[CODE4LIB] Availability Information API

[Jakob Voss]

Hi,

I just wanted to announce that I finished a reference implementation of 
the Document Availability Information API (DAIA) as CPAN module at 
http://search.cpan.org/perldoc?DAIA. More information about DAIA can be 
found in the specification at http://purl.org/NET/DAIA and at 
http://www.gbv.de/wikis/cls/DAIA. The basic structure is:


[Document] -- 1-to-n -- [Item]
[Item ]-- 1-to-n -- [Service] (which is either [Available] or 
[Unavailable])


We created DAIA for German library networks as interchange format and 
API to encode information about the current availability of a specific 
document (or any copy of it) in a given library. There are numerous APIs 
for several tasks in library systems (SRU/SRW, Z39.50, OpenSearch, 
OAI-PMH, Atom, unAPI etc.) but no standard way to just query whether a 
copy of given - for instance book - is available in a library, in which 
department, whether you can loan it or only use it in the library (or 
even read it online) or if it is not available how long it will probably 
take until it is available again. Obviously such an API would be helpful 
not only to connect different library systems but to create mashups and 
services (Show me on a map, where a given book is currently hold and 
available, Send me a tweet if a given books in my library is available 
again etc.). DAIA was createt to fill this gap. In the context of ILS 
Discovery Interface Task Force and its official recommendation 
(http://diglib.org/architectures/ilsdi/) DAIA fits to the 
GetAvailability method (section 6.3.1).


At the moment the format and API are pretty stable so the main work is 
to create server and client components for several ILS software. Every 
library has its own special rules and schemas - Jonathan Rochkind 
already wrote about the problems to implement DAIA because of ILS 
complexity: 
http://bibwild.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/daia-and-ils-complexity/ . We 
cannot erase this complexity by magic (unless we refactor and clean the 
ILS) but at least we can try to map it to a common data model which DAIA 
provides. With the DAIA Perl package you can concentrate on writing the 
wrapper without dealing with DAIA parsing and serialization issues. Why 
should everyone write its own routines to grab for instance the HTML 
OPAC output to parse availability status? One mapping to DAIA should fit 
most needs, so others can build upon. A public DAIA converter/validator 
is available at http://ws.gbv.de/daia/validator


Extensions to DAIA can be discussion in the Code4Lib Wiki 
http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/DAIA_extensions but I'd prefer no to 
start with the extensions but with basic services. If you have more cool 
ideas for client applications, just let me know!


Cheers,
Jakob

P.S: Yes, there are some other awkward attemts to encode availability 
(Z39.50 Holdings, ISO 20775 Holdings, NCIP, SLNP...) but I found all of 
them  underdefined and not publically documented or openly usable based 
on Web standards.


--
Jakob Voß jakob.v...@gbv.de, skype: nichtich
Verbundzentrale des GBV (VZG) / Common Library Network
Platz der Goettinger Sieben 1, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
+49 (0)551 39-10242, http://www.gbv.de

[CODE4LIB] PKP Software - Harvester2

[David Kane]

Hi All,

PKP Harvester is an excellent piece of software,

To mark Open Access Week 2009, we have created this index.
http://researchscope.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUOTfMdXiAQ

David.

-- 
David Kane
Systems Librarian
Waterford Institute of Technology
Ireland
http://library.wit.ie/
T: ++353.51302838
M: ++353.876693212

Re: [CODE4LIB] AquaBrowser Libraries Group

[Cloutman, David]

Interesting. Our catalog consortium just bought Aquabrowser. Is there
some sort of NDA that you know of that would limit the discussion to
private forums? I hadn't heard of such a thing, but then maybe no one
thought to tell me. 



---
David Cloutman dclout...@co.marin.ca.us
Electronic Services Librarian
Marin County Free Library 

-Original Message-
From: Code for Libraries [mailto:code4...@listserv.nd.edu] On Behalf Of
Gabriel Farrell
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 3:02 PM
To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] AquaBrowser Libraries Group


While the Interesting difference... bit may be read as snarky, I
appreciated Jeffrey's post for pointing out that most discussions about
AquaBrowser can't take place on this list due to its lack of membership
restrictions.


On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 10:45:24AM -0400, Edward M. Corrado wrote:
 I don't see this as an interesting difference at all. Almost all
 [larger] vendor-supplied products in the library world have their
 own discussion lists that are limited to people that use/license
 their products. We even see this with Open Source products such as
 Koha. Although I do not use AquaBrowser, unlike almost all other
 library specific-software of this magnitude I understand that
 AquaBrowser does not have a user group (formal or informal). There
 currently is very few ways (no way?) for users of this product to
 converse with each other and share ideas.
 
 There are numerous reasons for wanting to share information on a
 closed list that can range from not wanting to spam a larger
 community with a how do activate a widget in product A to asking
 questions/sharing information that for whatever reason you don't
 want to or can't share with the whole world (e.g. non-disclosure
 agreements, public relations concerns, privacy concerns, not wanting
 your name in open archives attached to something, etc.).  In fact,
 in some cases you may not even want the vendor on the list the way
 some Voyager systems administrators created a list that excluded
 Endeavor (and now Ex Libris) and non-systems people at Voyager
 sites. This made people feel much more comfortable asking questions
 that maybe they would otherwise be embarrassed or reluctant to ask.
 
 I applaud Kathryn for taking the initiative to organize the
 AquaBrowser community by creating the AquaBrowser Libraries Group.
 From what I understand from people that use the product this is
 something that is overdue for the community.
 
 What the library technology world needs is more people like Kathryn
 that try to build community to help each other with whatever
 software product they are using. Sure, in a perfect world maybe
 everything would be completely Open but that is not reality. People
 that take initiative should be praised. They should not be met with
 snarky comments.
 
 Edward
 
 -Original Message-
 From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
 mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of
 Barnett, Jeffrey
 Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 9:05 AM
 To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
 Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] AquaBrowser Libraries Group
 
 Good point Ed, but I think by the phrase Licensed sites only the
 intent of the AquaBrowser discussion _is_ to exclude open source.
 Interesting difference...
 
 -Original Message-
 From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
 mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of
 Ed Summers
 Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:19 PM
 To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
 Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] AquaBrowser Libraries Group
 
 You should also feel free to discuss AquaBrowser on here too ... the
 code4lib discussion isn't limited to opensource software.
 
 //Ed
 - Hide quoted text -
 
 On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 4:32 PM, Kathryn Frederick
 kfred...@skidmore.edu mailto:kfred...@skidmore.edu wrote:
  Please excuse cross-posting.
 
  I've set up an AquaBrowser Google Group to share tips and post
  questions. If your library uses AquaBrowser, please consider
joining.
  This group is restricted, email me at kfred...@skidmore.edu
 mailto:kfred...@skidmore.edu and I'll
  send you an invite.
 
  Licensed sites only, please.
 
  Thanks,
  Kathryn
 
 

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