Collection description as Middleware

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• Collection description as Middleware
• The Information Environment Service Registry
  (IESR)
• Rachel Bruce, Information Environment, Team
  Leader
• CDF, Showcase,25 March, 2003

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Talk overview

• The JISC Information Environment (IE)
  middleware/shared services
• Information Environment Service Registry (IESR)
  pilot
• Challenges why

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What is Middleware

• Middleware, or "glue", is a layer of software
  between the network and the applications. This
  software provides services such as
  identification, authentication, authorization,
  directories, and security. In today's Internet,
  applications usually have to provide these
  services themselves, which leads to competing and
  incompatible standards. By promoting
  standardization and interoperability, middleware
  will make advanced network applications much
  easier to use.
• Internet2 Middleware Initiative

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What is the JISC Information Environment?

• to build an on-line information environment
  providing secure and convenient access to a
  comprehensive collection of scholarly and
  educational material
• JISC 5-year strategy

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JISC IE Architecture

• Provides a set of standards protocols that
  support the development delivery of integrated
  network services allows the user to discover,
  access,use and publish digital physical
  resources for their learning research
  teaching
• Andy Powell, UKOLN

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Current situation-difficult to find
Content (local and remote)
Web
Web
Web
Web
Authentication
Authorisation
End-user needs to join services together manually
- as well as learning multiple user interfaces
End-user
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Future - easier to find
Content
Authentication
Authorisation
End-user is automatically presented with
relevant resources through relevant channels
Collection Description
Portals
Service Desc.
Thesauri
User Profiles
End-user
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Shared Services

• What are they? machine readable services between
  the presentation layer and the content layer of
  the IE (middleware)
• User profiling so the right services can be
  delivered to the user
• Collection description high level description
  so portals, VLEs can locate relevant resources
• Service description- technical metadata to
  allow machines to know if they can interoperate
  with services
• Other types of high level description- subject,
  educational levels, rights high level finding
  aids for machines
• Authentication authorisation- right user,
  access rights
• Terminology services-subject, place, help find
  the appropriate resource

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Portals

• What are they?doorways to diverse content
  provide cross-searching of distributed and
  otherwise discrete resources.
• All experimental how well do they address the
  discovery mechanism?
• User centred discovery for Learning Teaching
• Subject centred humanities, engineering,leisure
  and tourism
• Format media type - Image
• Building portlet technology plug it in to an
  institutional VLE?

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IESR-pilot

• Service Registry machine readable catalogue of
  high-quality resources
• MIMAS, Cheshire, UKOLN
• Completes end December 2003

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• Descriptive metadata- derived from RSLP schema
• Technical metadata- being finalised does a
  collection have a Z target, is the associated
  metadata available via OAI etc.

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Descriptions from who?

• Initially
• AHDS, EDINA,Essex Data Archive etc.
• Some publishers

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Pilot stages

• Consultation with stakeholders
• (Content providers,shared services,end users
  etc.)
• Development of software
• Development of schema
• Develop Interfaces
• Populate
• Evaluate

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Challenges

• Keeping it economic and sustainable
• Building, while still designing and researching
• Cultural organisational change
• Granularity of collection
• Integrating the IE with learning environments,
  the Research Grid and

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Why?

• Portal (aggregator) surveys the environment
• Seamless integrated access
• Awareness of collections
• More use
• Improved learning, teaching research

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Further information

• http//jisc.ac.uk/ie
• http//www.mimas.ac.uk/iesr/
• JISC IE rachel.bruce_at_jisc.ac.uk
• IESR, Project Manager amanda.hill_at_man.ac.uk