LTS Newsletter: March 2025

Library Technology Services, Harvard Library

Welcome to Library Technology Service’s occasional newsletter for anyone interested in Harvard Library IT.

Talking about Reimagining Discovery

Word continues to spread about the fascinating work underway in the Reimagining Discovery project. In case you missed it, a news story about the project's inaugural product, Collections Explorer, was recently published in the Harvard Gazette, "Telling apples from Apples." Also, members of the project team, software engineer JJ Chen and project technical lead Katie Amaral, recently presented to library technology colleagues on the team's efforts at this year's Code4Lib conference, "Reimagining Harvard Collections: AI-Enhanced Discovery." A recording of that presentation is now available on YouTube.

DRS Futures Project

As the DRS Futures Project progresses, our team is committed to keeping all stakeholders informed and engaged. To provide updates and address any questions, we will host two events:

1. DRS Futures Open Office Hours – Thursday, April 3 at 10:00 AM

We invite you to attend the Open Office Hours, an informal session designed to address any concerns and provide clarity on the transition. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions about the project's status and ongoing developments.

2. DRS Futures Open Meeting – Thursday, May 22 at 10:00 AM

Please mark your calendars for our Open Meeting, where we will discuss essential project milestones and the content migration process. We will provide an overview of our progress, highlight key upcoming changes, and outline the next steps in the migration.

The DRS Futures Project is a critical initiative to enhance our digital repository services to better align with our institution's evolving needs. Your feedback and active engagement are invaluable in ensuring a smooth transition.

For more details about the project, visit the DRS Futures website.

Data and Infrastructure Portfolio Team Update

The Data & Infrastructure team is pleased to report continued progress on the JSTOR Forum pipeline, which plays a crucial role in harvesting and transforming records from JSTOR Forum for integration into Harvard Library systems. As of February, nightly harvests of newly cataloged records are fully operational, ensuring that these records are promptly available in LibraryCloud and HOLLIS/HOLLIS Images the following day.

Our current efforts are centered on integrating all records created and edited since the cataloging pause in May 2024 into LibraryCloud and HOLLIS/HOLLIS Images. This endeavor is vital to maintaining up-to-date and accessible resources for research and reference purposes.

For further details or guidance, there is new documentation from ICAWG, which is accessible on the documentation wiki. We are enthusiastic about these advancements and remain dedicated to enhancing accessibility to our collections

Recent Trends in Change Management

In the first quarter of 2025, three significant trends in change management have emerged, underscoring a more agile, data-driven, and technology-enhanced approach to effectively managing change:

1. AI-Driven Change Management

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the implementation of change within organizations. This technology is enhancing the data-driven and proactive nature of change management by utilizing predictive analytics and AI-powered chatbots that provide real-time support.

2. Digital Transformation and Change Agility

As digital transformation accelerates, organizations must adapt rapidly to new technologies and market shifts, a process known as change agility. As a result, organizations are investing in developing digital skills among employees to facilitate ongoing transformations better.

3. Data-Driven Decision Making

Organizations are increasingly adopting change analytics dashboards to monitor adoption rates, employee engagement, and productivity post-implementation, refining strategies and improving future transformations to understand the impact of changes and prioritize initiatives effectively.

By leveraging technology, fostering agility, and making informed decisions based on data, organizations can improve employee engagement, streamline transitional processes, and drive sustainable growth, thereby ensuring lasting and impactful change.

Authentication/Authorization Flashback – EZproxy

The transition to OpenAthens system for controlling access to electronic resources, as has been announced earlier, has finished Phase 2 of the rollout. It seems worth noting that the system being replaced, EZproxy, has been used since around 1999. At the time, EZproxy was a leap forward in providing access to licensed material with very little need for patron browser configuration. Using EZproxy reduced the support time spent on user access issues tremendously and increased satisfaction for our patrons. EZproxy was developed, and for many years supported, by one person. It was a simple program that served a narrow need and made a huge impact for a large number of people.