Past Isolation, Present Connections, Future Choices: The Growth of VOCED

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a snapshot of a successful resource-sharing network, which focuses on Asian Pacific links, and is based on the cooperation of a wide variety of committed people. The success is dependent on the dedication and motivation of the individuals involved and on their commitment to providing a quality service including the provision of access to copies of the recorded documents through interlibrary loan systems. The human element is essential. The changes, from relative isolation to the expansion in terms of cooperative approaches, are presented.

Information on documents is collected. Data entries are created for the Vocational Education and Training Research Database (VOCED) - a central point to access information, which is available on the Internet. VOCED promotes the research results and provides access, within Australia, to a wide variety of materials within the broad area of vocational education and training.

Why is VOCED successful? It is a combination of factors with a very strong commitment on the part of individuals who have a stake in seeing it succeed - to break out of the isolation and work cooperatively with others to achieve more than we could individually.

Introduction

Change is a constant within my working life. Adaptability and flexibility are both skills that were developed early on. I see the same strengths within the Vocational Education and Training Research Database, VOCED. The ability to allow researchers to search for relevant materials easily and efficiently; to respond to local, national and international changes within a short space of time, and, the commitment to provide a collection of information within the broad area of vocational education and training are all factors that have ensured its success over the last twenty years.

There are a range of organisations, including UNESCO, ILO, TESDA, CEDEFOP, that actively seek out, create, research and collect information on technical and vocational education in the Asia-Pacific region or other regions. Research projects are proposed, funded, run and completed. In some cases documents detailing the methodology and results are published. VOCED is one of a range of dissemination vehicles, which promote the work that has been published. It focuses on the intensive strategic capture of both published and unpublished vocational education, training and related materials.

Access to a body of knowledge over a range of years is important for a number of reasons. Two of these reasons are:

1. "Research is most often done to settle an argument, to work through an issue, to find out whether or not something is as it seems." (Funnell, 1996, p. 33). Access to information on what research has been carried out, where the gaps are and where it may be obtained from is vital information. Educational research tends to work in cycles. What was a hot topic a number of years ago will be reinvestigated, reworked, fitted into a new paradigm, expanded and linked to other concepts in new ways.
2. It is important to all stakeholders in the field of vocational education and training that a body of research information, both national and international, be available which can provide a sound basis for policy decisions (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p 10).

Research that has previously been published can be of use with new projects or extending the body of knowledge on an aspect of vocational education. It may provide guidelines in terms of procedures, applications, may support arguments, help the researcher define the topic, offer examples of questionnaires, access to surveys on topic, or even indexes to relevant journals (Funnell, 1996). Published, unpublished or online, free or subscription based, contact details to experts in the area, specialist and general indexes can all offer relevant material to answer a research question.

There is a tendency to focus on the Internet as the source of information but often a single resource or source that guides to the main resources within a subject area is the best place to start a search. Specialised databases can still be a useful resource amongst the increasing plethora of resources available for searching - often it is knowledge about what a resource covers and that it exists that is the deciding factor in accessing it.

A number of authors emphasise the need for a relevant information system (Aksornsuwan, 1996, De Leon, 1996, Palmieri, 1997) particularly for the policy making/decision making areas. The research results must be widely and strategically disseminated to reach those who need to use it. The VOCED database is one of the key dissemination methods employed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to make research results available to all our stakeholders, in Australia and New Zealand, and increasingly throughout the Asia Pacific region (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.10).

To ensure the collection contains the key documents requires work in identifying who the key players are and what the current research concerns are. All sides of the argument have value. The idea is to apply quality control measures that allow for the consistent addition of materials to the database. VOCED fulfils an archival role in providing access to historically relevant VET material as well as up to date material.

Before shifting onto the history, role and functions of VOCED, a brief digression is needed to cover the concept of networking. The principles of networking were the foundation stones used to set up the database and continue to be an influence in the structure and running of VOCED to the present day.

Networking

Networks imply links between individuals or organisations with common interests or overlapping interests. Aksornsuwan (1996) outlines four basic levels of networking: within the organisation itself, within the country, regionally and internationally. Networking occurs within NCVER, within Australia, between Australia and other countries.

