Escape from Alcatraz Freeing the OPAC from traditional constraints Lloyd Sokvitne Senior Manager (Digital Strategies) State Library of Tasmania

Your OPAC Inhospitable Distant Uninviting Information discovery in libraries

Information discovery on the web Inviting Friendly Easy

Today’s presentation Our experience with a new discovery model Based on aggregating metadata from a variety of sources What happens when you actually try to use that metadata for discovery What other challenges emerge

Providing a single search Disillusioned with federated searching Aggregating metadata as preferred approach –NLA, OAI, and other successes –Include both Marc and Non-Marc Metadata –Its our own data anyway Want control over outcomes

Moving outside the ILMS easier web friendly deliverables applications adaptable/flexible client-orientated outcomes –discovery services –interactive web2.0 developments We are seeing a growing need to be able to interact with the ILS in various ways, so that some functionality can be placed in another interface – Lorcan Dempsey, 20 Jan 20, 2006

A 3-tier architecture Uncoupling the data from the applications that create it Providing client services that are not defined by data containers The data should be usable by any or all applications above it Client Service Data Storage Applications MODULES 1.client interaction 2.acquisitions 3.indexing 4.searching 5.circulation 6.DOM

Aggregated Metadata Information System (AMIS) Proof of concept developed –500,000 OPAC Marc records exported Converted to a common XML format –Other records converted (images, etc) –XML records were indexed using Lucene 5 hrs on a desktop pc –Query screen written –All up – 2-3 days effort

Screenshot Fast : Able to add new features : Able to participate in web environment

Screenshot Live query works for live data

Also able to provide facets for format, genre, location, subject, etc

Prototype results Proved concept –Technology part is easy –Tender process almost over, market response good –Identified that we will need to improve the actual data How did we want our portal to work?

To match user behaviour Offline behaviour– browsing Ignored in virtually every library system facets: open-display of content, and refining Online behaviour – satisficing/ranking Ignored in virtually every library system Ranking as the key determinant User interaction – ratings, reviews, etc Now possible because we are outside the ILMS

Aggregator metadata Need appropriate metadata –Valid only if useful to actual searching as performed by our clients Data mining –frequency of use, number of reservations, etc Data sharing –reviews, commentaries, tables of contents, etc Data creation –Libraries – adding more information, discarding unused data –Users – adding ratings, reviews, etc

Next steps Client interaction modules –reviews, –ratings, –wikis, –RSS, –Blogs, etc will be added progressively

Data is just a commodity ILMS integration occurred for efficiency –data storage, consistency, reuse efficiency now possible in other ways –moving data in large quantities is easy –accessing data in real time is easy An OPAC no longer needs to be something provided by an ILMS

Conclusions AMIS – technically easy, doable Need the right metadata to succeed Need the right search interface –not just a slightly modified OPAC –the design is up to us (there couldn’t be a better time to be a librarian)

A connected OPAC Easy Relevant Busy and used The new Alcatraz

Thank you Lloyd Sokvitne Senior Manager (Digital Strategies) State Library of Tasmania

Recommended reading Don't Make Me Think : A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. Steve Krug, 2 nd Ed, New Riders Press; 2005 Rethinking how we provide bibliographic services for the University of California, Final Report: December 2005, Bibliographic Services Task Force (BSTF). Integrating Information Resources: Principles, Technologies, and Approaches, Heather Christenson and Roy Tenant, Recommendations for urgently needed improvement of OPAC and the role of the National Bibliographic Agency in achieving it. John D Byrum, Jr. Northern Caroline State University Library catalogue – ( browsing using Marc data)