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Libraries of Course:
integrating library content and services into
the e-learning environment.
Brian Flaherty
Digital Services Manager
University of Auckland Library
The University of Auckland Library
The University of Auckland Library
 500+ bibliographic databases
 58,000+ electronic journals
 180,000+ electronic books
 1.9 million volumes
Course-specific Library resources
 Currently delivered from multiple locations
and applications
 Time-consuming for Library staff to manage
 Difficult for students to find everything
 Troublesome for academics to incorporate in
their teaching
What are we trying to achieve?
 Seamless integration of Library resources
with Cecil (the University’s LMS)
 Improved administration of course-related
Library services
Two options
 Work with Cecil developers to design
a database of Library resources inside
LMS
 To build an application outside the
LMS
Inside LMS +
 easier integration with teaching material
 and potentially a single database of learning objects.
 We are in the fortunate position of having a homegrown system with Cecil developers keen to assist
Inside LMS  the requirement to include a number of Library-specific
processes Short Loans, Digitisation, Acquisitions
(purchase of materials) in the application.
 some lecturers expressed concern about providing
librarians access to “staff side” of their Cecil courses.
 In addition, any future development would be reliant on
the availability of Cecil developers
External Repository +
 easier to incorporate complex Library processes
 a degree of autonomy in the development and testing
process
External Repository  More difficult to achieve contextual learning
 existing staff in Digital Services were already
managing a heavy workload
Survey of existing course-specific content
 Exams database - digitised exam papers
 Short loan items – desk copies from the Voyager
Course Materials module
 E-reserves – digitised articles and book chapters
 Course Resources web pages – with contact details of
Subject Librarian
 Information skills material – specific database tutorials
etc
 A Bookshop database of prescribed texts
 Links to relevant Internet sites
 Canned (pre-defined) Voyager searches
Functional Requirements
 Simplification of web forms
 Easy data input
 Authentication
 Administration of Requests
 Publishing flexibility
Continued…
 Link maintenance
 Reference styles
 Inter-relationship with Voyager Course Materials (Short
Loan) module
 Web Services!
Policy Decisions
 A page for every course
 The database should not become a defacto
LMS
 Subject Librarians (in collaboration with
Lecturers) will have overall responsibility for
the delivery of content in their subject areas
Advantages - lecturers
 will be able to add Short Loan items,

request the digitisation of print articles and book
chapters,
 create links to prescribed texts in Voyager,

add links to e-journal articles, e-books and
Internet sites,
 and structure these resources under headings.
Advantages - Librarians
 will be able to administer Short Loan and
digitisation requests
 assist in selecting electronic content
 provide dynamic links to digitised exam
papers and relevant Library tutorials and
instructional material
 manage URLs via LF+ Knowledge base
 manage content without editing html
Advantages - students
 will be able to find all their course-related Library
resources in one place, accessible via the Library
website LEARN, and Cecil
Technical
 SQL database
 A number of stored procedures & web
front-end in ASP
 Course information data loaded from
PeopleSoft
 Server redundancy
How far down the track are we?
 As of November 2005 the project is in mid-flow, with a
launch set for Semester 2, 2006 (July).
 Database tables complete, admin interface and frontend being finalised
 Testing regime, communication plan…
Future plans
 web services
 a link creation applet for Cecil
 federated search engine (ENCompass)
 Simplified Sign On (SSO) Project
 a “My Library” personalised service
 integration into Cecil?
 Other Projects…
Voyager Tutorial
Voyager Tutorial
Voyager Tutorial
Voyager Tutorial
Voyager Tutorial
Early New Zealand Books
www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz
Early New Zealand Books
Early New Zealand Books
Smithyman Collected Poems
www.smithymanonline.auckland.ac.nz
Anthropology Photographic Archive
www.library.auckland.ac.nz/databases/alt/apa/
Libraries of Course:
integrating library content and services into
the virtual learning environment.
Brian Flaherty
Digital Services Manager
University of Auckland Library