Library Intelligencer » ILMS

Online Catalogue and Repository Interoperability Study (OCRIS) Final report

shirley — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:59:37 +0000

nbsp;http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/430/1/OC…

The aims and objectives of this study were to: • Survey the extent to which repository content is in scope for institutional library OPACs, and the extent to which it is already recorded there; • Examine the interoperability of OPAC and repository software for the exchange of metadata and other information; • List the various services to institutional managers, researchers, teachers and learners offered respectively by OPACs and repositories; • Identify the potential for improvements in the links (e.g. using link resolver technology) from repositories and/or OPACs to other institutional services, such as finance or research administration; • Make recommendations for the development of possible further links between library OPACs and institutional repositories, identifying the benefits to relevant stakeholder groups

The Open Library Environment Project Final Report

shirley — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:06:15 +0000

http://oleproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/OLE_FINAL_Report1.pdf

With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Open Library Environment project
(OLE Project) convened a multi-national group of libraries to analyze library business processes
and to define a next-generation library technology platform. The resulting OLE platform is
predicated on Service Oriented Architecture and a community-source model of development and
governance. Over 300 libraries, educational institutions, professional organizations and business
participated in some phase of the project. Using input from those participants, the project
planners produced an OLE design framework that embeds libraries directly in the key processes
of scholarship generation, knowledge management, teaching and learning by utilizing existing
enterprise systems where appropriate and by delivering new services built on connections
between the library’s business systems and other technology systems.

After Losing Users in Catalogs, Libraries Find Better Search Software

shirley — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:46:30 +0000

nbsp;http://chronicle.com/article/After-Losin…

By Marc Parry

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia. So you might think that typing his name into Virgo, Virginia’s online library catalog, would start you off with a book about him.

Jean A. Bauer tried it the other night. At the top of the results list were papers from a physics conference in Brazil.

The problem is that traditional online library catalogs don’t tend to order search results by ranked relevance, and they can befuddle users with clunky interfaces. Bauer, a graduate student specializing in early American history, once had such a hard time finding materials that she titled a bibliography “Meager Fruits of an Ongoing Fight With Virgo.”

That’s changing because of two technology trends. First, a growing number of universities are shelling out serious money for sophisticated software that makes exploring their collections more like the easy-to-filter experience you might find in an online Sears catalog.

Second, Virginia and several other colleges, including Villanova University and the University of Rochester, are producing free open-source programs that tackle the same problems with no licensing fees.

A key feature of this software genre is that it helps you make sense of data through “faceted” searching, common when you shop online for a new jacket or a stereo system. Say you type in “Susan B. Anthony.” The new system will ask if you want books by her or about her, said Susan L. Gibbons, vice provost and dean of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries. Users can also sort by media type, language, and date……..

Open Library Environment (OLE) Project Final Report Available for Comment

shirley — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:14:49 +0000

nbsp;http://oleproject.org/final-ole-project-…

The Open Library Environment (OLE) Project has posted a draft of its final report. We are excited to offer this report publicly to the community and welcomes comment. As a community-source project, your input is vital to the future and success of the OLE Project. You can access the report at this address:

http://oleproject.org/final-ole-project-…

Serials Solutions’ Web-scale discovery will feature Web of Science(R) citing references and more

shirley — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:00:37 +0000

nbsp;http://www.charlestonco.com/index.php?do…

July 9, 2009 (SEATTLE) – Thomson Reuters will participate in Serials Solutions’ new Summon(TM) web-scale discovery service, allowing records from Web of Science(R) to be indexed by the service and enabling citation counts to appear in search results for subscribing customers. The Summon(TM) service is a pioneer in providing single search box access to the breadth of library collections – from books and videos to e-resources at the article level.

Serials Solutions joins eXtensible Catalog Project

shirley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:08:35 +0000

The University of Rochester River Campus Libraries announce that Serials Solutions, a leader in providing technology solutions for libraries, has joined the eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project — an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded project currently underway at the University’s River Campus Libraries. Serials Solutions’ involvement is both technical and financial.
The additional funding for the eXtensible Catalog Project by Serials Solutions reflects the company’s commitment to supporting the development of a common open-source framework for enhancing and enriching metadata for libraries and other cultural institutions. Serials Solutions believes that the XC software holds much potential for providing a standard platform for metadata enrichment across a variety of products and applications, both open-source and commercial.

