InCommon Library Services

[Dean Woodbeck <>]

Please send any corrections/additions to Dean ()

InCommon Library Services Working Group
Draft Minutes
December 14, 2007
 
Steven Carmody, Brown University (chair)
Becky Albitz, Penn State University
Holly Eggleston, University of California-San Diego
Claire Miasomoto, University of California-San Diego
Dave Kennedy, University of Maryland
Laura Wruble, University of Maryland
Adam Chandler, Cornell University
R.L. “Bob” Morgan, University of Washington
Ann West, EDUCAUSE/Internet2
Dean Woodbeck, Internet2 (scribe)
 
**Presentations**
 
David Kennedy gave the presentation on Shibboleth and its use in libraries at the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) conference. There were 50-60 people at the presentation with just a few that already use Shibboleth. Some of the questions/areas discussed were:
 
·       How coordination occurs with central IT and the division of labor to implement/maintain Shibboleth.
·       What is the value in joining a federation and of Shibbloleth?
·       If the campus already has a single sign-on system, what is the value of a federation and of Shibboleth?
 
Most attendees seemed to be there looking for information, as opposed to having serious questions or issues. They were also looking for ways to make the case for Shib more compelling in the library space. The idea of personalization of vendor web sites had some traction.
 
There was a question about whether Shib logs have enough information to be useful for librarians. The logs can provide information, for example, about a person who may be downloading more frequently than a vendor would prefer. The vendor should be able to find the Shib identifier for the person and time(s) of events. This should provide the information an identity provider needs to check the local logs and transaction logs to determine who is associated with that Shib identifier.
 
Holly did a simplified version of her Internet2 Member Meeting presentation to the UCSD library staff. Her results seem similar to the CNI meeting, in terms of questions and concerns. There was a lot of interest in the Shib-enabled server-side proxy. In addition, they are interested in an SSO that will allow specific users at, say, a medical clinic to have access without providing access to the entire clinic. They also like the idea of adding Shib-enabled vendors without affecting the front-end user experience.
 
Steve asked whether audiences seem to be perceiving the value equation. The general consensus is that, ultimately, librarians are concerned about the user experience. If we can simplify that experience, that’s what they care about. If it is also easier for the administrator, that’s even better. Dave’s presentation was fairly concrete – here’s what we’ve done, here’s how we did it, and these are the issues. Making the presentation more specific as to the value makes it easier for librarians to see the impact on the various areas. It is more difficult to make technical recommendations, since there are no best practices yet. But for library people, we can say, “this is how you do it and, if you already have it, here’s the next step you can take.”
 
Future presentations include the ALA mid-winter meeting in January and the North American Serials Information Group conference (NASIG) in June.
 
**Personalization**
 
The concept of personalization seems to be more prevalent. Enabling this requires turning on a particular feature in the Shib IdP and not many sites are using that feature. The next version of Shib will include the EduPerson Targeted ID attribute, which is an opaque identifier for a specific user accessing a specific vendor. This will allow anonymity, but is unique, so personalization is possible.
 
There was a discussion about any security concerns or about vendors trading this information. Bob Morgan said this attribute was developed to avoid releasing data that will, say, identify a person’s email address. The targeted ID is a uni-directional identifier that is specific to a user – it is anonymous but unique. Shib is passing this attribute, rather than users being asked for an identifier (which would likely be an email address). This allows the person to retain privacy while still allowing for personalization at vendor web sites.
 
Identity providers can release this targeted ID for everyone without being invasive or providing person information. This attribute takes the university out of the role of determining which information to release. Users can have a personalized experience without releasing any personal data, or they can provide such information if they choose.
 
**European Federations**
 
During the last call, there was a question about whether some of the European federations might be interested in a conversation about a joint approach to attracting library vendors as members. Steve sent a note to an email listed and the responses indicated some interest, particularly in the UK.
 
Holly mentioned that the University of Guelph is spearheading the formation of a Canadian federation and has expressed an interest in discussing federation  benefits as they apply to libraries.
 
**Next Steps**
 
There was a general discussion about whether the working group may begin outlining and recommending best practices. The consensus was that the next step would be to develop some case studies outlining what various working group members – UCSD, Maryland, Chicago – hare doing, what they have encountered and here are the issues that were solved or need to be solved.
 
Holly reported that UCSD’s pilot is far enough along to do a use-case on their plan. Right now, for example, UCSD does not use EZProxy, but UC-Santa Barbara and UC-Santa Cruz do, so any migration to Shib raises questions about implementation for the entire pilot group.
 
Steve mentioned that, if it would be helpful, he would contact any vendors concerning federating and enabling Shib.
 
**Other Campus Projects**
 
Maryland is waiting for the release of the next version of EZProxy before putting anything into production. They did a successful test with Ebsco and will probably go live once the new version is released..
 
Cornell is looking at converting their Iliad service to Shib during the first part of January.
 
**Next call – Friday, January 25, 1:00 p.m. (EST)**
 
The December 28 call was canceled, as was the January 11 call, which would fall during the ALA midwinter conference.