Read our blog

Collection Manager's Guide

 

Throughout the process of working toward release 1.0, developing effective documentation was just as important to the team as developing effective code. The Collection Manager's Guide describes features, functionality, and how to navigate the Avalon Media System.

 

This guide will be most useful for the individual who had already downloaded release 1.0 and wants to understand more about the following aspects of the software:

  • Logging in, browsing and searching
  • Player and controls
  • Creating, editing, previewing, and deleting an item
  • File management
  • Resource description
  • Structure
  • Access control
  • Group management

We hope the Collection Manager's Guide will help collection managers become more comfortable using release 1.0. If you have a question or suggestion for improving this guide, please contact us or share your ideas on avalon-discuss-l

Blog Categories:

Get to Know the Avalon Team: Chris Colvard

 

In our new series "Get to Know the Avalon Team," we're providing a closer look at the individuals who are working each day to develop the Avalon Media System.

 

Chris Colvard

 

Chris is the lead developer on the Avalon project at Indiana University. Previously, he worked on the Variations Digital Music Library leading to its being open sourced with over a dozen institutions adopting the system. Chris graduated from DePauw University and has worked for the Digital Library Program since 2006.

 

Can you talk a bit about your role in the project?

I evaluated technology choices for the Avalon planning grant. With the current grant, I developed a prototype and set up the testing environments while the other developers were coming on board. Now I continue to manage some of the testing infrastructure and am often a point person for developers at IU. When programming, I float between all parts of the code but tend to focus on Matterhorn and the backend.

 

What is a typical work week like for you?

Meetings, trying to keep up with the Matterhorn and Hydra software communities, coordinating with Avalon developers and product owners, and writing code.

 

What apps/software/gadgets can't you live without? 

None ideally, but I really love my record player and FM radio.

 

When you’re not working, what can you be found doing?

Living and learning with my wife and three kids. Learning about and trying to be a part of the Catholic Worker Movement. Cooking, volunteering, and watching Anime and Korean dramas.

 

Announcing Release 1.0

 

Release 1.0 of the Avalon Media System is now available for evaluation and pilot. The release includes the following features:

  • Secure delivery of video and audio to desktop browsers and iOS (iPad/iPhone) devices.
  • Implementation as a Hydra application to provide easy search via the Blacklight discovery tool and integration with a Fedora repository.
  • Support for both Adobe Media Server and the Red5 open source media server for audio and video streaming.
  • Integration possibilities for a variety of authentication systems, along with permissions management by user- or group-based authorization.
  • Manual media ingest and description and a dropbox-based batch import capability.

There are several options for exploring release 1.0. You can try it out on our public test server. You can also download and install a preconfigured Avalon virtual machine image, perform a step-by-step installation, or find out how to download our source code from Github. 

 

If you plan to try out or download Avalon, please sign up for the new email list, avalon-discuss-l, to get technical support or provide feedback. If you are not yet signed up for our main announcement email list, please sign up for avalon-l.

 

We will be scheduling a webinar within the month to provide a 1.0 demo and give the community an opportunity to ask questions and offer ideas.

 

 

As you can see, the Avalon team is so excited to share release 1.0 that we donned crazy hats at our most recent face-to-face meeting!

Tags:

Blog Categories:

Sprint 25 - May 3, 2013 Demo Recording

 

This week the team refined the various methods to download or try out Avalon Media System and cleaned up the documentation. We have our demo server up and running with Avalon and enough content to make it interesting!  

 

Click here to watch the full recording of this week's demo. 

  • Updated Demo Server (VoV 1324) and Content (VoV-1500) - Chris (0:00:00)
  • Avalon R1 System Requirements (VoV 1192) - Julie (0:11:26)
  • Location/Documentation of Downloading Options (VoV 1506) - Mark (0:14:04)
  • Documentation for Installation, Configuration and Usage (VoV 1501) - Mark (0:22:21)
  • Previously Demoed – Avalon VM (VoV 955)
  • Review of Sprint Stories – Team led by Steve (0:35:23)

You can see the demos for past Sprints here or learn more about our development process here.

Blog Categories:

Sprint 24 - April 19, 2013 Demo Recording

 

VM images, content and licensing, oh my! The release candidate is just about ready to be shared with everyone. Final tweaks and testing are happening! If you want to see the stories that we are working on each sprint, check out the current sprint page on our wiki.

