Disruptive Library Technology Jester

Disruptive Library Technology Jester

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Peter E. Murray

Library technologist, open source advocate, striving to think globally while acting locally

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  • Embedding Graphics in Jaspersoft Report Files

    One of the features of Jaspersoft Reports is the ability to include static graphics -- logos, for instance -- in the completed reports. These graphic files are normally listed in the JRXML configuration file by reference -- meaning that what is stored in the configuration is a file name and not the graphic …

     Posted on  December 30, 2015
     and last updated December 31, 2018
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • Separating Configuration from Code in CollectionSpace

    For the past few months I've been working on a project to migrate a museum's collection registry to CollectionSpace. CollectionSpace is a "free, open-source, web-based software application for the description, management, and dissemination of museum collections information." ((From the answer to the first question of the CollectionSpace frequently asked questions …

     Posted on  November 30, 2015
     and last updated December 01, 2015
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • The Who, What, When, Where and Why of Library Discovery (text as intended for presentation)

    [caption id="attachment_KkOCeAtKHIc" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Me and my Jester's Cap"]

    Closing out #nisoforum w Peter Murray as disruptive tech jester! pic.twitter.com/TvRb8UEY0T

    — Lettie Conrad (@lyconrad) October 6, 2015

    [/caption]
    Last week I was at the NISO Forum: The Future of Library Resource Discovery with a …

     Posted on  October 12, 2015
     and last updated October 12, 2015
     ·  10 minutes reading time
  • Registration Now Open for a Fall Forum on the Future of Library Discovery

    Helping patrons find the information they need is an important part of the library profession, and in the past decade the profession has seen the rise of dedicated "discovery systems" to address that need. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is active at the intersection of libraries, content suppliers, and …

     Posted on  August 26, 2015
     and last updated August 26, 2015
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • Announcing "The Future of Library Resource Discovery" -- a NISO Two-day Forum in October in Baltimore

    [caption id="attachment_26113" align="alignright" width="232"]Cover page from the NISO white paper Cover page from the NISO white paper "The Future of Library Resource Discovery"[/caption]
    In early October, NISO will be hosting a two-day forum on the future of resource discovery in libraries. This is an in-person meeting to extend the work of Marshall …

     Posted on  July 13, 2015
     and last updated July 13, 2015
     ·  1 minutes reading time
  • Issue 78: Battles over strong encryption, IPv4 addresses exhausted while IPv6 surges

    Two articles in each of two threads this week:

    • If Strong Encryption is Outlawed...
    • Allocations of IPv4 Internet Addresses Now Restricted; It's a Good Thing IPv6 is Finally Here

    Feel free to send this newsletter to others you think might be interested in the topics. If you are not already …

     Posted on  July 09, 2015
     and last updated January 15, 2018
     ·  5 minutes reading time
  • Issue 77: New and Interesting from ALA Exhibits

    I'm just home from the American Library Association meeting in San Francisco, so this week's threads are just a brief view of new and interesting things I found on the exhibit floor.

    • Book-Donations-Processing-as-a-Service
    • Free Driver's Ed Resources for Libraries
    • Free Online Obituaries Service from Orange County Library

    Note! Funding for …

     Posted on  July 02, 2015
     and last updated January 15, 2018
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • Thursday Threads: Data Management Plans, Better Q/A Sessions, App for Bird Identification

    This week's threads:

    • Where should you keep your data? Your library can help with that answer!
    • Use index cards for your next presentation's question and answer session -- it'll make for a better experience for you and your audience.
    • What's that bird? There is an app for that! Give it your …
     Posted on  June 25, 2015
     and last updated June 25, 2015
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • Changes to "Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church" Wikipedia Page, Visualized

    Edited after initial publication to add: My thoughts are with the people in and around Charleston, South Carolina, this evening. What is making it out of the media fog to me tonight is your compassion for each other. Please be well as you absorb, internalize, and recover from this shocking …

     Posted on  June 19, 2015
     and last updated June 20, 2015
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • Thursday Threads: Let's Encrypt is coming, Businesses want you coming to the office, OR2015 Summary

    This week's threads:

    • Let's Encrypt announces its launch schedule, so soon everyone can have web servers with encrypted transmissions;
    • Ploys by businesses to get you to come into the office, if you work at a place where coming into an office is optional; and
    • A summary of Open Repositories 2015 …
     Posted on  June 18, 2015
     and last updated June 18, 2015
     ·  4 minutes reading time
  • Top Tech Trends, ALA Annual 2015 edition: Local and Unique; New metrics and citation tools

