Web Information Management System

A project of the

Brooklyn College Library

& Office of Academic IT

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

Today’s Presentation

• WIMS Overview

– Allie Verbovetskaya Adjunct Librarian and WIMS Content Developer in Information Services, Brooklyn College Library

• WIMS 2.0

– Slava GurgovProgrammer and Web Developer in the Office of Academic Information Technologies (AIT) and Library Systems, Brooklyn College

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS

Allie Verbovetskaya

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

A Database-Driven Solution for

Managing Online Resources

Librarians’ Needs

• In order to provide reference service online, academic librarians need several things:

– Subject-specific web pages for library users

– Collections of web-based resources

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

Obstacles

• Varying levels of competency in web programming tools (e.g., HTML and CSS)

• Uneven updating and presentation of resources has an impact on the usability of Library web pages

• Considerable time and effort is spent compiling subject web-resource pages to guide users

• Hard to keep track of changes, updates, and outdated information

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

Obstacles (cont’d)

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

• Proficiency needed for the intricate task of Web page creation and modification

• Lack of uniformity of language, style, and layout• Considerable duplication of information

Solution!

The Subject Resource Management System (SRMS) was an easy to use, content management system that allowed librarians to manage their academic subject web pages without any programming skills.

The Web Information Management System (WIMS) is a successor of the SRMS. It is a fully featured, easy to use, content management system that allows librarians to manage their academic and service web pages, as well as keep track of vendor contact information and licensing of electronic resources.

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

The WIMS is a Tool

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

• …for updating and maintaining academic subject and library service pages

• …for managing collections of web-based resources

Swiss Army Knife “Super Tinker”

http://www.swissarmy.com

The WIMS is . . .

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

• Efficient

• Powerful

• Empowering

• Easy-to-useRube Goldberg’s simplified pencil-sharpener

http://www.rube-goldberg.com/

Two major parts of the WIMS

1. Public front-end

Open to the public and is accessible from the

Library’s Web site in multiple ways:

-Databases (articles and more)-Resources by Subject-Service Pages-FAQ Pages-Keyword Search

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

Two major parts of the WIMS

2. Administration

–Most complicated part of the project

–Many levels of access

–Password protected

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

(Some) WIMS Features

• Customization

– Resource descriptions can be unique on every page.

• Flexibility

– Librarians select only those categories and resources they want for their own subject pages.

– Resources can appear under multiple categories.

• Control

– Access limits mean individual librarians control their own pages.

– Logs allow administrators to track WIMS activities.

• Efficiency

– Vendor technical contact information is easily accessed.

– Any update appears automatically and immediately throughout the WIMS.

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS’ Most Valuable Feature

One instance of a resource displays in multiple places at once.

Thus . . . .

Any changes to a resource appear simultaneously and instantaneously everywhere the resource appears.

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS 2.0

Slava Gurgov

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

Taking the WIMS to the Next Level

WIMS 2.0

• WIMS 2.0

– Levels of access in WIMS

– Vendor Contact Information

– Journal / Bundle management

– Keeping track of licensing of electronic journals

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS 2.0 (cont’d)

• Levels of access in WIMS

– Data entry group– Subject specialists group– WIMS Administrators group– Other (as needed)

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS 2.0 (cont’d)

• WIMS keeps track of licensing information about electronic resources

– Upload scanned copies of original license documents (pdf, doc, txt, etc.)

– Search for licenses by most common fields (i.e. name, description, tags, expiration date)

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS 2.0 (cont’d)

• Journal / Bundle management

– Keep track of journals purchased in bundles– Some fields include:

• Journal Name• ISSN• Start & End Dates• URL

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

WIMS 2.0 (cont’d)

• Vendor information readily available

– Keep vendor contact information at your fingertips

• Very useful when introducing new campus IP address, or anytime you need to reach a vendor rep to troubleshoot database problems

– Searchable by common fields

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

Questions?

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009

More Questions

For further information, please contact:

Alex Rudshteyn

Associate Director of Academic Information Technologies and Library Systems

Brooklyn College

(718) 951-5342Alex@brooklyn.cuny.edu

LibCampNYC 2009, Brooklyn CollegeWednesday, June 3, 2009