Updated 8 February, 1999

THE PROPOSAL.

The Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs is encouraging and supporting collaboration among universities in order to achieve services delivered in the most cost effective manner whilst ensuring a quality higher education system.

In 1995, CAUL and the National Library of Australia were awarded funding from DEETYA’s Evaluations And Investigations Program. The first recommendation of the report, Access to Distributed National Collections: Models for the Future Development for Integrated Print/Electronic Delivery to Australian Higher Education Institutions, was "Development of a Subject-Based Virtual Library of Print and Electronic Resources."

It is proposed that a set of collaborative information centres be established to address the diminishing national financial resources for research information services in Australian universities. The centres will provide a focus for national collaborative purchasing in their disciplines, and provide one-stop shops for access to research information in those disciplines.

It is further proposed that a pilot phase be undertaken to test the vision, concepts and theories underpinning the centres and to develop a costed business model for centres in specific disciplines.

$....  is requested from the Higher Education Innovation Program (HEIP) to support a pilot phase, to facilitate the development of the model of a Janus centre through the structured establishment and evaluation of a pilot centre.

The elements of the model that will be tested, in one or more subject disciplines, during the funding period are included in Appendix I, Architecture of a Janus Collaborative Information Centre. These elements will form the links required to extend existing activity into a national framework.

This proposal and all subsequent activity will continue to build on the developments, trials, and achievements of the higher education and research communities nationally and internationally.

It should be recognised that, although most elements of the proposed centres have been tested somewhere, no-one has yet achieved national integration of print and electronic collections as a one-stop shop, nor national collaborative purchasing agreements on the scale proposed. Details are included in Appendix II, International Context for Janus Collaborative Information Centres.

THE BACKGROUND.

Two decades of inflation in subscription costs, a dramatically lower exchange rate and financial pressures within universities have ensured that university libraries have pruned subscriptions down to the core requirements to support the institutions’ teaching and research programs, and have significantly reduced duplication within institutions. The national information resource is running down because university libraries can no longer afford to maintain the rich scholarly resource required to support the teaching and research needs of an advanced nation.

The total expenditure on information resources in Australian university libraries in 1997 was $135 million. A recent CAUL survey shows 22 universities reporting total cuts to journal subscriptions in 1998 of . The currency slide (24% between January 1997 and April 1998) has contributed significantly to the cuts. Increases in the price of subscriptions has contributed most of the remainder.

Similar influences are at play in the international arena. ARL, the Association of Research Libraries in North America, reports that between 1986 and 1996, serial unit prices had risen 147% and monograph unit prices by 63%. During that time, although expenditure on serials more than doubled (+124%), they bought 7% fewer serials. Since 1986, the annual average increase for the serial unit price has been 9.5% and the monograph unit price 5%, which is higher than the general inflation trends in North America during the same period.

The goal of providing the widest possible coverage of relevant scholarly information in Australia remains paramount although the means have changed. Australian libraries, and particularly the university libraries, have achieved comprehensive coverage of Australia’s library resources in the National Library’s National Bibliographic Database, have established a document delivery system which is the envy of most nations and have established nationwide access to a range of electronic databases and journals. But our coverage of electronic resources is far from comprehensive and our print collections are declining as we collectively purchase a diminishing proportion of the world’s annual publishing of books and journals.

It is imperative that we take a national view. The national interest in study, research and an informed society requires nationwide access to strong library collections, both print and electronic. In particular, the growth of open and distance learning demands nationwide access to library materials: direct access to electronic resources coupled with rapid delivery of facsimiles of printed articles and chapters.

Strong institutionally relevant collections develop through sustained commitment by universities to developing their libraries. But universities are increasingly competitive, positioning their courses and research programs to attract students and funding. Their libraries respond, shaping their collections to the teaching and research of each university. Consequently, no university library can be expected to maintain a subscription to a journal that is not on its own priority list, in order to provide a service to the nation. If the nation should want strong national collections, it must (as is done in Germany) fund those collections as a national, not university, priority.

Collaborative purchasing of print/microfilm/audiovisual resources has been undertaken on a relatively small scale to date, essentially because the focus of each library is on the research and teaching requirements of its university and the preference of its users has been for the ready (local) availability of resources.

Collaborative purchasing of electronic resources is still limited to some extent by the nature of the licensing models available from the publishing community, and by the additional costs attached to the electronic versions. The advantage of fast access, ease of use and desk-top delivery, may be outweighed by the costs and licence limitations.

The transition from print to electronic, particularly in journals and other non-monographic publications, has not been universally welcomed. Reasons vary - disciplines in which so little is yet available in electronic form; basic university computing infrastructure limitations which do not permit utilisation of some of the newer computer search tools; researchers loathe to change tried and tested approaches to retrieving information.

Examples of recent and current international activity are included as Appendix II, International Context for Janus Collaborative Information Centres.

THE GOAL.

The goal is to support the national interest in information access for researchers and in high quality support for learning and research through national collaboration to develop the best possible library and information infrastructure. This is pre-competitive in that it underpins both cooperation and the fiercest competition in learning and research.

