SimonXIX’s avatarSimonXIX’s Twitter Archive—№ 42,268

              1. At @UCLDH to learn about @SOASLibrary's digital collections and how they're using FOSS library systems to manage the library.
            1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
              .@UCLDH @SOASLibrary Claudia alluding to the war-stories of implementing Kuali OLE at @SOASLibrary and liaising with IT. I still have the scars.
          1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
            .@UCLDH @SOASLibrary SOAS Digital Collections includes many beautiful and unique items from across the global East and Africa.
        1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
          .@UCLDH @SOASLibrary VuFind, the open-source discovery tool, is used as the discovery tool for SOAS' Endangered Languages Archive.
      1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
        .@UCLDH @SOASLibrary It's a discovery tool heavily customised for discovery based on geolocation. Not a customisation you'd get with a vendor system.
    1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
      .@UCLDH @SOASLibrary Archives from the Calm system will soon be presented in the VuFind discovery layer too. One blended search for all @SOASLibrary collections!
  1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
    .@UCLDH @SOASLibrary SOAS' open-source library systems infrastructure. "A special service". Utterly unique and uniquely customised.
    oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
    1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
      The vendor does not own SOAS' data. If you have a vendor library system of any kind, then the vendor /owns/ your data.
      1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
        The sad story of the Bloomsbury LMS Consortium. What could have been if certain people had had the courage.
        1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
          Kuali OLE launched at SOAS with a phased approach. Cataloguing then circulation, reservations, fines. Full function within one year.
          1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
            This is a practical approach that the library pushed against because libraries want everything from a library system straight away.
            1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
              Connecting to self-issue machines using SIP2 was a challenge. You could 'borrow' a tin of beans before you borrow a book.
              1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
                Claudia emphasising that being experimental in library systems means talking to friends, calling in favours, and thinking outside the box.
                1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
                  "Bring your people along with you. Don't drag them."
                  1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
                    This open-source approach is a lot of work and no vendor is around to do it for you. The regression testing alone is huge work.
                    1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
                      But you have a community to depend on. You have friends to work with. Rather than vendors and other adversaries.
                      1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
                        Ultimately the students at SOAS have a single search for all SOAS collections with a better user experience than most other London libraries
                        1. …in reply to @SimonXIX
                          For further reading on SOAS' open-source library systems, I wrote an article about it here ariadne.ac.uk/issue74/barron