Lecture held at the OCLC EMEA Regional Council Meeting in Strasbourg on 26 February 2013. Subject was the implementation of OCLC's WorldCat Local (WCL) and WorldShare Management Services (WMS) at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. Tilburg University is the first library in Europe where the WMS system was implemented. Discussed is the implementation project, challenges, and lessons learned.

1. Implementing WMS and WCL at
Tilburg University
Jola G.B. Prinsen, project manager Library & IT Services
OCLC Regional Council Annual Meeting , 26 Feb 2013

2. Contents
• The university and its library
• Selection process
• Implementation project
o Analysis
o WCL implementation
o WCL aftercare
o WMS implementation
• Lessons learned
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3. Tilburg University and its library
• Tilburg University
o 5 schools: economics and management, law, social and
behavioral sciences, humanities, catholic theology
o Graduate schools and a business school
o 12,500 students (85 nationalities)
• The library
o Combined with IT Services
o 61 f.t.e. library staff
o One building (950 study places; 580 with PC)
o 1,390,000 volumes; 44,600 circulations in 2011
o History of innovation
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4. TiU’s digital library landscape 2012
Cataloguing GGC
Circulation and Acquisition OCLC’s LBS3
Discovery & delivery systems In-house developed iPort and GetIt!
Local databases Like: repository, theses, image
databases, journal article metadata,
chapter metadata
Document server Locally stored full text
Link database
Locally developed services OpenURL resolver, loan server, place
locator, etc.
Integration METIS
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5. Complex landscape…
6-3-2013 5

