The Australian Library Journal
Volume 54 Nš1 February 2005
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John Levett
Burning towers and ashen learning: September 11 and the changes to critical literacy
Tara Brabazon
Images still scar the mind: of skyscrapers sliced open like sardine cans, bilious black smoke erupting from concrete and iron, of grey streets and people, stained by tonnes of expelled paper, ash and dust. I was not in New York when this iconographic tragedy actually 'happened.' Like most experiences of social and political change in the post-industrial era, my relationship with September 11 was mediated by television, newspapers and the internet. There were no 'real' Twin Towers to witness: only endless interpretations circulating in the semiosphere.
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What is FRBR? A conceptual model for the bibliographic universe
Barbara Tillett
From 1992 to 1995 the IFLA Study Group on Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) developed an entity relationship model as a generalised view of the bibliographic universe, intended to be independent of any cataloguing code or implementation. The FRBR report[1] itself includes a description of the conceptual model (the entities, relationships, and attributes or metadata as we would call them today), a proposed national level bibliographic record for all types of materials, and user tasks associated with the bibliographic resources described in catalogues, bibliographies, and other bibliographic tools. IFLA continues to monitor the application of FRBR and promotes its use and evolution. The IFLA Cataloguing Section's Working Group on FRBR, chaired by Patrick LeBœuf, has an active online discussion list and a website at http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/wgfrbr/wgfrbr.htm. The website includes presentations, training tools, a hot-linked bibliography, and much more.
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The Australian National Bibliographic Database and the Functional Requirements for the Bibliographic Database (FRBR)
Bemal Rajapatirana and Roxanne Missingham
The development of the conceptual 'Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records' (FRBR) Model enables records to be considered in terms of contextual relationships. Developments in software can capitalise on this to significantly improve the display of works through surfacing of these relationships. This paper reports on an investigation of the Australian National Bibliographic Database to understand the implications and potential issues of applying FRBR in this environment.
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Case Studies in implementing Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records [FRBR]: AustLit and MusicAustralia
Marie-Louise Ayres
AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway - the world's first major FRBR implementation - was developed as a co-operative service involving eight universities and the National Library of Australia in 2000-2001. This paper traces the reasons for adopting the FRBR information model, implementation experiences, and user responses to the service. The paper also considers the ways in which AustLit's nature as an academically oriented, value-adding service produced by a tightly knit group of contributors facilitated the adoption of the model, and how this might differ from a more standard bibliographic production and exchange economy. In particular, the paper raises issues about re-purposing existing MARC records for FRBR storage and display in the context of the MusicAustralia project.
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The quest for the nation's title deeds, 1901-1990
Graeme Powell
Among the 36 Senators in the first Commonwealth Parliament were Josiah Symon from South Australia and John Keating from Tasmania. Like many of their colleagues, they were both lawyers, but the two men differed markedly in experience and temperament. Symon was a Freetrader, with long political experience as a member of the South Australian legislature and as a prominent delegate at the Federal Convention of 1897-98. An eloquent and emotional speaker, he could often be abrasive and argumentative and was inclined to pursue private vendettas. At 29, Keating was the youngest member of the Parliament. A Protectionist and strong advocate of Federation, he was a political novice. A parliamentary reporter described him as 'an unemotional man. His voice is soft-purring; his manner is smooth-oily; his style is sleek-slim. He does not make many enemies'.[1]
Despite their differences, Symon and Keating had common intellectual interests and they maintained a long friendship. They shared a passion not only for the law but also for literature and history, including the history of their own country. Known to be great book collectors, they were nominated as founding members of the Parliamentary Library Committee and they remained active members of the Committee for many years.[2]
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An assessment of Australian research library journal cancellations, 1990-2003
Paul Genoni
This paper reports on the outcomes of research assessing the nature and extent of print journal cancellations by Australian research libraries since 1990. The cancellation activity of two groups of libraries, one representing the national and state library sector and the other the university library sector, was examined. These two groups were tested for their cancellation of both Australian and international journals. From the results some conclusions are reached about the factors driving the cancellations and the implications these cancellations might have for the nation's access to scholarly journal literature.
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