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I also use the IMPORTXML function for Google Sheets, as well as the Right Click > Scrape Similar option in Chrome (I think it's an extension I had to add). For Google Sheets I also use Wikidata & Wikipedia Tools extension (which can be helpful for authority work: if your name matches a Wikidata entry, you can query out the life dates. If you're satisfied it's a correct match, you can query out more standard identifiers, such as Library of Congress ID, VIAF ID, etc.). I've used these tricks/tools in cataloging (to avoid unnecessary transcribing large sets of titles, when someone else already has). And I use them often for grabbing biographical info (often from poorly structured sites) for PIC <http://pic.nypl.org>. Best, David *David Lowe | The New York Public Library**Specialist II, Photography Collection* *Photographers' Identities Catalog <http://pic.nypl.org>* On Tue, Nov 28, 2017 at 2:08 PM, Brett <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I leveraged the IMPORTXML() and xpath features in Google Sheets to pull > information from a large university website to help create a set of weeding > lists for a branch campus. They needed extra details about what was in > off-site storage and what was held at the central campus library. > > This was very much like Jason's FIFO API, the central reporting group had > sent me a spreadsheet with horrible data that I would have had to sort out > almost completely manually, but the call numbers were pristine. I used the > call numbers as a key to query the catalog with limits for each campus I > needed to check, and then it dumped all of the necessary content (holdings, > dates, etc) into the spreadsheet. > > I've also used Feed43 as a way to modify certain RSS feeds and scrape > websites to only display the content I want. > > Brett Williams > > > On Tue, Nov 28, 2017 at 1:24 PM, Brad Coffield < > [log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > I think there's likely a lot of possibilities out there and was hoping to > > hear examples of web scraping for libraries. Your example might just > > inspire me or another reader to do something similar. At the very least, > > the ideas will be interesting! > > > > Brad > > > > > > -- > > Brad Coffield, MLIS > > Assistant Information and Web Services Librarian > > Saint Francis University > > 814-472-3315 > > [log in to unmask] > > >