7505 Assignment 4 Kastellec

7505 Assignment 4 Kastellec

My initial impression was that the interface could be better. It wasn't immediately clear to me where to login, and then where to go to add content. I found that it only took me a short while to become familiar with the UI, though. I was able to create a community and a collection, and then add a submission. Unfortunately, the image I uploaded doesn't work in my Firefox browser. It does work in IE 8, though. I'm pretty sure the problem lies with the JPEG itself (it's a panoramic image stiched together out of multiple JPEGs with a Microsoft tool), not any issue with DSpace. Also, the provided handle.net URL didn't work--I'm not sure if that was intended on Larry's part or a genuine error.

When I came back later to add another item to my collection, then titled "Photos", I noticed that others had apparently created collections with the same identifier and there was no way to tell them apart in the drop down selector. Rather than guess which was correct, I navigated to the admin page for my collection and changed the title (to "MK Photos"). Unfortunately, I ran into an internal server error when trying to create this new submission. With the deadline approaching, and my existing submission working in at least one common browser, I decided to leave well enough alone.

Though I was initially confused about the parameters for the metadata field I needed to create, and I faced the minor hurdle of recreating my additions after they were accidentally deleted by another student, I didn't have any real trouble with DSpace. I found it to be excellent at its narrow mission of managing an online repository. I remain curious, though, whether it has been adapted for any originally unforseen purposes by third parties--is there someone out there using this for business records, or a family history, or something?

Interview With John Blyberg of Darien Library (Assignment 3)

John Blyberg is the Assistant Director for Innovation and User Experience at the Darien Library in Connecticut. He was formerly the System Administrator and Lead Developer for the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) in Michigan. ... He has authored a number of open source projects, including SOPAC, Locum, and Insurge, a social catalog application suite (http://www.blyberg.net/about/). Mr. Blyberg graciously agreed to be interviewed by email. The transcript follows below. My question have bullet points, John's replies are unbulleted. Two followup questions asked and answered are inserted below their respective initial replies.

• What was your first experience with a CMS?

My first exposure to a CMS was working at AADL.  Before using Drupal, we were running a CMS called Userland Frontier (http://frontier.userland.com/).  It was alright by pre-2005 standards, but it's pretty obsolete now.
 

• What was the decision making process like in adopting a CMS at AADL and/or Darien? Was in done in consultation with a team, administrator, or outside contractor? Was the decision ultimately yours alone?
  

The decision to use a CMS at AADL was reached through a series of strategic discussions centered around the future of AADL's web site.  The simple fact is that you shouldn't even bother trying to have a dynamic web site without employing some kind of content management system--it would just be too innefficient.  If you wanted an interactive site, it would be virtually impossible without some kind of CMS.

• What are the important benefits or advantages of SOPAC over Darien's previous system? How about of SOPAC over your use of Drupal at AAADL?

The advantages of SOPAC over III's webpac pro are many.  Before even considering the social feedback elements of SOPAC, its benefits can be seen in the fact that it properly integrates the library catalog with the website itself.  Users no longer have to jump from one server to another in order to use the catalog.  They never leave the Drupal framework, and as a result, we can fully approach the website with a user experience design perspective, including the ability to provide social networking opportunities.
 

• Is there any downside to CMS-based library site?
  

No, if your library is not using a CMS now, for all intents and purposes, it has no digital strategy.

• How long did SOPAC take to develop (chronologically and in terms of man-hours). Did you have any help? What sort of ongoing maintenance does it require?
  

Version 1 of SOPAC evolved orgranically over the course of a year and a half and served to inform the design principles behind SOPAC 2.  SOPAC 2 required four months of intensive development.  I was soley responsible for the initial release, but other developers have since begun to contribute to the project.  Like any open source  software, there are many ongoing enhancements and development will continue in perpetuity.

• Followup: Was this when you were employed at AADL or Darien? Did you develop SOPAC in addition to your normal duties, instead of duties that you'd otherwise be responsible for, or was it on your own time?
  

Both.  I was responsible for developing SOPAC 1 and 2.  I developed it in addition to my normal duties and matched the time I spent at work on SOPAC with my own personal time.

• Is there an active community around SOPAC? If so, does it differ in any way from the wider Drupal community?
  

We currently have a core developers community of about 9 people who are active is the planning and development of future releases.

• What's the SOPAC roadmap look like?
  

We are currently working on 2.1 which will feature a number of bugfixes, optimizations, and features such as multi-branch support which is being  requested often.  We're also looking ahead to 2.2 which will reveal a more developer-friendly module framework so that people can write plug-ins.

• Is there any web-based service that you'd like to offer but can't because the technology just isn't there yet?
  

The only issues we run in to are with our ILS which is by nature very closed.  We generally do what we want, but development could be a lot easier if they took a more developer-friendly stance and used open standards or provided a broader range of APIs.

• Followup:  Will open standards and APIs be the prime consideration the next time you upgrade your ILS backend? Are there closed source ILSs out there that are offering these features, or would that necessarily lead you to an OS ILS?
  

I always base technology procurement decisions on how well a solution will fit in to our technology strategy, regardless of whether it is open source or not.  It just so happens that more often than not, open source solution or solutions that offer extensive APIs are usually the ones that work best when evaluated within the parameters of our strategic vision.

• Is there any web-based service that you'd like to offer but can't because the money just isn't there yet?
  

No, but time is always a problem.

• How would a library that didn't have an experienced programmer like yourself have implemented a similar site? Could a library adopt SOPAC without hiring/contracting a programmer?
  

Yes.  I know of two independent web design firms who are actively working on implementing SOPAC at other library sites.  As the project matures, so will the third-part commercial support.

• I understand if you don't want to or can't answer this, but what is the ratio of staff and spending devoted to technology versus books and other media at your library?
  

