Scholars Portal Timeline
Presentation notes
Feb 22/10
For circulation to OCUL Directors in advance of the March 5th Directors meeting
Directors will dedicate their meeting on March 5th to strategic planning for Scholars
Portal and to approval of the 2010/11 Scholars Portal sustainability budget.
In order to provide an historical context for strategic planning, a look backwards at the
development of Scholars Portal was prepared by Alan Darnell and Kathy Scardellato.
Pages 1-24 form a presentation about OCUL plans and decisions, as well as key Scholars
Portal events over the past decade and looking forward to 2012. From page 24, some key
cost and usage information is provided.
Page 1 – Scholars Portal
o Here are a few reminders of the context in which Scholars Portal was envisaged
back in 2000 and 2001
Page 2 – In the beginning
o When Scholars Portal was envisaged, there were two key concepts.
Page 3 – Ontario Information Infrastructure
o The Ontario Information Infrastructure project was funded in 2001 by the Ontario
Innovation Trust
Page 4 – OII Project Goals
o There were four goals for the OII project
o These were to complement the CFI funding support for e-resources
o OCUL’s only employee at this time was Faye Abrams
Page 5 – OII Strategic Programs
o The project was organized in four strategic programs
Pages 6-9 OII Strategic Programs
o There were initiatives for each of the four programs and planned acquisition of
infrastructure. These are covered in Pages 5-8
Page 10 - 2002
o The agreement was signed in 2001 and the project was well-underway in 2002.
o The Journals system was created by using the existing system (Science Server) at
U of T and expanding access to OCUL members
o The RACER system was rolled out to the first group of schools
o In 2002, UOIT joined OCUL
o The Scholars Portal staff group was organized in two teams, for VDX and
Scholary Information Resources (SIRs). The VDX team was led by Carol
Stephenson; Alan Darnell was the only SIRs team member.
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o There were four FTE in 2002; this chart does not record short contracts and
student positions
Page 11 - 2003
o Some events in 2003 are noteworthy: the Liberals were elected in Ontario; and the
double cohort enrolled in Ontario universities
o The Racer rollout continued, adding 4 more schools
o A RefWorks server was installed
o Two new staff increased the complement to 6 FTE: with a programmer hired for
journal loading and a VDX support librarian added
Page 12 – 2004
o Roll-out for Racer continued; RefWorks rolled out to all schools
o SFX was acquired and rolled out to 19 schools
o We continued to use the Science Server system for Journals while planning to
move to the Encompass EJOS system.
o The team expanded again, adding 1 more person to Racer for reports, and
growing the SIRs team by 3
o The Ozone repository was established, housing CORIL documents and OLL
documents. There are no dedicated SP staff positions for Ozone
o Notably, in October, Google launched both Google Scholar and Google Books
o So at this point, Scholars Portal includes four applications: Journals, Racer,
RefWorks, and SFX.
o In late 2004, OCUL hired a Business Development Manager, Ewan Galbraith.
This position is not shown.
Page 13 – 2005
o The OII project was funded by $7.6M from the Ontario government and this is
noted on the Page.
o In 2004 and continuing into 2005, the OCUL Directors focussed on sustainability
planning for Scholars Portal. The OII funding was to end on Dec 31, 2005.
o The Racer roll out continued; there was a need for another team member in the
VDX team
o OCUL also decided to acquire Illumina to provide federated searching – this is
shown in the horizontal time bar at the top.
o The MINES survey spanned 2004-2005 as OCUL evaluated the success of its OII
project
o Externally, the Open Content Alliance was formed to digitize public domain
materials; U of T was a founding member
Page 14 – 2006
o Knowledge Ontario was set up and OCUL agreed to host a Knowledge Ontario
server for Our Ontario
o OCUL completed a pilot project using MultiSearch for broadcast federated
searching; it was determined not to continue with MultiSearch
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o The RACER staff team became smaller as the project leader position ended and a
client services position was dropped. So the total staff group was reduced to 9
FTE
o The OIT project needed to be changed into an operational service – so transition
planning took place.
