Public Library People

Help

As of February 2007, this service is no longer available. If you have any comments or queries, please contact support@ukoln.ac.uk

Introduction

The Public Library People directory is a database of contact information for UK public library staff. It is particularly aimed at those people who have email access - in fact without an email account you will not be able to add your information to the directory! We haven't pre-populated the directory with any information. Instead, people will have to add their own details. Clearly, the more people who add their information, the better the directory will get. Tell your colleagues to add their contact information as well!

Although, initially aimed at UK public library staff, the directory has been designed to hold information about library staff in all sectors in all countries.

What information is held?

Every entry in the Public Library People directory contains a name and an email address. Entries can also (optionally) contain a phone number, fax number and postal address and the name of the library and library authority that you work for.

How can it be accessed?

First, you can search the directory using the Web-forms at this site. Type someone's name into the simple search interface or construct a more complex search using the advanced interface.

Results will be displayed as a Web page. Click on a person's email address to send them mail.

vCard

Next to each search result is a link marked '[vCard]'. Select this link to download a virtual business card (vCard). If your Web-browser or email client supports vCard (and many do these days) you will probably be prompted to add the vCard to your personal address book.

LDAP

The Public Library People directory supports LDAP. What does that mean? It means that if your email client also supports LDAP (and again, many do these days) then you can search this directory directly from your email client while you are sending mail!

Detailed instructions for how to do this for the more common email clients (e.g. Microsoft Outlook Express) will be supplied in due course. In the meantime, if you want to try it, configure your email client (or Web browser) as follows:

Directory host: ldap.ukoln.ac.uk
Port: 389
Search-base: cn=glamPeople,dc=ukoln,dc=org

How secure is it?

Before adding or updating a Public Library People entry we email a copy to the email address in the entry. The email contains a secret ID, known only to us and to the recipient of the email. By replying to the message, we assume that the 'owner' of that email address has given permission for the entry to be stored in the directory.

Privacy

See our separate privacy policy.

Acknowledgements

The Public Library People directory was initially implemented as part of the EC funded PRIDE project. It is now maintained as a service by UKOLN.

UKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives & Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher and Further Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.