this mecca we call kansas: internationalisation and localisation of library systems interfaces

This Mecca We Call Kansas:This Mecca We Call Kansas:

Internationalisation

and Localisation of

Library Systems

Interfaces

Susan M. JohnsSusan M. Johns1999 CULS Conference1999 CULS Conference

Pittsburg State University

Axe Library

Pittsburg KS USA

[email protected]

February 6

April 12

April 23

May 17

July 10

Cross-Cultural Cross-Cultural CommunicationCommunication

Develop user interfaces for products with a global market

When outsourcing to other countries, we work and communicate with people we have never met in person

Work culture values and views differ from our own

““Sundials perform as clocks in Sundials perform as clocks in sunny climates -- they are moresunny climates -- they are moreuseful in Phoenix than in Bostonuseful in Phoenix than in Bostonand of no use at all during theand of no use at all during theArctic winter.”Arctic winter.”

Herbert Simon, The Sciences of the Herbert Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial, MIT Press, 1981Artificial, MIT Press, 1981

The Tale of Three Interfaces The Tale of Three Interfaces (Nakakoji, 1996)(Nakakoji, 1996)

There are no generic cultural guidelines Issues cannot be solved by using generalized

characterizations of user populations, and ... Unless representations are mathematical, there

is always a risk of misunderstanding in human communication, and...

The Tale of Three Interfaces The Tale of Three Interfaces (Nakakoji, 1996)(Nakakoji, 1996)

Do users know what they want? Do users recognize what they have

designed (or requested)? Is the user the best indicator the vendor

has for developing the best design?

““Don’t boil the ocean.”Don’t boil the ocean.”

Malcolm Frank, Malcolm Frank, Be Quick or Be Dead, Be Quick or Be Dead, Software Magazine, March 1997Software Magazine, March 1997

The International NeedThe International Need

Customers want systems that use their own language and meet their own cultural conventions

Some countries require products to reflect their culture and language

Internationally competitive companies must consider cultural preferences of their customers

PeopleSoft Goes GlobalPeopleSoft Goes Global

Global customers have more in common than differences

Vendor must understand what is different and what is similar

Everybody (vendors) is “Embarking”

What is InternationalisationWhat is Internationalisation

The process of providing a computer system that handles a variety of language, country, and cultural conventions

Internationalisation (I18N)Internationalisation (I18N)

Eliminate cultural specifics Design culture-independent user

information and interfaces

User InformationUser Information

User Manuals Error Messages

Menu Labels Sound Messages

GraphicalRepresentations

Icons

What is LocalisationWhat is Localisation

A locale is an operating system database of language and country conventions

Developing software to support multiple locales

Localisation (L10N)Localisation (L10N)

Localisation of product for each user culture

Language, date and number formats Graphical representations/icons Color Physical flow of objects

System I18NSystem I18N

Uses multilingual products instead of monolingual or bilingual products

Allows switching between different locales and languages

Provides software that meets international standards

System I18N ChallengesSystem I18N Challenges

Treat English as just another language Use one program source for all

languages to reduce costs for maintenance and documentation


Plan for extra disk space needed. To save space, ship only the languages purchased by a customer

What is the delay from when the package is available in the vendor’s local country to when it is available in other languages?


Monitor acronyms and mnemonics for negative meanings in different languages

Understand differences among U.S., British, and global English

Be aware of different dialects in the same language


Use care when sorting lists Use numeric indexes instead of sorted

alphabetic indexes whenever possible Keep illustrations, tables, and figures

simple Verify translations back into English

Standards and the World of Standards and the World of Uni- and Zed-Uni- and Zed-

Unicode UNIMARC Z 39.50 Z 39.69 Z 39.70 Zzzzz...

History of UnicodeHistory of Unicode

ASCII, a “U.S.” Standard (ISO 646) DBCS - double byte character system

(some chars 1 byte, some 2 bytes) Unicode - all chars 2 bytes (16 bits)

History of UnicodeHistory of Unicode

Unicode is a subset of ISO 10646, as are ASCII and Latin-1 (8-bit ASCII)

Unicode eliminates duplicate Han characters in Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK)

ISO 10646 stores chars in 4 bytes; Unicode stores chars in 2 bytes

Unicode ProblemsUnicode Problems

Universal standards for dates, measurements, and money

Simplified encoding of Chinese characters does not depict “classical” Chinese

Storage (twice as much?) Transmissions (twice as long?)

UNIMARC DefinitionUNIMARC Definition

implementation of ISO 2709 for the structure of records containing bibliographic data

intended to be a carrier format for exchange purposes

does not stipulate form, content, or record structure of data *within* individual systems

UNIMARC ProblemsUNIMARC Problems

Software developers must rewrite their existing software

the existing MARC formats use a unique definition of extended ASCII

How do you convert 40 million MARC records without anyone noticing?

