This document discusses Emory University's efforts to implement a new faculty information system called Emory FIRST. Emory FIRST will centralize faculty data, link to an institutional repository, and make select faculty information and works publicly available. It is a collaboration between Emory Libraries and Information Technology Services to better manage and promote faculty research profiles. The implementation involved integrating multiple systems, including Symplectic Elements as a central knowledge base and the university's open access repository OpenEmory. Lessons learned included engaging data stewards early, planning implementation in phases, and ensuring full engagement of the library to enhance credibility with faculty.

1. ABOUT
Now
that
Symplec/c
Elements
is
implemented,
our
next
step
is
to
evolve
the
VIVO
alpha
connector
for
a
beta
release
which
will
enhance
the
integra/on
and
visibility
of
faculty
and
their
scholarship
in
OpenEmory
.
As
we
look
toward
university-­‐wide
adop/on,
we
plan
to
create
a
broader
group
of
stakeholders
to
help
manage
the
larger
set
of
university
interests
and
help
priori/ze
features.
Establishing
a
group
of
data
stewards
will
help
facilitate
our
understanding
of
the
data
and
related
issues.
In
addi/on,
a
common
set
of
ac/vi/es
and
standards
needs
to
be
created
by
doing
an
analysis
across
the
various
schools.
Emory
FIRST
is
a
source
for
Faculty
Informa/on
on
Research,
Service,
and
Teaching.
The
solu/on
includes
capturing
faculty
informa/on
within
a
central
system,
providing
a
path
for
faculty
to
deposit
their
scholarly
content
in
a
repository,
and
making
selected
faculty
informa/on
and
their
deposited
scholarly
content
publicly
available
to
promote
faculty
and
their
work.
The
overall
strategic
goals
include:
• Establish
an
authorita/ve
source
of
faculty
profile
and
ac/vi/es
data
• Promote
researchers
through
informa/on
rich
profiles
and
web
pages
• Enhance
discovery
by
crea/ng
links
between
profiles
and
content
• Create
mechanisms
to
measure
impact
of
research
and
scholarship
Emory
FIRST
is
the
first
place
to
discover
more
about
the
great
work
of
faculty
at
Emory.
It
is
designed
to
provide
a
plaLorm
to
beMer
manage
and
promote
scholarly
ac/vi/es
and
profiles,
as
well
as
link
to
the
ins/tu/onal
repository
for
faculty-­‐authored
content.
Publica/ons,
grants,
professional
ac/vi/es,
teaching,
and
areas
of
research
are
all
elements
maintained
within
a
single
system
and
available
for
reuse
to
create
CVs,
biosketches,
and
web
profiles.
In
addi/on,
there
are
opportuni/es
for
extending
this
informa/on
to
create
enhanced
networks
for
collabora/on,
impact
repor/ng,
and
new
ways
of
discovery.
The
overall
solu/on
consists
of
implemen/ng
mul/ple
systems,
including
Symplec/c
Elements
as
a
central
knowledge
base
integrated
with
the
ins/tu/on’s
open
access
repository,
OpenEmory,
and
with
VIVO
to
promote
the
work
of
faculty.
Spencer,
Eugene
L,
Metz,
Terrance
J,
and
Ferguson,
Chris
D.
“Greater
Than
the
Sum
of
Its
Parts:
The
Integrated
IT/Library
Organiza/on.”
EDUCAUSE
Review
1
Jan.
2004;
31
July
2014
,
hMp://www.educause.edu/ero/ar/cle/greater-­‐sum-­‐its-­‐parts-­‐integrated-­‐itlibrary-­‐
organiza/on
Presenters:
Lisa
Macklin,
Mary
M.
Walters,
Tim
Morris
Crea%ve
Partnerships:
Dynamic
IT
and
Library
Collabora%on
to
Promote
Faculty
Research,
Create
Profiles,
and
Enhance
Workflow
Emory
Libraries
Informa/on
Technology
Services
LITS:
Library
and
Informa/on
Technology
Services
1.
Data
Stewardship
and
Data
Quality
Issues
Develop
and
engage
data
stewards
early
in
the
planning
of
the
project.
As
we
began
our
implementa/on,
we
discovered
significant
challenges
around
our
HR
and
grants
informa/on
and
realized
it
would
have
been
helpful
to
begin
with
our
data
stewards.
