eLib Phase 3 projects: Announcement of Grant Offers
For Immediate Release
12 November, 1997
Contact: Chris Rusbridge
eLib Programme Office, University of Warwick Library 01203 524979
Building models for the future of the library: this is the theme of new
Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) projects announced today by Lynne
Brindley, Chair of the JISC's Committee for Electronic Information (CEI ).
The first two phases of the eLib programme have tackled many of the issues
confronting Higher Education libraries today as they struggle to cope with
increasing student numbers. The new programme puts these projects and
others together to find model ways to integrate print and the many diverse
electronic elements together. The programme also addresses the challenge
of the Dearing Report, which asks higher education to harness the network
and to develop electronic content collections in new ways responsive to
the needs of students and staff. Finally, one project addresses the need
to address long term preservation of digital information.
Anyone who has sat in a library searching several CD-ROM databases,
looking up on-line datasets, searching the library catalogue and the
shelves (in short, done any serious research!) will have suffered some of
the problems resulting from the independent development of different
technologies in libraries.
Five projects were agreed by the CEI, to tackle the task of integrating
these disparate library electronic resources with the traditional paper
and print resources. CEI calls these hybrid library projects rather than
electronic or digital library projects, to emphasise that future library
developments will not be solely digital, but must take account of the
continuing value of the huge print resource.
Academics interested in research in (or about) London, Scotland or
Yorkshire, or music resources can find it tediously difficult to find
which from the many libraries in their area have the books or journals
they are interested in.
Four further projects, also funded by the CEI aim to make the researcher's
life easier, by creating 'virtual union catalogues' in their geographic or
subject areas. These are pilot Large Scale Resource Discovery projects
aimed at pioneering this technology in the UK. The projects create
groupings of catalogues (affectionately known as clumps) which can be
searched as a whole, as individual catalogues or in various combinations.
The preservation of electronic information has been an increasing problem
for libraries for several years. Pilot projects overseas and locally
commissioned studies have shed some light on the difficulties libraries
will face, but the new project led by CURL will develop guidelines in the
UK context.
Lynne Brindley (Dean of Information Strategy and Librarian at the
University of Leeds) announced today that the CEI had agreed these 10
projects in Phase 3 of the successful Electronic Libraries Programme
(eLib). Phase 3 will last for up to 3 years from January, 1998, and the
projects agreed will cost over 6 million pounds, of which the CEI will
contribute just over 3.5 million pounds. Phase 3 builds on and integrates
many of the results of earlier eLib projects, but further projects and
services resulting directly from existing eLib projects will be announced
next year.
The hybrid library programme area
=================================
The list of hybrid library projects outlined below provides a
well-balanced programme. We have two projects which will establish clear
and transferable pieces of technology (HEADLINE and AGORA). There is one
institutional project (Birmingham) which builds on particular local
development activity. The MALIBU project will build a hybrid library for
the humanities. Finally, HYLIFE represents a new university project, with
a particular distributed focus and subject orientation.
Chris Rusbridge (eLib Programme Director) said "Real integration is the
theme for these projects. A student or researcher will be able to work
with a wide range of resources without constantly having to learn
different interfaces. The projects also build on a wide range of earlier
work, from eLib and elsewhere."
The large scale bibliographic resource discovery programme area
===============================================================
The bibliographic clump proposals from the M25 Group, Scotland and
Yorkshire explore different aspects of the problem of building virtual
union catalogues, and build on Funding Council MAN developments.
Successful completion of this programme area would provide clear
indicators of the applicability and limitations of Z39.50 in developing
real services. All projects should lead onto further value-added services
beyond resource discovery. The music clump will also demonstrate both a
subject approach and implementation in small institutions.
Lynne Brindley welcomed these projects as stepping stones to a virtual
union catalogue for UK Higher Education. "We are very pleased that the
British Library and a major public library are involved in these
projects," she said. "Once the principles are established and these clumps
are proven through practice, we will need to find ways to extend this
approach to cover all of UK Higher Education, and to build up coverage in
other library sectors as well."
Dr Malcolm Read, Secretary to JISC, noted that the three geographic clumps
were in areas covered by Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) developments
(also supported by Dearing). "These are the sort of value-added
developments which we always hoped the MAN initiatives would spawn", he
said.
The preservation project
========================
The project led by the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL,
contact Ms Clare Jenkins, LSE) and based on Cambridge, Leeds and Oxford
universities will explore many aspects of digital preservation. It will
include several pilots examining aspects of digital preservation, and will
develop guidelines and models, including recommendations for the long term
funding of digital preservation. Charles Oppenheim, Professor of
Electronic Library Research at De Montfort University commented "the
preservation of digital material presents challenges that are very
different from the preservation of paper-based material. This important
project will provide policy frameworks, economic models and technical
solutions to these challenges."
HYBRID LIBRARY PROJECTS
=======================
The Hybrid Library projects funded are:
UEA : AGORA (contact Dr David Baker, University of East Anglia)
The AGORA project builds on eLib experience in the EDDIS and NewsAgent
projects using Fretwell Downing software as a basis to build a hybrid
library software system which should be widely applicable.
Birmingham : BUILDER (contact Dr Clive Field)
The Birmingham project is largely institutional and Intranet-based, with
testing of components in other institutions.
LSE : HEADLINE (contact Ms Maureen Wade)
The HEADLINE project goes beyond resource discovery to resource access,
with an interesting user-centred, database-oriented approach.
UNN /UCLancs : HYLIFE (contact Dr Ian Winkworth, University of Northumbria
at Newcastle)
HYLIFE was created from two expressions of interest, and has preserved the
distinctive features of both. It has an interesting focus on a dispersed
user base. There is also a novel subject approach.
KCL : MALIBU (contact Mr Derek Law, King's College London)
The MALIBU project is broadly based in the humanities. It focuses on
strategic and user issues, including the critical management of change
issues identified by Dearing, and brings in a wide range of eLib and
international projects.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLUMP PROJECTS
============================
SCURL : CAIRNS (contact Mr Mark Denham, Glasgow University Library)
The project is exciting in some of its developments, particularly the
dynamic clumping based on conspectus-related data. This clump would be
large enough to stress test the scalability issues, and Scotland is well
enough connected through its MANs to support the traffic.
M25 group: M25 Link (contact Ms Jean Sykes, currently University of
Westminster)
This proposal led by the London School of Economics has a major emphasis
on serials because of its relationship with LAMDA. It will pilot the
clumps concept in 6 libraries covering most of the major systems
suppliers, and hopes to begin extending to other M25 libraries (in and
around London) by the end of the project.
YHUA : RIDING (contact Mr Peter Stubley, University of Sheffield)
The Yorkshire and Humberside proposal led by Sheffield includes all
Yorkshire's universities, and extends to non-HE resources including the
British Library components from the European UNIVERSE project, as well as
Leeds public library information services.
Trinity Conservatorium: Music Libraries Online (contact Ms Kate Sloss)
The music conservatories project (Music Libraries Online) is extremely
interesting and strategically important. It is the only subject bid
received, and contains very interesting elements related to management of
music performance sets (many multi-part), including the possibility of a
document delivery system based around eLib phase 1 document delivery
projects.
--
Chris Rusbridge
Programme Director, Electronic Libraries Programme
The Library, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Phone 01203 524979 Fax 01203 524981
Email [log in to unmask]
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