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MyLibrary Calendar @HKBU Li Yiu On

Irene WongLoletta Chan

8th Annual HKIUG Meeting HKIEd Library, 2007. 12. 4

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Outline of Presentation

I. What is “MyLibrary Calendar ”?

II. Mission of “MyLibrary Calendar ” Project

III. Background of the Project

IV. Description of the Project

V. Merits of “MyLibrary Calendar ” VI. Conclusion

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I. What is “MyLibrary Calendar ”?

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What is “MyLibrary Calendar ”?1. It is a single personalized integrated platform fo

r library patrons to collect and manage HKBU Library’s calendar events/records,

2. It uses iCalendar, the standard calendar format, which is supported by various electronic devices (e.g. BlackBerry, Palm, Pocket PC) & computer applications (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal, Mozilla Calendar, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook 2007, Windows Vista, Mozilla Lightning/SunBird).

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“MyLibrary Calendar ” Homepagehttp://www.hkbu.edu.hk/lib/electronic/libdbs/mycal.html (beta test)

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II. Mission of “MyLibrary Calendar ” Pro

ject

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Project Mission1. To strengthen the publicity of HKBU Library’s

services, facilities & outreach activities,

2. To streamline the communication between the Library and the patrons, especially in the distribution of circulation records, library emails & records of library facilities reservation,

3. To let patrons use their own personal calendar computer applications as a single, one-stop-shop personal platform to collect & manage library calendar events/records.

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III. Background of the Project

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Background1. Popular use of electronic calendar applications

in busy city life With the advent of information technology, more &

more people use personal electronic calendar applications instead of paper-base calendars to manage & plan for their personal and/or work schedules, exchange and share calendar events with their families, friends, colleagues, etc.,

Using a single calendar application is logically convenient & ideal for any city-dweller who wants to manage & plan for his/her multi-facet city life efficiently.

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Background (Con’t)2. “Library life” is part of a library patron’s bustling

city life Our library patrons also have a busy “library life”

with active library circulation activities, use of library facilities and participation in library events & outreach activities,

Patron’s “library life” is dynamic, Libraries should enable their patrons to include

their “library life” activity schedule in their personal calendar applications.

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Background (Con’t)3. Library-patron communication

Reliable & efficient communication between the library & its patrons is essential for library quality services,

Library information should be current & updated regularly,

Automatic & easy-to-implement information transmission is an ideal & cost-effective communication method,

However, communication takes place in different channels at present.

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Background: Library-Patron Communication

Three basic types of information transmitted in library-patron communication channels:

1. Library public events & services,

2. Patron circulation activities,

3. Library facilities reservation.

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1. Information on Library Public Events & Services

i. Updated library services, facilities & outreach activities, e.g. opening hours, exhibitions & workshops, etc. are announced on HKBU Library homepage as “Library News”,

ii. But there are multiple “Library News” announcement home pages,

http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/lib/new/news.html .

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HKBU Library news homepage

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2. Information on Patrons’ Circulation

Activitiesi. Patrons’ circulation activities are recorded in different systems & transmitted via different channels

• Innovative Millennium & HKALL circulation records– circulation records containing data of loan due

dates & fine, etc. are available & retrievable in “My Library Account” http://hkbulib.hkbu.edu.hk/patroninfo/ ,

– email notifications of pre-due alerts, overdue, recall, pickup are sent to the patrons’ personal email accounts.

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Patron’s “My Library Account” (Innovative Millennium)

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2. Information on Patrons’ Circulation Activities (Con’t)

ILLiad circulation records – loan records are stored & retrievable in ILLiad sys

tem http://lib-nt.hkbu.edu.hk/api_form/illiad_login.asp ,

– email notifications of pickup & overdue are sent to patrons’ personal email accounts.

