The CERIST Library: Toward a Model of a Modern Library in Algeria

Citation

Bakelli, Y. (2002), "The CERIST Library: Toward a Model of a Modern Library in Algeria", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 19 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2002.23919baf.003

The CERIST Library: Toward a Model of a Modern Library in Algeria

Yahia Bakelli

CERIST (www.cerist.dz) is a public Research Center on Scientific and Technical Information created in 1985 in order to develop a National Information System in Algeria, to build local networks, especially the academic network (www.arn.dz) and connect them to the Internet. In addition one of the most important missions of CERIST is to promote information technologies among local academic institutions and SME enterprises. This mainly consists of:

• •

  providing access to the Internet;

• •

  hosting of Web Pages;

• •

  promoting international databases;

• •

  developing local contents databases;

• •

  recommending appropriate software and library automation systems.

CERIST is a Research Center affiliated at the Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry. It is headquartered in Algiers (the capital) and has representations in all Algerian geographic areas (the north, east, west and south) through three main Regional Sites and more than seven focal Points, which are generally hosted by local universities.

The Center involves more than 300 employees including mainly researchers, librarians, technical assistants and administrative assistants. These employees are distributed to three laboratories and two departments:

1. 1.

   R&D on STI Laboratory.

2. 2.

   Basic Software Laboratory.

3. 3.

   Databases and Information Systems Laboratory.

4. 4.

   Acquisition, recording and supplying of Information Department (DCTD).

5. 5.

   Networks; Information Server and Multimedia Department (DRSI).

The CERIST Library is a part of the DCTD Department, with a mission to satisfy these researchers and technicians with information, document and library materials. The library is also supplying information and documents to other local academics and students working in the subject areas of information and library sciences and computer sciences (University of Algiers, USTHB and other local academic institutions), especially when these students are supervised by the CERIST researchers, or when faculty are associated with the CERIST research groups. One other mission of the Library is to serve local libraries as a model of a modern library.

Promoting the CERIST Scientific Literature is one of the most important missions of the Library, especially the RIST Journal articles (www.cerist.dz/cerist/Pub_ScientSCIENTIFIF/RIST.HTM ).

Figure 1

Figure 2

From 1990 to 2000 the CERIST Library served as an Algerian Focal Point of the International Nuclear Information System (www.iaea.org). The library collection is divided into seven sections:

1. 1.

   books;

2. 2.

   journals;

3. 3.

   theses;

4. 4.

   research reports;

5. 5.

   CERIST publications;

6. 6.

   microfilms;

7. 7.

   audio-visual.

Seven librarians are conducting these tasks. The library operates by running the SYNGEB automation library software, which was developed at CERIST a few years ago (see Figure 1). The SYNGEB is a system developed within a DELPHI environment, which allows the library to manage acquisitions and serials by performing the functions of acquiring and purchasing books, tracking journal subscriptions, and inputting records according to ISBD and UNIMARC rules.

Four kinds of automated catalogs can be created using the SYNGEB software: books; journals; articles; and theses. But the system allows a research and a query both in one of these four catalogs and in one merged catalog. In addition, the SYNGEB allows managing the loan task.

Through the library Internet Web site (http://www.dctd.cerist.dz/la_bibliotheque.htm) we can do a query into the book catalog of the Library (http://www.dctd.cerist.dz/ouvrages.htm). For example: for items containing "IFLA" as keywords (see Figure 2); the system will give us the answer shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

Figure 4

The Web site of the library contains also a section which informs users about new acquisitions (see Figure 4).

As far as current projects are concerned, the library is building a full text database of acquired articles and journals and is hosting a National Focal Point of thesis Project (FNT), of post- graduate theses defended in Algeria and deposited at the CERIST. Up until now, there are 4,890 titles that constitute the thesis collection of the CERIST Library, covering three main fields: Science and Technology; Biology and Medicine; and Humanities and Social Sciences.

Also the CERIST library is taking a dynamic part by contributing to the National Union Catalogs (http://www.dctd.cerist.dz/catalogueOnline.htm) of CAP (periodicals); CAT (Thesis).

We hope that you have become better acquainted with the properties of CERIST and will visit us via our Web sites.

Yahia Bakelli (ybakelli@mail.cerist.dz) is a Researcher on STI at the CERIST Research Center in Algiers, Algeria.