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IST Professional Development Seminar

Current Directions inLibrary Systems & Services

Mark HaslettAssociate University Librarian

Information Services & SystemsUniversity of Waterloo

October 25, 2002

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Purpose of Today’s Session

A high level overview of some major initiatives and trends in academic libraries

Provide some context Pointers to sources of further information Identify possible topics for more in-depth

session(s) Explain…

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Some acronyms + OCUL CARL ARL CFI CNSLP OIT OII OAI

GIS IR VDX CNI SPARC EZproxy

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“At bats, hits, home runs…” Fall 1998 Information Update

Session

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Since 1998, the world has changed

Fall 1998 Scouting Report

Increasing Web access Silverplatter's ERL service Current Contents online citation

service Cambridge Scientific Abstracts online TRELLIS upgrade TUG Data Resource Service Electronic Theses & Dissertations

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How did our stats look in 1998?

We’d had a lot of hits and a few doubles & triples.

We may not have been McGwire but we had hit a few home runs.

Our batting average was looking good.

“It’s all about service, the rest is just technology.”

In-house training facility needed Information Services Review underway Continuing infrastructure upgrades

underway Web development collaboration

ongoing Office automation initiatives in process

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1994, 1998, 2002 October 1994

2nd International WWW conference, Chicago October 1998

Shift to accessing scholarly information resources via the web starting to accelerate

October 2002 ARL/CNI/SPARC Workshop on Institutional

Repositories

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Shift to Electronic Access Virtually all subject areas are covered

by electronic indexes to the literature At UW, we now have access to more

than 7,400 electronic journals Increasing online linkages between

indexes and full text articles Many purchases made in a consortial

arrangement with other libraries Pricing model based on electronic

product, with print as an add-on

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Effects of shift to electronic resources

Increased journal holdings after years of decline

Managed with small increases in the acquisitions budget

Increased and enhanced access from the desktop on-site and remotely

Participation in regional, national and international scholarly communications initiatives.

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Networked environment

Networks are ubiquitous Portable computing devices are

commonplace Wired and wireless environments

are now in place

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The I.T. Context for Libraries

Libraries have a significant and proud past of I.T. initiatives and projects.

We are able and innovative users of I.T.

We know our business; And we know where to use the technology.

And now we are in a new (watershed) period.

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Technology’s role

Enabler Efficient delivery of information Aim is on effective & focused use of technology The introduction of technology should enhance

the learning & research environment. Provides opportunities to share, collaborate…

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Clifford Lynch on the Context of Libraries and Information

Technology Modernization, innovation,

transformation. 3 automation ages:

computerizing library operations rise of public access print goes electronic

“Libraries cannot be considered in isolation.”

http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm00/pp060068.pdf

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Fostering partnerships & collaboration

Latest IST Directions document Complex systems and environment Leverage limited resources Two minds are better than one Shared knowledge, experience, &

expertise

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The Library’s mission/role

Enhancing access to information resources

The Library trains and develops staff to:

identify the information needs of Library users

relate those needs to available resources provide access to those resources facilitate the productive and proficient use

of those resources

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The Library’s Strategic Directions

In the pursuit of its mission, the Library is committed to:

Satisfying the information needs of learners, teachers and researchers, and

Establishing collaborative partnerships to fulfil this objective.

Effective, focused and innovative use of information technology,

Continuous opportunity for Library staff training and development.

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Strategic Directions (cont’d)

1: Increase the breadth and scope of information resources

2: Enhance and integrate access to information resources and services

3: Respond to changing approaches to scholarly communications and reinforce the University community’s understanding of the effect of the changes

4: Assess the effectiveness of library services and information resources

5: Support students in the development of information discovery and critical evaluation skills “information literacy”

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The evolving library environment

Digital/electronic and paper resources both continue to grow

Increasing numbers of e-journals

Integrating access to information

To print and digital resources

Linking digital to digital

The hybrid library

Print; digital/electronic; …

E-Resources & services

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A random list of UW initiatives

Public Workstations & Networks Review

E-Reserves service Online Reference EZproxy service Web usability studies Cognos Web Reports Electronic Theses

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A random list (cont’d) Wireless developments Links to other UW administrative systems

GIS CLOE / CLODE

VDX Project Scholarsportal

Open Archives / Institutional Repositories

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E-Reserves service Since fall 2001

about 50 instructors approximately 20 courses per term more than 200 scanned files per term more than 20,000 downloads per term

In May 2002 a one-year limited trial to determine the feasibility of

obtaining copyright permissions to mount copyrighted material on electronic reserves.

