A browse-able audiovisual database derived from

catalog data

Mark Dahl and Laura Ayling

Lewis & Clark College

http://www.lclark.edu/~dahl/presentations

A two-part presentation

The searchable/browse-able A/V database (Mark)

A genre headings enrichment project undertaken by our catalogers (Laura)

Audiovisual lists

Faculty, students like to browse videos (by language), CDs (by artist)

Video/CD collection behind circulation desk III OPAC doesn’t facilitate an easy way to

browse CDs and videos/DVDs by language and genre

Old system

Use create lists in III to generate lists Output lists in comma-delimited format Manipulate them into web pages using

search/replace We provided:

Lists of videos in certain foreign languages Lists of CDs by artist

Manually updated

New system

Allows browsing our collection of: CDS DVDs & Videos Videos DVDs

Browse by: Title Person (author, artist, film director, etc.)

New system

The following pre-limits may be made on these browses Language (Videos & DVDs only) Film genre (Videos & DVDs only) Musical genre (CDs only)

Have a look: http://library.lclark.edu/dynamic/videoscds Detailed genre browse for CDs (new):

http://library.lclark.edu/dynamic/videoscds/detailbrowse.htm Detailed genre browse for films on DVD/Video (new):

http://library.lclark.edu/dynamic/videoscds/detailfilmbrowse.htm

The technology

Extracting data via create lists/Expect script (weekly)

Loading data into PostgreSQL database via Perl (weekly)

Searching/browsing SQL database via PHP script

Expect script(running as a cron job)

logs into ILSand instructs systemto produce text file

list and ftp it to external server

ILS

Text list ftped to serverin delimited text format

Text file opened upby Perl script and loaded

into external SQL databaseSQL database

on external server

Web form sendsquery to

PHP page

PHP page queriesSQL database

PHP pageproduces htmlwith results of

query

PHP pageproduces htmlwith results of

query

Extracting the data

Expect scripting language allows you to automate the process of creating lists, outputting results, ftping results to server

Expect acts like a robot that goes into Innopac and does what you tell it

Expect scripts can run on Linux/Unix machines with the Expect language loaded on them

Searching for records

We have itypes for videos, DVDs and CDs We search for bibliographic records that have

an item record with this itype

Searching for audiovisual stuff by itype

Data extracted in create lists (from bib record)

Title (t-field group, repeatable) Author (a-field group, repeatable) Subject—includes local genre headings 655

(d field group, repeatable) Format (from itype) Language .b number

Output user selected format

Output FTPed in comma-delimited format to account on Linux server.

Database loader

Written in Perl Depends on Perl-PostgreSQL module Runs as cron job (weekly, daily) Takes comma-delimited file from III and loads

data into database Recreates database from scratch when run

SQL relational database structure

•.b number•format•language

Bib table

Titles table

Authors table

Subjects table

•title•.b number

•author•.b number

•subject•.b number

PHP Search/Browse

PHP built for querying databases and turning results into web pages

Similar to Cold Fusion or ASP Functions within PHP particularly good at

talking to databases, including PostgreSQL

PHP search/browse

Query class (does all the talking to database) Browse class extends query class

Allows you to browse collection Jump to letter of alphabet Accepts limits (format, genre, language)

Search class extends query class Allows you to enter search term You may choose format

Browse system

Format pre-limiting achieved by SQL querying for certain itype codes

Language pre-limiting achieved by SQL querying for certain language codes

Genre pre-limiting by SQL querying for the presence of certain words within the SQL table subject entries

Languages

“English" =>"eng“ "French" =>"fre“ "German" =>"ger“ "Spanish" =>"spa" "Japanese"=>"jpn“ "Chinese"=>"chi“ "Russian"=>"rus"

Genre limiting

Genre limit based on an SQL query that looks at the first part of the subject/genre heading

If we limit on “jazz” we include records with any of these headings Jazz – 1971-1980 Jazz – Instruction and Study Jazz vocals

Genre synonyms

The system also allows for defining synonyms to make more inclusive genre browses "songs"=>"songs,vocal music,song cycles“

"rap/hip-hop"=>"rap“ "techno"=>"underground,techno"

"history"=>"%history"

Web interface

Browse parameters (format, field (person, title), language, genre) chosen by: Web form Link with parameters

By web form:

http://library.lclark.edu/dyanmic/videoscds/detailbrowse.php

<a href="mediabrowse.php?field=person&format=CDs&encsubject=Big%2BBand">Big-Band</a>

Alternative systems

III scope Featured lists (can use Expect to update) Custom search interface to III OPAC using

web forms III XML server Direct queries to Oracle database

Reflections

Low cost technology available to build online databases/browsing systems

These technologies are very flexible Index what YOU want Display it how YOU want it

Reflections

The idea of a library catalog is changing A single search interface isn’t enough Nice to search/browse within smaller, more

manageable segments of your collection Browsing electronically (not just in person) is

desirable People are developing new ways of browsing

library collections http://belmont.antarcti.ca/ High level browse concept (map LC classes to locally

defined disciplines to facilitate browsing new books)

http://www.lclark.edu/~dahl/presentations