A New Generation of Technologies for Libraries and Information Centers Marshall Breeding Independent Consultant, Founder and Publisher, Library Technology Guides March 2015 Special Libraries Association/Arabian Gulf Chapter

Description  Libraries and information centers in almost all sectors and geographic regions have experienced a fundamental shift where large proportions of electronic resources and digital materials complement, or even dominate, their print collections. This shift demands a response in the technical infrastructure for libraries so that they can effectively manage and provide access to these multi-faceted collections.  Breeding will describe the major changes in the realm of library automation, including the advent of a new generation of library services platforms which take a significant departure from the integrated library systems that previously dominated. A new generation of Web-scale index- based discovery services likewise provide powerful ways for library users to work with these complex and large-scale collections. These new genres of library systems take advantage of the scalability possible through cloud computing technologies and the extensibility and interoperability enabled through the services-oriented architecture.

Library Technology Guides

Appropriate Automation Infrastructure  Current automation products out of step with current realities  Majority of library collection funds spent on electronic content  Majority of automation efforts support print activities  New discovery solutions help with access to e- content  Management of e-content continues with inadequate supporting infrastructure

Technology Shift  Client / Server > Web-based computing  Beyond Web 2.0 Integration of social and academic identities and networks into core infrastructure  Local computing shifting to cloud platforms Application Service Provider offerings standard New expectations for multi-tenant software-as-a-service  Full spectrum of devices full-scale / net book / tablet / mobile Mobile the current focus, but is only one example of device and interface cycles

Strategic shift for Academic Libraries  Collection Shift from Print > Electronic + Digital  E-journal transition largely complete  Circulation of print collections slowing  Large-scale investment in e-books  Technical infrastructure support:  Need better tools for access to complex multi-format collections  Strong emphasis on digitizing local collections  Demands for enterprise integration and interoperability

New Metadata management WorlkFlows  Moving away from individual record-by-record creation  Life cycle of metadata  Metadata follows the supply chain, improved and enhanced along the way as needed  Manage metadata in bulk when possible  E-book collections  Highly shared metadata  E-journal knowledge bases, e.g.  Great interest in moving toward semantic web and open linked data  Path emerging for linked data in resource management and discovery systems  AACR2 > RDA  MARC > BIBFRAME (

Software as a Service  Multi Tennant SaaS is the modern approach  One copy of the code base serves multiple sites  Software functionality delivered entirely through Web interfaces  No workstation clients  Upgrades and fixes deployed universally  Usually in small increments

Data as a service  SaaS provides opportunity for highly shared data models  Bibliographic knowledgebase: one globally shared copy that serves all libraries  Discovery indexes: article and object-level index for resource discovery  E-resource knowledge bases: shared authoritative repository of e-journal holdings  General opportunity to move away from library-by- library metadata management to globally shared workflows

Traditional model of Automation  Oriented to Print collections  Single Library System  Includes branches or divisional facilities  Automation strategies often set when capabilities of automation systems were limited  Institutional solo of collection management

Fragmented Library Management  ILS for management of (mostly) print  Duplicative financial transactions between ILS Acquisitions and enterprise business systems (many shadow systems)  Proxy and Authentication services  E-book lending platform (multiple?)  Interlibrary loan (borrowing and lending)  Self-service and AMH infrastructure  Electronic Resource Management  PC Scheduling and print management  Event scheduling  Digital Collections Management platforms (CONTENTdm, DigiTool, etc.)  Discovery-layer services for broader access to library collections  No effective integration services / interoperability among disconnected systems, non-aligned metadata schemes

Reconceptualization of Automation  Current organization of functionality based on past assumptions  Possible new organizing principles  Fulfillment = Circulation + ILL + DCB + e-commerce  Resource management = Cataloging + Acquisitions + Serials + ERM  Customer Relationship Management = Reference + Circulation + ILL (public services)  Enterprise Resource Planning = Acquisitions + Collection Development

Academic Libraries need a new model of library management  Not an Integrated Library System or Library Management System  The ILS was designed to help libraries manage print collections  Generally did not evolve to manage electronic collections  Other library automation products evolved:  Electronic Resource Management Systems – OpenURL Link Resolvers – Digital Library Management Systems -- Institutional Repositories

Integrated (for print) Library System Circulation BIB Staff Interfaces: Holding / Items Circ Transact UserVendorPolicies $$$ Funds CatalogingAcquisitionsSerialsOnline Catalog Public Interfaces: Interfaces Business Logic Data Stores

LMS / ERM: Fragmented Model Circulation BIB Staff Interfaces: Holding / Items Circ Transact UserVendorPolicies $$$ Funds CatalogingAcquisitionsSerialsOnline Catalog Public Interfaces: Application Programming Interfaces ` License Management License Terms E-resource Procurement Vendors E-Journal Titles Protocols: CORE

