Interoperability Across Digital Library Programmes We Must Have QA

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Interoperability Across Digital Library
Programmes? We Must Have QA!
Acknowledgements The author wishes to acknowledge
the contributions made to the QA Focus project by
the team members at UKOLN and AHDS and to JISC
for funding the project. Particular thanks are
given to Marieke Guy Amanda Closier (UKOLN),
Hamish James Gareth Knight (AHDS) and Rachel
Bruce Balviar Notay (JISC)

• Brian Kelly
• UKOLN
• University of Bath
• Bath

Email B.Kelly_at_ukoln.ac.uk URL http//www.ukoln
.ac.uk/qa-focus/
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About This Paper
Background

• This paper
• Reviews traditional approaches to the support
  infrastructure for digital library programmes
• Describes an approach based on a quality
  assurance methodology
• Reviews the JISC-funded QA Focus project
• Outlines the potential for use of this approach
  by other digital library programmes

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About UKOLN
Background

• UKOLN
• A national centre of expertise in digital
  information management
• Based at the University of Bath
• Funded by JISC (Joint Information Systems
  Committee), MLA (Museums, Libraries and Archives
  Council) to support the higher further
  education communities cultural heritage sector
• Long-standing involvement in the support of
  digital library programmes including
• JISCs eLib programme (from mid 1990s) and
  current Information Environment programmes
• The NOF-digitise programme for digitising
  cultural heritage resources

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Support For Digital Library Programmes

• The approaches taken in JISCs digital library
  programmes includes
• Use of open standards to ensure interoperability,
  wide accessibility and long term access to
  resources
• Advice provided by funders covering reporting
  processes, project management, evaluation,
  sustainability,
• Peer support infrastructure implemented to
  support sharing collaboration (e.g. mailing
  lists for techies)
• No formal checking of compliance with technical
  standards and best practices

Digital Library programmes
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Comments

• A lack of formal compliance checking
• Sensible in eLib days when standards still being
  developed (Gopher anybody)
• Nowadays
• Web and XML acknowledged as key technologies
• Were no longer building self-contained solutions
• Interoperability is key
• Funders seek to ensure deliverables can be
  repurposed
• But
• Is a formal compliance checking service
  appropriate?

Digital Library programmes
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NOF-digitise Experience

• NOF-digitise
• Lottery-funded programme to digitise cultural
  heritage resources
• Technical advice provided by UKOLN and AHDS
• Compliance checking provided by BECTa
• Comments
• Formal compliance checking probably needed due to
  lack of experience by many projects
• Compliance checking can be expensive
• Compliance may be regarded as being imposed
• Importance of open standards may not be embedded
  within organisations
• Approach is alien to culture within HE

NOF-digi TAS Web site
Digital Library programmes
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QA Focus
QA Focus

• JISC
• Issued ITT for a Digitisation and QA Focus post
  to support JISCs 5/99 programme in 2001
• Remit to develop QA methodology to ensure project
  deliverables interoperable, accessible,
• QA Focus
• UKOLN and TASI proposal accepted by JISC
• After first year provided by UKOLN and AHDS
• 1 FTE split across two services
• Built on UKOLNs AHDSs experiences with
  NOF-digi Technical Advisory Service
• Addressed various technical areas including
• Digitisation ? Web / Access ? Metadata
• Software ? Service Deployment ? ...

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A QA Approach
QA Focus

• The approach taken by QA Focus was developmental
• Seek to ensure projects understand importance of
  open standards
• Encourage a culture of sharing experiences and
  best practices
• Appreciate difficulties projects may experience
  in implementing standards and best practices
• Develop a self-assessment approach for monitoring
  compliance
• Publish brief focussed advice for projects
• Commission case studies from projects

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QA Methodology
Deliverables

• We developed a light-weight QA methodology based
  on documented policies systematic compliance
  checking

Policy  Web Standards Standard XHTML 1.0 and
CSS 2.0 Architecture Use of SSIs and text
editor Exceptions Automatically-derived files
Checking Use ,validate after update Audit
Trail Use ,rvalidate monthly for reports
Mechanisms should be implemented to ensure the
policy is being implemented. Findings may be used
in-house, shared with peers or (possibly)
reported to steering groups, funders, etc.
Example of lightweight checking tool append
,tool to URL
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Selection of Standards
Deliverables

• Standards are important but may be immature, fail
  to take off, difficult to deploy, difficult to
  select,
• Ideology Or Pragmatism? Open Standards And
  Cultural Heritage Web Sites describes an
  approach for the selection of standards

A checklist for selection of standards has been
developed An online toolkit version of the
checklist is also available
Our work has informed a JISC study on open
standards which will report shortly
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Other Resources
Deliverables

• We have also produced
• Over 70 briefing documents
• Over 30 case studies
• A simple online toolkit which can help projects
  in ensuring they have addressed appropriate best
  practices

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Embedding QA In JISC Calls
Deliverables

• QA In New JISC Programmes
• JISC requesting that projects address QA in new
  calls
• Elearning Tools Programme (ETools)
• Project Quality Plan template provided to
  projects
• Addresses selection of standards, policy on open
  source, software quality assurance procedures,
• QA is now being embedded in JISC development work
• Service Deployment Of QA Focus Resources
• QA Focus Web site will continue to be hosted
• QA Focus resources will have persistent URL
• Content of published resources (intend for use by
  others) will not change significantly

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What Next?
What Next?

• QA Focus project funding finished on 31 July 2004
• Plans for the future
• Seeking further funding to develop methodology in
  more depth in other areas (e.g. metadata, service
  deployment, )
• We intend to maintain existing resources as part
  of our core work activities
• We will seek to embed QA in our working practices
• We intend to support QA approaches across other
  communities (e.g. FE HE, wider HE museums,
  libraries archives)
• We intend to make QA Focus resources available
  under a Creative Commons licence

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QA For Other Digital Library Programmes
What Next?

• Nightmare Scenario
• Digital Library programmes in UK, EU, USA,
  built on open standards (XML, DC, OAI, )
• But standards not implemented correctly or
  consistently leading to problems
• QA Across Digital Library Programmes
• There is a need for QA in order to ensure
  interoperability
• QA methodology developed by QA Focus seems
  appropriate for international DL community
• QA Focus encourages other DL programmes to may
  use of QA Focus methodology and resources
• Please contact B.Kelly_at_ukoln.ac.uk for info

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Questions

• Any questions?

Further Information The QA Focus Web site is
available at lthttp//www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/gt Se
e the Documents ? Papers area for other
papers See the Documents area for Briefing
Documents and Case Studies See the Toolkit area
for the online toolkits