1. Open Library Environment Computers in Libraries March 31, 2009

2. Agenda OLE Overview Where we’ve been Where we are Where we’re headed
Questions
Final thoughts
Lynne
- Remind people they can send in questions, will go into a queue and be answered at the end
Poll: Have you participated in a previous webcast? (get a sense of the level of exposure the group has already had to the project)
Comment on poll results
Hand off to Beth for “OLE Overview”
Lynne O’Brien, Director, Academic Technology, Perkins Library, Duke University,

3. OLE Overview What is OLE? Planning phase: September ‘08 – July ‘09
International participation from 15 libraries and consortia
Community source alternative to current ILS
Beth
What is OLE?
The OLE project is intended to help libraries control their own destinies by shaping the technology systems that support their core mission, using technology that is open, flexible and governed by the library community. The OLE Project will produce a community source alternative to current ILSs, better suited to modern library workflows and designed to inter-operate with enterprise-level business and content applications beyond the library.
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Planning Phase & International Participation:
With support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, an international group of research libraries began working with the library community in September 2008 to plan the project. Project participants are developing system requirements and an initial design document, to be ready in July The next steps are to develop a project proposal and seek funding for development of the OLE software. The aim is to have a reference implementation available by mid  2011.
The planning phase project team consists of representatives from libraries of different sizes, public and private institutions and varied U.S. and international locations. Partners were chosen for their ability to contribute to both functional and technical planning for community source SOA projects, for their influence in the library community and for their experience in library innovation relevant to this project. By including a wide variety of people and institutions, we increase the likelihood that our design document will reflect the full range of library needs and that we will have a community highly motivated and well prepared as we move towards the build phase.
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Community Source Alternative
OLE will use open, flexible technology to produce a community-sourced alternative to current ILS. OLE will be open source software, but developed using a community source model. Community source limits initial development efforts to partners who have committed financial and/or human resources for the duration of the development cycle. Once the initial release of the software is deployed, one of the benefits of open source is that it allows developers to modify the code to meet their institution’s particular functional requirements. Ideally, those changes are funneled back to the larger OLE community and, where appropriate, incorporated into future releases.  
Beth Forrest Warner, Officer for Grants, Research Support, & Library Assessment, Univ. Kansas,

4. OLE Overview
Which of the following do you see as being very important for the future of your library?
Flexibility
Community Ownership
Service Orientation
Enterprise-Level Integration
Efficiency
Sustainability
Beth
Poll: Which of the following do you see as being very important for the future of your library? (use the six things Mike talked about as one word descriptions of what OLE offers, e.g. flexibility, community ownership, service orientation, enterprise level integration, efficiency, sustainability)
Starting with the answer which got the most responses and working down the list, briefly describe how OLE addresses each of these six things.
Principles that underlie the OLE framework are:
Flexibility: Supports a wide range of resources, accessed by a wide range of customers, in a variety of contexts, and provides structures for extending and adding new types of resources, customers and contexts.
Community ownership: Designed, built, owned, and governed by and for the library community on an open source licensing basis; sustained by the community with the assistance of a thriving vendor marketplace; evolving over time through transparent processes that enable and respond to input and innovation from the community.
Service Orientation: Developed using the methods of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and implemented with Web Services to be a modular and technology-neutral framework that ensures the interoperability of library business systems and accommodates a diversity of solutions without the risks posed by single source providers. Capable of customization to support local needs.
Enterprise-Level Integration: Designed to adapt to and integrate with other enterprise systems such as research support, student information, human resources, identity management, fiscal control, and repository and content management.
Efficiency: Provides a modular application infrastructure that integrates with new and existing academic and research technologies and business processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness of the institution, and which meets current and future business needs of the community.
Sustainability: Creates a reliable and robust framework for the identification, documentation, innovation, development, maintenance, and review of software necessary to furthering the operation and mission of libraries.
Why OLE Now?
Current ILS products are inadequate.
This project grew out of a series of conversations about the problems libraries were experiencing with their current Integrated Library Systems. The closed, proprietary, tightly integrated systems that helped library efficiency 15 or 20 years ago now impose workflows that restrict rather than support the activities libraries need to do. Libraries are spending time and money trying to work around the systems they have purchased.
There is a growing need for library systems to interact with other enterprise systems.
Many libraries have implemented new enterprise student information systems, personnel directory management systems and purchasing systems since the current ILS systems were developed. Many colleges and universities have enterprise-wide course management systems which serve as critical access points to information and research projects, but the ILS typically does not integrate with course management systems. Libraries need to be able to interact with other enterprise systems in order to provide the best possible experience for learners and researchers.
Vendor consolidation constrains choices.
Many libraries also believe that current ILS’s are nearing the end of their lifecycle and will need to be replaced within the next few years. Given the number of vendors who have gone out of business, have been purchased or have fallen behind in their delivery of promised new systems, it seems likely that there will be fewer rather than more choices of ILS products offered by commercial providers in the future.
Libraries need to control their own destinies.
To remain strong in a rapidly changing information environment, libraries need to be able to modify their technology to fit evolving needs and to ensure that their technology systems support changing workflows rather than being controlled by outdated and inflexible systems. The current economic downturn makes it more critical than ever that libraries be able to change and adapt quickly. The OLE Project is intended to help libraries control their own destinies by shaping the technology systems that support their core mission, using technology that is open, flexible and controlled by the library community.
A detailed rationale is available in the proposal document which is posted on our website. I hope you will take time to read it and will share your ideas by posting comments on the website or sending to the OLE listserv.
Hand off to John Brennen for “Where we’ve been”
Beth Forrest Warner, Officer for Grants, Research Support, & Library Assessment, Univ. Kansas, 4 4

