What Cloud Computing Really Means
As the article says, cloud computing is really popular. I remember several Microsoft commercials that featured the "cloud." However these commercials also seemed to imply that Microsoft invented the cloud or users could only access it if they bought a Microsoft operating system. Not true.
Is Google Docs a version of cloud computing or does that fall into an entirely different category? Is promoting the cloud even profitable? Do users have to pay?
How can librarians take advantage of cloud computing? Would it help with any library-specific functions or just help to streamline day-to-day activities?
Examining Cloud Computing
Oh, so Google is part of the cloud computing network.
Also, it's interesting to note how many cloud computing alternatives there are to expensive software. For example, Pixlr can perform similar functions to Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. And it's a lot cheaper (i.e. FREE!).
The Future of Libraries
I think it's interesting that even though smartphones have really impacted the way people communicate, they don't make the list of communication systems. That list ends at 2004. A lot has happened since then. Although the smartphone is mentioned in trend #2, it's interesting that it's not mentioned by name. Also, what will replace smartphones. It's interesting to conjecture.
Trend #4 relates directly to my final project in Organizing and Retrieving Information. Right now, we search mostly by text. That project required us to take a text-based search and create a non-text-based search from it. Making the change was difficult, yet the author believes one day we'll be able to search by smell or taste. God help the people in charge of the metadata for that assignment.
I'm a little concerned by the prediction that literacy will be dead in 2050. If that's the case, the libraries we know now will be completely useless and probably nonexistent. Great job market prospects, there. However, transitioning from a print to verbal society seems almost like a retreat into the Dark Ages. You know, that time where people shunned printed materials and knowledge was lost forever. Somehow, I doubt that prediction.
The author's recommendations for libraries really don't seem too much different than what they already do. Libraries are supposed to function as community centers, and that's how they preserve memories. They are continually reevaluating their policies as patrons give feedback. Many libraries, too, are on the forefront of adapting new information technologies as well as creating spaces where teens, especially, can be creative. If this trend continues, then libraries have nothing to worry about.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Week 14 Notes
No Place to Hide
The implications of always being watched are scary. It's like 1984 all over again. However, many people don't realize what privacy they're giving up when they use technology. Who reads the terms of service anyway? I remember reading a statistic that claimed people would spend years of their lives if they actually read every word of every user agreement they encountered. So we don't do it, and we don't know what we're signing away.
There's no way to protect ourselves from this type of privacy invasion. Forbes and the New York Times published an article a few weeks ago about how Target was monitoring people's browsing on their website and were able to predict whether a person was pregnant based on that information. It scared people, but obviously not enough for them to do anything. After all, what can we do?
TIA and Data Mining
The same information that retailers use to track us can also be used to track terrorists. Many people agreed with this decision in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. However, once the government started announcing it could track data about anyone, people started complaining. It's a weird viewpoint to have.
The website doesn't include any links from after 2004. What has happened to this project since then? Has there been any follow up?
MyTurn: Protecting Privacy Rights in Libraries
It's definitely important for libraries to have a policy on patron records. I know there have been issues at the library where I intern about this. We had one employee who would talk to patrons' parents about their material history, which, while good intentioned, violates the library's policy. He was reprimanded several times for his behaviors.
I suppose it's also difficult if the library policy does not agree with the state policy. Which policy do you follow? It seems in the Brooke Bennett cases, the librarians followed the library policy and the police followed a policy they made up. Kudos librarians.
The implications of always being watched are scary. It's like 1984 all over again. However, many people don't realize what privacy they're giving up when they use technology. Who reads the terms of service anyway? I remember reading a statistic that claimed people would spend years of their lives if they actually read every word of every user agreement they encountered. So we don't do it, and we don't know what we're signing away.
There's no way to protect ourselves from this type of privacy invasion. Forbes and the New York Times published an article a few weeks ago about how Target was monitoring people's browsing on their website and were able to predict whether a person was pregnant based on that information. It scared people, but obviously not enough for them to do anything. After all, what can we do?
TIA and Data Mining
The same information that retailers use to track us can also be used to track terrorists. Many people agreed with this decision in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. However, once the government started announcing it could track data about anyone, people started complaining. It's a weird viewpoint to have.
The website doesn't include any links from after 2004. What has happened to this project since then? Has there been any follow up?
MyTurn: Protecting Privacy Rights in Libraries
It's definitely important for libraries to have a policy on patron records. I know there have been issues at the library where I intern about this. We had one employee who would talk to patrons' parents about their material history, which, while good intentioned, violates the library's policy. He was reprimanded several times for his behaviors.
