DLSC Proposal¡XDiscoverLibrary Implementation Project
May 2008
Summary/Abstract
DiscoverLibrary, based on version 1.7 of Primo by Ex Libris, began a ¡§soft roll-out¡¨ over the spring break of 2008. As we move toward more fully integrating DiscoverLibrary into our production environment, the need arises for a group to deal with the tasks associated with the formal roll out of the production version of Primo. The initial charge for this group would cover one year. At the end of one year, the DLSC will evaluate its status and effectiveness, with an option to converting it to an ongoing operational maintenance effort.
Timeline
- April 2008 „³ April 2009
- Completion of formal roll out: Summer 2008.
- April 2009 evaluate for conversion to ongoing maintenance group.
Statement of Need
DiscoverLibrary will become one of the major access points for our resources. It is critical that it be integrated as smoothly and seamlessly as possible with the library¡¦s web presence and other existing services. While development on Primo is an ongoing effort, it is both feasible and useful to split the tasks of implementation in the production environment from those involved with continuing development of the product.
This project team will deal with such issues as:
- Development of a richer set of help pages localized for our implementation.
- Development of text and links for the ¡§Haven¡¦t found what you¡¦re looking for?¡¨ section that is displayed below search results.
- Evaluation of options in the ¡§suggested new searches¡¨ area.
- Evaluation of links out to Google, Worldcat, etc., and opportunities to link out to other related catalogs (Kudzu, Athena).
- Further usability testing to determine whether terminology used is meaningful and placement of options is visible and clear (e.g., is it clear how to renew a book?)
- Evaluation of the clarity of locations for finding physical items.
- Maintain consistency with the library¡¦s web presence over time.
- Further develop user feedback communications channels to help refine the service.
- Track and analyze use statistics. Deliver analysis on a regular (quarterly?) basis to DLSC and S&P.
- Assist RSC and others, as needed, to develop appropriate instructional materials.
- Investigate and recommend improvements to delivery options
- Coordinate with Collections, RSC, and Metadata additions of pipes (e.g., Global Music Archives, Art in the Christian Tradition, etc.).
- Work with ongoing development teams to upgrade version(s) as they become available.
Other issues may arise in the course of the team¡¦s work, these should be brought to the attention of the DLSC, when needed, to determine if they are in/out of scope.
The Primo platform, with a range of web services, provides new challenges compared to our traditional ILS. It is not possible, nor particularly desirable, to have one group manage or control all access and uses of the platform. For example, it may be useful to have subject area specialists create dynamic web pages that use RSS and web services from DiscoverLibrary or to have other web sites and/or portals embed DiscoverLibrary services. Directly managing such uses would not be within the scope of this project team¡Xalthough cooperation with and encouraging development of such uses would be.
Project Champion/owner
The project owner is the Digital Library Steering Committee, which will coordinate with other committees as needed.
Project leader/coordinator
Dale Poulter.
Documentation and Reporting
The project leader will report project activities to the DLSC as significant policy issues arise and will maintain a record of changes to this service. The leader will also report results of evaluation/assessment measurements for this project.
Other Personnel involved/required
(suggested)
Deborah Lilton Hilary Craiglow Chris Benda Tao You Mary Charles Lasater Ann Ercelawn Julie Loder (ERL) Jodie Gambill Joell Smith-Borne Jon Erickson Steven Nordstrom
Additional members may be appointed to provide experience with this service or with project team participation. The project leader can also call on individuals within the libraries who already have responsibility for maintaining services related to this project.
Related Project(s):
Ongoing Primo Development project. The Collections committee evaluates and approves additional pipes. Metadata and the Normalization team may be called on to assist in creation of additional pipes.
Budget
No additional funding needs are anticipated for this project at this time.
Assessment
This project is intended to raise the visibility and increase the use of DiscoverLibrary, as well as develop more seamless integration with the library¡¦s web presence. Therefore, the team will need to develop appropriate evaluation and assessment tools. Minimally, the usage statistics for the service should indicate increased use of DiscoverLibrary and usability studies should show that patrons are able to use the service effectively and are able to transfer skills developed at similar sites (e.g., Amazon) easily to DiscoverLibrary.