Global Accessible Library Steering Committee
Meeting: 25th September 2009
Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m
Location: room "Düsseldorf".
MINUTES
Apologies.
Minutes were confirmed.
No additions.
JR participated in a videoconference with the WBU on the WIPO treaty.
MM to convey to the DAISY board the new timeline.
This was one done at the DAISY Board meeting immediately following this Meeting. The new delivery date for the Phase 1 Strategy report is end of February 2010.
MM to follow up with Bookshare.
MM and MW met with Betsy Beaumon from Benetech (Bookshare). Benetech is very much interested and sees that the GAL project is in line with its mission and technological approach. What it does not have is the federated search component.
Bookshare will facilitate a discussion with the DA working group to assist them in developing the functional specification.
ACTION: MW (or Tony Iezzi) to contact Bookshare to organise a teleconference for facilitation of the D&A working group’s development of functional requirements. Once the specification is completed the partnership working group can determine the vendor relationship(s) with most potential to support the GAL development.
JR will request that the D&A working group combine the key elements of both their interim reports into one document. The steering committee requested that the group develop the functional requirements discussed in their report in consultation with the Collection Sharing group, by the date specified in their report, end of November. By “functional requirements” the SC suggested a “walk through” from the perspective of the library user.
This has been reported to the working groups. Margaret Williams is unable to continue as the D&A Working Group lead at this time due to an extenuating resource situation at CNIB. Tony Iezzi to take up the chair of the DA working group, and will work with Collections group to develop the functional specification.
There was discussion about whether the SC would continue into the development phase of the project or if it should be disbanded in favour of the proposed governance board. The consensus was that at least during the initial period of development when this is still very much a project, the SC should continue to provide stewardship over the project on behalf of the project executive sponsors -- the DAISY Consortium and IFLA/LPD -- and to provide continuity for the proposed new ‘fulltime’ project manager envisaged for the development phase.
MM to follow up with Microsoft
MM and JR had a conversation with Microsoft to determine potential for its involvement. Conversation will continue, as appropriate, once the functional requirements are in hand.
5.1.5 JR to follow up with George and Chris Friend re Google
This was done. George is not dealing with Google in this context.
ACTION: MM to follow up with Trish and George whilst in Germany
HB to follow up on Europeana
Helen advised of Rightscom’s willingness to broker a conversation. Helen has been given a contact with whom to follow up. This will be done shortly.
Kuen-Hae to contact Korean Digital Library and Japan Digital Library
This was done. Both are interested in being participants in the GAL, but are unable to provide assistance with technological solutions.
Meeting with OCLC to continue discuss of their potential involvement (KK,JR,FH)
A meeting was held with OCLC at IFLA in Milan. OCLC is still interested and keen to provide a catalogue of accessible format materials. OCLC agreed to identify current LPD members that are also members of WorldCat. OCLC will offer all members of WorldCat free upload of their library titles. OCLC is willing to provide us with a cost for those who are not members to join. This information will be fed to the working groups.
Discussion was held regarding which organizations that participated in the survey would be suitable to participate in the first GAL implementation.
ACTION: ALL -- This needs to be determined and included in the Strategy report.
Feedback from Rightscom regarding the readiness of libraries to participate in the first implementation -- which ones, what do we expect of them, do we solicit their interest in principle until we're able to provide them with costs?
ACTION: FH to take this list back to the business model working group to ensure these points are incorporated into requirements for libraries to participate. (The working group was also tasked earlier with identifying the cost elements for participation, even though the actual costs are not known at this stage.) The working group should also draw up a draft contract template between the GAL consortium and a participating library.
ACTION: JR to cross check the list of 18 libraries that are in Worldcat with those that participated in the survey and develop a list of libraries that could be part of the first wave of implementation. Also determine if there are any key libraries that are digital but are not in Worldcat and/or did not responded to the survey.
Options around extending the Rightscom survey to Latin America, China and Japan. Contact these libraries and ask if they are interested in the Global Accessible Library. If they are, then we can survey them.
ACTION: JR to develop letter of inquiry and arrange to have translated into the appropriate languages
Discovery & Access – The delivery date for the functional requirements, end of November, is critical to the Steering Committee’s ability to delivery the Strategy report on time. Tony Iezzi to chair the working group going forward.
Collections -- On track to finalize its report
Business Development -- When does this group expect to finalize its work?
ACTION: FH to follow up.
Partnership Development – Essentially, on hold pending Discovery & Access functional requirements.
New date for the Strategy Report given to the DAISY Board is the end of February, 2010. Due to IFLA/LPD, 28th January. This requires that a Draft be prepared by January 11th 2010. If the draft is acceptable at that time, it should be sent to both DAISY and LPD members for comment prior to finalizing.
Table of Contents
The WIPO "TI" pilot integration –
MM advised that there is a funding proposal to WIPO being developed to support a ‘Trusted Intermediary’ (TI) pilot project, which would involve the cross-border exchange of in-copyright materials. Because of the synergy between the TI project and the GAL; specifically, the GAL wants to offer access to in-copyright materials and the TI pilot needs a “trusted” environment in which to pilot, there is the potential for these two projects to merge under one PM.
Strategy around funding a project manager was discussed. Who will PM to complete the Strategy phase? Were members of LPD Standing Committee asked for funding?
IMPORTANT COMMENT: Since the (Leipzig) Steering Committee meeting, RNIB has generously volunteered to fund and has sourced a project manager (Ian Bland) for the interim to allow us to complete this phase of the project. A meeting will be held shortly with JR, MM and Ian to bring him up to speed and, in particular, get Ian working with the working groups as quickly as possible on the development of the functional requirements.
The survey report said the GAL project is not well known or understood, what do we need to do to get the word out? Also, we talked about getting a communiqué to our national libraries to garner their support, financial or otherwise, for the GAL project.
ACTION: ALL -- send the names and contact information for your national publishers association to JR; also send the name and contact information for significant consumer groups.
JR to draft communiqué for national libraries, particularly of countries currently involved in the GAL project, as noted above.