Yahoo Pipes is "interactive data aggregator and manipulator that lets you mashup your favorite online data sources." If that sounds interesting but a little confusing, check out The IBM developerWorks website which posted a feature article on Pipes with an in-depth description of the project and tutorial.

I have just registered and I am going to check it out. I will also let you know if it will help the average person be able to create their own mashups.

Labels: Mashups

Dean Giustini forwarded me the link to the article "An Introduction to Mashups for Health Librarians" published in the Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association (Volume 28, Number 1, Winter 2007 p. 19-22).

It is a great article for librarians to get a better understanding about mashups and the opportunities they present to librarians and library users.

Mashups have definitely created a sort of programming revolution due to the ease at which they can be created, developed, and improved. Granted, you don't need to be a "programming expert with training in C++ or Visual Basic," but according to ProgrammableWeb. com creating mashups is still "mostly a programmer's affair." There are tools such as MapBuilder and Wayfaring that can help you create basic mapping mashups without any coding. Google also offers some help with their Google AJAX Search API Wizards which allows you to enhance your site with Google search without writing any code. But to create other types of mashup programs you might need to know some programming languages to use the APIs. For example, the API for ISBNdb.com, a worldwide database of books, "is primarily intended for use by programmers."

Don't be turned off by mashups just because you think you lack the necessary programming skills. There will come a time when it will be very easy for non-programmers to make some cool library related mashups. What is important is that librarians who don't yet have the skills to create mashups, keep them in the back of their mind and keep their eyes open for the mashups created by other techie and programming librarians.

Labels: Mashups

The SirsiDynix Institute will be hosting the free seminar Mar 06, 2007 (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern), Mashups : A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That. Darlene Fichter, Head of the Indigenous Studies Portal and Coordinator of Data Library Services, University of Saskatchewan Library, will be discussing mashups.

Description:
"What's a mashup and why would I want one? Whether you're a reference librarian, library trainer, a library webmaster or teacher- librarian knowing about this new breed of web application is important. A 'mashup' mixes content from independent sources to create something new. Many mashups are simple to create and require little technical know-how, allowing library staff and library users of all sorts to wave a magic wand and create something new. Jump on board and take a tour of interesting mashups, including some library examples, and explore the opportunities for libraries to remix library and other data sources to create new and innovative services. Take away tools that you can learn about and build mashups, for users or yourself, and recommended sites to learn more. Jump start your thinking on the new Web 2.0 ecosystem that relies on symbiotic relationships and communities rather than 'monolithic systems' or the 'kindness of strangers'."

This is a free hour long seminar, so make sure you register for it if you are interested.

If you are interested by you will be in a meeting, on vacation, abducted by aliens, or otherwise occupied during that time, rest easy you can download it for free from the SirsiDynix Institute archives. Podcast listeners can Subscribe to the SirsiDynix Institute podcast feed and receive automatic downloads of the audio portion of each Institute seminar (in mp3 format).

Labels: Mashups