Proceedings of Research Works 1998 250 66 Zdiby 98, tel. 02/685 7375, fax: 02/685 7056, e-mail: odis@vugtk.anet.cz

The branch library of surveying, mapping and cadastre in the Research Institute of Geodesy, Topography and Cartography at Zdiby near Prague represents due its contents and activity a unique source of information in this branch.

Owing to the support of the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre the first step to successive library automation was made. Acquisition of a library system and digitization of the library catalogue are the prerequisites for the successive rendering the access to the library possible also via the network Internet.

Introduction

In the time when VÚGTK was in 1954 established, the library has taken over funds of all former technical libraries of the state surveying and cadastral services. There was for instance above all the library of the State Surveying and Cartographic Institute and together with it libraries of the Triangulation Office of the Department of Finance, Central Land Cadastre Record Office, Editor's offices of technical magazines and others. Since the year of its establishment in 1954, the library is being systematically maintained, completed, and is developing its activity as a branch library over the entire state territory.

During 80 years of our state surveying and cadastral services, immense valuable materials, monographs, magazines, transactions and other documents were collected. At the present the library has about 45 thousand volumes and at a guess about 175 thousand bibliographic references. It is the greatest and most complete library in the Czech Republic for the following areas: geodetical astronomy, satellite geodesy, mathematical and physical geodesy, geodynamics, measuring and geodesy, gravimetry, mapping, land and aerial photogrammetry, cadastre of real estate, cartography including cartographic printing industry, remote sensing, and automation of surveying, mapping and cadastre.

The library concentrates in its collections, besides books and magazines, also encyclopedian works, proceedings of scientific conferences, research reports, progress reports, standards, bulletins and announces, collections of our state acts since 1918 and other documentation. The oldest book kept here is of the year 1660.

The new home and foreign literature are being processed for information in the bimonthly library periodical issued under the name "News of surveying library".

Now the main attention is devoted to the nowadays cadastre of real estate in our country and also in the world, furthermore to geographic information systems, GPS methods, revolutionary technologies in photogrammetry, electronic technologies, and database systems for automation of surveying and cadastre. In the last period a background research activity is especially aimed to the cadastre of real estate and all modern connections.

In the frame of international exchange service the library provides exchange of materials and periodicals with several foreign libraries of similar orientation. The editor's activity of the center is aimed to processing and publishing results of professional and research activity of the institute. Furthermore the centre organizes seminars and courses on special subjects, above all on problems of new cadastral regulations.

The library is accessible to public every working day and the loans are free of charge. Nevertheless, for the reason of its location at Zdiby behind the bounds of Prague, out of the range of the Prague Public Transit, the library means up to now only a little utilized source of professional information. Every short visit represents thus for the reader a "whole day journey", and mainly the number of readers-students therefore is now very low. Consequently that means a large reduction of utilization of all information funds of the center including the library itself. Nowadays the situation about the library becomes better. Above all the realization of the project "Automation of the library" has been started. The book catalogue and bibliographic records are successively digitized and inputted to the library system database. This electronic catalogue is already now accessible on the network Internet. In the same way also the bimonthly magazine "News of surveying library" is presented in the network Internet. More and more people will have access to reference and fulltext databases.

Reasons and motivations leading to on-line information providing

Furthermore at the present time concrete requirements of users of information about results of research and development being deposited in the form of library funds, are being changed. These requirements lucidly formulated in the Librarian-information memorandum can be in shortened form summarized as follows:

• to have a real and easy possibility to look up and get a remote information about literature on a given subject or about location of defined publication (best in the regime of open on-line access from some place out of the library),

• then inside the library to have a study place at disposal, with a close access to the most important reference funds (reference library) and with a computer connected to a network, with the possibility of working with internal and as wide as possible range of external databases, catalogues and other information sources, and also to have a qualified advice from a skilled librarian, information professional and a prompt copying technique at disposal,

• that all either free of charge or for a symbolic charge.

Thus libraries today must work with a vision that a personal computer, a terminal or a workstation will mean to a user not only an input to a library, a tool of a survey of its entire information capacity but also an input to other libraries and the world of information. Any library should in fact represent all other libraries and ensure the access to them for any user. The proper user's contact to the library should then be rather a direct and immediate contact with documents (on shelves) and electronic information sources. It is also clear that the fulfilment of these requirements is unthinkable without a worldwide computer network like Internet to which must be therefore the automated library system connected.

