471 research outputs found
CC-interop : COPAC/Clumps Continuing Technical Cooperation. Final Project Report
No full textAs far as is known, CC-interop was the first project of its kind anywhere in the world and still is. Its basic aim was to test the feasibility of cross-searching between physical and virtual union catalogues, using COPAC and the three functioning "clumps" or virtual union catalogues (CAIRNS, InforM25, and RIDING), all funded or part-funded by JISC in recent years. The key issues investigated were technical interoperability of catalogues, use of collection level descriptions to search union catalogues dynamically, quality of standards in cataloguing and indexing practices, and usability of union catalogues for real users. The conclusions of the project were expected to, and indeed do, contribute to the development of the JISC Information Environment and to the ongoing debate as to the feasibility and desirability of creating a national UK catalogue. They also inhabit the territory of collection level descriptions (CLDs) and the wider services of JISC's Information Environment Services Registry (IESR). The results of this project will also have applicability for the common information environment, particularly through the landscaping work done via SCONE/CAIRNS. This work is relevant not just to HE and not just to digital materials, but encompasses other sectors and domains and caters for print resources as well. Key findings are thematically grouped as follows: System performance when inter-linking COPAC and the Z39.50 clumps. The various individual Z39.50 configurations permit technical interoperability relatively easily but only limited semantic interoperability is possible. Disparate cataloguing and indexing practices are an impairment to semantic interoperability, not just for catalogues but also for CLDs and descriptions of services (like those constituting JISC's IESR). Creating dynamic landscaping through CLDs: routines can be written to allow collection description databases to be output in formats that other UK users of CLDs, including developers of the JISC information environment. Searching a distributed (virtual) catalogue or clump via Z39.50: use of Z39.50 to Z39.50 middleware permits a distributed catalogue to be searched via Z39.50 from such disparate user services as another virtual union catalogue or clump, a physical union catalogue like COPAC, an individual Z client and other IE services. The breakthrough in this Z39.50 to Z39.50 conundrum came with the discovery that the JISC-funded JAFER software (a result of the 5/99 programme) meets many of the requirements and can be used by the current clumps services. It is technically possible for the user to select all or a sub-set of available end destination Z39.50 servers (we call this "landscaping") within this middleware. Comparing results processing between COPAC and clumps. Most distributed services (clumps) do not bring back complete results sets from associated Z servers (in order to save time for users). COPAC on-the-fly routines could feasibly be applied to the clumps services. An automated search set up to repeat its query of 17 catalogues in a clump (InforM25) hourly over nearly 3 months returned surprisingly good results; for example, over 90% of responses were received in less than one second, and no servers showed slower response times in periods of traditionally heavy OPAC use (mid-morning to early evening). User behaviour when cross-searching catalogues: the importance to users of a number of on-screen features, including the ability to refine a search and clear indication that a search is processing. The importance to users of information about the availability of an item as well as the holdings data. The impact of search tools such as Google and Amazon on user behaviour and the expectations of more information than is normally available from a library catalogue. The distrust of some librarians interviewed of the data sources in virtual union catalogues, thinking that there was not true interoperability
INSPIRAL: investigating portals for information resources and learning. Final project report
No full textINSPIRAL's aims were to identify and analyse, from the perspective of the UK HE learner, the nontechnical, institutional and end-user issues with regard to linking VLEs and digital libraries, and to make recommendations for JISC strategic planning and investment. INSPIRAL's objectives -To identify key stakeholders with regard to the linkage of VLEs, MLEs and digital libraries -To identify key stakeholder forum points and dissemination routes -To identify the relevant issues, according to the stakeholders and to previous research, pertaining to the interaction (both possible and potential) between VLEs/MLEs and digital libraries -To critically analyse identified issues, based on stakeholder experience and practice; output of previous and current projects; and prior and current research -To report back to JISC and to the stakeholder communities, with results situated firmly within the context of JISC's strategic aims and objectives
Terminology services and technology: JISC state of the art review
Get PDFExecutive SummaryPurposeOver the next two years, as part of its Capital Funding Programme, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) is supporting further work to realize a rich information environment within the learning and research communities. This review is intended to inform JISC’s planning for future work related to Terminology Services and Technology, as well as to provide useful background information for participants in future calls, whether specifically featuring terminology or where terminology can be used to underpin other services.Overview of report contentsThis report reviews vocabularies of different types, best practice guidelines, research on terminology services and related projects. It discusses possibilities for terminology services within the JISC Information Environment and eFramework. Terminology Services (TS) are a set of services that present and apply vocabularies, both controlled and uncontrolled, including their member terms, concepts and relationships. This is done for purposes of searching, browsing, discovery, translation, mapping, semantic reasoning, subject indexing and classification, harvesting, alerting etc. Indicative use cases are discussed.One type of TS attempts to increase consistency and improve access to digital collections and Web navigation systems via vocabulary control. Vocabulary control aims to reduce the ambiguity of natural language when describing and retrieving items for purposes of information searching. Another type of TS is not concerned with consistency but with making it easier for end-users to describe information items and to have access to other users’ descriptions. This results in vocabularies (folksonomies) that may not be controlled, at least initially. The report reviews different kinds of vocabularies, according to their structure and their intended purpose. Potential benefits and return on investment are discussed. Named entity authority and social tagging services are discussed in some detail. Pointers are given on best practice guidelines and networked access to vocabularies, including key issues for future terminology registries.The wider context of TS is considered. Relevant literature on user studies is reviewed. TS are located within an information lifecycle and within the JISC IE. Suggestions are made towards a more specific definition of Terminology Web Services within the JISC IE. Current work on Terminology Web Services is reviewed, along with work on mapping, automatic classification/indexing and repositories. Current projects that involve TS activity (JISC, UK, and international) are briefly reviewed.Relevant standards are discussed, particularly for vocabulary representation; identification of concepts, terms and vocabularies; protocols and APIs.<br/
