Bookmark - Courtesy of SecretLondon123 on Flickr

I’m often finding I need to collect some good web resources on a topic to share. Whilst we have been using delicious to collect and share our bookmarks, sometimes that doesn’t quite seem to do them justice. Delicious has the following great “pros”:

• Quick and simple to bookmark, particularly with the integrated browser toolbars and buttons
• Tags are powerful and flexible
• RSS feed of tags allows you to embed your bookmarks in the VLE or anywhere else you need to display them
• Graphical display of tag cloud can be a good visual aid
• Others can subscribe to your RSS feed (or any combination of tags) to keep up with what you are bookmarking

It also has a few “cons”, mostly on the display side:

• Not much space to add your own comments to a link (1000 characters) and no formatting e.g. you cannot include another URL in a comment. (This is something I feel quite strongly about as a user/student – don’t just give me a list of resources, tell me why they are important!)
• It’s not pretty: very basic display with no images or graphics to make it look nicer.
• Limited control with RSS feed or delicious to order how your links are displayed e.g. you cannot choose how to prioritize them

So I have been investigating a few social bookmarking tools which add a bit more functionality. This may be of use to LRC staff or teachers who need to show their students a collection of web resources with some added guidance notes. Some of the resources below can also be embedded in a VLE or website quite easily. They provide a more controlled and graphical way to peruse a collection of web resources without having to repeatedly open new windows or tabs. Some of this could be accomplished by the Intute Informs tool. This resource is currently limited to UK HE and FE but is soon moving to a subscription model. Here I have limited my search to free, open tools. I only had a fairly quick chance to look through some of these but here are some I tried earlier:

1) Diigo has social bookmarking and more. You can bookmark a site, tag it, add it to a list, highlight areas of a webpage, add sticky notes to the web page, collaborate on it, share your collection, display it as a “webslide”. All rich, good functionality with a pleasing interface plus a powerful Firefox Toolbar (presumably other browsers too). I like the Webslides (Short example: http://slides.diigo.com/list/rscsam/Using-Maps-in-Education) but am struggling to get any notes to appear. The one at the beginning is dominated by adverts. You can only add public notes once you are a “trusted user” to avoid spam. Requires more homework for me! It is still in beta.

2) LiveBinders – a way to collect things in web “binders”. This not only includes bookmarking websites but you can also add other content such as documents/images. There is a good blog post on how it could be used in education, even as a free portfolio tool if privacy and reliability (it’s a 3^rd party tool after all) aren’t too much of an issue. I have to say I find the interface very clunky indeed and it displays like an old-school Powerpoint, but the basic functionality is good. You can see a short example here: http://livebinders.com/play/present?id=18332.  There is the option to embed the Binder in another website too.

3) JogtheWeb is another site in beta but it has a very good, clean interface. I had a few teething troubles getting my account going and also it didn’t seem to like my Netvibes page so I had to take that out, but otherwise it seems to work very well. Here’s a very short example: http://www.jogtheweb.com/run/BWbNivxOG8Xn/RSC-Wales-Learning-Resources.

4) Back to Delicious which now has a beta option to “Browse these Bookmarks”.

Screenshot from Delicious

This means you can stepthrough the websites one by one. However you do not get to see any added description or text and there is no control of the sequence other than the order in which they were added (most recent first) so it is really quite limited. You can save a link to a presentation but it is not obvious. You do have the option to save to your own delicious quite easily if browsing someone else’s bookmarks so this is more of an enhancement to using Delicious for resource discovery. A useful option but not so much a tool in its own right. Try it here with RSC Wales’ Media Literacy Resources: http://delicious.com/browsebar/user/rscwales/media_literacy#id=5802f3c4a627d1da9c9dc30035139efe-0

These are just a handful of sites that I have tried and there are plenty more out there. The fact that several of them are in beta means it is probably not a good idea to put all your resource eggs in one basket until they have become truly established players in the social bookmarking world. Even so, it is good to experiment with new methods of displaying useful resources which may entice more students to take notice.

At the macro scale we help develop strategies, work with networks and encourage peer support, promote relevant resources and technologies and best practice, direct people to relevant services that can help (such as the various JISC services). We monitor new technologies and assess their usefulness for enhancing teaching and learning.

As well as the big stuff like that we also respond to queries (receievd by phone or email, or arising from visits to LRCs). I feel that this is an important part of the service – we are one of the places you can turn to with technology questions. We may not always give the direct answer ourselves, since in many cases the solution might be to put the person in question in touch with the person/college/service that has the answer. But our knowledge of the sector and our contacts locally and nationally (e.g. in RSCs across the UK) means we have a wealth of experience to call upon.

During some weeks about half my time is spent responding to queries that come my way via various means. I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the ones I have dealt with in the last month just to show the range of topics and technologies that are relevant to learning resources; also in some cases to share any useful things that were discussed. This is just a selection of those I dealt with, I have missed out some queries about particular resources and franchised courses. It also doesn’t include queries dealt with by Sam (if I included those too then this would be an epic post!) If this is useful then we might do a combined one in the future. So, in no particular order, here are some direct queries from a month in the life of an E-Learning Adviser (Learning Resources). What has been on the minds of librarians in Wales in the last 30 days? Read on to find out.

E-books for FE Project / E-book readers / Exemplary LRCs / Access management / Film-related queries / Hairdressing Training / Grants and funding for staff development / Voting systems / Second Life / RSS / And to finish…

E-books for FE Project

One college asked for more information on the 18 new e-books available as part of this project.

The new titles are:

Anatomy and Physiology for Therapists
Child Care And Early Education
Core Themes in Health and Social Care
Nail Artistry
Beauty Therapy Work Based Learning Level 1 Candidate Book
Beauty Therapy Work Based Learning Level 2 Candidate Book
Beauty Therapy Work Based Learning Level 3 Candidate Book
Equality in Early Childhood
The Official Guide to the City and Guilds Certificate in Salon Services
An Holistic Guide To Massage
‘An Introduction to Children with Special Needs 2nd Edition
The Art Of Dressing Long Hair
BTEC National Business Student Book 1
BTEC National Business Book 2 2nd Edn.
Carpentry & Joinery L1 Candidate Book
Play and Care for Children 4-16
BTEC First Construction Student Book
Microsoft Office Excel 2007: Introductory Concepts and Techniques

Details should have already gone out about accessing the new titles and adding OPAC records, so make sure you are subscribed to the E-BOOKS-FOR-FE@JISCMAIL.AC.UK mailing list to be kept updated. Anna Vernon is the project manager and can add you if you are not on the list already.

