Virtually no library fines for archaeologists
Posted on 25 May 2000
Although none of the books can be borrowed - so naturally there are no fines for late returns - British archaeologists are enthusiastic about the digital service which stocks virtual volumes on its shelves.
The digitised volumes bring back to life many older publications which were out of print, and which had become difficult to obtain.
The service is free to users thanks to collaboration between the Archaeology Data Service based at the University of York, the Council for British Archaeology (CBA), and the Higher Education Digitisation Service, which lays the foundations for an extensive library of archaeological material on the internet.
The library is founded on the first batch of research reports and monographs from the CBA: its publications span decades of research and discovery, cover every specialist field within the discipline, and are an essential component of research and teaching in British archaeology.York archaeologist Jo Clarke explained: "Many archaeological publications have short print runs, because the market for them is small. Besides, the data produced by sophisticated archaeological techniques has grown and grown over the last few years, so publication has become increasingly difficult, despite the fact that archaeologists are keen for their work to be disseminated as widely as possible.
"By placing these volumes on the Internet we can access them from the field or from our own desks, rather than trekking backwards and forwards to the small number of libraries that may have acquired the original paper copies."
Since the library's launch earlier this year, the CBA alone has received more than 20,000 requests for information, mainly from staff and students in higher education, but also from interested amateurs and professionals worldwide. The library also links to other e-publications, such as Internet Archaeology, the foremost e-journal for archaeologists.
American archaeologist Bill Lipe of Washington State University commented: "I think that we in the US. are behind in developing a centralized archiving system for electronic reports and databases, as the Archaeology Data Service is evidently doing. It is great to see what ADS has accomplished."
Notes to editors:
- The Archaeology Data Service is based at the University of York. It exists to collect, describe, catalogue, preserve, and provide user support for digital resources that are a product of archaeological research.
- The Council for British Archaeology is the lead independent body for British archaeology. It promotes the study and safeguarding of Britain's historic environment, to provide a forum for archaeological opinion, and to improve public interest in, and knowledge of, Britain's past.