variations open source webinar digital library program indiana university march 4, 2009
TRANSCRIPT
Variations Open Source Webinar
Digital Library ProgramIndiana University
March 4, 2009
Agenda What is the Variations system? – overview & demo How is it used currently, at IU and other institutions? What is the open source release and how can it be deployed?
technical and library staffing hardware requirements what's included in the release
Where is Variations headed? What support is available for the open source release, both
now and in the future? How can I try out Variations? Q & A
Today’s Voices Mark Notess, Variations Development Manager at IU Phil Ponella, Head, Cook Music Library, IU David Cartledge, Assistant Professor of Music (Piano), IU Sean Ferguson, Assistant Librarian, Metadata/Technical Services,
Music and Dance Library, Ohio State John Anderies, Coordinator for Collections & Head, Special
Collections, Haverford College
And at the Q&A keyboard: Jon Dunn, Variations3 Project Director and Associate Director for
Technology, Digital Library Program, IU Jenn Riley, Metadata Librarian and Variations/FRBR Principal
Investigator, Digital Library Program, IU
Variations OverviewCollectionMetadata
AccessControl,
Bookmarks
conte
nt
use
r in
terf
ace
use
rs
digitized audio scanned scores
faculty students librarians
What is the Variations System?
Online access to streaming audio and scanned score images
Analysis and annotation tools useful in music teaching, learning, and research
Flexible access control framework respects intellectual property rights
Content comes from your own collections—Variations provides ingest tools and access management
What is the Variations System?
Album-based, not track based: users see tracks in their album context
Does not use Digital Rights Management (DRM) Access limited to authenticated login based on IP
address and/or authorized group membership, such as a class roster
Search function requires additional manual cataloging and so it is not being used apart from metadata research projects
Demonstration of Variations
Variations at Indiana
Digital library of sound recordings and scores in IU Cook Music Library and born-digital IU performances
Online since April 1996 Current technology online since 2005 16,000+ complete recordings; 300+ scores Access to course reserves, general collection, and
special collections Full collection available at music library computers Outside music library, users must be enrolled in a
class requiring Variations use and have installed Variations client
Variations at Indiana:Classroom Instructor View
Not just a homework tool: provides improved access in classroom to listening assignments
Playback tools and environment superior to embedded commercial players
Provide timelines for all pieces in a course Students do listening study with the timeliner I can use the timeliner during class sessions Students come to class better prepared
The timeliner encourages active listening—even more than the score
During class, coherent random access to course content If I jump to a different part of the piece, it’s easy for students to see
what’s going on
Instruction Benefits
Students are… More easily able to sense musical form during listening Forced to develop aural analytical skills—crucial to good
performance
Variations3
Funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant
October 2005 - September 2008 (extended through summer 2009)
Extends Variations beyond IU & explores sustainability models Test sites have each deployed full Variations system:
New England Conservatory The Ohio State University Tri-College Consortium: Haverford, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr University of Maryland
Also exploring application- (not content-) hosting with University of Miami and others.
Variations at Ohio State
Variations is the primary source for required listening in multiple sections/offerings of five courses: Rock 'n' Roll History, Jazz History, The World of Classical Music, Music's Meanings, and Music on the Move in a Globalized World. Several sections have been taught entirely online. In total, over 1,000 students have used Variations during the past year (in use January 2008).
Approximately 2,000 complete CDs from collection have been digitized in Variations. Recently began scanning scores for use in Variations later this spring.
Access limited to students currently enrolled in a course using Variations; student access restricted to recordings used for their own class (no other Variations content). Students can access Variations on PCs in the Music/Dance Library or they can download the software and access the system on a personal PC or Mac, on or off campus.
At OSU, Variations has been a very effective solution for access-controlled streaming audio. Following the initial technical startup and period of familiarization for IT and library staff, the system has run smoothly and required minimal maintenance.
Variations at Tri-College Library Consortium
Since January 2008, Variations used in several courses at Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, including Introductory Piano, Jazz and the Politics of Culture, Principles of Tonal Harmony II, Chopin, and Chorus. Legacy RealServer still used for other audio in other courses.
Digitized ~250 complete CD titles from the collections of Haverford and Swarthmore (Bryn Mawr has no music library or audio collection), including the complete Great Pianists of the 20th Century series.
In the Tri-Co, complete access to all content granted to all students, faculty and staff with network IDs. Access limited to IP ranges within the Tri-Co. Variations installed on PCs in the Haverford Music Library, PCs and Macs in the Swarthmore Performing Arts Library, and on PCs in the Bryn Mawr Main Library. Access model predicated on our similar model for the sharing of digital images.
Access and discovery through links or playlists in Blackboard and by 856 links in Tripod, the Tri-College online library catalog.
For the Tri-Co, Variations is a very effective solution for access-controlled streaming audio. Following the initial technical startup and period of familiarization for IT and library staff, the system has run smoothly and required minimal maintenance.
Variations Elsewhere
University of Maryland – using Variations to provide access to the International Piano Archives at Maryland (IPAM); using new browser audio player instead of Java client application
New England Conservatory – using for course reserves Hosted pilots – a different model aimed at faster
deployment time and use of new browser-based audio player; Spring 2009 pilot use
What is the Open Source Release?
Variations system release includes Server software Client software Source code Sample content for testing—two
recordings and two scores
Documentation available on the web
Everything you need to set up and operate your own Variations system! Except….
Free Puppy!
What’s not free?
