Copyright
TU Delft Library
2007
Annual Report
TU Delft Library Collection management
Valorisation
3TU.Datacentre
Open Courseware
Educational support
Contents
TU Delft Library: a hub of knowledge 5
More efficient searching 7
Network of knowledge and experts 11
Global knowledge dissemination using Open Access 13
Learning Centre: space for the future 15
Document Management for TU Delft: powered by TU Delft Library 17
TU Delft Library services 19
Special collections 21
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http://www.library.tudelft.nl
TU Delft Library:
a hub of knowledge
Making TU Delft knowledge available Tagging by the library and by users
A ‘traditional’ library is concerned with making material One interesting aspect of ‘tagging’ is that the classification
available to its readers. Much of that material is available of information is no longer the exclusive domain of the
worldwide. TU Delft Library goes further, in that it also information professionals. Absolutely anyone can add
manages and disseminates knowledge which is created tags to the information they publish on the internet, and
within, and is therefore unique to, our own university. subsequently readers of that information can add further
TU Delft Library wishes to offer a combination of explicit tags. This makes our profession even more interesting,
and implicit knowledge, together with a wealth of as our users now help us to ensure that the material can
information which is organised in a way that addresses be found, based on the way that they themselves would
users’ exact requirements. We also wish to promote look for it. Isn’t that what we have always wanted? No
knowledge sharing. The multi-year plan for 2008-2011, ‘user survey’ could hope to achieve the same result. Our
published in 2007, sets out the strategy we shall pursue in philosophy is therefore to allow users every opportunity
order to achieve these objectives. to assist in making knowledge and information fully
(http://www.library.tudelft.nl/long-termplan). accessible.
One essential condition is that knowledge and information In 2007, TU Delft Library began to implement a number
can be readily found. Of course, as a library we like of modifications which will lay a firm foundation for this
to believe that we have been helping users do so for type of user participation. We shall continue to support
many years. We have, for example, produced detailed these developments during the years to come. This Annual
catalogues with summaries and descriptions of the Report describes our achievements to date.
available publications. We have used sophisticated
systems of classification codes and keywords. And we Maria Heijne
shall continue to do so, albeit under the new names of Librarian and Director TU Delft Library
‘metadata’ and ‘tagging’. Adding tags to information
renders it easier to find, and hence more accessible,
textually and visually.
5
More
efficient searching
A user-friendly search engine TUlib itself offers two types of information: practical,
In November 2007, TU Delft Library held a survey among structured instructions based on PowerPoint presentations
its users. The key question was: what do you think makes and video clips, and a wealth of interesting background
a search engine ‘user-friendly’? Based on the responses, information. Students can decide which of the interactive
we then examined the existing products available on modules they wish to take, and the order in which they do
today’s market. Ensuring the availability of efficient and so.
effective search facilities is a spearhead of the Policy Teaching staff can use TUlib to assess their students’
Plan adopted by the UKB, the cooperative alliance of all information-seeking skills, and can refer them to the
thirteen university libraries in the Netherlands and the modules and instruction videos relating to topics such as
Royal Library in The Hague. This desire has so far resulted the correct manner of attributing sources or assessing the
in close cooperation between Delft and one of the other reliability of sources.
university libraries (with more to follow). We opted for an
Open Source product which is now undergoing further The name ‘Tulib’ was suggested by TU student Cornelis
development. ‘Open Source’ refers to software which van Beveren, the winner of a competition which attracted
is available to all at no cost. We expect the product to 127 entries. TUlib (a contraction of ‘TU Delft’ and
become available for use in 2008. ‘Library’) was launched in 2007.
TUlib: online instruction tool for students Courses and instruction
and staff Alongside its online training tools, TU Delft Library offers
TUlib is a digital learning environment which teaches users students, researchers and other professionals a wide
how to find sources of scientific and academic information, range of courses and instruction in how to find relevant
and shows them ways in which that information can be information quickly and easily. In 2007, seven courses
used to enhance the quality of their own papers and were held (in 25 sessions) and attracted no fewer than
theses. In this digital learning environment users will find, 220 participants. They included a course in the use of
for example, instructions which point the way towards Endnote, with which researchers can compile individual
relevant and reliable sources of information. bibliographic databases, and Advanced Search, which
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allows PhD students and other researchers to hone their in Web, Science or any of the other seventy available
information-seeking skills. TU Delft Library also ran some databases.
thirty instruction sessions for bachelor’s and master’s Bibliographic research is a quick way of determining what
students from 17 programmes. information exists (or does not exist) in a particular field. It
enables researchers to define and describe their projects
Free updates more accurately and to determine whether their research
During the review year, TU Delft Library also provided really does address new and previously unexplored
training courses in the use of RSS, which stands for aspects of the topic.
