OPAC and ISBN

The 1970s marked the beginning of the development of centralized cataloging systems (Lupovici, 2000, pg. 286). With the advent of the technical environment of the internet this system is changing again. A universal virtual digital library (une bibliothèque numérique virtuelle universelle) is being enabled by the development of new research tools and the internet. Library functions such as acquisition, storage, conversation, research, access and display are being transformed through the use of computer (Lupovici, 2000, pg. 286). OPAC or Open Access Catalogue is starting to be use in cataloging and is a large change from the traditional system of cataloging. Also the ISBN (International Standard Bibliographique Description) is becoming the new norm (Lupovici, 2000, pg. 287).

Lupovici, Catherine, (2000), De la bibliotheque classique a la bibliotheque numerique: continuité et rupture. in: Documentaliste-Sciences de l’information, vol.37, nr.5-6, p.286-297.

Historical Basis of Group Conflict in Belgium

Belgian libraries are heavily influenced by the local governments who are based on the linguistic community of the region with the “resilience of group allegiance as a basis for education and organization still seems to be more often the norm than the exception, especially in education” (McAndrew, 2004, pg.70). The Dutch are the majority populace in the country but there is a long history of the French speaking populace to have control of the federal government. In the 19th century French was considered to be more prestigious and was spoken by politicians. The education policy in Wallonia reflected this division as many Flemish labors worked in the mining and steel industry in the area (McAndrew,2004, pg.71). The Borinage region, whose capital is Mons the town where I am currently living, is famous for being a mining region. The French spoken in the region is heavily influenced by the Flemish language as the lower class of both the French and Dutch worked in the mines. People living in and around the Borinage region are called the Borain. Linguistic affiliation has become a social war with the upper class speaking French and the lower class speaking Dutch or Borain French. There is a strong “atmosphere of distrust and the conflicting political intentions of the Flemish and French” (McAndrew, 2004, pg.72). To date there is a shift in power as the democratic system is shifting power from the minority of French to the Flemish (McAndrew, pg.70). At the moment the Belgium doesn’t have a government head as the different political groups are refusing to compromise as they are polarized groups and are evenly matched in power.
Brussels, the capital of the country, is bilingual which “refers to the fact that there is always a Dutch speaking and French speaking alternative in official contracts with the government and in education and other public services” (McAndrew, pg.10). This is different from Wallonia and Flanders, who are monolingual, and who do not have to offer both languages in public services. A large percentage of the Belgian population is bilingual, but only in Brussels is it required to have both languages present in public services, such as libraries. The public services provided by the regional government in Brussels are linked to either French or Flemish system French. The French are guaranteed equal political representation on national level, and the Flemish who are the minority in Brussels have same guarantee (McAndrew, 2005, pg.71). Brussels is also unique as 30% of the population have a non Belgian nationality and can go to private or European schools (McAndrew, pg.76).

Mc ANDREW, M. et Janssens, R. (2004). The role of schooling in the maintenance and transformation of ethnic boundaries between linguistic communities: Contrasting Quebec and Belgium. Canadian Ethnic Studies/Études ethniques au Canada, numéro spécial, G. Bourgeault, M.-H. Chastenay et M. Verlot (dir.), Relations ethniques et education dans les sociétés divisées : comparaison Belgique-Canada/Ethnic Relations snd Education in Divided Societies: Comparing Belgium and Canada, 36(3), 61-83.

National Library

The Royal Library of Belgium is the national library of Belgium. It is located in Brussels along with most of the national agencies in Belgium. According to the library’s mission statement, its purpose is to preserve the nation’s cultural heritage and to acquire Belgian publications. The library promotes international collaboration and access to scientific information (Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, 2010). The library has specifically states that it has a user centered approach and is dedicated to meeting their needs.

It is the Belgian equivalent of the Library of Congress and has a copy of all the publications that are published in Belgium or by a Belgian in another country. The Royal Library is the national Belgian center and is in charge of assigning and cataloging the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) of Belgian published documents. It is also the “dépôt légal” or legal deposit of Belgium and is the center for information concerning the rules and regulations of publishing material in Belgium. Special collections includes six sections or cabinets: precious reserves, maps and plans, music, manuscriptsm, engravings and chalcography (engravings on brass or copper). There is also the Fondation Roi Baudouin that holds an extensive collection of bronze medallions and plaques from antiquity. Online resources include Publications électroniques (Swets) and the Academic Research Library (ARL). The library has only recently started to include online databases into their collection. It also has a database called Digitool which is a “digital assessment management” tool. Unlike the Royale Libraries traditional catalogue this online database includes search tools such as Truncation, Boolean Operators, Parentheses, and Proximity Operators.