About 15% of our materials budget is used for technology. 

Soap? Ack!

Since I'm waiting on my group members to finish up their Wordpress tasks before I finish my evaluation for assignment 2, I got a jump on assignment 3. I'm pleased to have lined up Michael Blyberg of the Darien Library and creator of the AADL site and SOPAC for an interview. Sent him questions today and I'm looking forward to reading his answers.

Somewhat relatedly, Margaret and I have decided to tackle Drupal for our final project. I might end up trying to convince my library's web-dev team to adopt it for our big redesign.

Update

Not much to report. This has been a busy week between keeping up with course content, the first week of Summer Reading at work, and dealing with a very sick dog (ultrasound and bloodtest on Wednesday, we're hoping to get test results back today).

The Wordpress site I had to build for Assignment 2 is very basic and so was easy, so I've been exerting myself more with trying to help out my teammates than with tweaking the site. It's seems to be going pretty well, so far.

7505 Assignment 1

7505 May 2009
Assignment 1: Part V: Documentation with Google Docs
Mike Kastellec

I quickly created a blog and a standalone RSS feed. After rereading the assignment, though, I realized that the feed doesn't have to point at my new blog, that it could point at a library or personal page. So I've switched the standalone feed to point at my library's site, which currently lacks feeds. Other than that, this part of the assignment has been a snap, as I've previously hosted a blog on blogger and I use Google Reader every day. Rapidfeeds was a new experience but it couldn't be easier to create a feed and add posts.

As it happens, I set up a wiki at the library I work at a few months ago using a Google Apps site. For technical reasons, we have plans to discontinue use of Google Apps, so I need to find another wiki service to replace it. I love it when my classwork and work-work overlap.

This wiki is intended for staff use only, so it must be private. The goal is for the wiki to be an all all-around resource for staff, with policies, procedures, templates, and documents easily uploaded and consulted by any staff member.

A glance at WikiMatrix revealed that there's a large pool of wikis to choose from. Since I've only had experience with pbWiki and MediaWiki, I decided to take advantage of the Wiki Choice Wizard to narrow down my options. Here are my choices:

1. Page History: Yes. Since athis won't be a publicly editable wiki, this isn't essential. But with a staff that isn't very comfortable with technology I believe a "reset button" will be reassuring for both them and me.
2. WSIWYG: Yes. As the Wizard states, "WYSIWIG editors make it very easy for non-tech savvy users to contribute."
3. Commercial Support: No. While support would be nice, it's not essential. It's my job, after all, to be in-house support.
4. Interface Language: No localization needed.
5. Software or hosted: Hosted. While local installation has security advantages, I'd prefer to avoid the time expense of setting it up and maintaining it. I'd also like the wiki to be available to staff from outside the library, which raises additional problems for a local install.
6. Your own Domain: No. Since it's internal, the address is unimportant.
7. Corporate Branding: No. Same as #6.

This filtered my choices from over 100 wikis to 29 possibilities. While that's a helpful narrowing of the set, it's still too large a group to usefully compare their features. I decided to further narrow the set by eliminating any options that weren't 100% free. That left 11: @Wiki, Cospire, DekiWiki, GeniusWiki, Intodit, Netcipia, Springnote, Wagn, Wiki Spot, Wikia, and Zoho Wiki. I further narrowed the field by eliminating the ones that didn't have a support forum--@Wiki, Cospire, and Intodit--as this is an important feature when you're not paying for commercial support, leaving me with eight choices.
How to choose from these eight options wasn't as simple as getting to this point had been. Scrolling through the comparison chart, I noticed some disparities in the Syntax section--while all eight got a check for WSISYG editing, the details here revealed that many of them required wiki syntax for anything beyond plain text. Eliminating those left DekiWiki, Springnote, and Zoho. Looking at the details for these three, it appeared that hosting files on DekiWiki would incur a charge, so I turned my attention to the other two.
I would guess that either of these would work well for my library. There appear to be only a few minor features that differ between them: Springnote allows for change summaries while Zoho does not, but the reverse is true for comments; Springnote has auto-signatures, Zoho has themes. I'd have to try out both systems to make a final decision, WikiMatrix was very helpful in narrowing down my options to a workable level.

Mike 2.0

I'm not quite sure when and how I started to get into Library 2.0, but it must have been a year or two ago. Certainly I was into Web 2.0 before that, though I don't think I thought much about that term until I started to learn about Library 2.0. I'm a technology addict, a Wired/PC World/Maximum PC reader, a marathon video game player (until RSI sadly ended my promising career ;) ), so I've always been abreast of the latest echnology, even if I can't afford to actually buy any of it. I remember learning about what AJAX was and thinking, oh that's what's different about those sites I've found to be so cool.

Anyway, I've kept tabs on a couple of library blogs since then, when I find the time. A lot of my projects over the past two semesters have touched on Library 2.0. I've triggered quite a debate on our discussion board over the semantics of 1.0/2.0 :) I guess you could list me as an interested party.

Intro Redux

So I was looking over Assignment 1 again and I realized I had skipped something so far: 

Submit several postings about your background and knowledge on Web 2.0 technologies, expectations from the class, and experiences so far.

As far as expectations, I didn't have very clear ones, but they were probably on the low side. I enjoyed last semester's Info Architecture with Fatih last semester, but I was a bit disappointed with how long it took the class to get up to speed. When there are students who have extremely limited experience with the web sharing a class with techno-geeks like myself, someone's bound to be unhappy. My experience thus far with this semester's class has been overwhelming positive. I'm very pleased with the quality of the course content and the class discussions. This is one of the few  classes I've had so far that make me feel like I'm learning applicable skills and not just trudging my way through so I can list a Masters on my resume. Hopefully classes like this will prove to be the norm, not the exception, over the next two years.