Re: [CODE4LIB] Database of databases

[akierig]

Howdy Erich!

A link to the thing you're trying to replace and a few words about what works 
best for you would be helpful.

cheers,

ander kierig

On 2022-08-24 at 20:45 (+00:00) Hammer, Erich F  wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> (I'm relatively new to the library world, so please excuse any ignorance I 
> may display here.)
> 
> We have a (poorly constructed) legacy database that holds/connects our myriad 
> of online resources to subjects and specialists.  The webpage front end is 
> our "DBfinder" to assist patrons in identifying where they might find good 
> information on a topic of interest and which subject librarian/specialist 
> would be most likely able to provide further assistance.  It gives us (and 
> subject librarians) the ability to highlight better resources while keeping 
> the interface consistent for all of it (which our LibGuides is not very good 
> at given the wide disparity in subject librarian technical and presentation 
> skills).
> 
> We are trying/hoping to design a much better relational database for this 
> that will make the code and logic behind the web application and front-end 
> display much more efficient and organized.  None of us are DBAs, so I am 
> nervous as we delve into designing/building something and 
> identifying/discussing all the many-to-many relationships that our efforts 
> may end up also poorly designed (although it's hard to imagine it would be 
> worse).  Thus I thought it would be worth asking about.
> 
> Does anyone here has something similar (a "DBfinder") that is working (well) 
> for them?  Would you be willing to share the relationship diagram/structure 
> of the DB so we can think about what works for someone else (and maybe base 
> ours off of some of it)?
> 
> Thanks,
> Erich 
> 
> 
> --
> Erich HammerHead of Library Systems
> er...@albany.edu University Libraries
> 518-442-3891  University @ Albany
> 
> "Without doubt you are not sane."-- Tage Danielsson 
> 

Re: [CODE4LIB] New WorldCat.org and "Web Visibility" product

[Dan Scott]

Thanks David. Yes, I could be wrong, in that perhaps only the libraries
that are now labeled "Featured libraries" were displayed in the old
WorldCat. In that case, the "All libraries" tab would be displaying more
libraries (albeit with no possible interactions).

The introduction of the Web Visibility subscription offer is new. I suppose
a generous interpretation is that it should be less expensive than a full
FirstSearch/Discovery subscription and thus accessible to more libraries.

On Wed, Aug 24, 2022, 17:38 Bigwood, David  wrote:

> I was happy to see my library under the All Libraries tab. Since we were
> not FirstSearch/WorldCat Discovery subscribers our library didn't appear at
> all under the old version. However, the link to the full text used to be
> visible on the full details page. Now it's buried under the Show More
> Information link. Links to our repository are another step away.
>
> David Bigwood
> dbigw...@lpi.usra.edu
> Planetary Image Facility, Library
> Lunar and Planetary Institute
> https://repository.hou.usra.edu/
>

[CODE4LIB] CFP: The Library Technology Roadmap Online Conference

[Jodie Borgerding]

Amigos Library Services is now accepting presentation proposals for the 
December 1, 2022, online conference, "The Library Technology Roadmap" 
https://www.amigos.org/libtechroadmap.

What is the best way to assess and evaluate current technologies? How do 
libraries choose which new technologies to adopt? When is it time to sunset an 
existing technology? This Amigos Library Services online conference will 
explore the complexities of planning and managing technology in libraries.

Potential presentation topics can include, but are not limited to:

  *   Budgeting and financial planning for technology
  *   Request for proposal best practices
  *   Staffing considerations with technology
  *   Evaluation and assessment strategies for current technologies
  *   Implementation and project management for new technologies
  *   Sunsetting outdated and legacy technology

If you are interested in sharing your knowledge and experiences, please submit 
your proposal by September 21, 2022: https://forms.office.com/r/zaNiNvf7iD
Thanks!

Jodie

Jodie Borgerding (she/her/hers)
Continuing Education Services Manager

Amigos Library Services
1190 Meramec Station Rd. Ste. 207
Ballwin, MO 63021
972-340-2897
borgerd...@amigos.org
www.amigos.org

Amigos Online Conference 2022
Materials on the Move: Strategies for Delivery, Distribution, and Storage
September 8, 2022
Info and registration

Re: [CODE4LIB] New WorldCat.org and "Web Visibility" product

[Bigwood, David]

I was happy to see my library under the All Libraries tab. Since we were not 
FirstSearch/WorldCat Discovery subscribers our library didn't appear at all 
under the old version. However, the link to the full text used to be visible on 
the full details page. Now it's buried under the Show More Information link. 
Links to our repository are another step away. 

