The Library has appointed a Korean Studies Librarian, Jung Sim Kim. Miss Kim has primary responsibilities for collection development, acquisitions, cataloguing and the provision of information services in Korean studies.
The National Korean Studies Centre Library Advisory Subcommittee has representation from members of a consortium consisting of La Trobe University, Melbourne University, Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University under the chairmanship of Mr.Adrian Buzo, Executive Director (NKSC).
The appointment of Jung Sim Kim as Korean Studies Librarian, strengthens the University Library's team of three (soon to be four) Asian Resource Librarians. Dennis Kishere is the Chinese Studies Librarian; Helen Soemardjo is the South East Asian Studies Librarian. The Library is in the process of appointing a Japanese Studies Librarian. The Asian Resource Librarians are all based in the Main Library, Clayton Campus and can be contacted as follows, Jung Sim Kim on ext. 75 2678, Dennis Kishere on ext. 75 2658 and 75 2678 and Helen Soemardjo on ext. 75 2658.
The library's response in setting up a CD-ROM network has been quick and well planned. The network uses a CD ROM file server which is attached to the campus LAN (Local Area Network). This allows for simultaneous multi use access to a high proportion of the CD-ROM products from workstations that are connected to the network. Eighteen such workstations have already been installed in the Library: 12 in the Main Library and 6 in the Biomedical Library and more are planned for the other branches.
The benefits of the network to CD-ROM users are many. The most obvious benefit being the immediate availability of disks that were previously restricted to one user at a time; this will be of particular interest to users of the very popular CD-ROMs such as ABI/Inform, Social Sciences Index, MEDLINE and Humanities Index.
The impact of this increased availability is best illustrated by recalling that before networking access to the ABI/Inform, the library's most popular CD ROM, was restricted in the Main Library to one user per half hour with a maximum turnaround of 28 users per day. Since networking the availability of ABI/Inform has increased to a potential of over 200 users having access per day. These figures are based on an average use of a half hour per person over the 14 hours the library is open multiplied by up to 8 users at any one time. (The library's licence agreement does place a ceiling of 8 on the total number of users of ABI/Inform at any one time.)
The licence for the H.W. Wilson databases has no restriction on the number of simultaneous users, provided all are accessing the data base from the same campus. Thus potential use of the Wilson database Social Science Index has increased from around 28 users per day to many times that number. In reality, of course, it is most unlikely that all workstations are going to be used just to access this data base all day. However this does show the potential for accessibility to CD- ROMS to double, triple, quadruple and so on as a direct benefit of the network.
Another benefit not so immediately obvious but of equal convenience to library users is the ability to access CD-ROMS from various locations on campus. Previously when all CD-ROMS were on stand alone terminals if a data base was held in the Biomedical library then the Biomedical library was the only place it could be used.
Soon it will be possible for academic staff whose office PC's are connected to the Ethernet LAN to search certain CD-ROM data bases without leaving their offices and for students to search data bases from the University's microcomputer laboratories. The Library will notify staff as soon as this facility becomes available. However it should be noted that at least for the time being certain limitations to this service will apply; mainly because of network licensing restrictions.
In the near future workstations with access the network will be provided in the Hargrave Library and further down the track in the Caulfield campus library. At the same time data bases that are of primary interest to the users of these two libraries will be added to the range available on the network.
The Hargrave Library has just renewed 83 subscriptions, many of them Elsevier titles for 1993. The average price increase of these journal was 39% ! The average price of these journals will rise from $1158 in 1992 to $1613 in 1993.
These three titles have something in common apart from reducing their prices. The previous publisher in each case was Pergamon. It must have something to do with the economies of scale.
Is it too much to hope that the action of three quite disparate scholarly societies in acting boldly to keep their publications affordable is the start of a trend?
Behaviour Change is held in the Main Library at Clayton and Leonardo is in the Caulfield Campus Libraries collection.