GEEK OUT: ADDING CODING SKILLS TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL REPERTOIRE

BOHYUN KIM (TWITTER: @BOHYUNKIM)DIGITAL ACCESS LIBRARIAN, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY MEDICAL LIBRARY. WEB: HTTP://BOHYUNKIM.NET, SLIDES: HTTP://SLIDESHARE.NET/BOHYUNKIMCHARLESTON CONFERENCE XXXII. NOVEMBER 9, 2012.

•What kind of work do you do?

•How much coding do you do?

•What made you take interest in our talk?

ABOUT YOU

About our talk

•How to obtain coding skills effectively: Common mistakes, obstacles, tips, and resources

•Related resources and programs from OCLC

Learn-to-Code phenomenon

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/06/technology/code_year/index.htm

Strong interest from librarians

http://www.ala.org/alcts/mgrps/ig/jnt-lcy

Beyond the library word - Journalists who code

http://lifeandcode.tumblr.com/post/10596183761/learning-to-program-for-journalists-the-epic-howto

Beyond the library world - Marketing/business professionals who code

http://www.giftrocket.com/why-marketing-bd-should-learn-to-code

Children?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/poll/2012/sep/05/estonia-students-learn-to-code

A. Background: Why is coding relevant to librarians?

Coding improves the discovery and the use of library resources and knowledge

http://showoffyourapps.challenge.gov/

http://librarylab.law.harvard.edu/toolkit/

http://librarylab.law.harvard.edu/toolkit/http://www.slideshare.net/CarliSpina/library-analytics-toolkit-poster

CODING SKILL ENABLES YOU TO…

•Communicate better with the IT and the vendors!

•Better evaluate many vendor products.

•Make changes to the code in a system yourself.

•Streamline your workflow. Automate!

•Build something new yourself and create a new library service.

B. HOW TO OBTAIN CODING SKILLS EFFECTIVELY

My background

•MA in philosophy.

•No coding experience until working at a library.

•Worked in many areas but in the systems dept.: reference, instruction, e-resources, digitization and digital library collections.

•So how and why did I pick up coding?: To solve everyday problems

WHAT I TRIED IN MY LEARNING PROCESS

•Taking classes (community colleges, online, etc.) +

•Following tutorials online +

•Reading books +

•Group study+++

•Solving a real life problem +++++

BIG CHALLENGES

•What I learned vs. What I want to build.

•Keeping up motivation - self-directed learning

• Lack of immediate and visible progress and tangible connection to the problems that I want to solve.

• Lack of time, permission, and opportunities at work.

• Lack of support, guidance, and a community for beginners in the librarian community.

•Cultural difference between the library and the developer community

My personal mistakes

•Waiting until I feel that I know enough.

•Overestimating what others know.

•Not building on what I have learned.

•Neglecting to sit down to code on a regular basis.

LESSONS LEARNED

•Don’t give up.

•Try again again again.

•Make time for coding. Make it a commitment.

•Write and publish your own codes.

•Don’t be intimidated.(Librarians vs. Developers)

RECOMMENDATIONS

•Solve your own problem.

•Learn by doing.

•Build something new and small.

•Research, ask, and try again.

•Find a community.

•Continue to build on things that you made work.

Tips

•Set a goal.

•Publish your code. (e.g. Github or Your personal website)

•Be persistent. (debug debug debug…)

•Get used to syntax errors, poor documentation, and frustration. It is normal that your code does NOT work.

• Fail many times & record successful codes.

•Network!

RESOURCES

Ready to be overwhelmed!

• “Google”

• Codecademy http://www.codecademy.com/

•W3C tutorials http://www.w3schools.com/w3c/

default.asp

• Safari Books Online http://my.safaribooksonline.com/

(Series: Head first / Visual QuickStart)

• Stack Overflow http://stackoverflow.com/

•Mozilla Development Network https

://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/

• Coursera (Many programing courses)

https://www.coursera.org/category/cs-programming

•Github https://github.com/

Pick a few, not all! •How to design programs (2nd ed.)http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/HtDP2e/

• Recommendations from people in the Code4Lib https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind1211&L=code4lib#11

• Library Code Year IG (ALCTS/ LITA ) http://connect.ala.org/node/167971

• Catcode wiki /IRC (#catcode on Freenode) http://catcode.pbworks.com/w/page/49328692/Welcome%20to%20CatCode

• Code4Lib listserv / Wiki/ IRC (#code4lib): https://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=code4lib(Also: WEb4Lib, XML4Lib, SYS4Lib, FOSS4Lib etc.)

