Guide to introduction to ASIST Information Management System ASIST Document collection Priority sectors Other sectors Types of documents Technical

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1 Guide to introduction to ASIST Information Management System Prepared by Angela Kabiru, Information Services Coordinator, ASIST Nairobi, Updated January 1998 ASIST Document collection ASIST actively identifies and collects published and unpublished documents on or related to labour based technology for rural and urban infrastructure development. Priority sectors within ASIST mandate: rural road construction and maintenance; urban infrastructure development (low-income settlement infrastructure upgrading, i.e., roads, drainage, solid waste management, water supply and sanitation); rural transport and accessibility. Other sectors - irrigation, soil and environmental conservation and protection. Types of documents 1. Technical:- Reports, manuals and briefs; project reports and documents; research and study reports; policy reports and studies; technical drawings and specifications; proceedings; journals and journal articles; bulletins and newsletters 2. Internal/Administrative - Mission reports, minutes, aide memories; administrative guidelines and procedures Primary Information Sources Catalogues either electronic or in-print are collected from the primary information providers. Key information providers: ILO, Switzerland; World Bank, USA; Habitat, Kenya; Intermediate Technology Publications, UK; Transport Research Laboratory, UK; TOOL. The Netherlands; WEDC, The Netherlands Selection and identification aids Bibliographies and catalogues from the above and various other institutions. Staff members recommendations. Browsing the Internet - WWW. Reference lists of available documents. Ordering and acquisition Performed quarterly from the key publishers and as required from others. Deposit accounts have been set up with key information providers, Intermediate Technology Publications, UK; Transport Research Laboratory, UK; ILO, Switzerland Publications Agent: Blackwell s, UK

2 Document processing A bibliographic database is maintained using Excel 5.0 of all documents held in Nairobi and Harare offices referred to as BIBLIST. List of fields found in the ASISTDOC/BIBLDOC see the Notes for ASISTDOC bibliographic data entry also found in the ASISTDOC/BIBLDOC user manual. Data entry - In Excel according to data entry notes. The database is converted into an Idealist read-only database for distribution on a quarterly basis. BIBLDOC - the read-only version for internal distribution. Contains all the fields of BIBLIST. ASISTDOC - the read-only version for commercial distribution (price US$15.00). Contains only a section of the fields of BIBLIST. Conversion procedures according to manual. Accessioning and Indexing (see Notes for ASISTDOC Bibliographic Data Entry (Updated August 1997) Accessioning is done according to subject/country categories. Blocks of numbers are assigned to different subject areas and countries, as well as to geographical regions. The accession number blocks are found in ASISTDOC/BIBLDOC user manual. General rule of thumb - Items should be accessioned on a country basis, i.e., based on the specific country referred to. And by subject for general noncountry specific documents. This is left to the discretion of the Information Officer. Format for number should be as follows: MFN accession number/location code, e.g., MFN 00058/NBI. A label with the accession number should be place on the top left corner of the document. Indexing is performed on two levels: 1. Subject categories - terms selected to reflect the broad subject area(s), country(ies) and geographical region referred to. 2. Keywords - should be specific and more narrowly defined descriptors of the subject(s) covered. Thesaurus of subject areas and keywords is under development. An updated list of subject areas used is attached. Harare should copy all significant reports to Nairobi and vise versa. Shelving According to accession numbers (call numbers). Duplicates should be kept with the original documents. Abstracting Currently abstracts are not available on the bibliographic database due to field length restrictions found in Excel. Abstracting of all key technical documents for inclusion onto the database carried out on a continuous basis. Database editing and duplicate removal Duplicate records and typing/spelling errors should be removed/corrected on an ongoing basis.