The initial stage is to identify potential partners. If there is interest then a comparison and an evaluation of each party's resources, services and needs should be run to identify the benefits of networking for both parties. (For a list of benefits to networking see Palmieri, 1997 p. 26-27). Establish a contact person, a focal point, and seek appropriate support for membership from the senior management. Define what will be exchanged, services provided, products produced, responsibilities of partners, standards to be meet and a step by step approach to implement networking.

"The most effective approach to information sharing requires that each organization accepts as a minimum conditions of its participation in a network to control and share its own information." (Aksornsuwan, 1996, p.8). Within the National Vocational Education and Training Clearinghouse Information Network the ideal is for each organisation to control and share its own information. This is extended to cover other resources in the local area as time permits. Information is collected and data entries are created for VOCED - the dissemination vehicle - and each quarter all the local information is sent to a central node - The National Clearinghouse.

At a national level the resulting information is combined, repackaged and distributed by the National Clearinghouse. Networking is facilitated in Australia because the appropriate information infrastructures are already in place. NCVER is gaining benefits as it is raising its own profile within the educational sector both nationally and internationally by acting as the focal point and by facilitating access to resources within the sector.

Within Australia there are structures, called Clearinghouses, in place to collect, disseminate and access relevant information on vocational educational topics. Clearinghouses are a cooperative venture as individuals have a shared purpose in the collection, creation and dissemination of data entries, in their support for other members of the network and in being supported by other members of the network.

Identification, capture and dissemination of information is not enough. The very nature of its establishment places NCVER in an ideal position to advise policy makers and decision makers about the information that is being produced and about key areas that need to be explored as well as providing access to information that may not be easily found. The key is to get appropriate information to the policymakers, the decision-makers, as it becomes available.

Palmieri (1997) discusses the concept of knowledge networking that there is a synergistic effect produced when learning from the past is shared between people and translated into planning for the future even though the future cannot be predicted. A clear view of what NCVER wants to achieve is recorded as part of the corporate plan. The quote from Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.3 reads:

We are committed to providing accurate, timely, relevant and accessible information on research and evaluation findings to our customers to improve the quality of vocational education and training decision-making at all levels.

Communication with the stakeholders and clients provides information on what they want to achieve. VOCED is the connecting link between the two aims. It allows for information to be disseminated to those who will use it. Knowledge and the ability to access it are critical for both individuals and organisations, particularly at the policy making level. VOCED allows both to go straight to the source of the relevant knowledge by providing availability details.

Setting up international networks is more challenging. Each country is at a different level with regard to development, political systems, educational structure, approaches to dealing with issues and problems and of course there is the problem of different languages. One way of approaching the problem is to identify appropriate organisations to funnel information to regional networks and/or to national organisations. Agreements can then be set up with these organisations. Networking is essential to gain access to international information that is not otherwise easily obtainable.

Additional areas that need to be considered when setting up an international network are training support, provision of equipment, staffing and ongoing funding. Training sessions for new partners and support for existing partners are a part of the role of The National Clearinghouse. Commitment of financial support and provision of staff and equipment are part of the partnership organisation's role. Continuing support for VOCED from the management of these organisations is seen as advantageous because of the practical benefits of the database itself.

Countries of Asia-Pacific region show variety, due in part to their unique geographic location. Educational structures, financing of education, management of educational systems, achievements in the educational sector and the philosophical approaches all show similarities and differences. As generalisation is not always the answer, the ideal is to have a database that describes a body of documents covering each system allowing for the uniqueness, local conditions, identification of issues, solutions and problem areas. A common resource that facilitates access to both internal and external sources of information.

Effective networks are driven by their users' needs. VOCED is an example of a successful example of partnership and cooperation, both national and international, which may be applicable in local situations. This allows for a better information service for each of the participating institutions and for individual researchers.

Isolation to connections

The National Vocational Education and Training Clearinghouse Information Network, the Clearinghouses and VOCED has undergone a range of changes and improvements that have been recorded as a timeline in Appendix 1. Further information on the structure and operation of VOCED and the clearinghouses can also be found in Robinson and Hayman, 1998, Chapter 3. This section offers an overview highlighting the changes that are seen as the factors that have contributed to VOCED's success. It is not the intention to tease the factors apart but rather to show that there is an interdependence between the various factors.

