Discovering Resources: the JISC and portals

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Discovering Resourcesthe JISC and portals

• Chris Awre
• EUUG Conference, September 2003

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Who am I?

• JISC Programme Manager
• Portals programme
• FAIR (Focus on Access to Institutional Resources)
  programme
• Was a Unicorn system administrator for 7 years

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What is JISC?

• Joint Information Systems Committee
• Promotes and disseminates best practice on the
  use of ICT in Higher and Further Education
• Development, advice, network, content
• Serving gt600 UK institutions
• Feedback and dialogue welcome!

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Introduction

• Background to JISC and portals
• The JISC Information Environment
• Portals
• Library portals
• The wider world
• Users

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Background

• Digital collections built up the DNER
• Many collections, many interfaces
• Development of technologies the eLib Programme
• Hybrid library projects
• Clear need to enhance discovery of and access to
  content

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The JISC Information Environment

• Many different resources
• Few or just one interface
• Increased ease of access and use
• Built around the Information Environment
  Technical Architecture
• Developed for JISC by UKOLN
• Based around the use of open standards for
  interoperability

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The JISC IE Technical Architecture

• http//www.jisc.ac.uk/ie/

JISC-funded content providers
institutional content providers
external content providers
authentication/authorisation (Athens)
JISC IE service registry
user preferences services
provision
brokers
aggregators
catalogues
indexes
metadata schema registries
resolvers
fusion
institutional portals
subject portals
learning management systems
media-specific portals
OpenURL resolvers
institutional preferences services
terminology services
presentation
end-user desktop/browser
Shared infrastructure
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Interoperability through the use of Standards

• Z39.50
• Bath Profile recommended
• SRW (Search/Retrieve Web Service) is on the
  horizon
• OAI-PMH
• Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata
  Harvesting
• Based around Dublin Core
• RSS Really Simple Syndication!
• OpenURL

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The Information Environment Strategy

• Seamless and integrated access to digital
  collections through a common point of access
• Connecting with wider activities, including
  e-science and e-learning
• Distinct building blocks under development
• Integration now and in the future through the use
  of open standards

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Why Portals?

• Means for achieving seamless access through e.g.,
  multiple searching, news feeds
• Means for enhancing the discovery of information
• Means for bringing information to the user
• Means for delivering high-quality content to users

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JISC Portals

• Discovery tools
• Hold no content locally
• Common means of access using open standards,
  e.g., Z39.50, OAI
• Presentation of information
• User access via different routes
• Dedicated web site
• Integrated functionality in known web environment

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A Definition

• Technically, a portal is a network service that
  brings together content from diverse distributed
  resources using technologies such as cross
  searching, harvesting, and alerting, and collates
  this into an aggregated form for presentation to
  the user, usually via a website.
• For users, a portal is a, possibly personalised,
  common point of access where searching can be
  carried out across one or more than one resource
  and the amalgamated results viewed. Information
  may also be presented in other ways, for example,
  via alerting services and conference listings or
  through access to e-prints and learning
  materials.
• JISC Portals FAQ, http//www.jisc.ac.uk/ie_portals
  faq.html

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Portal Projects

• Subject-based Portals
• Subject Portals Project (SPP)
• Subject view onto information
• Portlet model of development
• Cross-search, authentication, user profiling,
  news
• Format-based Portals
• Geospatial data portal - Go-Geo!
• Uses geo-referencing to allow users to ask
  where? as well as what?

