eHRAF Collection of Ethnography
....an overview of the database and member services information

written by Christiane Cunnar, Member Services

Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at Yale University
updated December 15, 2003

The following is information for setting up or updating the eHRAF Collection of Ethnography database link at your library and it is a review of HRAF's member services:

#1. A History of the HRAF Collection of Ethnography
#2. Human Relations Area Files (HRAF)
#3. HRAF Database Set-up and Update Information
#4. The Importance of the OCM Index & Search System
#5. Online eHRAF User Guide
#6. Teaching eHRAF  
#7. eHRAF Phone Training Session
#8. OCLC Catalog Records for eHRAF
#9. HRAF Member Services

#1. A History of the HRAF Collection of Ethnography
The HRAF Collection of Ethnography collection began to be built in 1949 in paper. From the 1950s until 1993, the annual installments of the HRAF Collection of Ethnography were distributed on microfiche. In 1993, with installment 42, microfiche production ended. Materials since 1994 (as well as retrospective conversions and updates of existing materials) are available in electronic form only (CD-ROM installments 43-49 & Web installments 43-current). Cultures in the microfiche and electronic versions are not covered in the same ways; the electronic versions include more recent source materials and not all the older sources are retained. 

As of January 2004, the entire HRAF Collection of Ethnography (paper, microfiche, & Web combined) contains nearly 400 cultures and over one million pages. However, the electronic eHRAF Collection of Ethnography, available on the Web since 1997, is a subset of the entire collection and, as of January 2004, contains ca. 137 cultures and over 350,000 pages of indexed ethnographic information. In the spring of each year, 10 to 15 cultures and 40,000 pages (converted from microfiche plus new material) are added to this growing cross-cultural database.

#2. Human Relations Area Files (HRAF)
The eHRAF Collection of Ethnography database is produced by Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at Yale University. HRAF is a not-for-profit membership consortium of over 300 educational and research institutions in 30 countries. The mission of HRAF is to encourage and facilitate worldwide and other comparative studies of human behavior, society, and culture. 

We provide unlimited on and off-campus access to eHRAF for its member institutions. If your institution does not have a proxy server, please contact HRAF technical support (see contact info below), for setting up an institutional password.

HRAF is proud that the eHRAF Collection of Ethnography has been selected by CHOICE as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2004. CHOICE is a subdivision of the American Library Association (ALA)/Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL).

#3. HRAF Database Set-Up and Update Information
Please use the following information for setting up or updating the eHRAF database information on your library web site. Any text you see on this web site can be copied and used for your convenience. Because the URLs and PDF file, highlighted in yellow, are outside the eHRAF database domain, it is recommended that you list them in association with the eHRAF database on your library web page (e.g. in an “About” or “Information” link).

3.1. Name of Database and URL Location:
eHRAF Collection of Ethnography (http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/e/ehrafe) 

3.2. Subject Areas (short): 
Anthropology. Social Sciences. Sociology. Humanities. Medicine. 

3.3. Subject Areas (long): 
Cultural and Social Anthropology. Demography. Ethnography. Folklore (emphasis on non-Western literature). Linguistics. Material Culture. Ethnomedicine. Ethnobotany. Nursing. History. Museum Studies. Political Anthropology. Sociology. Anthropology of Art. Religious Studies. 

3.4. Format:
Full Text Database with free-text searching capability at the paragraph and chapter-title level.

3.5. Dates of Coverage:
Historical to present.

3.6. Update Schedule:
In the spring of every year 10 to15 new cultures and about 40,000 pages of indexed ethnographic materials are added to this growing database.

3.7. Documents Indexed:
Books, dissertations, journal articles, monographs, illustrations and graphics.

3.8. Short Description:
The eHRAF Collection of Ethnography is a unique cross-cultural database with full-text ethnographies that are subject-indexed at the paragraph-level for precise retrieval of information on all aspects of cultural and social life. These materials are relevant to the various social science disciplines as well as the humanities and health sciences.

3.9. Long Description:
The eHRAF Collection of Ethnography is a cross-cultural database containing descriptive information on cultures and ethnic groups of the world. eHRAF is unique because each culture contains a variety of source documents (books, articles, and dissertations) that have been indexed and organized according to HRAF's comprehensive culture and subject classification systems: the Outline of World Cultures (OWC), and the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM). These retrieval systems extend search capability well beyond keyword searching, allowing for precise culture and subject retrieval, even in a foreign language. As a multicultural database, eHRAF appeals to many academic disciplines in the social sciences, humanities, medicine, and any other area with an interest in cultural diversity.