The Asian and Pacific Skill Development Programme's APSDEP thesaurus was produced specifically for this project to provide an adequate terminology to describe training, tools, concepts and skills and to ensure that descriptors were assigned consistently (Jones, 1993). This cooperative effort includes the use of "unusual terms" which makes it "unique as a collection of regional terminology in the field of skill development" (Jones, 1993, p. 4). Maintenance of the thesaurus is a continuing challenge but it has a degree of flexibility that allows for the introduction of new terminology when appropriate.

CDS/ISIS was the chosen software because it is ideal for bibliographic database development, free, easily accessible, translatable into local languages, portable and powerful (Jones, 1993 and 1994) but certainly not perfect. Over the intervening years there have been improvements in the programming to allow for easier access, improved display and functionality including a user-friendly interface. The introduction of a web version developed at NCVER has made VOCED accessible to a wide range of researchers and interested individuals.

The structure was defined in consultation with the Asian and Pacific Skill Development Information Network (APSDIN) participants (see Jones (1993) for a description of the initial setup procedure). Consensus was an ideal to be achieved then as it has continued to be on many occasions since (Jones, 1993). Consultation and a clear identification of the goals, functions, and processes are performance indicators of an effective network (Palmieri, 1997). Worksheets and accepted bibliographic procedures have been adopted over the years and this allows new partners to implement procedures with a minimum of guidance as the database definition and structure is set (Jones, 1994). Today there are plans to run a survey to identify the stakeholders and establish which needs are being meet and where further development is needed.

Over time the National Vocational Education and Training Clearinghouse Information Network has grown to consist of:

• a Clearinghouse in each State and Territory in Australia,
• a New Zealand Clearinghouse,
• an adult education Clearinghouse based in the Council of Adult Education in Melbourne,
• a Clearinghouse based in the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA),
• a UNEVOC Clearinghouse based at Adelaide Institute of TAFE, and The National Clearinghouse at NCVER.

Each local Clearinghouse captures information on vocational education and training from its own area, houses the documents and sends abstracts and bibliographic information about the document or projects to the National Clearinghouse. The local Clearinghouses provide access to the documents themselves and distribute and promote the database to their own regions. Documents are not kept in full text in the database, but are housed in the Clearinghouse, and every document entered is available by some means (usually interlibrary loan) from a specified source. Each entry in the database contains a brief abstract or description of the document. Contact information is provided for current projects. (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.6).

The National Clearinghouse at NCVER is responsible for producing the database, maintaining quality and consistency, and for coordinating the network as a whole. It also captures national information, information from APSDIN (the Asian Pacific Skills Development Information Network), and other information not covered by the network. (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.5).

This system has worked with goodwill and a spirit of cooperation for over 20 years. "The Clearinghouse officers throughout the network are a highly committed group of people who are driven by a spirit of co-operation and information sharing, and this is one of the reasons for the successful continuation of this system. In addition, basing it in libraries has ensured an excellent access to information. Even with the new technological developments, allowing users direct access to information via the web site, the library network is necessary to ensure delivery of the documents to clients, using existing interlibrary loan facilities. Librarians are also skilled in the organisation of information and the maintenance of high quality indexing and abstracting which are crucial in the inputting stage to make the information accessible." (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.15).

Heightening awareness of the database is an ongoing need and a variety of techniques have been used. An example using Powerpoint for a group presentation is given in Harris, 1995. To encourage both use of the database and contributions for the database it is essential that publicity and promotion activities be undertaken. The perceived usefulness and relevance of the product, particularly at the senior management levels, adds leverage when issues of support come up for discussion. Issues such as funding, staffing, maintenance, upgrading of technology (both hardware and software), provision of access to VOCED as a search engine and provision of an interlibrary loan service to provide access to copies of the documents recorded within the database.

