LearningLibraryPal

Turn a facilitator's materials into a shareable learning library: create a session, add sources, review AI synthesis, and share a participant page with resources, an agenda, inquiry questions, and optional AI learning companions.

Google Apps Script hosts the application. Google Sheets stores session data; Drive stores source materials. Gemini generates drafts that facilitators review. Google account permissions, Apps Script quotas, and Gemini billing/quotas apply.

Current status

This branch prepares a private pilot. Automated checks cover authorization, public-resource filtering, interrupted synthesis, AI error handling, and installation. A live Google Workspace pilot is still required before a public release. See the pilot checklist and revival decisions.

Install a separate pilot instance

Use Node.js 22 or newer and a Google account that can create Apps Script projects.

git clone https://github.com/inquiredu/LearningLibraryPal.git
cd LearningLibraryPal
npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run setup

The setup script:

1. Uses the pinned local clasp dependency.
2. Asks you to enable the Apps Script API and sign in to Google.
3. Creates a new spreadsheet-bound project by default. If you deliberately choose an existing destination, it requires that project's Script ID.
4. Uploads application source and its manifest. It does not publish or update a web-app deployment.

If you use Codespaces, run the same commands in its terminal and follow clasp's login prompt. No global clasp installation is needed.

Finish setup in Google Sheets

1. Run npm run open to open the new bound Sheet, then reload it.
2. Choose Learning Library Engine → Initial Setup. Authorize the script when prompted.
3. Enter your Gemini API key and an available Gemini model ID. The default is gemini-3.8-flash; change it if needed for your AI Studio project.
4. Optionally supply a root Drive folder ID, then save.

Saving records the master spreadsheet ID and installing account as the library owner. A saved API key is never returned to the browser; leave the key field blank to retain it.

Deploy the private pilot

1. Run npm run open:script.
2. In Apps Script choose Deploy → New deployment → Web app.
3. Set Execute as: Me, using the same account that completed Initial Setup.
4. Set access to Only myself for the first pilot.
5. Open the deployment's /exec URL and complete the pilot checklist.

Later, public participant access requires a deployment audience that permits those participants. The library route intentionally serves participant data without a facilitator check; the dashboard, editing, email, Calendar, Drive browsing and configuration operations enforce server-side authorization.

Facilitator access: by default only the owner can administer the library. To add facilitators, set ALLOWED_EMAILS or ALLOWED_DOMAIN in Config.js. A blank domain does not grant access to every Google account. Google may withhold a visitor's email in owner-executed web apps, particularly across domains. Such requests fail closed; do not substitute getEffectiveUser() for visitor identity. Verify the intended collaborator accounts before expanding the pilot. Google's identity limitations.

Use the library

1. Create a session with a theme, date and audience.
2. Add materials through Drive browsing or links. Planning documents, agendas, facilitator guides and context documents default to internal visibility.
3. Synthesize the materials. Review generated summaries and questions against the sources.
4. Manage resources to select participant-visible materials and their order; preview the library page.
5. Share the library link. Use the dashboard's email preview to inspect content and recipients before explicitly sending.

Gems, NotebookLM prompts and the page designer are optional extensions. Participant-visible material on a shared library page should be treated as public. There is no session-wide draft/publish approval gate in this pilot yet.

Synthesis saves each completed resource and pauses between resources after about four minutes. Click Synthesize again to process unfinished resources; completed rows are skipped. Re-synthesize resets completion markers once. If interrupted, use ordinary Synthesize to resume. Failed rows retain an error message in the resource sheet. Files discovered automatically in 01_Research start internal until you choose to make them public. Avoid direct Sheet row edits while synthesis is running.

Develop and verify

npm run check   # Server/client JavaScript, shell and manifest syntax
npm test        # Local mocked regression tests; no Google access or email sends
npm run push   # Upload source to your configured project; does not update /exec

.claspignore allows only root application JavaScript/HTML and appsscript.json. Tests, dependencies, documentation and credentials are excluded. .clasp.json is local and ignored by Git.

After an intentional upload, update the Apps Script web-app deployment to a New version to make changes live. Existing installations must run Initial Setup → Save after this upgrade to record the master spreadsheet ID and owner. Use a separate pilot project first; the historical public and private repositories pointed to the same deployment.

References

• Architecture
• Pilot verification
• Revival scope and follow-up work
• Contributing
• Historical handoff — historical feature notes, not current setup instructions