After what seems an age of working from home and in the office over the summer, I’m out on the road again.  This post is coming from the departure lounge of the airport serving the wonderful city of Glasgow.  I’m on my way back from speaking at a one day conference – Introducing RFID – Are you on the right wavelength? – jointly organised by JISC and the Scottish Library & Information Council.

RFID that wonderful technology that makes self-service so much more an engaging and simple process for library users,  has been around for many years.  Yet for many libraries it is still new technology to be concerned about, not least because of the substantial financial and time investment required to deploy it.  It is telling of where we are with the general take up of this technology that almost without exception every speaker [including yours truly] felt the need to provide the audience with their description of what RFID is and the potential future benefits that may come from adopting it.

The best simple description of what RFID is today came from JISC’s Gaynor Backhouse – RFID is barcodes on steroids.  A way of attaching a machine readable identity to a physical item, that is easier to handle than a barcode and also can act as an overt security device.  Being able to read multiple items, without the need for contact or direct line of sight, has revolutionised the self-issue & return processes; finally realising the benefits for library staff and customers that were banded about many years ago when self-issue was first promoted.  Many of the speakers also emphasised the extra benefits for staff, undertaking mind-numbing labour intensive tasks such as stock taking/weeding/finding/checking, with the introduction of RFID reading wands and smart shelving.

There was much agreement as to these benefits, which are available to all libraries.  There were a few mutterings about interoperability issues between the offerings from different RFID system suppliers, but I get the impression that these concerns are rapidly fading.

Where there was far less clarity and agreement was the future of RFID beyond being just a better barcode.  An RFID chip is not only capable of storing far more data than just an identifier, but also it has the capability for that data to be changed and added to. 

As a techie at heart, the prospect of having the equivalent of a radio accessed memory stick stuck to every book cover, gets my creative juices running: the item’s loan history could follow it around; the book could arrive from the publisher with it’s catalogue record on board; it could attract the attention of an RFID enabled phone to tell it’s owner that is overdue and needs taking back to the library – to mention just a few of the more sensible ones.

There is a major blockage to the adoption of what could be described as these RFID 2.0 visions.  Nobody can agree on how to store the data on the RFID chips – as of today there is no standard for this.  In the standards less vacuum each supplier is doing their own incompatible thing.  That is not to say that there are no standards for RFID.  As independent RFID consultant Mick Fortune testified, there are more standards in this area than is wise to display on a single PowerPoint slide, but none of them address the issue of how to store this extended book/library data.

For a technology to become generally adopted, crossing that chasm between the early adopters to the take up by the early majority of users, there needs to be a standardised market in operation, reducing costs and risks.  Would the CD have been widely adopted if each record label, or equipment manufacturer, used their own proprietary encoding format?

Mick Fortune went on to describe some light on the horizon in the form of a proposed standard – ISO 28560-1  - a standard which codifies 25 data elements.  The adoption of this would be a major step forward.  Unfortunately, as always it seems in the world of standards, ISO 28560-1 is not the whole story.  There are also two competing, and apparently mutually exclusive, standards ISO 28560-2 & ISO 28560-3 which describe how these elements would be encoded on a chip –  that’s the trouble with standards, there are so many to choose from!.

If these standards are agreed, ratified and adopted by the industry I believe we will have removed a substantial barrier to the wider use of RFID for things beyond barcode replacement. The next problem will be to gain some agreement as to what those uses might be.   I may be short sighted but from my current point of view RFID 2.0 (I know I’m going to regret calling it that) looks like a great solution searching for a problem to solve.

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Library 2.0 Gang Member and Ex Libris Chief Strategy Officer, Oren Beit-Arie joins Richard Wallis in conversation about the recently announced Ex Libris Open Platform Strategy.

In the first part of this Talking with Talis conversation, they discuss the ramifications of the recent change of ownership when Francisco Partners sold their investment in Ex Libris to Leeds Equity Partners.   This sets the background for he rest of the podcast in which they go on to discus the motivation behind, and the details of the Open Platform Strategy.

In this revealing interview Oren describes how the strategy will influence the way Ex Libris develops and delivers its products in the future.

To accompany this podcast, we have made available a transcript of the interview.

 

 Oren Beit-Arie Talks with Talis [00:56:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Transcript - Oren Beit-Arie Talks with Talis: Download

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Apparently SirsiDynix will be unveiling the snappily named SirsiDynix Enterprise at the ALA Conference in Anaheim.

To quote an announcement email that recently passed under my gaze, it is their….

… new state-of-the-art faceted search solution that empowers libraries to make collections more searchable and discoverable than ever before.

