[Web4lib] blue sky thinking

Tue Jul 25 22:03:35 EDT 2006

Granted, I wouldn't expect *all* libraries to be able to take this kind of thing on, but I certainly think *more* libraries could.

I guess my point was that we're coming to a point in time when the amount of free, stable, easy to use software available is making the investment of an in-house server much more manageable than some may realize.  The leap from desktop expertise to server expertise is not nearly as far today as it was five (or even two) years ago.  Obviously, it is still going to involve an investment in time, effort, and
money.  I guess what I was trying to find out is whether libraries think the benefits might be worth it.

Perhaps *managing* a server is too big a step.  I'm very encouraged by Darci's post about the Oregon State Library's efforts to provide public libraries with the opportunity to get comfortable in a server envioronment as they create their web sites.  Perhaps that is what we need more of, so that more libraries develop enough expertise to at least be able to take on their own servers, should they desire it.

Keith

Keith Engwall
Head of Library Systems and Technology
Catawba College Library
kengwall at catawba.edu
http://www.lib.catawba.edu

----- Original Message -----
From: "Houghton, Sarah" 
Sent: Tue, 7/25/2006 7:30pm
To: Keith D. Engwall ; web4lib 
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] blue sky thinking

"Aside from having a good 
firewall to sit behind, what is the biggest reason against doing this 
in-house?"

For many of us, the answer is a lack 
of in-house staff with the expertise or time required to create, run, and 
maintain a server.  Many libraries, particularly public and school, if 
they're lucky enough to have any IT staff at all, have one or maybe two staff 
people whose experience lies in desktop computer management, not 
servers.

That's why library servers are usually 
run by the city, county, university, or consortium's IT staff, who tend to be 
larger in number and sub-specialize in things like server management.  Not 
that they all necessarily do a good job of sub-specializing--which leads to 
this whole discussion of insane limitations and bad service.

Sarah Houghton

From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org on behalf 
of Keith D. Engwall
Sent: Tue 7/25/2006 2:49 PM
To: 
web4lib
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] blue sky thinking

Aside from having a good firewall to sit behind, what is the 
biggest reason against doing this in-house?

We just put together an 
Ubuntu linux server for about $600 with 1 GB of RAM and 400 GB of storage 
space. 

Ubuntu Dapper Drake Server with LAMP took an afternoon to 
install.  Not *quite* out of the box solution, but pretty darn close.  
The configuration was pretty minimal, and I just copied the web site over and it 
just worked.

We just had to get a DNS set up for that box (two actually, 
one for the public, and one for a development version of the web page), and 
holes poked in the firewall for HTTP and SSH, and we went live with it inside of 
a week or two.

Now, we have our own environment in which to gradually 
expand our capabilities.  I don't know how to do all the things we want to 
do, but gradually, I find something that's interesting, ask questions, read 
about it, and then if it doesn't seem too hard to take on, I try it out.  
We don't have to ask permission to try anything new; we just do all our playing 
in our development virtual host, and then when it is ready to go live, we copy 
it over into production.

I wouldn't call this a turnkey solution, but the 
configuration was a lot less than what I was expecting, and the support out 
there (and in here) is abundant.

It just seems to me that we're finally 
at a point where this technology is affordable, the tools are (relatively) easy 
to use, and the support is readily available.

Keith

Keith 
Engwall
Head of Library Systems and Technology
Catawba College 
Library
kengwall at catawba.edu
http://www.lib.catawba.edu

-----Original 
Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org]
Sent: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 12:08 PM
To: 'Web4Lib 
(web4lib at webjunction.org)'
Subject: [Web4lib] blue sky 
thinking

Hi,

This is just blue sky thinking and not pertaining to 
any institution in particular.  What if an institution wanted to gain the 
benefits that accrue to libraries that have excellent server access and support 
in, say, a LAMP (Linux / MySQL / Apache / Php & PERL) environment but had 
limited means and possibilities.  Is there any reason why something like 
this scenario wouldn't work?

1)  buy cheap space on a Linux shared 
hosting server that provides root access such 
as
      http://www.spry.com/plesk-vps/ <http://www.spry.com/plesk-vps/>  
/
http://support.jodohost.com/showthread.php?t=1726
<http://support.jodohost.com/showthread.php?t=1726>  
/ http://www.linode.com/products/linodes.cfm
<http://www.linode.com/products/linodes.cfm>

2) 
identify open source tools that significantly expand capabilities 
(i.e.
Content Management Systems or other database server driven 
tools)

3)  either install and configure these tools oneself or 
simply outsource it to someone via a site like http://www.elance.com/ <http://www.elance.com/>

4) point a 
DNS at this server only for those pages that rely upon the LAMP environment, but 
leave everything else "in situ".  What would be the best way to do that? 
Could www2.yoursite.com be made to point to a different server from 
www.yoursite.com <http://www.yoursite.com>  (the 
difference being the insertion of the Arabic numberal two just after the www, or 
is that not workable?)

Apart from the obvious potential downwides (i.e. 
the guy who bids the job proves not be sufficiently capable) is there a fly in 
this ointment?  Seems like the upside would be to enable public libraries 
to participate in some of the innovation that academic libraries are able to 
access by virtue of being embedded in technically forward looking environments 
with lots of computer science folks running around pushing the envelope, 
etc.

Regards,
Mark

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