+1, Bess!  I'm especially psyched for the kata demonstrations and  
sparring matches we'll have at the end of the session :)

I'll tinker with the advanced session description a bit when I can,  
but let's run with that for the time being.  I'm happy to have Noami  
join me however she likes.

	Erik


On Nov 13, 2009, at 11:25 AM, Bess Sadler wrote:

> Hey, how about this? I've been discussing this off list with Erik  
> and Naomi and this is what we came up with (I also added it to the  
> wiki):
>
> This is a proposal for several pre-conference sessions that would  
> fit together nicely for people interested in implementing a next-gen  
> catalog system.
>
> 1. Morning session - solr white belt
> Instructor: Bess Sadler (anyone else want to join me?)
> The journey of solr mastery begins with installation. We will then  
> proceed to data types, indexing, querying, and inner harmony. You  
> will leave this session with enough information to start running a  
> solr service with your own data.
>
> 2. Morning session - solr black belt
> Instructors: Erik Hatcher (and Naomi Dushay? she has offered to  
> help, if that's of interest)
> Amaze your friends with your ability to combine boolean and weighted  
> searching. Confound your enemies with your mastery of the secrets of  
> dismax. Leave slow queries in the dust as you performance tune solr  
> within an inch of its life. [We should probably add more specific  
> advanced topics here... suggestions welcome]
>
> 3. Afternoon session - Blacklight
> Instructors: Naomi Dushay, Jessie Keck, and Bess Sadler
> Apply your solr skills to running Blacklight as a front end for your  
> library catalog, institutional repository, or anything you can index  
> into solr. We'll cover installation, source control with git, local  
> modifications, test driving development, and writing object-specific  
> behaviors. You'll leave this workshop ready to revolutionize  
> discovery at your library. Solr white belts or black belts are  
> welcome.
>
> And then anyone else who had a topic that built on solr (e.g.,  
> vufind?) could add it in the afternoon. Obviously I'm biased, but I  
> really do think the topic of implementing a next gen catalog is  
> meaty enough for a half day and I know people are asking me about it  
> and eager to attend such a thing.
>
> What do you think, folks?
>
> Bess
>
> On 12-Nov-09, at 4:10 PM, Gabriel Farrell wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 02:47:42PM +0000, Jodi Schneider wrote:
>>> If you'd be up for it Erik, I'd envision a basic session in the  
>>> morning.
>>> Some of us (like me) have never gotten Solr up and running.
>>>
>>> Then the afternoon could break off for an advanced session.
>>>
>>> Though I like Bess's idea, too! Would that be suitable for a  
>>> conference
>>> breakout? Not sure I'd want to pit it against Solr advanced session!
>>
>> The preconfs should be as inclusive as possible, but I'm wondering if
>> the Solr session might be more beneficial if we dive into the
>> particulars right off the bat in the morning.  There are only a few
>> steps to get Solr up and running -- it's in the configuration for our
>> custom needs that the advice of a certain Mr. Hatcher can really be
>> helpful.
>>
>> You're right, though, that the NGC thing sounds more like a BOF  
>> session.
>> I'd support that in order to attend a full preconf day of Solr.
>>
>>
>> Gabriel
>
> Elizabeth (Bess) Sadler
> Chief Architect for the Online Library Environment
> Box 400129
> Alderman Library
> University of Virginia
> Charlottesville, VA 22904
>
> [log in to unmask]
> (434) 243-2305
>