Libology Blog

Teaching a Dog New Tricks is a post by Michelle Boule on ALA TechSource that contains a great overview of what good Web 2.0 tools have in common.

Libology’s Scriblio installation.
Scriblio, the open-source Library OPAC that runs on a WordPress installation, has been installed on Libology.  Several notes about this software installation:

• The library catalog contained within this installation of Scriblio is Capital University’s, located in Columbus, Ohio.  I could have used any of dozens of libraries, but since I work there, it made sense to create something I could use on a regular basis.
• The software is fairly close to the default installation, although I plan to tweak the design over the next few weeks.  I have several projects on my plate, and I am happy to have reached a “live” status for this, so I may put it aside while I finish the book.
• Many of the links, especially the related subject and author links, do not work.  I haven’t looked into this yet, so it may be something I didn’t do, or activate, or something.
• It runs very slowly, most of the time.  I am not sure how much of this is due to my hosting service’s specs (a new service, for me), how much is due to database clutter (I have neither indexed the tables, nor adjusted the cache settings yet), or how much is due to factors in how I set it up.  The database is about 2GB, so I would imagine that it might take a bit of time to conduct a search.
• Most of the time delay over the past couple of weeks has been due to my chasing a ghost in the php code.  I had been attempting to set up the “real time status” reporting (this tells the location, call number, and availability of each item), and couldn’t get it to work.  As I am relatively new to php, I assumed that I was missing something there.  It wasn’t until I decided to try to work backwards and find the reference in the html code that I found out that it wasn’t working because it was made invisible via the style sheet.  From there it was a very quick fix.
• To see a very well implemented Scriblio installation, check out Plymouth State University’s Lampson Library’s OPAC.  They have nearly twice the number of records in their system, but their response time is much faster.  They have also done a great job with the page layout… very little wasted space.

My feeling about the software, at this particular point, is that it is an incredible demonstration of what can be done with a solid piece of software (WordPress) and some well-focused creativity.  Casey Bisson and the rest of the people who created this software have done a terrific job.

The downside is that it seemed, to me, harder than it should have been to get my installation this far.  To set things up properly one needed be comfortable working with WordPress, PHP, HTML, and CSS.  And this is only to get everything installed, imported, and configured to show the real-time status of the items.  I am not complaining… this is a young project, and what might be easy for one library (or one developer) might be tougher for others.

So, the question is : should you try to do this.  If you are interested, I say go for it!  If you have ever installed WordPress before, then there isn’t much that won’t be familiar (mostly editing URLs in PHP and editing a style sheet).  This is a great way to push your own envelope, and to learn a few things along the way.  This has certainly been a good learning experience for me….

And now the announcement I alluded to a couple of weeks ago…

Libology.com is a new web site that I have begun work on.   The focus of the site is described by its tag line : “Tools and Ideas for Libraries”.  Basically, it will be a showcase for various library technologies, as well as a “sandbox” for me to try out technology that I think would apply well to libraries.  I have a couple of other ideas for the site, but we will see once I get those elements fleshed out.

The site is pretty bare, with only the main page in place.  However, the first piece of technology has been installed and is running:  Scriblio, a library Online Public Access Catalog (OPACO) built on the  WordPress platform(the blogging software that runs this blog, among many others).  More on that in the next post….

BookChaser Editions Lookup is an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) lookup service with a twist : it obtains information from the amazingISBN, thingISBN and xISBN services and displays them, all for the purpose of letting the user compare and contrast different editions of the book entered.  Think of it as a meta-ISBN service.

Try it with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

This can be a great way to locate audiobooks, foreign language editions, and other forms of a book that might not easily be found otherwise.

found via ResourceShelf

Better World Books is a for-profit organization that, among other activities, will take a library’s discarded books and either donate them to literacy projects worldwide, or sell them via used book retailers such as Amazon Marketplace.

A portion of the funds raised go back to the library that discarded the books, a portion go towards literacy projects, and a portion goes to Better World Books (which is a for-profit organization, after all).

Among the other benefits, they stress that they offer carbon-neutral shipping.

Overall, it sounds like a way to maximize the good your discards can do you, and raise some funds at the same time.

thanks to Belen for the heads-up!

A great, thought-provoking post on the OpenStudents blog : Open Access meets Undergrad Research… Please?

If I were to be researching a paper on a topic that has a strong open access presence (and the easiest way to see these topics is to check out the main page of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), open access would be my first choice for articles.  Not only is there no hassle in accessing them (you only need a live web connection), but you can be sure that your paper’s readers would have the same, easy access.

Making open access a part of the research process, whether it is coming from an instructor, library reference, or peer, will serve to strengthen people’s research and to add a large group of resources to those we already offer.

found via Open Access News

Its the first annual Document Freedom Day!

Document Freedom means open standards and free document formats.  Take a few minutes to check out what this means to libraries, society, and to you.

