Coding for Librarians: Learning by Example

Learning even the rudiments of how to code can increase productivity and effectiveness for librarians and their organizations, and getting started is easier than you might think. The result of interviews with more than 50 librarians, this issue of Library Technology Reports describes and links to dozens of short programs, most with less than 100 lines of code, that are in place and solving problems in libraries today.

For example, Becky Yoose eliminated several steps in automating a purchase process triggered by patron-driven acquisition, measurably saving catalogers’ time. Yelton also addresses organizational issues such as gaining buy-in from administrators, collaborating with nontechnical staff, and overcoming institutional barriers. Coverage includes:

• Scripts that present data to help decision-makers
• Streamlining data import, export, and clean-up
• Improving user experience with Javascript or jQery
• Three “deep dive” examples with line-by-line analysis, addressing patron alerts, ILS reporting, and a LibGuides organizer
• Survey respondents’ recommendations on how to learn coding