team’s experience in the beginning phases of the project. Lynn indicated that sharing the questions in advance Everett of the BPRC attended the two-day work- was actually quite helpful. It gave the interviewee shop, with the intent that she would then train the a chance to think again about that time of their remaining interviewers (including the author) in lives and allowed them to prepare for the inter- conducting the oral history interview. Dr. Goerler, view. Several interviewees stated that they had Capt. Shoemaker, Lynn Lay of the Byrd Center, not thought about this phase of their lives for and the author all conducted interviews for this many, many years. It was good for them to have project. In addition, the project team benefited some “lead time” to recall the events. from the experience of two remote interviewers. Karen Brewster of the University of Alaska, Fair- Conducting the Interview. Due to the fragile health banks (UAF), conducted seven interviews in Alas- condition of many interviewees, the interviewer ka as part of the project. Ms. Brewster is an experi- travelled to the interviewee in nearly every case. enced interviewer who has been involved with in- Most interviews took place in the interviewee’s terviewing of Alaskans through the UAF Oral home, although several interviewees still main- History Program. Dian Belanger is the author of tained offices elsewhere (for example on college the forthcoming book, Polar Pioneers: Building campuses) and those interviews were conducted Antarctica’s Age of Science. In Ms. Belanger’s re- there. Much of the interview process is simply search for the book, she interviewed “[representa- common sense. For example, a quiet place to con- tives] of the early Operation Deep Freeze, IGY and duct the interviews was selected so as not to be in- Antarctic Treaty.” Ms. Belanger worked with Cap- terrupted by phones, pets, spouses, etc. Before be- tain Shoemaker to conduct several interviews ginning each interview, the equipment was tested, jointly, and also served as a valuable resource for making sure that the tape recorder and micro- the project as an ex-officio member of the advisory phone were working properly. A standard open- board. ing statement for each interview was developed. In addition to knowledge of the mechanics of This included the interviewer’s name, the name of conducting the interview, the interviewers were the interviewee, the date, and the location of the expected to have some knowledge of the intervie- interview. During the interview, the interviewer wee’s accomplishments and career in order to for- made notes summarizing the content of the inter- mulate appropriate interview questions. Once the view, and maintained a list of proper nouns and initial contact with the potential interviewee had acronyms, in order to check the spelling and

156 meanings later. In some cases, the interviewer Organization of the Oral History Collection in the took a still photograph of the interviewee. Inter- Archives. Out of the 86 interviews that have been viewees were also asked about any documenta- conducted for this project to date, I personally in- tion or other materials that they might have in terviewed only 4 people. The real work for me be- their possession concerning their experience. The gan with the organization of this vast amount of goal was not necessarily to garner materials for tape and paper that had been created. There were OSU. Rather, the interviewee was encouraged to many issues to consider. One of the stipulations of deposit these materials in an appropriate reposito- the grant required that the interviews were to be ry or data center (OSU or otherwise), since family cataloged. This would ensure that they would ap- members may not realize the value of such items. pear in OSU’s local library catalog as well as na- Ideally, the interviewee could make decisions tional library catalogs. After consultation with the about these materials themselves, while they were cataloging department, it was determined that the still able, in order that the materials are placed in a abstract was sufficient for cataloging purposes. repository for future use by researchers. Once the abstract was posted on the web site, the Immediately after the interview, the interviewee cataloger was notified so that the catalog record was asked to sign the release form (sometimes could be created based on the abstract. Another called the donor form). This is a very important factor to consider was the coordination of the step in the process. According to federal copyright transcription process. Judicious spending of the law, both the interviewer and interviewee have grant money meant that funds were available for joint copyright interest in the interview. A third transcription. Issues concerning the final format of party, museum, or any other sponsor of the inter- the transcript were considered. Should the tran- views (i.e. the Archives) cannot legally use the in- script be printed, or was an electronic copy terviews or make them available to researchers enough? In the end, the project team decided to without a signed release form (Sommer and Quin- retain a print copy of the transcript, as well as an lan 1999, 2). The release form gives OSU the copy- electronic version. Finally, what was the best way right for the interview and, therefore, permission to advertise this new collection of material now to use the materials. This document is also used to available to researchers? It had already been de- indicate whether or not any portions of the inter- termined that the cataloging record and a listing view should be closed and for how long. It is of on the web site was the best way to do this. How- interest to note that of the 86 interviews conduct- ever, it had not been determined how much infor- ed to date, none of the interviewees have closed mation should/could be posted on the site. Since any portion of their interviews. the web services at the Archives are contracted At some point soon after the interview, the in- out, this was also a financial concern. How much terviewer was expected to write an abstract of the web work could we afford to do? Should there interview, utilizing the interview notes and the simply be a list of the completed interviews? It audiotape of the interview if necessary. The pur- was determined that there was a need for some pose of the abstract is two-fold. First, the abstract minimal level of descriptive information about the serves as a summary and general guide to the top- interviews. Therefore, it was decided that the ab- ics covered in the interview. Indeed, in lieu of a stract for each interview would also be posted on full transcript, the abstract is the only access to the the site. subject matter of the interview. The second pur- In addition to these virtual issues, there were pose of the abstract is to provide the necessary in- physical issues to consider as well. These were formation for the cataloging department to create matters such as organization of the notes, original the catalog record for each interview (more about tape audiocassettes, and other materials that may this process follows below). The abstract was have been collected or generated during the inter- shared with each interviewee, for clarification and view process. It was quickly determined that a spelling corrections. All documentation, including database would be the best method to keep track notes, release forms, tapes, and abstracts were of the interviews, in all of their various phases. then transferred to the OSU Archives. Captain Shoemaker had created his own hand written spreadsheet to keep track of the inter-

157 views that he had conducted. That information, clarify what is available via the web, patrons will combined with the information needed in the still say, “I found your great website, but I can’t OSU Archives to organize the completed inter- figure out how to listen to the interview online.” views, served as the basis for the database that In browsing various oral history sites online, was created in Microsoft Access. As each inter- one will quickly find that there is a wide range of view is conducted, the information is entered into what is available. Offerings vary greatly, ranging the database and updated through each phase of from a listing of available interviews with brief the processing of the interview. Access allows any summaries, to presenting the full transcript of the number of reports to be generated easily and en- interview online. Other enhancements include an ables the status of each interview to be checked at image of the interviewee, and selected sound clips any given point in time. from the interviews. Particularly useful are those sites that offer a subject index to the interviews. At Effects of Technology and the Internet. Computers OSU the plan is to make the interview transcript and e-mail have enabled the project team to coor- available on the website. Currently, if one requests dinate activities in a way that would not have an interview transcript, it will be e-mailed at no been possible without them. For example, Captain cost. This is a relatively easy task, since all tran- Shoemaker conducts the interview, writes the in- scripts, if they exist, are in digital format. If the pa- terview abstract, and e-mails that to the OSU tron desires a paper copy, the normal photocopy Archives. From the electronic abstract, the acces- rate of .25 per page is charged. Audiocassette sion record for the interview is created, added to copies of the interviews are also available at the the database, cataloged, and the information post- rate of $15.00 per cassette. ed on the web site. Fifty-nine of the 86 interviews Whatever is decided concerning the level to have been transcribed. Once the initial transcrip- which materials are posted on the web site, it is tion has been done, the transcriber e-mails the clear that the Internet is the primary way that pa- document to the interviewer. Copies are made trons are finding out about these interviews. Since and sent to the interviewee for their edit. The goal the list and abstracts were posted on the website is that the interviewee should make corrections of about one year ago, 18 requests for interviews fact, clarifications, and spelling. However, a num- have been received. The majority of requests have ber of interviewees have essentially re-written been for transcripts, although audiotape copies their interviews. They would argue that it is more have been requested on several occasions. Typical- important to be historically and factually accurate, ly, requests come from family members, or from even if it deviates from what was said during the researchers concerned with a particular topic, interview. Some may say that this edited docu- such as the Antarctic Treaty. Posting the transcript ment then becomes something other than the oral to the web site will greatly enhance access to the history transcript. For this reason, the project team subject matter of the interviews. This will allow decided to retain all versions of the transcript. patrons to search across the interviews for a par- There are numerous options for making this in- ticular topic, and retrieve those interviews that in- formation available to users, due to computer terest them. A counter will be added to the web technology and the World Wide Web. In fact, the page in order to track the number of requests. It is question is not whether the information will be important to note that the transcripts will not be posted on the web site, but rather, to what degree made available in any format without the signed the information will be posted. Currently, the donor agreement. completed interviews are listed on the web site with a brief (1-2 sentence) biographical statement2. Critical Review of the Project. In the beginning phas- From there, one click of the mouse leads to the ab- es of the project, the team was very concerned stract for the interview. Complete interview tran- with accomplishing the minimum required num- scripts are not currently posted, nor are actual ber of interviews (50) as dictated by the require- sound clips from the interview. However, it is ments of the grant. Therefore, the interview clear that patrons expect this information. No process was approached from a geographical matter what kinds of statements one writes to standpoint. The original potential interviewee list

