|
SPAIN |
PULMAN COUNTRY report
INFormation on public libraries
This report brings together information collected by PULMAN country co-ordinators and the results of the NAPLE survey of public library authorities conducted during 2001-2
The organisation of public
libraries.......................................................... 3
Innovative projects in UKRAINIAN
public libraries.............................. 4
PULMAN COUNTRY Report
information on public libraries
The Spanish library system : Organisational
framework
Spain
has a population of 40 million inhabitants and an area of 504.782 sq. Km.,
which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is
divided in 17 large regions known as Autonomous Communities and there are 8.000
municipalities, 7.000 of them with less than 5.000 inhabitants and 6.000 of
them with less than 2.000 inhabitants.
As
regards the legal framework, the Spanish library system is defined as a set of
basic regulations of general application for the whole country. However, most
regions have their own library Act, which establishes the framework of the
library system in their territory. With the arrival of democracy Spain became a
descentralised country. The responsabilities and management of most State
institutions were transferred from the State to the Autonomous Communities
according to Spanish Constitution. Spanish library organisation is shaped by
the highly descentralised administrative structure of Spain. So, according to
their administrative dependence, libraries can be classified into three main
groups: State libraries, libraries depending on the Autonomous Communities
(regional authorities) and municipal libraries that depend on local government.
A) The
51 State Public Libraries, located
in the province's capital city (with some exceptions), depend on the Ministry
of Education, Culture and Sport through the Directorate General of Book,
Archives and Libraries. The State is in charge of their co-ordination and
automation, while the Autonomous Regions are responsible for their management,
budget and staff. This group of State libraries, albeit a small one, has
special importance for various reasons. It is, undoubtedly the group of public
libraries which is best equipped in the country and its role in many cities and
provinces as providers of reading material, information services and supporting
interlibrary lending services has always been crucial. These libraries
generally have the greatest resources and oofer more advanced and modern
services (http://www.mcu.es/bpe/bpe.html)
B) Some
other public libraries (171) or library networks depend directly on the
Autonomous Communities. The regional Governments are responsible for the
constitution, coordination and development of library systems within their
territories, providing both technical and financial support. Most of them have
their own library legal regulation along with certain central technical and
administrative bodies for pursuing programmes: Library Services and Central or
Regional Libraries. The regional systems of public reading are structured on
provincial networks whose central bodies in each province are the State Public
Libraries, that fulfill a supporting function to the smaller local public
libraries in their working area.
C) But
most Spanish public libraries (3541)
are run and funded by local authorities.
There is a basic Act for local administration which establishes the obligation
to provide public reading services in those towns with more than 5.000
inhabitants. Although a high number of municipalities under 5.000 inhabitants
also provide library services. In some large towns there are metropolitan
networks of public libraries.
The
State administration, through the Subdirectorate
General of Library Coordination also has a say on library issues in order
to ensure a more general policy geared to the country as a whole. Its main
tasks are: 1) To provide basic resources for public libraries: specialized
information targeted at librarians (monthly newsletter "Correo Bibliotecario", and distribution list
"Públicas"), technical guidelines, shared cataloguing (REBECA
database); 2) To improve the cooperation between the different systems and
library networks within the Spanish territory; 3) To support the State Public
Libraries (assigned to the Directorate General of Book, Archives and Libraries,
but managed by the Autonomous Regions), by funding the construction of
buildings, equipment and staff training; 4) Encouraging interlibrary
cooperation, particularly among the Autonomous Communities; 5) Encouraging
Spanish participation in international library initiatives and forums,
particularly, in addition to the European ones, those relating to the
Iberoamerican community.
National
and regional library legislation can be found in:
http://www.fundaciongsr.es/documentos/default3.htm#leyes
and http://travesia.mcu.es/normativa.asp.
Current situation of Spanish public libraries
In the
last 20 years, an important increase in rates of devolopment and modernisation
has taken place in Spanish public libraries (buildings and equipment,
collection and services, staff and management). Public libraries are the most extended
cultural service in Spain. There are nearly 4100 library service points in more
than 3000 municipalities, where 92% of the population lives. All this data
confirms the key role of public libraries in meeting the challenges of the
Information Society.
But these improvements have not been enough. The development has been less pronounced than that which has taken place in other public services, and it is not in step with the general prosperity of the country. In comparison with other European public libraries and international guidelines, Spanish ones are confronted with shortages. For example, automation rates and the percentage connected to Internet. The main problem of Spanish public libraries is their lack of resources at every level (financial, material and human resources). The financial situation is very tight for municipal libraries and many of them do not manage their own budgets. The actual number of libraries is high but it does not say anything about the quality or significance of the services provided there. Too many of them are small, poorly equipped, have very limited collections and low budgets.
Policy issues on libraries :
To
encourage the use of IT in public libraries and to support the development of
the Information Society there are several Plans of Action being carried out by
administrations, included in the general scheme: Action Plan Info XXI. And more
related to libraries, the report Plan de Impulso de las Bibliotecas Públicas Españolas : Las bibliotecas públicas,
puertas de entrada a una Sociedad de la Información para todos, was
launched by the Subdirectorate General of Library Coordination. A
policy making plan for boosting Spanish Public Libraries, devised from 2000 to
2004, which outlines the role of the library in the
information and knowledge society. The specific aims of this Plan are to
promote social awareness concerning the importance of public libraries as
places of culture and information, breaking with the old role of merely housing
books or of being simple study rooms. And to show the potential of public
libraries as information centres using Information and Communication
Technologies. The Plan includes the following measures and projects:
·
To modernize its public image by means of public
campaigns in the mass media. Marketing of public libraries.
·
To enhance their connectivity providing wide access to
Internet. This measure is carried out by the Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sport and the Ministry of Fomento, through the Secretary General of
Communications. The promotion of Internet access by libraries and schools with
cheaper rates for these institutions and, lastly, the promotion of Spanish
Internet contents. The central government has approved a cheap flat rate for
the high speed Internet technology for schools and libraries. In that way, the
broadband network will be a reality for these institutions very soon.
