The New User Experience

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The New User Experience
Judy Levi Senior Product Analyst Ex Libris
Ltd. judy.levi_at_exlibris.co.il
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Whats happening in the library world?

• A look at library users needs and how we can
  support them

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Library systems serve two very different groups

• Librarians manage library collections and require
  specialized tools to handle processes such as
  acquisitions, cataloging, and budgetary
  control.

• Users are concerned with quick and
  easydiscovery and delivery.

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Existing library systems force users to utilize
multiple interfaces to locate and access
different types of resources
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Users gravitate towards easier-to-use vehicles
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Recent studies and discussions

• University of California Rethinking how we
  provide bibliographic services for the University
  of California, Dec. 2005 http//libraries.univers
  ityofcalifornia.edu/sopag/BSTF/Final.pdf
• OCLC Perceptions of Libraries and Information
  Resources (2005) http//www.oclc.org/reports/2005
  perceptions.htm
• LC report The Changing Nature of the Catalog
  and its Integration with Other Discovery Tools
  prepared by Karen Calhoun, Cornell University
  Library http//www.loc.gov/catdir/calhoun-report-f
  inal.pdf
• NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU A "Next generation"
  library catalog summarized by Eric Morgan
  http//litablog.org/2006/07/07/a-next-generation-l
  ibrary-catalog-executive-summary-part-1-of-5/

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What can we do about it?

• What library systems should be
• in order to support todays user
• requirements and expectations

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Meeting users needs the best of both worlds

• A single point of discovery
• Fast, simple and powerful search
• Did you mean?, ranking, guidance and
  recommendations
• Collaborative tools, social computing

Internet-world features...

• Quality relevant resources
• Rich sets of information
• Discovery is just a means access and delivery
  are the goals

...in a library user context
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Primo from discovery to delivery

• provide users with a single solution for the
  discovery and delivery of local and remote
  quality content books, journals, articles,
  images and other digital content

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The challenge

• Creating a new-generation, user-centric discovery
  and delivery interface relies on rich metadata
  that follows well-established standards.
• These new standards for resource description and
  access (RDA) and FRBR are now evolving, and we
  look forward applying their benefits.

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The challenge

• The end-user interface should hide the complexity
  of the metadata from the library patrons, yet use
  it to maximize the systems searching
  capabilities and the display of results.
• The interface should provide patrons with an
  environment which is easy to use, yet enables
  them to locate materials efficiently and
  accurately.

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The challenge

• current end-user services (OPAC, resource
  discovery, etc.) are tightly tied to back-office
  administrative applications.
• These applications often answer the needs of
  back-office management, rather than the needs of
  the end-user.

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The solution

• Create a new environment
• decouple the user experience layer from the
  librarys back-office functions, separating data
  creation and maintenance from discovery.

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How Primo addresses the unique needs of libraries
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Addressing library user needs

• Complete solution and unified user experience
  from discovery to delivery
• Discovery is a means to an end. Access and
  delivery are the goals.
• Primo provides up-to-date availability
  information.

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Built with the library in mind

• Leverages existing library systems with a
  built-in platform for harvesting local data
• Enables easy integration with local
  infrastructure and services
• e.g., authentication and authorizations of users,
  ILS and other delivery systems
• Features out-of-the-box consortia support
• Supports library standards
• e.g., MARC, OAI-PMH, OpenSearch, OpenURL,
  SRU/SRW, Z39.50

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More About the Primo Solution

• Architecture, the Publishing Platform,
  Administration

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The Publishing Platform

• Built-in functionality for
• Harvesting
• Normalization enrichment
• Administration control

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The Publishing Platform

• Harvesting
• Harvests the source records from multiple
  sources
• Print, digital, and electronic resources
• Out-of-the-box pipes
• Various ILS (ALEPH, SirsiDynix Unicorn, )
• Generic MARC, SFX KB, MetaLib KB, DigiTool
• Generic Dublin Core, PNX (Primo Normalized XML),
  and more
• Efficient methods for incremental updates
• Availability status
• Bibliographic information

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The Publishing Platform (cont.)

• Normalization Enrichment
• Creates the Primo Normalized XML records (PNX)
• Enriches the source data
• Detects duplicates and creates FRBRized groups

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Primo Timeline

• Jan 06 Started working on the Publishing
  Platform in partnership with HBZ
• May 06 Two additional partners in North America
• University of Minnesota
• Vanderbilt University
• Sept 06 Additional partner - a consortium of
  research libraries in Denmark (under DEFF,
  Denmarks Electronic Research Library)
• The Royal Library
• Technical Knowledge Centre of Denmark
• Aalborg University Library
• The Administrative Library

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Primo Timeline (cont.)

• Nov 06 Initiate Charter Customer Group
• Dec 06 Early Release
• Q1 2007 General Availability

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Primo addressing user expectations and library
needs

• Consolidates discovery and delivery of local and
  remote resources of all formats
• User-centered design built on existing library
  infrastructure
• Enables integration into the user context
• Enables institutions to define the level of
  discovery relevant to the user
• Capitalizes on the richness of library resources
  and helps expose hidden collections
• Built for libraries library standards,
  consortia,
• with libraries (development partners, charter
  program)