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Patron’s ILLiad account

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Emails from Innovative Millennium & ILLiad systems sent to patron’s email account

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3. Information on Library Facilities Reservation

Patrons can reserve group study rooms, group viewing rooms at HKBU’s main & branch libraries through an “Online Room Booking Systems”,

These systems were developed by the Systems Section in 2005.

[ Li Yiu On. "Innopac Patron API & Online Room Booking Systems in HKBU Library", a presentation at the 6th Annual Hong Kong Innovative Users Group Conference, Hong Kong Lingnan University, 8-9 Dec., 2005, http://hkiug.ln.edu.hk/meetings/am2005/presentations/12-HKBU-OnlineRoom.ppt ]

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3. Information on Library Facilities Reservation (Con’t)iii. HKBU Online Room Booking Systems adopt a

decentralized model containing 4 interfaces: Main Library Group Study Room

http://lib-nt.hkbu.edu.hk/libcir/gsroom/ , Main Library Group Viewing Room

http://lib-nt.hkbu.edu.hk/libmlc/gvroom/ , Chinese Medicine Branch Library Study Room

http://lib-nt.hkbu.edu.hk/libcml/gvroom/ , Shek Mun Campus Library Group Viewing Room

http://lib-nt.hkbu.edu.hk/libsm/gvroom/ ,

iv. Patrons reserve rooms & check their own reservation records in different interfaces.

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Current Library-Patron Communication Systems &

ChannelsTypes of Information

Communication Systems & Channels

Millennium & HKALL circulation records

“My Library Account”

ILL loan records ILLiad system

Millennium & ILL email Patrons’ email accounts

Online room booking In-house booking systems

Library public news & announcements

HKBU Library home pages

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Drawbacks of the Current Library-Patron

Communication Systems1. Diversified information storage & access

channels Information is scattered & distributed in different

isolated systems, Different types of information is transmitted to

patrons via different channels, Patrons need to check, collect & record information

from individual system, web page or platform.

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Drawbacks of the Current Library-Patron Communication Syste

ms (Con’t)2. Dependence on patrons’ initiatives

Success of the current communication systems depends on patrons’ initiatives to check for updates,

Otherwise, they will not know the changes, e.g. book recall shortens loan period, new pickup notification,

Patrons find repeated manual checking time- consuming & tedious, this in turn discourages them to check for the updates.

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Drawbacks of the Current Library-Patron Communication Syste

ms (Con’t) Data & record structures affecting calendar

management The scattered data is NOT organized in any calendar

format for easy browsing, Data CANNOT be transmitted to patrons’ personal

calendar applications automatically & integrated with their own personal & work calendar events and/or schedules,

If patrons want to record all their circulation activities, library email messages, library news & announcements in their own calendar applications, they have to add them individually. This is a tedious chore.

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IV. Description of “MyLibrary Calendar ”

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Subscription Procedures

1. How do we exchange & share calendar data on Internet?

By using an international standard called iCalendar, we can exchange & share calendar data in different calendar applications on Internet.

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Subscription Procedures (Con’t)

2. What is an iCalendar file? iCalendar specifies the file format for storing calend

ar data, Almost all new personal calendar applications supp

ort iCalendar format now, iCalendar files have an extension of .ics, A definition is available in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICalendar .

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Subscription Procedures (Con’t)

3. An example of iCalendar file iCalendar file is a text file in which the format is defi

ned in terms of a MIME content type, For example:

(from RFC 2445 or RFC2445 Syntax Reference) of an iCalendar object that defines a "MLC Group Viewing Room" reservation event occurring from Oct 31, 2007 22:00 (UTC) through Oct 31, 2007 22:30.

