1. The recombinant library: portals and people Improved access to library collections University of Oklahoma Libraries March 6-7 Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC

2. Overview Part one Part two Part three

3. Portal

4. How the library mediates the engagement of users and resources in a network environment “All vogue words tend to share a similar fate: the more experiences they pretend to make transparent, the more they themselves become opaque. ” Zygmunt Bauman A density of resources and services on the network. A ‘bag’ or ‘portfolio’.

6. “Creative knowledge you can put in your pocket”

7. Library?

8. 5 laws Resources are for use –Needs to be easier! –A part of research, learning, cultural engagement Each user his or her resource Each resource its user –Release the value of resources in creative use Save the time of the user –An obstacle course! –attention The library is a growing organism –Extensible, flexible,..

9. Some aims Provide a web environment: –Saves time for research, learning and personal fulfillment –Surfaces potentially valuable resources which otherwise might be overlooked in the trees –Allows users and library to focus on collections rather than mechanics of interaction Will increasingly need to interact with other environments –Learning management, institutional portal frameworks, … “Library portal” transitional

10. On the discrimination of portals

11. Portal End user needs to –Know what is available –Learn multiple interfaces –Manually fuse results Resource 2Resource 4 Institutional repository Commercial resource Community repository

12. Library portal approach … Resources Presentation Map onto user interests, maybe with personalization or community features. Mediation Hide difference of underlying resources. Federate and fuse. Hide difference of underlying resources. Federate and fuse. Provide intermediate layers between user and resources. Manage multiple collections. Provide intermediate layers between user and resources. Manage multiple collections.

13. A portal grid! Deep (Mediation/ Presentation) Flat (Presentation) StaticDynamic

14. Delivery Request Configuration Identity management Resolution Distributed query Harvesting data Resource 2Resource 4 Institutional repository Commercial resource Community repository Presentation Rights managemen t AnnotationNotification Terminology services Syndication V. Ref Record fusion & enrichment

15. Mediation Portal application Resources Presentation Utility services

16. Query; Harvest; Request; reference Resour ces Present ation Directory services Institutions Collections Services Policies Rights Resolution services Terminology services Identity services Authentication Authorization Directory services Institutions Collections Services Policies Rights Resolution services Terminology services Identity services Authentication Authorization

17. Applications Search –Custom –Distributed query (Z39.50, SRW/SRU) –Harvest (OAI) –Crawl Link –OpenURL Alert –RSS Distributed request –ILL Reference

21. Thoughts Mediation expensive –Best examples hidden – licensed resources We make little use of “data” Confusion between local node and whole digital environment One stop shop = one shop stop Not “webby” enough Business, service and technical architectures unclear –E.g. at what level to do “utility” services

22. Mediating the engagement between libraries and users Some random issues

23. user environments resource environment library shared cataloging, ILL licensed collections archiving virtual reference Content aggregation Resolution Harvest lab books exhibitions PDAs learning management systems campus portal course material text book new scholarly resources reading lists

24. highlow high stewardship uniqueness Books Journals Newspapers Gov. docs DVD, Video Maps Scores Special collections Rare books Local/Historical newspapers Local history materials Archives & Manuscripts, Theses & dissertations Research and learning materials ePrints/tech reports Learning objects Courseware E-portfolios Research data Freely-accessible web resources Open source software Newsgroup archives Collections grid!

25. Within and across institutions Streamline access to licensed resources (within institution) Federate cultural heritage, research and learning materials (across institutions) Emerging interest in harvesting Z39.50, OpenURL, custom Links, …

27. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Library - Champaign, IL - $499,440 2002 National Leadership Grants for Libraries - Research & DemonstrationNational Leadership Grants for Libraries In this three-year research project, the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will create a collection-level registry of digital collections created with IMLS funding from 1998 to 2005 and will research, design and implement a prototype item-level metadata repository service based on the Open Archives Initiative Metadata Harvesting Protocol. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Library - Champaign, IL - $499,440 2002 National Leadership Grants for Libraries - Research & DemonstrationNational Leadership Grants for Libraries In this three-year research project, the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will create a collection-level registry of digital collections created with IMLS funding from 1998 to 2005 and will research, design and implement a prototype item-level metadata repository service based on the Open Archives Initiative Metadata Harvesting Protocol.

28. Institutional realities Portal envy –Learning management system –Campus portal –Aggregators –… Proliferation of portals Pitiful portal pretensions A node in a network of services

29. Dynamic presentation

30. Research and learning

31. Service on demand – ‘threads/channels’ Do a comprehensive literature search Find 20 most heavily used resources on.. Generate a reading list What general material can I get this afternoon on … Can you answer this question Can you recommend some starting points for.. Find commentaries on … Can I comment on this resource Can I create a reading list I need images of x which I can use for this purpose Who are the most cited authors on the web in x Can I look for engineering drawings, previous experimental design,…

32. Presentation Library portal Presentation Game, simulation, quiz, … Presentation Digital lab-book Presentation Exhibition Presentation Learning management system Presentation Grid portal? Presentation Disciplinary portal Presentation Personal or group ‘portfolio’

33. Portals Recombinant library Different modes of aggregation within and between institutions Institutional proliferation of portals Integration: Weave services into research and learning Surface appropriate services when needed

34. So… How do we effectively manifest library services on the network? Services may be fine-grained or grouped in portfolios It may (or may not) be sensible to bring services together in a library portal … *and* in a learning management system, *and* in a reading list, *and* ….