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IMLS Update: Programs, Initiatives, Projects

April 4, 2006

Martha Crawley
Senior Program Officer, Library Services
Institute of Museum and Library Services

Dan Lukash
Senior Program Officer, Museum Services
Institute of Museum and Library Services

Barbara Smith
E-Projects Officer, Office of Research and Technology
Institute of Museum and Library Services

This session will provide an update on the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), with an emphasis on National Leadership Grant 2005 award highlights; new initiatives in digital data curation, early careers program, and digital asset management education programs; partnerships; a new visiting program officer opportunity; the survey on the Status of Technology and Digitization in the Nation’s Museums and Libraries; the availability of grants.gov applications in 2007 and other topics. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions.

Web Site:
http://www.imls.gov/

Handout (MS Word)

PowerPoint Presentation

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Curation, Digital Libraries
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Implementing Institutional Repositories

April 4, 2006

Ronald Jantz
Digital Library Architect
Rutgers University

Nicholas Fischio
Development Manager
Case Western Reserve University

Nathan Lambert
Chief Technology Officer
Case Western Reserve University

This session will describe the institutional repository programs in two institutions:

RUcore: A Fedora-based Institutional Repository to Support Multidisciplinary Collections (Jantz)

Institutional repositories must support both multidisciplinary collections and the preservation of those collections that are intended to be persistent. These goals are challenging from many perspectives including specifically the technological infrastructure and the emerging concept of becoming a “trusted” repository. The Fedora framework provides a flexible and extensible environment for meeting the challenge of institutional repositories. This presentation will discuss the approach that Rutgers University Libraries has used to develop RUcore (Rutgers University Community Repository) – a Fedora-based institutional repository. Specific emphasis will be placed on the information architecture (metadata, collection structure, object architecture) and services to support collections and digital preservation. Examples of repository content from cultural heritage collections, digital dissertations, and e-journals will be used to illustrate relevant concepts. A brief update will be provided on the progress of the Fedora Working Group on Preservation Services.

Web Site:
http://boolean.rutgers.edu:7000/rucore/

Handout (PDF)

Handout (PDF)

DSpace or Fedora: Why Choose One When You Can Have Both? (Fischio, Lambert)

When looking to build a digital library or institutional repository, most institutions begin by evaluating several popular open source software projects including DSpace and Fedora. DSpace provides more of a turnkey solution while Fedora’s modular architecture forces each institution to expend more energy to meet their needs. Like most institutions, we began the process of building Digital Case by evaluating several software choices including DSpace and Fedora. Then, as Digital Case became more tangible, we began exploring the possibility of integrating both systems into Digital Case. We would use DSpace, with its powerful Workflow capabilities as our self-service endpoint and Fedora, with its extensible modular architecture, as our core repository. Thus, rather than excluding one, we would seamlessly combine both solutions to meet out needs. This briefing will explore the difficulties and the benefits of integrating two seemingly disparate systems into one Digital Library.

Web Site:
http://library.case.edu/digitalcase/

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Metadata, Repositories
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In-House Digitization: The National Digital Newspaper Program at the University of Kentucky

April 4, 2006

Eric Weig
Head, Digital Programs and Kentucky Virtual Library’s Kentuckiana Digital Library
University of Kentucky

J. Wendel Cox
Library Manager, NEH Digital Newspaper Project
University of Kentucky

This session describes the challenges and opportunities afforded by in-house newspaper digitization as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a twenty-year effort led by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities to create digital access to the nation’s historic newspapers. The University of Kentucky (UK) is the only one of six awardees in NDNP’s initial two-year test phase to undertake its own digital production. Our process will be outlined, including a description of a Java-based application framework licensed by the UK Libraries and intended specifically for digitization of newspapers from microfilm. Finally, the application of our process to other large-scale digitization projects will be considered.

