Subject: [NGC4LIB] Code4Lib Journal Issue 10 now available!

From: "Edward M. Corrado" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:48:29 -0400

I am pleased to announce the availability of Code4Lib Journal, Issue 10.
Please excuse the cross posting and feel free to share! - Edward M. Corrado

The articles in Issue 10 are....

Editorial Introduction: The Code4Lib Journal Experiment, Rejection
Rates, and Peer Review
Edward M. Corrado

Code4Lib Journal has been a successful experiment. With success,
questions have arisen about the scholarly nature and status of the
Journal. In this editorial introduction we take a look at the question
of Code4Lib Journal’s rejections rates and peer review status.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3277

Building a Location-aware Mobile Search Application with Z39.50 and HTML5
MJ Suhonos

This paper presents MyTPL (http://www.mytpl.ca/), a proof-of-concept web
application intended to demonstrate that, with a little imagination, any
library with a Z39.50 catalogue interface and a web server with some
common open-source tools can readily provide their own location-aware
mobile search application. The complete source code for MyTPL is
provided under the GNU GPLv3 license, and is freely available at:
http://github.com/mjsuhonos/mytpl
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2947

OpenRoom: Making Room Reservation Easy for Students and Faculty
Bradley D. Faust, Arthur W. Hafner, and Robert L. Seaton

Scheduling and booking space is a problem facing many academic and
public libraries. Systems staff at the Ball State University Libraries
addressed this problem by developing a user friendly room management
system, OpenRoom. The new room management application was developed
using an open source model with easy installation and management in mind
and is now publicly available.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2941

Map it @ WSU: Development of a Library Mapping System for Large Academic
Libraries
Paul Gallagher

The Wayne State Library System launched its library mapping application
in February 2010, designed to help locate materials in the five WSU
libraries. The system works within the catalog to show the location of
materials, as well as provides a web form for use at the reference desk.
Developed using PHP and MySQL, it requires only minimal effort to update
using a unique call number overlay mechanism. In addition to mapping
shelved materials, the system provides information for any of the over
three hundred collections held by the WSU Libraries. Patrons can do more
than just locate a book on a shelf: they can learn where to locate
reserve items, how to access closed collections, or get driving maps to
extension center libraries. The article includes a discussion of the
technology reviewed and chosen during development, an overview of the
system architecture, and lessons learned during development.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3072

Creating a Library Database Search using Drupal
Danielle M. Rosenthal & Mario Bernardo

When Florida Gulf Coast University Library was faced with having to
replace its database locator, they needed to find a low-cost, non-staff
intensive replacement for their 350 plus databases search tool. This
article details the development of a library database locator, based on
the methods described in Leo Klein’s “Creating a Library Database Page
using Drupal” online presentation. The article describes how the library
used Drupal along with several modules, such as CCK, Views, and
FCKeditor. It also discusses various Drupal search modules that were
evaluated during the process.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2920

Implementing a Real-Time Suggestion Service in a Library Discovery Layer
Benjamin Pennell and Jill Sexton

As part of an effort to improve user interactions with authority data in
its online catalog, the UNC Chapel Hill Libraries have developed and
implemented a system for providing real-time query suggestions from
records found within its catalog. The system takes user input as it is
typed to predict likely title, author, or subject matches in a manner
functionally similar to the systems found on commercial websites such as
google.com or amazon.com. This paper discusses the technologies,
decisions and methodologies that went into the implementation of this
feature, as well as analysis of its impact on user search behaviors.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3022

Creating Filtered, Translated Newsfeeds
James E. Powell, Linn Marks Collins, Mark L. B. Martinez

Google Translate’s API creates the possibility to leverage machine
translation to both filter global newsfeeds for content regarding a
specific topic, and to aggregate filtered feed items as a newsfeed.
Filtered items can be translated so that the resulting newsfeed can
provide basic information about topic-specific news articles from around
the globe in the desired language of the consumer. This article explores
a possible solution for inputting alternate words and phrases in the
user’s native language, aggregating and filtering newsfeeds
progammatically, managing filter terms, and using Google Translate’s API.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3232

Metadata In, Library Out. A Simple, Robust Digital Library System
Tonio Loewald, Jody DeRidder

Tired of being held hostage to expensive systems that did not meet our
needs, the University of Alabama Libraries developed an XML
schema-agnostic, light-weight digital library delivery system based on
the principles of “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” Metadata and derivatives
reside in openly accessible web directories, which support the
development of web agents and new usability software, as well as
modification and complete retrieval at any time. The file name structure
is echoed in the file system structure, enabling the delivery software
to make inferences about relationships, sequencing, and complex object
structure without having to encapsulate files in complex metadata
schemas. The web delivery system, Acumen, is built of PHP, JSON,
JavaScript and HTML5, using MySQL to support fielded searching.
Recognizing that spreadsheets are more user-friendly than XML, an
accompanying widget, Archivists Utility, transforms spreadsheets into
MODS based on rules selected by the user. Acumen, Archivists Utility,
and all supporting software scripts will be made available as open source.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3107

AudioRegent: Exploiting SimpleADL and SoX for Digital Audio Delivery
Nitin Arora

AudioRegent is a command-line Python script currently being used by the
University of Alabama Libraries’ Digital Services to create
web-deliverable MP3s from regions within archival audio files. In
conjunction with a small-footprint XML file called SimpleADL and SoX, an
open-source command-line audio editor, AudioRegent batch processes
archival audio files, allowing for one or many user-defined regions,
particular to each audio file, to be extracted with additional audio
processing in a transparent manner that leaves the archival audio file
unaltered. Doing so has alleviated many of the tensions of cumbersome
workflows, complicated documentation, preservation concerns, and
reliance on expensive closed-source GUI audio applications.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/2882

Automatic Generation of Printed Catalogs: An Initial Attempt
Jared Camins-Esakov

Printed catalogs are useful in a variety of contexts. In special
collections, they are often used as reference tools and to commemorate
exhibits. They are useful in settings, such as in developing countries,
where reliable access to the Internet—or even electricity—is not
available. In addition, many private collectors like to have printed
catalogs of their collections. All the information needed for creating
printed catalogs is readily available in the MARC bibliographic records
used by most libraries, but there are no turnkey solutions available for
the conversion from MARC to printed catalog. This article describes the
development of a system, available on github, that uses XSLT, Perl, and
LaTeX to produce press-ready PDFs from MARCXML files. The article
particularly focuses on the two XSLT stylesheets which comprise the core
of the system, and do the “heavy lifting” of sorting and indexing the
entries in the catalog. The author also highlights points where the data
stored in MARC bibliographic records requires particular “massaging,”
and suggests improvements for future attempts at automated printed
catalog generation.
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3154

Easing Gently into OpenSRF, Part 1 and 2
Dan Scott

The Open Service Request Framework (or OpenSRF, pronounced “open surf”)
is an inter-application message passing architecture built on XMPP (aka
“jabber”). The Evergreen open source library system is built on an
OpenSRF architecture to support loosely coupled individual components
communicating over an OpenSRF messaging bus. This article introduces
OpenSRF, demonstrates how to build OpenSRF services through simple code
examples, explains the technical foundations on which OpenSRF is built,
and evaluates OpenSRF’s value in the context of Evergreen.
Part 1 of a 2 part article in this issue:
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3284
Part 2 of a 2 part article in this issue:
http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3365