January 30 - 1 February, 2019
9:00 - 16:30
Instructors: Juan Steyn
Helpers: Retha Langa, Pelumi Oladokun
Library Carpentry is made by librarians, for librarians to help you:
Library Carpentry introduces you to the fundamentals of computing and provides you with a platform for further self-directed learning. For more information on what we teach and why, please see our paper "Library Carpentry: software skills training for library professionals".
This Library Carpentry workshop forms part of the National e-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform (NEPTTP).
Who: The course is for librarians, archivists, and other information workers. You don't need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented at the workshop.
Where: MSL11, Mathematical Sciences Laboratories, Mathematical Sciences Building, West Campus, Wits, Enoch Sontonga Avenue, Braamfontein. Get directions with OpenStreetMap or Google Maps.
When: January 30 - 1 February, 2019. Add to your Google Calendar.
Requirements: Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on. They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed below). They are also required to abide by Library Carpentry's Code of Conduct.
Accessibility: We are committed to making this workshop accessible to everybody. The workshop organisers have checked that:
Materials will be provided in advance of the workshop and large-print handouts are available if needed by notifying the organizers in advance. If we can help making learning easier for you (e.g. sign-language interpreters, lactation facilities) please get in touch (using contact details below) and we will attempt to provide them.
Contact: Please email juan.steyn@nwu.ac.za for more information.
Please be sure to complete these surveys before and after the workshop.
| 9:00 | Installation and Welcome |
| 9:30 | Data intro for Librarians |
| 10:30 | BREAK |
| 11:00 | Data intro for Librarians |
| 12:30 | BREAK |
| 13:30 | Data intro for Librarians |
| Tidy Data for Librarians | |
| 15:00 | BREAK |
| 15:30 | Tidy Data for Librarians |
| 16:00 | Wrap up |
| 16:30 | Close |
| 9:00 | Welcome Back |
| 9:15 | OpenRefine |
| 10:30 | BREAK |
| 11:00 | OpenRefine |
| Unix Shell | |
| 12:30 | BREAK |
| 13:30 | Unix Shell |
| 15:00 | BREAK |
| 15:30 | Unix Shell |
| 16:00 | Wrap up |
| 16:30 | Close |
| 9:00 | Welcome back |
| 9:15 | Unix Shell |
| 10:30 | BREAK |
| 11:00 | Unix Shell |
| 12:30 | LUNCH |
| 13:30 | DISCUSSION |
| 15:00 | BREAK |
| 15:30 | Close |
We will use this collaborative document for chatting, taking notes, and sharing URLs and bits of code.
Bash is a commonly-used shell that gives you the power to do simple tasks more quickly.
cmd and press [Enter])setx HOME "%USERPROFILE%"
SUCCESS: Specified value was saved.exit then pressing [Enter]This will provide you with both Git and Bash in the Git Bash program.
The default shell in all versions of Mac OS X is Bash, so no
need to install anything. You access Bash from the Terminal
(found in
/Applications/Utilities).
See the Git installation video tutorial
for an example on how to open the Terminal.
You may want to keep
Terminal in your dock for this workshop.
The default shell is usually Bash, but if your
machine is set up differently you can run it by opening a
terminal and typing bash. There is no need to
install anything.
Spreadsheets are useful for data entry and data organization, and some subsetting and sorting of the data as well as getting an overview of the data. To interact with spreadsheets, we can use LibreOffice, Microsoft Excel, Gnumeric, OpenOffice.org, or other programs. Commands may differ a bit between programs, but general ideas for thinking about spreadsheets is the same.
For this lesson, if you don't have a spreadsheet program already, you can use LibreOffice. It's a free, open source spreadsheet program.
For this lesson you will need OpenRefine and a web browser. Note: this is a Java program that runs on your machine (not in the cloud). It runs inside a web browser, but no web connection is needed.
Check that you have either the Firefox or the Chrome browser installed and set as your default browser. OpenRefine runs in your default browser. It will not run correctly in Internet Explorer.
Download software from http://openrefine.org/
Create a new directory called OpenRefine.
Unzip the downloaded file into the OpenRefine directory by right-clicking and selecting "Extract ...".
Go to your newly created OpenRefine directory.
Launch OpenRefine by clicking google-refine.exe (this will launch a command prompt window, but you can ignore that - just wait for OpenRefine to open in the browser).
If you are using a different browser, or if OpenRefine does not automatically open for you, point your browser at http://127.0.0.1:3333/ or http://localhost:3333 to use the program.
Check that you have either the Firefox or the Chrome browser installed and set as your default browser. OpenRefine runs in your default browser. It may not run correctly in Safari.
Download software from http://openrefine.org/.
Create a new directory called OpenRefine.
Unzip the downloaded file into the OpenRefine directory by double-clicking it.
Go to your newly created OpenRefine directory.
Launch OpenRefine by dragging the icon into the Applications folder.
Use Ctrl-click/Open ... to launch it.
If you are using a different browser, or if OpenRefine does not automatically open for you, point your browser at http://127.0.0.1:3333/ or http://localhost:3333 to use the program.
Check that you have either the Firefox or the Chrome browser installed and set as your default browser. OpenRefine runs in your default browser.
Download software from http://openrefine.org/.
Make a directory called OpenRefine.
Unzip the downloaded file into the OpenRefine directory.
Go to your newly created OpenRefine directory.
Launch OpenRefine by entering ./refine into the terminal within the OpenRefine directory.
If you are using a different browser, or if OpenRefine does not automatically open for you, point your browser at http://127.0.0.1:3333/ or http://localhost:3333 to use the program.
We maintain a list of common issues that occur during installation as a reference for instructors that may be useful on the Configuration Problems and Solutions wiki page.