2005

Web Services Pre-Conference

The more than 40 people who attended the LITA preconference, “Introduction to Web Services,” at the Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago on June 24th received both an overview of web services and demonstrations of ongoing projects. But most importantly, they received congratulations on developing an interest in a topic that will drastically change the online library. The four speakers introduced the subject and gave examples of the way that web services are contributing to the dis-integration of integrated library services. In fact, the final speaker cited an article in the June 15th issue of Library Journal (The Dis-Integrating World of Library Automation) as testament. The plainspoken Eric Lease Morgan opened the half-day session with a simple explanation of web services and some of the key concepts. Because XML is the defining feature of web services, Morgan sometimes used the term, “XML Services.” He emphasized that attendees need to know XML to create…