The JISC Information Environment and collection description Andy Powell [email_address] UKOLN, University of Bath UN/WHO HIV/AIDS meeting, Geneva 29-30 May 2003

Contents JISC Information Environment technical architecture http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/distributed-systems/jisc-ie/ collection description JISC IE service registry http://www.mimas.ac.uk/iesr/

JISC Information Environment technical architecture http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/distributed-systems/jisc-ie/

collection description

JISC IE service registry http://www.mimas.ac.uk/iesr/

Simple scenario consider a researcher searching for material to inform a research paper on HIV and/or AIDS he or she searches for ‘hiv aids’ using: the RDN, to discover Internet resources ZETOC, to discover recent journal articles (and, of course, he or she may use a whole range of other search strategies using other services as well)

consider a researcher searching for material to inform a research paper on HIV and/or AIDS

he or she searches for ‘hiv aids’ using:

the RDN, to discover Internet resources

ZETOC, to discover recent journal articles

(and, of course, he or she may use a whole range of other search strategies using other services as well)

Issues different user interfaces look-and-feel subject classification, metadata usage everything is HTML – human-oriented difficult to merge results, e.g. combine into a list of references difficult to build a reading list to pass on to students need to manually copy-and-paste search results into HTML page or MS-Word document or desktop reference manager or …

different user interfaces

look-and-feel

subject classification, metadata usage

everything is HTML – human-oriented

difficult to merge results, e.g. combine into a list of references

difficult to build a reading list to pass on to students

need to manually copy-and-paste search results into HTML page or MS-Word document or desktop reference manager or …

Issues (2) difficult to move from discovering journal article to having copy in hand (or on desktop) users need to manually join services together problem with hardwired links to books and journal articles, e.g. lecturer links to university library OPAC but student is distance learner and prefers to buy online at Amazon lecturer links to IngentaJournals but student prefers paper copy in library

difficult to move from discovering journal article to having copy in hand (or on desktop)

users need to manually join services together

problem with hardwired links to books and journal articles, e.g.

lecturer links to university library OPAC but student is distance learner and prefers to buy online at Amazon

lecturer links to IngentaJournals but student prefers paper copy in library

The problem space… from perspective of ‘data consumer’ need to interact with multiple collections of stuff - bibliographic, full-text, data, image, video, etc. delivered thru multiple Web sites few cross-collection discovery services (with exception of big search engines like Google, but lots of stuff is not available to Google, i.e. it is part of the ‘invisible Web’) from perspective of ‘data provider’ few agreed mechanisms for disclosing availability of content

from perspective of ‘data consumer’

need to interact with multiple collections of stuff - bibliographic, full-text, data, image, video, etc.

delivered thru multiple Web sites

few cross-collection discovery services (with exception of big search engines like Google, but lots of stuff is not available to Google, i.e. it is part of the ‘invisible Web’)

from perspective of ‘data provider’

few agreed mechanisms for disclosing availability of content

UK JISC IE context… 206 collections and counting… (Hazel Woodward, e-ICOLC, Helsinki, Nov 2001) Books: 10,000 + Journals: 5,000 + Images: 250,000 + Discovery tools: 50 + A & I databases, COPAC, RDN, … National mapping data & satellite imagery plus institutional content (e-prints, research data, library content, learning resources, etc.) plus content made available thru projects – 5/99, FAIR, X4L, … plus …

206 collections and counting… (Hazel Woodward, e-ICOLC, Helsinki, Nov 2001)

Books: 10,000 +

Journals: 5,000 +

Images: 250,000 +

Discovery tools: 50 +

A & I databases, COPAC, RDN, …

National mapping data & satellite imagery

plus institutional content (e-prints, research data, library content, learning resources, etc.)

plus content made available thru projects – 5/99, FAIR, X4L, …

plus …

The problem(s)… portal problem how to provide seamless discovery across multiple content providers appropriate-copy problem how to provide access to the most appropriate copy of a resource (given access rights, preferences, cost, speed of delivery, etc.)

portal problem

how to provide seamless discovery across multiple content providers

appropriate-copy problem

how to provide access to the most appropriate copy of a resource (given access rights, preferences, cost, speed of delivery, etc.)

A solution… an information environment framework of machine-oriented services allowing the end-user to discover , access , use and publish resources across a range of content providers move away from lots of stand-alone Web sites... ...towards more coherent whole remove need for use to interact with multiple content providers note: ‘remove need’ rather than ‘prevent’

an information environment

framework of machine-oriented services allowing the end-user to

discover , access , use and publish resources across a range of content providers

move away from lots of stand-alone Web sites...

