Saturday, May 16, 2009

The May/June 2009 issue of D-Lib Magazine (http://www.dlib.org/) is now available.

This issue contains six articles, a commentary, one conference report, the 'In Brief' column, excerpts from recent press releases, and news of upcoming conferences and other items of interest in 'Clips and Pointers'. This month, D-Lib features the Southern Methodist University Digital Collections, courtesy of Cindy Boeke, Southern Methodist University.

The commentary is:

Time Challenges - Challenging Times for Future Information Search
Thomas Mestl, Olga Cerrato, Jon Ølnes, Per Myrseth, and Inger-Mette Gustavsen, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Norway

The articles include:

EScience in Practice: Lessons from the Cornell Web Lab
William Arms, Manuel Calimlim, and Lucia Walle, Cornell University

Towards a Repository-enabled Scholar's Workbench: RepoMMan, REMAP and Hydra
Richard Green, Consultant to the University of Hull; and Chris Awre, University of Hull, United Kingdom

Evaluation of Digital Repository Software at the National Library of Medicine
Jennifer L. Marill and Edward C. Luczak, National Library of Medicine

NeoNote: Suggestions for a Global Shared Scholarly Annotation System
Bradley Hemminger, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

The Fierce Urgency of Now: A Proactive, Pervasive Content Awareness Tool
James E. Powell, Linn Marks Collins, and Mark L.B. Martinez, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Unlocking Audio: Towards an Online Repository of Spoken Word Collections in Flanders
Tom Evens and Laurence Hauttekeete, Ghent University, Belgium

The Conference Report is:

Developer Happiness Days: Takin' it to the Pub
Carol Minton Morris, Cornell University; Ben O'Steen, Oxford University; and David Flanders, University of London


D-Lib Magazine has mirror sites at the following locations:

UKOLN, University of Bath, Bath, England
http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/dlib/

The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
http://dlib.anu.edu.au/

State Library of Lower Saxony and the University Library of Goettingen, Goettingen,
Germany
http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/edoc/aw/d-lib/

Universidad de Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
http://www.dlib.org.ar

Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
http://dlib.ejournal.ascc.net/

BN - National Library of Portugal, Portugal
http://purl.pt/302/1

Friday, May 15, 2009

Code4Lib 2009 Presentations

The digital videos for selected Code4Lib 2009 conference presentations are now available at
http://code4lib.org/conference/2009/schedule

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Installation of phpESP in ubuntu 9.04

phpESP is a online survey support application that allows the rapid deployment of an online survey. The survey can be created, modified, tested, and activated by the survey creator. It can support large surveys (100 questions) and large respondent groups (4,000+) without a problem. The collected data can be viewed online in various simple cross-analysis and cross-tabulations. For more advanced analysis the data can be downloaded as a CSV file (Comma Separated Values) and imported into Excel or Access.

Installation of phpESP in ubuntu 9.04

• Step 1: Download the latest stable version of phpESP from http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpesp/
• Step 2: Uncompress the downloaded file on your desktop.
• Step 3: Upload the extracted files to your web hosting account via FTP to a specified directory of your choice (e.g. /phpesp).
• Step 4: Go to “PhpMyAdmin”, Create a MySQL Database name “phpesp”
• (If PhpMyAdmin is not installed then follow these steps)
sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-auth-mysql php5-mysql phpmyadmin

Copy phpmyadmin into my document root directory to work http://localhost/phpmyadmin, with this command in shell:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/phpmyadmin/ /var/www/phpmyadmin

# /usr/share/phpmyadmin/ is the directory where phpmyadmin installed
# /var/www/ is your document root directory

To make sure everything installed correctly we will now test phpmyadmin to ensure it is working properly.
1. Open up any web browser and then enter the following into the web address:
http://localhost/phpmyadmin/index.php

• Step 5 In “PhpMyAdmin”, select the database you have just created, and click on “SQL”.
• Step 6: Search for “mysql_populate.sql file, Copy the content of the file and paste it into the SQL Form and click Go. This will create the database tables of phpESP.
• Step 6: After successful creation of the database and its tables, go to the location of your newly uploaded files: http://www.yourdomain.com/phpesp/

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fedora Commons and DSpace Foundation Join Together to Create DuraSpace Organization

A landmark development has been announced with the merger of DSpace Foundation and Fedora Commons. Both are major players in digital preservation and open source content management systems particularly in the Higher Education sector. Both have been collaborating closely in recent years and the two organisations have now merged to form the new organisation DuraSpace.

