Electronic Magazines: Issues in Implementation Brian Kelly UK Web Focus UKOLN University of Bath...

Electronic Magazines:Issues in Implementation

Brian KellyUK Web Focus

UKOLN

University of BathEmail: [email protected]

UKOLN is funded by the Library and Information Commission, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.

Acknowledgements to Bernadette Daly, Editor of Exploit Interactive (1998-9)

Acknowledgements to Bernadette Daly, Editor of Exploit Interactive (1998-9)

Aims:• Describe approaches to

publishing a web magazine aimed at European library / information community

• Share experiences• Describe other approaches• Provide advice to those

wishing to publish web magazines

Aims:• Describe approaches to

publishing a web magazine aimed at European library / information community

• Share experiences• Describe other approaches• Provide advice to those

wishing to publish web magazines

2

Contents

• Background• The User's View• Searching• The Editor's View• Other Interesting Approaches• Conclusions

3

About UKOLN

UKOLN:• UK Office for Library and Information Networking• Based at University of Bath

Awareness and Advisory Services• UK Web Focus• Interoperability Focus• Public Library Networking

Focus

Awareness and Advisory Services• UK Web Focus• Interoperability Focus• Public Library Networking

Focus

Research InterestsMetadataDistributed librariesUK and EU project work

Research InterestsMetadataDistributed librariesUK and EU project work

DisseminationEvents (workshops, seminars, etc.)PublicationsWeb Magazines

DisseminationEvents (workshops, seminars, etc.)PublicationsWeb Magazines

4

ExperiencesUKOLN publishes two web magazines, with a third due to be launched shortly

Exploit Interactive• First published in May

1999• Four issues to date• Funded by EU

Telematics For Libraries Programme

Exploit Interactive• First published in May

1999• Four issues to date• Funded by EU

Telematics For Libraries Programme

Ariadne• First published in January

1996• 22 issues to date• Originally funded by eLib• Long-standing first

generation web magazine

Ariadne• First published in January

1996• 22 issues to date• Originally funded by eLib• Long-standing first

generation web magazine

Cultivate Interactive• To be released in a few months• Funded by EU DIGICULT

Programme (covers museums, archives and library areas)

Cultivate Interactive• To be released in a few months• Funded by EU DIGICULT

Programme (covers museums, archives and library areas)

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Ariadne

Ariadne:• 22 issues published Jan 1996 - Dec 1999

• Published every 3 (originally 2) months

• HTML pages created using HTML authoring tool (HoTMetaL, FrontPage, etc.)

• Apache web server on Unix

http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/

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Exploit InteractiveExploit Interactive:• 4 issues published

(every three months)• Informs communities

on Telematics for Library projects

• Aims to provide quality content, be innovative and be standards compliant

• NB: Little funding for software development!

http://www.exploit-lib.org/http://www.exploit-lib.org/

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Exploit Int. ArchitectureExploit Interactive:

• Runs on a Windows NT server• Microsoft SiteServer software used

Why?• Gain experiences of NT-based information system

in order to help in advisory role• Make use of shrink-wrapped solutions to minimise

software development• Investigate whether standards-based solutions can

be implemented in a Microsoft environmentResources

• Funding for 0.5 FTE over 2 years• Editor, project manager plus bought-in systems

support effort

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The User View (1)Exploit Interactive:• Sub-menu pages for Features, Regular Columns, etc.• Context-sensitive

navigational bars• Links from all

pages to:–Main entry point–Issue entry point–Editorial–Features menu–Regular Columns

menu–News and Events

page–Et Cetera menu–Search facility

D

http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue4/

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The User View (2)Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) used to:• Define margin settings• Define fonts• Background for headings

Benefits of Cascading Style Sheets:• Ease of maintenance

(appearance defined in single file)

• Re-use of resources• Performance• Accessibility

D

10

Behind The ScenesBehind the Scenes:

• Article fragments used and assembled into HTML resource using ASP (Active Server Pages)

• ASP server script used for server-side includes (SSIs) and for manipulating variables

article_title="The CULIVATE project"issue_num="1"

<title>Exploit issue <%=issue_num%>: <%=article_title%></title>

…<h3>Citation Details</h3><p><%=article_title%>, <%=author%>

Exploit Interactive <%= issue_num%>

Assignment of variables

Use of variables

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The File StoreThe file store structure for a typical article is shown below

default.asp assembles fragments and processes variables

content.ssi content – simple HTML fragment

citation details (based on author and title variables)

article_defaults.ssiauthor, title, etc. variables

figure-1.gif

cultivateissue4

citation.ssi

resources

Some files stored next to articleOthers stored in central area (parameter passing)

Some files stored next to articleOthers stored in central area (parameter passing)

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The Bigger Picture

In order to minimise maintenance, we want to store scripts, CSS files, etc. once and include them as appropriate

 Read article variables Read issue variables Read global variables Define HTML DTD<html><head><title>Exploit Interactive issue <%=issue_num%>:

<%=article_title%></title> Create DC metadata</head> Navigational bar Include content Include citation…

 Read article variables Read issue variables Read global variables Define HTML DTD<html><head><title>Exploit Interactive issue <%=issue_num%>:

<%=article_title%></title> Create DC metadata</head> Navigational bar Include content Include citation…

default.asp

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Problems - Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS):• Separates content from presentation

• Reduces maintenance

• Simplifies HTML (no complex tables, clear.gif hacks, etc.)

