the national library of finland metalib/sfx and public libraries jukka pennanen & leena salminen...
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The National Library of Finland
MetaLib/SFX and Public Libraries
MetaLib/SFX and Public Libraries
Jukka Pennanen & Leena Salminen
The National Library of Finland
3.9.06 IGeLU Stockholm, Sweden
Jukka Pennanen & Leena Salminen
The National Library of Finland
3.9.06 IGeLU Stockholm, Sweden
The National Library of Finland
Consortia in Finland
3 sectors using MetaLib/SFX: university, polytechnic and public libraries
64 portals (MetaLib instances)20 university (19 live)
29 polytechnic (18 live 2006 )
15 public (5 live 2006)
0 special libraries 2006
5 SFX instances (3-5 institutions each)
The National Library of Finland
Public libraries’ sector
19 regional libraries (Aland Islands excluded)
431 municipalities (2006)
Implementation administered and steered by regional libraries
Working groups in libraries: project managers, resource experts, librarians
Meetings with project managers ~4/year
Domestic training, mailing lists, help files
Trainees work as local trainers in libraries
The National Library of Finland
Regional portals
Started in 2005
1 MetaLib installation, 15 instances
5 SFX instances
Pohjanportti: 3 regional libraries
Pohjalaisten Nelli: 3 regional libraries
Rest have their own MetaLib instances
5 SFX shared instances (3−5/SFX)
1 MetaLib/SFX server for all libraries
1 regional portal has applied authentication against the patron database of their library system
The rest are waiting some solution to authentication?
The National Library of Finland
Distribution of workbetween libraries and Nelli office
Based on the agreement of services
Each regional library approves and signs it
Regional libraries work for the libraries in the province
Regional libraries work with libraries in the provinceTo add local licensed resources to the portal
To train them to use the local portal
How to make local resources compatible with MetaLib?
Nelli office Maintains the Nelli server
Updates software and knowledgebases
Works with central domestic configurations (FinELib licensed)
The National Library of Finland
Problems and challenges
Not enough manpower and skillsLack of MetaLib compatible local resourcesLack of configuration for the local resourcesChallenge: to develop a portal especially addressed to public libraries’ customersLocally/regionally profiled portal (e.g. sub portals)
The National Library of Finland
Benefits
Participate in developing of national library portal services and e-services generally
Public libraries do not be a separate from other libraries and their e-services’ development
The National Library of Finland
MetaLib for public libraries in Finland
Four portals for public libraries
Pohjanportti, Pirkanmaan Nelli, Varsinais-Suomi, Keski-Suomi
Pohjanportti = three regional libraries together
Varsinais-Suomi = 53 public (municipal) libraries, bilingual
Pirkanmaa = population 500 000, a web service with 33 libraries with two different ILS, long traditions of regional cooperation
The National Library of Finland
Portals in regional libraries
The National Library of Finland
Experiences from libraries
Training as a challenge…
How libraries did it?
How many were trained?
Problems, challenges
Possibilities…
The National Library of Finland
Training as a challenge…
Training of library staff was started before the portals were in productionDevelopment / usability ideas from the staff? (From patrons?)Self-made training materials (shared materials) based on training materials provided by Nelli-officeExperienced trainers in all regions (in the first phase trained by Nelli-office)Patrons have not been trained yet!
The National Library of Finland
How libraries did it?
1,5-3 hours training sessionsIntroduction Basics in searchingHands onSummary, development, problemsVisions, discussionBrush ups, workshopsContinuing local training
The National Library of Finland
How many were trained?
Pohjanportti: 50 training sessions for 515 library professionals of 645 totally in the regionVarsinais-Suomi : 81 + 41 + 14 (training on site in libraries in small groups)Pirkanmaa started training for staff two years before production, 1/3 had been trained when portal was opened
The National Library of Finland
Problems, challenges
Metalib was experienced complicatedLack of searchable databases that are suitable for public librariesLack of licenced databases for public librariesConfigurations for free materials?Small public libraries miss the expertiseLS not necessarily standardized – costs for libraries to integrate local resourcesTechnical problems (more than expected)Usability?
The National Library of Finland
Possibilities…
Consistency (search interface, search results)Tailoring, customizing (not easy though)Can replace link/database listsDescriptions of databases are usefulPossibility to use effective search techniques