1. Blazing an “eXtensible” Trail at the University of Rochester Jennifer Bowen University of Rochester ALCTS President’s Program, January 2009 1

2. Trail blazing … the practice of marking paths… with blazes, markings that … mark the direction of the trail. Figuratively, trail blazing can mean avant garde or inventive work in arts or sciences, evoking the literal meaning of going into new territory which has no marked paths -- Wikipedia 2

3. Agenda Where we’ve been, and how we got here Discovering what our users need Considering what libraries will need Addressing these needs: the eXtensible Catalog (XC) Project What XC can offer to libraries 3

4. Where we’ve been ILS /OPAC enhancements – Were they ever going to happen? – Would they even make a difference? OpenURL Resolver – Worked ok, but usability issues Metasearch/Federated Search – Product 1 – didn’t work – Product 2 – better, but still frustrating 4

5. Reaching a crossroads What vendors and librarians were telling us was important vs What we were learning from user research 5

6. A new web presence for resource discovery FRBR resource navigation, user tagging Is there a product available? (no) Could we build it ourselves? (yes) If we build it, will it really get libraries (and users) to where they need to go? What do users really need? 6

7. What do libraries need? Better web presence for resource discovery A low-effort solution (keep ILS) Metadata that “works” on the web – Move away from MARC, toward RDA An affordable solution A solution that encourages user research – Facilitate customization, local development 7

8. “If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going.” — Professor Irwin Corey 8

9. A change in direction Web solutions that – Enable users to find library resources – Empower libraries to serve users Give libraries choices about technology – Facilitate both change AND the status quo Make the best possible use of library metadata Alternatives to long-term financial obligations 9

10. The eXtensible Catalog Set of open-source tools Facilitate resource discovery and metadata management Funding from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and from XC partner institutions Software release: 3 rd quarter 2009 Governance: not-for-profit www.eXtensibleCatalog.org 10

11. XC will provide… Compatibility with ILS, etc. via OAI-PMH Out-of the-box user-interface functionality Toolsets for customization, web application development, metadata enrichment Infrastructure for moving beyond MARC The “XC Network” of services 11

12. XC software toolkits OAI Toolkit NCIP Toolkit Metadata Services Toolkit (MST) Drupal Toolkit Learning Management System Toolkit 12

13. XC metadata Suck it in – Harvest metadata using OAI-PMH Clean it up – XC Metadata Services Toolkit (MST) Share it – MST and XC user applications 13

14. Opportunities for XC libraries Empower libraries to make choices Enable customization and development Integrate library content into various web environments Enable sharing of metadata and software 14

15. Moving forward using XC XC offers functionality that moves beyond an ILS or a new “front end” “Lower the bar” for customized web solutions Provides a path forward for library metadata Makes these things affordable and manageable for libraries Facilitates cooperation between libraries 15

16. Bridge to the future The XC Project Team 16

17. Comments/Questions? Jennifer Bowen jbowen@library.rochester.edu www.eXtensibleCatalog.org 17