Putumōhio Making the translation

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1 Putumōhio Making the translation Josephine McElroy OPAC Coordinator elgar North Shore Libraries Stuart Ure Web Analyst ELGAR Auckland City Libraries Te Reo Maori is the first official language of New Zealand and translating text in to Te Reo Maori is no longer a PC bilingual add on in libraries but a viable and mainstream event with many proven benefits. The elgar Consortium has provided online services to Maori by making our shared catalogue, and all supporting web pages, available in Te Reo Maori. Resulting in the elgar catalogue winning the library section of the Maori Language Week Awards in The resulting catalogue won a Maori Language Week Award in This paper will set out the pathway from business plan, policy development, and the process used to create an original translation for an online catalogue. Giving guidelines to those who would like to follow suit.

2 Putumōhio Making the translation As many of you are aware, five of the Library Systems in the greater Auckland region, Auckland, Manukau, Waitakere, North Shore & Rodney, and (elgar) joined in a consortium to purchase a new operating system. As a result the Smarter Systems Project (SSP) changed the method of work for library staff across the Auckland region. This was achieved by installing a more up to date operating system with a provider interested in developing a system in consultation with their user group. Policy Of all the modules that together make up a library system the Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is the module most visible to the public. It is at this interface that all elgar systems are able to address their responsibility to the tenets of the Treaty of Waitangi. The translation of the OPAC into Te Reo Maori was therefore acknowledged as integral to the development of a major library network in New Zealand and supported as such. The Public Library Standards (Library and Information Association of New Zealand. 2004) Section N provides clear direction in the provision of service standards to Maori, especially sections NE and NF. The above mentioned standards and mission statements where kept in mind through out the development of the OPAC design. The Smarter System Project Mission statement included the desire to improve delivery of customer service. Application of the mission statement to the Maori OPAC is as follows: Efficiency = Smarter Systems Maori OPAC will increase library to patron interaction.

3 Value = Maori OPAC will enhance the library experience for patrons by providing increased services to the Maori Community Leadership = Maori OPAC will contribute strongly to the development of Auckland as a knowledge society. The objectives that flow on from the above are: Providing an enhanced service to the Maori community. Measured by feedback. Increasing library patron interaction. Measured by tracking usage statistics Enhanced Web OPAC Usability. Increasing the range of services available to patrons To address the stated Mission and objectives, and having established that the OPAC will be bilingual, the next step is to start. Process Analysis was undertaken to ascertain the current status of the elgar systems sites with regard to the provision of Te Reo. This analysis showed that two of the sites had current translations into Te Reo on their websites; one of which included the catalogue, one system had in the past applied translation in Te Reo, and two systems had no history of translation into Te Reo. We built the OPAC first. The reason for this is that the OPAC acts as the interface between the customer and both the circulation and cataloging modules. The framework for the interaction needed to be consistent and robust across

4 systems and interfaces, but also flexible to allow for growth and change. It was important that we did not start translating the site until we had resolved all the issues that came up for discussion and built consensus around the look and feel, index and forms of the site. We wanted to translate the finished OPAC in its entirety; however this was not possible as the catalogue records and patron information are not recorded in Te Reo. So the translation of the OPAC is limited to the frame work but not the contents of the catalogue or customer record. Therefore everything on the screen except for the actual records in the browse list and indices, and the patrons own details, appear in Te Reo Maori when that view is selected. The path looked easy and the process of creating the translation was broken down into the following tasks: Word List After the development of the OPAC the technical team created two word lists: System: words drawn form the operating systems interface for example. Material Types. Design: There were a number of pages that had been designed and written by the libraries, so the translation was simply created as a Te Reo version of each relative page. Translator Selection A call for expressions of interest was then made via: Te Taura Whiti I Te Reo Maori as the Maori Language Commission Referral to highly qualified translators Taumauri Trust : Taumauri Trust is New Zealand s first web based Māori

5 Language Translation Company. Taumauri Trust is dedicated to the revitalisation of Māori Language, and combines only the highest standards of Language translation, while taking into account ethics, end-user product, and context. And elgar System staff Unfortunately the response was slow and the availability of translators was disappointing. We were very happy when Robert Newson agreed to undertake this work for us. Translation Once a translator was found there was a delay while translation took place. Translation involved background research for translations of specialist terminology and usages, some concepts required original translation. Dialect was Iwi driven to reflect the common usage for Tamaki Makaurau. At this point a group was set up with knowledge of Tetikanga Maori. The Maori OPAC Team was made up of representatives from each of the elgar Library Systems that had a Librarian in a Maori Liaison role or responsibility. Quality Assurance As you are aware there are several dialects of Te Reo in New Zealand. Tamaki Makaurau has people from many Iwi and Hapu living within its boundaries. Keeping that in mind, and because the OPAC is such a public interface, and it is good business practice, the translation of the OPAC into Te Reo was sent to the Taumauri Trust for Quality Assurance. Some reworking was needed to bring the more technical lexis into line with mainstream specialist terminology. These changes meant changes in concordance.

