Library Project
Vision
Version <1.0>
Revision History
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Date |
Version |
Description |
Author |
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01/Oct/2001 |
1.0 |
Initial Creation |
Mark Bondurant, Stacy Gordon |
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Purpose 1
1.2 Scope 1
1.3 Definitions,
Acronyms and Abbreviations 1
1.4 References 1
1.5 Overview 1
2. Positioning 1
3. Stakeholder and
User Descriptions 2
3.1 Stakeholder
Summary 2
3.2 User
Summary 2
3.3 User
environment 2
4. Product
Overview 3
4.1 Summary
of Capabilities 3
4.2 Assumptions
and Dependencies 3
4.3 Cost
and Pricing 3
5. Product
Features 3
5.1 Manual
Item Entry 3
5.2 Manual
Item Editing 3
5.3 MARC
Record Item Entry 3
5.4 MARC
Record Item Output 3
5.5 Attributes
Search 3
5.6 User
Account Creation 3
5.7 User
Account Editing 4
5.8 User
Activity 4
6. Quality Ranges 4
7. Precedence and
Priority 4
8. Other Product
Requirements 4
8.1 Applicable
Standards 4
8.2 System
Requirements 4
8.3 Performance
Requirements 4
9. Documentation
Requirements 4
9.1 User
Manual 4
9.2 Online
Help 4
9.3 Labeling
and Packaging 4
Vision
The purpose of this document is to collect, analyze and define high-level needs and features of the Library System. It focuses on the capabilities needed by the stakeholders, and the target users, and why these needs exist. The details of how the Library System fulfils these needs are detailed in the use-case and supplementary specifications.
The Library System will collect information and make it available to our friends and family. It will allow us to identify content and will provide its location. It will also act as a showcase for our talents, acting as an extension to our resumes. It may even someday become a salable system. This vision statement is an effort to pin down the needs and goals we wish to satisfy through this system and to fix some boundaries, which will give us a clearer target. By creating a clear vision for the project, the means to achieving that vision should become clearer and our efforts should be more focused.
This system will not only collect information about our book library, but all other forms of information content as well. Included information could include, web pages, computer CD’s, resumes, photographs, and even old tax information. It will interact with other information cataloging systems through standard protocols in order to take advantage of information already cataloged. Some of these protocols may include MARC or OCLC records. Information will be made available through a flexible security system and may even allow for charges for access to information. This flexibility must be built into the initial system for it will be very hard to add it later.
o Item – A asset capable of being catalogued.
o MARC – Machine-Readable Cataloging.
o MARC Record – A computerized bibliographic record that has been content designated according to MARC conventions.
o OCLC – Online Computer Library Center. A computer-based bibliographic network that is the largest and most comprehensive utility in the world.
o Stakeholder -- Individuals or business entities who have a stake in the results of the project.
o Wynar’s Introduction to Cataloging and Classification -- Ninth Edition/Arlene G. Taylor; with the assistance of David P. Miller. Copyright 2000. ISBN 1-56308-494-5
[This subsection should describe what the rest of the Vision contains and explain how the document is organized.]
In our “day to day” work, we find that we don’t always get the opportunity to advance our skills in the ways that we would like to see them expand. The day is filled with legacy problems and small fires that must be put out. It is often a long time between opportunities to exercise the creative skills that makes our work fulfilling. Sometimes these projects have to be created outside the scope of the workplace. Not all projects have to be for a business purpose. Sometimes the creation of a thing can be the end in itself.
There are several ways in which profit may be derived from this project. We may find that the system is salable. We may find that the existence of the system will enhance our careers. We expect neither of these benefits. In these dark economic times, there is little business opportunity to exploit, but this system will be years in the making and who knows where the effort will lead. It will at least be fun to see the information we enter come back to us in our queries.
