Rising to Digital ChallengesRising to Digital ChallengesRoy TennantRoy Tennant

OutlineOutline• Digital ChallengesDigital Challenges

• Rising to Them:Rising to Them:– DiscoveryDiscovery

– DigitizationDigitization

– Born Digital ContentBorn Digital Content

– CooperationCooperation

DiscoveryDiscovery

Our Users…Our Users…• Have livesHave lives

• Prefer to avoid pain Prefer to avoid pain

• SatisficeSatisfice

• Seek efficienciesSeek efficiencies

• Are diverseAre diverse

• Need one thing one day and another Need one thing one day and another the next (their needs are also diverse)the next (their needs are also diverse)

MelvylMelvyl

The Demise of the Local CatalogThe Demise of the Local Catalog

• Discovery increasingly happens at the Discovery increasingly happens at the network level (e.g., Google, WorldCat)network level (e.g., Google, WorldCat)

• Even when it happens at the local level, Even when it happens at the local level, few want to limit their search to only few want to limit their search to only booksbooks

• New finding tools are making traditional New finding tools are making traditional library catalogs obsoletelibrary catalogs obsolete

• NOTE: NOTE: Libraries still need a library Libraries still need a library management system, but it won’t be management system, but it won’t be the way users find thingsthe way users find things

ILS

Classic ILSClassic ILS

Acquisitions Circulation Serials

Catalog

Searching happens at library terminalTightly

integrated components

Library Collections and Services

New World OrderNew World Order

Acquisitions Circulation Serials

Google

Searching happens anywhere

Open WorldCat Metasearch Others

Others

Loosely integrated components

Discovery layer disaggregated

HoldingsCirc status

ILS

Holdings and circ status

Why This Makes SenseWhy This Makes Sense

• Users often want to find everything Users often want to find everything they can on a topic, but ranked they can on a topic, but ranked displayed in useful waysdisplayed in useful ways

• Users prefer to search in one place Users prefer to search in one place rather than many (Only librarians like rather than many (Only librarians like to search…)to search…)

• Most ILS’s lack cool new features Most ILS’s lack cool new features that already exist in some of these that already exist in some of these new systemsnew systems

DigitizationDigitization

SourcesSources• This report —>This report —>

• My own My own (checkered)(checkered)experienceexperience

“ “There’s an illusion being created There’s an illusion being created that all the world’s knowledge is that all the world’s knowledge is on the web, but we haven’t begun on the web, but we haven’t begun to glimpse what is out there in to glimpse what is out there in local archives and libraries. local archives and libraries. Material that is not digitized risks Material that is not digitized risks being neglected as it would not being neglected as it would not have been in the past, virtually lost have been in the past, virtually lost to the great majority of potential to the great majority of potential users.”users.” - Ed Ayers - Ed Ayers

How do we achieve How do we achieve web scale?web scale?

Not the way we’ve Not the way we’ve been doing it!been doing it!

The Way We’ve Been DigitizingThe Way We’ve Been Digitizing

• As special projects, not ongoing As special projects, not ongoing programsprograms

• As if preservation was the purposeAs if preservation was the purpose

• With painstaking professional With painstaking professional descriptiondescription

• Segregated in carefully crafted silos Segregated in carefully crafted silos unexposed to web discoveryunexposed to web discovery

Access vs. Access vs. Preservation— Preservation— Access Wins!Access Wins!

Access Wins!Access Wins!• No one has been throwing away No one has been throwing away

originals…so preservation needs are originals…so preservation needs are best served by thembest served by them

• Only by surfacing presently ignored Only by surfacing presently ignored collections can we justify their collections can we justify their preservationpreservation

• We will likely be able to go back do We will likely be able to go back do it againit again

Programs not Programs not projectsprojects

Programs Not ProjectsPrograms Not Projects• Digital capture must be embedded in our Digital capture must be embedded in our

basic proceduresbasic procedures

• Hand-crafted digital presentations are Hand-crafted digital presentations are largely ignored — we must expose our largely ignored — we must expose our collections systematically in web search collections systematically in web search enginesengines

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

Describing Describing special special

collections: collections: engage your engage your communitycommunity

Describing Special CollectionsDescribing Special Collections

• Do not describe everything in Do not describe everything in painstaking detailpainstaking detail

• Start with basic description, then…Start with basic description, then…

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

• ……engage your user community with engage your user community with adding to the descriptionsadding to the descriptions

Exposure

Impact: ExposureImpact: Exposure

Flickr: Top 50LC: Top 6000

What LC Has AccomplishedWhat LC Has Accomplished

• Higher profile of its collectionsHigher profile of its collections• Community engagementCommunity engagement• Corrections and additions to Corrections and additions to

metadatametadata• Sparked discussions and elicited Sparked discussions and elicited

personal histories that relate to personal histories that relate to photosphotos

• Higher visibility for the LC blogHigher visibility for the LC blog

From: Social Classification and Folksonomy in Art Museums: early data from the steve.museum tagger prototype a paper for the ASIST SIG-CR workshop on Social Classification, November 4, 2006, by Jennifer Trant

Quality vs. Quality vs. Quantity — Quantity —

Quantity Quantity wins!wins!

Quality vs. QuantityQuality vs. Quantity• The perfect has been the enemy of The perfect has been the enemy of

the possiblethe possible

• Any access is better than none at allAny access is better than none at all

• Instead of measuring Instead of measuring cataloger/archivist output we should cataloger/archivist output we should be measuring impact on usersbe measuring impact on users

DiscoveryDiscoveryhappens happens

elsewhereelsewhere

Discovery Happens ElsewhereDiscovery Happens Elsewhere• People don’t discover our content by People don’t discover our content by

coming to our lovingly crafted web sites coming to our lovingly crafted web sites (can you say “Google”?)(can you say “Google”?)

• We must work hard at exposing our We must work hard at exposing our content to web crawlers, OAI content to web crawlers, OAI harvesters, and other aggregatorsharvesters, and other aggregators

Born Digital ContentBorn Digital Content

Capturing Digital PublicationsCapturing Digital Publications

• Form partnershipsForm partnerships

• Look for ways to jack into the Look for ways to jack into the publication pipelinepublication pipeline

• If possible, provide technological If possible, provide technological support to the publication process, support to the publication process, thereby assuring capturethereby assuring capture

CooperationCooperation

The Power of CooperationThe Power of Cooperation• Only through cooperation can we Only through cooperation can we

put libraries at the put libraries at the network level network level at at web scaleweb scale

• Realize that even in our differences Realize that even in our differences we have many points of we have many points of commonalitycommonality

• We must focus our efforts on We must focus our efforts on maximizing impact for allmaximizing impact for all

What To DoWhat To Do

• Use your library as a user wouldUse your library as a user would

• Find out what your users want and needFind out what your users want and need

• Understand what technologies offerUnderstand what technologies offer

• Think imaginatively about how to apply Think imaginatively about how to apply these technologies to library servicesthese technologies to library services

• Seek ways to expose your content and Seek ways to expose your content and services wherever your users are foundservices wherever your users are found