Page:The Wikipedia Library-The largest encyclopedia needs a digital library and we are building it By Jake Orlowitz.pdf/12

12 centralized​ ​interface​ ​through​ ​which​ ​editors​ ​can​ ​apply​ ​for​ ​access​ ​to​ ​resources​ ​and​ ​volunteers​ ​can process​ ​those​ ​applications.​ ​This​ ​central​ ​platform​ ​greatly​ ​improves​ ​the​ ​efficiency​ ​of​ ​the​ ​access grant​ ​process​—​projections​ ​suggest​ ​an​ ​eventual​ ​wait​ ​time​ ​of​ ​only​ ​a​ ​few​ ​days​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​a​ ​few weeks​ ​for​ ​most​ ​resources.

The​ ​Library​ ​Card​ ​system​ ​supports​ ​a​ ​wider​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​resource​ ​provision​ ​modes​ ​than​ ​previously available​ ​under​ ​TWL.​ ​The​ ​application​ ​process​ ​is​ ​streamlined​ ​and​ ​can​ ​be​ ​partially​ ​or​ ​fully automated,​ ​depending​ ​on​ ​the​ ​approach​ ​preferred​ ​by​ ​the​ ​publisher.​ ​Foremost,​ ​it​ ​can​ ​support​ ​a proxy-based​ ​authentication​ ​system​ ​with​ ​single​ ​sign-on​ ​for​ ​users.​ ​This​ ​will​ ​rapidly​ ​improve access​ ​to​ ​research​ ​for​ ​content​ ​editors.

An​ ​instantaneous​ ​access​ ​system​ ​is​ ​also​ ​being​ ​developed​ ​called​ ​the​ ​Library​ ​Card​ ​Bundle​.​ ​In​ ​this iteration,​ ​access​ ​is​ ​approved​ ​through​ ​the​ ​system​ automatically​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​manually,​ ​so​ ​it​ ​can​ ​be granted​ ​on​ ​an​ ​as-needed​ ​basis​ ​to​ ​tens​ ​of​ ​thousands​ ​of​ ​editors​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​just​ ​hundreds​ ​at​ ​a​ ​time. The​ ​bundle​ ​approach​ ​solves​ ​the​ ​problem​ ​of​ ​users​ ​requesting​ ​access​ ​to​ ​a​ ​source​ ​simply​ ​to​ ​read​ ​a few​ ​specific​ ​articles​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​long-term​ ​research​ ​in​ ​the​ ​topic​ ​area.​ ​Now,​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​occupying one​ ​of​ ​a​ ​limited​ ​number​ ​of​ ​slots​ ​for​ ​an​ ​entire​ ​year,​ ​a​ ​far​ ​greater​ ​number​ ​of​ ​users​ ​can​ ​simply​ ​gain access​ ​to​ ​what​ ​they​ ​need​ ​when​ ​it​ ​is​ ​needed.

Once​ ​this​ ​initial​ ​phase​ ​of​ ​authorization​ ​and​ ​development​ ​is​ ​completed,​ ​the​ ​next​ ​step​ ​is​ ​to integrate​ ​additional​ ​digital​ ​library​ ​services.​ ​A​ ​key​ ​component​ ​of​ ​the​ ​system​ ​will​ ​be​ ​a​ ​web-scale discovery​ ​service​ ​to​ ​allow​ ​users​ ​to​ ​find​ ​content​ ​across​ ​all​ ​publishers​ ​from​ ​a​ ​single​ ​search​ ​box.