Loading
 

DSpace/SRB Integration

December 3, 2004

Luc Declerck
Associate University Librarian
Technology and Technical Services
University of California, San Diego

Chris Frymann
Digital Library Architect
University of California, San Diego

DSpace is a digital repository software system designed to capture, store, index, preserve and redistribute the intellectual output of a university’s research faculty in digital formats.

The Storage Resource Broker (SRB) is a distributed data management system with features to support the organization, sharing, publication, and preservation of distributed data collections. The SRB is a data grid that manages data stored in heterogeneous storage layer environments.

This briefing will outline a NARA-funded project aimed at integrating the two systems to allow DSpace to use the data grid as a storage layer. It will also permit the exchange of authentic documents between the two systems in a federated environment with a view to improving support for the full range of curation and management processes institutions need to preserve digital content, including the migration of collections across various underlying storage service providers.

http://libnet.ucsd.edu/nara/

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Cyberinfrastructure, Repositories
Tagged With: ,

Enhancing DPubS: Open Source Software for Electronic Publishing

December 3, 2004

Nancy Eaton
Dean of Libraries
Pennsylvania State University

H. Thomas Hickerson
Associate University Librarian
Cornell University

Cornell University Library and Pennsylvania State University Libraries and Press have embarked on a project to generalize and enhance DPubS (Digital Publishing System) and to make it available for broad use under an open source license. DPubS 1.0 was developed at Cornell to provide a robust publishing platform for support of Project Euclid, a partnership with publishers worldwide to support affordable distribution of serial literature in mathematics and statistics. This SPARC-endorsed initiative has generated interest and support worldwide. As a result, several institutions have expressed interest in acquiring the underlying software, but further development is necessary to meet the diverse range of needs currently evolving among libraries, publishers, and scholars. Additionally, distribution as an easily applicable open source system requires further work, and there is strong interest in enabling easy interoperability with open source institutional repositories, offering a versatile publishing capability for IR initiatives.

With support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this effort is now underway, and a beta version of DPubS 2.0 is scheduled for testing in late 2005.

In order to insure broad applicability in addressing academic publishing requirements, representatives from a diverse range of libraries and publishers were invited to a meeting held at Cornell in late October. The goals of the meeting were to conduct a thorough review of proposed enhancements and to encourage ongoing participation in the development process. Attendees included participants from a dozen U.S. universities, and also representatives from institutions in Australia, China, Germany, and Japan. While this briefing will provide an overview of this software development initiative, particular attention will be devoted to reporting on the October meeting and resulting conclusions.

DPubS System and Development Agenda
(Word document)

http://dpubs.org/

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Publishing, Repositories
Tagged With: ,

Exposing Art: Accomplishments and Challenges Associated with Metasearching Into and Out of ARTstor

December 2, 2004

James Shulman
Executive Director
ARTstor

William W. Ying
Chief Technology Officer
ARTstor

ARTstor, a non-profit initiative created by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, was launched as a live service on July 1, 2004. ARTstor’s Digital Library provides digital images, associated metadata, and software tools to colleges, universities, and museums for non-commercial educational use. Since ARTstor’s position on intellectual property rights does not enable us to export large format licensed images for incorporation in locally hosted library and instructional systems, a major goal of the organization is to facilitate external discovery of content in ARTstor and to provide the means for our users to mix local and licensed content. In this discussion, we plan to update the community on ARTstor’s development and to encourage conversation about:

• Plans to enable broad access to metasearching of image content in the absence of agreed-upon protocols;
• Methods of importing content into ARTstor (in batches or one-by-one);
• Types of stresses that metasearching could cause for ARTstor’s infrastructure;
• Successes and remaining challenges of searching out from ARTstor into local repositories; and
• Possibilities of OKI as protocols for interoperating.

http://www.artstor.org

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Information Access & Retrieval, Intellectual Property, Metadata
Tagged With: ,

Going ‘On-Web’: Google, Yahoo, Open WorldCat and Library Services

December 2, 2004

Lorcan Dempsey
Vice President of Research
OCLC, Inc.

