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**(apologies for cross-posting)**

 

NOTE: THERE ARE STILL A FEW SPACES LEFT IN THIS WORKSHOP FOR THOSE
INTERESTED IN ATTENDING

 

 

Workshop on developing a services framework for libraries

 

Tuesday, 7 November 2006

 

The Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts

 

During the past year, the DLF Services Framework Working Group (SFG) has


worked through a number of issues in trying to define a basis for 

developing a services framework for libraries and digital libraries. 

Throughout this process, it became clear to the working group members 

that the framework must capture the business logic of what people do in 

libraries and how users interact with libraries. There is currently a 

lack of documentation in this area, but it is critical to understand if 

we are going to consider developing systems that are nimble and can 

easily adapt to the changing library environments in which we live.

 

Borrowing from principles that have been developed in Business Process 

Modeling (BPM) and in Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), the group 

has developed a light-weight approach for beginning to capture the 

business processes of the library and structuring them in a format that 

allows discreet business functions to be identified. These functions, 

emerging from various business areas of the library, are key to 

identifying activities that occur in multiple areas. Using a service 

oriented approach, it is then possible to look at a new way to develop 

systems to meet library needs. As stand-alone units of functionality 

take shape and can be translated to software components, these 

components can be developed once and reused many times, creating a 

plug-and-play architecture where new or better software components can 

be introduced without significant disruption.

 

This workshop will provide an overview of the work of the group to date 

and then focus on a hands-on approach to define various library/digital 

library activities. The workshop attendees will break into three small 

groups to work through the business logic for three library areas: 

Digitization, Storage of digital assets, and Discovery of digital 

assets. The output is expected to be a series of flow charts and a set 

of decomposed business processes and functions that will be included in 

the services framework. These will provide a basis for further systems 

analysis in the future as a SOA-based approach to library automated 

services is considered. Workshop attendees are expected to have 

experience with library IT management and/or technical development of 

digital library projects.

 

The workshop is limited to 25 attendees and will be held on Tuesday, 7 

November 2006 from 9am - 5pm, prior to the start of the DLF Fall Forum 

on 8 November 2006. Lunch will be provided. Interested attendees should 

register by 9 October at http://www.regonline.com/108299. Priority will 

be given to those at DLF member institutions and individuals who are 

members of the SFG. For more information about the SFG's work, 

participants are encouraged to read 

http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july06/lavoie/07lavoie.html.