Shelfmark Locator UPDATING 
This Web program is for maintenance of the data used by the HeadLineSHElfmark
& Resource LOCator system ("SHERLOC") as implemented at
BLPES.
This maintenance program should only be used by designated Library
staff who know what they are doing! -if YOU are NOT one
of those people, CLICK
HERE NOW!
Controls on the UPDATING screen
The Webpage is divided into three frames. (If your Web browser doesn't
support frames, start again with one that does!)
The largest frame, occupying the lower right part of the page (in which
this Help page will normally be displayed) is the MAPS frame for viewing
and marking locations graphically on maps and floor-plans.
The frame above this is the TEXT frame, for displaying and editing
text fields belonging to the current Shelfmark or Location record.
The vertical frame on the left of the page is the CONTROL frame, for
selecting the Shelfmark or Location record to be edited.
In general, the editing process is in three steps:
-
In the CONTROL frame, use one of the pulldown menus to select the required
Shelfmark or Location, or select the blank entry of the appropriate menu
to create a new Shelfmark or Location; Click on either the Edit
Shelfmark or Edit Location button.
-
In the TEXT frame, enter or amend the details displayed, or click on the
Delete button to delete this record; Click on the Update
button to see the map position, and record the edited Shelfmark or Location
record.
-
If necessary, click at the correct place on the map displayed in the MAPS
frame, to record the position of a Location.
The Refresh button in the CONTROL frame should be used to update
the pulldown menus of Shelfmarks and Locations, particularly after you
have added new ones and want to continue editing.
The CONTROL frame also includes a Return link which will 'remember'
the URL from which you came to the updating program, to return to when
you have finished updating - you may not be able to use the "Back"
button of your Web browser to do so.
NOTE (for system administrators of multiple Map-domains only):
The SHERLOC updating program will only operate on the single Map-domain
in which it is initially entered. You cannot change to another
Map-domain during an editing session. The initial Map-domain is defined
in the 'shell' HTML pages (frames.html and subframe.html) of the SHERLOC
updating program. Ignore this note if you only have a single Map-domain,
which is the default.
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Concepts: the difference between Shelfmarks and
Locations
The Datafiles used by SHERLOC describe the location of books, periodicals,
or other catalogued library resources in two stages:
-
A Shelfmark or Classmark (normally written on the item, and disclosed as
part of the bibliographic holdings record by a catalogue search) is part
of a sequential series (in whatever scheme of subject classification that
a particular library uses); all items with Shelfmarks in the same
range (e.g. starting with the letters "HA") are shelved at a particular
"logical Location", which can be named (e.g. "on the third floor, in shelf-stack
12"). In some schemes, items of the same Shelfmark but of different
types (i.e. books, and periodicals) may have different logical Locations.
-
Each logical Location can be marked on a plan of the appropriate building,
floor or area, as one way of directing a user to it.
Over time, as library holdings change, or when classification policies
are reviewed, or stock is relocated, items with particular Shelfmark ranges
may be moved to different logical Locations (e.g. "Law journals which were
in the Reference Room are now shelved on the second floor, block 8"), or
the layout of buildings may be re-arranged, so that the same logical Location
(e.g. "stack 12, third floor"), still holding items with the same Shelfmarks,
is in a different physical position on the floor-plan.
SHERLOC uses an internal database which allows both of these kinds
of changes to be reflected, thus minimising the work of keeping accurate
and current records of the whereabouts of shelved library holdings, in
a form that is accessible and meaningful to library users.
Floor-plan locations of any other named resources (e.g. photocopiers,
computer workstations, staff offices) in the library can be maintained
in the same way if required.
When entering new data to SHERLOC, it is best to start 'from the ground
up' - by first ensuring that graphic floor-plans of all required
areas are available (see "Setting-up new maps or
floor-plans"), then describing all the Locations
(and their positions on plans), and finally linking
each Shelfmark range to a Location.