158 that had been submitted with the grant was Overview of accomplishments. To date, 86 interviews grouped according to geographic location. The have been conducted. Approximately one half of initial interview trips were planned according to those interviewed are scientists and the other half how many interviews could be conducted on a are military. At its conclusion, we estimate that given trip. This number varied greatly, ranging 100 interviews will have been conducted for this from one interview to as many as 12. For example, project. In addition, 59 interviews have been tran- I travelled to Arizona and conducted three inter- scribed. The interviews represent a widely diverse views. Dr. Goerler travelled to Texas and conduct- group, ranging from a dog driver on Byrd’s First ed 4 interviews on that particular trip. In general, Expedition to Antarctica, to a filmmaker during the project team found it difficult to conduct more IGY, to a career diplomat involved with the than one interview on any given day. In addition, Antarctic Treaty negotiations. Information con- Dr. Goerler, Ms. Lay and I found it difficult to be cerning day-to-day activities has been recorded, as away from our other responsibilities, at work and well as the stellar moments of polar history and at home, for any longer than one week. On the exploration. Some interviews have also resulted in other hand, Captain Shoemaker, the principal in- additions to the polar collections at OSU. Pho- terviewer for the project, conducted as many as 10 tographs, diaries, and other materials have been to 12 interviews on one trip. This was a very cost received. efficient method for conducting interviews. It The plans for a future grant to continue this should be noted that Captain Shoemaker is re- work are well under way. Last month, the project tired, which gives him the flexibility to travel for team met to plan for the next grant proposal, still several weeks at a time to conduct interviews. in draft form. There will be some changes to the After only a few months into the project, it was next proposal. Most significant is that enough realized that it would not be a problem to meet money to compensate interviewers is being re- the minimum numerical requirements of the quested. In addition, funds to support the web grant. The number of interviewers quickly dwin- work required to continue to enhance the existing dled, so that Captain Shoemaker was the only in- web page, including posting entire transcripts to terviewer. This happened due to one factor – time. the site, are also being requested. Finally, the inter- As mentioned previously, Captain Shoemaker has viewee list will be assessed to consider whether retired and, simply put, he has the time to travel some single interview trips may be necessary. and conduct the interviews. The other members of In conclusion, the goals and requirements of the the team are still active in the workforce, making project as set forth in the grant have been met. The extensive travel very difficult. Without the efforts project team is satisfied with the results, and is of Captain Shoemaker, we could never have hopeful about securing funding to continue this achieved the goals set forth in the grant. work. More importantly, patrons are finding the Now that the goals have been met, the project interviews on the website and requesting them. team is assessing the potential interviewee list This seems to be the best endorsement, since the with a more critical eye. It seems logical to take over reaching goal is to provide researchers with advantage of geography when possible. On the additional resources in polar history. other hand, it is essential that important inter- views are not missed due to geographic inconve- nience. The health of the interviewees should be a References key consideration at this point. It is certainly more Oral History Association 2000. Oral History Evaluation costly, in a monetary sense, to take a trip and con- Guidelines. Dickinson, PA: Oral History Association, Pam- duct only one interview. Then again, a day trip phlet Number 3. Published online at: http://www.dickin- can be a very efficient use of time for the inter- son.edu/organizations/oha/EvaluationGuidelines.html viewer. The real issue is that if an individual has Ritchie, Donald A. 1995. Conducting Oral History. New York: made an important contribution to polar history, Twayne Publishers. science, or research, they should be interviewed, Sommer, Barbara W. and Mary Kay Quinlan 1999. Midwest whether or not they live near other potential inter- Archives Conference Oral History Workshop. Lincoln, NE: viewees. Oral History Association.

159 Notes The Leadership Of Knud Rasmussen. In the 1. For a complete listing of the holdings of the BPRCAP, course of this expedition Rasmussen travelled, please visit our web site at: http://www.lib.ohio- mostly by dog team, from Greenland right across state.edu/arvweb/polar. the top of North America and on to Siberia. There 2. Please visit our site at http://www.lib.ohio- were also subsidiary expeditions. The ten-volume state.edu/arvweb/polar/oralhist/oralmain.htm to see a list report of the Fifth Thule Expedition is the most of completed oral history interviews. substantial printed record of the expedition and remains a monumental contribution to Arctic studies. Across Arctic America (1927) is Rasmus- Across Arctic America: The Hudson’s Bay sen’s own account of his travels and the people he Company and Knud Rasmussen’s Fifth met. This has recently been re-issued by the Uni- Thule Expedition, 1921-1924 versity of Alaska Press. It is a delightful book and an excellent introduction to the man who wrote Anne Morton “One can never finish exploring a people” (Ras- Hudson’s Bay Company Archives mussen, 1927, p.xiii.). Some background on Canada in the 1920s will Abstract. The Danish/Greenlandic explorer Knud probably also be useful. Those of you who are Rasmussen (1879-1933) was a major figure in the aware that the Canadian nation dates back to 1867 20th-century history of the Canadian Arctic. Yet he may assume that year marked Canada’s indepen- is not well known in Canada. The interest of Cana- dence from Great Britain. In fact, independence dians in the history of the Canadian Arctic appears was to be a gradual process and the connection to focus on men who can be identified as Canadi- between Britain and Canada remained close for an, such as J.E. Bernier and Henry Larsen, or, fail- many years. ing that, as British. This may be motivated by sim- The Arctic archipelago was one legacy of Cana- ple chauvinism. Or perhaps anxieties about Cana- da’s colonial past. It was transferred to Canada by da’s sovereignty in the Arctic and over the North- Britain in 1880 and accepted without much enthu- West Passage make Canadians reluctant to con- siasm, on the grounds that if Canada did not take template Scandinavian and American expeditions it, the USA would. In fact, Canada’s Arctic sover- in Canadian territory. eignty was to be challenged not just by Americans The paper will examine the financial, material but also by Scandinavians. In the 1920s the Cana- and political assistance provided to the Fifth Thule dian Government was concerned with Norway’s Expedition by the Hudson’s Bay Company. In ap- potential claims, based on the discoveries of Otto preciation for this assistance King Christian X be- Sverdrup. It was also agitated by certain remarks stowed the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Dan- made prior to the Fifth Thule Expedition by Knud nebrog upon the Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Rasmussen and the Danish Government which Company. implied that they also questioned Canada’s claim to the Arctic islands. It may be redundant to introduce Knud Rasmus- Such was the political context in which the story sen in Copenhagen but this is an international of the relationship between Knud Rasmussen and gathering so perhaps a few words are in order. the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) began in the Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933) was born in Green- spring of 1921. In April of that year somebody in land, the son of a Greenlandic mother and a Dan- the HBC’s Winnipeg office noted a short news ish pastor. His life was devoted to travel in the item, with the headline, “Denmark Sends Man To Arctic regions and to the study of the peoples of Complete Survey Of Land At Baffin Bay” which the Arctic. The Thule expeditions, which began in appeared in the Winnipeg Evening Tribune of April 1910, were financed by a fur trading station at 16th. Datelined Copenhagen, it read: Thule in northern Greenland. The most ambitious “The announcement has just been made here is the subject of today’s paper. Its full English title that Knud Rasmussen, the explorer, will head an was The Fifth Thule Expedition: The Danish Expe- expedition which will leave Denmark this year for dition To Arctic North America, 1921-1924, Under the North American arctic archipelago, to investi-

160 gate the life and conditions of the Eskimos and to Lougheed, the Minister of the Interior. On May 7th, complete the survey of Baffins Land and adjacent having just received the letter, Lougheed wired territory. FitzGerald requesting that he come to Ottawa “on The Denmark Government will contribute the earliest possible train.” (RG2/4/63). FitzGer- 100,000 kroner to the support of the expedition, ald’s presence was needed at a conference of the which will leave Copenhagen on board the motor HBC’s store managers, so it was the Fur Trade ship Søkongen and will remain in the field about Commissioner, Angus Brabant, who boarded the two years” (RG2/4/63, 25 Apr. 1921). train on May 10th. On April 27th Edward FitzGerald, Deputy The content of the discussion between the HBC Chairman of the HBC’s Canadian Advisory Com- and the Canadian Government can be surmised mittee, wrote to George W. Allan at the House of from two cables that the HBC in Winnipeg sent to Commons in Ottawa. Allan was not only a mem- the HBC in London on May 19th and 20th. I quote ber of the Advisory Committee but also the Mem- from them selectively: ber of Parliament for Winnipeg South. A support- “….question sovereignty northern areas which er of the Union government, Allan knew every- Canada claims and which [we] understand Den- body worth knowing and was well placed to mark protes …” speak for the HBC. FitzGerald quoted the news “Brabant represented us Ottawa returns Satur- story and then went on: day meantime kindly consider question desira- “I gathered in conversation with Mr. Stefansson bility affording Danes any assistance under cir- last Autumn that there was a situation in respect cumstances as Canadian authorities naturally look of certain parts of the area in North Baffin island for our co-operation maintaining territory and adjacent islands, which had in it the possibili- British.” ty of misunderstanding between our Government “…Brabant returned today states Government and the Government of Denmark. I am not quite believe Rasmussen’s expedition solely purpose sure but I understood some claim had been ad- advancing Danish claims STOP” vanced that Denmark had certain jurisdiction in “To counter this Canadian Government sending the area roughly indicated above. police officials North on their steamer “Arctic” We have had under consideration for some time this summer to maintain Canadian rights STOP” the establishment of posts at Ponds Inlet and “Kindly withdraw support Rasmussen STOP” Netchelik, situated on North Baffin Island. We “Government solicit our co-operation and in- have completed certain plans and have arranged tend appointing our post managers in magisterial to send one of our steamers to North Baffin Island capacity. (RG2/4/63)” this Summer and establish posts at these two The request “Kindly withdraw support Ras- points. We would naturally desire to explore into mussen” referred to the co-operative relationship the possibilities of Ellesmere Island, a little to the the HBC in London had been developing with the north of Baffin Island. explorer, apparently with no thought that Canada I understand our Government would feel that might have a different point of view. the Canadian position could be even more em- To step back in time a couple of months, on phatically demonstrated, if that were necessary, if March 16th Rasmussen and Ib Nyeboe had called our Government were aware that the Hudson’s on Charles Sale, Deputy Governor of the HBC, Bay Company is actually proceeding along these bringing with them a letter from the Danish Minis- defined lines, and it occurs to me to ask you if you ter. Nyeboe was the Chairman of the Committee would speak to the Prime Minister or head of the which supported the Expedition. The two outlined Department concerned, and if they would care to their plans for the Fifth Thule Expedition and re- have a memorandum submitted by our Company quested assistance with transportation and sup- indicating this Company’s activity in trading in plies, as well as a letter of credit. By transportation the particular area referred to, we should be glad was intended not just passage for members of the to submit such particulars.” (RG2/4/63). Expedition but also the shipping of the artifacts Allan passed this letter on to the Prime Minis- and specimens Expedition members were going to ter, Arthur Meighen, who gave it to Sir James collect. The Committee was to pay for what it re-

