Getting acquainted: HEAL-Link, the Greek National Academic Library Consortium
Getting acquainted: HEAL-Link, the Greek National Academic Library Consortium
David F. Kohl with Claudine Dervos
Keywords Greece, Academic libraries, Co-operative organisation
Abstract This article provides an overview of the HEAL-Link, the Greek National Academic Library Consortium. The consortium, whose members include all 18 Greek universities and the 14 technology educational institutes, began to form in 1995 and was officially established on 21 December 1998. More information about the consortium can be found (either in English or in Greek) at their Web page: http://heal-l.physics.auth.gr Recent major accomplishments of the group include consortial deals with OCLC to provide First Search, Wilson for the Omni Mega File, and Elsevier for Science Direct. Currently under development are possible consortial deals with Springer, Academic Press, Kluwer and MCB.
The best introduction to the feel and style of HEAL-Link (Hellenic Academic Libraries Link) may be a visit to the library office of Mrs Claudine Dervos, the Physics and Informatics Librarian at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and a key player in HEAL-Link formation and development. The office is crowded and busy with staff constantly coming and going, books and papers piled on every surface (including computers and printers), phones ringing, lingering coffee cups and half-smoked cigarettes in the ash trays. All of this testifies to the effects of interruptions caused by a service priority: it is at once an intensely human environment as well as one radiating capable energy and professional purpose. Here, as well as in dozens of other academic libraries in Greece, the Greek librarians are actively at work reshaping and rejuvenating their academic library system to deal with the challenges of the new information age and increasingly consortial activity is being seen as a critical component in this effort.
Unlike the rich tapestry of Greek history, however, the antecedents of consortial activity in Greece are of recent origin. In 1995 the Greek Ministry of Education requested proposals from the Greek Universities and Technology Educational Institutes for upgrading their library systems. Ultimately all institutions (and libraries) received funding via the European Union's Structural Funding Program. While each institution's proposal was unique, the needs were what might be expected for a library community: purchase of library automation systems, adding personnel, undertaking retrospective cataloging, establishing CD-ROM networks, creating Web pages, and supplementing materials (primarily journals) budgets.
While such individual funding was useful, it did not really address the huge potential of library cooperation. At Easter in the same year (1995), Associate Professor G. Tsamasphyros, the then Vice-Rector of the National Technical University of Athens (the Greek MIT),suggested that in addition to vertical action and funding (that is, funding and developing individual libraries) there should be horizontal action and funding(to provide funding and action in support of collective library activities). This horizontal activity was to consist of four specific actions:
- 1.
Creating a Union Catalog for the Greek Academic Libraries.
- 2.
Dealing with the problem of escalating serials costs.
- 3.
Preparing a framework for an electronic database of Greek dissertations and theses.
- 4.
Studying the possibility for centralized training of Greek academic librarians.
The theoretical advantages of a"horizontal" approach supplementing the vertical programs seemed obvious. Consequently a budget of 1 billion drachmas (about US$330,000) was recommended. A project coordinator (Professor Vassilios J. Papazoglou of the National Technical University of Athens) was elected by the Greek Academic institutions,and a 32-member governing board (one member from each institution) was established. With the receipt of partial funding late in 1997, working groups,one for each action listed above, were established and tasked to provide action plans by the end of the calendar year.
When the action plans (see Appendix 1) were delivered in December 1995, several key decisions were made:
The Union Catalog committee, which was divided into two subcommittees (one consisting of automation staff and one of librarians), provided not surprisingly two different plans. The automation staff recommended a distributed union catalog using Z39.50 to connect the different systems, while the librarians recommended a centralized union catalog with authority control,ILL functions, etc. A review by outside experts subsequently decided in favor of the centralized union catalog.
A decision was made to drop the fourth action area: centralized academic librarian training. It was thought that not only was the time frame too short to implement this activity appropriately, but also the vertical activities at the individual institutions had largely dealt with this issue.
A total quality unit was created at the University of Ioannina with responsibility for gathering academic library statistics system-wide.
Perhaps most significant for consortial development, the serials cost working group (see Appendix 2) shifted its primary focus from coordinated collection development in print publications to exploration of national licenses for online databases. To achieve this end the working group felt a formally constituted consortium was required.
At this point the serials working group faced a critical decision. As with the other working groups, it had submitted its action plan and budget. Either it could wait to see what action might occur or it could push ahead. The problem the group faced if it chose to push ahead was the uncertainty of funding. Without the guarantee of horizontal funding it was very unclear from where the necessary money for national contracts would come. By this time, the working group became convinced that the Greek academic libraries could only solve their serious collections problems through collective action. After waiting through the spring of 1998 to see if the Governing Board would act, they decided to push ahead on their own.
The means they chose was a pilot project to license access to key scientific journals. Like all academic institutions worldwide, serials price increases for scientific journals were destroying their serials collections. Agreeing to participate in the pilot project initially were:
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki;
University of Crete;
University of Patras;
University of Ioannina;
University of Macedonia.
Later the following institutions joined the project:
National Technical University of Athens;
Technical University of Crete;
University of Thessaly.
These institutions represented the main holders of scientific journals in Greece and the ones who were most desperate to find relief from out-of-control serials cost increases. Because of their common scientific focus, the group also had a history of working together and so provided a logical grouping to work together in a pilot project context.
The next six months were a frustrating and depressing experience. Journal vendors were not particularly encouraging to the proto-consortium in terms of pricing and the members of the pilot project felt inexperienced and isolated. Even the seemingly most straightforward logistical issues turned out to have unexpected problems, for example, accurately determining just how many subscriptions a group of libraries had to a publisher's journals. Slowly perseverance began to pay off. By fall,individual contact with other consortia began to reduce the feeling of isolation and ignorance, HEAL-Link was formalized and became a member of ICOLC, and Swets provided helpful logistical assistance through their subscription records and contacts with vendors.
By the end of 1998, things suddenly began to fall into place. After cliff-hanging negotiations, consortial deals were struck with Elsevier for access to ScienceDirect. With less drama and greater collegiality an agreement was reached with OCLC for access to FirstSearch. Although the pilot project libraries had been willing to proceed on their own if that were necessary, the obvious value of the pilot project prompted the release of "horizontal" funds to pay for these two projects. With this success and source of funding an additional 12 universities decided to join the Elsevier contract, bringing the number of participants to a total of 20 institutions. HEAL-Link was off and running.
Unwilling to rest on their laurels,however, and proving once again that money tends to follow success, the serials working group, as the HEAL-Link steering committee, immediately requested and received authorization from the Governing Board for a substantial increase of its budget for national subscriptions to electronic journals and databases. Shortly thereafter a consortial contract was signed for Wilson's Omni Mega File. This contract focused on social science and humanities materials to balance the emphasis on STM titles inherent in the Elsevier deal. Talks are currently well under way with Kluwer, Springer, Academic and MCB for their electronic journals.
The rapid progress and success of this Greek academic library consortium is deeply satisfying. Based on a combination of strong and visionary local initiative, international library encouragement and a European Union commitment to academic library development,HEAL-Link has emerged as a dramatic success story. The gamble that the serials working committee took to focus on a consortial "horizontal" approach to solving library problems is paying off handsomely for Greek academic librarians and their patrons as Greek academic libraries position themselves to move into the twenty-first century. HEAL-Link represents a strong and welcome addition to the consortial community.
Appendix 1
The three action plans that were presented to and accepted by the Governing Board are as follows (with attached notes on implementation progress):
Union Catalog
To get sample records from the existing automation systems at the various academic institutions.
To prepare the required parameters for the software that would be brought to support the union catalog.
To study the authority control in the bilingual (English-Greek) environment of the automation system.
To establish a pilot project union catalog before the present funding cycle is over.
Progress to date. The first two goals have been completed and an international tender for the software and hardware on which the union catalog would be based is currently in the evaluation process and is expected to have been completed by October 1999.
Dissertations and theses
To design a distributed digital library system, including creation of software for the input of the literature into the system.
Software development and modification for database management.
Installation of the central server at National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the development of the required applications.
Installation of local servers for database management.
Installation of local area network servers.
Development of regulations for management of copyright.
Progress to date. The first three goals have been achieved.
Serials
Purchase of WLN Conspectus software and required hardware.
Hire and train five librarians (one for each academic library of the pilot project).
Undertake a pilot project in the subject areas of Physics, Chemistry and Informatics at: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; University of Ioannina;University of Patras; University of Crete; University of Macedonia (in the subject areas of Physics, Chemistry and Informatics).
Establish common access to electronic journals and databases.
Develop a model for cooperative collection development in print journals based on the Conspectus project.
Progress to date. All goals except for the last have been completed; the last was scheduled for completion in September 1999.
Appendix 2
Serials Working Group Members: Claudine Dervos, Physics and Informatics Librarian at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, chair; Anna Fragkou, University Librarian,University of Macedonia; Marina Korfiatis, Serials Librarian, University of Patras; Sassa Tzedaki, Serials Librarian, School of Sciences, University of Crete.
