This document outlines Tilburg University's implementation of a cloud-based library management and search system, highlighting their innovative approach and unique library structure. It discusses the selection and implementation process of the WMS/WCL system, including risks, requirements, and lessons learned throughout the project. The project aims to replace outdated systems while enhancing functionality and integrating local content, addressing various challenges faced during implementation.

1. Implementing a cloud-based library
management and search system –
the WMS and WCL case at Tilburg
University
Jola G.B. Prinsen, project manager Library & IT Services

2. Before we start…
• Lecture about implementation project
• No WMS/WCL demo
• No focus on the WMS/WCL systems
• Tilburg University Library is an early adopter, no comparable WMS
libraries yet
• Tilburg University Library is not a standard library
• Tradition of innovation
• Many in-house developed, customized systems
• Local databases
2

3. Contents
• Cloud computing
• Selection process
• Implementation project
• Analysis phase
• WCL implementation phase
• Lessons learned
• Recommended reading
3

4. Cloud computing
Ticer summer school 22 August 2012 4

5. Cloud computing – definition
• The use of computing resources (hardware and software) that are
delivered as a service over a network (typically the Internet). The
name comes from the use of a cloud-shaped symbol as an
abstraction for the complex infrastructure it contains in system
diagrams. Cloud computing entrusts remote services with a user's
data, software and computation. (Wikipedia)
5

6. Examples – End-user/discovery services
• Union catalogues
GGC
• Discovery services
6

7. Examples – Library management systems
• LMS vendor hosting arrangements (1st phase)
LBS4
• Library service platforms
Sierra
Intota
7

8. Do you use / consider
a cloud-based LMS?
8

9. Cloud-based LMS among participants
Consider cloud-based
Use cloud-based LMS LMS
Yes Yes
No No
(Results from questionnaire among this module’s participants – 18 answers)
9

10. What worries you about
cloud computing?
10

11. Cloud computing – library concerns
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
(Taken from an OCLC survey of 2,700
librarians in
academic, public, government and
corporate libraries, and in various
roles across the library, conducted in
March 2011)
11

12. How TiU covered risks (1)
• Bibliographic data
• Ownership (also after
termination of contract)
arranged in contract
• GGC and local databases
are backup
• Personal data
• No staff or end-user data to
be stored in the US
• Contract
• Encryption and security
requirements
12

13. How TiU covered risks (2)
• Reliability and stability
• Trustworthy provider
• Service Level Agreement
• Openness
• APIs on Open Platform
• Changes to service
• Roadmap, fixed release
dates, release notes
• Take the service as it is
13

14. What advantages do
you see?
14

15. Cloud computing – library advantages
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
(Taken from an OCLC survey of 2,700 0%
librarians in
academic, public, government and
corporate libraries, and in various
roles across the library, conducted in
March 2011)
15

16. Selection process
Ticer summer school 22 August 2012 16

17. TiU’s digital library landscape
Cataloguing GGC
Circulation and Acquisition OCLC’s LBS3
Discovery & delivery systems In-house developed iPort and GetIt!
Local databases Like: repository, theses, image
databases, journal article metadata,
chapter metadata
Document server Locally stored full text
Link database
Locally developed services OpenURL resolver, loan server, place
locator, etc.
Integration METIS
17

18. Complex landscape…
22-8-2012 18

19. Rationale for new LMS / discovery service
• Hardware – outdated, unstable and no longer supported
• Library system – outdated and no longer supported as from
1/1/2013 onwards
• In-house developed discovery & delivery system – unable to keep
up with developments
• Digital library landscape – complex
• Maintaining same service level – with less IT staff
• Increasing pressure to reduce costs
Off-the-shelf Innovation
19

20. TiU’s requirements – LMS (1)
• Cataloguing
• In the GGC (short-term) / WorldCat (long-term)
• Library processes supported
• Acquisition paper-based library material
• Acquisition / license management for digital material
• Financial management
• Circulation, including patron management and ILL
• Requesting material from closed stacks
• Placing reservations on circulated material
20

