Define Policy and Infrastructure Requirements for Building and Managing Shared Print Collections

OCLC Research is pursuing projects aimed at characterizing the core business requirements needed to sustain broad-based participation in a shared print management regime and the technical requirements needed to support effective network disclosure of institutional print archiving commitments.

The first of these projects will explore requirements for ‘cloud sourcing’ collections at an academic research library through cooperative agreements with large-scale print and digital repositories. The goal is to produce a model service agreement suitable for widespread implementation in the academic library community. A second project will explore the feasibility of extending use of the MARC 21 Local Holdings Format to support programmatic enhancement of union catalogs with detailed item condition and preservation commitments.

As scholarly workflows move to the Web, academic research libraries have begun to re-evaluate the place (both location and function) of legacy print collections in the research enterprise. Since the mid-1980s, academic institutions in the United States have transferred more than a billion volumes to off-site storage facilities to reduce space pressures on campus and departmental libraries. This distributed resource represents a collective asset capable of transforming the library service landscape; yet, its potential value remains largely untapped.

In recent years, the rapid pace of mass digitization and the emergence of robust digital preservation providers have raised urgent questions about the traditional organization of academic library collections and services around locally managed physical repositories. A growing number of research institutions are exploring cooperative service models in order to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in local print collection management. For such initiatives to achieve lasting impact, a significant change in the system-wide organization of library services is required.

Can large storage and delivery hubs provide a cost-effective solution to the challenge of managing a local physical inventory that is (increasingly) duplicated in digital format? What kinds of organizational and economic models are needed to sustain ‘Web-scale’ collection management regimes? The success of large-scale shared print library services will ultimately depend on the emergence of a new social and technical infrastructure that increases system-wide efficiencies and reduces library operating costs.

OCLC Research is working with partner libraries to identify the critical infrastructure requirements and to prototype potential solutions.

Empirical study of the requirements needed to sustain long-term business partnerships and operational workflows between academic libraries and shared collection service providers will result in improved understanding of costs, benefits and likely time horizon for implementation of Web-scale management services.

Scope

The 'Cloud Library' project will focus on monographic holdings in the collection of a university library exemplar (NYU) and test the proposition that a significant proportion of the local collection may be more cost-effectively sourced from alternative service providers (Hathi and ReCAP) while satisfying current service expectations of library patrons and staff. The MARC 583 for print archiving effort will focus on technical requirements for systematically recording and disclosing item level condition and preservation statements for scholarly journals in print format.

Primary Audience

University library directors and academic administrators; large-scale print and digital repository managers

Methodology

In the Cloud Library project, large-scale data analyses of the HathiTrust repository, ReCAP collection, and WorldCat database will be used to characterize the potential scope of shared print services for a model consumer-library (NYU). Shared collection service expectations will be elucidated through facilitated discussions with NYU library staff. In the MARC 583 project, participating libraries will document workflows for creating and maintaining local holdings records with item condition and print archiving commitments for a small number of scholarly journal titles. Workflows in several different commercial Integrated Library Systems will be evaluated and the feasibility of automating batch-loads to WorldCat will be tested.

Timeline

Preliminary outcomes from both projects are anticipated by the end of calendar year 2009. Work is expected to continue through June 2010.

Guidance and Oversight

Work in this activity is guided by an advisory group composed of RLG Partner institutions broadly representative of the research library community.

Participating RLG Partners

• Columbia University (liaison to ReCAP partner libraries including NYPL and Princeton University)
• New York University
• Pennsylvania State University
• UCLA
• University of Pennsylvania

Collaborating Institutions

• CLIR
• HathiTrust
• Research Collections Preservation and Access (ReCAP)

The 'Cloud Library' project will result in a model RFP for shared collection services including a characterization of consumer and supplier requirements for implementation at a large scale.

The MARC 583 for Print Archiving project will produce sample Local Holdings Records with condition and print-archiving commitments for a small number of scholarly journals.

• RLG Shared Print Update session – ALA Midwinter 2009
• RLG Shared Print Update session – ALA Annual 2009
• Repository Library Conference – 29-31 October 2009 (Kuopio, Finland)

• Constance Malpas (lead)

'Cloud Library' Working Group

• Kat Hagedorn, HathiTrust
• Eileen Henthorne, ReCAP
• Michael Stoller, New York University
• Constance Malpas, OCLC Research

'MARC 583 for Print Archiving' Working Group

• Everett Allgood, New York University
• Shana McDanold, University of Pennsylvania
• Jake Nadal, UCLA
• John Riemer, UCLA
• Christopher Walker, Pennsylvania State University
• Constance Malpas, OCLC Research

Shared Print Collections Coordinating Committee

The Shared Print Collections Committee provides oversight and strategic guidance on OCLC Research projects. Committee members participate in quarterly conference calls and help to promote awareness of relevant OCLC Research projects beyond the RLG Partnership.

• Susan Allen, Associate Director & Chief Librarian, Getty Research Library
• Steve Bosch, Materials Budget Procurement and Licensing Librarian, University of Arizona
• Martha Brogan, Director of Collection Development & Management, University of Pennsylvania
• Kimberly Douglas, University Librarian, California Institute of Technology
• Nancy Eaton, Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, Pennsylvania State University
• Sharon Farb, Associate University Librarian for Collections, University of California, Los Angeles
• Bryan Skib, Collection Development Officer, University of Michigan
• Emily Stambaugh, Manager of Shared Print, California Digital Library
• Michael Stoller, Director of Collections and Research Services, New York University

Mellon Foundation

Project lead: Constance Malpas

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