THE NEW FRONTIER:
Libraries seek new Technology Platforms for and
End-user Discovery, Collection Management, and
Preservation
Marshall Breeding
Director for Innovative Technology and Research
Vanderbilt University Library
Founder and Publisher, Library Technology Guides
http://www.librarytechnology.org/
http://twitter.com/mbreeding
11 September 2011
IGeLU
Abstract
Marshall Breeding will provide his view of the changing landscape of library
technologies. Academic, research, and public libraries experience great changes
in the nature of their collections and in the expectation of their clientele. Increased
involvement in electronic content and decreased emphasis on print collections press
demand for tools that break away from traditional library management models
and address a broader view of library collections. Libraries likewise face new
imperatives to deliver end user interfaces consistent with that experienced
elsewhere on the Web and that provide access to the entire span of library
collections including print, local digital collections, and subscribed collections of
articles, databases and e-books. Many libraries find themselves involved with
content areas outside of traditional collections, including needs to manage or
archive scientific data sets, and to deliver new types of services in support of
research, teaching, or other strategic activities of their parent organizations.
Traditional automation tools increasingly fail to meet expectations in this context.
Breeding will discuss some of the issues and challenges involved for as new
technologies emerge to address the changed realities of libraries today.
Library Technology Guides
International Perceptions Survey
http://www.librarytechnology.org/perceptions2010.pl
ARL Member Libraries
http://www.librarytechnology.org/arl.pl
Mergers and http://www.librarytechnology.org/automationhistory.pl
Acquisitions
Library Journal Automation
Marketplace

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Published annually in April 1 issue
Based on data provided by each vendor
Focused primarily on North America
 Context
market
of global library automation
ILS Sales Statistics: total
System Name
AGent VERSO
2001 2002
14
19
2003
2004
6
23
2005
2006 2007 2008 2010
15
54
47
Evergreen
24
18
6
18
Voyager
50
44
35
22
34
12
4
5
2
ALEPH 500
80
58
51
53
83
67
29
26
47
Vubis Smart
13
34
54
56
60
56
40
46
12
11
12
V-Smart
Millennium
157
136
144
119
107
Koha (Classic/ZOOM)
Library.Solution
79
70
73
Carl.X / Carl.Solution
Polaris ILS
95
95
64
45
30
57
40
--
58
41
34
35
32
30
1
3
10
0
0
0
12
21
20
37
39
54
32
56
33
Unicorn
117
207
124
134
91
71
121
108
--
Horizon
126
114
168
193
147
94
15
0
--
37
60
67
35
25
27
30
39
18
Virtua
Ex Libris – Personnel Data
Year
Develop
Support Sales
Admin
Other
Total
2010
174
223
53
38
16
504
2009
165
206
52
32
12
467
2008
161
198
55
34
19
467
2007
129
187
53
49
2006
127
160
42
46
18
393
2005
57
93
39
23
49
261
418
LJ Automation Marketplace
Annual Industry report published in Library Journal:
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2011: New Frontier: battle intensifies to win hearts, minds
and tech dollars
2010: New Models, Core Systems
2009: Investing in the Future
2008: Opportunity out of turmoil
2007: An industry redefined
2006: Reshuffling the deck
2005: Gradual evolution
2004: Migration down, innovation up
2003: The competition heats up
2002: Capturing the migrating customer
The New Frontier…

new phase of competition following a period of
research and development that aimed to provide
alternatives to libraries, both in back-end
automation and end user discovery. A variety of
new solutions have emerged, often representing
quite different conceptual models. In a continued
trend, librarians seek solutions that immediately
improve the experiences of their users, especially
via discovery products.
Key Context: Academic Libraries in
Transition

Shift from Print > Electronic
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E-journal transition largely complete
E-books now in play (consultation > reading)
Increasing emphasis on subscribed content, especially
articles and databases
Academic libraries seeing long-term declines in print
circulation
Need better tools for managing electronic resources
Need better tools for access to complex multi-format
collections
Strong emphasis on digitizing local collections
Demands for enterprise integration and interoperability
Key Context: Technologies in transition
 XML
/ Web services / Service-oriented Architecture
 Beyond Web 2.0
 Integration
 Local
of social computing into core infrastructure
computing shifting to cloud platforms
 Application
Service Provider offerings standard
 New expectations for multi-tenant software-as-a-service
 Full
spectrum of devices
 full-scale
/ net book / tablet / mobile
 Mobile the current focus, but is only one example of device
and interface cycles
Key Text: Changed expectations in
metadata management

