Thousand Oaks Librarian

ALA Annual 2007 - Sunday

Building the Next Generation Public Library Website with Drupal
John Blyberg, Darien Library, CT
Eli Neiburger, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

John Blyberg
Drupal in engineering terms and what is a public library supposed to be
Drupal is a CMS (Content Management System)

• import or create documents
• fluid management of blog entries
• effective user management
• delegation of roles
• version control
• separation of form from content (allows your web designers to design and your content people to create content)
• user participation (solicit opinions/comments/questions from the public)
• searchable

As opposed to…

• screwing around with dreamweaver
• fussing with ftp
• WTF do I do with all these files?
• Circ vs. Reference vs. Youth vs… (turf wars)
• (Battling for the unsustainable)

It’s 2007, does your website still suck?

• Unless you’re absolutely sure it doesn’t it probably does.
• Most public libraries suck
• Our websites need to be a public representation of a cohesive and comprehensive technology strategy
• Don’t bother with a new website unless you’re completely and absolutely committed to making it excellent…implementation, not necessarily equipment

What are some key components of a good PL website?

• a firm commitment to not settle
• single sign-on (very critical to customer service)
• integrated opac (users don’t care that it’s difficult for us to overcome this…all they know is that it’s difficult to use the opac and website)
• significant quantities of content generated everyday
• usefulness
• understand your community
• youth
• staff buy-in
• website is an extension of the library experience, not a resource.

Drupal is a means to an end, not the end itself

• simply installing drupal won’t make your website great.

Drupal is

• open source
• written in PHP (very accessible, easy-to-use scripting language)
• relatively low hardware requirements
• can be run on open source platforms
• free (though the time is not)
• pronounced Droopull not Droo-pal

Taxonomies

• classify content
• site organization
• cross-post stories, blog entries, etc.
• can be extended to custom nodes

Theme Engine

• separates form from content so you can change the theme without affecting the content
• closely integrated with drupal’s API
• supports multi-site or civic spaces
• completely customizable
• several templating engines available
• PHP Template, Smarty

API

• application programming interface (like a wall outlet)
• API allows you to move data back and forth seamlessly between software
• Hooks (do stuff when something happens)
• Search functions (create custom content types that are instantly searchable; use the search hook to query external databases, or just about anything…)
• Form Generation/Validation
• Create forms rapidly and validate forms easily
• Menu System
• menus are complex, even when they’re not
• menus are contextual
• manage menus easily
• api.drupal.org

Eli Neiburger
aadl.org (started project in Dec. 04 and launched in July 05)
saw Drupal as the best tool to meet their design goals
Joomla! is a serious competitor to Drupal and is very similar
When you choose a product, you want to make sure there is a vibrant community behind it so you can learn from others and share knowledge with others…makes it more sustainable
July 05 - 600 registered users
July 07 - 40,800 registered users (averaging 30-50 new users everyday)

Top five entry pages (what are people doing on the website):

• front page
• catalog start page
• rss feeds (almost a quarter of their traffic)
• card catalog image
• my account

aadl.org by the numbers

• 40,000 registered users
• 32,000 registered patrons
• 70% of active cardholders (similar to % of patrons who have provided an email)
• 4,250 content nodes
• 10, 833 post comments (at least 9500 from teens)
• 13,000 contact us comments
• 85 posting accounts (everyone in the organization is invited to contribute content as long as they have permission from their manager and take a 30-minute training session)
• 248 taxonomy terms in 7 vocabularies
• 274 patron reviews, 2092 patron tags (most on the manga materials)
• 3,473 catalog card notes, 5,931 saved cards

Materials blogs, events blog, services blog, research blog

• promoting more than just books

Contact us page (with browsable comments and responses)

• great way to let it all hang out and show everyone the great customer service you provide (growing trend in corporations to be more transparent), even to the most difficult patrons

My Account Page

• check request status
• check-out history (purely elective service)
• fine and fees
• personal card catalog
• my tags (does not replace subject headings, in addition to them)…view as list and view as cloud
• reviews and comments
• wireless devices
• request ILL

Publishing content

• can link to subject headings, titles, authors, wikipedia articles, external websites, etc.