 

Click here to watch the full recording of this week's demo. 

 
  • Avalon VM (VoV 955) - (0:00:00) - Brian
  • Demo Content (VoV 1272) - (0:16:08) - Chris/Phuong
  • Licensing (VoV 1444) - (0:21:53) - Nathan/Claire
  • Publicly Accessible Sprints (VoV 1445) - (0:30:22) - Andrea
  • Path to Release (VoV 1367) - (0:34:13) - Team
  • Review of Sprint Stories – Team led by Steve (0:50:05)

You can see the demos for past Sprints here or learn more about our development process here.

Blog Categories:

Get to Know the Avalon Team: Stefan Elnabli

 

In our new series "Get to Know the Avalon Team," we're providing a closer look at the individuals who are working each day to develop the Avalon Media System.

 

Stefan Elnabli

 

Stefan is the Moving Image and Sound Preservation Specialist at Northwestern University Library's Digital Collections Department. He obtained his degree in audiovisual preservation from New York University's Moving Image Archiving and Preservation program at Tisch School of the Arts.

 

Stefan isn't new to the blog--he contributed his take on the Association of Moving Image Archivists 2012 Conference back in December!

 

Can you talk about your role in the project?

I've found that my role can vary, but these variations are all anchored by a theme of digital audiovisual media. When our product owners determine that we need to work on an aspect of the system that incorporates encoding profile testing, user documentation for digital media collection managers, or audiovisual metadata, I take on the tasks. Now that we are inches away from our R1 finish line, I'm finding myself doing a lot of user testing through scripts we've created so that we can ensure the smoothest and most intuitive system for new users.

 

What is a typical work week like for you?

Since Avalon is only a portion of my responsibilities in the Digital Collections department, a typical work week changes based on the projects that I'm managing. When it comes to the library's legacy moving image and sound materials, like film and old magnetic media formats, I spend my time doing physical/playback inspection and determining the right course of action for digital reformatting, preservation, and access of the materials. For small adhoc projects, I perform digital reformatting in-house for access in courses or for research. Our much larger collections have to be sent to trusted reformatting vendors and I get to manage those projects as well. One of the nice things about my position is that I interact with collection owners throughout the library and work cross-departmentally in collaboration with our Preservation Department. Since the field of audiovisual archiving and preservation is relatively new and rapidly changing, there's something to discover almost every day. In light of this, I find myself crawling informative listservs and taking opportunities to participate and present at conferences as well.

 

What apps/software/gadgets can't you live without?

I find that I'm a heavy user of apps/software/gadgets that allow me to play music, discover music, and listen to radio and podcasts. I typically commute by car, and my car stereo used to only play CDs and terrestrial radio. You may not believe me, but I still buy CDs so that was great, but in the digital age it's severely limiting to have optical media as your only listening option. Since upgrading to an aftermarket receiver with the perks of USB and Bluetooth, not to mention a good old 1/8" auxiliary input, I can now connect almost any device to my car stereo! Are you happy for me? Now I rely heavily on my phone's Android apps to play what I want when I want it. The apps I can't live without right now are Winamp Pro (FLAC support!), Last.fm to keep my musics all socialized and to find new musics, and the iHeartRadio app so I can listen to Bill Handel in the mornings and during his legal advice show where he tells callers they have absolutely no case (he and I find this delightful).

 

When you’re not working, what can you be found doing?

I enjoy the many opportunities Chicagoans have to see a diversity of live music and film screenings (the latter being a particular treat since they're harder to come by these days). I also perform film projection for a film society and train apprentices on the art of changeover projection. One of my proudest (nerdiest) moments was projecting a pristine print of "Spider Baby" from the Academy Film Archive for a 24 hour film fest, and director Jack Hill was sitting in the audience watching! Sometimes I'm in bad (good) movies.

 

Sprint 23 - April 5, 2013 Demo Recording

 

Only three more stories need to be completed before Release 1! This last sprint focused on ways to deploy Avalon to institutions that want to test Avalon for their media management needs. The team has fixed the final bugs to improve quality of playback. We are very close to Release 1, so keep your eyes on this blog, Facebook, and Twitter for the latest news!  

 

Click here to watch the full recording of this week's demo. 