    I threw my hat into the ring to be on the LITA Top Tech Trends panel at the ALA annual conference later this month in San Francisco, and never could I say that I was more excited not to be selected. (You can find more info on this year's Top …

     Posted on  June 12, 2015
     and last updated June 12, 2015
     ·  3 minutes reading time
  • Thursday Threads: Advertising and Privacy, Giving Away Linux, A View of the Future

    In just a few weeks there will be a gathering of 25,000 librarians in the streets of San Francisco for the American Library Association annual meeting. The topics on my mind as the meeting draws closer? How patrons intersect with advertising and privacy when using our services. What one …

     Posted on  June 11, 2015
     and last updated June 11, 2015
     ·  5 minutes reading time
  • Can Google's New "My Account" Page be a Model for Libraries?

    One of the things discussed in the NISO patron privacy conference calls has been the need for transparency with patrons about what information is being gathered about them and what is done with it. The recent announcement by Google of a "My Account" page and a privacy question/answer site …

     Posted on  June 10, 2015
     and last updated June 11, 2015
     ·  4 minutes reading time
  • My View of the NISO Patron Privacy Working Group

    Yesterday Bobbi Newman posted Thinking Out Loud About Patron Privacy and Libraries on her blog. Both of us are on the NISO committee to develop a Consensus Framework to Support Patron Privacy in Digital Library and Information Systems, and her article sounded a note of discouragement that I hope to …

     Posted on  June 09, 2015
     and last updated June 09, 2015
     ·  6 minutes reading time
  • Seeking new opportunity in library technology

    Dear Colleagues,

    Know of someone looking for a skilled library technologist? The funding for my position at LYRASIS will run out at the end of June, and I am looking for a new opportunity for my skills in library technology, open source, and community engagement. My resume/c.v. is …

     Posted on  June 08, 2015
     and last updated June 08, 2015
     ·  1 minutes reading time
  • Setting the Right Environment: Remote Staff, Service Provider Participants, and Big-Tent Open Source Communities

    NOTE! I was asked recently to prepare a 15 minute presentation on lessons learned working with a remote team hosting open source applications. The text of that presentation is below with links added to more information. Photographs are from DPLA and Flickr, and are used under Public Domain or Creative Commons …

     Posted on  May 29, 2015
     and last updated May 29, 2015
     ·  10 minutes reading time
  • Thursday Threads: Man Photocopies Ebook, Google AutoAwesomes Photos, Librarians Called to HTTPS

    In this week's threads: a protest -- or maybe just an art project -- by a reader who saves his e-book copy of Orwell's 1984 by photocopying each page from his Kindle, the "AutoAwesome" nature of artificial intelligence, and a call to action for libraries to implement encryption on their websites.

    Feel …

     Posted on  May 28, 2015
     and last updated May 28, 2015
     ·  5 minutes reading time
  • Advancing Patron Privacy on Vendor Systems with a Shared Understanding

    Last week I had the pleasure of presenting a short talk at the second virtual meeting of the NISO effort to reach a Consensus Framework to Support Patron Privacy in Digital Library and Information Systems. The slides from the presentation are below and on SlideShare, followed by a cleaned-up transcript …

     Posted on  May 26, 2015
     and last updated May 26, 2015
     ·  8 minutes reading time
  • Institution-wide ORCID Adoption Test in U.K. Shows Promise

    Via Gary Price's announcement on InfoDocket comes word of a cost-benefit analysis for the wholesale adoption of ORCID identifiers by eight institutions in the U.K. The report, Institutional ORCID, Implementation and Cost Benefit Analysis Report [PDF], looks at the perspectives of stakeholders, a summary of findings from the pilot …

     Posted on  May 22, 2015
     and last updated May 22, 2015
     ·  1 minutes reading time
  • Thursday Threads: Library RFP Registry, Transformed Libraries talk at IMLSfocus, DIY VPN

    Welcome spring in the northern hemisphere! Thoughts turn to fresh new growth -- a new tool to help with writing documents for procuring library systems, a fresh way to think about how libraries can transform and be transformed, and spring cleaning for your browsing habits with a do-it-yourself VPN.

    Feel free …

     Posted on  May 07, 2015
     and last updated May 07, 2015
     ·  5 minutes reading time