 |
 |
Consider attending the Ticer "digital library school" in August, and specifically participating in a workshop called "Open Source Software for Libraries and XML": http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/services/lis/ticer/07carte/ program.html#3 Open Source Software The day-long workshop is divided into two parts. The first is about open source software. Given the linked texts and the accompanying set of software, the student will learn the ideas behind open source software, a bit of its history, how it is similar and dissimilar to librarianship, and why it is important to the profession. Through the hands-on exercises, the student will learn how to uncompress and untar distributions, configure an application for building, compile it, install it, configure it, and finally use it. Applications used during these hands-on activities include: Apache (a Web server), MARC::Record (a tool to read and writing MARC data), MySQL (a relational database application), Perl (a scripting language), zebra (an indexer/search engine), xsltproc (an XSLT processor), and YAZ (a Z39.50 client). The hands-on exercises are complete with sample data, configuration files, and sample scripts to get the student up and going quickly. This workshop is designed for the novice and moderately experienced computer user. The only prerequisite skills are: 1) no fear of command-line processing, and 2) the desire to learn. THIS WORKSHOP IS NOT NECESSARILY DESIGNED FOR COMPUTER GEEKS. IT IS ABOUT TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT. To get a flavor for this segment, see: http://infomotions.com/musings/ossnlibraries-workshop/ XML The second half is about XML. This workshop introduces participants to the extensible markup language (XML) through numerous examples, demonstrations, and structured hands-on exercises. Through the process you will be able to evaluate the uses of XML for making your data and information more accessible to people as well as computers. Examples include adding value to electronic texts (TEI), creating archival finding aids (EAD), creating bibliographic data (MARCXML and MODS), and implementing standards compliant Web pages (XHTML). By the end of the workshop you will have acquired a thorough introduction to XML and be able to: 1) list seven rules governing the syntax of XML documents, 2) create your very own XML markup language, 3) write XML documents using a plain text editor and validate them using a Web browser, 4) create simple XML documents using a number of standard XML vocabularies, 5) transform XML documents into other formats such as plain text or database (SQL) files using XSLT, and finally, 6) articulate why XML is important for libraries. This workshop is designed for the novice and moderately experienced computer user. The only prerequisite skills are: 1) no fear of command-line processing, 3) the ability to use a plain text editor, and 3) the desire to learn. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ABOUT COMPUTER GEEKTOM. IT IS ABOUT LEARNING TO CREATE WELL-STRUCTURED DATA CONSIDERING THE CURRENT NETWORKED ENVIRONMENT. This workshop will cover much of the content at the following URL: http://infomotions.com/musings/getting-started/ Summary These workshops are designed for any type of person who works in a library. They will help you learn about the current and immediate future of computing in libraries. These workshop have something to offer everybody. They are not strictly designed for computer types. The only prerequisites are an open mind and the desire to learn. For more information about the Ticer school in general, see: http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/services/lis/ticer/07carte/index.html -- Eric Lease Morgan University Libraries of Notre Dame