Application Support

DLSS supports the Libraries' production application and systems environment. This includes suites of systems in four main areas:

• Discovery and Access Systems
• Digital Collections and Processing Systems
• Library Operations and Management Systems
• Library IT Infrastructure

Discovery and Access Systems

DLSS supports a growing number of systems that are central to the Libraries' mission of providing access to information. These systems make SULAIR's vast stores of information resources accessible by enabling online presentation, search, discovery, and delivery of information and content. Many of these systems are vendor-built, while others have been developed locally, sometimes from open source solutions. The major components of this suite of applications are:

• Socrates: SULAIR's online public access catalog (OPAC).
  Socrates is SULAIR's web-based access to the database of all resources cataloged in Unicorn. It is built on Sirsi's web catalog product, but contains a number of customizations, particularly for the handling of context-sensitive patron requests, such as for placing recalls or paging materials from remote locations.
• the SUL web infrastructure
  SULAIR has a relatively large web presence that makes extensive use of the University's central web services (provided by IT Services), and augments them with local customization and enhancements. DLSS supports the technical underpinnings and the operation of SUL's web sites by managing the IT Services infrastructure, and providing the local enhancements for SUL. Taken together, this includes managing the underlying file system, assignment of vanity URL's, log tracking and analysis, and support for web application servers, databases and environments (tomcat, Oracle and apache, respectively).
• Proxy service: APC Proxy
  DLSS, working in conjunction with IT Services, also supports and maintains the University's authenticated proxy service for SULAIR resources. The proxy server enables access by off-campus users to electronic journals and databases that limit access to computers from Stanford's network. Stanford uses the APC Proxy system.
• SFX: Open URL Resolver from ExLibris
  DLSS operates SFX, the Open URL resolver behind Find It @ Stanford. SFX uses the Open URL standard to take users directly from a citation in a database to any available online full text. It also provides a link to Socrates and other catalogs, supports citation downloads and links to other relevant services.
• EJOURNAL Web Presentation from TDNet
  TDNet consolidates, organizes, and presents electronic journals to SULAIR patrons. It offers alphabetical lists of journals as well as the ability to search by subject, journal title, ISSN, journal publisher, and package vendor (e.g., Gale). TDNet includes all titles that SULAIR purchases, as well as free titles, identified by subject specialists, that are full or selected text.
• Luna Insight from Luna Imaging
  Luna Insight is a client/server package that provides access to image collections over the Internet. Insight combines simple to complex search modes, with a rich set of tools for viewing, comparing, and organizing images. DLSS supports the Humanities Digital Imaging Service (HDIS) unit of SULAIR in providing Luna, and leverages it for the display of digitized image collections.
• Lucene Full Text Search Engine
  DLSS has implemented Lucene, a Java-based open source toolkit for text indexing and searching, to provide richer access to its online text collections. The engine can be found in use at http://collections.stanford.edu/ where it powers the search feature for such collections as GATT and the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders. The locally deployed engine has been customized to fit Stanford's environment, collections and needs; the resulting customization is known locally as Lux.

Digital Collections and Processing Systems

In support of its mission of digital resource provisioning and management, DLSS develops, implements, maintains, and supports a suite of systems and applications for digitizing, processing, preserving, describing and managing collections of digital resources. These include:

• Stanford Digital Repository (SDR)
  The SDR is a preservation-focused archive of digital content. Its purpose is to collect and preserve digital content for SULAIR and Stanford, and to guarantee the long term accessibility and use of content that is otherwise at risk due to bit rot, format changes, technical obsolence, hardware and software platform migration, lack of a steward, etc. The production SDR ingested its first content in late 2005. Its functionality will continue to be extended, along with its base of contents, through 2006 and beyond.
• JHOVE
  As part of the SDR workflow, DLSS makes extensive use of JHOVE to identify, validate and characterize the formats of digital objects prior to ingestion in the repository.
• Empirical Walker
  Locally developed at Stanford as part of the Archive Ingest and Handling Test (AIHT) funded by the Library of Congress, Empirical Walker provides an automated tool to crawl collections of digital content and assess their preservation risk.
• Bscan from Image Access
  The Digital Production Group of DLSS uses BSCAN in its digitization labs for high volume image capture, file processing, OCR (optical character recognition) and overall workflow.

Library Operations and Management Systems

These applications form the core of the Libraries' "back office" systems, and are the applications that help keep SULAIR running. The bulk of these systems are purchased from vendors, and undergo customization and extensive integration to work in Stanford's environment and interoperate with other systems. Implementaiton, integration, maintenance, enhancement and upgrade of these applications are largely performed by the Systems Integration team in DLSS. Some of the major applications in this portfolio of systems are:

• Unicorn: Library Management System from Sirsi Corporation
  Unicorn is both the transaction system for functions such as acquisitions, fund management, cataloging, serial check-in, circulation, course reserves, etc., as well as the database behind Socrates, our online public access catalog (OPAC). Data is exchanged between Unicorn and networked utilities like RLG, OCLC, and the Library of Congress; as well as with other campus systems, such as the Oracle financial system and the Campus Registry.
• LAS: Inventory System for SAL3 from GFA
  LAS is the inventory system used at SAL3, the Libraries' remote storage and preservation facility. Data is exchanged between LAS and Unicorn to reflect location information in Unicorn for items accessioned at SAL3, and to send retrieval requests to SAL3 for patron requests initiated in Socrates.
• ERM: Electronic Resource Management from Innovative Interfaces Incorporated (III)
  ERM is a tool used by Serials and Acquisitions staff to manage electronic journal and e-book package purchases and licensing agreements.
• Visitor Self Registration
  Visitor Self Registration is a locally created program that is used near the Green Library portal for visitors to enter registration information and obtain a pass for entry to the Library.
• MyAccount
  The MyAccount service allows users to view items checked out, items they have recalled, and bills. It also allows users to renew checked out items.

Library IT infrastructure

The Libraries growing investment and presence in digital collections and systems requires a stable and evolving IT infrastructure as a foundation. DLSS either directly supports, or manages the IT Services activities that support, the Libraries:

• Server environment
  SUL runs a heterogenous mix of server platforms, including AIX (for Unicorn), Solaris (for most other applications) and Windows (for vendor software used primarily in the digitization labs), with a growing Linux presence. The environment includes distinct platforms by application (Unicorn, SDR, labware, etc.), tier (web, application, database), and instance (production, test, development).
• Storage & Backup
  SULAIR currently has a tiered storage environment of several dozen terabytes, optimized around relatively high performance application delivery, "scratch space" for digitization labs, archival storage. The primary backup platform is an L700 tape robot using TSM.
• Database Administration
  All databases for major, production systems are on Oracle, and are contracted to IT Services for support and administration. A few instances of MySQL (for smaller databases) and MSSQL exist (legacy applications) also exist, and are locally administered.
• File system & web infrastructure.
  DLSS makes use of AFS, the University's central file system maintained by IT Services, as the underlying file system for SULAIR's web infrastructure.
• Confluence by Atlassian
  DLSS also supports Confluence, an "enterprise wiki", as a SULAIR internal collaboration tool. Access (which is restricted to SUNetID holders) is available through http://consul.stanford.edu.