21. TiU’s requirements – LMS (2)
• Integration with
• Discovery environment
• Lendomats
• Financial system (SAP)
• Identity management system
• Management information system
• Supplier should
• Deliver to several Dutch university libraries
• Belong to international top of UL suppliers
• Deliver hosted solutions (short-term)
• Work actively on cloud solutions (long-term)
21

22. TiU’s requirements – Discovery service
• Most important
• Excellent integration with LMS
• Besides that
• Integration of local content
• Discovery service open for all
• Public content available to all; licensed material after log in
• Well-developed API service for integration with local services
• Good coverage and continued effort to improve
• Service also used by other Dutch university libraries
22

23. Suppliers considered
• Library management systems
• OCLC: Hosted LBS4 solution or WMS
• Ex Libris: Hosted Aleph solution or Alma
• Discovery & delivery systems
• Ex Libris Primo Direct (with Primo Central)
• OCLC WorldCat Local
• Serials Solutions Summon
23

24. Selection – timetable
Proposals / sessions OCLC and Ex Libris
Sep 2010-May 2011
• Summer 2010: first contacts with suppliers
• December 2010: management document on scenarios
and requirements
• January 2011: description of workflows
• June 2011: decision for OCLC’s WMS/WCL
• WMS – working product, good interface and
functionality, promising new functionality
• WorldCat Local – well integrated with WMS, GGC and
Google
• WorldCat as underlying Catalogue – more content
24

25. Implementation project
Ticer summer school 22 August 2012 25

26. Implementation – timetable
7/2011
6/2011 9/2011
Project
Start project PID
organization
9/2012-early 2013 3/2012-8/2012
9/2011-3/2012
Implementation Implementation
Analysis phase
WMS WCL
26

27. Business case
• LBS3: end-of-life, too costly, too much of a risk
• GetIt!: cannot keep up with developments
• Simplify our library systems landscape for unchanged service fee
• Saving costs and no future costs for mandatory upgrades and
migrations
• Functionality for TiU’s customers will grow
• Functionality for our library staff will grow
27

28. Project aims
Functional
Implementation requirements
WCL
Implementation WMS
28

29. Project organization (1)
Project
board
Project Project
manager manager
TiU OCLC
Project team Project team
TiU OCLC
29

30. Project organization (2)
• Project board
• Director TiU LIS
• Director OCLC Leiden
• Manager TiU LIS, Academic
Support
• TiU project team
• Head acquisition and
cataloguing
• Head circulation
• IT specialist LBS3
• IT specialist local databases
• Future functional managers
WMS/WCL
• Technical project manager (IDM
matters)
30

31. Analysis phase
Ticer summer school 22 August 2012 31

32. Phase 1 - Analysis
Workflow Test Workflow
analysis environment testing
Go / no go Impact Gap
decision analysis analysis
32

33. Workflow analysis
• Acquisition
• Circulation
• Discovery & delivery
• Management information
• 3rd party integration
• Financial information (SAP)
• Lendomats (SIP2)
• Identity management (TiU’s IDM)
33

34. Workflow testing
Workflow Test Workflow
analysis environment testing
Go / no go Impact Gap
decision analysis analysis
34

35. Workflow testing – challenges
• No test system (yet), only demo system, without TiU data
• Documentation sometimes not comprehensive enough
• Testing of 3rd-party integration impeded by delay in set-up
OCLC’s European data centre
• Leiden’s staff also at beginning learning curve
• Quarterly releases (announced) impact functionality
• Response from OCLC Dublin, initially, was slow
• Takes a lot of time!

