Progress Report 13

April 2001 - June 2001

Contents:

General Summary

Modules

• Archives
• Printed and Audio-Visual Resources
• Collaborative Collection Management
• Awareness Raising, Outreach and Training Initiatives
• IT: Project Web Site, Database and Subject Gateway

Action Points

Appendix: Project Researcher's May Report

Project Personnel: DW (David Ward - Project Director); Julie Evans (Project Manager); RSB (Roiyah Saltus-Blackwood - Project Researcher); CD (Carol Dixon - Project Officer)

1. General Summary of Activity

Throughout April and May there have been four main priorities for the CASBAH team:

• finalising the content of the new web pages and launching the CASBAH web site during w/c May 21st.
• finalising the questionnaire and guidance documentation for the UK-wide survey of printed sources and a-v collections for distribution in June.
• re-formatting the completed archive survey data, currently stored in local MS Access databases, in preparation for the records to be incorporated into, and tested within, the structure of the MySQL database.
• increasing the amount of awareness raising, outreach and training activities in the remaining 12 months of the project, focussing in particular on Black History Month events in October 2001 and the launch of the CASBAH database in May 2002.

The CASBAH web site was re-launched during the week of the 21st May. The URL www.casbah.ac.uk remains the same, but the site now has an introductory page, 11 main pages and 8 sub-pages covering background information on the project and its activities, news and events, progress reports, a feedback form, sample survey data, and a space to house the forthcoming MySQL database in 2002 at http://www.casbah.ac.uk/projectdata.stm. Information from the original CASBAH web pages was re-written by CD and RSB over several weeks, with technical assistance from web designer, Ms Jackie Collins (Digital Media Designs), and Frances Blomeley (ULCC). As a result of pre-launch publicity and post-launch marketing of the site, the CASBAH web address received a six-fold increase in visits, from an average of 2,500 hits per month to over 13,000 in May. Full details about the content of the new web site are listed in the IT section of this report.

Work on the Leicestershire survey is underway and both CD and RSB have held planning meetings with the archivist at the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, Mr Carl Harrison, in advance of the survey scheduled for w/c Monday 18th June. Full details about this are included in the Project Researcher's May report, appended below. Dates for the regional archive surveys in Glamorgan and Glasgow have now been finalised and are listed in the 'Archives' section of this report.

The questionnaire and guidance documentation for the survey of printed sources and a-v resources in UK libraries was first drafted during mid May with a view to circulating the documents to our sample of c.70 libraries from the end of May onwards. Unfortunately, owing to technical difficulties encountered during the re-design of the web pages and the time taken to promote and prepare for the site's re-launch, the team were unable to achieve the original distribution date of w/c 21st May and now plan to distribute the survey questionnaire at the end of June 2001.

Since the last Progress Report in March there have been 3 team meetings (held on 5th April, 3rd May and 25th May) and a joint CASBAH Partners and Steering Group meeting on 24th April. The team has also carried out a range of outreach activities including writing articles about the progress made on the CASBAH database and presentations to audiences of researchers and information professionals. Also, in anticipation of the increasing volume of awareness raising and outreach work to be conducted over the remaining 12 months of the project's funding, the team have revised and updated the text of the CASBAH leaflet and sent the content to a commercial printing firm, Hawksmere, to be re-designed. 2000 copies of the new leaflet should be available for distribution from the end of June onwards. Information on all aspects of the project's outreach activities are documented in the 'Awareness raising, Outreach and Training' section below and dates of future activities and engagements are included in the section headed 'Action points for June-July 2001'.

2. Modules

Archives

Preparatory research for the Leicestershire archive survey was conducted at the beginning of May. RSB reviewed the web sites of all the repositories in the Leicestershire region and CD sent requests for further information to the university-based libraries and archives, the county record office and a selection of the region's public libraries. Based on the information received it was decided to select the Record Office of Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland (Wigston Magna, Leicester) as the survey site. RSB and CD then held a meeting with the County Archivist, Mr Carl Harrison, on May 16th at which further information was received about the collections to be surveyed, namely details about the sound archive resources, business and industry records, regional and city council files, charity/association files, and the papers of selected Leicestershire-based families with historic connections to the Caribbean region.

Contact was also established with Kevin Turner (Local Government Information Librarian for Leicestershire County Council), who forwarded our enquiries about publications featuring information on the history of Black and Asian peoples in Leicestershire to the region's central libraries. Following this we received information from Loughborough's District Librarian, with details about a book entitled 'Our Home Is Loughborough: The Stories and Reflections of the First Bangladeshi Settlers in Charnwood', published by Charnwood Arts, 1999 (ISBN: 095345410X). This book was ordered to help establish further background information about Leicestershire for the survey work. Please see the Project Researcher's May report for more details.