With the E-books for FE project there is also the E-select Framework, which enables the college to pay to add extra titles to the Ebrary platform if you wish to build the collection further.

Some colleges are in the process of setting up access to the E-books for FE project. For the colleges without OpenAthens or Shibboleth it is a bit more difficult and RSC Wales is helping out when it can.

E-book readers

This is a topic that turns up regularly, and we have only covered them in detail once in the blog (with an addition here). One librarian asked about whether e-book readers are being used and promoted much in colleges yet, or in universities. Perhaps it could be a way of saving paper in terms of all the PDFs students normally print out!

A lot of libraries in the UK are buying these devices, then often wondering what to do next. As such I wrote an article for the next issue of Sconul Focus which has a summary of my thoughts and further links – it should be freely available online in July and I will link to it then. In the meantime I’m happy to forward a pre-print if you contact me. The article isn’t wholly in praise of the devices. The RSC always adopts the viewpoint that we should use technology where it is appropriate, and to understand the appropriateness you first have to be aware of the potential uses and limitations. We never promote technology just for the sake of it.

It is true that e-book readers can display pdf journal articles too, they are not just limited to books, but I think that unless a student owns their own device (so they have guaranteed access) they are still likely to print articles even if the library makes devices available. This is perhaps inevitable with a lot of technology loan stock, since people will always go for the quickest option if they feel time-pressured.

There are a few links in our Delicious account which could be useful. Do let Sam and I know if you try any services with these devices, we love to hear what colleges think! It helps to inform our opinions and subsequent advice to others.

Exemplary LRCs

One college was very interested in visiting exemplary LRCs and libraries from any sector outside of Wales (since they have seen many of the new buildings and are aware of most of the good practice here). They were interested in good use of technology and exciting learning space design.

This is a good example of where being in contact with my lovely colleagues in the Regional Support Centres elsewhere pays off! Contacts in a few UK areas sent me suggestions of possible places to visit in their regions. Obviously this is limited to a small selection of the many fantastic colleges in each area. Some recommendations were:

• The Fylde College in Blackpool.
• Liverpool Community College’s new building which won’t be ready until 2011.
• There will be a new LRC in Crewe at South Cheshire College next academic year.
• Warwickshire College has a variety of centres across the six sites.
• Birmingham Metropolitan College’s Sutton Coldfield Centre has a newly refurbished LRC which is very colourful, flexible and innovative.
• Aston University library is having a major refurbishment at the moment.
• Warwick University’s Learning Grid (student-run) is an interesting learner-centred space.
• There are several recently completed new builds in the Midlands area: Joseph Chamberlain College, Walsall College, Newcastle Under Lyme College.
• South Bristol Skills Academy – opening for learners in September this year but there may be tours in the Summer – will be very open plan and potentially fun.
• Gloucestershire College – Technology Exemplar College.
• South Devon College – Technology Exemplar College. South Devon College was also one of the colleges featured in the JISC InfoKit Technology Enhanced Learning Environments.

Access management

I had been asked about third party support for setting up Shibboleth. There is a JISC Guide to Third Party Providers for FAM which is the best starting point. Soon almost half of the FE colleges in Wales will be using Shibboleth if all the ongoing projects come to fruition.

I also had a query about institutions merging where the libraries were using a particular access management system and how they might manage it.

Film-related queries

One college had been approached by the Motion Picture Licensing Company which apparently claimed that as a library they should take out a subscription. I have spoken to a few librarians who have been contacted by various copyright licensing and performing rights organisations, sometimes with quite intimidating hard-sell letters that imply that without taking out a licence they are breaking the law. In many cases this is extremely misleading and taking out a licence is unnecessary. If you are unsure of where you stand then it is worth contacting JISC Legal for free advice. Never pay for licences automatically as a result of these letters. There is only a limited pot of money, and it is far better going towards learning resources to support the students and staff than paying for licences that you may not need.

Film is a medium that raises many legal questions for libraries. One college asked about recording from the TV. They hade an ERA (Educational Recording Agency) licence but wanted to check that they were making full use of it, and whether they could record and store TV programmes to stream later on. The ERA have a useful FAQ which covers what can and can’t be recorded, what can be done with the recordings, labelling etc. Obviously to get the most out of the licence your staff need to know about programmes ahead of broadcast so that they can be recorded. There are many online services with television listings – one that is used in educational institutions is TRILT (Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching). There is a basic search for free which only goes back a few weeks, but does let you search for programmes on selected topics in the future, just by typing in keywords. If it is heavily used then it is possible to get access to the full version by joining the BUFVC, though that costs c. £474 p.a. The main advantages are access to lots of materials which support media courses; custom auto-alert emails for forthcoming programmes up to 10 days in advance; and the ability to get DVD copies of programmes which have already been broadcast but which weren’t recorded by the college. Details here.

As to recording and playing back TV, an ERA licence allows a college to do this:

“How can I store recordings? Recordings can be made directly onto video or audio tapes, DVDs and CDs. Digital recordings may also be stored on a licensed establishment’s server. Appropriate security systems must be in place to ensure that only authorised students and teachers can access the recordings. Access is limited to within educational establishments unless an ERA Plus Licence is secured to cover agreed off site access (see section on ERA Plus).”

So there is also the ability to take out an ERA Plus licence for further streaming options if you want to provide off-campus access.

While talking about online TV and education, this is a bit of a tangent, but Teachers TV is a really good resource for teaching staff – useful  for anyone that is interested in education.

Hairdressing Training

Following a revamp of Hairdressing Training one college pointed out that free access to Hairdressing Training is due to expire in July 2010 and asked what will happen after that date. Unfortunately it is impossible to say for sure at present – JISC Collections are still in negotiations about it, and are awaiting confirmation of funding.

Basically there are two elements to Hairdressing Training. There is one part that has been bought in perpetuity and so will always be free. Those are the bits that can be accessed on the site without logging in. Even after July they will still be available.

Then there are the parts that are only available after registration and logging in. JISC Collections is still in negotiations about that area, and hope to get a definite response soon – if the funding is available they will extend the access again. Either way they hope to make an announcement in the near future.