Active support can provide the time needed to think through a position or an issue. The backing of your organisation, in financial terms and in terms of being able to call on the expertise of others can be vital to the achievement level. Links to other individuals and organisations, both nationally and internationally, heighten awareness about current research issues. Being flexible in terms of workflow and responding to a changing work environment allow for planning while being able to respond quickly and efficiently to change. All these are important issues that can be made easier or harder to deal with depending on the support received by the parent organisation.

Over the last twenty years the amount and variety of material collected has increased. Local knowledge on the part of the individual Clearinghouse officers has influenced what materials have been captured. Addition of specialist institutions to the existing network has been beneficial. From 1993 there is also an increasing amount of specialist or regional materials from the New Zealand, CAE, OLEARN, ANTA, APSDIN and the UNEVOC nodes. OLEARN is different to the other nodes because it is the database of the Open Learning Information and Materials Clearinghouse, Adelaide Institute of TAFE (OLIMCH), a clearinghouse in its own right. Relevant South Australian material is recorded in both VOCED and OLEARN but the identification, creation of the data record and availability are all from OLIMCH. Support, training and expertise from NCVER has aided with the development of the OLEARN database, in particular with the software and the web version.

Nationally, since 1994, a growing number of VET research centres based in universities and in TAFE institutes have been approached and in some cases Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) have been signed formalising the exchange of publications (see Robinson and Hayman, 1998 Appendix 6 for the list of centres). Promoting the database and establishing these contacts has ensured that all reports produced by these centres will be included in the database. "The close collaboration with these centres means that we can also seek their advice about other sources of research information, including newsletters and journals that may not already be covered by our indexing." (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.10).

The Asian Pacific component has been there from the beginning. Due to the lack of information infrastructure in a range of countries the collection and processing of data entries by individual countries has never taken off. In many instances it would have meant starting off the national information network from scratch while dealing with local priorities which overrode the process of becoming part of a regional network (Jones, 1993). The infrastructure of smaller countries may not support a wide range of activities and services. The ability to key into an existing educational network to gain access to information can support local researchers without placing a burden on local resources although this access to information does not necessarily include the ability to obtain quickly and efficiently physical copies of relevant documents. Unless there is an international MOU, identification and collection of Asian Pacific materials is undertaken by the National Clearinghouse and the UNEVOC Clearinghouse.

"The database was growing, if somewhat lopsided geographically." (Jones, 1993, p. 5) with a large amount of information on a limited topic range. This reflected the original position that it was important to "collect as much as possible, input control is a luxury we should control cautiously." (Jones, 1993, p. 5). Encouraging enthusiasm and goodwill at the beginning was seen as a very important aspect.

Collection policy has changed over time to become more quality focused to provide the best of all relevant information to the researchers but the goodwill and enthusiasm of those involved is still a very important aspect. Jones (1993) stresses that regular contact with regional focal points is essential to reinvigorate enthusiasm, to share experiences, to learn new skills, and to make individuals feel that they are a valuable part of the network. This is also true of international focal points.

VOCED still grows lopsidedly geographically, as some regions tend to produce more resources than other regions. In some instances material that looks to be ephemeral may have a value in that it is the only material that has been produced, for example, on the Cambodian educational system. The ideal is a body of relevant documents, both in terms of breadth and depth, wide ranging within the broad area of vocational education and training and over a period of years. As new members become involved in the network each brings a degree of expertise, specialist knowledge and access to materials that have previously been either uncollected or collected in an ad hoc manner.

NCVER's principal involvement with the VET sector in the Asian Pacific region has been through the Asia and Pacific Skills Development Information Network (APSDIN). The history of this network, and of NCVER's APSDIN partnership, is set out in Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p. 7 and appendix 3).

The APSDIN member countries are: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Laos, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Briefly, APSDIN member countries at present send documentation to NCVER, where the material is stored, and an entry created in the VOCED database. Availability of the documents is either via interlibrary loan from NCVER or from the producer of the document, where possible. "Our involvement with APSDIN means that we are able to encourage awareness of the role of information in the development and improvement of vocational training in the region. Through the database we can promote Australian and New Zealand material in the region, providing avenues for partnerships and consultancies. There is therefore a significant benefit to the national VET sector in Australia as well as to the Asia Pacific region itself." (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p. 7).

