INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM OF VIETNAM

Kieu Van Hot

National Library of Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam
Fax: 84-4-253357

  Overview of the use of information technology in public library system in Vietnam from the beginning to now. Situation and problems of library automation and network as well as computer processing of Vietnamese materials.   1. BACKGROUND

Vietnam has a large number of libraries: about 20,000 units of all kinds. Libraries in Vietnam are being developed as a program of the national development, and acted as education institutions and information agency to server the development of the nation.

Libraries and information centers in Vietnam are integrated in an network named National System of Scientific and Technological Information (NSSTI). Public Library System administrated by Ministry of Culture and Information is the major library system in the Country. This system including National Library of Vietnam and other public libraries offers library services for people living anywhere in the country.

1.1. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF VIETNAM (NLV)

Founded in 1917, now The National Library of Vietnam is organized and operated in accordance with the Government's Resolution No. 401/Ttg dated September 9, 1976 on Functions, Targets and Missions of the National Library of Vietnam. The Resolution assume NLV with responsibilities:

• To build and maintain the national depository collection;

• To organize and coordinate domestic and foreign documents circulation in the whole country;

• To publish the national bibliographies of Vietnam, centralized cataloguing and other bibliographic works;

• To undertake methodology guidelines for all library systems and carry out R D projects on library and information sciences;

• To coordinate library activities such as acquisition of foreign periodicals and books, union catalogs, and interlibrary loan;

• To serve as the information center for culture and arts
 

 1.2. OTHER PUBLIC LIBRARIES

The public libraries system in the country was set up after Indochina War 1954. The system includes provincial libraries located in capitals of the provinces, district libraries located in capitals of the districts, and village libraries. According to the statistic data, in 1996 the system had 4,800 libraries. Out of the number, 4,256 were village libraries. NLV provides the system with technical assistance in the form of manpower training and library managerial guidance.

1.3. LIBRARY AUTOMATION IN THE SYSTEM

Library automation in the system began about 10 years ago at the NLV and expanded to all provincial libraries during the period from 1992 to 1994. In that period, all automated systems installed were stand-alone systems and the popular software was CDS/ISIS. In 1995 a computer network was set up to link NLV and provincial libraries together. District and village libraries are not computerized yet.

2. CURRENT SITUATION OF USING INFORMA- TION TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM

2.1. EQUIPMENT AND NETWORK

NLV and all provincial libraries were equipped with modern computers and peripherals. There are 4 servers and 32 computer terminals in NLV. Each provincial library has from 1 to 4 computers with the exception of Ho Chi Minh City's Library where there are 18. Two libraries of the system having LAN and NLV and Ho Chi Minh City's library. The public libraries' WAN led by NLV links NLV with 61 provincial libraries all over the country. PCs from any provincial library can communicate with one of two regional host on the national backbone (Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City). The network provides remote login and online search services, and email. All libraries of the system are equipped with CD-ROM readers.

2.2. DATABASES

Like most libraries in Vietnam, all libraries of the system use CDS/ISIS software to create and maintain their databases. Following the instruction of NLV, all libraries of the system use the only MARC format to create records. This MARC format is not the original UNIMARC but its adaptation.

NLV has created a database containing records of depository monographs and foreign monographs acquired to the NLV's collection. The database now has over 80,000 records and its growth rate is about 7,000 records per year. Retrospective conversion has been done for this database. It is hoped that in the near future, the database will cover all publications in Vietnam and become the National Bibliographic Database of Vietnam.

Three other databases in NLV cover periodical titles, Articles, and doctoral theses.

Each Provincial library creates a database reflecting their collection and the other containing records of materials relating to their province. Every month records generated by NLV upload to the net for catalog copying in the network.

All mentioned databases are available only in electronic form. Some databases, especially National Bibliographic one will be converted to CD-ROM form.

2.3. THE INTERNET CONNECTIONS

In Vietnam, with funds of the Australian Government, the experimental Internet connections with VARENET (Vietnam Academic, Research and Education Network) have been carried out since 1992 through the Australian National University. In the first stage, only email service through the Internet was available. The development of VARENET is based on the Internet protocol (IP). In April 1994, Vietnam received its own Internet domain name (.Vn) and became an independent user. Now Vietnam opened gateways connecting directly to the Internet. Up to now although no public libraries have hooked up the Internet but some experiences and training courses for staff of NLV and provincial libraries on use of the Internet such as Internet navigation, Internet searching, home page creating... were organized. NLV and some provincial libraries will hook up the Internet before long.

2.4. ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

At present, the use of information technology at public libraries in Vietnam faces some difficulties. These include:

• Budget is very limited and funds are hard to find;

• Information technique skills of librarians are still scarce;

• High cost of data communication;

• Information sharing culture is still new;

• Lack of information technology materials.
 

 3. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Nationwide, the development of information technology in Vietnam follows the Government's Directive No 95/CT on promoting the scientific and technological activities in the country (1991) and the Government's Directive No 49/CP on information technology development in Vietnam toward the year of 2000 (1993). hose documents direct the development of library and information services in Vietnam as following:

• The task of scientific and technological information (STI) system is to provide timely necessary information for formulating and implementing socioeconomic development strategies and plans for policy makers, R & D workers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and other information users. STI institutions should coordinate with mass media to largely diffuse technological knowledge in the society in order to effectively promote the renovation process in the whole country;

• the plan for the development of STI system should be formulated in corporation with the plan for the development of socioeconomic information system. The new information technology should be applied step by step in order to be compatible to international standards;

• STI manpower should be rapidly upgraded to meet the new requirement in STI activities;

• It is allowed to reserve 3% of state budget allocated to R & D activities for financing STI activities in the country. An appropriate foreign currency fund should be created for acquisition of most important international information services, i.e. foreign periodicals, books and CD-ROM;

• Available STI resources should be effectively shared and used in the whole country. The STI institutions should be step by step equipped by new information technologies;

• The managerial mechanism of STI institutions should be reformed in order to integrate STI activities into the country's socioeconomic development.
 

 In the public library system, priority should be put on: • Exploiting the Internet application to serve information needs;

• Looking for more powerful software and technology, especially modern technology for creating full-text database.

• Strengthening staff training on information technology in the whole system.