Library Data
UNSTRUCTURED INFORMATION PRESENTS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIBRARIES
John Pomeroy reports from the recent MarkLogic UK summit about some of the challenges and opportunities for libraries and publishers of working with unstructured data
nstructured information has taken the world by storm, and companies around the globe are now realising that effectively managing it offers a substantial opportunity for not only innovation, but business insight and value. Unstructured information includes
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data that doesn’t fi t neatly into relational databases. Examples include textural documents, pictures, video, research, social media posts, tweets and similar data. Analysts and industry experts have estimated that unstructured information accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of all data. This information has a signifi cant impact
on libraries as well. A major goal of libraries, be they public, educational or corporate, is to discover and share information, and the technology that people are using for this information is evolving. There is a large amount of unstructured information housed in libraries. Recently, a group of thought leaders
came together for a UK summit, hosted by MarkLogic, to discuss the explosion of unstructured data. The event highlighted how companies can improve information sharing, add value to customers, reduce complexity of data management and increase transparency. Many companies are already starting to use unstructured information to add value and create revenue. According to MarkLogic UK Summit attendee Nick Patience, research director of information management at the technology industry analyst fi rm The 451 Group, one of the biggest hurdles associated with unstructured data is that it is nobody’s job to manage it. However, this is changing as organisations seek more control over their content and the value it represents. Another challenge associated with unstructured information is growth. There has been an explosion of data over the last fi ve years, and especially in the amount of information that is outside an organisation’s control. Organisations have been looking to traditional big database vendors to solve this problem. As people learn that relational database technology is not well-suited (or
www.researchinformation.info Experts at the recent MarkLogic UK summit considered unstructured data
One of the biggest hurdles associated with unstructured data is that it is nobody’s job to manage it
designed) to address the challenges presented by unstructured information, they are looking at new technologies and expanding their database strategy to include more than just a relational database. In addition, changes in the ways in
which people access and share information is affecting libraries and their customers. The evolution of library mobile technology presents a myriad of opportunities and possibilities. Another trend in unstructured data that is
having a big impact on libraries and publishers is social media. A centralised body or library organising and categorising information may not be the ideal or most useful method for library customers. It may be more useful for them to see information in terms of how their peers are viewing and using it.
Some publishers see user-generated content
as the way of the future. For example, a library may categorise periodicals by any criteria they feel may be relevant to the subject. Rather than relying on a pre-defi ned way to organise information – author, title, etc., publishers can use new database technology to allow customers to organise and share information in different ways. Crowd sourcing is another way to
make information more useful based on how people are using it. A college student could see how other students have tagged certain information, perhaps tagging it as being relevant to a specifi c course, which makes it more useful to them. As information requirements evolve, libraries can use an unstructured database such as MarkLogic Server to modify existing capabilities – and even create new applications quickly – allowing further exploration of content assets. The challenge is to get inside the data, pull together the precise pieces of required information, and deliver only the most relevant information in the format the library customer fi nds most useful.
John Pomeroy is vice president of MarkLogic Europe JUN/JUL 2011 Research Information 9
ANALYSIS
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