[OPEN-ILS-DEV] Overdrive API integration

[Kathy Lussier]

Hi Jeff,

I can't respond to the specific downsides you mention in this e-mail, 
but I do think there is a lot of interest in seeing this Overdrive API 
support available in the next release of Evergreen if at all possible. 
Although it would be wonderful to have something that could be modified 
to work with other API's, I would rather see working code now than wait 
for the perfect solution if it's something that can be reasonably 
integrated into the core code.

It seems like this would be a good topic for the " Feedback for New 
Features Under Development" portion of tomorrow's developer meeting. 
Will you be attending the meeting?

Thanks for your work on this!

Kathy


On 01/12/2015 03:49 PM, Jeff Davis wrote:
> I mentioned a few months back that Sitka has been working on integrating
> Overdrive's API into the Evergreen OPAC -- specifically, using the
> Overdrive API to allow patrons to checkout and place holds (and view
> checkouts/holds, suspend or cancel holds, etc.) on Overdrive titles
> directly within the OPAC.  Our code for this is currently in production
> for one of our libraries, and I'm expecting a couple more of our
> libraries to go live with it in the next few weeks.
>
> It's not fully documented yet, but the code is available here:
>
> http://git.sitka.bclibraries.ca/gitweb/?p=sitka/overdrive-evergreen-opac.git;a=summary
>
> Build and install instructions are outlined in the README.  As currently
> implemented, this is a Javascript-based add-on or overlay to the
> existing OPAC.  Actual changes to Evergreen are minimal: basically, we
> add a setting to config.tt2 which, if enabled, includes an overdrive.tt2
> file which pulls in the OD API Javascript, as seen here:
>
> http://git.sitka.bclibraries.ca/gitweb/?p=sitka/evergreen.git;a=commitdiff;h=f8d5d13
>
> One downside of this project in its current form is that it introduces
> new dependencies, particularly jQuery and require.js.  It's also written
> in Coffeescript and requires a recent release of node.js to be compiled
> to Javascript (in my experience it will compile with the packaged
> version of node on Ubuntu 14.04, but not 12.04).  Another downside is
> that it's closely tied to the Overdrive API specifically; it is perhaps
> possible to modify it to work with other APIs (e.g. OneclickDigital),
> but that's not as trivial as I'd have liked.
>
> It would obviously be great to have the Overdrive API integration
> available with the next release of Evergreen.  Given the aforementioned
> downsides, though, I assume we don't want to include this in the 2.8
> release as-is.  On the other hand, it actually works.  So I'm not quite
> sure how to proceed with integrating and supporting this project for the
> broader Evergreen community.

-- 
Kathy Lussier
Project Coordinator
Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
(508) 343-0128
klussier at masslnc.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier

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