Plans are now underway to conduct a web-based faculty survey regarding reserves service.

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On-line Reference Introduced at UW week of October 14th First phase:

Mondays - Fridays, 1:00pm - 4:00pm Intended for University of Waterloo

students, faculty, and staff who are away from the library information desk and need assistance.

www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/

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Public Workstation and Network Environment

Review the requirements for public workstations in the UW libraries in light of anticipated changes in library services, user needs, and the Library and campus computing environments

www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/ismc/topics/publicworkstation/charter.html

 

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Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL)

OCUL is a consortium of nineteen university libraries in the province of Ontario. The member libraries cooperate to enhance information services through resource sharing, collective purchasing, document delivery and many other similar activities.

Consortial Purchases OII initiatives

www.ocul.on.ca

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Ontario Information Infrastructure (OII)

An OCUL-sponsored initiative Funded in part by the Ontario government’s

Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) Responsible for coordinating:

the introduction of the OCUL Ontario-wide Inter-Library system ("VDX")

the introduction of enhanced access to e-journals for all of OCUL (the "scholarsportal" Project).

and related initiatives

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OCUL OII VDX Project The implementation of a province-

wide inter-library loan service Fretwell-Downing Carol Stephenson, Project Manager

insite.lib.uoguelph.ca/rmd/vdx.htm

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The OCUL OII scholarsportal Initiative

Access to scholarly information resources

E-journals @ University of Waterloo see http://scholarsportal.info/

Endeavor's ENCompass The OpenURL standard

being fast-tracked within NISO

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CFI CNSLP Canadian National Site Licensing

Project Goals Benefits to UW

Shift to electronic access at UW OCUL SPARC

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CNSLP The Canadian National Site Licensing Project

a collaborative initiative of sixty-four universities in Canad

test the concept of licensing electronic scholarly publications on a national basis

funded as a three-year pilot project by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) ($20M), with participating universities and provincial revenue partners contributing matching funds ($30M).

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CNSLP - Goals Increase quantity, breadth & depth of research

literature build capacity, within and across multiple disciplines share costs and reduce economic barriers to

participation Maximize use and utility of content for researchers

speed transition from print to electronic resources encourage large-scale adoption of digital formats

Influence the marketplace reduce volatility and unpredictability achieve advantageous terms and conditions for usage develop new models

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SPARC: Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition

A worldwide alliance of libraries and library organizations that encourages competition in the scholarly communications market, by:

introducing new solutions to scientific journal publishing facilitating the use of technology to expand access, and partnering with publishers which bring top-quality, low-cost research to a greater

audience.

Some SPARC publishing partnership initiatives American Chemical Society (ACS): Organic Letters Evolutionary Ecology Research: partnership born when the former editor of the

competing commercially published title resigned from that journal in protest of its price increases and founded this alternative

BioOne is a major SPARC initiative undertaken in cooperation with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), the University of Kansas, Allen Press, and the Big 12 Plus Library Consortium.

the Open Archives Initiative (OAI)

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Open Archives Initiative (OAI)

Institutional Repositories: A Workshop on Creating an Infrastructure for Faculty-Library Partnerships (Co-sponsored by ARL, SPARC, and CNI) www.arl.org/ir2002.html

Research Innovation and Scholarship: the Role of Open Access Publishing www.uottawa.ca/library/carl/

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More on OAI Quite simple in concept:

Describe the information Harvest the information

As for implementation… What information? Who describes it? Who supports it? Faculty buy-in (e.g. P&T issues; intellectual

property matters? long term preservation? etc.)

Impact on commercial journal publishers and their responses

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Strategy and Serendipity

Position ourselves in an increasingly networked world.

Identify strategies, pilot projects & initiatives, and partnerships so that we stay ahead of the game.

Create an environment that meets the needs of students, staff and faculty in a transitional hybrid environment.

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Some Personal Observations

Balance sustainability and innovation Focus on both flexibility and stability Pay attention and listen to needs of

our users Listen for the hype… rhetoric vs.

reality Avoid I.T. religious wars Instill a service ethic: service is

primary – I.T. is secondary.

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And now a little quiz … OCUL CARL ARL CFI CNSLP OIT OII OAI

GIS IR VDX CNI SPARC EZproxy