Free Comic Book Day

Tomorrow, July 3 is Free Comic Book Day. There are comics for everyone, covering all ages and tastes. Check out the offerings.

Career

The new issue of Info Career Trends is now available. Some of the content includes:

• Career Q&A From the Library Career People (working part-time with a disability and staying in a librarian trainee MLS program)
• A Brief Description of Title I of the ADA for Library Managers
• Who Knows? Accommodation and Attitudes
• Recruiting Future Generations: Libraries and Millennials
• Information Professionals as Multicultural Ambassadors
• A Vital Necessity: Advancing Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Library Schools

Metadata Survey

Some interesting work is being done by the Automatic Metadata Generation Applications Project. Help them (and users and creators of metadata) by participating in their survey.

The Center for Metadata Research at the School of Information and Library Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is currently conducting the AMeGA Project.

As part of the AMeGA Project, we are conducting an online survey to solicit input about automatic metadata generation from catalogers/metadata creators, librarians, web architects, and others interested in improving the state-of-the-art metadata tools. The results of the survey will be used in the development of a set of recommended functionalities of automatic metadata generation applications.

Geographic Metadata

GIS Enabling the Internet by Chris Kutler discusses the importance of geography in information needs. He uses the example of a person doing genealogy who is searching a family name in a particular place. He uses gogeo as an example of a possible solution to the problem. This is a UK only resource, but interesting. I do wish he had included GeoURL and Geo Tags and other similar efforts.

Metasearching

Metasearch Tools: A Select Bibliography by Steve Oberg has been made available.

MARC Codes

The relator codes listed below have recently been approved for use in MARC 21 records. The new codes will be added to the online MARC Codes Lists for Relators, Sources, Description Conventions. The codes should not be used in exchange records until after August 29, 2004. This 60-day waiting period is required to provide MARC 21 implementers with time to include newly defined codes in any validation tables they may apply to the MARC fields where these codes are used.

MARC Relator Codes Additions:

• anm - Animator (subfield $e and $4 in name access fields)
• lgd - Lighting designer (subfield $e and $4 in name access fields)
• ppt - Puppeteer (subfield $e and $4 in name access fields)
• rsg - Restager (subfield $e and $4 in name access fields)
• std - Set designer (subfield $e and $4 in name access fields)
• tch - Teacher (subfield $e and $4 in name access fields)

ClassWeb

Through the courtesy of a cooperative agreement with OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC), the Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS) is now able to offer access to the following correlations with Dewey classification numbers:

• LC Subject Headings - Dewey Classification Numbers
• LC Classification - Dewey Classification Numbers

With this feature, users can enter a Dewey classification number and display a list of matches to LC subject headings or LC classification numbers as they have been applied in LC bibliographic records.

This feature will automatically display on your menu screen on July 1, 2004. This feature is available at no additional cost or action on the part of subscribers.

Koha Release Name: 2.1.0

Koha version 2.1.0 has been released. ROADMAP: A roadmap for Koha 2.2 is available.

This is the 1st UNSTABLE VERSION of the future Koha 2.2. Please install this version only if you want to test and give some help to the team that develops this software. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use it on a production machine.

HELP NEEDED
We alway accept new developpers wanting to code or test features of the Roadmap. We still can accept features not in the RoadMap if:

• strongly supported/coded by someone
• compatible with other features
• can be planned for end of 2004Q3

