John MacColl, European Director OCLC Research National Library of Wales 29 October 2008 OCLC Research – an overview and update

OCLC Research

OCLC Research serves OCLC Membership RLG Partnership OCLC Enterprise

RLG/OCLC: From WorldCat to Wealth of Nations The research library is the expression of the power of the aggregate It draws its power from the collective wealth of libraries We receive as we contribute Libraries are switches for sharing Local  Group  Global Publishers within the cooperative! Inversion of traditional functional arrangement How do we design, engineer and lubricate this vision? This is the role of OCLC Research within OCLC

The research library is the expression of the power of the aggregate

It draws its power from the collective wealth of libraries

We receive as we contribute

Libraries are switches for sharing

Local  Group  Global

Publishers within the cooperative!

Inversion of traditional functional arrangement

How do we design, engineer and lubricate this vision?

This is the role of OCLC Research within OCLC

OCLC Research San Mateo, California 12 Program Officers Vice President Administrative support Dublin, Ohio Communications Team Vice President 20 Research Scientists Research Assistants Administrative Support St Andrews, Scotland Director, Europe

San Mateo, California

12 Program Officers

Vice President

Administrative support

Dublin, Ohio

Communications Team

Vice President

20 Research Scientists

Research Assistants

Administrative Support

St Andrews, Scotland

Director, Europe

RLG Partners - Geography Japan 1 Middle East 2 Australia and New Zealand 4 UK, Ireland & Continental Europe 27 North America 100

Our Partners American Academy in Rome  American Antiquarian Society  American Museum of Natural History  American Philosophical Society  American University in Cairo  American University of Sharjah  Amon Carter Museum  Arizona State University  Art Institute of Chicago  Athenaeum of Philadelphia  Bard Graduate Center/Bard College  Biblioteca Nacional de Espa ña  Biblioth èq u e nationale de France  Binghamton University, State University of New York  Boston Public Library  Boston University Pappas Law Library  Brandeis University  Brigham Young University  British Library  Brooklyn Museum  John Carter Brown Library at Brown University  California Digital Library  California Historical Society  Canadian Centre for Architecture  Center for Jewish History  Chemical Heritage Foundation  Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute  Cleveland Museum of Art  Columbia University  Cornell University  Courtauld Institute of Art  Direction des Archives de France  Duke University  Emory University  Fashion Institute of Technology  Florida State University  Folger Shakespeare Library  Fordham University Leo T. Kissam Memorial Law Library  The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library  George Washington University Jacob Burns Law Library  Getty Research Institute  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum  Hagley Museum and Library  Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology  Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion  Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens  Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine  Indiana University Bloomington Institute for Advanced Study  International Institute of Social History (Netherlands)  Keio University  Kimbell Art Museum  King's College London  Library Company of Philadelphia  Library of Congress  Library of Virginia  London School of Economics  Los Angeles County Law Library  Metropolitan Museum of Art  Minnesota Historical Society  Museum of the American West  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Museum of Fine Arts, Houston  Museum of Modern Art  National Archives and Records Administration  National Gallery of Art  National Gallery of Canada  National Library of Australia  National Library of New Zealand  National Library of Scotland  Natural History Museum (UK)  Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art  Newberry Library  The New School (university)  New York Academy of Medicine  New York Botanical Garden  New-York Historical Society  New York Public Library  New York State Office of Cultural Education  New York University  Oregon State University  Pennsylvania State University  Philadelphia Museum of Art  Princeton University  Rice University  Rockefeller Archive Center (Rockefeller University)  Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew  Rutgers University  School of Oriental and African Studies  Smithsonian Institution  Southern Methodist University  Underwood Law Library  Stanford University  Stony Brook University, State University of New York  St. Louis Art Museum  Swarthmore College  Swiss National Library  Syracuse University  Temple University  Trinity College Dublin  University of Aberdeen  University of Alberta  University of Arizona  University of British Columbia Asian Library  University of California, Berkeley  University of California, Davis, Law Library  University of California, Los Angeles  University of Cambridge  University of Chicago  University of Edinburgh  University of Florida  University of Glasgow  University of Iowa Law Library  University of Liverpool  University of Manchester  University of Maryland  University of Melbourne  University of Miami  University of Michigan  University of Minnesota, Twin Cities  University of Oxford  University of Pennsylvania  University of Southern California  University of Sydney  University of Texas at Austin  University of Toronto  University of Warwick  University of Washington  Victoria and Albert Museum  Wellcome Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine  Yale University  Yeshiva University

