February 2006 Archives
It's easy to speak when nobody's listening.
Or something like that. I mentioned it in passing to seestore tonight after having thought about it the entire week.
After reading Back to Iraq's article on the shrine bombing and it's potential aftermath, I've come under the impression that, as the saying goes -- the poop has hit the air circulator...
When I told my friend and LIS classmate about my copycat efforts to link up the catalog of my library to both Amazon and Googlebooks -- she was, like most people in the world, less than enthusiastic. She has become wary of Google's movements of late - and has trouble even muttering their name...She did manage to ask if I could apply the scripts to the Wayne State University Libraries -- and I'm glad to say that I can and have. So - these are for her.
WSU Google Books Script
WSU Amazon Lookup Script
What I really like, and what I really was having the most trouble with today concerning these scripts -- is that they will now retrieve results for E-books as well. The screenshot I've posted shows what happens when the scope of the search returns both a physical book and a book that is available as an E-book in pdf format. If I limited that scope to just books -- the E-book wouldn't appear in a googlebooks search or amazon lookup. For a while I thought I'd be stuck just searching for books -- but figured out how to hook in the [electronic resource] string in the script and clapped my hands and said yeah.
WSU's catalog shows an "ebrary" of 2000 items thus far -- but there are probably more out there. If you don't care for the ebrary materials - as you don't have access to them not being a student or whatnot -- you can just change the part in the script that reads "var libraryUrlPatternTrailer = '&searchscope=1';" to:
"var libraryUrlPatternTrailer = '&searchscope=2';" and that will set your search scope to only browse the books...
I haven't come across a book on hold yet -- I'm digging through the catalog looking --- but that aspect isn't yet included in the script. If you find one -- shoot me an email: kevin[at]yezbick.com - or leave a comment so's I can plug it in - and shoot this script into a more public space.
Again -- all credit is given in the script to Mr. Ed "Superpatron" Vielmetti, Jon Udell, Carrick Mundell, and Gordon Mohr -- without all of whom I wouldn'tve been able to fill in this template.
Update: I'm now going to have to figure out how to adapt this script in light of This Script -- which cycles through different collections and winds up in worldcat...I was wondering how to do this...Unfortunately it doesn't check for the actual status...
So, I still haven't figured out how to get the holds working in the Greasemonkey FCLlookup script . Regex's and scripting aren't exactly my forté.
But -- I've now adapted Ed's adaptation of the moviedudescript for the Farmington Community Library: FCL Movie Dude. I've left the Ann Arbor link in there as a means to compare the two catalogs. That's my own preference - as I'll be writing a paper later which requires the comparison of two OPACs, and may settle on these two.
The FCLGooglebooks script is now available as well.
Grandma had asked for an explanation in english as to what I've been talking about. The best I can do for you Gma is to tell you that in order for any of this to make sense -- you need to be running the Firefox browser with the Greasemonkey extension installed...
If you read through those pages -- and follow the directions...You'll probably be able to grasp the concept. If not -- next time I see you -- I'll show you an example. Last but not least -- for these scripts to be somewhat meaningful - you probably want to be a patron of the Farmington Community Library.
I'm gonna keep at this "Beginning Javascript" book -- and try to hammer out these Regex's for the holds variable -- and until I do that - I'm gonna hold out on placing these up on the userscript site. Maybe I'll come across one already working on a similar HIP catalog...until then -- yada yada yada....
Ok...
So I've scraped together the Amazon FCL Linky for Greasemonkey. Based off Edward Vielmetti's Amazon AADL Linky which was based off of Udell's Library Lookup. I'm not keen to the holds variable yet, and have to find a book on order and in processing...But there's a Super Bowl to watch today -- so I'll get at that later. As of right now, it'll tell you if Farmington Community Library has the book or not, if it's checked out and when it's due back.
I'll also try to work up the Googlebooks script...But I've got me one of dem der cataloging tests this week -- so I probably won't get at any of this until the weekend.
Cheers.
Late last night, too late to get a good night's sleep for today's shift, I was "google talking" with Edward Vielmetti of Superpatron fame. Earlier in the day I had seen a post on Jessamyn's librarian.net talking about Google Books and how you can't get a "find in a library link" for all the books...This is something I've been thinking about for many months -- and I I left a copy of one of my emails to google in the comments along with a plea to conquer this. Shortly after I left my comment - Ed buzzed me about my blog entry on Broken Library Buildings and I ranted a tad about google books, asking him if he thought a script was possible. I pointed out the librarian.net article and he left a comment -- then told me he was gonna hack at it...This was at 2 in the morning. When I woke up this morning, the script was done. Awesome. I am Geekified.
Time hasn't gone by at work without my mind starting to wander. The "Library Buildings" concept is beginning to dig into the wrinkles of my brain. I'm curious as to what librarians fancy when they fancy a dream building. This is just a quick sketch of mine.
A few things broken in my own: the acoustics, meeting room space, and young adult area.
When the library discovered the community wasn't going to let them move into a cozy spot next to a local community college a few years back - they began an expansion project on the current grounds. The results: towering ceilings and a collection housed in a manner that places non-fiction on the opposite end of the library from fiction and audio/visual media. It makes for lots of walking. The main set of computers sit between the two, right in front of the reference desk. [these need to be timed for equal use, coupled with a print management system that requires printing fees to be paid up front. ideally there would be roving tech pages to assist with issues so that the queue at the reference desk doesn't begin to wrap into the computer section] The towering ceilings and long hollowed out hallway that winds away from reference and past circulation makes for bouncy noises. Bouncy here bouncy there -- echoey cavernous library. Apparently the architect was going for open and airy. It's just too open, and too airy -- and in all the wrong places.
The library as meeting place becomes a library of isolating spaces. Meeting rooms are in constant demand in an environment where one does not want to be disturbed or to disturb while studying in groups. Couple that with the lasting stigma that libraries should be quiet places, and you have an exceeding demand for possible space. Often, the kids out of school want to snatch up a room so they can unleash some of that after school energy in a sealed environment. Some actually do homework -- sometimes it's a festival of cookies and cuttin' up.
When the four meeting spaces fill up, which they do, inevitably, each and every day - the kids head toward the young adult section. Tucked back into a corner of the library far from the reference desk - but conveniently located next to the browsing room where the magazines and newspapers and plush leather chairs and fireplace are all sopped together for a nice place to sit and relax and turn pages. But those high ceilings! They're everywhere! And bouncy bouncy bouncy noises fill the room to the brim.
"Don't make me shush," I plead inside. "I don't want to be a shushing librarian." But I must - because the bouncy bouncy bouncies are disturbing those who expect the library to be a quiet place.
So -- for the next person who builds a library -- wrap the building with terrarium encasements for use as group rooms. People outside see people inside. Couple the isolationist environment wisely with the meeting environment. People move in herds -- and want to be in their respective herds. (Mingling and meeting seems to be met with some degree of consternation in my location by those who would be mingling and meeting.) Build it in the round - so that the reference team is equidistant from each collection. A big ole bullseye right in the middle. A gigantic paddle wheel - so I can peer down the stacks. And build it with a children's and young adult section -- so that we don't have to shush as much.
Of course you can't. How can you afford it? But wouldn't it just be a dream?
[someday soon i'll find some time to spruce up the back pages of this site -- whose styles are currently non-existent.]