o Since 2006, Scholars Portal has been sustained by OCUL. A cost allocation
formula was applied for the first sustainability budget. An opportunities fund
(now called the New Initiatives Fund) was set up. In 2006, the OCUL members
provided $2.45 M for this
o OCUL developed its Strategic Plan in 2006 and decided to re-organize its staffing,
creating an Executive Director position (not shown on page) and choosing not to
continue the OCUL Business Development Manager position.
o And OCUL articulated a series of understandings about Scholars Portal: core
services, an early adopter strategy, and principles for OCUL to act as a service
provider
Page 15 – OCUL as a service provider: principles
o These are the principles for OCUL to act as a service provider
Page 16 – 2007
o 2007 was an eventful year for OCUL
o OCUL governance structure for SP was changed and SPOD was formed.
o Reorganization of the SP team was planned and implemented. Staff were
organized into 3 groups (client services, programming and systems) with 1
Manager.
o Sue McGillvray left the Racer team in October and Alan became the SP manager.
o Two staff joined the team: an additional programmer was to support data loading
and another systems support position to support after hours service
o In early 2007, the OntarioBuys project proposals for Data and E-Books were
successfully funded and $1.5 M was received (noted below in green).
o Verde was implemented as an early adopter system (not core) within SP.
o OCUL decided late in 2006 to acquire MarkLogic to replace the EJOS/Science
Server system and this project got underway in 2007.
o In terms of funding, there were three sources: $1.5 M for the Data and Ebooks
projects to be spent over 3 years, $2.75 M from OCUL members, and $86K in
other revenue (non-OCUL clients for RefWorks and interest).
o Notably, CFI funded the CRKN DCI project and Synergies was also funded.
o The OCUL Executive Director position was filled by Kathy Scardellato, starting
on August 1st.
Page 17 – 2008
o The Journals migration project continued in 2008; an additional programmer
joined the team.
o The OntarioBuys projects were staffed when the technology implementations
began (two people per project)
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o For e-books, ebrary’s ISIS technology was selected and, after delays in receving
the application, the implementation began in August
o For ODESI, the Nesstar system was acquired and set up.
o Note that the OCUL member contributions were reduced to $2.62M. As OCUL
was able to devote more time to Scholars Portal budget planning, we were able to
track budget variances and cash flow. Consequently, unspent funds from previous
years were identified. These helped to reduce the revenue needs for 2008/09.
o Within the budget, unspent funds were realized due to reduced hardware
maintenance costs and some delays in hiring staff.
Page 18 – 2009
o Our new Journals system was released first to librarians and then to everyone in
July
o The Trusted Digital Repository project progressed; CRL completed its first
contract in April 2009 after a planning process that included a survey and meeting
with Directors in January. This was followed by an audit process beginning in
July and a draft report received in the fall which was discussed with the Directors
at the November meeting. This identified a large suite of policy and procedure
documents that are needed.
o The ODESI project became a core SP service in 2009; a transition process took
place between March and September. Two staff positions were added to the core
complement – a programmer and a Data and Geospatial Librarian. The SPOT
complement is 13 FTE.
o Two E-book project staff continued in 2009. The beta version of the system was
released in the fall
o OntarioBuys funded OCUL for a third project – the Geospatial and Health
Informatics Portal. $0.53 M was received in the first year. The SP Data and
Geospatial Librarian acts as the project manager
o Planning for the MINES survey commenced
o At the beginning of the year, Algoma joined OCUL
o OCUL member contributions were $2.67 M. Again, increased revenue needs were
minimized because of substantial carry-forward amounts. These resulted from SP
staff salaries that were paid through project funds, hardware maintenance costs
were reduced, and increased other income through interest earned on the eresources deposit accounts
o Internal programming / development using Mark Logic has reduced software
maintenance costs
o Total other income was $155K, of which $72K was for interest earned on the eresources deposit accounts; the balance is for non-OCUL client revenue.
