Attendees
Virginia Roy, OCLS
Liana Giovando, OCLS
Liz Maraston, OCLS
John Ellis, Algonquin College
Alexis Edl, Northern College
Louis Lacelle, La Cité
Alex Homanchuk, Fleming College
Nicole Domonchuk, Lambton College
Lauren Rupert, OCLS Consultant
Minutes
Introduction
The introductions were led by Virginia Roy of OCLS.
Purpose (Virginia)
The purpose of this and subsequent Page 1+ Service Proposals to CLO members is to communicate what OCLS and the Project Management Office (PMO) have accomplished in the last several months of the Page 1+ Project Implementation, and what actions will be needed to transition from the implementation phase to Page 1+ being a fully implemented project. This proposal will outline a collection of best-informed activities and services OCLS and the PMO can offer to CLO Members to support the final stages of realization for Page 1+ in the next 6, 8, and 12 months.
It is important to OCLS and the PMO that all members of the Page 1+ consortium are offered the opportunity to be fully informed of evolving services and plans for the project as the project moves into the post-implementation phase.
The services and activities outlined in this proposal were generated by analyzing the services provided to the consortium thus far and applying this knowledge to create a collection of best-informed activities and services for what CLO Members may need in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025. The 2024/2025 fiscal year will come with a request for renewed funding by OCLS and how we position this request for renewed funding will depend on the services and support that we offer the consortium.
Proposed activities have been developed in consultation with the relevant subcommittees, Ex Libris, other consortia, and by drawing upon the knowledge and expertise of the OCLS staff.
Services and Support (Liana)
The services and support that OCLS and the PMO offer can be organized into three clusters: Electronic Resource Management, Metadata Management, and Contact and System Support.
We have included the three clusters and the new services we will be offering in each cluster, in addition to pre-existing services, and links to more detailed information about each cluster.
Electronic Resource Management
Alma presents opportunities to manage aspects of the e-Resource acquisition and access process centrally. The centralized management of vendor records supports the colleges' use of Alma for managing their acquisition and budget data.
Activities and services offered for e-Resource Management (in addition to pre-existing services):
Activate Community Zone (CZ) electronic collection and portfolios, configure as necessary to support access and distribute to licensed colleges.
Enhance CZ electronic collection records as needed to support discoverability and access.
Manage vendor records in the NZ and distribute to college IZs
Provide the colleges with front-line tech support for NZ electronic resources
Share permitted uses
Metadata Management
This cluster of services speaks to OCLS’s anticipated role in centralized Metadata Management Services and coordination of the Network Zone to support and leverage collaborative efforts across all 24 colleges.
OCLS is proposing to act as a central body that actively supports metadata consistency in the college libraries, with a particular emphasis on the development and maintenance of high-quality, shared records within the system. This work will be done in conjunction with a standing metadata committee.
Ontario’s college libraries have contributed to a union catalogue (CUC) for several decades. The Network Zone will replace the CUC and act as a focal point (or hub) for activities related to the maintenance of shared records and standards.
Activities and services offered for Metadata Management (in addition to pre-existing services):
Manage NZ Bibliographic Records
General and ongoing maintenance of the NZ bibliographic records
Load and maintain records for selected electronic resource collections
Create local electronic resource bib records where viable options exist in the CZ
Share Work With 24 Ontario Colleges
Synch records with colleges outside Page 1+
Support and maintain a central Primo VE view to expose consortial holdings
Support an Ontario Cataloguing Program
Work with colleges to support consortial cataloguing policies and requirements
Establish and maintain rules and other tools in the Network Zone based on the cataloguing policies and requirements that can be distributed to Institution Zones
Work with colleges to build a community of practice around developing and promoting cataloguing tools and standards
Support onboarding college library staff responsible for copy cataloguing and loading bibliographic records in the shared system
Support the development and ongoing maintenance of shared local authority file in collaboration with the Page 1+ communities, CLO Indigenous Matters committee, IPEC, and college expertise
Provide Digital Repository Support
Support and facilitate the development of best practices for Alma-D for digital objects (MODS/DC)
We would like to collaborate beyond the Page 1+ Consortium to create a broader community of practice.
