Scriblio 2.7 Expands Data Model

Scriblio, the open source catalog interface designed as an extension to the extremely popular WordPress blogging software, has once again upped the ante on catalog independence with its latest release.

In initial versions, much of Scriblio's appeal was its integration of features such as comments, permalinks, and intelligible URLs that, while standard on blogging platforms, were generally unavailable in library-specific software. And yet Scriblio has for the most part been used only as an interface to data created and curated in a library's ILS.

Now, with version 2.7 released in late February, librarians and developers familiar with WordPress can install the Scriblio software to create and manage collection data like records directly—from "soup to nuts," as lead developer (and 2007 LJ Mover & Shaker) Casey Bisson wrote in his blog entry announcing the release.

Another feature debuted here is Scriblio's ability to merge elements from disparate data sources (e.g., book reviews or cover images) into a unified display while keeping tabs on the original source of each element in the data model. As a result, each source can be managed and given attribution separately. In 2006, Scriblio, then known as WPopac, was given a Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration in recognition of its "truly revolutionary potential," said the award committee.