OCLC Research

Lorcan Dempsey

VP Research, OCLCFebruary 2004

(see next slide for where this presentation was given)

Different versions of this presentation were given at the following meetings:

OCLC Australian Advisory CouncilMelbourne, February 1, 2004

National Library of Australia, Canberra, February 6, 2004

OCLC Members’ CouncilDublin, Ohio, February 9, 2004

Overview

• MARC 21

• MARC-XML, MODS, Dublin Core, Onix, LOM

• EAD, TEI, DC, MARC

• METS, SCORM, DIDL, …

• DDI, FGDC, ..

• MARC AMC, EAD, DC, RSLP

• OAIS, METS, OCLC/RLG, …

• Z39.50, SRU/W, Xquery, …

• SOAP, WSDL, UDDI, …

• GIF, TIFF, PNG, JPEG, …

• XML, RDF, DAML+OIL, ..

• DDC, LCSH, LCC, TGN, AAT, …

• PURL, DOI, ISTC, URN, ERROL, POI, …

• XRML, ODRL, ..

• ZTHES, VDEX, TIF, ..

Research possibilities …

• .. are endless!

• Becoming more complex as more activities enter a network space.

• Focus …– on maximizing impact of a limited

resource. – on where can make an internal and

external impact.– on making valuable work more visible– on engaging external partners in useful

collaboration.

Overview

Collection and useranalysis

Interoperability

System &service architecture

Knowledgeorganization

Contentmanagement

Collection and user analysis

• Change creates demand for better data.

• Growing interest in knowing more about:– Characteristics– Gaps and overlaps– Use

• Tuning collections based on data.

• Focus collection spending where creates most value.

The idea of the balanced—but unread—collection is disappearing.

Librarians cannot change user behavior so they need to meet the user.

OR objectives

• Support better management decisions by– Making data work – Exploring user behaviors.

Some projects

• Characteristics of collections– WorldCat– CIC

• Compare ILL, circulation and holdings data.

• Last copy: what is irreplaceable?

• ARL Global Resources.– Exploring coverage of overseas

titles in ARL libraries.

• Large scale user behavior study– IMLS

project with OSU and OCLC

Comparing CIC Collection Profiles

Content management

• Digital asset management a growing concern– Cultural heritage, special collections, …– Learning objects– Institutional repositories

• Issues– Repository selection and interoperability– Securing long term access to digital assets

Content management

• Digital preservation– Economics of digital

preservation– Consensus making –

OCLC/RLG working groups

– Preservation metadata (PREMIS)

• Repository architectures– Contributions to

Dspace codebase to support its interoperability

OAI SRW

– Reference models IMS repository

interoperability

System and service architecture

• The library systems environment is getting more complex– ILS– Digital asset

management– Resolution– Portal– Resource sharing– License management– Auth*

• Build, buy, opensource?

• Integration– Integrated workflow

Portal Cataloging …

OR objectives

• Investigate new ways of structuring and viewing WorldCat and associated knowledge structures

• Exploit emerging technologies, open standards and protocols to prototype new services

Some projects

• ‘Unplug and play’– Metadata schema

transformation– E-prints UK– Terminology

services– Name authority

services– XISBN

• Text searching– Fast searching on

Beowulf clusters

• Harvesting– NDLTD Union

Catalog

Metadata schema transformation

Metadata schematranslator

Web services layer

Crosswalkrepository

client

Record translationclient

A transformed record

A record

A metadata crosswalk

xISBN

• An experimental web service– Give it an ISBN, it returns all related ISBNs– Based on WorldCat– Designed for machine-to-machine data exchange

• Examples:– Check user ILL requests against all editions/versions in

OPAC– Find library’s editions when user finds any

edition/version of item on Amazon– Check OPAC for all editions during

selection/acquisitions/gift book processing

Searchingfor the book on Amazon

Searchingfor the book on Amazon

LibraryLookup bookmarklet

LibraryLookupLibraryLookup

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1860464955/qid=1075134526/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/202-6426661-8213436

Is the book at my library?Is the book at my library?

SingleISBN

xISBN bookmarklet

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1860464955/qid=1075134526/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/202-6426661-8213436

xISBNserver

LibraryLookupLibraryLookup xISBNxISBN

Multiple ISBNs

ADDED

ADDED

ADDED

ADDED

ADDED

Is the book at my library?Is the book at my library?

Knowledge organization and semantic web

"The Semantic Web is an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation." -- Tim Berners-Lee, James Hendler, Ora Lassila, The Semantic Web, Scientific American, May 2001

Mmmm….

OR objectives

• To release the value of the historical library investment in controlled vocabularies and knowledge structures– Redeploy tools for accessing or assigning

names, subjects, and classification numbers

– Make knowledge organization services more accessible.

Projects

• FAST

• Terminology services

• FRBR

• Automatic classification

• VIAF – Virtual International Authority File– Library of Congress, Die Deutsche

Bibliothek

FAST Geographic Search by Area

Avalon Lake

Bellaire, Lake

Charlevoix, Lake

Fletcher Pond

Munro Lake

Ocqueoc Lake

Bar 1Bay 5Bridge 1Channel 2Civil 23Forest 4Island 4Lake 6Park 10Ppl 92Stream 10

Knowledge org systems

• Plethora of vocabularies

• Incompatible approaches to encoding

• Few connections– Education

GEM Subjects, ERIC Thesaurus, LCSH, CIP (Classification of instructional programs)

– Cultural Heritage AAT, Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM) Subjects

& Genre Terms

• Not built for the web– Link to concepts

Terminology services:‘Webulating’ knowledge organization

• The goal of this project is to offer accessible, modular, web-based terminology services.

• Make vocabularies more available for – Metadata creation– Searching– …

• Refine and extend mappings

• Represent vocabularies in major encoding standards, e.g., MARC, Zthes, TIF

• Prototype custom web services as appropriate

2.6+ million fiction records from Worldcat, clustered by OCLC’s FRBR algorithm

Make greater use of data (genres, settings, imaginary characters, etc)

Work display

Work/expression display

Work/expression/manifestation

Interoperability

• Extract maximum value from investment in – Metadata– Content– Services

• By ensuring that they are – Sharable– Reusable– Recombinable

OR objectives

• Provide leadership in Internet and information standardization

• Help to raise the visibility of the values and value of librarianship

Some examples

• Dublin Core– Central to library,

cultural heritage and related communities.

– Harvested data: OAI– 8 Governments – Corporations and

NGOs

• Protocols– Z39.50, SRW/U, OAI,

Zthes

• Identifiers– INFO URI, PURL

• Registries– DCMI, OpenURL, Info

URI

• Everywhere …!

Cliff Lynch on Info URI: … it represents an important new step in collaboration ACROSS standards organizations, and … I think the work is of real importance to the CNI community.