David Schuster has announced a meeting of KUDOS (Koha Users and Developers of Open Source) at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in Chicago.
Date: Sunday, 7/12/2009
Time: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm>
Location: Hyatt Regency Chicago (not the Hyatt that’s close to the
convention center)
Room: Grand Suite 3
I’m at the Developers’ Meeting at KohaCon 2009 and they just went around the table with Tips & Tricks - here are my notes (sorry it’s not cleanly written):
Chris - Git has a built in garbage collector $ git gc - if you run it after creating a branch and before checking it out, makes switch branches much faster (make a branch, run this and then checkout the branch). Also cluster ssh http://sourceforge.net/projects/clusterssh/ is a handy tool
Jesse - has a simple shell script that builds the environment
Joe - has a script he makes on different servers that he uses to get his shell to where he wants it to be for testing, it sets his self created variables and standard values (http://blogs.liblime.com/developers/2009/04/19/simple-shell-trick/). Also he posted a good tip on the LibLime blog: http://blogs.liblime.com/developers/2009/04/10/simple-git-trick-for-bash/
Thomas - it’s important to remember that the real world of records is much more complicated than the record you see most frequently, so when testing things trying the really hard MARC records (Josh has a test file of really tough MARC records) will give you a better test base. In the real world, you will find typos in ISBNs printed in the book - ISBNs that can’t possible be right or match our matching rules. And also remember that records will lie about their encoding all of the time - and they seem to prefer it that way.
Galen - One of the things that he does since he can’t claim to have the visual design skills that Owen does - he has become a real stickler about the HTML that is on the OPAC & Staff client - making it appear as XHTML. There are tools in Firefox that can make for a good development environment: Fire Bug, for validation the HTML validator plugin in excellent at doing it quickly without submitting your site to an online validator, Firefox accessibility plugin lets you run automated tests against your site to meet requirements for ADA, Also the web developer plugin, Yahoo! Dev tools are slow, but they provide valuable info. Something that is useful, but not a dev tool, is the Zotero plugin (citation manager) www.zotero.org — geared toward people to do lots of research online.
Corey - Hasn’t done much dev work, but as far as install goes, if you install on red hat linux make sure you have lots of caffeine and the RPM packages
Agnes - Adds to Corey’s comment by saying she repeats his comment for 64 bit Zebra
Brendan - Fetch & Pull do not to the same thing! He likes the graphical SQL interface and uses Cocoa (http://sourceforge.net/projects/freshmeat_mysql-cocoa/)
Everyone - Use Screen: http://www.gnu.org/software/screen/
Danny - took notes too: http://dbouman.blogspot.com/2009/04/general-koha-tips-and-tricks.html
Technorati Tags: kohacon09
Three years ago, Koha users and developers from around the world met up to discuss the future of the project. It is now time for us all to meet again, this time on U.S. soil. This conference is not just a great way for Koha community members to put faces with names (and online aliases), but a great way to get the community together to discuss what matters to us and learn from others around the world.
Please take a minute to read the press release and register for the conference ASAP so that we can get an accurate head count. This is a great learning experience - and registration is free - so it’s well worth attending!
Please mark your calendars for KohaCon 2009. From David Schuster’s announcement today:
KohaCon 2009 will be held in Plano, TX April 16 and 17.
This is a FREE conference. There is no registration fee, but we are
requesting that all attendees pre-register. Details (travel, hotels, agenda draft, etc) can
be found at:Koha WIKI: http://wiki.koha.org/doku.php?id=kohacon2009
There is a “Tentative Schedule” - it will change as more people sign up
probably for programs. Travel information along with Hotel accomodation
information. Lunch and dinners will be on your own. Feel free to contact
any of the three people listed on the Wiki at the top or email me directly.
After the conference, there will be a three-day Koha developers meeting in Plano on April 18 through 20. All who develop for Koha, want to develop for Koha, or are interested in Koha development are welcome to attend.
As I mentioned before, LibLime will be at ALA Midwinter in book #722 and will be speaking at the following events. Come join us - or just stop by to say hi 
FRIDAY, January 23rd
2:00 - 5:00 PM
OUTSIDE THE BOOTH… Panel Discussion
Starting Over: Re-Inventing the Integrated Library System (ILS) and the Library Automation Industry– RMG’s Nineteenth Annual Presidents’ Seminar: The View from the Top
on the panel… Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
RMG’s Nineteenth Annual Presidents’ Seminar will include the traditional panel of library automation executives from industry companies plus featured speakers from libraries undertaking technology developments and initiatives.
Hosted by Rob McGee, RMG
Denver Convention Center, Korbel Ballroom 3B
6:00 PM - Stop buying your records back! Introducing ‡biblios.net
Presenter: Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
‡biblios.net is a FREE browser-based cataloging service with a data store containing over thirty-million records. Records are licensed under the Open Data Commons, making the service the world’s largest repository of freely-licensed library records!
