mark hughes annual seminar presentation on open source

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

VuFind – Using Open Source for Resource Discovery

Mark Hughes

Head of Collections, Swansea University

UKeiG Annual Seminar 16th June 2010


Experiment…

For the tweeters…

Post technical questions to:

http://twitter.com/L_OS_Cymru

..and he’ll try & answer them ‘live’ during & after the presentation


Coming up…

• Background

• Why VuFind?

• Making it work…

• Challenges &

solutions

• Lessons learned

• Where do we go from

here?

Library Technical Assistant, University of Toledo/U.S. Office of Education, 1973


Background : 1

•HEFCW funding – “South

West Wales Higher Education

Partnership”

•‘Virtual Academic Library

Project’ - £1 million

•“An holistic approach to

library and information

provision between Swansea

University, Swansea

Metropolitan University and

Trinity College Carmarthen”


Background : 2

3 person project team

• RFID

• Shared Storage Facility

• Reciprocal Borrowing

• Site Delivery Service

• Shared Discovery

• ..inc Federated Search

..£60k over 2.5 years

http://www.foxdata.com/devsuite/project_planning/common/images/project_plan_gantt_chart_2.gif


Background : 3

Open RFID In Libraries

Specification (ORILS)

• Released under CCA

Share Alike licence

• Community Driven

• Used in 12+

procurements already


Background : 4

Relais ILL

• Shared resource delivery

• Commitment to providing

Open Source product

• ..though this has not yet

happened


Why VuFind? : 1

Requirements

• 3 LMS's = 1 discovery

interface

• Ex Libris, Sirsidynix, Talis

• Full 'next generation'

interface

• Powerful search function

• Customisable

• Integrate Federated Search

• Cost http://nise.uncc.edu/images/requirements.jpg


Why VuFind? : 2

Options

• Primo

• Talis Prism

• Encore

• Aquabrowser

• WorldCat Local

• ..or Open Source!

• VuFind

• SOPAC

• Blacklight


Why VuFind? : 3

Proprietary ruled out on:

• Functionality

• Cost

• Timescale

• Flexibility

...leaving Open Source

.. Federated Search?


Why VuFind? : 4

..and what about

Federated Search?

Proprietary

Support & Knowledge

Base

Integration capabilities

Metalib with SFX

Single server

3 instances

Xerxes OSS ‘Front End’


Why VuFind? : 5

VuFind chosen

Most complete

Strong community

Flexible

Stable

Open Standards

(APIs)

Easy to set up

Known

technologies

'Lowest risk'

http://vufind.org/


Making it work : 1

VuFind chosen

Most Complete

Strong community

Flexible

Stable

Easy to set up

Known

technologies

'Lowest risk'


Making it work : 2


Making it work : 3


Making it work : 4

'Vanilla' Installation

Working with single site

in days

Started multi-site driver...

Change of staff

6 month lull

..change of plan


Making it work : 5

New Project Officer

Targeted recruitment

Additional web & design

skills

No VuFind experience

Remit to

A) Make it work

B) Make it look great


VuFind URL

http://ifind.swwhep.ac.uk/


Making it work : 6


Making it work : 7


Making it work : 9


Making it work : 10


Making it work : 11


Making it work : 13Making it work : 13


Making it work : 14


Making it work : 15


Challenges & Solutions : 1

Hosting

Data Slinging

Data Merging

Design

Dual Language

Multi System Driver

'Live' holdings functionality

'My Account'

Metalib Integration

Sustainability

Done

Almost done

Done

Done

Almost done

Done

Almost done

Almost done

Almost done

Done



Hardware & Hosting

• Linux / Windows / Solaris

• List of software requirements at

http://vufind.org/wiki/requirements

• Multiple instances (testing)

• ..plenty of RAM

• Virtualisation



Data Slinging

Marc Export

Talis?

Scheduling..

