Hackfest ][ Access 2003, October 1-4 Vancouver, BC

1
Hackfest Access 2003, October 1-4Vancouver,
BC

• A Cast of Dozens
• A Gaggle of Powerpoint Haters
• The O'Reilly Lithographic Spirit Gods

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Overview

• Background
• Process
• Projects
• Results

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Background A Poem

• "Fast technologyLeaving road kill on the
  streetTwitching Dublin Core"
• -A Librarian (Unknown)
• Found in a bar in Windsor, ONT, in 2002

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Background What's a Hackfest?

• Hack \Hack\. noun
• A quick job that produces what is needed, but
  not well. (Jargon File 4.3.0)
• One who works hard at boring tasks syn drudge,
  hacker. (WordNet (r) 1.7)
• Hack \Hack\. verb
• To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to
  render commonplace. (Websters, 1913)
• Fest \Fest\, Feste \Feste\, noun
• A feast. Obs . Chaucer. (Webster's 1913)

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Background Objectives

• Solving problems or develop new ideas
• Creating a non-competitive, non-work
  collaborative social and educational experience
• Learning about contemporary issues in libraries
• Learning from each other
• Having fun and being on camera

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Background Hackfest I

• Held in Windsor last year
• 10-20 participants
• Late at night (not much sleep)
• Several interesting projects
• Mostly coders

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Process Setup

• Formal signup on registration page (no added
  cost)
• Suggestion box (more than 12 ideas)
• Whole day preconference
• Multiple lab reservations, logistics
• Equipment setup
• Accounts on dedicated hackfest server
• Summary of project writeups
• Name tags

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Process The Day

• 40 signups, waitlist, 30 attendees
• Project exhibit browsing, discussing
• Collapse two labs into one
• Group up and go

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Projects

• A very wide variety
• Some hacks are bigger than others
• Negotiation/refinement over email before fest by
  coordinators
• Some require sample data
• Many ideas draw on diverse skills, inc. web
  design, usability, reference, cataloger, and
  administrator perspectives... and coders
• Better (lower) coder density gt better balance

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Projects

• David Mattison, Donna Mazurek, Jeremy Henning,
  Kenton Good, Kristina Long, Mark Leggott
  (University of Winnipeg whose problem this was),
  Michael Hohner (virtual, from U of Winnipeg),
  Myfanwy Postgate, and Philip Poon
• Problem "Create a digital or virtual reference
  binder accessible to virtual and physical
  reference staff where they can record information
  relating to their shift. The intent is to replace
  a paper binder with a virtual binder. Cost was no
  object, and time was of the essence."

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Projects
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Projects Thesaurus Maps for VRef

• Art Rhyno, calvin mah, Donna Dinberg, Stephen
  MacNeil
• Problem "Various subject metadata schemes are
  becoming more important as we use apps
  cross-domain and otherwise network stuff. I am
  seeking elegant ways to cross-map discrete
  subject schema (more than just LC or Dewey, but
  schemes like Getty, educational thesauri,
  government schemes, etc.)."

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Projects Thesaurus Maps for VRef

• XML-based protocol
• Metadata-to-metadata
• Integration with existing systems
• Flexibility required
• Ability to support REST/SOAP
• Deep desire to achieve more sleep than with last
  year's hackfest

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Projects Thesaurus Maps for VRef

• ltmapmatch"."gt
• ltmapgenerate src"file.xml"/gt
• ltmaptransformer type"sql"gt
• ltmapparameter name"use-connection"
  value"mydatabase"/gt
• lt/maptransformergt
• ltmaptransformer type"xsl" src"format-adjust-f
  or -stuff-in-next-slide.xsl"/gt
• ltmaptransformer type"jena" type"virtual-refer
  ence-protocol"/gt
• ltmaptransformer type"xsl" src"format-adjust-to
  -next-format.xsl"/gt
• ltmaptransformer type"soap" url"soap//next-re
  ference-site-or-other"/gt
• ltmaptransformer type"xsl" src"status-info.xsl
  "/gt
• ltmapserializer type"xml"/gt
• lt/mapmatchgt

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Projects Thesaurus Maps for VRef

• Semantic web plumbing ontology soup

ltdamlOntology rdfabout""gt
ltdamlversionInfogt1.0lt/damlversionInfogt
ltrdfscommentgt An ontology of Virtual
Reference relationships, Dewey to LC
lt/rdfscommentgt ltdamlimports
rdfresource"http//www.daml.org/2001/03/damloil
"/gt lt/damlOntologygt ltdamlClass
rdfID"600"gt ltrdfslabelgtTechnology_applied_s
ciencelt/rdfslabelgt ltrdfscommentgtaffix
propeller to hatlt/rdfscommentgt lt/damlClassgt
ltdamlClass rdfID"QA75-76.95"gt
ltrdfslabelgtElectronic_computers_Computer_sciencelt
/rdfslabelgt ltrdfscommentgtdoes anything else
matter?lt/rdfscommentgt ltrdfssubClassOf
rdfresource"600"/gt lt/damlClassgt
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Projects Thesaurus Maps for VRef

