Infocus:
linking people and information
Niki Kallenberger
Education
Programs Coordinator
State Library
of NSW
Imagine
having the vast information resources of a State Library
at your fingertips, no matter where you are, no matter what
time it is.
Imagine
further that someone else has done the hard work and sifted
through that vast collection of information to find what’s most
relevant to you!
Infocus:
linking people and information, an innovative service of
the State Library of New South Wales, aims to do just that for
senior secondary students.
Infocus
aims to provide students with timely, relevant information for
their study of the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) curriculum.
Developed in collaboration with personnel from school and public
libraries, Infocus expands the range of resources available
to these students by providing reproductions of resources held
by the State Library. These reproductions include journal, magazine
and newspaper articles, as well as some of the Library’s unique
heritage materials such as photographs, ephemera and diaries.
With a collection of nearly 5 million items, the Library has
much to offer students, as well as their teachers.
Students
and teachers alike value the diversity of viewpoints and text
types Infocus offers. Infocus resources are drawn
from Australian and international sources, and often include
items difficult to locate in typical school or public libraries.
Although material is specifically selected to support students
studying the NSW HSC curriculum, much of it will be useful to
senior secondary students studying other courses.
Infocus
operates a membership-based service for schools, public libraries,
TAFE colleges and other organisations. A credit deposit system
is offered to members to ensure paperwork is kept to a minimum.
All orders, be they from members or casual users of the service,
are filled quickly, typically on the same day they are received.
Because
all items reproduced by Infocus have been copyright cleared
- either through a license agreement with the Copyright Agency
Limited or through direct negotiation with relevant copyright
holders, member libraries can add Infocus resources to
their collections. This feature gives Infocus an edge
over inter- library loan document supply schemes.
Infocus
will soon deliver all of its services online. Visit the Infocus
website at http://infocus.slnsw.gov.au to see the first
stage of our online developments. You’ll be able to explore
the more than 1500 resources Infocus currently offers.
At this stage ordering still requires a paper order form and
payment by cheque or credit card. However, preparation for full
electronic ordering and delivery is well underway, and it is
anticipated that many Infocus resources will be available
in electronic format by early 2001.
To learn more about Infocus,
visit: http://infocus.slnsw.gov.au
or contact the Infocus team email: infocus@slnsw.gov.au;
telephone: 61-2-9273 1519; fax: 61-2-9273- 1248).
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