OpenUrl router requests by date
No full textThe data in this file was based on the OpenURL Router data available from http://openurl.ac.uk/doc/data/data.html. It was developed by EDINA as part of a JISC-funded project, more information on the project is available at http://edina.ac.uk/projects/Using_OpenURL_Activity_data_summary.htmlOpenUrl router number of requests by date & hour. The data in this file was based on the OpenURL Router data available from http://openurl.ac.uk/doc/data/data.html. It was developed by EDINA as part of a JISC-funded project, more information on the project is available at http://edina.ac.uk/projects/Using_OpenURL_Activity_data_summary.htm
Preservation status of Knowledge Base+ packages
No full textAn analysis of how well packages described in Jisc KB+ are preserved by archiving agencies, as measured by The Keepers Registry.See READM
Review of the Joint Information Systems Committee: report to HEFCE by the JISC Review Group (Issues paper)
No full text"This report sets out the findings and recommendations of the review chaired by Professor Sir Alan Wilson into the strategy, activities and effectiveness of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)." - Cover
Acquiring E-Books for Academic Libraries
Get PDFThis paper outlines the recent work of the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in the area of
e-books. The JISC Collections Team is responsible for negotiating deals with publishers and aggregators of
e-content for all UK higher education libraries - some 180 in total. In other words it acts as a national
consortium for the UK academic community, although it should be noted that all deals are negotiated on an
‘opt-in’ basis. The JISC Collections Team is advised by a series of format-based working groups -
comprising senior academic librarians and library practitioners - including the E-Books Working Group, the
Journals Working Group and the Moving Images Working Group. Recently the working groups have
formulated vision statements to help inform both their own activities and the education community as a
whole. The vision for e-books in UK education is as follows:
“The UK education community will have access to quality e-book content that is of high relevance to
teaching, learning and research across the broadest range of subject areas. Flexible business and licensing
models will support a diversity of needs, allowing users to do what they want when they want and how they
want for education purposes. All e-books will be easily discoverable and consistent standards will allow all
content to be fully integrated into library, learning and research environments.
Promoting your e-Books: Lessons from the UK JISC National e-Book Observatory
Get PDFPurpose – This paper describes the findings from the qualitative strand of the JISC National e-Book Observatory (2007-2009), relating to the promotion of e-textbooks in UK universities by the library, academics and publishers. A complementary article on the ways in which students and academics locate e-books provided by their library will appear in a future issue.
Design/methodology/approach – Following the provision by the JISC of collections of e-textbooks, the project used deep log analysis, benchmark surveys and focus groups to develop a rich picture of library e-collection management and use by students and academics. Focus groups were undertaken with library staff, academics and students; the dialogues were transcribed and analysed using NVivo7 software.
Findings – The qualitative studies found that libraries were using a range of promotional tools although these were not always finding their targets. Often libraries had no formal promotion strategy for e-resources. Although little in evidence, the value of academic commitment and promotion was emphasised. Promotion by publishers and aggregators is both to libraries and directly to academic staff. Students felt that they were largely unaware of promotion beyond the presence of e-books in the catalogue, and in some cases stated explicitly that they thought more should be done to promote library e-resources to them.
Practical implications – The paper offers pragmatic guidance on promotional methodologies.
Originality/value – The project describes the first major, national usage study of e-books in higher education. This paper contributes significantly to the literature in discussing the importance of promoting e-books to students and staff
A Web/Grid Services Approach for a Virtual Research Environment Implementation
No full textThe role of scientific and scholarly publications is changing due to advances in Web technology. In particular, the need for collaborative science has generated demands for working environments that facilitate human communication and resource sharing among research communities. Such environments have been typically implemented as monolithic systems in the past, which are then faced with challenges in adapting to changing user requirements. CORE is a JISC funded project to develop a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) that enables orthopaedic surgeons to collaborate in the design, analysis, and dissemination of experiments. The VRE presented in this paper is designed based on the concept of a loosely coupled Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). This paper reports the user requirements of the VRE and discusses the advantages that will be achieved by implementing the VRE as Web/Grid services
Open access for UK research - JISC's contributions
No full textAn anthology of recent studies and work in open access conducted by the UK\u27s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
Open Access enhances research communication by making the results of publicly funded research available to all.
Opening up the knowledge base means more researchers can build on it and there is less duplication of effort. Researchers can reach a greater audience and find that their work is more widely read and cited, institutions enjoy an enhanced reputation as their research becomes more visible, funding agencies see a greater return on their investment, and publishers find that the impact of their journals increases.
As a result, publicly funded research has more impact and society as a whole benefits.
It has been vital for UK higher education to be a vocal participant in the Open Access debate to ensure its needs are met, and JISC has worked at the forefront of the debate to support the UK education and research sector. Funding programmes to build and enhance institutional Open Access repositories have helped institutions to implement Open Access. Activity, funded by JISC, is also underway to develop technical solutions to make it far easier for researchers to use repositories more effectively. Through JISC’s work with publishers, new business models for Open Access scholarly communications are being explored that can both take advantage of the new mode of distribution via the web and sustain quality research output. Internationally, JISC is engaging with the wider academic research community and with policy makers to transform attitudes towards Open Access within Europe and beyond
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