DuraSpace will continue to support its existing software platforms, DSpace and Fedora but in addition is planning a number of new developments. The first new technology to emerge will be a Web-based service named “DuraCloud” - a hosted service that takes advantage of the cost efficiencies of cloud storage and cloud computing, while adding value to help ensure longevity and re-use of digital content. The DuraSpace organisation is developing partnerships with commercial cloud providers who offer both storage and computing capabilities to deliver this service.

I agree wholeheartedly with Cliff Lynch Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) who is quoted in the press release as follows:

“This is a great development. It will focus resources and talent in a way that should really accelerate progress in areas critical to the research, education, and cultural memory communities. The new emphasis on distributed reliable storage infrastructure services and their integration with repositories is particularly timely.”

For further information on DuraSpace see the new website and press release .

Installing LAMP On Linux (Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10, 9.04)

In this guide I will show you how to install a LAMP system. LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP. The guide is intended to help those who have very little knowlegde of using Linux.

Install Apache
To start off we will install Apache.
1. Open up the Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal).
2. Copy/Paste the following line of code into Terminal and then press enter:
sudo apt-get install apache2
3. The Terminal will then ask you for you're password, type it and then press enter.

Testing Apache
To make sure everything installed correctly we will now test Apache to ensure it is working properly.
1. Open up any web browser and then enter the following into the web address:
http://localhost/
You should see a folder entitled apache2-default/. Open it and you will see a message saying "It works!" , congrats to you!

Install PHP
In this part we will install PHP 5.
Step 1. Again open up the Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal).
Step 2. Copy/Paste the following line into Terminal and press enter:
sudo apt-get install php5 libapache2-mod-php5
Step 3. In order for PHP to work and be compatible with Apache we must restart it. Type the following code in Terminal to do this:
sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Test PHP
To ensure there are no issues with PHP let's give it a quick test run.
Step 1. In the terminal copy/paste the following line:
sudo gedit /var/www/testphp.php
This will open up a file called phptest.php.
Step 2. Copy/Paste this line into the phptest file:

Step 3. Save and close the file.
Step 4. Now open you're web browser and type the following into the web address:
http://localhost/testphp.php


Congrats you have now installed both Apache and PHP!

Install MySQL

Step 1. Once again open up the Terminal and then copy/paste this line:
sudo apt-get install mysql-server


Step 3. This is where things may start to get tricky. Begin by typing the following into Terminal:
mysql -u root
Following that copy/paste this line:
mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'@'localhost' = PASSWORD('yourpassword');


Step 4. We are now going to install a program called phpMyAdmin which is an easy tool to edit your databases. Copy/paste the following line into Terminal:

sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-auth-mysql php5-mysql phpmyadmin

Copy phpmyadmin into my document root directory to work http://localhost/phpmyadmin, with this command in shell:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/phpmyadmin/ /var/www/phpmyadmin

# /usr/share/phpmyadmin/ is the directory where phpmyadmin installed
# /var/www/ is your document root directory

To make sure everything installed correctly we will now test phpmyadmin to ensure it is working properly.
1. Open up any web browser and then enter the following into the web address:
http://localhost/phpmyadmin/index.php


For technical queries, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Sandeep Bhavsar,
sandeep.bhavsar@gmail.com

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

100 Most Inspiring and Innovative Blogs for Educators

http://www.universityreviewsonline.com/2005/10/100-most-inspiring-and-innovative-blogs-for-educators.html

Online University Reviews aggregates the 100 Most Inspiring and Innovative Blogs for Educators. These blog resources include tips, tools, and lessons and are divided into the following categories:

* General Teaching Blogs
* Specialty Subject Blogs
* Best Podcasts for Teachers
* Best Video Blogs for Teachers

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Red Hat Publishes Study on Worldwide Open Source Activity and Growth

Red Hat Publishes Study on Worldwide Open Source Activity and Growth

Tool Enables Community to Further Measure, Track and Understand Current and Future Open Source Adoption (April 21, 2009) RALEIGH, N.C., BUSINESS WIRE --

Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the release of the Open Source Index, a study in conjunction with the Georgia Institute of Technology comparing and contrasting open source activity and environment across 75 countries. The global growth of open source continues to increase across the private sector, government and individuals. As an industry leader, Red Hat presents this study to the community as a framework and tool for furthering the interest and understanding of open source adoption.


