From Environmental Impact Assessments to comprehensive topical reports to briefings, announcements, and magazines, the ODC library is remarkable for its diversity and comprehensiveness in resources. With nearly 1,100 print and digital articles, reports, and other documents cataloged, the ODC library is no small component to the ODC website. Searchable in both English and Khmer, the library ensures researchers and the general public have access to up-to-date development information in Cambodia. Many resources are available online, for free.
Library Overview
The ODC Library features both print and digital resources. Over 350 of the resources are digital and available for download. The library features an online catalog that helps you search our digital and print collections. The catalog is accessible through the ODC website. The library catalog can be both searched and browsed by author, title, and keyword. Additional methods information retrieval will be supported in the future.
English and Khmer resources include reports, articles, assessments, announcements, speeches, theses, essays, book chapters, briefings, abstracts, and other development-related documents. Sources of these documents include NGOs, the Cambodian Royal Government, foreign governments, independent researchers, academic institutions, international organizations, banks, corporations, and journals and magazines. The ODC Library is constantly growing in both its print and digital library collections, and it aims to assist research efforts related to development in Cambodia and Southeast Asia.
Why a Library?
ODC recognizes the value of information storage and information access in the 21st century. The many challenges of discovering high quality information in a world of information overload make the library’s value limitless. For some researchers, the library can be a helpful tool for discovering new information and confirming ideas. For other researchers, the library and its documents offer insights into development in Cambodia that would otherwise go unnoticed. Like ODC’s maps and briefings, the library is just one of ODC’s tools that will aid the information seeking process and solidify research.
ODC Alignment
The topical information of resources within the library are selected based on the thematic goals of ODC. The overall goal of the library is to assist researchers and seekers of development information in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Ultimately the resources within the library will be linked to other resources on the ODC website using metadata and the website’s content taxonomy.
Accessing Collections
Our digital catalog is:
Free
Online
Accessible
Descriptive
Searchable
Browseable
Growing
Persistent
ODC has a physical collection and a digital collection. At this time ODC’s physical library is not open to the public, but we intend to make the physical collection available in the near future. You can visit the ODC library catalog and from any computer with Internet access. Digital documents in our library are not restrictive and do not require money to access.
The library catalog is expanded through resource acquisition on a regular basis. All visitors can discover new documents by visiting the Recent Additions page. Please note that native Khmer resources are cataloged in Khmer and English resources in English. We are constantly translating metadata from Khmer into English and from English to Khmer.
History
In September, 2013, University of Washington MLIS Candidate Greg Bem began an information management internship at ODC, focusing on refining, revising, and enhancing the digital library. From components of web design to catalog editorial work, and even the occasional social media campaigning, Greg focused his efforts on improving what already existed within the library.
Please check back soon for an overview of the early days of the library.
Current Projects
ODC is currently undergoing extensive revisions to the pre-existing records in the catalog, and continues to seek out new resources to add to the library.
The Catalog
Library staff are revising the entire catalog and all of its entries to improve editorial consistency, to synchronize the library with other components of the site, and to meet MARC standards. Additional catalog optimizations include: metadata actively translated into Khmer, geo-tagging implementation, and taxonomical categorization to ensure library resources are aligned with the rest of the ODC website.
Design
The online library catalog is also going through numerous design improvements. Using user experience (UX) guidelines, the library is being formatted and tweaked to make the search process easy and enjoyable for all users. Additionally, sub-pages are being created and added to the site to assist researchers and other visitors in the search process. Other current library goals include community outreach and social media promotion.
Future Projects
The goals and potential projects for the ODC library include collecting additional resources, reviewing the current print collection to ensure each resource has been cataloged, monitoring traffic analytics and access points for the library, and establishing substantial relationships with other information providers to sync collections.
ODC is considering implementing a systematic resource submission process to provide a more consistent inflow of new resources. As ODC grows its user base, researchers of all types may (or will) be able to contribute to the library.
A “discovery layer” for the library and the site as a whole is also currently being considered. A discovery layer is a search algorithm that works on top of the basic search functionality of the site to allow searching internal and external resources more fluidly. This platform supplement would allow for advanced, taxonomical searching across the entire website and would include discovery of library resources.
Collection Development and Resource Selection Policy
ODC is currently focusing on resources published and research conducted within the past two years. While older resources may be considered, contemporary resources are preferred. If a resource is already hosted online through an external site, such as the website of the author or publisher.
The ODC library and editorial teams are responsible for reviewing all resources to be added to the library collections. While ODC operates openly, we understand the importance of high quality information. A physical or digital document submitted to ODC for consideration to the library will be reviewed for integrity, relevance, and accuracy.
ODC respects intellectual property rights and all documents we make available must be freely available to the public. Documents must either be in the public domain, described as shareable by author and publisher, and/or licensed under Creative Commons to ensure distribution is legal.
Creative Commons, Public Domain, and Open Access
As a component of the overall ODC project, the library aims to provide free, open information to the public in an easy manner. The ODC library, as with ODC as a whole, believes in open data, open access (OA), and the open knowledge movement to support all information sharing. Resources collected and made digitally accessible through the library are in the public domain, or are made freely available to the public from the original creator, in some cases under a Creative Commons license. By creating a resource center of freely available documents, ODC encourages free research and knowledge discovery for everyone.
If you discover a resource within the library that is no longer available for free, please let us know. For more information on Open Knowledge, visit the Open Knowledge Foundation. For information on Open Data, read the Open Data Handbook. This Wikipedia entry provides a good introduction to Open Access (OA).
Community
As a space for information exchange, ODC’s library is not an information silo: it does not work to keep information hidden or unshareable. ODC relies upon countless publishers and authors for their contributions to scholarship on development (and other relevant topics) in Cambodia. ODC encourages conversation and interaction between stakeholders, researchers, and anyone interested in common topical interests. ODC is also a proud member of the Cambodia Library Association, which supports