How does SirsiDynix Enterprise deliver this power? With fuzzy search logic technology never before available to libraries, simplified search interfaces, deep integration with current OPACs, and much more.

The fuzzy search logic technology never before available to libraries  comes from Brainware a sister company to SirsiDynix in the portfolio of Vista Equity Partners.

With the launch of Starship SirsiDynix Enterprise they are boldly going in to the universe of bolt-on OPACs, which was discussed in this month’s episode of the Library 2.0 Gang with amongst others participants from OCLC, Innovative, and Aquabrowser.    Practically everybody has now entered this space, previously only inhabited by Aquabrowser and a few open source projects.  Anybody who is anybody has a new OPAC sporting faceted browsing, new indexing, and the ability to be bolted-on to somebody else’s library system.

It’s early days in this market as Carl Grant, who was also on the Library 2.0 Gang this month, is saying we need to evolve from bolt-on towards plug-in.

Back to the SirsiDynix announcement - with the ‘Star Wars’ credits imagery, the Star Trek naming, and emphasising the fuzziness - I wonder what they will be wearing on the stand in Anaheim?

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We are always on the lookout for new user interface paradigms - remember that jaw-dropping moment when you first clicked-and-dragged a Google map.

I had a similar experience when visiting zoomii.com.  Basically a cool storefront for Amazon books, this exercise in creating a virtual bookstore where the books are displayed on [virtual] real shelves for you to browse.  By using the mouse to zoom in and out, and drag left, right, up & down, in a way that feels natural it is a totally different experience.

On arrival on the site you are presented with a video to watch, it’s only short so take a look to see how to make the most of your first experience at Zoomii Books.

From the Amazon Web Services blog, we are told that Zoomii has been developed and runs on Amazon EC2 virtual computer instances and uses Amazon’s S3 storage.  So not only a innovative way of browsing through books, but a great example of cloud computing.

Thinks… If they can build this to front the web services that Amazon provide, how easy would it be to produce a library version - all we would need is book jackets for all our stock.

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LibLime’s Evangelist Nicole Engard does an excellent job of not only capturing the content, but also the spirit of a conversation which opened the SLA Conference this weekend.

The conversation took the form of an interview of Dr. Vint Cerf, vice president and chief internet evangelist for Google, by television journalist Charlie Rose.

Go take a read.

As Nicole says in her conclusion:

When Stephen Abram came up after the talk was over, I have to agree with him, “O.M.G. don’t you feel smarter just being in the room with those two???”

Image of Dr Vint Cerf, from Nicole’s Flickr collection

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Following in the footsteps of their counterparts from Ex Libris, SirsiDynix, and Talis, Betsy Graham, Vice President Product Management for Innovative Interfaces, and Matt Goldner, Executive Director End User Services at OCLC, joined The Library 2.0 Gang for the June show.

The topic for the show is Bolt-on OPACs - search and discovery interfaces sourced from the open source community or vendors other than the incumbent ILS supplier.

Aquabrowser was the first commercial product of this type.  Taco Ekkel Director of Development for Medialab Solutions, the Amsterdam based company who produced Aquabrowser, is guest for the show.   

Matt reflecting on the OCLC experience with WorldCat Local and Betsy with Innovative’s Encore product, are joined by Andrew Nagy, lead developer on the VuFind project, Marshall Breeding, and Carl Grant, in a open discussion about  the way such products are evolving.

Apart from being an interesting discussion, it is yet another example of how key commercial players in the library systems marketplace are starting to open up and join a conversation about the opportunities for libraries, and their users, as well as the issues behind creating those opportunities.

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Vendors respond robustly to critical HE LMS report is the headline on the front of the latest issue of the CILIP Gazette.  What follows is the second in a two-part feature on the JISC/SCONUL study, which I have discussed in Panlibus previously, by Gazette contributor Tim Buckley Owen.

In preparation for this second article on the subject, Tim contacted the four vendors (Ex Libris, Innovative, SirsDynix, Talis) who between them provide over 90% of the UK higher education Library Systems, and asked them to comment on the report.

I would have linked to the article if it been available on line.  Unfortunately the Gazette’s web page only shows an out of date thumbnail of the latest issue.  So, here are some snippets from Tim’s article:

[the vendors] acknowledge that things need to change in university libraries, and are starting to develop new systems as a result - but it’s not always clear yet what those changes actually need to be.

‘We agree that the library management system, with its “traditional” scope and functionality, does not adequately address the expectations of end users,’ says Tamar Sadeh of ExLibris, which has developed its Primo discovery and delivery solution in response.  ‘If the LMS does not interoperate with other institutional systems and resources, it deserves to be bypassed and become irrelevant,’ agrees Talis’s Richard Wallis

‘There is no disagreement that users’ demand for information is morphing in new and exciting ways and that the library (and library systems) need to change to meet those needs,’ agrees Gene Shimshock of Innovative.  ‘However, interoperability is but a part of a rather complicated puzzle, a means to an end, and is not the sole factor in determining libraries’ relevancy.’

