Library Mashups for the Virtual Campus:

Using Web 2.0 Tools to Create a New Current Awareness Service

Linda Absher, Adriene Lim and Kerry WuPortland State University – ACRL 2007

History/Overview• Inspired by Web 2.0 functionality

• Automated• Customizable• Modular

• “MyPortlandState”: Campus Portal– Desire to integrate library/selected

web resources and content within the campus portal

Mashups

Definition: New Web applications or sites created through the combination and re-use of data and/or functionality from two or more disparate and usually third-party Web sources

(Wikipedia, Jan. 2007)

Current Awareness Services (CAS): The Library Literature

Definition: “system…for reviewing newly available documents, selecting relevant items…and recording them so that notifications may be sent...” (Kemp, 1999)

CAS: The Library Literature

• Historically paper-based and labor-intensive• Online Services

• Alerts mostly available via e-mail or electronic lists

• World Wide Web: some news/content pushed via RSS feeds or blogs• Still library specific (i.e., via library Web

site)• Not customizable

Topic Watch: The CAS Mashup

• Building Blocks: RSS feeds and more • Chosen Subject Areas

• Business• Film Studies

• What’s Different?• Not intended to be used solely within a

library context• Planned from the beginning to be

integrated within MyPortlandState Portal

Topic Watch: Technical Overview • Presentation framework using HTML,

JavaScript, Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

• RSS feeds polled and displayed, grouped by type (news, podcasts, etc.)

• New titles gleaned and cached via “screen scraping” from canned reports

Technical Overview (cont’d)

• PHP scripts used for retrieving, caching, and parsing of data

• Data stored in mySQL database• Mouseover balloons using AJAX• Central Search XML-based API• OpenURL links offered • Other APIs being considered

Close-up view of the podcasts/videocasts channel with “play” buttons

Challenges

• Customization and personalization not yet possible

• Lack of filtering of keywords • Few licensed databases offering RSS

feeds• Copyright concerns – Example:

YouTube, holding off on using this API • Non-Romanized characters

Initial Reactions to Pilot Project

• Initial comments very positive• Faculty admitted they had little time to

subscribe to feeds • Many had never encountered RSS feeds

before the CAS • Subject area of “Business Research” too

broad for at least one respondent

Future Enhancements and Ideas

• More customization – User-submitted RSS feeds for adds and deletions

• Identifying and pulling in more Webinars and videocasts if possible

• Sharing of OPML file for users • Flag already read items• Possibly share framework and scripts

Next Steps

• More topics covered - Work with subject librarians and faculty

• More marketing– Introduce tool into Library instruction

sessions • More integration

– Integrate tool with Research Guides and Learning Management Systems, (i.e., Sakai, WebCT)

Thank you – Questions?

• Linda Absher – absherl@pdx.edu• Adriene Lim – alim@pdx.edu • Kerry Wu – wuq@pdx.edu