Introduction to Library Server

This chapter describes Library Server, how it relates to BookManager BookServer and how it is used. You will see the advantages over traditional methods of storing and serving documentation over the Internet and Intranets. Also in this chapter is:

• An introduction to LibraryCenters - a new way of viewing a softcopy Bookcase with a customizable interface
• Information Center (InfoCenter) support
• PDF and Extended Shelf support
• Enhanced table support
• Hand-held device support

The Library Server is a specialized World Wide Web server that lets information providers make softcopy libraries available on the Internet and Intranets. Library Server is the next generation of IBM BookManager web-based softcopy technology based on the IBM BookManager BookServer product. Via the traditional BookServer Library administrative interface, the Library Server administrator defines a complete softcopy library (BookServer Library). The Library Server administrator can set up a softcopy library in numerous ways, and with any or all of the following items:

• Books - IBM BookManager softcopy documents
• PDFs - Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) documents
• Indexed PDFs - An Adobe Acrobat PDF that has been modified by a BookManager application to contain a search index.
• InfoCenters - A set of one or more Eclipse Document Plug-ins, authored and packaged by IBM. An Eclipse Document Plug-in typically consists of the published content for a Primary Topic, or for a subset of it�s associated subtopics.
• Shelves of Books and/or PDFs
• Bookcases of shelves, InfoCenters and/or other Bookcases.
• LibraryCenters - your own customized view of a Library Server Bookcase

You can read and search for information in the Library Server libraries using a Web browser. Through hypertext links within softcopy documents you can link to any Internet resource.

The softcopy documents can be served online to your users via:

• Intranet--Area networks, where users throughout your business can access and use your online libraries
• Internet--Web delivery, where users around the world can access and use your online libraries using any qualified Web browser on any operating system.

Library Server and IBM BookServer - how do they relate?

With Library Server, the traditional IBM BookServer user interface, which provides access to all the Bookcases, shelves and documents defined in the BookServer Library, is still available. As before, this interface is available in both framed and unframed views, the latter of which is the preferred interface for vision-impaired users.

Library Server extends the functionality of BookServer, and has a new end user interface based on one or more configured LibraryCenters. A LibraryCenter is a customizable template-based view of a Bookcase, which also provides access to the traditional BookServer Library interface. For more information, see LibraryCenters.