We
con/nue
to
resolve
data
quality
issues,
which
has
benefits
beyond
this
project.
2.
Extend
Time
with
New
Development
from
Vendor
While
our
vendor
had
exis/ng
repository
connectors
for
DSpace
and
EPrints,
we
were
one
of
the
first
clients
for
which
they
developed
a
general
connector
for
a
Fedora
repository.
3.
Plan
the
Implementa%on
in
Phases
The
ini/al
commitment
included
a
full
system,
including
Publica/ons,
Grants,
Professional
Ac/vi/es
and
the
ability
to
generate
a
CV.
An
itera/ve
implementa/on
plan,
beginning
with
only
Publica/ons,
helps
manage
expecta/ons
and
allows
for
discovery
of
faculty
scholarship.
4.
Engagement
of
the
Library
Enhances
Academic
Credibility
While
the
library
was
engaged
ini/ally
in
the
system
configura/on,
their
limited
involvement
in
subsequent
stages
proved
challenging.
The
full
engagement
of
the
library,
in
their
role
as
representa/ves
of
the
faculty,
became
a
cri/cal
success
factor
As
one
dean
described
the
nature
of
their
involvement,
“If
the
librarians
aren’t
happy,
then
the
faculty
aren’t
happy.”
5.
Manage
Technical
Debt
During
early
stages
of
the
implementa/on,
Emory
made
a
choice
to
implement
new
areas
of
the
soaware
that
were
later
redesigned,
requiring
a
series
of
extensive
data
re-­‐mappings
in
order
to
align
with
delivered
func/onality.
Data
Advisory
Group
Person
Data
Teaching
Grants
Professional
Ac/vi/es
Publica/ons
Repor/ng
and
Analy/cs
Emory
University
was
founded
in
1836
and
is
composed
of
nine
schools:
Emory
College,
Oxford
College,
School
of
Business,
Graduate
School,
School
of
Law,
School
of
Medicine,
School
of
Nursing,
School
of
Public
Health,
and
the
School
of
Theology.
While
guided
by
central
administra/on,
the
schools
are
able
to
exercise
a
good
deal
of
autonomy
in
defining
academic
policies,
managing
budgets,
and
guiding
their
faculty,
crea/ng
what
is
some/mes
called
a
“mul/versity.”
The
university
has
a
vision
statement
that
expresses
its
commitment
to
engagement
and
collabora/on.
A
des/na/on
university
interna/onally
recognized
as
an
inquiry-­‐driven,
ethically
engaged,
and
diverse
community,
whose
members
work
collabora/vely
for
posi/ve
transforma/on
in
the
world
through
courageous
leadership
in
teaching,
research,
scholarship,
health
care,
and
social
ac/on.
Library
&
Informa/on
Technology
Services
(LITS)
was
formed
in
2013
with
the
goal
of
beMer
aligning
various
service
func/ons
across
the
Emory
enterprise,
including
IT
func/ons.
The
LITS
organiza/on
is
the
merger
of
a
service
unit
with
an
academic
unit,
providing
the
opportunity
to
evaluate
the
poten/al
of
IT
becoming
an
enabler
of
strategic
change.
VIEWS RESULTS
EMORY UNIVERSITY
THE EMORY FIRST PROJECT
OPERATIONAL
PROJECT TIMELINES AND MILESTONES
LESSONS LEARNED
NEXT STEPS
REFERENCES
Faculty
Profiles
Share
Knowledge,
Display,
and
Impact
Repository
Storing
Faculty
authored
Content
Collect
Research
Objects
and
Linkages
Collabora%on
and
Interdisciplinary
Research
Submission
into
OpenEmory
is
now
part
of
the
annual
faculty
repor/ng
for
self-­‐deposit
in
addi/on
to
mediated
deposit
by
the
staff
in
Scholarly
Communica/ons.
SYSTEM
• Symplec%c
Elements
Implementa%on
Begins
• VIVO
Alpha
Connector
• Symplec%c
Elements
Ready
for
General
Release
for
School
of
Medicine
• Publica%ons
Element
Available
for
Use
by
All
Schools
• OpenEmory
Integra%on
Complete
1/2013
7/2014
10/2014
LITS