·
The setting up of a Spanish Public Libraries Portal: http://travesia.mcu.es/. This web site is
meant to act as a shared communication and information retrieval tool with
information on new developments, projects, etc. in libraries but also links to
interesting publications, statistics, reports, etc. The basic information
gateway for librarians and library users.
·
Pregunte:
las bibliotecas responden. Spanish electronic reference library. 27
Public Libraries throughout Spain work together to provide an online reference
and information service.
·
Spanish Public Libraries Survey (In association with the
Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation). Its aim is to prepare an extensive report
on the "state of the arts" which will be very useful for the
development of public libraries in Spain and policy making. It has been
published recently with the title: "Las Bibliotecas Públicas
en España : una realidad abierta".
·
Setting out guidelines for delivery services in public
libraries. http://travesia.mcu.es/informes.asp
·
Courses on strategic planning and quality improvement for
head librarians. Training workshops on innovative practice for public library
managers.
·
National Meeting on Public Libraries Congreso
Nacional de Bibliotecas Públicas , Valencia, Ocubre, 2002
(http://www.mcu.es/lab/bibliote/travesia_actas/pdf/sumario.pdf) that will
be hosted next October 2002.
On the
other hand, Services of Book and Libraries in different autonomous regions are
working in policy programmes which include: Development of collections for the
Library System partner libraries by means of subsidies for renovating
bibliographic materials and creating book stock to start up new libraries and
endowment of periodical publications for partner libraries. Generation and
creation of bibliographic databases. Supply of bibliographic registers for
works acquired by public use libraries. Professional and technical guidance for
libraries. Subsidies for Town Councils and Associations within the Autonomous
Community for the creation and renovation of library facilities and for the
introduction and promotion of technical library personnel in municipal
libraries. Like the policy programmes undertaken by Basque Country. Subsidies to local authorities for the
construction, equipping and stocking of libraries: Andalusia.
Subsidies are also geared towards financing the setting up and running of
library services, their automation and the employment of library professionals:
Castile-La
Mancha and, among others, the Regional Authority of La Rioja, and the Directorate General of
Book, Archives and Libraries of the Valencia Autonomous Region.
State investment into information
society, is underlined in the Action Plans on library issues carried out by
INFO XXI and PISTA Program
(Promotion and Identificacion of Emergent Services of Advanced
Telecommunications), promoted by Communications General Secretary of Ministry
of Economic Development. The main objective is the introduction of advanced
services of communications to satisfy the current needs of several economic and
social sectors. At national level they are after
providing Internet access points in all public libraries, funding with
3.515.920€, to design a Spanish client Z39.50 with 112.200€, and the developement of a Search Engine to consult the most important Spanish library
catalogues, with 480.809€.. At regional level, there are the following Action Plans:
Collective Catalogue of the Public Library Network and Public Libraries Portal
in the region of Murcia, Ask-a-Librarian Service, Story Tellers, Virtual
Library, Public Internet access points and I.C.T. All of them with a total
amount of 3.077.181€, until the year
2003.
The
national library statistics are compiled every two years by the National
Institute of Statistics (I.N.E. http://www.ine.es/welcoing.htm). In addition, there are other ones produced
by the Ministry of Education and Culture, with information concerning only the
51 State Public Libraries, and in most regions, the corresponding
administrations conduct some type of statistical activity related to the public
libraries within their territories.
The aim
of the national ones is to find out the number of libraries and points of
service existing in Spain, as well as their funds and movements, equipment,
personnel, activity and expenditure. The study is carried out per type of
library and by autonomous community and province. The INE has been producing
this statistic since 1960 and this research is carried out every two years. The
scope of the statistic covers all libraries established on Spanish territory,
whatever its administrative dependence, excepting the private ones whose access
is denied to the public. The data is compiled contacting each library directly,
as per the UNESCO’s Recommendation for International Standardization of Library
Statistics (1970). The analysis unit researched is the library, although for
statistical purposes a library is considered as an administrative unit, which
can include one or more points of service.
The
most significant problems for public library performance measurement in Spain
are the shortage and training of library staff, inadequacy of automated systems
of library management, and lack of homogeneity of the different statistical
models. As regards regional library statistics, each autonomous community uses
its own data collection model, which is different from the rest. As a result,
some libraries have to fill in more than three different statistic forms. It
could be described as a serious duplication of effort. (see Performance Measurement and
Quality Management in Spanish Public Libraries / Victoriano Colodrón).
Further
information can be found comparing Estadísticas de bibliotecas... published by the INE; statistic
reports for Communities such as Castile and León, Andalusía, Murcia
or Catalonia; together with those published by UNESCO in
its Libraries Portal.
Public library services in figures
The
following data refers to the the period 1990-1998. Source: Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruiperez "Las bibliotecas públicas en España,
una realidad abierta": http://travesia.mcu.es/estadisticas1.asp
How many public libraries are there in Spain?
In the
last decade 53% more public libraries have been created in Spain. In 1998 there
were 3763, compared with 2456 in 1990:
|
Number of Public Libraries |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
2456 |
3093 |
3391 |
3564 |
3763 |
<SPAN lang=ES-TRAD style="COLOR:
#a55519">There are public libraries in nearly 3000 Spanish
municipalities where 92% of the population is concentrated. Even though their
distribution has been far from homogenous throughout the territory. However,
the differences in percentage increase between autonomies are due to various
factors. Firstly, these differences are explained by the initial situation
which existed on the onset in 1990 in the various autonomies together with
their own particular characteristics and demographic evolution.
The
extent of public library services is also reflected in an index frequently used
in international statistics, the number of libraries per 10.000 inhabitants
which in this case refers to the Spanish population as a whole:
|
Public Libraries per 10,000 inhabitants |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
0.62 |
0.79 |
0.84 |
0.90 |
0.94 |
94% of
these libraries are managed by the town councils and there is a greater
development in towns and villages than in the bigger cities. There are still
more than a hundred municipalities which have not complied with the rules
referring to public libraries as set down in the Act 1985, compulsory for those
municipalities with a population of more than 5.000.
