Transcript KAREN and the Library: opportunities and challenges

KAREN and the Library:
opportunities and challenges
Library Technology and Innovation Week
31 August 2008
Sam Searle
E-Research Development Coordinator
[email protected]
KAREN - Kiwi Advanced
Research and Education Network
Credit: KAREN. http://www.karen.net.nz
KAREN is…
• A telecommunications network
…not a network of people
• Just the ‘pipe’ that transfers data
…You need hardware and software tools to
be able to do things with it!
• Only one of NZ’s advanced networks
…GSN and school ‘loops’ are others and in
future these may be linked
• A closed network between member sites
…not open like the ‘commodity’ internet
• A national network
…with global links
Global R&E Networks
Credit: John Silvester, USC, Chair CENIC
Characterising e-Research
Characteristic
Traditional Research
E-Research
Participants
Individual researcher or
small local research team
Diversely skilled, distributed
research team
Data
Locally generated, stored
and accessible
Generated, stored and
accessible from distributed
locations
Computation and
Instrumentation
Batch compute jobs or
jobs run on researcher’s
own computers or
research instruments
Large-scale, or on demand
computation or access to
shared instruments
Networking
Not reliant on networks
Reliant on research networks
and middleware
Dissemination of
Research
Via print publications or
conference presentations
Via web sites and specialized
web portals
Credit: Bill Appelbe and David Bannon, Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing. eResearch: Paradigm
Shift or Propaganda? http://www.jrpit.acs.org.au/jrpit/JRPITVolumes/JRPIT39/JRPIT39.2.83.pdf
Opportunities and challenges
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Collaboration and communication
Content and services
Data, data, data…
Roles and relationships
Collaboration & communication
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Videoconferencing
Access Grid
EVO
‘Virtual research environments’
Videoconferencing
• Widely available in universities
• ISDN or IP: IP-based can be routed
over KAREN within NZ and to
overseas R&E networks at no/low cost
• Different tools for different needs
• Videoconferencing (point-to-point)
• Access Grid (groups)
• EVO (desktop)
Access Grid
• Group-to-group collaboration between
potentially large numbers of sites
• Room-based suite of tools
• Video and audio of participants
• Shared applications (e.g. presentations,
whiteboard, Internet browser)
NEES at Auckland
Credit: BeSTGRID. http://www.bestgrid.org
Access Grid worldwide
Credit: Access Grid. http://www.accessgrid.org
Desktop videoconferencing - EVO
• User operated: webcam and headset
on desktop
• No need to install software
• High quality video and sound
• Shared whiteboard and desktop
• Recorded session
• No associated costs
Credit: BeSTGRID. http://www.bestgrid.org
EVO servers worldwide
Live monitoring of EVO worldwide connections. Credit: EVO. http://evo.caltech.edu
Virtual Research Environments
• Researchers want spaces where they
can easily and securely
• Communicate
• In real time, e.g. instant messaging
• Asynchronously, e.g. email, bulletin boards
• Share documents and other resources
• Manage a "virtual organisation" e.g.
project schedules
What happens now?
• We use email, phone, websites, and
sometimes wikis
• Data is shared as email attachments
• Ad hoc workspaces are created for
individual projects
• In-house tools can’t be used for
collaboration with external partners
• Technical expertise can be required
Example VRE: Sakai
• Web-based and user-driven
• Email list and archive, announcements
& discussion boards
• Chat
• Shared resources (documents & files)
• Calendar
• Wiki
• And more…
Shared Workspace
Sharing Resources
Sakai worldwide
Credit: http://sakaiproject.org
Library potential
VC, Access Grid, EVO
• Project meetings
• Seminars and workshops
• Virtual reference and liaison
Virtual research environments
• Teams and committees
Content and services
• Embedded library resources: Sakaibrary
• Mirroring: BioMirror
• Digital collections: formats and resolutions
unlimited by bandwidth: DANA
• Tools and workflows for digital collections:
Vannotea
• Consortial licensing (e.g. JISC Collections)
Not all of these require KAREN but they are
part of the paradigm shift KAREN enables.
Data, data, data…
• The data deluge has begun
• Policy and funding are dictating sharing
• Researchers need open access to more
than publications: datasets, parameters,
workflows and provenance
• Sharing data requires metadata standards,
e.g. ChemML, BioML
• And of course… copyright, privacy and
intellectual property rights are big issues
Roles and relationships
• New roles
• research repositories
• data curation
• others we haven’t even thought of yet!
• New kinds of partnerships
• scientists and scholars
• IT specialists
• other information professionals, e.g.
archivists
• other KAREN members, e.g. CRIs
Challenges
• Now we have KAREN, we need
the capability to use it
• Tools are (or will be) available
• But for people to make the most of
them, they need
• Awareness
• Skills and knowledge
• Resources
Info and support
• KAREN: http://www.karen.net.nz
• EVO & Sakai in NZ:
http://www.bestgrid.org
• Access Grid in NZ (including sites and
contacts at universities):
http://accessgrid.karen.net.nz