Post on 27-Mar-2015
Library Resources in the Networked Environmentor, It’s all about service(s) (and data…)
Kevin KiddLibrary Applications & Systems Manager
Boston CollegeUniversity Libraries
NISO ForumBoston, MA
October 8-9, 2009
Libraries have traditionally served the function of providing access to information/knowledge by collecting, cataloging and curating books and other physical objects.
The keyword here is ‘access’. Libraries have done an astounding job of providing reliable access to disparate information across a multitude of subjects, formats and forms
BUT, is information access still the primary role libraries (need to) play?
Maybe, But Maybe Not. . .
Now we have the Internet.
(Obviously)
It may be that the primary problem libraries have to solve now is not access to information
Indeed, access to information has never been easier
We face many new problems, though:
Information Overload
Lack of Context
Disorganization of Data
Barriers to Data Manipulation / Integration
These problems point us in the direction we (at Boston College) feel we need to go
We think libraries can (and, indeed, should) do the following:
Filter Information and Help our Patrons Make Informed Choices (a simultaneously modern and retro role for libraries)
Provide Resources Where and When they (are likely) needed (Contextualization)
Make the Info and Resources We Provide Much More Useful to Our Users
Systematically Acquire and Prepare Data to Facilitate All of the Above
In short, the biggest technology development issue facing libraries today may be the question of how we create a network environment which
Is Rich in Services
Meshes with User Behavior in Useful and Convenient Ways
Saves Our Users Time
So, how do we begin to approach these goals?
We think libraries can - and indeed should - do (or at least think seriously about doing) the following:
Organize Online Information to Help our Patrons Make Informed Choices (a role both modern and retro for libraries)
Provide Resources Where and When they (are likely) needed (Contextualization)
Make the Info and Resources We Provide Much More Useful to Our Users
Systematically Acquire and Prepare Data to Facilitate All of the Above
The First Grand Goal: Organize Online Information to Help our Patrons Make Informed Choices
This has to do – in a broad sense – with preparing data to be useful in decision systems.
For example, if we want to build a system which recommends resources to our users, we need to understand and build data structures to do so.
Item vs. User-Based Recommendations
Relating Resources to Local Programs of Study or Majors
On the library staff side: organize and normalize statistics
The Second Grand Goal: Provide Resources Where and When they (are likely) needed
Much of the power of so-called Web 2.0 Applications is driven by User Profile / User Behavior Data
At Boston College, before a student ever logs-in, we know a lot:
We know his/her major
We know his/her current course schedule
We know his/her school
We know his/her degree program
We know what he/she has checked-out currently & in the past
What can we do with this profile information? Actually, a lot.
The Third Grand Goal: Make the Info and Resources We Provide Much More Useful to Our Users
This is really about contextualized use of resources and information. For example:
At BC, when you save something to an ‘e-shelf’, we know you’re doing research (and it’s probably pretty important) :
It would probably be useful to give you some options, at the moment you save the record/PDF, etc. You might want to:
Find a similar book/article
Annotate and/or associate this thing with other stuff in your e-shelf
re-format, print, share, review, cite, translate or tag this thing
Fourth Grand Goal: Systematically Acquire and Prepare Data to Facilitate All of the Above
Truly revolutionary library applications should involve users both explicitly - through reviews, tags, ratings, messages, etc - and implicitly, by aggregating user and usage data as a side-effect of the use of the application.
User and Usage data is, perhaps, the most useful and most under-utilized data to support the development of new library services:
Data – real data – is the key.
We have a lot to do.
Thank You
• Questions?• contact: kevin.kidd@bc.edu