Together
with this mayority of municipal public libraries there are also others which
are managed by the State or by specific autonomies, like for example the 51
State Public Libraries usually found in the capital of each province and whose
origins go back to the end of the 19th century in many cases. They
were set up by the State, which funded their construction and part of their
equipment. The management of these libraries was transferred throughtout the
1980s to their respective autonomies, which are now in charge of their running
and maintenance, even though legally they belong to the State.
To sum
up, public libraries are essentially a municipal service, thus established by
the 1985 Act of Local Administration for all towns with a population higher
than 5.000. The law referring to libraries in some autonomies reduces the size
of the population from which local authorities must provide a public library
service, taking into account the specific characteristics of territory. Thus,
in the Basque Country the number is reduced to a population of 3.000, in
Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León and Galicia, it is 2.000 and in Extremadura,
the number is 1.000. According to this criteria almost 90% of those Spanish
municipalities which by law are obliged to have a public library comply with
this obligation. In any case, there is a high number of libraries in small
towns, and many of them do not offer good library services since they have
shortages in collections, buildings, human resources and opening hours.
All in
all, it is necessary to highlight differences between point of service and
library, considered as an administrative unit. Over all, there are 4071 library
service points in Spain, including either central public libraries, branches,
lending points ("agencias de lectura") or many other community
service points available to hospitals, the housebound, prisons, day care
centres, market places, parks and swimming pools.
|
Library Service Points |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
2663 |
3512 |
3761 |
3928 |
4071 |
Also, a
mobile library service is provided to suburbs, neighbourhood housing, rural
areas and small population clusters. There are 68 mobile library services
operating in only 25 provinces. (See: Antonia Carrato: "Report on Mobile Libraries in
Spain"). This small number of mobile libraries has to serve 5113 towns
and villages, with a total population of 3.400.000. To sum up, in 1998, we had
an average of 9790 inhabitants per library service point, for the whole
country.
Collection.
Bibliographic
resources have increased 81% from 1990-1998.
|
Items in Public Libraries (Holdings) |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
21.310.194 |
27.042.748 |
31.313.658 |
34.361.543 |
38.672.925 |
Printed
material represents 97% of public library collections. The presence of
new material -audio and video cassettes, cds- accounts for 2.2% of the total
number and its distribution is irregular. The total stock of audio-visual is
864.028 items.
|
Holdings per capita |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
0.53 |
0.69 |
0.78 |
0.87 |
0.97 |
However,
this average is still below the recommendations of the IFLA. Two out of three
(66.7%) do not reach the 9000 holding level, the minimun recommended by the
IFLA in the 1970s and 14% are below the level of 2500 holdings.
Staffing resources and opening times
The
number of staff has increased in public libraries 64%. In 1990 there were only
5199 employees. In 1998 the number of staff employed was 8216, although many of
them (28%) do not work full time, and only 16% were graded at professional
level (Librarians, 1316), (Assistants, 3943), (Other staff, 2957). Since many
of library staff lack a professional degree, training in the ICT is crucial. In
addition, 67% of public libraries are run by only one professional.
All
this reflects the reduced number of opening hours. The average opening hours is
24 weekly, however, more than half of the existing public libraries open less
than 20 hours per week, and only 9.4% open more than 40 hours.
Expenditure and financing
The
resources assigned to the setting-up and running of public libraries in Spain
have increased 140% in eight years. In 1990, 1.51 € were assigned per person,
per annum. In 1998 that number increased to 3.66 €. Despite its efforts in this
direction, here too Spain is far behind compared to the rest of neighbouring
countries. And what´s more, this growth also means the cost of library services
is now more expensive than 8 years ago.
The
financing sources for public libraries come from their own respective
authorities. Every local authority has its own management and funding policy.
Also, there are several grants from central and regional government in order to
fund local library services. Spanish libraries are not used to looking for
funding from the private sector.
Buildings
The
average surface is still very limited. Nearly half of all public libraries have
a total size of 100 m2, the minimum laid down by the IFLA in 1973, and only 20%
are more than 230 square metres, the current recommendation of the IFLA.
Library Membership
The
number of members in public libraries has increased 2.3 times from 1990 to
1998:
|
Library Membership |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
3.278.154 |
4.245.699 |
5.208.069 |
6.122.956 |
7.739.185 |
|
8.3% |
10.8% |
12.9% |
15.4% |
19.4% |
This
membership of 19% approaches Belgium´s 22% or Ireland´s 24%, but remains far
from Finland´s 49% or the UK´s 58%. The increase in membership occurs mainly in
just a few specific autonomous communities and towns, where library services
have undergone a process of renovation. So, in our country, there are more than
7.7 million registered members. But in practise, the libraries have more users
than those officially registered. Even more people are reached by services for
which a membership card is not required: reading and reference rooms, study
areas and open shelves, consulting journals and magazines, and surfing the
Internet. The mayority attend the library at least once a month (77%) while 42%
attend on a weekly basis.
The
younger population (youngsters and adults under 34) are the ones who make most
use of public libraries. The sum of these two groups (youngsters and adults
under 34) adds up to 55% fo users. On the other hand, the fact that these
youngsters are using public libraries so frequently, reflects the lack of basic
equipment in school libraries and puts a greater burden on public ones in order
to meet the demands of these groups of the population.
Fees
In
Spain, library use is free. Nobody has to pay for the use and borrowing of
library materials. They are free of charge for the client. It is not very
common to charge fees for violations of library regulations, or membership.
Fees are charged for copying and other special services. The interlibrary loans
provided by public libraries are free to their members.
