ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 559 Building U.S./Greek library partnerships by Beau David Case and A rte m is Leontis T his tim ely conferen ce o n m o d e m G reek collections, c o sp o n s o re d by th e Library o f C ongress (LC) a n d th e C ouncil o n Libr an d In fo rm atio n R esources (w ith a d d itio n al financial s u p p o rt p ro v id e d b y th e p u b lish e r C h ad w y ck -H ealey Ltd. a n d th e E m bassy of G reece), allow ed us to reflect o n th e state of m o d e rn G re e k c o lle c tio n s in th e U n ited States, a n d libraries a n d archives in G reece. C o n fe re n ce p u rp o se and b a ck g ro u n d In his le tte r o f in v itatio n to th e co n fe re n c e , J o h n Van O u d e n a re n , ch ief o f th e E u ro p ean D ivision at LC, w ro te : “At a tim e w h e n in ­ te r e s t in M o d ern G re e k is g ro w in g in th e U n ited States, A m erican re s e a rc h lib raries h av e v ery in c o m p le te h o ld in g s o f m aterials that are n e e d e d by U.S.-based scholars w o rk ­ ing o n th e history, literatu re, a n d c u ltu re of G re e c e afte r 1400. At th e sa m e tim e, m an y G reek libraries face difficulties as th e y se e k to p re s e rv e , re s to re , c ata lo g , a n d p ro v id e acc e ss to th e ir o w n rich h o ld in g s o f G re e k m aterials. “T h ere is th u s a stro n g case fo r clo ser c o ­ o p e ra tio n b e tw e e n G re e k a n d A m erican li­ b raries. In p articu lar, th e r e s h o u ld b e w ays in w h ic h A m erican lib ra rie s c a n a u g m e n t th e ir re s e a rc h h o ld in g s b y w o rk in g w ith a G re e k lib raries in m icrofilm ing, d ig ital a c ­ cess, a n d o th e r p ro jects.” ry C o n fe re n ce p ro g ra m : G reek and A m e rica n p e rsp e ctiv e s T h e first tw o se s sio n s o ffe re d p ro fe ssio n a l a ss e ssm e n ts o f th e h o ld in g s, as w ell as th e n e e d s a n d p rio ritie s o f G re e k lib ra rie s a n d arch iv es, a n d m o d e r n G re e k c o lle c tio n s in th e U nited States.1 Both gro u p s profiled their libraries an d collections, their particular needs, a n d their national collaboration efforts. B ecau se co n fe re n c e p a p e rs w ill s o o n b e p o s te d o n th e LC E u ro p e a n D ivision W eb site (h ttp ://w w w .lo c .g o v /rr/e u ro p e a n ), w e w ill n o t d u p lic a te th e v e ry u se fu l d e s c r ip ­ tio n s o f th e v a rio u s G re e k c o lle c tio n s, b u t instead w ill co n cen trate o n recurring them es a n d specific p ro p o s a ls fo r collaboration. S e ssio n I—th e G re e k p e rsp e ctiv e R e p re se n ta tiv e s o f G re e k lib ra rie s a n d a r­ chives d e sc rib e d a situ atio n w h e re libraries are rich in m aterials b u t p o o r in fu n d in g . A first ste p to b rin g in g th e s e re s o u rc e s to th e a tte n tio n o f u se rs is to in fo rm th e m a b o u t collections a n d archives: w h at there is, w here it is, a n d h o w to o b ta in access. In o rd e r to m ak e th e m ost o f existing m a­ terials, G re e k a n d A m erican lib raries m u st A bout th e authors Beau D avid Case is h e a d o f W estern E uropean a n d Linguistics C ollections a t O h io State U niversity Libraries, e-m ail: case.42@osu.edu; A rte m is Leontis is a d ju n c t profe ssor o f M o d e rn Greek a t O hio State U niversity a n d Secretary o f th e M odern Greek Studies Association Executive Board, e-mail:leontis.1 @osu.edu CONFERENCE CIRCUIT Strengthening modern Greek collections http://www.loc.gov/rr/european mailto:case.42@osu.edu osu.edu 560 / C&RL. News ■ July/August 1999 In order to make the m ost of e xistin g m aterials, Greek and Am erican libraries m ust establish form al exchanges. e stab lish form al ex ch an g es. T o w ard this ef­ fort, th e N atio n al B o o k C en tre o f G re e c e o ffe re d to e sta b lish a c le a rin g h o u s e fo r a c ­ quisitions. T h e follow ing ad d itio n al p ro jects w o u ld re q u ire fin an cial s u p p o rt: th e c re a tio n o f a d a ta b a se o f p e rio d ic a ls a n d b o o k s in print; th e dig itizin g a n d m icrofilm ing o f e n d a n ­ g e re d b rittle m aterials; a n d th e p u b lic a tio n o f b ib lio g ra p h ie s in e le c tro n ic form. P artic ip a n ts also s p o k e o f th e