The Strategic Content Alliance and Libraries of the Future
The Strategic Content Alliance
The work of the JISC lead Strategic Content Alliance is of great relevance to the library of the future and I though it would be useful just to highlight their activity. With an ambitious mission form day one the programme which began in 2006 and is now core to JISC content activity and central to JISC strategic aims. In a knowledge society – where unprecedented opportunities for creativity, ingenuity and innovation are stimulated and enabled by the Internet generally and the provision of e-content specifically. Much of this e-content stems from UK publicly funded resources developed over the last ten years or so in a fragmented and piecemeal approach. If the UK public sector is to be able to maximise its financial and intellectual investment in e-content, a much more systemic view of pooling and coordinating our investments and resources must be taken, particularly at a time of economic downturn. The Strategic Content Alliance is a unique collaboration between seven organisations, (BBC, Museum Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), British Library, NHS National Library for Health and Becta) all different, but all deeply involved in the creation, management and exploitation of e-content for public benefit. Over the past two years the Strategic Content Alliance has undertaken an ambitious programme to explore and develop techniques in support of its Mission Statement.
Strategic Content Alliance Mission
“For this country to realize the full potential of the Web, and for each citizen to realize their own potential - in the workplace, in their places of learning, and in the home - the full range of online content needs to be made available to all, quickly, easily and in a form appropriate to individuals’ needs.”
Follow this important work of the Alliance on their blog: http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/
Information Literacy “Sans Frontieres”
Information Literacy “Sans Frontieres”
We asked Peter Godwin to write about information literacy (IL) a topic that will be discussed at the Libraries of the future Bodleian debate on April 2nd 2009 LOFT09. Peter highlights that ‘The disaggregation of information or the content being out of the container challenges us to make sense of what is discovered on the Web.’ He concludes that the emphasis for IL should be on clarity and simplicity with step-by-step integration of IL elements delivered within course assignments. Further, that whilst subject discipline and knowledge of its makeup will remain of paramount importance there are shifts in emphasis which the extra content from the Web 2.0 world throws in to the mix which demand IL for the future to embrace and focus more on ‘issues of authority, eInformation Literacy “Sans Frontieres”valuation, synthesis and ethical use, and less on searching.’
Also relevant to this area JISC funds the following projects:
The JISC/BL Google generation work:
The study considers whether or not as a result of the digital transition and resources being created digitally, young people, the ‘Google generation’, are searching for and researching content in new ways and if so, how this will shape the way they research and search in the future
whether or not new ways of searching and researching for content will prove to be any different from the way that existing researchers/scholars wor
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/googlegen.aspx
Developing personalisation for the Information Environment (1 & 2):
This study investigates how the JISC Information Environment (IE) may make use (or should be developed to make use) of adaptive personalisation in order to enhance the user experience. It will specifically consider the ways in which infrastructure established to support the UK Access Management Federation (the UK Federation) could support adaptive personalisation of JISC services, and the potential privacy and legal barriers to such use.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/Personalisation.aspx
Discovery to Delivery at EDINA and Mimas (D2D@E&M)
The overall aim of the project is to improve the quality of the user experience for UK researchers and students in their tasks of finding and gaining access to scholarly publications. Coherency will be established between Copac, SUNCAT and Zetoc. This will be achieved through the creation of a scholarly communications web site (together with scoping for a portal) and by establishing links from Copac and SUNCAT to Zetoc. There will also be work carried out to offer a series of delivery options, via a Broker, once discovery has been made. Finally, the project will develop facilities which will allow users to personalise their requirements.
and other relavant JISC projects include:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/d2dateandm.aspx
FlyWeb: Linking Laboratory Image Data with Public Databases and Publication Repositories
The project is developing a data web linking a number of sources of genomic data relating to the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. This data web is being provided as a service to software developers and bioinformaticians. To demonstrate the potential of this data web, the project is also building on-line data search and mashup tools on top of the data web that help scientists to be more productive and generate insights, through quick and easy location, comparison and analysis of data from different sources.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/flyweb.aspx
Library Management Systems Horizon Scan
The Projects objectives included:
the supply and demand sides of the LMS / ERM market Users expect ease of discovery, workflow and delivery influenced by Google and Web 2.0
Quantify procurement timeframes, typical costs, annual cost of ownership, product differentiation and value.