SATURDAY, January 24th
10:00 AM - Gee, I wish Koha did this… LibLime and the Development Process
Presenter: Becky Bell (WALDO)
WALDO has contracted with LibLime for over 35 software enhancements and now has a lot of experience in working with LibLime as the projects move from an idea to a specification and finally into software. You’ll hear a brief update of the status of these projects. Plus, we’ll follow one of the projects from the scoping study stage through the specification approval stage and end as the project moves into development and software testing.
10:30- 12:00 NOON
OUTSIDE THE BOOTH…
Serials Management in Koha’s open-source library software.
Presenter: Nicole C. Engard, Open Source Evangelist LibLime
The presentation will help you understand what open source is all about and show you how the Koha open-source automation system cannot only handle your serials in the library catalog, but provide better services to your patrons.
ALA Midwinter program sponsored by the ALA ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group. (E-Journals All Around: in the Catalog, the Knowledgebase, and the Web)
Sheraton Hotel, Gold
1:00 PM - Koha ZOOM OPAC Demo
Presenter: Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
1:30 - 3:30 PM
OUTSIDE THE BOOTH…
KUDOS (KOHA Users and Developers of Open Source) Meeting
NOTE: This is for users of Koha only. Libraries who are interested in Koha, but have not yet signed a contract with a support provider or implemented Koha on their own, should attend the Koha Interest Group Meeting– see below.
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Room: Altitude
3:30 - 5:30 PM
OUTSIDE THE BOOTH…
Koha Interest Group Meeting
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Room: Altitude
SUNDAY, January 25th
10:00 AM - Stop buying your records back! Introducing ‡biblios.net
Presenter: Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
‡biblios.net is a FREE browser-based cataloging service with a data store containing over thirty-million records. Records are licensed under the Open Data Commons, making the service the world’s largest repository of freely-licensed library records
1:00 PM - Koha ZOOM OPAC Demo
Presenter: Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
3:00 PM - Open-Source Technical Services Tools
Presenter: Nicole C. Engard, Open Source Evangelist LibLime
MONDAY, January 26th
9:30 AM - Koha ZOOM Staff Client Demo
Presenter: Nicole C. Engard, Open Source Evangelist LibLime
10:40 - 11:10 AM
OUTSIDE THE BOOTH…
ALA Tech Showcase: ‡biblios: a new social cataloging (r)evolution from LibLime
Presenter: Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
Pueblo Theater (1)
12:30 or 1:00 PM - Stop buying your records back! Introducing ‡biblios.net
Presenter: Joshua Ferraro, CEO LibLime
‡biblios.net is a FREE browser-based cataloging service with a data store containing over thirty-million records. Records are licensed under the Open Data Commons, making the service the world’s largest repository of freely-licensed library records!
This from the Koha Mailing List:
There is a question on the table if this meeting announced as an American Conference for Koha should be more like a Koha Con 2009 with the format similar to 2006.
With that we would like to schedule a meeting to discuss on IRC the KohaCon possibility.
There is a wiki at: http://wiki.koha.org/doku.php?id=kohacon2009 - to better help organize some of this…
- Who wants/would be interested in attending this IRC (and eventually a full conference?)
- What days of the week are best for this IRC? (sooner the better)
- Times are best for you - GMT for this IRC? - http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/
- In this discussion we would talk if a developer meeting is of interest?
- Should it be pre or post the Conferece that is being planned for April 16/17 in the US?
- How much time should be considered 1 or 2 days?
- What should those days look like?
- Where is the best place to house them (how many is of concern along with other needed items if they are to meet)
In addition I would love to hear any input this group might have for the April 16/17 “conference” as well. Presentations - workshop etc… how it should be structured for a meeting of users and developers.
David Schuster
dschust1@tx.rr.com
Plano Texas
going live Jan 5th, 2009 as a LibLime customer! - this is open to all koha users and those interested. More information on the schedule to come after I figure out interest.
I’m attending the NISO forum on collaborative library resource sharing, and heard a cautionary tale about making sure that a software project meant to be open source actually gets there.
Gail Wanner from SirsiDynix spoke today about the Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative, an effort to revolutionize sharing of materials and services among libraries and their users. One of the products of the initiative was a Firefox plugin called GoGetter (previously known as GET-IT) that could grab information about a book from a web page and give the user a list of ways to get it, including online bookstores, the local library, resource sharing networks, Google Books, and so on.
A proof of concept was ready by June 2007 and was successfully demonstrated. However, work on it stalled — while the plugin was meant to be open source, apparently not all of the institutions involved in writing it (or employing the programmers involved) were prepared to let it go. Over the past year, various institutions have been signing off on releasing it under an open source license; while there’s been progress recently, GoGetter is not yet free. In the meantime, nobody has been able to play with it, improve it, or make it compatible with Firefox 3.