I suppose it's also difficult if the library policy does not agree with the state policy. Which policy do you follow? It seems in the Brooke Bennett cases, the librarians followed the library policy and the police followed a policy they made up. Kudos librarians.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Week 13 Notes
What Makes Social Media Tick
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Using a Wiki to Manage a Library Instruction Program
Wikis seem a lot like Google Docs. Both are convenient. Which came first?
On a side note, the version of the article I'm reading (since the given link didn't work) is missing letters every so often. I have to play detective to read the article.
Wikis seem like a good idea; however, it's just one more piece of technology. Yes, they're simple and easy to use, but it's just one more thing to check. There's all those emails and now a wiki. I'm a member of several Google Docs for a class. I either forget to check the Doc or I'm so overwhelmed with everything else that I don't check. It's just another complication.
Creating the Academic Library Folksonomy
I've heard of most of the sites that the author mentions, and I've seen them used in library and academic settings.
This article was written in 2007. I wonder how the social tagging experiment that the University of Pennsylvania implemented has fared. Is it still being used today? Do students actually use it? Do the administrators of PennTags still use it?
I liked that the author brought up some concerns about social tagging. While the freedom and openness of the programs can be beneficial, they are also major concerns. Each library needs to evaluate its patrons before making a decision.
Jimmy Wales on the Birth of Wikipedia
Wikipedia really was a novel idea. It's definitely made an impact, as major encyclopedias are no longer publishing print versions of their product.
Wikipedia has shown how a small company with a lot of volunteers can create an accurate product. That's unusual. What about a library with few to no volunteers? I don't think the result will be the same.
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Using a Wiki to Manage a Library Instruction Program
Wikis seem a lot like Google Docs. Both are convenient. Which came first?
On a side note, the version of the article I'm reading (since the given link didn't work) is missing letters every so often. I have to play detective to read the article.
Wikis seem like a good idea; however, it's just one more piece of technology. Yes, they're simple and easy to use, but it's just one more thing to check. There's all those emails and now a wiki. I'm a member of several Google Docs for a class. I either forget to check the Doc or I'm so overwhelmed with everything else that I don't check. It's just another complication.
Creating the Academic Library Folksonomy
I've heard of most of the sites that the author mentions, and I've seen them used in library and academic settings.
This article was written in 2007. I wonder how the social tagging experiment that the University of Pennsylvania implemented has fared. Is it still being used today? Do students actually use it? Do the administrators of PennTags still use it?
I liked that the author brought up some concerns about social tagging. While the freedom and openness of the programs can be beneficial, they are also major concerns. Each library needs to evaluate its patrons before making a decision.
Jimmy Wales on the Birth of Wikipedia
Wikipedia really was a novel idea. It's definitely made an impact, as major encyclopedias are no longer publishing print versions of their product.
Wikipedia has shown how a small company with a lot of volunteers can create an accurate product. That's unusual. What about a library with few to no volunteers? I don't think the result will be the same.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Week 11 Lab
Google Scholar
I used the advanced search function. In the exact phrase box, I searched for digital libraries, and I searched for all of the words virtual reference. I also limited my search to the years 2008-2012. I restricted my search to the Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities and Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics sections.
World of Knowledge
I searched for Topic = "digital librar*" and virtual reference. I limited my scope to computer science and library information science. I also restricted the years to 2008-2012.
I used the advanced search function. In the exact phrase box, I searched for digital libraries, and I searched for all of the words virtual reference. I also limited my search to the years 2008-2012. I restricted my search to the Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities and Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics sections.
World of Knowledge
I searched for Topic = "digital librar*" and virtual reference. I limited my scope to computer science and library information science. I also restricted the years to 2008-2012.
Week 12 Notes
Web Search Engines: Part 1 and 2
I never realized how much space search engines needed to perform searches. Granted, I realize how many web sites they search, but the sheer amount of space needed is impressive, especially the 100 terabyte figure the articles mentions.
I'm a bit confused about how the hashing function works. How many computers are used in a major search engine? For example, how many computers does Google use for its search functions?
Even though the article was supposed to be about searching in common terms, but I still don't really understand web search engines. I don't think that understanding all the nuts and bolts behind web search engines is important, though. As long as I understand how to search using that web search engine, I'll be successful.
Current developments and future trends for the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting
Why does the e-print archives community care so much about the Open Archive Initiative? What sort of needs did the OAI meet?
