Libraries of Course: integrating library content and services into the e-learning environment. Brian Flaherty Digital Services Manager University of Auckland Library The University of Auckland Library 500+ bibliographic databases 58,000+ electronic journals 180,000+ electronic books 1.9 million volumes Course-specific Library resources Currently delivered from multiple locations and applications Time-consuming for Library staff to manage Difficult for students to find everything Troublesome for academics to incorporate in their teaching What are we trying to achieve? Seamless integration of Library resources with Cecil (the Universitys LMS) Improved administration of course-related Library services Two options Work with Cecil developers to design a database of Library resources inside LMS To build an application outside the LMS Inside LMS + easier integration with teaching material and potentially a single database of learning objects. We are in the fortunate position of having a home- grown system with Cecil developers keen to assist Inside LMS - the requirement to include a number of Library-specific processes Short Loans, Digitisation, Acquisitions (purchase of materials) in the application. some lecturers expressed concern about providing librarians access to staff side of their Cecil courses. In addition, any future development would be reliant on the availability of Cecil developers External Repository + easier to incorporate complex Library processes a degree of autonomy in the development and testing process External Repository - More difficult to achieve contextual learning existing staff in Digital Services were already managing a heavy workload Survey of existing course-specific content Exams database - digitised exam papers Short loan items desk copies from the Voyager Course Materials module E-reserves digitised articles and book chapters Course Resources web pages with contact details of Subject Librarian Information skills material specific database tutorials etc A Bookshop database of prescribed texts Links to relevant Internet sites Canned (pre-defined) Voyager searches Functional Requirements Simplification of web forms Easy data input Authentication Administration of Requests Publishing flexibility Continued Link maintenance Reference styles Inter-relationship with Voyager Course Materials (Short Loan) module Web Services! Policy Decisions A page for every course The database should not become a defacto LMS Subject Librarians (in collaboration with Lecturers) will have overall responsibility for the delivery of content in their subject areas Advantages - lecturers will be able to add Short Loan items, request the digitisation of print articles and book chapters, create links to prescribed texts in Voyager, add links to e-journal articles, e-books and Internet sites, and structure these resources under headings. Advantages - Librarians will be able to administer Short Loan and digitisation requests assist in selecting electronic content provide dynamic links to digitised exam papers and relevant Library tutorials and instructional material manage URLs via LF+ Knowledge base manage content without editing html Advantages - students will be able to find all their course-related Library resources in one place, accessible via the Library website LEARN, and Cecil Technical SQL database A number of stored procedures & web front-end in ASP Course information data loaded from PeopleSoft Server redundancy How far down the track are we? As of November 2005 the project is in mid-flow, with a launch set for Semester 2, 2006 (July). Database tables complete, admin interface and front- end being finalised Testing regime, communication plan Future plans web services a link creation applet for Cecil federated search engine (ENCompass) Simplified Sign On (SSO) Project a My Library personalised service integration into Cecil? Other Projects Voyager Tutorial Early New Zealand Books Early New Zealand Books Smithyman Collected Poems Anthropology Photographic Archive Libraries of Course: integrating library content and services into the virtual learning environment. Brian Flaherty Digital Services Manager University of Auckland Library