Hectic Pace

Renaissance Geek

2009-06-24T01:04:26Z

Last week, I addressed a group of librarians about cloud computing trends, web-scale, and how OCLC plans to apply them to library management systems and services. One of the thematic questions before I took the podium was whether libraries are entering a renaissance period. That discussion might have been more interesting had the previous topic not been the very sorry state of library funding.

As I am always inclined, I tried to mix the topics all together. A few folks asked me to reproduce my brief remarks, so I will attempt that here.

Technology applications makes for a boring topic in comparison to state funding, the indispensible nature of libraries, and a pending or impossible library renaissance. But my interest in this space--the very reason I became a systems librarian, for spending the last decade as a "practical advocate" for next-generation library automation--is the opportunity to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.

If "scale" is the theme, then the challenge is to use technology and technological platforms not only to consolidate services and make them more efficient, but also to create the capacity for libraries to concentrate their efforts on first principles and their collaboartive ethic. Put simply, and without implying mutual exclusivity:

Disciplinary support and collection-building in academic libraries
Physical space, local touch, education, and reader services in public libraries
From planting the seeds of reading to the first taste of the fruits of research in school libraries

Could there be more proof that libraries are indispensible? If you're willing to believe Wikipedia (gasp!), then renaissance can mean a rebellion against teaching and learning based on classical sources. Consider thinking less of the output of the time period and what was required to create those outputs. So, yes, I would say we are entering a renaissance.

I hope it does not seem like a non-sequitur to encourage everyone to "get your geek on" to help libraries into their renaissance. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting this effort to raise community-based awareness and support for libraries.

I think due to the altruistic nature of our profession, we're sometimes a little too good at telling our sob stories and not as good as telling our success stories. Getting our geek on from community-to-community will give libraries a great advocacy opportunity, in a way that, frankly, rebels against classical teaching and learning. I didn't realize it at first, but I geek a good renaissance.

Working Furiously and Happily

2009-06-05T00:29:52Z

Six weeks goes by fast. Yes, it's been six weeks since OCLC announced WorldCat Local "quick start" as the first step toward a web-scale, cooperative library management service. Not only does that six weeks represent two full iterations of agile development for the three main web-scale components--circulation, print and licensed acquisitions, and license management--it's also been several interviews, speaking engagements, and lots of pressing product management work.

One of the things I'm asked repeatedly is to explain the distinctions of OCLC's effort in this space. Here they are, taken directly from my powerpoints, listed as succinctly as possible, but with some attempt at further explanation:

A Web-based platform for all basic library management functionality

That is, it's completely web-accessible. Not browser-based; no massive plugin or extension downloads. It's not "web-technology based." It's web-based.

Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increased efficiency through a unified management platform for all types of materials, regardless of format or method of acquisition

If we had it to do over again, would print and licensed acquisitions be so completely separate? Would vendors and licensors be separate lists? Would it be so hard to cross-train on library management systems?

A flexible and customizable workflow platform

I've complained before about all the "twiddly bits" that libraries like to tweak on local systems. I feel strongly that much of this customization replaces what libraries really want--a service that allows libraries to define and/or select the processes (made up of tasks and activities) that define their workflows.

Network effects by sharing applications and data between libraries

Cloud computing is essentially about sharing applications in a web-based scalable way. This is hardly new for libraries that subscribe to databases and ejournals. It is fairly new when it comes to running applications. But libraries also have another tool at their disposal--cooperation. Copy cataloging, resource sharing, and a strong ethos of cooperation position libraries to take advantage of cloud computing in ways that few other industries or organizations would embrace. The potential for building "cooperative intelligence" tools for libraries out of the shared data and shared ethos is nearly staggering. WorldCat Collection Analysis is a fantastic tool, but it is also just he tip of the iceberg.

Concentrated data registries and repositories

Web-scale is not only about high transaction rates. It's about what Tim O'Reilly refers to as one of the major (missed) themes of Web 2.0--providing access to best-of-class data. Chris Anderson goes even further, writing, "The Web is all about scale, finding ways to attract the most users for centralized resources, spreading those costs over larger and larger audiences as the technology gets more and more capable."

A Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) for interoperability with local environments and 3rd party business process systems (e.g., financial management, HR systems, and course management)

The services are being developed with full cognizance that libraries and organizations must interact with business process systems other than library management systems. That is, not only does library software require interoperability with other library software (e.g., self-check, receipt printers, EDIFACT), it also requires interaction with other enterprise solutions like financial management and HR. A service-oriented approach to the development, in combination with the OCLC Developers' Network empowers libraries to build, share, and maintain the interoperability they need.

Have no illusions that even a fantastic team (which I am happy to say is what I have) cannot do this alone. It will take a group of professionals that share and understand the vision and even more folks in the trenches guiding and facilitating the development of a next-generation of library management services. And these are the next steps--the assembly of a Library Advisory Council to help with the overall strategy, and the selection of test / pilot sites to ensure the proper functionality is developed.

Stay tuned.

Web-scale Blogging

2009-05-08T17:00:00Z

This week I had the good fortune to participate in a Talk with Talis with Richard Wallis. I can't quite tolerate listening to the sound of my own voice, but I hope others will give it a listen.

One of the questions he asked me was about OCLC's use of the term 'web-scale' (often hyphenated as a compound adjective, and not hyphenated otherwise, but I am now erring toward hyphen consistency). Some have referred to it as synonymous with 'the web', however, I think there is a distinction that those more familiar with the history and state of library automation can better appreciate.

The sad truth is that most locally deployed inventory management systems are not built for massive scalability. This is partly the nature of the the age of the pre-web technology on which these systems were built, and partly the fact that a solution built to scale to hundreds or thousands of libraries was simply never within the defined scope of library management systems.

So, from the perspective of library automation, "web-scale management services" is an important distinction--as important as the cooperative nature for which the web-scale solution is built.

So, okay, that was not a very technical explanation. Never send a product manager to do an engineer's job. Thankfully, we can turn to the inaugural post of "OCLC Engineering" to help clarify Web-scale. Thank you, Mike Teets!

In case you didn't realize it, OCLC Engineering is not just one of a dozen OCLC blogs, covering everything from products, research, and various musings of OCLC bloggers!

A Week at Web-Scale

2009-05-01T21:10:07Z

I've had a great time this week, talking to media and bloggers, tweeting, talking to colleagues in libraries, and engaging the community towards OCLC's new Web-scale effort. The amount of energy and curiosity around this new effort is amazing. The cooperative nature of this profession makes this effort worthwhile. I'm looking forward to the opportunities in the months ahead to share more details and gather more reaction to the web-scale management services strategy. More specific details on my project are forthcoming, on this blog, and on the OCLC Product Works page. I'm convinced that it will be some time before the fun stops.

And now for something completely different

2009-04-23T17:45:40Z

Five years ago, I wrote an article for Library Journal about "Dismantling the System." At the end of that article, I suggested that it would be necessary for us to dismantle systems so that we could rebuild them. Of course, I left out how exactly we should do that.

Now it's time to be more explicit about what I have been up to for the last 15 months. I've been pretty busy listening to the library community, trying to put their views into a strategy, and creating something new that I hope will represent a real sea-change for libraries and the OCLC cooperative.

If you haven't seen it already, I would encourage you to take a look at OCLC's latest press release. It announces an exciting strategic direction for OCLC and its members and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. OCLC is extending the WorldCat Local platform to include circulation and delivery, print and electronic acquisitions, and license management components. A quick start version of WorldCat Local--available at no additional charge to FirstSearch WorldCat subscribers--is a first step to WorldCat Local and to a truly next-generation cooperative library management service.

Library testing of the circulation component of the web-scale management service will begin this summer, with other components to follow in phases. Initial pilot libraries will be named soon. An advisory council is in the works to help guide the development and rollout of this new solution. You're invited to follow details of the project and I encourage everyone out there to use the comments section of this post to submit their thoughts, questions, ideas, and opinions.

Five years after I advocated dismantling library management systems, I am confident that using web-scale architectures and a cooperative service model are the right way to put things back together again. The OCLC cooperative is not only uniquely positioned to provide this solution, it is part of our obligation to libraries.

HIbernation's Over

2009-04-17T20:15:23Z

Okay, I'll admit it. I miss the occasional 70 degree days in January in Raleigh, NC. It's fair to say that Ohio doesn't really have any of those. I do, however, prefer snow storms to ice storms, Canada Geese to mosquitoes, and Graeter's ice cream to just about anything.

But one of he most exciting events that happens in a central Ohio Spring is the end to the Winter's hibernation. Dormant neighborhood streets are suddenly filled with kids on bikes, excited pets, and families squinting at the sun like bears emerging from caves. People start eating outside, running errands at lunch, and the extra daylight makes non-work time all the more glorious.

I think today is that day. Everyone I work with is great, but today the smiles were bigger, the jocularity was funnier, and the "spring" in people's steps seemed a little bouncier I think the water even tasted better.

Next comes the energy and excitement that I always have an easier time equating with Springtime. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Overdue Stimulation

2009-04-01T10:30:00Z

In a move that is still resonating throughout the library community, the Obama Administration announced that it would be granting nation-wide amnesty to library patrons with overdue books and fines. What this means for the financial bottom line in libraries remains uncertain. One thing's for sure--libraries won't hear the cha-ching of the circulation desk cash drawer for some time to come.

"Libraries already have a tough time collecting these fines," commented an Administration official who added, "Getting Americans to spend that money in stores will certainly do more to stimulate the economy."

Neither the American Library Association nor any of its divisions had a prepared statement in reaction to this bold move by Obama's team. One insider commented that the impact of millions of dollars stimulating book stores and coffee shops would have an equally detrimental impact on story times, book clubs, and the millions of job-seekers around the country.

While aggregate totals are difficult to come by, some large county and municipal ibrary systems can be expected to collect over seven figures in library fines. It's estimated that as much as 9% of public library budgets come from fines (from a 2006 IMLS Survey). Academic libraries, on the other hand, report major declines in fine revenues due to the fact that college students don't really read paper-based books anymore.

Finally, some opposition talk show hosts are already postulating that this mass forgiveness of fines might have a dark underbelly, raising questions about the library fines of certain donors to the Obama-Biden presidential campaign. Rep. Lew Rosnec (R-VA) is already calling for a Congressional probe into the library records of thousands of Obama supporters, a move that is sure to be challenged by the ALA and library patrons across the country.

It's still not clear when libraries will be allowed to start charging fines again. One silver lining to the plan could actually bring millions of people (and milliions of books) back to libraries after years of fearing the punitive nature of the dreaded overdue fine.

I Gave Up Blogging for Lent

2009-03-13T11:37:52Z

No, not really. A recent comment to an old post made me realize (as I have for weeks) that I have nothing but old posts on which people can comment. Sigh.

As it often is, travel is my latest excuse. This quarter I have been to Denver, the UK, Seattle, Lawrence (KS), and as I write this I am sitting in the airport on my way to Chicago. Next up: Munich, Indiana, and Boston. Fine trips all of them, and I have a list of blog topics as long as my arm, but exhaustion never sets in as heavily as it does after a long trip and a glance over at the closed up laptop.

So I will try to revel in the time that I have had to actually do some hard work and connect with OCLC colleagues around the world and library colleagues around the States. I must revel in the briefer moments I have had with my family in the last couple of months.

So maybe I could have gotten away with a secular Lenten excuse...giving up something I like and (used to) do frequently for more thoughtful reflection. That long list of topics just has to wait for the rebirth that comes with Spring.

I hope that you good readers will forgive another metablog (blogging about blogging). I will get back to business soon.

Unique is a Strong Word

2009-01-27T17:24:44Z

I promised a follow-up on the RMG session at ALA, but rather than give a blow-by-blow account (done nicely by Leonard Kniffel already), I thought I would single out one part of the conversation.

I am a lover of language, though I am often careless myself. I bite my tongue at grammatical errors or poor language usage. But I am bothered more by the use of words that violates the spirit but not the law of vocabulary and grammar. Repeated superlatives annoy me. More than one exclamation point per page should never survive editing. Given the word's roots in crucifixion, I cringe at the loose usage of "excruciating" to describe the most trivial personal trial.

So that is why I was dismayed to hear one of the library automation CEOs on Rob McGee's RMG panel describe each of his customers as "unique." It is this kind of thinking, I believe, that could be detrimental to true innovation in libraries.

I'm not suggesting that libraries are not unique--a mixture of staff, skills, collections, geography, and patrons makes for a distinctive offering. But remember, the panel was talking about re-inventing the integrated library system. Is a circulation transaction unique? Is the act of buying a book unique? Is each catalog record unique (or more likely, does it need to be)?

This is, of course, a shared problem. Locally installed systems with infinite configurability tempt libraries to strive for uniqueness where they shouldn't and cause vendors to create more and more incremental (and expensive) changes to commodity systems that support the least distinctive workflows in library management.

eBay or Amazon do what they can to create unique experiences for customers, but once we click that "purchase" button, we are all a credit card number and address. Imagine the custom offerings libraries could be making if the focus shifted from configuring and explaining what should be industrialized processes to the things that make them truly unique.

From the Field: RMG

2009-01-23T21:20:10Z

It's Friday afternoon at ALA, so of course I am at annual RMG session hosted by library consultants Rob McGee and Pat McClintock. I'd be lying if I denied that a big part of me would rather be at the OCLC Symposium where David Weinberger and Nova Spivak are speaking.

This has to be an all-time record for number of people on the RMG panel (or any panel for that matter). Ten library automation representatives (including my boss, Robin Murray, Vice President of Global Product Management) and a panel of 5 library innovaters. Forty minutes in and the introductions are over.

A few years ago at this session, I accused the panel of CEOs of not innovating enough. A charge that none of them was ready to answer at the time. This was before next-gen catalogs, the uptake of open source management systems, and better business intelligence tools. 4 years later, I'm pleased to see a few major changes in the makeup of the session, which now includes some open source vendors and a group of library practitioners. I'm not sure 15 people and 3 hours is the best way to go, but traditions change slowly.

I will do my best to synthesize what I hear here in a follow-up post.

So what?

2009-01-13T21:30:14Z

Whether or not I had young children, I think my favorite movie line would still be from Mary Poppins, where the father, George Banks says to his wife, "Winnifred, please! Kindly do not cloud the issue with facts."

I've been thinking lately about "business intelligence"--the other "BI" that isn't Bibliographic Instruction (if I start blogging about Bibliographic Instruction, please shoot me). My simplistic version of this is how do libraries turn simple reports in actual business intelligence? From a technical standpoint, I have one answer--include more network effect into the data, e.g. how many libraries have this book? or how much budget does this other peer library have in their physical sciences budget? But from a philosophical standpoint, this is much harder. I call it the "so what" question.

Vendor: So, you're ERM will tell you which titles you can transmit via ILL and what your pay per use is based on those integrated COUNTER statistics.

Librarian (to vendor): cool.

Librarian (to library): so what?

Maybe I won't cancel that serial title ever. Maybe that publisher will never change its mind about resource sharing. Are we clouding the issue with facts?

A report is just a report. Doing something with it makes it business intelligence. When you gather all the information, so what? Or, to drop another movie quote I love, I will use Sean Connery from The Untouchables. Delivered with a dying breath, "What are you prepared to do?"

Dewey the Decimal Maker

2008-12-18T22:00:42Z

(sung to the tune of Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer)

You know Dana and Dempsey

and Avram and Nutter.

S.R. and Putnam

and Berman and Cutter.

But do you recall

The most famous librarian of all?

Dewey the Decimal Maker

had a healthy love of tens.

He saw the scattered book shelves

through his metric decimal lens.

All of the other book worms

still liked keeping books on chains.

They knew a book's location--

kept it locked up in their brains.

Then one fateful shelving day

a cataloger caught the bug

Dewey with your decimal scheme

1-3-5-point-3 is "why I dream."

Now all librarians love him

for sorting a book, film, or kit.

Dewey the Decimal Maker

He can make the whole world fit.

------------------------------------------------

Happy Holidays everyone.

For previous Hectic Pace Christmas parodies, see:

The Grump Who Stole Libraries (2006)

Twas the Night Before Migration (2007)

The Happiest Place on Earth

2008-12-05T16:50:17Z

Nope, I'm not talking about the blogosphere. I actually just got back from my first famliy trip to Disney World since I was 12 years old. It was a great place to spend Thanksgiving, actually. Since my return, and given the dearth of blogs posts on Hectic Pace lately, I have been seeking some sort of meaningful metaphor for libraries out of the experience.

I know that at some point there were libraries out there signing up for the Disney cutomer service training. But I somehow can't really picture all librarians shaving their facial hair, smiling all the time, and ending every transaction with "Have a magical day."

No, what struck me at Disney was how amazingly efficient everything was. There is rarely any confusion about what direction to go; rather than wait, I can FastPass my rides to schedule my return; one card granted me access to all the parks, my hotel room, my dining plan, and would even charge purchases to my room. And when I used that card for dining, I didn't get an uninterested swipe and a smile...almost every time, I got a new piece of advice on how to maximize the value of the service.

Spending 5 days at Disney might just be like a circle of Hell to some people, and I thought it might be for me. What made it less so, I suspect, was the hassle-free efficiency of the experience.

Maybe the hassle-free part didn't remind me of libraries (or most certainly, library systems), but one thing did remind me of libraries. There was a lot of new stuff at Disney, including 2 parks that didn't even exist the last time I was there. But I had happy flshbacks to all the things that had not changed at all--the teacups, haunted mansion, and Peter Pan's flight. It was as if they had not changed at all in nearly 30 years. It was comforting--the way the things that have not changed about libraries is comforting.

I've been spening a lot of work time on business models that reduce cost and the technolgies needed to propel libraries out of the 20th century. Maybe efficiency and comfort should be the new gold standard.

Bring Out Your Dead

2008-11-04T03:37:39Z

Yes, I am still here. I have plenty of good excuses for not blogging lately, but not many good reasons.

3 trips in 2 weeks, including one to Germany
Near obsessive-compulsive You-tube and election coverage watching in what was left of my spare time
Actual time spent reading what others are writing

Monty Python's "Bring out your dead" scene from The Holy Grail.

In that last category of what others are writing, I could not help but notice the gem that appeared in Wired Magazine declaring that blogs are now dead.

Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug.
Writing a weblog today isn't the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge.

It made me think of Monty Python...."I'm not dead yet." There's a lot to agree with in this essay, and with some of the commentary out there. As a lover of compromise, I like to think that perhaps this simply raises the bar on bloggers, myself included.

Library Bailout

2008-10-07T13:41:37Z

It's always fun to hear a story about libraries on NPR, and the latest one is no exception. But I was a bit puzzled by the title: "Libraries Shine in Tough Economic Times." First of all, libraries shine all the time. It's just that some people don't notice it until $40 seems like too much to pay for a book club meeting where you barely discuss the book. Secondly, the bustling business that libraries do in harder economic times is usually followed by harder economic times for libraries themselves. This boom of library demand is likely to be followed (sometimes quickly followed) by a shortage of resources in the library. By the time the public is asked to vote on that bond referendum, it could be too late.

So, I am a library technologist. A product developer. An obsessive-compulsive efficiency guy who is starting to believe that if the Web cannot give it to me better, faster, and cheaper, I don't want it. I want Facebook and LinkedIn, not a rolodex and a pile of business cards. I want online banking and a key fob, not paper statements and an ATM. I want software on demand and authoritative data stores. And I want it better, faster, and cheaper.

I'm going to assume that very little of the financial bailout will trickle down to libraries. Where will we get our bailout when there's a run on libraries? How can we reduce our total cost of ownership of technology, materials, and library workflows? How do we get better, faster, and cheaper?