Bibliothèque royale de Belgique. (2010). Catalogues. Missions et gestion. Retrieved from http://www.kbr.be/catalogues/catalogues_fr.html

Barriers to establishing a standardized cataloguing system in Belgium

An issue that the Belgian government is trying to solve on both the local and national level is how to standardize the different library systems in use. The libraries are divided by regions which are also sub divided by provinces which has resulted in most of the libraries having their own cataloging system. In order to remedy the situation and have interoperability between libraries some libraries are trying to integrate the International ISO into their catalogs. The goal is to have one interface while searching multiple databases mounted on different systems (Gilson, Jacobs, Mazur, Nyns, and Vandepitte, 2000, p. 2). Currently the Belgian Union catalogue is maintained by the CCB(Collectieve Catalogue van Belgie or Catalogue Collectif de Belgique) in Antwerp which is maintained by the Antwerp University. Antwerp University updates changes reported by participating libraries which are published on CDRom. Having the interface switched to Z39.50 would make virtual digital publication possible. The ULB (Unicorn, UCL-Virtua, RUGent-Aleph, KULeaven(LIBIS-NET), and Armicus are libraries that are supporting Z39.50 library access protocol. Coming to an agreement is a slow process and is a barrier to integrating the library. Decisions have to be made on a “bilateral basis” (Gilson et al., 2000, p. 1). New libraries can’t install a new standardized system because there isn’t a set system yet as the guidelines are still in the development stage. BeZIG is the organization that is working on creating the system. Their strategy for implementing the system is as follows:
- Enquiry among the Belgian libraries
- Establishing reference information for I-I Z39.50 bilateral consultation
- Establishing 1-to-N Z39.50 consultation for catalogs
- Shared cataloging through the “deduplication of search results from different databases and the organization of record exchange between different systems” (Gilson et al., 2000, p. 2)
- Link with existing services
I hope that the libraries find the resources to integrate their systems as it would make the easier to be accessible on a global level. It could mean the Belgian libraries could have their collections searchable not only on a national scale but on a global scale as well. Perhaps Google and the Bibliotheque Royale will take a more active role and another nation will be soon connected to the global information infrastructure.
Gilson, G., Jacobs, K., Mazur, E., Nyns, C., and Vandepitte, F. (2000, January 20) Concerted action for the implementation of the Z39.50 library access protocol in Belgium. Retrieved from http://www.kbr.be/bezig/intro.pdf

Belgian E-Government Objectives

IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology) and a partnership between the Flemsih governemtn, Ghent University (UGent), Free University Brussels (VUB), and the Catholic University Leuvren (KUL) have been researching Information and Communication Technologies in Belgian. They have been developing e-strategies using ICT acceptance theory. The Belgian government has been working on creating a more user centered government that includes accessibility through the internet. The idea is that having resources available online add a multichannel way for the populace to access information that the government provide. They believe that it is necessary to include non online resources as well as online in order to make sure that they don’t exclude a part of the populace due to the digital divide. The E-goverment objectives include making government policies more efficient by having “quicker and better to public information and the ability to use services in a more personal and cost-effective manner” (2). The hope is that developing E-government will also push a reform agenda as transparency can help make the Belgian government more accessible to its citizens. For example, the Belgian tax office or Tax-on-web “provides users with an immediate estimate of their costs of reimbursements” (2). A survey conducted in Flanders showed that the citizens viewed the government as cumbersome superpower. The hope is that a well constructed E-government would help change this perspective in addition to providing one access point for all three levels of government (federal, regional and local).
Verdegem P and Verleye G. 2009. User-centered E-Government in Practice: A Comprehensive Model
for Measuring User Satisfaction. Government Information Quarterly 26, pp. 487-497.
Pieter Verdegem is a Ph.D. student and researcher at the Research Group for Media and ICT (MICT-IBBT), Ghent University. His research focuses on ICT acceptance, E-Government, information society, ICT policy and e-inclusion. He holds a master's degree in Communication Sciences and E-communications Studies. He is preparing a Ph.D. on government strategies particularly E-Government and e-inclusion.
Gino Verleye owns a Ph.D. in psychometrics and teaches Methodology and Statistics at Ghent University, Department of Social Sciences. He is currently research coordinator at the Research Group for Media and ICT (MICT-IBBT), specialized in the area of research on new broadband applications

Belgium's Political System

 

Figure 1.  Administrative Map

            Belgium’s federal government is fairly complicated and in order to understand the politics that affect the libraries within the country it is necessary to understand the multiple political powers at play.  The federal government and federal parliaments have powerful roles, but they share their power with communities and regions “who independently exercise their authority within their domains” (Belgian Federal Government, 2008).  There are three communities:  French community, Flemish community and German-speaking Community.  In addition to these communities Belgium is divided into three regions:  the Flemish Region, the Brussels Capital Region and the Walloon Region.  These regions were divided for economic reasons.  Belgium is further divided into 10 provinces and 589 municipal councils. 