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Moving away from individual record-by-record creation
Life cycle of metadata

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Manage metadata in bulk when possible

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E-book collections
Highly shared metadata

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Metadata follows the supply chain, improved and enhanced along the
way as needed
E-journal knowledge bases, e.g.
Great interest in moving toward semantic web and open linked data

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Very little progress in linked data for operational systems
AACR2 > RDA
MARC > RDF?
Status Quo Sustainable?
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ILS for management of (mostly) print
Duplicative financial systems between library and campus
Electronic Resource Management (non-integrated with ILS)
OpenURL Link Resolver w/ knowledge base for access to
full-text electronic articles
Digital Collections Management platforms (CONTENTdm,
DigiTool, etc.)
Institutional Repositories (DSpace, Fedora, etc.)
Discovery-layer services for broader access to library
collections
No effective integration services / interoperability among
disconnected systems, non-aligned metadata schemes
Phase of realignment

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Strong need to realign library automation with
current library realities
Legacy library systems reinforce workflows no
longer in step with library priorities.
Need systems that allow libraries to allocate
personnel in proper proportion to collection
Separate automation platforms for print and
electronic have not proven successful
Academic Library Issues

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Greater concern with electronic resources
Management: Need for consolidated approach that
balances print, digital, and electronic workflows
Access: discovery interfaces that maximize the value
of investments in electronic content
Public Library Issues



Enhance the experience of library patrons
Management and access to physical resources
Self-service through the Web portal:
 View
current loans, perform holds, renewals, pay fines
and fees

Self-service in the physical library
 RFID-based
self-issue and returns
 Helps the library deploy service personnel for highest
impact
National Library Issues

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Larger-scale collections
Cultural Heritage responsibilities
National services: bibliographic, resource sharing,
automation, etc.
National infrastructure: technology platforms shared
at the widest level
Digital preservation

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Libraries involved in creating digital libraries need
processes and infrastructure for long-term preservation
Open Archival Information Systems (OAIS) defines practices
and protocols that need to be embodied in a digital
preservation environment
Trusted Digital Repositories: meet standards for preservation
appropriate for unique and valuable collections
Digital preservation currently implemented in national, large
research, and other well-resourced libraries and archives.
Some institutional projects, some cooperative
Common to have disaster recovery; rare to implement true
digital preservation
A Cloudy Forecast for Libraries
Systems Librarian Column, Sept 2011
“Service-oriented architectures and browser-based
interfaces deployed through cloud-based
infrastructure stand today as the key technologies
preferred for new software development efforts”
http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/sep11/Breeding.shtml
Cloud Computing
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Major trend in Information Technology
Few organizations have core competence in large-scale
computer infrastructure management
Essentially outsourcing of server housing and
management
Usually based on a consumption-based business model
Most new automation products delivered through some
flavor of cloud computing
Many flavors to suit business needs: public, private,
hybrid
Library Automation in the Cloud

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Almost all library automation vendors offer some
form of cloud-based services
Server management moves from library to Vendor
Subscription-based business model
Comprehensive annual subscription payment
 Offsets
local server purchase and maintenance
 Offsets some local technology support
Application Service Provider
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Vendor hosting of traditional ILS
Technically Application Service Provider though
marketed as SaaS
Continued reliance on Graphical Clients deployed
on each staff workstation that need to be updated
and synched
Vendor maintains individual instances for each
library / site
Software as a Service

