Next Generation Workflows for Next Generation Libraries OLA Super Conference 2011, Session #320, February 3 Metro Toronto Convention Centre Rick Anderson, Scholarly Resources & Collections, University of Utah Karen Calhoun, VP Metadata, OCLC Convenor: Moira Davidson, Lakehead University
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Next Generation Workflows for Next Generation Libraries
Presented at the OLA 2011 Superconference in Toronto by Rick Anderson (University of Utah) and Karen Calhoun (OCLC). Abstract: In these budget-challenged times, redesigning workflows is on library and special collections managers' minds more than ever. One new workflow innovation is PDA (patron driven acquisitions). The speakers present an evidence-based case for process redesign and suggest what library and special collections managers might do to create efficiencies and free up substantial staff time for new initiatives.
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Next Generation Workflows for Next Generation Libraries
OLA Super Conference 2011, Session #320, February 3
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Rick Anderson, Scholarly Resources & Collections, University of Utah
Karen Calhoun, VP Metadata, OCLC
Convenor: Moira Davidson, Lakehead University
Let Them Eat... Everything:Embracing a Patron-Driven
(document delivery) Wikipedia Shared cataloging Ease of use PDA (for books) Print on demand
J. Willard Marriott Library
Up through the 19th century, a library was...
“... a building, room, or set of rooms, containing a collection of books for the use of the public or of some particular portion of it, or of the members of some society or the like; a public institution or establishment, charged with the care of a collection of books, and the duty of rendering the books accessible to those who require to use them.” (OED)
“... a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale.” (Merriam-Webster)
J. Willard Marriott Library
(Up through) 19th-century model
J. Willard Marriott Library
A more recent definition:
“... a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual.” (Wikipedia)
J. Willard Marriott Library
20th-century model
J. Willard Marriott Library
In other words, when we say library we’ve usually meant:
a structure, filled with
a collection.
J. Willard Marriott Library
Then comes the internet.
Buildings start mattering much less Collections are diffuse and hard to define Access is available from anywhere in the world Access can be purchased virtually immediately Collection size is potentially limitless Economies of scale make vast purchases affordable
... and therefore Libraries can cast a huge net rather than carefully craft
artisanal collections; or Libraries can put off acquisition until need is demonstrated
J. Willard Marriott Library
21st-century model
J. Willard Marriott Library
Today, when we say library we increasingly mean:
a “structure,” “filled” with
a “collection.”
J. Willard Marriott Library
Game-changers in the next five years:
Continued budget declines (or, at best, flattening) Google Books
Radical discoverability Radical availability
Hathi Trust Robust, trustworthy archiving with effective metadata ( = even better
discoverability) 8 million books in 2010; 14 million by 2012
Patron-driven options Ebook/article PDA Print book POD (Espresso Book Machine)
J. Willard Marriott Library
Espresso Book Machine: The UU Experience
Basic design Two printers Saw Glue pot
Complications Dry climate Ink systems Still waiting for color printer
What works: Physical processes
What doesn’t: Discoverability of content (metadata) A certain creakiness (glue pot, etc.)
J. Willard Marriott Library
Espresso Book Machine: The UU Experience
Surprises: Demand for self-publishing Demand for blank books (!) Opportunities for commercial publishing
Plans for the future: U of Utah Press backlist Unique digital collections Hopefully, more ODB content with better discoverability
ODB’s plans: Advanced search by end of 2010 Adding new in-copyright content (with metadata) at a rate of roughly 10k ti/month Currently working on deals with Internet Archive (1.8m titles) and Bibliolife (1.5m)
J. Willard Marriott Library
To summarize: this is our new context:
Documents tend strongly to be available online Documents are radically more discoverable than they have ever
been (even if only available in print) Print-on-demand (whether outsourced or insourced) is an
increasingly available option Our budgets have been/are being dramatically cut Waste is decreasingly acceptable to stakeholders When we try to guess what patrons will want, we’re wrong nearly
Not everything needed is available (or even discoverable) online
Some essential documents require physical curation Watch for growing bifurcation: library as archive (special collections) vs. library as
information resource (general collections)
Not everything can be shown to patrons before purchase and then purchased immediately upon demand
Budget management: easiest way to control spending is to keep control inside the library
J. Willard Marriott Library
The Unattainable Ideal (or North Star Approach)
Every book ever published is easily and immediately findable
Any book ever published can be purchased by library for patron immediately upon realization of need (purchase or borrow)
Every article...
Every data set...
This ideal does not have to be attainable in order to be useful.
J. Willard Marriott Library
What can we do in the meantime?
Share. (Ugh.)
Books: expose everything we can and buy when the patron points Ebooks (MyiLibrary, NetLibrary, EBL, Ebrary, etc.) Print books (LightningSource, OUP, etc.) Print books (Espresso Book Machine)
Journals: by-the-drink purchasing Remember: patrons don’t need journals; they need articles This is the opposite of the Big Deal: it’s the Tiny Deal Problem: publishers don’t want to sell that way
Open Access Repositories Gaining Visibility and Impact
Sources: Alexa.com 15 Nov 2009 and the Cybermetrics Lab’s ranking of top Repositories (disciplinary and institutional) athttp://repositories.webometrics.info/about.html
2008-2009 TrafficCompared:
*Social Science Research Network*arXiv.org*Research Papers in Economics*British Library (bl.uk)
“Special collections and archives are increasingly seen as elementsof distinction that serve to differentiate an academic or research library from its peers … however, much rare and unique material remainsundiscoverable, and monetary resources are shrinking at the same time that user demand is growing.”—Executive summary
Rising Interest in Digital Collections on the BnF and LC Web Sites
Source: Alexa.com, 15 Nov 2009
Where do people go on bnf.fr and loc.gov?
