Brewster Kahle: A Digital Library, Free to the World

Searcher Magazine Article

via Stephen's Lighthouse by stephen on 9/3/08

Barbara Quint asked me to write a feature article on trends in reference work a while ago. It was published this week and it's on the main page at Searcher's website. I suggested 13-14 scenarios for what can happen in reference work for the future.

Here's the link to the Setpember 2008 issue:

Evolution to Revolution to Chaos?
Reference in Transition

Anyway, hope you like it.

Stephen

Reconceiving Research Libraries

via Stephen's Lighthouse by stephen on 9/12/08

In August 2008 CLIR, the Council on Library and Information Resources, released No Brief Candle: Reconceiving Research Libraries for the 21st Century.
http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub142/pub142.pdf (81 page PDF)

Abstract:

"This new title from CLIR, No Brief Candle: Reconceiving the Research Library
for the 21st Century, is composed of a series of provocative essays, the
proceedings of a lively and informed symposium earlier this year in
Washington, and a set of recommendations extrapolated from both. While
several of the subject headings are familiar—scholarly communication,
peer review, preservation of data, and e-science—the conclusions and
recommendations are not. The consensus derived from these efforts was
unambiguous in calling for more aggressive intervention to better structure
and manage the challenges we face.

This report demands change. Common themes include collaboration
between librarians, faculty, and information technology experts to articulate
strategies and tactical approaches to a rapidly changing environment. This
represents a broad research agenda that cannot be executed by a single
profession. We are asked collectively to rethink current hiring practices,
to provide for new career paths and opportunities for professional
development, and to consider redefining libraries as multi-institutional
entities. The latter entails a mandate to eliminate redundancy by calibrating
resources, staff, and infrastructure functions to the collective enterprise of
the federated institutions. This transcends the traditional concept of a library
(and by extension a university or college) while preserving the programmatic
strengths and mission of the individual schools, and in fact should enhance
intellectual productivity in a far more cost-effective fashion.

As the title of this report suggests, this is not a passing phase in higher
education. It is a transformational period that requires innovation and risk. I
sincerely hope this publication will engender further discussion, new ideas,
and collaborative efforts that respect our traditions while recognizing the
urgency for invigorated leadership and new direction."

The publication is a collection of papers from a meeting convened by CLIR of librarians, publishers, faculty members, and information technology specialists on February 27, 2008 .

Another one worth reading.

Stephen

Facesaerch

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 9/15/08

Facesaerch is a new search engine that uses Google's image search to primarily display face images.  So don't blame the bad results on Facesaerch - it's Google Image's weirdnesses.  Access to the search results is done through a sliding bar at the bottom of the screen which scrolls you through all the different results.    You can also access them through a little wheely thing that is harder to use.  You can add a widget to your website with images from any search you choose.  What I like about this is the face-specific search.  At the reference desk I used to get lots of questions about photos of such-and-such celebrity or historical figure.  A general search was OK, but usually required a lot more wading to get what I wanted.  Yet another specialized search engine to add to your toolkit!

One final note: this is one of these cool technologies that has a pretty good chance of A) having come from (at some level) some type of government security research and B) affecting how internet filtering software works.  Anything that can parse out a human body part is bound to be effective in "anti-naked-body" technologies.

P.S.  Yes, Facesaerch is the right spelling.

found via Phil Bradley's weblog

Free eBooks Sites

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 9/15/08

20 Best Websites To Download Free EBooks on HongKiat.com.  I found a few new-to-me sites on this list.  Linking to sites like this from your library's website, from your eBooks pages, can help your users out a lot.  A lot of times, especially with specialized computer books, your users can't find what they want in our collections.  Knowing about and better yet linking to these collections can help users, which is what it's all about - right?

A few Online Language Learning Tools

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 9/15/08

Many public library users come to the library wanting to learn a new language.  Many of them expect to find textbooks and workbooks akin to what they learned with back in middle school.  Most are unaware of the wonderful resources we have now like Ingles Sin Barreras (the intensely popular multimedia English learning set) or the many audio and video resources available to learn dozens of other languages.  Most are also unaware of online language learning tools.

A free online resource to be aware of is the new language-learning social networking site Livemocha.  Livemocha lets you choose a language to learn, progress through learning materials, practice speaking and writing with native speakers or others learning the language, and then give back by helping out other users trying to learn your own native language.  Oh yes, and it's FREE.  F-R-E-E.  Nice!  To learn more, check out their site walk-through.  Two other similar services are iTalki and My Happy Planet, though neither one seems to have the user base or resources that Livemocha does.