Multi Tennant SaaS is the modern approach
 One

Software functionality delivered entirely through
Web interfaces
 No

copy of the code base serves multiple sites
workstation clients
Upgrades and fixes deployed universally
 Usually
in small increments
Data as a service
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SaaS provides opportunity for highly shared data
models
WorldCat: one globally shared copy that serves all
libraries
Primo Central: central index of articles maintained by
Ex Libris shared by all libraries implementing Primo /
Primo Central
Global Knowledgebase of e-journal holdings shared
among all customers of SFX
General opportunity to move away from library-bylibrary metadata management to globally shared
workflows
Infrastructure as a Service


Access to hardware provisioned from remote
providers
Examples:
 Amazon
Elastic Compute (EC2)
 Cloud and Simple Storage Service (S3)

Many library automation vendors use IaaS to
deploy their offerings
Rethinking library automation
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Fundamental assumption: Print + Electronic + Digital
Traditional print-dominant ILS model not adequate for current
and future library realities
Libraries currently involved with a core ILS surrounded by
additional modules to handle electronic content
New discovery layer interfaces replacing or supplementing ILS
OPACS
Cloud technologies offer potential for new levels of efficiency
and cooperation
“It's Time to Break the Mold of the Original ILS” Computers in Libraries Nov/Dec 2007
Competing Models of Library
Automation

Traditional Proprietary Commercial ILS
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Traditional Open Source ILS

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Evergreen, Koha
New generation unified resource management


Aleph, Voyager, Millennium, Symphony, Polaris,
BOOK-IT, DDELibra, Libra.se
LIBERO, Amlib, Spydus, TOTALS II
Ex Libris Alma, Kuali OLE, OCLC Web-scale Management Services
Cloud-based automation systems

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Ex Libris Alma
OCLC Web-scale: Management Service
Serials Solutions: Web-Scale Management Solution
Comprehensive Resource Management

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No longer sensible to use different software
platforms for managing different types of library
materials
-- ILS + ERM + OpenURL Resolver + Digital Asset
management, etc. very inefficient model
++ Flexible platform capable of managing
multiple type of library materials, multiple
metadata formats, with appropriate workflows
Open Systems
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Achieving openness has risen as the key driver behind
library technology strategies
Libraries need to do more with their data
Ability to improve customer experience and operational
efficiencies
Demand for Interoperability
Open source – full access to internal program of the
application
Open API’s – expose programmatic interfaces to data
and functionality
Legacy LMS Model
Public Interfaces:
Staff Interfaces:
Interfaces
Business
Logic
Data
Stores
Circulation
BIB
Cataloging
Holding
/ Items
Circ
Transact
Acquisitions
User
Serials
Vendor
Online
Catalog
$$$
Funds
Policies
Legacy ILS Model / API
Public Interfaces:
Staff Interfaces:
Interfaces
Application Programming Interfaces
Business `
Logic
Data
Stores
Circulation
BIB
Cataloging
Holding
/ Items
Circ
Transact
Acquisitions
User
Serials
Vendor
Online
Catalog
$$$
Funds
Policies
Legacy ILS Model + protocol
Interlibrary
Loan
System
Public Interfaces:
Staff Interfaces:
Protocols: SIP2 NCIP Z39.50 OAI-PMH
Application Programming Interfaces
Circulation Cataloging
Acquisitions
Serials
Online
Catalog
Self-Check
BIB
Holding
/ Items
Circ
Transact
User
Vendor
$$$
Funds
Policies
Legacy ILS Model / External API
External
Systems &
Services
Public Interfaces:
Staff Interfaces:
Application Programming Interfaces / Web Services
Circulation Cataloging
Acquisitions
Serials
Online
Catalog
Flexible
Interoperability
Protocols: SIP2 NCIP Z39.50 OAI-PMH
BIB
Holding
/ Items
Circ
Transact
User
Vendor
$$$
Funds
Policies
New Library Management Model
Discovery Service
Search:
Self-Check /
Automated
Return
Search
Engine
API Layer
`
Consolidated index
Library Management
System
Digital
Coll
ProQuest
EBSCO
…
JSTOR
Stock
Management
Other
Resources
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
Learning
Management
Smart Cad /
Payment
systems
Authentication
Service
Library Services Platform
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Possible new term for the successor to the ILS
ILS now viewed as print-centric
Next Generation systems must serve as platforms to
connect external systems as well as to deliver
internal functionality
Delivered Functionality + library created extensions
+ interoperability
New models of Library Collection
Discovery
From local discovery to Web-scale discovery
Next-Gen Library Catalogs
Marshall Breeding
Neal-Schuman Publishers
March 2010
Volume 1 of The Tech Set
Online Catalog
Search:
Search Results
ILS Data
Disjointed approach to information and
service delivery