Grants and funding for staff development

We received a query from a librarian who wanted to go to our Learning in a Digital Wales event, but there was no budget left in the college’s staff development fund to cover the costs, so we were asked if there were any grants or bursaries that might help with the cost.

CyMAL could potentially help here – they fund bursaries for staff conferences. The information required is available here: scroll down to click on the ‘workforce development support’ document which outlines what they will pay for (usually conference fees only). Then you would need to put in an application to CyMAL. Alyson Tyler said the turnaround is 1-3 weeks. The Information for Applicants document is on the same page, along with the application form.

CILIP Wales and CoFHE may fund conference costs too.

Voting systems

One college had been in touch about the Turning Point voting system and its use in LRCs. This may be something to look into again, or to discuss in an LR Managers’ meeting. What are people’s experiences? Do the benefits outweigh the set-up and training time?

Second Life

I had some questions from a college about Second Life and other virtual worlds, and how students might collaborate online in a virtual world.

RSC Wales have a collaborative area in Second Life which we use for meetings, and it is a good place to start – let us know if you ever want us to show you around!

Our Delicious account has various links which might be of interest for general information. The virtual world snapshots of activity in HE and FE are also worth reading. The latest one says:

“As with all the previous snapshots, Second Life remains the virtual world ‘of choice’ for UK academics who responded to the survey. However, also as with previous snapshots, other virtual worlds are in use, such as OLIVE at Coventry University for emergency planning, and OpenSim at Leeds for handling large numbers of art and design students.”

RSS

I also started looking into a query today about RSS and using it to promote library news, linked to the OPAC.

And to finish…

I can’t resist adding a new technology I came across last week, raised as part of a discussion about noise in libraries. The SoundEar is a ‘visual noise indicator’ with a built in microphone that displays a green light to indicate that it is monitoring. As the pre-defined noise limit is approached more of the ear lights up, and when the noise limit is exceeded the device signals this by lighting up the red ear and the word ‘Warning!’. It is designed to be placed on the wall of an area which you want to keep at a reasonable level of noise (e.g. a workstation room). Apparently it can be useful as a way of getting students to self-regulate their noise levels by giving visual feedback. So now technology can even help to keep libraries and computer rooms as places suitable for learning!

Thursday 4th March was World Book Day (there is a separate site for Wales here). As with last year, many colleges in Wales took part. Below are details of some – feel free to send more details, photos etc. and I will upload them here.

Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor

The college celebrated World Book Day by holding a sponsored walk, along the Tree Trail on the Glynllifon site (though all sites participated). The Park warden led the walk and money was raised for Ty Gobaith.

Coleg Ceredigion, Cardigan Campus

The college has a group of reluctant readers and the LRC encourages them to log onto lovereading.co.uk (one of many useful reader development sites). There they read and print off the first chapter of their chosen book. If they decide they really like it then the LRC buys two copies of that book, one for the student and one for their tutor, with the plan that they will read the whole book together during special reading hours. This was promoted heavily for World Book Day.

Aberystwyth University

Here is a Higher Education example from Wales. Aberystwyth University celebrated with a number of linked activities: a quiz, e-book readers demonstrations, desert island books display, a book swap, and a collaborative story. Read their World Book Day Report here (PDF, 940KB).

Friday 5th March: E-books exchange of experience

On Friday 5th March I attended this e-books event organised by WHELF (Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum) and held at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. The day was bright and sunny, so I made a point of walking from the city centre to the campus – an hour of quality thinking time!

The morning of the event consisted of librarians from three of the universities (Swansea University, UWIC, Cardiff University) talking about their e-book collections. It was interesting to see the scale of some of the subscriptions, and the range of suppliers used.

One topic that recurred was the issue of publicity for e-books. Many ideas were suggested, some of which included:

• Dummy books for specific titles in the relevant places on bookshelves which point to the e-book availability. Dummies can be made from old VHS, CD or DVD cases.
• Stickers on physical books when there is also an e-version, alerting the user.
• Emails promoting e-books.
• Guides e.g. to using Ebrary.
• Links from the library catalogue to individual titles.
• Promotion on the web pages.
• ‘E-book of the month’ posters.
• E-book posters on the bookshelves.
• Displays.

[As an aside, e-book promotion is something discussed on the E-BOOKS-FOR-FE JISCmail list - subscribe or read here.]

Many of the benefits of e-books were highlighted:

• Increased access to titles in high demand.
• Students can’t hide the e-books!
• Get round the problem of limited physical storage space.
• Support learners when they are off-campus.
• The usage statistics allow an evidence-based approach to appropriate title selection.

Also some of the challenges e-books present:

• Some users/staff don’t really like them because large amounts of text can be uncomfortable to read on the screen.
• Too many e-book platforms. Too many different procedures for different aggregators. Aggregator policies inconsistent. Access – interface overload.
• E-book pricing inconsistent.
• The problem of getting new editions.
• Some problems with MARC records.
• e-ISBNs are a bit of a mess.
• Finding the time/resources to catalogue everything – should we include freely available e-books?
• DRM.
• Resource discovery (especially for off-campus students).
• Future access from mobile devices.
• Statistics – not always Counter compliant, hard to aggregate, a pain to review.

The general feeling was that a critical mass has yet to be achieved in the e-book collections, but they are inevitable part of the future of resource provision.

In the afternoon I gave two presentations myself, a short one on the E-books for FE Project, and a long one on E-book Readers and their potential uses for libraries. If you are interested in the latter subject then I have written an article on it which should appear in the next issue of SCONUL Focus – I will link to it from here once published.

I thought I would bring together a few tools or sites that I had played with over the last year:

• QR codes
• Cartoons
• Animoto
  
• Crosswords
• Quizzes

QR codes

The basics of these have already been covered by Sam. I have been following examples of use, from US studies of their potential, to commercial uses such as Google’s ‘Favorite Places’. I also tried things out using my work mobile phone, and was impressed at how easy it was. You just have to download some software to your phone if it isn’t already on there (I used QuickMark software but I have also heard good things about the Kaywa Reader). Then you can point your phone camera at QR codes and in a fraction of a second the code is deciphered and displayed on the screen. You can make your own (e.g. try here or here), or point at the code below.