...towards more coherent whole

remove need for use to interact with multiple content providers

note: ‘remove need’ rather than ‘prevent’

JISC Information Env. discover finding stuff across multiple content providers access streamlining access to appropriate copy content providers expose metadata about their content for searching harvesting alerting develop services that bring stuff together portals (subject portals, media-specific portals, geospatial portals, institutional portals, VLEs, …)

discover

finding stuff across multiple content providers

access

streamlining access to appropriate copy

content providers expose metadata about their content for

searching

harvesting

alerting

develop services that bring stuff together

portals (subject portals, media-specific portals, geospatial portals, institutional portals, VLEs, …)

A note about ‘portals’ ‘ portal’ word possibly slightly misleading the JISC IE architecture supports many different kinds of user-focused services… subject portal reading list and other tools in VLE commercial ‘portals’ (ISI Web of Knowledge, ingenta, Bb Resource Center, etc.) library ‘portal’ (e.g. Zportal or MetaLib) SFX service component personal desktop reference manager (e.g. Endnote)

‘ portal’ word possibly slightly misleading

the JISC IE architecture supports many different kinds of user-focused services…

subject portal

reading list and other tools in VLE

commercial ‘portals’ (ISI Web of Knowledge, ingenta, Bb Resource Center, etc.)

library ‘portal’ (e.g. Zportal or MetaLib)

SFX service component

personal desktop reference manager (e.g. Endnote)

Discovery technologies that allow providers to disclose metadata to portals searching - Z39.50 (Bath Profile), and SRW harvesting - OAI-PMH alerting - RDF Site Summary (RSS) fusion services may sit between provider and portal broker (searching) aggregator (harvesting and alerting)

technologies that allow providers to disclose metadata to portals

searching - Z39.50 (Bath Profile), and SRW

harvesting - OAI-PMH

alerting - RDF Site Summary (RSS)

fusion services may sit between provider and portal

broker (searching)

aggregator (harvesting and alerting)

Access in the case of books, journals, journal articles, end-user wants access to the most appropriate copy need to join up discovery services with access/delivery services (local library OPAC, ingentaJournals, Amazon, etc.) need localised view of available services discovery service uses the OpenURL to pass metadata about the resource to an ‘OpenURL resolver’ the ‘OpenURL resolver’ provides pointers to the most appropriate copy of the resource, given: user and institutional preferences, cost, access rights, location, etc.

in the case of books, journals, journal articles, end-user wants access to the most appropriate copy

need to join up discovery services with access/delivery services (local library OPAC, ingentaJournals, Amazon, etc.)

need localised view of available services

discovery service uses the OpenURL to pass metadata about the resource to an ‘OpenURL resolver’

the ‘OpenURL resolver’ provides pointers to the most appropriate copy of the resource, given:

user and institutional preferences, cost, access rights, location, etc.

Shared services service registry information about collections (content) and services (protocol) that make that content available authentication and authorisation OpenURL and other resolver services user preferences and institutional profiles terminology services metadata registries ...

service registry

information about collections (content) and services (protocol) that make that content available

authentication and authorisation

OpenURL and other resolver services

user preferences and institutional profiles

terminology services

metadata registries

...

JISC IE architecture JISC-funded content providers institutional content providers external content providers brokers aggregators catalogues indexes institutional portals subject portals learning management systems media-specific portals end-user desktop/browser presentation fusion provision OpenURL resolvers shared infrastructure authentication/authorisation (Athens) JISC IE service registry institutional preferences services terminology services user preferences services resolvers metadata schema registries

Summary Z39.50 (Bath Profile), OAI, RSS are key ‘discovery’ technologies... … and by implication, XML and simple/unqualified Dublin Core IEEE LOM doesn’t feature – but anticipate delivery of rich metadata as part of content packages access to resources via OpenURL and resolvers where appropriate Z39.50 and OAI not mutually exclusive general need for all services to know what other services are available to them

Z39.50 (Bath Profile), OAI, RSS are key ‘discovery’ technologies...

… and by implication, XML and simple/unqualified Dublin Core

IEEE LOM doesn’t feature – but anticipate delivery of rich metadata as part of content packages

access to resources via OpenURL and resolvers where appropriate

Z39.50 and OAI not mutually exclusive

general need for all services to know what other services are available to them

Collections content is often managed and made available in the form of ‘collections’ collection “ an aggregation of one or more items” aggregation by location, type/form of item, provenance of item, source/ownership of item, nature of item content, etc.

content is often managed and made available in the form of ‘collections’

collection

“ an aggregation of one or more items”

aggregation by

location, type/form of item, provenance of item, source/ownership of item, nature of item content, etc.