Chip Nilges
Executive Director, WorldCat Content & Global Access
OCLC, Inc.

For many, Google and other search engines have become the first and last resort of research. If something is not found in Google it is ‘off-web’. This session will look at some of the issues involved in making library services more visible and ‘on-web’.

It will describe the OpenWorldCat initiative which aims to connect library users to library services on the open web. OCLC has run a pilot in which two million WorldCat records were exposed to Google and Yahoo. This pilot has been successful and we are now proceeding to expose the full database of 56 million records. The service allows users to find and request library materials. It also routes users to library services.

The presentation will also consider some broader issues about how to expose more rich library data and services through Google, Yahoo and other emerging services.

Going ‘On-Web’: Google, Yahoo, Open WorldCat and Library Services
(PowerPoint Presentation)

http://www.oclc.org/worldcat/open/default.htm

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Information Access & Retrieval
Tagged With: ,

How Faculty Members Work: Exploring Faculty Needs for an Institutional Repository

December 2, 2004

David Lindahl
Web Initiatives Manager
University of Rochester

Nancy Foster
Information Analyst, Digital Initiatives
University of Rochester

This session is based on a recent IMLS-funded study of faculty members at the University of Rochester, and on our experience implementing an institutional repository (IR) using DSpace. Many academic institutions are implementing IRs but few faculty members are embracing them with enthusiasm. We studied how faculty members do their work in order to understand how IRs can support that scholarship and attract faculty support and participation. In this session, we will share our findings and demonstrate the DSpace enhancement we built to meet important but unaddressed user needs. The hour will begin with a brief overview of our work-practice study and participatory design methodologies. We will show videotaped interview segments, compare faculty, librarian, IT, and other key stakeholder perspectives, and list key faculty needs in connection with web-based research support services. The session will also show how we mapped faculty needs to IR features and how we plan to meet faculty needs with short- and long-term solutions. There will be a demonstration of the DSpace enhancement.

PowerPoint Presentation

http://docushare.lib.rochester.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-331/

Filed Under: Assessment, CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Repositories
Tagged With: ,

An Innovative Approach to ICT Literacy Assessment

December 2, 2004

Gordon Smith
Director, Systemwide Library Initiatives
California State University

David Williamson
Research Scientist
Educational Testing Service

This project briefing will describe a new national initiative to assess student information and communication technology (ICT) proficiencies. The initiative is a partnership between leading higher education institutions and the Educational Testing Service. The group has developed the first problem-based, scenario-based, web-based assessment tool that crosses disciplines and class levels to assess ICT proficiencies (cognitive and technical skills along with the ethical and legal use of information) especially developed for the higher education environment.

The National Higher Education ICT Initiative
(Word document)

http://www.ets.org/ictliteracy/

Filed Under: Assessment, CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Teaching & Learning
Tagged With: ,

Integrating Libraries into Course Management Software

December 2, 2004

Charles E. Dye
Director of Information Technology
Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis

Gretchen Hanson
Systems Librarian
University of Maryland

John Eiszner
Lead Programmer
Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis

Maryland:
The University of Maryland Libraries have started to work closely with our campus Office of Information Technology (OIT) to integrate resources into WebCT. We have successfully integrated links from WebCT to our library OPAC, digital repository, and web portal (including link resolver). In addition to providing the technical ties to the libraries, we have implemented a “Library Module” that is loaded with each instantiation of WebCT. This module brings the library resources directly to the instructor or student in a timely and informative way; guiding them in their research tasks while still in the courseware environment. Instructors are guided in tasks such as creating reading lists, locating online articles, creating links to them, or contacting the Reserve or ILL desks. Having access directly to faculty in this way makes it easier for them to contextualize what the library has to offer, and makes the services the library provides invaluable. Working closely with OIT will allow us to move this model for integration to other course management systems on campus: Blackboard and WebTycho.