BnF:Expositions: 30%Catalogue: 26%Gallica: 26%
LC:American Memory: 41%Catalog: 17%Legislative information (THOMAS): 6%
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Research into use and users of digital library collections
“Digital libraries, far from being simple digital versions of library holdings, are now attracting a new type of public, bringing about new, unique and original ways for reading and understanding texts.”—BibUsages Study 2002 [3]
“The availability of primary sources has been crucial for the success of my teaching in history. Students have remarked what a difference it has made, and I have noticed a big difference between this course with the availability of online primary resources to those I have taught before that were based on printed resources.” –History instructor, University of California [2]
Usage of University of Wisconsin Digital Collections 2001-2008 [1]
R2 = 0.9701
0
1000000
2000000
3000000
4000000
5000000
6000000
7000000
8000000
9000000
10000000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Mill
ion
s o
f S
essi
on
s/U
ses
“The function of searching across collections is a dream frequently discussed but seldom realized at a robust level. This paper … discusses how we might move from isolated digital collections to interoperable digital libraries.”
—Howard Besser [4]
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See final slide for citations.
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Some process redesign principles for special collections
• Programs not projects• Describing special collections—
take a page from the archivists• Quality vs. quantity—quantity
wins!• Discovery happens elsewhere—
get exposed!
“Special collections are stuck in an eddy, while the mass of digitized books drift by in the current of the mainstream. We need to jump into the flow or risk being left high and dry.”—p. 4
1. Look at the whole process as one process (e.g., selection to ordering to receipt to cataloging to shelf-ready)
2. Maximize acquisitions/cataloging collaboration3. Capture bibliographic data as far upstream as
possible (at point of selection/ordering if you can) 4. To the greatest extent possible, handle items and
records only once5. Perform work where it makes the most sense; and
maximize use of students/volunteers 6. Wholly manual processes do not scale; integrate
automated and manual operations
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Case study: Before and after workflow redesign for print monographs processing
Before
redesign
•All cataloging done in cataloging
•Many exceptions
•Manual approach
Redesign and free up
staff
•Automated approach
•Few exceptions
•50% of cataloging done in acquisitions
Address
priorities
•E-resource unit staffed
•Metadata unit staffed
•Special collections/digital projects staffed
Percent Change during this period:
FTE down 20%
Cataloging up 64%
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Themes of the Transition in Technical Services
• More with less• Streamlined workflows• Greater use of batch and macro strategies • Greater use of technology• Greater integration of acquisitions and cataloging• More cooperation• Partnerships with vendors• Outsourcing • New roles and responsibilities
▫ E-resources licensing and management▫ Metadata services (institutional repositories)▫ Special collections / digitization projects
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A range of outsourcing solutions being implemented by many
▫Approval plans (with records supplied)▫Shelf ready services ▫Outsourced non-English language cataloging▫Re-use of publisher and vendor records▫Post-cataloging authority control▫Batch search/record capture services▫Record sets for e-journals and e-books▫And now … patron-driven acquisitions (records
loaded to library’s catalog or discovery service)
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What is Technical Services “Quality”?
•Must begin with user’s needs and end with user’s perceptions
•What does ‘quality’ mean?▫Fast cycle time for new materials▫Providing for easy, convenient use of library
collections*▫Being creative, responsive and flexible▫Optimizing the library’s investment in personnel,
materials, equipment, etc.▫Balancing trade-offs
*A recent example = patron-driven acquisitions!
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Metadata Before and After the Web: What is a “Full” Record?
+ 3 more screens
Productdescription& purchaseinformationMore like this
Editorialreviews & author infoInside the bookTags, RatingsCustomer reviewsListsMore
With thanks to David Lankes:http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/Presentations/2007/ALCTS.pdf
• [1] Data source for chart: University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center. Summary Statistics. http://uwdcc.library.wisc.edu/usageStats/publicView.shtml
• [2] Quote from survey respondent as reported in Harley, Diane. 2007. Use and users of digital resources. Educause Quarterly 4, p. 12-20. http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0742.pdf
• [3a] Assadi, Houssem, et al. 2002. Use and users of online digital libraries in France. (BibUsages project) http://bibnum.bnf.fr/usages/bibusages_ecdl2003.pdf
• And• [3b] Lupovici, Catherine, and Lesquins, Noémie. 2007. Gallica 2.0: a second life for the
Bibliothèque nationale de France digital library. http://www.ifla.org.sg/IV/ifla73/papers/146-Lupovici-en.pdf
• [4] Besser, Howard. 2002. The next stage: moving from digital collections to interoperable digital libraries. First Monday 7:6. http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/958/879