Gelman Library System: Education and Instruction Group Statistics Database.
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This project developed out of a need of the Gelman Library System's instruction group. They had been using Excel to capture stats, however wanted a better platform. Their web server did not support databases and therefore Access was an ideal solution. It currently runs on a password protected LAN. Some day I'll get around to creating a "help" file and provide an actual demo version here. This database is actually one component of a larger vision to incorporate departments library statistics into one web-based platform with customizable, real-time report building.
Virginia Campus Library: Reference Statistics Database.
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This was actually the first database I ever built. It was developed with Front Page using ASP and a MS Access Database Server ODBC DSN. The emphasis was on function, not design. It is used by three librarians to track reference "encounters" and features some basic reports . This database resides online within a password protected directory.
Enter the Matrix of Patent Literature.
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View the Poster (Small Version) (164 kb)
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Patents are one of my favorite resources. I used them often during my UCF era. The purpose of this project is to promote Engineering Information Literacy and patents are a core resource. I built upon a concept from The Matrix movies: once you learn how things 'really' work, everything becomes easy. The Matrix theme provides a marketing tool that people actually stop to read. I only wish I had developed it when the movies were still in theaters.
The poster was developed with Photoshop. Each string of green "code" was hand typed. The corresponding site is very simplistic, however I used drag-able layers (try it out) to support the theme. I'm still having a problem with the "philosophy" button though.
Animated Gifs
I'll probably get around to placing a few animated gifs here in mid-September.
Info Sessions.
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Read about the Concept (coming soon)
This project is an attempt to provide supplemental instruction sessions to students at the Virginia Campus. Since BI sessions are typically limited to navigating the core resources, I wanted a way to promote "bonus" sessions. This idea mergers the one-on-one research appointment with the traditional workshop format. Read the "Concept" for more background.
VC-LIB.
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The Virginia Campus Library Listserv regularly provides information to over 500 subscribers. The idea was to offer a stripped down newsletter, typically announcing three or four tidbits of information to our patron community. Items include library closings, new databases, and changes in policy. The messages always remind people about the library and I frequently get inquiries (I need to find a test instrument. Do I have any fines? How can I get full-text articles?) so it's all around good free publicity.
It would be interesting to try this out at a larger institution. Perhaps a separate list for each School/College. For example, one for the Humanities folks, another for Business, a third for Engineering and so on. Each list would promote subject specific research guides or tutorials, workshops, new databases an so forth.
Online Forms
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A handful of simple online forms. Nothing flashily or elegant, just purely functional and that's the point.
Dynamic Includes
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I spent
a good portion of Summer 2000 working with the UCF Electronic Services Librarian on this project. It was her vision, I was just the workhorse. We created individual "records" for over 100 databases. Then we placed them within appropriate subject categories. So for example ECO might appear in several difference disciplines, yet we only had to create (and maintain) one file. We hacked this using Frontpage (include -> component ->page) however I'd like to give it a try using MySQL and CSS.... someday.