Value to existing Partners Beginning of a new phase of its existence Significant work was done as RLG - in standards for cataloguing, standards for archival description, digital preservation and organisation of cultural materials One of the most significant achievements was the creation of an international group of high quality research institutions Wonderful foundation for the next phase New phase is required because of landscape upheaval

Beginning of a new phase of its existence

Significant work was done as RLG - in standards for cataloguing, standards for archival description, digital preservation and organisation of cultural materials

One of the most significant achievements was the creation of an international group of high quality research institutions

Wonderful foundation for the next phase

New phase is required because of landscape upheaval

Urgency The last 2-3 years have seen significant changes in the environment (Perceptions Report) Respondents use search engines to begin an information search (84 percent). One percent begin an information search on a library web site . (Part 1.2) Search engines are rated higher than librarians. (Part 2.6) Respondents do not trust purchased information more than free information. The verbatim comments suggest a high expectation of free information. (Part 3.4) Library users like to self-serve. Most respondents do not seek assistance when using library resources. ( Part 2.4 ) Huge impact on expectations – including those of researchers

The last 2-3 years have seen significant changes in the environment (Perceptions Report)

Respondents use search engines to begin an information search (84 percent). One percent begin an information search on a library web site . (Part 1.2)

Search engines are rated higher than librarians. (Part 2.6)

Respondents do not trust purchased information more than free information. The verbatim comments suggest a high expectation of free information. (Part 3.4)

Library users like to self-serve. Most respondents do not seek assistance when using library resources. ( Part 2.4 )

Huge impact on expectations – including those of researchers

Information consumer behaviours Network-level aggregation of supply and demand Personal collections ‘ Wild’ users Social media & social networking

Network-level aggregation of supply and demand

Personal collections

‘ Wild’ users

Social media & social networking

Be where the users are Image: informationarchitects.jp/web-trend-map-2008-beta/

‘ Discovery happens elsewhere’ Source: alexa.com Most visited sites on the web 1st ……………. Yahoo! 2nd ……………. Google 3rd ……………. YouTube 4th ……………. WindowsLive 5th ……………. Facebook 6th ……………. MSN 7th ……………. Myspace 8th ……………. Wikipedia 9th ……………. Blogger 10th ……………. Yahoo! Japan …………………… .. 1,377th .……… Harvard Libraries 4,444th .……… University of Cambridge 7,999th …….. worldcat.org 19,974th ……… British Library 307,564th …… National Library of Scotland 598,863rd ……. National Library of Wales

One way to get into the users’ flow

The changing economics of academic library expenditure: a prediction Consolidate low-use print Pool licensing purchase power Move into research flows Curation/Preservation Locally-curated digital content

Revenues of key players Source: Michael Jubb, RIN. Conference on Sustaining the Digital Library, Edinburgh, September 2007

The resource context Profits: Microsoft ~£7bn, Google ~£1.8bn Microsoft expenditure on R&D is equal to the UK Science Budget (£3.4bn); Google’s is ~£1bn UK national and university libraries’ total expenditure is less than half Google’s R&D spend Even in the US and Canada, the total spend of the relatively well-endowed ARL libraries amounts only to £1.8bn “ So an obvious point to make here is that, in a context where commercial companies are clearly already players in the business of developing, providing, and sustaining digital content, it would be foolish to cut ourselves off from the resources that they have available to invest” Source: Michael Jubb, RIN. Conference on Sustaining the Digital Library, Edinburgh, September 2007

