Multimedia and electronic resources. TiARA

Citation

Calvert, P. (1998), "Multimedia and electronic resources. TiARA", Asian Libraries, Vol. 7 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/al.1998.17307bad.010

Multimedia and electronic resources. TiARA

Multimedia and electronic resources

TiARA (Timely Information for All, Relevant and Affordable) http://www.digilib.org.sg [date reviewed: 7 December 1997]

TiARA is a multi-agency effort supported by Singapore's National Computer Board, the National Library Board, the National Science and Technology Board, and participating libraries in Singapore. It provides a means of searching the catalogues of participating libraries and of accessing selected electronic resources (Internet sites, online databases and electronic newspapers). There are a number of services built into TiARA. Perhaps the first part librarians will explore is the library catalogue ­ this, though, is a catalogue with a difference. The variation between this system and other Z39.50 interfaces now available on the Web is that TiARA can search across all eleven library catalogues in the LibServ network with one search. (To get started select "Library Services", click "Here", then "Library Catalogue Search ­ Basic".) You will notice that in the search screen as you first find it, the default is to the Singapore National Library. To change this to a comprehensive search use the 'Select Library' button, then on the next screen choose the "Select All" option.

This extra functionality was written for TiARA by a contracted company, Data Research Associates of Australia. Software has been added which does two things differently from a standard Z39.50 system. First, multiple search requests are sent at the same time to all servers connected to the network (currently eleven libraries). This is done transparently whenever more than one library is identified under the "Select Library" option. Second, when the search has been concluded on the remote servers and sent back to the client, all the results are consolidated so that a single file is then presented to the customer's workstation. The consolidated file can be sorted in various ways if the customer so wishes.

It is important to emphasise that the TiARA project is aimed at meeting user needs. It is not designed as a union catalogue. You will see that the present search interface is relatively simple, as one would expect in a customer-oriented service. The problem a librarian will have when trying to use this interface for identifying specific items is that it is hard to construct a search which is sufficiently specific to identify only the wanted document and not retrieve numerous others with a similar title or author. Perhaps the addition of an ISBN search field would alter that quite quickly.

The Internet Resources section of the TiARA site offers users the opportunity to conduct a single search (with its own search engine) of numerous Net sites (at least 200 and apparently growing all the time). If preferred, the user can select from a subject guide of 26 subject headings such as "fashion", "manufacturing" and "research". Choosing any one of these subjects will lead the user to selected Web sites chosen by TiARA staff for their quality. The "newspapers" section is sure to be popular, and it will be valuable for reference librarians serving customers interested in Asia because here can be found a selection of electronic newspapers from Japan, Taiwan and the PRC, plus, of course, the Straits Times.

There is a section called Information Resources, which contains access to numerous online databases. Currently (until the end of 1997) access is by user name and password obtainable f.o.c. from the TiARA administration, but unfortunately this part of TiARA is due to start charging from 1 January 1998.

This Internet site certainly offers a vision of what resource sharing can be achieved relatively cheaply, and I am aware that New Zealand's major libraries have already looked at TiARA as a possible model for a distributed national union catalogue.

Philip CalvertNanyang Technological University