Sharing Digital Resources in the Millennium Environment: the IRRI

Library and Documentation Service Experience

By Mila M. Ramos, Chief Librarian

Emerald Laxamana, Librarian – CatalogingInternational Rice Research Institute

Library & Documentation Service

Overview

• Introduction: apologies• The International Rice Research

Institute Library & its mission• Digital resources in the IRRI Library• Access points to digital resources• Cataloging Remote electronic

resources• Problems• Challenge to IT experts in the audience

Apologies

• There is nothing spectacular in this presentation

• The aim is simply to show how the IRRI Library is using the basic modules of the Millennium

• The audience is invited to comment or help us improve on what we have been doing

The International Rice Research Institute)

• IRRI was established in 1960• Currently one of the 15 international agricultural

centers under the umbrella of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

• The CGIAR centers focus on different subject areas or crops and 13 of them are located in developing countries

• IRRI conducts research on rice • Mission :

“to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability through collaborative research, partnerships, and strengthening of national agricultural research and extension systems”.

The IRRI Library & Documentation Service

Objective no. 5 in IRRI’s Articles of Incorporation clearly states the role of the Library :

“to establish, maintain and operate an information center and library which will provide …for interested scientists and scholars everywhere, a collection of the world’s literature on rice”

More Facts about the IRRI Library

• started in 1961• the world’s most comprehensive

collection of technical rice literature• more than a quarter of a million

technical materials on rice• 138,000+ volumes of monographs

and reprints• 3,000+ journal titles

Millennium Modules in the IRRI Library

Major: Peripherals:-OPAC -URL checker-Cataloging -Advanced -Circulation searching-Serials-Acquisitions

IRRI’s Databases

• Online public access catalog (OPAC) with 76,000+ bibliographic records

• Rice database with 251,000+ bibliographic records

• Both databases sit on the Millennium platform

Access Points to Digital Resources: OPAC

Cataloging of Digital Resources

Web Display of Catalog Record

Access points to Digital Resources: E-Journals Link

E-Journals Link

Access Points to Digital Resources: E-Reference

Sources

Access Points to Digital Resources: Online Databases

Monitoring Links via the URL checker

Problems

• Lack of a systems librarian, who can work full-time in utilizing and applying enhancements on the system

• Limited financial resources • Monitoring of URLs• More training on the various modules

Enhancements desired

• Ability to toggle between the 2 databases in IRRI without the need to exit the system

• Allow URLs to be active, while viewing records via staff mode.

• Bib records for journals, without item records, display the message “ No copies available”, which is misleading for clients

More Enhancements

• When saving records, there should be an indication on the screen that the record was indeed saved. Or, perhaps, the number of records saved should appear on the screen

• User-friendly spine label printing using laser printers

• Export review files on different database management formats

Thank you.