FTP

Shortcut – updates only?

http://www.sadissystems.com/ss/ftp.jpg



Data Merging

Differing Standards

Export formats &

content

Automation &

scheduling

Co-ordinate with FTPs

Opportunity to clean up

Data Expert = critical

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0610/antennae_hst.jpg



Design

Usability

Accessibility

'Web 2.0' features

Enriched Content

'Value Added'

LoC > Dewey

crosswalk



Dual Language

Essential

Requirement

11th Language

available in VuFind

Settled terminology

Full translation



Multi System Driver

• Connections to 3 LMS’

• Development of Talis

Driver

• Use of ‘Jangle’

www.jangle.org

• ..breaking new ground


'Live' functionality

• Checking

Availability Data

• Location Data

• Place Hold

• Trinity University

College



My Account

• Fully working

Voyager

• 90% working

Talis

• Awaiting

testing for

Horizon



Metalib Integration

• + EzProxy

• Authentication?

• LDAP

• OpenAthens

• ..single sign-on?



Sustainability

• During project

• Beta Testing

• Development

• Support

• Bug Fixing

• Post project

• Staffing?



General...

• Institutional issues

• Liaising with IT depts

• Plans vs reality




With VuFind...

• Changes to the

Community

• Development

Planning

• Roadmap

• Bugs & niggles


With Open Source:

• Skill base

• Support

• ‘Fear of the unknown’

• Safety net?

• Risk

• Changing attitudes!


http://simplecomplexity.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/open-source-tilt-scale.jpg


• Plans will go awry

• Not everything will work

• Everything takes longer

than planned

• Success relies on people

more than technology

• Unfamiliarity breeds

unease

• Collaboration can be

hard work

Lessons Learned : 1


• Open Source works

• The support community is

fantastic

• It’ll save capital costs

• ..but will rack up the staff

costs

• ‘Pump Priming’ with

development resource

• Long term TCO lower

Lessons Learned : 2

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/it-strategy/2009/04/07/the-true-cost-of-migrating-to-open-source-39635251/


Lessons Learned : 3

Long Term Outlook

• Shared service

development

• ‘In house’ development

resource

• ..with commercial

partners?

• Exploit synergies of

converged service

http://the-investor-portal.com/investor-portal-pagelist.php?page=wealth-management


Where do we go from here?: 1

Current Projects

• End of SWWHEP

• Sustainable projects

• VuFind = iFind Discover

• SLAs

• Mainstreaming

• Mergers, mergers

everywhere

Ends November 2010



National Context

• Collaborative Agenda

• JISC / Sconul Shared

Services report

• http://helibtech.com/

• WAG agendas

• More mergers &

collaboration



Shared Services & Open

Source

• Library Management

Systems

• VLE systems

• Discovery tools?

• ERM?



Additional Projects

• JISC 'Enhancing Library

Management Systems'

funding

• Theme A 'Use of new

resource discovery

interfaces'

• Full case study

• Blog, twitter updates

Http://swwhepsrch.blogspot.com/



Additional Projects?

• JISC 'Enhancing Library

Management Systems' funding

• Theme C 'Exploring problem

areas‘ – ‘On Hold’

• Initial Evergreen investigation

• Matching vs United Kingdom Core

Specification (UKCS)

• Report into current viability for UK

http://ukcs.wikispaces.com/home



Evergreen

• Due to attend Evergreen

2010

• Contact developers &

users

• Assess enhancement

plan

• Cancelled at airport due

to Ash Cloud

http://www.evergreen2010.org/



Evergreen

• Visit to USA & Canada

• Meeting with Equinox

http://www.esilibrary.com/esi/

• Meeting Laurentian

University

http://coffeecode.net/

• Other users at ALA

2010



http://www.projectnext.eu/mobile-game/SH-The-Game-is-Afoot-iP-Header.png

So...

• Swansea University

• WHELF

• Other areas

• Scoping / Funding

• Bright future

• ..ask me this time next

year


http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/000000/70000/7000/300/77356/77356.strip.sunday.gif


Blogs

http://swwhepsrch.blogspot.com/

http://thoughtsincoldstorage.blogspot.com


Thank You


Contacts

Mark Hughes

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/Mark_H_Swansea

Paul Johnson

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/jpjohnson

Luke O'Sullivan

[email protected]

http://twitter.com/L_OS_Cymru

mark hughes annual seminar presentation on open source

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vufind sopac blacklight

federated search cost

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