Page 19 – 2010
o SPOT staff increased by 1 person: evaluation librarian
o Scheduled work: TDR audit continuing, accessibility audit, MINES survey,
RefWorks evaluation continuing
o E-books service goes live in January with 250,000+ books
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o E-books project 1-year extension request to OntarioBuys receives verbal approval
in January; project staffing continues with additional programmer hiring for 1
year. In anticipation of the project ending after 2010, later in the year Directors
will be provided with a sustainability proposal for the E-books system.
o Geospatial project RFP for a geospatial application awarded; two technical
positions for the project will be filled; $0.44M grant to be received
o Proposed SP 2010/11 budget includes OCUL member contributions of $2.67M
o Other income includes, for second year, interest earned on the e-resources deposit
accounts (total $159M)
o The organizing structure for the SPOT staff is becoming somewhat unwieldy and
will probably need some changes so that we can improve service and meet
expectations for communications etc
o Administrative work has increased related to 1) funding applications and report
requirements for the OntarioBuys projects since 2007; 2) RFP-related tasks since
2002
Page 20 – 2011
o Looking forward into next year, we anticipate that the e-books system will be part
of the core services – this is shown in the timeline row at the top. Two positions
will be needed to sustain the E-books system (1 client services librarian and 1
programmer) so the FTE for core services increases to 16.
o The Geospatial project will continue; late in 2011, Directors will receive a
sustainability proposal in order to prepare for the scheduled project completion in
spring 2012
o OCUL member contributions are forecast at $2.77M
o Other revenue returns to $83K, generated through non-OCUL clients for
RefWorks
Page 21 – 2012
o The Geoportal project will move into core services. It is anticipated that we will
need to add 2 positions to SPOT to support this service (client services librarian
and programmer).
o OCUL member contributions are forecast at $2.89M
Page 22 – Hardware
o Since 2002, the number of servers has grown from a small number needed to
support 2 services to more than 50 servers and 150TB of storage array supporting
7 services.
Page 23 – Summary
o After 10 years, the core services will have grown from a base of 2 services
(Journals and Racer) to 8 services (Journals, Racer, RefWorks, SFX, Search,
ODESI, Books, and Geoportal). Over the ten year period, the team will have
supported 2 MINES surveys, the Knowledge Ontario server, Verde for early
adopter libraries, the MultiSearch pilot, the TDR audit process, and evaluation of
several services.
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o Since sustainability was assumed by the OCUL members, their contributions will
have increased from $2.45M in 2006 to $2.89M in 2012. This will be an increase
of 18% over the 6 year period.
o From 2007-2012, Ontario grants of $2.47M have been received to support the
development of 3 new core services.
o Membership has grown to 21 members (from 19 members before Scholars Portal
was created)
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Scholars Portal Costs and Usage
Page 24 Scholars Portal Costs, 2006-2012: Revenue
o Revenue to support Scholars Portal is shown here in four categories: annual
member contributions, non-OCUL client revenue, interest from e-resources
deposit funds, and reimbursements from Knowledge Ontario and the OntarioBuys
projects (when SP staff work on these projects, the SP budget is reimbursed from
the OntarioBuys project funds). The revenue grew notably from 2006 to 2007 but
has not changed much since then.
Page 25 - Scholars Portal Costs, 2006-2012: Revenue vs. Expenditures
o Annual expenditures in broad categories are shown: Restricted and Unrestricted
Funding (this is the funds that OCUL sets aside for future purchases and reserves),
staff (funded by OCUL), staff (when costs are reimbursed by the OntarioBuys
project funds), operations and evaluation, software, hardware, and commitments
to the OntarioBuys projects (this is the matching funds that the SP budget
contributes to these projects).
o Staff costs have gradually increased to support new services; hardware costs have
decreased; software costs are decreasing
o Revenue exceeded expenditures for two years
o Expenditures will exceed revenue for 2009/10 - this is affordable through use of
carried forward revenue from previous years
o Balanced budgets are proposed and forecast for the next three years
Page 26 - Scholars Portal Service Costs and Use, 2002-2012
o The intention in these next slides is to review the usage and key costs for some
core SP services and provide some future projections. Three services, SFX,
Journals and Illumina Search, were selected for analysis (in the time available)
with the intention of supporting discussions about cost and benefits. Other
services (Racer, for instance) could also be analyzed.
o One of the founding premises on which SP was built, is that the costs of managing
electronic resources are so high that a cooperative approach to delivering and
managing electronic resources is the most cost effective solution for OCUL and
that Scholars Portal represents that solution.
o SFX strongly exemplifies cost savings through collaboration, as does Racer. The
central SFX installation supports not only linking to the SP archive but also to
remote vendor sites. If OCUL members were to replicate SFX at 20 institutions,
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we estimate the total cost would be nearly 7 times the cost of OCUL’s existing
shared SFX service.
o The central SFX installation can be used by individual OCUL schools to provide
a customized A-Z title list on their website. Twelve OCUL schools are doing this
now.