161 ceived but it should be noted that right from the Authorities as desired, we think they are unduly beginning the HBC was made aware that there alarmed.” (A.102/1962). might be financial difficulties. According to Sale: Unduly alarmed or not the Canadians had to be “[Rasmussen] thinks it possible that the number placated, otherwise the HBC would be in an embar- of the party might be diminished because of the rassing position. Through the good offices of W. L. difficulty of raising money. The Danish Govern- Griffith, Secretary at the Canadian High Commis- ment have undertaken to provide 50% of the ex- sion, in early June a meeting was arranged at the penses, provided private subscribers contribute Foreign Office so that Rasmussen could meet with the other half, but the present state of trade in Griffith and Sir Henry Lambert, the Associate Un- Denmark he fears will render private subscrip- der-Secretary of State in the Colonial Office. Ras- tions quite insufficient.” (A.92/7/1, fo. 5). mussen wrote to Sale on the day of the meeting: The HBC had problems of its own. The fur “…I placed my plan of the expedition before trade was still recovering from the war and it was them, and explained to them the purpose of the by no means certain that the transport and sup- expedition. They declared themselves quite satis- plies Rasmussen needed would be available. It fied as to the information given and promised to was suggested that the Expedition be postponed cable the Canadian Government…as soon as the for a couple of years. Rasmussen was not willing statement promised by the Danish Foreign Office to do so. He accepted that the HBC would do the arrives here. Sir Henry and Mr Griffith thereafter best it could, which might be less than what he asked me to inform you that the most useful thing had asked for. you could do for me, was to wire your office in In the course of the meeting Rasmussen Canada already now, informing them that I today “promised to give proofs and assurances that he at this meeting had furnished satisfactory infor- has no other object in view except that of scientific mation, and that the official cables regarding my exploration.” (A.92/7/1, fo. 5) This was a concern expedition being allright [sic] and of a purely sci- of the HBC, as Sale emphasized: entific character without any interest in political “I told him of the difficulties we had had with matters, will be submitted on Monday.” other people who professed to be Scientists and he (A.92/7/1, fo. 9). has promised to address a letter to us within a few An exchange of cables followed and on 11 June days giving references and guarantees which he 1921 the HBC in Winnipeg cabled London: feels sure will prove his good faith.” (A.92/7/1, “…following telegram just received from Minis- fo. 6). ter Interior Ottawa begins Am advised that Home Sale was probably not worried about Arctic sov- Government has assurance Danish Government ereignty but about competition. He did not want that Rasmussen Expedition has no political or to put the HBC’s fur trade into the position of as- merchantable aim but is an entirely scientific char- sisting someone who traded for furs under the acter and that no acquisition of territory whatso- guise of being a scientist. ever is contemplated we are agreeable the Hud- The news that the Canadian Government did sons [sic] Bay Company furnishing necessary as- not wish the Expedition to go ahead could hardly sistance to Rasmussens scientific Expedition so have been welcome. After hearing from Canada long as in landing on any territories he does not the HBC in London telegraphed Rasmussen on dispute Canada’s sovereignty on behalf of Den- May 21st: mark or any other Government ends.” “Have received cables from Canada which very (A.102/1962). seriously affect your expedition we can only ex- Griffith was duly thanked by Sale in the follow- plain details in person and therefore suggest you ing words: visit London immediately STOP Please answer “…I should like to express to you my own sense soonest possible.” (A.102/1962). of the very friendly manner in which you negoti- On May 26th London wrote to Canada: ated the matter with the various authorities con- “We cannot do anything more in the matter un- cerned. It has relieved us of the possibility of a til Mr. Rasmussen has visited London, but while very embarrassing situation had Mr. Rasmussen we shall arrange to co-operate with the Canadian persevered in his plans without the full consent

162 and approval of your government.” (A.102/1962, haps best remembered today as the author of 28 June 1921). Prairie Trails and Arctic By-ways (1932), was anoth- Sale telegraphed Rasmussen: er observer of Rasmussen’s activities. On the basis “Delighted learn just before I left London that of information received from the Inuit he came to your visit completely successful STOP Will you the conclusion that someone acting on Ras- give to my friends the option of acquiring sole mussen’s behalf was in fact trading for furs with rights for exhibiting in United States Canada and the people he encountered. This would have been Great Britain any cinematograph films taken dur- in violation of the promises he had made to the ing your exploration remunerating you with per- HBC and to the British and Canadian Govern- centage of net profits please answer to London ments. The whole issue is a fine example of how STOP In any case best wishes for the success of misleading circumstantial evidence can be, be- your great adventure” (A.102/1962, 13 June 1921). cause in the end the mysterious trader turned out Rasmussen set off on June 18th, as he had to be Jean Berthe of Revillon Freres. (RG2/4/63, planned to do. Much of the subsequent correspon- 28 Sept. 1923) But at the time Captain Munn creat- dence in the HBC Archives is with Ib Nyeboe of ed quite a stir. In August 1922 the Captain had ar- the Committee and deals in detail with the routine rived in northern Baffin Island in anticipation of of supplying the Expedition. There are some inter- trading with Igluliut natives who never arrived. esting details, however. For example, in June 1922 He blamed his wasted money and effort on Ras- “4 sets of woollen underwear” and “8 pair of mussen. socks for Mr. Knud Rasmussen himself” were re- Around New Year’s 1923 Captain Munn visited quested. There was a note, meant to be helpful: the HBC in London to discuss selling his business “Mr. Knud Rasmussen is not heavy and not of a to them. In the course of the meeting he accused high stature.” (A.92/7/1, fo. 32-33). Rasmussen of engaging in the fur trade. Of course, as Rasmussen had to make contact (A.92/19/121, 4 Jan. 1923) This time it was Lon- with HBC posts every so often and as his purpose don who felt compelled to write to Canada, ask- was to study the people of the Arctic, he in turn ing what was known about the truth of the allega- was often the object of observation and comment. tions. The allegations were contrary to what HBC In Across Arctic America (p.41) he himself re- men such as Ralph Parsons knew of Rasmussen’s marked on how wonderfully the stalwart men of activities and so Canada asked for proof. the Royal Canadian Mounted Police kept track of (A.102/1962, 15 Feb. 1923) everything: A 7-page typed document with the title “Ex- “It was strange to us to meet with police in plorers Ethics/Past & Present” was the Captain’s these regions; and we were at once impressed by response (A.102/1962). Captain Munn was a Fel- the energy with which Canada seeks to maintain low of the Royal Geographical Society and it is ob- law and order in the northern lands. The mounted vious that he was familiar with Rasmussen’s writ- police…has here to relinquish its splendid horses ing and activity. But his admiration did not reduce and travel by dog sledge, making regular visits of his indignation at the thought of Rasmussen using inspection over a wide range of territory. science as a cloak for trading. Fueling his indigna- In 1922 an RCMP officer met up with the Expe- tion was the contrast between the way the Danish dition at Chesterfield Inlet and reported on their Government protected Greenland – “a gun boat activities and plans. His final paragraph reads: patrols Davis Strait to warn vessels away” – and “The only harm I can see in the expedition con- the welcome accorded Rasmussen by “the friend- ducted by Dr. Rasmussen is that wherever he goes ly Canadian [Government]”. The Captain’s dia- he gets the Esquimaux around him in order to tribe concludes: learn their folklore, songs, etc., paying and keep- “It will be retorted the above is merely the ing them during the period they are with him. grouse of a disappointed trader. It is. But it also This naturally prevents the men hunting and the the legitimate protest of a good Canadian who has fur collection naturally suffers.” (A.102/1962, Oct. lived and voted in the Dominion for 25 years. 1922) That greatest of fur Trading Companies The The fur trader, Captain Henry Toke Munn, per- Hudson [sic] Bay Company have also established

