**Apologies for cross-posting**
Six new reports based on research funded by the Research and
Innovation Centre are now available. Further details, including
ordering information, are available from the Centre's web pages:
www.bl.uk/services/ric/.
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Public libraries & ethnic diversity: a baseline for good practice
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Following on from the major study "Public libraries, ethnic diversity
and citizenship", this guide aims to provide library managers and
staff with some practical guidance to enable them to establish
improved relationships with ethnic minority communities. The document
contains good practice guidance and examples in relation to: setting
aims and objectives which engender support from different ethnic
communities; conducting performance reviews which take account of
ethnicity and racial equality; undertaking research and consultation
within ethnically diverse settings; promoting library services to
ethnic minority communities. The guide also highlights the importance
of: creating a racial equality culture within public libraries;
meeting the needs of ethnic minorities through the use of technology;
developing strategies to support the lifelong learning needs of ethnic
minority communities.
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Report into the effects of the abandonment of the Net Book Agreement
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The report examines the degree and nature of discounting since the
abandonment of the NBA, consumer response to discounting, the impact
on bookselling, the impact on publishers, the impact on authors and
provides an analysis of changes in the library market. The findings
indicate that discounting is an inducement for some consumers to
switch their location of purchase, but evidence about leading titles
at different major retailers show this inducement to be only moderate.
The network of stockholding booksellers has remained intact, to a
greater degree than was predicted by many observers when the NBA
was abandoned. In surveys, most booksellers disagreed that they were
benefiting from the end of the NBA but most also disagreed that they
had experienced a decline in profitability. The number of new titles
fell in 1997 for the first time in 16 years. Opportunities for new
authors do not appear to have been diminished although there may be
greater problems for mid-list authors. Library suppliers appear
largely to have weathered the storm of intense competition, mainly by
cost cutting with a substantial decline in employment. The report
concludes by placing the findings within the context of the continuing
debate about resale price maintenance (RPM). It concludes that it
still may be too early to say definitively whether the abandonment of
RPM has overall been in the public interest.
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Evaluating information access initiatives in primary health care: a
feasibility study
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This brief study conducted between January and March 1998 sought to
examine the extent to which useful methods of evaluating the
effectiveness, benefits and value of information access initiatives
within a primary care setting already exist. In addition, the study
sought to examine the literature of evaluation, generally, to explore
innovative means of evaluation that would be practical and
transferable for use in primary care settings. Another important
factor was that the method of evaluation was seen to be credible by
health service managers, health care professionals and funding bodies.
The project derived some possible models of evaluation based on
different approaches to outcomes measurement. These models were tested
through a focus group consisting of health services researchers,
primary health care staff and information professionals. Conclusions
were that it is likely to be feasible to develop novel methods of
evaluation. However, the evaluator must decide whether they want to
measure gains in access, knowledge or patient health gain.
Determination of this will lead to the appropriate choice of outcome
measures, which may include: impact on health of patients; knowledge
of the primary health care team (PHCT); tasks of the PHCT; impact on
factors critical to the process of providing information.
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EDI - electronic trading in the book world: six case studies
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The objectives of this research were to look across the UK book world
covering booksellers, publishers, libraries both public and academic,
library suppliers and wholesalers and to: review current experience of
electronic trading (EDI); identify best practice; track business
benefits against costs where possible; highlight the lessons learned
in planning, implementation and roll-out of electronic trading. The
research was conducted by identifying one key player in each sector
who is active in electronic trading and by interviewing the
individual(s) responsible for that organisation's electronic trading.
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A standard identifier for book items and contributions
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The purpose of this work was to propose the definition of a standard
identifier for parts of books. The work is presented in two parts.
Part two is structured as a draft standard, modelled closely on the
latest version of the SICI standard. Part one details the background
and scope of the work and provides a detailed commentary on the draft
standard, explaining the alternatives which were considered, and the
reasons for the choices which are embodied in Part 2.
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In search of the unicorn: the Digital Object Identifier from a user
perspective
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This study was prompted by a number of questions which have been raised
about the extent to which the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) meets, or
can be developed to meet, the real requirements of the marketplace for
a unique identifier of digital content. The report develops a series of
scenarios which explore the ways in which digital information may be
accessed and used in the future and considers the role of unique
identification of content in each of them. The business models that
have been selected for the scenarios must represent to some extent a
subjective forecast of what the future might look like. The scenarios
may not be entirely consistent one with another but there has been an
attempt to make them internally consistent - and as far as possible
coherent with current technological and market developments as
understood by the authors. Their purpose is simply to attempt to
illuminate some generic aspects of unique identification that appear
likely to be important in future.
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Simon Matty
Information Officer
Research and Innovation Centre
The British Library
2 Sheraton Street
London W1V 4BH
tel: 0171 412 7054
fax: 0171 412 7251
email: [log in to unmask]
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