The latest news from your partners at OCLS
NOVEMBER 2017
Colleges Object Repository Relaunches 
by Lydia Tsai, IT & Services Coordinator and Thomas Guignard, Director of Services

First launched in 2015, the   Colleges Object Repository (CORe) is a collaborative initiative aimed at creating access to unique digital content by Ontario colleges. Its foundation is a shared, multi-institution repository built, managed, and supported by OCLS and the participating colleges.

Over the summer of 2017, CORe migrated to Islandora, an open-source software framework with Canadian roots. Assistance with theming and implementation was provided by PEI-based DiscoveryGarden and the BC Electronic Library Network (BC-ELN).

Thanks to its new robust foundation, CORe is now able to offer:
  • The ability to search for digital assets across 6 partner institutions using one search box. The CORe model allows each member college to operate their own branded instance of Islandora.
  • Robust storage and display of digital files and rich metadata following the MODS standard.
  • Support for large multimedia files and streaming video.
  • Integration with discovery layers through OAI-PMH harvesting for better discoverability of content.
  • Opportunities to showcase the scholarship and activities of Ontario college faculty, staff, and students.
  • Facilitated knowledge-sharing between members.
As of the fall of 2017, the colleges participating in CORe are Centennial, Conestoga, Fleming, Georgian, Loyalist and Seneca. But there is room for more! Don't hesitate to get in touch with Lydia or Thomas to find out how to put CORe at the service of your community.
Save the date: OCLS breakfast at the OLA Super Conference on February 2, 2018
by Gail Strachan, Administration & Office Manager

It has become a tradition! OCLS welcomes all college staff attending the OLA Super Conference this winter to join us on the morning of February 2 for our famous OCLS breakfast. There will be a hot breakfast, coffee and project updates, and we are working hard to make it as fun and entertaining as it will be informative. If you are planning to attend, don't forget to RSVP, and if you have a discussion topic or update to share with fellow college staff, get in touch with Gail.
A Digital Archive for the 50th and Beyond
By Adam Weissengruber, Systems Support Library Technician, Humber College
 
Like many of the colleges, Humber has spent the last few years planning events and celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Ontario college system. For the library, we looked at this important milestone as the impetus to jumpstart our efforts to develop a digital archive of photos that document the history and evolution of the institution.
 
Over the years, various departments have provided us with photographs and other archival materials. While we were grateful that this materials had been preserved, the volume of it made it difficult to know where to start.
 
Humber College archives prior to digitizing.
Thousands of slides... where to start?
We eventually selected 15 binders (containing approximately 3400 photographic slides) and sent them out for scanning.
 
Parallel to this work with the physical materials was the need to select a software platform for the archive. We evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of options and after a thorough review we selected the Drupal content management system. While it is not traditionally used as an archival platform, we had been using it as our website platform for a number of years and we felt comfortable with it and so were the programmers who worked with us. Most importantly the platform's flexibility allowed us to meet our goal of providing an attractive and easy to use platform for people to explore.
 
Premier Bill Davis interrupted by protestors at Humber College 
Premier Bill Davis interrupted by protestors
The other aspect of thi s project that we may have been a little naïve about was the amount of time and effort it would take to catalog the photos. Thankfully we had assistance from two retirees with long histories at Humber who were able to identify people, buildings and events with great speed and accuracy.
 
In the photo at right, they went back to the student newspapers to identify the date and circumstances surrounding this protest of a talk by then Premier of Onta rio Bill Davis. This lev el of detail and context is what has truly enriched this collection beyond just being a visual look back at history.
 
You can explore the archive at: http://library.humber.ca/collections/archive
 

OCLS Embarks on eResources Management Service Review
By Coralee Leroux, Electronic Resources and Services Coordinator

Starting this fall, OCLS, with the support of HLLR, has initiated a project to formally review our eResources Management service. With an expected completion date of September 2018, the project aims to review existing service responsibilities and procedures, and identify opportunities for improvements and streamlining, while ensuring that the service aligns with the needs and priorities of the Ontario college libraries. The review will also ensure that the resources allocated to the operation of the service are adequate and sustainable, while exploring the potential expansion of the service to products other than digital content.  
 
The project will be undertaken by an internal OCLS project team, a project steering committee made up of Ontario college library staff, and two external consultants: Dini Corbett-Lourenco and Katherine Wallis from Academica. These groups will be involved in:
  • consulting with college libraries about the current eResources service, gathering feedback about the service and information about the college libraries' needs and priorities;
  • documenting and analyzing the current service responsibilities, procedures, and workflows in order to identify possible areas for change, and to accomodate changing needs;
  • gathering information on consortial eresource licensing best practices; and
  • developing a revised eResources Management Service Level Agreement (SLA)
As part of the project we will be asking HLLR members and library staff that engage with OCLS's eResources service to participate in a survey in January. We will also be conducting a small number of follow-up interviews. More information about participation will be provided in advance of the survey distribution.
 
Should you have any questions at all about the project, please contact the OCLS project lead, Coralee Leroux.
 
OCLS Project Team
  • Coralee Leroux, OCLS (project lead)
  • Sioban Linnen, OCLS
  • Nicole Morgan, OCLS
  • Cherry Tang, OCLS
External Consultants
  • Dini Corbett-Lourenco, Academica
  • Katherine Wallis, Academica
Project Steering Committee
  • Dayle Gorsline, Loyalist
  • Rebecca Kasperavicius, Canadore
  • Dijana Kladnjakovic, Humber (co-chair)
  • Coralee Leroux, OCLS (co-chair)
  • David Luinstra, Fleming
  • Dan Michniewicz, Seneca
  • Chris Woodley, Conestoga
A new look at the OCLS performance and value indicators
By Thomas Guignard, Director of Services
 
OCLS's P&VI infographics 
A key element of OCLS's strategic plan 2015-2020 is our commitment to demonstrating value. As such, we recognize the importance of accountability and demonstrating qualitative and quantitative value to our stakeholders.
 
Since 2013, OCLS has been collecting and reporting annual Performance and Value Indicators (P&VIs) to our stakeholders. We are now taking one step further in our commitment to accountability by releasing visual summaries of these indicators.
 
Starting from the 2015-2016 fiscal year, P&VIs infographics   can now be found on the "About us" section of our website .
Staff Profile: Salm an Syed
 
Salman Syed
Salman Syed joined OCLS as Information Technology Systems Analyst in October 2015. Salman holds Masters of Engineering degree in Computer Networks and is a seasoned technology expert. He brings advanced skills in Cisco routing & switching, VoIP, VMware virtualization, Linux, Microsoft servers, cloud integration and project management. During his time at OCLS, he has successfully completed training on SirsiDynix ILS and, adds to the existing support team supporting both core and opt-in services. He is very keen to learn new technologies, develop skills that brings value to the organization and is always excited to work with clients to provide excellent customer service. Currently, he is working on several major projects that will shape the dynamics of OCLS IT and fulfill our strategic objectives. In his free time, Salman loves to play golf, do volunteer work, cook, spend quality time with his family, and take road trips.
 
Staff Profile: Cherry Tang
Cherry Tang
 
Cherry Tang earned her Library and Information Technician diploma from Seneca College in 2016.  Aside from her Administration and Library Services Assistant position at OCLS, she also works as an On-call Library Technician at George Brown College. Cherry is steadily acquiring the skills to build her career in the field of libraries; with experience working in a public, school and academic libraries. She switched career gears to library technical services when Blackberry carried out extensive downsizing in 2014. She did take to the new field with her organizational skills, eye for detail, system process control and quality workmanship. Cherry has a passion for art and design which she cultivates and nurtures in her photography hobby. 
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