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INFORMATION SERVICES AND FACILITIESAVAILABLE TO SOCIAL

SCIENCE RESEARCHERS : COUNTRY REPORT*

by

ARA TALIB**

ABSTRAK

Kertas kerja ini membincangkan peranan perpustakaan dalam menyokong infrastrukturpembangunan maklumat yang diperlukan oleh penyelidik dan saintis sosial di dalam usahamereka memenuhi aspirasi kerajaan menjadikan Malaysia negara yang maju sepenuhnyamenjelang tahun 2020. Penulis cuba menyingkap secara ringkas senario pembangunanpenyelidikan sains sosial di Malaysia bermula dari tahun 1949 di mana Universiti Malayamula ditubuhkan sehinggalah tahun 70an di mana tertubuhnya universiti-universiti yanglain yang giat menjalankan kajian-kajian dalam bidang ini bagi pihak kerajaan dan agensi-agensi tertentu. Seterusnya sumber-sumber maklumat yang banyak tersimpan diperpustakaan-perpustakaan khususnya, perwujudan akta-akta perpustakaan, penggunaankomputer di perpustakaan-perpustakaan, perkongsian maklumat dan penghantaran dokumendi antara perpustakaan serta penubuhan rangkaian maklumat sains sosial adalah antaraisu-isu yang dibincangkan oleh penulis.

INTRODUCTION

nder the Sixth Malaysia Plan, 1991-95,it is stated that the objective of the library

development programme is to "inculcate andpromote greater develop the reading habit amongMalaysians. This is with a view of developinga knowledgeable and informed society, as a partof the overall national goal of developing qualitycitizens". Underneath that very deceptively

Paper presented at the Asia Pacific Regional Seminar on Social Science Information, Seoul, Korea, 1 -4 June 1993

Librarian, Data Processing Division, Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia

simplistic statement of the objective of librarydevelopment, the role that libraries has toactually play is tremendous.

Their direction has to be in line with nationalpolicies as clearly outlined in the Sixth MalaysiaPlan. Library information facilities and servicesshould respond to the National Policy on Library

Hak Cipta Terpelihara © 1994 – Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia


and Information Services, the National BookPolicy, the National Science and TechnologyPolicy, Industrial Technology Development Planto name a few. Social Science research activitiespresumably centre within the boundaries of theNational Development Policy. And presumablylibraries must cater for the needs of the socialscience researchers.

Development of Social Science Researchin Malaysia - a brief scenario

The development of social sciences in Malaysiawas coincidental with colonial rule. Thepatterns of research then had to be in accordancewith the demands of the colonial administrators.Researches that were carried out were notdirected to the development of the localpopulation but instead were dictated by the needsof the colonial set-up, to provide data andinformation about the peoples, their customs,languages and cultures which were consideredcrucial to efficient management. Problemsrelated to social change brought about by theBritish themselves were not addressed. Most ofthe writings and findings if not all, wereconducted by the administrators of the Britishcivil service.

In any case, researchers dedicated to socialscience research activities were scarce.Attachments to organizations or institutions forthe purpose of research was an unknown feature.This was acceptable as even education andtraining of social scientists at the time wasnoticeably absent. The first local university wasestablished only in 1949, namely the Universityof Malaya located in Singapore. It was perceivedas unimportant then that social science researchhad a role to play or that it was a basis for theformulation and implementation of policies.However, in the early years followingindependence and in the subsequent decades,there was a slight difference and developmentin the social science research activities. But the"research culture" that was to take shape wasundeniably a reflection of practices experienced

before independence hitherto inherited as anorm. The ideology of the colonial masters wasclearly seen in the theoretical and philosophicalsuppositions of researches conducted. Andwhatever built-in prejudices that were once inforce became difficult to change.

During the early years after independence,policy makers and bureaucrats alike were slowto realize the importance of the social sciencediscipline in national development. Science andtechnology were disciplines perceived asimportant to enhance development and if at allsocial science was considered, it was onlyeconomics. Although social science was taughtat university level, very little was done in termsof teaching research in social science, except tofulfill departments' graduation exerciserequirements. If there was any research donetowards development, it was either bygovernment or government-sponsoredorganizations.

