Organising digital library
projects
J.S. Mackenzie Owen, TICER
International Summer School on the Digital Library
10-22 August 1997
Tilburg University
Introduction
Digital libraries are developed by traditional libraries. This simple statement entails a whole number of problems. The development of the digital library is in the majority of cases a transitional process, gradually transforming the traditional library into a networked digital service. All libraries involved in innovation towards the digital library are confronted with the problem how to continue running the existing library while introducing new technology, developing new services, and having to invest in innovation out of existing limited budgets. This truly is a challenge to library management.
In this paper we shall explore a number of issues involved in justifying new developments and in obtaining and allocating the necessary funds.
Justifying the transition towards digital libraries
Justification means convincing stakeholders that a certain development makes sense and that it should be supported. The main justification for the transition towards digital libraries is that it is inevitable. The entire information scene is moving towards digital, networked distribution of information. Libraries cannot lag behind or they will be at risk of extinction.
Is this sufficient justification, however? Certainly not, for it could be argued that in the networked world of the digital information society there is no need any more for libraries. More thorough justification is therefore required, and this should be directed towards the various stakeholders of the library:
· For the user of the library, the digital library should provide clearly enhanced services, improving the availability of useful information, the speed of access and delivery, the usability of information, etc. For institutional libraries (i.e. within an organisational or academic context) this should lead to an added value to the organisation, for instance improved productivity and/or higher quality of work performed by the user.
· For the funders of libraries, the benefits of digital libraries should be expressed in terms of more effective use of available (financial) resources. An example is an increase in resource sharing between libraries as an outcome of the use of information technology. (It should be noted that institutional justification can be a mix of financial/resource arguments and enhancement of services).
· The final stakeholder is the library itself, or more specifically: the library staff. Without commitment and involvement of library staff, the move towards the digital library cannot be successful. Justification in this respect means convincing library staff that the outcome will be a more stimulating, professional environment in which to work.
Justification of digital library projects should therefore concentrate on these three aspects: enhancement of service to the user and added value to the organisation, more efficient use of funds, and the continuation of a challenging and professional working environment for library staff. Proposals for digital library projects should outline their benefits in terms of these aspects.
Libraries in the context of strategic knowledge management
An interesting approach to justifying the digital library within organisations is to expand the concept of 'information provision' towards 'knowledge management'. This is a concept which has acquired many different meanings, but it can in principle be described as follows.
Knowledge management is an approach which concentrates on the role of knowledge in and for the organisation. Its aim is to support knowledge work and to enhance the value of knowledge for the entire organisation. It is based on the idea that knowledge and knowledge work can be identified and described systematically, that procedures for effectively creating, managing and using knowledge can be developed, and that this can be done by representing knowledge in information systems.
The main idea behind knowledge management is therefore that one does not take information (as a carrier of knowledge) as the starting point. Rather, one takes an assessment of knowledge work or knowledge-related activities as the focal point for developing information services.
A further interesting aspect of knowledge management is that it involves the integration of a wide variety of knowledge sources: internal and external documents, personnel (as 'knowledgeable' persons), business activities, projects, external relations (clients, suppliers etc.), etc. Knowledge management therefore expands the traditional domain of the library in terms of knowledge resources.
The point to be made here is that libraries can justify developments towards digitisation by putting them in the context of an enhanced role of the library for the organisation in terms of knowledge management. This is an example of the added value / enhanced service type of justification. Libraries are well placed to claim a role in knowledge management, in view of their expertise in areas such as the handling of content-rich information (in contrast with administrative information handled by IT-specialists), cataloguing and indexing of knowledge resources, user support etc.
Cost elements of the digital library
A clear understanding of cost aspects is one of the keys to success for digital library projects. Libraries tend to focus on technical and service issues, and are generally weak in estimating cost.
It is important to make a distinction between investment costs for creating a technical infrastructure for the digital library, project costs for developing specific systems and services, and the operational costs of day-to-day functions. Cost elements in these three areas can be summarised as follows:
Investment costs:
· Additional IT-investments in the library, e.g. in digital storage systems, network servers, OCR-equipment, etc.
· IT-investments at the users' desktop, e.g. multimedia pc's, client software, internal networks, connections to the Internet.
· Enhancements to existing library systems, e.g. adding Z39.50-functionality.
· Cost of additional training for library staff.
Project costs:
· project proposal development
· project management
· required hardware and software
· technical development (personnel)
· testing and evaluating
· implementation costs (incl. promotion and training)
Operational costs:
· annual cost of IT-infrastructure, including telecommunications
· systems maintenance
· storage and preservation
· additional acquisition and license costs for digital information.