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Linked URLs; Maps within Maps
When a Location is displayed to an end-user of SHERLOC, as a symbol on
a map or plan, it is possible to make the symbol 'contain' a URL, and work
like a HTML ImageMap, so that if the user clicks on it her Web browser
will be directed to the stored URL. For Locations where this is appropriate,
enter any complete URL in the same way as you would quote it elsewhere,
e.g. http://www.lse.ac.uk/blpes/infodesk.html, in the Linked
URL field of a Location record.
Because a Location on a SHERLOC map can itself be represented by a
URL, it is possible to 'nest' one (or more) sets of maps (and data about
Shelfmarks and Locations on them) within another. To enable this,
SHERLOC supports the concept of "Map-domains", each represented
by a sub-directory (nested to any depth) within the 'root' .../sherloc/data/
directory on the Webserver. In this way, for example, a map of London
with associated locations (of M25 Consortium libraries?) could 'contain'
subsidiary Map-domains, each with floor-plans, Shelfmarks and Locations
of each library.
A future version of SHERLOC will support corresponding 'devolution'
of responsibility for maintenance of data in multiple Map-domains, using
configuration files in each Map-domain sub-directory.
To link to another Map-domain (which must exist!) in this way, the
Linked URL entered must be like the example: "http://..../sherloc.cgi?&Map_domain=LBS"
(assuming a Map-domain and sub-directory called "LBS" has been defined,
and that the full URL path for the SHERLOC Web program is entered, instead
of "....").
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Permissible and Recommended names for Shelfmarks
and Locations
The punctuation characters ':' (colon) and '|' (vertical bar) must not
be used in the names of Shelfmarks or Locations, nor within the optional
Subject field of a Shelfmark record.
It's advisable to use names for Locations that will be reasonably 'obvious'
to library users when they search for them. Fully distinctive names
for resources are a good idea too - use "Ladies toilets, 3rd floor",
rather than "Toilets" (unless of course your library only has toilets in
one place!). Although SHERLOC imposes no absolute limits on the lengths
of Location names, it's also advisable to keep to a reasonable maximum
length (20 characters or less), because the width of pulldown menu fields
will expand to fit the longest name on the list, making the Web forms more
difficult to use.
If the names of Locations that are only for shelving (e.g. "floor
3, block 12") include either of the words "block" or "shelf" (with spaces
before and after) then SHERLOC itself assumes that users will not want
to find them (except in the course of looking for a Shelfmark), and so
it leaves them out of its' pulldown list of Locations; So make use
of this format where possible, to make finding other Locations simpler
for users.
The Shelfmarks recorded in SHERLOC need to be the 'shortest beginning
substrings' (i.e. the fewest letters/numbers, starting from the beginning)
that will uniquely identify the range of Shelfmarks for items that
are all shelved in 'the same place' (i.e. a single Location that can be
marked on a library floor-plan); The search mechanism used by the
end-user SHElfmark & Resource LOCator Web program assumes this,
so that when a user enters the full Shelfmark of an item (e.g. as found
in the library catalogue) it will return the longest Shelfmark found
in the SHERLOC database to which it matches.
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Changing the shelving area for a Shelfmark
-
In the CONTROL (left-hand) frame, select the Shelfmark you want to edit
from the Shelfmarks pulldown menu. To create a new Shelfmark
that's not already in the menu, select the empty entry at the top of the
list. The menu entries show Item Types and Shelfmarks, separated
by a '|' (vertical bar). Item Types may be: 'B' (Book), 'P' (Periodical),
'O' (Other), or '*' (asterisk) to indicate that Item Types are not used,
or that this Shelfmark location is for items of all types;
-
click on the Edit Shelfmark button.
If you want to delete this Shelfmark record:
-
Click on the Delete button, on the right of the TEXT (top) frame.
That's all!
To create or change a Shelfmark record:
-
In the TEXT (top) frame, enter the new Shelfmark code or amend the existing
one, in the Shelfmark field;
-
select the Item Type from one of the 'radio-buttons', selecting '*(any)'
if this record is for any library items with this Shelfmark;
-
enter (or amend) the Subject description for the Shelfmark, if you
wish;
-
select the Location for items of this Type and Shelfmark from the Location
pulldown menu; (If the correct Location is not included in the menu,
you should create it first, before trying to assign
Shelfmarks to it);
-
click on the Update button.
