ANALYSIS AND NEWS


smartphone, tablets, and laptop computers are increasingly the devices of choice for research4


. This requires on-going


investment in institutional infrastructure to support mobile devices; users expect easy wi-fi access, which will need to be updated on a regular basis by IT teams as faster standards become available, and as greater bandwidth is required by users to cope with the expanding use of mobile computing devices.


The role of mobile devices needs to be recognised by publishers, too. Many of our interviewees mentioned that while their library portals were as mobile- friendly as possible, that consideration is lost when users transition to publishers’ platforms which are very much designed for standard desktops. As mentioned earlier, the implementation of access federation logins also needs work; there is a lack of a standard approach between different publishers, with login prompts appearing in different stages along the user journey and presenting users with a mix of WAYF selection drop-down boxes, fields to type in their institution, or standard username and password prompt, depending on the provider5


. Where we’re heading


Even in institutions that define themselves as currently being ahead of the curve, there is still something of a disconnect – while most provide seamless access to resources as long as users begin their journey from the library portal site, this is not a good fit with current research workflows, which typically begin with a search engine or database such as PubMed6


. Realising the ideal –


completely seamless access to all resources – requires automatic authentication, regardless of the user’s location. While proxy servers and VPN solutions are part of the answer there’s still some distance to go – particularly in indicating clearly to users what they can and cannot access at any given time.


There is very much a sense of distance left to travel, and awareness that current systems are only ever ‘good enough’ for a fixed period of time, with a need to regular review solutions and expand or even supplant entire systems as technical advances allow libraries to get closer to realising seamless access for users. But this requires an equal investment on service providers’ parts, too. Several of our


interviewees expressed a level of frustration that although their institution can establish faceted user groups (for example, distance learners, members of the public, and emeritus faculty) – service providers are unwilling or unable to provide the level of technical granularity that would support these user groups. Such groups fall outside of the traditional definition of ‘authorised user’ that encompasses full-time faculty and students, yet should still be permitted access to some resources to which the institution subscribes.


Climbing the curve


In order to achieve this optimal outcome – seamless access for users in as many cases as possible – there are a few first steps that any institution can take.


Our librarians were unanimous in their call for better communication, both within the organisation and across different institutions. Primary among this is conducting research with users, finding out how and when they need access to different resources, and ensuring that access management is in place to answer as many


‘There was also a call for greater collaboration within the industry’


of their use cases as possible. Providing self- help resources for students and faculty was also listed as an important way of managing the number of user queries, with a focus on providing illustrated configuration guides for the most popular operating systems and devices. Several interviewees also indicated that they run workshops at the start of the academic year for students to bring in their devices, whereupon library staff help set them up with access rights to the resources they will need for the coming year. Sharing knowledge and expertise is paramount to success, with all our librarians stressing the importance of networking with peers and finding those who have struggled with similar problems. Much discussion about access and identity management can be found on listservs and on social media (Twitter in particular was identified as a good way to connect with librarians who might be able to help solve configuration issues), but full and frank discussion might be better held in person at user groups and experts meetings.


10 Research Information OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015


There was also a call for greater collaboration within the industry. Interviewees noted that publishers need to provide better support, and not – as one librarian highlighted – sequester the expertise required to solve a configuration problem behind a ‘first line’ of customer service agents (or failing to ensure knowledge is transferred as staff move positions or companies). Ideally, publishers should provide configuration guides for major identity and access management systems, which would enable librarians to solve problems without having to resort to customer service calls; publishers should also better support federated access protocols to allow for more granular treatment of special use-cases (for example, overseas/distance learners). Finally, our interviewees specified that improving indications of what users currently have access to on publishers’ sites is a priority. One potential solution was highlighted by Katherine Rose in her recent UKSG eNews editorial, The challenge of seamless authentication7


. This represents


a significant step towards the ideal user scenario, but needs considerable investment in infrastructure and buy-in from publishers in order to maintain its central database of titles. In the meantime, librarians will need to continue to listen to their users, work with their institutional colleagues to maintain and fully exploit their current systems, and look to their peers for innovative solutions and knowledge transfer.


David Armstrong is senior marketing manager at TBI Communications (www.tbicommunications.com), the specialist communications agency for the scholarly and professional publishing sector.


REFERENCES 1. Schonfield, R., ‘Meeting researchers where they start’,


Ithaka S+R, March 2015. Accessed 10th July 2015 2.


20th July 2015 3.


Accessed 10th July 2015 4.


5.


Jon Bentley, Eduserv blog, 19th May 2015. Accessed NMC Library Horizon Report, 2014 Library Edition. Ibid


Athena Hoeppner. ‘Shibble-Me-This: One Librarian’s Foray into Shibboleth for Better Access.’ Internet Librarian 2014, Monterey, CA, 27 October 2014. Accessed 10th


July 2015 6.


Schonfield, R., ‘Meeting researchers where they start’,


Ithaka S+R, March 2015. Accessed 10th July 2015 7.


The Challenges of Seamless Authentication, Katherine Rose, UKSG eNews issue 345. Accessed 10th July 2015


@researchinfo www.researchinformation.info


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