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BEGIN:VCALENDAR

VERSION:2.0

METHOD:PUBLISH

PRODID:-//HKBU Library//HKBU MyLibrary Calendar//EN

X-WR-CALNAME;VALUE=TEXT:HKBU MyLibrary Calendar

BEGIN:VEVENT

DTSTAMP:20071012T133037Z

UID:DUE20071107030000

CATEGORIES:HKBU MyLibrary Calendar

DTSTART:20071031T220000Z

DTEND:20071031T223000Z

SUMMARY: MLC Group Viewing Room -- BU Lib

DESCRIPTION:For details, please check My Room Booking Record at\nhttp://lib-nt.hkbu.edu.hk/libmlc/gvroom/\nNOTE: This event is automatic created by computer at 1:30:37 PM, 12 October 2007

END:VEVENT

END:VCALENDAR

Subscription Procedures (Con’t)• An example of iCalendar file

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Subscription Procedures (Con’t)4. Advantages of iCalendar file

A patron can subscribe to iCalendar by adding the URL (web address stored on server) of a iCalendar file to his/her selected calendar application,

The calendar displayed in the calendar application is in a read-only format & it is bound to the original iCalendar file on the server,

This dynamic binding between iCalendar file & calendar application will automatically PUSH all updates in the iCalendar file to the calendar application whenever the original data file is updated.

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Some Personal Calendar Applications Supporting iCalenda

r1. Apple iCal,

2. Google Gmail Calendar,

3. Microsoft Outlook 2007 (Outlook 2003 can support iCalendar with a plug-in, http://remotecalendars.sourceforge.net/index.html ),

4. Microsoft Windows Vista Calendar,

5. Mozilla SunBird,

6. Mozilla Lightning.

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Two Categories of “MyLibrary Calendar ”

1. Based on the nature of information to be transmitted (e.g. library news or circulation loan records) & the characteristics of library-patron communication channels (e.g. patrons’ email account, ILLiad system, etc.), “calendar events” are differentiated & saved in two categories of iCalendar files for subscription:

• “Library Event Calendar”,• “Personal Library Calendar”.

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Two Categories of “MyLibrary Calendar ” (Con’t)

“MyLibrary Calendar ” Types of Information

Current Communication Systems & Channels

“Library Event Calendar”

Library public news & announcements

HKBU Library home pages

“Personal Library

Calendar”

Millennium & HKALL circulation records

“My Library Account”

ILL loan records ILLiad system

Millennium & ILL emails Patrons’ email accounts

Online room bookingIn-house booking

systems

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Subscription Procedure for “Library Event

Calendar”1. “Library Event Calendar” contains Library news

& announcements,

2. It is for all patrons including the public who are interested in getting the latest news of HKBU Library services, facilities & outreach activities,

3. Free subscription, no restriction.

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Subscription Procedure for “Library Event Calendar”

(Con’t)4. All patrons use the same open web calendar a

ddress (URL) to access the iCalendar files,5. A freeware developed by Virginia Tech is used

to store the iCalendar files of “Library Event Calendar” http://vtcalendar.sourceforge.net/ ,

6. Browse an example of the “Library Event Calendar” at: http://publiclibcalendar.hkbu.edu.hk/calendar/main.php?view=week .

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HKBU “Library Event Calendar”

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Subscription Procedure for “Library Event Calendar”

(Con’t)1. For Google Calendar

http://publiclibcalendar.hkbu.edu.hk/calendar/subscribe.pdf ,

2. For Microsoft Outlook 2007 http://blogs.msdn.com/michael_affronti/archive/2006/05/10/594986.aspx .

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“Library Event Calendar” subscription in Google Calendar

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“Library Event Calendar” subscription in Outlook 2007

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Subscription Procedure for “Personal Library

Calendar”1. “Personal Library Calendar” is available for

HKBU Library borrower card holders ONLY,

2. It contains:• Circulation records saved in Innovative Millennium

& HKALL systems,• ILL Loan records,• Innovative Millennium & ILL emails, e.g. pre-due

date, overdue, recall, pickup emails,• Online Room Booking records.