36. Gap and impact analysis
• Gap analysis
• Gaps between current functionality and WMS/WCL functionality
• Impact analysis
• Impact on stakeholders (where possible quantified)
• Workaround? Effort involved
• Priority (must have, need to have, nice to have)
• Solution on OCLC’s roadmap?
36

37. Gap analysis (status March 2012)
152 WMS/WCL gaps 152 WMS/WCL gaps
by priority by solution
Blocking
Solved!
Very
needed Workaround
Needed
Release
Wish planning
Unknown
Not
prioritized
37

38. Also benefits
• WMS
• Circulation: more intuitive and user-friendly interface
• Acquisition: potential improvement of financial process
• WCL
• More content
• Social media functionality
• Lists functionality
• Integration with Google Books / Google Scholar
• Exporting titles
• Mobile platform
• Chinese interface
http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about-tilburg-university/library/wcl/
38

39. Reaction
• Early adopter
• Discovering gaps was
part of the project
• Knew we had to adapt
• Off-the-shelf system
replaces in-house
developed customized
system
39

40. WMS  No go
• Business case not (yet) valid
• Hosting of TiU’s LBS3
• Visit OCLC Dublin, OH
• Await new releases
• Confidence in OCLC
• Back-office system
• Go live possible throughout
academic year
 Remain in analysis phase
40

41. WMS analysis continued – visit Dublin
• All gaps discussed
• More effective
communication
• Increased understanding
• Jointly thinking about
possible solutions
• Changes in release
planning
• TiU’s requirements match
those of comparable other
WMS libraries
41

42. WCL  Go!
• End-user service
• Go live only possible at
beginning academic year
• Condition: availability info
(from LBS3) can be made
available in WCL
 Start of implementation phase
42

43. WCL implementation
phase
Ticer summer school 22 August 2012 43

44. Aims and work packages
1. Optimizing functionality of WCL
2. Including availability info in WCL
3. Loading metadata of local databases to WC
4. Activating e-collections
5. Loading local GGC metadata to WC
6. Phasing out TiU’s digital library systems
7. Communicating to stakeholders
8. Training staff
9. Documenting workflows
44

45. Challenges WP2 – availability info
• Presenting availability and borrower info in WCL (without WMS)
• Keeping TiU’s services running
• Presenting TiU’s info in WCL
Titelpresentatie in Footer 22-8-2012 45

46. Challenges WP3 – data load non-GGC
• Loading metadata of local databases: TiU Online Contents, TiU
Repository, TiU Theses
• Finding the right data load method and route
• Accepting metadata quality agreements OCLC with publishers
• Limitations of Dublin Core
46

47. Challenges WP4 – replacing link database
• No analysis tools to compare TiU link database to OCLC WCKBase
• Collections PubGet/WCKBase not always identical to TiU’s licenses
• Accept linking quality agreements OCLC with publishers
• E-books must also be activated (no go live WMS)
47

48. Challenges WP6 – transition
• Phasing out TiU’s digital library services, where possible
• Keeping TiU’s institutional repository also as a
separate, innovative, service
• Stopping services WCL cannot (yet) offer and finding alternatives
(CAS, book shelves)
• Inventory of all functional changes for library (instruction) staff
Titelpresentatie in Footer 22-8-2012 48

49. Challenges WP7 – communication
• Updating library instruction material
• During summer vacation
• When functionality is not yet stable
• Communicating in a positive way about functionality which was
going to disappear
49

50. Challenges WP8 – staff training
• Adapting training method to library staff needs (show & tell
sessions, personal training, self-study, by team leader)
• Based on expected questions/problems by end-users
50

51. Consequences of the cloud
• Two Go Live moments
• 26 June - TiU Library & IT Services
• 24 August - End-users
• Procedures
• No library instruction on / shortly after release dates
• Library (instruction) staff should study release notes
• Functional management must regularly check support site, no
personal mail messages if systems go down
51

52. Lessons learned
Ticer summer school 22 August 2012 52

53. 53

54. How to create support
• Make sure staff understands rationale / business case
• Make sure staff understands priority of the project
• Place key staff (advocates) in project team
• Involve workfloor staff where possible
• Regularly communicate about the project
• Listen to the project team’s complaints and worries
54

55. Other lessons learned (1)
• Human resources plan should
have been made, in spite of
project’s priority
• Library director should
communicate about
project, project’s
priority, rationale behind choice
for the system, business case
in kick-off meeting for all library
staff
• Analyzing your workflow is
useful
55