Physical vs. digital physical collections of physical items (e.g. books, journals) digital collections of digital items (texts, images, multimedia objects, software, datasets, “learning objects”, etc.) of digital metadata records describing physical items (e.g. MARC records in OPAC) describing digital items (e.g. Dublin Core records in subject gateway database)

physical collections

of physical items (e.g. books, journals)

digital collections

of digital items (texts, images, multimedia objects, software, datasets, “learning objects”, etc.)

of digital metadata records

describing physical items (e.g. MARC records in OPAC)

describing digital items (e.g. Dublin Core records in subject gateway database)

Services service “ the provision of, or system of supplying, one or more functions of interest to an end user or software application” informational services provide access to items and/or collections e.g. a library, a Web site, a catalogue transactional services not primarily concerned with supply of information e.g. photocopy service, authentication service users access collections of content and metadata through services

service

“ the provision of, or system of supplying, one or more functions of interest to an end user or software application”

informational services

provide access to items and/or collections

e.g. a library, a Web site, a catalogue

transactional services

not primarily concerned with supply of information

e.g. photocopy service, authentication service

users access collections of content and metadata through services

Services (2) physical service provided physically (e.g. a library) network service provided digitally (e.g. an image archive) structured network service network service that provides structured access to structured resources user is software application unstructured network service presenting resources to human user i.e. a Web site!

physical service

provided physically (e.g. a library)

network service

provided digitally (e.g. an image archive)

structured network service

network service that provides structured access to structured resources

user is software application

unstructured network service

presenting resources to human user

i.e. a Web site!

Physical collections Physical services make physical collections available at physical locations Collection of physical items Physical location Physical service

Digital collections Network services make digital collections available at digital locations Collection of digital items Digital location Web site Network service (unstructured)

Collections and catalogues OPAC Web interface Digital location Network service (unstructured) Collection of digital metadata records

Digital collections / metadata Collection of digital items Web site Network service (unstructured) Digital location Collection of digital metadata records

Collections and services OAI repository Harvest via OAI-PMH Z39.50 target Search/retrieve via Z39.50 Web site Collection of digital metadata records Collection of digital or physical items SOAP receiver operations via SOAP Collection available via multiple network services unstructured network service structured network service RSS channel Alert via RSS/HTTP

JISC IE architecture JISC-funded content providers institutional content providers external content providers brokers aggregators catalogues indexes institutional portals subject portals learning management systems media-specific portals end-user desktop/browser presentation fusion provision OpenURL resolvers shared infrastructure authentication/authorisation (Athens) JISC IE service registry institutional preferences services terminology services user preferences services resolvers metadata schema registries

JISC IE Service Registry JISC IE Service Registry (IESR) holds descriptions about physical and digital collections of content digital collections of metadata (about the above) the structured and unstructured network services that make those collections available (Web sites, OAI repositories, Z39.50 and SRW targets, RSS channels) the owners and administrators of those collections and services schema still under development

JISC IE Service Registry (IESR) holds descriptions about

physical and digital collections of content

digital collections of metadata (about the above)

the structured and unstructured network services that make those collections available (Web sites, OAI repositories, Z39.50 and SRW targets, RSS channels)

the owners and administrators of those collections and services

schema still under development

IESR usage intended to be used by any service that needs machine-readable collection/service descriptions any service that simply wants to display collection descriptions to end-users portals, brokers, the RDN, VLEs, the JISC Web site, desktop tools like EndNote, etc. pilot service

intended to be used by

any service that needs machine-readable collection/service descriptions

any service that simply wants to display collection descriptions to end-users

portals, brokers, the RDN, VLEs, the JISC Web site, desktop tools like EndNote, etc.

pilot service

IESR interfaces need to consider both real-time or batch-mode access descriptions made available for searching and harvesting using Z39.50 SRW OAI-PMH UDDI not yet clear how or when UDDI will be supported, but probably by registering at uddi.org in the first instance

need to consider both real-time or batch-mode access

descriptions made available for searching and harvesting using

Z39.50

SRW

OAI-PMH

UDDI

not yet clear how or when UDDI will be supported, but probably by registering at uddi.org in the first instance

Related activities DCMI Collection Description working group http://dublincore.org/groups/collections/ NISO Metasearch Initiative (including collection description issues) plus various application or protocol specific initiatives ZING ZeeRex, ISO ILL Directory, Digital Reference Standard (Collections and Service), EAD community, …

DCMI Collection Description working group http://dublincore.org/groups/collections/

NISO Metasearch Initiative (including collection description issues)

plus various application or protocol specific initiatives

ZING ZeeRex, ISO ILL Directory, Digital Reference Standard (Collections and Service), EAD community, …

Questions…