I really enjoy the way Bruce will instruct us to do something we did weeks or even months before, and expect us to figure out how to do it again. He is very offhand as he does this, isn't he? As if he doesn't realize that most of us are going to have to go back into this video from week 2, that tutorial from week 1, the install guide from 672 (which hopefully we have, since D2L sure doesn't anymore!), and click back and forth between three different pdfs all the while. UNTIL four hours later, you successfully reach line 2 of the 9-page TechAssignment document for the week.
Obviously this is the best way to make us learn these steps on our own, and in fact I feel fortunate he walks us so carefully through the steps of each install the first time. But I always wonder, is he laughing when he writes those simple statements?
Installation of DSpace wasn't horrific for me. But the more complex an install is, the less I am able to know what the meaning of each step is, and this install was more rote than any I have done this semester. It only helped, oddly enough, to be using VirtualBox instead of VMware. This is because I learned this week that I may be the only one in our class doing this, when I discovered that my version of Linux is older than most of the other students', who installed theirs in 672. (I installed one on a VMware machine in 672 as well, but had to switch computers. Now I hope to never go back; VirtualBox is much less awkward about mouse and keyboard integration than VMware.) So I sometimes have to troubleshoot a little differently than the others, and this gets me thinking.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tagadelic, for a "retro" tag cloud
In another assignment configuring a Drupal site for a digital collection, I used Tagadelic as my chosen extra module. I used this site as an installation guide, which was great, except that I wanted a tag cloud because I think they're new and hip, and this guy refers to them as "old-fashioned." Will I never catch up to these people?
In any case I recommend Tagadelic; it's very simple. My collection has plenty of repeat metadata and this allows those resources to immediately appear on the same page, as well as showing the viewer what we see a lot of thanks to the larger fonts for frequent tags. Here are two screenshots of my tags, one a cloud since it's every tag from my collection, the other a list.
In any case I recommend Tagadelic; it's very simple. My collection has plenty of repeat metadata and this allows those resources to immediately appear on the same page, as well as showing the viewer what we see a lot of thanks to the larger fonts for frequent tags. Here are two screenshots of my tags, one a cloud since it's every tag from my collection, the other a list.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Change of Scope
OK so I just read a post from our instructor and I am seeing now that I've been approaching this project in a very non-librarian sort of way, in that I imagined opening it up eventually to users, provided they first authenticate. But he answered a question about terms with a reference to those "doing the catalog", which assumes there is one unified group with one goal and one catalog.
With that in mind...I still like this project. But those entering resources will have to be part of a smaller and more involved group than originally envisioned. Which is OK, but it really reigns in the scope of this project.
With that in mind...I still like this project. But those entering resources will have to be part of a smaller and more involved group than originally envisioned. Which is OK, but it really reigns in the scope of this project.
Puppet Library is a go!
I am very happy with the results of my Puppet Library so far. I have been designed websites for a long time and this is by far the best functionality I've ever been able to provide for users.
In the ideal world would I use Drupal for this site? Yes probably...but I would know how to use it better. Which I will. Soon.
This week I am adding only selected resources from the Awaji shima puppet theater. Next time I will deal with Suchart Subsin of Thailand, and try to add all my pics of his workshop in one node, with a big long description.
One thing that's annoying me is the way it all looks once entered. I imagine changing themes would help a little but it all looks very metadata-y, which is not user friendly. I'm hoping to learn to make some fields bold, place them on separate lines, and make the pics appear in thumbs, in the future.
In the ideal world would I use Drupal for this site? Yes probably...but I would know how to use it better. Which I will. Soon.
This week I am adding only selected resources from the Awaji shima puppet theater. Next time I will deal with Suchart Subsin of Thailand, and try to add all my pics of his workshop in one node, with a big long description.
One thing that's annoying me is the way it all looks once entered. I imagine changing themes would help a little but it all looks very metadata-y, which is not user friendly. I'm hoping to learn to make some fields bold, place them on separate lines, and make the pics appear in thumbs, in the future.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
New Job, New Program
I just started working this week as the student Drupal web tech, helping UA faculty with their Drupal websites through The Office of Instruction and Assessment. (I'm experienced in some web dev but new at Drupal, learning fast thanks to tutorials and now this class.) I really like Drupal because it lets users be responsible for so much on their own sites. I also like that I can do advanced web development that I never mastered the code/coding languages for.
