This is the September 2015 edition of the Fedora Newsletter. This newsletter summarizes the most significant activities within the Fedora community over the last month.
Call for Action
Fedora is designed, built, used, and supported by the community. Here is an easy and important way that you can contribute to the effort:
As always, your development contributions are extremely encouraged. Please sign up for one of the ongoing maintenance code sprints [1] or add a comment to any of these tickets [2] if you are interested in understanding better what exactly is needed.
Software development
Community-driven Features
Web Access Control
Designed by Fedora community stakeholders in August, the first WebAccessControl code sprint was completed on September 4. An initial implementation is now available, with associated documentation and common scenarios that can be used to demonstrate the current functionality. A second code sprint to complete the work is scheduled to run from October 26 - November 6.
API Extension Architecture
The API Extension Architecture, a community approach to extending Fedora 4 capabilities in a way that can be used across the various Fedora 4 client application stacks, continues to be a popular topic amongst Fedora community members. The fourth planning meeting was held on September 25, and the next meeting is scheduled for October 9. Use cases continue to be collected and refined, and guidelines for evaluating use cases have been created.
If you are interested in the API Extension Architecture, please join the discussion on the fedora-community mailing list and attend the next meeting [11].
Community Initiatives
Hydra/Islandora Interoperability
As recently discussed on the mailing list [12], interoperability between Hydra, Islandora, and other Fedora front-ends is now a real possibility, thanks largely to a convergence on common practices and procedures in Fedora 4:
- Islandora is currently in the process of porting content models into PCDM [13]
- Hydra has groundwork in place (the hydra-pcdm and hydra-works gems)
- Hydra has some LDP practices to share
- Islandora has some asynchronous workflow practices to share
- There is common interest in WebAC (and a working implementation in hydra-access-controls)
Two meetings have been scheduled to help move this initiative forward:
- An informal meeting [14] at Hydra Connect [15] in September
- A full-day hackfest a Islandora Camp Connecticut [16] in October
If you are interested in helping to move this initiative forward, please follow the discussions on the mailing list, and sign up to attend one or both of the preceding events if you are available.
Conferences and events
Events in September
Hydra Connect
Hydra Connect [21] was held at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis campus, Minneapolis, MN, from 21-24 September. This event brought together 200 Hydra implementers from 60 institutions around the world. Presentations slides are available on the wiki.
Paris Fedora 4 Workshop and User Group Meeting
A one-day Fedora 4 Workshop and User Group Meeting was held on Sept. 25, 2015 in Paris, France. David Wilcox, the Fedora Product Manager, delivered a Fedora 4 workshop that included an overview of core and extended features along with a hands-on section. Regional Fedora users also presented updates on local projects and use cases for features in Fedora 4. All workshop and user group slides can be found on the wiki.
Upcoming Events
DC Area Fedora User Group Meeting
The DC Area Fedora User Group, which meets twice annually, will hold its next meeting [25] on October 7-8 at the Univesity of Maryland. The meeting will include both user group presentations and a Fedora 4 workshop. Presentation and workshop slides will be posted following the meeting.
Islandora Camp Connecticut
Islandora Camp is a three day event centered around the community of people who use and improve Islandora. The schedule offers two days of conference sessions and a full day of hands-on workshop training working with Islandora as either a developer or front-end site administrator. This camp will take place in downtown Hartford, CT from October 20 - 22. For full information and to register, please visit the camp web page.
eResearch Australasia
David Wilcox will travel to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, to deliver a Fedora 4 training workshop on October 23 at the eResearch Australasia conference. This event will also be an opportunity for the regional Australasian Fedora Users group to meet and discuss Fedora implementations in Australasia. An informal meeting has been scheduled for October 22 for anyone who would like to attend.
Mid-West Fedora Users Group Meeting
The first meeting of the newly-formed Mid-West Fedora Users Group will take place on October 22-23 at the Art Institute of Chicago. The event will feature presentations from regional Fedora users and a Fedora 4 workshop delivered by Andrew Woods. Please register in advance if you would like to attend.
DLF Forum
David Wilcox will be in Vancouver, BC for the annual DLF Forum to deliver a Fedora 4 workshop on October 27. Please register for the workshop in advance using the Sched app.
References
[1]
