Newsletter No. 137
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FreePint
"Helping 59,000 people use the Web for their work"
http://www.freepint.com/
ISSN 1460-7239 15th May 2003 No.137
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IN THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Don Crowder
FREEPINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
JOBS
Strategic Head of Science Collections
Senior Researcher - Commercial services
Head of Libraries
Research Assistant
TIPS ARTICLE
"Net the Ancestors: the Internet and Family History"
By Jonathan Crowhurst
BOOKSHELF
"Naked in Cyberspace: How To Find Personal Information Online"
Reviewed by Stephen Lafferty
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Business Continuity and Recovery - An Asian Perspective"
By Jane Macoustra
EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/150503.htm>
FULLY FORMATTED VERSION
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** Marketresearch.com - Where the World Goes for Market Research **
Strategy Starts Here
Over 50,000 business intelligence publications from 350 of the
industry's most respected publishers make Marketresearch.com your
comprehensive, global information source. Visit our newly-redesigned
Web site at: <http://www.marketresearch.com/redirect.asp?progid=1915>
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>>> ABOUT FREEPINT <<<
FreePint is an online community of information searchers. Members
receive this free newsletter twice a month: it is packed with tips
on finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet.
Joining is free at <http://www.freepint.com/> and provides access to
a substantial archive of articles, reviews, jobs & events, with
answers to research questions and networking at the FreePint Bar.
Please circulate this newsletter which is best read when printed out.
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EDITORIAL
We're busy getting ready to attend the SLA conference in New York at
the beginning of June <http://www.sla.org>. For those who can't attend
we'll be posting daily dispatches to the FreePint Bar to let you know
what everyone's talking about. We're also lining up interviews with
key people in various parts of the information industry. Many thanks
to Factiva for sponsoring FreePint's attendance at this major event in
the information calendar.
I had a great time last week in Denmark talking at a conference for
information people working in the media. If you haven't been to
'Wonderful Copenhagen' then I would highly recommend it. Information
get-togethers like this are taking place all the time and I feel
rejuvenated by the tremendous amount of voluntary effort that
information people are willing to put into organising such events.
Bravo to everyone involved.
Our forthcoming Exchange workshop on 'Freedom of Information' is
coming up shortly in July <http://www.freepint.com/exchange/>. If
you're running an information-related event yourself then submit
details for some free promotion on the FreePint Events page at
<http://www.freepint.com/events>.
A number of people at the conference in Denmark said how useful they
find FreePint but were vexed at how it covers its costs. Especially
since they've never been asked to pay for anything for it. It is
indeed tricky to make money when you give virtually everything away
for free. Especially if you're daft enough to give it a name like
'FreePint'! Anyway ...
We've packed lots of good stuff into today's newsletter. I'm sure most
readers will find both articles of particular interest and there's
also the usual mix of tips and news from the Bar. The easy-to-read
fully-formatted version of this newsletter now has photos of the
authors <http://www.freepint.com/issues>.
Finally, don't forget to make your nomination for the 'CILIP/FreePint
Online Community Award' <http://www.freepint.com/events/cilip-2003>.
Congratulations to ResourceShelf.com for securing financial assistance
in the form of sponsorship from MuseGlobal. Many thanks to Plain Text
for their valued work in proofreading each edition of FreePint.
Cheers
William
William Hann BSc(Hons) MCLIP
Founder and Managing Editor, FreePint
Email: <william.hann@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1784 420044
Free Pint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2003
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>>> FreePint Freedom of Information Exchange <<<
22nd July 2003, London, UK
This seminar will provide an overview of the Freedom of Information
Act. The session will cover: practical issues to consider when
implementing FOI; discrepancies between the Data Protection and
Freedom of Information regimes; the role of the publication scheme;
records management issues; handling FOI requests; right of appeal,
complaints procedures & compliance matters; copyright issues.
<http://www.freepint.com/exchange/fi220703.htm>
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
By Don Crowder
* <http://www.programming.de/> - Johannes Wallroth's amazing web site
is a virtual gold mine with learning resources for budding programmers,
free Windows software, excellent photography and digital artwork.
* <http://security.kolla.de/> - Spyware is a major concern for every
online computer user. The free software "Spybot - Search &
Destroy" is, in my opinion, the best available solution.