How might libraries use QR codes? Below are a few ideas:

• QR code on textbooks in the library – scan to get a subject guide to resources that area (e.g. catering), including classmarks to look at, core texts, useful magazines, websites etc.
• Fiction collections – scan the code to get the e-book version, e.g. from
  Project Gutenberg if it is a classic text.
• Reference collection book – scan the code to go through to a reference
  website on that subject (e.g. online dictionary or style guide), or the library’s own virtual reference collection.
• Posters linking to the relevant web pages. Or notice boards could have
  QR codes next to headlines, which when scanned take the user through to a blog entry on that subject.
• Used as part of induction, for an innovative quiz where there are blocks of QR code information around the library, with a sort of treasure hunt following QR code clues on signs and hidden in some books. Students would be lent a phone if they don’t have their own. The hunt would involve using library resources such as the OPAC, and only if things are done in the correct order will they get the correct final code (which might open a safe; be a classmark for a book with a voucher in; it could be a map reference; or something more imaginative).
• Library cards could have QR codes with user information on, or to take the user to their library account on their phone so they can renew books etc (after some other form of authentication too, of course).
• Other uses for QR codes on a physical item, enabling users to see the
  catalogue record, reviews, similar items etc.
• On the OPAC so users can get locations, classmarks and item details onto their phone for finding item on shelves, or adding to bibliographies. This was done at Aberystwyth University as one of the mobile phone enhancements (the OPAC also has the ability to send an SMS with item details to a mobile phone). To view the QR code function, search the OPAC then click on the “QR code” link in the “Availability” section when viewing a record.
• To provide context specific help and information in the library, as
  at Huddersfield University.

Will any of this be commonplace in LRCs in 5 years? Let me know if you are
using them yourself!

Update 27 April 2010: I have just become aware of this article by Andrew Walsh, ‘Quick response codes and libraries’ (2009).

Cartoons

Librarians are always looking for ways to get information across to users. Pictorial methods are attractive, but not many of us have any artistic talent. That is where sites like Bitstrips come in, since with Bitstrips it is easy and quick to create a cartoon. You can design your own characters to appear in it, or use the hundreds that are provided on the site already. The system is easy to use – pose the figure, choose a facial expression, stick some props in the background, and add a text or speech bubble; then tweak until you are happy with it. The end result is that you can link to the cartoon on Bitstrips, or download it as an image to use in newsletters and on notice boards. Bitstrips are obviously aware of educational uses, since they have recently launched ‘Bitstrips for Schools‘.

I created a few for my RSC Wales job, see the RSC Wales LR Netvibes account. Also in my other role at Aberystwyth University, to promote our federated search tool. The fact that it is so easy to edit the cartoons means it is simple to go back in and create a Welsh version.

Animoto

I have always been a fan of Animoto. It is a site that lets you upload images and select music, and they get mixed together into a video slideshow which can then be viewed online, embedded on a webpage, or downloaded. In the early days you had to add words to an image yourself if you wanted text, but nowadays there are options to include titles and subtitles, and even to incorporate video clips. The basic version which creates short 60 second clips is free to use; however I took out a subscription so that I can create videos of any length.

I have used Animoto in various ways.

• Sometimes when I am doing a teaching session I like to have looped music and video playing as people come in and settle down: to help create an informal atmosphere, act as a border between the ‘outside world’ and the session proper, and possibly to raise some questions in advance of the session. This is an example I used in a session I ran on using multimedia resources.
• An attractive way of getting a simple message across.
• To promote a new service (ac yn Saesneg)
• As an ‘attract mode’ running on a laptop when you are on a stall e.g. a recent stall I ran demonstrating e-book readers had this animation playing to pull people over.
• A fun way of introducing people with photos and names.
• For your own projects outside of work e.g. presenting a poem, holiday snapshots.

Crosswords

LRCs often like to offer quizzes as ways of summarising information or reinforcing it later. Crosswords are an easy way to do this, something some users might enjoy (though they shouldn’t be over-used, and many students will hate them – it is just an alternative way of giving information). Creating a crossword by hand is a daunting task, and thankfully unnecessary! Lots of software is available. My favourite is Eclipse Crossword, which is free and simple to use, yet powerful and fast. If you haven’t tried it before, why not incorporate a quick crossword into one of your information literacy sessions, leaflets, inductions or competitions, or use one as part of a promotion of resources and services?

Quizzes

At the end of a teaching session it is good to include some way of reviewing the content. Institutions with voting systems or interactive whiteboards can use those, but there are many other options for running a quiz. One of my favourites at the moment is ‘Multiple Choice Quiz Creator‘, which resembles ‘Who Want To Be A Millionaire?’ in format and sounds. I like the fact that you only need a laptop/PC, speakers, and (ideally) a projector. Sometimes I get a student to take part, helped by the rest of the people at the session; sometimes I get people to call out answers; other times I put the lecturer on the hotspot (depending on the vibe of the session and how relaxed people are!) It has proven to be a fun way to finish off with a laugh, with a prize of some sort for the winner (e.g. a USB memory stick or some pens). The quizzes are free to play (since the display software has no limits), but the quiz creator programme itself is only free for thirty days. You can download sample quizzes here if you want to try it out.

I’ll blog about some of the sessions and some of my thoughts, with  inevitable emphasis on the areas most relevant to libraries and LRCs. I haven’t been Tweeting with the rest of the Twittoratti, but there was plenty to digest on the #fam09 tag.

If you want to find out more about the event you can view the programme, download many of the presentations or visit the FAM09 social site.

First, a recap of the access management options for e-resources

Shibboleth (by which I mean Federated Access Management) was the main option under discussion. It requires either in-house support, or you can pay a third party to set to it and provide support until you have enough in-house experience.

A related option, offering the same functionality, is to pay for a subscription to the OpenAthens Service, to gain Shibboleth-like features. I think of the Shibboleth/OpenAthens options as being like looking for somewhere to live.

OpenAthens is like renting a nice appartment. It is nice to live in, but you can’t do what you like with the apartment (e.g. replacing the windows if you don’t like them), and you will never own the apartment – if ever you stop paying the rent you get kicked out and have nothing to show for the years you paid for. Though while you do pay rent, someone else will (hopefully) be responsible for repairs to the property.

Shibboleth is like buying a house. There is a cost at the start, and you the one reponsible for maintaining the property. You can do that yourself if you have the skill; or pay someone else to do so, and maybe when you understand more go on a DIY course yourself and start to do your own maintenance.

