The Kansas City Public Library faced the challenge of providing digital access to meet the diverse needs of its patrons. It implemented a solution using Fedora Commons as a central repository with customized interfaces built in Drupal. This allowed for a single search across sites while meeting the specific needs of different user groups through multiple access points. The solution provides sustainable digital preservation and access both inside and outside the library, meeting patrons where they are with varied devices.
1. Meeting the Digital Demand: It’s All About Access Jordan A Fields Digital Projects Manager The Kansas City Public Library Kansas City, Missouri, USA
3. 10 Library Locations Kansas City Population 240,000 Legal Service Area 2,000,000+ Metro Service Area
4. The Challenge: One digital library that meets the needs of all of our patrons
5. many languages many ages variety of digital literacy skills variety of research needs different digital devices variety of information literacy skills
25. The Challenge : One digital library that meets the needs of all of our patrons Solution: A single repository with multiple access points that meet our patrons where they are
26. Questions? Jordan A Fields [email_address] Digital Projects Manager The Kansas City Public Library Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Editor's Notes
1 Central Library (includes MVSC) 9 Branches Profile of Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City is a border city, divided between two states, Kansas and Missouri. Not only are there traditional urban and suburban divides, but two completely separate state governments. The Kansas City Public Library is in Jackson County on the Missouri side of the state border with a population of just under 240,000 in the legal service area; however, the metropolitan service area is about ten times that number. We have 10 locations including a large central library downtown and nine branches. Like many urban libraries, a large number of our patrons lack basic literacy and technology skills. At the same time, 27% of the residents in Jackson County have a bachelor’s degree. Adults With College Degrees in the United States, by County . The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://chronicle.com/article/Adults-With-College-Degrees-in/125995/>.
Introduction When The Kansas City Public Library began making plans to update their digital libraries, two main challenges presented themselves: how can we create a single digital library that supports many different types of content without building many different digital libraries, and how can we provide access to content that is appropriate for the wide range of patrons KCPL serves? The Library created and is currently implementing a plan that addresses both of these needs.
Many languages Many ages Variety of digital literacy skills Variety of research needs Variety of digital devices Variety of information literacy skills
The Need for a New Solution In 2009 the Library collection included two primary digital collections, kchistory.org for special collections which included exclusively historical content and kcresearch.org for local research studies and data. These two digital libraries were hosted on separate instances of CONTENTdm and were managed by completely different personnel. This solution was not ideal for either staff or patrons.
The decision to run two separate instances of the same software was originally made in consideration of the fact that researchers and their queries for each type of content were different and would benefit from customized experiences. This thinking was correct at the time; however, it also presented a number of challenges. While many patrons were happy with the separate sites, some had research needs that required searching both sites; for example, a query on bridges and bridge building in Kansas City. Particularly complex topics required searching the library catalog, many separate databases, and both digital collections. While librarians are familiar with this type of research, for the user accustomed to the Google single search box, the necessity of searching in more than one place seems antiquated.
The two-library solution also had its positives and negatives for staff. For selection and metadata entry, having two separate digital library instances was not a problem since staff from different departments performed these functions for each of the sites. However, this decision doubled repository maintenance for IT staff. There was also a movement to begin more preservation actions on the Library’s digital resources, which would be simplified by a single repository solution.
Another challenge presented itself in the form of new projects coming down the pike. Plans for several micro sites to highlight collections or particular topics belonging to one of the larger digital libraries began to emerge, including a site to educate citizens on the city budgeting process, a site to share the history of the garment industry in Kansas City and a site to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. In addition to different digital collections, each of these microsites requires a customized interface and a specific set of features that might or might not be needed by one of the other sites. For example, the Civil War site is a major collaboration between 8 advisory institutions and approximately 30 contributing institutions and therefore necessitated an interface acknowledging those partnerships as well as interactive features like a timeline of local and national events. The collection for the garment industry site is primarily made up of oral history videos which require a different type of display interface for maximum usability. Unlike the previous two examples, the city budget site will not emphasize the digital objects as much as the interactive tools to manipulate the budget data and informational tools to teach users about the budgeting process. Given the very different needs of users, staff, and the emerging microsites, it became clear that a new digital library solution was needed.
