Variations Open
Source Webinar
Digital Library Program
Indiana University
March 4, 2009
Agenda
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What is the Variations system? – overview & demo
How is it used currently, at IU and other institutions?
What is the open source release and how can it be
deployed?
 technical and library staffing
 hardware requirements
 what's included in the release
Where is Variations headed?
What support is available for the open source release,
both now and in the future?
How can I try out Variations?
Q&A
Today’s Voices
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Mark Notess, Variations Development Manager at IU
Phil Ponella, Head, Cook Music Library, IU
David Cartledge, Assistant Professor of Music (Piano), IU
Sean Ferguson, Assistant Librarian, Metadata/Technical Services,
Music and Dance Library, Ohio State
John Anderies, Coordinator for Collections & Head, Special
Collections, Haverford College
And at the Q&A keyboard:
 Jon Dunn, Variations3 Project Director and Associate Director for
Technology, Digital Library Program, IU
 Jenn Riley, Metadata Librarian and Variations/FRBR Principal
Investigator, Digital Library Program, IU
Collection
Metadata
digitized audio
scanned scores
user interface
content
Variations Overview
users
Access
Control,
Bookmarks
faculty
students
librarians
What is the Variations System?
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Online access to streaming audio and scanned score
images
Analysis and annotation tools useful in music teaching,
learning, and research
Flexible access control framework respects intellectual
property rights
Content comes from your own collections—Variations
provides ingest tools and access management
What is the Variations System?
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Album-based, not track based: users see tracks in their
album context
Does not use Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Access limited to authenticated login based on IP
address and/or authorized group membership, such as a
class roster
Search function requires additional manual cataloging
and so it is not being used apart from metadata research
projects
Demonstration of Variations
Variations at Indiana
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Digital library of sound recordings and scores in IU Cook
Music Library and born-digital IU performances
Online since April 1996
Current technology online since 2005
16,000+ complete recordings; 300+ scores
Access to course reserves, general collection, and special
collections
Full collection available at music library computers
Outside music library, users must be enrolled in a class
requiring Variations use and have installed Variations
client
Variations at Indiana:
Classroom Instructor View
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Not just a homework tool: provides improved access in
classroom to listening assignments
Playback tools and environment superior to embedded
commercial players
Provide timelines for all pieces in a course
Students do listening study with the timeliner
I can use the timeliner during class sessions
Students come to class better prepared
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The timeliner encourages active listening—even more than the
score
During class, coherent random access to course content
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If I jump to a different part of the piece, it’s easy for students to
see what’s going on
Instruction Benefits
Students are…
 More easily able to sense musical form during listening
 Forced to develop aural analytical skills—crucial to good
performance
Variations3
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Funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS) National Leadership Grant
October 2005 - September 2008 (extended through
summer 2009)
Extends Variations beyond IU & explores sustainability
models
Test sites have each deployed full Variations system:
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New England Conservatory
The Ohio State University
Tri-College Consortium: Haverford, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr
University of Maryland
Also exploring application- (not content-) hosting with
University of Miami and others.
Variations at Ohio State
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Variations is the primary source for required listening in multiple
sections/offerings of five courses: Rock 'n' Roll History, Jazz History, The
World of Classical Music, Music's Meanings, and Music on the Move in a
Globalized World. Several sections have been taught entirely online. In total,
over 1,000 students have used Variations during the past year (in use
January 2008).
Approximately 2,000 complete CDs from collection have been digitized in
Variations. Recently began scanning scores for use in Variations later this
spring.
Access limited to students currently enrolled in a course using Variations;
student access restricted to recordings used for their own class (no other
Variations content). Students can access Variations on PCs in the
Music/Dance Library or they can download the software and access the
system on a personal PC or Mac, on or off campus.
At OSU, Variations has been a very effective solution for access-controlled
streaming audio. Following the initial technical startup and period of
familiarization for IT and library staff, the system has run smoothly and
required minimal maintenance.