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Name |
Represents |
Role |
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Librarian |
Defines the problem domain. |
Ensures that the system is of professional quality. Brings cataloging experience to the development process. |
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Artist |
Defines logos, look and feel. |
Ensures that screens are uncluttered and single minded in purpose. Creates a pleasant work atmosphere. |
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System Analyst |
Defines structure and flow. |
Isolates user needs and defines tools necessary to achieve them. Scripts events. |
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Software Engineer |
Implements the system. |
Insures that the system is efficiently designed and implemented. |
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Name |
Description |
Stakeholder |
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Cataloger |
Adds to or modifies the database. |
Librarian |
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System Manager |
Insures that system resources are adequate for the efficient operation of the system. |
Software Engineer |
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Researcher |
Utilizes the system to locate resources. |
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User access will be through publicly available web pages, through our site http://www.bongo.net/library/. Search capabilities will be available to all. Cataloging and system management capabilities will be restricted. Restricted capabilities will not be visible unless the user has access to them.
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Customer
Benefit |
Supporting Features |
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New users can quickly get up to speed. |
Online
manual, screen based help, tutorial, and system modification notices assists
users in quickly understanding the system. |
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Items and classes of items can be quickly physically
located. |
Searches
use common industry interfaces and methods to locate materials to aid in ease
of use. |
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Items can be quickly catalogued. |
Entry
is accomplished through a single screen.
Where ever possible, choices are clearly displayed. |
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Entered information is immediately available. |
Replication
server allows current database information to be shared across the enterprise |
The system will run on our Windows 2000 server using SQL Server 2000 for its database. This is contingent on repairing the damage caused by the .NET beta 2 release. A backup device has yet to be found, but one will be provided eventually.
The system will be free, in that no money will change hands. It will, however, be expensive to implement and maintain. The building of the catalog will be a never ending process, accomplished mostly during idle lunch hours and late evenings. Some catalog data is available for free from other library systems and where possible, this data will be accessed and used. A great deal of it is proprietary and can only be cataloged by us. This includes pictures and sound and video recordings.
Item entries may be created through a data entry screen.
Item entries may be altered by first searching for them and then editing them.
MARC records may be uploaded into the database from disk. Missing required fields will be queried for at time of upload.
Result sets from searches may be saved to disk in MARC record format.
Result sets of items may be produced by performing a search on any of these categories: title, author, keyword, description, subject, media, asset location, entry date, copyright, ISBN, call number, or entry source.
All users can log in as anonymous, but to be able to access deeper level system functions user must first identify themselves. User accounts can be created and rights can be granted. Rights levels may include to ability to view family pictures or sound recordings and to access data entry and system functions.
User accounts can be altered.
User activity is logged and that activity can be viewed.
The system will only be available when the server it is running on is on. The availability of the server is constrained by our ability to provide maintenance and electricity. The cost of providing both has yet to be determined. The server can be rendered unavailable for many reasons: physical or software failure or through vandalism. Repair may have to wait until the weekend, rebooting may not occur until that evening. When the server is unavailable, failover to the static site will occur and only documentation will be available.
Obviously, data entry comes first. Building the database is of preeminent importance because of our time constrains. Any opportunity to perform data entry cannot be passed by. Since searches will be limited by security constraints, user management will have to come next, then searches, and then MARC record support.
MARC record support must be total and at least one system must be found to test against.
Two forms of backup will be necessary. A tape backup unit will have to be purchased when funds permit and a disk backup volume on a separate machine will have to be created so that backup can be accomplished over the network. Necessary disk and memory will have to be purchased, if present accommodations are not adequate, although the existing 22 gig and 512 meg should be enough. A battery backup system has also been installed to smooth power surges. The current outbound connection is a bit slow, 64Kps, but usage should be light and this should not pose a problem.
Since the system is for demonstration and personal use only and system availability is not guaranteed, then this is only a matter of personal discomfort. Again, because usage is expected to be very light, at most three simultaneous users, performance of the hardware and web server should not be an issue. The primary bottleneck will be database performance. This may degrade as the database grows if the design is flawed. Database performance will therefore be the primary focus of design efforts.
The user manual will be online. The level of detail will be as deep as I can stand to make it and will bear in mind the hoped for audience of relatives and friends with their varying levels of computer experience. Because the system is a technical demonstration, the manual will also encompass technical aspects of the system.
Each screen will have an attending help page.
Logos and branding will be unique and copyrighted. All designs of an artistic nature will be created in-house.