For those who do not know, Ex Libris will be offering a webinar about Primo on May 9, 2006. I posted about Primo in an earlier post. You can register for the webinar here. I assume that the webinar is only for Ex Libris customers, but perhaps it is not. I am extremely excited to find out more about this product.
I have no idea who Stan Finley is. I just know that every software developer in the world should be jockying to hire him to write their documentation. Stan's notes on the Fedora distribution of Linux are the best examples of good documentation that I have ever seen. It helps that he is writing about a fairly easy to install Linux distro. Nonetheless, his notes rock.
Using Stan's notes helped me do something I have been wanting to do for a long time–create an intranet at work using a Linux server. Basically, I set up a blog to be used internally, and I hope to set up a wiki as well. I had talked about it for a while, but to be honest, Linux makes me nervous. I am much more comfortable in a Windows environment simply because of familiarity. I have used Linux and Unix, but they still make me a bit nervous.
All that changed when I started cleaning up a room and found an older computer with a pretty good processor that we were no longer using. I thought, hey, I can use this to practice setting up Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. All my fear left. At the worst, I could just reinstall Windows. Now, after just a little bit of work, and with the help of Stan's notes, I have the thing up and running.
So, thank you, Stan.
I found this script at Steven Davies’s website. It was designed to insert a random picture into a page. I tweaked it so that it would output a random background image into an embedded CSS. To use it, copy the code below and save it into your directory as rotate_script.php. Make sure to change the $dir variable to the display the directory in which you keep your images. Then include include a line like background-image: <?php include("rotate_script.php"); ?>; in the midst of the embedded style in the header where you want it to appear.
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Gordon, Rachel Singer. The Accidental Systems Librarian, Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc., 2003.
Rachel Singer Gordon’s The Accidental Systems Librarian, is intended to be a basic guide to the various duties that systems librarians undertake. The title of the book comes from the fact that many librarians find themselves taking on systems duties without any formal training. Gordon begins her treatment by listing many of the duties that systems librarians might undertake. These can involve anything from installing hardware to networking to dealing with vendors to being the point person for digitization projects. Because of these varied duties, selecting a title for a systems librarian can be difficult, and the titles for systems librarians are often varied. She notes that the technical aspects involved in systems librarianship tempt some to leave the systems element to those who have an IT background rather than librarians. She says this is a bad idea because librarians understand the needs and vocabulary of other librarians. The librarian does not learn the IT vocabulary naturally, but it is usually easier for librarians to pick up systems language than vis versa. In essence, the systems librarian becomes a liasion between the library, the library administrator, new staff, and the IT department. Gordon also suggests that systems staff should develop documentation of systems tasks and that libraries develop a set of competencies for the systems libararian, and a set of competencies for the library staff. The New Jersey Library Association offers one example of such competencies.
Gordon provides a good overview for the categories of computer knowledge a systems librarian may need. These include an understanding of Microsoft software, Macintosh, Open Source software, networking, web design, intergrated library systems management, troubleshooting, programming, security, and antivirus. She also suggests that a systems librarian should be active in organizing knowledge. Organizing knowledge involves such things as inventorying computer equipment, compiling various types of statistics for the library, and keeping up with licensing, support information, and systems documentation.
Gordon also says that a librarian’s background provides a good background for library systems work in yet another way; the librarian is familiar with methods for researching. This ability helps in systems work because almost every problem systems librarians encounter requires them to look for an answer. At times, this requires a librarian to look in multiple places. This method applies to repairs, troubleshooting, and purchasing. Likewise, librarians are used to having to ferret out the exact piece of information that patrons want. This should enable them to help customer service representatives know exactly how to help them. They should be prepared with detailed information regarding the issue that necessitated their call.
Gordon encourages systems librarians to pursue numerous avenues of social networking to assist them in their work. These avenues include listservs, associations, conferences, informal networks, and collaborative projects. Developing such contacts will be useful when troubleshooting problems or evaluating products. It also gives the systems librarian a chance to assist other librarians in their work.
Gordon’s chapter on instruction techniques offers several helpful tips. First, she points out that systems librarians often are responsible for instructing both staff and patrons to use technology. For patrons, this can include instruction on how to use Microsoft Office products, the OPAC, databases, or any number of other technologies. For staff, the list can include all of these plus any software used in the course of work in the library. Gordon says that any instruction should be brief, simple, applicable, and to the point. Whether one is instructing patrons or staff, the practical advantages to learning the lesson should be patently obvious. Classes can be formal if the library has a computer lab, but may need to be informal if it does not. Systems librarians should take whatever opportunities they have, even if they are one on one, to offer technology instruction. Gordon takes a similar tack with education for systems librarians. She notes that often libraries are on a tight budget and do not have the financial ability to provide formal education for systems librarians. In such cases, systems librarians may have to look at alternative methods for education, including conferences, workshops, books, and web based training. The final two chapters offer helpful suggestions on how one can plan for various technology changes and how one can proceed in his or her systems librarian career.
The Accidental Systems Librarian is an invaluable (at least for me, at this time in my career) work for anyone who finds themselves in such a position. Gordon’s book is not just a basic overview of the systems librarian position. It is a resource builder. The websites, articles, and books she cites within the book serve as a veritable toolbox for the librarian with systems responsibilities.
I am currently learning php by reading the book that I am currently reviewing entitled Learning PHP5. At the same time, I have recently run into a problem because I needed to convert RSS into OPML and I did not know how. Tonight, I was elated when I was able to modify a php script found here to allow me to create the nice blogroll that you see on the sidebar of this blog. WordPress allows you to upload OPML files, but I can only generate an RSS feed with my account at del.icio.us. This script allows you to generate OPML from an RSS feed using php. Sweet. Changing the script to suit my needs was a good lesson in php editing. I also had to install MagpieRSS to get the script to run. I feel like a major genius now. I had created simple php documents before, but this was much different. I know this edit is probably simple, but it was a major accomplishment for me.
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Learning PHP 5 is an entry level book on PHP. PHP is a server side scripting language that allows one to add dynamic content to websites. In contrast from other scripting languages, such as JavaScript, PHP executes all of its operations on a server rather than on the computer of the person who is using a web page. PHP can be easily embedded into HTML. It is a very popular language because it is free, open source, cross-platform compatible, has a rather easy learning curve, and allows you to hide your code. When a client requests a PHP page from a server, the server uses a PHP interpreter to parse the request and convert the PHP program embedded in the HTML into HTML.
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