Upcoming BCLA Course Sept 15&16 Data Manipulation Using Perl

Introduction to Data Manipulation Using Perl

www.bcla.bc.ca/perl
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When: 09/15/2007 (09:30AM - 05:00PM)
Where: 350 West Georgia St., Vancouver BC

BCLA's Continuing Education Committee presents Introduction to Data
Manipulation Using Perl

Date:
Sat. Sept. 15 & Sun. Sept. 16

Time:
9:30-5:00
Lunch is NOT included, but there will be a one hour break.

Location:
Vancouver Public Library Central Branch

Course Description:
Library staff encounter structured data daily, but the tools for
manipulating that data are often inflexible or tied too closely to a
library's Integrated Library System to suit the task at hand.

Many common scripting languages like Perl offer alternatives to the
desktop and ILS-specific utilities used to create and manipulated
batches of MARC records. XML is also an increasingly common format for
exchanging data between applications. At the same time, many content
vendors can only provide data in spreadsheets or other delimited
formats.

This workshop will teach participants how to use Perl, a common,
cross-platform scripting language, to manipulate data in the formats
mentioned above. The workshop will be hands-on.

Benefits for the participants:
- Learn to recognize where the use of scripting tools is preferable to
using graphical data manipulation utilities (and vice versa)
- Learn to write Perl scripts that are specific to their library's
needs and to the task at hand
- Decide if learning more about scripting languages is a worthwhile investment

Key topics to be covered:
- Introduction to Perl features, syntax and script structure
- Reading and writing MARC records using Perl
- Reading and writing XML using Perl

Who should participate:
Library staff who need to create or modify vendor or local data files
in MARC or XML, or who need to create MARC or XML files from delimited
or other structured formats. Staff from technical services,
collections, and systems will find this course useful.

Students should be comfortable with using a text editor and an
operating system command prompt. It is assumed students will have
little to no prior knowledge of Perl or other scripting languages.

About the presenters:
John Durno is Coordinator, Information Technology Services, University
of Victoria Libraries

Mark Jordan is Head of Library Systems, Simon Fraser University

Cost:
$250 members
$300 non-members

We need a minimum of 4 registrations before August 8 for this event to
go forward, so please register as soon as possible! If registration
reaches capacity, we will be taking a wait list. An administration fee
of $25 will apply to any cancellations.

Contact: office@bcla.bc.ca

PNLA 2007 Conference - Edmonton Aug 8-11

This years PNLA Conference will take place August 8-11, in Edmonton AB.

Registration and Conference Program is now available.

http://pnla.org/events/conference07/