Unit 12, Social Software: Muddiest Point

I wonder how and if libraries have implemented controlled vocabularies in their tagging / social software. In the absence of controlled vocabularies, I imagine it would be hard for libraries to retain intellectual control over their resources. Has this been an issue in the past, or might it be in the future?

Unit 12, Social Software: Blog Comments

http://akulp2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/11-29-reading-notes.html?showComment=1290885239094#c1011544951341450275

http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-12-readings.html?showComment=1290885912748#c4706395067342324905

Unit 12, Social Software: Reading Notes

“Weblogs: Their Use and Application in Science and Technology Libraries” by Randy Reichardt, Geoffrey Harder

I was surprised to learn how little there is in the scholarly literature about weblogs. This sentence was particularly alarming: “No articles were found which specifically discussed the use or potential use of blogs in a science and technology library setting.” I think we need to do a better job of keeping up with technology and making our experiences and knowledge available through publication. We’re supposed to be leaders in information, and that means using new technologies and sharing what we’ve learned with the community.

This article does a great job of pointing out how blogs can streamline communication for libraries. I had never heard of a reference book before, and while I find the idea very pleasing in a luddite sort of way, I can see how that would be a difficult system to work with. I think that if a library is able to prove its relevance in the digital age, using tools like a blog as a communication method that can also provide evidence of how busy/understaffed/important the library is, it will be better able to argue for a bigger budget and more community support. Many people think of libraries as old-fashioned places filled with books and books only – whatever tools can be used to dispel that myth AND to more efficiently run the library should put into place.

“Using a wiki to manage a library instruction program: Sharing knowledge to better serve patrons” by Charles Allan

“Wikis are used by librarians to manage public services information, collaborate on and keep track of reference questions, and assess databases.” Such cool uses of wikis! I’ve only used them in classes as an undergrad. They were meant to be communication tools between students but, in general, we didn’t like using them as much as blogs and email – probably because there wasn’t a lot of explanation for how to use them. I think there’s a lot of potential there, though, for creating tools that are useful for staff and patrons at libraries. I like that wikis are so structured and yet dynamic at the same time. The ideas presented in this article are all really neat, especially the library instruction program. I hope we see more libraries making use of wikis in the future.

Jimmy Wales: How a ragtag band created Wikipedia

I personally find Jimmy Wales a little grating, but this was an interesting TED talk. I’m intrigued by his point that educators don’t actually dislike Wikipedia as we think. I hope he’s right, but I’m not sure – I’ve never known a teacher or a professor to encourage students’ use of Wikipedia, in spite of how obviously biased textbooks are, or the fact that students can use the site for information without using it a source in a research paper. Hopefully that will change as Wikipedia improves and its reputation as an unbiased source of information grows.

“Creating the academic library folksonomy: Put social tagging to work at your institution” by Xan Arch

Another really neat idea. The article casts libraries as “meant for discovery of information” and argues that folksonomies are a good way to fulfill that role. The idea of a list of reference links, cultivated by librarians, is very appealing. As part of a reinterpretation of librarianship, social tagging could be a very effective way of broadening the appeal and relevance of libraries in the digital environment. The article’s discussion of “gray literature” is interesting, especially for academic libraries.

These questions at the end of the article strike me as being important enough to warrant their own articles: “Should a library control the vocabulary or allow a true folksonomy to take shape? We are classifiers by nature, are we ready to give up the reins?” I think these issues are at the heart of debates about the place of libraries in the world today.

Muddiest Point

Thanks for posting the grades!
I don't have a muddiest point for this week.

Assignment 6: Website

My website:

http://www.pitt.edu/~rmm93/

Unit 11, Web Search & OAI Protocol: Comments

http://akulp2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/11-22-reading-notes.html?showComment=1290292042075#c3460264148333511968

http://cheyenneof2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-11-web-search-and-oai-protocol.html?showComment=1290292421540#c7679727471631972287

Unit 11, Web Search & OAI Protocol: Reading Notes

Web Search Engines: Parts 1 & 2

A very interesting pair of articles. Part 1 is about the infrastructure and crawling algorithms of search engines; part 2 discusses indexing and query processing algorithms. I enjoyed reading about spam rejection in the first article. Spamming a search engine is such a strange concept. Though I can, conceptually speaking, understand why it happens, exactly what would motivate a person to be so deceptive is a mystery to me. Do these websites really benefit so much from misleading search engines? And the tactics they use are very sneaky but also a little silly. Really, white text on a white background? That’s like using lemon juice as invisible ink.

I also enjoyed reading about the huge range of vocabulary on the Web. The way that technology shapes language is fascinating. I’d always thought of it as limiting our vocabulary to shorter, more widely-known words. It makes sense, though, that a technology that’s had such a profound affect on how we communicate would also add to the languages we use to speak to each other.