Profits: Microsoft ~£7bn, Google ~£1.8bn

Microsoft expenditure on R&D is equal to the UK Science Budget (£3.4bn); Google’s is ~£1bn

UK national and university libraries’ total expenditure is less than half Google’s R&D spend

Even in the US and Canada, the total spend of the relatively well-endowed ARL libraries amounts only to £1.8bn

“ So an obvious point to make here is that, in a context where commercial companies are clearly already players in the business of developing, providing, and sustaining digital content, it would be foolish to cut ourselves off from the resources that they have available to invest”

Source: Michael Jubb, RIN. Conference on Sustaining the Digital Library, Edinburgh, September 2007

Imperatives Be where they are Services built for them, by them – get used Convenience beats quality; sharing beats privacy User configurability People want control over their own experiences Personal collections Mashups, repurposing, piracy Putting content out there (disclosure) so it can be consumed in many different ways

Be where they are

Services built for them, by them – get used

Convenience beats quality; sharing beats privacy

User configurability

People want control over their own experiences

Personal collections

Mashups, repurposing, piracy

Putting content out there (disclosure) so it can be consumed in many different ways

Being awake in a web world Library services need to be rethought for the web architecture Resources not repositories (Herbert Van de Sompel) ‘ Usage Factor’ becomes the new ‘Impact Factor’ The ‘reader’ is an ‘e-shopper’ Employing the ‘hive mind’; users as contributors and fact-checkers Bold initiatives are better taken jointly

Library services need to be rethought for the web architecture

Resources not repositories (Herbert Van de Sompel)

‘ Usage Factor’ becomes the new ‘Impact Factor’

The ‘reader’ is an ‘e-shopper’

Employing the ‘hive mind’; users as contributors and fact-checkers

Bold initiatives are better taken jointly

No longer just about shared cataloguing Office of Research now joined with RLG to form OCLC Research Providing leadership and focus from a research library agenda OCLC is being transformed

No longer just about shared cataloguing

Office of Research now joined with RLG to form OCLC Research

Providing leadership and focus from a research library agenda

OCLC is being transformed

The Greene-Meissner contribution ‘ Cataloguing is a function which is not working’ 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 Hail ‘the demise of the completeness syndrome’ (Ross Atkinson)

‘ Cataloguing is a function which is not working’

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

Hail ‘the demise of the completeness syndrome’ (Ross Atkinson)

Fulfilment?

Fulfilment!

The Erway-Schaffner contribution

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 go back and do it again

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 go back and do it again

Handle once (then iterate) Handle incoming items once for both description and digitisation Compromise on image resolution and metadata as needed to achieve throughput requirements Create a single unified process Let usage guide further efforts

Handle incoming items once for both description and digitisation

Compromise on image resolution and metadata as needed to achieve throughput requirements

Create a single unified process

Let usage guide further efforts

Programmes not projects Forget ‘special projects’ — it’s long past time to make this a basic part of our everyday work! Digital capture must be embedded in our basic procedures, budgeting, etc. Figure out a way to fund it yourself and you’ll figure out a way to do it cheaper

Forget ‘special projects’ — it’s long past time to make this a basic part of our everyday work!

Digital capture must be embedded in our basic procedures, budgeting, etc.

Figure out a way to fund it yourself and you’ll figure out a way to do it cheaper

Change in Photoduplication Policy As of March 17, 2008, the Ransom Center's policy regarding research copies of items from its collections will change. We will no longer furnish photocopies. For all requests received on or after March 17, our default procedure will be to make digital scans of the originals and furnish PDF files (72 dpi) either by email or on CD-ROM. For patrons who are unable to make use of PDFs, printouts will be available in lieu of digital files. For publication purposes, high-resolution images will still be furnished on the same terms as before. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin Scan on demand

Engage your community in description Do not describe everything in painstaking detail Start with basic description, then… … allow serious researchers to contact you for more detail, and… … engage your user community with adding to the descriptions

