PDF Generator
User-generated PDFs available in BHL portal
Sept 2013 discussion by Bianca, Trish, Mike L., Joe, & Becky to determine how best to make user-generated PDFs available via the BHL portal
Summary of our discussions:
Example of a user-generated PDF in BHL on beta site
http://beta.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/163158#/summary
- Benefits of bringing in user-generated articles far outweighs the negatives. Users have been creating their own on-demand PDFs and supplying article metadata for years with the promise that they'd have access to them online and be contributing information to BHL so that others might benefit. These crowd-sourced articles are a great boost to our article content resulting in an approx. 50% increase to the current article count, currently at ~95K. User-generated articles will appear just as other segments in BHL do -- separate PDF files will NOT be brought in, rather metadata for articles will be indexed and point to article page starts for existing items/volumes and appear in the "Table of Contents" tab under the page navigation window in the book viewer.
- User-generated articles where only one-word is provided for title, author and subject will be omitted from BHL as it is thought that the metadata for these articles is insufficient. Approx. 4-5K articles will be omitted.
- User-generated content will be clearly marked as such in search results and on article landing pages (article records) with "User contribution" in the 'Contributed by' field.
- Problem of duplicate user-generated articles exists but this is similar to the issue we have with title duplication. Mike L. will be taking steps to cut down on the amount of duplicate articles where possible. We will have the option to merge duplicate articles manually, just like we do for duplicate titles as we are made aware of them.
- Bringing in user-generated articles will exacerbate BHL's existing problems with author names but it's important to remember that this is a bigger issue that user-generated articles alone. As BHL continues to bring in more article content, it is hoped that more priority and BHL Executive support can be put towards grant proposals that could fund the labor intensive project that is implementing name authority control.
- Currently 20K sample user-generated articles are available via http://beta.biodiversitylibrar.org. Mike L. will begin to incorporate user-generated articles into production site when he has time.
Presented to Collections Committee on 10/21
Documentation regarding PDF Generator Improvements
- See also 2011 Usability Test
- LITA Forum results prompted Tech Team to make updates to PDF Generator. In late Sept 2011, Trish and Bianca conducted a user survey of the Top100 heaviest PDF users which provided the following information:
- Oct 2011 LITA Forum analysis of user generated PDF quality
- See early 2010 discussion Updating PDF Generator Discussion
FYI Perhaps there should be a way to allow users to confirm or double check the metadata they've entered. See Gemini issue
http://www.mobot.org/Gemini/issue/ViewIssue.aspx?id=1609&PROJID=7
For more Gemini issues related to the PDF Generator, please filter under the 'Component' = "PDF"
Communication with Users re: PDF Generation
There are three instances of communication from BHL to users generating PDF requests. (page selection method!)
The current language in all instances in pretty "techy" and lacks a sense of grammar and style!-lol; Let's pretend we have a blank slate?
1. A "pop-up" on the screen verifying the request
- Proposed Changes:
- PDFs are "made to order", thus generating your file will take "several minutes". Thank-you for your patience.
2. An email sent directly to the user verifying the request
- - Dec 1, 2009What do folks think about skipping this one? Let's pretend for a second that there are zero tech issues with stopping the email associated with PDF generation. Is the pop-up verification enough that yes, we got your request? If we get all we need to say included in the "pop-up" (the site navigation imperitave? Someone correct my web-use language here!)
-
Dec 1, 2009And I will say again that if you are on a mac and use preview (which you may not realize you have done) the pdf IS blank, even if Grace checks it and it isn't. So anywhere we say the first page is blank, we need to include the caveat about using Adobe reader, especially on the Mac.
-
Dec 1, 2009Yes, totally. I'd like to see info about Mac Vs PC preview requirements.
-
Dec 1, 2009 Would something like this in the
first and
third email begin to address this issue (also maybe Erin is on to something about
skipping email number 2)
-
Dec 1, 2009I definitely agree that skipping email 2 would be a great idea. Just add whatever info we need to the "pop-up"
Please note: for optimal viewing please use Adobe Acrobat: free download
MAC users: Safari Preview may not properly display the PDF.
-
Dec 1, 2009Yes, I like this lots. Let's give a suggestion for the Mac users. Something like, "
MAC users: Safari Preview may not properly display the PDF. Please use ___"
3. An email sent directly to the user for the purposes of PDF delivery.
Email Communications
Current language on website
PDF Request Received
Your request has been received.
The confirmation number for this request is
15396. Please watch your email for a message containing a link to download the PDF.
If you do not receive the email message, please use
our Feedback page to let us know. Thank you.
Proposed Changes
Your PDF request has been received. The confirmation number for this request is
15396.
PDFs are "made to order", thus generating your file may take between 6 and 15 minutes. Thank-you for your patience.
You will be receiving 2 separate email messages:
- A confirmation that your request has been received.
- A message containing a link to download your PDF
If you do not receive the first email confirmation message, please
include your confirmation number on
our Feedback page to let us know. Thank you.
Email #2:
Current Language in auto-generated email
Your PDF generation request has been received and will be processed shortly.
When the PDF has been created, a message will be sent to this address and to any email addresses that you chose to share this PDF with. That message will contain a link to download your PDF.
If you have questions or need to report a problem, please contact us via our Feedback page:
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/feedback/.aspx
Thank you for your interest.
Proposed Changes
Eliminate email #2 and include all info in "pop-up"
OR
Your PDF generation request has been received and will be processed shortly. The confirmation number for this request is
15396.
PDFs are "made to order", thus generating your file will take several minutes. Thank-you for your patience.
When the PDF has been created, a message will be sent to this address and to any email addresses that you chose to share this PDF with. That message will contain a link to download your PDF.
Thank you for your interest in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
PDF Received
Your PDF generation request has been completed.
The PDF can be downloaded from the following location:
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf2/001539600028239.pdf .
Attention Mac OS X Users: Preview (the default application for displaying images and PDFs) may not correctly display the images contained in this PDF. To ensure proper rendering of the PDF, please use Adobe Reader.
If you have questions or need to report a problem, please contact us via our Feedback page:
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/feedback.aspx
Thank you for your interest.
Proposed Changes
Your PDF has been generated. The confirmation number for this request is
15396.
The PDF can be downloaded from the following location: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf2/001539600028239.pdf .
It is highly recommended that you use Adobe Reader to access the file. Download the program for FREE at
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Attention Mac OS X Users: Preview (the default application for displaying images and PDFs) may not correctly display the images contained in this PDF.
If you need to report a problem with your PDF, please
include your confirmation number when you contact us via our Feedback page:
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/feedback.aspx
Thank you for your interest in the Biodiversity Heritage Library!
ErinThomas Dec 1, 2009What do folks think about skipping this one? Let's pretend for a second that there are zero tech issues with stopping the email associated with PDF generation. Is the pop-up verification enough that yes, we got your request? If we get all we need to say included in the "pop-up" (the site navigation imperitave? Someone correct my web-use language here!)
ConnieR Dec 1, 2009And I will say again that if you are on a mac and use preview (which you may not realize you have done) the pdf IS blank, even if Grace checks it and it isn't. So anywhere we say the first page is blank, we need to include the caveat about using Adobe reader, especially on the Mac.
matt707 Dec 1, 2009 Would something like this in the first and third email begin to address this issue (also maybe Erin is on to something about skipping email number 2)