National Library of Australia
Annual Report 2001-2002
 Output 1.3 Public Programs
Audited Financial Statements - Index
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Director General's Review
Corporate Overview
Report on Operations
Financial Statements
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Report on Operations

Output 1.4—Australian Library Network Services

Output Description

Collaborative projects and services, leading to improved national access to documentary resources, are delivered to the Australian library community.

 

 

Performance—Outputs

. MEASURE
TARGET
ACHIEVED
Effectiveness Usage of resource-sharing services
Percentage of key research libraries that use and contribute to the Kinetica service
90%
91%
Quality

Percentage of Kinetica customer libraries that are satisfied with the quality of resource-sharing services

Percentage of resource-sharing services that are delivered within set standards and specific timeframes

80%


98%

81%


99%

Quantity Number of searches/user sessions on resource-sharing databases
7 360 000
7 065 652
Price Cost per search on resource-sharing databases
$1.59
$1.54

Effectiveness

Usage of resource-sharing services graph

click chart to enlarge

Comments on Performance—Effectiveness

The target for usage of resource-sharing services was exceeded, with 91 per cent of key research libraries using and contributing records to the National Bibliographic Database.

Quality

Satisfaction with resource-sharing services graph Resource-sharing services delivery graph

click charts to enlarge

Comments on Performance—Quality

Both quality targets were exceeded.

Quantity

Number of searches/user sessions graph

click chart to enlarge

Comments on Performance—Quantity

The number of searches/user sessions recorded on resource-sharing databases was 4 per cent below target. Resource-sharing databases include: Kinetica; the National Chinese, Japanese and Korean Service; the Australian Libraries Gateway; the Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing Directory; PictureAustralia; and the Oral History Directory. There is an ongoing program to promote the resource-sharing databases in order to achieve the highest possible use of these services.

The number of searches carried out on Kinetica has declined over recent years, as Australian libraries have reduced their level of collecting. However, Kinetica remains a heavily used service with almost 6 million searches undertaken this year.

Price

Cost per search on resource-sharing databases graph

click chart to enlarge

Key Issues/Developments

Resource-sharing services

The National Bibliographic Database, offered through the Kinetica service, remains the key bibliographic support service within the Australian library sector. Coverage of the National Bibliographic Database was significantly extended with 1.6 million new Australian library holdings recorded this year, taking the total to 35 million collection items recorded on the database. The growth in the National Bibliographic Database indicates the continuing commitment by Australian libraries to resource sharing. 

This year, several initiatives were commenced to improve the quality of the National Bibliographic Database. This activity is aimed at improving the accuracy of data about collection items held in Australian libraries. 

The National Bibliographic Database is complemented by the more specialised National Chinese, Japanese and Korean Service which provides information on collections held in Australian libraries in these languages. Recommendations from a 2001 review of this service were implemented this year, with significant performance improvements achieved through the implementation of new software.

Kinetica software

This year a new Kinetica search interface was implemented based on recommendations from a customer advisory group. Benefits include: a simplified search screen; an advanced search function; improved accessibility for sight-impaired users; ability to save queries beyond the current session; and a range of other interface improvements. 

An important development was the implementation of a Web input function that enables users to input brief bibliographic records more efficiently than was previously possible. This improved functionality has enabled a larger number of smaller libraries to add new records to the National Bibliographic Database and has quickly become a heavily used function.

PictureAustralia

Participation in the PictureAustralia service, which provides over 600 000 pictorial images on the Web relating to Australia, continued to grow with the addition of image collections from Museum Victoria, the Campbelltown City Library (in collaboration with the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society), the ACT Heritage Library, the Northern Territory Library and Information Service, and the National Gallery of Australia. These collections enhance the geographic and subject coverage of the service. There are now 18 participating organisations, with several other organisations scheduled to join the service next year. 

In addition to the Australian participant organisations, the National Library of New Zealand, and the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network became overseas contributors of Australian image content. 

Use of PictureAustralia grew by 28 per cent this year, with approximately 372 000 user sessions recorded. The service records a wide range of users across Australia and is increasingly being accessed by overseas users seeking images of Australia.

Kinetica customer patterns

The number of Australian libraries using Kinetica remained stable this year. Many smaller libraries expressed interest in forming consortia for the purpose of subscribing to the Kinetica service. The Country Public Libraries Association (NSW) initiated discussions concerning a consortium contract, and TAFE libraries in NSW negotiated site licence contracts this year. It is expected that new consortium arrangements will be organised in future years. These arrangements have the advantage of lowering the cost of participating in the Kinetica service.

 

 Output 1.3 Public Programs
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