Beyond Web 2.0:Taking the social read-write Web

to the enterprise levelJune 13, 2008

Marshall Breeding

Director for Innovative Technology and Research,

Vanderbilt University Library

Institution DescriptionOver the last few years, many libraries have eagerly embraced Web

2.0 technologies - blogs, wikis, podcasts - and social engagement with patrons have become commonplace.   This approach to the web strategies can no longer be considered new and cutting-edge.  Changes on the web move along at a fast pace.  It’s time to consider what comes next.  Breeding will give his view of how libraries can take Web 2.0 technologies to the next level and integrate them into their core automation infrastructure to better support their strategic missions. To date Web 2.0 technologies in libraries have been implemented mostly through informal processes.  As these Web 2.0-inspired technologies mature, they need to become more central to a library’s strategic mission and become integrated into its fundamental infrastructure. Tune in for Marshall Breeding’s view of life beyond Web 2.0.

Beyond Web 2.0

• Web 2.0 has been a constant theme at library conferences since about 2005

• Many are beginning to think and talk about what’s next

• My view is based on the broader perspective of the technologies used in support of library strategies

• Constant evolution rather than distinct levels – “1.0”, “2.0”, “3.0” helpful as metaphors as we consider

tech evolution

Marshall’s earlier essays

• Web 2.0? Let's get to Web 1.0 first – (Computers in Libraries May 2006)http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displaytext.pl?RC=12053

We Need to Go Beyond Web 2.0– (Computers in Libraries May 2007)http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displaytext.pl?RC=12574

The current state of the Library Web

• Most libraries offer static Web sites with minimal Web 2.0 features

• Increasing proliferation of Web 2.0 features

• Time to start thinking about what comes next

1.0

The Static Web(pre Web 2.0)

Web 1.0

• Static Content• One way communication• Information silos• Linking sure, but not necessarily

organically interconnected

Library OPAC 1.0

• Feature rich, but complex• Advanced Boolean Search• Textual displays• Results in alphabetical or catalog key

order• Slow, cumbersome• Focused on the physical inventory

The best Library OPAC?

Web OPAC

Library infrastructure 1.0

• Integrated Library System• OPAC• Access to individual content items or

aggregated products• A-Z lists

2.0

The Dynamic and Social Web

Web 2.0

• Coined by O’Rielly Media in 2004• Web + Social Computing• Dynamic Content• Highly interactive• Collaborative• Focus on the user• Focus on communities• Content mash-ups• Used as a marketing tool

Web 2.0 examples

• RSS delivery of content• Blogs – Web logs + comments• Wikis – content created in

community• Social networking destinations• Social bookmarking & tagging

Web 2.0 supporting technologies

• Web services• XML APIs• AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and

XML)• OpenSearch vs SRU/SRW

Web 2.0 media

• Rich media – beyond text• Music and audio

– Well experienced: File swapping, p2p, iPod, MP3

• Video– Recreational and academic: youtube.com,

myspace.com/video, yahoo! Video, bittorrent

• Opportunities to remix. Usually recreational, but explore ways to tap this interest with an academic slant.

The sprit of Web 2.0

• YouTube• Facebook• MySpace• Flickr

Library 2.0

• First mentioned by Michael Casey (LibraryCrunch blog)

• Web 2.0 + Library = Library 2.0• Apply Web 2.0 concepts to library

applications

Examples

• Library Blogs• Content delivery through RSS

– New book lists – query results – news/events – alert services

• Wikis– Intranets for staff documentation– Collaborative resources for library users

• Enriched library catalogs• User participation in library resources

– User tagging in catalog – Reviews – ratings

Library OPAC 2.0

• Satisfying to the Web-savvy user• Faceted browsing – drill-down model of

search• Graphical displays – cover art images• Enriched content – TOC, summaries• User tagging, ratings, reviews• Federated search as an integrated service

The Competition

Better?

Better?

Working toward next generation library interfaces

• Redefinition of the library catalog• More comprehensive information

discovery environments• Better information delivery tools• More powerful search capabilities• More elegant presentation

Evolution

• The Web has been evolving since its very beginning

• Web 2.0 didn’t happen all at once• Many of the concepts behind Web 2.0 trace

back to its inception• Eg: Amazon embraced user participation,

open API’s, etc long before Web 2.0 brand.• Evolution and maturation of Web

technologies continues

Web 2.0 benefits

• A more social and collaborative approach• Web Tools and technology that foster

collaboration• Libraries energized to better engage users• Easy to get started – low threshold of entry

3.0

Taking “2.0” to the next step

Caveats

• Not a plateau• Evolution continues• Web 2.0 can create isolated silos of

information• Must evolve into an organized fabric of

interrelated Web services.

Concerns with Web 2.0 / Library 2.0

• Lack of social engagement– Stale and under-populated content– Many false starts -- many dead blogs and wikis still lying around

• Critical mass – it takes a certain amount of interest and activity before social software begins to flourish

• Non-integrated– Blogs, Wikis, Web sites lack a common information

infrastructure or architecture• Takes users to dead ends• No convenient way for users to navigate among and

between library-provided resources• Takes users away from core content and service

components

What is Web 3.0?

