Transcript IESR: Providing a Catalogue of Resources for Portals

Introduction to the IESR
Amanda Hill
MIMAS,
The University of Manchester, UK
Context
• Joint Information Systems
Committee (JISC) provides ICT
infrastructure, resources and
advice for United Kingdom
universities and colleges
– Funds a large number of projects, as
well as electronic collections for the
research, learning and teaching
communities
www.jisc.ac.uk
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Current digital landscape
"…a vast and sometimes bewildering range of
potential sources of electronic information.
Little wonder, then, that many users remain
unaware of their existence or fail to discover
their value for their own learning, teaching or
research."
Investing in the Future:
Developing an Online Information Environment
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=ie_home
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JISC Information Environment
"…aims to offer the user a more
seamless and less complex journey to
relevant information and learning
resources"
"…will enable presentation, delivery and
use of online resources in ways tailored
to support individual and institutional
requirements in learning, teaching and
research"
Information Environment: Development Strategy [c.2003]
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=strat_ieds0105_draft2
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IE Technical Model
Information Environment: Development Strategy
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=strat_ieds0105_draft2
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Shared Services
"To enable portals and other services to
deliver diverse digital resources, machinereadable information about services,
content, rights and users is required to act
as the 'glue' between portals and the
content itself."
Investing in the Future:
Developing an Online Information Environment
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=ie_home
2006-03-23
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Shared Services
"To enable portals and other services to
deliver diverse digital resources, machinereadable information about services,
content, rights and users is required to act
as the 'glue' between portals and the
content itself."
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Information Environment
Service Registry
• A catalogue of the electronic resources
available within the JISC’s Information
Environment
• Contains information about:
– the resources themselves
– how to access the resources
– the resource provider(s)
• Is accessible by other applications via
machine-to-machine interfaces
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Project history
• Partners
– MIMAS, University of Manchester
– UKOLN, University of Bath
– Cheshire Development Team, University of Liverpool
• Funded by JISC in three phases since
November 2002
• Current phase started 1 March 2005
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Current contents
• 257 electronic resources currently described,
supplied by JISC-funded service providers
• 313 services registered, 162 agents
• We will be expanding our content to
encompass non-JISC service providers: e.g.
– institutional resources (digital repositories, OPACs)
– resources of other UK Common Information
Environment partners (National Archives, British
Library, National Health Service, BBC)
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IESR for service providers
• Provides information about resources
based on existing descriptive standards
– A 'master description'
– Can be re-used in a variety of contexts
• Advertises resources
– Should lead to increased use
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Issues
• Defining the scope of the IESR
• Embedding the IESR into the JISC IE
• Encouraging contributors to describe their resources:
demonstrating benefit
• Ensuring quality and currency of metadata
• Keeping pace with changing/emerging technical standards
• Working with developers of applications that will make use of
IESR: demonstrate value
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IESR: A Registry of Collections and
Services
Ann Apps
MIMAS,
The University of Manchester, UK
Outline
JISC Information Environment Service
Registry (IESR):
• IESR content description
• IESR services
• Using IESR
• The future
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IESR Content
• Descriptions of:
–
–
–
–
Collections of resources
Made available via Informational Services
Agents: Owners / Administrators
Transactional Services
• Service: a system that provides one or more
functions to a consumer
• Contributed by resource providers
• QA check by IESR content manager
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IESR Entities
Collection
provides
access
Service
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owns
administers
Agent
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IESR Entity Description
• Entities identified with URI
• Described by metadata
• Metadata defined by Application Profile
– Semantics
– Occurrence
– Searchable
• AP for human reading
– More restrictive than XML schema
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IESR Collection Metadata
• Based on RSLP Collection Description
• Simplification for electronic resources
• Consistent with:
– DCMI Collection Description Application
Profile
– NISO MI Collection Description Specification
• Vocabularies for property values
– Dewey subject backbone
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IESR Service Metadata
• A few IESR properties to support
discovery and registry application
• Single access method:
– SRU, Z39.50, SOAP, OAI-PMH, Web/CGI
• Location URL
• Prototype service type list, e.g. Alert
• Interface property for some service
types using appropriate schema
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Other Service types
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SOAP: Locator: access URL; Interface: WSDL
SRU: Interface: ZeeRex
SRW: Interface: ZeeRex; WSDL
OAI-PMH: Locator: BaseURL
OpenURL: Locator: BaseURL
Web CGI: Interface: arguments
Web page: Locator: URL
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IESR Agent and
Administrative Metadata
• Agent: contact details
• Administrative:
– Included with every entity
• IESR includes:
– creating organisation, publisher: IESR
– latest modification date
– rights to reuse descriptions:
Creative Commons
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IESR Services
• Z39.50
– Search via Bib-1 attributes
– Results: text (SUTRS); composite XML
• OAI-PMH for harvesting: entity XML
• OpenURL Link-To Resolver
– Implements IESR identifier resolution
• Web Search and Browse
• Data Editor for Contributors
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Use of IESR services, 2005-2006
Use of IESR by service interface
2500
2000
1500
OAI
Accesses
OpenURL
1000
Z39.50
Web
500
0
Mar Apr May Jun
Jul
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb
2005-2006
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Future Services
•
•
•
•
•
SRU (NISO MI MXG)
Web Services SOAP / SRW (planned)
RSS
Data ingest by harvest
UDDI (under investigation)
– Mapping IESR data to UDDI
– Prototype registry
– Is there a requirement?
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IESR Users
• DL Portal; Metasearch Application
– amalgamated set of resources
• IESR provides:
– Discovery of resource collections
– Up-to-date details of access to collections
– Discovery of transactional services
• RSS: personal DL portal
• OpenURL resolvers
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Portal Metasearch Scenario
• Social Science portal discovers
collections with e.g. Z39.50 services
• Provides cross-search to end-user
• Portal builder doesn’t need to know
about all resources
• Users discover collections unaware of
• Alternative: OAI-PMH harvest
• Static use by Portal builder:
– Necessary for SOAP
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Distributed Service Registries
• Scope of IESR
– JISC, UK, international?
– Scalability and Data ownership issues
• Distributed / federated model
– Each node describes own resources
• How to cross search?
– Metasearch; UDDI;
– Aggregate by OAI-PMH harvest
• Rights issues: common CC Licence?
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Standard Metadata Schema
• Sharing collection descriptions
– Created by resource provider
– Need common / derivable metadata schema
• NISO Metasearch Initiative / DCMI
Collection Description
– Provides a common core
• IESR a practical example application
– Feedback to NISO MI and DCMI CD
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IESR Future
• More and updated content
• New IESR services
• Maintenance of metadata schema
– Use by: OCKHAM; DEST
• Demonstrating viable IESR use
• Persistence of content
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IESR Details
Thank You! Questions?
Information: http://iesr.ac.uk/
Application Profile: http://iesr.ac.uk/profile/
XML Schema: http://iesr.ac.uk/schemas/iesr.xsd
Web Search: http://iesr.ac.uk/registry/
Z39.50 service: http://iesr.ac.uk/use/z3950/
OAI-PMH service: http://iesr.ac.uk/use/oaipmh/
IESR Helpline service: [email protected]
[email protected]
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