1) Libraries are increasingly adopting cloud computing to reduce costs, improve scalability and services, and focus resources on strategic priorities rather than technical infrastructure. 2) Cloud computing offers libraries opportunities to improve resources and services through efficiency gains, but also poses challenges regarding network complexity, sustainability, security and contingency planning. 3) For libraries to fully benefit from cloud computing, they need expertise in technical, legal and operational issues; the ability to experiment and identify appropriate services; and support from administrators to explore new IT models and their impacts.

1. “WHY LIBRARIES VIRTUALIZE”
Understanding cloud computing adoption and impact
Erik Mitchell
Assistant Professor
University of Maryland
erik@umd.edu

2. PART I. HOW CLOUD
COMPUTING CHANGES
INFORMATION

3. “For me the most powerful aspect of cloud
computing is that it enables libraries to stop
dealing with technical issues that have nothing to
do with their day-to-day missions and services”
-- Roy Tennant (Getting Started with
cloud Computing)

4. Wait. . . Don't libraries love technology?
http://kplteen.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/teentechweek201, http://plinternetsurvey.org

5. “Libraries to their benefit and detriment fetishized the book”
--John Blyberg LITA Keynote 2011

6. Though a radically different kind of setting for a
home, the third place is remarkably similar to a
good home in the psychological comfort and
support that it extends…They are the heart of a
community’s social vitality, the grassroots of
democracy . . .”
-- Ray Oldenburg
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub129/pub129.pdf

7. What can we understand about cloud computing
from another organization that also fetishizes the
book?

8. IT resources
Core services 30%
30%
Core services
IT resources 70%
70%
"In the old world you might have put 30% of your energy, dollars and time
into building a great product or service and then you would put 70% of your
energy, dollars and time into shouting about that service. In the new world
that inverts. You better put the bulk of your time, energy and dollars into
building great a service."
-- Jeff Bezos

9. The book is such a great technology because it disappears when you use it
-- jeff bezos (Charlie Rose interview )

10. GROWTH OF THE
KINDLE
2008 2009 2010 2011
# of E-books in thousands Price of reader (actual cost)

11. WHY DO WE LOVE
THE BOOK?
“Instant-on”
Fast text-rendering
Easy to use
Single-purpose
No scaling
No synchronization
No version control

12. WHY DO WE LOVE
OUR COMPUTERS?
Multi-purpose
Easy to change
information
Multi-media
Fast storage and
retrieval
Expensive
Steep learning curve
Planned obsolescence

13. TWO GREAT TOOLS THAT GO GREAT
TOGETHER
On-Demand
Multi-purpose
Fast
Interoperable
Scalable
Persistent
Ubiquitous
Cost conscious

14. But what about our right to forget?

15. . . . and our need for security

16. . . . and our right to privacy?

17. PART II. DEFINE THE CLOUD

18. Data
Hosting Google
Apps
Communication
Media “For consumers,
the cloud
revolution has
already happened”
Devices -- Nicholas
Carr

20. ELEMENTS OF THE CLOUD
pay for what you use
service-focused
easy to replicate
scalable

21. RELATED CONCEPTS
Cloud computing “is a phrase that is being used today to
describe the act of storing, accessing, and sharing data,
applications, and computing power in cyberspace” - Pew
Internet Trust
A Web service “is a software system designed to support
interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a
network” - w3c.org
Application programming interface (API) “is a specification
for allowing programs to exchange data”

22. CLOUD COMPUTING TYPES
Software as a Service “applications designed to be
utilized by end-users without IT administrative overhead (e.g.
Google Docs)”
Platform as a Service “an IT environment configured to
serve a distinct but customized purpose (e.g. web-hosting)”
Infrastructure as a Service “an IT environment that
supports a wide range of tools but comes with little pre-
configured resources (e.g. Server and disk space)”
NIST definition of cloud computing

23. CLOUD COMPUTING PLACES
Private cloud An implementation of technology run for a
single organization (e.g Internal virtualization)
Public cloud “an IT environment configured to support a
number of customers (e.g. Amazon EC2)”
Community cloud “an IT environment restricted to a
specific community (e.g. Governmental, Education)”
NIST definition of cloud computing

24. NIST Cloud Reference Standard - http://collaborate.nist.gov/

25. AWS COMPONENTS
http://jineshvaria.s3.amazonaws.com/public/
cloudbestpractices-jvaria.pdf

26. INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

27. SERVICE EXAMPLES
{
Approach Systems
OpenURL resolver, Stats manager,
SaaS research guides, online reference
Integrated library system, Interlibrary loan,
Service catalog PaaS copyright compliance systems
Discovery, digital repository, archives
IaaS management, website, digital storage,
institutional repository
Daas OpenURL database, single-search services