Server hardware Necessary IT expertise to install, configure, and support
Variations server software and streaming server Digitizing/scanning hardware/software Digitizing/scanning staffing & expertise Computer workstations in library and/or client software
distribution mechanism Staffing & expertise for user support Intellectual property / copyright policy
Server Hardware
Linux operating system Tested on RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5
RAM and disk space dependent on load and amount of audio and score content
Third-party software Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2 Apache HTTP Server Apple Darwin Streaming Server Perl MySQL
Cost: $0-25,000, depending on IT resources and ambitions (amount of content, user load)
IT Expertise
Critical success factor! Initial server config, installation, software config, network
troubleshooting, etc., is demanding Requires good partnership between library and IT Initial configuration is only a day or so of work, but that
day can easily take weeks of communication between different parties, with extra time for troubleshooting
IT Staff Requirements
Linux system administrator Database administrator Windows/Mac desktop support
Library desktops Student computing lab desktops Faculty desktops Faculty/student home use
Student information system staff If basing access on course enrollment
Network engineering staff Troubleshooting firewall/bandwidth issues
IT Staff Requirements Decisions that affect IT time requirement
Have to tie system in with an authentication system Access control policy—IP-based is easy; enrollment-based is more work to
construct roster-based groups Backup and Archiving policy
keeping backups of compressed files makes recovery faster but increases storage requirements
Keeping archival uncompressed files (wav, tiff) helps with future migration but increases storage requirements and adds a step (possibly automated) to the ingest process
Ongoing support Diagnosing and fixing (or reporting) problems Updating to new versions Restarting server software
One reason implementation needs to start early!
Variations Architecture
Variations cataloging
server
Variations production
server
MySQLproductio
ndatabase
MySQLcatalogin
gdatabase
ApacheHTTP Server
DarwinStreaming
Server
VariationsJava client
(Mac or Windows)
Variations score and audioLease Managers
RMIHTTP
RTSP/HTTP
Single physical server
VariationsDigitizer/
CatalogingJava client(Windows)
Variations Architecture
Variations cataloging
server
Variations production
server
MySQLproductio
ndatabase
MySQLcatalogin
gdatabase
ApacheHTTP Server
DarwinStreaming
Server
Variations score and audioLease Managers
Single physical server
Digitizer Station
Recent Windows Vista or XP computer High quality sound card or audio -> USB interface Flatbed scanner Audio capture/editing software
Commercial: Sound Forge, WaveLab Free: Audacity
Nero Digital Encoder software (free) for encoding .wav files to .mp4
ImageMagick, DjvuLibre (free) for encoding score .tif files to .djvu
Digitizer Staffing & Expertise
Work can be done by student hourly employees Workflow needs to be defined and documented Need basic skill with moving files around Audio skill level depends on whether you are
ingesting only CDs or analog media Scanning skill level can be low if workflow well
documented Ingesting a CD can take 10-20 minutes, beginning
to end (compression takes the most time)
User Clients
Windows Vista or XP 512MB+ RAM QuickTime 7.5 or later Internet Explorer or Firefox browser
Mac OS X 10.4 or later 512MB+ RAM Firefox browser preferred (limitations with Safari)
Installer for user client has to be configured and built; if users install client on own computer, installer has to be put somewhere for download
User Support
If users can install client, support load will be higher
90% of problems are solved by (re) install QuickTime (re) install Variations Restart computer “You’re not registered for a class authorized to use
Variations. Contact your instructor.” Support load heaviest at beginning of term
Access Policy Options
All authenticated users can access all content
Users can only access content on reserve for classes in which they are enrolled
Users who are enrolled in a class with reserve items can access all library content; “Personal reserves” can only be accessed by class members
Others…
Access Policy Determination
May require discussions with internal or external attorneys Changes to access policy rules require restarting server
software Some policy issues to consider
Who can access library content, from where, when? Classroom use Distance education use Recordings of institutional performances Instructor’s personal items or compilations Textbook companion recordings
Another reason why implementation planning needs to start early!
Variations Futures Have browser-based web application for player (using at Maryland, Miami,
maybe others) – will include this in the open source release before the Fall Have browser-based web application for access management – will add to
open source release before next Fall. Currently, access management is command line
Working to move more of the end-user tools to the browser (playlists, then scores)
Deploying web applications will require additional expertise in Tomcat and Java web application management.
Exploring hosted option this Spring – would like to be able to offer as an option
Are integrating DRAM (could have by Fall); would like to integrate CML and Naxos, but they won’t be interested until we have a large installed base
Browser-based search system w/mostly automated cataloging
Variations Sustainability Ideally, would have an independent
organization, “Variations Foundation”, where paid membership would provide influence over future feature development
Chicken and egg problem: need to have an adopter community of a certain size before an independent organization makes sense
Still exploring possible options and financial models. Test sites are committed to continuing with Variations, as is IU.
You can help us here!
Support Options
Self-support via open source IU will continue to update open source distribution IU will participate actively in the variations-discuss mailing list on
SourceForge
If enough institutions adopt Variations, 3rd party support or even hosting options could emerge; chicken & egg problem again
We are exploring options for paid support—you can help us figure out that equation!
Trying Out Variations
The new browser-based player:http://variations-host-dev.dlib.indiana.edu/demo-ui/Player.do?containerID=145587
Download and try out the Windows or Mac client application with a test database (2 recordings, 2 scores: search on Mahler, Beethoven, or Respighi):http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/variations3/tryout.html
We will resend these URLs when we send out webinar recording announcement
More Information
Variations Open Source Sitehttp://variations.sourceforge.net/
Variations Documentation Sitehttp://wiki.dlib.indiana.edu/confluence/display/V3/
Variations 3 project info:http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/projects/variations3/
Questions?