[Web4lib] Make a shelf list searchable online?

[Sharon Nelson]

Dear Tim,

Thanks very much for posting your clarification -- I am very glad to hear that the OCLC policy should have far less impact on LibraryThing than I thought it would, and my apologies for muddying the waters with those assumptions.  

All best,
Sharon

Sharon L. Nelson
Asst. Technical Services & Systems Librarian
David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
slnelson @ niu . edu / 815-753-2021 

>>> Tim Spalding <tim at librarything.com> 3/18/2009 3:27 PM >>>
No, OCLC's policy won't do much to LT. The correct way would be to
export to LT your actual MARC data. The OCLC FAQ says that using a
hosted OPAC is fine.  While I think their ultimate goal is to control
the data as a way of moving people onto WorldCat Local, I don't think
they'll be preventing libraries from using other OPACs anytime soon.

To the larger issue, we haven't signed anything with OCLC, so LT can
never be in violation on its won. OCLC will have to shut LibraryThing
out, library-by-library. Only 3% of our data is from libraries other
than the Library of Congress, much of that from non-OCLC libraries. I
don't see OCLC managing to shut down the LC sharing its data, which is
Congressionally mandated.

Tim

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 11:23 AM, Sharon Nelson <slnelson at niu.edu> wrote:
> Dear Bruce,
>
> This would be an entirely different approach, but LibraryThing could be used to create a web-searchable OPAC of the collection. If the library is non-profit the cost would be $15/year to catalog up to 5,000 books (for-profit would be $5/year for up to 5,000 books). You can create an OPAC search box to the collection that can be mounted on a Web page. (The search capabilities aren't terribly sophisticated, but it sounds like it would do the job if what they primarily want is keyword searching.) If their records include ISBNs you could use the "Universal Import" feature to load the records automatically.
>
> One caveat you may want to consider is that the proposed revisions to OCLC's record use policy may have an impact down the road on LibraryThing's long-term viability, since part of the database is derived from library data  (tho Cambridge Information Group seemed to have felt confident enough in LT's future to purchase a minority stake in the company in January).  And you can always make a backup of your LibraryThing data (should the site ever actually go away). But it would let you build a searchable book database on the cheap without having to know any programming.
>
> All best,
> Sharon
> (PS I have no stake in LibraryThing other than I ponied up $25 for a personal membership to catalog my home collection because I think it's darned nifty.)
>
>
> Sharon L. Nelson
> Asst. Technical Services & Systems Librarian
> David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library
> Northern Illinois University
> DeKalb, IL 60115
> slnelson @ niu . edu / 815-753-2021
>
>>>> Bruce Jensen <flaco.jensen at gmail.com> 3/18/2009 1:58 AM >>>
> Most of you can probably do this in your sleep, so I hope you might be
> able to point me toward the right book or online tutorial:
>
> The folks at a lending library with a couple thousand titles listed on
> a five-column sheet in an Excel workbook, want to make their
> collection visible & searchable on the Web.  Sorting the list by
> title, by author, etc. and making a static HTML page of each did not
> thrill them.  They wonder if a kind of keyword-searchable OPAC is
> possible.
>
> I moved the list to Access and have built some representative queries
> but am clueless where to go from here.  We have an ASP.NET-capable
> server available to use, but no real VBasic nor other programming
> talents to go with it.  I'd like to see a source that could step me
> through putting the database on the server, making the connection to
> it, building the .aspx page with the search form, and whatever else is
> needed.
>
> Any tips or models or instructive sources would be gratefully
> welcomed.  Thank you,
>
> Bruce
>
>
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