1. | Introduction |
2. | Classification System Management |
2.1. | Classification Systems in intraLibrary |
2.2. | Adding a Classification System: First Steps |
2.3. | Adding a Classification System Manually |
2.4. | Importing a Classification System |
2.5. | Editing or Deleting a Classification System |
3. | Management of Resources |
3.1. | Introduction |
3.2. | Viewing Information about Resources |
3.3. | Changing the Group and Workflow for a Resource |
3.4. | Changing the Collections for a Resource |
3.5. | Deleting Comments on Resources |
3.6. | Moving and Changing Collections for Resources in Bulk |
IntraLibrary has four types of user role: User, Contributor, Librarian and Administrator.
However, there are also some additional tasks within intraLibrary that Librarian users are able to carry out, these are described here. The Librarian role is aimed at users who are concerned with managing resources and metadata in an installation of intraLibrary, but who do not need to be involved in Administrator tasks such as user management and system configuration. System roles based on the Librarian-type may have the following privileges additional to a Contributor-type role:
This manual gives an overview of all of these functions in intraLibrary.
Resources within intraLibrary may be discovered by users through searching or browsing. Browsing the library is enabled through the use of classification schemes, or taxonomies, which appear in the left-hand screen in the Browse view. Resources are associated with nodes on these classification systems via the Classification fields in the resources' metadata. IntraLibrary can support multiple classification systems for classifying resources, and any resource may be classified at any number of nodes in a system or systems.
Although a classification system may sometimes appear visually like a file hierarchy it is important to understand that they are significantly different. In a file hierachy the files are located at only one place in the tree structure. In a classification system the file is located in the database and links to that file can exist in many places in the classification tree. This allows classification to be used to locate a resource in all the places where it might logically be relevant, for example an image of the amphitheatre at Pompeii might be classified under Theatre, Italy, Tourism, Archeology, Ancient History.
IntraLibrary is supplied with no classification systems by default. At least one classification system must be created or imported before contributing users can classify their resources. If resources or metadata files are being imported into the library with classifications already completed, any classification system used must be added to the library before the resources or metadata are imported.
IntraLibrary supports the IEEE Learning Resource Metadata (LOM) standard, and the IMS Learning Resource Meta-data specification that it is based on. In the LOM, classification schemes or taxonomies can be used to classify resources for various purposes, e.g. by discipline (subject), accessibility, educational level, competency or prerequisite. This means that an installation of intraLibrary can support browsing of its resources in a number of different ways, for example, one or more of the following:
There are two ways to add a classification system to intraLibrary:
For both methods, you must begin by creating an entry point for the system in the browse tree, and entering some details about the system, as follows:
Property | Purpose | Examples |
Classification System Name | This will appear as the name of the classification system in the Browse view | Dewey Decimal; MeSH; LearnDirect; Accessibility Features; Local Competency Scheme |
Description | The text of the description will appear when a user hovers over the name of the classification system. | "Browse here by specific medical topics"; "Local Authority classification for school curricula" |
Source | This property uniquely identifies the classification system, both within intraLibrary and externally for metadata harvesting, sharing metadata records, etc. Because of this, it cannot be edited once resources are classified under this classification system. If you wish to change this property you will have to remove any resources from this classification system by putting them back into a workflow and deleting the classification. | |
Language | Select the language of the classification system from the drop-down menu. | |
Order Sections By | Selecting name means that the nodes of the classification system will be listed in the left-hand Browse view alphabetically. Selecting reference id means that they will be listed according to identification numbers associated with them in the library's underlying database. Reference IDs may be applied whether adding the classification system manually, or importing it as a ZThes file (the ZThes property termID is used in intraLibrary's Reference ID field). | |
Colour | Colour coding is used to visually distinguish between multiple classification systems in the Browse view. |
Once you have created a top-level node for your classification system and entered details about it, as noted above under section 2.2 Adding a Classification System: First Steps, you can continue adding the classification system manually, using the buttons on the classification systems toolbar. The functions available are:
Adding nodes to your classification system:
