In May 2000 the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted the first independent act on libraries no. 183/2000. This act supersedes an obsolete and inadequate act from 1959. The act is available in English at the Ministry of Culture's website at http://www.culture.gov.sk/english/LEG/Z20_183.htm. According to the Library Act, the Library Network is a part of the State Information Network and it includes: Slovak National Library, scientific libraries, academic libraries, public libraries, school libraries and special libraries.
The Slovak libraries have made great progress since the late 70s in the computerization and automation of the internal library processes on a local scale (namely in cataloging and circulation). Positive results - important for research as well - have been attained in acquisition and enabling access to external resources (Jason, EBSCO, Web of Science etc.). Numerous libraries have gained valuable knowledge on the practice of using information and communication technologies. High quality services are performed by the Automated Slovak National Bibliography System as well.
In 2001 there were almost 3.000 libraries in Slovakia (not including school libraries). The libraries acquired about 700.000 library units (documents) and the acquisition costs were about 200 million SKK, which is about 5 million EUR.
Slovakia is a relatively small country (about 5 million inhabitants), with a relatively small library collection (approximately 50 million documents). According to Dušan Katuščák, the general director of the Slovak National Library in Slovakia, in 2001 libraries needed cataloguing cost was app. 140 million SKK/year (app. 3.5 million €), and if 50% of the libraries catalogue the same title, multi-cataloguing cost was app. 70 million SKK/year (1.7 million €). Therefore a Central/Universal/Consortium Catalog is a solution that is suitable for Slovakia.
The Library and Information System Project of the 3rd Generation (LIS3G): The main objective of the project is to select one common fully-integrated 3rd generation library system for all Slovak libraries and to form economic and technological conditions for its operation with regard to the requirements of individual libraries. An outcome of the project will be a new-generation centralized integrated library system.
The European countries have accumulated enormous quantity of information of all kind. It is not only cultural heritage obtained in libraries, archives and museums but also huge amounts of scientific data as well as materials produced by the entertainment industry (TV, music, movies, etc.). The large proportion of this material is still not accessible because it is on paper. The recent advantages in digital storage and digitization technology are making the archiving digital collections even more feasible and cost effective. On the other hand nearly 90% of the published information being produced is created, stored and may be retrieved in digital form. But only very little of this information is available via digital libraries.
According to a recent report by Peter Lyman and Hal Varian the University of California Berkeley, the world produces between one and two exabytes (a billion billion 8-bit bytes) of information each year. Most of this information is in the form of images, sound and numeric data, printed content represents only 0.003 percent of all content published annually in the world. For every sentence published in print there are 30,000 sentences published on computers.
This is why more concern should be paid to the research and development of the digital libraries. If we speak about information society, the digital libraries should become an integral part of it. They should make Europe´s cultural and scientific content available to all citizens and also preserve it for the future generations.
Digital Libraries should enable any citizen to access all human knowledge any time and anywhere, in a friendly, efficient and effective way by overcoming barriers of distance, language and culture and by using multiple internet-connected devices
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Lessons Learned |
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Digital libraries need a more interdisciplinary approach and have to focus more on a globally networked information system of digital libraries, its semantic interoperability and the new methods of organisation and structuring of the information (e.g. XML based) to enable effective cross-searching among digital libraries. There is a growing need to develop appropriate business models for digital libraries and to develop user interfaces that support different user requirements. More emphasis should be paid also to the people with disabilities. Only very few digital libraries adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that were issued in 1999 by the World Wide Web Consortium.
The research for FP6 should concentrate on the following tasks:
· due to the growth of the globally networked information system which creates a challenge of semantic interoperability, it is necessary to design and develop metadata framework that will be widely accepted
· digital libraries must integrate access to materials with access to tools that enable to process and present these materials in a way to fulfil user's requirements
· digital library should support individual and community information spaces through a process of selection, annotation, contribution and collaboration
· research in user interface should support different kind of users of digital libraries
· there is need to develop new software for creating digital libraries that goes beyond the functions of the traditional libraries; they support also new ways of intellectual work and create community information spaces. The currently free available software often supports only the functions of traditional library
· there is need to solve legal and organizational issues of information access digital libraries need business models
The objective of the research is to develop digital libraries with advanced services providing high-bandwidth access to distributed and interactive repositories of history, culture and science and generate new forms of cultural and learning experience. |
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BRT 6 |
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Date: |
8 April 2003 |
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Topic: |
The Digital Libraries of the Future - New Directions of the Research Programme |
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Location: |
Stara Lesna, High Tatras, Slovakia |
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Organizer: |
Dr. Sona Makulova (makulova@elet.sk) and Dr. Vladimir Burcik (burcik@elet.sk) |
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Host: |
EL&T Ltd.; Bratislava, Slovakia – http://www.elet.sk/brt |
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Panelists |
· RNDr. Miroslav Bartošek, PhD., Deputy Director of the Computer Centre, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
· Dr. Soňa Makulová, PhD., Associate Professor, Comenius University, EL&T, Bratislava
· Dr. Dušan Katuščák, PhD., General Director of the Slovak National Library, Martin
· Ing. Alojz Androvič, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the University Library, Bratislava
· Mgr. Martin Katuščák, Researcher, Slovak National Library, Martin |
BRT 7: "e-Content for Mobile Communications"; Bucharest, Romania; 18 April 2003
Romanian telecommunications have developed at a slower pace than elsewhere, due mainly to its state-owned telecommunications monopoly, which has been unable to manage and to finance high growth rates. In other countries where competition was permitted the results were outstanding, as the presence of domestic and foreign investment funds or operators, and their battles for a stake in domestic operators, prove.
