Using Software-as-a-Service for tracking document delivery (& ILL) requests Perseus Rex Molina...
-
Upload
marvin-gallagher -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of Using Software-as-a-Service for tracking document delivery (& ILL) requests Perseus Rex Molina...
Using Software-as-a-Service for tracking document delivery (& ILL) requests
Perseus Rex MolinaCataloger LibrarianBr. Fidelis Leddy Learning Resource Center (LRC)De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (Manila)
Jorge Erwin A. RadaPublic Programs Librarian
Janice D.C. PeñaflorCollection Development Librarian
De La Salle University LibrariesDe La Salle University (Manila)
Outline
• Background of the case study• Past problems – What we needed to solve• How we solved it• Results• Issues and Recommendations
Introduction
• Philippine private Catholic university founded in 1911 by the Brothers of Christian Schools
• Libraries caters to an average of over 1,000 teaching academic staff, 16,000 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students every term (for 3 terms / year)
• started out as one lowly library in 1956 but is now composed of
–the main library called The Learning Commons–and several satellite libraries
Introduction
What is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?
● Part of “cloud computing” concepts● Aka “hosted applications”● software and associated data are centrally hosted on the cloud (over the Internet)
Issues in document delivery (DD) and interlibrary loan (ILL) in DLSU Libraries
• Requests can come from different channels
Piece of paper / Form Email Chat message Web Form
Text message Video Call Twitter message Facebook message
• There has been difficulty obtaining statistics for these services
Piece of paper / Form
Chat message
Web Form
Text message
Video Call
Twitter message
Facebook message
#?
Issues in document delivery (DD) and interlibrary loan (ILL) in DLSU Libraries
• Continuity between reference librarians in different shifts
Issues in document delivery (DD) and interlibrary loan (ILL) in DLSU Libraries
Morning Shift
Afternoon Shift
Evening Shift
7am 8pm
12nn
Requirements for a solution
• Online central recording of all transactions regardless of channel
DATABASE
Piece of paper / Form
Chat message
Web Form
Text message
Video Call
Twitter message
Facebook message
Other Librarians
Requesting users
Reasons why we chose Software-as-a-Service for a solution
• Faster deployment• Simpler and easier than building from scratch• Service continuity
How we solved itiFreeTools Creator• Free plan: unlimited apps, 10 users, 2,500
records
iFreeTools Creator• offers free hosted applications for business
needs• enables one to build custom database apps
without programming skills required• log in using a Google or Yahoo account
How we solved it
iFreeTools Creator● Built over Google App Engine
● What is Google App Engine?● lets you run web applications on Google's
infrastructure● no servers to maintain● supports apps written in several programming
languages (Java, Python, or Go runtime environments)
● All applications can use up to 1 GB of storage and enough CPU and bandwidth to support an efficient app serving around 5 million page views a month, absolutely free
How we solved it
How we solved it
DD/ILL Request
Reference # Date requested
Type of Request
Source of Request
Name of Requestor
Dept. ….
Record 1
Record 2
Record 3
Record 4
Record 5
…
Entity
Attrib
utes
How we solved itTIMELINE
• Data model• Configuration
JAN 2013
Tracking system
went live
FEB 2013 End of beta
testing
Upgrade to paid version
AUG 2013
Public form introduced
External requesting libraries must use online form
SEP 2013
● Instant view: clicking on a row will show full details of the record at bottom of the page.
How we solved it
iFreeTools Creator
“The Libraries’ forays into utilizing Software-as-a-
Service applications have been successful so
far, and not only are SaaS applications faster to deploy, but they free
the Libraries from installation, maintenance
and hardware requirements a typical
software for team collaboration may
demand.”
Original
OriginalOriginalN
ew o
nes
Issues and Recommendations
● For SaaS providers● offer long/unlimited free trial that is as
much as possible is close to the paid version
● For libraries● make sure your data can be exported from
system, then backup regularly!● do a cost-benefit analysis
The DLSU Libraries’ Document Delivery/Interlibrary Loan Requests Tracking System is a product of its
librarians’ attitude of making the most out of available resources.
It proves that any library can adapt and get behind utilizing cloud solutions despite
technological or budget obstacles.
Conclusion