3.10 Features and Benefits:

**Brief overviews of cultures covering topics such as demography, economy, social organization and more. 

**Users can browse a single culture or conduct cross-cultural research within regions or throughout the world. 

**Students learn about cultural similarities and differences, about customs and ethnic beliefs of groups all over the world, including US and Canadian immigrants and Native North Americans.

**eHRAF includes ethnohistories as well as recent ethnographies, thus allowing for the fullest coverage of a culture. 

**eHRAF serves as an excellent research and teaching tool for cross-cultural studies.

**Distance learning tool.

**Ideal for interdisciplinary studies.

#4. The Importance of the OCM Index & Search System
Maybe the most important aspect of the eHRAF database is its OCM index and search system. Each and every paragraph in eHRAF is indexed with 3- and 4- digit OCM subject codes that identify the content of a paragraph. Therefore, using an OCM, rather than a keyword, in a search enables the user to search eHRAF more effectively and retrieve more valuable ethnographic information. For example, the user searching for the word "mythology" will only retrieve the exact occurrence of this word in a paragraph, but not necessarily relevant material about mythology, myth, folklore, etc. In contrast, searching for the number “773”(the OCM for mythology) will retrieve all relevant information in context (e.g., origin myth, nature myth, totemic myth, etc.). 

Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) Formats:

a. eHRAF Database (via log-in password or IP authentication)
Log on to eHRAF Ethnography (http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/e/ehrafe) and click on BROWSE then BROWSE SUBJECTS then BROWSE SUBJECT CATEGORIES. Click on the link to read the OCM descriptions. To search for the OCMs in eHRAF click on SEARCH and type in the 3- or 4- digit OCM in the "OCM Subject codes" section. Click on "Search" to search for an OCM in the ethnographic text.

b. OCM Paper Manual
The paper OCM Manual is recommended for the reference service at the library and the frequent user because it is so easy to use and very comprehensive. The OCM manual contains 198 pages and includes a list of the 700+ OCMs, detailed descriptions and cross-references, and an A-Z word index. The OCM paper manuals can be ordered from HRAF for $30 (plus shipping and handling).

Besides the database and paper format, a short OCM PDF file serving as a handy reference sheet is available in the User Guide at www.yale.edu/hraf/userguides.html  (see entry for "Short OCM Reference List") or can be requested from HRAF. Although this 12-page document is only a small part of the entire OCM manual, it does contain the 700+ OCM subject codes that are very useful for searching in the eHRAF databases. Listing this PDF file on your library web site (e.g., under “info”or “help”) might be beneficial because the user then can see all the OCMs available, even before entering the database. You may need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html to read the document.

#5. Online eHRAF User Guide 
Please list this online eHRAF User Guide www.yale.edu/hraf/userguides.html in association with the eHRAF database URL. The eHRAF User Guide contains very useful database support information such as a web-based tutorial, glossary of terms, quick user guides, search methods, and other help tools. 

#6. Teaching eHRAF
Please list this online student workbook at  www.yale.edu/hraf/teachingehraf.html  in association with the eHRAF database URL. “Teaching eHRAF” serves as a teaching tool for faculty and can be used in association with the eHRAF databases. The workbook includes short papers, lab assignments, group projects, course syllabi, and quizzes. 

#7. eHRAF Phone Training Session (Highly recommended!!!)
HRAF provides free introductory and refresher eHRAF training sessions for librarians, faculty and students at member institutions. eHRAF training sessions are conducted via telephone with a speaker phone. eHRAF phone training sessions are also available for any member institution outside the U. S. 

Setting up an eHRAF phone training session: 

**Who should attend? Any librarian can attend, but in particular reference, instructional, electronics, subject area, and collection development librarians are welcomed. The bigger the group, the better, because good questions get generated! Faculty and students are also invited to attend. 

**What does it cover? Discussion of the Browse and Search features; the selection process for the cultures; the purpose and nature of the OCM subject and OWC culture codes; discussion on how eHRAF can be incorporated as an interdisciplinary resource at an institution (based on the disciplines and course listings of the institution); search strategies (do’s & don’ts); student exercises associated with eHRAF, etc. 

