DRC PILOT PROJECT PROPOSAL -

A joint project of Computing and Communications Services and the Library

Due to a better understanding of the needs of the user community, hardware/software constraints and significant changes in staffing, the pilot project for the Data Resource Centre (DRC) has been revised. This document is based on the original proposal, prepared in November, 1996. Note that the name of the facility has changed from the Electronic Data Centre (EDC), to the Data Resource Centre(DRC).

The details of the revised pilot project for the DRC are outlined below. Major changes have been highlighted in bold. The basis of this project is the proposal written for the Statistical Advisory Committee (SAC) on the establishment of a DLC at Guelph (September 1996). The report outlines such things as the functions of a DLC, the need for a DLC, options for Guelph, and details on what other institutions are doing.

TIME FRAME:

Present to April 30th 1997

LOCATION:

An office has been established in room 061 of the Library. It is adjacent to the Documents Centre in the Library. Users will be able to consult with staff at this location. The core functions will be undertaken at this site. Priority is being placed on giving users web based access to the information.

Phone: ext 6410 and ext 6417

Email: drc@uoguelph.ca

www: http://tdr.uoguelph.ca

STAFF:

• 1 FTE to coordinate the project (Bo Wandschneider)

Actual - Started December 2^nd , 1996

• 1 FTE (two ½ positions) seconded from the Library to provide WWW expertise and consulting.

Actual - 0.4 fte started December 2^nd , 1996 (Doug Horne)

Actual - 0.5 fte still to be determined

• 1 FTE (two ½ positions) seconded from CCS to provide HTML, JAVA, and SAS expertise and consulting.

Actual - 0.3 fte started mid January 1997 (Barry Reville)

• clerical support provided by library as needed.

• a management group, composed of Phil Jones (CCS), Ron MacKinnon (library) and Bo Wandschneider (CCS), will meet monthly to oversee the project.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Develop an inventory of in-house electronic data resources.

• develop an electronic list of resources.

• collect hard copy information on data resources and make as much as possible available electronically.

• collect all the data and store centrally, giving basic access to the user community.

- a partial inventory will be completed. Data is being moved to a central location, and we are working towards developing a list and providing consistency across data sets in terms of data file format, codebooks, record layouts and descriptions..

2. Collect an inventory of data resources available over the Internet and make available on a master web site.

- A partial list of data resources will be made available.

3. Explore other Electronic Data Centres for suitable interfaces (such as WWW to SAS). Where necessary, modify and develop these interfaces to be implemented at Guelph for access to commonly used data resources.

• solicit the user community for input as to which data are in most demand (Census, SLID, VAW, GSS...).

• choose 3 "research" projects and prepare a data set for use in research on campus.

• choose 3 "teaching" projects and prepare a data set for use in the classroom.

- 3 projects have been chosen. GSS 9, Agricultural Census 1991, and climate data collected in -house. Work is progressing on moving this to perl 5. This would facilitate easy implementation of other data sets. These retrieval systems will be functional , but may not be complete.

- the DRC has implemented a NT server to give access to various DOS/CD-ROM based packages. There are approximately 6 of these packages currently loaded and work is progressing on making them accessible to the research stations within the library. More data in this format may be forthcoming.

- there is a great deal of interest in GIS and in particular the 1991 Census, geographic files. The department of Geography is in the process of securing a work study student to work with staff in the centre to make these files accessible.

4. Provide front-line consulting for the user community.

• helping users identify sources of information

• assisting in the use of the tools we develop

• provide information on how to get statistical support. (This interfaces closely with the library reference services, on one end, and CCS and the Ashton Statistical Laboratory on the other)

- support is being given, but to a very limited extent. As staff are added to the DRC the level of support will be expanded to meet the needs of the user community. Efforts are being put into developing the web pages and supplying users with commonly requested information. In the long run this will be more efficient.

5. Publicize the availability of the service. This may include an At Guelph article, and a regular news letter.

- one article has appeared in At Guelph, and one article in LibRant. The plan is for a follow-up article in At Guelph. Completion of the news letter is dependent on getting additional staff from the library

6. Develop an inventory of usage. This is needed to help identify areas of demand on campus as well as help identify the types of data resources required by the Guelph community.

- this is being done at a very basic level. No formal procedure will be in place.

7. Approach other institutions, especially Waterloo and WLU to develop long range agreements to share resources. This will be done early in the process.

- initial contact has been made and there will be a follow-up when we release the web page. Interest is very high in colaboration.

8. Consider issues related to including OMAFRA and other university partners in the ERC.

- Individuals within OMAFRA and at the ‘new’ Colleges will be contacted, advised of what we are doing and requested to express any interest they may have.

9. Develop an evaluation procedure for pilot and report back to VPAC.