• Result a jena-based transformer for cocoon!
• // obligatory incomprehensible code snippet
• Model schema ModelLoader.
• loadModel("http// libinference.org/vir_ref.rd
  f")
• // avoid questions on next statement at all costs
• String rules
• "(?a ?q ?b) lt- (?p rdfssubPropertyOf ?q),
  (?a ?p ?b) ."
• Reasoner reasoner new
• GenericRuleReasoner(Rule.parseRules(rules))
• InfModel inf ModelFactory.createInfModel(reasone
  r, rawData)

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Projects Database Comparison

• Kathleen Matthews, Nella Lall, Stan Kosecki, Todd
  Holbrook, Tuan Nguyen, William Wueppelmann
• Problem "... An easy way to compare title lists
  from two databases ... a listing of what is
  unique to each database, along with a listing of
  the overlap. Part two would involve a way of
  comparing the lists against a library catalogue
  to see if that title is already held and how much
  the library pays for that title."
• Solution Build it into CUFTS

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Projects Database Comparison
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Projects III Report Formatter

• Roy Tennant, Sharon Price
• Problem "We need a report generated that gives
  (a) more than x number of bib level holds on any
  item, at any given time, then have that report
  broken down into how many copies the consortium
  holds or has on order, and then how many of these
  are held/ordered by LE Phillips."
• Solution Roy perl )

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Projects OpenURL Harvesting

• Bernardo Gomez, Dan Chudnov, Ian Stegman, Pat
  Moore, Peter Binkley
• Problem "explore the intersection of link
  routing and personalized services, e.g. if we
  could offer a secure personalized tracker of
  one's routed OpenURL requests, what sorts of
  services could we build on that?"

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Projects OpenURL Harvesting
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Projects OpenURL Harvesting
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Projects OpenURL Harvesting
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Projects OpenURL Harvesting
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Projects Alerting Service

• Adrian Dolling, Alison Curtis, Brian Jorgensen,
  Joyce Wong, Mark Jordan, Ross Singer
• Problem Expand a "what's new" system to handle
  a wide array of alerting services

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Projects Alerting Service

• Difficulties
• platform and scripting language
• scope/what is the problem?
• Functional requirements
• modularity
• more generic and universally applicable solution
• try to solve problems for the larger community
  instead of just one community member

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Projects Alerting Architecture
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Projects Alerting Service Objects

• Alert
• something someone needs to know
• types new URL, staff news, new ILS item
• included purchase requests
• Category "metadata" classification for alerts
• Channel
• defined as a selection of categories
• spits out an XML feed

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Projects Alerting Service Processes

• Reaper deletes/archives alerts
• Input filter
• inserts alerts into system
• examples purchase request form new URL form
  announcement form script that automatically
  inserts alerts about new collection items
• Output filter filters XML feed from a channel
  and delivers it to a subscriber
• examples dynamic webpages, RSS feeds, email
  scheduler

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Projects Alerting Service Code Reuse

• Email scheduler
• subscription of users to channels, sending of
  emails best solved by mailing list software and
  associated management software
• what's left
• Core objects alert, category, channel
• feels very similar to what existing blogging
  software already does
• need to communicate with those projects

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Results Summary

• 30 people
• 6 projects
• Wide range of activities
• Whiteboard-only hacking
• Fixing persistent problems
• Adding interesting features to existing projects
• Bringing available tools to other typical
  problems
• What-if scenarios

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Results Successful v2 features

• Whole-day preconference
• Much improved diversity (no more coder
  monoculture)
• Clearly one location is the way
• More sleep for everyone
• Summary later than 830!
• Great planning
• Very positive energy (on average) all day long
• (No actual sacred cows were gored or,
  appositely, otherwise hacked during this
  preconference)

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Results Possible enhancements

• Distributing suggestion list before conference
• Keep to one location wireless
• Location pub across the street maybe mandatory
  for lunch? )
• Generalizing/extending the model ... carefully

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Results Reflections

• The way we organize our institutions for
  administrative purposes is only loosely coupled
  with the way our organizations get work done.
  H. Berghel
• We really like to work this way, and the Access
  mix is perfect
• Next year in Black Rock, NV our very own
  "Burning Man"
• ...i can see it now... as if it were right in
  front of my eyes... like i'm actually there...
  ...it's coming to me...

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Results Acknowledgments

• Three cheers for Mark Jordan and John Durno
• Also Calvin, Kristina, Todd, others at SFU
  IT/Admin, elsewhere
• Thanks to our sponsor Innovative Interfaces
• Also Art for birthing the model last year )
• Also Roy for the video
• And all the participants!