Presented by Laura Morse at the NISO Update, ALA Midwinter, Seattle, January 26, 2019

1. Open Discovery Initiative (ODI)
NISO Update – ALA Midwinter
January 26, 2019
Laura Morse
Co-chair, NISO ODI Standing Committee
Director, Library Systems & Support
Harvard University

2. Background
• Emergence of Library
Discovery Service
solutions
• Agreements between
content providers and
discovery providers were
ad-hoc, not representative
of all content, and opaque
to customers.
2

3. Goals of Open Discovery Initiative
• Define ways for libraries to assess the level of
content provider participation and for discovery
services to affirm how they use that content
• Help streamline the process by which content
providers work with discovery service vendors
• Define models for “fair” linking from discovery
services to publishers’ content
• Determine what usage statistics should be collected
for libraries and for content providers
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4. Recommended Practice
• A technical recommendation for data exchange
including data formats, method of delivery, usage
reporting, frequency of updates and rights of use
• A way for libraries to assess content providers’
participation in discovery services
• A model by which content providers work with
discovery service vendors via fair and unbiased
indexing and linking
4

5. ODI Standing Committee
2014-today
• To promote educational opportunities about
adoption of these recommended practices
• To provide support for content providers and
discovery providers during adoption
• To provide a forum for ongoing discussion related
to all aspects of discovery platforms for all
stakeholders (content providers, discovery
providers, libraries)
• To determine timing for next steps for ongoing
work
5

6. ODI Standing Committee Roster
Libraries
Publishers
Service Providers
6
Marshall Breeding, Independent Consultant
Noah Brubaker, PALNI
Teresa Hazen, University of Arizona Libraries
Geoff Morse, Northwestern University
Laura Morse, Harvard University
Ken Varnum, University of Michigan
Bobbi Patham, Springer Nature
Don Sechler, Clarivate Analytics
Maria Stanton, ATLA
Julie Zhu, IEEE
Scott Bernier, EBSCO Information Services
Rachel Kessler, Ex Libris/ProQuest
Jay Holloway, OCLC

7. Value Propositions – Libraries/Users
• Ease of Use. Finding relevant content is
simpler when more resources are indexed on
one platform.
• Product Understanding. ODI vendor
compliance makes it easier to understand
which resources are included in discovery
services and assess their impact.

8. Value Propositions – Content Providers
• Increased use. Participation in discovery
services makes content more valuable and
discoverable, thus, increasing usage and
decreasing the likelihood of cancellations.
• Reduced technical barriers. Simplified the
data transfer process.
• Confirmed value of participation. Discovery
services are encouraged to provide usage
statistics that enable better decision making.

9. • Customer Satisfaction. Transparency in what
content is included in the system and
statistics confirming use will increase
customer retention.
• Partner Retention. Transparency in how
providers contents is exposed in the system
and statistics confirming use will increase
partner retention.
Value Propositions – Discover Providers

10. Recent Initiatives – Library Survey
• 473 responses were collected from a variety of
library types, who were contacted via industry
mailing lists.
• Two key observations:
– Librarians do not believe discovery services to be
comprehensive and believe that content providers are
to blame
– Librarians are not using the resources provided by ODI
• A numeric summary of the results can be found
at http://bit.ly/NISO-ODI-library-survey-2018
10

11. Recent Initiatives – Implementation
Guide for Content Providers
• Outlines steps to make content more discoverable, linkable, and
accessible from library discovery service, link resolver, and
authentication tools.
• Major steps for content providers to undertake include:
– conduct an initial assessment on ODI conformance and the work
needed
– form a discovery service working group to tackle the needs;
– improve internal data quality and workflows
– collaborate with library solution vendors on improving content
discovery, linking, authentication and access
– work with libraries to learn about library systems and improve library
configurations
– work effectively with the industry
• https://bit.ly/2Wblk7W
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12. Current Initiatives – White Paper on the
Barriers to A&I Participation in Discovery
• Rationalizing results from recent A&I survey
and recent Discovery Provider survey
• Ensure that all stakeholders understand the
current situation, including:
– unaddressed needs
– met needs
– industry misconceptions
• Release in Spring 2019
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13. Recommended Practice Revisions
• Updating the Recommended Practice to
ensure it addresses needs and responsibilities
for all stakeholders in line with current
technologies and library trends
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14. Recommended Practice Revisions
• Library Responsibilities in ODI
• Handling of Open Access Content Including Hybrid OA
Content
• More Meaningful Usage Statistics for Content Providers
• Fair Linking
• Identifying the Source of the Record in the Discovery
Interface
• Content Coverage Disclosure (Reporting on Discovery
Service Content at a Collection Level)
• Identification of Additional Metadata and Content
Elements
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15. Recommended Practice Revisions
• Work Item Proposal
https://bit.ly/2AV9IwU
• Timeline
https://bit.ly/2FRzhCl
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16. Resources for CPs and DSPs
• Content Provider FAQ
http://www.niso.org/workrooms/odi/content_provider_faq/
• Implementation guide
https://bit.ly/2Wblk7W
• Conformance Checklist Templates & Statements
– Goal is transparency, not perfection!
http://www.niso.org/workrooms/odi/conformance/
http://www.niso.org/workrooms/odi/conformance_statemen
ts/

17. Resources for Librarians
• FAQ and talking points
http://www.niso.org/workrooms/odi/library_talking
_points/

18. General Resources
• Website
https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/odi
Mailing list
http://www.niso.org/lists/opendiscovery/
• ODI Updates
http://www.niso.org/workrooms/odi/updates/
• Twitter
https://twitter.com/NISO_ODI

19. Thank you! Questions?
https://www.niso.org/standards-
committees/odi