1. Surveying the landscape: collection-level description & resource discovery JISC/NSF DLI Projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 Pete Johnston UKOLN, University of Bath Bath, BA2 7AY UKOLN is supported by: cd-focus@ukoln.ac.uk http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/

2. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 2 Surveying the landscape The resource discovery context Collections and collection description Collections & services CLD in practice Conclusions: navigating the landscape

3. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 3 The resource discovery context User –wants information relevant to task –not interested in functional/structural organisation of content provider –doesn’t want to negotiate multiple interfaces –access across content provider boundaries Service providers –constructing various task/user-centred portals –surfacing content from multiple content providers –how to find/identify relevant content? Content providers –exposing content through multiple services –how to disclose content effectively?

4. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 4 What is a collection? Collection –“an aggregation of physical or digital items” Aggregates of, e.g. –natural objects: fossils, mineral samples… –created objects: artefacts, documents, records… –digital resources: documents, images, multimedia objects, data, software… –digital surrogates of physical objects: documents, images… –metadata: catalogue records, item descriptions, collection-level descriptions (!)…

5. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 5 What is a collection? Various criteria for aggregation, e.g. –By location –By type/form of item –By provenance of item –By source/ownership of item –By nature of item content –…. Permanent, temporary Discrete, distributed

6. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 6 Why collection description? Enable content provider to –manage collections –disclose information about collections –overview of otherwise uncatalogued items –summary where item-level detail inappropriate Enable user to –discover/locate (physical/digital) collections –select (physical/digital) collections to explore/search on basis of summary description Enable software agents to –select digital collections to search on behalf of user –perform searches across multiple digital collections

7. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 7 A Model for Collections Research Support Libraries Programme –Support for academic researchers –discovery of/access to collections –collaborative management of collections –Primarily physical (library/archive) collections Michael Heaney, An Analytical Model of Collections and their Catalogues Based primarily on a library and archival view of ‘collection’... –… but intended to be applicable across wide range of collection types Functionally concerned with finding, identifying

8. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 8 A Schema for Collection Description RSLP Collection Description Schema –structured set of metadata attributes –simple description of subset of entities in Heaney model –Collection –Location –Agents Based on Dublin Core where possible RSLP CD instance –set of linked descriptions of multiple entities –can be expressed in RDF –RDF/XML syntax for serialising descriptions

9. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 9 A Schema for Collection Description RSLP CD schema supports creation of “unitary” collection description Not a substitute for existing richer schemas for CLD –a means of creating simple, high-level descriptions for wide range of collections Cross-domain –Different ideas of “collections” –Different criteria for defining “collections” –Different ways of describing “collections” –But useful/possible to agree on broadly common view…?

10. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 10 Physical collections Collection of physical items Physical location Physical service

11. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 11 Digital collections Collection of digital items Digital location Web interface Digital service

12. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 12 Physical collections (2) OPAC Web interface Digital location Digital service Collection of digital metadata records

13. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 13 Digital collections (2) Collection of digital items Web interface Digital service Digital location Collection of digital metadata records

14. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 14 Digital collections & digital services Collection of digital metadata records Web interface OAI repository harvest Multiple digital services Z39.50 target search/retrieve

15. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 15 CLD in RSLP Library collections –collections defined by –location –subject of content –source/owner –collections of physical items –made available by a physical service Library collection-level description –in past, informal, unstructured –use of RSLP CD schema by RSLP projects CLDs –used in project-specific services –programme-wide service?

16. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 16 CLD in the JISC Information Environment Content made available as collections Physical collections –of physical items (e.g. books) Digital collections –of digital items (text, image, audio-video, software, datasets etc) –of digital metadata records –describing physical items (e.g. MARC records in OPAC) –describing digital items (e.g. DC records in subject gateway database) –describing physical collections (e.g. EAD CLDs in Archives Hub database)

17. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 17 CLD in the JISC Information Environment Web Content End-user End-user needs to join services together manually - as well as learning multiple user interfaces Authentication Authorisation Currently….

18. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 18 CLD in the JISC Information Environment IE service “registry” –which digital collections are available (CLDs) –what digital services available to access collections (service descriptions) –via provider Web site (HTML only), as OAI repository, as Z39.50 target Portal –can present dynamically-updated view of the JISC “information landscape” –view may be tailored to user preferences Content provider –can “surface” content through multiple services/channels

19. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 19 CLD in the JISC Information Environment Web Content End-user Portal Broker or Aggregator Authentication Authorisation Collection Description User Profiles End-user is “automatically” presented with relevant resources through relevant channels Thesauri Service Desc. The vision….

20. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 20 Conclusion: navigating the landscape CLDs as resource discovery metadata Rich, complex information landscape CLDs support “survey of landscape” “to identify areas rather than specific features - to identify rainforest rather than to retrieve an analysis of the canopy fauna of the Amazon basin” (Heaney, 2000) The “navigator” of the landscape may be a human researcher or a software tool

21. JISC/NSF DLI projects meeting, Edinburgh, 24 June 2002 21 Acknowledgements UKOLN is funded by Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK higher and further education funding councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based. http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/