mylibrary

Libraries are full of lists. Lists of books. Lists of authors. Lists
of Internet sites. In many respects, a library's catalog is one such
list. MyLibrary -- a digital library framework & toolbox -- is a one
way for libraries to create and manage many of these lists:

   http://mylibrary.library.nd.edu/

This is now the canonical page for MyLibrary. It is complete with
bunch's o' documentation, sample scripts, descriptive text outlining
what MyLibrary is (and is not), mailing list administratativia, links
to sample applications and production-level applications, etc. The
whole thing lives on top of WordPress. Consider blogging about
MyLibrary, good or bad.  ;-)

MyLibrary is NOT an application as much as it is digital library
framework and toolbox. MyLibrary is about creating *relationships*
between the three primary entities of libraries: 1) information
resources, 2) librarians, and 3) patrons. It does this through the
management of an institution-defined controlled vocabulary of facets
and terms. By classifying resources, librarians, and patrons with
facet/term combinations MyLibrary can address things like:

   * As a librarian, my collection includes...
   * As a patron, my databases are...
   * People like me also use...
   * Other resources like this include...
   * If you use this, then you might like...
   * As a patron, my librarian is...
   * As a librarian, my patrons are...
   * Resources for my class include...

Because of they way MyLibrary is built it can support many of the
increasingly expected features of Web 2.0. RSS syndication.
Integration with a campus-wide portal. What's new? Comments and
reviews. Rankings and rating. "My" pages. Recommendations. Tagging.
Relevancy ranked searching. Various flavors of XML. OAI. It can gets
its content from MARC records, Excel spreadsheets, or the open Web.

Lists. Lists. Lists.

--
Eric Lease Morgan
University Libraries of Notre Dame