Interoperability Across Digital Library Programmes? We Must Have QA!

1. UKOLN is supported by: Interoperability Across Digital Library Programmes? We Must Have QA! Acknowledgements The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions made to the QA Focus project by the team members at UKOLN and AHDS and to JISC for funding the project. Particular thanks are given to Marieke Guy & Amanda Closier (UKOLN), Hamish James & Gareth Knight (AHDS) and Rachel Bruce & Balviar Notay (JISC) Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath Email: B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk URL: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/

2. About This Paper Background • This paper: • Reviews traditional approaches to the support infrastructure for digital library programmes • Describes an approach based on a quality assurance methodology • Reviews the JISC-funded QA Focus project • Outlines the potential for use of this approach by other digital library programmes

3. About UKOLN Background • UKOLN: • A national centre of expertise in digital information management • Based at the University of Bath • Funded by JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee), MLA (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council) to support the higher & further education communities & cultural heritage sector • Long-standing involvement in the support of digital library programmes including: • JISC’s eLib programme (from mid 1990s) and current Information Environment programmes • The NOF-digitise programme for digitising cultural heritage resources

4. Support For Digital Library Programmes • The approaches taken in JISC’s digital library programmes includes: • Use of open standards to ensure interoperability, wide accessibility and long term access to resources • Advice provided by funders covering reporting processes, project management, evaluation, sustainability, … • Peer support infrastructure implemented to support sharing & collaboration (e.g. mailing lists for techies) • No formal checking of compliance with technical standards and best practices Digital Library programmes

5. Comments • A lack of formal compliance checking: • Sensible in eLib days when standards still being developed (Gopher anybody) • Nowadays: • Web and XML acknowledged as key technologies • We’re no longer building self-contained solutions • Interoperability is key • Funders seek to ensure deliverables can be repurposed • But: • Is a formal compliance checking service appropriate? Digital Library programmes

6. NOF-digitise Experience • NOF-digitise: • Lottery-funded programme to digitise cultural heritage resources • Technical advice provided by UKOLN and AHDS • Compliance checking provided by BECTa • Comments: • Formal compliance checking probably needed due to lack of experience by many projects • Compliance checking can be expensive • Compliance may be regarded as being imposed • Importance of open standards may not be embedded within organisations • Approach is alien to culture within HE NOF-digi TAS Web site Digital Library programmes

7. QA Focus QA Focus • JISC: • Issued ITT for a “Digitisation and QA Focus” post to support JISC’s 5/99 programme in 2001 • Remit to develop QA methodology to ensure project deliverables interoperable, accessible, … • QA Focus: • UKOLN and TASI proposal accepted by JISC • After first year provided by UKOLN and AHDS • 1 FTE split across two services • Built on UKOLN’s & AHDS’s experiences with NOF-digi Technical Advisory Service • Addressed various technical areas including: • Digitisation  Web / Access Metadata • Software  Service Deployment  ...

8. A QA Approach QA Focus • The approach taken by QA Focus was developmental: • Seek to ensure projects understand importance of open standards • Encourage a culture of sharing experiences and best practices • Appreciate difficulties projects may experience in implementing standards and best practices • Develop a self-assessment approach for monitoring compliance • Publish brief focussed advice for projects • Commission case studies from projects

9. QA Methodology Deliverables • We developed a light-weight QA methodology based on documented policies & systematic compliance checking Policy:  Web Standards Standard: XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.0 Architecture: Use of SSIs and text editor Exceptions: Automatically-derived files Checking: Use ,validate* after update Audit Trail: Use ,rvalidate monthly for reports Mechanisms should be implemented to ensure the policy is being implemented. Findings may be used in-house, shared with peers or (possibly) reported to steering groups, funders, etc. * Example of lightweight checking tool – append ,tool to URL

10. Selection of Standards Deliverables • Standards are important but may be immature, fail to take off, difficult to deploy, difficult to select, … • “Ideology Or Pragmatism? Open Standards And Cultural Heritage Web Sites” describes an approach for the selection of standards A checklist for selection of standards has been developed An online toolkit version of the checklist is also available Our work has informed a JISC study on open standards which will report shortly

11. Other Resources Deliverables • We have also produced: • Over 70 briefing documents • Over 30 case studies • A simple online toolkit which can help projects in ensuring they have addressed appropriate best practices

12. Embedding QA In JISC Calls Deliverables • QA In New JISC Programmes • JISC requesting that projects address QA in new calls • Elearning Tools Programme (ETools): • Project Quality Plan template provided to projects • Addresses selection of standards, policy on open source, software quality assurance procedures, … • QA is now being embedded in JISC development work • Service Deployment Of QA Focus Resources • QA Focus Web site will continue to be hosted • QA Focus resources will have persistent URL • Content of published resources (intend for use by others) will not change significantly

13. What Next? What Next? • QA Focus project funding finished on 31 July 2004 • Plans for the future: • Seeking further funding to develop methodology in more depth in other areas (e.g. metadata, service deployment, …) • We intend to maintain existing resources as part of our core work activities • We will seek to embed QA in our working practices • We intend to support QA approaches across other communities (e.g. FE & HE, wider HE museums, libraries & archives) • We intend to make QA Focus resources available under a Creative Commons licence

14. QA For Other Digital Library Programmes What Next? • Nightmare Scenario • Digital Library programmes in UK, EU, USA, … built on open standards (XML, DC, OAI, …) • But standards not implemented correctly or consistently leading to problems • QA Across Digital Library Programmes • There is a need for QA in order to ensure interoperability • QA methodology developed by QA Focus seems appropriate for international DL community • QA Focus encourages other DL programmes to may use of QA Focus methodology and resources • Please contact B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk for info

15. Questions • Any questions? Further Information The QA Focus Web site is available at <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/> See the Documents  Papers area for other papers See the Documents area for Briefing Documents and Case Studies See the Toolkit area for the online toolkits