For me, well, I have been a fan of open standards for years (I do too much xhtml/css to not appreciate standards), and I also feel that the Open Document Format (ODF) is not only more flexible than closed formats, but I like that I can rename the file with a .zip extension, then open it up and see (and extract, if needed) all the separate elements that make up the document.

found via Linux.com

Someone at AskMetaFilter has inquired about why so many library OPACs have human names, and Jessamyn has asked for comments, so here is what I posted as a reply:

Here’s a story about how one library accidentally gave their OPAC a personal name:

In 1999 I was working at a community college library, and we were about to go live with our first ILS.  Judie, a staff member who had been with the library since it had opened, had retired the day before the server was to be installed.  I had been promoted to her position, and so found myself, freshly promoted, standing in the server room with a half-dozen people watching the Sun technician set everything up.

The Sun tech announced that he would need a name for the server.  “Library” was the first one suggested.  I recall that I suggested “Herman”, after George Harrison’s favorite drink.  Someone else suggested “Judie”.  We all thought it was fitting.

Of course, we later found out that the name became part of the address of the server (http://judie.foo.bar) and that we couldn’t change it without a great deal of messiness.  I felt we should go with the situation and and personalize the OPAC, but it didn’t happen.

Five years later we bought a new server, changed the name to “Library” (and changed all our bookmarks, handouts, etc.) and went forth with a good, solid, generic name for the server.

The best memory, for me, was that the real Judie wouldn’t believe me (or anyone else) about the server being named after her.  I think it was several months before she finally accepted that we weren’t pulling some practical joke on her….

There are many ebook web sites; there are many free ebook sites, even. Planet eBook is special, and you should take a look for yourself and see what I mean.

They have been around only a few months, their offerings are few (just under 40 books, by my quick count), and the books are all available on other sites, such as Gutenberg (now the second place I will look for books of this type).

What makes them special? They offer the books in a very clean, pdf format (that even allows for cutting-and-pasting of the text!) while emphasizing their openness for people to access, use, or distribute. The only restriction is that one cannot sell them.

I think that it would be an easy and fruitful project for libraries to add these links to their records as they become available. A better balance of quality and access is unlikely in the near future, in my opinion.

I was impressed by the quality of the work that has gone into the creation of this site, and hope to see it grow, book by book, into the online core of any quality classic collection.

found via Open Access News

This post by The Limnal Librarian is, simply put, a must for everyone to read and understand (even if you don’t agree).

I worked in a pharmacy as a technician for 8 years. There were great, and not so great, times to be had, and I learned a lot (especially about working with and for people). One of those lessons was that the person walking up to the counter didn’t know that I wasn’t a pharmacist and didn’t care that I wasn’t a pharmacist; they wanted their question answered rightly or their medication filled properly.

Libraries are the same. We are all librarians. Any other unifying name or term to define those of us who work there is an attempt at futility: people see us all as librarians. This is not to take anything away from the MLS degree; I have seen the power that a good library program gives to a person inclined to help others find and use information… nothing can replace that (only reduce it). There is a very good reason why the MLS should be required for library administrators, and that it should be a generous part of any well-sized library’s staffing.

We all, however, represent the same entity to the patron. Nobody, in any position, should hesitate to say “let me get someone who can help you with that particular question”. That someone might be the high school page who you know to be a fan of graphic novels; or the support staff who knits as a hobby, or the director who’s husband has the same medical condition (though the patron never need know if the director doesn’t want them to).

The linked essay should be read, understood, printed out, posted, and perhaps even left on the desks of those needing the reminder most.

Tapping into your staff’s knowledge doesn’t diminish anyone’s position; only ignoring it does.

found via LISNews

(added later) — it may be that part of the original post that this post was a response to (I don’t know, it was deleted) involved Dean Giustini being upset that Tim Spaulding of LibraryThing won a Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers award this year.  If so, there is an added reason to strongly respond:  we are a profession that is seeking it’s purpose in an era in which much of our traditional purpose may be shifting to the internet (i.e. instant reference and access to information resources).  Anyone who can help to merge the two and provide a combined path forward is worthy of recognition; they needn’t be part of the traditional library family to do so.

Google has packaged many of its tools into an offering for non-profit organizations.  If your group has a 501(c)(3) tax status, and is not political or religious in nature, then you most likely qualify.

This is fairly neat.  I worked with a library conference for several years, and much of what I set up for the collaborative and supportive workings for this group are included in the Google offering:  an online workspace, communication tools (e-mail and group discussion), online checkout, and analytics to offer feedback on the website are all analogous to tools I set up for the group one at a time.

In addition, they offers Google Docs, Calendar, and Google Grants (which is basically free advertising on Google search results pages).   For an organization like a Friends of the Library or a library-focused conference, these are tools that can take the work of a few people and turn out very professional, well-organized results.

If your group has a basic footprint on the web, but can see the benefits from increased collaboration and outreach, this is a fantastic offer that should be seriously reviewed and considered.

found via Official Google Blog

Wired.com has a great set of photographs detailing the process that goes into scanning books for the Internet Archive’s text  project.

