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Envisioning an “eXtensible” Future Opportunities presented by the eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project

Envisioning an “eXtensible” Future Opportunities presented by the eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project. Jennifer Bowen University of Rochester ACRL NY Annual Symposium, 2008. Agenda. Current challenges for libraries What’s next and after that? What XC will do How XC will work

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Envisioning an “eXtensible” Future Opportunities presented by the eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project

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  1. Envisioning an “eXtensible” FutureOpportunities presented by the eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project • Jennifer Bowen • University of Rochester • ACRL NY Annual Symposium, 2008

  2. Agenda • Current challenges for libraries • What’s next • and after that? • What XC will do • How XC will work • What XC can offer to libraries

  3. Challenges for libraries • Most information seekers search the Web first • Library resources can be difficult to find via the Web • Library metadata is not well-suited for use via the open Web • Libraries face bigger financial challenges and funding reductions

  4. Technological challenges • Inflexible, outdated web interfaces • Silos of content • Difficult for users to understand • Library metadata in MARC format is holding us back

  5. Financial challenges • Libraries locked into long-term support contracts with vendors • Lack of resources to devote to new software or to software development • Funding restrictions - now reductions

  6. Next steps for libraries • Most libraries keeping current ILS • Purchasing new web “front ends” • Outsourcing resource access via WorldCat Local • Some interest in open source alternatives • New metadata standard coming soon: RDA

  7. Limitations of next steps • Keeping current ILS – maintains current financial obligation and legacy technology • “Front ends” – another financial obligation • Outsourcing web presence: doesn’t empower libraries to serve local users • Open source: can libraries support this? • RDA: Will current systems be able to use it?

  8. What’s AFTER these next steps?

  9. What’s AFTER next steps? • Web solutions that • Enable users to find library resources • Empower libraries to serve users • Give libraries choices about their ILS • Facilitate both change AND the status quo • Make library metadata really work on the web • Alternatives to long-term financial obligations

  10. The eXtensible Catalog (XC) • Set of open-source tools • Facilitate resource discovery and metadata management • Funding from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and from XC partner institutions • Software release: July 2009 • Governance: not-for-profit • www.eXtensibleCatalog.org

  11. XC will provide… • Compatibility with ILS, etc. via OAI-PMH • Out-of the-box user-interface functionality • Toolsets for customization, web application development, metadata enrichment • Infrastructure for moving beyond MARC • The “XC Network” of services

  12. XC end-user functionality • User interface searches across aggregated, sense-made metadata selected by host institution • Faceted-browsing, FRBR, and authority data • Stand-alone and embedded interfaces (Drupal, Scriblio), learning management system (Blackboard) • User-generated metadata features

  13. XC Project Team • Principal Investigators (4) • Project Manager • Developers (7) • Designer • Library Staff

  14. XC Partnerships User Research Partners: Cornell Ohio State Yale Rochester Technology Development Partners: Notre Dame SUNY Buffalo Georgia PINES Aleph Evergreen RIT Oregon State LibLime III Koha Rochester CARLI (Illinois) Casey Bisson Voyager Scriblio

  15. XC software toolkits • OAI Toolkit • NCIP Toolkit • Metadata Services Toolkit (MST) • Drupal Toolkit • Learning Management System Toolkit • Java Toolkit

  16. The XC Network • All XC components communicate using the OAI-PMH protocol • Existing OAI-PMH repositories require no modification • Institutions can create their own local XC network, or participate in larger cross-institution networks.

  17. Metadata Services Toolkit • General architecture for processing and redistributing metadata • Pluggable services to clean up, enrich metadata • Admin interface to schedule harvests, orchestrate services, debug problems • MST makes improved metadata available via for harvesting via OAI-PMH

  18. Application development “toolkit” • Library content in a web-development framework • Download free modules to add web features • Develop new functionality locally • Share functionality easily • “User interface” features • Metadata improvement services

  19. How XC works

  20. XC Network ILS Metadata Services Toolkit OAI-PMH Record Cleanup OAI Toolkit FRBRization Authority Control NCIP Toolkit Aggregation NCIP Repository OAI Toolkit OAI-PMH Repository (with OAI-PMH) Drupal Toolkit LMS Toolkit Java Toolkit Library Website Learning Management System Custom Web App.

  21. XC Network ILS Metadata Services Toolkit OAI-PMH Record Cleanup OAI Toolkit FRBRization Authority Control NCIP Toolkit Aggregation NCIP Repository OAI Toolkit OAI-PMH Repository (with OAI-PMH) Drupal Toolkit LMS Toolkit Java Toolkit Library Website Learning Management System Custom Web App.

  22. XC Network ILS Metadata Services Toolkit OAI-PMH Record Cleanup OAI Toolkit FRBRization Authority Control NCIP Toolkit Aggregation NCIP Repository OAI Toolkit OAI-PMH Repository (with OAI-PMH) Drupal Toolkit LMS Toolkit Java Toolkit Library Website Learning Management System Custom Web App.

  23. XC Network ILS Metadata Services Toolkit OAI-PMH Record Cleanup OAI Toolkit FRBRization Authority Control NCIP Toolkit Aggregation NCIP Repository OAI Toolkit OAI-PMH Repository (with OAI-PMH) Drupal Toolkit LMS Toolkit Java Toolkit Library Website Learning Management System Custom Web App.

  24. Opportunities for XC libraries • Empower libraries to make choices • Enable customization and development • Integrate library content into various web environments • Enable sharing of metadata and software • Expand the role of libraries

  25. Give libraries choices • XC will work alongside commercial ILS’s Voyager, Aleph, III or open-source ILS’s: Evergreen, Koha • XC will work with other applications (Dspace, contentDM, Blackboard, Drupal) • XC will work alongside network-level applications • XC will work with MARC, other metadata.

  26. Enable customization and development • Integrate with an open-source content management system • Empowers libraries • Focuses attention upon needs of local users • “Lowers the bar” for local development

  27. Integrate library content into web environments • Bring metadata to the users • Requires compatibility with web metadata conventions • Make existing metadata as usable as possible in web environments • XC’s contribution: Metadata Services Toolkit (MST) to aggregate and transform metadata

  28. Sharing metadata • Share enriched MARCXML • Share any XML schema • Share “Born MARC” metadata • XC Schema • RDA??? • Share user-generated metadata

  29. Sharing software • Share metadata enrichment services for the MST • Libraries can use an existing XC service as is or make changes to it • Libraries can develop and share additional services

  30. Expand the role of libraries • Uncover and address evolving user needs • Facilitate the goals of the researcher • Writing • Teaching • Participation in learning management software environments

  31. Moving forward using XC • XC offers functionality that supplements an ILS, but doesn’t replace it • “Lower the bar” for customized web solutions • Provides a path forward for library metadata • Makes these things affordable and manageable for libraries • Facilitates cooperation between libraries

  32. Comments/Questions? • Jennifer Bowen • jbowen@library.rochester.edu • www.eXtensibleCatalog.org

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