Information provided in the fulltext form

Every reader, who will search by means of Internet an information of an interesting article from a magazine owning by the library, can ask via e-mail or by phone for sending the article copy to his address. Searching is possible as in surveys of shortened annotation records in the NZK magazine, as directly in the bibliographical catalogue in the TinLib system (see further text). Copies are provided only for personal need of the applicant-reader without the possibility of their further propagation and only from magazines without a clause that forbids this. The reason is the author's right protection of magazines editors. Copies of articles are being sent to the reader by the cash on delivery system, and the price only covers the minimum loads of postal charges, packing and making the proper copy. In this way the reader can gain desired information, i.e. from foreign technical magazines without leaving his working place.

Automated library system of the Surveying Library ODIS of VÚGTK

The strategy of introducing the automated system consists in the parallel operation with the current (card-index) system till the time of the total running-in the new system. Only then, after eliminating all mistakes and problems, the old (current) system will be stopped.

Furthermore it is good to understand that the quality of a library is directly proportional to the number of information stored in it, accordingly to the number of records involved in its library catalogue, although it is of course no exact criterion of the information quantity and quality. On the other hand the question is quite clearly about the most expensive part of the whole project of the automation of library works - with regard to financial and time-consuming aspects and also to the volume of works. But with respect to the still rising price of human work it is clear that the retrospective conversion will be the more expensive the later will be realized. Nevertheless the retro-conversion (digitization) is needed to be done only once for always without respect to possible later changes in the library system used. There exist three different ways in principle how to digitize the library catalogue:

• acquisition of a new library catalogue by means of realization of the complete recataloguing, the old library catalogue will be abolished,

• conversion of the current library catalogue from the "paper" form to the digital one by means of textual information recognition (by scanning),

• conversion of the current library catalogue from the "paper" form to the digital one by rewriting it on the computer.

The second possibility still meets with imperfection of machines recognizing textual information. The situation is more complicated due to the fact that during the whole history of the library, its catalogue has been acquired on different types of typewriters (almost of tens), in different arrangement, often as carbon copy, and a lot of information was written by hand in addition (including striking, glosses, etc.).

The third possibility for ODIS is solely viable, for as financial, as time-consuming reasons.

In the year 1997 the surveying library ODIS of VÚGTK, due to the support of the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre, has started has started solution of the project "Automation of library works in the library ODIS of VÚGTK", with the goal to provide an access to ample collections of branch literature via Internet for every reader visiting the library. This design corresponds with the present situation in the area of scientific libraries in the Czech Republic. That was also the main reason why the library received in 1998 the grant from the Ministry of education, youth and sport for this activity. The library intends by the year 2000 to enable a direct access to more than 100 thousand digitized items including books and articles from magazines that the library owns.

First the analysis of the current state and operation of the library was carried out; furthermore the selection of functions needed for automation; acquaintance with systems that must be considered; determination of parameters that the later chosen library system has to fulfil; determination of a method how to realize the successive retrospective conversion (digitization) of the library catalogue. In the framework of financial possibilities the proper retrospective conversion of library catalogue data was initiated.

It was necessary to ensure the observance of standards for storing and data exchange (UNIMARC) absolutely. The problem was in the choice of such a software which fully supports this format. Not every library system however complies with this format exactly, although its merchants assert this capability.

From the reason of securing of the open access to catalogue (OPAC) database, it was necessary to solve the situation when various systems utilized by external users are installed for different Czech environment (Kamenický, Latin2, ISO Latin2, Windows, UNIX,...). Likewise it is needed to have a possibility not only to enter and display Czech characters but for example also to execute classification according to the Czech alphabet.

For securing of the open OPAC remote access demanded by users, from the place out of the library, it was also necessary to solve the connection of library and bibliographic catalogues to Internet through the full connectivity. Therefore not via a modem utilizing a telephone line, but my means of a fixed data circuit. With regard to the fact that VÚGTK is connected to the network Internet only through a commutative telephone line, the solution lies in the location of an Internet server that belongs to ČÚZK at the Faculty of Civil Engineering (Czech abbr. FSv) of the Czech Technical University (Czech abbr. ČVUT), after agreement with its management. More detailed conditions of utilizing this server are defined more accurate in a particular agreement between ČÚZK and FSv ČVUT. The server for presentation of documents representing ČÚZK and VÚGTK in Internet is at disposal, and also for publications of ODIS VÚGTK as for example News of surveying library and also for location of the library catalogue VÚGTK copy with the open OPAC access, furthermore also for teaching students of the geodesy and cartography specialization at the FSv ČVUT.