* <http://www.xnview.com> - Even my non-technical wife is convinced
that XnView is a wonderful tool for manipulating images (especially
jpegs) and best of all it's free.
* <http://www.gregorybraun.com/WebTime.html> - I set my watch to the
time on my computer, but first I set my computer to a traceable
standard with Gregory Braun's free "Webtime" (for Windows).
* <http://www.sci.fi/~borg/rambooster/index.htm> - My PC gets a heavy
workout every day, and I often had RAM problems before I installed
RamBooster. This is a free set-it-and-forget-it utility.
Don Crowder <http://www.doncrowder.com> is a serious musician and
part-time computer geek who edits the site and e-zine for Phil &
Moke's Secret Free Place <http://www.maxpatch.com>.
Submit your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at
<http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>.
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See you at SLA in New York!
Factiva is proud to sponsor keynote speaker Madeleine Albright, the
former US Secretary of State on Wednesday, June 11. In addition Factiva
is also sponsoring two pre-conference events on Sunday, June 8 entitled
"Beyond Marketing: Consultative Strategies for Information
Professionals" and "Learning is Hot: Simple, Cost-Effective Tools & Tips
for Building Effective Learning Programs."
To get more information, visit www.sla.org. Hope you can be there!
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FREEPINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
A recent informal poll by FreePint asked whether people have firewalls
on their home computers. It transpired that only about 5% of those
asked did. This is a *very important issue*. You should have a firewall
on your home PC. There's no excuse. It doesn't even have to cost you
anything. For some advice on which firewall to use, check out the
FreePint Bar thread at <http://www.freepint.com/go/b21289>.
Whereas most Bar topics get an almost immediate response, there are
always tricky research queries that seem to stump everyone:
- Can you locate "research which assesses & classifies 'life coaching'
and self-help programs"? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b23655>
- What about the enquirer who is "looking for the upper permitted
limit of foreign ownership in companies registered locally ... in
all world territories"? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b23642>
- Are there bodies that give accreditation to documents produced
by organisations? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b23550>
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The FreePint Bar is where you can get help with your tricky research
questions, for free! <http://www.freepint.com/bar>
Help with study for information-related courses is available at the
FreePint Student Bar <http://www.freepint.com/student>.
Twice-weekly email digests of the latest postings can be requested
at <http://www.freepint.com/member>.
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FREEPINT JOBS
<http://www.freepint.com/jobs>
FreePint Jobs -- a great place for information vacancies.
* VACANCY SEARCHING -- free search and set up a weekly alert profile.
* VACANCY RECRUITING -- post a vacancy for GBP 195 (EUR 285, USD 300).
This week's selected listings are below. All new jobs are posted to
the Bar and Bar Digest (circulation 10,000+) and matched against the
1000+ live job seeker profiles. This week's Bar listing is at
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b23662> and last week's is at
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b23581>.
Here are some of the latest featured jobs:
Strategic Head of Science Collections
Do you have experience of managing scientific, academic or business
collections? Two senior level vacancies currently available.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
<http://www.freepint.com/go/j2467>
Senior Researcher - Commercial services
You'll identify appropriate material from TV, radio and photographic
archives for use in other productions, products and services.
Recruiter: BBC
<http://www.freepint.com/go/j2468>
Head of Libraries
Ready to run a library service? Live in Birmingham? Manage staff over
3 sites, develop services, use your 2yrs+ management experience.
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment
<http://www.freepint.com/go/j2474>
Research Assistant
Can you manage the research information flow to facilitate
analysts' decision-making processes?
Recruiter: Investment Firm
<http://www.freepint.com/go/j2478>
[The above jobs are paid listings]
Find out more today at <http://www.freepint.com/jobs>
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TIPS ARTICLE
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/150503.htm#tips>
"Net the Ancestors: The Internet and Family History"
By Jonathan Crowhurst
Family history is not new, but it is a hobby that has grown hugely in
recent years. We all want to know where we come from, where our
heritage lies. Perhaps we want to uncover family skeletons in the
closet, trace a family line as far back in time as possible, to find
out where our roots lie. Genealogy can be addictive - the further into
it you get, the more you uncover about your past.
