Drupal in Libraries (The Tech Set No. 14)

Citation

Chawner, B. (2013), "Drupal in Libraries (The Tech Set No. 14)", Library Review, Vol. 62 No. 4/5, pp. 348-349. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-02-2013-0027

This review examines the 14th title in the Tech Set series, Drupal in Libraries by Kenneth J. Varnum. Drupal is a widely used web content management system (CMS) released under an open source licence with an active developer community. While the title implies that the book's focus is exclusively on Drupal, this is not the case. Varnum begins by describing the core features of a CMS, and what factors to consider in selecting one to help an organisation manage its web site. He then explains how the University of Michigan library selected Drupal as their preferred CMS, and introduces basic Drupal concepts. Chapter 2 discusses hosting options, and whether a developer specialising in Drupal will be needed (the answer is probably). Varnum then considers the organisational aspects involved in introducing a CMS, covering planning and the need for collaboration with other organisational units, such as systems/information technology and other units within the library.

The longest chapter is concerned with implementation, including basic installation, customising themes, adding social feature, and integrating library resources into a Drupal site. A key step in implementing a new web site is marketing it to a library's staff and community, which is covered in Chapter 6. The final three chapters of the book cover best practices for developing a web site, using metrics to improve the site, and forthcoming developments in the next versions of Drupal. The book concludes with a list of recommended resources and a subject index.

There is a companion web site: http://drupalinlibraries.com/, and built using Drupal. The most useful part of the web site is the page listing the steps Varnum followed to create the site, which he says took ten minutes for a basic site and roughly two hours to customise. Varnum has extensive experience working with technology in libraries, and is currently the Web Systems Manager at the University of Michigan Library. This means that the book includes many examples, including screenshots and tables, based on the University of Michigan Library's Drupal implementation. One of the themes running through the book is the need to understand the “Drupal way”, loosely defined as having an appreciation for the way Drupal does things, whether this is the way a web site's components are created and displayed in Drupal, or the way the code is contributed back to the project.

The book is easy to read, and will be useful for anyone wishing to understand more about the way Drupal works. The more general material, on planning a CMS implementation, marketing the site, and monitoring use, will be useful in a broader context.