1. EThOS Reflections Sara Gould
UKCoRR Members’ Meeting
27 January 2012

2. EThOS beginnings
Not giving a history lesson, but just say happy birthday – 3 yrs old last week!
20 Jan 2009 – B.O. became president; EThOS launched.
Shares its inauguration with good company
400,000 downloads

3. To support HE through the transition from print to electronic and to expand available content via digitisation
Average Annual
Demand = 10k
AA slide from Repository Support Project meeting at end of March last year.
Less than one year, but look how focused on digitisation Ethos was then – quality of scans, microfiche.
Have come a long way since then.
Average Annual
Demand = 140k

4. EThOS - Introduction What do we know?
Old record – No abstract, no URL link, old thesis ID number. Simply gives the record and options for ordering a copy.
New record next – No PDF, but link to your repository copy, abstract. [Must get rid of red message, no need to digitise it].

5. EThOS - Introduction What do we know?
Old record – No abstract, no URL link, old thesis ID number
New record– No PDF, but link to your repository copy, abstract. [Must get rid of red message, no need to digitise it].
We know nature of records are changing
Linking is essential

6. EThOS – snapshot of content
Different scales –
Records – since August last year, 250,000 – 300,000. Now almost 300,000.
Theses – since Aug last year, 49,000 – 55,000. Now 55,000.
Links – Since Jan 2009, 0 – 16,000. Now 14,000.

7. EThOS – snapshot of use
Obviously, as nature of the content changes, so might usage.
Look at snapshot of way EThOS being used.
Downloads – dropped at Xmas (normal?), ave 10,000 a month
Digitisation orders – steady at around 600 a month
Plus new registered users a month
Clickthroughs – just started measuring – too soon to say but inevitable rise – 2500 at the mo
Too early to predict, but linking is key. Do we still need to hold the PDF if we have a link to your repository, not sure yet?

8. EThOS – First impressions
Fantastic resource for researchers
User experience
Focus on ‘supply’ of items and digitisation
Metadata
Now:
Repositories are complex and evolving
EThOS is very complicated
I started working with E in late June last year,
First impressions
Fantastic resource for researchers – 10,000 downloads by researchers across the world – will soar once open to Google. Very impressive EThOSnet project to build critical mass of digital content, meeting the aim to “support institutions in transition from print to e”. Having new e-content coming on stream plus ‘old stuff’ all in one place with option to digitise in response to demand is really great (USP)
Rather challenging user experience – downloads into your basket
A focus on digitisation and ‘supply of an ‘item’ to users. Not surprising as it came out of the old ‘British Thesis service”, ie DSC.
Metadata had some interesting features – institution names, titles in capitals etc
Now: Repositories are complicated, and EThOS even more so – because it does so much – too much? –
Holds records and full-text
Harvests in and enables harvest out
Speaks to different repository softwares
Supports end-user financial transactions
Automatic upload of digitised content
(Soon) speaks to Primo catalogue

9. EThOS – what’s happened recently?
Institutional membership model
Delivered membership model (more of that in a mo – next slide NOW)

10. EThOS – new model Delivered membership model (more of that in a mo)
Reviewed digitisation workflows – redefined the costs, what counts as “BL digitisation” and what counts as “EThOS workflow”
- Revised the pricing so we now have differentiated charging for member/non-members
Developer finally appointed in Dec. Requirements list of 100+ lines. From tiny (remember my on login), to medium (ensure linked IR-held theses count as “full-text” on search), to very big (improving the harvester to be able to re-harvest data)