163 stations in the neighbourhood of our small enter- Nyeboe repeatedly had to ask for time to pay prises. Good luck to them. We can meet them and up. A bill sent in November 1922 was paid, plus trade vigorously against them without the interest of 5%, in February 1923 , as the Commit- thought of any injustice rankling us for they are, tee had to wait for money from the Danish Gov- like us, a British Company; like us they pay their ernment (A.92/7/2, fo. 17; A.92/7/1, fo. 36) In customs duties and their licence dues and ask no June 1924 the HBC’s indulgence was asked in set- favours from the Canadian Government we can- tling an account for over £2000. (A.92/7/1, fo. 65) not obtain also. The red ensign of the Company Most of this was paid in August, when Nyeboe with H.B.C. on it is known all over Canada. wrote: But it is no skull and cross bones flag labelled “…we take the opportunity to thank you very “science”.” much for your great patience, but as stated several These allegations were passed on to O.S. Finnie times before, the Expedition which was intended of the Department of the Interior, who replied “We to cover only a small part of Canada, has explored have kept track of Mr. Rasmussen as far as possi- a rather great part of this country, which we hope ble” (A.102/1962, 31 Mar. 1923) Reports and let- will be to the benefit of Science.” (A.92/7/1, fo. ters from Sergeants Douglas and Joy and Inspec- 67). tors Frere and Wilcox all indicated that Rasmus- By January 1925 the sum of £2,664 – and six- sen was behaving correctly and, moreover, had pence – was owed to the HBC (A.92/7/2, fo. 54). bought a trading and trafficking licence in August Nyeboe wrote to say that their trading station in 1922. ( A.102/1962, 1 May and 11 Oct. 1923) North Greenland had always been able to pay for Meanwhile, the Expedition was getting on with the Thule expeditions in the past and they expect- its work, assisted by the HBC and by Ib Nyeboe of ed it could pay for this one too. Would the HBC the Committee. Nyeboe, back home in Copen- wait until the fox skins arrived in September? hagen, seems to have had little of the fun and (A.92/7/1, fo. 71) Rasmussen was in London sev- much of the worry. As he once poignantly re- eral times in the summer and fall of 1925, and marked “…this Expedition like most expeditions more than once visited the HBC for talks about is pretty hard up” (A.92/7/1, fo. 42) How to pay the Arctic with Charles Sale and other executives. what was owed the HBC was a constant source of In appreciation of this, the HBC’s London Manag- anxiety. It did not help that the Expedition had er, P.D. Stirling, wrote Nyeboe on 16 November outgrown its original plan, and really become four 1925: expeditions instead of one. Nor did it help they “We have had the pleasure of several conversa- had to pay the going rate at the posts where the tions with Dr. Rasmussen concerning his explo- cost of transport naturally made prices much rations in the Canadian Arctic and as a token of higher than in southern Canada. Nyeboe drew up our appreciation of the valuable services which he a chart of prices for eight basic items, showing the is rendering to the cause of civilisation we have difference between Montreal and Arctic prices. instructed our Accounts Department to reduce the The first item, Coffee, sold for 54¢ a pound in amount of the enclosed account for supplies from Montreal, whereas at the HBC’s northern posts £2,712.4.9 [the sum had risen as additional bills the cost ranged from $1.25 to $1.80. (A.92/7/1, fo. came in] to £2,200…” (A.92/7/2,fo. 70). 51 & 53) Naturally, Nyeboe was pleased by this; unfortu- And it could not have been fun to take part in nately, the price of fox skins was very low. Nyeboe three-way correspondence between Copenhagen, wrote: London and Winnipeg, which contained stimulat- “For this reason, we have decided not to sell ing exchanges such as this: our skins before the auction in January, and we “This difference originates from the fact that we now beg you to be kind enough to allow us to have supposed the “band steel” ($124.80 less 20%) wait to pay the said sum until then and by this and the “24 pcs sled shoeing” ($62.40 less 20%) on add another courtesy to the many shown us be- invoice 7184 were both comprised in the item fore.” (A.92/7/1 fo. 88). “sled shoeing” on invoice 7494 ($91.38)” Sale wrote “agree” in the margin. (A.92/7/1, fo. 54). Nyeboe wrote again on 18 March 1926 asking

164 for an extension until the fall. This too was grant- search is supported. Another is Canada’s anxiety ed. (A.92/7/1, fo. 91-92) Another extension was about its Arctic territory. But the award of a Dan- asked for on 20 April 1927. Nyeboe, in words that ish national honour to an Englishman for aid to a may strike a chord with many of us, explained: Danish expedition in Canada and Alaska symbol- “We had expected that the government in con- izes the theme of international co-operation that is sideration of the unexpected great work which at the heart of the Polar Libraries Colloquy. was done during the expedition would have al- lowed a second loan, but the government we have just now has on its program “saving by all Sources means”.” (A.92/7/1, fo. 95). The HBC’s principal source of documentation of the relation- This extension was also granted though for no ship between it and the Fifth Thule Expedition consists of longer than the end of October, by which time the four files: account was settled. ( A.92/7/2, fo.77, 80-81) HBCA, RG2/4/63, April 1921 – May 1925, is a subject file with The correspondence between Rasmussen and the title “Knud Rasmussen”. It was maintained in Win- the HBC continued until 1931, which was the year nipeg by the Canadian Advisory Committee Sale left the Company. Mostly it concerned the ex- HBCA, A.102/1962, May 1921- April 1926, is a subject file change of books and information. I’d like to end with the title “Rasmussen Expedition”. It was maintained by quoting from a letter dated 2 December 1926, in the Head Office in London. when the bills were still not paid, which Ras- HBCA, A.92/7/1, March 1921-June 1931, is the file of corre- mussen, in New York, wrote to Sale: spondence received in London from the Fifth Thule Expe- “I have just been informed by the Danish For- dition. eign Office that you have received the Royal Dan- HBCA, A.92/7/2 is the file of correspondence sent from Lon- ish Order of Knights of Dannebrog for services don to the Expedition, June 1921-June 1931. Both these rendered to my last expedition. files have been microfilmed (Reel 1033) and can be bor- rowed through Inter-Library Loan. This honour gives me very great pride and sat- There is naturally a certain overlap of material among these isfaction, supporting as it does, my own personal files but unique material can also be found in each one. thanks for your courtesies and help which I have always felt unable adequately to express.” For Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and Scandinavian challenges (A.92/7/1, fo. 93). to it, see: The Order of the Dannebrog, the national flag Francis, Daniel 1986. “The Scandinavians” and “Canada of the Danes, is awarded for a variety of services Claims The Arctic” in Discovery of the North: The Explo- to the Danish state, including “progress made in ration of Canada’s Arctic. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers. science and in the arts to the glory of the nation”. Zaslow, Morris 1988. The Northward Expansion of Canada, The story of the HBC and Knud Rasmussen has 1914-1967. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (The Canadi- several themes, all of which remain relevant. One an Centenary Series; 17) is financial worry and the issue of how such re-

165 Poster session

Polar Climate Resources at the Keith B. The National Institute of Polar Research in Mather Library, Geophysical Institute and Japan conducts comprehensive scientific studies International Arctic Research Center of the polar regions as well as organizing the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Brian M. Hartmann The other main polar research institutes belong Alaska Climate Research Center, Geophysical to Hokkaido University, the Institute of Low Tem- Institue, University of Alaska Fairbanks perature Science and the Slavic Research Center. The Frontier Research System for Global Julia H. Triplehorn Change is one of the new type of international co- Keith B. Mather Library, Geophysical Institute, operative research groups founded by the Japan- International Arctic Research Center ese government, located in Alaska and staffed by researchers from many nations. The Keith B. Mather Library located in the new In- ternational Arctic Research Center, Fairbanks, National Institute of Polar Research Alaska is the home for a wide array of long-term http://www.nipr.ac.jp/index. html weather and climate sources for the polar regions. The National Institute of Polar Research was es- With an increasing interest in climate change at tablished in September 1973 in Tokyo as a national high latitudes, these data sets are an important re- inter-university research institute. search resource. A catalog of the sources has been The NIPR participates with SCAR (Science compiled for dissemination to other polar institu- Committee on Antarctic Research) and IASC (In- tions and agencies. This catalog will be available ternational Arctic Science Committee). on the Alaska Climate Research Center website Their primary fields of study are: 1) upper at- (http://cli-mate.gi.alaska.edu/) and in paper mosphere physics; 2) meteorology, glaciology and form as a Geophysical Institute Report. This cata- oceanography; 3) earth sciences, including geolo- log will include data sets in paper format as well gy, geomorphology, solid earth geophysics and as data sets available from electronic and web re- meteoritics; 4) marine and terrestrial biology; 5) sources that our international users have found polar region engineering. useful. Continuing efforts in the acquisition of The NIPR is composed of four centers: 1) Arctic more data are explored, as well as possible consid- Environment Center; 2) Information Science Cen- erations and concerns for the archiving of existing ter; 3) Center for Antarctic Monitoring; 4) Antarc- paper data in universal digital formats. tic Meteorite Research Center. The World Data Center for Aurora in the NIPR has a huge collection of auroral and geomagnetic Information Sources from Japanese Polar data starting from the IGY period. The center also Research Organizations publishes data books and data catalogs.