About Serials Solutions
Founded in 2000 by a librarian for librarians, Serials Solutions is the global leader in E-Resource Access and Management Services (ERAMS) that serves more than 2,000 libraries of all sizes and types. Serials Solutions® KnowledgeWorks, the authoritative e-resource knowledgebase, is the foundation for Serials Solutions® 360, the only complete and integrated e-resource access and management solution.

About the eXtensible Catalog
The XC system currently in development will provide libraries with open-source tools and software that will allow libraries to expand their current roles. Library content, both traditional and digital, can easily be integrated in other systems, including Content and Learning Management Systems. The XC system will empower libraries to create customized discovery systems and solutions for their users needs. XC is being created through a collaborative design and development process with a team of developers at the University of Rochester and at partner institutions. XC will be compatible with a range of integrated library systems and centralized authentication services, will support multiple metadata formats and will deliver a customizable next-generation user interface. The University of Rochester is in the process of forming a not-for-profit organization to support the XC software and its users. More information about the eXtensible Catalog is available at www.extensiblecatalog.org.

Academic institutions partner with Ex Libris for library framework, URM

shirley — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Library solutions provider Ex Libris Group, Israel, has announced the first academic institutions to begin collaborating with the company as development partners for Unified Resource Management (URM), a framework for library management services. The three initial development partners include Boston College and the Princeton University Library, both in the US, and K.U.Leuven in Belgium.

The development partners are seen to represent the needs of both single institutions and consortia and bring extensive experience with Ex Libris library management solutions. Under the banner of K.U.Leuven is the LIBIS library network, consisting of 30 independent member organisations (comprising universities, colleges, national and regional parliaments, and a network of public libraries). Teams from the partner institutions will embark on a programme of collaboration with Ex Libris over the coming months as the URM framework is developed.

In addition, Ex Libris is reviewing URM requirements and workflows with a first series of focus groups, comprised of over 80 customers representing institutions worldwide. These focus groups will explore the topics of metadata management, consortium support, selection and acquisition, and fulfillment/patron management. Ex Libris expects to expand the focus group activity in the future as well as to put in place additional forums for ongoing collaboration with libraries and the institutions with which they are affiliated.

With URM, Ex Libris expects to respond to the changing needs of libraries and research institutions exploring new approaches to managing their resources and providing services. The platform supports the unified management of back-office library operations — selection, acquisition, cataloging, management and fulfillment — for the full spectrum of library materials, regardless of format or location. URM is expected to enable libraries to implement more streamlined workflows, to integrate the library more fully with campus systems, and to leverage Web 2.0 and community features necessary for working in more collaborative ways.

The URM framework is designed to accommodate the emerging and future needs of libraries. The extensible design and adherence to the Ex Libris open platform philosophy are projected to ensure that URM will grow with the needs of individual libraries and the larger library and academic environments in which they operate.

By centralising data services in a software-as-a-service environment, URM seeks to support flexible models for collaboration across the functional spectrum — from cooperative collection development to more seamless sharing of metadata and resources with peer libraries.

source: Knowledge Speak

Open Source Electronic Resource Management System: ERMes v. 2009.05 Released

shirley — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:23:14 +0000

nbsp;http://murphylibrary.uwlax.edu/erm/

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Murphy Library has released ERMes v. 2009.05, an open source electronic resource management system. Iowa State University contributed code to the project.

source: DigitalKoans

XC User Research Preliminary Report

shirley — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:50:52 +0000

nbsp;https://urresearch.rochester.edu/retriev…

This report summarizes the objectives, methods, and major software design findings from the
data collected in the user research portion of the eXtensible Catalog (XC) project. A full analysis
and interpretation of the data is not included here and will be provided at the conclusion of the
project. This report includes edited results from the brainstorming sessions and a list of the
features that emerged from the analysis of those results. (See the eXtensible Catalog website at
www.eXtensibleCatalog.org for more information about the overall project.)

Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want

shirley — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:33:18 +0000

nbsp;http://www.oclc.org/reports/onlinecatalo…

In 2008, OCLC conducted focus groups, administered a pop-up survey on WorldCat.org—OCLC’s freely available end user interface on the Web—and conducted a Web-based survey of librarians worldwide.

The Online Catalogs report presents findings from these research efforts in order to understand:

The metadata elements that are most important to end users in determining if an item will meet his or her needs
The enhancements end users would like to see made in online library catalogs to assist them in consistently identifying appropriate materials
The enhancements librarians would recommend for online library catalogs to better assist them in their work
The findings indicate, among other things, that although library catalogs are often thought of as discovery tools, the catalog’s delivery-related information is just as important to end users