11. EThOS – what’s happened recently?
Institutional membership model
Digitisation workflows
Technical development
Dec 2011 start
EThOS Admin – manage membership
Digitisation funds management
Transfer of records between EThOS and Primo
Harvesting
Delivered membership model (more of that in a mo)
Reviewed digitisation workflows – redefined the costs, what counts as “BL digitisation” and what counts as “EThOS workflow”
- Revised the pricing so we now have differentiated charging for member/non-members
Developer finally appointed in Dec. Requirements list of 100+ lines. From tiny (remember my on login), to medium (ensure linked IR-held theses count as “full-text” on search), to very big (improving the harvester to be able to re-harvest data)
BL’s metadata team now involved – great.
Batch upgrade of 40,000 records, soon to be returned to EThOS – authors, corrections, de-dups, abstracts
Links with cataloguers – more abstracts, Dewey, key-terms (Members take priority)
Opening up metadata to 3rd parties
Advise on other areas – embargo information, research sponsor, HUSID, Names project

12. EThOS - Introduction
Change functionality so linked items are discoverable as ‘full-text’ in the same way as PDF attachments.

13. EThOS – what’s happened recently?
Institutional membership model
Digitisation workflows
Technical development
Metadata
Experts
Batch upgrades
Third party services
Embargoes, sponsors, metadata projects
Membership model, digitisation, developer – and …
BL’s metadata team now involved – great.
Batch upgrade of 40,000 records, soon to be returned to EThOS – authors, corrections, de-dups, abstracts
Links with cataloguers – more abstracts, Dewey, key-terms (Members take priority)
Opening up metadata to 3rd parties
Advise on other areas – embargo information, research sponsor, HUSID, Names project

14. EThOS new membership business model
2010 – new model emerged
Shared service between HE and BL
Focus on e-
Digitisation remains but now only one strand
Respond to HE needs
EThOS Governing Board
JISC, RLUK, Sconul, BL, RCUK, UKCGE, Cranfield, DART, AHUA - and UKCoRR
Membership contribution
JISC-banded
November 2011 start
Member benefits
2010 – Victim of its success, overwhelmed by demand for digitisation. Also BL could not continue to commit resource to develop it to such an extent to deliver all requirements, especially as digitisation was supporting EThOS delivery (as this declined, so did resource for EThOS)
Consultation – EThOS Future Models workshop (senior – JISC, RLUK, Sconul); survey on digi; technical workshop (Dart, Jisc, HEIs and BL)
New model emerged – Shared service – development advised by HE; governed by EThOS Board; move the focus to e-theses and away from digitisation.
To cover development and changes - Membership contribution.
Membership – take-up has been great, confirms support & commitment to EThOS. 80% participants signed up. In this room - ??% - you know if that’s you! I am aware that EThOS needs to show progress now.
Benefits so far – differential digi rates; catalogue enhancements (will be visible soon); stats;
Possible future – your views – TPs / digi end-user ordering / harvesting full-text /anything else?

15. Future thinking – 1, Stabilise
Technical development
De-bug
Linked IR content
Remove the basket for downloads
Allow libraries to order on behalf of students
Metadata exposure
Resource discovery services
Google
Catalogue records
Harvester and downloader
Embed membership model
Plagiarism protection
Phase 1 – Stabilise (next 3 months)
Sort out IR linking, order messages, FT searches. Harvester.
Metadata – doing this now. Allow catalogue records to be added, starting with BL catalogue.
Embed membership model – esp dis-benefits.
Plagiarism

16. Future thinking - 2, Enhance and consult
Raise visibility – marketing
Impact
Statistics
Search function
Metadata review
Preservation
Consult with members:
Survey, roadshows?
External environment
Repository managers, library managers, document supply
Recommendations to Board
Phase 2 – Enhance and consult (rest of 2012)
Development phase – but development alongside consultation – prove the value AND establish what next.
Marketing
Impact, case studies
Stats – JISC MU, Open data. Members’ area
Metadata review – embargo, sponsor body, Husid – external devts eg OpenAire (EU)
Preservation

17. Future thinking – 3, Fit for purpose
Period of stability – know where we’re going
Implement changes
Drive costs down
Long-term strategy from 2013
Phase 3 – Stable period (Jan 2013 onwards)
Conclude recommendations & implement
Tie in with membership model – Nov 2012 = second year of model – aware we need to earn your confidence
Drive costs down – customer enquiries/development costs/cataloguing
Know more clearly what the future looks like.

18. Thank you.
Questions.