The dates for the Glamorgan and Strathclyde regional surveys have been finalised and will be conducted during w/c Monday 23rd July and Monday 19th September, respectively.

Printed and Audio-Visual Resources

Work on the mapping of printed and audio-visual sources is underway. The questionnaire and guidance documentation for recording collection level descriptions of holdings within a nation-wide sample of academic, public and special libraries will be circulated between June-July. RSB has also designed a database for tracking the progress of the survey and collating the information received from libraries included in the sample.

Collaborative Collection Management

Below is the full text of the Collaborative Collection Management report prepared by CD for the joint CASBAH Steering Group and Partners' Meeting on 24th April.

Project Officer's CCM Summary Report Co-operative collection development can be described as "the sharing of responsibilities among two or more libraries for the process of acquiring materials, developing collections, and managing the growth and maintenance of collections in a user-beneficial and cost-beneficial way" (Mosher and Panake, 1983).

The economic constraints faced by UK HEIs and, in turn, their academic libraries has led to cuts in funding and a decrease in the purchasing power of librarians and information managers. Coupled with this, government pressure on universities is leading to greater co-ordination and rationalisation of course provision, mergers of institutions and changes to the type and structure of courses offered (e.g. increased modularization). As a result of the above changes planning for co-operation and resource sharing has become an integral aspect of collection management policy for individual libraries within this sector.

The purpose of the CASBAH project's CCM module is to investigate ways in which libraries housing printed and a-v resources for Caribbean studies and Black and Asian British history can form a consortium and develop policies that could be put forward as a model for national collaborative collection development in these areas.

The starting point for this work is the survey of UK libraries housing collections within the project's subject areas. This should then be followed up by the establishment of a CCM Module Group to evaluate the results of the survey and discussions about the structure, policies and practices of a library consortium for improving access to research resources in these areas.

The US perspective on co-operative collection development: Most bi-lateral and multi-lateral collection development practice in the USA is based on the Research Libraries Group (RLG) "combined self-interest" model of co-operative collection development dating back to the 1980s which encourages the development of programmes which focus on long-term collection commitments that are minimally threatening to individual institutions' local collection priorities.

The RLG model suggests that this type of collaborative collection development needs to be planned in two stages:

• Stage 1 = Planning which first considers the needs of the immediate constituency, and
• Stage 2 = Planning which integrates local development into national systems of resource sharing in support of long-range national academic research efforts.

In the US a movement away from an emphasis on decentralised, locally autonomous library collections and a gradual movement towards effective user-centred collection collaboration has been achieved through the development of co-operative approaches which rely on distributing collection responsibilities among many libraries within a formally structured consortium.

In general collaborative collection management techniques within US library consortia focus on the following key strategies:

• Developing a fast and cost-effective inter-library loan service within the consortium
• Reciprocal borrowing privileges for users of the consortium's member libraries
• Co-ordinated INSET for staff working in institutions within the consortium
• Co-ordinated purchasing of expensive items among members and the development of an 'item exchange scheme'
• Regular exchange of information about members' collections and materials budgets

What must the CASBAH Project consider in relation to collaborative collection management? 1. Ascertain what the prospective users groups would like to see by way of improvements to the quality, quantity and accessibility of research resources for Caribbean studies and research into the history of Black and Asian people in Britain

2. Investigate the quality of collections already available in the UK and assess:

• How the existing collections developed
• The types of materials available in these collections
• Current usage of the collections available

3. Discuss and create the framework for a consortium collection management policy which covers issues such as:

(a) Acquisitions (b) Collection maintenance (including collection review) (c) Housing, storage and exchange of resources within the consortium (d) De-accessioning issues (e) Gifts

4. Discuss the budgetary process for the development of a CASBAH library consortium 5. Establish consistent mechanisms for co-ordinated stock selection and acquisition within the consortium 6. Develop accurate performance measurement and evaluation criteria for the work of the consortium, based on user surveys and circulation statistics obtained from member libraries.

Other questions to be addressed within the remit of the CCM Module Group:

1. Should there be a selection committee responsible for discussing national collection development initiatives for resources pertinent to Caribbean studies and Black and Asian history in Britain? If so, what should its terms of reference be? Who should sit on this committee?
2. What types of special agreements could be established between the consortium of collecting institutions and specialist booksellers?
3. How can information managers and librarians responsible for Caribbean studies and Black and Asian history collections establish more formal networks for sharing information about the range of stock selection tools available (e.g. subject guides, bibliographies, online bibliographic databases and subject gateways, etc.)
4. In addition to the existing inter-library loan system operating between academic libraries, should a CASBAH consortium of libraries set up an 'exchange scheme' whereby research resources are circulated between the member institutions within the consortium according to user needs?

