I've used it quite a bit. It isn't an opac replacement though. It is
designed for publishing tei and ead documents, and it does a very good
job at that, but I don't see how it could adapt easily for marc. It's
very good, though... we've integrated it into blacklight for
presentation of the tei in our fedora repos.
Bess

On 13-May-08, at 5:09 PM, Jonathan Rochkind wrote:

> Anyone have any experience with this product, anything else to share?
>
> Would it possibly be suitable for use as an OPAC replacement, do you
> think?
>
> Jonathan
>
> Lisa Schiff wrote:
>> **This announcement is being sent to many lists; apologies in advance
>> for duplication.**
>>
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>
>>
>>
>> Contact: Lisa Schiff
>>
>> California Digital Library
>>
>> University of California, Office of the President
>>
>> 415 20th St., 4th Floor
>>
>> Oakland, CA 94612
>>
>> (510) 587-6132
>>
>> [log in to unmask] <blocked::mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>
>> http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/
>>
>>
>>
>> California Digital Library Announces New Release of the eXtensible
>> Text
>> Framework (XTF)
>>
>>
>>
>> Oakland, CA, May 12, 2008 - The California Digital Library (CDL) is
>> pleased to announce a new release of its search and display
>> technology,
>> the eXtensible Text Framework (XTF)
>> <blocked::http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/>  version 2.1
>> (http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/
>>
>> ).  XTF is an open source, highly flexible software application that
>> supports the search, browse and display of heterogeneous digital
>> content.  XTF offers efficient and practical methods for creating
>> customized end-user interfaces for distinct digital content
>> collections.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Highlights from the 2.1 release include:
>>
>> *       Extensive interface improvements, including new search forms,
>> built-in faceted browsing, and a new look and feel.
>> *       Increased support for document and information exchange
>> formats.
>>
>>
>>        *       XHTML and OAI-PMH output
>>        *       NLM article format indexing and output
>>        *       Microsoft Word indexing
>>
>> *       Streamlined XSLT stylesheets for simpler deployment and
>> adaptation.
>> *       Updated documentation that has been moved to the XTF project
>> wiki <blocked::http://xtf.wiki.sourceforge.net/> , allowing XTF
>> implementers to share solutions with entire user community.
>> *       "Freeform" Boolean query language, offered as an experimental
>> feature.
>> *       Backward compatibility with existing XTF implementations.
>>
>>
>>
>> A complete list of changes
>> <blocked::http://xtf.wiki.sourceforge.net/changeLog_2.1>  is
>> available
>> on the XTF Project page on SourceForge
>> <blocked::http://sourceforge.net/projects/xtf/> , where the
>> distribution
>> (including documentation) can also be downloaded.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since the first deployment of XTF in 2005, the development strategy
>> has
>> been to build and maintain an indexing and display technology that is
>> not only customizable, but also draws upon tested components
>> already in
>> use by the digital library and search communities - in particular the
>> Lucene text search engine, Java, XML, and XSLT.  By coordinating
>> these
>> pieces in a single platform that can be used to create multiple
>> unique
>> applications, CDL has succeeded in dramatically reducing the
>> investment
>> in infrastructure, staff training and development for new digital
>> content projects.
>>
>>
>>
>> XTF offers a suite of customizable features that support diverse
>> intellectual access to content.  Interfaces can be designed to
>> support
>> the distinct tools and presentations that are useful and meaningful
>> to
>> specific audiences.  In addition, XTF offers the following core
>> features:
>>
>> *       Easy to deploy: Drops directly in to a Java application
>> server
>> such as Tomcat or Resin; has been tested on Solaris, Mac, Linux, and
>> Windows operating systems.
>> *       Easy to configure: Can create indexes on any XML element or
>> attribute; entire presentation layer is customizable via XSLT.
>> *       Robust: Optimized to perform well on large documents (e.g., a
>> single text that exceeds 10MB of encoded text); scales to perform
>> well
>> on collections of millions of documents; provides full Unicode
>> support.
>> *       Extensible:
>>
>>        *       Works well with a variety of authentication systems
>> (e.g., IP address lists, LDAP, Shibboleth).
>>        *       Provides an interface for external data lookups to
>> support thesaurus-based term expansion, recommender systems, etc.
>>        *       Can power other digital library services (e.g., XTF
>> contains an OAI-PMH data provider that allows others to harvest
>> metadata, and an SRU interface that exposes searches to federated
>> search
>> engines).
>>        *       Can be deployed as separate, modular pieces of a
>> third-party system (e.g., the module that displays snippets of
>> matching
>> text).
>>
>> *       Powerful for the end user:
>>
>>        *       Spell checking of queries
>>        *       Faceted displays for browsing
>>        *       Dynamically updated browse lists
>>        *       Session-based bookbags
>>
>> These basic features can be tuned and modified.  For instance, the
>> same
>> bookbag feature that allows users to store links to entire books, can
>> also store links to citable elements of an object, such as a note or
>> other reference.
>>
>>
>>
>> A sampling of XTF-based applications both within and outside of the
>> CDL
>> include:
>>
>>
>>
>> *       Mark Twain Project Online
>> <blocked::http://www.marktwainproject.org/>
>> (http://www.marktwainproject.org), developed by the Mark Twain Papers
>> Project, the CDL and the University of California Press.
>> *       Calisphere <blocked::http://www.calisphere.org/>
>> (http://www.calisphere.org/), a curated collection of primary sources
>> keyed to the curriculum standards of California's K-12 community,
>> developed by the CDL.
>> *       The Encyclopedia of Chicago
>> <blocked::http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/>
>> (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/), developed by the
>> Chicago
>> History Museum, The Newberry Library, and Northwestern University
>> *       The Chymistry of Isaac Newton
>> <blocked::http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/>
>> (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/
>> <blocked::http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/> ) and The
>> Swinburne
>> Project
>> <blocked::http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/swinburne/www/swinburne/>
>> (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/swinburne/www/swinburne/), Indiana
>> University
>> *       Finding Aides at the New York Public Library
>> <blocked::http://labs.nypl.org/2007/10/30/extensible-text-framework-xtf/
>>
>>> (http://labs.nypl.org/2007/10/30/extensible-text-framework-xtf/)
>>>
>> *       EECS Technical Reports
>> <blocked::http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/xtf/servlet/org.cdlib.xtf.cr
>> ossQuery.CrossQuery?rmode=btr>
>> (http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/xtf/servlet/org.cdlib.xtf.crossQuery
>> .
>> CrossQuery?rmode=btr), UC Berkeley
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ###
>>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------
>> Lisa Schiff, Ph.D.
>> Technical Lead, Publishing
>> California Digital Library
>> 300 Lakeside Drive #745
>> Kaiser Center
>> Oakland, CA 94612
>> 510-987-0881 (t)
>> 510-987-0243 (f)
>> www.cdlib.org <http://www.cdlib.org/>
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> Jonathan Rochkind
> Digital Services Software Engineer
> The Sheridan Libraries
> Johns Hopkins University
> 410.516.8886
> rochkind (at) jhu.edu