Loans
The
lending service has been the most used. The media circulation increased 73%
from 1990-1998. The highest number of loans was in those collections which
combine book materials with the new electronic and audiovisual materials, which
are updated regularly. According to these statistics, Spain has an average of
0.75 loans per person per annum, well below 1.4 in France, 3.5 in Ireland, 5.1
in Norway, 6.5 in Belgium or 9.2 in the UK.
|
Loans in Public Libraries |
||||
|
1990 |
1992 |
1994 |
1996 |
1998 |
|
16.382.231 |
18.475.906 |
21.999.841 |
24.478.929 |
28.356.129 |
Automation
in public libraries has noticeably increased, specially within the past five
years. Main advances in this process
have been:
- The
introduction of multimedia resources, or digital wares, such as CD-ROM and
DVD-ROM, with rooms dedicated to the multimedia consultation and off-line
materials (local databases). Also PCs/Micros and computer software are offered
for public access in the better funded libraries. The use of multimedia
computers is: 28%.
- The
setting-up of local networks in larger public libraries and the development of
library applications from UNIX system based on ASCII terminals to the
client/server architecture, which is much more user-friendly.
- The
systematic use of Internet (e-mailing, distribution lists, interlibrary loans,
etc) as a means of communication and cooperation between libraries and their
staff. The Internet has been a decisive element for the introduction of I.C.T.
in public libraries.
- The
presence of public libraries on the internet, be it individually or as part of
cooperative schemes. All the State libraries have Internet access from 1998 and
some of them their own website. Nevertheless data on the 51 State Public
Libraries cannot be taken as representative for the general situation, because
they are much more advanced in the field of telematic applications than the
rest of the libraries.
We can
consider three main areas in the introduction of I.C.T. in public libraries:
1. Supply of automation systems
In the
1980s, the State public libraries began to have an automated system due to the
project PROINRED aimed at creating a telematic network. At the end of 1995, the process of supplying of automation systems to
the 51 State Public Libraries had finished.
Nevertheless, in the rest of Spanish public libraries the
political and organizational framework for the introduction of ICT is divided among the different regional
authorities. So, currently, most of these authorities issue
yearly grants for automation of public libraries within their territories;
organizing and putting into effect automation plans for the library networks. The regional governments have funded the
provisión of Internet access points, hardware and ICT delivery services in many
of their libraries, and have also chosen independently what computerised system
to use. Integrated Library Information Systems in wider use are: ABSYS (with
almost 600 application software in Andalusía, Asturias, Canary Islands, Navarra
and Basque Country), LIBERMARC (350 application software in Castile-La Mancha),
BIBLIO 3000 (with over 200 application software in Murcia and Valencia), VTLS (150
application software in Catalonia).
This is
why the number of computers, especially PCs, has gone up noticeably in recent
years, with an increase from 21% in
1994 to 53% in 1998. All in all,
about 29% of public libraries have
automated their house-keeping functions, and 10% are in the process of automating. However, there are still more
than 70% without an automated
library system. Generally, cataloguing and circulation are automated, followed
by acquisitions.
In the
last years, some regional governments have taken resolute initiatives to
introduce automation in municipal public libraries. Actions have included the
purchase of global, corporative licenses of library software, in order to
distribute it to particular libraries. This has been the case, among others, of
the region of Andalusia, which offers free ABSYS software, the most widely used
in Spanish public libraries. The degree of implementation of the Absys library
programme in the centres included in the corporate license held by the
Andalusian regional government has been high, reaching the number of 339 at the
end of 2001. The Plan de Implementación de las Nuevas Tecnologías en
las Bibliotecas de Extremadura must also be mentioned, subsidizing the 392
public libraries of its network with computer equipment and internet access.
The total amount for this project is 2.554.295 € between 1999-2003.
2. Development of cooperative projects
At the end of 1994 the project "REBECA on line"
was launched by the SGCB as an experience of cooperative cataloguing between
the State Public Libraries. The main objective of this initiative is the
constitution of an online bibliographical database based in the use of shared
cataloguing resources involving 30 State Public Libraries in inter-regional
cooperation. These libraries exploit and maintain the bibliographic database
REBECA, located in the Ministry of Culture, sending new records to be introduced
in the database. A central team, at the Ministry of Culture, is in charge of
the bibliographical control of records sent by the libraries, and takes special
care in the removal of duplicate records by using ad hoc developed programs.
Currently,
all Spanish libraries can search the REBECA database and download its records
online through the WWW or Z39.50 server. The number of transactions has
increased considerably since the new ways of access were introduced. Thus, an
average of, 60.000 records per month are retrieved/downloaded through the Web
and 170.000 through Z39.50. In total, 526.000 records are held in the REBECA
database, and there are 340 users with password access to the Zweb Z39.50
Search Engine. In addition, participating libraries carry out analitical
descriptions of cultural magazines and Library and Information Science
journals.
The use
of new tools such as the Z39.50 protocol allows different systems to operate
together or simultaneously in a user-friendly way. There is a great variety of
Z39.50 servers in all kinds of libraries: National Library, university
libraries and public libraries.
Library networks: Union catalogues
include the collections of various libraries, giving information on where to
find documents of all the participating libraries. These are cooperative
schemes which include libraries connected to a common network, or within the
same region. Some examples would be:
At
national level, the Subdirectorate General of Library Coordination has
contributed to cooperative initiatives, such as the creation of the Catálogo Colectivo de las Bibliotecas
Públicas del Estado, a combined database that put all the different
bibliographic records from the State public libraries together. In fact, it is
not an union catalogue but an ensemble of different databases. In any case,
this can be considered a valuable tool for cataloguing, interlibrary loan
purposes and information retrieval. Each library sends upgrades several times a
year, and more than 778.790 records are retrieved per month. And the Catálogo Colectivo del Patrimonio
Bibliográfico Español, bibliographical heritage, must also be mentioned.