n e e d to solve catalo g in g a n d a u to m a tio n p ro b lem s, including in tern atio n al stan d ard s fo r library a u to m a tio n a n d tran slite ra tio n system s, the c re a tio n o f a u th o rity lists a n d b ilin g u a l in ­ fo rm a tio n sc re e n s, a n d th e n e e d to train G reek librarians in A m erican library science. Finally, it w a s re p o r te d th a t u n iv e rsity li­ braries are currently seek in g to create acq u i­ sitions a n d d o c u m e n t delivery schem es. Session II—the Am erican perspective There are about a dozen public an d university libraries w ith good, active m o d e m G reek col­ lections. Collectively this assessm ent looks good, but each library faces several serious prob­ lems. First is overall collection w eakness—both a lack of G reek imprints an d incom plete peri­ odicals holdings. This is co m p o u n d e d by th e se c o n d p ro b ­ lem — difficulty in fin d in g re lia b le d is trib u ­ tors o f G reek b o o k s an d periodicals o r unfa­ m iliarity w ith th e G re e k p u b lish in g in d u s ­ try . E ven th o s e A m erican lib raries th a t d o m a n a g e to a c q u ire a n a d e q u a te n u m b e r o f G re e k m aterials face th e th ird p ro b le m o f cata lo g in g . T h e re a re to o few p ro fe ssio n a l librarian catalogers in th e U nited States w h o k n o w th e G re e k la n g u a g e — e v e n at th e A m erican libraries w ith m ajor G reek collec­ tions. T h e f o u r th m a jo r p r o b le m c o n c e r n s A m erican lib rary u sers. M o dern G re e k c o l­ le c tio n s are sc a tte re d a cro ss th e c o n tin e n t a n d each library h as entirely different h o ld ­ ings, m an y o f local in terest. K n o w led g e o f th e s e in d iv id u a l c o lle c tio n s is n o t w ell know n. P ro p o sals f o r im p ro v e m e n ts T here w as a w onderful w orking atm osphere in S essions III a n d IV o f th e c o n fe re n c e , as participants so u g h t to find m anageable ways to take concrete steps. T here w ere som e im ­ p o r t a n t b r e a k t h r o u g h s , t o o . I o a n n a D im o p o u lo u (D ire c to r o f th e N atio n al Li­ b ra ry o f G re e c e ) a n n o u n c e d th a t th e N a­ tio n al Library o f G re e c e a n d LC w o u ld b e ­ gin a p ro g ram o f m aterials ex change. A lexis D im aras (M oraitis S ch o o l) p u t p ro p o s a ls o n th e ta b le fo r d is c u ssio n an d im plem entation. T he first step w as to e sta b ­ lish th e “M o d ern G re e k C o llectio n s W o rk ­ ing G r o u p ,” c o m p o s e d o f th o s e p r e s e n t at th e c o n feren ce a n d others w h o w ish to take p a rt in th e g r o u p ’s efforts. D im aras d e ­ scrib ed this as an a d h o c g ro u p , since it just so h a p p e n e d that im portant groups w ere not re p re se n te d at th e conference. T he seco n d step w as for Beau David Case to c re a te a m ail list so th a t th e w o rk in g gro u p could continue its discussions after the conference. T he third step w as for LC to cre­ ate a W eb site w ith w orking d ocum ents, p a ­ p ers p re s e n te d at th e co n feren ce, a n d links to G re e k In te rn e t sites. In th e fo u rth step , p a rtic ip a n ts a c c e p te d D im itris G o n d ic a s ’s (E x ecu tiv e D irecto r, P rogram in H ellenic Studies, P rin ceto n U ni­ versity) p ro p o s a l to in c lu d e a w o rk in g se s­ sion o n libraries at th e N ovem ber 1999 M od­ e rn G reek Studies A ssociation (MGSA) Sym­ p o siu m at P rin c e to n U niversity. T h e se s sio n w ill b rin g to g e th e r scholars a n d lib rarian s so th a t lib rarian s c a n u p d a te scholars o n collections an d electronic access, sch o lars c a n u p d a te lib rarian s o n m aterials essential for collections, librarians can m eet to discuss their o w n collaborations, an d p u b ­ lishers a n d distrib u to rs o f G reek b o o k s an d lib ra ria n s/sc h o la rs can interact. Finally, atte n d e e s com m itted th em selves to task forces th a t w o u ld tackle th e specific p ro jects listed below . • A c q u isitio n s: to c re a te a list o f G re e k b o o k s a n d p e rio d ic a ls v e n d o rs u s e d by A m erican lib ra rie s o r re c o m m e n d e d by G re e k libraries. C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 