A for-pay online resource that is available to libraries on a subscription basis is Mango Languages.  Users create an account and get access to different levels of lessons.  Lessons are presented in self-paced slideshow format: words and phrases being presented in text and audio simultaneously.  You practice with yourself and can go over as many lessons as many times as you want.  Individuals can also pay for a subscription for themselves if the library does not pay for it.

SOPAC for the Smaller Set

via ALA TechSource Blog by Kate Sheehan on 9/15/08

The Darien Library's new website and SOPAC 2.0 have been live for just over a week, during which time we staffers have had a chance to reflect on our wonderful new online presence. John Blyberg offers a thorough explanation of the technical details at his blog. The impact of SOPAC on the larger library world has been under exploration by much of the biblioblogosphere. Behind the scenes, it's been just as exciting.

The transition to a new website can be a major undertaking for any library. Even if your previous website is terrible, staff are used to it. Like a family trying to sell their house, librarians and webmasters don't see their own clutter, poor layouts or lousy artwork. However, like a new house, a new site is an opportunity to start fresh, to pick new paint and claim a new room to set up just the way you like.

All images created by John Blyberg for the new DarienLibrary.org

Our staff of active bloggers were undaunted by the prospect of a CMS-based site that would involve of lot of user and staff participation. Having lived through Moveable Type 3.0, we welcomed Drupal 6 like a box of popsicles in mid-July. Our blogs , however, remained old school (yes, blogging is old enough to have an old school iteration) and were separate from the site. The home page linked to the blogs regularly, but postings updated only the blogs, not the website.

The change to a CMS and SOPAC 2.0 has had a tremendous impact on our library, particularly on the area of the site devoted to children, which has blossomed in just two weeks. I spoke with our Head of Children's Services, Gretchen Hams, about the new site, writing on the web for children and virtual worlds.

KJS: You and your department have done such a wonderful job of creating content on the site. How is the web different for kids?

GH: Kids use the site in a very different way. Kids are searchers. They aren't going to look and browse. They want to search for their answers. There's a lot of research out there with kids using eye-tracking software: they don't read a page like adults do. They start in the middle and then they jump around and look for what's relevant to them. We tried to keep our categories and options as simple and as connected to their needs as possible. In the Kids section, we only have four categories. In the First Five section, there are more because it's really for the parents.

 KJS: How does that work out in your interactions with children at the desk?

GH: I never use the staff interface to search when I'm working with children. On the new site, I can use keywords and string together words and I get much better results on the site than I do on the back end. We can use more nuance in our search on the site, we can even use parts of the call number- ER for Easy Reader, for example. When working with our patrons I can constantly teach informally with that experience. I'm not doing something only I can do, where I'm the expert and they can't get to the same information I can. I'm modeling how to do it, which is a big part of childhood development- modeling behaviors.

KJS: How about the staff's relationship with the web? Has that changed?

GH: When the blogs were a separate function of the old site, they were disconnected from our online presence. Blogging was doled out as a staff responsibility to one or two people. When we first started working in the staging site, I encouraged everyone to participate, which took some adjusting to for most of the department. There are a couple of staff members who discovered with the new website that they had a great voice and lots of really interesting things to share. Part of what makes any library staff strong is having varied experiences and bringing a wide range of voices to the table and sharing that range is a way to reach out to the community. Many of the staff are feeling invigorated with this new aspect of their jobs, especially part time staffers. I'm really happy to encourage it because it's so wonderful. This is just like when you are learning to play the piano and you have to practice. The more you do it, the better it gets. In the two weeks since we've been live, they're posting more and more and their posts are getting better and better.

KJS: I've been surprised by the difference between blogs and a Drupal-driven site. Even though it seems like they'd be similar for the staff--log in, write something, click publish--it's very different.

GH: Yes, we can respond immediately to things that are happening in our community. With any challenge we're facing--even a parent who can't find a certain type of book or something ordinary like that–we can respond immediately to help that person. Since we're posting online, we're helping those who aren't stopping to ask us about books they can't find or for homework help. The bonus of being able to respond immediately has a flip side: children's librarians are ALWAYS BUSY. This creates another obligation for us, but if we think about it in the right way- as another service point- it moves up the priority list.

KJS: What's at the top of your priority list now?