My first bit of advice, perhaps strange for FreePint, would be: do not
make the Internet the 'be all and end all' of your research. Your
living relatives are the best source of information in the world. I
don't wish to state the obvious, but your parents, grandparents or
great grandparents are invaluable, as well as aunts, uncles and so on.
They may, if nothing else, be able to remember if anyone else in the
family has been working on a similar project, saving wasted time and
resources. They will be a fantastic source of stories, paperwork
(birth, marriage and death certificates), family bibles and so on. So
start here first. Work with what is known and extant.
Second, the Internet cannot do the research for you. You have to seek
sources out and work with them, using them as an aid to the work
above. Third, there is so much material held in national and local
record offices, archives, libraries and museums that only a fraction
of it is available online. The Internet can allow you to search these
databases easily, but visits to your local, state or national records
centre won't be replaced by it. What I want to do, having got these
caveats out of the way, is to share some sites I personally have found
invaluable in my own family history project.
Main Sites
----------
The first site I would go to, especially if you are just starting out
in genealogy, is the famous Cyndi's List <http://www.cyndislist.com>.
There is much advice and information here which anyone will find
invaluable. I cannot recommend it highly enough as a starting point.
It is a database of over 100,000 sites organised alphabetically, but
fully cross-referenced. This site demonstrates one of the great
strengths of the Internet for genealogists, in that it brings a lot of
resources together in one place. I found a number of great "starting
out" guides here which gave excellent advice
<http://www.cyndislist.com/howtotut.htm>.
Another great "catch all" site is <http://www.genhomepage.com/>, in
similar vein but less comprehensive than Cyndi's List. An alternative
site performing a similar function, although geared to the American
market, is <http://www.ancestry.com/main1.htm>.
At this point I should mention that it is necessary to pay some form of
subscription or fee to access the full functionality of some Internet
family history sites, as is the case with Ancestry.com. RootsWeb
<http://www.rootsweb.com/> is supported by Ancestry.com and free to access.
Databases
---------
The Internet's other main strength for the researcher is that it will
allow you to go beyond the information obtained from talking to
relatives, or records they have been able to provide, by searching
local, state or county and national record offices. There are a number
of good main sites which act as databases if you are researching a
family name and have, say, the name and a date of birth, marriage or
death. One word of caution, however, is that the records you find
online are only as accurate as the person transcribing them onto the
database.
An excellent starting point is the site run by the Church of
Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints at
<http://www.familysearch.org/>. Here it is possible to search the
database <http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp>
with at least a first and last name using the "ancestral file"
feature. You can use the drop-down boxes for an event like birth or
marriage, and a year range, or the country of origin for that person.
This will then bring up a pedigree chart for as far back through the
generations as Familysearch has details available. I managed this with
the last name I had for a member of our family and their year of
birth (around 1820); a pedigree chart came up beyond that, which was
great, as I did not have any official documentation beyond this person.
Both Ancestry and RootsWeb provide similar but, to my mind, far more
hit-and-miss facilities. The best thing about FamilySearch is that
you can print the pedigree chart or individual record, and it is free!
The UK is well-served by the Public Record Office (PRO)
<http://www.pro.gov.uk>. I could not write this article without
referring to their special site for the 1901 Census of the British
Isles which went online to great fanfare in 2002
<http://www.census.pro.gov.uk>. As is well known, the site was swiftly
taken offline (on its first day!) after it crashed due to the sheer
volume of hits it was taking as everyone tried to find details of
their families in 1901. The saga is well-documented
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1737861.stm>, but the initial problems
now seem to be ironed out and it is a great resource.
Searching the PRO index is free, but to view transcribed data costs
50p for an individual and then 50p for a list of all other people in
that person's household. Viewing a digital image of the census page
costs 75p. The system takes most credit cards (apart from Diners Club)
and you have to sign up to an account session which lasts 48 hours
before you have to re-charge your card. There is a minimum GBP5
charge per account session. It is also possible to use vouchers if you
don't want to use a card. The FAQ list on the site gives further
details and should answer most questions. It is really quite easy to
search the index using the person search facility, again it helps to
have as much information as possible. Once you have entered the
information you have, the search is run on the index. You can search
the results but then have to use your account to view the full
information if you find the person you are searching. All in all I
would recommend this site, but with a lot of free stuff around on the
web I probably would not make this my first port of call.