This is facilitated best through an integrated approach to the continued maintenance of major research collections of journals and other resources, the collaborative implementation of electronic resources and high quality rapid delivery of information via fax and the Internet.

THE INITIATIVE.

One element of the approach is the Janus initiative.

This initiative is not directly concerned with the creation, publication and distribution of scholarly information. It focuses instead on how that information is acquired and accessed.

Models will vary from discipline to discipline:

• In the Humanities, for example, it will be important to ensure direct access to print resources, as electronic resources are limited and may be expected to develop relatively slowly. A Janus Centre in Southeast Asian Studies might adopt quite a centralised model, building on the wealth of resources held by the Australian National University and the National Library of Australia, but networking with other nodes across Australia and internationally.
• By contrast, a Chemistry Janus Centre would need to deliver information to chemists in their laboratories and offices across Australia, so it would be totally distributed. It would draw on the immense datastores available electronically, the key information discovery tools and the burgeoning electronic literature, supplemented by high speed delivery of facsimiles of printed documents.
• Similarly, a Janus Centre for Agriculture would deliver to agricultural scientists in the field, the laboratory and the office. It would involve government departments and commercial organisations (eg seed and fertiliser companies) as well as university and other research libraries. It would facilitate access to the extensive grey literature of agriculture (the limited circulation reports and other materials which are so valuable) as well as more conventional print and electronic publications.

These examples illustrate the key characteristics of a Janus Centre:

• National in focus but of international importance;
• Aiming to be a ‘one stop shop’ for information in the field;
• Format independent, covering both print and electronic;
• Using advanced information technologies to support discovery, access and delivery of research information;
• Providing distributed access to and delivery of information;
• Collaborative, building on existing strengths and achieving economies by reducing duplication and optimising purchasing power.

It is envisaged that the Janus centres will be funded by the Commonwealth in a fashion similar to the Cooperative Research Centres, preferably by calling for expressions of interest from major players in the sector. This would enable consortia, based on existing strengths, to service the national research information needs of particular disciplines. Consortia would be based on university libraries but could also include a mix of other relevant research libraries, including government agencies and commercial organisations. Some might include commercial information suppliers such as database vendors.

THE PILOT PHASE.

The concept requires validating so it is recommended that it be tested with up to three pilot centres. A field-of-research approach is deemed preferable to a format-based approach because the identification of users, collections and resources is significantly simplified. The range of elements being addressed and tested will be essentially generic, and the resulting business model should be adaptable to most discipline areas. The following areas have been recommended because of Australia’s international standing and because of the current work on subject gateways:

• Chemistry. This subject is important because it underpins many secondary disciplines, and has a wealth of information sources, many of which have been beyond the reach of Australian institutions because of the costs involved.
• Agriculture. It is recognised that relatively few universities have faculties of agriculture, but many have related disciplines such as environmental studies. It is a key research area for Australia, and involves many players outside the higher education sector.
• Philosophy. This subject area demonstrates significant monograph use and centralised resources for submersive scholarship as a counterpoint to the suggested scientific disciplines.

A consultant will be employed to assist the Steering Group through the two stages of the pilot phase. Details of the brief are given in Appendix III. The selection committee will be Professor Clark, Mr Byrne, Dr Bennett and Mr Horton. A short list of consultants will be drawn up, based on advice from the AVCC, DEETYA and others. The recommended consultants will be asked for a fixed price quote and will be given two weeks to respond.

Pilot Stage 1. Approval stage. The consultant will draft a business plan for a pilot centre. Criteria for the expression of interest for the management of the pilot centre will be drawn up, and the discipline for the centre selected.

Pilot Stage 2. Pilot centre establishment and evaluation. Development of business model for Janus centres.

Time scale.

1998 August - Proposal to DEETYA.
1998 September - Proposal approved, Steering Group approved.
1998 October - Consultant appointed, Focus Group(s) appointed.
1998 December - Feasibility of pilot phase confirmed, Pilot Centre business plan completed.
1999 January - Call for expressions of interest published.
1999 April - Pilot Stage 2 commences.

THE OBJECTIVES.

• An arrest in the decline in the provision of resources, as a precursor to expanding access, with more efficient pooling and use of system resources.
• The reduction of any unnecessary duplication in the purchase of information resources.
• The delivery of improved and guaranteed levels of services.
• The provision of more cost-effective access to information.
• The elimination of barriers between discrete institutional collections.
• The researcher able to consider all higher education institutions libraries as their own.

