Andrew Pace, Executive Director of Networked Library Services, OCLC
Creators of library management and inventory control systems are playing catch-up with the 21st century nature of cloud-based library collections and cloud-resident library users. Part history, part accident, and part vision for the future, moving management services to the network is an inevitable evolution of library automation with revolutionary implications. Pace will give his views about the history, present, and hopeful future for more collaborative, efficient, and effective library management services.
From Event to Action: Accelerate Your Decision Making with Real-Time Automation
Why Cloud Computing is Different
1. Web-scale Management:
EVERY The Promise and Peril of Creating a Next-
CONNECTION
has a
starting point.
generation Library Management System
Andrew K. Pace
Executive Director, Networked Library Services
5th NOVEMBER 2010
2. Disclaimers (―about me, before OCLC‖)
I am a Librarian with a Humanities background
• BA (Rhetoric), The University of Virginia
• M.S.L.S., The Catholic University of America
I have a long and jaded history with library automation
• Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (1996-1999)
• product manager WebPac, Z39.50 client/server, Electronic Course Reserves, Web
Management Reports
• North Carolina State University, Head of IT (1999-2008)
• DRA-to-Sirsi-to-SirsiDynix
• Home grown ERM (―E-Matrix‖)
• Project Director, NCSU Endeca discovery engine
• Library Systems author, speaker, consultant, and provocateur (1994 – present)
• Blogger, ―Hectic Pace,‖ (2006-present)
• Columnist, ―Technically Speaking,‖ American Libraries (2004-2008)
• Contributing Editor, Smart Libraries Newsletter (2003-2004)
• Columnist, ―Coming Full Circle,‖ Computers in Libraries (2000-2005)
3. Agenda
Web scale, cloud computing, and OCLC
• Libraries before web scale
Web-scale Management Services
• Why?
• What?
“Web-scale management services”
• An opportunity for truly next-generation library management
services
Breaking new ground in Library Automation
Taking things apart and putting things together
5. Cloud Computing
A style of computing in which
scalable and elastic IT-enabled
capabilities are delivered as a
service to external customers
using Internet technologies.
-Gartner Group
Simple: Web-based applications with shared data and services.
Infrastructure Platform Applications Services
KPMG
6. Why cloud computing is different
“Unlike most innovations that started in the enterprise
and went to the consumer, this innovation started with
consumers and is now coming to the enterprise.”
-Geoffrey Moore
“Core Content and the Cloud”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swJCYLH2C
7. The cloud provides scalability
The Web is all about
scale, finding ways to
attract the most users
for centralized resources,
spreading those costs
over larger and larger
audiences as the
technology gets more
and more capable.
— Chris Anderson,
Editor-in-Chief, WIRED
and author of The Long Tail
9. Peril or Promise?: XML, punchcard
The library automationJava, – the text-
GUI, WWW, age the the best distraction,
Mainframe withera terminalsofby birth
Stand-alone RDBMS – –onegreat brung ya”
First“danceand dumbthe – thatOpen Source,
Coming of modules, separated
SaaS, cloud or
era. Makingcomputing, systems
or “the beginning library of scale.
of integration function a bad situation.
departmentbasedbestlegacy Texas
circulation at Universitywebstatus” The
the of of
The Timeline
“new” ILS.
Integration & sophistication 1936
1936
1960
1960
1970
1970
1980
1980
1990
1990
2000
2000
2010
2010
10. In the 1970s…
ILS
OPAC
Library
Circulation
Cataloging
Print
Users
Vendors
11. In the 1980s…
ILS Acquisitions
OPAC
Library
Self
Service Circulation
Cataloging
Print
Users
Vendors
National/
Cataloging Consortial
Global
Utility System
System
12. In the 1990s…
ILS Acquisitions
A to Z
OPAC List
Library
Self ERM
Service Circulation
Cataloging
Print Resolver
Users
Vendors
Electronic
Vendor
National/
Cataloging Consortial
Global
Utility System
System
13. In the 2000s…
ILS Acquisitions
A to Z
OPAC List
Library
Self ERM
Service Circulation
―[We signed on to be a pilot
partner] because this is
Print
Users pretty much what our library
Cataloging Resolver
Vendors
systems look like.‖
Meta- Michael Dula
search
Pepperdine University Libraries
Electronic
Institutional
Repository Vendor
National/
Cataloging Consortial
Global
Utility System
System
17. Web scale value proposition
Before cloud computing…
70 %
INFRASTRUCTURE
30 %
INITIATIVE
Amazon.com: http://www.slideshare.net/goodfriday/amazon-web-services-building-a-webscale-computing-architecture
18. Web scale value proposition
After cloud computing
30%
INFRASTRUCTURE
70 %
INITIATIVE
Amazon.com: http://www.slideshare.net/goodfriday/amazon-web-services-building-a-webscale-computing-architecture