‘Really Simple Syndication’. This is a convenient way to Since 2006, TU Delft has worked closely alongside the
keep abreast of the latest developments in a particular Valorisation Centre. This cooperation has rendered patent
field, be it of professional or general interest. A website application procedures more transparent, and all patent
with an RSS ‘feed’ automatically notifies users of any applications from TU Delft are now centrally registered.
new information, so users do not have to visit the The Valorisation Centre acts as a ‘centre of expertise’
website again. Software known as Free Readers or which promotes cooperation between the university, the
News Aggregators ‘grabs’ the RSS feeds from various private sector and the government.
sites and displays the contents on screen.
TU Delft’s campus network collates ‘search alerts’ and
‘citation alerts’ issued by publishers and database
providers. Search alerts relate to information about
a specific topic or profession, while citation alerts
indicate how often the work of a certain author is
cited in publications (and lists those publications). All
TU Delft Library users can also consult the ‘tables of
contents’ of books and journals. The campus network
also provides a link to the full text of the publication.
Bibliographic research
Researchers investigating a specific scientific issue can ask See also:
TU Delft Library to find relevant references. Researchers Internet Librarian International 2007, 8-9 October 2007,
linked to the university itself can then continue the search On your way to knowledge, De Lugt, Y.; Clavel, K.
8
Networks of
knowledge and
experts
TU Delft Library brings experts together Sustainable access to (digital) publications is now well
TU Delft Library facilitates cooperation between the organised within the scientific field. Worldwide, provisions
researchers working on the Self Healing Materials have been made to ensure that published articles remain
programme by means of an ‘Advanced Network’ created accessible indefinitely. The datasets on which scientific
especially for this purpose. publications are based are, however, not yet stored in any
(See: http://selfhealingmaterials.tudelft.nl). sustainable manner, although this data can be extremely
An ‘Advanced Network’ provides a means of identifying valuable in verifying research, conducting new research or
and contacting experts, and is particularly useful within managing long-term programmes.
a multidisciplinary setting. The Advanced Network was If datasets are not stored in a sustainable manner, they
introduced during the First International Conference on rapidly become inaccessible once the relevant project has
Self Healing Materials, held in Noordwijk in April 2007, been completed. This may be due to physical decay of the
where it received a very positive response. Membership storage media, or because the software used to create the
of the network increased from 100 at its launch in 2006 datasets is incompatible with new-generation computers
to 160 in 2007. TU Delft Library is now in discussions or operating systems. It is also possible that the
with various parties, both within and beyond TU Delft descriptive (meta-)data will be lost, whereupon it becomes
itself, about the possibility of creating similar Advanced impossible to place the main data in the correct context.
Networks in other fields.
Joint journal administration
Bundling knowledge in the 3TU.Datacentre In 2007, the libraries of the 3TU alliance started
In late 2007, the Executive Boards of the three Dutch preparations for the merger of their respective digital
universities of technology signed an agreement allowing journal collections and the relevant administrative
the foundation of the 3TU.Datacentre. This will provide records. It is hoped that this will lead to the launch of
a source of technological and scientific ‘datasets’ (raw the Netherlands’ first ‘Electronic Resource Management’
research data) in a broad range of specialist fields, all system in 2008, whereby the records of the various
well documented and permanently accessible. The 3TU. libraries will be managed as one.
Datacentre is an initiative by TU Delft Library in association
with the libraries of Eindhoven University of Technology
and the University of Twente.
