Tools for Mature Management of Electronic Resources Lifecycles in Libraries
IFLA 2007
16 August 2007
Kimberly ParkerHead, Electronic Collections
Yale University Library
Outline for Today
1. Background and e-resource management functions with DLF ERMI history
2. The uses of the DLF ERMI report
3. An exercise in using the workflow piece
4. DLF ERMI 2
5. Maturing of the concept
On the Road to ERM Systems
• Mid 1990’s: E-Journals on the web• Late 1990’s: E-resource positions in large libraries• 2000: DLF Spring Forum• 2001: DLF Study on Acquiring E-Resources &
ALA informal gatherings• 2002: NISO workshop & DLF ERMI charged• 2004: DLF ERMI Report issued
Context for E-resource Management• High demand for “24x7” access• E-resource budget shares continue to grow
(when do you expect to go over 75%?)
• Budget and other issues driving a shift to e-only journal access
• Dynamic marketplace & business models• “Google-ization” (Digital Ambience)• E-resources are complex (to describe, fund, and
support)• Impact of licensing
Some E-resource tasks not supported by current integrated library systems
• Generating and maintaining alpha and subject lists
• License term negotiation, tracking, and communication processes
• Wide staff involvement in selection & support -- communication and workflow
• Problem tracking
• Escalation/triage support
• Planned, cyclical product reviews
• Systematic usage reporting
• Result: creation of many separate documents and/or applications
The DLF E-Resource Management Initiative
Tim Jewell (University of Washington)
Ivy Anderson (Harvard)
Adam Chandler (Cornell)
Sharon Farb (UCLA)
Angela Riggio (UCLA)
Kimberly Parker (Yale)
Nathan D. M. Robertson (Johns Hopkins)
ERMI Deliverables
• Problem Definition/Road Map/Final Project Report
• Workflow Diagram– How do tasks inter-relate
• Functional Requirements– What do the systems need to do or support
• Entity Relationship Diagram (“Tree”)– How do pieces of information interact
• Data Elements and Definitions– Data Element Dictionary (“Leaves”)– Data Structure (“Where the Leaves Go”)
• XML Investigation
Use of ERMI Deliverables
• Workflow Diagram– Re-examining organization approaches
• Functional Requirements– Local and Vendor system planning– Source for RFP’s
• Entity Relationship Diagram (“Tree”)– Local and Vendor system planning
• Data Elements Dictionary– Local and Vendor system planning– Implementation planning
• Data Structure– Local and Vendor system planning
Functional Specifications
• Support the ‘Life Cycle’ of electronic resources
– Selection and acquisition– Access provision– Resource administration and support– Renewal and retention decisions
Functional Requirements Outline
• Introduction and Goals• Guiding Principles• Functional Specifications (47 main points)
– General (4)– Resource Discovery (7)– Bibliographic Management (2)– Access Management (5)– Staff Requirements (29)
• General interface requirements (4)• Selection and evaluation processes (9)• Resource administration and management (11)• Business functions (5)
Functional Specifications: (Excerpt)
38. Support the administration of e-resources38.1 Store administrative URIs, IDs and passwords and associated
notes, and make these available to authorized staff
38.2 Store subscriber numbers used to register online journals that are tied to print
38.3 For configuration options including but not limited to features such as institutional branding, hooks to holdings, Z39.50, OpenURL support, and live reference links:
38.3.1 Identify whether a given title supports the feature and whether it has been implemented, with associated notes
38.3.2 Generate reports of all materials that do or do not support the specified feature, including implementation status
. . .
Entity-Relationship Diagram
ELECTRONIC PRODUCT
PRINT VERSION
WORK
E-RESOURCE
ACQUISITIONUSER GROUP
AVAILABLE TO
LICENSE
LIBRARY
CONSORTIAL
PARTICIPATION
ORGANIZATION
is licensee
publishes
provides
vends
includes/is part of
TERMS DEFINED
E-PRODUCT/
LICENSE
negotiates
ACCESS
INFO
ADMIN
INFO
is licensor
LOCATION
AVAILABLE AT
CONSORTIUM
PARTNER LIBRARY
INTERFACE
delivers
WORKFLOW RULES
CONTACT
PROCESSING
WORKFLOW
TRIAL
PREVAILING TERMSCONTACT
RESPONSIBILITIES
negotiates
LIBRARY
PARTICIPATION
ERD: Major Entities and Relationships
ELECTRONIC PRODUCT
E-RESOURCE
includes/is part of
INTERFACE
delivers
ERD: Major Entities and Relationships
ELECTRONIC PRODUCT
E-RESOURCE
ACQUISITION
LICENSE
includes/is part of
E-PRODUCT/
LICENSE
INTERFACE
delivers
Data Element Dictionary
ERMS Data StructureAdministrative Information Entity Support Group
Definition: Used to record information necessary to support use of the electronic resource
Elements Hardware Requirements, Software Requirements, Maintenance Window Value, Provider System Status Uniform Resource Indicator,Provider System Status Uniform Resource Indicator Type, Resource Unavailable Flag, Resource Advisory Note, Incident Log,Training Information, Administrative Documentation, User Documentation
Notes FS36.5
Element DefinitionElementType
System Use /Functionality
Values Optionality Cardinality Notes / Examples
HardwareRequirements
Information about hardware requirements text R N
SoftwareRequirements
Information about software requirements text R N e.g., browser versions, plug-ins, fonts, andspecial client software
MaintenanceWindow Value
The provider's regularly-scheduleddowntime window for this resource
text FS36.2 R N
Provider SystemStatus UniformResource Indicator
The URI at which the provider posts systemstatus information
text hypertext linkfunctionality.Paired elementwith ProviderSystem StatusUniformResourceIndicator TypeFS36.4
Layout: URI.Latest Draft:UniformResourceIdentifiers (URI):Generic Syntax(RFC 2396)(August 1998)
R N
Provider SystemStatus UniformResource IndicatorType
The type of URI used to post system statusinformation
text Paired elementwith ProviderSystem StatusUniformResourceIndicatorFS36.4
URL, URN, etc RA N
ResourceUnavailable Flag
A flag that indicates that a resource is notavailable
logical public displayFS9
Yes / No O N may trigger a particular action
Resource AdvisoryNote
A note used to describe a problem with aresource, provide advance notice ofanticipated downtime, or convey othertemporary information.
