Kuali OLE Status Report
Grace Agnew
AUL for Digital Library Systems
Rutgers University Libraries
July 22, 2014
What Is KUALI OLE?

Software to manage library core services:
Acquiring information
Describing information
Enabling discovery and reuse of information
 Community source software, sponsored by the
Andrew Mellon Foundation and developed by
leading academic research libraries since 2008,
under the ongoing management of the Kuali
Foundation.
 Adhering to SAAS and open software principles
of middleware and core functionality that can
be added to with applications and code to
support local or specialized needs
Context:
Rutgers University Libraries
Current ILS Status
 Commercial Integrated Library Systems provide acquisition, cataloging,
circulation, inventory management, media booking, reserves and statistics
reporting. (SirsiDynix, Endeavor, etc.)
 Interlibrary loan, document delivery and subscription management are third
party applications that integrate with the ILS
+
•
•
•
•
Turnkey System
Good support
Well tested
Stable
• Expensive ($165K+ annually)
• Canned workflows, largely
designed for print materials
• Little or no say in enhancements,
design
• Everything is an expensive “extra”
Community Source Model
•
Cost is only Kuali Membership, but also committing to
collaborative development, testing.
•
SAAS approach and service registry enables us to design
new workflows as needed and add services to the registry
BUT…
• Cost in staffing/Level of Effort will be many times greater
•
Robustness and stability are a risk for mission critical
services
•
Integration with Enterprise applications – intended
to interact seamlessly with financial and HR systems.
This is a benefit and a problem, particularly for
consortial implementations.
• “Workflow” design – flexible architecture to support
management of any library workflow, not just traditional
technical services
• Operations and Development platform– is something
missing? Build it and add it to the service architecture
Current Status

1.0 in current release
 1.5 – First implementable release. Will be
available for download after U of Chicago and
LeHigh go live in Summer, 2014
Requires Kuali Rice, a middleware architecture to provide
common services and a development platform:
• Service bus, that coordinates the messaging that
transmits workflow from one person or process to
another.
• Kuali Nervous System – common, reusable codes used by
workflow routines, document handling and development
platform for adding new services and workflows
• Routing systems route messages for workflows
• Kuali Rules Management - centralized rules for all
processes, including circulation matrices, purchase order
approvals, etc.
• Identity management uses enterprise authentication.
Core Design Principles: Documents and Workflow
Documents
• All workflows are based on documents. All information
is stored in documents. A document is needed to
initiate any workflow.
• Native Documents are XML documents with schemas
• System is “document agnostic” – any digital document
can be stored as part of a workflow
Workflow
• Processes are developed as workflows:
Documents routed to identified actors.
Actors perform actions on documents
defined by services that occur according to rules in the Kuali
Rules Management System
Action List Process:
 Clickable list of actions awaiting response for each
individual logged into OLE
 Primary actions: approve, acknowledge, complete (add
additional info, take the next step), and FYI
 When required action is taken, it is written to event log and
document is routed to the next individual in the workflow.
Select and Acquire
•
Financial management (fund accounting, accounts
payable, etc.) depend upon the hierarchical documents
known as charts, which manage accounts.
•
The root chart is the University chart of accounts (chart at
the “U” level), with lower hierarchical “child” levels of
organization and responsibility center. COA supports and
validates entries into the general ledger for encumbering,
expending and accounting for funds
•
Fund accounting, ordering, invoice processing are available.
Fiscal rollover will not be available until v 2.0 in December
2014
Fund Account Document
Requires a
stewardship
workflow with
individual
accountability
for changes,
etc.
What is Transformative in OLE
Core license workflows
•
Documentation of licenses in emerging standard ONIXPL (as vendors begin to support, will be able to natively
load licenses). Can it be used for ILL? Can it be used for
coursepacks? Does it have an embargo period? Is open
access deposit supported?
•
Accountability features: Each license must have a
steward responsible for the license. May be routed to
others with identified roles
•
Can associate multiple documents of any type with any
licensing event, such as request for new license, PDF of
signed license, etc.
From the license menu, you can
add a new license, which involves
starting a workflow to request a
new license
The event log is used to maintain
correspondence and document
changes to any e-resource record
User
Authenticates,
obtains IP
Resource
User
Authenticates
Resource
Checks conditions of use
Transformative electronic subscription
information
•
Licensing information available in a standardized format for the
first time – improved workflow, transparency in licensing
•
“Who has what and what can we do with it” – available for
consortial use for the first time. Easy to download, add library’s
unique data and reshare in global database
• Supports easy migration from discovery layers, rapid development of
new discovery layers.
• Mellon has awarded a grant to NISO to create standard ONIX-PL data
for known packages and subscriptions, thus creating the first open
source “A-Z list.”
Describe
• Works as a document store, with the ability to
associate documents with a bibliographic work.
•
Current support for MARC, Dublin Core
(qualified and unqualified)
Supports loading one record, batch loading,
including from OCLC and manual record
creation.
What’s transformative

Support for other metadata, such as
Institutional Repository metadata can be added
for a fully integrated catalog of all information.
•
Deliver
•
Uses Rice Kuali Rules Management System for the loan
matrix
• Circulation Desks are set up as documents. Operators
are associated with one or more circulation desks
(transactions, such as pick up and fines management are
associated with circulation desks.). Enables scheduling
and management of circulation desks
• Patrons can place holds, request books, check fines
What’s Transformative?
 OLE is designed to integrate tightly with
institution’s identity management and
industry standard Shibboleth
 OLE is designed to document all transactions
in context-supporting events (who did what
when and why)
 We will design a lightweight authentication and
event based circulation across institutions that
documents what occurred and who is accountable
(by netID), until the event conclusion is reached
(book returned, fine paid, etc.), with statistics
reporting, to support privacy-protective universal
borrowing.
FY15 – Install V 1.5 (Fall, 2014)
FY15 - Shared catalog, using VUFind,
live! July 2015
FY15 – Test modules, Gap analysis,
“VALID University”
FY 15/16 – Design “Universal Borrowing”
and Event-based circulation
FY16 – Universal Borrowing is
developed (Funding must be found)
FY16 – Rutgers University (others?) go
live! on July 1, 2016
FY17 – Universal borrowing goes live
FY17 – Remaining alpha implementers go
live