National Library of Jamaica's holdings to be placed on Worldcat

Author: Minister, the Hon. Lisa Hanna, Ministry of Youth & Culture
Title: Contribution to the 2014/2015 Sectoral Debate
Date published: May 20, 2014
Source: Jamaica Information Service (JIS):
URL:  http://jis.gov.jm/media/hanna-sectoral1.pdf
 

Abstract:

The Hon. Lisa Hanna, the Minister responsible for the portfolio of the Ministry of Youth & Culture, announces a number of events and plans for the National Library of Jamaica (NLJ). Among the events mentioned are:

• the NLJ's 2014 Distinguished Lecture to be presented by novelist, poet and Panama historian Miss Olive Senior to mark the Centenary of the Panama Canal and its impact and influence on the construction of Jamaica's economy and culture.
• The award of Poet Laureate to Professor Mervyn Morris

Also mentioned in her speech to Parliament are the plans afoot to:

• outsource the NLJ's catalogue to OCLC's Worldcat Local 
• the launch of a digitized encyclopaedia of Jamaica for local and global references
• and the digitization of  legacy 16 millimetre film resources for dissemination through social media

Excerpt:

The National Library in an effort to maximise use of its resources will implement an alternative to the current library management system, which though very low in cost is the most effective at showcasing the NLJ resources locally and globally. The new system Worldcat Local will place the catalogue of the library's holdings into a global library catalogue that is discoverable through popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. In a real way this new system will truly enable Jamaica to the World. 

In addition, in recognition of the public's preferred mode of accessing information we launched the National Library of Jamaica Digital Collection. NLJDigital will create a digitized encyclopaedia of Jamaica for local and global references. This digital encyclopaedia includes material from the library's paper and photograph collection as well as the full text of18th and 19th century Jamaican books already digitised by Google.

In a further move to preserve the nation's intellectual output, this year we will be transferring the legacy 16 millimetre film resources to digital and the concomitant dissemination of these resources through programming and social media.

 

UWI library digitizes newspaper clippings chronicling the history of the steel pan

Author: Ray Funk and Andrew Martin
Title: T&T steelpan newspaper history now on the Web... Just a click away
Source: The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian
Date Published: Tuesday, January 28, 2014
URL: http://guardian.co.tt/carnival/2014-01-27/tt-steelpan-newspaper-history-now-web




Abstract:


The article discusses the UWI St. Augustine library's digitization project chronicling the history of the steel pan through library clippings from Trinidad and Tobago's newspapers. Dubbed the UWI digital Steelpan Newspaper Collection, the main person behind the initiative, is steelpan historian and arranger Dr. Jeannine Remy. Remy, a senior lecturer in the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) at UWI, St Augustine approached the UWI library in 2011 with a plan to digitise her collection of newspaper clippings and create a database of these documents to preserve the information. Remy sought a grant as the library reported not having the financial budget to fund the project. This resulted in the award of a faculty research grant to complete the project in December 2012. 



Further details are provided about the work involved in the project including the scanning of the articles as well as summarizing and identifying keywords for each article to make it searchable, and linking all this information to the UWI library's Web site. Other participants in the project are named including Librarian Marsha Winter and the primary student research assistant, Aniya Carty.


Further details are provided about the project including the aim of project co-ordinators to upload more than 1,000 articles to the Web in the next few months. It is also reported that the current available articles can be accessed the UWI Website http://uwispace.sta.uwi.edu/dspace/handle/2139/17577. These available articles are also accessible via search through major online search engines like Google and Bing by entering in the search terms  and adding “uwispace” to limit the search to the UWI digital Steelpan Newspaper Collection. It is also reported that the articles from the UWI library collection that forms the UWI digital Steelpan Newspaper Collection include articles gifted from Remy’s personal collection as well as those of a number of her students and colleagues. Future plans for the project are also outlined.




One scholar, Mia Gormandy, a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at planning a dissertation on the pan in Japan, is also cited as praising this new digital resource as well as expressing appreciation for the initiative.






Excerpt:


The history of steelpan as chronicled in Trini­dad newspapers is now only a click away. As a result of a grant from UWI and collaboration between students at UWI and the UWI library, more than 4,000 newspaper articles related to the history of steelpan in T&T will be uploaded to the Web.

Many articles can already be viewed now with more being added in the next several months.

The project is the brainchild of steelpan historian and arranger Dr Jeannine Remy, senior lecturer in the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) at UWI, St Augustine....




More info



UWI digital Steelpan Newspaper Collection is just one of the historical collections that the library at UWI is looking to digitise and make accessible to the public on the Web. [Special Collections Librarian Lorraine] Nero further notes that the Special Collections department is always seeking donations of material of historic significance. Nero can be reached at wimail@sta.uwi.edu . If anyone has clippings or photos or other steelpan memorabilia that they want to contribute to this project, it is not too late and they should feel free to contact the library. The UWI Library continues to explore the acquisition of funds to support the digitisation initiative. Sponsors interested in contributing to this effort can contact the Campus Librarian, the Alma Jordan Library at 662-2002 ext 2009.

Jamaica to switch to RDA 's new digital cataloguing system for libraries

Title: New digital cataloguing system for library network
Date published: Friday, April 12, 2013
Source: Jamaican Observer
URL: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/New-digital-cataloguing-system-for-library-network_14044061

Abstract:

This article reports on plans for Jamaican library networks to move from Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) to the newer international digital cataloguing system of the Resource Description and Access (RDA). It also reports on a seminar being planned in Kingston to create a national awareness of the imminent introduction and implementation of the RDA and also attempt to educate and inform members of the Jamaica Library and Information Network (JAMLIN) community about RDA.

The report also discusses an event by Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, that gathered library professionals to discuss this new plan. Quoted is the president of the Library and Information Association of Jamaica and Librarian at the Jamaica Tourist Board Matthew Blake who supports the move. Also quoted is Maxine Jones, a cataloguer at the National Library of Jamaica, about the need for developing and implementing a National Bibliographical database to facilitate access to all the information within the various libraries islandwide. The views of librarian/documentalist at the Planning Institute of Jamaica, Viviene Kerr-Williams, is also reported. Kerr-Williams opines that the move fulfils some national goals set out in the national development plan, Vision 2030, in making Jamaica a first world country by 2030.


Excerpt:

 

JAMAICA'S public library network will soon boast a new international digital cataloguing system, which is expected to help persons doing research or requesting information from library archives.

The system, called the Resource Description and Access (RDA), is the new international cataloguing standard, designed for the digital environment, and is intended to replace the current Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) before year end.