There are two other common access management options, though I can’t think of a way of extending the house analogy to them without it being contrived, so I’ll just describe them straight. One option (often used in conjunction with Shibboleth) is to use the more traditional IP plus proxy solution to on-and-off campus access to resources and services.

There is also sometimes the option to have a single, fixed username and password for off-campus access, which can be workable for small e-resource portfolios. This option is gradually disappearing for many resource providers though.

Some of the sessions I attended

Identity and Access as UK Priority, Sara Marsh and Peter Tinson

This session was a summary of where we came from (beginning in 2004), where we are, where we’re going, and potential barriers to getting there, so was an appropriate conference opener. Sara likened herself to the jam of the talk, sandwiched between Peter’s opening and closing bread. I was glad to see that the bread was wholemeal.

The early landscape was one where there were few Shibbolised resources and a lack of in-house skills. Organisations lacked institutional access management strategies, and IT departments felt that access management was just about access to e-resources, and was therefore only a library issue.

And now? All but a few of the big publishers offer Federated Access Management as an option, and those that don’t offer it are under increasing pressure. UCISA and SCONUL surveys found that access and identity management is now in the top ten strategic issues listed by their members, so the importance has risen (though the issue is not at the top of the list).

What is needed for the future? Two main things stood out. Firstly access and identity management/Federated Access Management needs to get into top-level strategies. Secondly we need more examples of the benefits early adopters have gained from Federated Access Management in order to make the strongest possible management case.

Federated Access, the Library Experience, Sarah Pearson, Richard Cross and Francis Lowry

The experiences of two institutions (the University of Birmingham and Nottingham Trent University) in implementing Shibboleth. Many of the things said rang true to my experiences of being involved with a university implementation.

Sarah Pearson spoke about the Birmingham experience. In Birmingham they have used Shibboleth to implement single sign-on (SSO) to Metalib (their federated search tool) and EZproxy, but not to the VLE yet. They try to push users through Metalib as the primary means of accessing e-resources, since then the library can make access more seamless to users.

Sarah showed a diagram of the various ways in which a user at the University of Birmingham accesses e-resources (see below – click to enlarge). It illustrates the complexity of managing the various access options – a diagram like that can be a valuable thing for any library to create in attempting to identify areas which need work.

Collaboration for the University of Birmingham Shibboleth implementation was between:

• Serials Team (Library Services)
  They activated e-resources, customised links, implemented authentication, and did troubleshooting.
• Digital Library Team (IT Services)
  Managed Metalib and SFX installation including interaction with the IdP (Identity Provider)
• Networks Team (IT Services)
  Setup and maintenance of IdP and interaction with BIIS registry

See Sarah’s presentation for the implementation timescale and process – it shows the complexity of the move from the librarian’s perspective, all the processes involved before you even reach the user education element! Issues such as contacting service providers, finding out what information to provide, obtaining WAYFLess URL information, testing etc is all time-consuming, and if you need to manage resources in a federated search tool like Metalib there are extra steps.

One issue Sarah raised was the fact that some users will navigate directly to a resource rather than going through the library portal, so they will have to deal with WAYFs. Her team has now incorporated that route into their user education (guidance on Metalib and in induction).

Then Richard and Francis gave the Nottingham Trent University perspective. Nottingham Trent University were early Shibboleth adopters, and the central message I took away from their part of the presentation was the positive one that they had experienced no problems, Shibboleth has been stable with no downtime, and it all just worked from day one – on which day it was heavily used by students to take advantage of Microsoft’s free DreamSpark offer (it requires an institution to be using Federated Access Management for their students to benefit – another reason to switch!)

A valuable piece of advice from the presentation was that they never refer to Shibboleth when communicating with users, they only talk about the ‘University username and password’. Obviously they refer to it among library and IT staff though.

In terms of transition, they had a roadmap and a blog to inform staff. They also created a wiki that includes every e-resource they subscribe to and how users access it (since terminology varies from provider to provider), so that staff know how to help off-campus users for each resource. Bear in mind that the help staff on campus won’t see login screens, they will be automatically validated via IP, so this kind of information is invaluable for user suppport. Richard and Francis lamented that there is no consistency of terminology in how Service Providers refer to the login options, necessitating this approach.

The main lessons Richard and Francis wished to share:

• Plan early
• IT and library staff must work together (a partnership emphasised in other talks too)
• Communicate with Service Providers – don’t assume anything
• Don’t expect glowing praise from users – access management should be invisible to them if it works (but expect complaints when it doesn’t!)

They concluded that it is an ongoing process of development, it is not all over on the day that Shibboleth is installed. Also Shibboleth is not a solution to everything, but it is an important and flexible building block in the organisation’s infrastructure.

There were some similarities between the setup at the two universities. For example, both institutions currently use a combination of Shibboleth, IP/EZProxy and other methods (for a minority of resources). Both are currently using Shibboleth 1.3 but are planning to move to version 2.

Both also agreed on some of the challenges:

• There are personalisation issues when using dual authentication (e.g. Shibboleth plus IP). However they can be dealt with e.g. Nottingham Trent University migrated accounts wholesale where possible (e.g. for Refworks) and when that wasn’t an option they supported users individually in migrating settings. In a few instances users had to rebuild their personalisation from scratch.
• Not all Service Providers use a standard WAYFless URL structure, and many don’t include the ability to deep-link it e.g. to a particular e-book or database. Those that do have WAYFless structures may not tell you. There is a lack of standards here.

Tech 101 for Librarians, Andy Swiffin

Andy tackled the issue of terminology, trying to unravel the acronyms, as well as placing the emphasis on why and how you deploy an IdP (Identity Provider). He emphasised the relative simplicity of the process – if you have a web server with Tomcat, and have an identity source e.g. LDAP or Microsoft Active Directory, then you can do it easily. Andy has done a Shibboleth install and configured and tested it in just 12 minutes!

Why adopt FAM?

The same answers came up in a number of sessions, so it makes sense to just summarise the common answers here.

• Increased user privacy.
• KISS – Keep things simple for the user by enabling single-sign-on (SSO) for internal and external resources.
• Granularity – Federated Access Management enables fine-grained authorisation, so it should be possible to save money by only buying a specialist resource for the group that needs it, rather than paying for a subscription for the whole institution that will only be used by a few people. Obviously the ideal from a librarian’s perspective is to offer access to everyone, but as Sara Marsh pointed out – if it is a choice between paying for access for a group that needs something, or not getting the resource at all because access for the entire organisation is too expensive, the former is better than no access at all.