Stephen Abram of SirsiDynix shares this view.  ‘You can build all this stuff but you actually have to align it with the way the users are behaving… there is no one right answer right now - and that no one right answer is the challenge for librarians.’

So what’s the solution?  Open application programming interfaces (API), says SirsiDynix’s Abram, with the vendor providing the toolkit and the librarians choosing the tools to meet their clients variegated needs.

‘Can we as vendors create appropriate solutions?  No,’ he declares.  ‘Can our clients, in a collaboration environment, using our tools, create them?  Yes.’

Talis’s Wallis agrees that open systems are the way forward.  ‘The current monolithic model and a lack of web based APIs and standards has led to an effective vendor lock-in… a lack of real competition, thus a lack of innovation and inevitably frustrated customers.’

The study proposes that JISC & SCONUL are best placed to ensure that the libraries and vendors agree on priorities.  As Tim says:

- and vendors are hardly likely to disagree.

‘Any initiative that moves our understanding of the problems (and opportunities) for the library forward in a meaningful way is always welcomed,’ says Innovative’s Shimshock, citing his own company’s work on the emerging Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI).  ‘We would welcome the ability to engage at a consortial level with important and influential organizations such as JISC and SCONUL that can work with their constituent members,’ agrees ExLibris’s Sadeh.

But there are some caveats.  ‘Looking at the programmes of the recent JISC and upcoming SCONUL conferences the role of vendors seems to be viewed by organizers as sponsors of drinks receptions rather than active participants in the debate,’ declares Richard Wallis of Talis.  ‘Our hope is that representative bodies as JISC and SCONUL find a way to constructively and openly collaborate with all stakeholders.’

Libraries, bodies such as JISC & SCONUL, the system vendors, and I would include the open source community, are all important stakeholders in the way libraries and the technologies and services they use develop over the next few years.  It is for all these stakeholders to agree in a conversation of equals as to the way forward.  The old ways of either libraries broadcasting requirements, or vendors individually coming up with ‘the new way to do things’ in the hope that everyone will move to their systems, did not and even more will not move us forward.  What is needed is a requirements, solutions, innovation sharing, and visionary, but also focused on practicalities, conversation - let’s hope it emerges from burst of activity following the publishing of this study.

The vendors, the type of library, and their issues, are not limited to the UK HE community.  They are replicated on a global scale.  Libraries and other interested parties outside of the UK, should be watching this closely - it could well save time and repetition in their own conversations with the same stakeholders in their locations - hopefully leading to a global conversation.

Egotistical note:  Those of you with sharp eyes may have noticed a picture of yours truly on the front cover of this issue of the Gazette.  Through a happy coincidence of editorial deadlines, I am not only quoted in Tim’s headline article on page one, but I am also to be found on page two introducing the Library 2.0 Gang.  I suppose they will have to name this one the Wallis issue!

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This report - JISC & SCONUL Library Management Systems Study - An Evaluation and horizon scan of the current library management systems and related systems landscape for UK higher education [pdf] - was presented at this week’s JISC 2008 Conference in Birmingham.

Not being able to clone myself I missed the presentation session, but this extensive report makes very interesting reading in it’s own right.  It’s observations and recommendations, although targeted at the UK academic library sector, are applicable and of great relevance to the global academic and public library sectors.

I encourage a full read of the document, but check the page count before pressing print - you could save a few trees by making prints of the 157 page document double-sided or even in booklet form.

The compilers of the report - Sero Consulting Ltd with Glenaffric Ltd and Ken Chad Consulting Ltd - have invested a great deal of time taking input exactly 100 UK HE libraries, all the major LMS vendors and the Reference Group drawn from the UK and the international community.  Because of this you will find many interesting quotes and comments in the report from librarians concerned with managing library systems, and senior people within the vendor community, including Ex Libris, SirsiDynix, Innovative, and Talis.

The perspective of the UK Academic Library Library Management Systems (LMS in the UK, ILS or even ILMS, dependant on your country) in the report:

LMS Market - The UK market is mature, dominated by four vendors with relatively little product differentiation. Movement in product replacement is slow and customer loyalty to their LMS vendor is high. Many Libraries remain unconvinced about Electronic Resource Management systems and the take-up of new developments such as vertical search is relatively low.

… could, with minor tweaks to the number of dominating vendors, be applicable to almost any country.

