Improving the Linking World By Enhancing Knowledge Bases A Joint NISOUKSG Project

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Improving the Linking WorldBy Enhancing
Knowledge Bases-- A Joint NISO/UKSG Project

• Todd CarpenterManaging Director, NISO

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Where are we headed this morning?

• What it is a Knowledge Base?
• Some background about the NISO/UKSG Knowledge
  Base project
• What role they play in information distribution
• What problems exist in the supply chain
• Some recommendations and next steps
• Questions
• Thanks to UKSG and James Culling, SIS Lead
  author for much of this content

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What is NISO?

• NISO - National Information Standards
  Organization
• NISO is the only ANSI-accredited organization
  tasked with the development of standards in the
  field of Information and Documentation
• Work with publishers, libraries, agents and other
  systems vendors to develop community consensus
• Develop wide range of standards
• Paper permanence and steal shelving
• Accessibility issues
• Bibliographic formats and exchange
• OpenURL, Metasearch, SUSHI

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Knowledge Base Background

• OpenURL system developed in 1999
• Developed by Herbert Van de Sompel, Patrick
  Hochstenbach, and Oren Beit-Arie
• First Commercialized by ExLibris SFX in 2001
• Standardized by NISO as Z39.88 in 2004
• Providers structure for selecting appropriate
  copy of among digital content options
• Allows links between resources to be
  library-defined
• Does not depend solely on the linking services
  defined by the information providers or on a
  specific set of identifiers and/or
  communications protocols

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Framework for Knowledge Base Exchange
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UKSG Survey

• United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG) commissioned
  report in 2006
• Explore data flow of metadata into knowledge
  bases that underlie resolver systems
• Conducted by Scholarly Information Strategies
• Published in May 2007
• GOALS
• Understand the supply chain of information in
  knowledge bases
• Define what is not working well
• Consider methods for alleviating problems
  identified
• Consider alternative approaches
• Identify areas for further research
• Interviewed 30 suppliers, librarians, agents and
  publishers
• Online questionnaire responses from 118 librarians

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Populating the Knowledge Base

• The exchange of information that serves as the
  keystone of the entire linking process is not
  well understood
• Certainly not standardized
• How does information get from there to here?

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Link Resolver Suppliers Gather Data

• Metadata about titles, content packages and
  linking systems descriptions are made available
  to link resolver systems.
• Typically includes titles, coverage dates, etc,
  generally in delimited text format.
• Some data is pushed, some pulled

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Suppliers Create Knowledge Base

• Link resolver suppliers normalize data and
  compile it in proprietary database.
• Quality assurance layer
• Linking syntax programmed into software
• Additional value-add information
• added to knowledge base

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Suppliers Create Library Specific KB

• Link resolver suppliers distribute master
  knowledge base to library specific
  implementations.
• Frequency of updates to implementations vary
• Possible delays in library-hosted resolvers due
  to library IT staff

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Subscription Holding Data Gathered

• Maintaining the resolver, librarians collect
  holding data from internal systems
• (ILS, catalogues, A-Z lists, ERMS)
• Request downloads holding details from agents and
  publishers
• Might not be required where package details are
  common among all subscribers

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Library Adds Holdings Data to KB

• Standard packages are activated based on
  trusted data from resolver suppliers
• Compiled holdings data from other packages or
  resources is processed and normalized
• Holdings data is uploaded into localized
  knowledge base to form customized functioning KB

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Process of Exchanging Link Data
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Problems in the Process

• just because full-text finding tool vendors
  update their products regularly does not mean
  that the lists are actually up-to-date, because
  full-text finding tool vendors get updates from
  content providers who have various updating
  schedules and practices, and thus are of varying
  quality

Chen, X. Assessment of Full-Text Sources Used by
Serials Management Systems, OpenURL Link
Resolvers, and Imported E-Journal MARC Records.
Online Information Review 28.6 (2004) 428-434.
lthttp//dx.doi.org/10.1108/14684520410570553gt
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Issues and Barriers

• Lack of awareness Lack of cooperation
• Inaccurate incomplete data Content package
  issues
• Title changes and transfers Responsibility for
  data quality
• Lack of data standards Timing issues
• OpenURL issues and compliance Inbound linking
  problems
• Role of subscription agents in the process
• Broadening scope of the use of Knowledge Bases
• OPENURL COMPLIANCE ISNT
• KNOWLEDGE BASE COMPLIANCE

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Recommendations

• Create an organization to foster development of
  code of practice definitions
• Similar in structure to Project COUNTER
• Would manage best practices and issue compliance
  measures

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Code of Practice Compliance

• File format structure
• Mandatory fields and sequencing
• Content formats
• Frequency
• Collections mechanisms
• Package information hierarchy
• Documentation
• Syntax adherence

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Other Potential Solutions

• Web services - similar to ONIX SOH or SUSHI
  equivalent
• Exchange is only one problem
• Centralized Model
• Considered as a central repository for release
  and availability information
• Knowledge bases
• Suppliers are differentiated by the quality of
  their KB.

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Where does it stand?

• UKSG accepted the final report at their May board
  meeting
• Decided to pursue partnership with NISO in
  September
• Discovery to Delivery Topic Committee reviewing
  proposal
• Expect to charge Working Group
• Recruiting participants
• 18-24 month development cycle

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Working Group Charge

• Develop and publish guidelines for best practice
  to effect smoother interaction between members of
  the knowledge base supply chain.
• Provide educational events to address the roles
  of each party in the supply chain
• Create a centralized information portal
• Providers and their customers will benefit from
  higher quality data
• Publishers will benefit from accurate linking to
  their content and subsequently increased usage

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More Information

• UKSG Report
• http//www.uksg.org/projects/linkfinal
• Summary of UKSG presentation
• http//liveserials.blogspot.com/2007/04/framework-
  for-improving-link-resolver.html
• NISO - OpenURL
• http//www.niso.org/standards/resources/Z39_88_200
  4.pdf
• http//www.niso.org/standards/resources/OpenURL_FA
  Q.html
• OCLC - OpenURL Maintenance Agency
• http//alcme.oclc.org/openurl/servlet/OAIHandler?v
  erbListSets

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Thank you!

• Todd Carpenter, Managing Director
• tcarpenter_at_niso.org
• One North Charles Street
• Suite 1905
• Baltimore, MD 21201 USA
• [phone]
• [phone]
• www.niso.org