Social gaming

After the evening meal on Monday there was a games room for socialising to take place in. Four Nintendo Wiis were set up so that people could compete in Mario Kart, boxing, baseball, ten-pin bowling, Wii Fit and winter sports; along with giant Jenga and Connect 4, table football and air hockey. I put in some sterling defence work on the table football, but my gaming ability was a major letdown at ten-pin bowling, and for some reason my bowling ball always ended up in the gutter or – even worse – rolling away from me in the wrong direction. I’m almost certain that it was a faulty controller :-p but it made it look like I couldn’t hold my own in a Wii-ing contest.

Another reason for my lack of time for blogs is that I only work for RSC Wales on Mondays and Tuesdays (for the rest of the week I work as a librarian for Aberystwyth University), normally job-sharing with Sam who covers the RSC role Wednesdays to Fridays. Sam is on maternity leave (and is doing really well!), so I’ve been on my own for a while, but now there is now extra learning resources support because Owen Phillips is providing maternity cover until Sam returns. LRC staff will no doubt be hearing from him soon!

Newport, Tuesday 13th – Wednesday 14th October

Ironically (considering I hadn’t had time to blog here for a while), I was in Newport on these days, teaching librarians how to blog! I ran a number of workshops which gave the background on Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and blogging, before looking at examples of library blogs from Wales. The librarians who came to the sessions were all great, and we had some thought-provoking discussions about how and why blogs can be used, as well as a hands-on where many trial blogs were created.

Getting to the fun part of the workshop...

Cardiff, Thursday 15th October

I was in Cardiff to visit Coleg Glan-Hafren with other RSC Wales staff. We discussed a range of e-learning topics, including technologies like voting systems, and ways of assessing the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Then I got to do my favourite thing – have a tour of the LRC! Carolyn Howe, the LRC Manager, showed me round. I enjoyed their Online Book Club displays, and took samples of the colourful leaflets and bookmarks that go with them. Students are encouraged to read the books, post reviews, read other students’ reviews and discuss them online via Moodle. This is a good way of encouraging reader development even when a group is unable to meet at regular times. Students can even write short reviews on the bookmark, and the data will be uploaded by LRC staff – a good example of making things easier for students! Another example of LRC staff going out of their way to be helpful is that some of the most relevant journal articles are indexed and records are added to the OPAC. This increases the use of the valuable print journals and aids resource discovery for students.

Coleg Glan-Hafren uses a PC booking system to ensure fair use of the PCs (which had the pleasant side-effect of  improving LRC staff and student relationships!). The LRC takes the innovative (and successful) line of not having fines for overdue books – instead they use the PC booking system to block the offending student’s access to the workstations until the items are returned, which ensures that the books do get returned – quickly! The system is also used for room bookings. There is a kiosk for students to book things themselves which frees up staff time for more valuable work, as well as encouraging student independence in the allocation of their own time.

Coleg Glan-Hafren is promoting the E-books for FE project, and even has a search box on every PC desktop that takes users straight through to relevant books. Currently Coleg Glan-Hafren uses OpenAthens and IP to provide students with access, but the college is considering moving to Federated Access Management in the future.

Aberystwyth, Friday 16th October

I made one of my rare appearances at CyMAL on that date, for a Libraries for Life meeting. I made suggestions concerning improving information dissemination about regional courses in Wales, and the importance of documenting library refurbishments funded by CyMAL in order to benefit other libraries. The truth is that the notion of new build as a cure-all is flawed, partly due to: the expense; the all or nothing nature and dangers when things go wrong (see here, here, here and here); and the environment/resource issues. However renovation and innovation are much more interesting, and there are a huge number of libraries in the position of being based in a building that they consider to be unsuitable, and looking for ideas. So what is needed is more imaginative focus on what can be done with existing estate. Refurbishments can have a stepped approach e.g. lower level funding for furniture, wi-fi, flexible learning and teaching spaces; but with more ambitious plans for if funding is available (restucturing, replace walls, moving entrances and staircases etc.) which avoids the ‘all or nothing’ danger inherent in new build projects. Fully documenting and promoting this kind of work is important for making people aware of the options.

Deeside, Tuesday 20th October

A visit to Deeside College with other RSC Wales staff (Owen Phillips, Helen Hodges, and Christine Davies). Deeside College has now merged with the Welsh College of Horticulture, so it was interesting to discuss the ways in which the best practices of both institutions can be combined. We also discussed a topic dear to many librarians’ hearts – the blocking of Web 2.0 resources. YouTube and other video sites have now been unblocked at Deeside College, since they are relevant to teaching (e.g. the catering courses use lots of clips from professional chefs). However some social networking sites such as FaceBook remain blocked. The debate about the educational utility of Web 2.0 continues! Where do you stand? Frivolous use of resources and time, or invaluable tools for education? I imagine most people fall between the two extremes, which is why the debate is so important so that policies can achieve the best balance.

The Learning Zone (LRC) is a two-floor open space which acts as a one-stop shop for many services. Patrick Cox (the LRC and E-learning Manager) told us that the Learning Zone is wi-fi enabled and students can bring their own laptops, or borrow a laptop from LRC bank of laptops. LRCs lead the way in providing flexible options like this, catering for different student learning styles and needs.

Wrexham, Wednesday 21st October

While in the North we visited Yale College, as the final leg of our tour! Owen and I spent time with Joanne Stewart and Maria Lewis, finding out more about the LRC.  The multi-floor LRC is heavily used, spacious and welcoming, with great use of exhibition space and displays of student art. There was also an interactive whiteboard in an open teaching area of the library, used during induction and information skills sessions – a great way of taking information out of closed rooms and into the relevant spaces and showing the teaching that LRC staff do.

There is also wi-fi in the Yale College LRC – users register their MAC addresses and can then use laptops, iPod Touches etc. There are more access points being added around the college, and also a trolley of rechargeable laptops for flexible access.

The LRC promotes reader development in many ways, from displays expanding on topics near the relevant book stock, to an ‘LRC Book of the Week’ on the staff intranet. The LRC is also hoping to embed resources within the relevant course areas on the VLE, which can be a great way to increase the visibility of quality resources and weaken the grip of Google! The LRC is keen on using Web 2.0 tools to communicate with users – there ia a blog and accounts for Twitter, Flickr and Netvibes (I’ll add links here once I have them).

