ipl collection development using hypatia

The Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org

IPL Collection DevelopmentUsing Hypatia


• Subject-organized collection of tens of thousands of authoritative web links

• Some very special exhibits & resources• E-mail reference service• Educational and research laboratory for

LIS education

What is the IPL?


• A MySQL database storing most of the IPL’s URLs and their metadata

• Subject headings are the physical and intellectual organizers

• When a user clicks through the Subject Collection or searches the collection– in-house software dynamically generates

URLs– Perl/Mod_perl/Mason used

Hypatia

The Internet Public Library

• The database (DB) stores URLs and metadata describing them

• Web interface allows multiple users to edit records in the DB

• Most links in the IPL are stored in this DB• Runs on PERL and Mason• Dynamically generates link information

when a user clicks through the Subject Collection or searches the collection

How Hypatia Works


Hypatia

•http://hypatia.ipl.org •Hosted by Drexel University•Guest account:

•Username: guest•Password: guest


Hypatia Search


• Multiple ways for searching for records– Enter a keyword in the “Search for” box– or a URL in the “Search by URL” box– Or record item # in the “Item Number” box

• Choose “Not deleted” in the “Find Items” box• Choose “Resource” in the “of type” box• Click on the “Find” button at the bottom of the page

• “Modified by” fields– Most useful for seeing what you have worked on

• Search results appear in list screen. Here’s an example…

Using Hypatia Search


Search Results

• Return to this list (unless you do another search) by clicking on “List” in the navigation area to the left

• Clicking on the “URL” will show you the website in a new window

• Clicking on an entry’s “Title” will take you to that entry’s record


Status of Items• Active:

– These items show up on the IPL website• Pending: ready to be reviewed

– Not yet on the IPL website• Inactive: removed sites (may reuse)

– Not on the IPL website• Deleted: garbage items to be deleted from DB

– Not on the IPL website• Bad URL: broken links found by auto link checker

– Not on the IPL website

DON’T change the status of “This description is”

ONLY change the status of “This item is”


Hypatia Record


Required Fields

•Main Title (and Former Title if Main Title changed)•Abstract•Keywords•Main URL (and Former URL if MainURL changed)•Author•Publisher (if no author)•Email•Headings/Subject Headings•Plus additional optional fields…


Physical and Intellectual Organizers


Main URL, Email, Author, Publisher


Title vs. Sort Title; Collection

• Title is the name of the website.• Sort Title is how we want the Title to

be alphabetized.– Title: The New York Times Online– Sort Title: New York Times Online

• Collection: most likely to only need…– “General” for adult Subject Collections– “Youth” for KidSpace– “Teen” for TeenSpace


AbstractsDescription of what the site offers to visitors• Keep It Simple, Succinct• Make it attractive to visitors

– E.g., An award-winning blog…– E.g., This wealth of links on wine-tasting

includes guides for novices…• Stay away from value judgments and temporary

info (e.g., “the best site out there” or “has over 1100 links”)

• See Writing Abstracts Guide in Backroom– http://training.ipl.org/div/backroom/col/

module3/evaladdtohyp.html#writingabstracts


Keywords• Search function uses words in the title,

abstract, subject heading, and keywords fields

• Keywords make it easier for people to find your resource on IPL

• Single words or phrases• Must list singular and plural forms of

word– E.g., blog AND blogs

• Avoid repeating words used in Abstract, Title, or Subject Heading


Assign Headings Pop-up

Click on blue “Assign Catalog Headings”

• Should only need to use– Main subject headings– Youth subject headings– Teen subject headings

• Click on a heading to see its subheadings

• Click on the Add button NEXT to (NOT above) the appropriate subject.


Saving…• Set the status of your record to

“Pending”

• Click “Save changes” button

–Screen reloads

–your name now appears in the log at the bottom of the page

• Unless…


Resolving Relationships• Choose an existing

organization’s or person’s name from menu(s)

• Or add a new one (click checkbox, choose “Organization” or “Person,” check name)– Person names should

have LAST NAMES FIRST!

– Make sure a person’s name has “(Person)” associated with it

– Make sure an organization’s name has “(Organization)” associated with it


Here, here,

and here.

What Users See of our DB


Collection Policy Pros & ConsPros

• Free

• Substantial content

• Authoritative– Who is author?

• Currency (recent)

• Uniqueness

• Navigable

Cons

• Fee/registration required

• Highly commercial

• Article or part of larger work

• Cannot just list links

• Erotica, profanity

• Plagiarism or violating copyright


Help in Hypatia• Look for a blue circle with white “i”

next to the area of the form you are confused about

• Help link to an Online Collection Manual in IPL Backroom– http://training.ipl.org/backroom/col/module3/


Learning Community


Public Access


Area for IPL Collections


Collections Forums


Collections Wiki


For More…The IPL’s “About Us” page

http://www.ipl.org/div/about

The IPL Timeline

http://www.ipl.org/div/about/timeline/

The “Ask an IPL Librarian” Training Manual

http://training.ipl.org/backroom/refvols/students

The IPL Coll Dev Training Modules

http://training.ipl.org/backroom/col/adv.html

The IPL’s Learning Community

http://ipl.ci.fsu.edu

ipl collection development using hypatia

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