Changing the Service Paradigm: the HEP-SPIRES Evolution

1. Changing the Service Paradigm: the HEP-SPIRES Evolution Patricia A. Kreitz and Abraham Wheeler Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Library June 25, 2006 ALA OLOS The Technology of Outreach

3. Thirty Years Ago • Particle physicists published primarily in peer reviewed journals (2-3 yr delays) • Circulated advanced versions of papers to colleagues called pre-prints • Created disparate access to scholarship: • Wealthier institutions could afford to mail more papers • “Famous” scholars were sent more pre-prints • Created a self-perpetuating system

4. SLAC Library Challenged by Director • First got pre-prints mailed to library • Created a weekly list of pre-prints received • Subscription covered weekly postage • Included author contact information—anyone could write to get a copy of the latest preprint • Automated ~30 years ago • Converted to a database and users at other institutions would Telnet into in SLAC to search • Developed email query process (innovative then!) • World Wide Web—we became Tim Berners-Lee’s “killer app” • Linked about 15 years ago to Ginsparg’s electronic preprint archive of author-submitted papers

5. Snapshot of Databases Today • Suite of databases: • Literature of field: e-prints, articles, theses, technical reports, conference talks, books, proceedings, etc. • Experiments (particle physics and astro-particle physics) • Conferences: past and future • Online directory of scientists • Institutions directory • Job listings • Videos and Streaming Media talks • Links (avg. 3 per record) to full text of item—electronic virtual library • Eight mirror sites worldwide • 1 million searches a month

6. SPIRES HEP Database Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Research Library Menlo Park, California, USA Worldwide Collaborators Mirror Sites Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron Hamburg, Germany Indonesian Inst. of Sciences Jakarta, Indonesia Fermi National Accelerator Lab Batavia, Illinois USA Institute of High Energy Physics Protvino, Russia Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan Pending: Korea KEK High Energy Accelerator Tsukuba, Japan 37 Collaborators 9 Institutions Pending: Mexico Durham University Durham, United Kingdom Particle Data Group Berkeley, California USA

7. Still Serving Disadvantaged: Virtual Library • Third world colleges and universities • Access to the literature and reference tools of the field for free • Links to Paul Ginsparg’s “e-print” archives provides full electronic text of pre-prints • “First” and “Second” world colleges and universities (e.g. with out big endowments) • Less money to subscribe to journals (NIM = $12,950/yr) • Smaller physics departments • Less travel money • Fewer physicists—more isolated • Gives them a ‘virtual community’

8. Some observations from our experience: • Underserved are more nuanced than we often think • Getting the right information to the right user at the right time in the right way is the goal • Once you have your goal, the ‘how’ matters more than the ‘what’

9. Principles of creating service: • Partner from the start with your users • Co-developers • Environmental/technology scanners • Colleague-teachers • Work collaboratively with other institutions • Share the work/share the glory • Have faith in your professional expertise • Even the smartest users don’t know it all • Collect and share stories • Motivation • Continuous learning • Fiscal and Institutional support