CILIPS Conference 2009

Project Gateway: Digital Research Centre

Richard Boulderstone, Director eStrategy

3 June 2009

The British Library:

‘This is the life blood of research and innovation’

GIA Funding 08/09:£94.8m operational, £12m capital

Other funding secured 07/08: c.£33m

Helping people advance knowledge

to enrich lives

National library of the UK.

Serves researchers, business, libraries, education & the general public

Collection includes over 2m sound recordings, 5m reports, theses and conference papers, the world’s largest patents collection (c.50m)

The largest document supply service in the world. Secure e-delivery and ‘just in time’ digitisation enables desktop delivery within 2 hours

3 main sites in London and Yorkshire. Circa 2,000 staff

Business and IP Centre: Providing inspiration, and enabling protection of creative capital and business development

Generates value to the UK economy each year of 4.4 times public funding

Collection fills over 600km of shelving and grows at 11km per year

16 Tb of digital material through voluntary deposit

Digital Research Centre

A world class digital research environment, offering unrivalled depth and breath of content, expertise and technology

Led by the British Library but developed with a range of strategic partners in the content, technology, research & education, commercial sectors.

To reach and consult with researchers, entrepreneurs, learners … anyone who wants to do research

To test and evaluate tools and services in a location of major European significance

To transform the way people find, interact with, analyse, synthesize and create information

The rationaleGlobal changes affecting the research environment

New Technologies

New research methods

Growth of UK knowledge economy

Changes to researcher

expectations

Proliferation of information

1

2

3

• Web 2.0/3.0• Mobile & interoperability• Display technologies

• Born digital• Mass digitisation• Rights management• Information & media literacy

• Want contact anytime, anywhere

• Store, personalise, manipulate, repurpose, share info with peers

• New ways of relating to each other and information

• Different attitude to Intellectual Property

• Entrepreneurialism & innovation

• Creative Industries• Science, Media &

Technology

• New subjects• Greater collaboration• Multiple formats, mash-

up• Creative theory &

creative practice• Importance of ephemera• Students want to learn in

different ways to their teachers

TextText

VideoVideo

SoundSound

ImagesImages

Cross-disciplinaryCross-disciplinary

Cross-borderCross-border

Multi-authoringMulti-authoring

Non-linearNon-linear

EphemeraEphemera DynamicDynamic

British Library’s response to change & opportunity

Capture & store UK digital publications

Support UK research with innovative

services

Develop skills & expertise to meet

needs of digital era

• Web archiving• Build physical and

digital infrastructure • Agree legal framework

for e-legal deposit• Grow unique

multimedia collections• Develop a critical mass

of digital content• Incorporate rights

information in metadata to authorise users and protect content

Plans to 2011 include:

• Enhanced access to collections through advanced online resource discovery

• Greater digital access to material held both within and beyond the Library

• New knowledge transfer and commercialisation services

• Roll out Research Information Centre virtual research environment

• Review of roles and integration of curators

• Develop skills in collaboration with research community

• Build greater organisational flexibility

• Initiatives to support innovation & creativity

• Talent and leadership development programmes

• Depth and breadth

• Large scale digitisation across all media

• Partner content including film, radio, TV and all news media

• The British Library Sound Archive

• Newspapers

• Maps

• Images, photographs

• Websites, blogs, ephemera

• Datasets

• Business information

New Services

• Advanced search and retrieval, including non-text based discovery

• Navigation and information literacy expertise & support

• Visualise & mash up

• Copyright clearance

• Access on demand

Digital Research CentreCore proposition is unique combination of content, services & spaces to enhance & accelerate research

• Researchers from all disciplines

• Creative industry practitioners, producers, writers & designers

• Personal researchers & family historians

• Schools, students & teachers

• Entrepreneurs & businesspeople

• The Citizen Scholar• Up to 10,000 sq m

• Flexible spaces

• Range of environments: Research, Skills, Support, Social

• Expanded accessibility via technology

Enabled by New Technologies and Strategic Partners

Primary Users

New Building

Content

British Library: London’s best connected location

250,000 people visit area each day

Four rail stations with services to all major UK cities

Eurostar rail to Paris, Brussels & Lille

Direct train and Underground links to Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports

Seven London Underground lines

Primary bus routes

Primary highway through London

Euston RoadEuston Road

British LibraryBritish Library

EustonEuston

St Pancras Int’lSt Pancras Int’l

Kings CrossKings Cross

St. PancrasInternational

British Library

Kings Cross

Digital Research

Centre

British Library and its Future Environs

UKCMRI

Why the British Library?Our brand & reputation attract major stakeholders and partners

•Research Councils

•Government Departments

•HE Institutions•Funding Councils•Broadcasters•Radio, film & TV

producers•Publishers•Archivists•Technology

specialists•Commercial

developers

•Reach•Influence •Leadership•Advisors

•SABIP•Digital

Britain•UK & EU

•Reach•Influence •Leadership•Advisors

•SABIP•Digital

Britain•UK & EU

Next Steps

Next stepsTimeline

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Evaluation

Design & Development

Build & Delivery

Proof of Concept Digital Research Centre

Next stepsHighly visible space for showcasing & observation

Next stepsPrototyping & evaluation will validate concepts

Next stepsDemonstrating the vision & possibilities

How will researchers work?

What tools will they need?

What content will they need?

How much will they interact with the material…

…each other?

How can we support creativity?

Strategic partnerships are fundamental to success

Content

Film, TV & radio producers, broadcasters & networks

Dataset owners National & regional archivists

Research & Education

Research councils UK HE institutions International universities Teaching associations

Technology

Mobile & network specialists Display manufacturers Digital asset managers Data storage & access specialists

Commercial

Property developers Joint tenants Catering Retail