350 likes | 361 Views
This presentation explores the integration of uPortal and MyLibrary, showcasing how these applications can work together to create personalized interfaces for accessing library materials. It provides an overview of uPortal, its features, and different channel types. It also discusses MyLibrary, its history, features, and the use of XML streams to syndicate content in uPortal. The presentation includes a demonstration of MyLibrary version 3.0.
E N D
Rendering Syndicated Library Content in an Institutional Portal: Integrating MyLibrary into uPortal John Fereira: Cornell University Eric Lease Morgan: University Libraries of Notre Dame
Introduction This presentation describes two applications, uPortal and MyLibrary, as well as demonstrates how these applications can be used together to facilitate user-driven, focused, and personalized interfaces to information resources such as library materials.
uPortal: What is it? • Enterprise/Institutional portal, a JA-SIG project • Framework for presenting aggregated content • Personalization (both content and layout) • Role based access control • Open Source, collaborative effort • Java web application
Portal vs. Gateway • Gateway: A collection of resources organized for the end-user by subject, often searchable • Portal: A collection of resources and applications with a customizable layout, often performed by the end user
Customizable layout • Tab/Column • Tree/Column • Deck of cards (for WML devices) • Channel controls • Preferences
Channel Controls • Help • Info • Edit • Focus • Minimize • Detach • Remove
Channel Types • Inline Frame channel • Image channel • RSS channel • Web Proxy channel • Applet channel • XML Transformation • Custom channel • Remote channel
Inline Frame Channel • Loads a basic web page • Does not support Netscape 4.x, IE 4 and earlier • Clicked links output remains in the channel
Image channel • Displays an image • Optional caption • Clicking on the image loads a URL which replaces uPortal page
RSS channel • Rich Site Summary (developed at Netscape) • Simple to implement • Look and Feel hard coded by specification • Good for links to external resources • Can be static or dynamically generated • Ideal for syndicated content • Look and feel restricted by specification • Links open outside the portal in new window
Web Proxy Channel • Well formed html or xml • Uses built in uPortal styles (xslt, css) • Supports form processing • Clicked links can open in channel or in separate window • Can not use embedded javascript • Allows passing of authentication information and other attributes to channel • Good balance of flexibility and complexity
Applet Channel • Limited use • Requires knowledge in Java to create Applet • Good for demonstration purposes
Simple XML transformation • Requires a URL to XML output (static or dynamic) • Requires an XSLT stylesheet • Portal renders output
Custom Channel • Most complex, most powerful • Complete java application which outputs XML • Requires one or more XSLT stylesheets for display • Implements uPortal interfaces • uPortal itself is a collection of Custom channels (login/logout, layout, preferences)
Remote Channel • Implemented using SOAP (Jakarta Axis) • Allows publishing of channels defined in another uPortal instance • Remote channel can be a web service • Provides means of integrating Institutional portal with library portal
Personalization • Single Sign-on authentication/authorization configurable credentials passed on to channels • Role based channels Groups and permissions Assigned at channel publishing time • Personalization by end user Layout, content, appearance
Links • JA-SIG uportal http://mis105.mis.udel.edu/ja-sig/uportal/ • Cornell uPortal http://guest.uportal.cornell.edu • University of Kansas Medical Center http://my.kumc.edu • Illinois State uPortal tourhttp://www.ilstu.edu/icampus/index.html
Getting uPortal uPortal Web Site http://mis105.mis.udel.edu/ja-sig/uportal/download.html • uPortal-Only (2.1.3) • Needs configuration • Quick-start (2.1.3) • Contains web container, db
What is MyLibrary? • A database-driven website application for libraries • A user-driven, customizable interface to library collections and services • Open source software written in Perl
A brief history • Focus group interviews in 1997-98 • Version 1.0 and made open source in 1998 • Presently at version 2.63 and developed primarily at the University Libraries of Notre Dame
Features • Creates and maintains lists of Internet resources based on name/title, URL, scope note, format, and “discipline” • Recommends different resources using a tiered approach • Customizable by the hosting library as well as the end-user • Creates reports in various formats such as HTML, tab-delimited files, and XML streams
XML streams and uPortal Using the “RESTful” Web Service technique of communication, uPortal is able to aggregate content syndicated from MyLibrary. uPortal requests a URL from MyLibrary and MyLibrary returns an XML/RSS stream of content.
Demonstration [Psst, Eric, do the demonstration here!]
MyLibrary version 3.0 • No loss of functionality • OOP Perl code • Better database normalization • No more limitations to Piles A, B, C, D, & E • Hopefully more extensible
The End • uPortalhttp://mis105.mis.udel.edu/ja-sig/uportal/ • MyLibraryhttp://dewey.library.nd.edu/mylibrary/