Bridget Robinson - b.r.robinson@ukoln.ac.uk
Welcome to the last Agora bulletin of the year.
The last month has been a time to consider the future of the project both in terms of dissemination for 2001 and the direction of the proposed case studies.
Much work has been done to ensure that the existing Agora resources are stable, as well as investigating the addition of new resources including Web of Science. This work will extend the applicability of Agora to a wider range of users.
Library Associates - (contribution from David Palmer)
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As the planned timeframe of the Project comes to a close, the past month has been a time of rest and reflection for the Library Associates. For those Associates not continuing into the proposed Project extension, the past month has been very quiet as the Release 1 case studies have been completed, submitted and are awaiting consideration by the Agora Board.
Participants in the Agora project extension are in the process of being confirmed.
The Associates hoping to continue with the extension have drafted case study proposals. These have been reviewed and will be submitted for consideration at the next Board meeting on 9 January 2001
The aim is not to repeat the work of the Release 1 case studies but to build upon it whilst incorporating lessons learned from the experience of conducting the first set of case studies in both the methodology and the substance. The Agora Team is planning the Extension at this time, which includes timelines, and tasks identified by the Associates in their case study proposals.
Planning (David Palmer)
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The past month has been primarily concerned with planning for the proposed Extension of the Project to 31st July 2001, with particular emphasis on the preparation of planning documents for the Agora Board meeting on 9th January. This work has been primarily carried out by the Agora Project team members. Dissemination activity planning and user case study proposals for the Extension have been undertaken (see below). In addition, an examination of case studies has been undertaken to identify issues for the Project, for the VDX product, and areas for further research in the area of hybrid library development and implementation. These ideas will be circulated and discussed at the January Board meeting.
The Agora Team has prepared an analysis of the Project based upon a comparison of milestones set out in the Project Plan with the work and accomplishments of the Project to date. It is interesting to note that, in some areas, we have easily and very early exceeded the milestones set, whilst in others, the work and discoveries of the Project has altered the direction of the Project in unanticipated ways.
The Release 2 Compliance Report is with Fretwell-Downing for their review and input at the moment. The Board will discuss the report, and issues arising from it, at the next Board meeting.
Dissemination
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As part of the overall dissemination strategy, a strategic briefing report is being put together based on a series of 'stakeholder reports' that identify issues of interest and/or concern to stakeholders (e.g. libraries, suppliers, technical developers) in the hybrid library concept. The outline for the report will be presented at the January Board meeting and will be available by the end of January. It is hoped that the report will provide a focus for future debate and development within the information community on the hybrid library.
Two further hybrid library workshops are now organized for 2001. The first one will be held on 20th February in Manchester at the Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University. Colin Harris from MMU has agreed to deliver the opening address, Peter Brophy will be giving the hybrid library overview and also chairing the event.
John Paschoud from HeadLine is planning to use the event as an early proof of concept for the Click&Go video project. The presentations will be edited and encoded and then put up on a server thereby making the event available to the whole of the community. The video will be integrated with the power point slides and a bookmark facility will be provided so that viewers can go straight to the part that they are interested in. The webcast will be advertised only when we have enough "traditional" bookings to break even.
A second workhop will be held on 27th February in Edinburgh at the Wolfson Suite, University of Edinburgh Library. Bruce Royan from SCRAN will be giving the opening address and Michael Breaks will be providing the overview and chair. Both events have been advertised and bookings are now coming in.
An article summarising the case studies will be appearing in the December issue of Ariadne along with a collection of papers arising from the November 1st "Future is Hybrid" event.
The text for the Agora glossy has now been sent to Fretwell Downing for consideration. Their valuable marketing expertise will hopefully result in the production of a useful dissemination piece for distribution in early 2001.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all newsletter readers a restful Christmas.
Please note that David Palmer and I will not be back in our respective offices until 8th January.