[Baynet] Infopeople's "PHP (and a little MySQL) for the Default Library Techie" workshop

[Linda Rodenspiel]

Since some people who may be interested in attending might not receive this 
notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or 
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!


Title:  PHP (and a little MySQL) for the Default Library Techie

Dates and locations:

Wednesday, July 12, San Francisco Public Library
Thursday, August 10, Los Angeles Public Library
Wednesday, August 30, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library - San Jose

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at
http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Workshop/273

Fee:  There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop.

Improving access to locally created information files anything from an 
obituary file to a reference desk FAQ is a great way for a library to 
extend its reach and enhance its services. And making a Web-accessible 
database using PHP and MySQL isn't as complicated as you might think. If 
you're a library techie by training or by default and you know a little 
about database terms (fields, records) and have used HTML and FTP, you can 
learn enough in this one-day session to get that database online and 
searchable.

The main focus of this class is PHP, a fun, easy, open source (free!), 
scripting language. While PHP can make Web page creation and maintenance a 
breeze, its best purpose is to help you make databases quickly. PHP will 
allow you to create staff and user search tools tailored to their needs. 
This workshop will give you the necessary skills to get that project going, 
plus the basic knowledge that will allow you to pursue further study of PHP 
on your own.


Workshop Description: This is an all-day, hands-on training session. 
Through individual and group exercises, you will become familiar with PHP, 
learning how it can enhance ordinary Web pages and/or be used to connect to 
a database. SQL and MySQL will also be covered, but briefly. You will learn 
beginning PHP, then move on to connect to a pre-created database, search 
it, and display those results. The instructor will provide cheat sheets, a 
webliography, as well as practical tips that can be applied immediately.

Preliminary Course Outline:

SQL and MySQL
--Definitions and appearance
--How to make a Microsoft Access database or an Excel spreadsheet into a 
MySQL database

Beginning PHP
--Variables, comments, operators
--FTP
--If Then Else loops

Security and Sorting
--Using include files
--Create an SQL Boolean string

Closing the Database and Closing the Class

Workshop Instructor: Lisa R. Bartle.  Lisa is a reference librarian at Cal. 
State University, San Bernardino. Lisa owns the Database of Award-Winning 
Children's Literature (www.dawcl.com) and ABC-Lit: An Index to Children's 
Literature Scholarship (www.abc-lit.com). Lisa Bartle has created several 
online databases using Perl, Vbscript, and PHP, and finds PHP the easiest 
best solution for libraries. She feels strongly that anything that is going 
to be shared should be searchable, and made available on the Web for users. 
Whether you use PHP for an obituary database, art prints, or local history, 
every library has something special to offer but may not be sure how to get 
that material online and searchable for users. This class will show you how.

Who Should Attend: Anyone from the California library community with an 
interest in learning PHP and/or creating online databases. This class will 
be especially good for the "default techie" that librarian or staff member 
who takes care of the technology, but wasn't originally trained for that job.

Prerequisites: To succeed in this course, some understanding of database 
terminology (field, record, table) is recommended, as is experience with 
FTP. Some familiarity with HTML basics is required.

Other Logistics:

*On-site check-in is from 8:30-9:00 AM;  instruction is from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM.

*Maps, directions, and parking information are available on the Infopeople 
Web site at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Directions.  Infopeople does 
not validate or pay for parking.

*Infopeople does not provide refreshments or lunch.  Since some training 
locations do not have in-house or convenient food service, Infopeople 
recommends that participants bring a sack lunch.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information 
about Infopeople training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople 
Workshops page at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please 
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at 
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.