The Agora hybrid library project

1
The Agora hybrid library project

• Rosemary Russell, UKOLN (UK Office for Library
  and Information Networking)
• Agora Communications Coordinator

2
UKOLN

• a national focus of expertise in network
  information management
• policy, research, awareness
• digital libraries
• web technologies
• public library networking
• funded by
• Higher Education Funding Councils
• The British Library
• Projects

3
Todays presentation

• background - eLib
• what Agoras about
• information landscapes
• architecture
• some issues
• the future

4
Agora is funded by eLib...

• The Electronic Libraries Programme
• higher education
• c.70 projects (1994- )
• development rather than research
• phases 1 and 2 - 15 million
• phase 3 (1998-2000)
• clumps (4 projects)
• digital preservation (1 project)
• hybrid libraries (5 projects)

5
What is a hybrid library?

• a library
• provides managed access to
• local and remote resources
• print and electronic
• mixed media (images, video...)
• seamless integration
• user-centred

6
Agora

• a place of assembly or market place
• libraries will continue to organise the places
  (physical or virtual) where users and information
  products are brought together

7
Agoras aim

• To explore issues of distributed, mixed media
  information management based on an open
  standards-based platform. This includes
  developing the scalability, enabling
  infrastructure and change-management tools for
  successful widespread dissemination and
  implementation throughout the community

8
Agora consortium members

• University of East Anglia
• UKOLN
• CERLIM, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Fretwell-Downing Informatics

9
Agora associates

• libraries
• University of East Anglia
• University of Hull
• Heriot Watt University
• Bath Spa University College
• service providers
• systems developers

10
Agora development

• developing a Hybrid Library Management System
  (HLMS) to integrate
• discovery
• location
• requesting
• delivery

11
Agora framework

• based on MODELS concepts
• a layer of services or middleware which will
  shield the user from complexity, heterogeneity
  and repetitive processes
• open standards - Z39.50, ISO ILL, HTTP Whois,
  RDF, XML
• metadata

12
Broker architecture
User access points (web browsers)
User access
Hybrid Library Management System
Applications framework Service description and
mapping
Distributed service access
Local library catalogue
Network CDs
Subject gateways
Electronic documents
ILL systems
Hybrid library system component examples
13
Information landscapes

• a way of presenting different views of
  information resources to users, according to
  interests and needs
• simple - set of web links to resources
• sophisticated - matching
• user profiles
• collection/service descriptions
• access privileges

14
Progress to date

• prototype (August 98)
• evaluation
• system specification
• requirements catalogue
• prioritisation
• developing integrated communications environment

15
Some issues...

• hybrid datasets
• no common attributes
• no common data structures
• multi-level records (archives)
• implementors agreement needed?
• agreed subset of attribute mappings
• sorting and deduplication
• non-Z39.50 searchable resources
• collection description

16
The future

• Agora Release 1 (Aug 1999)
• installation and evaluation
• support material
• dissemination
• expansion of library associate group
• refine specification
• Agora Release 2 (Aug 2000)

17
Further info

• Agora web pages lthttp//hosted.ukoln.ac.uk/agora/
  gt
• emailr.russell_at_ukoln.ac.uk
• subscribe to agora-project_at_mailbase.ac.uk to
  receive monthly bulletins