  • Automated Installation via Puppet (VoV 1190) - (0:00:00) - Michael

  • Red5 Improvements ( VoV 1371) - (0:09:45) - Phuong

  • Installation Instructions (VoV 1372) - (0:18:27) - Michael

  • Avalon VM (VoV 955) - (0:41:43) - Brian

  • Review of Bugs - (0:28:24) Developers

  • Review of Sprint Stories – Team led by Steve (0:48:44)

You can see the demos for past Sprints here or learn more about our development process here.

Blog Categories:

Get to Know the Avalon Team: Mark Notess

 

In our new series "Get to Know the Avalon Team," we're providing a closer look at the individuals who are working each day to develop the Avalon Media System.

 

Mark Notess

 

Mark Notess is Head, User Experience and Digital Media Services, within the IU Bloomington Libraries at Indiana University. His primary responsibility since joining IU in 2001 has been the Variations Digital Music Library and related projects. 

 

Can you talk a bit about your role in the project?

I am one of two product owners, the other being Julie Rudder at Northwestern. Julie and I conspire with users to figure out what Avalon needs to be able to do. We then write user stories to encapsulate those requirements and prioritize the stories that will go into each 2-week development sprint. During the sprint we are available to the developers to answer questions and provide further detail. Beyond my product owner role, I have a few other responsibilities on the project: I manage the IU Avalon development team, provide direction for our marketing and communication efforts, and have particular interest in user experience (UX) issues.

 

What is a typical work week like for you?

Most of my week is consumed by keeping up with all the great work the development team is doing. In addition to attending daily stand-up meetings, I am in daily communication with my Northwestern counterpart to refine and prioritize requirements, determine when those requirements have been met, and plan future work. I am often composing several emails while updating our issue tracking system, editing a wiki page, and chatting with two or three team members, not always without getting my wires crossed! Avalon is my main responsibility, but I also am the development manager for our legacy Variations Digital Music Library, so I have to make sure that heavily used system keeps working well at IU and the dozen or so other institutions using that open source product.

 

What apps/software/gadgets can't you live without?

My iPhone makes me happy when I look at it, even if it's turned off. I also have a real digital camera—a mirrorless DSLR. I'm visually oriented, so I spend time with SmugMug, Flickr, Pinterest, and other photo-intensive destinations. Spotify is always open on my desktop, whether I'm at work or at home, but I don't do social music because no one cares what I like to listen to. Trust me on that.

 

 

When you’re not working, what can you be found doing?

My aspirational self says I can be found hiking, reading, writing, talking with friends over food, being involved at my church, and especially hanging out with family and friends. My ironical self says I'm usually putting gas in the car or playing Minecraft.

Sprint 22 - March 22, 2013 Demo Recording


We are rapidly approaching R1 (as Jon Dunn and Mark Notess noted in this week's brown bag talk, "Any day now!"). We have hit feature freeze and the team is now identifying and fixing bugs in the system. We are working hard on installation and configuration scripts for our partners and other institutions. The team is also compiling a collection manager's guide to help explain Avalon features, functionality, and how to navigate the system. 

 

In short, R1 is so close.  Keep your eye on this blog, Twitter, and Facebook for updates on when we will reach our first big release! 

 

Click here to watch the full recording of this week's demo. 

  • Collection Manager's Guide (VoV 1193) - (0:00:00) - Stefan/Karen/Andrea

  • Deleting Derivatives (VoV 1274) - (0:13:28) - Phuong

  • Avalon VM (VoV 955, VoV 1190, VoV 1113) - (0:17:03) - Michael/Eugene/Brian/Adm

  • Update on R1 Code Freeze (VoV 1194) - (0:25:11) - Michael

  • Review of Bugs - (0:28:24) Developers

  • Review of Sprint Stories – Team led by Steve (0:36:38)

You can see the demos for past Sprints here or learn more about our development process here.

Blog Categories:

IU Digital Library Brown Bag Talk

 

Project Director Jon Dunn and Product Owner Mark Notess gave a talk and demo of the Avalon Media System on March 27, 2013, as part of the Indiana University Digital Library Brown Bag series. We had 20 people attending in person and 27 remote attendees. To tempt you into watching the recording, here are some (admittedly poor) photos of yesterday's presentation. I can guarantee that the quality of the recording is much better!

 

You can view a recording of the presentation here and download the slides through our Slideshare account. Happy perusing!

 

Blog Categories:

Pages