some collection directions

Programs and Research

Some collection directions

Lorcan Dempsey

With contributions from Brian Lavoie

CRL RetreatOctober 6-72006Chicago

Programs and research 2

Overview


Some topics

1. Reflections on collection directions2. Rareness is common3. The long tail and library logistics4. Aggregate collections5. Open for business6. Access to scale: moving to the network level7. Conclusions


1.Reflections on collectiondirections …


high low

low

high

stewardship

uni

que

ne

ssBooksJournalsNewspapersGov. docsCD, DVDMapsScores

Special collectionsRare booksLocal/Historical newspapersLocal history materialsArchives & Manuscripts, Theses & dissertations

Research and learning materials •ePrints/tech reports•Learning objects•Courseware•E-portfolios•Research data

Freely-accessible web resourcesOpen source softwareNewsgroup archives


Ingest into local collections

•Opportunity costs?•How many times do you pay for it?•The end of publishing - through the gates?

Focus of much digitallibrary activity.Why?

New behaviors and support for research and learning

Digital ‘record’ more important(prospectus, course catalog, student records)


Special: primary materials?

Curatorial responsibility for

more unique materials?

Institutional Capacities?Sourcing?

Examples•Thematic research collection•Curated databases


Managing digital?

An archival perspective?

ProvenanceEvidential integrityVersioning

Institutional Capacities?Sourcing?


Access

Gather, create, Share

Disclose to where user is


University of Minnesotahttp://www.lib.umn.edu/about/mellon/KM%20JStor%20Presentation.pps


Securing the scholarly record

Community?How?

Institution?

The scholarlyrecord ain’twhat it used tobe?

Securing?


OCLC adaptation of Liz Lyon


Mature?Institutional maturity – an industry and cooperative structures

•Structures under pressure•Libraries organized around this quadrant (‘owned’)•Emerging techniques for licensed•New systems framework for licensed

Institutional immaturity Organizational models for collective activity, reducing costs, etc, in development. Commodity systems not available


2. Rareness is common


Rareness is common … in the G5

G5 aggregate collection:• 10.5 million books• ~60 percent represent unique contribution by one or another of the G5 libraries

61%Held by 1

20%Held by 2

10%Held by 3

6%Held by 4

3%Held by 5


TRLN collection analysis

http://www.trln.org/TaskGroups/CollectionAnalysis/TRLN_CollAnalysis_June2Report.pdf


… and beyond

System-wide print book collection (as of January 2005)• ~32 million print books

37%Held by 1

5%Held by > 100

3%Held by 51 - 100

5%Held by 26 - 50

20%Held by 6 - 25

30%Held by 2 - 5


3. The long tail and library logistics


Library “Inventory”

20% head 80% long tail

Libraries aggregate supply at the local level…

“About the only places you could explore outside themainstream were the library and the comic book shop.”

Chris Anderson, “The Long Tail”


The long tail

Impact?

Systemwide efficiences

Aggregation of supply•Unified discovery•Low transaction costs

Aggregation of demand


Libraries and the long tail dynamic

Aggregate supply?

1.7% of circulations are ILLs (60% of aggregate G5

collection owned by one library only)

Aggregate demand?

20% of collection accounted for 90% of use

(2 research libraries over ~4 years)

Each reader his/her book

Each book its reader


Limited aggregation of supply at network level:Fragmented discoveryManagement data not usedHigh transaction costs – find it/get itFragmented inventory/shipping

But the global library resource is diffused across thousands of locations …

Leads to weak gravitational pull and low network visibility for libraries and library collections

Limited aggregation of demand at network level:Difficult to mobilize a large number of usersNot projected into user environments


Get real about …

Logistics Inventory Supply chain Management information

D2D


4. Aggregate collections


Aggregate collections

Collection development Mass digitization Off site storage Discovery to delivery

Find it – get it Preservation

Thinking about collections in aggregate terms

Opportunity costs Space Attention/value

On demand Print on demand Buy on demand Digitize on demand

Logistics: very inefficient Management data:

holdings, circulation, …


SELECT

USE

DESCRIBE

PRESERVE

DISCLOSE

STORE

DIGITIZE

ECONOMICS RIGHTS

Mass Digitization Issues Framework


Best practices + organizational contexts for:

Off site storage (see NAST) Mass digitization Preservation D2D

?


5. Open


Open

This means that any use of “Open” is likely to be fuzzy and confusing. The “Open Access” movement is broad and supports several major points of view which, though overlapping, have significant differences either in pragmatics or philosophy. Moreover “Open Foo” does not imply “Open Bar”. Thus “Open Access” publications will not by themselves ensure “Open Data”.

Peter Murray Rust


Subscription Advertizing Transaction


Conclusions

6. Access to scale: moving to the network level


In the lone houses and very small villageswhich are scattered about in so desert a country as the Highlands of Scotland, everyfarmer must be butcher, baker and brewerfor his own family.

Adam Smith


Trajectory …

Then Cataloging & resource sharing A&I and e-Journals Collections

Now Growing realization that much more can be done

at the network level


Multilevel approach to …

Collections Shared offsite storage Aggregate and analyse

digital collections Institutional repository Digital storage and

preservation

Social and consumer environments Social networking services:

tagging, reviews, recommendations

Share mobilizing approaches

Virtual reference

D2D Consolidated discovery Knowledge base Resolution - Service

routing – fulfilment

Business intelligence Synthesize and mobilize

shared usage data Recommendation,

management decisions Digitization and offsite

storage


7. Conclusions


Recalibrate local and ‘collaboratively’ sourced

Plural business and delivery models

Develop a more instrumental view of organizations at the network level?

some collection directions

Documents