I just have space to mention a popular area among researchers, namely
'One Name Studies'. This is the study of a particular surname, rather
than a family pedigree, and more can be found by visiting the web site
of the 'Guild of One Name Studies' <http://www.one-name.org/>. This
organisation is a UK based charity but is open to worldwide members
who want to register a particular surname for study. If you are
interested in a particular surname or variant, you are directed to
their Register of one name studies. It contains around 7,000 names
registered by Guild members as a subject of the study and generally
worldwide occurrences of the surname will be there. If one name study
is your thing the organisation costs GBP12 to join and GBP12 to register
each surname.
The UK Researcher
-----------------
The UK-based researcher cannot really beat <http://www.genuki.org.uk/>
as a fantastic jumping-off point which is similar in breadth and depth
to Cyndi's List but with a UK aspect. <http://www.familia.org.uk> gives
details of family history resources at your local library. Family
history resources held at public libraries by place can be found at
<http://www.familia.org.uk/libraries.html>. At some point the UK
researcher will need to visit the Family Records Centre: its web
site <http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/> details the information
it holds, opening times, etc. This is a consortium of
partners such as the British Library, Commonwealth War Graves
Commission, the General Register Office, and the National Archives.
<http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/partners.htm> lists these partners and
more details can be found by clicking on the individual links to them.
The researcher will want the Topics section of the site, divided into
sections such as births, marriages and deaths, religious records,
wills, immigration and emigration records. Click on each item you
are interested in, perhaps for example to find more information on
obtaining a certificate for a "life event" like birth or marriage
<http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/topics/bmd_3.htm#engwales>.
Concluding Remarks
------------------
In conclusion, I would say that the Internet is a fantastic resource
for the budding genealogist. I have barely scratched the surface of
what is available out there for the determined researcher: for
example, you may want to disseminate your results through one of the
genealogical software packages now available, such as the excellent
Generations package, or through your own Internet pages, then link
them to one of the big main sites referred to above, then that is
beyond the scope of this article. If you follow a few simple
guidelines, using the Internet for genealogical research can only make
your research easier and take you down avenues you might not have
considered. As with most things in life, you will get out of genealogy
only what you choose to put into it.
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Jonathan is a Tax and Competition Law Library assistant at Norton
Rose. He is going to City University in October 2003 to read an MSc in
Library and Information Studies. Jonathan graduated from the
University of Leicester in 1998 with a first class degree in Ancient
History and Archaeology and worked in market research and insurance
before deciding to become an information professional last year. He
enjoys re-enactment, history and genealogy amongst other things in his
spare time.
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Related FreePint links:
* 'Entertainment/Leisure' articles in the FreePint Portal
<http://www.freepint.com/go/p77>
* Post a message to the author, Jonathan Crowhurst, or suggest further
resources at the FreePint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar>
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/150503.htm#feature>
* Access the entire archive of FreePint content
<http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/>
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>>> The CILIP/FreePint Online Community Award <<<
Since group communication and support online have become so
important, the Online Community Award is your chance to nominate
any online community project from any sector that has brought
people with common interests together in a virtual environment:
<http://www.freepint.com/events/cilip-2003/>
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FREEPINT BOOKSHELF
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf>
"Naked in Cyberspace: How To Find Personal Information Online"
Written by Carole A Lane
Reviewed by Stephen Lafferty
This book was written as a guide to researchers using the Internet to
find information on individuals. Carole Lane is a professional
researcher who has run her own company, Technosearch, since 1993 and
as such her experience makes her a well-qualified author on this
subject.
The book is divided in to four sections. The first deals with
databases, the Internet and basic searching. The second contains
information on searching for everything from friends, debtors to
competitive intelligence. The third section describes many different
types of databases available to the individual or to a suitably
qualified professional. The final section contains further reading and
lists of resources for researchers of personal information. As the
book deals with so many different types of database and reasons for
searching, it cannot be anything more than an introduction to
searching on any given subject. Researchers who take on general
assignments will find that this book has most to offer them.
Databases referred to by Lane include: Lexis-Nexis and Dialog;
credit reference files maintained by Experian; tenant databases;
driver and vehicle databases; human and robot-indexed search engines
and directories like Google and Yahoo. Basic search instructions are
given for Nexis and Dialog but the majority of the resources listed
are provided with the URL and subject(s) covered.