UNIMARC BenefitsUNIMARC Benefits

Allows addition of foreign titles without transliterating the data

Users able to search library catalogs in all languages rather than just by call number or ISBN

Assumes software/virtual keyboards and other input devices needed to generate the CJK characters

Sorting and Conditional Sorting and Conditional FormattingFormatting

English: A-Z, a-z German: Characters with an umlaut sort

directly after characters without an umlaut

Swedish: Ö sorts last in the alphabet after Z

Spanish: double characters (ll and ch) that sort as single characters

Other IssuesOther Issues

Upper and lower case, subtract 32 no more!

Wild card symbols in search/find boxes Hyphenation of long words and word

breaks Gender in language Tense and case

Message CatalogsMessage Catalogs

Files used to store program input and output strings

All program strings used interactively by the user should be contained in one or more message catalogs

Messages stored in database locales Makes messages more customizable

Menu SpaceMenu Space

30-200% extra space depending on the number of English characters

Ex: “Preferences” translates “Bilschirmeinstellungen”

Boxes should be self-sizing and movable

Conventions and Format Conventions and Format DifferencesDifferences

Dates: May 12, 1959 is– 12/5/59 5/12/59 1959-05-12

Calendars: Gregorian, Hebrew, Islamic, Japanese Imperial Era

Times: 8:32 p.m. is– 20:32 20,32,00 20.32 KI 20.32

Conventions and Format Conventions and Format DifferencesDifferences

Numbers: – 3,912.45 3.912,45 3 912,45

Currency: – $2,456.78 2,456,78 DM 2.456$78– Don’t forget £ and ¥– Paper sizes: A3, A4, A5, JIS-B4 JIS-B5

Punctuation : << >> ; ¡ ¿

IconsIcons

Trashcan icon can look like a postal box in Britain

If you use books, make sure they open in the proper direction for the target market

Email icon of a rural post box with a red flag has no meaning outside rural America

IconsIcons

Colors within icons may be culturally insensitive

Try not to use text: think in terms of international driving symbols

Think: what is the symbol for ISBN other than ISBN?

Formats for PatronsFormats for PatronsZ39.69 and Z39.70Z39.69 and Z39.70

NISO standards for patron personal data and patron transaction data

I18N and L10N aspects of patron data need to be considered

Not limited to address, postal code, phone, ID, and confidentiality issues around the world

Serial ImplicationsSerial Implications

Summer and Winter require different checkin patterns for Southern Hemisphere; where the volume starts

Vendor information needs to correctly identify currency and diacritically correct mailing information

Donations: how to begin to represent CJK subscriptions and show access?

Acquisition ImplicationsAcquisition Implications

Currency - ability to pay an invoice with multiple types of currency depending both on publisher and on funding source

Currency - need more than two digits to the right of the decimal

Diacritically correct vendor names Shipping addresses meeting multiple

country postal format regulations

Acquisition ImplicationsAcquisition Implications

Ability to assess VAT (UK) and GST (Australia), particularly at the voucher level

Exchange rate verified on a daily basis and indicated as such

Circulation ImplicationsCirculation Implications

Patron names diacritcally correct Telecirc pronunciations phonetically

correct Ability to pay fines and fees in multiple

currencies Due dates/due times in multiple formats Acceptance of ID digitized photos as part

of patron record

Cataloging ImplicationsCataloging Implications

UNIMARC accessibility in all indexes Ability to edit all diacritics with keyboard

or pen input (CJK) Ability to load multiple UNIMARC

formats with minimal impact on profiles Ability to retro diacritics back into

records which no longer have them


Subject terms are not just “alternatives”, but equivalents (i.e., Railroads is US-speak for Railways)

Frames of reference regarding name formats (the English student will use J.I.M. Stewart to find Michael Innes; the detective will go the other way round)


AACR3? Off-standard data which has the option

to remain separate from standardised databases like OCLC, ABN, etc.

Global mapping from cross references would allow local choice of headings over incoming catalogue copy from non-local sources


There is more than one National Library in the World

Public Access ImplicationsPublic Access Implications

Ability to search in given language Ability to see diacritically correct records Ability to sort and alphabetize correctly

based on language specifics Ability to view functional interface and

help in alternate languages on demand Find THE Journal or Bulletin in your

catalog?

Management IssuesManagement Issues

Disk space and language of delivery Transmission and emulation issues Printer setup issues for reports and

notices Statistical requirements Performance compliance (ISO 9000) Alas, standards DO change from time to

time

Management IssuesManagement Issues

Determine the type of ENG : AUS, UK, CAN, US

Date formats adjustable, not just in the dictionaries but in the interfaces

Postal code formats International dialing code formats

Other Semantic IssuesOther Semantic Issues

Are we borrowers, patrons, or clients? What does the word hold mean? What does the world reserve mean? Is it stock or material? What’s a green screen? A Terminal? A

PC? A Workstation?

Can you say...Can you say...

“Thank you for coming” in more than one language?

this mecca we call kansas: internationalisation and localisation of library systems interfaces

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