"NCVER remains strongly committed to supporting the APSDIN network, and to offering leadership, advice and training in information networking to encourage member countries to establish and strengthen their own documentation centres. However, we see our APSDIN partnership as only one of a set of growing cooperative approaches to the gathering of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) information throughout the region. Our aim is to cast a wide net and explore all sources of information in the region, in order to increase the coverage of the VOCED database and make it a comprehensive information resource for the region." (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p. 7).

APSDIN has entered a period where they will not be able to provide the active support that has been given in the past. The links that have been put into place over the last 20 years still result in materials being offered for VOCED. Goodwill, continuing communication and support within the structures that are already set in place will continue.

An other important partnership is through the Australian node for the UNEVOC Electronic Clearing House and Information Network, which is based at the Adelaide Institute of TAFE. UNEVOC covers the UNESCO countries in the Asia Pacific region (For further information on NCVER's UNEVOC partnership see Robinson and Hayman, 1998, Section 4.2 and Appendix 4). Workshops and training sessions have been very successful to the point where a strong commitment has been made by the member countries to maintain the network, and contribute information to the clearinghouse (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.8). This UNEVOC node supplies input to the VOCED database.

Communication and coordination between the UNESCO focal point and the APSDIN focal point allows duplication of data entry to be avoided and enhances the dissemination of information (Jones, 1994). The material captured through the UNEVOC network has an emphasis on the education side of skill development. The APSDIN material is towards the labour market side. There is considerable overlap, and "in practice there is so much information to be gathered that as broad a base as possible is the best way to achieve good coverage." (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p. 8)

Besides these two networks, NCVER has memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the following four organisations:

Overseas Vocational Training Association (OVTA), Chiba, Japan
South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education (SEAMEO VOCTECH), Brunei Darussalam
Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (CPSC), Manila, Philippines, and,
Korean Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET).

In this context the MOUs cover the exchange of published policy, research, statistics, technical reports and other quantitativeinformation (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p. 9) from the following countries: Japan, Philippines, Korea, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Once again the range and coverage of the materials captured has been extended and dissemination of the collected information has also been extended. For further information on NCVER's international partnerships see Robinson and Hayman, 1998 Chapter 4 and Appendix 3.

The National Clearinghouse undertakes collection of materials that are not covered by the above-mentioned arrangements. At the present time there is a project to identify relevant international journals with the ultimate aim of expanding the number and range of subscriptions held by the National Clearinghouse. Searching of bibliographies, word of mouth, networking with overseas colleagues, surfing the Internet are all strategies that have resulted in the identification and collection of materials for inclusion in VOCED.

Moving forward

To bring all these developments and relationships together it is clear that within Australia VOCED has become a valuable source of information because of a strong commitment to networking. This is reflected in the range of national and international institutions that have been invited to join this network and have accepted. It is obvious that other institutions value the work that is being produced and see benefits to becoming both part of the process as well as end users. Promotion of the database and establishing contacts, both nationally and internationally, will continue. This ongoing compilation of knowledge, within Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific area, is seen as an ongoing process.

MOUs have been used to formalise a range of national and Asia Pacific partnerships to expand the collection and dissemination of information on publications, to exchange information and materials, and working together in other ways to promote information sharing and cooperative research ventures. This benefits all the organisations that are involved in the agreement. Close links with our international partners will enable us to acquire information about regional material from a wide variety of sources.

Exploration of the possibilities of linking to other clearinghouses is also an option. Exactly how and what information or publications would be exchanged would depend on the aims, roles and functions of individual clearinghouses. It may be a link to promote other clearinghouses specialised collections through VOCED. It may be a more formal exchange of relevant publications similar to the existing MOUs. It may be that other clearinghouses see benefits in becoming partners and joining the network as OLIMCH did.

NCVER, as a national body, is responsible for the collection of vocational education and training statistics, for funding research projects on appropriate topics and for running research projects on appropriate topics. Funding of projects for VET research means that the National Clearinghouse is able to gather very quickly the information about current projects.

