Transcript NOWAL meeting, 12 July 05 Libraries in the age of Amazoogle: flattened and turned inside out Lorcan Dempsey OCLC NOWAL meeting. Manchester Metropolitan University 12 July 2005

NOWAL meeting, 12 July 05
Libraries in the age of Amazoogle:
flattened and turned inside out
Lorcan Dempsey
OCLC
NOWAL meeting.
Manchester Metropolitan
University
12 July 2005
Some context
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
A flat world:
coordinates adapted from Friedman
A digital platform
Computation and communication
Reduced friction in workflows
‘Web services’ – communicating applications
Streamlined logistics and supply chain
Distributed global deep collaboration and sourcing
Processes assembled based on cost and efficiency
Vertical intra-organizational assembly
horizontal interorganizational assembly
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
A digital platform
Reduced friction
in workflows
Deep collaboration
and sourcing
 The web is the information space
 Amazoogle defines what is ‘onweb’
 The texting generation
 Network workflows emerging to
help manage time spent in network
 The library has to be in those
workflows
 ‘Pool uncertainty’
 Libraries do less on their own.
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
Overview
A digital space: an appropriate repsonse: thinking
about Amazoogle
Workflow: library services in the flow
Flattening: deep collaboration and sourcing
Examples of some OCLC responses
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
Amazoogle
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
Web hub services
Library
A comprehensive discovery
experience
Fragmented
Predictable, often immediate,
fulfilment
Intermittent;
Silo applications
Data works
hard
Inert;
Silos of data
Machine interfaces
Stitch into user environments
Closed
Co-created with users
Closed
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Some lessons ..
 Data: the advantages of mass
 Applications: the advantages of light-weight
openness
 Experience: rich experiences provided as close to
the user as possible
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… flow and flattening …
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lab books
PDAs
campus portal
learning management systems
exhibitions
course material
text book
personal collections
reading
lists
library
user environments
resource environment
Virtual
reference
Institutional repository
Aggregations
Digital collections
E-reserve
Catalog
Cataloging
ILL
Licensed
collections
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Think
about libraries
and the
environment
of learning ….
Gather -- create -- share
Flecker and McLean. CNI/IMS paper
Elgg :: Personal Learning Landscape
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I suggest that the key strategic challenge for
information professionals is that many involved in
shaping the future of e-learning do not see the
relevance of our content and services to their
endeavours. Rebranding is needed to transform
“library” and “published” content into “learning tools”.
Alicia Wise, CEO, Publishers Licensing Society
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Imperative is to release value in the user
environment: reduce friction
In the user workflow
Integration: resource
integration supports
integration into user
environment
Liquid linkable content
 Workflow as ‘intermediate’
consumer
 Search engine, CMS, RSS,
toolbar, extensions, …
 No service is the sole focus of
user attention
 Plug into multiple channels for
discovery, location, fulfillment, …
web services
 Gather, create, share

Search, link, reuse, analyse,
chunk, create,
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In the user *-flow




Workflow
Learnflow
Commuteflow
Lifeflow
 Research flow e.g.
Personal collections and
citation chaining
 Integration of
data and literature

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Sourcing services
 History of cooperative and third party sourcing:
Cataloging
 ILL
 A&I

 What about:


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
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
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Ratings and recommendation
Digital preservation
Exposing to search engines
Knowledge base for e-resource management
Digitization/storage of print collections
Metadata and content aggregation
Data analysis
Repository
…
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
Sourcing options


Deep resource sharing
Develop ‘horizontal’ shared
services – remove
redundancies and build
capacity

Institutional
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Enterprise systems
Research and learning
infrastructure
Cultural institutions

Issues



Jurisdictional

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California Digital Library
DEFF
JISC, SURF?
Third party


Consortial
Vendor

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New processes not well
enough defined
Third party services
underdeveloped
Project mentality
‘Vertical’ structures
entrenched – within and
between institutions
Lack of
architecture/business
model
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
lab books
Flow and flattening:
the library in the user environment,
PDAs
Not the user in the library environment.
campus portal
learning management systems
exhibitions
course material
text book
personal collections
reading
lists
user environments
resource environment
library
Virtual
reference
Institutional
repository
Flattening
and flow:
Aggregations
Flexible assembly of services from multiple sources.
Digital collections
E-reserve
Catalog
Cataloging
ILL
Licensed
collections
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
A developing responsibility:
Institutional intellectual asset management
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Convergence and dissolving of boundaries
 It is not enough just making resources and
services available on the network

Have to be integrated into workflows
User workflow
 Library workflow

 A library will source services within multiple deep
collaborative and third-party arrangements
Need to standardize processes
 Shared services – institution, interinstitution
 More hosted services?
 Organizational structures lacking.

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An example: Open WorldCat
 Help libraries mobilize their collective resources
 Expose data to search engines
 Act as a discovery engine and service router
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Zero sum game
 Libraries need to create value in an environment
where:
Requirements are multiplying, but
 Funding is not growing.

Examples ….
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Within institution
 A developing research and learning
infrastructure
Enterprise computing
 E-learning
 E-research

Collections
 Money follows use?
 Institutional collections?
 Licensed collections?
Systems
environment
 Then … ILS
 Now ….
Repository, Metasearch, E-resource
management, resolver, ….
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OCLC
 Help libraries mobilize their collective resources
 Some current initiatives:
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Open WorldCat
Service discovery and routing on the web
Group catalogue
A service destination
E-Resource management
E-serials holdings service
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
Web hub services
Library
OCLC response
A comprehensive
discovery
experience
Fragmented
OpenWorldCat,
Group catalog
Predictable, often
immediate,
fulfilment
Intermittent
Expose services in
OWC
Data works
hard
Passive
FRBR, exploit data,
Collection analysis
Open to other
applications
Monolithic
Key objective to
introduce web
services
Co-created with users
Monolithic
WorldCat WIKI
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NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
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The end …
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
A digital platform
Reduced friction
in workflows
Deep collaboration
and sourcing
 The web is the information space
 Amazoogle defines what is ‘onweb’
 The texting generation
 Network workflows emerging to
help manage time spent in network
 The library has to be in those
workflows
 ‘Pool uncertainty’
 Libraries do less on their own.
NOWAL meting, 12 July 2005
Thank you!
Lorcan
http://orweblog.oclc.org/
OCLC Research:
http://www.oclc.org/research/