Regional
Governments have invested heavily in promoting library networking. Thus, by
autonomous communities: Catàleg Col·lectiu de Catalunya will provide
3 million titles and 9 million holdings online, joining the most important
libraries and library networks in Catalonia, public, as well as academic and
university libraries. Catàleg
Col·lectiu de la Lectura Pública looks up the public libraries collections
in Catalonia. Xarxa de
Biblioteques Diputació de
Barcelona
Public Library Network with 151 service points in the province of Barcelona. Catàleg
Col·lectiu del Patrimoni
Bibliogràfic de Catalunya bibliographical
heritage. Catálogo
Colectivo de la Región de Murcia, the library
network catalogue in the Region of Murcia consists of 15 Libraries and the Department of the metropolitan network of
Libraries in Murcia, 2 Libraries in the municipal network in Cartagena, 40
other municipal Public Libraries, 22 Reading Centres and 3 Bibliobuses. Catálogo Colectivo de Castilla y León with 21 public libraries and 6 provincial library
centres. National
Library System of Euskadi
Collective Catalogue
Includes 77 public libraries in the Basque Country. A comprehensive Collective
Catalogues Directory can be looked up at: http://www.cbuc.es/7enllasos/71europa.htm#espanya.
Availability
of Application Service Provider (ASP) offering for library automation. This new
service uses secured connections over the Internet to deliver its automation
software to libraries, sharing resources with large regionwide networks. Like
the recent project: Xarxa de
Lectura Pública Valenciana regional public library network, shared
working via Internet, or the future project of Central Automation of the
Andalusia Public Reading Network. Among the advantages of the new system, we
can point out an improvement of access to library services (collective
catalogue and a single membership card for the whole Net) reduction of costs,
better control and quality of the libraries´ technical work.
3. The public libraries and the Internet. We are
going to consider the use of the Internet tools and web resources by public
libraries from a triple perspective: Its use by library staff; the library as provider of information, e-services and
contents through the Internet; and the library as provider of Internet access
to its users.
About 20% of public libraries provide free
public access to the Internet, and about 19%
of them provide access to their catalogues via World Wide Web. They present
their virtual OPAC on the net and have a homepage of their own or are
accessible through the homepages of their local authorities. They usually offer
a modest web page with some information on themselves, on their location and
opening hours, collections, services and activities. Some of these websites are
interactive and offer a variety of services which in many cases also include
link collections. However, the number of Spanish libraries with e-services and
information on the Internet, is quite small. The survey "Las Bibliotecas
Públicas en España: una realidad abierta" shows that libraries providing
this service amount to only 10.3%.
The data collected from the survey means the existence of nearly 400 web sites
for public libraries, which contrasts with the number of links which are mentioned
in a more detailed study on the web: http://exlibris.usal.es/bibesp/index.htm. It includes 60 web site addresses, 30 of
which have online catalogues and webbed interfaces to OPACs. This difference is
easily explained if we bear in mind the cooperative schemes mentioned earlier:
many libraries share web sites or their collections are included in collective
catalogues: Catalonia library networks, Xarxa de Lectura Pública Valenciana,
Collective Catalogue of Castile and León, and joint catalogues of State public
libraries.
The
setting-up and maintenance of a web site for a group of libraries or library
network. Good examples of this type of
cooperative planning are the reference page of catalogues of the State public
libraries in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (http://www.mcu.es/bpe/bpe.html), the
general access site for the Andalusian libraries,
or the D.I.B.A. web page on library networks.
The use
of Internet has intensified library
cooperation and professional information and communication with other
colleagues. There are several national library mailing lists in operation in
Spain: PUBLICAS (a general list aimed
at public libraries), IweTel
(national distribution list on library and information issues, include several
librarians from research, university and public libraries, as well as
researchers and teachers from universities). There is a list for children and
school librarians, as well as list for network specialists. In the area of
professional information we must highlight the monthly newsletter "The
Library Post", both in printed and web version: http://www.bcl.jcyl.es/correo/,
edited by the Subdirectorate General of Library Coordination. It intends to be
a basic tool for spreading knowledge and raising awareness on key issues.
Spanish
public libraries must adapt their services to the needs of a changing networking
information society. The libraries will continue to
provide their traditional cultural and educational content services in the
future, but a greater effort will be made for them to become the local gateway
to the electronic highways and also offer guidance in the use of networks. So,
the upcoming task is to promote new services. New services require new tools,
and first of all a new attitude. I.C.T. will be helpful in providing these
services to users.
Spanish
public libraries are still a way from being a reference library and community
information provider, the library model more extended in other European
countries. In addition, they might also provide access and guidance to
e-government and online public information services. In order to make themselves
indispensable, especially local libraries, have to convince their senior policy
makers of the need to improve the range and quality of their services and to
implement the Inform@tion Society al local level.
One of
the deliverables of Plan de Impulso was to commision a survey to the Germán
Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation (F.G.S.R.).
It has been published at the end of 2001 with the title: "Las Bibliotecas Públicas en España
: una realidad abierta". The following recommendations can be found in
this research:
More than half of the Spanish
population has never visited a library and the mayority of people are not aware
of the services that it provides, so it
is necessary to design a national information campaign on public libraries to
change their traditional image.
We must
point out two websites of interest to librarians on this matter:
F.G.S.R. Foundation: http://www.fundaciongsr.es/documentos/dosframes3.htm, includes
manifestos and declarations, standars and guidelines, library legislation, user
training and encouragement of reading.
Travesia
Portal: http://travesia.mcu.es/cabotaje.asp and http://travesia.mcu.es/aparejos.asp,
with guidelines for delivery services in public libraries.
In
Spain, there have been several activities of individual public libraries which
indicate that there is a growing awareness of the need for establishing new
innovative services in the information age. Inspiring examples of best practice
and innovative projects could be classified as follows:
Quality
management
Programa de Análisis de Bibliotecas (PAB). The Bertelsmann
Foundation in Spain is coordinating and financing this Library Analysis
Programme on library management and performance measurement. The aim of the
project is to develop an evaluation methodology to facilitate decisions about
the services. The evaluation made in PAB is centred on the following questions:
use made by the population of the general library services, suitability of the
collection depending on its use, efficacy of the internal working processes and
cost of the services. The results obtained are given in structured and graphic
form in annual reports. There are currently approximately 20 public libraries
of different Spanish areas participating in the PAB.