Conduct a horizon scan focused on the role of library systems amidst the shift from ‘content to context’.
Assess the emerging use of SOA, open standards and Open Source in terms of requirements, readiness and product match
Make recommendations on most effective engagement of library services with library related systems and the JISC Information Environment
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/libraryms.aspx
Towards Implementation of Library 2.0 and the e-Framework (TILE)
The precursor JISC and SCONUL Library Management Systems study (April 2008) highlights challenges relating to practice, services and products. Meanwhile ideas are constantly being developed by early adopters, which offer opportunities to understand user expectations, gather professional practice and identify technical demands.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/tile.aspx
Also related briefing paper: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/modellinglibrarydomain.aspx
Metadata-based DYNamIc Query Interface for Cross(X)-searching content resources (DYNIQX)
DYNIQX investigated current cross-search systems and effect of metadata in search, explore an innovative dynamic query interface, and carry out extensive user task-based evaluation to evaluate and compare different search systems.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/dyniqx.aspx
Metadata Generation for Resource Discovery
This project evaluates auto-generation techniques such as 1) the harvesting of metatags from document headers 2) content (e.g. keyword) extraction from the body of documents 3) automatic metadata enhancement using controlled vocabularies 4) text and data mining. Consideration is given to workflow issues and Web services approaches. The project considers a range of text and non-textual resource types.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/resourcediscovery/autometgen.aspx
Holding out for a hero: technology, the future and the renaissance of the university librarian.
Peter Murray Rust writes in his blog that he is “left with the overwhelming impression that the community is now past caring about the future of the library” and further that “If ULibraries wish to survive (at least more than book museums - which is important) they have to shout about it.” Gaynor Backhouse who runs the TechWatch horizon scanning service on behalf of JISC picks up on this theme and emphasises the important role of the librarian as an agent of change imploring them “to take control and set the agenda”.
One of the good things about working for JISC is that you often find yourself in interesting, but unexpected, places. In 2006 I found myself at a JISC Open Access conference in Oxford and as I have an abiding passion for libraries I inveigled my way into a group of librarians who were all talking about the changes facing their sector. At the time, TechWatch had just published a report on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and one of the surprising conclusions was that libraries’ position as early adopters of RFID put librarians in a unique position to have a positive impact on the long-term development of the technology. More than this, the report argued that this influence could extend beyond efforts to develop interoperability and data standards, to address more general issues that are ‘in the public good’, such as privacy. So at the time of the conference I was brimming with enthusiasm for what I saw as a kind of renaissance for the role and significance of the librarian.
Unfortunately, I was in a minority of one. The general consensus seemed to be that, by and large, librarians conform to what has become almost a personality stereotype: kind, gentle custodians of books. Certainly not the type to want to assume the billowing mantle of public sector superhero. This surprised and worried me. It surprised me because I had thought that the increasing importance of the role of technology would have shaken things up a little and challenged the more traditional view of roles; it worried me because if it were true, then the future would be a difficult place for librarians to continue to demonstrate the value of their professional skills.
Before I follow this tack any further, I should perhaps explain that ‘librarian’ is, for me, a bit of an all-encompassing term. This is partly because the application of information science has evolved so much over recent years, along with the terminology to describe it, and partly because of the nature of TechWatch’s sallies into the world of all things library—I have a rough idea of what the terminology tools are for but I’m not expert enough to wield them. So for me, ‘librarian’ remains a catch-all term that encapsulates a kind of essence. More of a ‘journey’ than a job description.
On a professional level, my view on the change and evolution going on in libraries is obviously intimately connected with technology. Horizon scanning is a bit like doing a jigsaw you’ve bought from a car boot sale: first of all, it comes in a plastic bag, so there’s no picture to guide you. Secondly, you can see from the myriad sizes of the different pieces that there’s more than one puzzle in there and, thirdly, you know, even as you are handing over your money, that you won’t have all the pieces to complete any one, particular puzzle.
