What We Do
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
Library and Information Systems are essential to connect users with the information resources they need. These systems serve multiple functions: (1) discovery and access of resources; (2) platform for marketing and outreach to promote library services and resources; (3) communication between library staff and users; (4) administrative management and record keeping. Users today expect to be able to conduct their own research but may lack the information literacy to discern credible sources or discover the information they need. In this environment, Library and other information professionals serve as “Information Brokers” who facilitate users’ own discovery by ensuring that information systems are intuitive and user friendly.
Effective management of these systems requires planning and coordination among multiple stakeholders. LAC Federal’s goal is always the same: maximize system efficiency and uptime through sound configuration management and timely response to bugs or errors. This approach ensures that resources are discoverable and available to patrons when they need them. LAC manages and maintains library systems using a Configuration Management (CM) approach. Using CM, LAC staff maps operational needs and strategic goals of the library and its parent agency. This ensures that we are anticipating future needs based on expected trends in patron expectations and emerging technological solutions. We document system configurations (e.g. latest stable version, system requirements, etc.) and establish a baseline to measure performance.
Library Platform Support
LAC Federal has supported all the major Integrated Library Systems and Library Service Platforms. Our team is vendor neutral which ensures that we are able to select the best solution for your library based on price, capabilities, and compatibility. Our team has implemented new library catalog solutions and supported major federal libraries in upgrading and migrating platforms. For two of the national libraries, the National Library of Education and the National Agricultural Library, LAC provided project leadership and planning to implement major system upgrades and migrations. We have also worked with many smaller libraries providing operations and maintenance (O&M) for existing platforms.
PAST PERFORMANCE
NASA Goddard Information and Collaboration Center
While supporting NASA Goddard and Information Collaboration Center (GIC2), LAC was responsible for providing configuration management and ongoing maintenance of the various information and digital library systems. Our team continuously re-evaluated the needs of our NASA customers to identify areas for improvement. Our Computer Security Manager collaborated with NASA IT services to implement an enterprise-wide SSO solution to enable access to NASA information resources for a globally-distributed workforce. By implementing OpenAthens to enable SSO for all NASA employees, remote staff and partners will be able to access NASA’s many research resources. Staff also implement new features including creating and managing webforms, a helpdesk feature (Ask-a-Librarian), listservs, etc. We provide timely patching and upgrading to ensure all systems are secure and integrated into the technology stack for the digital library. Staff have led numerous migrations for the Digital Archives repository upgrading from Fedora Commons 3.8 to version 4.7 and upgrading the content management system to Drupal 8. The Computer Security Manager and Web Librarian use SQL, JavaScript, HTML, XML, and other web technologies and programming languages to support the sites. Staff also provide bibliometric data analysis for NASA researchers.
NOAA Institutional Repository
While supporting the NOAA Central Library, LAC Federal’s Systems Librarian and Digital Project Librarian led the development of the first ever NOAA Institutional Repository (IR). Working with agency IT staff, LAC staff responded to a call to make federally funded research more accessible. Staff reviewed and trialed potential digital asset management solutions and selected Fedora Commons, an open source solution. LAC staff were responsible for developing the information architecture, custom ingestion workflows, interfaces, forms, metadata schema and crosswalks, and submission guidelines. The completed repository serves as a centralized location to store and retrieve NOAA internal publications (technical memoranda, reports, atlases) and NOAA authored and/or funded journal articles and manuscripts. The IR expanded the reach and impact of NOAA research, increasing agency visibility around the world. After launch, LAC staff recognized that data harvesting and validation issues were delaying uploads. Staff reviewed best practices at other federal agencies and drafted a new submission workflow. The Systems Librarian wrote scripts using Python and JavaScript that automated and improved metadata harvesting and Digital Object Identifier (DOI) validation, reducing staff time to process new submissions from two hours to under 15 minutes.
Library Platform Support
LAC Federal has supported all the major Integrated Library Systems and Library Service Platforms. Our team is vendor neutral which ensures that we are able to select the best solution for your library based on price, capabilities, and compatibility. Our team has implemented new library catalog solutions and supported major federal libraries in upgrading and migrating platforms. For two of the national libraries, the National Library of Education and the National Agricultural Library, LAC provided project leadership and planning to implement major system upgrades and migrations. We have also worked with many smaller libraries providing operations and maintenance (O&M) for existing platforms.