3 The date modified on and modified by MUST be revised every time a record is modified. ASIST Publishing Technical briefs Information culled and synthesised from other sources to meet target audience needs produced by experts. ASIST bulletin Produced bi-annually. Contains thematic articles plus regional news, and book reviews. Publications catalogue Updated annually comprises key labour based technology publications. Regional proceedings Proceedings and papers of the annual ASIST regional seminar for practitioners in labour based technology are compiled and published annually. Technical Enquiry Service (TES) Service to respond to enquiries for technical information on labour based technology received. Distributes material on a cost-recovery basis. TES processing and tracking procedures - An enquiry form is used to record all enquiries received and to track actions taken. A computerised TES register is maintained in Excel 5.0 for management reporting and control. (see Fields used for the technical enquiry register appended) Each enquiry is catalogued according to the origin, type of enquiry, details of the enquiry, subject area. See the appended list of the type of enquiry coses and subject areas used. Procedures for processing Technical Enquiries 1. Start a new TES Enquiry Form for every enquiry received. (see Enquiry form attached) Enter the enquiry details into the TESREG (database of the TES register in Excel: see Fields used for the technical enquiry register appended) 2. Accession the forms numerically in ascending order as they arrive, i.e., 1,2,3, etc. Indicate this number on the TES Enquiry Form in the top right hand order. 3. Refer to list of subject areas used for the TES register. 4. Process the enquiry as required - this may involve taking the following actions: Seek the information (documents or advise or contact) requested Prepare an invoice if required (invoice should include and the costs of the documents as well as the cost of delivery using various options, i.e., surface mail, airmail or DHL). Use the rates provided by the post office and DHL. (see Invoice forms appended) Send response with invoice if necessary Upon receipt of payment, send documents 5. Record all actions taken in processing the enquiry on the back side of the form, include the date of action. Update the register as required. Send copy of register file weekly to Nairobi via CONTACTS Database

4 Database of practitioners, projects, programmes, institutions, organisations, development agencies, donors, and others involved in labour based technology. Also includes suppliers and manufacturers of various goods and services related to labour based technology. Provides a basis for the derivation of various mailing lists to suit different purposes, e.g., for the distribution of the ASIST bulletin or training course announcements, etc. Maintained using Excel 5.0 in Nairobi and converted to Idealist for the production of a read-only version distributed quarterly to ASIST staff, POL/DEV and EAMAT and SAMAT. A registration form (appended) is used to gather contacts details

5 Subject area categories A Agriculture Appropriate technology Choice of technology B Bibliography C Communication Computer model Construction management Construction technology Contractor training Cost-benefit analysis Curriculum development D Design Drainage E Economic development Employment Engineering Equipment Evaluation F Financial aspects Forestry G Geology Geophysics H Health issues I Information management Intermediate means of transport Irrigation I Labour Labour supply Labour-based technology Local resource utilisation M Management information systems Motorised transport N Natural resource management Non-motorised transport P Participatory planning Policy issues Project administration Animal traction Civil engineering Community based infrastructure development Construction industry Construction materials Contracting Contractors Country names Demography Developing countries Economic aspects Economic reform Engineer training Environmental issues Foreman training Gender issues Informal sector Information technology Labour productivity Labour-based roadworks Light equipment Management development Monitoring Natural energy Planning Poverty alleviation Project evaluation

6 R Research and development Road appraisal Road maintenance Road performance Road safety Roads Rural development Rural infrastructure development Rural transport S Sanitation Skills training Socio-economics Soil mechanics Solid waste management Standards Structures Supervisory training T Technical aspects Technician training Training Training methods Training of trainers Transport sector U Urban development Urban roads W Wage rates Water supply Road administration Road construction Road organisation Road rehabilitation Road sector Rural accessibility Rural infrastructure Rural roads Rural travel Shelter provision Social development Soil conservation Soils Specifications Statistics Sub-Saharan Africa Surveying Technical cooperation Tools Training institutions Training needs Training techniques Transport planning Urban infrastructure development Urban transport

7 Accession number blocks Categories Description Nairobi Nairobi Harare General road sector Training & management Irrigation & agriculture Computers Admin Journals DJM Desktop publishing Bibliographic catalogues Urban infrastructure development Rural development Rural transport Miscellaneous General roads sector Training Employment and Labour law and policy Gender issues Journals Administration Research Videos Computers Training Benin Botswana Chad Ethiopia Eritrea Gambia Ghana Kenya Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mozambique Namibia Sierra Leone South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zaire Zimbabwe Africa General Asia Latin America North America & Europe & Australia International Organizations

8 Procedure for weekly/monthly update of BIBLIST.XLS (Excel file) Weekly Harare 1. Filter out all records updated during the course of the week. 2. Save the extract as a separate file. Use the date as the file name, e.g., Jun- 6.xls, and so on. 3. Send the file via as an attached file every Friday. Nairobi 1. Open the extract file received from Harare in Excel. 2. Append the file to the BIBLIST.XLS file. 3. Sort BIBLIST.XLS by accession number. 4. Check for duplicate records or numbers. 5. Delete duplicates, re-accession records as necessary. Monthly Harare 1. Receive the current updated version of BIBLIST.XLS from Nairobi. Nairobi 1. Send current BIBLIST.XLS (zipped) to Harare via as an attached file.