19. Why?
• Libraries are doing more than ever
• Silos, costs, time requirements, inefficiency are hindering
libraries
• Cloud computing has helped other industries
• OCLC members have been building ―cloud‖ services for 40
years (cataloging, resource sharing, online reference…)
• OCLC Web-scale Management brings the power of the
cooperative to core services
• Member libraries will be freed to focus on innovation
20. A Sea Change
―For 25 years of library automation,
we‘ve had a choice of brand, and now
we have a choice of kind.‖
-Marshall Breeding
22. ―Library Web scale‖
Worldwide libraries and worldwide library transactions (PER YEAR)
Libraries worldwide 1,212,383
Books: physical processing 15,517,196,010
Back-office transactions with a handful of commodity servers
Possible 61,879,349
OPAC searches 105,607,800,600
Database searches 36,555,852,000
Circulation / ILL 4,983,393,968
+ Adds/deletes; patron record maintenance, etc.
____________________________________________________________________
Annual transactions 166,041,975,140
18,954,563 transactions / day 5,265 transactions / second
23. Side note (mixing metaphors):
The Cloud is Greener
If all the world‘s library transactions could be
managed with a handful of commodity
servers, what is the current carbon footprint
of the world‘s libraries?
24. What if…
ILS Acquisitions
A to Z
OPAC List
Library
Self ERM
Service Circulation
Cataloging
Print Resolver
Users
Vendors
Meta-
search
Electronic
Institutional
Repository Vendor
National/
Cataloging Consortial
Global
Utility System
System
25. What if…
Library
Users Data Suppliers
Partners
26. Efficient storage of data in the cloud:
Common use data
Bib
Holdings Library
User
Contributed
Common Use Data
Users Suppliers
Partners
27. Efficient storage of data in the cloud:
Data by agreement
Patron Circ
Auth Counts
Library
Library
Ordering
Common Use Data Licenses
Users Data by Agreement Suppliers
Partners
Partners
28. Efficient storage of data in the cloud:
Private data
Library
Library
Common Use Data
Users Data by Agreement Suppliers
Private Data
Order
Patron
Details Partners
Partners
Licensing C‘Out
29. Roles
Library
Local
Aggregators
Users
Local
Visitors Jobbers
Users Data Suppliers
Worldwide
Book
Users
Sellers
Search
Consortia
Engines
Partners
Partners
Social Utilities
Libraries Sites
41. Next steps: Strategy
Web scale Management Services Library Advisory Council
Strategic direction, reality checks and moral support
Helene Blowers Sarah McHugh Andrew Pace
Statewide Projects OCLC, ex officio
Digital Strategy Director, Librarian, Montana State
Columbus Metropolitan Library Library
John Helmer Mary Piorun
Executive Director, Associate Director,
Orbis Cascade Alliance University of Mass.
Medical Center Library
Jan Ison Tim Rogers
Executive Director,
Executive Director, NCLIVE
Lincoln Trail Libraries System
David Lankes John Teskey
Director of Libraries,
Associate Professor, University of New
Syracuse University Brunswick
42. Tested by pilot libraries
Orbis Cascade Alliance
• Linfield College
• Washington State University
Pepperdine University Libraries
Idaho Commission for Libraries
• Boundary County District Library
• Payette Public Library
• Cooperative Information Network (CIN)
CPC (Craven, Pamlico, Carteret) Regional Libraries (NC)
43. Early adopters: Starting the user community
• Simpson University
• St. Thomas University Law Library
• Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Vanguard University
• Texas A&M San Antonio
44. Early adopters: Norway
The BIBSYS organization is a government agency under the
Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and is organized as
a part of The Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU. In addition to the HE-institutions BIBSYS also provides ILS
services to The National Library of Norway and other
governmental and private institutions.
The BIBSYS Consortium has been active for 37 years. The main
service is a highly Integrated Library System (ILS) built around a
single joint catalogue: More than 100 institutions share the same
bibliographic records with addition of their own holdings and
classification.