There was a noticeable change however in theseventies with the establishment of moreuniversities, significantly the ScienceUniversity, Pulau Pinang and the NationalUniversity in Kuala Lumpur. The ScienceUniversity had full fledged disciplines in theirown rights. The Centre for Policy Researchwas established at USM which undertookresearches for both government and otheragencies. In a sense, researches were carriedout based on national needs, besides contributingto the academic development of social scienceteaching and research programs. It was the trendin the seventies therefore, that it was theuniversities rather than government that becamethe centre where researches were carried out.Activities grew in response to nationalisticdemands as well as the economic demand fortrained manpower.

Sources of Social Science Information

The scope of social science is very wide andvaried. Regardless of its stages of development



between the developed and developing countriesand regardless of its research orientation, socialscience plays a major role in fashioning societies.But research will remain research or study if thefindings are not utilized by those who needthem.

The objective of the Malaysian National Policyon Library and Information Services aims at theprovision and progressive improvement oflibrary facilities and services in order tocontribute effectively to national developmentand provide in particular, effective support for:

a. the policy formulation and decisionmaking process

b. planning, research and developmentactivity

c. the educational processd. the intellectual development of the

people, their economic activity and thefulfilment of their cultural andrecreational needs.

Libraries, particularly those in social scienceinstitutions should acquire all materials inwhatever format, be it monographs, serials,research reports microforms or other media tobe kept, managed and systematicallydocumented for easy access to those who needthem.

Under the provision of the Deposit of LibraryMaterials Act 1986, Perpustakaan NegaraMalaysia receives 5 copies of all publicationspublished in Malaysia, for the purpose ofpreservation and reference. Materials here aredesignated print as well as non-print.Perpustakaan Negara also acquires materialsthrough purchase, gifts and exchange.

In 1987 Perpustakaan Negara conducted a surveyto determine the subject strength of librarycollections. The result of this survey waspublished in the Panduan Kekukuhan KoleksiPerpustakaan which is the directory of libraryresources in Malaysia, indicating subject

coverage. Several libraries are identified as"social science" libraries. The purpose of thedirectory is to assist librarians and informationprofessionals identify the subject strength oflibraries for the purposes of resource sharing andinter-library loan. In the 1987 edition, 110libraries were listed. For the same purpose, thedirectory was updated in 1991 with an additional65 libraries/information centres listed. Simpleentries were provided indicating subject strength,availability of special collection, original formavailable for loan and materials not allowed forloan. To expedite inter-library loan, the nameof the person in-charge was also indicated. Inthe 1987 edition, out of the 110 libraries listed,it was found that 74 libraries contained socialscience colletions, while in the 1991 edition outof 175, there are 88 with social sciencecollections.

Most libraries publish reference tools in one formor another to disseminate information about theircollection. This may include the catalogue,bibliographies, indexes and abstracts. Forexample, to find out about materials publishedlocally, the Perpustakaan Negara Malaysiapublishes on a quarterly basis the MalaysianNational Bibliography. This is a listing of allmaterials received under the Deposit of LibraryMaterials Act 1986. For easy access of journalarticles, conference papers and newspaperarticles, the Perpustakaan Negara Malaysiapublishes the Malaysian Periodicals Index, theIndex to Conferences and the NewspaperIndex respectively. These bibliographic recordsare now available online to users. At the sametime, other libraries also undertake to informusers of their collections in the form of newacquisitions lists and selected subjectbibliographies. SDI and Current AwarenessServices are common practices amongstlibraries.

Use of Computers

The use of computers is now a common featureamongst Malaysian libraries. It is also an



accepted fact that libraries are using and willcontinue to use different systems. For example,there are now 9 libraries using VTLS (VirginiaTech Library System), 2 using DOBIS/L1BIS,12 using Dynix, 5 using Columbia LibrarySystem, 4 using SISPUKOM, 5 using TechLibnot discounting those using software such asCDS/ISIS. Regardless of the system used,bibliographic records are now accessible online.Some special libraries have also createddatabases, but on a more modest scale usingmicrocomputers.