**What is needed? Preferably a computer room with computer workstations or a class room with Internet access and a speaker phone. Essential is a “lead” person who follows the instructions in navigating around the database and who is connected to a projector & screen, so that other attendees can easily follow topics covered.

**How long does it take? There is much to cover, so on average it takes about one hour to 1½ hours to cover the basics of eHRAF; however specific times can be arranged.

**When is the best time? Any time is suitable, but a phone training session right at the beginning of the fall or spring semester is recommended. 

Training sessions are available at the major library and anthropology conferences (ALA, ACRL, AAA, SAA). HRAF can also arrange for on-site training workshops at the member institution.

New Service! 
eHRAF Phone Training Sessions for Student Classes: 
Students now can learn about the eHRAF database directly from an HRAF expert. Interactive “over-the-phone” training sessions can be arranged for small or large student classes (e.g., research & methods classes). The length and topic for the phone training session can be adjusted to the class curriculum. The set-up requirements are the same as for the library phone training session. 

#8. OCLC Catalog Records for eHRAF: 
Please give this info to the cataloger at your library. Catalog records for each of the cultures for the eHRAF Collection of Ethnography have been made available at OCLC and in Worldcat. eHRAF contains source documents (books, articles, and dissertations) which include out-of-print and unique translations (from non-English languages into English) – all indexed at the paragraph level – for the online cultural groups. 

Adding these MARC records to your institution’s online catalog will help your students and faculty by providing 1) title and author level access for these 2,000+ individual and often hard-to-find resources; 2) subject and classification access for each cultural summary; and 3) keyword access through the titles and summary notes included in these records. The records will significantly increase eHRAF’s accessibility to students and faculty. For more information, visit OCLC’s web site at http://www.stats.oclc.org/wcs_list.html or contact HRAF.

#9. HRAF Member Services
HRAF likes to consider itself more than just a database provider, but rather as an academic research institution that can be contacted for any questions in general regarding cultural anthropology and/or cross-cultural studies. To provide our member institutions with the best possible support and service, we like to keep in touch with our members on a regular basis (usually through email). To accomplish this, HRAF member services contacts the library and the anthropology department (if available) at a new member institution to discuss the available services and to determine who should serve as the “official” library and/or departmental contact person. For the library there are usually two contacts (usually reference, instruction, subject and/or electronics librarians). However, for the anthropology department there is usually only one contact; it is usually the department chair, the faculty who had requested the database or uses it most frequently, or sometimes it is the administrator or secretary with access to the departmental list serve of faculty and students. 

Establishing a library/departmental contact is crucial because only by emailing to the contact can HRAF reach others in the library or department with important database-related updates and service information. The library contact is asked to forward any HRAF member support emails to his/her colleagues, and the departmental contact is asked to forward any member support emails to the faculty (and students). An email to the library contact may contain information about MARC records or an announcement in an HRAF newsletter, and an email to the anthro department may contain an update of cultures in eHRAF. The member information web site at www.yale.edu/hraf/member_information.html contains previous emails that were sent to the library/anthropology department. HRAF is aware that the departmental support is only provided for the anthropology department. If you know of other departments that would like to receive HRAF support emails, please provide us with contact names.

HRAF relies on its library and departmental contacts to communicate with the library and the department. If the contact does not forward the email messages to his/her colleagues, important updates or information may be missed. To provide the best possible member support we rely on the library and departmental contact to forward relevant HRAF member services email to others and to inform us of any contact changes. 

As it is HRAF’s responsibility to provide the library with any database and service-related information (with emails to the library contact person), it is the responsibility of the library to update the database listing at the library, to provide us with the all the on- and off campus IP addresses (including any changes), and to report technical database problems to HRAF member services. The library staff can also contact HRAF member services for any database-related questions (e.g., how to search for a particular topic), or can ask the database user (e.g., faculty or student) to contact us directly for help. We at HRAF welcome interaction with our member institutions and encourage the librarians, faculty, and students to contact us with any questions or problems related to the eHRAF database, to provide us with suggestions and feedback for the eHRAF interface and services, and to report any technical problems. After all, only through the feedback and suggestions and report of problems can HRAF improve its eHRAF Collection of Ethnography database and services.