Silos Prevail
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Books: Library OPAC (ILS module)
Articles: Aggregated content products, e-journal collections
OpenURL linking services
E-journal finding aids (Often managed by link resolver)
Subject guides (e.g. Springshare LibGuides)
Local digital collections


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ETDs, photos, rich media collections
Metasearch engines
All searched separately
Federated Search
ILS Data
Digital
Collections
Search:
ProQuest
Search Results
EBSCOhost
…
MLA
Bibliography
ABC-CLIO
Real-time query and
responses
Next-gen Catalogs or Discovery
Interface


Single search box
Query tools
Did you mean
 Type-ahead
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Relevance ranked results
Faceted navigation
Enhanced visual displays
Cover art
 Summaries, reviews,


Recommendation services
Discovery Interface search model
Search:
Local
Index
ILS Data
Digital
Collections
ProQuest
Search Results
MetaSearch
Engine
EBSCOhost
…
MLA
Bibliography
ABC-CLIO
Real-time query and
responses
Discovery Products
Differentiation in Discovery
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Products increasingly specialized between public
and academic libraries
Public libraries: emphasis on engagement with
physical collection
Academic libraries: concern for discovery of
heterogeneous material types, especially books +
articles + digital objects
Discovery from Local to Web-scale

Initial products focused on technology
AquaBrowser, Endeca, Primo, Encore, VuFind,
 LIBERO Uno, Civica Sorcer, Axiell Arena
 Mostly locally-installed software


Current phase focused on pre-populated indexes that
aim to deliver Web-scale discovery
Primo Central (Ex Libris)
 Summon (Serials Solutions)
 WorldCat Local (OCLC)
 EBSCO Discovery Service (EBSCO)
 Encore with Article Integration

Citations / Metadata > Full Text

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Citations or structured metadata provide key data
to power search & retrieval and faceted navigation
Indexing Full-text of content amplifies access
Important to understand depth indexing
 Currency,
dates covered, full-text or citation
 Many other factors
Web-scale Index-based Discovery
Search Results
Consolidated Index
Search:
ILS Data
Digital
Collections
ProQuest
EBSCOhost
…
MLA
Bibliography
ABC-CLIO
Pre-built harvesting and
indexing
Challenge for Relevancy
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Technically feasible to index hundreds of millions or
billions of records through Lucene or SOLR
Difficult to order records in ways that make sense
Many fairly equivalent candidates returned for any
given query
Must rely on use-based and social factors to
improve relevancy rankings
Open Discovery Initiative

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
Project underway to address issues related to
information providers, discovery service providers, and
libraries
Protocols for transfer of content
Transparency of what is transferred and indexed
Rights or restrictions on how discovery services use
content
Initial meeting at ALA Annual
Proposal under consideration by NISO

“Proposed New Work Item: Standards and Best Practices
for Library Discovery Services Based on Indexed Search”
Decoupled from ILS
Decoupled Discovery?

Decoupled interfaces emerged from broken online
catalogs



Poor interfaces, inadequate scope
Inefficient integration between automation and
discovery platforms
New wave of more tightly integrated suites:
Ex Libris Alma > Primo
 OCLC Web-scale Management Services > WorldCat Local
 Serials Solutions Web-Scale Management Solution >
Summon


Still possible to decouple, but more effort, worse results
Delivering library services to mobile
devices


Increased expectation
for access to services
through mobile
Library services:
 Mobile
web
 Apps

Carefully select
functionality appropriate
for mobile
Tablet computing



Tablet computers have been around for a while, but
the introduction of Apple’s iPad increases popularity
High-quality
device for
content consumption
Access to library
services and
content
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0524/A-rundown-of-the-best-iPad-astronomy-apps
Questions and discussion
Thanks!