Access to Culturally Diverse Collections

Electronic access to ethnic collections within the University of California is a prerequisite to serious teaching and research in many disciplines across the University. Bibliographic access to the ethnic collections at the University of California is uneven and generally needs improvement. Although several model efforts have emerged from either central library, departmental, or center support, information on specialized library holdings needs to be more generally available to the entire UC system.

On-line catalogs are the main route to books and serials within the University of California, and almost all the records of the smaller university libraries have been entered into the MELVYL system. User expectation next focused attention on those significant collections at the larger campuses which were not represented on this University's union catalog, or even in camp us-based on-line catalogs such as ORION at UCLA or GLADIS at UC Berkeley.

With the exception of the ethnic collections at Santa Barbara, most ethnic collections are outside the general library systems. This explains why until recently these collections were not represented in campus or university-wide union catalogs. Historically, there has been a reluctance on the part of UC libraries to include the holdings of these autonomous collections in their catalogs. University libraries have only recently -- in response to changes in curriculum, faculty research, and a diverse student body -- expressed an interest in facilitating conversion of these records in these "affiliated" or "ethnic center" libraries. In the early 1980s, the Chicano Studies Research Library at UCLA had its catalog reconverted and made available on ORION. As part of the response to Senate Concurrent Resolution 43 (see The Challenge: Latinos in A Changing California), the University is adding Chicano-related materials to both the MELVYL system and campus based on-line catalogs. These developments in the area of Chicano studies, we believe, can serve as guidelines or models for similar developments for the other ethnic collections. The promise of the MELVYL system remains unfulfilled without the holdings of these ethnic and culturally diverse collections.

Likewise, most of the serial titles held by the ethnic libraries are not represented on the campus catalogs or the MELVYL system. Again the exception is Santa Barbara, whose ethnic serials are on the MELVYL system. Through SCR-43 efforts and funding, Chicano related serial titles are being added to the MELVYL system from the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses. Analytical access to ethnic serial titles is yet another matter, a question we usually consider under reference sources rather than catalog development. However the fact remains that the majority of these titles are not covered by mainstream indexes. Access to African American periodical literature has been traditionally provided by the Black Periodical Index formerly, the Index By and About Blacks. Access to Chicano material is provided by the Chicano Periodical Index the Chicano Index, and the Chicano Database on CD-ROM. Better access to periodical literature for Asian American Studies and American Indian Studies is sorely lacking.

CD-ROMs provide much-needed access to articles, and supplement the large on-line catalogs. Their importance in research strategies is growing quickly, but their high purchase prices raise concerns that budgets may limit CD-ROM purchases to only standard or mainstream databases. If that happens, students researching ethnic questions may be deceived, thinking no literature exists. For the purposes of access to ethnic information, innovative alternative databases are essential.

Recently, collection level records for archival collections are being added to the MELVYL system, while the collections' detailed inventories utilizing such bibliographic software programs as Pro-Cite are available only locally. Local databases on personal computers and records in union catalogs can each improve the current uneven access to the ethnic collections at the University of California. However, union catalogs expect use of Library of Congress subject headings, which are often inappropriate for ethnic materials.

11) Ensure access through the MELVYL system to the holdings of ethnic collections on UC campuses.

Basic access through the MELVYL system to the holdings of ethnic collections is fundamental. Further enhancements could include the development of a MELVYL function to limit searches to a particular collection and the creation of separate subsets of ethnic materials on the MELVYL system. This will require additional funds for conversion and cataloging.

Implementation: Office of the President; Library Council; Local campus.

12) Foster the development of and access to ethnic databases such as the Chicano Database.

Access to books alone is not enough when so much ethnic data is available in other formats, such as journal articles, anthology articles, newspaper articles, statistics, visual materials, etc. Databases which index these sources would greatly enhance the access provided by the MELVYL system. The procedures for development of these databases may vary. Some may be discrete databases, while others might be integrated into existing on-line catalogs. However we need to encourage compatibility with MELVYL formats in order to improve chances of availability through the MELVYL network. Internet access to major culturally diverse collections should be further facilitated. Another way of promoting access is by distributing locally produced databases such as the Chicano Database, indexes, and guides to all libraries in the UC system.

Implementation: Office of the President; Heads of Public Services (HOPS); LAUC Cultural Diversity Committee.

13) Submit recommendations for changes in LC subject headings which would improve access to ethnic materials. Encourage UC catalogers to use specialized thesauri and additional cross references to make up for some of the inadequacies of LCSH.

Mainstream catalogers as well as librarians of ethnic collections agree that controlled vocabulary thesauri provide better access to these specialized collections than do LC subject headings. In this regard, we should encourage and promote the use of specialized thesauri (e.g., the Chicano Thesaurus) locally and/or through the MELVYL system. The cooperative development of thesauri by like institutions both in the UC system and elsewhere would be a major contribution to the national library community.

Implementation: Local campus; LAUC Cultural Diversity Committee Library Council Cataloging Policy Committee.

14) Survey bibliographic access to ethnic collections across the campuses. Uncover and provide access to "buried" and unanalyzed sets or collections within larger libraries such as the Bancroft Library, and in general, enhance awareness of ethnic studies materials in the Main Library collections of each campus. Foster computerized inventories of and indexes to special collections, and make them available at the systemwide level.

In order to assess the strengths and weaknesses of all collections in the University in the area of bibliographic access to ethnic materials, a survey is essential. It would be useful in overall planning and in implementing the other recommendations in this area.

Materials important to cultural diversity or ethnic studies may exist in special or Main Library collections but may not be recognized as such. They may be included in California history collections, for example, but may not be identified as ethnically-related.

Very valuable item-by-item documentation of special collections is being conducted through local campus projects. These personal computer databases need to be available to all in the system who can benefit from them. At the same time each collection should have a MARC format record on the MELVYL system.

Implementation: Local campus; LAUC Cultural Diversity Committee; Office of the President.