Web Site:
http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/NDNP/

Handout (PDF)

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Repositories
Tagged With: ,

Institutional Repositories and the Need for “Value-added” Services: Current Research and Lessons Learned

April 4, 2006

Susan Gibbons
Associate Director of Public Services & Collection Development
University of Rochester

Tyler O. Walters
Associate Director for Technology and Resource Services
Georgia Institute of Technology

The development of institutional repositories (IRs) is moving into a new phase beyond the initial model of store / organize / access. If IRs are going to be integrated into the “information fabric” of our campuses, then we must not develop them in library terms, but rather develop the IR in terms of university goals and faculty needs. Hence, the “growth industry” for IRs will be around identifying and implementing constructive ways to use the scholarly information they contain. Services that “add value” to IR content are beginning to emerge and be tested in the field. This session will share the research and lessons learned from faculty interacting with IRs at the University of Rochester and the Georgia Institute of Technology – both are major DSpace repositories working with faculty to identify, build, and offer value-added features. The session will provide an update on the latest developments with the University of Rochester’s researcher pages and usage statistics features, then focus on what Rochester’s research has shown to be intriguing ideas for the future development of value-added services. Georgia Tech is working with faculty to determine their “value-added” needs from the Georgia Tech IR, SMARTech. Value added features being developed as a result of their collaborations will be discussed, such as: “syndicating” IR content to campus portals and departmental web sites; restricting access to content in order to collect confidential or embargoed research output; developing promotion and tenure document output templates, and integration with software such as EndNote. A discussion with attendees will focus on gaining feedback on the ideas presented, sharing attendees’ IR usage experiences, and brainstorming on more useful services IRs can provide.

Web Sites:
 https://dspace.lib.rochester.edu/index.jsp
http://SMARTech.gatech.edu

PowerPoint Presentation

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Repositories
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Journal Use Reports: Networking Resources for More Informational Power

April 3, 2006

Doug Newman
Manager Market Strategy & Analysis
Thomson Scientific

James Mouw
Assistant Director for Technical and Electronic Services
University of Chicago

Thomson Scientific has partnered with several academic institutions worldwide to develop Journal Use Reports – a new tool designed to help understand how journal literature is being used at a given institution. By cooperating with NISO/SUSHI, MPS Technologies, and the development partners themselves, Thomson Scientific is gathering several data elements to not only provide librarians with a powerful new tool, but to help set standards for usage data harvesting in the future.

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, E-Journals, E-Science
Tagged With: ,

Key Standards Updates

April 3, 2006

Ray Denenberg
Senior Networked Engineer
Library of Congress

Rob Sanderson
Lecturer in Computer Science, SRU Senior Editor
University of Liverpool

Brian Lavoie
Senior Research Scientist
OCLC, Inc.

Rebecca Guenther
Senior Networking and Standards Specialist
Library of Congress

Robin Dale
Program Officer
RLG, Inc.

Update on the SRU Protocol and the Common Query Language, CQL (Denenberg, Sanderson)

The SRU/SRW/CQL (version 1.1) suite of specifications has been stable for two years. During that time its implementation and use have yielded insight into how a search/retrieve protocol and query language should be constructed. As a result several enhancements are proposed, in areas such as proximity, sorting, and bibliographic searching. A meeting of the SRU implementors group discussed these proposals in early March. This session will report on decisions from that meeting. We expect to propose the suite as input for a standardization initiative which might pull together other specifications in this area, including Amazon’s OpenSearch and Google API. OASIS is contemplated as the standards body, and is often used as a neutral ground to promote industry consensus, unite disparate efforts, and merge competing de facto standards into an industry standard.

Web Site:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/sru/

The PREMIS Data Dictionary: Overview, Current Status, and Implementation (Lavoie, et al)

Released in May 2005, the award-winning PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata defines and describes implementable, core preservation metadata with broad applicability to digital repositories. This project briefing will provide 1) a brief overview of the Data Dictionary, including its assumptions, data model, and technical neutrality; 2) an update on progress since the Data Dictionary’s release, including several follow-on projects currently underway, and the current status of the PREMIS Maintenance Activity; and 3) a discussion of some of the implementation choices to be made with PREMIS, with a particular focus on the PREMIS XML schema and issues to be considered when implementing PREMIS in a METS context. A brief update on PREMIS implementation work taking place at various institutions around the world will also be provided.