text may be used forpublic displayFS6.2, FS9,FS10, FS36.6
O N
Local PerformanceMonitoring Notes
Information concerning Web sites orprograms that do local performancemonitoring
text FS36.3 O N
Incident Log A log of downtime and problem reports andtheir resolution
text FS36.7 O N An external call tracking system may be usedinstead.
TrainingInformation
Information about special arrangementsavailable for training, for example, tocircumvent simultaneous user restrictions
text FS34.1, FS34.3 O N May also include training contact names andother general information
Value might be a URI pointing to trainingdocumentation or interactive tutorials.
AdministrativeDocumentation
Information about and/or location ofdocumentation available for resourceadministrators
text FS34.2 O N
User Documentation Information about and/or location ofdocumentationavailable for end users
text FS34.2 O N
The Work of E-Resources
• Workflow (lifecycle)
• Functional Specifications (how do we need to do our work)
• Data Dictionary (what do we need to keep track of)
Checking Our Thoughts Against Real Life
• Parts of Workflow – who does it in the real world at your institution?
• Questions about Functional Specifications – the “hows” for your institution
• Questions about Data Dictionary– the “whats” for your institution?
What is Workflow Good For?
• Facilitating the work that must be done
• Facilitating the rest of the work of the library that may not directly involve handling e-resources on a daily basis.
Product licensing
licenserequired?
initiate licensingprocess
license termsacceptable?
negotiatelicense terms
negotiationprogress
expected?
no
yes
yes
no
no
log licensinginfo
yes
end
Product Licensing Discussion (1)• Who?
– Who reviews the license? Who negotiates the license (if necessary)? Who signs? Who handles the paperwork?
– What types of job groups are involved? Does this vary from unit to unit in a large library system?
• How?– How does the communication about the license
happen? How are license negotiations facilitated?
Product Licensing Discussion (2)
• What?– What do you record for the license process?
What happens when a license is unacceptable?– Do you record with whom the current change
request is? – What are your default definitions or alternative
wordings?
Product Routine Maintenance
impendingexpiration?
routine productmaintenance 6
productdiscontinuedor moving to
newprovider?
no
yes
no
yes
troubleshooting and resolving problems, routine product changes from the vendor (such as URL revisions), revisions to public documentation, etc.
Product Routine Maintenance Discussion (1)
• Who?– Who is involved in troubleshooting? Who records
(or processes) routine product changes? Who revises documentation? Who are the caretakers? Who knows what?
– What types of job groups are involved? Does this vary within the library?
• How?– How does communication occur efficiently?– How are changes populated to all the right places?
Product Routine Maintenance Discussion (2)
• What?– Where are changes recorded? What changes are
recorded?– How much needs to be communicated? What
does not need to be communicated?
Does It Ever End?
• When a product no longer has a life in any form, then our work if finally considered done.
• This almost never happens.
perpetualaccess and/or archival
rights?
no
productmoving to
newprovider?
no end
productcancellation
productdiscontinued
DLF ERMI Completion
http://www.diglib.org/pubs/dlfermi0408
DLF ERMI 2
• Usage Statistics– SUSHI
• License Expression– Work with EdiTEUR
• Interoperability issues– Core elements
Future Assumptions (adapted from ACRL)
• There will be an increased emphasis on digitizing collections, preserving digital archives, and improving methods of data storage and retrieval.
• The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations that they serve.
• Patrons will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services.
• Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common.
• The demand for technology related services will grow and require additional funding.
• Distance services will be an increasingly common option and will co-exist but not threaten the traditional bricks-and-mortar model.
• Free, public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow.
• Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship.
What's to come, is still unsure …William Shakespeare. Twelfth Night, ACT II SCENE III.
Researcher's Use of Academic Libraries (April 2007)
• a sharp fall in the number of researchers who visit their institution's library regularly
• researchers use digital finding aids to locate both digital and print-based resources
• growth of collaborative and inter-disciplinary research teams
And, as you journey on your ways Serves as a road-map in your chaise …
George Keate. The Distressed Poet. 1787
Recap
1. Background and e-resource management functions with DLF ERMI history
2. The uses of the DLF ERMI report
3. An exercise in using the workflow piece
4. DLF ERMI 2
5. Maturing of the concept
Discussion and Questions
Transforming Libraries• 100+ years developing library practices in
support of traditional formats and publications
• 15 years adjusting to transformed formats and communication trends
• Building on our strengths without becoming chained to the past (traditions as touchstones, not millstones)
… teach us how to teach, that we may sow thy truth, broadcast, o'er all the fields below … John Critchley Prince, Miscellaneous Poems. “Address Spoken at a New Religious and Literary Institute, Ashton-under-Lyne.”
A Few Cautions
• Those who will not risk cannot win (John Paul Jones)
• Those who try to do everything, find they have done nothing well.
• You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time (variant of Abraham Lincoln).
Make not your thoughts your prisons … William Shakespeare. Antony and Cleopatra, ACT V SCENE II.