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