One of the most interesting aspects of reading this book is
comprehending the wealth of information that is potentially available
on individuals. This is not a description of a '1984' society as
information is scattered over thousands of public and private
databases rather than held and collated centrally. In 1993 Rick Gates
created the Internet Hunt and asked participants to find as much
information as they could about Ross Stapleton (with his permission).
Over the course of the hunt the teams gathered a total of 148 pieces
of information about his life, work and past times. These included his
employment by the CIA, the names of his parents and his then-fiancee,
his computer's operating system, the text of his doctorate and all of
his previous postings to a mailing list discussing privacy. This case
indicates that we only ever add to our 'data shadows'. Records about
our lives rarely disappear and can be freely available years after the
event.
'Naked in Cyberspace' has several limitations, the first being that it
is aimed almost entirely at an American audience. Information on
resources available in other countries is occasionally given but
researchers in those countries on those subjects will no doubt be
aware of these already. The other major limitation is timeliness and
is acknowledged by the author. Lane states that the book can only deal
with the major free and subscription-based databases with smaller and
niche market resources being passed over because of their limited
appeal. Other limitations include poorly spelt UK addresses and
telephone numbers given, for example '081' rather than '0208': this may
be indicative of the quality of the updating for the second edition.
Lane does provide a web site to keep readers appraised of
post-publication changes to the content of the book.
This book would be most useful for an American researcher looking for
information on American individuals. The amount of information
presented in each chapter is considerable and the book and
corresponding web site are an excellent starting point for
researchers in many areas.
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Stephen Lafferty has an MSc. in Library and Information Management and
has previously written on the subject of surveillance and privacy for
FreePint <http://www.freepint.com/issues/030800.htm#feature>. He is
interested in the collection and uses of information about consumers,
data security and freedom of information.
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Related FreePint links:
* Find out more about this book online at the FreePint Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/naked.htm>
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910965501/freepint0c>
or Amazon.com
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910965501/freepint00>
* "Naked in Cyberspace". 2nd Edition. ISBN 0910965501, published by
CyberAge Books, written by Carole A Lane
* Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the FreePint
Bookshelf at <http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf>
* Read about other Internet Strategy books on the FreePint Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/strategy.htm>
To propose an information-related book for review, send details
to <bookshelf@freepint.com>.
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>>> FreePint Jobs - Pay-as-you-go or Agency Subscription <<<
There are now three packages when advertising with FreePint Jobs:
(1) Pay-as-you-go, with 10% agency discount
(2) Profile page and banner
(3) All jobs listed, plus benefits of option (2)
<http://www.freepint.com/jobs/submit/overview.php3>
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FEATURE ARTICLE
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/150503.htm#feature>
"Business Continuity and Recovery - An Asian Perspective"
By Jane Macoustra
I first became involved in business continuity procedures after the
Docklands bombing in 1996 at Canary Wharf in London, UK. After that
episode, the company embarked on a recovery scheme that involved input
from almost every employee. Since then (amongst many others) we have
had 9/11 and Bali, a range of computer viruses and worms, which have
wreaked havoc on infected systems. In Asia there is additional risk
from extreme climate systems, which cause typhoons, flooding and
landslips - not forgetting the possible disruption that could be
caused by the outbreak of the SARS virus. All these types of
problems can slow or halt business interests.
The aim of every company's business continuity plan is fast and
efficient recovery to minimise the negative impact on its businesses.
This article briefly examines business continuity and recovery from a
Library and Information Services ("LIS") context, accepting that a LIS
would be included as a small section of a complete corporate recovery
process. This article does not dwell on any specific type of disaster,
but for example purposes, the office would be considered unavailable
to work in.
In Asia, the larger companies and corporations have business
continuity planning and recovery procedures. However, as the following
articles indicate, there are indications that the majority of smaller
companies do not; and the reason appears to be based on cost factors.
<http://www.asiacomputerweekly.com/acw_ViewArt.cfm?Artid=16852&catid=5&subcat=43>
<http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/recovery/story/0,10801,79014,00.html>
A survey conducted by the National Diet Library in 1992 called the
Library Preservation Needs Survey of National Libraries in Asia
<http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/iflapac/survey.html> concluded that of the 20
libraries that were asked to take part in the survey, (from a response
from 12) only two libraries agreed that emergency preparedness was
an important part of a preservation programme. The survey was aimed at
National libraries that retain a nation's collection of historical and
probably irreplaceable materials, and not aimed at corporate libraries
within an organisation.