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Subscription Procedure for “Personal Library Calendar”

(Con’t)3. Different patrons have different circulation & ro

om reservation records, 4. These records, containing personal data, will b

e converted to iCalendar format & saved in different iCalendar files on the server,

5. The URL to access individual personal iCalendar file must be confidential & unique,

6. The patron himself should be the ONLY one to get his own private URL.

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Subscription Procedure for “Personal Library Calendar”

(Con’t)7. Use Patron API to retrieve the URL of “Persona

l Library Calendar” All patrons can get the URL of their own iCalendar f

iles via Innovative Millennium Patron API ONLY, Patron API safeguards the access rights & only allo

ws an authenticated patron to get his unique URL for his own “Personal Library Calendar”,

In other words, access to the URL of iCalendar files is authenticated & protected.

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Subscription Procedure for “Personal Library Calendar”

(Con’t)8. Innovative Millennium Patron API Form http://

mylibcalendar.hkbu.edu.hk/user/api.asp

9. Patron record for demonstrationName: test, name

Barcode: *********

PIN: ******

iCalendar URL: webcal://mylibcalendar.hkbu.edu.hk/user/events/209/1038143020110.ics .

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Patron API form to retrieve the “Personal Library

Calendar” URL

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“Personal Library Calendar” in Google Calendar (month view)

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“Personal Library Calendar” in Google Calendar (day view)

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“Personal Library Calendar” in Google Calendar – click to view

more details of an event

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“Personal Library Calendar” in Google Calendar – a detailed

event record

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“Personal Library Calendar” in Outlook 2007 (month view)

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“Personal Library Calendar” in Outlook 2007 (day view)

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Messages displayed in “Personal Libra

ry Calendar”Types iCalendar Messages

Duration ofRecord Keeping

Circulation notice

Pre-due; Overdue; Pickup; Recall Notice -- BU Lib

3 months

Circulation record

X items DUE -- BU LibUntil item is

returned

Fine Library Fine -- BU Lib Until fine is paid

ILL noticePickup; Overdue; Recall ILL-Notice -- BU

Lib3 months

ILL record X items ILL-DUE -- BU LibUntil item is

returned

Room booking

Group Study Room, MLC Group Viewing Room, CML Group Study Room, SMCL

Group Study Room -- BU Lib

Until the date it is “reserved” for

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Computer Programs & System Requirem

ents1. Two computer programs are developed i

n-house for “Personal Library Calendar”:

• Innovative Millennium Patron API Form,• iCalendar Data Conversion Program.

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System Requirements for iCalendar Data Conversion Progr

am1. Hardware

Windows server,

2. Software Microsoft Access, Microsoft Active Server Pages 3.0 (ASP).

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iCalendar Data Conversion Program - Program Workflow

1. Extract data files from various Library systems

Systems Methods

Innovative MillenniumCreate review files containing patron

records, fine, loan records, etc.

ILLiadExtract patron & loan records by

SQL scripts

Online Room Booking Extract records by ASP scripts

Innovative Millennium & ILLiad email notices

Blind copies of the emails are sent to library email account

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iCalendar Data Conversion Program - Program Workflow (Con’t)

2. Data files are then combined & sorted for each individual patron,

3. Save all the patron’s “Personal Library Calendar” data in iCalendar format files,

4. A special algorithm is designed to assign an unique & personalized URL for each patron.

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How Often are the Event Files Updated?

1. All files are updated every 30 minutes,

2. The creation of iCalendar files is fully automated by Macro Magic scripts.

[ Li Yiu On & Loletta Chan, "Automatic Generation of Circulation Notices/Reports: A New Knowledge Management Approach", a presentation at the 6th Annual Hong Kong Innovative Users Group Conference, Hong Kong Lingnan University, 8-9 Dec., 2005. http://hkiug.ln.edu.hk/meetings/am2005/presentations/10-Cir-notices.ppt ]

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V. Merits of “MyLibrary Calendar ”

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Merits

In three perspectives:1. For patrons,

2. For HKBU Library,

3. In program design & application of information technology.

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Merits – Patrons

1. Free choice of information receiving platforms• Patrons are free to choose their own personal calen

dar applications as long as it is iCalendar compatible,

• Patrons’ preference is highly respected,• They are free to switch to different calendar applicati

ons as they wish,• They don’t have to learn new application, they can u

se the one they are familiar with.