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Global knowledge
dissemination
using Open Access
TU Delft Library Open Access Symposium have their articles published by Springer in Open Choice,
Under the auspices of its ‘Users’ Foundation’, TU Delft whereby the costs are covered by the licence held by the
Library organises an annual symposium for its clients, UKB.
suppliers and other business contacts. The theme of the
2007 symposium was ‘Open Access’, the term used to ‘Open Access’ for TU Delft publications in TU
refer to the process of making all (academic) publications Delft Repository
available to everyone. Within the Open Access system, the Researchers
costs of the publication process are no longer paid by the TU Delft Library offers researchers the opportunity to have
reader (e.g. via the library), but by the author or his or her their research results made available worldwide through
organisation. the TU Delft Repository
During the symposium, it was noted that publishing under (http:/repository.tudelft.nl). TU Delft Library is responsible
Open Access arrangements offers significant advantages for managing this digital ‘warehouse’, to which yet more
to the researcher. Publications enjoy greater (online) publications by Delft researchers were added in 2007.
circulation and hence a far larger readership. Research The Open Access concept allows scientific knowledge to
results therefore become more visible and are likely to be be disseminated and shared far more efficiently using the
cited more frequently, which will enhance the researcher’s internet. Moreover, because all documents are in digital
international standing. form, the published material can be used and re-used
more effectively.
Further information about the symposium can be found at In 2007, a collection of the most significant dissertations
http://www.library.tudelft.nl (Practical information > Our produced at Delft during the past one hundred years was
organisation > Symposium). added to the repository. These documents played a major
part in the development of TU Delft and many gained
Participation in Springer’s Open Choice pilot international recognition.
project
In 2007, TU Delft Library joined the Open Choice pilot Education output
project announced by the UKB in association with the The results of TU Delft’s educational activities are now
publishing house Springer. Authors from Delft can now also included in the repository in the form of students’
13
graduation theses. Students themselves are responsible months following the upload date. Once the embargo
for adding their work to the system. The ‘uploading’ period has expired, the full text is automatically made
process is extremely simple and involves nothing more available. Documents containing information which must
than completing a web form. remain confidential for longer than eighteen months are
Some three hundred theses produced by the Hydraulic not suitable for publication in TU Delft Repository.
Engineering research group (Faculty of Civil Engineering
and Geosciences) have already been added to the Delft OpenER
repository. A significant advantage for the faculty is that Last but not least, course material was also made available
the administrative work involved in publishing the theses through the repository structure in 2007. The ‘Delft OPEN
passes to TU Delft Library and the individual students. Educational Resources’ (Delft OpenER) concept is the
The theses are made more accessible, as illustrated by the result of cooperation between the ICT Department, the
many direct responses and references on external sites Department of Education and Student Affairs and TU Delft
such as that of De Hydrotheek Library. The website http://www.ocw.tudelft.nl provides
(http:/library.wur.nl/hydrotheek) (Dutch only). access to a wide range of Open Courseware, being
The Department of Real Estate and Housing is taking educational resources developed by TU Delft and now
part in a pilot project for the digitisation of graduation made freely available throughout the world. This initiative
theses within the Faculty of Architecture. Here, an online is part of the global Open Courseware Consortium
system in which theses can be published as standard *. programme (http://www.ocwconsortium.org).
pdf files has been developed, whereby the contents are
available both within and beyond the faculty itself. In Repositories for external parties
2006, 25% of final year students took part in the project In 2007, TU Delft Library started preparations for the
on a voluntary basis. All acknowledged the advantages of creation of repositories on behalf of external clients. For
digital publication, including the higher ranking for their example, we are to create and manage a thesis repository
theses on search engines such as Google. This enables for the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft.
new workgroups and many others to take advantage of This will go ‘on line’ in 2008.
the valuable research output.
Further information about Open Access can be found at
Occasionally, it is inappropriate to include the full http://www.library.tudelft.nl/openaccess.
text of a thesis in the repository, perhaps because it
contains confidential or sensitive information about an Informatie Professsional 2007, 12, pp.12-15.
external organisation. In such cases, the system allows Open access: spagaat of pas-de-deux?
an ‘embargo period’ to be set, whereupon only the Op weg naar vrije toegang tot wetenschappelijke publicaties.
bibliographic details will be displayed for up to eighteen Heijne, M.; De Leeuwe, J.
14
Learning Centre:
space for
Illustration: Guido Kuip
the future
December 2007 marked the tenth anniversary of the
opening of the impressive TU Delft Library building on
Prometheusplein. During the past decade, TU Delft Library and prepare projects. Students will also be able to become
produced a document entitled ‘Space for the Future’, acquainted with various private sector organisations which
which outlines its ambitions and, in particular, its plans will be invited to give presentations in the Learning Centre
for a Learning Centre. The Executive Board of TU Delft at various times throughout the year.
believes that the creation of a Learning Centre would go a When the students graduate and go on to form part of
long way towards addressing the changing circumstances the private sector themselves, the building will remain
in which the university must operate. a source of knowledge. They will be able to seek
Given its expertise and knowledge of new developments in information, make contact with researchers, and even
both education and research, TU Delft Library has played offer employment or internships to their successors, the
an important role in developing both the concept and form students of the day.
of the proposed Learning Centre. As the new Learning Even in retirement, the ‘Library Learning Centre’ will
Centre is being built on the campus, the existing TU Delft remain an attractive environment, being the place to
Library will also undergo a significant transformation. garner new information and pass the knowledge of a
Based on our ambition of creating a true ‘Centre of lifetime on to the new generation.