VOCED raises the profile of NCVER as it funnels information to the Australian network and overseas researchers through the medium of the Internet. NCVER's office in Canberra is also developing links with federal government departments in order to gather information about VET research and policy, with a view to acquiring all relevant federal government materials published for inclusion in the database.

Two new developments will greatly increase the potential coverage and make the database a valuable regional resource. "Firstly, non-English language material will now be included in the database. From now on, contributors can send us information about their VET documents in their own languages, provided that an English language title and abstract are also supplied. It will still be of benefit to all users of the database to know that the material exists and to have a brief description of it in English even if they are unable to read the full document. Rapidly changing technology has already provided free machine-translation services via the Internet for a number of European languages; it may only be a short time before Asian languages are also able to be translated using a similar facility. Secondly, contributors will be able to retain their own material in their own Clearinghouses, libraries or documentation centres, and simply send in the information about the document for inclusion in the database. However, they must include information about the availability of the document for it to be considered for inclusion. In the past it has been a requirement that a copy of the document be sent to the National Clearinghouse." (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.11).

There is a commitment to a proactive capture of all relevant information. The Clearinghouse staff is engaged in systematically seeking out other sources of VET information. These include journal articles, electronic information available on the Internet and other databases to which we can link. Duplication of other collections is not seen as a productive use of time. A central collection point that also lists alternative sources is seen as the way to go.

A group of committed but very heterogenous range of individuals and subject specialists has been brought together. Regular contact, actively seeking out new partners, new experts and using others specialised knowledge will continue. Cooperation, shared purpose and networking are the keys.

VOCED has overcome isolation by adapting and expanding in response to changing requirements of its stakeholders. Development, maintenance, identification, collection, processing, storage, dissemination are all functions that the National Clearinghouse has undertaken and will continue to undertake. Collection and dissemination with access to the distributed collection through the interlibrary loan system, at least within Australia, are seen as prime functions.

While retaining a strong commitment to the existing networks and partners, there is still room for expansion. The way to provide a central information resource for the region that offers relevant and timely information both nationally and internationally is to use as broad a base as possible to acquire material with a view to offering more comprehensive coverage.

Why is VOCED successful? It is a combination of all the above factors with a very strong commitment on the part of individuals who have a stake in seeing it succeed - to break out of the isolation and work cooperatively with others to achieve more than we could individually. Please visit our web site and send us your comments, suggestions, and most importantly contributions of information for inclusion. Remember that the database is only as good as the information that goes into it - we rely on our users to put information in as well as take it out. By becoming partners in an information network, by sharing our research results, our initiatives in training and our successes, we all become stronger, and our clients will ultimately benefit. (Robinson and Hayman, 1998, p.12-13).

Conclusion

The aim of this paper was to increase awareness of a successful resource-sharing network. Specialised databases can still be a useful resource amongst the increasing plethora of resources available for searching. Knowing what a resource covers and that it exists can be the deciding factor in accessing it.

VOCED has become a valuable source of information because of a strong commitment to networking, a shared vision, a commitment to a proactive capture of all relevant information, communication, cooperation, the flexibility to respond to changing needs and requirements, a willingness to support other members of the network and to accept support when needed. The success is dependent on the dedication and motivation of the individuals involved and to their commitment to providing a quality service including the provision of access to copies of the recorded documents through interlibrary loan systems. The human element is essential.

While retaining a strong commitment to the existing networks and partners, there is still room for expansion. You may become a contributor, recommend the database to your clients or even become a partner in an information network. There are opportunities in a wide range of subject areas waiting to be discovered and exploited. By providing an example of partnership and cooperation, both national and international, I hope to have triggered ideas for improvement or expansion that may be applicable in local situations. The final thought that I would like to leave you with is that working cooperatively makes it possible to achieve more than we could individually.

Author details

Heather Adams (NZCLS ; MA (Anthropology) has been the Project Librarian at NCVER since 1998. Prior to this she was one of the Reference staff at the Auckland Institute of Technology Library (1992-1998) in NZ where she undertook the clearinghouse officer duties in addition to the tasks of a reference department. Part of her duties included setting up a network to capture New Zealand information.

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Bibliography