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I'm writing a Library Technology Report for ALA TechSource on short, useful programs people have written (in whatever language) in libraries, so....ask me again in six months and I'll have a giant list for you ;) (In the meantime, if you've written short -- under a hundred-ish line -- programs that do fun or useful things for your library, and ideally if "developer" is *not* in your job title, let's talk.) IMO advantages of Python include: * (Relative) ease of learning and reading * Python makes it particularly easy to write string-manipulation-type stuff * Tons of high-quality packages available (pymarc, written by code4libbers, is particularly library-relevant) * A large, often friendly user community that cares about outreach and diversity * For me personally, it's the only programming language I know that's ever felt *fun* to write The main disadvantage in a library context is that the big open-source projects used in libraries tend not to be in Python. Also, if you want to use Python for a web app, you're going to also want to learn Django or Flask or something (which, mind you, are great; it just feels like a hurdle if you're used to embedding PHP in HTML pages). So if your goal is to script some part of your workflow (especially if you need to munch on MARC, csv, text, data...), Python is awesome. If you want to be hacking on Hydra or Koha or Drupal or Wordpress or something, you'll need a different language. Andromeda Yelton LITA Board of Directors, Director-at-Large, 2013-2016 http://andromedayelton.com @ThatAndromeda On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:13 AM, Julia <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi All, > > This is my first time posting to Code4Lib. Now seems like a good time. > > I am wondering how you have applied Python in your library. What projects > have been successful? What have you heard of other libraries doing? What > advantages or disadvantages does it have compared to other scripting > languages used in the library field? > > If you have any thoughts on any of those questions, I'd love to hear from > you. > > Thanks, > Julia > [log in to unmask] > Simmons College Library >