Updated 1 June, 2002

1. System-Wide Access to Databases $2,000,000
2. Improved Information Infrastructure $2,000,000
1. Network Information Support
2. CASMAC-Compliant Library Specifications
3. Electronic Publishing $1,000,000

System-Wide Access to Databases (Database Access Working Group)

• providing all staff and students of Australian universities with improved access to a range of information databases;
• providing gateways to a range of bibliographic, full-text and multimedia databases;
• promoting information literacy among members of the scholarly community; and
• developing mechanisms which will improve the dissemination of information, particularly the works of Australian scholars.

• Trial of OCLC FirstSearch service ($200,000) provided free access to more than 40 databases and a total of 69,411 searches were made from the 38 participant institutions.
• Research Libraries Group (RLG) Citadel database access ($197,000). RLG provided free access to its Citadel database service during August 1994. Following this trial, nine databases were identified, unique to the RLG service and with wide applicability to the Australian academic community, for a six month trial ending May 1995.
• Australian Bureau of Statistics Time Series Service AARNET interface development ($142,000)
• Twenty SilverPlatter databases, including INSPEC, PsycInfo and ERIC, mounted on a SCO Unix host server at the offices of ALDIS in Melbourne, were each accessible to 8 simultaneous users from Australia's universities. Search software is available for Macintosh, Windows and DOS-based PCs, as well as VT100 terminals. ($270,000)
• The full-text business file from UMI, ABI/Inform, is mounted on Unix hardware at the offices of Ovid Technologies in Sydney. Thirty simultaneous users across Australia used Ovid software to connect via the Internet. ($250,000)
• Information Access Company's Expanded Academic Index / ASAP includes the full-text of periodicals of scholarly and general interest, plus indexes and abstracts of a further 1000. Access was via the Internet to California for an unlimited number of university users. ($100,000)
• Access to the Lexis/Nexis Educational Menu, with full-text of legal, news and business information, was via the Internet or modem to Dayton, Ohio, for 8 simultaneous users from each university. ($100,000)
• The Cambridge Scientific Abstracts Internet Journal Service is managed locally by DA Information Services. Subscriptions to the CSA electronic journals by individual universities were discounted by 50% for the first twelve months, and subsidised further by the Fund. ($38,000)

Working Group on Electronic Publishing

The primary aim of the AVCC's Electronic Publishing Project is to promote the electronic publishing of scholarly literature in the interests of Australian research. The purpose of the grants is to develop models of best practice which might provide guidance for the Australian academic community on the possibilities - and pitfalls - of advanced information technologies.

Successful Applications - First Round.

1. Academy Electronic Editions Project $40,000 allocated to the Australian Academy of the Humanities for the development of electronic editions of Australian literary texts

2. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education. $60,000 allocated to Monash University Library, the Unit of Medical Informatics and USICee (Unesco Supported International Centre for Engineering Education), Faculty of Engineering, to transfer a journal, published currently primarily in paper form, the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, into electronic format.

3. Australian Astronomical Preprint Server. Allocated $50,000 to Dr R.P. Norris, head of Astrophysics and Computing, CSIRO Australia Telescope national Facility.

4. Australian Journal of Chemistry/Psyche Allocated $100,000 to CSIRO, RMIT, PSYCHE for the development of an electronic journal based on the Australian Journal of Chemistry and the further development of PSYCHE.

Successful Application - Second Round, first call, 1995

Electronic development of the Australian Landcare Systems Journal $40,000 allocated to Dr Glynn Rimmington, University of Melbourne

Successful Applications - Second Round, 1995

1. Charles Sturt University $60,000 for the development of a general model for online scholarly publishing, addressing a range of issues (including quality control, editorial practice, standards, and organisation of publishing in the different environment of electronic communication).

2. University of Melbourne $12,840 for the electronic publication of Australian Prescriber, an independent journal supported by the Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health for the publication of review articles on drug therapy.

3. University of Sydney $59,182 for the investigation and testing of a model of electronic pre-publication and open peer review of research articles (University of Sydney Library/Medical Journal of Australia).

4. Australian Archives $20,000 for the development of guidelines to preserve and provide long-term access to information in an electronic format.

5. La Trobe University $105,700 for the development of an electronic journal in the humanities, spanning a range of disciplines and genres.

6. Curtin University of Technology $10,539 for the creation of an electronic journal for computer graphics and computer vision.

7. University of New South Wales $76,140 for the technical trial and study of consumer adoption patterns among the Australian management community - by testing an electronic delivery system for the Australian Journal of Management and other materials.

Improved Information Infrastructure

A. The successful applicants for the Information Service Provision (NIS) were (total allocation $210,000):

University of Melbourne and James Cook University - Australian Information Server in History and the Humanities

ADFA - The Australian Harvest Service - to demonstrate the applicability of the Harvest indexing software for building indexes to Australian information

National Library of Australia 1) Australian Web Servers and Catalogues

National Library of Australia 2) Australian Electronic Journals

Australian National University - Network News and Announcement Service

CSU 1) Education Virtual Library

CSU 2) Register of Australian WWW Servers

CSU 3) Geographic Index to Australian Information and Services

CSU 4) Development of a Special Interest Network about Australia

Australian National University: Art History Department - Clearing House on Graphics Techniques and Software

Australian Science Archive Project (University of Melbourne) - Bright SPARCS - Information on the history of Australian science and technology

B. The successful applicants for Internet Training were:

These 2 projects will be developed cooperatively. ($122,000)

Deakin University Production of Training Modules ... Network Information Services... aim to conserve bandwidth

University of Sydney Training packages for effective use of the Internet

C. The successful applicants for Document Delivery were:

Edith Cowan University Library, The Centre for Development Studies, Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University Library Indian Ocean Rim: a prototype virtual library

D. Joint Electronic Document Delivery Software Project (JEDDS)

Phase I ($75,000) comprises the preparation of a detailed technical specification and determination of the technical and business feasibility of the development of electronic document delivery software which:

• provides a MIME-compliant delivery system;
• will interface to Interlending and Document Request Management Systems (IDRMS) through standard interfaces such as the international Interlibrary Loan protocol (ISO 10160/10161)
• makes use of the facilities within the Windows environment to allow streamlined or
• transparent interworking between the document delivery system and IDRMS, and associated software; and
• provides the ability of the end user to receive electronic documents via MIME mailers, and to view and print documents on a variety of platforms
• can function independently of any IDRMS.

viewing, printing and transmission, and end user tools for receipt, viewing and printing of electronic documents. JEDDS will also aim to define and develop interface hooks to Interlending and Document Request Management Software (such as the NDIS and EDDIS) in standard formats to promote interoperability with a range of systems and to allow libraries to take advantage of the JEDDS project developments while working within the document delivery management / user interface systems of their choice.

E. Copyright Focus Group on Electronic Reserve

Established to focus on university libraries' requirements of copyright regulation in the context of electronic reserve collections, in order to provide appropriate advice to the AVCC for their discussions with the Copyright Agency Ltd.

Spent 1995 $6,270

F. CASMAC-compliant library system specifications.

Established to draw up common requirements for library systems which link to university administrative systems.

Spent 1995 $740

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This site is written, compiled and maintained by Diane Costello, Executive Officer, CAUL.