Different
projects have been implemented to standardize and homogenize the cataloguing
processes of public libraries to improve the quality of their automated
catalogues. The main result of these projects has been a handbook of procedures
applicable to other centres, unifying the work policies for the whole staff
during the technical process. For example, the Central Library of Murcia, and the State
Public Libraries of Castilla-La Mancha. In the Central Library of La Rioja, the Handbook
refers to general library services, as well.
Developing e-services for public libraries:
Virtual library: by presenting access to
all bibliographical information generated in the library (catalogues,
bibliographical guides, news etc..) as well as interaction with the user
(desiderata, inter-library loans, participation in forums etc.). Inspiring
examples of this are the Biblioteca Koldo Michelena, in San Sebastian, the
Peñaranda de Bracamonte Public Library in Salamanca, this municipal library is
managed by a private foundation serving a village of 6.500 inhabitants, and the
Tarragona and Valladolid State Public Libraries.
The
library can provide interactive services through the Internet, thus giving
easier access to users from their own home or work-place. For example, the State Public Library at Valladolid allows
the user to consult, reserve and renew books online. The application forms to
be found in the library web page, allow the following operations to be carried
out online: requests of interlibrary loans, requests of membership cards,
suggestions for book purchases, booking and reservation of equipment and
library facilities, group visits, suggestions for the improvement of services,
etc. Good examples are the home pages of Sevilla State Public
Library, Huelva State Public
Library and Biblioteca
Koldo Michelena.
Most
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q. Services): A series of questions and answers
on subjects of general interest to users, among which are those mentioned in
the Biblioteca
Koldo Michelena at San Sebastian.
Electronic
reference service in Spain are: Pregunte,
las bibliotecas responden, the Spanish Ask-a-Librarian service. It is a
cooperative project between 27 Central and State Public Libraries. In addition,
at regional level there is: La
biblioteca responde provided by the Library of Andalucía, and at
local level the electronic local reference service of the Biblioteca Comtat
de Cerdanya.
The
library can publish newsletters and news alerts with information about its
activities, meetings, lectures, as well as current-awareness bulletins, through
its web page and via e-mail. The FGSR libraries have the list Fundación
Germán Sánchez Ruipérez. Printed library publications can be shown on
a web page when the library is the publisher: Biblioteca Regional
de Murcia.
Cultural
activities and training programmes for users are more widely difused through
the Internet. Some good examples are the programmes included in the web sites
of Biblioteca
Municipal de Móstoles (Madrid), Zaragoza State Public
Library and Biblioteca Central de
la Rioja. You can visit virtual e-exhibitions, such as those in the Valladolid State Public Library.
Directories of Web resources using
links of general information which may be of interest to users: Sistema de Lectura Pública de Catalunya, the Barcelona Provincial Council "Diputació de Barcelona", and the General Library of the Barcelona City Council. And more
specialized for librarians: Library Department of the Valencia Autonomous
Community.
The regional library of Castile and
Leon offers a guide to Internet
resources produced in its territory. The user can find regional information
about the following items: Arts and Culture, Employment, Youth, Sport, What's on, Government, History and Tourism; Biblioteca de Andalucía. The digital libraries include
links to electronic documents and digital collections: e-books, reference books,
dictionaries, encyclopedia, and official documents. The State Public Library of Valladolid has its own digital library or the Biblioteca Digital de la Diputacion Foral de
Bizkaia.
For the younger members
Public
libraries have always given special attention to their younger users. Due to a
population decrease and also becasuse of strong competition from the
audiovisuals, public libraries are being used less by this group of people.
However, their early training in I.C.T. and the increase of PCs in Spanish
homes, means that many children are using the Internet from a very early age.
That is why it is important to cater for these younger users in the virtual
library.
Spanish
public libraries offer various initiatives along these lines:
-
Information about the library and its services, adapted to children and young
adults. The Cieza
Local Public Library (Murcia) has created a section in its website called
Bibliopeque for its younger members.
- The
organizing of children´s activities: workshops, reading initiatives,
user-training, etc. The Zaragoza
State Public Library and the Germán
Sánchez Ruiperez Foundation (FGSR) in Salamanca give information about
their activities on the net.
- A
selection of web resources, geared towards children and adapted to their needs,
such as those offered by the Valladolid
State Public Library.
-Reading
guides for children, like those provided by the Sevilla
State Public Library and the libraries of the Germán Sánchez
Ruiperez Foundation.
-
Electronic documents. For example, the Regional Central Library
of La Rioja publishes in its website, a magazine for
children.
Serving the Community
The following
is a list of initiatives in Spanish public libraries which relate to local
community information on the Internet.
-
Bibliographies on local subjects, such as the Bibliografía Salmantina, which is included in the FGSR
Municipal Library website in Peñaranda de Bracamonte, or the Bibliografía Palentina, which
can be found in the website of the Central Library of Castile and León, having
been set up in conjunction with the different public libraries of Palencia.
- Local
press databases, such as the one set up by Tarragona State Public Library, updated weekly with records from more than
55 periodicals, which is supplemented by newspaper articles on CD-ROM, or the
fulltext magazine and newspaper articles on offer by the Biblioteca Comtat de Cerdanya.
-
Information on local history and heritage, etc., and useful information of
interest like that offered by the Biblioteca Central de la Rioja or about local authors, like for example in
the Tarragona
State Public Library. Its local library is producing databases on
local authors with bibliographic data, full text and biographies.
-
Information on local topics of interest such as economy, institutions, tourism,
administration, etc. Here we can point out the Finestra ciutadana (FIC) of the Tarragona State Public
Library; or "Town Hall on the Net", of the Biblioteca
Municipal - FGSR de Peñaranda , and Noticias
Culturales, of the Biblioteca
Pública Municipal de Jumilla (Murcia).