• Accessible resources

But Netscape (esp.) implements CSS very badly:

• Images can float over text

• Too much white space around tables

• Problems in printing

• Other minor differences

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Solution to CSS Problems

In order to address CSS problems:• "User-agent" negotiation used to

include simpler CSS file to Netscape users

• Uses a single SSI fragment

• Tables stored in singletable cell – a hack

• Should images be included with conditional SSI?

Also use CSS @media to allow different style sheetfor printing

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SearchingExploit Interactive enables UKOLN to demonstrate its research interest in metadata:• Capabilities of SiteServer search facility investigated• Fielded searches

provided. Can search by Author, Title, Abstract and full text

• Uses Dublin Core (DC)metadata

• DC metadata (HTML format) created using ASP fragment

• Can easily createmetadata in other formats (e.g. RDF)

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Errors

The 404 error message has been tailored:• Exploit Interactive look and feel• Embedded search facility• Tailored message:

The link to this resourceis incorrect – please inform web master

or

You have entered an incorrect URL

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Extending the Web SiteThe web site is being extended to provide more than simply access to information

Experiment to search a project's web site, from an article about the project

Experiment to search a project's web site, from an article about the project

Evaluation of discussion software to enable readers to comment on articles

Evaluation of discussion software to enable readers to comment on articles

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The Editor's View

Development work which may not be noticeable by readers includes:

• Promotion of the web siteMaking sure that people know about the magazine and can easily find it

• Checking the web siteEnsuring that the web site works, is accessible and conforms to appropriate standards

• Auditing the web siteMonitoring the popularity of the web site and being pro-active in maximising popularity

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Web Site Promotion

Promotion of web site addressed by:• Having own domain name:

<www.exploit-lib.org> Note shorter variants (e.g. exploit.org, exploit.com, etc.) are not available.

• Having short, easily-cited URLs:

Note use of server default file name to avoid longer and possibly confusing file name and extension:

http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue1/pride/

http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue1/pride/intro.htmhttp://www.exploit-lib.org/issue1/pride/intro.htmlhttp://www.exploit-lib.org/issue1/pride/Default.asp

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Finding The Web Site

Aim: • We want web site and articles to be indexed by

search engines and catalogued by directories

Approaches:• Articles contain "AltaVista" metadata (generated as

described for DC metadata)• Internal links to directory, avoiding links to .asp

extensions• Use of robots.txt file and <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> tag to avoid indexing of unnecessary resources (e.g. statistics, etc.)

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Submission to Search Engines

Exploit Interactive resources submitted to search engines – see <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue4/promotion/>

1. New issue URL submitted to AltaVista

2. Evaluation of Submission software

3. Creation of single page containing links to all articles

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Does It Work?Exploit Interactive articles:• First (out of 421,122) for "exploit"

in AllTheWeb• Fourth for "news exploit"in Google• Fourth for "(electronic and paper)

near delivery" in AltaVista

Exploit Interactive articles:• First (out of 421,122) for "exploit"

in AllTheWeb• Fourth for "news exploit"in Google• Fourth for "(electronic and paper)

near delivery" in AltaVista

Note: Searches found from referrer logsNote: Searches found from referrer logs

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Notification of a New Issue

Notification of new issues is sent to several mailing lists. But what about readers who aren't on the mailing lists?

We now provide anotification serviceof new issues using Netmind

http://www.exploit-lib.org/notify/http://www.exploit-lib.org/notify/

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Checking The Web Site

Prior to release of new issue we use:• SiteServer Analysis to check broken links• Bobby software to check accessibility of web site

Summary

On 10 January 1999:

906 pages

5,180 internal links

1,818 external links

0 broken links

Web site passes Bobbyaccessibility test

Summary

On 10 January 1999:

906 pages

5,180 internal links

1,818 external links

0 broken links

Web site passes Bobbyaccessibility test

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Broken Links – Whose Problem?

Internal links are responsibility of editors

But what should be done with broken links in articles?• Fixed: the web master is responsible for providing

a quality web site• Nothing: articles should be left as is• Flagged (and perhaps fixed): giving reader an

indication of original status

Our approach:• Authors provide links as

references with visible URLs• External links indicated by icon• Icon and link change if link is

broken• Display external links in new

window (personalised option?)

Our approach:• Authors provide links as

references with visible URLs• External links indicated by icon• Icon and link change if link is

broken• Display external links in new

window (personalised option?)