Current Developments and Future Trends for the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting

This article describes the Open Archives Initiative for Metadata Harvesting. In part, it discusses how data providers and service providers interact through standardized metadata (Dublin Core). The OAI is a really interesting example of how open source affects library science. Different organizations that relate to a huge range of disciplines use the OAI but must find a common, controlled vocabulary and willingly use a set of standards in order for the community to thrive. This sort of cooperation seems like it would be difficult to manage but have rewarding outcomes.

The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value

I’m completely fascinated by the deep web. It’s a topic that has come up in many of my classes this semester but I think that this article has done the best job of explaining why it exists and what it includes. The dissatisfaction most people feel using web search engines could probably be solved if those search engines were able to navigate the deep web. The list of the 60 largest deep web sites was very helpful to my understanding of what exactly the term “deep web” means. These are all really interesting, popular websites. I think most people assume they can access the information they contain through Google, even though that’s not really true.

Muddiest Point, 11/15

When can we expect grades for our blog participation and assignments?

Reading Notes for Unit 10: Digital Library, Institutional Repositories

Digital Libraries: Challenges and Influential Work

I learned a lot reading this article. It was really interesting to read about the two federally funded digital library research initiatives; I'd heard the names DLI-1 and DLI-2 thrown about, but had no idea the impact that they'd had on the information and computer sciences and throughout society in general. I found this quote (referencing Lynch) to be really helpful in how I think about digitization and its limitations: "there is a huge difference between providing access to discrete sets of digital collections and providing digital library services." Getting the collection online is not going to solve reference problems; you still need library tools and professionals to make that information meaningful.

Dewey Meets Turing: Librarians, Computer Scientists, and the Digital Libraries Initiative

I thought this article did a really great job of explaining the relationship between librarians and computer scientists working on digital libraries, especially the conflicts that arise beween them and the mutually beneficial nature of their cooperation. I was especially interested to read that the computer scientists were also knocked off their feet by the rise of the Internet and that, though their relationship with librarians might not be critical to their survival as a field, they still find that relationship to be a helpful one. I also appreciated that the author made a point of saying that there's still a need for librarians in the digital environment; that's always nice to hear!

Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age

This article was really helpful in tying together some of the themes in my other classes, specifically that rewards systems do not support innovative academics and that scientific and intellectual progress can really suffer when institutions do not support their more technologically progressive members. The author discusses the important role that Institutional Repositories can play in rethinking thank system; he also examines the dangers that those repositories hold and suggests a high degree of commitment and thoughtfulness that would minimize the risk. I appreciate his enthusiasm and his insistance on careful planning.

Blog Comments for Week 10

http://jobeths2600blog.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-10-readings.html?showComment=1289438434361#c4916551635448169073

http://christyfic.blogspot.com/2010/11/reading-notes-week-10-nov-15-2010.html?showComment=1289442213801#c7526514346554817019

Muddiest Point for Week 9: XML

We've talked a lot about the benefits of XML, but what are some its limitations? Why might someone choose to use HTML other than XML, other than comfort level or experience?

Assignment 5: Koha

http://upitt01-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=100

My username is RMM93 and the shelf is named "Contemporary Poetry."

Comments for Unit 9: XML

http://grammarcore.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-9-readings.html?showComment=1288987990840#c5674398253770612634

http://archivist-amy-in-training.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-9-xml.html?showComment=1288988274912#c7798696176954611167

http://megrentschler.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-9-reading-notes-11810.html?showComment=1288988532472#c7208558997674329337

Reading Notes for Unit 9: XML

Introducing the Extensible Markup Language (XML)

I realize that XML has been so important to how information is shared on the Internet but I’m not sure I understand the details. The jargon is a bit over my head.

A Survey of XML Standards: Part 1

A good overview of the basics with short definitions of XML standards. I used this as a reference when I was reading the other articles for this week. The XPointer, XLink, and XPath sections helped me the most.

In general, though, I don’t understand the why of many of these standards. For example, why would you use the XInclude specification? I’m having a hard time visualizing many of the components of XML.

Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial

XML is different (and an improvement) from HTML because it allows you to “meaningfully annotate text” – good in theory, but I don’t really understand what that means. Reading this article, I realized I’m still confused about namespaces and DTDs. And XSLT. And a whole lot of other stuff.

XML Schema Tutorial

Yikes, this is complicated. I like the tutorial but I’ll need to read it a few more times before anything sinks in. It doesn’t seem geared towards beginners – and I’m very much a beginner.

11/1 Muddiest Point

I have no muddiest point for this week.

I do wonder, though, what technology classes you might recommend for archives students to take next semester?