Wrapping the Catalog

• Browser -> Drupal -> ILS
• single sign-on (easy user authentication)
• customizes your data before it goes back to the user

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A few days ago a colleague and I spent an hour explaining wikis to our reference staff and a few people from other departments. We briefly explained web 2.0, wikis, and even gave a demonstration of a start-up wiki that we created for our library staff. There were good questions and discussion about how wikis could be implemented into our library and people were genuinely excited about the possibilities.

Yesterday, I came across this! Commoncraft, the people who brought us RSS in Plain English, have done it again! They created the ultimate, simple guide to wikis and they managed to do it with some scraps of paper, a few markers, and…well, that’s about it! Brilliant!

Take a look for yourself:

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I’m currently taking a four-week online workshop called “Library Technology 101″ and it’s been great so far. There are five broad categories covered: network infrastructure, library management systems, public access computer management systems, materials handling, and the library website (and web-based services). For me, it’s an attempt to better understand the technology issues faced by most libraries. I’m far from being a full-on tech geek, but that can’t stop me from trying to become one

One of the statements made in our week 1 reading was of particular interest to me. My instructor writes:

Libraries are still providing many of the same services they’ve been providing for the last 100 years. Libraries provide reference service and research assistance, help people find good books to read, teach people to read, and generally improve people’s ability to participate in the world around them. Libraries encourage children to love books and storytelling long before they can read their first word. Libraries also provide a repository for valuable information about local history and serve as community gathering places.

The functional description of libraries hasn’t changed dramatically since 1871, when Boston Library began. However, in many ways the demands on libraries have increased. Libraries still teach people to read, but they also address other literacies, including information literacy, computer literacy, and Internet literacy. Being able to read was a critical skill for citizens striving to be part of our democracy. Now being able to read, use a computer, evaluate a diverse collection of information resources, and effectively navigate the Internet are all skills today’s citizens require.

From my experience helping people at the information desk, I’ve definitely seen how a lack of basic computer skills can make life difficult for someone. One example of this is when people come into the library because they need to complete an online job application. There are a lot of people out there who don’t have the basic technology competencies to fill out a basic application for employment at a place like Whole Foods.

This is why one of the things I’ve most enjoyed about my work this year has been the opportunities I’ve had to teach computer/Internet classes. It’s very satisfying to see someone become more competent with things like using email, finding and searching useful websites, and generally becoming more comfortable with technology. Each time I teach one of these classes I’m reminded of how difficult it must be for a novice to learn even seemingly simple things like using a mouse or navigating through a typical website. And the best part of the classes is interacting with the students. On the whole, the students I’ve had have been incredibly grateful to have these classes offered to them (for free!) and you can just see from the looks on their faces that they are so eager to learn something new.

But I think it’s also important not to limit technology classes to the beginner level. With our new blogging class and Flickr class, we’ve been trying to offer classes that would appeal to the intermediate level of technology users. On Saturday morning I’ll be teaching my second “Fun with Flickr” class at the library. The class is set up to introduce people to the world of storing, sorting, and sharing digital photos online. The first class was held two weeks ago and I think it was a success. The people who attended really seemed interested in learning how to share their photos with their family and friends. There were all sorts of questions, many dealing with privacy concerns, and the hands-on portion of the class was lots of fun since I asked people to bring their own photos to upload. There is a waiting list to get into Saturday’s class so it seems like a topic that people are interested in learning more about. I think there are a lot of people out there who have digital cameras (either purchased by them or given to them as gifts) but don’t know how to share photos online. In my eyes, this is just another part of teaching a new kind of literacy.

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This online “Internet Typology Test” has been making the rounds lately and it’s kind of fun. You answer a few questions and see what kind of technology and communication user you are. The accompanying report from Pew Internet & American Life Project is here if you want to read it. According to the report, 8% of Americans are deep users of the participatory Web and mobile applications. I’m happy to report that I’m in that 8%…I’m an omnivore.  And to think, back in the dark ages when I was a college student, I was just learning how to use Pine and Netscape Navigator! My 3-year old already knows how to put a CD into a computer, turn on the music using iTunes, navigate around websites and online games using a mouse, take photos using a cell phone and digital camera, use an iPod, and type her name on Microsoft Word! Actually, now that I think about it, I think she’s already in that 8%!

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There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don’t. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don’t know where to start.

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