The scripting library: Combining data and information in the library

Stelline 2009 The Scripting Library Combining data and information in the library I servizi messi a disposizione con e per l'utente Cenfor Seminar Milan, March 12th, 2009

Changing needs

Rise of quantity, quality and diversification of information

Desire and need of the users of manipulating (modifying, trasforming, remixing) data

In the point of interaction between users and data lies the mashup technology

Mashup idea match Web 2.0 concepts of data as intel inside, hackability, the right to remix, user-generated content, users as co-developers

Mashup architecture

Combine data and information from two or more sources to build new applications and services

Often “mashup” is used to represent also a manipulation of data from only one source, utilized in new ways (or opened or (better) interlinked with information from other sources)

Structured information

Non structured information transformed in structured information

Non structured information used at its best (e.g. screen scraping)

Publishers begin to open their data: The Guardian docet! “The cost? Free. 'We feel like we are fueling an ecosystem'"

API – Application Programming Interface

Set of functions , procedures and methods to access an online application

There are also APIs for offline applications

API expresses:

the logic with which the application is built

its informative resources

operations that can be performed from outside the application / service

From a software -not human- point of view

How practically invoke functions provided by an API, utilize its resources, manage the data and / or information exchange?

Web Services

“ A software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network” (W3C)

The exchange takes place between a service that exposes its information, data or services

Service Provider

And a service that asks for them

Service Consumer

Request formatted in XML or in other languages and sent usually via HTTP

Response formatted in XML, JSON, HTML or other languages and sent usually via HTTP

RESTful Web Services

Resource-oriented architecture

The client performs the request through a method of the HTTP protocol

Often GET

The request of information or operations is built and launched by the program through a simple Url

Information sent in the response are formatted in HTML or in other languages

They can be rendered as web pages or sent to other applications

(RESTful) Information Exchange

Web application (Service Provider)

API (what resources, operations, Url language etc.)

REST Interface

Mashup client (Service Consumer)

Builds request Url following REST interface parameters

Sends it via HTTP method(s)

Gets information to display or push to other applications

Hooks (and how to make your website mashable!)

RSS / Atom Feed

Image (Flickr)

Video (YouTube)

Map

Website (XHTML/CSS)

Open APIs XML OAI-PMH JSON MicroFormats (iCal, CoinS etc.) RDFa/RDFe OpenUrl UnAPI (Open) Linked Data

Client-side scripting languages

Vital role of JavaScript in (closed) applications

Template

Application logic

Middleware layer

How to effect the closed applications' web pages:

DOM

JavaScript and JSON

Callback

Dynamic Script Tag

The directory of Programmable Web

Examples...

MetaBib @ Bicocca

Bibliobar (1)

Bibliobar (2)

Bibliobar (3)

Library Lookup @ Bicocca

Library Lookup by Jon Udell

Javascript:var re=/([ /-]|is[bs]n=)(d{7,9}dX])/i;

if(re.test(location.href)==true)

{var isbn=RegExp.$2;

void(win=window.open('http://opac.biblio.unimib.it'+'/F/?func=scan&scan_code=ISBN&scan_start='+isbn,'LibraryLookup','scrollbars=1,resizable=1,location=1,width=575,height=500'))}

http://opac.biblio.unimib.it/F/?func=scan&scan_code=ISBN&scan_start=1591585376

The power of bookmarklet

Biblioteche Oggi REST interface

Free usage data

University of Huddersfield Libraries: data of

Circulation

Suggestions

ISBN linking (via LibraryThing ISBN API )

With an Open Data Commons license

Offered as XML files on the Web to everyone for

Global ranking of OPACs results

Augmented recommendation services

More effective collection development policies

...

From APIs to Linked Data?

RDF Book Mashup

Integrates Web 2.0 data sources in the Semantic Web

Makes information about books, authors, reviews and bookshops available as semantic data

Turn XML responses from Web 2.0 web services into RDF

LIBRIS : the Linked Bibliographic Data

Dublin Core

SKOS

FOAF

Bibliontology

Home made ontology for holdings, FRBR relations

“ Weaving the Web ” on Tabulator (1)

“ Weaving the Web ” on Tabulator (2)

The Scripting Library means...

Requiring APIs or other standardized ways to access information from vendors and commercial suppliers (libraries are users theirselves)

Getting a more transparent, standardized and Web-like approach to data (the Web is simple)

Commitment to open library data and information, sharing them (i.e. making them hackable) and letting users, stakeholders and applications (e.g. Course Management Systems, Facebook Apps, browser toolbar etc.) access them (openness, addressability, discoverability)

(Right to) Manipulate, enhance, mash-up, remix, re-invent

Using immagination and participation – together

What's for?

The Scripting Library might become a means of renewal and innovation

Offering all the richness of the data (also) in a machine-readable format allows for data

Re-use

Enhancing

Showcasing

And for better cooperation between libraries

And between libraries and other organizations

Towards a library *data* portability

From

"It isn't the cables, it is the computers which are interesting"

To

“ It isn't the computers, but the documents which are interesting”

To

“ It's not documents that are important but the things they are about which are important”

Tim Berners Lee dixit

Thank you! This talk is in memory of Alberta Zanella (for that story of November 29th...) Bonaria Biancu a.k.a. The Geek Librarian Library of the University of Milano-Bicocca Blog: http://bonariabiancu.wordpress.com/ E-mail: [email_address] Websites were accessed last time on March 10th, 2009 This presentation is proudly made with Open Office Impress and it is released under a Creative Commons License

Mashup Editors