Recent projects. Environmental protection of Chisato Jimura Keith B. Mather Library, Geophysical Institute, unique ecosystems of Antarctica is becoming International Arctic Research Center more and more important. In accordance with the University of Alaska Fairbanks protocol on environmental protection in the Antarctic Treaty, the Japanese Antarctic Research Introduction. Japanese polar research began in Expeditions have begun a new program of moni- Antarctica in 1956 as part of the International Geo- toring global and regional environmental changes. physical Year (1957-1958). The first Japanese It began at Syowa Station and the surrounding Antarctic station, Syowa Station, was built on coastal and inland vicinity in 1997. The monitor- Ongul Island in 1957. ing programs include major parameters of atmos-

166 pheric, glaciological, solid geophysical and biolog- The library. The library serves only scientists, re- ical changes, such as atmospheric carbon dioxide searchers and students affiliated with the Insti- concentration, sea level, penguin populations etc. tute. Holdings include 30,000 books and 110 peri- Pollutants in sea water, ice or snow and in ani- odical titles. The library doesn’t yet have an online mals, such as heavy metals and organic chlorinat- catalog or a website. The library has a custom cat- ed compounds derived from global and regional aloging system. sources, are occasionally measured. The library. The NIPR library is open to the pub- Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido lic. The library holds 20,000 books (13,500 English Universityhttp://src-home.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/ titles) and 3,200 periodical titles. Penguin is a li- index.html brary newsletter published annually. The Catalog The Slavic Center (SRC) is Japan’s only research of Scientific Periodicals of NIPR is also an in-house institute for the study of Slavic countries. It is the publication published every 5 years. The library national center to coordinate Slavic studies be- has a website only in Japanese. However, the tween Japan and other countries and has many NIPR provides English as well as Japanese on visiting scholars. The Center holds symposia on their website. The library databases are accessible various themes. The latest topics are: Quest for only from within the institute. Models of Coexistence (1998), Russian region; Economic Growth and Environment (1999); Russ- Publications. Arctic Record, Memoirs of National ian Culture on the Threshold of a New Century Institute of Polar Research, Advances in Polar Up- (2000). The Research Division has five sections: per Atmosphere Research, Polar Bioscience, Polar Humanities, International Relations, Economics, Meteorology and Glaciology, Antarctic Meteorite Political Social Systems and Geography/Ethnolo- Research. gy.

Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido Uni- The library. The library holds 95,900 books in for- versity eign languages including U.S. and British Ph.D http://www.lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp dissertations, and 6,400 volumes in Japanese. Ap- The objective of the Institute of Low Temperature proximately 590 periodical titles are available. The Science is to conduct fundamental scientific re- library has the largest and most comprehensive search into natural phenomena in climatic low Slavic collection in Japan. Rare manuscripts, maps temperatures. The institute focuses on marine at- and other archives related to Russo-Japanese rela- mospheric sciences, cryospheric science, basic tions and the Russian Far East also enrich their cryoscience, boreal environmental science and sea special collection. The Library provides informa- ice research. The Sea Ice Research Laboratory tion on their website in both Japanese and Eng- (SIRL), which is the only laboratory of the insti- lish. Both sites are well maintained. tute, conducts studies mainly on sea ice and coastal oceanography. The SIRL has successively Publications. Slavic Studies, Acta Slavica Laponica, operated a sea-ice monitoring radar network on SRC Occasional Paper Series, Directory of Japan- the Okhotsk coast of Hokkaido since 1969. Three ese Slavic and East European Scholars, SRC landbased radars monitor real-time ice field Newsletter ( Japanese newsletter is published scenery along a 250 km coastline going as far as quarterly and English newsletter is published an- about 50 km out into the Okhotsk Sea nually.)

Projects. Following projects are on-going: per- Frontier Research System for Global Change mafrost disturbance and greenhouse gases; im- http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu:8080/ proving predictive capability of boreal forest re- The Frontier Research System for Global Change sponse to forest fires; cooperative study of pattern was established in 1997 by the National Space De- formation in growing ice crystals; Japan-Nether- velopment Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the lands joint symposium on crystal growth. Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC). Frontier aims at studying mecha-

167 nisms of various changes in the global environ- and includes deep woods with well-known bio- ment. Six research programs are ongoing: climate logical diversity. The museum shows us Shire- variations, hydrological cycles; global warming; toko’s biological, historical and ecological infor- atmospheric composition; ecosystem change; inte- mation. grated modeling. There are two centers outside Japan. They are International Pacific Research Electronic Information Sources from Japanese Research Center (IPRS) at the University of Hawaii and In- Institutes. We retrieve much information electroni- ternational Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the cally these days. In Japan, information distribu- University of Alaska Fairbanks. IARC is founded tion in the Internet world is still under develop- by U.S. and Japanese Government to cooperate re- ment because information disclosure is a new idea search for the global change. in the culture. Therefore Japanese research insti- tutes have just recently opened their doors to the Projects in the arctic region. The Frontier at IARC is public. The websites that they provide need to be composed of two groups: the Coupled Ocean-Ice- improved to include more information, be better Atmosphere System Group and the Multi-Disci- organized and more user-friendly. I am concerned plinary Group. Studying arctic climate change that the English versions of the websites for these helps us to understand global change. Oceanogra- institutes always have less information than the phy in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean and Geo- Japanese versions. I interviewed one of the librari- chemist of Terrestrial Ecosystem in the Arctic are ans at the NIPR (National Institute of Polar Re- characteristic of studies done at IARC. On the search) Library about their electronic resources. IARC Frontier’s website, you will find data, re- She explained that electronic information distribu- search information, publications and news. tion is not common at the NIPR yet, but they plan to expand their electronic resources in the future Museums relating with Polar Research. In recent years cities have opened unique museums with themes relating to the local ecology and cultures. Italian policy for Antarctic data One example is the Okhotsk Sea Ice Museum of management: The Siria Project Hokkaido, http://www.ohotuku26.or.jp/ organization/center/index/htm Silvia Sarti, Donatella Alesi, Mario Castorina Another example is the Nakaya Ukichiro Muse- ENEA Antarctic Project – Biblionova um of Snow and Ice, http://www.ryuhyokan. com/index.html. Dr. Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962) The poster will illustrate the structure and the was the first scientist who produced snow crystals aims of the Italian Antarctic Metadata Project. artificially. He was a pioneering scientist of snow Born in the framework of SCAR resolutions and and ice research. He wrote beautiful essays about the Antarctic Treaty System, the Project derives snow and produced scientific films. from the joint meeting of PNRA, National Council These two science museums teach the public of Research and Italian Universities involved in about sea ice, oceanography, culture and nature in the Antarctic research. The Antarctic Library will the Okhotsk area. collect the list of publications edited by the 11 Shiretoko Museum, http://www.ohotuku26.or. PNRA research projects. jp/shari/museum/home.html is located on the The poster shows the bibliographic standard Shiretoko Peninsula in the eastern part of Hokkai- CEN 287 and the preliminary web interface adopt- do. The peninsula was formed by volcanic activity ed by the “ad hoc” Working Group.

168 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy Business meeting 20 June 2002

1. Financial report Wellington; Norwegian Polar Institute; Nunatta Business Premium Account, 50097217 £2,650.03 Atuagaateqarfia; Nunavut Arctic College; Ras- (Wenger Fund) musson Library; Rovaniemen Kaupunki; Stefans- Community Account, 20092207 £32.03 son Arctic Institute; Swedish Institute of Space Business Reserve Account, 90075132 £6,041.94 Physics; Swedish Polar Secretariat; University of Total £8,724.00 Alberta; University of Calgary; University of Co- (2000 figure: £9,146.59) lorado, INSTAAR; University of East Anglia; Uni- versity of Lapland; University Studies in Sval- Major transactions bard; University Library of Tromsø; Z.J. Loussac Business Premium Account Library. 18PLC Auction raised $1361 CDN agreed to write this off against $1400 CDN for 4 Wenger Awards Totals (pre-conference) (post-conference) made to delegates attending 18PLC. Individual: 25 55 Institutional: 24 26 Business Reserve Account, Community Account Honorary: 4 4 Credit £699.73 (6.07.2000) $900.00 credit from University of Colorado trans- 3. Newsletter report ferring funds originally deposited for compilation of the Polar and cold regions libraries directory The following report was submitted by the edi- tors, Nancy Lesh and Cathie Innes-Taylor. Debit PLC Bulletin No. 47 £157.76 (17.08.00) We began as the new editors of the Polar Libraries PLC Bulletin No. 48-49 £668.17 (16.05.02) Colloquy Bulletin following the 18TH Colloquy in PLC Bulletin No. 50-51 £200.39 (16.05.02) Winnipeg, and have produced two double Support for 19PLC ($2000) £1,395.73 (02.05.02) issues. Nos. 48-49, Fall 2000-Spring 2001 was sent to 369 people using a mailing list which had been 2. Membership status and issues developed over a number of years and needed New members: updating since many of the people and institu- Individual: James H. Anderson; Loretta Andress; tions on the list were not current members of the Ralph Carlson; Guy Guthridge; H.G. Jones; Sue PLC. We decided to mail this issue to everyone on Kaplan; C-M. Naske; India Spartz the list and include a membership renewal form, the first time the PLC has solicited membership Institutional: Ajtte Biblioteket, Jokkmokk; Alaska renewals by mail. The results were successful and State Library; Aurora College; Australian Antarc- we now have 101 paid memberships. The change tic Division; Consortium Library, Anchorage; from a large complimentary mailing list to one CRREL; Dartmouth College; Eskimo Museum; with only current members was a decision made Finnmark Fylkesbiblioteket; Finnish Institute of by PLC members. The issue cost $948.80 to pro- Marine Research; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; duce and mail, but costs went down significantly Ilisimatusarfik, Nuuk; Ilisagvik Colege, Barrow; for the next issue since only current dues paying Indiana State Library; Institut fur Eskimologi; members are now on the mailing list. IFRTP; International Arctic Science Committee; Nos. 50-51, Fall 2001-Spring 2002 was sent to Lulea University; Museo Storico A.M., Vigna di the 101 current members and cost $284.55 to pro- Valle; National Library, Rana; NIWA Research, duce and mail.

