So today I searched for librarian blog postings about privacy, using the Mashup Rollyo to do so (it allows you to create a personalized search engine, "searchroll," by selecting particular Web sites). As I'd expect, there were plenty of results! librarian.net does a good job of tagging posts, so I was able to find all of her privacy-related posts.
I was particularly interested in a few postings about RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). In libraries RFID is used instead of barcodes to tag books. It's a wireless technology that's increasingly popular in many settings, not just libraries (I've heard a lot about it's use in employee badges).
But security and privacy can be a major issue. If security isn't built into the system from the start, then unauthorized scanners could be used to access the tags and even alter them. So, libraries must carefully consider the issues before signing a contract with a vendor. The American Library Association (ALA) has some excellent resources about RFID technology in libraries, including guidelines and a resolution adopted by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee.
I created a searchroll on this topic at Rollyo: RFIDs.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Podcasting and Online Hosted Video: AV 2.0
I've been a fan of podcasting (Web broadcasting of audio files using push technology) for a while now, especially once NPR jumped on the bandwagon. Buying an iPod Nano didn't hurt, either!
A great place to find podcasts is Podcast Alley, particularly if you're not using iTunes. Even if you are an iTunes user, Podcast Alley is still an excellent resource.
A great place to find podcasts is Podcast Alley, particularly if you're not using iTunes. Even if you are an iTunes user, Podcast Alley is still an excellent resource.
There's a huge variety of podcasts now, ranging from an individual with a computer microphone to commercial news organizations to scholarly journals to medical school lectures. Libraries are attempting to determine how podcasts fit into their resources, and some are even creating their own.
Academic librarians who work with departments at their institutions to produce podcast lecture series can offer an excellent service to students and the public. An added potential benefit is to increase the library's visibility on campus.
YouTube is another example of "Audiovisual 2.0": this site has an amazing number of videos, mostly published by amateurs. There are a number of examples of libraries that have uploaded promotional videos for their services, but I think the best library videos on YouTube have at least a bit of humor to them:
Monday, April 21, 2008
Online photo sharing
Last week I added a new photo album to my Facebook account, with some garden photos. I'm including a few here, too.
It was really easy to upload photos to both Facebook and Blogger, plus I already use Google's Picasa software. One side of my family created a Picasa web album so that everyone (it's a big family!) could upload and share photos.
But other than that private web album I keep most of my photos on just my own PC. I downloaded Picasa in 2006 after a vacation during which hundreds of digital photos were taken. I was impressed with how easy it was to use, and the ease of scrolling through the multitude of photos on my PC.It was a really nice surprise when the media detection software found some photos I had downloaded from email messages years before, and had completely forgotten about!
Since I've been so satisfied with Picasa, and other family members are also using it as well, I'm not very familiar with flickr. I know it's extremely popular, though.Picasa allows one to edit photos, which doesn't appear to be an option with flickr. But flickr's tagging, groups, sets, and its Explore page are way beyond anything that Picasa does.
Therefore, flickr appears to be the better option for libraries and archives that want to post photo collections online, such as The Library of Congress' photostream or the Cleveland Memory Project's photostream.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Web Office Tools
Google Docs (Beta) is pretty cool, I can see it as useful to students working on a group project or by faculty co-authoring a manuscript. It could also be used by members of a professional association, such as a working group or officers who need to draft or edit a document before presenting it to the rest of the association.
I've used the Google spreadsheet to update my contact information for a private, unofficial alumni group. We used to update our information by downloading an Excel spreadsheet, editing it, and then sending it back to the person coordinating the whole thing. Google Docs makes things so much easier for her! The only hard part was getting everyone invited and signed up properly so that they could gain access, particularly since many have multiple email addresses.
However, so many of us are familiar and comfortable with Microsoft applications that I think Microsoft Office Live Workspace (Beta) has a better chance of being used by professionals, particularly co-authors of a manuscript. It would be easier than the current method of emailing the Word file to the other collaborators with "Track changes" activated. I've heard examples from faculty members where multiple collaborators made changes and emailed the new document to the group at about the same time, thereby creating complications and adding time to the process. Using web-based software could eliminate this problem, as long as every co-author has a decent PC with a good Internet connection speed.
Here are a couple of examples of Google Docs that I chose to publish on the Web, without allowing others to edit them: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dg32b75x_1fp49p2hc
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pmSWLq6162INuGIiv2QFKMQ
I've used the Google spreadsheet to update my contact information for a private, unofficial alumni group. We used to update our information by downloading an Excel spreadsheet, editing it, and then sending it back to the person coordinating the whole thing. Google Docs makes things so much easier for her! The only hard part was getting everyone invited and signed up properly so that they could gain access, particularly since many have multiple email addresses.
However, so many of us are familiar and comfortable with Microsoft applications that I think Microsoft Office Live Workspace (Beta) has a better chance of being used by professionals, particularly co-authors of a manuscript. It would be easier than the current method of emailing the Word file to the other collaborators with "Track changes" activated. I've heard examples from faculty members where multiple collaborators made changes and emailed the new document to the group at about the same time, thereby creating complications and adding time to the process. Using web-based software could eliminate this problem, as long as every co-author has a decent PC with a good Internet connection speed.