Informal management of Electronic Resources Circulation BIB Staff Interfaces: Holding / Items Circ Transact UserVendorPolicies $$$ Funds CatalogingAcquisitionsSerialsOnline Catalog Public Interfaces: Application Programming Interfaces Budget License Terms Titles / Holdings Vendors Access Details

Comprehensive Resource Management  No longer sensible to use different software platforms for managing different types of library materials  ILS + ERM + OpenURL Resolver + Digital Asset management, etc. very inefficient model  Flexible platform capable of managing multiple type of library materials, multiple metadata formats, with appropriate workflows  Support for management of metadata in bulk  Continuous lifecycle chain initiated before publication

Library Services Platform  Library-specific software. Designed to help libraries automate their internal operations, manage collections, fulfillment requests, and deliver services  Services  Service oriented architecture  Exposes Web services and other API’s  Facilitates the services libraries offer to their users  Platform  General infrastructure for library automation  Consistent with the concept of Platform as a Service  Library programmers address the APIs of the platform to extend functionality, create connections with other systems, dynamically interact with data

Library Services Platform Characteristics  Highly Shared data models  Knowledgebase architecture  Some may take hybrid approach to accommodate local data stores  Delivered through software as a service  Multi-tenant  Unified workflows across formats and media  Flexible metadata management  MARC – Dublin Core – VRA – MODS – ONIX  Bibframe  New structures not yet invented  Open APIs for extensibility and interoperability

Consolidated index Search Engine Unified Presentation Layer Search: Digital Coll ProQuest EBSCO … JSTOR Other Resources New Library Management Model ` API Layer Library Services Platform Learning Management Enterprise Resource Planning Stock Management Self-Check / Automated Return Authentication Service Smart Cad / Payment systems Discovery Service

Open Systems  Achieving openness has risen as the key driver behind library technology strategies  Libraries need to do more with their data  Ability to improve customer experience and operational efficiencies  Demand for Interoperability  Open source – full access to internal program of the application  Open API’s – expose programmatic interfaces to data and functionality

Leveraging the Cloud  Moving legacy systems to hosted services provides some savings to individual institutions but does not result in dramatic transformation  Globally shared data and metadata models have the potential to achieve new levels of operational efficiencies and more powerful discovery and automation scenarios that improve the position of libraries overall.

Changing models of Resource Sharing

Bibliographic Database Library System Branch 1 Branch 2 Branch 3 Branch 4 Branch 5 Branch 6 Branch 7 Branch 8 Holdings Main Facility Search: Integrated Library System Patrons use Circulation features to request items from other branches Floating Collections may reduce workload for Inter-branch transfers Model: Multi-branch Independent Library System

Library Consortia  Groups of libraries want to work together to share an automation system  Number of participants limited by the perceived capacities of the automation system

Shared Infrastructure  Common discovery  Retention of local automation systems  Technical complex with moderate operational benefits  Common discovery + Resource Management Systems  Shared Resource management with local discovery options

Bibliographic Database Shared Consortia System Library 2 Library 3 Library 4 Library 5 Library 7 Library 8 Library 9 Library 10 Holdings Library 1Library 6 Shared Consortial ILS Search: Model: Multiple independent libraries in a Consortium Share an ILS ILS configured To support Direct consortial Borrowing through Circulation Module

Progressive consolidation of library services  Centralization of technical infrastructure of multiple libraries within a campus  Resource sharing support  Direct borrowing among partner institutions  Shared infrastructure between institutions  Examples: 2CUL (Columbia University / Cornell University)  Orbis Cascade Alliance (37 independent colleges and universities to merge into shared LSP)

2CUL Shared Services : Collection Development Technical Services Shared Infrastructure? :

Orbis Cascade Alliance  37 Academic Libraries  Combined enrollment of 258,000  9 million titles  1997: implemented dual INN-Reach systems  Orbis and Cascade consortia merged in 2003  Currently working on implementation of shared system

The Evolution of Library Resource Discovery

Challenge: More integrated approach to information and service delivery  Library Web sites offer a menu of unconnected silos:  Books: Library OPAC (ILS online catalog module)  Search the Web site  Articles: Aggregated content products, e-journal collections  OpenURL linking services  E-journal finding aids (Often managed by link resolver)  Subject guides (e.g. Springshare LibGuides)  Local digital collections ETDs, photos, rich media collections  Metasearch engines  Discovery Services – often just another choice among many  All searched separately