On the other hand, as a site administrator I will sometimes want to work in code. I am working on Views right now for one site and it is a little frustrating to try to figure out why my displays show up with no records in them. When I'm looking at a block of code I can eventually see what's missing. But with Drupal's GUI there are so many different screens and menus that pop up and disappear, it can be hard to troubleshoot. (I'm going to be going through http://drupal.org/node/272912, working on Views in code, next time I'm on the clock.)
If we were already working on Views in IRLS 675 I would probably ask for more specific advice in the forum, though since these are live sites belonging to UA folks I guess I'd be careful not to reveal too much, for both security purposes and because word gets around in small communities. Nonetheless, I may be asking for the 675 forum's assistance sometimes. And I'll be sharing some of our class resources on our webdev blog, http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/productionservices/2010/09/drupal-taxonomy-plus-smooth-ja.html.
On the other hand, as a site administrator I will sometimes want to work in code. I am working on Views right now for one site and it is a little frustrating to try to figure out why my displays show up with no records in them. When I'm looking at a block of code I can eventually see what's missing. But with Drupal's GUI there are so many different screens and menus that pop up and disappear, it can be hard to troubleshoot. (I'm going to be going through http://drupal.org/node/272912, working on Views in code, next time I'm on the clock.)
If we were already working on Views in IRLS 675 I would probably ask for more specific advice in the forum, though since these are live sites belonging to UA folks I guess I'd be careful not to reveal too much, for both security purposes and because word gets around in small communities. Nonetheless, I may be asking for the 675 forum's assistance sometimes. And I'll be sharing some of our class resources on our webdev blog, http://blog.ltc.arizona.edu/productionservices/2010/09/drupal-taxonomy-plus-smooth-ja.html.
Monday, September 6, 2010
CMS: Costs More Skronk
I just finished reading the following article: "Building a local CMS at Kent State", by Rick Wiggins, Jeph Remley, and Tom Klingler, of Libraries & Media Services, Kent State University. To summarize, the Kent State University Library website, made mostly of static html pages built in Dreamweaver, was looking and functioning worse and worse due to inconsistencies created in the collaborative environment in which it was being created. The project was undertaken to create a website for the library that more effectively met the needs of the library's staff and users, including metadata creation and more effective database functionality. A variety of Content Management Systems were researched by the project team, who determined that none of the CMS's they examined was the right fit. The project then became the writing of a local Content Management System, with the team for this new project given the tight deadline of fourteen months to accomplish the task. The new CMS was developed using the input of focus groups, then implemented with the training of staff. The layout of the site, including the content creator interface, and the tools for the varying levels of management, have been laid out in the article. The CMS and resulting site have been pronounced successful.
Of all the articles about CMS's in Library Hi Tech's 2006 issue, which focused entirely on these systems, I was interested in this one because I have just begun working with Drupal, and I was curious what needs the Kent State Library had that Drupal could not meet. It seems the main areas of unmet need, in the original project researchers' 2006 estimation, centered on metadata. First, they wanted metadata to form a basis for the site. The resulting CMS uses metadata to organize the pages, and allows metadata search, as opposed to keyword search. Another need not met by Drupal or the other existing CMS's was to have the site send an email when a new resource was added that would alert library staff to play their respective roles in metadata creation. This was also ultimately accomplished by the new CMS and site.
The site in question, http://www.library.kent.edu if I'm not outdated, is indeed smooth and professional. It feels like there is more content and more streamlined function than many of the Drupal sites I've seen. But I wonder if project 1 would have turned into project 2 in, say, 2009? Not likely. For one thing, the metadata tools they required may have been added to one of the Open Source CMS's by then. Plus, days grew dark. As in:
Question: "Should we initiate project costing many thousands of dollars, or just create a module for Drupal or another pre-existing CMS?"
Answer: "Well, considering we just cut all of our part time staff...".
But this article is a valuable resource, a map of a road less traveled, successfully illuminated. So libraries, mark the metadata below. When the recession is over, you'll know where your roadmap is!
Article Type:
Technical paper
Keyword(s):
Content management; Information management; Libraries.