The process isn’t what I envisioned… I expected something that would look like it came from the radiology department of your local hospital rather than that relatively normal Canon EOS SLR digital cameras.  Of course, to gain a bit of perspective, one needs to see just how upscale these cameras are

• Canon EOS 1D
• Canon EOS 5D

found via HangingTogether.org

BookLamp.org is a web 2.0 application that does something new with book recommendations. Their approach is to avoid any book selling sites and focus only on responses from readers. This provides benefits when one thinks about libraries — people often don’t buy the books they are reading.

The other new approach is how they break down the book information : they create a chart showing, chapter by chapter, the Pacing, Density, Action, Description and Dialog within the book. Here is a chart for one of my favorite reads, To Say Nothing of the Dog (click the image for the larger version):

In the end, this will show similarities beneath the surface, as well as justifying why (in my own opinion) there is a natural progression for readers to begin with Harry Potter, move on to Lord of the Rings (with a brief visit to Narnia), and then onto The Dark Tower series.

If this seems like an interesting approach, sign up for an account. There isn’t much there yet, but what is there looks really promising. I hope they will consider OPAC integration sometime in the future…

found via LISNews

This is a few days old, but it is still an important bit of news : Google has opened it’s Application Programming Interface (API) to developers. What this means for libraries is that they now have the potential to link their catalogs, via ISBN, OCLC, or LCCN numbers, to items available through the Google Book Search.

As with many of Google’s offerings, there are caveats : there doesn’t seem to be a way to generate any information to indicate full-text availability (the information from Google loads after your OPAC entry), which makes it harder to know just how much it adds to your collection.

As time goes by, however, this could become a powerful tool to leverage our library presence… this is another step in making as much information available to the user as possible, and making it easy to find as well. Libraries should look into making this work for them… everyone stands to benefit.

from Open Access News, LISNews, Official Google Blog

In an article in today’s New York Times about magazines making their backfiles freely available online, there is a discussion about one magazine in particular:  Sports Illustrated.

Starting this Thursday, March 20th, the entire run of SI will be available through their new site, called The Vault.  Read the article to get the gist, but it sounds like they have gone the extra mile to make it easy to use, comprehensive, and powerful.  I am not terribly interested in sports, but I suspect that the Vault will be my first stop for sports-related questions (maybe second after Wikipedia, depending on the question).

from the SerialsT list

LibraryLookup is a nifty tool that creates a bookmarklet that automatically searches whatever library catalog you configure it to use.  The bookmarklet generator has twenty ILS packages in their list, and they offer to at least attempt to configure others on request.

I set one up for my work’s ILS, and it was effortless.  The only pieces of information needed are 1) the root url for the catalog and 2) the brand of ILS.  Unfortunately, the average library user would find those to be challenging to answer.  The good news is that everything is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, so it would be easy for a library to add an already-configured bookmarklet to their own website with instructions of the “click and drag” variety”.

found via Lorcan Demsey’s weblog

One additional note… this is my 500th post!  I know the number on the URL is a bit higher, but due to the way that WordPress handles posts, this actually works out to be the big “D“.  I am excited to see what the next 500 will be like!

I had hoped to make a big announcement with this post, but it is still a couple of days from being ready for public consumption, so we all get to wait.  And it isn’t about the book, either….

Here are some interesting statistics regarding MARC tag usage in WorldCat records, according to Karen Smith-Yoshimura at OCLC’s RLG Programs:

• Only 27 tags are used in more than 10% of WorldCat records.
• 52 tags are are used in 1% to 9% of WorldCat records.
• The remaining 147 tags show up in less than 1% of the records.

She wonders if some of these tags might not be necessary.  I just wonder if we would do better to have a hierarchy involved… have a few basic top-level tags, and let catalogers go nuts filling in detail on the nested levels.

Karen’s post appeared on HangingTogether.org

Open Bibliographic Data : The State of Play is a post by Rufus Pollock at the Open Knowledge Foundation which examines a variety of sources for cataloging and database information.  He makes the observation, which I think is on target, that when it comes to bibliographic data

You might even think, given the public-spiritedness of librarians, that this is the kind of area where not only could it be openly available but it would be openly available….

There is a movement out there working to create an open repository.  It would make everyone’s job easier, especially if this repository could incorporate some type of authority checking by the users.  Imagine leveraging the same type of error checking that Wikipedia uses, but on our catalog information.

One can dream…

found via Open Access News

UNdata is a search tool for the many informational databases that the United Nations maintains. It is straightforward, easy to use, and effective in attaining what you need.

If only the UN as a whole worked so well
via OSDir

Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0 is the title of the preface, but also a good summary of the overall content, of the current issue of First Monday. Just from a scan of the articles (nope, I haven’t read any of them yet), it seems to be an examination of the dark side of 2.0. First Monday is always a good read, so I expect this to be up to their usual standards.

It looks interesting!

found via if:book