- Experiment
Last updated: 24.11.25
GLAM Hacking – Tim Sherratt
Uncover the hidden layers of digital collections
Historian and hacker Tim Sherratt provides some tips and tricks to get around digital roadblocks in online collections.
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Articles
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Glossary
Hackathon
A hackathon is an event where teams work together intensively over a short period to develop creative solutions or prototype new ideas around a common goal.
Userscript
A small piece of JavaScript code that modifies the behaviour and appearance of a website when viewed in a browser. Userscripts can enhance library catalogue interfaces, automate tasks or improve accessibility.
Bookmarklet
A small JavaScript program stored as a browser bookmark. When clicked, it runs code on the current webpage. One example is a bookmarklet that extracts ISBNs from a webpage and searches the library’s holdings.
MARC record
A standardised format for the Machine-Readable Cataloguing of bibliographic information. It's used by libraries to encode and exchange catalogue data about books, journals, digital resources and other materials. MARC records are foundational to library cataloguing systems like Alma. They support resource discovery and metadata sharing across institutions.
Folk technology
Describes how people creatively adapt and repurpose systems in unexpected ways to solve their specific needs, amounting to a form of technology. For instance, users might transform a basic spreadsheet tool like Microsoft Excel into a complex, custom solution for tracking unique workflows or managing intricate personal systems that go far beyond the software's original design.
Code Club
Code Club is a grassroots initiative within SLV that provides space for staff to learn and engage with technology. With an inclusive and accessible approach, the club is working to increase digital literacy, demystify technology, and foster cross-departmental connections.
Catalogue
An organised listing of all the items within a library's collections. Their purpose is to help library users search for and find relevant material. Catalogues used to be purely analogue but are now increasingly available and searchable online.