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Checking The Web Site (2)

In issue 4 we provided a service for the readers to check for and enhance access to articles:

• Translation Service• HTML Validation• Accessibility Check• …

The link to further information is stored as a single SSI file, allowing changes to be made just once

The link to further information is stored as a single SSI file, allowing changes to be made just once

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Auditing The Web SiteWe use SiteServer Analysis to provide statistics In issue 4 evaluated third-party services which provide (e.g):

• Last 10 visitors to page• Profile over time• Referrer for last 25 visitors

Third-party Service Issues:• Performance• Dependency on 3rd party• Open vs. restricted access

to statistics

NOTE: Comparison of Nedstat and SiteMeter can be easily made due to use of SSI fragments

NOTE: Comparison of Nedstat and SiteMeter can be easily made due to use of SSI fragments

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Who's Linking To Us

The LinkPopularity.com web site is used to:

• Provide information on numbers of linksto web site

• Monitor growth in nos. of links

• Identify friends• Spot gaps

http://www.linkpopularity.com/http://www.linkpopularity.com/

Information on links to web site and nos. of resources indexed is useful and is being monitored regularly

Information on links to web site and nos. of resources indexed is useful and is being monitored regularly

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The eLib Programme eLib programme funded several e-journals – see <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/projects/>

http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/clic/http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/clic/

http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/

Much can be learnt from the experiences of the eLib projects

Much can be learnt from the experiences of the eLib projects

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Other e-journals: EPRESS• eLib-funded project which provides an administrative

system (rather than a publishing one) for refereed academic journals

• Addresses (time-consuming) administrative issues• Used by Sociological

Research Online and Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation

See <http://www.epress.ac.uk/>See <http://www.epress.ac.uk/>

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Other e-journals: D-Lib

D-Lib magazine:• Currently mirrored at 4 locations including UKOLN• Is making use of DOIs (Document Object Identifiers)• Each article has DOI which provides persistent,

location-independent identifier• "Handle" system can return multiple values e.g. 10.1045/december99-gladney can returnfive URLs

• Interesting idea for the future (resolution by proxy or browser plugin)

• Use of multiple values could be used for related resources (e.g. metadata, translation, etc.)

• Exploit Interactive is considering a similar approach

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Other e-journalsLibrary and Information Studies departments are active in producing e-magazines and exploring various issues

For example see Information Research, published by theDepartment of Information Studies,Sheffield Univ.

http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/I-M/is/publications/infres/ircont.html

http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/I-M/is/publications/infres/ircont.html

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Exploit Interactive's Key Features

Exploit Interactive uses (normalised) resource fragments for:

• Server-side scripts• Navigational elements• Standard text fragments• CSS

Separation of Content / Navigation / Functionality is useful for:

• Ease of maintenance• Introduction of new functionality (e.g. print all

articles, personalisation)

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Challenges

Use of resource fragments:• Requires advance planning• Some complications in use of authoring tools• Some complications in validating resource fragments

(no compilers to spot, say, unassigned variables)• Useful to have a programmer's or DBA perspective

(identification of reusable fragments)In addition use of ASP variables / file-based fragments means:

• NT-dependencies (until Open ASP matures)• Difficulties in managing variables which are defined in

scripts

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Future DevelopmentsMake use of article and navigation fragments to provide a configurable interface

Navigational bar:Located:• Top and bottom • Side (in frame or embedded)

Configurable:• Sections of interest• cf MS Office 2000

Navigational bar:Located:• Top and bottom • Side (in frame or embedded)

Configurable:• Sections of interest• cf MS Office 2000

References & Related LinksAs above

References & Related LinksAs above

http://www.ljdigital.com/http://www.ljdigital.com/

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Future DevelopmentsIdeas for the future:

• Variables stored in database (NB: performance issues)• Use of XML

For Metadata and Articles (e.g. news items)Would also like to provideenhanced searching (structured browsing):

• Search issue 1 & issue 3• Search Regular Columns• Search Regular Columns

in issue 1• Search for articles about

EU projects• Counts nos. of articles in

these categories

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Future Developments

Processing articles is time-consuming. Would like to automate processes:

c:/docs/article.doc

Enter documentBrowse

Document Type• MS Word HTML

Abstract

Keywords TAP, digitisation, …

• Replace email submission by web form

• Automate conversion to HTML

• Author submission of keywords metadata

• Automated upload to draft area for editor reviewProgramme: • ELIB EU (5th Framework)

EU (4th Framework)

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Conclusions

To conclude:• Exploit Interactive has shown the benefits of an

architecture based on:– Resource fragments– Style Sheets– Server-side scripting– Resources in neutral format to enable reuse

• It is possible to provide an innovative, standards-based solution on an NT platform

• Similar solutions also possible on Unix (e.g. PHP)• We look forward to further developments based on

use of database technologies / XML

Questions welcomeQuestions welcome

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