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Portal Projects (2)

• Format-based Portals (contd.)
• Pixus Image Portal
• Linking content to its use in learning teaching
• User Community-based Portals
• Learning Teaching Portal
• Supporting a distinct but disparate user
  community
• Includes discussion facility

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Integrated Services

• How can portal functionality be integrated in
  other environments?
• An integral part of portal developments
• Avoid yet another portal of choice scenario
• Integrating in local environments
• Institutional portals/VLEs
• Contextualisation through location

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Library Portals

• Focussed on digital library resources
• Extension to library management system
• Integrated or standalone
• One-stop shop to all library, and other,
  resources
• TechWatch report 2002

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Library Portal Review and Survey

• Six-month study
• LISU at University of Loughborough
• What is taking place within academic sector
• Assessment and implementation
• User views
• Relationship of library portals to other systems,
  internal and external
• Future trends
• Will report in Spring 2004

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Sirsi Rooms

• OpenURL Resolver and SingleSearch are elements of
  a portal
• Contextualisation a step towards personalisation
• Mix of open and hidden web access
• Configuration issue

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Content Issues

• Portals are only as good as the content you can
  discover through them
• Portals use different means to discover resources
• Therefore, content must be discoverable using
  these means
• Standards vs. proprietary

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Linking to the Wider World

• Internal
• Institutional repository/portal, VLE, Finance
  system, Registry, Security
• Library as part of a Managed Learning Environment
• External
• Integrating content
• Integrating functionality

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Back to Standards

• Essential for full interoperability
• Ability to add to existing systems and integrate
• Flexibility in the long-term
• Ownership by the community for the community

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How do Users Search?

• Many techniques and tools to facilitate searching
• How much do these developments actually match
  what users want to do or what they really do?
• Largely unknown
• More evidence needed to assist with assessment
  and implementation

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Personalisation

• Explicit
• Services based on information provided by user
• Need users to want such personalisation
  anecdotal evidence suggests not
• Implicit
• Based on information already known and available
  elsewhere
• Groupisation?

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Whats in a Name?

• That which we call a portal would deliver
  information to users as well by any other name
• The word portal can be misunderstood
• Portal functionality, though, is central to
  delivering services wherever they are required

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Conclusions

• Portals and portal functionality will play a key
  part in presenting information to users
• Open standards will provide interoperability and
  flexibility
• Library cannot exist alone, but must work with
  other systems
• User needs must be the main driver

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Ask the Question

• Why have a portal?
• Lets not build portals just because we can
  lets build them because they contribute to
  organisational strategies, because they meet the
  needs of target user groups, and because the
  benefits outweigh the costs. Anderson, 2003
• The JISC Portals Programme is exploring these
  points for the IE

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Thank you

• Chris Awre
• JISC Programme Manager
• c.awre_at_jisc.ac.uk
• http//www.jisc.ac.uk/people_awre_c.html

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Useful URLs Background

• DNER
• http//www.jisc.ac.uk/dner_adding_value.html
• eLib
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/projects/
• Information Environment Technical Architecture
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/distributed-systems/jisc-ie
  /arch/
• JISC Portals Programme
• http//www.jisc.ac.uk/programme_portals.html
• JISC Portals FAQ
• http//www.jisc.ac.uk/ie_portalsfaq.html
• TechWatch report on library portals
• http//www.jisc.ac.uk/techwatch_report_0203.html

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Useful URLs Standards

• Z39.50
• http//www.nlc-bnc.ca/bath/ap-bath-e.htm
• SRW
• http//lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/zing/srw/backgro
  und.html
• OAI-PMH
• http//www.openarchives.org/
• RSS
• http//www.eevl.ac.uk/pressrelease/pressrelrssprim
  er.htm
• OpenURL
• http//library.caltech.edu/openurl/

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Useful URLs Portals

• Subject Portals Project
• http//www.portal.ac.uk/spp/
• Go-Geo! geodata portal
• http//hds.essex.ac.uk/Go-Geo/
• Pixus image portal
• http//www.scran.ac.uk/jisc/
• Learning Teaching Portal
• http//www.ltsn.ac.uk/portal
• PORTAL project
• http//www.fair-portal.hull.ac.uk/
• FAIR Enough
• http//www.fairenough.ac.uk/index.html
• Library portal survey and review
• http//www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/dils/lisu/porta
  ls.html