Belonging’, the building will first see a number of cosmetic When the children of past students are themselves at
changes in the years ahead, followed by some more school and make their first visit to the Learning Centre, the
drastic structural modifications. process comes full circle.
While still at school, young people will be able to Ambition- - The ‘Library Learning Centre’ will be the
familiarise themselves with new technologies in the sustainable, constant factor for the user. It will be
TU Delft Library building. They will also be able to get the ‘Centre of belonging’ in the life career of the TU
a ‘taste’ of campus life at the university that they will Delft-trained engineer. From school pupil to student,
– hopefully – choose to attend. Once they have enrolled to young professional, to senior manager and
on a course, the ‘Library Learning Centre’ will offer a fitting eventually, retired hobbyist. All phases bring the user
environment in which to study, meet for group lessons, back to this central meeting place.
15
Document
Management
for TU Delft:
powered by
TU Delft Library
TU Delft archives remain accessible throughout TU Delft in phases. The first two years will
Following a European tendering procedure, a Document focus on digitising communication between the faculties
Management System (DMS) was selected in July 2007 to and departments.
support a three-year process of professionalisation and
digitisation. Responsibility for the implementation and Complete files in digital form
systems administration of the new DMS falls to TU Delft Administrative documents, examination results and
Library. The system will be used to process and file letters, personnel records are also to be digitised and filed using
e-mails and other documents quickly and accurately, and the DMS within the foreseeable future. This will reduce the
in a uniform manner which ensures that they can always risk of important documents arriving too late. The system
be located and retrieved. will also ensure the completeness and clarity of those
documents essential to decision-making processes or
No more lost documents students’ career planning, from registration as a first-year
A simple search in the DMS will retrieve all relevant undergraduate to the award of the Bachelor’s or Master’s
information. The days of endlessly trying to track down a degree.
document which has long since been lost or destroyed are
now firmly behind us. The paper archive
All information, perhaps including the physical location of All relevant paper documents are to be filed in a new
the original paper document, can be found using the DMS. central archive on Kluyverweg, no 6, which has over
Each document is ‘labelled’ with metadata tags providing five kilometres of shelf space. The central archive will
information such as the subject, the author and whether house all documents older than five years, which the
the document is classified as ‘confidential’. faculties, research institutes, research groups and support
In the spring of 2008, the Faculty of Architecture will be departments wish to retain.
the first in which all incoming mail will be prepared for Documents which must be retained by law (over twenty
entry into the DMS. Post will then be forwarded to the per cent of the total) will be transferred to the National
intended recipients in digital form. Archive in The Hague. Further information about
Document Management can be found at:
Phased introduction http://documentmanagement.tudelft.nl
The Document Management System will be rolled out
17
TU Delft Library
services
Dredgeline database Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies, doing
A good example of a ‘custom-made solution’ is the so after close consultation with the faculty administration.
Dredgeline database which was created by TU Delft The collections have been transferred to the Central
Library for the Central Dredging Association (CEDA), an Library. Staff and students also have full access to the ‘Ask
international non-governmental organisation. In 2007, the Your Library’ service.
Dredgeline website was modified to allow specialists and
sector organisations to access the most relevant and most Ask Your Library
prominent scientific journals dealing with the dredging The ‘Ask Your Library’ service enables all TU Delft Library
industry. The CEDA and TU Delft Library have entered into users to contact library staff using instant messaging,
a two-year contract for the management of the database. e-mail or telephone. Staff will be pleased to answer
questions and to receive any comments, requests or
STOWAbase discontinued (even) complaints. See: https://AskYourLibrary.tudelft.nl.