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t)

2. One-stop subscription Patrons are required to do the subscription once

only. Then they can simply relax & wait for the calendar events pushed to their calendar applications regularly,

No bustling in recording library news, circulation records & library facilities reservation records from different platforms any more.

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t)

3. Simple, free & easy to use “MyLibrary Calendar ” uses iCalendar files

which are open & standard procedures, iCalendar has been widely used for years, It is simple to use, patrons do not need additional e

ffort to learn how to subscribe to our “MyLibrary Calendar ” services,

Patrons don’t have to install add-on or plug-in progr

am in order to use the “MyLibrary Calendar ” services, it does not incur additional expense.

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t)4. Integrated personal calendar

Patrons can integrate events from “MyLibrary Calendar ” into their own personal calendars easily,

“MyLibrary Calendar ” events are created & updated automatically,

Patrons can collect & manage their calendar events easily on a single, personalized platform,

Information of library events & circulation records become an integral part of the patrons’ electronic personal calendars. Such data is well-organized & orderly integrated with other calendar events perfectly.

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t)

5. Independent self-service Patrons can subscribe & unsubscribe to this

service anytime they wish, No registration is required, Patrons don’t have to notify the library when they

subscribe, unsubscribe or change their personal calendar applications.

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t)

6. Privacy Patrons do NOT need to give any additional per

sonal data,

e.g. types of calendar applications they use, patron login identification, mobile phone number, etc.

to the Library in “MyLibrary Calendar ” subscription process.

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t) Free SMS notification service as an added valu

e For patrons using Google Gmail Calendar, they can

activate the SMS notification option as they wish, “MyLibrary Calendar” allows patrons to re

ceive the calendar information by SMS on mobile phones,

It is a free service. Simply check if your mobile phone service provider supports Google Calendar's SMS feature at

http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=37226&hl=en .

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Google Mobile Phone - SMS Notification Service

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Merits – Patrons (Con’t)8. Multiple subscriptions on various calendar appli

cations allow flexibility This program supports multiple subscriptions, If a patron uses Outlook at his office and likes to us

e the free SMS notification service via Google Cale

ndar, he can subscribe to “MyLibrary Calendar ” on both or more platforms simultaneously,

Patrons can then enjoy the flexibility and freedom of where and when to check for the updates.

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Merits – HKBU Library

1. A simple, proactive, effective & efficient information dissemination method Once the patrons have made the subscription,

the Library can ensure an automatic dissemination of information about updated library events, records of circulation activities & facilities reservation to the patrons regularly.

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Merits – HKBU Library (Con’t)

2. A new user-friendly & effective gateway for library publicity The Library can publicize its outreach

activities such as library workshops & exhibitions to its patrons & the public timely,

Information is updated every 30 minutes.

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Merits – HKBU Library (Con’t)

3. Shift in power & new library-patron relationship in Library 2.0 According to Kathryn Greenhill, there is a shift in pow

er in the new library environment, She introduced eight power relationship in the new Li

brary 2.0, Source: Greenhill, Kathryn. “What’s new about Libr

ary 2.0? Shift in power”. Librarians Matter. Sep. 10, 2007.

http://librariansmatter.com/blog/2007/09/10/whats-new-about-library-20-shift-in-power/ .