Online Catalog  Books, Journals, and Media at the Title Level  Not in scope:  Articles  Book Chapters  Digital objects  Web site content  Etc. Scope of Search Search: Search Results ILS Data

Next-gen Catalogs or Discovery Interface ( )  Single search box  Query tools  Did you mean  Type-ahead  Relevance ranked results (for some content sources)  Faceted navigation  Enhanced visual displays  Cover art  Summaries, reviews,  Recommendation services

Next-gen Catalogs or Discovery Interface  Single search box  Query tools  Did you mean  Type-ahead  Relevance ranked results  Faceted navigation  Enhanced visual displays  Cover art  Summaries, reviews,  Recommendation services  Books, Journals, and Media at the Title Level  Other local and open access content  Not in scope:  Articles  Book Chapters  Digital objects  Scope of Search

Discovery Interface search model Search: Digital Collections ProQuest EBSCOhost … MLA Bibliography ABC-CLIO Search Results Real-time query and responses ILS Data Local Index Metasearch Engine

Discovery from Local to Web-scale  Initial products focused on technology  Mostly locally-installed software  Current phase is focused on pre-populated indexes that aim to deliver Web-scale discovery

Web-scale Index-based Discovery Search: Digital Collections Web Site Content Institutional Repositories … E-Journals Reference Sources Search Results Pre-built harvesting and indexing Consolidated Index ILS Data Aggregated Content packages (2009- present) Usage- generated Data Customer Profile Open Access Profile of Library Subscriptions

Bento Box Discovery Model Search: Digital Collections Web Site Content Institutional Repositories E-Journals Search Results Pre-built harvesting and indexing Consolidated Index ILS Data Aggregated Content packages Open Access VuFind / Blacklight

Web-scale Search Problem Search: Search Results Pre-built harvesting and indexing Consolidated Index ?? ? Non Participating Content Sources Non Participating Content Sources Problem in how to deal with resources not provided to ingest into consolidated index Digital Collections Web Site Content Institutional Repositories … E-Journals ILS Data Aggregated Content packages

Challenge for Relevancy  Technically feasible to index hundreds of millions or billions of records through Lucene or SOLR  Difficult to order records in ways that make sense  Many fairly equivalent candidates returned for any given query  Must rely on use-based and social factors to improve relevancy rankings

Evaluating Index-based Discovery Services  Intense competition: how well the index covers the body of scholarly content stands as a key differentiator  Difficult to evaluate based on numbers of items indexed alone.  Important to ascertain now your library’s content packages are represented by the discovery service.  Important to know what items are indexed by citation and which are full text  Important to know whether the discovery service favors the content of any given publisher

A&I Content in Discovery Services  Will discovery services eventually become powerful enough to displace need for abstracting and indexing services?  Specialized vocabulary and other metadata make positive contributions to the discovery process  Specialized and scoped search methodologies  Researchers value this tools

Challenge for Relevancy  Technically feasible to index hundreds of millions or billions of records through Lucene or SOLR  Difficult to order records in ways that make sense  Many fairly equivalent candidates returned for any given query  Must rely on use-based and social factors to improve relevancy rankings  Objectivity: Does relevancy reflect bias or publisher preferences

Socially-powered discovery  Leverage use data to increase effectiveness of discovery  Usage data can identify important or popular materials to inform relevancy engines  Identify related materials that may not otherwise be uncovered through keyword matching  Be careful to avoid introducing bias loops

Challenges for Collection Coverage  To work effectively, discovery services need to cover comprehensively the body of content represented in library collections  What about publishers that do not participate?  Is content indexed at the citation or full-text level?  What are the restrictions for non-authenticated users?  How can libraries understand the differences in coverage among competing services?

Evaluating the Coverage of Index- based Discovery Services  Intense competition: how well the index covers the body of scholarly content stands as a key differentiator  Difficult to evaluate based on numbers of items indexed alone.  Important to ascertain now your library’s content packages are represented by the discovery service.  Important to know what items are indexed by citation and which are full text  Important to know whether the discovery service favors the content of any given publisher

Reassess expectations of Technology  Many previous assumptions no longer apply  Technology platforms scale infinitely  No technical limits on how libraries share technical infrastructure  Cloud technologies enable new ways of sharing metadata  Build flexible systems not hardwired to any given set of workflows

Reassess workflow and organizational options  ILS model shaped library organizations  New Library Services Platforms may enable new ways to organize how resource management and service delivery are performed  New technologies more able to support strategic priorities and initiatives

Time to engage  Transition to new technology models just underway  More transformative development than in previous phases of library automation  Opportunities to partner and collaborate  Vendors want to create systems with long-term value  Question previously held assumptions regarding the shape of technology infrastructure and services  Provide leadership in defining expectations

Questions and discussion