Page 27 - SFX Service Costs
o The shared cost per click through is just slightly less than 1 cent.
o Total shared cost in $161,356.00; estimate of total cost for 20 schools to set up
SFX individually is $1.10 M. These costs include staff, servers, and licensing.
Schools could host themselves or pay for hosting. Costs would probably be
similar.
o We’ve gathered comments from the Ryerson SFX survey - they convey users’
appreciation for SFX. Here are two:
“I think this program is great! I used to stay at the school library for hours
just to find an article, which was annoying because it prevented me from
doing other things.” Ryerson Undergraduate, community services. Have
used SFX for 1-2 years.
“I really like the Get it! @Ryerson. I think that it is a great tool for students,
staff and faculty. As a student, it has helped me A LOT over the last
three years at Ryerson, and I would definitely recommend it to other
students now and in the future.” Ryerson Undergraduate, community
services, 2-3 years using Get it!
Page 28 - E-journals costs
o Cumulative article downloads, are shown in the blue line, growing from 2.2 M in
2002 to 26 M in 2008/09. The trend is for growth to 44.8 M by 2012/13.
o The e-journal cost per download in 2002 was $0.69. As the number of downloads
has increased, the cost per download has gradually decreased. In 2006/07, before
the MarkLogic project began, the costs were $0.10/download. You’ll remember
that OCUL needed to replace the Science Server system so the Mark Logic
project was started in 2007. Costs increased at that point. The Mark Logic Ejournals system went live in mid-2009, with a cost of $0.15/download for 2009/10.
The projected cost for 2012/13 is $0.12/download.
o While the MarkLogic project caused costs to increase from 2007, we should note
that MarkLogic has since been used for the ODESI and E-Books systems, and in
2010, the Illumina replacement project will use MarkLogic. So while there was an
opportunity cost for OCUL when it directed funds to the MarkLogic project
(rather than to other priorities for development), the investment that was initially
made for E-journals enabled the SPOT team to build its expertise and thus benefit
other services.
Page 29 – SFX Click-throughs to Scholars Portal
o For 2009, we’ve gathering SFX data to compare clickthroughs to Scholars Portal
e-journals vs. clickthroughs to other targets as a way of demonstrating use of
Scholars Portal e-journals compared with use of other full text journal content.
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What we can see is that Scholars Portal e-journals is the most chosen full text
"target" via SFX of all available for almost every institution. (See the SP EJournals RANK column for this; UofT data is not available for this
query). The % of total full text clickthroughs that Scholars Portal e-journals
represent is also quite high, ranging for most from 12% to 30%.
Page 30 – SFX Full Text Targets
o For three sample OCUL schools (Trent, Ryerson, and York), we identified the top
3 SFX full-text targets
o Further analysis that is underway (not yet available):
o We are gathering cost/usage data for ProQuest, Elsevier, Springer and
Gale so that we’ve got a comparison point for cost/search and cost/article
download.
o We’re analyzing local loading success rates for important journal titles.
This will help us identify where new strategies are needed to acquire local
loading rights.
Page 31 – Search
o Illumina is another SP work horse. From the usage statistics, it’s clear that
Illumina Searches have increased over time.
o Are we getting the best use of Illumina that we can? We wanted to know if OCUL
members are using Illumina Search on their local web services. In a quick survey
of the members in February, we learned that SP search boxes have been added to
library websites and/or course management systems at 50% of the OCUL
institutions
Page 32 – Search usage
o The cumulative number of searches in Illumina shows a strong curve upwards,
from 10 M in 2006/07, to 47 M in 2009/10, and projected to grow to 96 M by
2012/13.
o As the number of searches has grown, the cost per search has decreased. The cost
was $0.06/search in 2006/07, decreasing to $0.04 in 2009/10. Similarly to the
pattern seen with the MarkLogic E-journals project, the costs will rise in 2010/11
as the Illumina Replacement development project increases our costs. We expect
the costs to drop again to $0.03 / search by 2012.
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