Do not describe everything in painstaking detail

Start with basic description, then…

… allow serious researchers to contact you for more detail, and…

… engage your user community with adding to the descriptions

January 16 th 2008: LC photographs on Flickr

24 hours later Exposure

Impact: exposure Flickr: Top 50 LC: Top 6000

Contributions How to lose control

Go with it

Feeding back into our work 89 records updated

Quality vs quantity: quantity wins! The perfect has been the enemy of the good - and the possible Achieving excellence can have a substantial cost Any access is better than none at all Instead of measuring cataloguer/archivist output we should be measuring impact on users

The perfect has been the enemy of the good - and the possible

Achieving excellence can have a substantial cost

Any access is better than none at all

Instead of measuring cataloguer/archivist output we should be measuring impact on users

“ It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin Image: Auckland Museum

Concentration A web-scale presence Mobilise data Diffusion Disclosure of links, data and services Scale matters

Possibilities with web-scale library data

Possibilities with web-scale library data

Work Agenda Programmes Research Information Management Managing the Collective Collection Renovating Descriptive and Organizing Practices Effectively Disclose Archives and Special Collections Modelling New Service Infrastructures Measurements and Behaviours Architecture and Standards

Research Information Management

Managing the Collective Collection

Renovating Descriptive and Organizing Practices

Effectively Disclose Archives and Special Collections

Modelling New Service Infrastructures

Measurements and Behaviours

Architecture and Standards

Research Information Management Workflows in Research Assessment Survey of Current Practice Support for the Research Process Academic Research Landscape Personal Research Collections

Workflows in Research Assessment

Survey of Current Practice

Support for the Research Process

Academic Research Landscape

Personal Research Collections

Managing the Collective Collection Shared Print Collections Deaccession Materials Held in Print and Electronic Form Define Policy and Infrastructure Requirements for Building and Managing Shared Print Collections Data Mining for Management Intelligence and New Services Commission a White Paper that Provides an Annotated Inventory of Library Data Sources Analyze Multi-Institutional Aggregated Data to Illuminate the System-Wide LAM Landscape Systematize Aggregation and Analysis Techniques Museum Collection Sharing Collection Descriptions in Natural History Institutions Museum Data Exchange Library, Archive and Museum Collaboration Survey Organizational/Service Relationship between Libraries, Archives and Museums among Partners

Shared Print Collections

Deaccession Materials Held in Print and Electronic Form

Define Policy and Infrastructure Requirements for Building and Managing Shared Print Collections

Data Mining for Management Intelligence and New Services

Commission a White Paper that Provides an Annotated Inventory of Library Data Sources

Analyze Multi-Institutional Aggregated Data to Illuminate the System-Wide LAM Landscape

Systematize Aggregation and Analysis Techniques

Museum Collection Sharing

Collection Descriptions in Natural History Institutions

Museum Data Exchange

Library, Archive and Museum Collaboration

Survey Organizational/Service Relationship between Libraries, Archives and Museums among Partners

Effectively Disclose Archives and Special Collections Assess Archival Backlog Survey Tools Project Analyze Existing Open Source EAD Creation and Editing Tools Project Define the State of Holdings and Description for Archives Project Define the State of “Hidden Collections” for Archives Project Analyze Specialized Archival Discovery Environments to Find Data Elements that Optimize Discovery of Archival Materials Project Synthesize the Current State of Delivery Practices for Archives and Special Collections Increase the Scale of Special Collections Digitization

Assess Archival Backlog Survey Tools Project

Analyze Existing Open Source EAD Creation and Editing Tools Project

Define the State of Holdings and Description for Archives Project

Define the State of “Hidden Collections” for Archives Project

Analyze Specialized Archival Discovery Environments to Find Data Elements that Optimize Discovery of Archival Materials Project

Synthesize the Current State of Delivery Practices for Archives and Special Collections Increase the Scale of Special Collections Digitization

