Paul F. Bramscher and John T. Butler
The University of Minnesota Libraries have developed and implemented LibCMS, an open architecture content management system (CMS) that combines with the previously‐built LibData…
Abstract
Purpose
The University of Minnesota Libraries have developed and implemented LibCMS, an open architecture content management system (CMS) that combines with the previously‐built LibData system to meet the web page publishing and site management needs of a large research library. The purpose of this paper is to present overall observations about CMSs and their implementation, and details the requirements and design of LibCMS.
Design/methodology/approach
The system's development followed an evolutionary path moving from a modest data repository, to a large system with a three‐tiered web page authoring environment, and now to a CMS with site‐level management capability. This work leaned on abstract tree structures to manage navigational hierarchy both within and between pages. Methods were developed to represent tree architecture in an RDBMS while economizing traversal and maintenance of nodes.
Findings
Developing the CMS locally ensured that design followed the requirements of a large academic library environment and its service/business model. This also allowed the implementation to be an organic extension of existing authoring tools in the environment rather than the potentially disruptive incorporation of a new system.
Research limitations/implications
Architectural problems encountered here have traditionally been treated outside of library and information science. The challenge both in implementation and in research has been to bridge gaps between computer science and applied technologies in libraries.
Practical implications
Implementations of open source, library‐oriented CMSs could, over time, open the door to community software development and distribution efforts.
Originality/value
This paper uniquely details the rationale and design of a library‐oriented, open architecture CMS, built to interoperate with a large, content repository.
Details
Keywords
To introduce the special theme issue on “Content management systems”.
Abstract
Purpose
To introduce the special theme issue on “Content management systems”.
Design/methodology/approach
Each of the articles in the theme are described in brief.
Findings
The articles cover a range of topics from implementation to interoperability, object‐oriented database management systems, and research about meeting user needs.
Originality/value
Libraries have only just begun to realize that their web presence is potentially as rich and complex as their online catalogs, and that it needs an equal amount of management to keep it under control.