Towards a European Database for Asian Studies

By Paul van der Velde

In the pre-database era several directories and lists of Asian scholars were compiled along lines of regional specialization and sometimes per country. These directories were set up with different objectives in mind, generally suiting the needs of regional or disciplinary groups.
These directories have remained isolated attempts to gain an insight into the breadth of Asian Studies in a regional and or disciplinary perspective. Furthermore, the protracted production time meant that these directories were expensive and outdated before they were published. Also, in the majority of cases, these directories or lists were produced by scholars with virtually no administrative assistance. In most instances there was no follow-up. It is clear that the setting up of a database (directory) must be done in a European context by a professional organization which can provide a continuous follow-up or, as it was stated in the terms of reference of the ESF Committee for Advanced Asian Studies: "The directory will have to be made at a place with sufficient infrastructural facilities to cover the entire field and with a substantial secretarial input that can assure a regular flow of information."

The Database Project
The secretariat of the ESF Asia Committee is attached to the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden for a period of four years (1995-1999). Besides being available on Gopher, the IIAS has its own World Wide Web server [URL: http://www.iias.nl (as of July 1st)] which guarantees ready access to the future database on Asian Studies. Three phases of the project can be distinguished.

Phase 1: 1994 - 1995
The IIAS mailing and IIAS Guide to Asian Studies in the Netherlands.
As outlined above, the creation of directories or databases has been achieved in individual projects which have similarities but are quite divergent in nature. Therefore it is advisable to set up the European Database for Asian Studies [EDAS] from a basic level. This means that in the first phase of the setting up of the database basic data was collected including personal data, institutional affiliation, membership in organizations, disciplinary and, regional specialization.
A try-out along these lines, which consisted of a mailing to 650 Asianists, has been carried out in the Netherlands by the IIAS. The main difficulty in this mailing or mailings in general is to obtain a high return. The high return of the first mailing [50% of those mailed within one month] can be attributed to the fact that it takes a person less than 5 minutes to complete it. Furthermore, the respondents were promised the first IIAS Guide to Asian Studies in the Netherlands free of charge.
This Guide had been produced prior to the mailing on the basis of information material received from departments at universities and institutes in the field of Asian Studies. [The guide is divided into the sections: 'Universities', 'Institutes', 'Museums', and 'Newsletters' plus three indexes: on name, discipline, and region] At the back of the Guide is included a reply card which the respondent can fill out should the data pertaining to him or her be incorrect.
A second mailing to the non-respondents was then effected which had a response of an additional 15%, so that the total turnout now stands at 65%. Those who had not responded were approached by telephone. In this manner attained a score of 90%. Nevertheless it is still possible that we have not been able to detect all the Asian specialists. So scientists who have not yet completed the Questionnaire are requested please to fill out the one on this page. The second edition of the IIAS Guide to Asian Studies in the Netherlands will be published in June 1995. It provides the reader with a accurate picture of the scope of Asian Studies in the Netherlands. Future follow-ups will be done by telephone, guaranteeing an up-to-date database.

The Guide to Asian Studies in Europe
Following the Guide to Asian Studies in the Netherlands, a Guide will be compiled of Asian specialist in the whole of Europe. The IIAS sent out 11.000 Questionnaires in Newsletter 3. The return of this mailing was around 20%, so many scientist still have to be approached by phone. In this task the existing files of Asia Specialists will function as Guide-line. This file contains the addresses of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE), the European Association of Japanese Studies (EAJS), Excerpta Indonesica, list of South Asian Scholars in Europe and will be supplemented with the addressfiles of the European Association of Chinese Studies (EACS) and the European Association of Southeast Asian Studies (EUROSEAS) and other files.
The scholars of every European country in these lists will be contacted by phone, E-mail or fax. In a pilot project France has already been explored. This resulted in the Questionnaire information about 700 scientists in France. At first sight this may seem not to impressive but as we remarked many scientist have affiliations with different universities and institutes.
The organization of the information in the Guide to Asian Studies in Europe will be composed according to the example of the Guide to Asian Studies in the Netherlands. Which means an alphabetical listing:
a. of individuals;
b. according to regional specialization;
c. according to disciplinary specialization and;
d. of the institutes and departments at universities in the field of Asian Studies (general-Central-South-Southeast-East Asia etc.).
e. of Newsletters on Asia Studies.

Phase 2: 1995 - 1996
The information gathered in Phase 1 forms the basis of the European Database on Advanced Asian Studies. In Phase 2 data collection of a more specific nature will have to be effected. A new Questionnaire will be made that also cover departments at universities in the field of Asian Studies and institutes, drawing on the existing expertise of scholars in the field of Asian Studies who have previously been involved in either directories or databases. Once the contents of the Questionnaire has been decided upon, a mailing should be arranged using the same procedure as in phase 1.

Phase 3: 1996 -
Once all data have been collected they will be updated regularly by telephone or other means of communication (E-Mail etc.). The present state of Asian Studies in Europe will be reflected in the database. Access to this database through Gopher and the World Wide Web server [URL: http://www.iias.nl (as of July 1st)] which guarantees ready access to the database and will be free of charge as well as easy. Hard copies of the entire database or particular segments can be made available and on-line consultation should be possible from all European Institutes in the field of Asian Studies.