LSE Digital Library: How it was Done

Ed FayDigital Library Manager

e.fay@lse.ac.uk@digitalfay

LSE Digital Library:How it was Done

Introduction• Background to LSE Digital Library• Business case• Implementation• Front-end (digital.library.lse.ac.uk)

• How• Process• Testing

• Next steps• Questions

Mission/Strategy

“Build and preserve distinctive collections to support research and learning, and represent a record of thought in the social sciences”

“Develop our digital library so that we are able to acquire, preserve and provide access to digital collections which

match the strength of our print collections”

“…information repository services to support new forms of scholarly communication and enable the School to manage, disseminate and preserve these intellectual assets”

BORN-DIGITAL ARCHIVES

INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY

FUTURE...

OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS

DIGITISATION

Business Case• Collections audit

• Formats, volume/growth

• User and functional requirements• Preservation, access

• Technical options (‘market survey’)• Repository architectures, best practice investigation

• Proposal• Risk assessment (DRAMBORA)• Functional solution, including costings• Development roadmap

Business Case: RiskDigital Repository Audit Method Based on Risk

Assessment (DRAMBORA)http://repositoryaudit.eu/

Risk categories:• Collection degradation or loss• Reduced availability of content to users• Loss of trust or reputation

Risk causes, lack of:• Unified collection management/preservation activity• Staff time and skills• Technical infrastructure, investment in development

Business Case: Solution

Phased development of technical infrastructure, staff skills

Design principles

• Flexible—we can hold a range of different types of digital collection

• Extensible—we can adapt to changing collections and user requirements

• Modular—we can replace components without disrupting other functions

Technical Architecture

Front-end: How it was done• Technical and functional requirements• Tendering, supplier selection• Design process• Implementation• Testing• Launch/go-live

Front-end: Design process

1. Stakeholder workshop

2. Information architecture

3. Wireframe models

4. Concept development

5. Review/amends

6. Sign-off

7. Technical production

8. Review/amends

9. Sign-off

Front-end: Mind-map• Benefits

• Support research/teaching• Increase use of collections• Build profile of LSE/Library

• Usersstudents (UG/PGT/PGR), staff (academic/research/teaching/support), visitors, alumni, external students, family/local historians, members of public, commercial users, media, school teachers, other information pros, biographers, depositors/donors, prospective staff/students, funders, picture researchers, competitors

• Content, collections• Knowns (now)• Unknowns (future)

Front-end: Mind-map• Functional

• Focus on content• Collate and share• Quick and advanced search• Categories for browsing• Lots of entry points

• Technical• Preservation

• Operational• Audience discovery• Controlled admin burden

• Creative• Brand, reputation/authority

Front-end: Personae• Undergrad, researcher,

lecturer, journalist, public policy adviser

• Questions:• How find the digital library• 3 features/functions/content• What info on the homepage• Will they contribute content• Important messages re Library/LSE

Front-end: Information Architecture

Front-end: Wireframe models• Prototyping tool• Interactive models• Review/amends

• Testing session• Stakeholder

interaction

• Total of 5 iterations

Front-end: Wireframe models

Front-end: Concept (visual design)

• Mood boards• Reference material, design examples• ‘Modern Editorial’, ‘Real-world’, ‘Cutting-edge function’

• Design concept• Mock-ups of 2-3 homepages

• Review/amends• Stakeholder interaction

Strong branding

Brief welcome

Routes in for different users

Subtle colour coding

Always-there quick search

Regularly updated collections showcase

Promotional features and content

Latest news

Filter and drill down on the left

Central interface to the library

Ability to see different views

Space for further visualisations in the future

Focuses the mind on the data

Front-end: Production/Implementation

• Production• Sign-off info architecture / visual design• Confirm technical requirements• Produce XHTML/CSS/JS• Review/amend

• Implementation• Build on Digital Library back-end APIs• Persistent URL structure• Testing, testing, testing…

Front-end: Testing• Focus on:

• Navigation (discovery/use journeys)• Search (retrieval accuracy)• Item-level functionality (e.g. page-turner)

• Testing audiences• Internal technical team (5 people)• Internal stakeholder group (c.20)• UCLDIS students (c.60)• All Library staff (c.100)• Other externals (unknown)

Front-end: Testing 1 - Internal• Headlines

• Page-turner:– Consistency of modes (1up/2up)– Available functionality – duplication/missing functions

• Listing page:– Facets (need more control to add/remove)– Requirement to add keyword/search within results

• General:– Need for contextual help and detailed support pages– Request for bookmarks/ ‘curated highlights’

Front-end: Testing 1 - Internal• What we changed

• Page-turner– Used same mode throughout, except on explicit change– Removed redundant functions– Added ability to navigate onwards from the page-turner

• Listing page– More facet functionality (list contraction, remove facets)

• General– Planned a review of tooltips– Started to review support/FAQ pages

Front-end: Testing 2 - UCLDIS• Headlines

• Page-turner:– Getting ‘stuck’ in full-screen mode– Lack of focus in grouping functionality– General glitches/bugs

• General:– Suggestions of support page/FAQ content– Necessity of explaining advanced functionality– Requirement for contact information

• Details– Mostly to do with the page-turner

Front-end: Testing 2 - UCLDIS• What we did

• Page-turner:– Completely redesigned the interface– New visual design, IA review

• General:– Incorporated suggestions of topics into support/FAQ– Made support link prominent in full-screen page-turner– Further work on tooltips to align with support pages

Front-end: Testing 2 - UCLDIS• Positive comments

• “visually restful”• “for the record – I really like this site”• “sync manuscript – cool!”

• Negative comments• “stable viewer would enhance the user

experience”• “hate getting stuck”• “frustrating when I get stuck”

Next steps…• Launch/go-live January 2012• Functional iterations

• UI tweaks (things we learnt in testing but haven’t been able to implement yet)

• Preservation metadata and tools

• More content• Migration of existing collections• Workflows for born-digital

• Staff development• New skills for digital world

Ed Fay

e.fay@lse.ac.uk@digitalfay

digital.library.lse.ac.uk

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Locke(used with permission) http://heartlessmachine.com/

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[Various Gnome icons] (GPL) Gnome icon artists

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