What We Do
The Bodleian Digital Library Systems and Services (BDLSS) provides integrated support and systems for a wide range of IT-related services and activities across the library sector.
BDLSS supports SOLO and OLIS the principal library systems for over 100 Oxford libraries, serving as a union catalogue of c.7 million bibliographic and more than 13 million item records. As well as cataloguing, the underlying management software, Ex Libris' Aleph, provides circulation, acquisition, serials registration, stack requests and management information functions. Its user interface is a resource and discovery platform based on Ex Libris' Primo software, known locally as SOLO: Search Oxford Libraries Online.
With respect to the University's large collection of scholarly electronic resources (bibliographic databases and electronic journals), BDLSS provides the platforms and interfaces to make them available to libraries and directly to users' desktops. It is also developing systems to support the our digital library, an extensive initiative to make available world-wide and to preserve for posterity digitized material from the Bodleian Libraries' rich collections.
BDLSS is engaged in a number of developmental projects, some involving national and international partners. In addition, it manages service agreements with the University's ICT Support Team giving primary IT support for the Bodleian Libraries, and providing them with network services such as email, file-store, web-space, office systems, training and support for new applications.
The Department is headed by Dave Price and is organized into four principal sections: Business Applications Development; Business Applications and Operations (formerly the OLIS Section); IT Strategy and Development; Digital Collections Development. Michael Popham, as Head of Digital Initiatives, has a lead role in the newly formed department. With cross sectional oversight and direct responsibility for the ITSD and DCD sections, he will ensure that technical development is closely tuned to digital library needs, and that the increasing volume of projects and bids is tightly co-ordinated. Michael’s role will provide a centred programme approach with greater efficiency and fewer dispersed and duplicated individual project efforts.
Business Applications Development.
Headed by Andrew Bonnie, IT Programmes Manager and including staff working on major IT development projects. This team currently handles all ILS and BSFIS activity and will lead all future large-scale IT projects that involve core library services, such as implementation of scan-on-demand, ILL, and URM services.
Business Applications and Operations
Headed by Geoff Neate, Business Applications & Operations Manager. This team provides systems support staff for production services such as OLIS, SOLO, OxLIP+, LUNA, Imaging Services, Card databases and other business applications. The team is made up of training, data, systems analysis and development staff.
IT Strategy and Development
Headed by Erin Cooper, IT Strategy & Development Manager. This section is responsible for developing and managing IT policies and strategy, managing the ICTST Service Level Agreements and any similar arrangements. It includes a core Development Team and allocates development resources between projects. It will also include project managers for both Bodleian internally-initiated and externally-funded IT projects, and manage and develop the DAMS (Digital Assest Management System) infrastructure.
Digital Collections Development
Headed by Sally Rumsey in a new extended role, Digital Collections Development Manager. This team manages on-going and project based initiatives, which focus on the creation and maintenance of digital collections (currently, ORA, the EEBO-Text Creation Partnership team, the Google Project, Metadata Co-ordination). The Team provides advocacy, marketing and outreach for current initiatives and seeks opportunities for new areas of collaboration and development. This work embraces policy development (such as Digital Preservation Policy), standards (such as metadata standards) and IPR advice. Over a period of transition yet to be agreed, the Electronic Enlightenment project may also become part of this group.
Oxford created research collections managed within this group include: