Starr News

Spring 2000

A very happy year of the Dragon from all of us in the C. V. Starr East Asian Library! 

In this spring issue we want to share updates on a variety of developments in the library, and inform you of new additions to our collection and services. We are particularly excited about the addition of a number of electronic products, and trust that many of you will share our enthusiasm on that front. As always, we recommend that you keep track of our website for the most up-to-date information about the library and its services. Our URL is:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/eastasian/index.html

DUPLICATE SALE

Mark your calendars, for it is that time of year again! This year we will be holding our annual duplicate sale on Thursday, March 30, in the afternoon and early evening, and on Friday, March 31, in the morning. Announcements will be posted closer to the actual sale date. In addition to materials in a variety of subjects from various different sources, this years sale will also include books donated by retired professor James Morley. The emphasis of these books is on social sciences, in particular political science. Also included is a substantial collection of material donated by retired professor James Nakamura. These materials are particularly strong on business and economics subjects. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your personal collection and pick up some good bargains. Prices will again be $1.00 for paperbacks and $2.00 for hardcovers, unless marked otherwise.

MAJOR GIFTS

Japanese Doll Collection 

In the past year, Starr received "The Pickens Family Japanese Doll Collection" from Mr. and Mrs. William Pickens III. The collection consists of nearly 60 traditional Japanese dolls in a variety of styles, and date for the most part from the late Meiji to the early to mid-Showa periods. The collection is currently on display in the Rare Book Reading Room and the Kress Seminar Room. The collection was donated in memory of Harriet I. Pickens, a paternal aunt, and in memory of Paul Robeson, the renowned scholar, artist, athlete, activist, and a maternal cousin of the Pickens family. The gift commerates as well the centennial of Paul Robeson's birth.

The Adachi Collection 

This past fall, Barbara Adachi, author of Backstage at Bunraku and The Voices and Hands of Bunraku, donated her sizable archive of photographs, slides, programs, tapes, and negatives to the Starr Library, at the suggestion of Professor Haruo Shirane. The collection, which documents in print, photographs, and recordings the history and productions of the modern bunraku theater, includes the performance texts and programs in Japanese and English, and will be an invaluable resource for the study of the postwar development of the Japanese puppet theater. Since the collection requires processing, it is not currently available; however in the future, access will be provided through a cross-indexed, illustrated online database, which will allow searching by any aspect of a performance: puppeteer, taiyu, play, playwright, date of performance, and so on. The value of the collection as a scholarly resource makes it a very exciting addition to Starr's holdings.

Korean Donations 

Starr has received a scroll of contemporary Korean calligraphy from Ms. Kim Myong-sil, current chair of the Kalmul Korean Calligraphy Association. Ms. Kim is the recipient of many awards from major Korean art competitions, and an active participant in many different calligraphic organizations. The Kalmul Korean Calligraphy Association has a membership of 500 female calligraphers and holds an annual exhibition of works in the Kungche style of calligraphy, which is the court style of writing the Korean script hangul, and the style of the scroll she donated to our library. It will soon be on display in the Kress seminar room.

The Daesan Foundation awarded Starr its Korean Book Grant, and Starr received a major set entitled Hanguk munjip chonggan, a 200-volume anthology of Korean literary prose works through 1900. From the Korea Foundation's Distribution by Request Program Starr received three CD-ROM publications, titled Annals of the Chosun Dynasty -- King Kojong-Sunjong (a supplement to the previously published Annals), Samguk Sagi, and Changjak kwa pipyong.

NEW ELECTRONIC DATABASES

Koryosa 

Koryosa (The History of Koryo), the most authoritative source for the history of the Koryo Kingdom (918-1392), has been developed as a CD-ROM database. The original Chinese-language version Koryosa, a 139-volume landmark history of the ancient kingdom, was published in the early Choson Dynasty and was completed in 1451. The CD-ROM/web version bases its texts on a North Korean translation done in 1966. The database is equipped with easy-to-use search engines, while providing 20,000 indexes classified thematically. Another characteristic of the Koryosa database is that the full text of the Chinese-language original is stored in the program so that the user can compare the Korean translation with the original whenever necessary. Access to the Koryosa database is now available through LibraryWeb as part of Columbia University Libraries' reference tools, at the URL:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/databases/2552377.html

Nikkei Telecom 21 

Nikkei Telecom 21 is a news and data service provided by Nihon Keizai Shimbun of Japan. It provides direct access to Nikkei's database, which contains a vast amount of information on Japanese economy, politics, and corporations. With one of its menus, you can search an archive of over 60 major newspapers and magazines published in Japan. Nikkei Telecom is now available in the East Asian Library from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon by appointment only. Please make an appointment with the Japanese Studies Librarian Mihoko Miki by phone at 854-1506, or by email at miki@columbia.edu. In case of Miki-san's absence contact Ria Koopmans-de Bruijn by phone at 854-1505 or by email at rkb7@columbia.edu.

Nichigai Web Service 

Nichigai provides access to Journal Index, 1981 to the present and Japanese Periodical Index (Zasshi Kiji Sakuin), 1985 to the present. These periodical indexes cover all fields in the humanities and social sciences. Japanese Periodical Index (Zasshi Kiji Sakuin) covers over 5,000 periodicals collected by the National Diet Library, contains over 2 million records, and is updated biweekly. Journal Index covers more than 1,300 popular Japanese journals, contains over 600,000 records, and is updated weekly. The Nichigai database is available through LibraryWeb. Its URL is:
http://www.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cul/resolve?ATR2496 

NetLibrary 

Though not of unique use to the East Asian Studies population, the Reference Tools & Indexes page of LibraryWeb now has a link to NetLibrary, a collection of over 10,000 online books in full-text from university and commercial publishers. The online books cover a wide range of subjects including art, business, computers, education, government, health, history, humanities, law, linguistics, literature, music, reference, science, technology, and are displayed with bibliographic data. The URL for the NetLibrary page is:
http://www.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cul/resolve?APX1061 

CHANGES

Kardex files will disappear 

In the fall issue of this newsletter we reported that all the Korean periodicals are now being checked in online in CLIO, instead of in the old, hard to read Kardex file. We are happy to announce that online check-in for Japanese periodicals is now also in place. This means that, for these two languages, the most up-to-date information on latest issues received is available in CLIO, and the old, now obsolete Kardex files are being removed from the reading room. Preparations are currently underway for the switch to online check-in for the Western-language periodicals as well. This should happen in the course of the spring term or early summer, after which we will focus our attention on the remaining Chinese periodicals.

Serials reorganization 

Until now, our current periodicals have been shelved alphabetically by title, with a portion of the titles shelved in some of the alcoves of the reading room, while the overflow is shelved on the mezzanine of the reading room. This spring we will start re-shelving the current periodicals in call number order and hope to consolidate all periodicals downstairs. Periodicals will be shelved in an upright position to save space, and they will be arranged in call number order, bringing together for the first time all related journals in a single area. It is expected that this new arrangement will accommodate more effective use of the collection and greater ease in locating periodicals. As is the case with bound volumes, find the call number for the desired title in CLIO, and then locate the periodical on the shelf. The division by language will remain in place. The first sections which will be re-arranged in this fashion are the Korean and Western-language periodicals.

ELECTRONIC SERVICES AND CHANGES

LibraryWeb Interactive Services 

We would like to call your attention to a number of services that could help you get and/or speed up access to materials you want. Services now available electronically through the Interactive option on the LibraryWeb menu include On order/in process requests and Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests, although we advise you to continue submitting your ILL requests for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean material on the paper forms in Starr. The URL for Interactive is:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/requestit/

Another option on the Interactive menu is BorrowDirect. BorrowDirect is a cooperative pilot project of the libraries of Columbia University, Yale University, and the University of Pennsylvania, through which you can directly search the catalogs of the participating libraries and electronically request materials not held by any of the Columbia Libraries. Check out the connect screen for BorrowDirect for complete information on eligibility, scope, restrictions, and more at:
http://www.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/cul/resolve?lweb0012

CLIO-Plus scope reduced 

As more and more databases migrate to the web, and fewer and fewer are available in telnet versions, preparations are being made to limit the scope of CLIO-Plus. In the near future the only services remaining on CLIO-Plus will be CLIO (the online catalog), the catalogs of the other Columbia and Columbia affiliated libraries, Eureka, and email. Those of you who "grew up" on CLIO-Plus and have not yet made the transition to LibraryWeb are strongly advised to start getting acquainted with it as quickly as possible. Our reference librarians will be happy to provide training sessions, either in groups or individually, for those who need it. Make sure to contact us with any questions you might have. Our contact information is appended below.

Primary Public Service Contacts:

Library Director: Amy V. Heinrich. 305M Kent. (212) 854-1508. heinrich@columbia.edu 

Access Services: Kenneth Harlin. 319M Kent. (212) 854-1501. harlin@columbia.edu 

East Asian Studies: Ria Koopmans-de Bruijn. 310 Kent. (212) 854-1505. rkb7@columbia.edu 

Chinese and Tibetan Studies: Frances LaFleur. 307M Kent. (212) 854-3721. lafleur@columbia.edu 

Japanese Studies: Mihoko Miki. 308M Kent. (212) 854-1506. miki@columbia.edu 

Korean Studies: HyoKyoung (HK) Lee. 310M Kent. (212) 854-1507. hl303@columbia.edu