Following amicable talks with the Foundation for
Applied Water Research (STOWA), TU Delft Library More account managers
has discontinued its management of the ‘STOWAbase’ Because service provision at the individual faculty
research database for water managers. locations has been reduced, the TU Delft Library’s
The process of collecting information for the database, account managers are now its most important channel
necessary to ensure a product of appropriately high of communication with researchers, professors, support
quality, was extremely time-intensive. The resultant staff and students throughout the university. The
revenue was seen to be disproportionately low. account management team was expanded in 2007 and
now comprises five dedicated account managers. Each
Faculty libraries represents the interests of one or more user groups,
In mid-2007, TU Delft Library decided to close the such as the faculties, research institutes, central support
separate library location serving the Faculty of Technology departments, external relations and bodies such as the
and Policy Management (TPM) and the OTB Research ‘Young Entrepreneurs Society’ (YES!Delft), which assists
19
start-up companies in the technological sector. The user can be readily identified (whereupon the current
contact details of all TU Delft Library account managers borrower will be instructed to return it) as can those which
can be found at http://www.library.tudelft.nl are subject to a fine for late return.
(> Accountmanagement). The fact that all books with the RFID label have been
salvaged following the fire will make the process of
Discontinuation of document delivery rehousing the library elsewhere somewhat easier. The
services RFID system will continue to be used at the new location.
In 2007, TU Delft Library decided to discontinue the
document delivery service to commercial organisations, To date, Architecture is the only faculty library in which
with effect from 2009. Further information can be found at RFID has been implemented. The results of this pilot
http://www.library.tudelft.nl/documentleverantie-profit. project will determine if the system is to be rolled out
elsewhere. One advantage of doing so would be that
Introduction of RFID at the Architecture it would enable faculties, research institutes, research
library groups and departments to create their own ‘mini-libraries’
Shortly prior to the completion of this Annual Report, it without the expense of staff. This could provide a good
was announced that the collection of the Archictecture solution for those faculties whose libraries have been
library, which had been feared lost during a major fire on closed.
13 May 2008, remained largely intact.
The Architecture library houses a collection of
approximately forty thousand books which are in great
demand. Many are borrowed and returned on a regular
basis. In December 2007, a pilot project was launched to
test the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in
facilitating the lending process. RFID is a system which
can uniquely identify every book using radio frequencies
and a minute chip embedded in each volume. At the RFID
‘self service station’, library users can borrow, extend and
return books without the assistance of a staff member.
The RFID system greatly enhances security. Furthermore,
because the RFID system is directly linked to the library
catalogue, a book which has been reserved by another
20
Special collections
Digital Map Room Digitisation of Trésor
In order to make a significant proportion of the available The first steps in digitising TU Delft’s historical collection,
cartographical information available on line, TU Delft known as Trésor, were taken in 2007. No fewer than 541
Library opened both the physical Map Room and its virtual titles were digitised during the year and made available
counterpart to all staff and students in December 2006. through the TU Delft Library catalogue. (Note that a ‘title’
(See http://maproom.library.tudelft.nl). may comprise several works.)
In the past, the Map Room was predominantly used by
people from the Faculty of Architecture. In 2006, 1754
students and staff visited the Map Room, and 373 digital
files were supplied. In 2007, these figures had risen to
3183 and 558 respectively.
In 2007, TU Delft Library launched the ‘Digital Map Room’
project, whereby we are collecting digital cartographic
material to support the educational courses. From July
2008, students will be able to print the material and
download maps and charts in standard *.pdf format.
From December 2008, they will also be able to download
maps in a format which is compatible with a Geographic
Information System (GIS) or CAD programme.
The progress of the project can be followed at
http://geoloket.blogspot.com (Dutch only).
Kennemaria et Westfrisia vulgo et vernaculé Noord-Holland.
Nicolaas Visscher, circa 1680; this edition republished by
Petrus Schenk, circa 1740.
21
Colophon
Published by:
TU Delft Library, Marketing & Communication
TU Delft Media and Publications Office
Original text:
TU Delft Library
Design and layout:
Joke Herstel (Wenk), The Hague
Photos:
Marcel Krijger (Lens! Fotografie), Krimpen a/d IJssel
Printed by:
Schefferdrukkerij B.V., Dordrecht
Visitors:
TU Delft Library
Prometheusplein 1
2628 ZC Delft
© TU Delft Library, 2008
22
TU Delft Library
P.O. Box 98
2600 MG Delft
The Netherlands
T +31 (0)15 27 85678
E library@tudelft.nl
www.library.tudelft.nl
