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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