What’s especially interesting about the ‘libraries’ corner of our horizon scanning jigsaws is the way in which the pieces change before our eyes. As we work on TechWatch reports we see a bit that looks like a straightforward ‘libraries’ piece. When we slot it into place we see that it’s actually “libraries as adaptors of information infrastructure tools” (2005: TechWatch’s Semantic Web report) or “librarians as advocates of trusted computing” (2006: RFID) and even “traditional library skills and processes can be mapped to the development of Web 2.0-style applications and services” (2007: Web 2.0).
All told, the general conclusion is that, more than any other area of academic life, libraries are being forced to respond to deep and disruptive changes in both what they do and how they do it. Whilst this might not be welcome news in terms of the challenge these technologies throw down to established best practice and working culture, they do also open up new opportunities and provide a route to new power structures that need to owned and managed.
Mentioning power structures may of course be a mistake on my part, so perhaps I should demonstrate this in terms of one of my fictional librarian heroes: Rupert Giles, played by Anthony Head in the TV version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. By day, Giles is a mild-mannered school librarian and by night he is the eponymous slayer’s ‘watcher’, committed to training slayers in how to hone their superhuman powers in order to fight all things demonic. A member of the Watcher’s Council, Giles is a member of the demon-slaying establishment. What’s interesting about him is that although he starts out as a passive purveyor of knowledge, as the series progress he finds himself unable to maintain this position and ultimately ends up crossing over into slayer territory.
From curators to creators: librarians as the agents of change
A few years ago I was on a training course for something Web-related. I can’t remember the ins and outs of it now, but it took place at a university and there were a lot of librarians; in fact I suspect I was the only non-librarian. At lunchtime I happened to find myself sitting next to the university librarian who was telling me all about her job and the university’s collections, as you tend to do at lunchtime. In return I confided a personal secret – I’d always wanted to visit the library cellars and see the secret stuff that ordinary borrowers were kept away from. I hadn’t meant it as a hint but my lunching companion immediately offered me a guided tour after the course was over. As I’m not the world’s best secret-keeper word soon got round and by the end of the day there were six of us lined up, waiting to go.
I can’t speak for the others, but it was certainly one of the most interesting evenings I have ever spent. I can still remember the thrill of rows of shelves lined with some of the biggest books I’d ever seen – some over three feet high and decorated with precious metals. However, many of these books were chained to the walls, and putting the obvious S&M connotations of leather and chains to one side, the feel was very custodial. No-one seemed to notice this other than me, certainly nobody commented, but I definitely felt we were nudging into the dark side of curation.
I mention this because of what I think the implications are for the future. If libraries are going to thrive they need to move from a custodial model to an exploitative one. Part of this is realising that library stuff is actually quite sexy and that librarians are probably best placed to point this out. Ultimately this isn’t so much about technology as understanding the beauty of the raw material. Software developers can build tools but they are not necessarily capable of re-imagining data as content: they don’t understand what the data is capable of achieving. For the end users who perhaps don’t realise just what the library ‘long tail’ has to offer, this is a critical point. What they need is a guided tour of the library’s digital underbelly in a way that demonstrates why it’s interesting, useful and also good fun.
Now if, at this point, the urge to retreat to the safety of the stacks overwhelms you, I would ask you to hang back, just a while longer. Being the agent of change, albeit a powerful position to be in and perhaps an unwanted responsibility, could have its advantages. Whilst it means that you have to take control and set the agenda, perhaps more importantly, for people with orderly minds, it means you get to do the job properly. In the library of the future this could be a key differentiator. Why, after all, should Google have a monopoly on organising the world’s information? But in order to flourish in an increasingly techno-political world it will be necessary for libraries and librarians to not so much defend a corner as come out fighting. Perhaps, like Rupert Giles, it might even be necessary to spill a little demon blood.
Gaynor Backhouse runs the TechWatch horizon scanning service on behalf of JISC.