6 Systems The software vendor provided a translation file. This file was a representation of all system generated content that could potentially be displayed on the web OPAC, for example the names of the indexes and material types in drop down menus. The file was downloaded and sent off for translation. One of the issues with the raw translation file, as provided, was that it contained certain pieces of code that triggered other data to be pulled directly from the catalogue or patron database e.g. patron name, numerical data based on an item s status. The position of this code in the phrase or string could easily get lost in translation which it was. So when the translation was completed and returned, a bit of shuffling of these little pieces of code was required to make it read correctly in Te Reo. The next step was finding a way to input the newly translated copy into the system in a way that the system itself would recognize and accept. There were two options: 1. Manually copy and paste each of the approx lines of system content one by one back into the translation file. 2. Find a fancy way to do it automatically. We went for option 2. With some creative use of Excel and a bit of trial and error it was all done relatively easily and quickly without any copying and pasting needed. Once we had a complete and correctly formatted translation file, we then needed the system to recognize it and install it as part of the software itself. There were

7 some significant problems with this part of the process. First of all there was no easy way to install the translation on the system ourselves, and secondly the vendor had some issues that made the process a little more confusing for all involved. These problems were made evident one day when all staff began to login only to find that the library management software was all in Te Reo. After a LOT of patience shown from staff and a bit of pressure on the vendor we ironed out the creases and had managed to install the translations correctly. All that was left was to create Te Reo versions of all web page s and graphical buttons for the system to display when the user switched to the Te Reo OPAC. There were approximately 400 files that needed to have a Te Reo equivalent created. The style sheet translations where straight forward as most of this graphic and html content had been prepared in advance. When all the files and style sheets translation was completed, we tested the OPAC to see what translations had or had not appeared and to ensure that system functionality was consistent across both versions of the OPAC. We did find certain areas of the OPAC that required separate translations. These had to be supplied to the vendor and installed independently. However functionality was not affected in any way. Launch When the translation was complete the Maori OPAC Team christened the Maori OPAC Putumōhio. Putumōhio is the word used by the translator to describe the elgar catalogue. In the Maori sense, there are many meanings for this word. One is the literal to: to gather knowledge a know it all!

8 The Maori Open Public Access Catalogue was launched during Maori Language Week Things to keep in mind when making a translation - The following elements need to be carefully addressed should you decide to undertake an original translation of an Online Public Access Catalogue: 1. Where possible use a translator who is on your staff. 2. Keep a consistent team from inception of the project until its completion. 3. Bring stakeholders from both language groups together to form a steering group. This makes sure that any issues can be addressed in a timely manner. 4. If the translation is part of a bigger project, allow time for the translation to occur before go live. Or plan to implement the translation of the site as a separate project. Three months is a realistic time frame if all elements are in place. 5. Attention to the wording used to express concepts in the design and how they will translate. Some concepts are easier to translate than others. Things that would have been helpful to find out from the vendor: 1. Documentation of exactly what the installation process is for a translation (this seemed to vary between TEST, TRAIN and PROD environments) 2. What areas of the system would be affected by the installation? 3. What other system files existed that should have a translation applied to them 4. The different ways in which we could have access to the translation files 5. The time needed for the installation to be completed correctly.

9 6. If the translation of a catalogue is a project in itself a scoping will needed to be developed prior to any work being undertaken to enable forecasting; funding, staff allocation, timeframes and resource. Business as Usual Going forward it was decided by the OPAC Team that, where we were able, that publishing of business as usual OPAC developments would be concurrent on all pages, so that the OPAC is truly bilingual. Time is now factored into projects so that translation is completed in time to go live shortly after OPAC new releases. Robert Newson is contracted as an independent supplier to provide translations. The implementation, last year, of Airpac (access to the OPAC via Personal Digital Assistant or cell phones) in Te Reo was much smoother. Changes in our ability to display pages in the OPAC may solve some implementation issues in the long term. Future Developments In the near future elgar will undertake the planned application of Maori subject headings in the cataloguing process. The headings will be available in both versions of the OPAC. As time goes by the percentage of content in English in the Te Reo OPAC will diminish and the OPAC will be able to be searched truly bilingually.

10 Reference List Library and Information Association of New Zealand. (2004). Standards for New Zealand Public Libraries. Wellington, [N.Z.] : Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa, Most of the background documents for this paper are not available to the public or are technical and business documents. Please contact one of the authors if you require further information.

Qualification details

Qualification details Title New Zealand Diploma in Web Development and Design (Level 5) Version 1 Qualification type Diploma Level 5 Credits 120 NZSCED 020115 Information Technology > Computer Science