169 We would like to thank all the contributors to vision has been continued by his wife Beatrice; these issues! We could not have put out the Bulletin and, without you all. These folks include: Anne Morton, – whereas the physical and intellectual worlds of Julia Finn, Robert B. Stephenson, Garth Graham, Eskimo/Inuit first contact literature are now Nora T. Corley Murchison, Sylvie Devers, Jean- available globally in the Hubert Wenger Eskimo Loup Rousselot, David W.H. Walton, Laura Kissel, Database on the world wide web; William Mills, Stu Hibben, Kirsten Caning, Paul McCarthy, India Spartz, Ross Goodwin, Martha Now therefore be it resolved that the 19th Polar Li- Andrews, Andie Smithies, Phil N. Cronenwett, braries Colloquy assembled in biennial meeting in Rick McGregor, Diane Brenner, Harry King, Arto Copenhagen, Denmark, this June 2002, extend its Vitikka, Liisa Kurppa, and Susan Grigg. appreciation and congratulations to Beatrice Special thanks go to William Mills for keeping Wenger and the members of the project staff for us correct on finances and the current member- accomplishing Hubert’s dream of opening a door ship, and to Loretta Andress, the Bulletin’s produc- to the first contact literature for the residents and tion editor, without whom Cathie and Nancy scholars of the Arctic. would not be producing the Bulletin! We intend to publish four “regular sized” issues 5. 20th PLC venue over the next two years. We also want to increase our number of contributors and enlarge the cover- David Walton now took over as chair. Invitations age more fully throughout “PLC Land.” We will were presented by Julia Finn on behalf of the De- be calling on our membership for help and appre- partment of Indian and Northern Affairs, Ottawa, ciate your contributions in advance! and Martha Andrews on behalf of CSIRO Marine Please let us hear from you with comments, Research and the Australian Antarctic Division, ideas for articles, reviews, etc. Hobart, the latter being for a meeting held jointly Thank you for letting us have the fun of pro- with IAMSLIC. Delegates were invited between ducing the Bulletin and for the opportunity to these two attractive venues, together with a third work with all of you! proposed on behalf of the Steering Committee: that the main venue be Ottawa but a PLC ‘day’ be held in Hobart. This option had been previously 4. Wenger Proclamation discussed with organizers of the Hobart meeting. This following resolution proposed by Ron In- Of 47 votes cast: 27 were for the third option (Ot- ouye, and supported by an accompanying letter tawa and Hobart), 12 for Hobart, and 8 for Ot- from Paul McCarthy, Director of Libraries and In- tawa. Ottawa was therefore chosen as the main formation Technology, University of Alaska Fair- venue and the Steering Committee was to ap- banks, was passed by acclamation: proach IAMSLIC concerning a suitable PLC con- tribution to Hobart. Whereas, the written accounts of first contacts with Eskimos and Inuit are often difficult to identify, 6. Any Other Business are frequently out of print, or are located in collec- tions scattered around the globe; and, The following resolution proposed by Dennis Stephens was adopted by unanimous acclama- – whereas, many of those first accounts are in tion: sources not easily accessible to contemporary Es- kimos and Inuit, students, scholars and re- Whereas, the Polar Libraries Colloquy is a formal searchers; and, international organization which yet prizes its in- – whereas, the dream of Hubert Wenger to pro- formality and is dedicated to the goal of identify- vide that information via electronic technology ing, gathering, preserving, and providing access has been achieved following 12 years of devel- to Arctic and Antarctic information resources, and opment; and, encouraging and guiding their use; – whereas, Hubert passed away in 1995 but his

170 – and whereas, individual members of the Collo- The following resolution concerning information quy have made valued formal and informal and data loss issues was moved by Lyle Perrigo contributions to this goal; and adopted unanimously. – and whereas, the Colloquy recognizes that life Be it resolved: The Polar Libraries Colloquy and is short, geologically speaking, that comrade- its members should create broader general aware- ship is an ultimate measure of our stay on this ness of and responses to information and data loss planet, that this individual has been friend and issued by outreach and collaborative pro- wise counsellor to the Colloquy for over two grammes. These efforts should be with and in- decades, and that contributions to our goals volve scientific, technical, and historical organiza- should be duly acknowledged by the Colloquy; tions; local, regional, and national governmental – and whereas, this individual has been instru- agencies and bodies; colleges and universities; the mental in gaining formal recognition of the im- media; and the general public. portance of polar information access to the United States government through conceiving, The following resolution moved by Phil Cronen- developing, and obtaining funding for the U.S. wett was adopted unanimously. Polar Information Working Group (aka US- Whereas, the 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy has PIGS), and thereby indirectly but effectively ob- been a stunning success, intellectually, socially, taining financial support for the Colloquy; and gastronomically; and – and whereas, this individual is one of the few who have participated in the Colloquy since its – whereas, the Danish Polar Center has set a re- origin as The Northern Libraries Colloquy in markably high standard in the planning and ex- 1971, and therefore has become the ipso facto ecution of an international conference; and historian of the group, her authority confirmed – whereas, even the weather appears to respond by this remark overheard at the present Collo- to the demands of the Center’s staff; quy: “If Martha says it happened then, it hap- pened then.” Be it hereby resolved that the assembled member- – and whereas, this individual through direct par- ship of the Colloquy offer its warmest thanks to ticipation in the original printed version of the Director Hanne Petersen, to Kirsten Caning, to Arctic Bibliography, and through formal and in- Kirsten Eriksen, to Henning Thing, to Grete formal efforts over a twenty-year plus period Dalum-Tilds, and, in particular, to Vibeke Sloth was instrumental in obtaining the funding to Jakobsen. digitise the Arctic Bibliography; – and whereas, this individuals’ formal contribu- 7. Election of Steering Committee tions to the Colloquy have included a series of well-researched papers, co-hosting a meeting in The following members were elected: Ron Inouye, Boulder in 1988, as well as many thoughtful con- Berit Jakobsen, Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen, Liisa Kurp- tributions to session discussions, and whose in- pa, Silvia Sarti. formal activities at meetings are best left unde- tailed here but are recognized as being lots of fun; Officers: David Walton, Chair; Betty Galbraith, – and whereas, Martha Andrews has indicated Secretary-Treasurer that this the 19th Colloquy will be her last before Ex-officio: Julia Finn (Convenor, 20th PLC); Cathie formal retirement, though we hope to see her Innes-Taylor and Nancy Lesh (Editors, PLC Bul- continued participation for three more decades letin) at least; William Mills Now therefore be it resolved that the Colloquy at its Secretary/Treasurer 22.07.02 19th meeting in Copenhagen recognizes and ac- knowledges the contributions of Martha Andrews by confirming upon her the title of Polar Libraries Colloquy Elder.

171 Programme

Monday, 17 June

9.00-10.00 Registration and poster set up 10.00-10.30 Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen, Chair 19th PLC Organizing Committee: Welcome and conference announcements. Hanne K. Petersen, Director, Danish Polar Center: Welcome speech Session 1: Cooperation in the online age Chair: Betty Galbraith, Owen Science and Engineering Library 10.30-11.00 Susan Grigg, Alaska and Polar Regions Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fair- banks: Digital archives for Alaska 11.00-11.30 Break 11.30-12.00 Daria O. Carle, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage: ARLIS: a model for successful partner- ships in the online age 12.00-12.30 Lynn Lay, Goldthwait Polar Library, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University: A collaborative effort to get online : a story of cooperation, frustration and success 12.30-13.30 Lunch Session 2: Information loss Chair: Nancy Liston, Information Technology Laboratory and Cold Regions Research & Engineering Labora- tory 13.30-14.00 Victoria Tchourikova, Institute of Mathematics, Novosoft Company, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences: The importance of making access to Russian libraries and archives easy (on the example of Siberian academic and Kamchatka remote ones) 14.00-14.30 Lyle D. Perrigo, U.S. Arctic Research Commission: Information & data loss and preservation issues : views of an engineer and a scientist 14.30-15.00 Panel discussion: Information loss Chair: Lyle D. Perrigo, U.S. Arctic Research Commission Nancy C. Liston, Information Technology Laboratory, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research & Engineering Labora- tory, Julia H. Triplehorn, Keith B. Mather Library, Geophysical Institute, International Arctic Research Center, Ron Inouye, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Berit Jakobsen, University Courses on Svalbard (UNIS) 15.00-15.30 Break Session 3: Databases Chair: Martha Andrews, INSTAAR, University of Colorado 15.30-16.00 Kathleen Murray, Health Sciences Information Service, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage: Arctic Center for Health Information, Literature, and Data (Arctic CHILD) 16.00-16.30 Arto Vitikka, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland: Developing a map search interface for Arctic Research Insti- tute database using GIS system integrated with SQL relation database 16.45 – Tour of the Danish Polar Center, Strandgade 100 H. Reception at the Danish Polar Center

