ICCM '96 Session Notes

"20:21 Library--Where Do We Go From Here?"

Mark Patterson, Global Mapping International

In this session, we are going to look were 20:21 Library came from, where it is & where it will been going, especially discussing the main CD.

The name of the CD-ROM came from John 20:21. It has been part of a 2-year project in looking at how ministry leaders around the world process & use information. GMI's ministry focus is on ministries in the 2/3 world. The Library is moving more toward training & research.

GMI has 2 CDs: main (shotgun approach to mission information; an experiment) & mapping software (very targeted). The next release will be "African Proverbs," an extremely targeted CD. As well, most of the future releases will be more targeted. All the texts, maps, etc on the CDs can be used for presentations, etc.

The main CD contains is written using a library motif: virtual librarian, card catalogue, door to leave, etc. The six areas of the Library are written on "bookshelves" & they are bibliographies; directories; church & mission; religions; peoples, languages & cultures; & world, national & regional data.

The card catalogue is a list of entries you can search. There is a tag at end of each entry that describes what type of entry it is (hypertext, map or data). 2 examples:

1. Language Encyclopaedia gives various information on a subject: bible translation needs, ethnologue, Jesus film database, registry of peoples & languages, language mapping system, etc. It has a built-in table of contents. In the hypertext, one can search for any word in the text. For example, if you look under "Asia" country & click on Lebanon, it gives you the information listed above. It also has links to other separate data bases or pop-ups. The format is very similar to the Internet.
2. Union Bibliography includes Library of Congress, Justice & Mission, Bibliographies of Major North American Missiologists, etc. as they relate to missions. There may be 200Mb of information you could be looking at! When doing a search query, one can find every reference in which that word, name, etc. is located. It also has query templates to make searches easier & more specific. You can use a shadow file (equated to laying a transparency over a book to write on it but it does not change the actual book) to change items, set bookmarks, highlight an item, place a note, etc. As well, you can export a search into a word processor, etc. Does GMI plan to update the CDs? The CDs will go out of print in current form at end of 1996. Likely, GMI will have to update the information before printing it again; they *may* update it every 1-2 years, but they are not sure. GMI wants to know whether your organization would be interested in or could perhaps even be a partner in future CD-ROM projects, such as Islam & Mission, Holistic Relief & Development, Peoples & Languages, Africa, India, & others. As well, it wants to know what you are interested in:
   1. Christian colleges have a broad range of needs. It would need to be put on server or a dedicated PC. APM/ASM.
   2. Peoples profiles.
   3. Languages & versions of the Bibles.