OACIS for the Middle East (Online Access to Consolidated Information

on Serials)

Simon Samoeil, Near East Curator, Yale University LibraryElizabeth Beaudin, OACIS Technical Administrator, Yale

University Library

Presentation to the Middle East Libraries AssociationNovember 2004

<http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis>

Review of Goals

• To create a freely available publicly accessible web site featuring a continuously updated union list of Middle Eastern serials– In all formats (including live web links)– From 20+ countries (ME as defined by LC)

• To lay foundations for the future, delivering widest possible information access– Expanded cooperation and participation– Document delivery/ILL– Digitization and preservation

Founding Libraries

• Cornell University• Ohio State University• Universitaets- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-

Anhalt, Halle, Germany• University of Michigan• University of Pennsylvania• University of Texas• University of Washington• Yale University

New Members

• New York University• Princeton University• University of Jordan• Tishreen University• Yale Law School

Activities

Simon Samoeil and Ann Okerson met with the directors of the following libraries in April 2004:

• Egypt– Alexandria Library– Cairo University Library– National Library of Egypt

• Lebanon - American University of Beirut Library• Jordan - University of Jordan in Amman• Syria

– Assad Library (National Library of Syria)– Syrian Minister of Higher Education– University of Damascus.

Commitment from Middle Eastern Libraries

• Egypt: The National Library of Egypt.

• Lebanon: The American University of Beirut.

• Syria: Assad National Library of Syria.All university libraries in Syria.

Interns

• Atef Al-Jundi, Head of Serials Division,University of Jordan Library, Amman, Jordan May 3, 2004 – July 31, 2004– Vernacular collections– Training with collection and section heads at Yale– Exchange visit to UPenn

• Adib Khoury, Head of Acquistions,Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria August 1, 2004 – October 31, 2004– Vernacular collections, holdings, call numbers – Training with collection and section heads at Yale– Exchange visits to UPenn and Harvard

Interested in Joining

• Harvard University• New York Public Library• SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies)• University of Arizona—Tucson• University of California – Los Angeles• University of Utah

OACIS Summary

• OACIS titles are published in 45 different languages; the top five are: Arabic, English, Persian, Turkish, French.

• There are 83 countries of publication in OACIS; the top ten are: Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Morocco, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Tunisia.

• As of November 2004, there are approximately 25,000 titles held in OACIS of which close to 14,000 are unique, along with 45,000 holdings records.

• Average 700 searches per month; average hits per month 7,000 with peak months of April and September over 11,000 hits.

Home Page - http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis/

Basic Search

Arabic Examples

Advanced Search

• Boolean logic– Plans to expand beyond title, subject, place of

publication to allow searching by language• “Limit to” logic for holding institutions• Wider search results (no truncation)

What’s Next?

• Inter Library Loan– Survey conducted amongst partners– Pilot ILL project to start in January

• Digitization– Discovery project underway with Bibliotheca

Alexandrina– Ab¯u Na.z.zarah, Paris : J. S¯anuw¯a,  -1910 (10 vols,

complete run) – selected because we have 2 copies and pre-1923

• Sustainability

Data Beginnings – MARC 21Bibliographic Record

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al-Qåahirah al-Q¯ahirah

and

القاهرة

Data Transformations

On the Inside

More Data – MARC 21Holdings Record

Display post Parsing

Browser Independence

Modifications – Display and Flexibility

Modifications – Maximize Display

Additions – Advanced Search

Additions – Customizing Results

System Specifications

The Open Source system consists of the following components:- Server operating system: Linux 2.4.21-4.EL

via Red Hat 9.0 Enterprise- Web server: Apache 2.0.46- Database: MySQL 3.23.58-Application languages: PHP 4.3.2, JavaScript 2.0, HTML

This system currently runs on a DELL Precision Workstation 650n with 2 CPUs (2.4 GHz), 2 GB memory, 80 GB ATA-100 IDE HD

http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis/