Collections, services, and interoperability in the information environment Minerva Project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July 2002 Pete Johnston UKOLN, University of Bath Bath, BA2 7AY UKOLN is supported by:

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Collections, services, and interoperability Collections & services The information environment vision Standards for the information environment Draws heavily on work of Andy Powell and Liz Lyon (UKOLN) on Architecture for JISC Information Environment

Collections & services

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Collections Collection –“an aggregation of one or more items” Aggregations of, e.g. –physical items –natural objects: fossils, mineral samples… –created objects: documents, artefacts, records… –digital items –digital resources: documents, images, multimedia objects, data, software, “learning objects”… –digital metadata records: MARC, DC, IMS/LOM, CLDs… Various criteria for aggregation, e.g. –location, type/form of item, provenance of item, source/ownership of item, nature of item content

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Services Service –“the provision of, or system of supplying, one or more functions of interest to an end user or software application” Informational services –provide access to items and/or collections –e.g. a library, a Web site, a catalogue Transactional services –not primarily concerned with supply of information –e.g. photocopy service, authentication service Users access content through informational services

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Services Physical service –provided physically Network service –provided digitally Structured network service –network service that provides structured access to structured resources –user is software application Unstructured network service –presenting resources to human user

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Physical collections & physical services Collection of physical items Physical location Physical service Physical services make physical collections available at physical locations

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Digital collections & network services Collection of digital items Digital location Web site Network service (unstructured) Network services make digital collections available at digital locations

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Physical collections OPAC Web interface Digital location Network service (unstructured) Collection of digital metadata records

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Digital collections Collection of digital items Web site Network service (unstructured) Digital location Collection of digital metadata records

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Digital collections & network services OAI repository Harvest via OAI- PMH Z39.50 target Search/retrieve via Z39.50 Web site Collection of digital metadata records Collection of digital items SOAP receiver operations via SOAP Collection available via multiple network services unstructured network service structured network service RSS channel Alert via RSS

The information environment vision

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Collections in the JISC Information Environment Content made available as collections Physical collections –of physical items (e.g. books, journals) Digital collections –of digital items (text, image, audio-video, software, datasets etc) –of digital metadata records –describing physical items (e.g. MARC records in OPAC) –describing digital items (e.g. Dublin Core records in subject gateway database) –describing physical collections (e.g. EAD CLDs in Archives Hub database) –metadata rec contains identifier/locator of resource

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Using Collections in the JISC Information Environment Task: construct reading list of digital and physical items on subject of “financial fraud” Visit web site of Resource Discovery Network –Portal to subject gateway databases of metadata about Internet resources –Search using “Resource Finder” service –Note results Visit web site of Zetoc –Web interface to British Library database of metadata about journal articles –Search Zetoc database –Note results

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Using Collections in the JISC Information Environment : Issues Different user interfaces Different metadata schemas HTML Web sites –Unstructured network services –Aimed at human reader –Merging results requires manual copy/paste/edit Researcher “joins up” services manually “The portal problem” –How to provide seamless discovery across multiple content providers?

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Using Collections in the JISC Information Environment Web Content End-user needs to join services together manually - as well as learning multiple user interfaces End-user Authentication Authorisation Currently….

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July The portal challenge Content providers –make content available as collections –disclose collections of metadata records about content through structured network services –searching, harvesting, alerting Portal service providers –construct task/user-centred portals –thin portals –“shallow linking”: pointers to unstructured network services –thick portals –“deep linking”: richer discovery/access functionality based on use of structured network services

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July The Information Environment Portals need –to find/identify relevant content collections –What digital collections are available? –to access metadata records through appropriate structured network service –What network services available for collection? –What interface/protocol? What instance-specific parameters? Information environment –framework of structured (machine-oriented) network services –to support shift from multiple stand-alone Web sites to more integrated whole

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July The IE service registry Work in progress! Database of –Collection-level descriptions –Service descriptions –informational –transactional Accessible via network services –unstructured –Web site (HTML) –structured (probably….) –search using Z39.50 –harvest using OAI-PMH –search via UDDI

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July End-user is “automatically” presented with relevant resources through relevant channels User Profiles Resolver The service registry in the Information Environment The vision…. Collection Description Service Description Service Registry Web Content End-user Authentication Authorisation Portal

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July May involve intermediate “fusion services” (aggregators, brokers) User Profiles Resolver The service registry in the Information Environment The vision…. Collection Description Service Description Service Registry Web Content End-user Authentication Authorisation Portal Broker or Aggregator

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Service registry & network services OAI repository Harvest via OAI- PMH Z39.50 target Search/retrieve via Z39.50 Web site Search/retrieve via SOAP UDDI interface Collection Description Service Description Service Registry

Standards in the information environment

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Standards in the information environment Combining metadata from multiple providers –depends on shared practice Metadata syntax –Extensible Markup Language (XML) –Growing use of W3C XML Schema e.g. –OAI PMH –UK e-government Interoperability Framework Metadata semantics –Dublin Core Metadata Element Set –simple, unqualified DC as base for interoperability –Control values of key access points –subject classification, audience level, resource type, provenance

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Z39.50 –ANSI/NISO Z ; ISO 23950:1998 –search and retrieve –cross-searching of remote databases –profiling to meet specific community/application needs –vendor implementation variations Bath Profile –designed to improve interoperability between library & cross-domain applications –minimise use of defaults –more accurate, precise searches –cross-domain: unqualified DC in XML (XML DTD)

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting –lightweight protocol which allows sharing of metadata records as XML documents using HTTP –harvest/gather not cross-search –service provider asks data provider for –all records –all records updated in last n days –must supply unqualified DC (XML Schema) –may supply other formats (XML Schema) –e.g. IMS Learning Resource Metadata Considerations of whether you want (or have permission) to share metadata records

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July RDF Site Summary –RDF/XML application for syndicated news feeds (RSS 1.0) –“channel” as XML document at fixed location on Web –contains locators and simple descriptions of news items (not the items themselves) –makes use of DC elements –“alerting” by periodic gathering of RSS channel file - no querying –channel can include name/logo/URL of provider for “branding”

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July SOAP, WSDL & UDDI Web services –self-contained, self-describing, modular applications that can be published, located and invoked across the Web (IBM) Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) –protocol for exchanging structured information, based on XML, HTTP –basis for remote procedure call to structured network service –body of request sent in XML –procedure executes on server –results returned in XML

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July SOAP, WSDL & UDDI Web Service Description Language (WSDL) –XML application for describing Web services –what a service does –how a service is accessed (interface) –where a service is located (implementation) Universal Discovery, Description & Integration (UDDI) –technology for distributed registry of Web services –businessEntity = organisation –businessService = collection (approximately!) –bindingTemplate = service –tModel = protocol

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July SOAP, WSDL & UDDI JISC IE architecture currently does not explicitly include SOAP but... –conceptually compatible with Web services approach –recognition that SOAP-based services growing in importance –UDDI uses SOAP –work-in-progress on Z39.50 in SOAP (ZiNG/SRW) –experiments on OAI PMH in SOAP?

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Learning objects Learning object (LOM) / resource (IMS) –object with a specified educational purpose/context –educational objective, self-contained, reusable –self-describing (metadata & content) –may be aggregated into packages/assemblies Some resources within IE collections are –potential content for learning objects –learning objects Some collections within IE are collections of learning objects

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Learning object metadata –learning objects typically described using IEEE LOM or IMS Learning Resource Metadata –i.e. richer metadata schema than simple DC Discovery in IE based mainly on simple DC –good mapping between LOM and DC –use of DC-Ed application profile? –LOM/IMS metadata available for use within Virtual Learning Environments etc Work in progress to explore better integration of Virtual Learning Environments and IE Learning object metadata

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Beyond the technology… Not only technical interoperability Encouraging various parties to see themselves as part of larger whole –content appearing in new contexts –issues of ownership, “branding”, rights –of metadata, of resources Collaboration at practitioner levels –e.g. UK Metadata for Education Group (MEG) –open forum for debating description/provision of educational resources at all levels across UK –principles enshrined in the MEG Concord Collaboration at strategic levels

Minerva project WP3/4 meeting, Paris, 5 July Acknowledgements UKOLN is funded by Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK higher and further education funding councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.