Notes

Outline

The DLF Aquifer Initiative: progress and next steps Presentation to the DLF Board Katherine Kott, DLF Aquifer Director October 6, 2005

What is DLF Aquifer? The distributed open digital library of the Digital Library Federation Collaborative effort amongst some DLF members Test-bed of library tools & services for the scholar Quality content, initially focused on American culture and life

DLF Aquifer participant libraries California Digital Library Emory University Indiana University Johns Hopkins University Library of Congress New York University Stanford University University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of Tennessee University of Virginia

Why within DLF? Provides a framework for networked digital library services Supports DLF mission to develop standards and support best practices leverage shared actions, resources, and infrastructures encourage the creation of digital collections that can be brought together and made accessible across the globe

DLF Aquifer Problem Space DLF Aquifer will provide tools and services for pooling and piping content DLF Aquifer will inter-operate with: Repositories that preserve by “federating and deploying cross-repository services” Content management systems that provide structure E-learning systems that support the teaching and learning process Personal information management systems that support the scholar DLF Aquifer will siphon content from a variety of digitization projects

Origins and aims Building blocks for DLF Aquifer DLF grant from IMLS for second generation OAI finding system AmericanSouth.org CDL’s New Frontiers in the Digital Library Directions for DLF Aquifer A framework for “decomposition of structures and flexible recombination to meet service needs” A platform for “collaborative entrepreneurship” in the research library community

Differentiating DLF Aquifer DLF Aquifer is distributed library services on the net, not a hosted solution DLF members uniquely positioned to Contribute leading edge thinking Collaborate to leverage resources Re-package and distribute services to the broader community

The Process Four working groups with members from participant libraries Coordinating implementation group sets policy Project tasks and services hosted by participant libraries (e.g. metadata harvesting)

Project status Completed Business plan Collection policy Descriptive metadata profile Functional specifications for metadata harvesting Draft architectural framework Use cases and target audience definitions for services Goal to have phase I prototype (aggregated metadata with search and browse portal) by DLF Forum, April 2006

Will the rubber hit the road?

Yes! If we find balance between implementation and innovation

Aggregate collections Initial test-bed of DLF member library collections identified (within collection policy context) Narrowly defined scope Civil War Abraham Lincoln Harvestable using MODS DLF Aquifer profile developed by metadata working group

Test-bed collections Collections that contain only material that fit criteria or some material that fits? Metadata that meets DLF Aquifer profile or metadata that requires mapping, augmentation? Diverse formats and content (e.g. fiction)

DeVincent Sheet Music collection

Wright American Fiction

Panoramic Photographs

Civil War Maps

Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln

Metadata Harvest metadata to aggregate these collections MODS DLF Aquifer profile Builds on OAI best practices foundation Solves some access problems documented through DC OAI harvesting process (e.g. incorporates collection metadata in item-level aggregation) Prepares for scalable metadata augmentation (e.g. authority control)

Services Defining target audience End users Faculty and graduate students Undergraduates Library staff Digital library developers (integration) Curators Benchmarking through survey Defining services Building criteria for usability testing

Technology/Architecture Vetting metadata harvesting solution Defining a framework “Repository agnostic” Middleware Supports interoperability Recommending tools development based on user needs

Meeting users’ needs Creating contexts for aggregated collections Integrating tools and services into various environments Improving access Enhancing metadata Creating other methods of federating Providing the ability to annotate metadata and/or objects

Creating context Through visualization tools like MetaCombine http://www.metacombine.org/mdv/index.html By enabling annotation services like those in Eviada http://www.indiana.edu/~eviada/

Interoperating with… Course management systems like Sakai Digital repositories through the National Digital Information and Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) Personal information managers like Scholars Box

Promise and challenge of collaboration Enables results that are greater than the sum of the parts Requires altruism—decreasing one’s own fitness to increase the fitness of another Offers new roles for research libraries in an “Amazoogle” world

Fit with other DLF initiatives Building on standards and best practices (e.g. OAI-PMH) Collaborating on tools development (e.g. OCKHAM, potential with NSDL) Operating within the digital library service framework (in development)

Resources and funding DLF operating and capital Participant library in-kind contributions Outside funding

Thank you… Questions? Comments? Katherine Kott DLF Aquifer Director kkott@clir.org