drupal for libraries
DESCRIPTION
Presentation on Drupal for Libraries given at the Metropolitan Library System in Chicago on 2/29/2007.TRANSCRIPT
Leo Kleinon
Drupal for Libraries
Talk Given at the Metropolitan Library
System (Chicago)Feb. 29, 2008
Created by Leo Klein, ChicagoLibrarian.com
Hey, Wait a Minute!
Why Content Management?In the Beginning: Everything Done by Hand
Early Database-Driven Sites: Home-made, DIY
Current CMS Potpourri: Many Choices (Good, Bad & Ugly*)
______* http://www.opensourcecms.com
Why Drupal?
(Druplicon)
Libraries That Use DrupalFlorida State Univ. Uminn Bio-Med. Library
Hoover Public Library (AL) Wendt Library (U. Wisc.)
Origin of DrupalOrigin of DrupalOrigin of DrupalOrigin of Drupal
Early Drupal User Group Meetup
Drupal Born – 2001*• Originally developed by Dries Buytaert and fellow
students at the University of Antwerp
• 2001 – Initial Release of Drupal
• 2004 – Drupal taken up by Dean Campaign
• 2005 to now: – High Profile Conversions (Onion.com, Observer.com,
Amnesty International)– From "Community Plumbing" to "Roll-Your-Own Push
Button CMS" _________* More Info: http://drupal.org/node/769 http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1398641189
Drupal.org
Resources from Drupal.org
• Software• Documentation• Bug Reports, Feature
Requests, etc.
• News• Forums• Groups
Joys & Sorrows of Open Source
• It’s Free• It’s Open• It’s Innovative (sometimes)• It’s "Scratch Your Own Itch”• It’s Frustrating• It's Fun
Types of Users
RequirementsSW-HW*:• Server running either
Apache or IIS• PHP (Scripting Language)• MySQL or PostgreSQL
Human:• Person comfortable installing the above three• “Some assembly required”
______* http://drupal.org/requirements
Drupal in 3 Parts
Drupal Core
• What You Get 'Out of the Box'• Essential Features
(Node, Block, Taxonomy, Theme Engine, Comments, RSS)
• 'Legacy' Features(Story, Forum, Blog)
Contributed Modules• "Building Blocks" of Drupal• Hundreds to Choose from• Most Essential Modules:
– Content Construction Kit– Views– ImageCache– Organic Groups
Life & Death of a Drupal ModuleModules are built for a specific purpose and for
a specific release of Drupal
How to Tell if a Module is Alive and Kicking -- or in the 'Deadpool':– Recent updates?– Recent Support Questions/Issues?– Attitude of Maintainers (Helpful or Not)?
ThemesAmor Azul Imagination
NewsFlash SEO Position
Drupal Roadmap• Drupal 6.0 (Feb. 2008)
– Improvements:• Installation• Theming • Internationalization
• Drupal 7.0 (Feb. 2009?)– Incorporation of CCK & Views into Core
Drupal as a Community
• Open Source encourages - and requires – an open, responsive Social Organization
• Great team of Developers (some local in Illinois)
• Learn the terrain & benefit from It
Other Helpful Sites• Drupal.org
Main Drupal Site
• Lullabot Wonderful source for podcasts and other high quality information on Drupal - http://www.lullabot.com
• Mastering Drupal Number of good screencasts - http://www.masteringdrupal.com/
• Dries Buytaert's BlogPersonal Blog of Drupal's Founder - http://buytaert.net
Library-Related Resources
• DRUPAL4LIB – Listservhttp://drupal4lib.org
• Drupal Grouphttp://groups.drupal.org/libraries
• Drupalibhttp://drupalib.interoperating.info/
• Local Chicago User Group (General)http://groups.drupal.org/chicago
Leo Klein’s Drupal Tips
• Try "Sandboxes" at OpenSourceCMS.com• Experiment locally• Follow the forums at Drupal.org• Join a Drupal Group (http://groups.drupal.org)
• Check out the competition
Ultimately: Bend the CMS to your needs (& not the other way around)
Happy Drupaling!
Leo Robert Kleinleo 'at' leoklein 'dot' com
msn/aim/ghoo/yhoo: 'leorobertklein'
www.ChicagoLibrarian.com