Author: fbakoyema

Title of the Preconference: Creating Library Web Services: Mashaps and APIs Presenter: Karen Coombs The pre-conference session began shortly after 9AM. Ms. Karen Coombs introduced herself and refreshed participants memory about what “web services are?” and why we need Mashaps and APIs, and what we can do with them and how they work. She presented sample. “An application-programming interface (API) is a set of programming instructions and standards for accessing a Web-based software application or Web tool. A software company releases its API to the public so that other software developers can design products that are powered by its service.” Mashaps and APIs both bring different and disparate data together and enhance the accessibility of an existing source of data, and improvs usability and user interfaces, and make web pages more dynamic and engaging. They allow the users (patrons) to make informed decision about the information the want or need….

Tim Daniels (Evergreen), Diana Weaver (Koha), and Andrew Nagy (VuFind) offered in their respective presentations timelines of various ILS opensource software and the challenges of choosing one and implementing it locally or regionally (consortia). All three pointed out  the financial benefits of using open source software as well as the ability of institutions who use  these software to have management control instead of relying on vendors for assistance and constant changes from one version of the same software to the other. More details will be posted later