• Web 2.0 + artificial intelligence• Semantic Web• Web 2.0 + enterprise computing

What is Library 3.0?

• Takes Library 2.0 concepts and brings them into the strategic infrastructure of the library and / or its parent organization

• Library 2.0 components integrated into the library’s core infrastructure

• Refitting of legacy library automation components to embrace social and collaborative computing to mitigate the need for external add-ons

Library OPAC 3.0• Comprehensive search environment:

– Digital on equal footing with print– Federated search as an integrated service: access to full-text

of subscribed content• Beyond MARC metadata: Dublin Core XML, Onix, etc: full-

text searching• Searching “inside the book”• Deep search across all content• Fully integrated with other community and campus

resources• ILS fully integrated with other information and business

systems

Library infrastructure 2.0

• Integrated Library System• OpenURL Link Resolver• Federated Search utility• Electronic Resource Management System• Discovery-layer interface

– Relevancy – faceted navigation – enriched displays

Legacy ILS + e-content modules + Web 2.0

FederatedSearch

FederatedSearch

Circulation Acquisitions

Cataloging Serials

OpenURLLinking

OpenURLLinking

WebSite

WebSite

Staff Interfaces:

End User Interfaces:

Data Stores:

Functionalmodules:

BlogBlog WikiWikiIntraNet

IntraNet

Library infrastructure 3.0

• Less disjointed approach• Service oriented architecture• Organization of functionality not constrained by

modules• Opportunity to build composite applications out of

reusable business services geared to the needs of staff or public users

• Redraw boundaries of functionality based on current workflows

Service Oriented Architecture

http://www.sun.com/products/soa/benefits.jsp

SOA model for business automation

• Underlying data repositories– Local or Global

• Reusable business services• Composite business applications

SOA for library workflow processes

Data Stores:

ReusableBusiness Services

CompositeApplications

Granulartasks:

Make Social computing strategic

• blogs, wikis, and social computing must lead to a more mature technical framework that will better position libraries in an ever-more-competitive information landscape.

• The challenges presented by non-library information products and services remain formidable.

Characteristics of Library 3.0

• Avoid silos, richly interconnected fabric of content and services

• Granular tasks and requests each defined as services

• Integrated identity management• Personalized services pervade each aspect

of the user’s experience• Deep connections to global enterprise.

Technologies • Enterprise-level infrastructure• Increased use of XML-based technologies• Increased semantic meaning expressed within library

infrastructure• Library infrastructure based on Service-oriented

Architecture• Social orientation built into the core infrastructure• Not a monolithic approach. The enterprise isn’t built out of

a single piece of software, but out of a fabric of interwoven services.

Moving toward a unified user experience

• Think about how users will interact with the social parts of your web site while keeping them within core services

• Can visitors to your site easily find content across all your site components:– OPAC – subscribed electronic content – digital collections

– subject guides – Web site pages – blogs – wikis – etc.

• Do the Web 2.0 applications interoperate with the rest of the site?– Persistent sign-on – groups / communities

An enriched strategic infrastructure

• Continue to expand the use of participatory, social, and collaborative software

• But follow a more integrated approach• Blogs initially implemented informally and

separate from the core library infrastructure

• Find ways to make them part of an organic site

Web 2.0 Apps as Content Creation

• The content of social computing components needs to be part of content managed by the library

• Library blogs often contain important information• Content containers that need to be integrated• Content increasingly created through tools such as blogs

and wikis and less on traditional stand-alone Web pages • The more that libraries use Web 2.0 applications for

mission-related content, the more it’s important to integrate its data at the enterprise level

• Digital preservation issues prevail

Build a comprehensive information architecture

• Information infrastructure that includes all content• Part of the comprehensive search environment through a

higher level search engine• Eventual development of a library automation environment

with integrated tools that deliver the functionality currently found in separate Web 2.0 applications.

• Beyond the concept of an OPAC or Discovery Layer Interface as a delivery device for library content toward the library interface as part of a a collaborative learning environment.

Use Web 2.0 applications to advance the position of the

library• Takes users on a tangent away from the library web site?

How to lead them back?• Take any opportunity to drive users into the library Web

presence.• Not: look how many hits I get on my blog• But rather: look at the increase of activity on the library’s

Web presence since we launched our blogs• RSS isn’t just for pushing out data, it’s also for drawing in

users• RSS entries should be designed with appropriate back-links

to bring users into your site.

Getting there• For libraries that have already thoroughly embraced Web

2.0 technologies, getting to the next step might involve only incremental effort

• Others may want to redesign or rework their Web presence to better incorporate Web 2.0 components into a more unified structure

• Ongoing development of library technologies that embrace a more comprehensive and unified approach

• Continuous effort towards more seamless experience for library users that provides comprehensive access to library content and services

Questions and Discussion