6. Selection process
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7. Rationale for new LMS / discovery service
• Digital library landscape – complex
• Hardware – outdated, unstable and no longer supported
• LBS3 – outdated and no longer supported as from 1/1/2013
onwards
• In-house developed discovery & delivery system – unable to keep
up with developments
• Driving force behind in-house systems – about to retire
• Maintaining same service level – with less IT staff
• Increasing pressure to reduce costs
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8. Why WMS and WCL? (2011)
• Suppliers considered: OCLC and ExLibris
• WMS – working solution, good interface and promising
new functionality
• WorldCat Local – good integration with WMS, GGC and
Google
• WorldCat as underlying catalogue – more content for end
users
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9. Implementation project
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10. Project aims
Functional
Implementation requirements
WCL
Implementation WMS
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11. Project organization
Project
board
Project Project
manager manager
TiU OCLC
Project team Project team
TiU OCLC
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12. TiU project team
• Head acquisition and
cataloguing
• Head circulation
• Future functional managers
WMS/WCL
• Technical project manager
(middleware)
• Head communication
• IT specialist LBS3
• IT specialist local databases
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13. Project schedule
7/2011
6/2011-9/2011 9/2011
Project
Start project PID
organization
9/2012-3/2013 3/2012-8/2012
WCL aftercare Implementation
WCL
9/2011-9/2012
Analysis
9/2012-2/2013 phase
2/2013-3/2013
Implementation
WMS aftercare WMS
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14. Analysis
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15. Workflow testing
Workflow Test Workflow
analysis environment testing
Go / no go Impact Gap
decision analysis analysis
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16. Gap analysis (status March 2012)
152 WMS/WCL gaps 152 WMS/WCL gaps
by priority by solution
Blocking
Solved!
Very
needed Workaround
Needed
Release
Wish planning
Unknown
Not
prioritized
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17. Also benefits
• WMS
o Circulation: more intuitive and user-friendly interface
o Acquisition: potential improvement of financial process
• WCL
o More content
o Social media functionality
o Lists functionality
o Integration with Google Books / Google Scholar
o Exporting titles
o Mobile platform
o Chinese interface
http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about-tilburg-university/library/wcl/
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18. WCL  Go!
• End-user service
o Go live only possible at
beginning academic year
• Condition: availability info
(from LBS3) can be made
available in WCL
 Start of implementation phase
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19. WMS  No go
• Business case not (yet) valid
o Host TiU’s LBS3
o Visit OCLC Dublin, OH
o Await new releases
• Confidence in OCLC
• Back-office system
o Go live possible throughout
academic year
 Remain in analysis phase
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20. WCL implementation
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21. WCL implementation challenges (1)
• WP3 – Loading metadata of local databases
o Finding right data load method and route
• WP4 – Activating e-collections
o No tools to compare TiU link database to OCLC WCKBase
o Collections PubGet/WCKBase not always identical to TiU’s
licenses
o E-books must also be activated
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22. WCL implementation challenges (2)
• WP6 – Phasing out TiU’s digital library systems
o Stopping services WCL cannot (yet) offer and finding
alternatives
• WP7 – Communicating to stakeholders
o Updating library instruction material
o Inventory of functional changes for library (instruction) staff
o Communicating in a positive way about functionality which was
going to disappear
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23. WCL implementation challenges (3)
• WP8 – Training staff
o Adapting training method to library staff needs (show & tell
sessions, personal training, self-study, by team leader)
o Based on expected questions/problems
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24. Go live
• soft launch for library staff
• live for the world
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25. WCL aftercare
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26. WCL use
160000
140000
120000
100000
80000
WCL searches
60000
WCL sessions
40000
20000
0
mrt/12
mei/12
jul/12
sep/12
nov/12
dec/12
okt/12
aug/12
feb/12
jun/12
jan/13
apr/12
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27. Dutch WCL user group
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28. WMS implementation
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29. Requirements analysis
152 requirements 152 requirements
(March 2012) (November 2012)
Met after Feb
2013 release
Met
Workaround
Workaround
Release
Release planning
planning
Unknown Unknown
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30. Decision end November 2012
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31. WMS Implementation challenges (1)
• WP2 – Acquisitions
o Serials management – workarounds and staff care
o Adapting workflow
o Staff training
• WP3 – Circulation
o Connection to our self-service circulation machines
o Depot requests (WCL and workflow)
o Adapting workflow
o Staff training
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32. WMS Implementation challenges (2)
• WP4 – Interface TiU’s identity management system – WMS
o Patron data management and authentication
o Manage student/staff data at TiU and not in cloud
o Manage guest data
o Impossibility to delete patron/circulation data (legal issues)
o Daily update and weekly reload
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33. WMS Implementation challenges (3)
• WP5 – Interface TiU’s financial system – WMS
o WMS: order and receive transactions
o SAP FiCo: financial transactions
o Cleanup of vendor data, improve budget codes
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34. WP 10 – Data load (1)
• Agree on (iterative!) process
o Specification
o Test loads
o Acceptance load
o Production load
• Spend a lot of time on specs!
• Closely co-operate
• Plan more time than you think you need
• Accept some manual work after migration
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35. WP 10 – Data load (2)
• Local Holding Records
o Duration of process (90 days)
o Difficult to test (WCL connects to LBS3)
o Limiting test set has profound effect on testability of other
conversions
• Vendors, orders, patrons, circulation transactions
o Prepare for conflicts between circulation policies and
transactions
o Grab opportunity to clean up data in your old LMS
o Test exceptions
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36. Lessons learned
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37. 37

38. Lessons learned (1)
• Plan a kick-off meeting for all
library staff
• Analyzing your workflow is
useful. Grab the opportunity to
improve
• It is difficult to quantify impact
of gaps
• Activating e-collections takes
lot of time
• Sometimes you need a
deadline to get things moving
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39. Lessons learned (2)
• Discuss in depth with OCLC
what you expect from technical
and acceptance tests
• Enrich local metadata with
PPN/OCN, IBSN/ISSN
• Plan time to develop
workarounds
• Combine migration to WCL
and WMS
• Developing interfaces takes
time and requires experts at
both the library and OCLC
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40. Expectations
• Savings in system
management resources
o After phasing out local
systems
• Temporarily: additional
resources in the library back
office
o Renewing for ILL libraries
o Claiming journal issues
o LHR/LBD changes to be
entered in GGC and WMS
o E-books in GGC and
WCKBase
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41. Advise for OCLC
• European libraries are different
• Libraries need a test and
acceptance environment
o To which data can be
*re*loaded if necessary.
o With complete test data
sets
• Support libraries when they
develop middleware
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42. Questions? More information?
Jola Prinsen
Project manager
Tilburg University
Library & IT Services
jola.prinsen@tilburguniversity.edu
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