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The Agora hybrid library project

The Agora hybrid library project. Rosemary Russell, UKOLN (UK Office for Library and Information Networking) Agora Communications Coordinator. UKOLN:. a national focus of expertise in network information management policy, research, awareness digital libraries web technologies

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The Agora hybrid library project

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  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. Today’s presentation: • background - eLib • what Agora’s 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. Agora’s 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: <http://hosted.ukoln.ac.uk/agora/> • email:r.russell@ukoln.ac.uk • subscribe to agora-project@mailbase.ac.uk to receive monthly bulletins

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