The college library staff would bring with them a variety of expertise to the project and OCLS staff would provide the framework and expertise or formal development.
Contact and System Support
This cluster of services speaks to OCLS’s anticipated role in providing a suite of cost recovery, value-added services that support the colleges participating in the Page 1+ Consortium. The focus of this service cluster is on contract management and aspects of central system support that are aimed at helping to leverage the consortial value of a shared library services platform without duplicating support and services already provided by Ex Libris.
We anticipate that this suite of cost recovery services will be defined and developed further in consultation with Page 1+ standing committees and the participating college libraries.
Activities and services offered for Contact and System Support (in addition to pre-existing services):
Maintain and monitor the centralized contracts & provide financial management services
Support and maintain centralized settings and distributed configuration within the Alma Network Zone in support of participating Page 1+ libraries
Evaluate and roll out Alma and Primo VE updates
Support and maintain configurations of Alma Institution Zones and IZ Primo VE instances on behalf of individual colleges
Support page 1+ consortial analytics activities including providing NZ and IZ-specific support
Oversee and manage the Page 1+ Alma Sandbox and the LIT program Alma Sandbox
Provide consultation and support that is unique to the colleges and the shared page 1+ system
Serve as a strategic resource in support of consortial decision-making and planning
This section of services holds the most “unknown” or “to be discovered” factors. As the project transitions to normal-course, the needs of those participating may change and then the services OCLS needs to provide may change. This cluster of services, and other clusters, may change as we become more familiar with the capabilities of the software and the evolving needs of the colleges. OCLS would like to use this period to gather information about how resources are being used so that they can better tailor their services to particular college needs moving forward.
OCLS also recognizes that each college will have its own unique set of needs. There are colleges that may need extra help in implementing and that each college has different personnel with their own unique set of skills. OCLS would like to provide the best help possible with the direction of the colleges and their standing committees.
Proposed Funding (Virginia)
OCLS operates on two main sources of funding:
Central funding comes from ministry - intended for capacity building, cost sharing, central resources, efficiencies
e-Resources and metadata management service clusters included in Central Funding
Approximately 2 FTE Staff needed to support (redeploying existing OCLS Staff)
Cost recovery
contract and system support service cluster included in Cost Recovery
Approximately 1.7 FTE staff (redeploying existing OCLS Staff from servicing Sirsi to Alma)
Table of Consortium Support - Compares cost estimates for 2022/2023 against 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 (Refer to Slide 9)
Alma software costs are prorated 8-month fiscal year that runs with the college fiscal year (2023/2024)
2024/2025 provides no subsidy for the Alma software as all funds will have been spent
OCLS Contract and Support Services cost schedule will become more refined as more data is collected - all prices are currently based on estimates.
SIRSI Historical Cost Comparison (Refer to Slide 10)
Historical costs of OCLS Support for Sirsi (excluding software and hosting fees) is very near to estimated Page 1+ Contract and Support Service costs estimated for the future. See slides for details.
Page 1+ Key Activities (Refer to Slide 10)
This is a calendar of cost estimates and services that takes into account important dates in the school term, Alma, CLO, and OCLS calendars. This timeline displays nine distinct dates.
The details compiled from these nine major dates will provide OCLS with data about the best services and support OCLS can provide to the consortium to make a defensible business case to the Ministry in the 2024/2025 year.
Question and Answer Period
Q: When are we looking at the migration from Islandora to Alma Digital (Alma-D)?
A: Some colleges are looking to make that transition in the very near future while other colleges have different priorities. This is an ongoing topic with developing information and more information will be available soon.
Next Steps
OCLS encourages all CLO members to reach out to OCLS and share how they can best support you, and what your needs are in these instances. Through open communication, OCLS learns more about you and your needs, allowing them to offer the best services for your unique circumstances.