GH: I feel like we still have work to do--part of having this electronic conversation needs more work, particularly in the First Five section. That age is much more dynamic than we can do even with the site as it is. We need to add podcasts and videos of us doing rhymes and songs and stories. What's special about this site is that it will be US doing it. It's frustrating because we aren't there yet, but it's wonderful because we will be doing that. The reason it's so essential is that we have these tools is that for really small children, early literacy development is not just reading books to them. All of the motor skills and development are part of that and those don't just happen when the library is open. Parents can put books on hold after 9 pm, but what about that mom who has a fussy baby who's trying to get to sleep at 1am and she's trying to remember lullabies? She can go on the library's website and get them… we'll be able to provide 24 hour library service for this really bit part of our population. Children, especially small children don't have Monday- Friday 9-5 schedules.

KJS: So, what's next?

GH: One of the most popular websites kids use is Club Penguin. Kids will sit right next to each other and hang out on Club Penguin. They'll be communicating in both the physical and virtual space. Sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz are what kids expect to see online. They're fun but they're not made with a lot of mediocre clip art; they look good. We'd love to use this site to be able to create something similar where kids and families can communicate through the physical and virtual space under the umbrella of the library's mission and vision. So we're working towards message boards and forums for Darien families to communicate with each other. Why not have it come through the library website?

Podcast: Theses Go Digital

via JISC News Web Feed by h.peebles@jisc.ac.uk (hectorpeebles) on 8/17/08

As part of the JISC funded Digitisation Programme a new system is being developed called EThOS which will enable researchers and higher education institutions to access and share theses online. In this podcast with Rebecca O'Brien from JISC, Kevin O'Leary, project manager of EThOS, shares how valuable this new system will be when it is fully launched later in the year.

Listen to the podcast
JISC EMBEDDED OBJECT

Subscribe to the JISC Podcast via RSS

Subscribe to the JISC Podcast via iTunes

Download the podcast

The List Universe

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 8/11/08

Here's a great site to add to your "somebody has a weird question" resources list: List Universe.  The site is self-described as "a site full of top 10 lists covering all manner of subjects."  They publish lots of lists the site authors write themselves, but also lists that users have sent in.  You'll find everything from the Top Ten Bizarre Beauty Products, to Top 10 Catastrophic Shipwrecks, to 15 Fascinating Facts About The Ancient Olympics (hmm, that's more than 10).  They often pull lists about current events and hot topics, which makes it a useful place to find some good random facts for those dreaded hot topic essays. 

LibraryThing Offers 1 Million Book Covers

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 8/11/08

LibraryThing now has over one million user-uploaded cover images.  And they made those cover images (available in three sizes) available to any library, or anybody else, who wants to use them.  There are limits (1,000 image retrievals per user per day) and you can't make them available in bulk to others.  You can read the fine print yourself, but this is wonderful.  LibraryThing fully admits in their post about the covers that Amazon's collection of covers is better, but LibraryThing's collection doesn't require a link-back to a for-profit entity.  I can hear library staff around the world sighing in happiness.  w00t.

Get a Free PBwiki Account (Worth $250) if You're a Librarian or Teacher

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 8/13/08

A big thanks to The Krafty Librarian for pointing this sweet deal out: PBwiki's Back to School Challenge
provides librarians and educators with a free premium PBwiki account for one year ($250 value). Here's a link to the premium account features (if you're curious). The Challenge is noted as starting in mid-August, which is in a couple of days, but you can sign up now to be alerted when it's up.

In any case, if you think you could use PBwiki at you library for a part of your web presence (like a recommended books wiki, or a book club wiki, or a summer reading wiki) then take them up on their offer now and figure out how to use it later :)

And remember - a wiki is just a fancy way to say "a web presence that non-webbies can edit easily." Although inviting public participation would be lovely, ou don't have to do that. You could have it be a wiki that only library staff edit, thereby making it a simple extension of your web presence on which you can do stuff quickly and easily. Who wouldn't like that?

MBooks: Google Books for Users with Visual Disabilities

via LibrarianInBlack by Sarah Houghton-Jan on 8/13/08

Jessamyn West points to some information from the BLT Blog about MBooks, a project from the University of Michigan dedicated in part to making Google Books accessible for anyone with visual impairments. There is an extra service available to UM students only (provision of full text material that is still in copyright). In the comments section of West's post, Jennifer Sutton pointed to thsi article from the Braile Monitor which is also relevant: "First Step in Adding Accessibility to Google Books: Was It Enough?" Very, very interesting - and something I would personally love to see done consistently by Google in a way that works for its users with various disabilities. Individual institutions are filling in the gaps currently, but it would be great to see this tackled on a larger scale.