The study measures open source using two separate indices: one for activity and another for environment. The activity index measures the amount of open source currently present in a country and includes concrete factors such as existing open source and open standards policies and the number of open source software users or producers. The environment index includes factors at a country level that may further, or coexist with, open source activity such as a high number of Internet users. An interactive map highlighting country rankings is available here.

'Red Hat hopes the Open Source Index will serve as a resource for those within the open source community along with others who are curious about open source to start building relationships and further foster worldwide open source growth,' stated Tom Rabon, vice president, Corporate Affairs for Red Hat. 'The message of the benefits and value open source delivers is resonating across the globe and there are several geographies that present a great opportunity for open source adoption.'

Researchers from Georgia Tech developed the framework for measuring open source usage after reviewing an extensive collection of academic literature, professional and general media and holding in-depth interviews with open source experts and practitioners. Each of the 75 countries identified in the study received a summary score for activity and environment. Both activity and environment were measured on three dimensions: government, industry and community/education. Then, each dimension within activity and environment was measured along several quantitative indicators.

'As the study indicates, open source is thriving across the globe,' stated Dr. Paul M.A. Baker, Director of Research for the Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP) at Georgia Tech. 'In keeping with the open source model, we see this study as a starting point and look to others to continue to build on the information contained in the study to make it more comprehensive and reflective of the expansion of the open source software model.'

'In completing this study, open source has piqued the interest of Georgia Tech and our students and we've established a course on open source policy which is being taught for the second time during the spring 2009 semester,' stated Dr. Douglas S. Noonan, associate professor at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech. 'Through this class we plan to continue the discussion on why open source succeeds in some countries but struggles to take hold in other regions.'

The complete Open Source Index is available for download here.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Global Research Library 2020 Asia Position papers

Global Research Library 2020 is a vibrant community that is focusing on top-level challenges facing the global research library of the future with the ultimate goal of creating a knowledge infrastructure that most effectively serves the needs and leverages the competences of domain specialists, librarians and computer scientists. While the challenges are manifold, GRL2020 is a unique opportunity to harness the expertise that exists on a global level, to define an agenda that prioritises the challenges ahead, to champion the importance of skills development and education, and to enlarge the community through a Call for Action.

DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL RESEARCH LIBRARY 2020 ASIA POSITION PAPERS

RecordKeeping Magazine April 2009

The April 2009 edition of RecordKeeping magazine is now available to download (40 pages; PDF). This quarterly magazine is aimed at archivists, records managers, and everyone involved and interested in archives and records

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/recordkeeping_april2009.pdf

Monday, April 20, 2009

Launch of World Digital Library

Launching today in Paris, UNESCO’s new library will become the world’s third major digital library, behind Google’s Book Search and the EU’s Europeana.

The WDLwill function in seven primary languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

The library is the product of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and 32 partner institutions.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Digital Document Quarterly (DDQ)

The Digital Document Quarterly (DDQ) will treat quality for digital documents—books, newspapers, scholarly papers, scientific tables, legal briefs, medical charts, engineering designs, and government and business records—the carriers for many kinds of information. Our topic touches the welfare of every citizen.
DDQ will focus, at least during 2002, on the problems that “trust”, “trustworthy”, and “trusted” imply and on trustworthy digital mechanisms—and their limitations. Can you trust e-mail or what you read on the World Wide Web? How can you persuade people to trust what you send?
For what kind of reader is this newsletter intended? How will it be different?
Our target reader is the university graduate who reads and writes extensively, and who wants to understand and perhaps influence the “digital revolution”. Hopefully, DDQ will appeal to liberal arts and social science graduates—people who are not engineers and scientists—who want to understand policies that affect their professional and personal lives, but do not want to study the technological intricacies and jargon.
Not everyone will find DDQ easy. This should be no surprise, because the issues are profound. If they were easy, it would not be taking years for many brilliant people to agree on the best methods.
“Getting it right” necessarily involves precision in language and in action. Whenever it is difficult to express an idea both simply and correctly, DDQ will favor precision over simplicity, taking the view that simple does not justify simplistic. DDQ is for intelligent readers who can think about technical policy, but who have neither time nor inclination to study digital engineering.
Please have a look at the past issues of DDQ at