For the open OPAC access to other libraries also connected to the network Internet, which is demanded by local library users at Zdiby, serves then the access to Internet by means of a commutative telephone line.

As a suitable automated library system the TinLib system was in 1997 in an open competition chosen and purchased. This system is in the Czech Republic operated in about 90 peak prestigious libraries at the present time. Two installations were bought: one installation of the library catalogue in the version for Windows 95 with access to the server in the branch library, and the other installation of the library catalogue in the version for UNIX with access to the Internet server ČÚZK at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of ČVUT. Both installations have been realized and are fully functional.

At the present time the library catalogue of the TinLib system database contains about 12 thousand library records and is accessible in Internet by the Telnet service on URL:

It is possible to search in the catalogue database as according to authors' name, as for instance also according to publication titles, subject groups or key words. It is also possible to ask contemporarily for a list of all records beginning with or in title having certain words - character chains. A really powerful tool for readers is then the possibility of searching by means of a so-called mask. In this case the reader can contemporarily determine more criteria as, e.g. names of authors, translators, subject groups, thesaurus expressions, key words, time intervals for the year of issue, type of publication (e.g. research reports, proceedings, ...), International Decimal Classification, etc. The result is then a list of publications fulfilling all given criteria. In this way the reader can by himself very effectively generate studies on given themes. It remains thus to purchase, install and introduce into operation yet the other chosen modules, i.e. the module for maintenance of serials and the lending module. Furthermore it is necessary to buy, install and introduce into operation the WAW interface Tinweb for the input to the tin lib system database by means of the WAW service.

In the case of the module for maintenance of serials - magazines, the question is of the reGIStry as bound volumes, as individual numbers in more pieces, and the possibility of searching individual treatises in the magazine contents.

In the case of the lending module, the matter is of the electronic reGIStry of loans. In the practical operation that means to introduce permit cards with strip codes, furnishing books with strip codes and the reGIStry of loans, returning, not-returned books, booking, watching the terms of loans, reminders, loans blocking, penalties, etc., all exclusively on a computer. It is also possible to watch statistics of loans, e.g. within one day or one month period, etc.

The finite solution of the current state regarded now as a temporary one, is possible to reach only through connection to Internet by the direct connectivity. The reason lies in the fact that a minimum one further copy of the library database would not be expensively maintained on the external server (located 18 kilometres and one hour way by traffic). The access to this server and the addition of data is possible only with agreement of its manager which is the chair of mapping and cartography of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of ČVUT. Without using this server with direct connection to Internet it is not possible to enable the access to the library catalogue from outside. The library has thus now, as mentioned above, the connection only by a commutative telephone line.

Conclusion

The ODIS VÚGTK library has already introduced into operation the automated library system TinLib which enables the access to the library and bibliographical catalogues with utilization of the network Internet. This access is accompanied also with on-line providing fullest information through the WAW service. The question is for instance about presentation of the library bimonthly periodical "News of surveying library" and many others.

However, the automated library system does not mean only the possibility of an access to the library catalogue in the network Internet. It is also the automation of all practised library works as for instance the reGIStry of loans, automatic generation of reminders concerning books that were not returned (given or sent back), the reGIStry of readers together with statistics of loans, etc.

REFERENCES

Nejedlý, V., Talich, M.: Branch Library of VÚGTK. - In: Proceedings of Research Works 1996. - VÚGTK : Zdiby, 1996. - Pp.107-110.

Krbec, P., Pálka, P.: Důvody a přínosy automatizace knihovnických prací [Reasons and Contributions of Automation of Library Works] - In: i'94. - Vol.36, No.2 (1994), pp.40-46.

Talich, M.: Vědeckotechnické informace v době Internetu a elektronických knihoven [Scientific and Technical Information in the Internet and Electronic Libraries Era] - In: Sborník prací VÚGTK 1996. - Vol.41, No.17. - VÚGTK : Zdiby, 1996. - Pp.51-58.

Talich, M.: Projekt automatizace knihovnických prací v knihovně VÚGTK [Project of the Automation of Library Works in the VÚGTK Library] / Technical report of VÚGTK. - VÚGTK : Zdiby, 1996. - 7 pages.

White, R.L., Jaffe, L.D.: Rewiring a working library a teaching an old dog new tricks. - In: Online. - Vol.19, No.1 (1995), pp.62-68.