Variations at Tri-College Library
Consortium
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Since January 2008, Variations used in several courses at Haverford and
Swarthmore Colleges, including Introductory Piano, Jazz and the Politics of
Culture, Principles of Tonal Harmony II, Chopin, and Chorus. Legacy
RealServer still used for other audio in other courses.
Digitized ~250 complete CD titles from the collections of Haverford and
Swarthmore (Bryn Mawr has no music library or audio collection), including
the complete Great Pianists of the 20th Century series.
In the Tri-Co, complete access to all content granted to all students, faculty
and staff with network IDs. Access limited to IP ranges within the Tri-Co.
Variations installed on PCs in the Haverford Music Library, PCs and Macs in
the Swarthmore Performing Arts Library, and on PCs in the Bryn Mawr Main
Library. Access model predicated on our similar model for the sharing of
digital images.
Access and discovery through links or playlists in Blackboard and by 856
links in Tripod, the Tri-College online library catalog.
For the Tri-Co, Variations is a very effective solution for access-controlled
streaming audio. Following the initial technical startup and period of
familiarization for IT and library staff, the system has run smoothly and
required minimal maintenance.
Variations Elsewhere
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University of Maryland – using Variations to provide
access to the International Piano Archives at Maryland
(IPAM); using new browser audio player instead of Java
client application
New England Conservatory – using for course reserves
Hosted pilots – a different model aimed at faster
deployment time and use of new browser-based audio
player; Spring 2009 pilot use
What is the Open Source
Release?
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Variations system release
includes
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Server software
Client software
Source code
Sample content for testing—
two recordings and two scores
Documentation available on
the web
Everything you need to set
up and operate your own
Variations system!
Except….
Free Puppy!
What’s not free?
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Server hardware
Necessary IT expertise to install, configure, and support
Variations server software and streaming server
Digitizing/scanning hardware/software
Digitizing/scanning staffing & expertise
Computer workstations in library and/or client software
distribution mechanism
Staffing & expertise for user support
Intellectual property / copyright policy
Server Hardware
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Linux operating system
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RAM and disk space dependent on load and amount of
audio and score content
Third-party software
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Tested on RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5
Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2
Apache HTTP Server
Apple Darwin Streaming Server
Perl
MySQL
Cost: $0-25,000, depending on IT resources and
ambitions (amount of content, user load)
IT Expertise
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Critical success factor!
Initial server config, installation, software config, network
troubleshooting, etc., is demanding
Requires good partnership between library and IT
Initial configuration is only a day or so of work, but that
day can easily take weeks of communication between
different parties, with extra time for troubleshooting
IT Staff Requirements
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Linux system administrator
Database administrator
Windows/Mac desktop support
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Student information system staff
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Library desktops
Student computing lab desktops
Faculty desktops
Faculty/student home use
If basing access on course enrollment
Network engineering staff
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Troubleshooting firewall/bandwidth issues
IT Staff Requirements
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Decisions that affect IT time requirement
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Have to tie system in with an authentication system
Access control policy—IP-based is easy; enrollment-based is
more work to construct roster-based groups
Backup and Archiving policy
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Ongoing support
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keeping backups of compressed files makes recovery faster but
increases storage requirements
Keeping archival uncompressed files (wav, tiff) helps with future
migration but increases storage requirements and adds a step
(possibly automated) to the ingest process
Diagnosing and fixing (or reporting) problems
Updating to new versions
Restarting server software
One reason implementation needs to start early!