I thought the idea of the Sheet Music Consortium was really neat. My husband plays two instruments, so he's always looking for new music. Their idea of creating a service provider that would allow users to search for sheet music is really useful.
White Paper: The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value
Like the first reading, this reading also contained information about how much data can be found online. It's amazing how many deep websites exist and how much information they contain.
I found this article to be slightly more understandable than the first article. However, it's very clearly an advertisement. I know the preface mentions the advertisementy nature of the of the article, but it should be better noticed.
I was also very interested in seeing what websites were part of the deep web. I was surprised that Amazon, UPS, eBay and MP3.com were on the list. I expected most of the websites on the list to be government websites. Those ones were a surprise.
I never realized how much space search engines needed to perform searches. Granted, I realize how many web sites they search, but the sheer amount of space needed is impressive, especially the 100 terabyte figure the articles mentions.
I'm a bit confused about how the hashing function works. How many computers are used in a major search engine? For example, how many computers does Google use for its search functions?
Even though the article was supposed to be about searching in common terms, but I still don't really understand web search engines. I don't think that understanding all the nuts and bolts behind web search engines is important, though. As long as I understand how to search using that web search engine, I'll be successful.
Current developments and future trends for the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting
Why does the e-print archives community care so much about the Open Archive Initiative? What sort of needs did the OAI meet?
I thought the idea of the Sheet Music Consortium was really neat. My husband plays two instruments, so he's always looking for new music. Their idea of creating a service provider that would allow users to search for sheet music is really useful.
White Paper: The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value
Like the first reading, this reading also contained information about how much data can be found online. It's amazing how many deep websites exist and how much information they contain.
I found this article to be slightly more understandable than the first article. However, it's very clearly an advertisement. I know the preface mentions the advertisementy nature of the of the article, but it should be better noticed.
I was also very interested in seeing what websites were part of the deep web. I was surprised that Amazon, UPS, eBay and MP3.com were on the list. I expected most of the websites on the list to be government websites. Those ones were a surprise.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Week 11 Notes
Digital Libraries: challenges and influential work by William H. Mischo
What is federated search? How is it better than non-federated search?
I think it's interesting that government agencies began looking at the idea of the digital library before the idea of the Internet even really caught on with the general public. Most importantly, they started by involving the community, most of whom probably had no idea what the government meant.
I also found it interesting that Google was a result of the early project, as were many other developments. The creators wanted to create one thing but ended up creating a lot more. We can't imagine a world without Google and these programs helped make it possible.
Dewey meets Turing: librarians, computer scientists and the digital libraries initiative
I like the idea that librarians had to work with computer scientists. This partnership is bound to create new ideas (like Google). However, the article makes it seem like the two groups did not have much respect for each other or even bother to explain the basics of their jobs. Perhaps the partnership would have worked better then.
How much of a disruption did the Internet cause in the partnership? Why could the computer scientists explained the more technical concepts to the librarians? What advances have been made since that time?
Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age
Does Pitt have a digital repository? Who created it? Who maintains it? Do librarians play any part in the upkeep or organization of the digital repository?
I like the idea of a digital repository because you can keep a lot of useful information in one place. However, what happens if the system crashes? Is there a backup? Where is the information stored? How do you convince technology-reluctant faculty members and staff to use the repository?
I also appreciated that the author included some of his concerns about repositories.
What is federated search? How is it better than non-federated search?
I think it's interesting that government agencies began looking at the idea of the digital library before the idea of the Internet even really caught on with the general public. Most importantly, they started by involving the community, most of whom probably had no idea what the government meant.
I also found it interesting that Google was a result of the early project, as were many other developments. The creators wanted to create one thing but ended up creating a lot more. We can't imagine a world without Google and these programs helped make it possible.
Dewey meets Turing: librarians, computer scientists and the digital libraries initiative
I like the idea that librarians had to work with computer scientists. This partnership is bound to create new ideas (like Google). However, the article makes it seem like the two groups did not have much respect for each other or even bother to explain the basics of their jobs. Perhaps the partnership would have worked better then.
How much of a disruption did the Internet cause in the partnership? Why could the computer scientists explained the more technical concepts to the librarians? What advances have been made since that time?
Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age
Does Pitt have a digital repository? Who created it? Who maintains it? Do librarians play any part in the upkeep or organization of the digital repository?
I like the idea of a digital repository because you can keep a lot of useful information in one place. However, what happens if the system crashes? Is there a backup? Where is the information stored? How do you convince technology-reluctant faculty members and staff to use the repository?
I also appreciated that the author included some of his concerns about repositories.
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