Update on the Global ILL Framework (GIF)
January 7, 2005
Since the last GIF report in August 2004 the number of North American GIF participants has increased to 45 institutions. Recent additions include Vassar, SUNY Binghamton, Macalester, University of Maryland, NYU, and Colby. The number of Japanese institutions is now 101.
In September 2004 Sharon Domier and Kathryn Ridenour (head of ILL for U-Mass Amherst) traveled to Japan to take part in a GIF symposium for Japanese side participants. Kathy Ridenour's presentation was an excellent history of the ILL process in the US and the workflow of ILL requests in a US library, translated for the Japanese audience by Sharon Domier. Sharon's presentation was on the subject of "GIF from the North American Perspective." In addition to their presentations Mr. Osamu Inoue Japan-side Manager for GIF reviewed past records and discussed problems that have been encountered and Mr. Modeki of NII gave a report on NACSIS-cat activities. We are now seeking their permission to mount the power point presentations from those talks on the NCC site.
A full list of North American participants has been circulated to members by mail and can be accessed on the GIF site at
http://www.libra.titech.ac.jp/GIF/ from the NCC's GIF page
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ncc/gif.html which also contains helpful links for North American users of GIF.
It is important to note that though the number of GIF participants is growing at a healthy rate the level of cancellations still remains very high. To improve these statistics it is vital that both the Japan and US sides work, together and independently, to improve the process. The Japanese side, which has a much larger group of participants, has already been very proactive in developing training seminars including that mentioned above. On the US side a number of possible strategies for improving the process are being discussed. These have included workshops at regional meetings of ILL librarians, discussions or presentations at NCC Open Meetings about ways to more efficiently use the system, the forming of an ad hoc GIF-users assistance group made up of current participants, and developing a more extensive set of online guides to using GIF. To begin with the latter two strategies, an ad hoc GIF-users assistance group and developing online guides are being most strongly considered and further suggestions are being sought.
Recent meetings among the Japan Project, of which GIF is a part, and other members of the Global Resources Network (GRN), an initiative of AAU and ARL in cooperation with CRL and the managers of regional projects like the NCC, have begun to explore ways that GRN projects from various world areas might work together to develop projects. At the meeting of GRN project managers at CRL in April 2004 considerable interest in GIF and the efforts of the Japan Project were expressed especially by the managers for the German and South Asian Projects and further meetings of the GRN managers are planned for the near future. In addition GRN Director, Eudora Loh of UCLA has recently asked GRN Projects to suggest further ways to collaborate and to share plans for future development with other members.
The North American side is also very interested in learning more about the current pilot project being undertaken between Japanese and Korean libraries as a model for other possible strategies for developing connections with other world areas, either those currently participating in the GRN or other areas or library groups such as the European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists or librarian groups in Australia or elsewhere, on a regional or country-by-country strategy.
We look forward to working with our Japan side colleagues in the coming year to further explore these possibilities.
Submitted by:
Victoria Bestor
North American GIF Manager
