rakim: a GPL'd online-reference/chat software

[rob caSSon]

i've been working on an in-house system for live, online, chat-based
reference, and we are currently using it to provide those services for
about 55 hours a week; we've always intended to release the source code
for others to look-at/use/install/criticize, so consider this the
announcement...please excuse the cross-posting....

i'm calling it RAKIM, which stands for 'RAKIM: A Knowledge Instant
Messenger' (yes, its a recursive acronym, and yes, its geeky ;)

here is a brief rundown of features:

	* unlimited number of operators/librarians
	* librarian-patron chat
	* page-push
	* shared queue of patrons
	* ability to refer patrons to other librarians (personal queue)
	* shared/personal bookmarks
	* email transcripts to patrons
	* audible alert to librarian when new patron arrives
	* audible alert to patron when their call is answered
	* editable preferences for librarian
	* browser-based - no plugins (except to play alerts, and this
	  can be turned off)
	* needs frames/javascript/css; right now, this means Netscape 4.X
	  and IE, but support for Mozilla (and its offspring), Opera,
	  Konqueror, and others is planned (clean up some javascript code)
	* relational database backend, using PHP's database abstraction
	  layer provided by PEAR; in english, any relational database that
	  PHP can connect to can be used to run the software...PHP runs on
	  Unix-es and Win32, so the server platform is quite flexible.
	* currently, the only databases supported are MySQL and
	  PostgreSQL; this will change in the near future as i test it
	  with more databases and make some tweaks to SQL queries (for a
	  standard, SQL queries on dates sure are non-standardized ;)
	* its Free software....Free, as in speech, and free, as in beer.

things to think about (and do) for the future:

	* finish administrative/reporting features
	* scripted interactions (automated-walkthrus)
	* exit surveys
	* librarian-to-librarian messages
	* voice over ip, if there is a Free, cross-platform solution
	* more configurability
	* lots of others.....any suggestions?

anyway, i thought people on this list might be interested in a Free
alternative to the LSSI's of the world....it may not have all the features
of some of the commercial products, but its also a very young project, and
the source code is available, just waiting for others to tear it apart,
fix it, add to it, or ignore it and write your own....;)

the software can be downloaded here:

	http://styro.lib.muohio.edu/rakim/

there is some basic documentation, along with some installation
instructions for Unix-like systems; we run Debian GNU/Linux here, but i
know others have had no problem putting it on other Unix machines.

look forward to any feedback/discussion....if you need assistance in
installing, i'd be more than happy to help trouble-shoot....it would help
me identify any bugs, and iron them out ;)

rob casson
electronic information services librarian
miami university libraries
rcasson at lib.muohio.edu