new ways of exposing digital library content: “wolfwalk” and “north carolina architects and...
TRANSCRIPT
NEW WAYS OF EXPOSING DIGITAL LIBRARY
CONTENT: “WOLFWALK” AND “NORTH CAROLINA ARCHITECTS AND
BUILDERS”Jason Casden, Joseph Ryan and Markus
WustNorth Carolina State University Libraries
NCLA Conference 2009October 9, 2009
About the Project
NCSU Libraries’ first digital publishing project
Biographical dictionary of architects, builders, and other artisans who had been active in North Carolina
Basic information on their buildings Innovative information discovery tools Currently over 200 individuals, families,
and firms and 1,600 buildings Eventually between 500 and 600
individuals, families, and firms
Project History
Work on biographical dictionary of architects and builders in North Carolina began in late 1970s
Split into two volumes, first volume on history of building practice published by Catherine W. Bishir, Charlotte V. Brown, Carl R. Lounsbury, and Ernest H. Wood III in 1990 as “Architects and Builders in North Carolina: A History of the Practice of Building”
Hiatus
Collaboration
Multiple departments at NCSU Libraries Currently almost 40 authors, many more
contributors Preservation North Carolina State institutions, libraries, other cultural
institutions, and private contributors who provided images and research support
Users who provide corrections and additional information
Project History
Project was reactivated in 2004 Switch to a digital publishing model in
2006 Project launched on June 24, 2009
Content Creation
Content created by Editor-in-Chief and external authors
In-house editing and data entry Content stored as XML (data for bibliographies in
MySQL database) Each person and building has a separate XML file Commercial XML editor, other tools custom-built Repeated content review during editing/data
entry Incorporating user feedback after publishing ->
advantage of digital publication
Demonstration
http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/
Technology Components
1. XML record creation 1. Ephox EditLive! + some homegrown tools
2. Data processing1. Custom python scripting + python
templates
3. Data indexing for search and browse1. solr via solrpy
4. User Interface1. solr/XSLT + jQuery + custom Javascript