Visiting all three college LRCs (Glan-Hafren Deeside, Yale) was great, you can see how popular and central to the college they all are by the buzz of use. If I was an FE student again I’d love to use any of them for my research.

Swansea, Friday 23rd – Monday 26th October

Across Wales again – but not for work this time! A long weekend in Swansea to enjoy one of my favourite eating places, my new hobby of kayaking, and a chance to do a bit of creative writing.

Windblown sand on Swansea beach

Morning view on holiday

Has your institution signed up to the E-books for FE deal yet? [In the sense of having submitted a signed agreement form.]

If no, are there any particular obstacles that have prevented you from setting up access for your institution? [1 response]

1.    we are not members of Shibboleth or Open Athens

Has the site for your institution been set up by Ebrary, with access for your users?

If yes, how long did it take? Any other comments? [6 responses]

1.    a couple of weeks after signing the agreement.
2.    couple of days
3.    Fairly quick after initial problem – they got our details a bit wrong
4.    A couple of weeks – as expected, given the volume of FE subscribers I’m surprised that others have felt this timescale was so slow!
5.    About 2 weeks after completing licence agreement
6.    Around 5 weeks from sending off completed agreement.

What access method did you select?

Do you have any comments about the options offered by Ebrary? [5 responses]

1.    It would have been nice to have on-site access by IP as well
2.    Original offer should have been remote access and IP not one or the other. I understand that this issue has now been resolved.
3.    Not having IP access is a disadvantage. It will make it harder to promote the database and encourage staff to access it
4.    Would have liked IP access as well as evidence suggests this is what students tend to use but this what outweighed by the need for off campus access for those who need it
5.    Would have liked a vareity of options rather than just one. We are still trying to get Shibboleth to work and so IP access would also have been helpful. We may find that 3 months are spent getting the shibboleth access sorted!

Have you downloaded the MARC records for the titles into your library catalogue?

If yes, were there any problems? What LMS do you use? Other comments? [6 responses]

1.    No problems. We use Heritage, and they were very helpful in making it easy for their users by liaising with Ebrary over this.
2.    For some reason the records won’t download in Heritage. I’ve informed Heritage support and we are in dialogue.
3.    To be honest I’m not sure if we have or not (and person who would know is on leave)!
4.    Autolib, they have just sent me a link for downloading the records.
5.    Heritage LMS – provided file and worked fairly easily
6.    Use Alice (Softlink) – not yet aware if we can download MARC records

Do you have any plans for promoting the e-books next term? E.g. demos to teachers, or pointing out titles useful to certain courses, or promoting Ebrary platform features? [13 responses]

1.    yes – demos for staff and students. pointing out useful titles for staff, and also to stick on Moodle site. Promote on web pages and Library Moodle.
2.    We will be adding stickers to books that are also available via the ebrary. Main point of entry will be via our Moodle page. Some tutors have already been introduced to the ebrary, but not all. We will be actively promoting the ebrary via posters and other displays and will likely run workshops throughout the year.
3.    Yes, staff development sessions and promotion of ebook libraries. Also including ebook libraries in the student inductions.
4.    Inductions, collection per course of useful titles, inform Heads of Department to disseminate resource,
5.    Yes – but not yet firmed up. We’ll use a range of concurrent measures and also promote them to students in induction. Will monitor promotional activity and effectiveness and be ready to report back.
6.    Yes. Will certainly demo it to teachers, but have not thought of a coherent strategy yet. I’m waiting to get it on our OPAC first.
7.    Yes – face-to-face demonstrations, e-mailing bookshelves to tutors etc
8.    Will be incorporated into ‘advanced inductions’ have already done some staff development sessions with tutors
9.    No plans as yet, as we are short of staff time to do this at present.
10.    Yes, website links, catalogue links, demo’s during research sessions.
11.    Yes; demos to staff, holding drop in sessions for staff and students; getting ourselve invited to Faculty meetings; holding drop ins for staff during STaff Development days, advertising on the widget – you name it we’ll be doing it!
12.    Yes – will provide demos and point out useful e-books in inductions
13.    Not yet – need to get access first

There is an extra allocation for textbooks of relevance to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. If there are any textbooks that you would like to see available in this, enter their details below. The comments will be passed on to the E-books for FE Project Manager. [4 responses]

1.    University of Wales Press titles would be particularly useful as these are often either out of print/print on demand and generally hard to get hold of. Some example titles:
A History of Wales 1906 – 2000, Gareth Evans (9780708315941)
A History of Wales, 1815 – 1906, Gareth Evans 9780708310281)
Hope and Heartbreak: A Social History of Wales, 1776 – 1871, Russell Davies (9780708319321)
Organise! Organise! Organise!, Ryland Wallace (9780708310786 )
Welsh-language textbooks such as:
GCSE Mathematics / TGAU Mathemateg (9780340927366)
IT / Technoleg Gwybodaeth (9781845210977)
2.    At this moment in time nothing comes to mind but would like the opportunity to be able to submit requests in the future should anything deem appropriate
3.    More books for our Business and Professional faculty would be nice e.g. hairdressing, beauty, introductory business books.
4.    Relevant FE vocational titles – again person who would know which key texts are available in Welsh is on leave

Ebrary have agreed to look into creating a Welsh interface for their e-books platform. Would this be useful to your institution? Would you promote it?

Comments (on Welsh interface) [7 responses]

1.    Welsh is already promoted quite well within our LRC and we would happily promote a Welsh-language interface. Usage of the Welsh language in the xxx area isn’t great but both members of LRC staff are able to speak Welsh as well as a few other members of staff. I envisage that it would be particularly useful for our outreach learners, many of whom are based in more ‘Welshy’ areas.
2.    Not terribly useful in reality but would be good politically.
3.    This should be a given in Wales even if colleges have a small Welsh language cohort.
4.    The uptake probably wouldn’t be great, but it would help college satisfy its Welsh language obligations.
5.    We already have a bilingual catalogue and KnowUK was also available bilingually
6.    Usage would be minute, to be frank.
7.    Not sure how much usage it would have but would a good feature.