In the current economic downturn with job losses and budget cut backs,
my attention has been drawn to the fact that one of the first areas
where an organisation will try and make savings, is in LIS. However, I
am of the opinion that these organisations have not realised that they
cannot operate normally without business-critical information. It is
not until something has happened and they have lost these services
that the importance of access to reliable business information becomes
a priority. The LIS should be included in business continuity planning
as an important part of the organisation.
Firstly, it is necessary to create a business continuity and recovery
plan to undertake a detailed risk analysis project, specifying each
type of disaster <http://www.disasterplan.com/> that the company could
be vulnerable to. The disaster types can range from an attack from a
computer virus to loss of the working habitat. This function would
normally be undertaken by a management committee, a dedicated disaster
recovery team or outsourced to a professional company who specialise
in this area ("The Team").
The team would assess the requirements of each department to ascertain
what is needed in order to recover from each type of disaster and how
the company would manage in an interim period if there were no offices
from which the staff could work. These plans would include:
* Training staff on what to do in an emergency
* Evacuation procedures
* Assessment of the company's vital records and off-site storage
facilities
* Insurance, including assessment of replacement value of entire
library collection
* Building security
* How to contact/locate all staff - work out a plan so that staff
would make contact using specific guidelines for accounting
for staff
* Contact lists and communication details for all staff must be
kept up-to-date on a regular basis
* Damage assessment of offices
* Restoration of power and utilities
* Electronic infrastructure. Restoring internal IT structures,
servers, restoring back-up systems, intranets, web pages,
telephones, faxes, & other electronic services, for working remotely
* Provision of emergency offices and appropriate hardware, software
and system access to allow staff to work remotely from home
* Recovering damaged documentation, restoration of documents and
clean up of offices
* Rebuild or redecoration of offices and replacement of hardware,
furniture and shelving.
Library & Information Services
------------------------------
The Asian region is vast and library collections frequently include
special collections from many different countries. Assessing the
feasibility of replacing some of these collections is a challenge in
itself.
Collection Format
-----------------
The replacement value of a corporate library collection -- even a small
one -- can be huge. The library catalogue can be used to generate
holdings reports listed by publisher for all the library materials.
Budget reports can also be useful for costing, where they exist. Since
copyright legislation <http://www.justice.gov.hk/Home.htm> (Ch 528,
s23) for Hong Kong prohibits the replication of most materials,
alternatives need to be found for replacement.
Internal documentation produced by the company can be maintained
electronically, even if a hard copy is held on-site, because the
organisation "owns" the work. Legal agreements and other important
internal documentation can be scanned and the original documents sent
to vital storage.
It is essential to define the exact requirements and the most
important tools needed in the LIS. Assess which materials could be
replaced electronically and the comparative costs for each medium.
An insurance valuation should increase each year by the rate of
inflation, or by another economic indicator, to cover the cost of
replacement at current prices. A detailed insurance assessment of the
contents of the library will assist in identifying what in the
collection could be irreplaceable. If some materials are considered to
be irreplaceable, decide on the use of fireproof storage onsite,
off-site storage and the consequences of losing the collection.
Onsite v Offsite
----------------
A big problem that can occur with a special collection or vital
records is deciding where to house them. Offices in Asian countries
are air-conditioned at all times and documentation is therefore in a
stable environment where it will not deteriorate quickly. Offices have
water sprinklers for fire suppression; obviously in the event of a
fire, the water sprinklers will turn on. Either way the documentation
can be ruined - even if the records are housed in fire-proof cabinets
they are not necessarily waterproof.
In Hong Kong, normal archive storage provision can be very basic in
comparison to European or American standards, although the large
archiving companies can offer the same standard of records protection
that one would expect. The smaller archiving companies may only
provide a warehouse to store the archive boxes in. However, there is
sometimes no air-conditioning and the warehouse may store other items,
such as furniture, and the archive boxes may not be placed above
ground level on shelves, but stacked on the floor. Under normal
archive storage conditions, records may be exposed to termite or pest
abuse, especially in a tropical climate with high humidity. The
dreaded cockroach is among many other tropical bugs found in abundance
in Asian countries. Pest abuse can lead to mould damage.