· cost of user training.
Sources of funding
The library budget
Although additional funding for digital library projects can be obtained from outside sources through subsidies, in the long run the main source of funding for the digital library will have to be found within the existing library budget. This is difficult, since it means re-allocating funds from current activities to new developments. Although most libraries have a certain amount of freedom to do this, it can easily lead to a temporary reduction of services to users. It is therefore necessary to carefully justify re-allocation of funds in view of future benefits. A further requirement is to make the transition from traditional services to digital serves as rapid as possible.
Any library considering a move towards digital services should draw up a long-term budget re-allocation plan, in order to understand its financial implications.
Project subsidies
Although the operational costs of the digital library will eventually have to be carried by the normal library budget, there are many opportunities for obtaining additional project funding through subsidy mechanisms. The main sources of this type of funding are:
· National funding schemes for innovation. In a number of countries there exist special funding programmes for digital library projects. Examples are the e-lib programme in the United Kingdom and library innovation projects funded by the IWI-programme in the Netherlands.
· The Libraries Programme within the Telematics Applications Programme of the European Commission. This is an ongoing programme which funds innovative projects based on co-operation between libraries (and other organisations) in at least two or three different countries in the European Union.
· Subsidies from the IT-industry. There are many examples of 'strategic alliances' between libraries and (mostly large) IT-companies such as Digital and IBM. Libraries are an interesting environment for such companies to develop, test and evaluate new technology, services and products.
Obtaining project funds is not easy. In general they are obtained by responding to a 'call for proposals' by the funding organisation. Project proposals should be prepared as professionally as possible. Experience shows that many libraries are not up to this task, and need expert help to develop a successful proposal. One should keep in mind that this cannot be done in a single day, and that proposal development requires a significant investment, sometimes as much as 5-10% of the total project cost. Project budgets should include items covering the management overhead costs of the project, which can be significant in order to comply with the extensive management and reporting procedures required by funding agencies (notably the European Commission).
Libraries applying for funding under the European Commission's programmes should not under-estimate the effort required to set up a European consortium. If this proves difficult, it is recommended to join an existing consortium. The Commission has mechanisms for finding appropriate partners and consortia.
Cost sharing
The cost of developing the digital library can often be reduced by sharing the costs amongst a larger number of libraries. This makes sense, because the technology is usually (or at least should be) applicable in other libraries if it is based on the appropriate open standards rather than on proprietary solutions. This approach usually increases the chances of obtaining external funding.
Another area where cost sharing can be obtained, is co-operation between the library and other parts of the organisation, especially the computing department. The network, as the backbone of the digital library, is of common interest both to the library and to the computing centre. There are many examples of successful co-operative projects where the computer centre takes on technical development, and the library handles service aspects.
Cost recovery
Libraries should always look for ways to recover costs by charging for enhanced services, either internally or to external users. This is a policy issue, and many libraries feel that they should be fully funded for their operations and that service should be free of charge to users. Their argument is that the cost of information services should be shared by all users, and that the best way to do this is through centralised funding by the community (for public libraries) or by the parent organisation (for academic and business libraries). However, there is a tendency in some circles to argue that whereas basic services should be free, the cost of added value services beyond these basic services could be recovered from those users who benefit specifically from the added value. Another argument is that charging to users leads to a better understanding of the cost and value of information, and to an increase in cost effectiveness. This argument is already being applied to many business libraries, which now operate as 'cost centres'.
The problem of choosing an appropriate funding method is complicated by the fact that in the field of electronic information the payment method is moving from subscriptions to access and 'pay-per-view' charging. Another development is site licensing, which covers certain types of access under a flat fee, but also leads to additional charging on a per access basis for any other type of use. These developments result in problems of budgetary control for the library: an up-front payment (such as a subscription or license fee) is easy to manage, whereas payments based on type and volume of use are much less so. On the other hand, these developments offer more opportunities for charging to users, since the cost of use is more easy to monitor and calculate. In any case, networks also give access (either through the library or directly) to an increasing number of resources for which payment is required by the user accessing it. The 'networked payment mechanisms' now under development will certainly lead to an increase of services for which 'pay per use' by the user is required. It may even prove difficult for libraries to develop mechanisms which allow them to take on such charges, rather than the user.
To summarise, developing fully networked library services will carry significant development costs, and libraries should think carefully about ways to cover these. Charging to users for added value services is an option, and libraries should develop a policy in this area.