Property | Purpose | Examples |
Name | This field is compulsory. Enter the name of the node (sometimes known as the preferred term) as you want it to appear in the classification system in the Browse view. | For a medical education subject taxonomy: "Nursing practice"; For a local geographical classification: "Glasgow (Scotland)"; For classifying by educational purpose: "Multichoice questions"; For an accessibility taxonomy: "Usable with screen reader"; etc. |
Description | Scope notes, usage notes or other information about the node may be entered here. These will appear when browsing for resources, near the top of the right-hand screen and also when hovering the mouse over the taxonomy node. | "All resources that may be used with a screen reader are classified here"; "Only used for research papers about communism as a political system, movement or ideology. Papers about the Communist Party are classified under Political Parties"; "Competency: These learning resources support students learning to prepare and administer injections" |
Ref Id | This field is compulsory. The ref id for the node will determine in what order the nodes are listed in the classification system in the Browse view, when the Order Sections By property of the system is set to ref id. See above under section 2.2 Adding a Classification System: First Steps for more information. The Ref Id is effectively a code and should therefore not be language specific. It should not, for example, contain accented characters. When sections are ordered by Ref Id they are in fact sorted alphanumerically based on text in the RefId. This means that if numbers are to be sorted numerically they must all have the same number of digits, for example 001, 002, .. 012, 013, etc. Or they can also include letters: A001, A002, B001, B002, etc. | 001.1; A235 |
Use For | Alternative terms for a node may be entered here. They will appear when the mouse hovers over the node in the classification system in the Browse view. To enter more use for terms, click on the ![]() |
Where the node name, or preferred term, is Mountain Lions, use for, or alternative terms, might include Pumas and Cougars. |
Once a classification system has been added to intraLibrary, it will be necessary for an Administrator user to set up access to that classification system for relevant collections, in order for it to be visible to users. See the intraLibrary manual Administrator's Guide for more information.
The fields used to set up a classification node can be used in searches. To discover all the resources classified in a specific node the fields specified above can be used as shown in the table below.
Property | Search parameter |
Name | Classification |
Description | Classification Node Description |
Ref Id | Classification Node Identifier |
Use For | Use For terms can also be searched under Classification Node Description. |
Classification systems may be imported into intraLibrary from an XML file in ZThes format (http://zthes.z3950.org). IntraLibrary currently supports:
To import a classification system:
Once a classification system has been added to intraLibrary, it will be necessary for an Administrator user to set up access to that classification system for relevant collections, in order for it to be visible to users. See the intraLibrary manual Administrator's Guide for more information.
Classification systems in intraLibrary may be edited or deleted, whether they were added manually or imported as ZThes files. Sections of classification systems, i.e. individual nodes plus all of the nodes underneath them (known as children of the node) may be deleted. Sections of classification systems (i.e. nodes and their children) may also be imported as ZThes files.
Editing a classification manually: Individual nodes in a classification system may be edited by clicking on the edit button on the toolbar: , then clicking on the node. A Section Editor form will then open in the right-hand screen. See the table above under section 2.3 Adding a Classification System Manually for more information on the node properties that you can edit. Nodes may also be added, deleted, or cut-and-pasted manually, using the buttons on the classification systems toolbar. The functions available are:
NB: If a node or any of its children have any resources classified against them, you will only be able to edit the use for terms and the description for that node. You will not be able to edit the name or ref id for that node, nor will you be able to delete the node. In this case you will need to move the resources classified there into a workflow and delete the relevant classifications from their metadata in the Classification Editor.
Editing a classification in ZThes format: IntraLibrary does not support export of ZThes files. To edit a classification system that was imported in ZThes format, you can edit it in the intraLibrary interface; however, this will not change your original ZThes file. If you choose to edit the ZThes file itself, you can delete the original classification system from intraLibrary, by clicking on its name and clicking the delete node button in the toolbar: . You can then import the new version. NB: Deleting a taxonomy means that any resources that were classified there will need to have their classifications saved again in the Metadata Editor when the taxonomy is re-imported. For more information, see below under Deleting a classification system.