Reference: Mosher, P and Panake, M (1983) A guide to co-ordinated and co-operative collection development, Library Resources and Technical Services, 27: 417-431.

Bibliography: 1. Branin, J et al (2000) The changing nature of collection management in research libraries, Library Resources and Technical Services, 44,1: 23-32. 2. Jenkins, C and Morley, M (eds) (1999) Collection management in academic libraries, Aldershot: Gower. 3. Osborn, C. (ed) (1991) Collection management: a new treatise, Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press. 4. Shaughnessy, T. (1999) Trends and expectations for collection development: challenges for libraries in coming years, Library Collections Acquisitions and Technical Services, 23, 4: 469-471. 5. Thornton, G (2000) Impact of electronic resources on collection development: the roles of libraries and library consortia, Library Trends, 48, 4: 7842-856.

CD: 23.04.01

Awareness Raising, Outreach and Training Initiatives

Both CD and RSB have circulated announcements about the launch of the new web site to HEIs, listservs for the library, archive and information sector, research societies and web page editors/managers of sites such as Black Information Link, Black Britain Online, Channel4's Black History Map, etc. RSB has continued to post messages to the CASBAH-RSLP listserv about forthcoming conferences, events and publications of relevance to Caribbean Studies and the history of Black and Asian people in Britain.

CD gave a presentation about the work of the project to 20 library and information management students at Thames Valley University on Thursday 31st May 2001 and future presentations to library schools are scheduled for the next academic year.

Preparations for hosting a CASBAH Black History Month dissemination event at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies were discussed at the team meeting on 3rd May and a provisional programme is currently being drawn up. JE and CD have sent initial details to staff at the ICS, members of BASA and the Society for Caribbean Studies with a view to hosting the event as a joint initiative. The team is also considering the possibility of organising a conference to mark the launch of the CASBAH database in 2002. Further details on both these events will be posted to the 'News and Events' page of the web site in July.

IT: Project Web Site, Database and Subject Gateway

The CASBAH web site was re-launched during the week 21st-25th May. Some of the new features about the site include the following:

• An introductory page featuring a selection of photographic images from the CASBAH regional archive surveys, designed in Flash by web designer Ms Jackie Collins (Digital Media Designs - www.jackiecollinsonline.co.uk/)
• An 'About the Project' section with sub-pages about the project's aims, objectives, scope, funding, and key deliverables
• 'News and Events' information at http://www.casbah.ac.uk/news.stm - featuring sections entitled 'Latest News!' 'Article of the Month' and forthcoming events, etc. The site's first article of the month was written by Stella Britzolakis, Resident Tutor at the University of Warwick, and is entitled 'Mapping Newspaper and Periodical Sources Relating to Black and Asian Communities in Britain'. The content is based on several weeks of research at the British Library's newspaper collections at Colindale, carried out under the auspices of the CASBAH Project.
• 'CASBAH Database and Subject Gateway' at http://www.casbah.ac.uk/search/ - featuring full text archive survey reports, details of forthcoming regional surveys and samples of collection level descriptions from partner and associate institutions that will eventually be housed on the site's searchable database.
• 'Your comments?' at http://www.casbah.ac.uk/feedback.html - an online feedback form for sending information to CASBAH about research resources for Caribbean Studies and the history of Black and Asian people in Britain.

Monthly revisions, amendments and updates will continue to be made to the web site throughout the life of the project so any comments/suggestions on how the pages can be improved are welcomed. In particular we are keen to hear about additional web site URLs that could be included on the 'Links' page at http://www.casbah.ac.uk/links.stm.

Web usage statistics for March-May are shown in the table below. The 6-fold increase in visits to the web site during May is an encouraging sign in advance of the launch of CASBAH's searchable database next year and the team is continuing to discuss ways of maintaining interest in the site.

Listserv There are now 101 members of the CASBAH-RSLP listserv and a total of 22 messages were posted to the list during April and May 2001.

3. Action Points / Priorities for June-July 2001

General:

1. There will be CASBAH Steering Group meeting on Thursday 19th July, 2.30pm in the Menzies Room at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.
2. The team will attend the Black and Asian Archives Working Party (BAAWP) meeting on Wednesday 11th July (venue: London Metropolitan Archive, 1.30pm)
3. The project team will finalise the programme for the CASBAH Black History Month event at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 15th October 2001, and circulate information to the individuals and organisations being invited to participate by the end of July. The event will be advertised on the CASBAH web site from August onwards.

