[Web4lib] Code4Lib Journal issue 13 is now available!

[Carol Bean]

Apologies for cross-posting:

Issue 13 of the Code4Lib Journal has been published. See
http://journal.code4lib.org/issues/issue13 for these fine articles:

Editorial Introduction: Ride On, Mighty Warriors
Gabriel Farrell
I joined the fellowship of the Journal only one year past. In the time
since I have helped to caress into sonnets the grunts and mutterings
of paladins near and far. But forgive my crude tongue, for I do not
wish to offend. You who share your drunken yarns are the font, the
wellspring, of all that you see here.

GroupFinder: A Hyper-Local Group Study Coordination System
Joe Ryan and Josh Boyer
GroupFinder is a system designed to help users working in groups let
each other know where they are, what they are working on, and when
they started. Students can use the GroupFinder system to arrange
meetings within the library. GroupFinder also works with the
phpScheduleIt room reservation system used to reserve group study
rooms at the D.H. Hill Library at NCSU. Information from GroupFinder
is presented on the GroupFinder web site, the mobile web site and on
electronic bulletin boards within the library. How GroupFinder was
developed from the initial concept through the implementation is
covered in the article.

ISBN and QR Barcode Scanning Mobile App for Libraries
Graham McCarthy and Sally Wilson
This article outlines the development of a mobile application for the
Ryerson University Library. The application provides for ISBN barcode
scanning that results in a lookup of library copies and services for
the book scanned, as well as QR code scanning. Two versions of the
application were developed, one for iOS and one for Android. The
article includes some details on the free packages used for barcode
scanning functionality. Source code for the Ryerson iOS and Android
applications are freely available, and instructions are provided on
customizing the Ryerson application for use in other library
environments. Some statistics on the number of downloads of the
Ryerson mobile app by users are included.

Using Web Services for a Mobile OPAC
Denis Galvin and Mang Sun
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the creation and intended
evolution of the Rice University mobile online public access catalog
(OPAC). The focus of the article is on how SirsiDynix’s Symphony Web
Services can be used to create a mobile OPAC.

iRoam: Leveraging Mobile Technology to Provide Innovative Point of
Need Reference Services
James MacDonald and Kealin McCabe
The University of Northern British Columbia’s Geoffrey R. Weller
Library can boast of a healthy and stable reference service. While
statistical analysis reveals that patron use of this service is on the
decline, this is not unlike current trends experienced by many
libraries today. The library averages a total of 6300 reference
transactions per year, a significant number for a small,
research-intensive university serving 3500 FTE. The unanswered
question is why are the numbers dropping? One theory is that providing
research and reference assistance in a traditional manner is affecting
the number of transactions. Reference service is traditionally
provided in a stationary manner, whereby patrons are required to visit
the reference desk of their own volition. Recognizing that a
stationary librarian cannot reach a stationary patron, UNBC library
began an innovative roaming reference pilot project in September,
2010. Combining the power of wireless networks, tablet computing and
chat services, 5 librarians provided point-of-need, face-to-face and
virtual reference services during peak reference hours over the fall
2010 semester. This article outlines the project and technologies
employed to make it happen (iPad, apps, instant messaging widgets and
wireless networks).

Implementing Time Travel for the Web
Robert Sanderson, Harihar Shankar, Scott Ainsworth, Frank McCown, and Sam
Adams
This article discusses the challenges and solutions discovered for
implementing the Memento protocol in a variety of browser
environments. It describes the design and deployment of the client
technologies which have been developed: a web application that
functioned as a browser, an add-on for FireFox called MementoFox, a
plugin for Internet Explorer and an Android-based client application.
The design and technical solutions identified during the development
will be of interest to those considering implementation of a Memento
based platform, especially on the client side, however the
interactions are also important for building conformant server-side
systems.

Look What We Got! How Inherited Data Drives Decision-Making:
UNC-Chapel Hill’s 19th-Century American Sheet Music Collection
Renée McBride
Have you inherited a digital collection containing valuable, but
inconsistent metadata? And wondered how to transform it into a usable,
quality resource while accepting that it can’t meet your idea of
perfection? This article describes such an experience at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Library with
its CONTENTdm-based 19th-Century American Sheet Music Collection,
addressing issues such as field construction, the use of controlled
vocabularies, development of a project data dictionary, and metadata
clean-up.

>From ISIS to CouchDB: Databases and Data Models for Bibliographic Records
Luciano Ramalho
For decades bibliographic data has been stored in non-relational
databases, and thousands of libraries in developing countries still
use ISIS databases to run their OPACs. Fast forward to 2010 and the
NoSQL movement has shown that non-relational databases are good enough
for Google, Amazon.com and Facebook. Meanwhile, several Open Source
NoSQL systems have appeared.

This paper discusses the data model of one class of NoSQL products,
semistructured, document-oriented databases exemplified by Apache
CouchDB and MongoDB, and why they are well-suited to collective
cataloging applications. Also shown are the methods, tools, and
scripts used to convert, from ISIS to CouchDB, bibliographic records
of LILACS, a key Latin American and Caribbean health sciences index
operated by the Pan-American Health Organization.

Applying Lessons from 8 Things We Hate About IT to Libraries
Timothy M. McGeary
Book review of 8 Things We Hate About IT with commentary on how Susan
Cramm’s points can be applied to libraries.

Book Review: HTML5: Up and Running
Mark Cyzyk
Mark Pilgrim’s HTML5: Up and Running was one of the first books
published on the subject. If you’re looking for a really good,
well-written, entertaining, concise overview of what’s going on right
this very minute with HTML5 technologies and techniques, this is a
good book to have.

Conference Reports: Code4Lib 2011
Bohyun Kim and Elias Tzoc
Conference reports from the 6th Code4Lib Conference, held in
Bloomington, IN, from February 7 to 10, 2011. The Code4Lib conference
is a collective volunteer effort of the Code4Lib community of library
technologists. Included are two brief reports on the conference from
some recipients of conference scholarships.

-- 
Carol Bean
beanworks at gmail.com