Mobile telephony provides a clear example of what competition could mean to Romanian telecommunications. The launch of GSM mobile operators (Mobi Fon and Mobil Rom) in 1997 created a strongly competitive environment that resulted in 3.9 million mobile subscribers signing on by the year 2001 - a 17.3% penetration rate. The growth rates for mobile subscribers during the last few years - 900% in 1997, 220% in 1998, 110% in 1999, 70% in 2000, and some 60% in 2001 - are among the highest in Europe.
GSM900 operators launched GPRS services, and early in December 2001 a new mobile service, Zapp Mobile, based on CDMA2000 technology in the 450MHz band, was launched. Zapp Mobile provides voice and data at 153Kb/s and challenges both existing GPRS services and planned UMTS services. Could this new service be an alternative to UMTS, at least for the Eastern and Central European countries, and could Romania be the foothold for CDMA penetration in Europe? It is difficult to answer this question considering many pieces in the puzzle: - the world telecommunications turmoil, the big problems with UMTS, problems with Qulacomm Zapp Mobile's main shareholder, the strong presence of GSM in Europe, and so forth.
GSM communications used to revolve around two players: the consumer and the network's service operator, with the voice service being the most important (data services accounting for only 2-3% of the total). In the new setup - the third generation of mobile communications - two more players enter the stage: the content owner and the one who will develop applications so that the end user can reach this content. That is why mobile telephony companies collaborated to elaborate communications standards that will give benefit to the final user: lower prices and rapid technological renewals. E.g. Nokia provides a web meeting place for providers of applications, sales support, and technical support specialists who implement content.
· As far as the business developments are concerned, internet providers have realized that content is the driving force of the development of IP networks. Internet providers have looked for niches of the content, as “content is a business model”. Content now becomes a strategic business element.
· GSM and 3G technologies bring us very close to the content.
· The EUROPRIX network acts as a crucible of substantial forces having the authority to judge projects.
· There are many untapped content resources in Romania - archives, historical photographs, culture documents - which would constitute the content of the major interest, both to Romania and to Europe, if they were to be digitalized. Romania would then enter Europe with more of that which is unique and specific to the country.
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Lessons Learned |
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In Romania content has become a strategic business element for internet providers.
There are many untapped content resources in Romania waiting for exploitation.
The rush for content should not stop anyone to strive for more technological content involved with culture and education.
Only a cooperation between content providers and solution providers will offer the chance for financing new projects.
Implementation of UMTS is like in most other European countries delayed. One of the leading and most successful Romanian mobile network operators is running the GSM-incompatible CDMA2000 standard. |
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BRT 7 |
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Date: |
18 April 2003 |
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Topic: |
e-Content for Mobile Communications |
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Location: |
ROMEXPO; Bucharest, Romania |
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Organizer: |
Dr. Gheorge Samoila (gsamoila@itc.ro) |
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Host: |
ITC (Institute for Computers); Bucharest, Romania - http://www.itc.ro |
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Panelists |
· Grigore Popescu, General Director, ITC
· Gheorghe Samoila, Head of the Multimedia Department - ITC
· Horea Murgu, Professor, Media University
· Cătălin Niculescu, Director Infrastructures, Nokia Romania
· Valentin Mănoiu, ITC, President of ARMI
· Voicu Albu, Director, ARTelecom
· Ioan Rusovici, Large Projects Manager, Ericsson |
Digital media has stabilized its position as a professional service industry: Electronically provided services are an increasingly important part of any business activity. The importance of digital communication and transactions via digital devices and transmission networks is expected to grow steadily also in the future. Thus, natural demand exists for digital media service companies.
Hypergrowth is history: In 2002, the total turnover of the companies specialized in digital media service provision was approx. 160 m EUR. Most of the companies were profitable. The industry turnover is expected to grow at 2-5 % / year up to 2006. Digital media has become similar to any other industry – there is, no longer, a “new” economy.
Growth in the number of companies and personnel has stopped: The Finnish digital media industry employs currently ~2.300 people in 280 companies. There will be only 200 - 300 positions available until year 2006.
The industry has concentrated both regionally and by its turnover: A typical digital media company employs less than 10 persons. Yet, most of the industry turnover is created in the few largest companies. The Helsinki regions represent by far the most important area for companies as a location for operations, as well as, as its potential for customers.
Internationalization continues via networks: After the rapid expansion in the end of the 1990s, the current trend for internationalization is to carry out action with caution. Instead of opening new foreign offices, Finnish companies tend to seek for opportunities via co-operative modes – joining into emerging international service networks.
There is overcapacity in digital media-related education: The Finnish education organizations have increased very rapidly their offerings of digital media related training during the last few years. Currently the main threat to the students is to obtain education with very little actual value in the slumping job markets.
Specialization is one of the key issues for success: It is crucial for the Finnish digital media companies to find out their core competence. They need to offer their clients and partners services that offer true value-added.
· Focusing on finding own core competence is becoming increasingly important. There is less and less work for generalists.
· Identification and leveraging of one's own role within the industry value chain becomes more important in the future.
· Understanding customer's needs is one of the most important issues for business success. Investments in relationships can bring the added revenue required for survival also during the current downturn.
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