In summary, the Library settled on the following as the four most important requirements: Multiple customized interfaces created using the same software A single repository capable of preserving all types of digital objects The ability to search across all sites from a single search box and retrieve aggregated search results A sustainable solution is a must, an open source solution is preferred
Digital Library Solution: Repository The Library chose the open-source repository Fedora Commons. Fedora was designed to accommodate any type of digital object and it included several strong digital preservation features. Fedora was also widely adopted by many well-respected libraries. There were two significant downsides to Fedora: it included no real user interface and it was a very technical system that would be quite difficult to implement and maintain for our current IT staff. Fedora’s administrative interface was also not very user friendly, and it would be difficult for the less technologically-savvy staff members to master.
Digital Library Solution: User Interfaces The preferred option for developing all user interfaces was the Drupal content management system. For the past several years the Library has been using Drupal to develop all new websites. Drupal is flexible enough to allow for a lot of creativity and flexibility when designing interfaces and our staff were already comfortable with how it worked.
Digital Library Solution: Connecting Repository and Interface The solution to the challenges Fedora posed came via the VITAL product from VTLS. VITAL is built on Fedora and includes a better administrative interface and workflow tools as well as technical support for Fedora itself. VTLS also provided the Library with a Drupal module to use in the various digital library and microsite interfaces. Figure 1 demonstrates how these systems work together on a basic level.
System graphic with Fedora/VITAL/Drupal
Introduce 2 nd half: It’s All About Access Targeting User Groups Outside the Library
In addition to customized websites and microsites, a single search interface will be available via the Library’s main online presence, kclibrary.org, for users desiring to cast the widest net possible with their queries. Figure 4 below summarizes the repository content available on the Library’s websites and microsites. Given this set up, a user could find a digitized image of a particular Civil War soldier from one of three places: by searching the Civil War microsite, by searching kchistory.org, or from the main repository interface that is planned for kclibrary.org. Figure 4: Access Interfaces for KCPL Digital Library Content
In addition to customized websites and microsites, a single search interface will be available via the Library’s main online presence, kclibrary.org, for users desiring to cast the widest net possible with their queries. Figure 4 below summarizes the repository content available on the Library’s websites and microsites. Given this set up, a user could find a digitized image of a particular Civil War soldier from one of three places: by searching the Civil War microsite, by searching kchistory.org, or from the main repository interface that is planned for kclibrary.org. Figure 4: Access Interfaces for KCPL Digital Library Content
Targeting User Groups- KCResearch
In addition to customized websites and microsites, a single search interface will be available via the Library’s main online presence, kclibrary.org, for users desiring to cast the widest net possible with their queries. Figure 4 below summarizes the repository content available on the Library’s websites and microsites. Given this set up, a user could find a digitized image of a particular Civil War soldier from one of three places: by searching the Civil War microsite, by searching kchistory.org, or from the main repository interface that is planned for kclibrary.org. Figure 4: Access Interfaces for KCPL Digital Library Content
Targeting User Groups- Civil War Timeline (include link)
It’s All About Access: Outside the Library Americans do not use Library websites to begin to look for information. It is therefore very important that the Library has access points to meet users where they already are, in both online and physical spaces. KCPL has made great strides in meeting our patrons in the online spaces they occupy, and we are making plans to extend our reach into some unexpected physical spaces. &quot;Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community.&quot; . Ed. Brad Gauder. OCLC, 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.htm>.
Social Media In 2010 The Kansas City Public Library was ranked third on TechSoup’s Top Libraries on Twitter. In addition to @KCLibrary, the main Library Twitter feed with more than 5,000 followers, the Library has smaller niche accounts for library branches and for microsites (see the lower right corner of Figure 2 for an example). KCPL also has a very strong Facebook presence and has experimented with geolocation tools like foursquare. Gerding, Stephanie. &quot;Top Public Libraries on Twitter.&quot; TechSoup for Libraries . TechSoup, 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/blog/top-public-libraries-on-twitter>.
Physical Spaces The Library does not want outreach for its digital collections to be limited to virtual spaces. KCPL is currently looking into using QR codes (3D barcodes that a user with a smart phone can scan to take them directly to specific web pages or digital objects in a repository) in physical locations where users might be interested in additional information. For example, a user touring the Garment District neighborhood might be interested in the history of a particular building. The Library is considering putting a QR codes on signs outside buildings in this area that would allow users to take historical tours with background information and digitized photographs. Figure 5 is an example of a QR code that directs users to kclibrary.org. Figure 5: QR Code Directing Users to kclibrary.org
Conclusion Today there are more options than ever before for meeting the digital demands of today’s library patrons. Digital library repositories need to be thoughtfully designed, and both physical and virtual access points should be carefully considered to ensure that their content will be available no matter how users choose to access that content or where they access it from.
