4.0 Organizational Roles

Background Information

This team brings together experienced researchers, developers, experts at system and user evaluation, and a demonstrated capability to implement and support production systems in a large scale environment.

The senior research team, consisting of faculty from computer science, economics, education, and information and library studies, as well as external consultants, has extensive experience in distributed systems applied to artificial intelligence (E. Durfee, W. Birmingham, M. Wellman) and federated systems (W. Birmingham, M. Wellman), computer supported collaborative work (D. Atkins), object orieted database systems (E. Rundensteiner), economic allocation of resources(M. Wellman, H. Varian), science curriculum design (E. Soloway, J. Krajcik, P. Sampson), linquistic techniques for document retrieval (A. Warner), guided retrieval systems (K. Drabenstott), structure of textual and non-textual materials (C. Frost, D. Rodgers, M. Lesk, D. Egan), large scale document retrieval (D. Blair), and economic and intellectual property issues related to publishing (C. Day, H. Varian).

The testbed and deployment team consists of faculty and staff with extensive experience in building, deploying, and supporting library and information technology resources. The team responsible for the existing DIRECT project (Frank, Alexander, Peters, Liming) and softwre development efforts for structured documents (Rodgers) will form the core of the development effort. User support and assistance with issues of access will be provided by Library and SILS personnel (Lougee, Alloway, Durrance, Garland). They are supported by additional production staff from the University Library, Computer Aided Engineering Network, and Information Technology Division with extensive experience in deploying, managing, and supporting extensive facilities for end users, including on-campus and wide-area networks.

The user assesment activity will be lead by faculty from SILS (Janes, Durrance) as well as an external consultant (Egan). The overall areas of expertise are summarized in the figure below:

Constituent Competencies


Illustrates the linkages between participants, research specialization, and the three focal points for the projects research.

Information technology and information resource providers are also participants supplying advanced technology products and content in various digital formats (text, data, still image, video, audio). New technology and content, developed by these partners during the project timeframe, will be added to the UMDL.

Participating Organizations: Description of Roles and Cost Sharing

The table below lists each member organization, its role and a description of its cost sharing participation.

University of Michigan, College of Engineering

Organization Participants: EECS -- Atkins, D; Birmingham, W; Durfee, E; Wellman, M; Soloway, E; Rundensteiner, E
Organization Participants: AOSS -- Banks, P; Samson, P.
Organization Participants: CAEN -- Alexander, K; Frank, R, Peters, G.
Roles: Architectual Design, System Research and Development, Software Development, System Building (Testbed), Curriculum Development
Cost Sharing: Dean's participation on External Advisory Group, Cash contribution

University of Michigan School of Information & Library Studies

Organization Participants: Atkins, D; Blair, D; Drabenstott, K; Durrance, J; Frost, C; Garland, K; Janes, J; Liming, L.; Rodgers, D; Warner, A., McGill,M.
Roles: System Research and Development, Assessment, Administration
Cost Sharing: Dean as Project Director, Cash contribution

University of Michigan Library

Organization Participants: Lougee, W.
Roles: Collection Development, User Support
Cost Sharing: Personnel

University of Michigan Press

Organization Participant: Day, C.
Roles: Intellectual Property, Requirements Definition, Business Requirements, Definition

University of Michigan, Information Technology Division

Organization Participants: Van Houweling, D.; Willis, K.
Roles: Network support, partner relations
Cost Sharing: Vice-Provost participation on external advisory group, Cash contribution

University of Michigan, School of Education

Organization Participant: Krajcik, J.
Role: Curriculum Development

Ann Arbor Public Library and High Schools

Role: Deployment Sites

New York Public Library and Stuyvesant Science Magnet School

Organization Participants: Jiga, A; Walker, W.
Role: Deployment Sites

Bellcore

Organization Participants: Lesk, M; Egan, D
Roles: Interface Development, System Research and Development in video & audio structures
Cost Sharing: Superbook license, Research time

Elsevier Science Group

Organization Participant: Hunter, K.
Roles: Collection content, Member of External Advisory Group
Cost Sharing: Provision of 32 scholarly scientific journals and 168 monographs in machine readable format, some converted for the project including SGML. Permission to use without royalties during project. Executive participation on External Advisory Group.

McGraw-Hill Publishers

Organization Participant: Christoffersson, J.
Role: Collection Content
Cost Sharing: Provision of 2 general reference materials and science monographs in machine readable format. Permission to use without royalties during project.

UMI

Organization Participant: Malcom, P.
Role: Collection content
Cost Sharing: Provision of 46 popular science journals and and newspapers in machine readable format.. Permission to use without royalties during project.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Role: Collection content
Cost Sharing: Provision of two video series

American Mathematical Society

Organization Participant: Rodgers, D.
Role: Software
Cost Sharing: Contribution of software for document structuring.

Association of Research Libraries

Organization Participant: Okerson, A.
Role: Member, External Advisory Group
Cost Sharing: Executive participation on External Advisory Group.

Xerox Corporation

Organization Participant: Brown, JS.
Role: Member, External Advisory Group
Cost Sharing: Executive participation on External Advisory Group.

Apple Corporation

Organization Participant: LeFairve, R.
Role: Client Hardware, Member of External Advisory Committee
Cost Sharing: Contribution of clients for deployment sites - TBD, Executive participation on External Advisory Group.

Digital Equipment Corp

Role: Server Technology and Storage
Cost Sharing: Contribution of server and storage - TBD .

IBM

Organization Participant: Corgel, J..
Role: Server Technology and Storage
Cost Sharing: Contribution of server and storage - TBD. Contribution of clients for deployment sites - TBD. Enhancement of search engine in conjunction with UMDL system construction - TBD.

Eastman Kodak Company

Organization Participant: Redon, L.
Role: Imaging Technology
Cost Sharing: Contribution of software and hardware for Photo CD imaging.

Management

We are aware that the management of our project is complex due to the multi-disciplinary, mult-group structure. We have had significant experience in managing projects of similar scale and complexity. Based upon the high morale, mutual respect, and team spirit generated during the complex proposal generation phase, we are very optimistic about success. The Project Director, Dan Atkins, has strong ties to all units involved and has had prior experience working with all our industrial partners.

The project will be managed by an Operating Committee (OC) chaired by the Project Director. The OC will consist of a member of each of the three interesecting aspects of the project: basic research, testbed construction, and deployment/assessment, and will meet weekly. The Project Director will assume ultimate budgetary responsibility but will be assisted in evaluation and resource allocation by the OC. This structure has worked well in other projects. This committee will meet weekly to review the project status and direct or resolve operational issues.

In addition, the operating committee and the entire project team will receive counsel from an external advisory group consisting of Doug VanHouwelling, Vice-Provost for Information Technology, Peter Banks, Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Space Science, University of Michigan; John Seely Brown, Vice President and Chief Technologist, Xerox Corporation; Richard LeFaivre, Vice-President Advanced Technologies Group, Apple Corporation; Karen Hunter, Vice-President and Special Advisor to the President, Elesevier Sciences Group; Anne Okerson, Director, Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing, Association of Research Libraries.

Return to Table of Contents

Return to the Main Page

Comments or questions may be sent to: UMDL.INFO@umich.edu