Caribbean Digital Library Update

No. 4  January 2005

 

Best wishes for a positive and productive 2005 to all users of the Caribbean Digital Library.  A special "Thank You" to those of you who have contributed by adding links to documents from your own countries and organisations.   Dominica deserves special mention.  The number of references to Dominica in the CDL increased dramatically from 22 to 75 during the period under review, thanks in large part to the efforts of Vernanda Raymond of the National Documentation Centre in Roseau.  We appreciate the effort Vernanda! Pleas keep it going.

2004 was a very active year for the Caribbean Digital Library.  We faced many challenges, but we also enjoyed a fair degree of success. 2004 was a year in which  growth and promotion were emphasized. The CDL reached the milestone of 1000 items thanks not only to our own efforts, but also to the enthusiasm of our active partners.

As Caribbean librarians and information specialists we know that the nature of our work is changing quite dramatically as we respond to new expectations that the technology has created.  Many special libraries are seeing fewer walk-in users, but the flood of requests which we receive daily by phone and via e-mail more than compensate for any empty seats.  We have all had to respond very quickly to the changing circumstances.  The Caribbean Digital Library is proving to be  a very useful vehicle for facilitating the "do-it-yourself" approach to information seeking that the Internet has made possible.  Our statistics show an encouraging growth trend in the use of the CDL (See tables and charts below).  As a result of this growth we expect and indeed look forward to a further reduction in direct requests from our users.  Then we would be able to devote more of our time to improving our online information systems and services.

Presentations

We used every available opportunity to make presentations to a variety of audiences, in an effort to boost knowledge and usage of the Caribbean Digital Library. In April, government representatives from the Caribbean Development and Corporation Committee (CDCC) for which ECLAC is the Secretariat, met in St Croix and a presentation was made within the larger context of ECLAC's activities in support of the Caribbean's transition to an information society. 

During May three hundred librarians and information specialists from the English, Spanish, French and Dutch speaking Caribbean met in Port of Spain for the thirty fourth annual ACURIL conference.  We used the opportunity to conduct a workshop explaining the structure and content of the CDL.  Earlier that month an assessment of the Caribbean Digital Library was commissioned.  The results of that review were presented for discussion during the  workshop.   The picture above shows ACURIL participants absorbed in an interactive workshop on the CDL.

In June the Fifth Caribbean Ministerial Consultation and High Level Workshop on "Regional Cooperation for E-Government Capacity Building" was held in Barbados.  The programme included a presentation on the Caribbean Digital Library. It was promoted in that forum as a useful mechanism for disseminating and ensuring a wider circulation of government information.

The features of the CDL were also explained to participants at an information management workshop organized by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) in October as well as at the Caribbean Forum on the Information Society organized by ECLAC later that month.

Brochures and bookmarks

We also prepared and circulated a brochure and bookmarks promoting the content of the CDL.  We used the opportunity presented by ACURIL to mount an exhibition booth, jointly with other United Nations agencies  to showcase the information products and services of the UN in Port of Spain.  The United Nations Information Centre, UNDP, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), ILO, PAHO, CAREC and the UN AIDS programme were all participants in this effort.  Demonstrations of the CDL were a prominent feature of this exhibition which was eventually awarded the trophy for the best large booth at the conference.

This does not mean that everything was positive.  We still have not been able to find a way to secure sustained input from a wide cross section of persons and institutions in the Caribbean.  It continues largely to be an ECLAC effort.  However we know that our efforts are not misplaced because usage has been sustained and the number of records viewed by users has been rising steadily. 

Use of the Caribbean Digital Library

The following charts paint an encouraging picture of growth during the last two years. Despite some seasonal fluctuations in the number of users, the number of records viewed increased quite considerably during 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content

The tables below show the content of the CDL, arranged by subject.  The content in such subject areas such  as economic policy, education, environment and natural resources, information and communication, international and regional cooperation and small island developing states increased quite significantly.

 

Subject Headings	Number of Docs		Subject Headings	Number of Docs
	Jan 04	Jan 05		Jan 04	Jan 05
Agriculture	25	39	Industrial Development	8	12
Arts & Culture	15	24	Information & Communication	60	96
Business Management	5	5	International (regional) coop	8	32
Crime (including Drugs)	14	23	Investment	13	18
Disasters	10	19	Labour, Employment	15	33
Economic Conditions	62	74	Law	36	39
Economic Policy	41	60	Politics	14	20
Education	25	47	Population & Demography	15	17
Environment & Natural Res.	49	68	Science & Technology	13	13
Finance and Banking	32	42	Small Island Developing States	1	6
Gender, Youth	16	23	Social Development	41	58
Govt. & Public Administration	44	54	Tourism	24	33
Health	41	57	Trade	62	68
			Transport	5	11

 

 

Country	Search results			Country	Search results
	Jan 03	Jan 04	Jan 05		Jan 03	Jan 04	Jan 05
Anguilla	7	9	15	Guyana	18	27	35
Antigua & Barbuda	7	12	14	Haiti	10	11	19
Aruba	0	3	3	Jamaica	45	50	73
Bahamas	17	18	19	Montserrat	3	5	6
Barbados	39	56	78	Netherlands Antilles	0	2	2
Belize	9	12	14	Nevis	14	15	19
British Virgin Is.	0	1	2	St. Kitts	15	18	22
Cuba	2	5	26	St. Lucia	18	27	30
Dominica	17	22	75	St. Vincent & Grenadines	10	32	37
Dominican Republic	6	9	13	Suriname	11	47	48
Grenada	11	24	39	Trinidad and Tobago	46	59	90

 

 

Consultant's Report

ECLAC commissioned an assessment of the CDL in April.  The findings were largely positive.  But the report contained a number of suggestions for improvement   The CDL, after all, is a virtual collection and the consultant considered it of paramount importance that the links should be to documents that were actually on the web.  This was necessary to preserve the credibility of the system. 

Another recommendation dealt with the issue of the content.  An effort should be made to ensure that all "key" policy and other substantive documents were included for each country.  Efforts should also be made to include full text Caribbean journals, once these were available in electronic format.

Some other recommendations had to do with the management of the CDL.  The Social Science Information Gateway was suggested as a model.  It was considered important as well to maintain a log of the usage of the CDL.  Our Systems Unit has since added this feature to the Library.   The full report can be found on the web site of the Caribbean Documentation Centre.  

 

Targets -  2005

The Caribbean Digital Library has set some ambitious targets for 2005.  We intend to reach a target of 1500 virtual documents by January 2006.  We plan to ensure that each CDCC country is represented in the Library by at least 30 references.  We plan as well to achieve a much more balanced subject distribution of documents, such that each heading listed would have no fewer than 30 items.

The CDL continues to be lauded as "an excellent" initiative.  In 2005 however, the CDL must move beyond the status of an experiment and become an efficient system, worthy of emulation and replication.  These plans require commitment and more resources, than we have available.  We hope that we can continue to count on your active participation and support.

 

Sandra John

Caribbean Documentation Centre

United Nations ECLAC                                                                                                       January 2005