28. Client hardware Local Server IT Cloud Services
29%
1%
70%
YEARLY IT EXPENDITURES

29. IAAS PAAS SAAS
9%
32%
58%
CLOUD SERVICE DISTRIBUTION

30. CASE STUDY: CONTENT
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
• Service options
• SaaS
(outsourcewebsite.com/)
• PaaS (wordpress.org)
• IaaS (aws.amazon.com)
• Traditional IT (no cloud)

31. CASE STUDY: DIGITAL
LIBRARIES

32. CASE STUDY - THE ILS

33. WHAT LIBRARIES VIRTUALIZE
50%
38%
25%
13%
0%
ILS IT Infrastructure DAMS Research Guides
Non-Virtualized Virtualize Outsource

34. WHAT LIBRARIES
OUTSOURCE
ILS Open URL
10%2% 17% 22%
5%
20%
51% 8%
17%
48%
Non-Virtualized Private Cloud Outsourced Public Cloud Not Supported

35. WHY LIBRARIES VIRTUALIZE
"more control over environment"
"fast deployment, self-sufficient, cost-reductions"
"to move the least value-add procedures and functions out of the Library
so library staff can do more interesting and strategic things."
"Virtualization lets us quickly create prototypes, do test configurations,
and do quick recoveries in case of problems."
"Lower cost, deeper expertise, need for expanded services"
“let vendor deal with publishers, metadata, etc.”

36. . . .AND WHY THEY DO NOT
“no support for virtualized service by those providing it”
Cost is the primary factor”
“the ease of implementation given limited IT resources (staff, time
and money).
“no virtualizing needed, full resources dedicated to single use”
“Cost/benefit analysis for change. Lack of robust customization
options”
“Small IT staff, nothing has been "virtualized" on campus”

37. PART III. HOW CLOUD
COMPUTING CAN HELP
LIBRARIES

38. 1. LIBRARIES ARE FORWARD-THINKING, SERVICE-
ORIENTED INSTITUTIONS
Within five years, all library collections, systems, and services will be
driven into the cloud. . .
-- Taiga provocative statements 2011

39. 2. LIBRARIES SERVE REAL USERS AND REAL
INFORMATION NEEDS
The future of cloud computing - Janna Anderson, Lee Rainie 2010

40. 3. LIBRARIES ARE A PUBLIC SERVICE AND NEED
RESOURCES TO FILL THAT ROLE
Funding and Priorities:
The Library Resource Guide Benchmark Study on 2011 Library Spending Plans

41. 4. THERE IS ROOM TO USE CLOUD COMPUTING TO
IMPROVE RESOURCES AND IMPROVE SERVICE
Funding and Priorities:
The Library Resource Guide Benchmark Study on 2011 Library Spending Plans

42. CONTRASTING VIEWS OF
CLOUD SOLUTIONS
Opportunities Challenges
Network foundation adds
Forward thinking service
complexity
Collaboration with partners is
Serving actual patron needs
key
Sustainability, security,
Finding new resources through
connectivity, contingency plans
efficiency savings
are key

43. TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
• Understandyour organizational
capabilities, where are your available
resources?
• Rely on automation and economies of scale
• Seekto consolidate services rather than
fragment them
• Organizational, financial, strategic
impacts - Does CC strengthen your organization
or weaken it?

44. EXPERTISE NEEDS
to consider
• Ability • Experiment with different
technical, legal, operational service methods
issues
• Identify
and launch a test
• Abilityto combine service (blogs, community
different technologies and forums, archival database)
services
• Connect with organizational
• Flexibilityin service IT to explore cloud
support, manage migration opportunities
when cloud services change

45. ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS
to control some IT
• Ability • Explore back-office solutions
resources like Google calendar, docs
and sites
• Specificuse-cases of cloud
computing enhance public • Consider cloud-based file
service sharing systems (eg. box.net,
dropbox, spideroak)
•A willingness to explore
alternative solutions • Explore
cloud based tools to
enhance public service

46. ADMINISTRATIVE NEEDS
• Support for new IT models • Support a pilot project using
and their impact on a technically simple cloud
organizational structure tool
• Support for cloud • Connect with community to
subscription, SLA and explore needs, leverage
privacy/security needs. cloud computing
• Understanding of legal, • Provide safety nets - time,
economic, and privacy issues training, support for staff

47. THANK YOU!
The Tower and the Cloud - http://www.educause.edu/
thetowerandthecloud
Amazon EC2 tutorials for libraries - http://erikmitchell.info
Library funding priorities - http://libraryresource.onlineinc.com/
Downloads/ResearchReports
ECAR Studies - http://www.educause.edu/Resources/
Future of cloud computing - http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/
2010/The-future-of-cloud-computing.aspx, http://www.pewinternet.org/
Press-Releases/2008/Cloud-computing-takes-hold-as-69-of-all-
internet-users-have-either-stored-data-online-or.aspx
http://erikmitchell.info