In the pilot phase, it is intended to achieve the following key outcomes through commitment from the players - the participating institutions, the academics, the librarians and the extra-university players:

1. Agreement that some form of collaborative collection-building, access and maintenance can and will occur.
1. A clear knowledge of user needs and optimal service levels.
1. A clear knowledge of the expenditure patterns of collecting print and electronic research material, what necessary duplication there is, and which gaps need to be filled.
1. "Best price" access to commercial databases relevant to the defined subject area, including the ability to provide access to Australian libraries and end users outside the consortium membership.
1. The provision of efficient quality document delivery to both end users and other Australian libraries based on the resources of the consortium, which will also act as a gateway for access to materials not held in Australia and not available on the Web or from commercial database suppliers i.e. from overseas libraries or other library consortia.
1. A development path for systems and agreements to ensure that the consortium’s collections are widely available, and information readily delivered, including attention to:
1. Management of licensing and copyright barriers to information access;
1. Virtual access and authentication issues;
1. Telecommunications legislation.
1. A business model for the ongoing development of the Janus model, based on a process for collective decision-making, collaborative collection-building and the efficient delivery of information services both directly to end users and to the Australian library community which should outline:
1. The steps required to achieve the vision of integrated and simplified access to the literature in any format;
1. The likely cost benefits of achieving it collaboratively;
1. An appropriate consortium management structure involving the key stakeholders in information provision in the agreed subject area;
1. Mechanisms and agreements to manage purchases and cancellations by the group and by the individual institutions within the group;
1. The mechanisms for transition to self-funding;
1. The sustainability of the centres - must be an advantage for major players to participate; must ultimately be funded within the sector; and,
1. The scaleability of the model to centres of different size in different discipline area.
1. Demonstration to major players of the cost-advantage of participating in a collaborative venture.
1. Demonstration of the value of leveraging collaborative collection-building with substantial start-up funding.
1. The development of gateway mechanisms to provide efficient long term access to electronic information in the defined subject area created in Australia as well as links to relevant overseas subject gateway developments;
1. The development of Web based interfaces to provide integrated access to the print, electronic and commercial databases available in the defined subject area.
1. Well-developed links to systems and projects such as JEDDS, LIDDA, Kinetica, metaweb, PANDORA, RIEFP-funded subject gateways, etc.

The funds requested will allow the Steering Group to:

• develop an initial business plan for a pilot centre;
• run a pilot demonstration project;
• allow effective testing of the concept of a Janus centre, the timely delivery of information to the end-user by the most cost-effective means.

The AVCC, on behalf of the sector, will be the grantee.

Budget details for the two-stage pilot of one centre:

[... details deleted from public document 8/2/99...]

FOCUS/REFERENCE GROUPS.

One will be established for each discipline piloted. Their function will be to:

• provide initial advice to the consultant on the architecture of a centre in their discipline;
• advise the Steering Group on the selection of the pilot centre and its manager;
• provide advice to the pilot centre manager;
• report to the Steering Group on pilot centre progress;
• receive advice from the Steering Group;
• provide advice to the consultant on the development of a business model for a fully functional centre.

Each group should consist of 6-8 subject specialists (researchers and end-users) and 1-2 information specialists with knowledge of the information resources and services in the area.

EVALUATION.

The evaluation of the pilot will enable recommendations to be made to DEETYA, the ARC and the AVCC on the best approach to integrated, collaborative access to information resources. It is therefore expected that evaluation will form a significant part of the project.

The pilot will investigate the core set of criteria which will, if met, ensure that the Janus centre business model is valid e.g. coherency of the model; whether available money can be used to reduce duplication, improve speed of delivery, reduce price, improve quality of service.

Possible evaluation criteria include client satisfaction, value for money, effect on the balance of payments, international linkages, visibility, etc. The criteria used should be meaningful to users, the AVCC and the Government, and should be easily measured.

The pilot will investigate the quality criteria from the provider’s and the researcher’s viewpoint e.g. product packaged in an appropriate way at a reasonable price; why the provider would wish to buy services from a Janus centre; etc.

Review mechanisms will be built into the pilot. They will be aligned with the business plan and the performance indicators.

Performance indicators must be aligned to the research process.

STEERING GROUP.

The Steering Group is made up of representatives of the major research constituencies within Australia. It is chaired by the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee’s representative. Membership is:

Professor Paul Clark (VUT, AVCC, Chair)
Ms Marian Bate (UNSW, CAUL)
Mr Alex Byrne (NTU, CAUL)
Ms Helen Hayes (UMelbourne, CAUL)
Mrs Janine Schmidt (UQ, CAUL)
Professor Deane Terrell (ANU, AVCC), represented by Colin Steele.
Mr Philip Kent (CSIRO)
Mr Warren Horton (National Library of Australia)
Dr David Bennett (AAH, National Scholarly Communications Forum)
Ms Christine Page-Hanify (UNSW, CAUDIT)
Administrative support: Diane Costello (CAUL); Cliff Law (National Library of Australia)

CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Diane Costello
Executive Officer
Council of Australian University Librarians
LPO Box 169 (Licensed Post Office)
Australian National University
Canberra ACT 2601

Tel +612 6249 2990
Fax +612 6248 8571
diane.costello@anu.edu.au

Mr Alex Byrne
President
Council of Australian University Librarians
Tel: 08 8946 6192
Fax: 08 8945 1317
alex.byrne@ntu.edu.au

Professor Paul Clark
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Victoria University of Technology
Tel: (03) 9688 4255
Fax: (03) 9688 4006
Email: paul=clark@vut.edu.au

Dr David Bennett
Executive Director
The Australian Academy of the Humanities
Tel: 02 6248 7744
Fax: 02 6248 6287
David.Bennett@anu.edu.au

dmc \cic\proposa3.doc
 

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