On Nov 13, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Erik Hatcher wrote:

> +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.

I'll be the eye candy!

>
> 	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
>>