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System Analysis and Library Automation Session 12 LBSC 690 Information Technology Agenda • Questions • System analysis • Library automation – What do libraries do? – How can computers be used? – What management issues arise? • Digital libraries Solving Large Problems • System analysis – How can we know what an organization needs? • User-centered design – How can we discern and satisfy user needs? • Implementation – How should we build it? • Management – How will the organization use our technology? Systems Analysis • Understand the task – Strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches • Understand the environment – External factors such as structure of the industry • Identify the information flows – e.g., Serials use impacts cancellation policy • Design a solution Library Activities • What do libraries do? • Which can benefit from automation? Core Workflow (Information Services) • Acquisition – Books, serials, nonprint media, electronic sources • Cataloging • Search – Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) – Reference service • Circulation Other Core Activities • Overdue notices • Interlibrary loan • Statistics – Door count, circulation, interlibrary loan • Collection policy • Weeding • Preservation Specialized Services • • • • • Reserve Recall Special collections Unique provisions for access Document delivery Support Activities • Financial – Fines – Budget • Schedule – Personnel – Facilities • Personnel records Analyzing Information Flows • Where does information originate? – Might come from multiple sources – Feedback loops may have no identifiable source • Which parts should be automated? – Some things are easier to do without computers • Which automated parts should be integrated? • What other systems are involved? – And what information do they contain? An Integrated Library System Availability Serials Supplier Availability Book Supplier Acquisition Orders Orders Title, Author, etc Existing Catalog Records Cataloging New and Revised Records Catalog Records Library Consortium Query Query OPAC Search Results Patron Search Results Availability Hold Circulation Overdue Notices Order Availability Barcode and Due Date Interlibrary Loan Order Implementation Requirements • Availability – Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) – Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) • Capacity – Number of users for each application – Response time • Flexibility – Upgrade path System Architecture • Batch processing – Save it up and do it all at once • Useful for recall notices, management reports, ... • Timesharing – Everyone uses the same machine • Simple but expensive design, limited upgrade path • Client-server • Mobile software agents Client-Server Data Replication Client Client Client Client Primary Directory Server Alternate Directory Server Data A-M Data N-Z Client Client Data A-Z Client-Server Systems • Divided workload improves efficiency – Between client and server and across servers • Flexible upgrade paths – More machines, different division of work • Good availability – Put the same data on several servers • The Web as a client-server system Automation Management Issues • Retrospective conversion – Even converting electronic information is expensive • Management information – Peak capacity evaluation, audit trails, etc. – Sometimes costs more to collect than it is worth! • Staff training • End user training • Privacy What is a “Digital Library” ? • A library with digital devices? – OPACs, CDROMs, online search services, ... • A library with digital content? – Programs, data files, digitized media, ... • Digital content organized like a library? – Collection policy, cataloging, access, preservation Advantages of Digital Objects • Perfect reproduction – Copies are as good as the original • Inexpensive and rapid distribution – Anywhere on the planet • Compact storage – Measured in rooms, not buildings • Easily searched – With combinations of retrieval and browsing Hybrid Paper/Digital Libraries • • • • Publishing journals on demand DOIs on journal articles Bar codes and chips on paper “Electronic ink” Agents • Defining characteristics of an “agent” – Autonomous – Purposeful – Reactive • Mobile Agents: can move around the network – To compute as close to the data as possible – Requires trust and a “reference architecture” Problems with Digital Objects • Display technology is often inadequate – Many tasks are easier on paper than on a screen • Some traditional cues are missing – Shiny new book, dog eared pages, … • Acquisition and cataloging costs may be inverted – For information that is “born digital” • Conversion of existing objects can be expensive – Particularly if full-text searching is desired • Long-term access is not assured – Media longevity, hardware and software dependence Access to Digital Materials • End user searching – Retrieval and browsing • Expert human inter-mediation – Reference service, information brokering • Emergent behavior – Recommender systems Digital Library Design Exercise • Form eight groups of 3 people (project teams?) • Choose one digital collection – Two groups for each collection, from the next page • Conduct systems analysis – Information flows, selective automation, integration • Choose an implementation – Timesharing, client-server, autonomous agents • Compare your design with another group Example Collections • “Gray literature” in a discipline – Preprints, technical reports, experiment datasets, … • Government documents – Reports, databases, declassified documents, … • Internet broadcasting – News, documentaries, public affairs, … • Theses and dissertations – Bachelors, masters, doctoral Digital Libraries and the Internet • Digitize the content – BLS, performing arts library, ... • Develop the standards • Dublin CORE • SMIL • XML-Data Summary • Systems analysis – Required for complex multi-person tasks • Implementation – Client-server systems are the present trend • Management – Operation can cost more than acquisition • Digital libraries – At present, mostly focused on digital collections