Variations Architecture
Single physical server
MySQL
cataloging
database
MySQL
production
database
Variations score and audio
Lease Managers
Variations
cataloging
server
Variations
production
server
RMI
Variations
Java client
(Mac or Windows)
Apache
HTTP Server
HTTP
RTSP/HTTP
Darwin
Streaming Server
Variations Architecture
Single physical server
MySQL
cataloging
database
MySQL
production
database
Variations score and audio
Lease Managers
Variations
cataloging
server
Variations
production
server
Variations
Digitizer/Cataloging
Java client
(Windows)
Apache
HTTP Server
Darwin
Streaming Server
Digitizer Station
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Recent Windows Vista or XP computer
High quality sound card or audio -> USB interface
Flatbed scanner
Audio capture/editing software
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Nero Digital Encoder software (free)
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Commercial: Sound Forge, WaveLab
Free: Audacity
for encoding .wav files to .mp4
ImageMagick, DjvuLibre (free)
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for encoding score .tif files to .djvu
Digitizer Staffing & Expertise
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Work can be done by student hourly employees
Workflow needs to be defined and documented
Need basic skill with moving files around
Audio skill level depends on whether you are
ingesting only CDs or analog media
Scanning skill level can be low if workflow well
documented
Ingesting a CD can take 10-20 minutes,
beginning to end (compression takes the most
time)
User Clients
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Windows
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Mac OS X
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Vista or XP
512MB+ RAM
QuickTime 7.5 or later
Internet Explorer or Firefox browser
10.4 or later
512MB+ RAM
Firefox browser preferred (limitations with Safari)
Installer for user client has to be configured and built; if
users install client on own computer, installer has to be
put somewhere for download
User Support
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If users can install client, support load will be
higher
90% of problems are solved by
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(re) install QuickTime
(re) install Variations
Restart computer
“You’re not registered for a class authorized to use
Variations. Contact your instructor.”
Support load heaviest at beginning of term
Access Policy Options
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All authenticated users can access all content
Users can only access content on reserve for
classes in which they are enrolled
Users who are enrolled in a class with
reserve items can access all library content;
“Personal reserves” can only be accessed by
class members
Others…
Access Policy Determination
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May require discussions with internal or external
attorneys
Changes to access policy rules require restarting server
software
Some policy issues to consider
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Who can access library content, from where, when?
Classroom use
Distance education use
Recordings of institutional performances
Instructor’s personal items or compilations
Textbook companion recordings
Another reason why implementation planning needs to
start early!
Variations Futures
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Have browser-based web application for player (using at Maryland,
Miami, maybe others) – will include this in the open source release
before the Fall
Have browser-based web application for access management – will
add to open source release before next Fall. Currently, access
management is command line
Working to move more of the end-user tools to the browser
(playlists, then scores)
Deploying web applications will require additional expertise in
Tomcat and Java web application management.
Exploring hosted option this Spring – would like to be able to offer as
an option
Are integrating DRAM (could have by Fall); would like to integrate
CML and Naxos, but they won’t be interested until we have a large
installed base
Browser-based search system w/mostly automated cataloging
Variations Sustainability
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Ideally, would have an independent
organization, “Variations
Foundation”, where paid
membership would provide influence
over future feature development
Chicken and egg problem: need to
have an adopter community of a
certain size before an independent
organization makes sense
Still exploring possible options and
financial models. Test sites are
committed to continuing with
Variations, as is IU.
You can help us here!
Support Options
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Self-support via open source
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IU will continue to update open source distribution
IU will participate actively in the variations-discuss mailing list on
SourceForge
If enough institutions adopt Variations, 3rd party support
or even hosting options could emerge; chicken & egg
problem again
We are exploring options for paid support—you can help
us figure out that equation!
Trying Out Variations
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The new browser-based player:
http://variations-host-dev.dlib.indiana.edu/demoui/Player.do?containerID=145587
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Download and try out the Windows or Mac
client application with a test database (2
recordings, 2 scores: search on Mahler,
Beethoven, or Respighi):
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/variations3/tryo
ut.html
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We will resend these URLs when we send
out webinar recording announcement
More Information
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Variations Open Source Site
http://variations.sourceforge.net/
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Variations Documentation Site
http://wiki.dlib.indiana.edu/confluence/display/V3/
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Variations 3 project info:
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/variations3/
Questions?