5. Where we’ve been Regional Design Workshops Did you attend a workshop?
Who attended?
350+ people from 95 institutions!
John
Regional Design Workshops
- Held from November ‘08 through January ’09
- Goals
Share OLE and its long-term objectives with a broader library audience
Introduce the concept of SOA and BPM
Identify the most critical library processes
Create workflows of those processes which will be synthesized by the core project team
Envision the system of the future (Blue Sky). What would it look like?
Create a buzz and get buy-in from universities not currently involved in the project
Poll: How many of today’s participants attended a Regional Design Workshop?
350+ people from 95 institutions at 11 regional workshops
John Brennan, Digital Projects Coordinator,
Rutgers University,

7. Where we’ve been Project team meetings Webinars
Community information sharing
John
- Meet regularly (conference calls, document sharing, face-to-face)
Group meets in person every two months for intensive work sessions
Last two meetings: January at Lehigh University, March at University of Kansas
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Webinars are used to provide updates to the greater community and gather feedback and input
Every 6-8 weeks
So far: individuals from 170+ institutions in webcasts
Community Information sharing
- Interaction with broad audience at 25+ conferences, panels
John Brennan, Digital Projects Coordinator,
Rutgers University,

8. Where we’ve been Recent progress Information for you to review
OLE website (oleproject.org)
John
Recent Progress
Talking points from summaries of Lehigh and KU meetings
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Information for you to review
Scope Document – Mike will discuss in further detail
Project Assumptions
Reference Model
Process models
FAQ’s
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Website is updated regularly with latest news and information about the project (oleproject.org)
people from 65 US and 25 non-US libraries, organizations or businesses subscribed to website
John Brennan, Digital Projects Coordinator,
Rutgers University, 8 8

9. Where we are today Scope Document Build plan Prospectus
Mike
Michael Winkler, Director, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, University of Pennsylvania,

10. Where we’re headed Develop build proposal – Spring
Upcoming events/presentations
Project team meeting – May
Draft design document – June
Ongoing community input and feedback
Final design document & project report – July
Doreen
Develop Build Proposal
Reiterate Mike’s key points
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Upcoming presentations/events
OLE Workshop (April 22) (Indianapolis, IN) – One day workshop at the IUPUI University Libraries in Indianapolis, IN sponsored by the Indiana University System Libraries, Purdue University Libraries, and the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries. The purpose of this workshop is to provide a forum for representatives of Indiana and Midwest regional academic and research libraries and related institutions to discuss and provide feedback on the current state of the OLE Project Planning Document. Register online at
CNI - Coalition for Networked Information (April 6-7) (Minneapolis, MN) – Robert McDonald & Beth Warner, project briefing focusing on update since December and potential for build phase
Educause Enterprise (May 6-7) (Indianapolis, IN) – Robert McDonald, Michael Winkler, Beth Warner, presentation to primarily upper-level IT administrators and staff on OLE and potential build phase
NJLA - New Jersey Library Association (April 29-30) (Long Branch, NJ) – OLE reps will participate in a panel discussion.
CANVAS GROUP FOR MORE COMPLETE LIST (see Events page)
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Project Team Meeting – May
May 28-29, Duke University – Finish polished draft of design document and project report
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Draft design document – June
Will be available for comment on OLE website
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Feedback
Currently seeking feedback on new documents – Scope, Assumptions, revised Reference Model, revised/new process diagrams, etc
Get complete list
Emphasize that we really seek, value and encourage community feedback
Final design document and project report – July 2009
The OLE Project will provide a fully vetted planning document for a community sourced information management system to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation by July 2009.
Doreen Herold, Catalog Librarian
Lehigh University,

11. Questions?
Jean Ferguson, Head, Research and Reference, Perkins Library, Duke University ,

12. Final Thoughts How useful was this webinar?
Would you be interested in participating in a late spring webcast to discuss the final document and outcomes of the planning process?
Send comments/additional questions to XXXXXX
Lynne
Poll: How useful was this webinar?
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Poll: Would you be interested in participating in a late spring webcast to discuss the final document and outcomes of the planning process?
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Comments/question to XXXXXX
Lynne O’Brien, Director, Academic Technology, Perkins Library, Duke University,