            In the Flemish Region or Flanders, there is a Flemish Parliament and a Flemish Government and is a unicameral legislature.  It has 5 provinces:  Antwerpen (Antwerp), Vlaams Brabant (Flemish Brabant), Oost-Vlaanderen (East-Flanders), West-Vlaanderen (West-Flanders) and Limburg.  As of January 2008 it consists of 6.2 million people and is 59% of the Belgian population.  There are 456 inhabitants per km² and has a surface area of 13.522km.² It is responsible for “for economics, foreign trade, health care, energy distribution, housing, agriculture and horticulture, environment, public works and transport, employment policy, culture and education, science and innovation” (Flemish Department of Foreign Affaires, 2008).  It can also form treaties with foreign nations when it comes to the domains it is responsible for. 

            In the French Region, or Walloon, there are five provinces:  Brabant Wallon, Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg and Namur.  It’s domain include “the environment,  agriculture, housing, public works, transport, regional aspects of the economic policy, foreign trade, employment policy, regional aspects of the energy policy, organisation and supervision of the local authorities, property belonging to the various religious groups, scientific research relating to regional matters, international relations relating to regional matters” (Region Wallonne).  It has a separate parliament and government.  Its administration is divided into two ministries:  Walloon Ministry of Equipment and Transportation and the Ministry of the Walloon Region (Region Wallonne). 

            The French Community Commission (COCOF), the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) and the Common Community Commission (COCOM) are the three community commissions that are in charge of the local domains and are dependent on the language spoken by the head of the household (Region Wallonne). 

Belgian Federal Government.  (2008).  Belgian, a federal state.  Retrieved from http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/government/federale_staat/

Institut Geographique National.  (2008).  Carte Administrative.  Retrieved from http://www.ngi.be/FR/FR4-1-1.shtm

Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs.  (2008).  Welcome to Flanders.  Retrieved from http://www.flanders.be/servlet/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1276149008684&context=1166590833692--EN&p=1166590837082&pagename=flanders_site%2FView

Region Wallonne.  Public Authorities in Wallonia.  Retrieved from http://www.crisp.be/wallonie/en/pouvoirs/region_wallonne.html

E-Government Iniatitives in Belgium

The Belgium government has websites that includes E-Government initiatives.  They are offered in Flemish, Dutch, English and French.  The Service Public Fédéral Belge, or Belgian Federal Public Service, and has created E-Government initiatives in order to provide greater equality in access to information to all of its citizens.  The Belgian Federal Public Service has the information written in a language that is accessible and « simple » for its citizens.  It includes a catalog dedicated to publications, electronic services, and the locations of public buildings (Service Public Fédéral Belge, 2008).    

Portial Belgium.be is the official government sponsored website of Belgium and is maintained by the Belgian Federal Public Service.  It offers several E-Government options that includes information portals and government programs :  Mypension, Tax-on-web, registering alarm systems, Medical Information, Smart2surf@home, Cyberhate, DOC STOP, and EID Quick Install (Service Public Fédéral Belge, 2010).
Allrights.be is a website sponsored by the government that provides information on Belgian citizens’ rights.  It includes information on Belgian laws and organizations that people can contact for help with the laws.  It is a site dedicated to promoting equality under the law.  This page also has social development programs.  It includes information about integration for all naturalized Belgians.  Another portal that is geared towards toward the exercise of citizenships is EID Quick Install.  Belgian citizens have an ID Card that has an microchip in addition to other information about the citizen.  It is similar to a passport, but is for citizens only.  The microchip is there for government agencies to use to access information about the person to law agencies. EID Quick Install focuses on verifying and enregistering the ID Card.  DOC STOP is another portal dedicated to the aiding citizens whose ID cards have been stolen.  It is used to stop identify theft and to report the crime (ASBL).

Belgium has several social development programs.  Smart2surf@home is a government sponsored initiative that offers computers and access to the internet for a reduced price.  They give a tax break to computer and internet businesses so that they will sell computers and internet packages at a reduced price to all Belgians.  In addition, they offer tax breaks to qualifying citizens (Service Public Fédéral Belge, 2010).

The E-Government portal also includes  Cyberhate is an information portal that offers countering information to propaganda about the Gaza Strip.  Another information portal is belgiquelex which includes information on legislation, parliamentary proceedings, and on the law.  The website is offered in four languages:  Dutch, English, French, and German (Belgiumlex.be, 2008).

References
ASBL (Association sans But Lucrative).  Objectief.  Retrieved from http://www.allrights.be
Belgiumlex.be (2008).  Belgiumlex: Crossroads Bank for Legislation.  Retrieved from Belgiumlex.be.
Service Public Fédéral Belge. (2010).  Portail Belgium.be.  Retrieved from http://www.belgium.be
Service Public Fédéral Belge. (2008).  A Propos de ce cite.  Retrieved from  http://www.belgium.be/fr/a_propos_de_ce_site.jsp