Archives:

1. CD and RSB will visit the HMC on Monday 11th June to complete the preparatory research for the Leicestershire archive survey.
2. The Leicestershire survey will take place at The Record Office of Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland during the week commencing Monday 18th June 2001.
3. RSB will continue to work on recording archive survey methodologies for the survey tool document.
4. Preparatory research for the forthcoming Glamorgan survey will take place during the first two weeks in July, with a visit to the HMC scheduled for 13th July and the survey Monday 23rd - Friday 27th July.

Printed and Audio-Visual Resources:

1. Printed sources survey questionnaires will be distributed to a sample of c.70 academic, public and special libraries during June and July 2001.

Collaborative Collection Management:

1. CD will post information to all the libraries participating in the Printed Sources survey during July asking for volunteers to participate in a CASBAH Collaborative Collection Management Module Group. The first meeting of this group will be scheduled for November 2001 and announced from September onwards.

Awareness:

1. CD will write a summary article about CASBAH's progress since January 2001 for the Institute of Commonwealth Studies newsletter, 4th June.
2. CD will give a presentation about the CASBAH project at the AGM of the Black and Asian Studies Association on 9th June.
3. The CASBAH team will attend the RSLP Dissemination Event at the Business Design Centre (Islington, London) on Thursday 14th June.
4. JE will give a presentation about the CASBAH project at the Launch Day event of the West Midlands Cultural Diversity Network, University of Birmingham, on June 18th.
5. CD and RSB will attend the Society for Caribbean Studies conference at the University of Nottingham, 2-4th July. CD will give a seminar presentation about the CASBAH project on Tuesday 3rd July.
6. The CASBAH team will continue to finalise the programme for the Black History Month event on 15th October and announce details on the web site from July onwards. Invitations will also be circulated to associated projects and organisations asking them to participate in the event and contribute displays.

IT:

1. CD and RSB will begin to export batches of data from the Wolverhampton Archive and LMA surveys to Frances Blomeley at the ULCC on a fortnightly basis, commencing June 2001.
2. CD will continue to make amendments and revisions to the CASBAH web site http://www.casbah.ac.uk on a monthly basis.
3. CD will prepare a short summary of the work completed during the Leicestershire regional archive survey for inclusion on the CASBAH web site in July.

CD: 8th June 2001

4. Appendix : Project Researcher's May Report Roiyah Saltus - Blackwood

Contents General Summary · Archives · Printed and AV Sources · IT: Project Web Site, Database and Subject Gateway · Awareness raising, Outreach and Training Initiatives

General Summary: The main focus this month has been on creating a list of the libraries to be sent the library survey questionnaire, updating the CASBAH website and writing a summary of the project's progress for submission to Met Lines. Time has also been spent researching the next survey site. In addition, during this month I have begun to re-evaluate my present responsibilities and compile a completion list that will cover my last six months as Project Researcher.

Archives: The uploading of archive and printed sources collection-level descriptions that have been collected so far has been put on hold until June. Work in the module month centred on conducting background research on possible sites to visit in the Leicestershire region. A meeting with Carl Harrison was scheduled for 16 May 2001 where it was agreed that the next CASBAH survey would be based in the Record Office of Leicestershire, Leicester, and Rutland.

Printed and AV Sources: Similar to the Archives Module, over the last month my activities in this module have been mainly organisational. The aim has been to compile a list of libraries to be targeted with a survey about their collection in regards to our subject areas. The list is a representative sample of the different types of library in the nine regions. Libraries that were given as being useful in responses to our preliminary emails requesting information are also included in the list. The list also includes libraries based in universities that were identified in the Institute of Latin American Studies (University of London) list of departments, centres and institutes teaching Latin American and Caribbean Studies (http://www.sas.ac.uk/ilas/pub_nih.htm). Although dated, the aim has been to build on the resources already available. A new guide will be out later this year and any major omissions will then be picked up. So far, 90 libraries have been listed. The total figure will not exceed 150. 'A Guide to Libraries in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', has been the main helping aid. A database has been designed to allow us to more easily send and track the life of the surveys.

IT: Project Web Site, Database, and Subject Gateway: A great deal of time was spent helping to update the website. CD was the main force and drive behind the re-launch of the website and the full extent of the website update can be found in her report.

Awareness raising, Outreach and Training Initiatives: 'News from CASBAH - Caribbean Studies, Black and Asian History' submitted to Metropolitan Lines (http://www.hmc.gov.uk/glan/metlines.htm).

RSB: 7th June 2001