Many thanks to those college LRCs that responded to my survey: Barry College, Bridgend College, Coleg Ceredigion, Coleg Glan Hafren, Coleg Harlech, Coleg Llandrillo, Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, Coleg Powys, Coleg Sir Gar, Gorseinon College, Swansea College.

With Devolve Me, a student can upload a photo and see themself as they might have looked millions of years ago. It is a good example of the many small, single-function teaching and learning sources that can tie into a lesson whilst also being fun for the students.

In the interests of research I had a go myself, moving backwards through time. I am sure H.G. Wells would approve.

Homo heidelbergensis (500,000 years ago):

Homo erectus (1.8 million years ago):

Homo habilis (2.2 million years ago):

Australopithecus afarensis (3.7 million years ago):

An exciting new, free JISC-funded resource launched last week, relevant to many subjects. A Vision of Britain Through Time gives access to over two centuries’ worth of acts, figures, surveys, maps, election results and travel writing, showing how 15,000 UK places have changed.

Project director, Dr Humphrey Southall, of the University of Portsmouth, says:

Through the site we are offering an unprecedented amount of information detailing how Britain has changed over many centuries. Simply keying in a place-name or postcode unlocks a vast treasury of facts, figures, images and descriptions – from mediaeval boundaries to what the 2001 Census uncovered via, perhaps, a town’s appearance on a 19th century map, a comment by a touring agitator, a crop report from the 1930s and more. The range and depth of the information makes it a terrific resource for professional and amateur historians who want a complete picture of what a place was like at a particular point in history, but the site isn’t only a way to look back. The content is already in demand from researchers and forecasters watching for changes and trends of relevance now or in the future.

JISC digitisation programme manager, Alastair Dunning, added:

This new site is an excellent example of what JISC is enabling, and why. By helping the project to improve its historic boundary maps and add new, fully cross-indexed, content, JISC is making it easier for scholars across all disciplines, to access data. While also granting free access to researchers from other sectors, including healthcare planners, local government, climatologists and the ever growing number of people who are interested in
local and family history.

Read more about JISC’s digitisation programme.

I decided to put it to the test, so spent an hour exploring the site with my nephew. We compared facts and figures for Aberystwyth and Manchester, and discussed the implications of some of the graphs and statistics.

The negatives:

• Sometimes we got a bit lost, for example not all the maps had an explanatory key; or it would be unclear as to the differences between some sets of data.
• The site contains Google Ads (possibly a first for a JISC-funded project, and hopefully not the start of a trend), and the commercial advertising makes it look less like a quality academic resource. I do a lot of information literacy work to do with website evaluation, and one of the areas relates to bias/website purpose and includes looking out for advertising as one of the potential criteria for evaluation. I was running a session on this recently so the advertising seemed to stand out.

The positives:

• The site includes a wealth of valuable material, especially if you are willing to dig around and explore.
• The site led us to lots of discussion points.
• The four e-learning tutorials were a useful way in to navigate some of the themes.

Some LRC staff have asked me about changes to JISC banding if colleges merge, since we have an number of possible college mergers in Wales. The JISC band has an element based on FTEs, and the JISC band determines subscription cost: therefore a change in band following a merger can result in an increase in subscription e-resource costs. The following advice was put together with the help of JISC Collections (many thanks Brian!).

Q: Where can I find out more about JISC banding, and what my institution’s band is?

The JISC Collections website has a page about this.

Q: Is there an obligation on the college LRS to tell each e-resource provider about the merger?

There is an obligation to tell the publisher about the merger as this is a change in your status, and to avoid any potential breaches of the licences you hold.

Q: How would the new JISC band be decided?

Once the mergers are confirmed as going ahead JISC Collections needs to be informed. They will forward the emails onto their consultant who advises them on JISC Banding. He needs the following information from you about the projected funding for the merged colleges, so that he can calculate your new JISC Bands following the mergers:

• Anticipated funding from DCELLS
• Anticipated funding from HEFCW (if any)
• Anticipated research council funding

The College finance departments should be able to help you with these figures but if you need clarification on this, let JISC Collections know.

Q: Will the librarian have to renegotiate e-resource contracts and pay more for the remainder of any agreement?

• If the resource was not a JISC Collections deals: it will depend on the individual service provider as to what they do e.g. if there is not long left on the current agreement they may just leave it, and move the college to the new band when the new subscription year starts.
• If the resource IS a JISC Collections deal: any JISC Collections agreements which each respective college has currently subscribed to will continue as they were until the agreements end e.g. KnowUK and NewsUK at JISC Band G for College X and Britannica Online at JISC Band J for Y. Once these agreements have been renewed the College can then join the new agreements with the new JISC Band (the subscription will cover all sites at that point). With the free of charge resources (for example Film & Sound Online, Jorum, NewsFilm Online, and Hairdressing Training), you may need to re-sign the licences so that both sites are covered under the licence i.e. as the new college.

Q: What if a college subscribed to a resource and the one they are merging with didn’t?

• If the resource was not a JISC Collections deals: contact the resource provider.
• If the resource IS a JISC Collections deal: If one institution subscribes to one or more resources but the other does not then JISC Collections can contact the publishers on your behalf to see if access can be extended to staff and students at the non-subscribing site. An additional fee may be payable to the publisher in order for this to happen.

Q: If a resource is used by one college (e.g. an agricultural college) and unlikely to be relevant to the one they merge with, will they still have an increase in subscription cost because of a change of JISC band, even though the number of people using a resource won’t go up?

• If the resource was not a JISC Collections deal: contact the resource provider, explaining the situation. It may be that you don’t have to increase the subscription, especially if you can restrict access to students on the course (possible if the college is using Federated Access Management/Shibboleth).
• If the resource IS a JISC Collections deal: The answer to this can get a little complex. If it is a resource which one of the colleges had subscribed to prior to the merger then they can continue to pay at the JISC Banded rate they were paying prior to the merger (they would simply choose not to extend access to the other sites). Once the agreement is renewed they would normally have to pay at the new JISC Banded rate as the licence would cover the whole institution. In those cases where an FE College merges with a HE institution JISC Collections can arrange for the FE staff and students to subscribe to an FE only agreement on the basis that access to the resource is restricted to the staff and students on the FE campus and courses. Because of the complexity of this area, you should definitely contact JISC Collections to discuss the situation.

Update 25 Jan 2010: Mark Ludlam of Gorseinon College has created a useful blog post about college mergers.