45. Observations so far…
From Early Adopters‘ Perspective—
Foremost concern is not disrupting patrons
Discovery cannot be separated from Management System
A NextGen Catalog as the sole OPAC is a new and sometimes
uncomfortable concept
WorldCat as local catalog is a new and sometimes uncomfortable
concept
• Accustomed to ‗hiding places‘ for some records.
• WorldCat still perceived as union catalog.
• Local display and searching of local metadata in WorldCat
46. Observations so far…
From WMS Team‘s Perspective—
Already seeing early epiphanies of the power of cloud-based
management.
• Allowing for cataloging further upstream, benefiting patrons.
• Allowing for sharing of traditionally siloed data (e.g. course reserve
lists; vendor data).
• ‗Hidden‘ local collections are shared globally.
Changing library workflows & resourcing.
• Cataloging staff are now Acquisitions staff and vice versa.
• Reference staff role as OPAC searching experts is eroding.
50. More than an application—
Web-scale Management Services
represent a platform
51. Today‘s problem
Library collections are largely inaccessible and unaddressable.
The Black Box System
And
Library innovation is a
―Cottage Industry‖
• The difficulties of establishing an effective infrastructure for
community collaboration and innovation
• Very little economy of scale
• A real need to move from library solutions and software
development as an individual ―hobby‖ to a core industry
business activity
52. Why cloud computing is different
“If you think that you know better
than ‘the cloud’, you don’t.”
-Geoffrey Moore
“Core Content and the Cloud”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swJCYLH2C
53. Towards a developers‘ platform for library
management services
• The cloud should not stifle library innovation—it should
better enable it
• Discovery layer APIs are only the tip of the iceberg
• Next-generation solutions must enable levels of access for
local development and participation unparalleled in the
history of library automation
54. Value-add Definition:
The exclusive difference is the
Cloud Computing “network effect” that bringing all
our members together provides.
Our cooperative efforts will
create scale savings and
efficiencies, bring wider
recognition for libraries, provide
cooperative intelligence for
better decision-making, and
provide the platform on which
libraries can innovate.
Required OCLC Cloud Infrastructure Web-scale Management Services for libraries
Infrastructure Platform Applications Services
59. Example: Working with external services:
The Amazon Budget Widget
Current Budget: 4,573.21 Remaining Budget: 4,348.43
4,357.29
―The application platform will allow us to
develop power tools that could really, really
streamline operations for staff.‖
Kyle Banerjee, Digital Services Program Manager
Price: $8.86
Orbis Cascade Alliance (pilot participant)
61. Top reasons that OCLC Web-scale Management
Services define a different future
• Concentration of sharable data
• Built by the community: WorldCat, holdings, vendors, etc.
• Added for the community: knowledge base, evaluative content, etc.
• Innovative and enabling technology
• At best, other services are “hosted” in the cloud
• System is Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) by design
• Provides a Platform on which to build extended services
• Built on a real workflow engine
• Global collaborative community
• OCLC is uniquely positioned to add the OCLC network to the data,
services, and infrastructure that is being offered
• Allows cooperative intelligence among libraries
• Allows cooperative workflows between libraries
62. Top reasons that OCLC Web-scale Management
Services define a different future
• Concentration of sharable data
―OCLC is the organization we should be
• Built by the community: WorldCat, holdings, vendors, etc.
• Added for the community:we had to start evaluative content, etc.
working with. If knowledge base, from scratch,
we‘d want to create a nonprofit, member-
• Innovative and enabling technology
driven international organization to oversee
• At best,this activity. The “hosted” in the cloud the
other services are concept is right and
• System is Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) by design
• Provides a Platform onis right.‖
organization which to build extended services
• Built on a real workflow engine
John F. Helmer
• Global collaborative community
Executive Director
Orbis Cascade Alliance
• OCLC is uniquely positioned to add the OCLC network to the data,
(Web-scale Library Advisory Council Member)
services, and infrastructure that is being offered
• Allows cooperative intelligence among libraries
• Allows cooperative workflows between libraries
63. OCLC Web-scale as a ―revolutionary approach‖
“...companies distinguish
themselves through
defining different
futures for their library
customers.”
— Marshall Breeding
SCELC Colloquium
11 May 2010
64. OCLC and Libraries: Inventing the Future
THANK YOU!
http://www.oclc.org/webscale
pacea@oclc.org