I’ve finally made some progress on the library lookup project I started last year. There’s still more I’d like to do, but it’s reached the stage where it’s somewhat usable.
I’ve been working on two separate parts:
- a web service for developers
- a front-end for users wanting to find libraries or check book availability
I’ll try and write a little more about it later, but here are a few things users should know…
Web Service
- currently offers access to a database of 371 libraries in London
- the database holds very limited information about libraries: name, postcode, latitude and longitude
- 346 out of 371 libraries can be checked for book availability
- the availability checker is experimental—don’t rely on it!
Front End
- currently checks libraries for a maximum 5 editions of each book
- popular books will therefore return inaccurate results
- relies on the following services: Library Lookup, xISBN, Google Book Search
- uses Mapstraction, jQuery and lots of jQuery plugins
- the availability checker is experimental—don’t rely on it!