Journal:
Library Hi Tech
Volume:
24
Number:
1
Year:
2006
pp:
69-101
Copyright ©
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN:
0737-8831
Of all the articles about CMS's in Library Hi Tech's 2006 issue, which focused entirely on these systems, I was interested in this one because I have just begun working with Drupal, and I was curious what needs the Kent State Library had that Drupal could not meet. It seems the main areas of unmet need, in the original project researchers' 2006 estimation, centered on metadata. First, they wanted metadata to form a basis for the site. The resulting CMS uses metadata to organize the pages, and allows metadata search, as opposed to keyword search. Another need not met by Drupal or the other existing CMS's was to have the site send an email when a new resource was added that would alert library staff to play their respective roles in metadata creation. This was also ultimately accomplished by the new CMS and site.
The site in question, http://www.library.kent.edu if I'm not outdated, is indeed smooth and professional. It feels like there is more content and more streamlined function than many of the Drupal sites I've seen. But I wonder if project 1 would have turned into project 2 in, say, 2009? Not likely. For one thing, the metadata tools they required may have been added to one of the Open Source CMS's by then. Plus, days grew dark. As in:
Question: "Should we initiate project costing many thousands of dollars, or just create a module for Drupal or another pre-existing CMS?"
Answer: "Well, considering we just cut all of our part time staff...".
But this article is a valuable resource, a map of a road less traveled, successfully illuminated. So libraries, mark the metadata below. When the recession is over, you'll know where your roadmap is!
Article Type:
Technical paper
Keyword(s):
Content management; Information management; Libraries.
Journal:
Library Hi Tech
Volume:
24
Number:
1
Year:
2006
pp:
69-101
Copyright ©
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN:
0737-8831
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Puppet Library
I've decided to start a digital puppet library, of images, sound files, scripts and other artifacts related to puppetry. (Not digital puppets; digital artifacts of real puppets and performances.) I have access to a small collection already and it is definitely of interest to a limited and weird but passionate community of puppeteers and puppet appreciators. I am currently trying to see if there is anything similar out there, and I will likely use performance, art and sculpture collection sites as guides in developing the taxonomy of puppetlibrary.org, as it will be called and located.
There are 229 records returned in response to a search for puppet in ARTstor at http://library.artstor.org. Here is one ARTstor puppet record:
Information:
File Properties:
There are also puppet collections, like the Center for Puppetry Arts:
http://www.puppet.org/museum/VeWebsite/exhibit3/vexmain3.htm . Their taxonomy will certainly influence my collection metadata.
Many questions remain. I will limit the collection initially to what I have, but what I have includes modern puppets from puppet artists who are not well known. If I want to grow this collection, I will have to limit it more clearly.
There are 229 records returned in response to a search for puppet in ARTstor at http://library.artstor.org. Here is one ARTstor puppet record:
Information:
| Culture | Javanese |
| Title | Shadow Puppet representing the Giant Kumbakarna |
| Work Type | puppet |
| Date | 19th century |
| Measurements | 66 cm high |
| Description | from Java, Indonesia |
| Repository | British Museum, London, United Kingdom |
| ARTstor Collection | Art, Archaeology and Architecture (Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives) |
| ID Number | 03-07-02/70 |
| Source | Image and original data provided by Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives/ART RESOURCE, N.Y. http://www.artres.co http://www.artres.co |
| Rights | Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/ART RESOURCE, N.Y. Please note that if this image is under copyright, you may need to contact one or more copyright owners for any use that is not permitted under the ARTstor Terms and Conditions of Use or not otherwise permitted by law. While ARTstor tries to update contact information, it cannot guarantee that such information is always accurate. Determining whether those permissions are necessary, and obtaining such permissions, is your sole responsibility. |
File Properties:
| Image Id | LESSING_ART_10311440311 |
| Download Size | 1024,1024 |
| Collection | ARTstor Collections |
| Accessibility | Public |
| Format | fpx |
| File Name | lessing_03070270.fpx |
| Width | 5046 |
| Height | 6000 |
| Image URL | http://library.artstor.org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/library/secure/ViewImages?id= |
There are also puppet collections, like the Center for Puppetry Arts:
http://www.puppet.org/museum/VeWebsite/exhibit3/vexmain3.htm . Their taxonomy will certainly influence my collection metadata.
Many questions remain. I will limit the collection initially to what I have, but what I have includes modern puppets from puppet artists who are not well known. If I want to grow this collection, I will have to limit it more clearly.
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