View Central Repository on Github
View XSLT Letters Description Spreadsheet
Background
Problem: there is no centralized repository for all CSUs to learn how to edit the XSL in their letters
Policy Statement
This statement applies to all notification letters sent to patrons that are listed in the general configuration area in Alma.
Best practice recommendations
While we understand that everyone has differing ideas of what their letters should look like, we recommend that everyone use this repository for help in editing their letters as it will provide a more cohesive look and feel for all CSU Libraries. This will make it easier for the group to troubleshoot any potential issues and provide resources for those who are not comfortable editing the letters on their own.
- We suggest these areas to begin learning xsl:
http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xsl_intro.asp
http://www.tizag.com/xmlTutorial/xslttutorial.php
http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/019-intro-xml.php
http://gandhimukul.tripod.com/xslt/xslquality.html <--- program to judge the XSL quality of your letter
- We suggest you use whatever free software you have available for editing your letters. Most standard web development software will be good enough for working on customizing letters in Alma.
oXygen https://www.oxygenxml.com/xml_editor/xslt.html Note: oXygen is a really nice software product but we believe it's overkill for what most libraries will be doing.
Treebeard http://treebeard.sourceforge.net/ Free
Notepad++ https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.1.html Free
XSLT Customizations
We are currently working on an XSL customizations spreadsheet that describes each letter and includes links to what each letter looks like.
Procedures in Alma
We will also be creating a table that provides a better description of what each letter does and why it's been sent.
Action log
| Section | Point Person | Expected Completion Date | Last action taken | Next action required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Articulate the need for the policy (background) |
| 10/10/16 We discussed the need for a central repository that people from all the CSUs can use to help with editing their letters. | Natasha will draft the need for this policy the week of 10/09/16 | |
Create a Policy Statement |
| 10/10/16 The decision was made to have Natasha draft the policy statement | Policy statement draft must be added to Confluence by Nov 11. | |
Identify and create best practice recommendations |
| 11/01/16 Natasha drafted the Best Practice policy recommendations and added them to the repository page | N/A | |
Where applicable, identify and write up procedures in Alma |
| N/A | N/A | |
| Update Goals | Natasha Allen (Unlicensed) |
| N/A | N/A |
| Finish all repository drafts | Natasha Allen (Unlicensed) |
| 1/13/17 Finished earlier drafts in January | 04/28/17 Continue working on the rest and be finished by April. |
Tasks to be completed
- Description of each letter and when it would be sent
- Example XML of each letter sent to patrons