•Devchix http://www.devchix.com

• Local coding community meet-ups: Python, Ruby, etc.

C. How to support your library staff who want to learn how to code.

Library∩Coding

I work at a library,

and I would like to

learnhow to

program.

I wish my library

had a/more

programmer(s)

on staff.

LIBRARY WORK “IS”

TECHNOLOGY WORK&

VICE VERSA.

WE CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

I work at a library,

and I would like to learn

how to program.

I wish my library

had a

programmeron staff.

DON’T WORRY. BE HAPPY!

How to support the interested staff

• Identify interested staff members.

•Offer an opportunity to participate in a library project that involves coding.

•Provide R&D time.

•Encourage communication and cross-training.

• Joint projects within a library or with outside units.

•Connect the staff’s interest in programming with the tangible improvement of a library services/resources.

DON’T WORRY. BE HAPPY!

Take advantage of your staff whose interest and knowledge in library resources and services will be a great asset once their coding skills are applied to the library environment.

This does NOT mean that your library will not hire coders from the outside of a library.

Coding librarians do NOT have to become coding ninjas.

Coding librarians can be a great interface between non-coding librarians and programmers.

Coding librarians can be a great resource for coders hired by a library helping them to quickly adjust to the new library setting and creating synergy working with programmers with no LIS background.

A few references…

• “Why Not Grow Coders from the inside of Libraries?"http://www.bohyunkim.net/blog/archives/1099• “Guess who’s winning the brains race, with 100% of first graders learning to code"http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/04/estonia-code-academy/•Harvard Library Explorer http://librarylab.law.harvard.edu/toolkit/• “How to make peace with error messages”http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=1061• “The simplest AJAX: writing your own code (1) "http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=1821• “More APIs: writing your own code (2)” http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=2037

GEEK OUT:Adding Coding Skills to Your Professional

Repertoire

Kathryn HarnishWorldShare Platform Product Manager, OCLC

harnishk@oclc.org

Once upon a time,there was a librarian…

who was getting ready to move into a brand-new library building.

Where do I find the book I need in this great big building?

Andrea’s “Map This Book” AppMap This Book application developed by Andrea Schurr, UT Chattanooga

Andrea’s “Map This Book” AppMap This Book application developed by Andrea Schurr, UT Chattanooga

Andrea built her app using

Web servicesfrom OCLC!

Tools in the Developer Toolkit

• It all began with the WorldCat Search API– Access bibliographic and holdings data via an

application programming interface

Developer Network

• As OCLC exposed more services…• The need for community engagement and

support grew, too

Introducing the WorldShare Platform

• Initiative by which OCLC is systematically exposing APIs (Web services) to libraries’ data and business processes

• Using the cooperative data and infrastructure of the WorldShare Platform, libraries and their partners can:– accelerate their ability to build new applications– reduce the cost of coordination across large

numbers of participants in the library ecosystem

• Full documentation, code samples, and more – everything you need to make use of our APIs

• Sponsors mash-a-thons to educate and connect library (and other) coders

• Office hours with OCLC’s coding experts• And introducing...

OCLC Coders!

• Series of coding courses sponsored by OCLC• Address a range of skill levels with different

classes– Starting with a 5-week “Learn to Code” class– Plan to develop more advanced programs, classes

focused on specific Web services, etc.• Goal: provide learning opportunities and

support to library staff with an interest in coding

Platform U

• Pilot program scheduled to begin in February• No fee to participate, but spaces are limited!• Program designed to develop basic, reusable

skills…and the knowledge and confidence to learn (and do) more

“Learn to Code” Course

“Learn to Code” Course

“Learn to Code” Course

• Work with community to identify other education/support needs related to coding– Please let me know your ideas! (

harnishk@oclc.org)• Explore partnerships with other programs –

e.g., Library Code Year Interest Group• Expand Platform U – repeat “beginner”

sessions, plus provide a course path to grow skills further

Next Steps for OCLC