Prospects for remote access: the Jewish National and University Library

Citation

Duke, R. (2002), "Prospects for remote access: the Jewish National and University Library", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 30 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilds.2002.12230daf.001

Prospects for remote access: the Jewish National and University Library

ILDS has invited a number of national libraries to give their views on how they will be developing services to remote users. In this issue we print replies from Israel and Brazil. In the next issue we expect replies from Austria, Ireland, Canada, Japan, France, New Zealand and Wales.

Keywords: National bibliographies, Distance learning, Library services, National cultures

The Jewish National and University Library (JNUL) in Jerusalem, serves as both the national library of the State of Israel, reflecting the cultural legacy of all sectors of its population, and as the national library for the Jewish people wherever they may live, encompassing every aspect of their history and culture. In addition, it is also the main humanities research library of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

From a statutory point of view the JNUL's independent status is not clearly defined, since in the absence of a national library law it does not receive direct government funding and must rely mostly on the Hebrew University for its budgeting. Nonetheless, the Legal Deposit Law, recently expanded to include various types of non-book materials, requires publishers to deposit copies of their publications with the library.

Since its inception over 100 years ago, long before the state of Israel was established, the library has amassed almost 4 million volumes. Its catalogues are divided into four sections: Hebrew, Latin, Cyrillic and Arabic characters. Current cataloging using ALEPH was introduced in 1983; this year the retroactive conversion of the entire Hebrew character catalogue was completed. Conversion of the Cyrillic, Arabic and Latin character catalogues are under way but may soon be halted due to lack of funds.

Remote access

Providing remote access for potential users is predicated on the ease with which they can discover what the library has to offer. The JNUL's OPAC is readily accessible via its home page (http://jnul.huji.ac.il), but some half a million titles still have to be converted. Readers searching for articles in the field of Jewish studies are invited to use the online Index to Articles in Jewish Studies (RAMBI), a bibliographic database which is now beginning to add links to full-text articles.

Document supply

As part of the Israel inter-university network, scanned articles can be transmitted to and from fellow members via the ARIEL program.

Users outside the system may request photocopies by fax or mail delivery. The library's conversion to the Web-based ALEPH-500 planned for the summer of 2003 will enable an online order form to be accessed from the catalogue.

Interlending

The JNUL serves as the main centre for interlibrary loan in all fields except science and technology within the Hebrew University and the inter-university network. Books are lent for a period of four weeks and are sent by registered surface mail unless airmail is requested.

As the main repository in the world for Hebraica and Judaica, the JNUL has been a major focus for requests for document supply, but as is the case universally, the possibility of accessing full text articles or other digitized material is already affecting the demand for receiving the material in a physical format. We expect this trend to continue as more periodical and other literature in the humanities becomes digitized. On the other hand, as we develop our on-line bibliographical resources to increase general public awareness of the contents of our collections, demands for copies of older non-digitized material are likely to grow.

Online reference is clearly a major tool in connecting the remote user with the library's collections. Queries by e-mail are routine in addition to the traditional telephone, fax and letter. An online request form (Ask a librarian) will be offered in the near future, and only severe limits on personnel are currently preventing the library from joining an international online cooperative reference service.

Digitization

A major step forward in the move to open up our collections to users near and far is the library's digitization project, which is freely accessible to the general public. From the main library site, the reader is able to access a display of the JNUL's collection of over 1,200 marriage contracts (Ketubbot), with linked bibliographic records. Other collections in preparation include ancient maps of Jerusalem from the Eran Laor Map Collection, Jewish community records, important manuscripts of the Talmud and a selection of historic Hebrew newspapers. It should be noted that these collections are reproduced in their entirety. Visitors to the home page will find links to the National Sound Archives Digitization Project, offering a selection of ethnographic recordings of Jewish music from various communities, and to the Albert Einstein Archives.

Digitization is widely gaining momentum as a means of preservation of fragile materials. At the JNUL, the imminent purchase of sophisticated scanning equipment will give readers the option of receiving scanned copies of rare or physically endangered documents on CD-ROM. The images will then be stored to allow for repeated use and to form the basis of a widely accessible digital library of the JNUL's rare books and documents.

National bibliography

Until now the National Bibliography, Kiryat Sefer, has been published as a quarterly journal in printed format only. In the near future this is to be converted to electronic format, but its mandate and type of coverage is currently under discussion.

These are some of the issues facing the JNUL in its efforts to meet the challenge of providing remote access to potential users in an era of technological innovation on the one hand and financial stress on the other.

Rosalind DukeDeputy Director, JNUL