Lesson of the day: if you want to start an open source project, particularly if multiple institutions will be involved in writing it, it’s a good idea to make sure from the beginning that all parties are willing to release their work under an open source license.
Code4Lib folks and other techs around Ohio should consider checking out the upcoming BarCampOhio / LibraryCampOhio event on Monday August 11, 2008:
The idea is for a self-organized collaborative exchange, not a keynotable conference. So come prepared to share. OCLC will be hosting, with some very knowledgeable and interesting folks in attendance. And if you’re not into that, then you’ll still have me.
This morning I went to the meeting of the FRBR Interest Group at the American Library Association (ALA) conference in Anaheim, California. For those who like lots of acronyms, the interest group is a part of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of ALA.
There were two invited speakers. The first, John Espley from VTLS, discussed a couple projects that VTLS has started to promote FRBR and VTLS’s implementation of it in their Virtua ILS. The first, “Try FRBR, You’ll Like It!”, offers existing VTLS customers the chance to send a small sample of MARC bib records and see how they look after FRBRization.
The second project is of more interest to non-VTLS customers. VTLS has started an experiment to offer Virtua’s FRBRization tools in the form of software as a service (SaaS). A library would send VTLS an extract of all of their bib records. VTLS would then determine which subset of the records would most benefit from FRBRization, then create a Virtua database with the FRBRized set of bibs. The library could then set up their OPAC to link from bib records to the work-sets stored in the Virtua database. That would allow a patron to find a bib for a paperback edition of Tom Sawyer and click on a link to see a list of all editions of that work that the library has. From the work-set page, the patron could in turn travel to one of the individual bibs.
VTLS has a prototype of this service working for one of their Virtua customers, but they intend for the service to work with any ILS. The prototype seems to be quite new — Espley mentioned that it was set up in the past week or so — and during the question and answer session, Espley and the audience identified a number of issues for VTLS to work through. One issue is improving their automated FRBRization tools, as Espley said that some manual cleanup was needed to group together expressions in the prototype and create higher-level entities that VTLS calls “superworks” (under FRBR rules, the book and movie versions of Tom Sawyer are two separate works — a “superwork” puts the two works under a single Tom Sawyer concept). Another is keeping the FRBRized database up to date as the library adds and updates their bib records.
VTLS’s FRBRization service is an interesting idea, and it could complement services such as xISBN and ThingISBN by offering a FRBRization that is customized to a library’s specific collection. I applaud VTLS for undertaking the experiment. Of course, I have concerns about the openness of such a service, and encourage VTLS to think about keeping the service as open as their business model permits, including:
The second speaker was Jennifer Bowen from the eXtensible Catalog project (XC). The XC project aims to create open source tools and services to help libraries improve resource discovery and metadata management.
Part of the planned XC system is a “metadata hub” that would harvest records from a library’s ILS using OAI-PMH. Once in the hub, the MARC records would be mapped to a more flexible schema. Since RDA has not been finalized, XC is devising an interim schema that includes the Dublin Core elements (mapped to FRBR entities) and about 20 elements from RDA. As such, the XC schema will be a testbed for parts of RDA — as Bowen said, an “RDA sandbox”.
How does FRBR fit in? Besides the FRBR entities represented in the XC schema, incoming records will be split into their FRBR components. The proposed schema doesn’t seem to be available on the XC website; I’ll be very interested to see it when it’s published.
There was a brief general discussion after the two speakers finished. Of particular note: somebody asked how she, as a cataloger in a small public library that is not a member of OCLC, can prepare her catalog for FRBRization. This spawned an interesting discussion. One person made the point that catalogers should consider adopting a peer-to-peer model for distributing metadata instead of relying on central repositories to collect all improvements to metadata records. In the case of FRBR, this is important because one way to make a MARC21 bib record more useful for FRBRization is to add a uniform title heading. For such an improvement to be even more useful, it should be contributed the library community, but as someone said at the meeting, “While we are very good about sharing the first version of a bib record, we’re less good about sharing enhancements.”
To close with a bit of shameless self-promotion, I discuss using distributed version control systems as a model for sharing library metadata (and perhaps more importantly, changes to library metadata), in my article in the current issue of the Code4Lib Journal. While big central repositories of metadata such as OCLC and the Open Library are very important, I think a distributed record of record sharing is also needed.
Technorati Tags: alaannual2008, ala2008, frbr
If you weren’t able to make it to the conference, you can still see all the great talks!! Check out the videos from the conference at Archive.org.
Also all slides and videos are linked from the conference schedule.
Technorati Tags: code4lib2008, code4libcon2008