David Munsey-Kano's Dartmouth Projects
April 1999 - June 2000

Updated on: April 5, 2001

e-mail: david.munsey-kano@dartmouth.edu

Here are some of the things I have helped to create and are either released to the general community or were experimental, from when I joined Dartmouth through July 2000. All of them are Web based:

Back up to DMK Projects Index Page

Released:

• The Web Authentication Proxy Server allows Dartmouth community members (anyone that has a Dartmouth Name Directory entry) that connect to the internet through a third party ISP to access IP controlled services. I researched various Web Proxy server solutions and aquired, built, tested, documented and released the Apache based solution we currently employ.
  
• The Inktomi Search page has been customized to provide a basic Dartmouth Web site look and include a search dialog for common searches done at Dartmouth. I wrote the Python code modifications to customize the standard search forms.
  
• The Digital Resources License Information database allows Library staff to enter information about resources for which we have purchased licenses. Other staff such as ILL as well as the general community can then search the database to view this information. I wrote the php3 / Oracle code to implement this system. This is the second working implementation. In the process I learned how to use ColdFusion, but decided php better suited my needs for a server side scripting language.
  
  
• The DCIS Databases, by Name and by Category pages now have a look and feel similar to the rest of the main Library web site. They also have folders to organize the databases. Small (i) information icons next to the titles in the by Name or by Category listings allow the user to read the description for the database and "titles only" links take you back. While the format of the output was enhanced, I found HTML coding that improves performance. This is especially noticable in the long "by Name" list which now displays the first screen of data faster than before. I wrote the perl script that generates these pages nightly from the "Databases" DCIS database.
  
• The Dartmouth College Administrative Guide is an on-line set of policy, procedural and other documents. This database was previously implemented in a flat file database loaded from text files in a unix environment. The new version allows various authorized Dartmouth employees to create and upload their own "candidate" documents directly into the database from their web browser. The Dartmouth editor is automatically sent an e-mail message to review the candidate document(s) and mark them as published when they are ready. Contact Information is stored in related tables for ease of maintanance. There is a well written news article which was written to announce the database. There is also on-line documentation that describes this application. For more information please contact David .  This new application was released on 4/17/2000. I wrote the php / Oracle code for the current version of this application. In the process, I helped pioneer the use of the Oracle ConText full text searching engine here at Dartmouth. 
  
  
• The Staff Training & Development Class Calendar is dynamically created by a php / Oracle database application that allows any STDC member to create a new class sign-up page. The sign-up pages for each class (which are only accessible by Dartmouth Library Employees) use Kerberos authentication to determine the user's name and offers a single button for the user to sign-up or remove themselves from the participant list (depending on if they have signed up before). Automatic e-mail confirmations are sent to participants after they sign-up or remove themselves.
  
  If you are interested in seeing the whole user interface and you are not an STDC member, email David and he will set you up with temporary access or point you to a test copy of the application.

• The STDC sponsored Acronyms Definition List is generated from a simple database which is updated via Web forms. Any Dartmouth Library employee may suggest a new acronym (whether they know the definition or not!) and any STDC (Staff Training and Development Committee of the Dartmouth College Library) member may make final approval of the suggested database entry.

  If you are interested in seeing the whole user interface and you are not an STDC member, email David and he will set you up with temporary access or point you to a test copy of the application.
  

• I am responsible for importing the Course information from the Organization, Regulations and Courses (ORC) web pages into the DCIS database used to search same. This is done once a year in the fall.
  

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Experimental:

• I created a prototype Library Catalog Web based user interface using JavaScript, frames and layers. This is no longer functioning against a server, but the basic interface still works right up to the point of pressing the "Search" button! This experiment allowed me to learn JavaScript and put forth ideas about how the Library Catalog could evolve on the Web. Since then the decision has been made to move the catalog to the Innopac Webpac.

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This page last updated on 3/26/2001