56. Other lessons learned (2)
• It is difficult to quantify impact
of gaps
• TiU staff should be involved
when discussing gaps
between OCLC Leiden and
OCLC Dublin
• Measurable acceptance
criteria should be the basis of a
project plan in its
implementation stage
Titelpresentatie in Footer 22-8-2012 56

57. Other lessons learned (3)
• Do not underestimate:
• Load of local metadata
• 3rd party integration
• Activation of e-collection
• Impact of not combining go
live WCL/WMS
• With innovative products, the
consequences of decisions are
difficult to oversee
• You cannot spend enough time
on internal communication
Titelpresentatie in Footer 22-8-2012 57

58. Questions? More information?
• Jola Prinsen, project
manager, Tilburg
University, Library & IT
Services
jola.prinsen@tilburguniversity.
edu
• Annette Dortmund, product
manager WMS EMEA, OCLC
annette.dortmund@oclc.org
Titelpresentatie in Footer 22-8-2012 58

59. Recommended reading (1)
• Introductions on cloud computing in libraries
• Breeding, Marshall (2012). ALA Tech Source 2012
• Breeding, Marshall (2012). A Cloudy Forecast for Libraries. In:
Computers in Libraries, Vol. 31, No. 7, September 2011
(http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/sep11/Breeding.shtml)
• Breeding, Marshall (2012). Advance of Computing from the Ground
to the Cloud – Basic Concepts and Library Applications
(presentation at Computers in Libraries 2012)
(www.librarytechnology.org/docs/16681.ppt)
• Breeding, Marshall (2012). Cloud Computing for Libraries. Chicago :
ALA TechSource, an imprint of the American Library
Association, ISBN 978-1-55570-785-9
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/90008387/Cloud-Computing-for-
Libraries for table of
contents, http://monographer.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/cloud-
computing-for-libraries-review/ for review)
59

60. Recommended reading (2)
• Introductions on cloud computing in libraries (continued)
• Goldner, Matt (2010). Winds of Change: Libraries and Cloud
Computing. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 2010
(http://www.oclc.org/multimedia/2011/files/IFLA-winds-of-change-
paper.pdf)
• Goldner, Matthew and Andrew Pace (2011). Libraries and Cloud
Computing (summarizes results of survey of 1,200 libraries on
cloud computing)
(http://www.sla.org/PDFs/2011ContribPaperGoldnerPace.pdf)
• Gust, Philip (2011). Cloud Computing for Librarians and Digital
Curators (1-hour introductory webinar)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBwfK09OF_Y)
60

61. Recommended reading (3)
• OCLC’s WMS/WCL
• Berg, Marc van den (2011). Tilburg University's Road to WMS.
UKSG Conference, 16 November 2011 (15-minute presentation on
TiU’s WMS project)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CtSHMrMsMk&feature=youtu.b
e)
• Pace, Andrew, Robin Hartman and Larry Haight (2011). Web
Services. Libraries in the Cloud (PowerPoint on OCLC’s WMS, and
experiences at two libraries)
(http://conferences.infotoday.com/documents/125/C304_Pace.pdf)
• TiU’s implementation of WCL can be found at
http://tilburguniversity.worldcat.org/ and
http://tilburguniversity.worldcat.org/m/ (mobile site)
• Various OCLC member stories about the implementation of WMS
(http://www.oclc.org/webscale/success.htm)
61

62. Recommended reading (4)
• Other systems
• Breeding, Marshall (2010). Next-Gen Library Catalogs. New
York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, ISBN 978-1-55570-708-8
(basics of next-gen catalogs; profiles of major discovery
products; implementation, marketing your catalog; best
practices; measures of success)
• Other subjects
• Grant, Carl (2012). Why and How Librarians Have to Shape the
New Cloud Computing Platforms (http://thoughts.care-
affiliates.com/2012/06/why-and-how-librarians-have-to-
shape.html and
http://www.niso.org/apps/group_public/document.php?document
_id=8720&wg_abbrev=education for the slides)
62