-
Digital libraries on local topics which include electronic publications of
interest to the community. One such library to be noted for its quality and
size is the Biblioteca
Digital de Peñaranda de Bracamonte,
set up and run by the Municipal Library - FGSR.
Reading
initiatives
"S.O.L." Project: Servicio de Orientación a la Lectura. This service, financing by the National Plan for
the Promotion of Reading, is aiming to set up web pages, listing recomended
book reading both for adults and children. The section geared towards children
and young adults is being organized by the Centro Internacional de Literatura
Infantil y Juvenil of FGSR in Salamanca. While the municipal library FGSR of
Peñaranda de Bracamonte is in charge of coordinating the reading section geared
towards adults, which be the result of a joint effort of 12 participating
public libraries throughout Spain.
F.G.S.R.
"Leyendo espero": Book packs that have been specially selected by
librarians for children and adults and distributed to local health centres. The
motto used for this campaign is "Read while you wait".
"Clubes
de lectura": Book Clubs have been created in many libraries in order to
foster greater literary criticism in readers. Guidelines for books clubs: http://travesia.mcu.es/receta.asp.
One
initiative to be noted would be the Tales Marathon, a big
short-story telling festival annually organized by the public library of
Guadalajara. It has now its own web page.
Other
initiatives are recomended reading, including critical reviews (the Biblioteca Regional de Murcia
and the Valladolid State
Public Library include reading suggestions for their young and adult users in
their section "Book of the week"), information on new titles and new
adquisitions (the Biblioteca
Municipal de Cieza of Murcia), the publishing of reading guides
in its e-version on specific subjects or authors is already quite commonplace
in many libraries: Red
de Bibliotecas de la DIBA, Biblioteca
Koldo Michelena, and Biblioteca
Regional de Murcia.
Internet learning.
"InFormar" User
Training Programme of the F.G.S.R. Using
free public Internet access, provide practical lessons to those designated as
late-adopters of technology to reduce social discrimination and exclusion:
children and adults in rural areas and elderly people, to enable them to use
computers and the Internet.
A
useful page for e-learning on Internet training can be found in the Biblioteca Regional de La
Rioja.
Training
actions for librarians regarding the use and the introduction of I.C.T. (Open
and Distance Learning Methodology). For instance, some 20 Spanish public
librarians have taken part as "remote trainers" in a distance course
on school libraries addressed to teachers across the country. Organised by the
Ministry of Education and Culture, the distance course was based on multimedia
material as well as on communication between trainers and trainees via e-mail,
with telematic tutoring. There is a web site with e-learning for school
librarians in Andalusia.
Regional Projects
Projects of
Regional
Library in Murcia. ABIMUR (Automatization of the Bibliobus
Service). CATALOGA (Massive Cataloguing of the Regional Library. The
project CATALOGA aims at facing the implementation of a normalisation and
reorganization of the computer-based data. The project was launched in
September 1996 reorganising the cataloguing system of the existing collection
of the Public Library and the establishing the technical procedures
Regulation). The project FORMACIÓN offers the staff of all local
libraries continuous permanent training. MOUSE (Automatization of the
Libraries Network of the Region of Murcia. The aim is to homogenise library
management automatization systems and the technical procedures used in the
public libraries of the Region and to draw up the Collective Catalogue. The
project started in December, 1996 with the purchase of the library management
system Biblio-3000. This system guarantees the compatibility with the system
used in the Regional Library, ABSYS). VIRTUAL LIBRARY "PÍO TEJERA"
(Creation
of a virtual library comprising the whole of the Murcian bibliography from the
fifteenth to the seventeenth century, compiling and digitalizing those works
that must be included in the bibliographic heritage of the Region of Murcia).
Regional Library in Valencia: BIVALDI project: virtual library of
bibliobraphical heritage.
SIBILA
project of the Central Library of La Rioja, financing Internet
access, library software and computer equipment for local libraries.
D.I.B.A. (Provincial Council of
Barcelona Library Network):
http://www.diba.es/biblioteques/Projectes/Llist-A1.htm
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya http://biblio.uoc.es:443/ibe/inici.html
and
http://xina.uoc.es:443/ibe/info/projectes/projectes.htm
Library projects with Spanish involvement funded by the European
Commission which were approved in the course of the different calls
for proposals:
http://www.bne.es/ingles/internacional/proyectos.html
and http://www.bne.es/ingles/internacional/proyectos_europeos.html
CHILIAS (Children
at the library: improving access to the virtual multimedia library and
information resources). Spanish participant: Provincial Council of Barcelona: http://chilias.diba.es/
DERAL
(Distance Education in Rural Areas via Libraries).Spanish participants:
Biblioteca Municipal de Huesca.
ELVIL (The
European legislative virtual library). Spanish participants: Provincial Council
of Barcelona http://www.diba.es/biblioteques/Projectes/Prj7-A1.htm, and Open University of Catalonia. Web site: http://www.uoc.es/elvil/prototype3/home/home.html
LISTED (Independent Adult Learning through public
library support using Telematics based products). Spanish participants:
Municipal Foundation of Education, Culture and the People's University of
Gijón, Open University of Catalonia. Web site: http://xina.uoc.es:443/ibe/info/projectes/finalitzats.htm
PLAIL (Public
Libraries and Adult Independent Learners). Self-education and
lifelong learning.
Spanish participants: Gijón
City Council.
European projects approved in the 1999 call for proposals
are:
COVAX
(Contemporary culture virtual archive in XML). To provide access to documents
of archives, libraries and museums filed in XML databases via WWW. Four Spanish
institutions have participated in the project: Residencia de Estudiantes
(co-ord.) http://www.archivovirtual.org, Software Ag Spain
(partner), Menéndez Pelayo library
(partner), Open
University of Catalonia (partner).
DELOS: A
network of Excellence on Digital Libraries. Residencia de Estudiantes (socio), UNED (socio).