Tuesday, 18 June

Session 4: The library users in the online age Chair: Kirsten E. Caning, Danish Polar Center

172 9.00-9.30 Satu Ihanamäki, Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library & Maija Koponen, Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library: The role of Polytechnic Library in learning in a sparsely inhabited province 9.30-10.00 Martha Andrews, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado: Electronically influenced changes in library users’ behavior : a case study at INSTAAR 10.00-10.30 Helena Kokko, Juvenile Department, Provincial Library of Lapland: The library network and the active users in Lapland 10.30-11.00 Break Session 5: Bibliographic resources Chair: Julia Finn, Indian & Northern Affairs Canada 11.00-11.30 Nancy C. Liston, Information Technology Laboratory, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research & Engineering Labora- tory: The bibliography on cold regions science & engineering – now and the future 11.30-12.00 Sharon N. Tahirkheli, American Geological Institute: The evolution of the cold regions bibliography project through migration and cooperation 12.00-12.30 Group picture 12.30-13.30 Lunch Session 6: Picture collections Chair: Dennis Stephens, University of Alaska Fairbanks 13.30-14.00 Silvia Sarti, Antarctic Project – ENEA – National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment: New trends of the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme Library : projecting a database of Italian Antarctic expeditions pictures 14.00-14.30 Teresa Mullins, National Snow and Ice Data Center / World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder: Polar data sets at the National Snow and Ice Data Center : analog versus digital in issues of collection development, cata- loging, archiving, and access 14.30-15.00 Grete Dalum-Tilds, Danish Polar Center: Historical Greenland online 15.00-15.30 Break 16.00-17.00 Visit to the National Museum of Denmark, Ethnographic Collection, Ny Vestergade 10

Wednesday, 19 June

8.00-17.00 Field trip The buses leave at 8.00 sharp from the old flying boat terminal, opposite Havnegade 55. We proceed to Roskilde to visit the Viking Ship Museum, where a guided tour is arranged. Please board the buses in Roskilde at 11.00. From Roskilde we continue to Esrum, where lunch will be served at the Nature Centre’s organic café in the old millhouse. After lunch we split up in two groups. One group visits Esrum Abbey, while the other takes a field trip with two of the centre’s nature guides. After 1 1/2 hour we alternate.

Departure from Esrum at 16.00

Thursday, 20 June

Session 7: Arctic resources and collections Chair: William Mills, Scott Polar Research Institute 9.00-9.30 Fred Inge Presteng, Norwegian Polar Institute & Berit Jakobsen, University Courses on Svalbard (UNIS): Searching for Polar information in Norway

173 9.30-10.00 Julia H. Triplehorn, Keith B. Mather Library, Geophysical Institute, International Arctic Research Center: Li- brary services at the Keith B. Mather Library for its international clientele 10.00-10.30 Sylvie Devers, Fonds polaire Jean Malaurie: French Polar research and resources 10.30-11.00 Break 11.00-11.30 Berit Jakobsen, University Courses on Svalbard (UNIS): Libraries at high latitudes 11.30-12.30 Business meeting Chair: Julia Finn, Indian & Northern Affairs Canada 12.30-13.30 Lunch Session 8: Planning the future Chair: Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen, Danish Polar Center 13.30-14.00 Elisa Jeremiassen, National and Public Library of Greenland: A Greenlandic Inuk librarian’s point of view on the future of Inuit libraries, language and literature 14.00-14.30 Dorthe Søndergaard Jørgensen, Ilisimatusarfik – University of Greenland & Erika Nielsen, Groenlandica, National Library of Greenland: Groenlandica / the National Library of Greenland and the library of the Univer- sity of Greenland : past, present and future 14.30-15.00 James H. Anderson, University of Alaska Fairbanks: The University of Alaska Science Library : a digital-millen- nium solution to a traditional problem 15.00-15.30 Break Session 9: Polar literature Chair: Anne Morton, Hudson’s Bay Company Archives 15.30-16.00 David H. Stam, History Department, Syracuse University, New York & Deirdre Stam, New York Center for Books and Reading: “Silent friends” : the role of reading in Polar exploration 16.00-16.30 Raimund E. Goerler, Ohio State University Libraries: “Alone”, a classic of Polar literature : questions and an- swers 17.00-18.00 Visit to the Royal Library, Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1

Friday, 21 June

Session 10: Polar publishing Chair: Ronald K. Inouye, University of Alaska Fairbanks 9.00-9.30 David Walton, British Antarctic Survey: Publishing and the scientific community 9.30-10.00 Open discussion: Polar publishing Session 11: International cooperation Chair: Betty Galbraith, Owen Science and Engineering Library 10.00-10.30 Philip N. Cronenwett, Dartmouth College Library: Bi-national electronic initiatives: the Stefansson experi- ence 10.30-11.00 Break 11.00-11.30 Shirley Sawtell, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge: From Baffin Island to Cambridge to Baffin Island : making available a special collection held in the SPRI to the Inuit community of Pond Inlet from where it origi- nated Session 12: Historic resources preserved for the future Chair: Dennis Stephens, University of Alaska Fairbanks 11.30-12.00 Julia Finn, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada: The Indian Affairs annual reports (1864-1990) : a unique Canadian history source on the web

174 12.00-12.30 William Mills, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge: Virtual Shackleton at the Scott Polar Research Insti- tute 12.30-13.30 Lunch 13.30-14.00 Brian Walmark, Nishnawbe Aski Nation & Louise Wuorinen, Lakehead University: Whispers from the past. Part II 14.00-14.30 Laura Kissel, Byrd Polar Research Center, Archival Program: Have tape, will travel : the Polar oral history pro- gram at the Ohio State University 14.30-15.00 Break 15.00-15.30 Anne Morton, Hudson’s Bay Company Archives: Across Arctic America : the Hudson’s Bay Company and Knud Rasmussen’s fifth Thule expedition, 1921-1924 15.30 Colloquy ends 19.00 Dinner, entertainment, auction at Gl. Dok Restaurant

175 List of participants

James H. Anderson Daria O. Carle Julia Finn Science Librarian Science Librarian Departmental Librarian BioSciences Library Consortium Library Indian & Northern Affairs Canada University of Alaska Fairbanks University of Alaska Anchorage Room 1400, 10 Wellington St. P.O. Box 757060 3211 Providence Drive Hull, Quebec K1A 0H4 Fairbanks, AK 99775 Anchorage, AK 99508 Canada U.S.A. U.S.A. Phone: +1 819 997 8205 Phone: +1 907 474 7442 Phone: +1 907 786 1869 Fax: +1 819 953 5491 Fax: +1 907 474 7820 Fax: +1 907 786 6050 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Betty Galbraith Martha Andrews Philip Cronenwett Head of Collection Development Librarian Special Collections Librarian Owen Science and Engineering Library INSTAAR Dartmouth College Library Washington State University University of Colorado Rauner Special Collections Library Pullman, WA 99614-3200 CB 450 6065 Webster Hall U.S.A. Boulder, CO 80309 Dartmouth College Phone: +1 509 335 7930 U.S.A. Hanover, NH 03755 3519 Fax: +1 509 335 2534 Phone: +1 303 492 1867 U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +1 303 492 6388 Phone: +1 603 646 2037 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +1 603 646 0447 Raimund Goerler E-mail: [email protected] Assistant Director of OSU Libraries Mats Berglund Ohio State University Librarian Grete Dalum-Tilds Ohio State University Archives Luleå University Library Photo Curator 2700 Kenny Road Universitetsområdet, Porsön Danish Polar Center Columbus, Ohio 43210 S-971 87 Luleå Strandgade 100 H U.S.A. Sweden DK-1401 Copenhagen K Phone: +1 614 688 8447 Phone: +46 920 491732 Denmark Fax: +1 614 688 4150 Fax: +46 920 492040 Phone: +45 3288 0123 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +45 3288 0101 E-mail: [email protected] Susan Grigg Marcel Brannemann Head, Alaska & Polar Regions Dipl. Geol., Head of Library Sylvie Devers Department Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Librarian Elmer E. Rasmuson Library Marine Research Fonds polaire Jean Malaurie University of Alaska Fairbanks Columbusstrasse Bibliothèque centrale du Museum P.O. Box 756808 D-27568 Bremerhaven national d’histoire naturelle Fairbanks, AK 99775 6808 Germany 38 rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire U.S.A. Phone: +49 471 4831 1587 75005 Paris Phone: +1 907 474 6593 Fax: +49 471 4831 1149 France Fax: +1 907 474 6365 E-mail: mbrannemann@awi- Phone: +33 1 40 79 36 47 E-mail: [email protected] bremerhaven.de Fax: +33 1 40 79 36 56 E-mail: [email protected] Ann-Christine Haupt Kirsten Caning Senior Librarian Editor Birgitta Edeborg Luleå University Library Danish Polar Center Librarian S-971 87 Luleå Strandgade 100 H Ájtte, Swedish Mountain- and Sámi Sweden DK-1401 Copenhagen K Museum Phone: +46 920 491570 Denmark P.O.Box 116 Fax: +46 920 492040 Phone: +45 32880103 S-962 23 Jokkmokk E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +45 32880101 Sweden E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +46 971 17024 Fax: +46 971 12057 E-mail: [email protected]

