an' forward, tho' i canna see, i guess an' fear! a view from oclc research
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An' forward, tho' I canna see,I guess an' fear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,I guess an' fear!
November 17, 2008
John MacCollEuropean Director, RLG
Partnership, OCLC Research27 January 2009
a view from OCLC Research
ProloguePrologue
•Risk•Scale•Presence
Our business is at riskOur business is at risk
Legacy Technology
Human Resources
Value Proposition
Durable Goods
Intellectual Property
… a reduced sense of library relevance from below, above, and within
… uncertainties about adequate preparation, adaptability, capacity for leadership in face of change
… changing value of library collections and space; prices go up, value goes down – accounting doesn’t acknowledge the change
… managing and maintaining legacy systems is a challenge; replacement parts are hard to find
… losing some traditional assets to commercial providers (e.g. Google Books) and failing to assume clear ownership stake in others (e.g. local scholarly outputs)
ConcentrationA web-scale presenceMobilise data
DiffusionDisclosure of links, data and services
Scale mattersScale matters
Image: informationarchitects.jp/web-trend-map-2008-beta/
Discovery happens elsewhereDiscovery happens elsewhere
CollectionsCollections
•Google: Yes we can•The race for relevance•Emphasis on the unique•Collaborative storage•Preservation via print•Organisation for network-level benefits
Yale University
We are now in a race to remain relevant to researchers
We are now in a race to remain relevant to researchers
• ‘Cataloguing is a function which is not working’ (Greene-Meissner)
• Forget item level description• ‘Insanity is when you do things the way you’ve always done them, but expect a different result’ (Einstein and/or Emerson)
• ‘Good enough’ beats perfection• Let go of ‘the completeness syndrome’ (Ross Atkinson)
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Effectively disclosing archives and special collections
Effectively disclosing archives and special collections
While the mass digitisation partnerships have focused largely on published works, our approaches to archives and special collections can evolve to make a significant contribution
Library storage facilitiesLibrary storage facilities
• Recommendations for current storage institutions• Aggressively archive print
journals• Implement last copies policies• Disclose holdings• Explore subscription models
• Recommendations for the academic library community• Define mechanisms for
disclosure and associated services
• Consider joining a formal print repository network
• Develop sustainable business models
Evidence-based collaborative actionEvidence-based collaborative action
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“In sum, the evidence in hand suggests that there is substantially less duplication in aggregate holdings than is required to achieve the preservation guarantees obtained in Yano’s model. Given unrelenting space pressures on library print collections, and decreasing circulation rates, it seems imperative that libraries – research libraries, in particular – take immediate action to establish a common understanding of our respective (and collective) preservation goals and identify the core requirements for managing this highly distributed, thinly duplicated resource as a single, shared collection”. - Constance Malpas, blog post, July 8, 2008
Rareness is common
(2005)
Aggregation as a quality pumpAggregation as a quality pump
Multilingual authoritiesMultilingual authorities
DigitisationDigitisation
•Access before preservation•Collapse decisions•Quantity has a quality all of its own•Digitisation is collection•Three non-boutique approaches
Access vs preservation: in the digitised world, access wins!
Access vs preservation: in the digitised world, access wins!• No one has been throwing away originals … so preservation needs are best served by them
• Only by surfacing presently ignored collections can we justify their preservation
• Our brave new world shows we can (usually) go back and do it again
Handle only onceHandle only once
• Selection has already been Selection has already been donedone
• Don’t spend time selecting Don’t spend time selecting items to digitiseitems to digitise
• Capture materials as Capture materials as accessionedaccessioned• For important collections, For important collections,
capture it allcapture it all• For others, sample and For others, sample and
allow user interest to allow user interest to guide your choicesguide your choices
• Capture on demandCapture on demand• Capture ‘signposts’ and Capture ‘signposts’ and
devote more attention devote more attention when/where warrantedwhen/where warranted
Woodcut from Sebastian Brant, ‘Stultifera…’ The ship of fooles… 1570University of Edinburgh Library
Contributio
ns
Engage your community
‘I guess it’s a brand-new day’ (Günter Waibel)‘I guess it’s a brand-new day’ (Günter Waibel)
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Quality vs quantity: quantity wins!Quality vs quantity: quantity wins!
• The perfect has been the The perfect has been the enemy of the possibleenemy of the possible
• Achieving excellence can Achieving excellence can have a substantial costhave a substantial cost
• Any access is better Any access is better than none at allthan none at all
• Instead of measuring Instead of measuring cataloguer/archivist cataloguer/archivist output we should be output we should be measuring impact on measuring impact on usersusers
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Combine approaches
Research SupportResearch Support
•Research primitives•Get to know the campus map•Join the reputation game
What are researchers really doing?What are researchers really doing?
‘Primitives’
Isolated primitives: then what? Isolated primitives: then what?
Wendy Lougee. Mellon-funded multi-dimensional framework for academic support. June 2006
‘Primitives’ Services
Diane Harley. Mellon-funded study. Interim Report, August 2008
“Our work to date has confirmed the important impact of disciplinary culture and tradition on many scholarly communication habits. These traditions may override the perceived “opportunities” afforded by new technologies, including those falling into the Web 2.0 category.”
Don’t assume we fully understand or can dictate workflows
Don’t assume we fully understand or can dictate workflows
Rick Luce: ARL/CNI presentation on the future support of eResearch, October 2008
Discovery happens elsewhereDiscovery happens elsewhere
The library in your interestThe library in your interest
•We will provide you dedicated space on a server•We’ll help you structure that space to organize your notes, your datasets, others’ publications, your presentations …•We’ll help you load it if you like•We’ll back up your work•We’ll ensure you can access your data remotely, no matter where you are•We’ll provide tools for group work and version control at the file level•We’ll help you negotiate publication rights•We’ll help you comply with disciplinary archive requirements•We’ll see that your work is disseminated broadly, quickly, and openly•We’ll do the authority work to ensure you are credited for all your work, despite various forms of your name•We’ll keep your personal bibliography up-to-date•We’ll provide you with a customizable personal web page•We’ll include you in the campus expertise database and facilitate your inclusion in disciplinary expertise databases•We’ll preserve your research outputs in the institutional repository and facilitate its inclusion in disciplinary repositories•We’ll see that you can take your work with you if you leave this institution
EpilogueEpilogue
•Risks•Change
Highest risks Highest risks
Imp
act
1. Availability of online information resources (Google, etc.) weakens visibility and value of library
6. User base erodes because library value proposition is not effectively communicated
12. Conservative nature of library inhibits timely adaptation to changed circumstances
12. Conservative nature of library inhibits timely adaptation to changed circumstances
14. Recruitment and retention of resources is difficult due to reduction in pool of qualified candidates
These risks will remain high but can be managed
1Effective network disclosure
Human Resources
Value Proposition
Move new services ‘into the flow’
6
14
12
Articulate compelling new vision to attract a new generation of library professionals
“It is not the strongest of the species … nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
——Charles Charles Darwin
Image: Auckland Museum
Thank YouThank YouJohn MacCollmaccollj@oclc.orgOCLC Research
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