In 1986. the Perpustakaan Negara Malaysiaconducted a survey, the results of which werepublished in the Directory of Databases: adirectory of institutional databases. Thisdirectory was an attempt to list databasesavailable in libraries in the public sector, thestatutory bodies as well as the private sector. Itwas an ambitions project, but it gave us an ideawhat was available. There were not manydatabases available, as computerisation was justcatching on in the public sector. And privatecompanies were not so ready to reveal what theyhad.

More specifically in 1992, the PerpustakaanNegara Malaysia undertook yet another surveyparticularly on social science databases. Thepurpose of this survey was to find out databasesavailable amongst the social science institutionsidentified and the results to be published in adirectory and distributed. 56 institutions wereidentified and questionnaire sent. To date, only17 responded.

The survey required names of databases,information about the type of database, i.e.whether they are catalogues, indexes, directories,statistics or others. The software applicationsand the hardware platform to run the applicationwere found to be useful features.

Resource Sharing and Document Delivery

The availability of databases online or manual

is important to libraries in terms of inter-libraryloan. In June 1989 the Document DeliverySystem was launched with the PerpustakaanNegara Malaysia as the coordinator. At the time,126 libraries signed the memorandum ofunderstanding whereby member libraries agreeto loan materials either in the original form orphotocopy to those who need them for theirusers. The Document Delivery System has beenexpedited with the use of the electronic mail,called TELEMA1L introduced by the SyarikatTelekom. On a trial basis, the DDS form hasbeen successfully built into TELEMAIL for usebetween the members. For libraries that do notyet own a microcomputer, but has a telefaxmachine, requests can be made through thetelafax, or at the very least the telephone, orthe ordinary postal service.

Other services available to researchers aredatabases on CD-ROM. Since 1988, thePerpustakaan Negara Malaysia has produced alist of CD-ROM databases available ininstitutions using the CD-ROM. This list isupdated quarterly and circulated to selectedlibraries and others on request.

The Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia and ahandful of university libraries, namely theUniversity Of Malaya, Agricultural Universityand the Science University subscribe toDIALOG, an international database, tosupplement research needs. DIALOG containsmore than 170 million records online, coveringa variety of subjects. Since the searches requiretelecommunication charges, users are chargeda minimal fee for every search done.

Social Science Information Network

Under the Sixth Malaysia Plan and futureMalaysia Five Year Plans, planning thenetworking of libraries will be undertaken andhas in fact already taken-off. A MalaysiaNational Bibliographic Network in now in theprocess under the distributed networkenvironment. This is taking into consideration



that libraries have now developed their owndatabases using different computer systems.

There is a plan to facilitate the development ofspecial libraries and specialised informationcentres in the ministries, Federal GovernmentDepartments, Research Institutions and privatecorporations to become specialised centres ofexcellence in related subject areas to form partof the national information system.

In the first phase of the networking plan, linkageswill be between libraries using the same softwareapplication. The date, the libraries at theMinistry of Trade and Industry and the NationalProductivity Centre already have access to thePerpustakaan Negara Malaysia databases, usingthe dial-up line via modem.

Although the first phase of the NationalBibliographic networking stipulated linkagesbetween similar system, Perpustakaan NegaraMalaysia entertains requests by non-VTLS usersto access its databases.

CONCLUSION

The National Development Policy formulatedby the Malaysian government aims to makeMalaysia become a fully developed nation bythe year 2020. To achieve this, there must be abalanced development in order to establish amore united and just society based on theprinciple of growth within the context of arapidly growing economy. Taking off from this,social scientists and researchers have a multitudeof tasks to fulfill if the aspirations of thegovernment are to be successfully met andachieved. And needless to say, in order tosupport this endeavor, libraries play a major rolein the development of the informationinfrastructure.

Currently, facilities and services for the purposeof social science researches are relativelyadequate in Malaysia, although these willcontinue to be developed and improved.



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