Using special storage for vital records normally costs quite a bit
more and again will vary, depending on the size of the archive
company. Sometimes the special storage provided by the smaller
companies has no protection against fire, such as a vault, fire-proof
safes or a fire suppression system such as Halon gas extinguishers,
which means that records can still be damaged.
European legislation banned the use of Halon gas extinguishers on
31 December 2002, because of its harmful CFC content. Other fire
suppression alternatives are available, which range from other types
of gases, water based systems, film forming foam and dry powder.
In Singapore, the records management companies provide top-level air-
conditioned, fire-proof storage services for storing vital records,
although the facilities are more basic for normal storage.
In Thailand, normal archive storage provision does not cover providing
air-conditioning in the warehouse. Special storage for vital records
and electronic back-up records would be maintained in air-conditioned
warehousing, with 24-hour guards on-site. The premises may
also have infrared smoke-heat detectors and be connected to a fire
suppression system.
External Assistance
-------------------
If loss of offices occurs, other options to consider planning ahead
for would be to locate resources for loan or replacement in another
format. Places to check are:
* Public Libraries - most offer corporate subscriptions
* Law Libraries
* Other libraries on the Internet such as educational libraries who
may be willing to enter into an agreement for document supply /
information assistance under certain circumstances. This would be
a good way for under-funded libraries to earn some extra funds
* Government Bodies
* Regulatory Bodies
* Subject Specific Organisational Bodies - Internet Portals
* Bookshops
* Publishers
* Full-text database content
* Subscriptions on CD-ROM
* Other companies in similar industries who may be willing to
reciprocate library resources in the event of a disaster.
First Steps to Recovery
-----------------------
Every company is different and will have different requirements, but
it could be relatively easy to provide at least a partial LIS service
remotely. Most of the larger companies would be geared to providing
remote access to the internal networks because they have a global
intranet. There will therefore be data replication back-ups
in more than one location, allowing faster access to internal systems.
Retaining a list of all service providers and login/password details
at home would make it possible to conduct research from any laptop or
internet-linked PC.
Other companies may be willing to share their libraries or offices and
give access to a computer and a telephone, although just about every
professional in Asia carries a mobile phone and a large number of
people own Blackberry mobile email devices.
It may take a while to accumulate another collection, especially if
the collection comes from global resources, but the bookshops,
publishers and vendors will be able to respond faster to the
replacement process if the library professionals utilise corporate
accounts and credit cards. Some of the larger bookshops have local
warehouses that store copies of the latest business titles from the
big business publishers.
Just as office building management carries out regular fire/alarm
drills, it would be a waste of time, planning and effort to create and
implement a business continuity procedure and then not test it out on
a regular basis. The entire procedure should be tested once a year for
the whole organisation and be updated as and when necessary to reflect
new internal systems.
These ideas may assist in an organisation's LIS recovery services.
However, there are more detailed studies
<http://preserve.harvard.edu/emergencies/recovery.html> for those
who wish to undertake such a project, than I have space for
in this article.
Interesting reading:
A Model Plan for Libraries and Information Centres University of
California at San Diego
<http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/preservation/index.html>
Michigan State University Library Disaster Manual
<http://www.lib.msu.edu/apd/Disaster_Man_Lib.htm>
IT Papers.com - Disaster Recovery White Papers
http://www.asiacomputerweekly.com/acw_viewcat.cfm?select=43&startrow=1>
Asian Disaster Management News
<http://www.adpc.ait.ac.th/infores/newsletter/2003/01-03/default.html>
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Jane Macoustra started her career at British Petroleum, progressing
through Norton Rose and then Credit Suisse First Boston in London and
Hong Kong, at Assistant Vice President level. She is currently working
for Clifford Chance in Hong Kong, as an Information Officer and she
also co-ordinates library services for the Asian region. During this
time, she has covered every aspect of librarianship and library and
information services, finds working in Asia Pacific an interesting
challenge and loves living in Hong Kong with her family. She is
currently serving as Director of the Asian Chapter of the Special
Librarians Association.
[This document is the opinion of the author who writes in a
personal capacity]
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- Publication Date: 14th May 2003
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