OLE
The Open Library Environment
Background - What is the ILS?
The ILS is the primary software used by libraries to manage inventory, description, discovery & delivery of scholarly materials
A set of integrated, tightly coupled modules
Built around a single database that is self-contained but requires importing or inputting all relevant data
Innovated in the 1960’s – 80’s & designed around a print model of dissemination of scholarly information
Electronic content is managed at the journal title or collection level – like its print corollary – not at the level of utility – the citation
The prevailing model ...
But materials are increasingly electronic ...
... they are digital ...
Staff Interfaces
Public Catalog
Electronic Journal Holdings
OpenURL Resolver
Institutional Repository
Digital Assets
Learning Content
Courseware
Staff Interfaces
Image Catalog
So, the ILS helps libraries manage...
Only a part of the total workflow ...
And libraries live in a complex network of information suppliers, intermediaries, partners & consumers - with local & global members...
from wikimedia
Libraries rely on enterprise information systems for
identity & security
procurement & finacials
distribution channels
scholarly publishing
business intellegence
And libraries rely on vendor information systems for
digital content such as e-journals
shared metadata
selection of materials
purchasing & information management
And libraries rely on partner information systems for
resource sharing
federation of scholarly content
preservation & warehousing
digital development
All these factors - ubiquitous computing & networking, multiple formats for information distribution, constrained workflows, and interconnectedness at local & global levels - are leading libraries to look beyond the current model for library management systems
Current ILS products are inadequate. 
Vendor consolidation constrains choices.
Growing need for library systems to interact with other enterprise & network systems.
Libraries need to control their own destinies.
... is physical books
... and users are increasingly  ... 
Incorporating electronic materials, scholarly institutional assets, & learning objects into library collections, and delivering to remote and mobile users, 24x7 has required the deployment of:
Electronic Resources Management System
OpenURL Linking Systems
Proxy or VPN Systems/Identity Mgmt Systems
Advanced Discovery Systems
Digital Library Content Systems
Digital Preservation Systems
Learning Management System Admin or Integration
... mobile & remote 
What's a library to do?
Wait a minute, don't libraries have lots of choices today?
OLE OLE!
    OLE OLE!
Why do libraries need OLE?
The vision of OLE ...
... is of a flexible, adaptable, and community-developed software framework that
Supports core business in academic & research libraries
Transforms library processes to power new services
Strives to reach enterprise level interoperability
The OLE framework, when deployed, is used to build a scalable, interoperable, library management system that fits within the modern academic & research enterprise infrastructure & enables resource re-use, re-allocation, & sustainability for the future.
The goal of the OLE Project is to deliver nothing less than a full complement of services necessary to provide  information management for libraries, researchers, learners & institutions that aligns software, business process & workflows to support innovation & economy.
What distinguishes the OLE Project?
Built, owned, governed by the academic & research library community 
Supports the wide range of resources & formats of scholarly information
Developed using Service Orientation, implemented with Web Services
Interoperates & integrates with other enterprise & network-based systems
Supports federation across projects, partnerships, consortia & institutions
Provides workflow design & management capabilities
Provide information management capabilities to non-library efforts
Why OLE Now?
Current ILS products are inadequate particularly with digital scholarship & workflow management
Vendor consolidation constrains choices & limits innovation
Library systems need to interact with other enterprise & network-based systems
Libraries need to control their own destinies in order to fulfill their institutional goals
The time is right – technologically, organizationally & economically
Thank You!
Questions?
Contacts
website: http://oleproject.org
email: winkler4@upenn.edu
twitter: @oleproject