Code4Lib Journal has been a successful experiment. With success, questions have arisen about the scholarly nature and status of the Journal. In this editorial introduction we take a look at the question of Code4Lib Journal’s rejections rates and peer review status.

This paper presents MyTPL (http://www.mytpl.ca), a proof-of-concept web application intended to demonstrate that, with a little imagination, any library with a Z39.50 catalogue interface and a web server with some common open-source tools can readily provide their own location-aware mobile search application. The complete source code for MyTPL is provided under the GNU GPLv3 license, and is freely available at: http://github.com/mjsuhonos/mytpl

Scheduling and booking space is a problem facing many academic and public libraries. Systems staff at the Ball State University Libraries addressed this problem by developing a user friendly room management system, OpenRoom. The new room management application was developed using an open source model with easy installation and management in mind and is now publicly available.

The Wayne State Library System launched its library mapping application in February 2010, designed to help locate materials in the five WSU libraries. The system works within the catalog to show the location of materials, as well as provides a web form for use at the reference desk. Developed using PHP and MySQL, it requires only minimal effort to update using a unique call number overlay mechanism. In addition to mapping shelved materials, the system provides information for any of the over three hundred collections held by the WSU Libraries. Patrons can do more than just locate a book on a shelf: they can learn where to locate reserve items, how to access closed collections, or get driving maps to extension center libraries. The article includes a discussion of the technology reviewed and chosen during development, an overview of the system architecture, and lessons learned during development.

When Florida Gulf Coast University Library was faced with having to replace its database locator, they needed to find a low-cost, non-staff intensive replacement for their 350 plus databases search tool. This article details the development of a library database locator, based on the methods described in Leo Klein’s “Creating a Library Database Page using Drupal” online presentation. The article describes how the library used Drupal along with several modules, such as CCK, Views, and FCKeditor. It also discusses various Drupal search modules that were evaluated during the process.

As part of an effort to improve user interactions with authority data in its online catalog, the UNC Chapel Hill Libraries have developed and implemented a system for providing real-time query suggestions from records found within its catalog. The system takes user input as it is typed to predict likely title, author, or subject matches in a manner functionally similar to the systems found on commercial websites such as google.com or amazon.com. This paper discusses the technologies, decisions and methodologies that went into the implementation of this feature, as well as analysis of its impact on user search behaviors.

Google Translate’s API creates the possibility to leverage machine translation to both filter global newsfeeds for content regarding a specific topic, and to aggregate filtered feed items as a newsfeed. Filtered items can be translated so that the resulting newsfeed can provide basic information about topic-specific news articles from around the globe in the desired language of the consumer. This article explores a possible solution for inputting alternate words and phrases in the user’s native language, aggregating and filtering newsfeeds progammatically, managing filter terms, and using Google Translate’s API.

Tired of being held hostage to expensive systems that did not meet our needs, the University of Alabama Libraries developed an XML schema-agnostic, light-weight digital library delivery system based on the principles of “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” Metadata and derivatives reside in openly accessible web directories, which support the development of web agents and new usability software, as well as modification and complete retrieval at any time. The file name structure is echoed in the file system structure, enabling the delivery software to make inferences about relationships, sequencing, and complex object structure without having to encapsulate files in complex metadata schemas. The web delivery system, Acumen, is built of PHP, JSON, JavaScript and HTML5, using MySQL to support fielded searching. Recognizing that spreadsheets are more user-friendly than XML, an accompanying widget, Archivists Utility, transforms spreadsheets into MODS based on rules selected by the user. Acumen, Archivists Utility, and all supporting software scripts will be made available as open source.

AudioRegent is a command-line Python script currently being used by the University of Alabama Libraries’ Digital Services to create web-deliverable MP3s from regions within archival audio files. In conjunction with a small-footprint XML file called SimpleADL and SoX, an open-source command-line audio editor, AudioRegent batch processes archival audio files, allowing for one or many user-defined regions, particular to each audio file, to be extracted with additional audio processing in a transparent manner that leaves the archival audio file unaltered. Doing so has alleviated many of the tensions of cumbersome workflows, complicated documentation, preservation concerns, and reliance on expensive closed-source GUI audio applications.

Printed catalogs are useful in a variety of contexts. In special collections, they are often used as reference tools and to commemorate exhibits. They are useful in settings, such as in developing countries, where reliable access to the Internet—or even electricity—is not available. In addition, many private collectors like to have printed catalogs of their collections. All the information needed for creating printed catalogs is readily available in the MARC bibliographic records used by most libraries, but there are no turnkey solutions available for the conversion from MARC to printed catalog. This article describes the development of a system, available on github, that uses XSLT, Perl, and LaTeX to produce press-ready PDFs from MARCXML files. The article particularly focuses on the two XSLT stylesheets which comprise the core of the system, and do the “heavy lifting” of sorting and indexing the entries in the catalog. The author also highlights points where the data stored in MARC bibliographic records requires particular “massaging,” and suggests improvements for future attempts at automated printed catalog generation.

The Open Service Request Framework (or OpenSRF, pronounced “open surf”) is an inter-application message passing architecture built on XMPP (aka “jabber”). The Evergreen open source library system is built on an OpenSRF architecture to support loosely coupled individual components communicating over an OpenSRF messaging bus. This article introduces OpenSRF, demonstrates how to build OpenSRF services through simple code examples, explains the technical foundations on which OpenSRF is built, and evaluates OpenSRF’s value in the context of Evergreen. Part 1 of a 2 part article in this issue.

The Open Service Request Framework (or OpenSRF, pronounced “open surf”) is an inter-application message passing architecture built on XMPP (aka “jabber”). The Evergreen open source library system is built on an OpenSRF architecture to support loosely coupled individual components communicating over an OpenSRF messaging bus. This article introduces OpenSRF, demonstrates how to build OpenSRF services through simple code examples, explains the technical foundations on which OpenSRF is built, and evaluates OpenSRF’s value in the context of Evergreen. Part 2 of a 2 part article in this issue.