October 3, 2003

Hackfest ][

Access 2003, October 1-4Vancouver, BC

A Cast of DozensA Gaggle of Powerpoint HatersThe O'Reilly Lithographic Spirit Gods

October 3, 2003

Overview

• Background• Process• Projects• Results

October 3, 2003

Background: A Poem

"Fast technologyLeaving road kill on the streetTwitching Dublin Core"

-A Librarian (Unknown)Found in a bar in Windsor, ONT, in 2002

October 3, 2003

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.” (Webster’s, 1913)

• Fest \Fest\, Feste \Fes”te\, noun:“A feast. [ Obs .] –Chaucer.” (Webster's 1913)

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

Background: Hackfest I

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

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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 => better balance

October 3, 2003

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."

October 3, 2003

Projects:

October 3, 2003

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.)."

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

Projects: Thesaurus Maps for VRef

<map:match="*.*"> <map:generate src="file.xml"/> <map:transformer type="sql"> <map:parameter name="use-connection" value="mydatabase"/> </map:transformer> <map:transformer type="xsl" src="format-adjust-for -stuff-in-next-slide.xsl"/> <map:transformer type="jena" type="virtual-reference-protocol"/> <map:transformer type="xsl" src="format-adjust-to -next-format.xsl"/> <map:transformer type="soap" url="soap://next-reference-site-or-other"/> <map:transformer type="xsl" src="status-info.xsl"/> <map:serializer type="xml"/></map:match>

October 3, 2003

Projects: Thesaurus Maps for VRef• Semantic web plumbing & ontology soup

<daml:Ontology rdf:about="">

<daml:versionInfo>1.0</daml:versionInfo>

<rdfs:comment>

An ontology of Virtual Reference relationships, Dewey to LC

</rdfs:comment>

<daml:imports rdf:resource="http://www.daml.org/2001/03/daml+oil"/>

</daml:Ontology>

<daml:Class rdf:ID="600">

<rdfs:label>Technology_applied_science</rdfs:label>

<rdfs:comment>affix propeller to hat</rdfs:comment>

</daml:Class>

<daml:Class rdf:ID="QA75-76.95">

<rdfs:label>Electronic_computers_Computer_science</rdfs:label>

<rdfs:comment>does anything else matter?</rdfs:comment>

<rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#600"/>

</daml:Class>

October 3, 2003

Projects: Thesaurus Maps for VRef

• Result: a jena-based transformer for cocoon!

// obligatory incomprehensible code snippetModel schema = ModelLoader.` loadModel("http://

libinference.org/vir_ref.rdf");

// avoid questions on next statement at all costsString rules = "(?a ?q ?b) <- (?p rdfs:subPropertyOf ?q), (?a ?p

?b) .";Reasoner reasoner = new GenericRuleReasoner(Rule.parseRules(rules));InfModel inf = ModelFactory.createInfModel(reasoner,

rawData);

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

Projects: Database Comparison

October 3, 2003

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 :)

October 3, 2003

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?"

October 3, 2003

Projects: OpenURL Harvesting

October 3, 2003

Projects: OpenURL Harvesting

October 3, 2003

Projects: OpenURL Harvesting

October 3, 2003

Projects: OpenURL Harvesting

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

Projects: Alerting Architecture

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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 8:30!

• Great planning

• Very positive energy (on average) all day long

(No actual sacred cows were gored or, appositely, otherwise hacked during this preconference)

October 3, 2003

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

October 3, 2003

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...

October 3, 2003

October 3, 2003

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!