REGNET: Cultural
Heritage in Regional Networks. Instituto
Andaluz de Tecnología de Sevilla (socio) and Granollers city council: http://www.granollers.org/
The
collaboration and cooperation with other memory institutions in the sector
including archives, museums, arts and culture centres is necessary, in order to
combine their resources and to face similar challenges in the emerging digital
era. A high number of local authorities are combining library and archiving
services, in order to maximise use of space and service to users. In small
towns and villages, the employees work simultaneously in the archive and in the
local library, but it is actually due to financial reasons, more than
cooperative schemes.
Situation of libraries, museums and archives (source:
report prepared in February 1998 by the Spanish National Focal Point http://www.cordis.lu/libraries/en/nfp/spain.html
The
organistional framework of these three institutions is similar and this can be
an advantage for further collaboration. We have to talk about three level of
management since they depend on the State, Autonomous Regions or local
governments. The biggest and most important libraries, archives and museums
depend totally on the State, regardless of where they are located. In the State
institutions, and basically in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport,
there are General Directorates that co-operate with the Libraries, Archives and
Museum Bodies of each of the Autonomous
Communities. In the case of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport http://www.mec.es/mec/estructura/p_org_cultura.htm
those are: Dirección General del Libro, Archivos y Bibliotecas http://www.mcu.es/lab/index.html;
and Dirección General de Bellas Artes y Bienes Culturales (Fine Arts, Museums
and Historical Heritage) http://www.mcu.es/bbaa/index.html.
They are all co-ordinated by the Secretary of State of Culture.
Trasferred
ones are co-ordinated by the Libraries and Book Service, the Archives Service
and the Fine Arts or Museums Service of the Cultural Department of the
Autonomous Community. In most cases, they are the same body. And at local
level, the so-called "memory institutions" rely totally on local
budget and management. There are co-ordinated programmes and structures for
co-operation in each city.
Professional situation of librarians, museum
experts and archivists.
In
Spain, librarians, archivists and museum experts, working for public sevices,
are all members of the same staff grade Cuerpo
Superior Facultativo de Bibliotecarios, Archiveros y Museólogos. They are
civil servants, and must pass an exam which includes a general part common to
the three bodies, and a specialised part, based on the knowledge and practice
necessary to work in a library, an archive or a museum. All of them work for
these cultural bodies, the so-called ALM sector or also "memory
institutions". There is another lower category among librarians,
archivists and museum experts, which is the Assistant (Ayudante), and they also
have to sit an exam to work in these centres. Qualified staff is unusual in
these cultural services, so professional training is needed. It is always very
convenient to have the opportunity of attending specialised courses on new
techniques.
Education
in the field of Librarianship, Archive Science and Museology
Formal
education in these fields is very recent in Spain. Only since 1991 has it been
possible to obtain a university degree which includes information and library
studies. Librarianship and Documentation can be studied as a 5-year course or
as a shorter degree of 3 years in different Spanish universities (public and
private). Until then, people who wanted to work in libraries had to study
another degree, and then acquire their knowledge on librarianship on their own
before sitting the public exam to become civil servants. Currently, PhD degrees
and Masters can also be studied.
To know
where Information and Library Sciences
can be studied, look up Travesía
Portal. There are 7 lower degrees of 3-year courses in the universities of
Valencia, Leon, Vic, La Coruña, Carlos III de Madrid, Zaragoza and Complutense
de Madrid; and 10 higher degrees of 5-year courses in the universities of
Extremadura, Granada, Murcia, Alcalá de
Henares (Madrid), Salamanca, Barcelona, Autónoma de Barcelona, Universitat
Oberta de Catalunya, Universitat Politécnica de Valencia and Carlos III de
Madrid.
The
university degree of Librarianship and Documentation includes the study of some
subjects on Archives, but professionals
consider it necessary to establish a degree specialised on Archival Studies to
train archivists adequately. This project, will begin in the academic year
2002-2003 in Barcelona: High Degree
in Archival Science and Records Management, with a new 5-year course degree. But for the
moment, there are only
several Masters on Archival Studies that are generally considered of a high
standard in the Universidad
Carlos III de Madrid , University of Seville
, Universidad de la
Coruña , UNED
and in Universidad
del País Vasco. The Associations at national scale also
provide courses on Archives.
There
are no degrees at University for curators or museum experts, but it is possible to study a 2-year Master´s
Degree Programme in Museology in Universidad Complutense (public),
San Pablo-CEU(private), and University
of Granada. Which are in principle open to postgraduates
of all recognized universities.
Librarians,
archivists and museologists share one association at national scale, which is
the Asociación Española de Archiveros,
Bibliotecarios, Museólogos y Documentalistas (ANABAD). And
also at regional level, that is the case of Asturias, Canary Islands, Catalonia
and Valencia.
Private
schools in Spain: http://www.bne.es/esp/Escuelas_Academias.htm
Masters
and postdoc in Heritage and Cultural Management could be found in:
http://www.iaph.junta-andalucia.es/Agenda/agendafor2.html
http://www.iaph.junta-andalucia.es/Agenda/textomasters.html
Archivo virtual de la Edad de Plata [1868-1936], A virtual union catalog of approx. 60,000
entries and 5,000 images, comprising holdings which are related, even though
they belong to 50 or more different collections, and can be located and
searched through the internet as if they were one collection. The aim of the
Network of Centres and Virtual Archive of the Silver Age of contemporary
Spanish culture (1868-1936) is to extend knowledge of this fruitful period in
Spanish intellectual life. The virtual catalogue provides access to documents
of all types relating to the so-called Silver Age, as found in the virtual
library and archive.
Multimedia
Services for Museums and Libraries via Internet, but not involving any public
library in our country like partners members, there is BABEL Project. In any case, a
number of Museums and Libraries can participate in the requirements and
specifications phase, and in the validation of results, products and services,
in the same manner as the user partners.
Antonio Agustin Gómez Gómez
Head
librarian
Biblioteca
Publica del Estado / Biblioteca Provincial de Huelva
(This country overview is based on
the Survey "Las bibliotecas públicas
en España, una realidad abierta" by Germán Sánchez Ruiperez
Foundation).