Open source faceted OPAC UI for library

I heard some open source projects for faceted browsing OPAC UI before. Just like the Endeca or AquaBrowser, the new-era end-user-interface will function alongside, not integrate into ILS(Integrated Library System). I think it’s a new trend for future Library system framework.

Now, here comes a Open-Source soluation: FacBackOPAC by Casey Durfee, based on the Apache lucene search project: Solr.

Solr is an open source enterprise search server based on the Lucene Java search library, with XML/HTTP and JSON APIs, hit highlighting, faceted search, caching, replication, and a web administration interface. It runs in a Java servlet container such as Tomcat.

Durfee’s lovely coding is just 250 lines program in PYTHON/Django to present a Endeca-like feature. The code is in Google Code and licensing in Apache License, everybody can download it.



Here are more Solr in Libraries experiments in various program languages (Perl, Rudy on Rails, etc…).
But there are still problems. The codepage in old MARC. And also the integrate between different Library information systems; meta-Search in multiple database is still complex. Someday the NISO MetaSearch Initiative may help this situation.

Another interesting open-source project is eXtensible Catalog (XC):

The University of Rochester’s River Campus Libraries is studying how best to develop an open-source online system that can unify access to traditional and digital library resources.

This project has several phases, the the phase 1(2006-2007): survey users and system environments was done. see the XC Survey Report here. There are some interesting results. For example, researchers ask respondents for their “What is the Dream on-line catalog products they will buy if money were no object?”:

Respondents clearly favored Endeca (17instances). Other popular choices were III Encore and Millennium (7 instances) andAquabrowser (6 instances). Fewer respondents chose Evergreen (4 instances) and Primo (3 instances). Several products were named less frequently, including Aleph (2 instances), Talis’snew product (2 instances), WorldCat (2 instances), and Sirsi (1 instance). When given theopportunity to think without being limited by financial concerns on this question, other librariessaid that they would purchase either Google (3 instances) or Amazon (1 instance) if money wereno object. Amazon’s programming was even more frequently named in the respondents’comments than in their product selections (3 comments).

This survey also ask respondents for OPAC features they most wanted, the top 3 :

  1. Works alongside your existing library servers (catalog, metasearch, OpenURL link resolver, authentication server, repository, course management system) to provide new features to end users (578 response)
  2. Faceted search interface (545 response)
  3. Integrated user interface that searches across digital and non-digital resources (books, articles, digital repositories, DVDs and more) at the same time (497 response)

我的Firefox extension 列表


 ★★★★★ – 必備

 ★★★★ – 推薦

 ★★★ – 值得一試

 ★★ – 有空試試

 ★ – 我一定是忘了移除了

表示目前停用。可能因為用不慣或影響系統效能而停用。 

Aardvark{2.0}[網頁設計開發]檢視頁面區塊,以及移除部份頁面區塊 – ★★★★★
PearlCrescentPageSaverBasic{1.5}[個人資料管理]將網頁存成圖檔 – ★★★★★
FoxmarksBookmarkSynchronizer{1.0.1}[個人資料管理]同步Firefox書籤 – ★★★★★
IETab{1.3.3.20070528} – 看IE only 頁面 – ★★★★★
WebDeveloper{1.1.4}[網頁設計開發]網頁開發者必備 – ★★★★★
TwittyTunes{0.5.3.1} – 發佈Twitter- ★★★★★
ScribeFire{1.4.2} – Blog書寫介面。將Firefox變成Blog編輯器 – ★★★★
FEBE{5.0}[個人資料管理]備份Firefox外掛 – ★★★★
FireFTP{0.97.1} – FTP程式 – ★★★★
Firebug{1.05} [網頁設計開發]檢查網頁語法問題工具。為了效能,要用的時候才開- ★★★★
GTDInbox{1.33}[個人資料管理]讓Gmail 成為GTD – ★★★★
GmailSpace{0.5.6}[個人資料管理]讓Gmail 成為網路硬碟 – ★★★★
GoogleNotebook{1.0.0.17}[個人資料管理]收集、組織網路資料- ★★★★
ViewSourceChart{2.5.03}[網頁設計開發]檢視頁面程式碼 – ★★★★
Viewformattedsource{0.9.5.0}[網頁設計開發]檢視頁面程式碼 – ★★★★
XinhaHere{0.10.0} – 將所有Form變成Wyswyg編輯介面 – ★★★★
YSlow{0.7.1} [網頁設計開發]檢測網頁讀取速度及其相關問題。為了效能有空才啟用 – ★★★★
Internote{2.1.3}[個人資料管理]網頁註記 – ★★★★
FoxyTunes{2.9.5.31} – 控制音樂播放軟體。為了TwitterTunes裝的 – ★★★
MeasureIt{0.3.6}[網頁設計開發]丈量網頁尺寸- ★★★
Operator{0.8}[網頁設計開發]Sematic web 工具 – ★★★
Screengrab{0.93} [個人資料管理]將網頁存成圖檔。用來與前一個評估那一個比較好用的時候裝的 – ★★★
backword{1.3.4} – 英文詞彙翻譯與測驗工具。裝了以後才覺得自己原來沒那麼有心向學 – ★★★
DataAnalytics{0.1.8} – 分析網頁資料 – ★★★
Zotero{1.0.0rc2} [個人資料管理]將Firefox變成書目資料管理程式。效能殺手 – ★★
BlueOrganizer{3.2} –  [個人資料管理]收集、組織網路資料 – ★★
DiigoToolbarforFirefox{0.5.2007021000} [個人資料管理]收集、組織網路資料 – ★★