Ithaka’s 2006 Studies of Key Stakeholders in the Digital Transformation in Higher Education
The Schonfeld and Housewright (2008) report is published by Ithaka, analogous with ‘accelerating the productive uses of information technologies’, which may ring alarm bells with ‘electrophobes’ and those agnostic to the notion of an increasingly electronic environment. However such readers need not look away now; this is not a ‘sales pitch’ eulogising the magic Information and Communications Technology pill. On the contrary this report delivers practical information and advice of relevance and importance to all academic librarians and HE policymakers. I have attached a short review of this report for any interested.
Libraries of the Future Debate at the Bodleian April 2nd 2009
Where: Oxford
When: 2nd April 2009
As a part of the Libraries of the Future campaign JISC and Oxford University Library Services are jointly hosting a public question and answer debate in order to discuss what information and library provision mean in these changing times; technology has had a huge effect on the behaviour of both information consumers and service providers. What is the library and what do libraries need to do in order to support knowledge, innovation and society?
This event represents a partnership between JISC and Oxford University Library Services. JISC manages research and innovation programmes in the use of information and communications technology in teaching, learning and research to build knowledge; it develops services, infrastructure or applications; and it provides guidance and leadership, Oxford University Library Services is the integrated library service of the University of Oxford. It comprises over 30 libraries and its combined collections number more than 11 million printed items, in addition to vast quantities of materials in many other formats, including over 28,000 e-journals. At its centre is the Bodleian Library, which is the main research library of the University of Oxford. It is also a legal deposit library whose priceless collections are used by scholars worldwide. The goal of Oxford University Library Services is to provide the most effective university library service possible, in response to current and future users’ needs; and to maintain and develop access to Oxford’s collections as a national and international research resource. Together we will be exploring some of the key challenges that will shape the libraries of the future. These include: the new skills that are required for libraries to remain relevant and visible; fostering partnerships between public and private as well as working across the organisation; meeting the needs of the changing user base and their increasingly diverse needs, (for example what should the citizen expect, what are the future information needs of researchers as we witness changing models of scholarly communication, what skills does the librarian of the future need?)
These issues will be examined from several different perspectives through a range of high profile speakers, who will present their vision for the library of the future. The audience will also have the opportunity to ask questions which will be put to the esteemed panel.
Issues
The event will consider some of the key challenges that will shape the library of the future if it is to survive. These challenges include:
• Skills - considering the skills that are needed to meet this challenge. These skills range from IPR, preservation and data curation to marketing, branding and business planning;
• Partnerships - fostering partnerships between public and private as well as working across the organisation;
• End users - a heightened understanding of the changing user base and meeting their increasingly diverse needs; what are the (future) information needs of researchers and what will they need to undertake their research? what should the citizen expect?;
• The role of the librarian - Libraries are increasingly signing up people with skills in non traditional library fields, does this mean that the librarians are becoming obsolete or do they have a changing role that involves overseeing all these specialisms or should they endeavour to develop these skills themselves?
These challenges will be examined from several different perspectives through a range of speakers who will present their vision for the library of the future. These include:
• Sarah Thomas Bodley’s Librarian and Director, Oxford University Library Services - how is the library changing and what will it deliver;
• Santiago de la Mora who heads Google Book Search’s European partnerships, asking how does Google meet the library, use the library, is the library;
• Chris Batt OBE- a perspective on the public sector needs and the library offer;
• Professor Robert Darnton, Director of the Harvard University Library - to present on the needs of the citizen in our democracy and what the library of the future needs to offer them;
• A media/publisher perspective, what are their information needs, how are they changing their provision ;
• Professor Peter Murray-Rust presenting a research/scientific perspective, what are their information needs (how do they undertake research) and what will they need to remain relevant and to produce new and innovative research.
The event will be chaired by Professor Vincent Gillespie J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language.
The conference Tag is #LOTF09.
Places are free of charge and will be available from Tuesday the 24th March 2009 by registering at www.jisc.ac.uk/librariesofthefuture