567 • A rchives: to c re a te a g u id e to e x istin g archives. • C ataloging: to s tu d y lib rary cata lo g screens a n d th e ir display o f G reek-language a n d tra n s lite ra te d G re e k a u th o rity records; po ssib ility fo r s ta n d a rd iz a tio n o f G re e k a u ­ to m ated systems; potential co o p erativ e cata­ lo g in g p ro jects; a n d stu d y o th e r ex istin g problem s. • T h o m a s J e ffe r s o n - A d a m ã n tio s K oraïs C orrespondence: to b rin g to g e th e r LC a n d H ios Library h o ld in g s a n d to c o n s id e r h ow , w h e n , a n d w h e re to e x h ib it m aterials. • Interlibrary Loan: to establish a co n so r­ tiu m o f A m erican a n d G re e k lib ra rie s th a t will len d a n d b o rro w G reek -lan g u ag e m ate­ rials free o f ch arg e am o n g them selves. • Periodicals: to create a union list o f Greek- language periodicals, including data such as ISSN, price, and publisher; to docum ent Ameri­ can h o ld in g s o f th e se periodicals; a n d to strategize th e acquisition of missing issues. ( “A cadem ic library… ” cont. fr o m p a g e 529) a u th o rized n am e head in g s to locate credible inform ation o n th e Web. C on clu sion Today’s academ ic library W eb site has matured m easurably from its early days. W orthw hile co n ten t an d ease o f navigation are becom ing co m m onplace. As w e m ove to w ard s an o th er generation o f W eb developm ent, our polished an d ro b u st W eb sites offer a solid infrastruc­ ture from w hich to build. W e should b e proud o f o u r efforts. Notes 1. R ich W ig g in s. “T h e U n iv e rs ity o f M innesota’s Internet G o p h er System: a Tool for Accessing Network-Based Electronic Infor­ m ation,” Public-Access C om puter Systems Re­ view, v. 4, no. 2 (1993): 4-60. Available o n the Internet at: h ttp ://in fo .lib .u h .e d u /p r/v 4 /n 2 / wigginsl.4n2. 2. Ibid. 3. Bruce Connolly an d Gail M. G olderm an. “Schaffer Library H om e Page: Structured Ac­ cess to Library an d Internet Resources.” Library H i Tech, v. 15, no. 3/4 (1997): 90-100. • G reek-A m erica n H oldings: to c re a te a g u id e to existing holdings a n d to assess cata­ lo g in g a n d acquisition pro b lem s. Each gro u p will analyze th e existing p ro b ­ lem s a n d offer suggestions for im provem ent. Reports will b e subm itted in S eptem ber 1999 to th e m ail list, th e n p la n s w ill b e m a d e for a follow -up c o n feren ce n e x t year in A thens, w h e re th e re p o rts w ill b e d is c u s s e d a n d projects su b se q u e n tly im p le m e n te d .2 Notes 1. The conference included attendees w ho d id n o t p re s e n t p ap ers. 2. F or fu rth er info rm atio n a b o u t th e c o n ­ fe re n c e o r a b o u t th e M odern G re e k C ollec­ tio n s W o rk in g G ro u p , c o n ta c t B eau D avid C ase, O h io S tate U n iv ersity L ibraries, Lan­ g u ag e & Area Studies D epartm ent, 1858 Neil A v en u e Mall, C o lu m b u s, O H 43210, USA; p h o n e : ( 6 l4 ) 292-2594, fax: (614) 292-1918; e-mail: case.42@ osu.edu. ■ 4. Louis Rosenfeld an d P eter Morville. I n ­ form a tio n Architecture f o r the World Wide Web. (Cambridge: O ’Reilly, 1998). 5. B eth Evans a n d W ilma Lesley Jones. “D em onstrating th e W orld W ide W eb as an academic research tool.” Jo u rn a l o f Computing in H ig h er E ducation, v. 9, no. 2 (1998): 113– 134. 6. C orinne Y.C. Laverty. “Library Instruc­ tion o n th e Web: Inventing O ptions an d O p ­ portunities.” Internet Reference Services Q u a r ­ terly, v. 2, no. 2/3 (1997): 55-66. 7. A m erican Libraries, v. 30, no. 1 (Jan. 1999) and Online, v. 23, no. 1 (J an u ary /F eb ru ary 1999). 8. Jessica M ilstead an d Susan Feldm an. “M etadata: Cataloging By Any O th er N am e.” O nline, v. 23, no. 1 (January/F ebruary 1999): 24-31. 9. Stuart W eibel. “T he State o f th e D ublin Core M etadata Initiative.” D-Lib M agazine, v. 5, no. 4 (April 1999). Available o n the Internet at http://w w w .dlib.org/dlib/april99/04w eibel. html. 10. T he Cooperative O nline Resource Cata­ log is available o n th e In te rn e t at h tt p :/ / corc.oclc.org/. ■ mailto:case.42@osu.edu http://info.lib.uh.edu/pr/v4/n2/ http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april99/04weibel corc.oclc.org/ 562 / C&RL News ■ July/August 1999