Converging parallel universes

Library services as building blocks of digital humanities research

42nd LIBER Annual Conference Munich June 2013

Gregor Horstkemper

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Librarians and Researchers

"Many research communities perceive academic libraries in new ways as partners and centres of scholarly work. The cooperation 'at eye level' and in joint projects between researchers and librarians has been extended and intensified during the last years." German Research Foundation, press release 18th May 2011

"Research and infrastructural tasks are connected very strongly or blend into each other; in some areas, for example in the case of meta data or of data products (maps, statistics etc.), there is no difference between these types of activity."

German Council of Science and Humanities, 13.7.2012: Empfehlungen zur Weiter- entwicklung der wissenschaftlichen Informationsinfrastrukturen in Deutschland bis 2020, S. 20

– parallel universes in a convergence process?

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Library universe and research universe in predigital times

provide

MEDIA

collect

index

preserve

libraryprocesses

evaluate

produce

release

perceive

researchprocesses

publisherprocesses

- Manuscripts- Images- Books- Articles- Miscellanea- Reviews

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Library universe and research universe in the digital era

provide

collect

index

preserve

libraryprocesses

- Manuscripts- Images- Books- Articles- Miscellanea- Reviews

- Digital Images- Full texts- Research data- Metadata / Authority data

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Extended expertise in hybrid libraries I

• Collect: Acquisition expertise

– Aggregation of licensed digital media collections– Development and implementation of license models for specific

target groups– Digital collection building by retrodigitization– Operation of open access repositories

› Result: availability of large full texts collections and other material with distinct access and usage policies

• Index: Metadata expertise

– Maintenance of high-quality indexing data– Compliancy with international standards and usage of authority data

for securing reliable metadata interoperability– Provision of free (linked) open data

› Result: availability of efficient infrastructure for the development of interoperable and dynamically linkable scholarly publications

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Extended expertise in hybrid libraries II

• Preserve: sustainability expertise

– Experience in the handling of many media formats and data formats– Implementation of long-term preservation systems for digital objects

(retrodigitized media, genuine digital publications, research data) – Operation of persistent identifier systems

› Result: availability of a solid infrastructure for long-term accessability of research sources, research data and research publications

• Provide: information supply expertise

– Information linking in catalogue and discovery systems– Operation of systems for availability and accessibility checks– Development of information competence trainings

› Result: availability of systems for individually focussed information services and differentiated access control

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Library universe and research universe in the digital era

provide

MEDIA

collect

index

preserve

libraryprocesses

evaluate

produce

release

perceive

researchprocesses

evaluate

produce

release

perceive

- Manuscripts- Images- Books- Articles- Miscellanea- Reviews

- Digital Images- Full texts- Research data- Metadata / Authority data

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Support opportunities for research processes I

• Perception of new research publications

– Integration of catalogue systems, literature, full text access– Personalized information services– Integration of discipline specific research communication into library

services› Example: recensio.net

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Perceive: recensio.net

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Support opportunities for research processes I

• Perception of new research publications

– Integration of catalogue systems, literature, full text access– Personalized information services– Integration of discipline specific research communication into library

services› Example: recensio.net

• Evaluation of source material, data, research publications

– Provision of user friendly full texts and images– Addition of structural information and cross-linking instruments– Integration of metadata and full texts into virtual research

environments› Example: Forschungsnetzwerk und Datenbanksystem (research

network and database system)

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Evaluate: Forschungsnetzwerk und Datenbanksystem (FuD)

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Support opportunities for research processes II

• Production of research results

– Markup of names of persons, places and entities, enrichment of authority files with missing names

– (Multilingual) subject indexing of granularly structured research material

– Support for cross-linking of online resources› Example: 1914-1918-online

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Produce: 1914-1918-online

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Project "1914-1918-online"

• Publication in english language

– Authority files have to be international– GND, LCSH, Rameau - VIAF– Dynamic cross-linking (internal and external)– Addition of lacking person names in authority files: relevance

criteria?

• Results of the international MACS project (Multilingual Access to Subjects)

– Aim: Mapping between GND, LCSH, Rameau– Historical subjects have been neglected

• Results of the German Criss-Cross project

– Aim: Mapping between DDC and GND– Historical subjects have been neglected

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Support opportunities for research processes II

• Production of research results

– Markup of names of persons, places and entities, enrichment of authority files with missing names

– (Multilingual) subject indexing of granularly structured research material

– Support for cross-linking of online resources› Example: 1914-1918-online

• Release of research publications and source editions

– Document repositories and publication platforms– Indexing: Catalogues, bibliographies, virtual subject libraries– Cooperation with academic institutions / bibliographies

› Example: perspectivia.net

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Release: perspectivia.net

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Development of services as a result of extended expertise

• Library expertise gains in importance for research processes

– Collect: services for user friendly licence models (eScience/eHumanities)

– Index: services for semantic enrichment and dynamic linking– Preserve: services for long-term conservation of relevant data– Provide: services for increased visibility and accessibility

• Requirements

– Securing und upgrading of essential expertise– Adequate financial resources for strengthening of infrastructure– Establishment of competence centers and cooperation between

libraries– Coordination between research institutions and libraries concerning

infrastructural needs and required services– Participation of libraries in international infrastructure projects

(DARIAH / CLARIN etc.)

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Development of services: challenges

• Role and adaptability of libraries in the information market

– Benchmarks concerning the "state of the art" are not set by libraries– Forms of knowledge processing and knowledge communication are

changing rapidly– Problems of resources and of sustainability

• Coordination requirements between libraries and researchers

– Difference of working structures and of adaptability– Demand for flexibility vs. norms and standards

• Definition of target groups: Who needs what?

– Who belongs to relevant target groups, who is "important"? – How can libraries respond to conflicting requirement signals by

researchers?– Will eHumanities become mainstream?

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Extending expertise, developing services, gearing up

provide

MEDIA

collect

index

preserve

libraryprocesses

evaluate

produce

release

perceive

researchprocesses

evaluate

produce

release

perceive