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.

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.

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.

Week 9 Lab

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Week 10 Notes

Introduction to XML by Doug Tidwell

Why is it so important that computers/machines know what type of information is post? What can they do with that information?

XML seems to make coding more complex and confusing. The code looks cluttered.

The author gives an example of code, in which the author is trying to make text bold and italics. He explains that you have to end an element before you start a new one. If this is the case, how do you make something both bold and italic? There's not many reasons to make something bold and italic, but how do you do it in XML?

I'm beginning to think I like HMTL better than XML. HTML seems more forgiving than XML, so it's nicer for beginners.


A Survey of XML Standards, Part 1 by Uche Ogbuji

Computer programming is really just alphabet soup. Don't forget about HMTL, XML, SGML, DTD, ISO, URI, URL, URN, and OASIS. It's so very complicated. Remembering what all the abbreviations stand for is also rather difficult. I need a cheat sheet.

This article really confused me. It seemed rather technical and all the abbreviations didn't help. The article also assumes you have a slightly more than basic understanding of XML and HTML. If you only have a slight grasp on XML (like me), you're in trouble.


XML Schema Tutorial on w3schools.com

This tutorial clears up a few questions. It's technical because of the coding, but I like that w3schools actually gives you space to try out the code.

w3schools.com is a really helpful website because it also compiles lists of information that come in handy when coding.

Week 8 Lab

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Week 9 Notes

W3schools HTML5 Tutorial

Why did it take so long for HTML5 to be introduced and named a standard? I think it's great that the programmers are finally taking steps to bring the behind-the-scenes of the Internet up to date. Who is responsible for updating the programming language?

When will HTML5 be officially named a standard?


Wikipedia: HTML5

I like the logo for HTML5. Although, it's amusing that the logo gets a section that is the same size as more important parts of the page (like Markup). How different is HTML5 after all?

If HTML5 is still in development, how relevant will it be when it's named a standard? Won't parts of it be obsolete already? The video and audio parts of the language seem like a nice improvement.

Will HTML5 still work with the other programming languages like CSS? How exactly do you implement a new programming language? How are the old webpages affected?


W3schools XHTML Tutorial

The main difference between HTML and XHTML is that XHTML is a cleaner version of HTML. It's more strict. Isn't this just making a mountain out of a molehill? It seems like the programming world is just making things complicated for no reason. Why is XHTML necessary? I guess XHTML could be similar to proper grammar. You're taught the correct way to write and speak, yet we develop slang and conversational grammar. We say kinda instead of kind of, and some people say they're going to red the room, which evidently means clean up the room. In a way, I guess that's similar. XHTML is proper grammar, while HTML is conversational grammar.