Renovate Descriptive & Organizing Practices Make Metadata Creation Processes More Effective Share Best Practices for Streamlining Metadata Creation Workflows Gather Evidence to Inform Changes Needed in Metadata Practices Network Controlled Vocabularies Prototype a Cooperative ‘Identities Hub’ Prototype a ‘Publisher Name Server’

Make Metadata Creation Processes More Effective

Share Best Practices for Streamlining Metadata Creation Workflows

Gather Evidence to Inform Changes Needed in Metadata Practices

Network Controlled Vocabularies

Prototype a Cooperative ‘Identities Hub’

Prototype a ‘Publisher Name Server’

Modelling New Service Infrastructures Create New Structures and Service Areas Define Library Systems Data Service Layer Explore RLG Partner Interests in Terminologies Services Build Prototypes/Software to Showcase and Demonstrate New Service Possibilities Enhance Disclosure at the Network Level

Create New Structures and Service Areas

Define Library Systems Data Service Layer

Explore RLG Partner Interests in Terminologies Services

Build Prototypes/Software to Showcase and Demonstrate New Service Possibilities

Enhance Disclosure at the Network Level

Measurements & Behaviours Gain a Better Understanding of End-User Behaviours Public Service Trends in Special Collections Work with Partners to Establish a Shared Understanding of Researcher Behaviours Convene an Event for Sharing and Discussing User Studies

Gain a Better Understanding of End-User Behaviours

Public Service Trends in Special Collections

Work with Partners to Establish a Shared Understanding of Researcher Behaviours

Convene an Event for Sharing and Discussing User Studies

Architecture & Standards Lead and/or Participate in Both Formal and Informal Standards Efforts, Representing Library, Archive and Museum Interests Engage in Standards and Best Technical Practices Requirements for Persistent Identifiers Influence the Proposed EAC Standard

Lead and/or Participate in Both Formal and Informal Standards Efforts, Representing Library, Archive and Museum Interests

Engage in Standards and Best Technical Practices

Requirements for Persistent Identifiers

Influence the Proposed EAC Standard

The cooperative imperative WorldCat represented cooperation in cataloguing Just the beginning? We need to continue to leverage the investment in new and imaginative ways NextGen metadata eContent synchronisation

WorldCat represented cooperation in cataloguing

Just the beginning?

We need to continue to leverage the investment in new and imaginative ways

NextGen metadata

eContent synchronisation

The European perspective Venue Paris conference Video-conferencing (1st half of 2009) Voice Program Council: Anne Murray (Cambridge); Caroline Brazier (British Library) Projects - involvement Business intelligence. Developments in 1st half of 2009 Team blog

Venue

Paris conference

Video-conferencing (1st half of 2009)

Voice

Program Council: Anne Murray (Cambridge); Caroline Brazier (British Library)

Projects - involvement

Business intelligence. Developments in 1st half of 2009

Team blog

Recent reports and publications Smith-Yoshimura, Karen. RLG Programs Descriptive Metadata Practices Survey Results Kaufman, Peter and Ubois, Jeff. " Good Terms—Improving Commercial-Noncommercial Partnerships for Mass Digitization; A Report Prepared by Intelligent Television for RLG Programs, OCLC Programs and Research. " D-Lib Magazine , 13,11/12 Payne, Lizanne. Library Storage Facilities and the Future of Print Collections in North America Erway, Ricky, and Schaffner, Jennifer. Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get Into the Flow

Smith-Yoshimura, Karen. RLG Programs Descriptive Metadata Practices Survey Results

Kaufman, Peter and Ubois, Jeff. " Good Terms—Improving Commercial-Noncommercial Partnerships for Mass Digitization; A Report Prepared by Intelligent Television for RLG Programs, OCLC Programs and Research. " D-Lib Magazine , 13,11/12

Payne, Lizanne. Library Storage Facilities and the Future of Print Collections in North America

Erway, Ricky, and Schaffner, Jennifer. Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get Into the Flow

To find out more

Thank You John MacColl [email_address] .org OCLC Research