IUPUI:
The University Library at IUPUI has integrated a variety of tools into the campus course management system (CMS), a locally crafted application called OnCourse managed by the university technology department. Of particular interest is an effort to integrate the bookshelf functionality of our federated search engine (Ex Libris Metalib) into OnCourse. In effect, this integration allows an instructor to use the federated search engine to find resources from our online databases and add them to an “eshelf” through tools in the CMS. The links in the eshelf are resolved to the data object via our open URL link resolver. This eshelf is then automatically available to the CMS of a particular class offering. An instructor can create course reserves and quickly change them simply by changing his eshelf without having to make changes in OnCourse. The system is now in production and being used by instructors at IUPUI. Several enhancements are under review and we are working with Ex Libris to incorporate the ability to “publish” the eshelf in a way that requires less coding from our programmers.

http://www.lib.umd.edu/ETC/webct/WebCT.html
http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/ulnews/metasearch.html

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Information Access & Retrieval, Teaching & Learning
Tagged With: ,

A Demand-Side View of the Future of Library Collections

December 1, 2004

David W. Lewis
Dean of the IUPUI University Library
Indiana University/Purdue University, Indianapolis

For some time it has been clear that the role of libraries will change in light of developments in networked information. The discussion to date has largely been based on supply-side concerns: the increasing cost of journals and the need to develop alternatives through open access mechanisms such as institutional repositories.

This presentation will present a model of the future demand for library materials over the next several decades. The model indicates, not surprisingly, that the type of materials users can be expected to use will change dramatically. The unexpected result is that libraries that are prepared to develop collections that follow the lead of their users can do so with budgetary increases that are quite reasonable. The model suggests that increases in the range of 1% to 3% per year are possible even if the costs of a digital library and repository programs are included.

The changes in collection strategies suggested by this model are similar to those imagined by those who have taken a supply-side view. The important insight added by this work is that the transition in collecting practices can be managed without exceptional budget increase and without undue negative impact on library users.

Hopefully this presentation of the model will result in a discussion of the future of library collections and the best paths to reach this future.

PowerPoint Presentation

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries
Tagged With: ,

Internet2 Middleware Developments

December 1, 2004

Nathan Dors
Project Lead, Security Middleware Unit
University of Washington / Internet2

Federated authentication based on Internet2 community-developed Shibboleth technology is being used increasingly by universities, software vendors, and content providers to manage access to Web-based resources. This session will discuss the concepts of federated authentication and the practical application for InCommon, the federation established to support U.S. research and education, as well as international efforts in this area. Also included will be a brief update on Internet2 new activities in support of authorization including the development of a privilege management system.

MiddleWare (PDF)
Shibboleth (PDF)

http://middleware.internet2.edu/

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Information Access & Retrieval, Intellectual Property
Tagged With: ,

Is Stuff Safe Yet? Publisher Cooperation, Collection Expansion, Technology Development, Community Sustainability

December 1, 2004

Vicky Reich
Director of LOCKSS Program
Stanford University

David S.H. Rosenthal
Chief Scientist, LOCKSS Program
Stanford University

The LOCKSS Program allows libraries to reclaim their role in society as a memory organization. Libraries can choose to build, preserve, and provide access to electronic collections they have purchased or acquired. This can reverse the unintended negative consequence of the web: important materials are leased or accessed for relatively short periods of time.

We have had many accomplishments since the last CNI update. In April 2004 we released production software. The worldwide user community has grown; librarians are cooperating to build collections and adapt the system to new genres, especially in the humanities. Many publishers are cooperating to return the responsibility of building long-term collections to libraries. Publishers are also considering delivering different blocks of content to different libraries for collection and preservation.

Development and testing of new capabilities, such as on-demand transparent format migration, continues apace. Prize-winning computer science research is being applied to fix scaling and attack resistance issues with the current LOCKSS protocol. Libraries are experimenting with collecting and preserving web sites, institutionally produced materials, newspapers, etc.

The LOCKSS system took five years to develop, test, build, and deploy. We’re working to keep the Stanford team around for another five years to continue technology development, build an open source technical community, coordinate cooperative collection development efforts and establish best practices. Our overarching goal is to eliminate ourselves as a single point of failure, the bane of any long-term digital preservation effort.

http://lockss.stanford.edu/

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2004 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Digital Preservation
Tagged With: ,