Changes

1. Auto installer
   If you install koha with ./install -i /path/to/auto_install_file, then Koha will be installed almost without question.
2. Uninstaller
   run misc/uninstall.pl, provide the mysql root password. that's all. Koha is completely deleted and can be reinstalled. A very nice solution for test platform.
3. Biblio frameworks
   Koha 2.0 had already 1 framework for cataloguing biblios. It means you could completly define the look of the MARC editor: which fields, where, and what they did (fields constraints) In Koha 2.2 you will be able to have as many frameworks as wanted: 1 for simple monograph, 1 for complete monograph, 1 for multimedia document. You could even have "1 used by Mary, 1 used by John."
4. MARC authorities
   In 2.2, Koha will provide a complete MARC support for authorities. In 2.1.0 authorities are only in "alpha" state. You can define authority types, the structure of the authority, exactly like for biblios frameworks. You can also add authorities, do some searches. However, you still can't connect an authority to a biblio. Will be in 2.1.1
5. Call number
   A lot of american people requested this feature. Call number is now stored in the item. Better, you alway can modify the default call number.
6. Suggestions
   In 2.1.0, a partial suggestion module is available in OPAC. Nothing yet in librarian interface.
7. Circulation
   Circulation has been heavily rewritten.
8. Online help
   An Online Help will be provided in 2.2 it will be available by clicking on "Help" button anywhere in Koha. The problem is... to write help screen... help needed here.
9. Various views in OPAC & librarian interface
   3 views are available in OPAC and in librarian interface.
   • MARC view as in 2.0 (was not in OPAC). The view has been improved, with tabs on the left. Only tabs with something in will are shown.
   • standard view, as in 2.0
   • ISBD view: the ISBD view is defined in the systempref parameters (field ISBD)
10. New look in librarian interface
    Librarian interface is almost completly css'ed. Some minor improvements to get more valid & clean HTML.
11. Code cleaning
    Many useless things have been removed. This will continue as long as needed.
12. UNIMARC plugin for every 1xx fields
    ESNMP have developped all the plugins for UNIMARC fields 1xx. Those fields are coded fields. Should be used for MARC21 with some work. We need volunteers here.

Dewey

Recent classification tips at the Dewey Web site provides some help on proper use of the classification schedules. As their name suggests, classification tips provide classification suggestions of interest to many libraries. Some recent tips include:

• Microsoft Windows
• Iraq
• People, Places and Precedence
• What Happened to Wales?
• Table 3 and Collected Works
• Collective Biography at 973
• Zero in on History
• WMD

Thanks Ian for reminding me about this resource.

OCLC Macro Language

OML for the Complete Beginner by Joel Hahn. Sponsored and endorsed by OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.

If you're intimidated by the thought of editing or even (gasp!) writing your own macros for use with OCLC's Connexion client software, here's one place to start to pick up some of the essentials of programming with the OCLC Macro Language (OML). Writing your own macros can be quite rewarding and even--dare I say--fun, once you get a handle on a few basic concepts and commands.

The lessons are:

1. Beginning basics
2. Variables
3. Variables, continued
4. String manipulation
5. Commands
6. Commands, continued
7. Program flow control
8. Loops
9. Subroutines and functions
10. Arrays
11. Error trapping & handling
12. Dialog boxes

Lunar and Planetary Institute

Some positive coments about the work done in my library by my co-workers. From the Lunar Picture of the Day website

Without saying a word, a treasury of lunar maps has appeared online. The Lunar Atlases section of the Lunar & Planetary Institute website has been an invaluable resource for Lunar Orbiter IV, Consolidated Lunar Atlas and Apollo handheld images. On June 24, the good people at LPI added digitized versions of various lunar maps. So far, the star of the site is the collection of 44 classic Lunar Aeronautical Charts (LACs) covering the central region of the lunar nearside. These are available in three file sizes: the 108 kB browse image reproduced here, an 877 kB high-res JPEG version, and a monstrous 170 MB full-res TIFF version! The hi-res version is almost good enough to read the contours - for example, it looks like the Straight Wall is measured as 410 m high; but I hesitate to start downloading the TIFF file to confirm that number! The website also includes two 10,000,000 charts, but what is really exciting is that they will be adding the 1:250,000 Lunar Topographic Orthophotomaps (LTO ). This is the largest scale and highest resolution lunar map series ever made (don't hassle me about Apollo landing maps, etc - they are different!) and have been widely unavailable for decades! All praise LPI!

We now have the LM series and metrics available as well.