David Bigwood
dbigw...@lpi.usra.edu
Planetary Image Facility, Library
Lunar and Planetary Institute
https://repository.hou.usra.edu/

[CODE4LIB] New WorldCat.org and "Web Visibility" product

[Dan Scott]

I tried out the new WorldCat.org today, and decided to look for a book that
we had recently added to our collection to see if our automated holdings
update process was working.

I was concerned when WorldCat showed me, under "Find a Copy at a Library",
that the closest library that holds a copy was SUNY - 420 km away from the
library I'm sitting in. I could click "Borrow" to open up a view of the
item in SUNY's own library catalogue.

Then I noticed that the details default to a new "Featured libraries" list.
Beside that is a plain text "All libraries" label. It turns out that is a
clickable link (a bit odd, because all of the other clickable text on the
page is either blue or underlined).

When I clicked on it, my library was listed at the top of a long list of
libraries closer than SUNY, as you would expect. Yay, our holdings update
process is working.

However, you cannot interact with any of the libraries in the "All
libraries" list. They're just an institution name, possibly a library name,
and a geographic location. Nothing is clickable.

For years prior to the revamp, however, every library that held a copy was
listed in order of proximity to you, and you could click on any one of the
entries to be brought to that library's catalogue page for that item.
(Assuming you had updated your library info in OCLC's registry, of course.)

I couldn't understand why OCLC revamped their website and *removed*
functionality until I checked out their "For librarians" page (
https://www.worldcat.org/for-librarians) which "invite[s] you to learn more
about our web visibility program and how your library can participate."

The Web Visibility program (https://www.oclc.org/en/web-visibility.html)
says: "Your library’s collections can be represented in WorldCat, visible
on WorldCat.org, and shared by our visibility partners through a variety of
subscription choices." -- cha-ching!

Thanks to the Wayback Machine, the oldest version of that page (from April
2022 -
https://web.archive.org/web/20220413144759/https://www.oclc.org/en/web-visibility.html)
said: "When your library’s collections are represented in WorldCat through
any cataloging subscription and you maintain a FirstSearch/WorldCat
Discovery subscription, your library’s resources will be visible in
WorldCat.org search results."

In February, OCLC offered a "free streamlined holdings update process" to
libraries that hadn't kept their holdings up to date, with the promise
"Making these updates now will ensure the best presentation of your
library’s (libraries’) collections on the new WorldCat.org when it becomes
available." We, and presumably many other libraries, took advantage of the
offer. I suspect one of the reasons OCLC made that offer free was to ensure
their customers--ahem, members--were primed for adding a Web Visibility
subscription. (It also helps their WorldCat ILL product, of course.)

So the new WorldCat.org removed functionality in an apparent effort to
squeeze more money out of their members to restore that functionality. And
those who are unwilling or unable to pay up get shunted to a less visible
list that offers no user interaction.

Argh. I wish I could say I was surprised.

Geez, somebody should work on getting all library catalogues to emit a
standard representation of their holdings, say in schema.org format, so
that it would be easy for search engines, projects, etc to aggregate the
data and build services on top of that...

[CODE4LIB] Database of databases

[Hammer, Erich F]

Hi,

(I'm relatively new to the library world, so please excuse any ignorance I may 
display here.)

We have a (poorly constructed) legacy database that holds/connects our myriad 
of online resources to subjects and specialists.  The webpage front end is our 
"DBfinder" to assist patrons in identifying where they might find good 
information on a topic of interest and which subject librarian/specialist would 
be most likely able to provide further assistance.  It gives us (and subject 
librarians) the ability to highlight better resources while keeping the 
interface consistent for all of it (which our LibGuides is not very good at 
given the wide disparity in subject librarian technical and presentation 
skills).

We are trying/hoping to design a much better relational database for this that 
will make the code and logic behind the web application and front-end display 
much more efficient and organized.  None of us are DBAs, so I am nervous as we 
delve into designing/building something and identifying/discussing all the 
many-to-many relationships that our efforts may end up also poorly designed 
(although it's hard to imagine it would be worse).  Thus I thought it would be 
worth asking about.

Does anyone here has something similar (a "DBfinder") that is working (well) 
for them?  Would you be willing to share the relationship diagram/structure of 
the DB so we can think about what works for someone else (and maybe base ours 
off of some of it)?

Thanks,
Erich 


--
Erich HammerHead of Library Systems
er...@albany.edu University Libraries
518-442-3891  University @ Albany

"Without doubt you are not sane."-- Tage Danielsson