176 Palina Hedinsdóttir Elisa Jeremiassen Maija Koponen Head Librarian Head of the National and Public Library Chief Librarian Icelandic Institute of Natural History of Greenland Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library Library National Library of Greenland Viirinkankaantie 1 P.O. Box 5320 P.O. Box 1011 FIN-96300 Rovaniemi IS-125 Reykjavik DK-3900 Nuuk Finland Iceland Greenland Phone: +358 16 3312076 Phone: +354 590 0547 Phone: +299 32 11 56 Fax: +358 16 3312054 Fax: +354 590 0595 Fax: +299 32 39 43 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Reinhard A. Krause Satu Ihanamäki Chisato Jimura Physicist, Head of Archives Information Specialist Cataloger Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Rovaniemi Polytechnic Library Keith B. Mather Library Marine Research Viirinkankaantie 1 Geophysical Institute / International Columbusstrasse FIN-96300 Rovaniemi Arctic Research Center D-27568 Bremerhaven Finland University of Alaska Fairbanks Germany Phone: +358 16 331 2055 930 Koyukuk Dr. Phone: +49 471 4831 1924 Fax: +358 16 331 2054 P.O. Box 757355 Fax: +49 471 4831 1982 E-mail: [email protected] Fairbanks, AK 99775-7355 E-mail: [email protected] U.S.A. Ronald K. Inouye Phone: +1 907 474 1561 Lynn Lay Database editor Fax: +1 907 474 7290 Librarian University of Alaska Fairbanks E-mail: [email protected] Goldthwait Polar Library P.O. Box 756808 Byrd Polar Research Center Fairbanks, AK 99775-6808 Dorthe Søndergaard Jørgensen Ohio State University U.S.A. Librarian 1090 Carmack Road Phone: +1 907 474 5354 Ilisimatusarfik / University of Greenland Columbus, Ohio 43210-1002 Fax: +1 907 474 6365 P.O. Box 279 U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected] DK-3900 Nuuk Phone: +1 614 292 6715 Greenland Fax: +1 614 292 4697 Berit Jakobsen Phone: +299 324566 E-mail: [email protected] Librarian Fax: +299 324711 University Courses on Svalbard (UNIS) E-mail: [email protected] Nancy Lesh The Library Alaskana Bibliographer P.O. Box 156 Laura Kissel University of Alaska Anchorage N-9171 Longyearbyen Polar Curator 1828 Bootlegger’s Cove Road Norway Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: +47 79 02 33 09 Program U.S.A. Fax: +47 79 02 33 01 Ohio State University Phone: +1 907 277 2206 E-mail: [email protected] 2700 Kenny Road Fax: +1 907 786 6050 Columbus, Ohio 43210 E-mail: [email protected] Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen U.S.A. Librarian Phone: +1 614 688 8173 Nancy Liston Danish Polar Center Library Fax: +1 614 688 4150 Library Director Strandgade 100 H E-mail: [email protected] Information Technology Laboratory DK-1401 Copenhagen K and Cold Regions Research & Denmark Helena Kokko Engineering Laboratory Phone: +45 3288 0106 Special Librarian 72 Lyme Road Fax: +45 3288 0101 Provincial Library of Lapland Hanover, NH 03755-1290 E-mail: [email protected] Jorma Eton tie 6 U.S.A. FIN-96100 Rovaniemi Phone: +1 603 6464221 Finland Fax: +1 603 6464712 Phone: +358 16 3223062 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +358 16 3223019 E-mail: [email protected]

177 Lida Lorentzen Kathy Murray Fred Inge Presteng Librarian Associate Professor & Manager Chief Librarian Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum University of Alaska Anchorage Norwegian Polar Institute P.O. Box 903 Consortium Library, Health Sciences Polar Environmental Centre DK-3900 Nuuk Information Service N-9296 Tromsø Greenland 3211 Providence Dr. Norway Phone: +299 34 68 45 Anchorage, AK 99508 Phone: +47 77 75 05 90 Fax: +299 32 43 02 U.S.A. Fax: +47 77 75 05 01 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +1 907 786 1611 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +1 907 786 1608 Antoinette Madden E-mail: [email protected] Peter Sarri 21, Brighton Avenue Sami Library Counsellor Rathgar Erika Nielsen Sami Parliament Dublin 6 Head of Groenlandica Åsgatan 30 Ireland National Library of Greenland, S-962 31 Jokkmokk Phone: +353 1 4911496 Groenlandica Sweden Fax: +353 1 4967743 P.O. Box 1074 Phone: +46 971 55890 E.mail: [email protected] DK-3900 Nuuk Fax: +46 971 55893 Greenland E-mail: [email protected] William Mills Phone: +299 32 65 22 Librarian and Keeper Fax: +299 32 39 43 Silvia Sarti Scott Polar Research Institute E-mail: [email protected] Librarian Lensfield Road Antarctic Project – ENEA Cambridge CB2 1ER Leena Parkkonen National Agency for New Technologies, England Information Scientist Energy and the Environment Phone: +44 1223 336557 Finnish Institute of Marine Research Via Anguillarese, 301 Fax: +44 1223 336549 Library Santa Maria di Galeria E-mail: [email protected] P.O. Box 33 Rome 00060 FIN-00931 Helsinki Italy Anne Morton Finland Phone: +39 06 30486498 Head, Research & Reference Phone: +358 9 613 94463 Fax: +39 06 30484893 Hudson’s Bay Company Archives Fax: +358 9 613 94494 E-mail: [email protected] 200 Vaughan Street E-mail: [email protected] Winnipeg, MB R3C 1T5 Shirley Sawtell Canada Lyle D. Perrigo Information Assistant Phone: +1 204 945 2579 Alaska Office Director Scott Polar Research Institute Fax: +1 204 948 3236 U.S. Arctic Research Commission Lensfield Road E-mail: [email protected] 707 A Street, Suite 102 a Cambridge CB2 1ER Anchorage, AK 99501 England Teresa Mullins U.S.A. Phone: +44 1223 336552 Librarian Phone: +1 907 257 2738 Fax: +44 1223 336549 National Snow and Ice Data Center / Fax. +1 907 257 2707 E-mail: [email protected] World Data Center for Glaciology E-mail: [email protected] Boulder Barbara Sokolov 449 UCB Christine Phillips 4928-3 Cooper Point Rod Boulder, Colorado 80309 Librarian Olympia, WA 98502 U.S.A. British Antarctic Survey U.S.A. Phone: +1 303 492 4004 High Cross Phone: +1 360 866-1792 Fax: +1 303 492 2468 Madingley Road E-mail [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Cambridge CB3 0ET U.K. David H. Stam Phone: +44 1223 221617 University Library Emeritus Fax: +44 1223 362616 History Department E-mail: [email protected] Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 13224 U.S.A. Phone: +1 315 446 5923 Fax: +1 315 443 5876 E-mail: [email protected]

178 Deirdre C. Stam Julia Triplehorn Béatrice Wenger Director Librarian 10, Chemin Faverge New York Center for Books and Geophysical Institute / International CH-1295 Mies Reading Arctic Research Center Switzerland 2400 Euclid Avenue 930 Koyukuk Phone: +41 22 755 6355 Syracuse NY 13224 Fairbanks, AK 99775 Fax: +41 22 755 4259 U.S.A. U.S.A. Phone: +1 315 446 5923 Phone: +1 907 474 7512 Heike Wienholz Fax: +1 315 443 5876 Fax: +1 907 474 7290 Dipl. Bibl. E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Medizinisch-Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek Dennis Stephens Bodil Valentiner Fakultät für Klin. Med. Mannheim der Collection Development Officer Librarian Universität Heidelberg Elmer E. Rasmuson Library National Museum of Denmark Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3 University of Alaska Fairbanks Ethnographic Collection D-68167 Weinheim P.O. Box 756800 The Library Germany Fairbanks, AK 99775-6800 Frederiksholms Kanal 12 Phone: +49 621 383 3711 U.S.A. DK-1220 Copenhagen K Fax: +49 621 383 2006 Phone: +1 907 474 6695 Denmark E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +1 907 474 6841 Phone: +45 33473230 heidelberg.de E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +45 33473320 E-mail: [email protected] Louise Wuorinen Sharon Tahirkheli Northern & Regional Studies Librarian Director, Information Systems Arto Vitikka Lakehead University Library American Geological Institute System Analyst 955 Oliver Road 4220 King Street Arctic Centre Thunder Bay Alexandria, VA 22302 University of Lapland Ontario P7B 5E1 U.S.A. P.O. Box 122 Canada Phone: +1 703 379 2480 FIN-96101 Rovaniemi Phone: +1 807 343 8728 Fax: +1 703 379 7563 Finland Fax: +1 807 343 8007 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +358 40 5272436 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +358 16 3412777 Victoria Tchourikova E-mail: [email protected] Linguist, PhD Institute of Mathematics Brian Walmark Novosoft Company Director of Education Nishnawbe Aski Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Nation Sciences 217 Farrand Street Geroyev Tryda Str. 2, flat 16 Thunder Bay Akademgorodok Ontario P7A 3J2 630055 Novosibirsk Canada Russia Phone: +1 807 345 5287 Phone: +7 3832 396358 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] David Walton Henning Thing Head, Environment & Information Web editor Division Danish Polar Center British Antarctic Survey Strandgade 100 H High Cross DK-1401 Copenhagen K Madingley Road Denmark Cambridge CB3 0ET Phone: +45 32880120 U.K. Fax: +45 32880101 Phone: +44 1223 221592 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

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