juliane_f's Profile

This book contains the Proceedings of the 13th Seminar of IFLA'sLibrary Buildings and Equipment Section, which was this timeco-organised with IFLA's Public Libraries Section.The event took place as one of the satellite meetings of the WorldLibrary and Information Congress 2003 in Berlin, and took place inParis at the end of July 2003.

Seminars like this have been held every two years (The Hague 1997,Shanghai 1999, Boston 2001) to allow architects and librarians to shareexperiences in the field of library planning and the building process.The goals of this seminar were to explore the issues affecting thefuture development of library space, and to help prepare to envisioninnovative library spaces that are responsive to user needs andcommunity interests.

This compilation of 12 papers given at the Paris seminar, includes ahugh amount of information, with regard to the state of the art oflibrary building. The book is illustrated with approx. 125 pictures.

The needs of degree students in FE

A significant percentage of Higher Education is taught in Further Education colleges - some 11%. Therefore the needs of undergraduates in FE have to be met through services and resources specifically tailored for their study.  

With its BA art degree programmes, including Fine Art and History & Theory of Visual Art, Suffolk College had for many years subscribed to Art Abstracts in various guises, firstly in print, then on CD-ROM and latterly, to Art Abstracts online. Art students have always found it an invaluable tool for tracing articles on the more esoteric art topics or lesser-known artists.  But thanks to the current JISC deal for FE, the resource remains affordable and good value for money, helping us to meet the needs of our undergraduate students. Usage statistics (helpfully emailed to us every month) enable us to prove year in year out that the resource is being well used throughout the academic year, although admittedly the service is used intensively by a small number of dedicated students. 

Art Abstracts has always been a popular resource and students rarely have problems with access or searching. We offer database induction sessions which we supplement with our own in-house 'how to use it' guide. Feedback tells us that the ability to access the service off-site with an Athens password is particularly useful, likewise the facility to limit searches by particular types of record, e.g. feature articles and by language. The search and display screens are also straightforward and easy to navigate. 

The obvious drawback to Art Abstracts (implicit in its title) is the inability to link to full text. With increasing access to other full-text databases and electronic journals, student expectations are high. Time is of the essence and some are put off by the thought of having to order an article from the British Library if we do not stock the journal. But as a supplement to more general database services, such as Infotrac OneFile, the resource is proving an important one, helping us to provide a resource that our undergraduates find challenging and useful.