The German-North American Resources Partnership (GNARP) is one of the working projects of the Global Resources Network. Originally known as the German Demonstration Project, it was renamed in the summer of 1998 to reflect its establishment as a long-term project focusing on improving the effective acquisition, sharing, and use of German-language materials among North American libraries, in addition to fostering closer collaboration with German research libraries. Currently there are about 40 participating ARL libraries and six German strategic partners. The Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen has provided special support in coordinating activities between participating ARL libraries and the Project's German partners.
As with the other projects in the Global Resources Network, GNARP faces unique challenges in acquiring research material for North American libraries. Continuing a tradition that goes back to the founding of the modern university in Göttingen in the 18th century, German scholarly production is both prolific and international in significance. In a number of disciplines, such as archeology, biblical studies, ancient history, linguistics, philosophy, and music, a familiarity with the respective German research is considered a prerequisite to mastering the scholarship of these fields. As a nation of critical and demanding readers, Germany publishes more new titles of books annually than in the US (even though Germany's population is less than a third than that of the US). Though the system of German publishing is well-organized, the sheer output of valuable scholarly material creates special demands on North American research libraries that attempt to adequately collect the published research emanating from German-speaking countries.
Over the past 20 years collection development budgets have not been able to keep pace with the growth in German-language scholarship. Compounded with the high inflation rate for German books, as well as a strong German mark in international exchange, North American libraries have been faced with serious cuts in collection levels for German-language materials. Even the larger North American research libraries have recognized that systematically collecting German-language materials in the various academic disciplines has become virtually impossible, both financially and in terms of administering a comprehensive collection development policy. With the growing effectiveness of interlibrary loan, libraries de facto have come to rely on this means for satisfying patron needs for scholarly material.
For these reasons the Global Resources Network decided in 1992 to include German-language research materials as one of its areas of focus. Fully embracing the promise of emerging technologies, as well as the need to promote more effective sharing and cooperation among libraries, the goal of the Network is to create interdependent structures in shifting collection development policies. Involving a move from ownership-oriented to access-oriented policies, the intent is to help libraries maximize their long-term investment in German-language scholarship. In shifting the focus to access, libraries can then engage a portion of their resources to provide effective tools for searching and identifying needed materials in a given universe of resources, as well as in developing mechanisms for delivery.
With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, German and North American librarians from participating institutions met in summer 1998 at the Library of Congress to develop goals and long-term plans for the project. The meeting inaugurated a one-year effort focused on improving access to research materials among participating libraries, designing German and North American digital collection development agreements, and facilitating document delivery. Dr. Elmar Mittler of the Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek helped to direct the project in Germany. The funding from the A.W. Mellon Foundation encouraged the development of American and German digital collection development agreements, stimulated improved document delivery, and resulted in a report on the means to improve access to German digital material and Internet publications.
Based on the recommendations of this meeting, the project established four working groups: I) Document Delivery; 2) Bibliographic Control; 3) Digital Libraries, and 4) Collection Development. The goals of all four groups, which are composed of librarians from participating institutions, is to make full use of new technologies in exploring and developing the means for effective collaboration and resource sharing. The action agenda includes creating a formal system of document delivery between German and North American libraries, harmonizing cataloging rules, coordinating standards for metadata development, providing collection development tools, fostering collaborative digital library projects, and in providing knowledge resources through studies and reports pertinent to national-level collection development practices.
During this period of reorganization (until July 1999) the Project was co- chaired by Sarah Thomas of Cornell University and Winston Tabb of the Library of Congress. Project Coordinator was Roger Brisson of the Pennsylvania State University. In addition to facilitating the development of Project initiatives, the project coordinator also served as liaison to colleagues in German research libraries who have become strategic partners in the project. During this year of reorganization over 35 ARL libraries signed on with the project.
For more information, please see the GNARP issues of the Global Resources Newsletter: Spring 2005 and Winter 2005/2006.