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Merits – HKBU Library (Con’t)

“MyLibrary Calendar ” brings about shift in power & new library-patron relationship in three different aspects:

i. The power of the user to choose:

Patrons can choose how & where to check for the updates in circulation records, library emails & other library information,

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Merits – HKBU Library (Con’t)ii. The power of the user to create their “library”:

Patrons can create their personal integrated library calendars containing library circulation records, emails, notices, data of facility reservation and events in their calendar applications,

iii. The power of librarians to be in our users’ space:

We provide library services of information dissemination by using our patrons’ tools of calendar applications, instead of making our patrons come to us (i.e. access our library home pages & various library communication systems).

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information

Technology1. Simplicity & cost-effectiveness

The major computing work of the project is designing a computer program to:– collect data from various library systems,– create data files for each individual patron,– convert the data files into iCalendar format,

It is a very simple data conversion program requiring no special or high-end hardware & software.

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Openness & compatibility The computer program is generic by using iCalend

ar format, It is not designed to push data (events) to one spec

ific calendar application only, iCalendar is an international & popular standard for

calendar sharing which is supported by a wide range of calendar applications on the market,

Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t)

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t) The project can serve all library patrons who

have iCalendar supported applications,

Services are not limited to a specific small patron group with specific electronic devices.

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t) A comparatively stable & durable program with s

imple workflow The in-house developed program supports & confor

ms to the international iCalendar standard, further modification is unnecessary until the iCalendar format is changed,

The program does not have any built-in function associated with a particular calendar application,

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t) Data is converted to iCalendar files automatically b

y the program, there is no need to change anything in the calendar applications,

Therefore, there is no need to design any add-on or plug-in programs for any calendar application even though a new version or upgrade of the application is released.

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t)4. Flexibility & extendibility

The program can be easily adapted to push any additional data to the patrons’ personal calendars,

With a slight modification in the iCalendar conv

ersion program, “MyLibrary Calendar ” can accept new record types easily.

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t)5. Cost-effective patron authentication

This program makes full use of the Innovative Millennium Patron API to generate unique iCalendar addresses (URL) for each patron,

It saves time & effort in patron authentication,

No additional software & hardware for authentication is needed.

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Merits – Program Design & Application of Information Technology

(Con’t)6. As a Web 2.0 tool

“MyLibrary Calendar ” is a Web 2.0 compliant tool, it

– allows HKBU Library to create, change & publish dynamic content to our patrons online regularly,

– facilitates easy communication between HKBU Library & its patrons,

– patron can use a single, personalized & one-stop-shop platform to collect & manage their calendar content,

[Web 2.0, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2 ]

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VI. Conclusion

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“MyLibrary Calendar ” services are our

effort to:

Publicize library services, facilities & outreach activities in a cost-effective & timely manner,

Improve the library-patron communication in an efficient & centralized channel,

Provide convenience for patrons to manage & plan their “library life”, private & work life on a free & user-friendly platform.

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Old Model“MyLibrary Calen

dar ”1. Communication

systems / channelsMultiple, non-personalized,

scattered channelsA single, personalized,

integrated platform

2. Information retrieval Manual, dependant on

patrons’ initiativesAutomatic “PUSH”

3. User’s choice of communication systems

Restricted by LibraryUsers can chose their

preferred systems

4. Time/schedule management in a single calendar application

No

Yes “Library life” events are integrated & become an integral part of patron’s personal calendar for easy time management

5. Web 2.0 & Library 2.0 compliant

No Yes

Comparison of Library-Patron Communication

Systems

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“Users are able to control parts of our library that they previously could not. Librarians are now able to control spaces outside our buildings. This is different.”

[Kathryn Greenhill. “What’s new about Library 2.0? Shift in power”. Librarians Matter. Sep. 10, 2007]

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Comments are welcome

We look forward to opportunities in collaboration & knowledge sharing.

Thank you

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• Mr. Roger Leung, Mr. Yip Wing Chung –

Systems Section• Ms. Lai Pui Yi, Mr. Krynn Leung, Ms. Lily Ng -- Sp

ecial Collections & Archives• Ms. Karen Ng -- Circulation & ILL Section

Acknowledgment