The Executive Summary recommendations:

The study recommends libraries invest in systems with caution but not complacency, emphasizing that, whilst the library function has continuing and potentially growing value, the role of ‘conventional’ library may appear increasingly unclear. 

• Libraries reviewing LMS contracts should seek increased value, looking at ways to improve services by implementing features around the core LMS.
• The focus on breaking down barriers to resources is endorsed, involving single sign on, unifying workflows and liberating metadata for re-use.
• SOA-based interoperability across institutional systems is emphasised as the foundation for future services and possibly the de-coupling of LMS components

There is consensus that the time is right for intensified dialogue about the nature and function of the modern HE library, its systems and processes. It is especially timely to explore consortia and other partnership arrangements to increase critical mass and network effect, whilst potentially reducing system and service costs.

Responding to these business needs, JISC & SCONUL are encouraged to work jointly with the community to develop and enhance understanding of Library 2.0 and the potential role of the international e-Framework. There is also a vital role in developing strategic engagement with the LMS vendors, with a focus on business process and user workflow review.

… are more than relevant to anyone, and especially those considering change.

Having read much of the report, my personal opinions only differ significantly with the authors in the area of the influence of Open Source software and systems.  Seeing the growth of OS influence in the United States, especially in the academic sector, I believe that the authors and those that they interviewed will be surprised by it’s effect over the next few years.

Less of my opinions though, I recommend a read of this significant report for the UK HE library sector that will be of significance and interest to a wider audience.

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“I read the Panlibus blog - I note Talis has another house blog called Nodalities - why is this and why/who should be reading it??”

One of the major recurring themes from myself and others in Panlibus postings is Library 2.0 and its more general cousin Web 2.0. If you followed the links I provided to their descriptions in Wikipedia you will have discovered that they are both labels for a collection of attributes as against specifications.

I have yet to read a complete concise definition of what Web 2.0 or Library 2.0 ‘is’ [and probably never will], nevertheless it is far simper to look at an application or service and pronounce to the world that it is very Web 2.0 and be fairly confident that people will understand what you mean.

Web 2.0 is virtually all about technology, Web Services, Service Oriented Architecture, Social Networking tools, etc. etc., whereas it’s Library relative mixes all of that with a heavy dose of using those Web 2.0 tools and the customer handling & social skills of the library community to provide a better service to library users. - Debates about the use of mobile phones, and the provision of coffee, in a Library environment are often found in the Library 2.0 world.

We at Talis are the ‘Technology Guys’ in the Library equation, and although interested in all that is debated, our motivations are all about how new and emerging technologies [currently labelled Web 2.0] can be beneficially applied in the Library world. To this end you will find me and my colleagues evangelising on the subject both here and at conferences around the world such as these: Access2006, Internet Librarian International, Stellenbosch Symposium, Internet Librarian 2006, and the Charleston Conference.

The Talis Platform is an excellent example of applying Web 2.0, Semantic Web [to mention another ‘label’], SOA, and other technologies to provide innovative solutions to the liberating of library data, functionality, and services for the benefit of all.

In the process of proposing and delivering those [currently library specific] solutions, we are pushing both the theoretical and practical boundaries of web technologies and the theories and standards that are behind them - especially in the World Wide Web Consortium where you find Talis involved with several comittees. In doing this we are very active members, with much to contribute and say, of the world community driving forward these technologies.

This is where Nodalities comes in. You will note [today] that there is a posting from me picking up points from the blogs of Ian Davis and Sam Tunnicliffe, from our Platform Team, who are currently at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. If you are interested, like I am, in the way that all things Web are [and are being predicted to be] moving, you will find what they are reporting most engrossing.

Reading between the lines of what is being presented it is clear that the advances already being demonstrated by the Talis Platform are only the first step in a massive change in the way large sets of data and metadata (often only linked by semantics), can be marshalled, related together, and combined to change the way information is used in the future.

Dependant on the context, you will find Talis people attending and/or speaking at both Library and more general conferences across the world. Our knowledge, and understanding, of the issues surrounding the library and information industries is very valuable input into the wider technology world. As we have demonstrated this is a two way street. It is absolutely certain that our knowledge and understanding of the Web 2.0 world is already adding unique value to the world of libraries.

So to answer the question at the start of this posting…..

If you are in the library community and want to keep abreast of technology advancements - read Panlibus. If you are in the wider web community and are interested in what we are doing, and have to say about, applying these technologies as a Platform in real world situations - read Nodalities. I suspect most people, although with concentration on one, will find postings of interest in both Panlibus and Nodalities.

Technorati Tags: Talis, Talis Platform, Library, Library 2.0, Web 2.0, SOA, web2summit

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