Hello,
Our current e-book reader, which we are using in the app, has many
limitations and does not render the stylings used in Wikisource properly.
So, we are replacing it with another open-source ebook reader which has a
variety of features and can overcome those limitations. It will take us a
few more days to update the new code on Github. For this reason, we are
postponing the conversation hour to 2nd February, same time.
- *Next community conversation hour*
- Sunday, 2 February 12:00 – 13:00 UTC
- Video call link: https://meet.google.com/khd-qvfy-nsr
Regards,
Bodhisattwa
On Fri, 17 Jan 2025 at 12:54, Bodhisattwa <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Hello,
>
> We are excited to announce that we have been developing a Wikisource
> reader app for Android mobile users for the last three months and the beta
> version of the app is almost ready for testing. The development of the
> mobile app was a much-awaited request from the Wikisource community and
> when fully released, hopefully, it will help bring more readers to
> Wikisource platforms and increase the visibility of this resourceful
> digital library.
>
> *Necessary links of the reader app*
>
> - A documentation page is in draft on meta wiki here -
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikisource_reader_app
> - The Github repo of the code is here -
> https://github.com/cis-india/Wikisource-Reader
>
> *Wikidata integration*
>
> We have been using the FRBR data model used in the Wikidata WikiProject
> Books <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:WikiProject_Books> to
> handle the descriptive metadata needed for filtering and categorizing the
> contents of the app. To be included in the app, an edition should have
>
> - fully proofread or validated
> - transcluded into the main namespace or NS:0
> - a Wikidata item with descriptive metadata property like title,
> author etc.
> - Wikisource index page url (P1957)
> <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Property:P1957> property linked with
> that item
> - Wikisource sitelink for the NS:0 transcluded page linked with that
> item
> - a proofread and/or validated badge linked with that sitelink.
>
> Here are a few example of the book editions which are included in the app
>
> - An example of a Bangla book edition is this one
> <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105763275>
> - A list of all French books to be included in the app can be found
> here - https://w.wiki/CkMP
>
> *Pilot languages and API*
>
> In the beta version, we have piloted with English, French and Bangla as
> these three languages are storing their metadata on Wikidata. We will roll
> out for other languages gradually. An API was built using Django and
> deployed on Toolforge which serves a catalogue of books following the data
> model described above. It periodically runs a set of SPARQL queries to
> retrieve data, processes that data and updates the database.
>
> - Link - https://wsindex.toolforge.org/books/
> - Repo - https://codeberg.org/ph4ni/wsindex
>
> *Features*
>
> We have decided to display the books in epub format which will be
> generated through WS-export tool <https://ws-export.wmcloud.org>. Any
> issues related to epub generation can be reported here
> <https://github.com/wikimedia/ws-export>.
>
> Right now, the following features are available
>
> 1. Browse through a list of works which are completely proofread or
> validated.
> 2. Filter based on the language or literary form of your choice.
> 3. Search for books by title or author.
> 4. Download books to your local device for offline access.
> 5. Share links to the Wikisource page of each book.
> 6. Read, delete, and track completion percentage of books in your
> local library.
> 7. Change font size, look up words, and access a dictionary.
> 8. Switch between dark and light themes for comfortable reading.
> 9. Use the app in multiple languages.
>
> Currently, we are working on the following areas
>
> - Internal epub reader which can render the styling of the contents as
> much as possible
> - Design of the contents and metadata within the app
> - Fixes here and there
>
> *Next steps*
>
> In coming days, we will
>
> - start conversation with the Wikisource communities to make aware
> about the app, share the workflow needed to include contents there and get
> feedback for further development. (We had one call with the Marathi
> Wikisource community already).
> - *Next community conversation hour*
> - Sunday, 26 January 12:00 – 13:00 UTC
> - Video call link: https://meet.google.com/khd-qvfy-nsr
> - discuss with all stakeholders regarding necessary steps.
> - register for Google Play Store and release the stable version of the
> app there
> - release the app in other play stores gradually.
>
> We would like to specially thank Sai Phanindra, who has developed the app
> as an assignment from CIS-A2K.
>
> Regards,
> Bodhisattwa
> (Part-time consultant, CIS-A2K)
>
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