It is also possible to import sections of classification systems (individual nodes and their children) as ZThes files, by clicking on the node underneath which you wish to import the section, and following the instructions given above in section 2.4 Importing a Classification System.
Deleting a classification system: A classification system may be deleted whether or not there are resources classified there. If there are resources classified there, a warning message will appear if you attempt to delete the classification system: "Do you want to force deletion? This section or its children have resources classified against them." Click OK if you still want to delete. Any resources classified against the deleted system will retain all classifications in their metadata. If you re-import the same classification system, you can re-classify these resources using the Classification Editor:
NB: IntraLibrary uses the ZThes property termID, or intraLibrary property ref id, to identify classification nodes, not the name of the node. If you have edited the name of the node at which the resource is classified, the resource will still be classified at that node, but with the old node name still appearing in the metadata for that resource. To change the classification as it appears in the resource's metadata you will need to delete the classification while in the Classification Editor and go through the process of classifying the resource against the new node name. If you have edited the termID in the ZThes file, the resource will not be re-classified against the node as noted in the steps above.
However, any other editing or deleting of any of the nodes within a classification system can only be carried out if there are no resources classified anywhere in that classification system. This includes resources that are still in someone's Work Area and haven't yet been published to the library.
As well as managing classification systems, Librarian users of intraLibrary are able to carry out the following tasks involved in managing the contents of the library:
For Librarian and Administrator users, the "Things you can do with this resource" section of the resource page
includes a
workflow option accessed by clicking the . Selecting workflow opens a pop-up
window which shows information about the group the resource belongs to, and the workflow stage the resource is in, if any. If the resource is not in a workflow the pop-up box will
say: "This resource has completed the workflow". If the resource is reserved by a user, the pop-up window will give the user's name with the reserved
icon:
. Clicking the reserved icon will un-reserve the resource, putting it into
the Available area for the current group which has access to the workflow it is in. Un-reserving the resource also allows an Librarian or Administrator user to move,
delete or change collections for the resource.
The workflow pop-up window also includes a link to show the full workflow history for the resource. When clicked on, the pop-up then shows a Resource History view. This view includes a table showing all previous workflow processes carried out on the resource. For each process, the table indicates the date, time, previous group, current group, previous stage, current stage, collections, workflow process, the specific action taken, and the user who carried out the action.
For Librarian and Administrator users, the resource page includes a move option available in "Things you can do with this resource". You can move resources that have not been reserved by a user into any user group and workflow stage by selecting this option. If you wish to move a resource that has been reserved by a user, you will need to follow the instructions for un-reserving resources above in Viewing Information about Resources.
Once you have selected the move option, you will see a pop-up window that contains a form allowing you to select a group and workflow stage to put the resource into. You can also add comments about the resource and what you are doing with it. This comment will be made available to whoever is working on the resource in their Work Area; they will need to click on the workflow option from their resource page, then view the resource's history, to read it.
For Librarian and Administrator users, the resource page includes a move option available in "Things you can do with this resource". You can put any resource that has not been reserved by a user into any collection by selecting this option. If you wish to move a resource that has been reserved by a user, you will need to follow the instructions for un-reserving resources above in Viewing Information about Resources.
Once you have selected the move option, you will see a pop-up window that contains a form that lets you select the collections you want the resource to be in. It is possible to select more than one collection:
Click on highlighted items to deselect them.
While a Librarian user type canmnot delete resources owned by others they do have the ability to delete comments made by anyone on resources.
This enables Librarian users to "police" derogatory comments. On the resource page Librarians will see a small delete icon
next to each comment which will delete the comment when clicked.
Librarian and Administrator users may move multiple resources to a different collection or collections, or to a different workflow stage, by adding the resources in question to your Basket. Then, when in your Basket, you can click Move Basket Contents or Change Collections to move/change all of the resources. A dialog box similar to that you see when moving individual resources will appear offering options for moving/changing. If any of the resources have been reserved by users, you will need to click on the Unreserve Basket Contents button in the left-hand pane first.