The map or floor-plan (if any) on which your chosen Location is marked
will be displayed in the MAPS (lower-right) frame, but this is just for
information - you don't have to do anything with it.
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Changing the physical Location for a shelving
area
-
In the CONTROL (left-hand) frame, select the Location you want to edit
from the Locations pulldown menu. To create a new Location
that's not already in the menu, select the empty entry at the top of the
list;
-
click on the Edit Location button.
If you want to delete this Location record:
-
Click on the Delete button, on the right of the TEXT (top) frame.
That's all!
To create or change a Location record:
-
In the TEXT (top) frame, enter the new Location name or amend the existing
one, in the Location field;
-
select the map or floor-plan on which this Location should be marked from
the Map-file pulldown menu; (If the correct Map-file is not
included in the menu, you must set it up first,
before trying record Locations on it);
-
enter (or amend) the Linked URL for the Location, if you wish;
-
click on the Update button;
The map or floor-plan selected, or on which this Location is already marked,
will be displayed in the MAPS (lower-right) frame; You may need to
scroll the frame vertically or horizontally to see all of it;
-
Click just once on the displayed map, at the point where the Location
should be shown.
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Marking Locations of other facilities on maps or
floor-plans
Follow exactly the same procedure as for entering the
Location of a shelving area. Bear in mind the advice
on choosing names for Locations.
For facilities about which there are other Web information sources
(the service times for an information desk, for example) the optional Linked
URL field can be particularly useful: Enter any complete
URL in the same way as you would quote it elsewhere, e.g. http://www.lse.ac.uk/blpes/infodesk.html.
For convenience and accuracy, you can use standard Windows Copy (^C) and
Paste (^V), copying from the 'current URL' field at the top of another
Web browser Window in which the 'target' resource has been found.
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Setting-up new maps or floor-plans
At present (version 1.0 of SHERLOC) this cannot be done automatically via
the updating program, so you may need technical assistance from IT Support
staff. Maps or plans used by SHERLOC must be in GIF format (like
most of the graphics on Web pages) and of a reasonable size and colour
scheme (i.e. so the colours are still distinguishable when printed in monochrome)
to be usable. They may either be saved (e.g. from a GIS or draughting
package used to produce printable maps), or scanned (at, say, 300 dpi or
less) from a printed plan. Choose the lowest scanning resolution
at which all text and details on the plan are still readable (on a normal
workstation screen) for the best performance from SHERLOC.
The only other preparation needed is to load each GIF file to the .../sherloc/data/
directory on the Webserver, and ensure that it will be readable by setting
its' Unix file-permissions (chmod command) to -rw-r--r--. SHERLOC
will recognise any file in this directory with filetype ".gif" (note -
in lowercase) as a map. It's sensible to name each file briefly,
but in a way that makes it obvious to local Library staff which plan it
is - e.g. "lr-basement.gif" might be the basement area of the LSE
Lionel Robbins building; "sa-floor1.gif" might be the first floor
of the St.Albans Campus Library building at UH.
If multiple Map-domains are maintained, the sub-directory
for each must be below the 'root' (default) .../sherloc/data/ directory
on the Webserver, and the sub-directory itself should be universally readable,
writeable and executable (chmod to drwxrwxrwx). Make sure GIF files
are loaded to the correct sub-directory for the Map-domain to which they
belong.
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Exporting, Clearing and Importing Datafiles
These are also probably tasks for IT Support staff - If you use them
make sure you know why first!
It is probably sensible to use Export to make a backup of the SHERLOC
Datafiles, before starting any major session of editing. Export
will produce two readable ASCII files: "logi_loc_exp.asc" and "phys_loc_exp.asc"
in the .../sherloc/data/ directory. Import will read the same
two files, adding their contents to records already in SHERLOC's
internal database. Clear-out will delete all current
contents of the internal database.
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