Web Site:
http://www.loc.gov/standards/premis/

Handout (PDF)

PowerPoint Presentation (Denenberg)

PowerPoint Presentation (Lavoie)

PowerPoint Presentation (Sanderson)

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Metadata, Repositories, Standards
Tagged With: ,

Letting Faculty Drive the Digital Program

April 2, 2006

Tom Ruthven
Director, Library Systems and the Digital Library Program
University of Miami

This briefing will examine the synergies and issues that arise when faculty control a digital project being supported by the library. The University of Miami Libraries Digital Fellows Program provides grants of up to $15,000 to faculty to create a digital product that manipulates information in a way that cannot be done in an analog environment. The faculty member chooses the material to be digitized and controls development of the delivery methods including the design. Metadata description, image quality, dealing with material that is not controlled yet, working on joint timelines, the quality of the final product, the relationship with the faculty member and the school, and exposure for the library collection will be covered.

Web Sites:
http://scholar.library.miami.edu/miamidigital/
http://scholar.library.miami.edu/archivoteatral/

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Humanities, Digital Libraries, Metadata
Tagged With: ,

The Library of Congress/National Science Foundation Digital Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Research Program (Digarch): Results and Prospects

April 2, 2006

William LeFurgy
Digital Initiative Project Manager
Library of Congress

The Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded 10 research projects in May 2005 to initiate the first digital preservation research grants program in the United States. This project briefing will provide preliminary results from the projects, along with details about how the projects are integrated into the larger scope of the NDIIPP network of preservation partners. The briefing will also outline plans for a second round of Digarch projects. As with the first round, the grant opportunity would be announced through an NSF Program Solicitation and proposals selected with the assistance of the NSF peer review process. There will be discussion about the focus of the potential second round of Digarch projects and how they are expected to contribute to NDIIPP as well as to the larger digital preservation community.

Web Site:
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/partners/presNSF.html

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Preservation
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The Melvyl Recommender Project: Early Results and Open Questions

April 2, 2006

Colleen Whitney
Programmer/Researcher
California Digital Library

Peter Brantley
Director of Technology
California Digital Library

Since June of 2005, the Melvyl Recommender project has been exploring methods and feasibility of closing the gap between features that users want and have come to expect (recommendations, spelling correction, usefully ranked results) and what libraries are currently equipped to deliver. The research team has developed a prototype incorporating several of the most promising methods, with the overarching goal of informing development of next-generation online public access services. In this project briefing we will demonstrate key features of the prototype, highlight methods and early results, and pose open questions for future exploration.

Web Site:
 http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/melvyl_recommender/

Handout (PDF)

PowerPoint Presentation

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, User Services
Tagged With: ,

MIT’s SIMILE Project: Demonstrating Practical Value of Semantic Web Technologies for Digital Libraries

April 2, 2006
MacKenzie Smith
Associate Director for Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Semantic Web technologies and particularly RDF have been around for a number of years, but few digital library projects have begun to exploit their potential to lower the cost and complexity of metadata interoperability. MIT’s SIMILE project, a collaboration between the MIT Libraries, MIT CSAIL, and the W3C, is developing tools and demonstrations of how these technologies can be applied to digital libraries, where they really do solve problems, and where they do not. The Longwell faceted browser, the Piggy Bank personal information management system, and other data productivity tools will be demonstrated and discussed. Potential applications of Semantic Web technologies for practical data interoperability will also be described.

Web Site:
http://simile.mit.edu/

PowerPoint Presentation

Filed Under: CNI Spring 2006 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries
Tagged With: ,