Here are a couple of examples of Google Docs that I chose to publish on the Web, without allowing others to edit them: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dg32b75x_1fp49p2hc
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Social Bookmarking
Today I added the del.icio.us Linkrolls script to this blog. Pretty cool feature. I also added the del.icio.us application to my Facebook profile.
It's definitely an easy way to access my bookmarks/favorites from any PC with an Internet connection. I uploaded all of my Firefox bookmarks to del.icio.us, but kept most of them private for now. Some I shared, though, and added tags.
The automatic tagging of my bookmarks was an interesting feature, even though some of the assigned tags wouldn't make sense to anyone else!
I suppose social bookmarking could be used for research, but I'm not sure how often I'd use it myself. People who use del.icio.us a lot would probably be more likely to take advantage of the many uses of social bookmarking and tagging.
It's definitely an easy way to access my bookmarks/favorites from any PC with an Internet connection. I uploaded all of my Firefox bookmarks to del.icio.us, but kept most of them private for now. Some I shared, though, and added tags.
The automatic tagging of my bookmarks was an interesting feature, even though some of the assigned tags wouldn't make sense to anyone else!
I suppose social bookmarking could be used for research, but I'm not sure how often I'd use it myself. People who use del.icio.us a lot would probably be more likely to take advantage of the many uses of social bookmarking and tagging.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Social Networking
I have to say, I like LinkedIn and Facebook more than MySpace, but they are all excellent examples of social networking sites. LinkedIn is geared towards professionals, and its privacy features are much more rigorous than at Facebook or MySpace. However, Facebook does have a number of privacy options.
While Facebook is not specifically designed for professional networking, I've used it in that manner quite effectively. Facebook has a huge number of Groups, including ones for professional organizations like American Library Association Members (ALA), Special Libraries Association (SLA) Member on Facebook, and Medical Library Association (MLA). This is yet another way for associations to reach out to members; posting news and events, connecting individual members, and so on. Many Facebook groups have open memberships, although some are restricted (such as school and university groups that require members to have a current email address from their domain).
LinkedIn has a much smaller number of Groups, and you must request to join any of them. They are completely targeted towards professional and alumni networking. Facebook groups, on the other hand, are totally random: from "Sunflowers Make Me Happy" to "Library 2.0 Interest Group."
Facebook can be used for work or fun... add Events posted by professional groups like MLA, connect with other members of your profession, play games, send "Gifts," find old classmates... Some useful Applications for librarians include WorldCat, Pubface (for searching PubMed directly from Facebook), and JSTOR Search.
Hundreds of libraries have created Facebook and MySpace pages: MySpace library pages tend to be designed for young adults while Facebook library pages are more organized, particularly since Facebook pages are all based on a standard template and MySpace pages are free-form. Considering that libraries of all types need to market their services to a younger audience in order to stay current and retain patrons, a Facebook and/or MySpace page is nearly a requirement, particularly for public and academic libraries.
While Facebook is not specifically designed for professional networking, I've used it in that manner quite effectively. Facebook has a huge number of Groups, including ones for professional organizations like American Library Association Members (ALA), Special Libraries Association (SLA) Member on Facebook, and Medical Library Association (MLA). This is yet another way for associations to reach out to members; posting news and events, connecting individual members, and so on. Many Facebook groups have open memberships, although some are restricted (such as school and university groups that require members to have a current email address from their domain).
LinkedIn has a much smaller number of Groups, and you must request to join any of them. They are completely targeted towards professional and alumni networking. Facebook groups, on the other hand, are totally random: from "Sunflowers Make Me Happy" to "Library 2.0 Interest Group."
Facebook can be used for work or fun... add Events posted by professional groups like MLA, connect with other members of your profession, play games, send "Gifts," find old classmates... Some useful Applications for librarians include WorldCat, Pubface (for searching PubMed directly from Facebook), and JSTOR Search.
Hundreds of libraries have created Facebook and MySpace pages: MySpace library pages tend to be designed for young adults while Facebook library pages are more organized, particularly since Facebook pages are all based on a standard template and MySpace pages are free-form. Considering that libraries of all types need to market their services to a younger audience in order to stay current and retain patrons, a Facebook and/or MySpace page is nearly a requirement, particularly for public and academic libraries.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Blogs vs. Wikis (round 1)
So I was recently asked, "What's the difference between a blog and a wiki? What are they, anyway?"
Here's the answer that I usually give; it may be basic, but I think it's a good start for someone unfamiliar with blogs and wikis.
A blog (like this one) is generally maintained by just one person (sometimes one organization or department). S/he may post links, write about items of interest, discuss current events, etc. People may post responses, but it's up to the blogger to maintain the site.
A wiki is a collaboration among multiple people. It's a place to share information with others, whether it be a small group of friends in a private wiki or a global collaboration in a public wiki like Wikipedia®. A wiki can only be maintained if multiple people contribute and edit its pages. Administrators, moderators, members, and contributors can have differing amounts of control, and wikis themselves can have different levels of accessibility. Some may have one administrator who invites select members to join and edit their private wiki (accessible only to those people), while on the other extreme some wikis allow anyone to contribute and edit pages.
Right now my new wiki Northeast Ohio Gardening allows anyone to contribute, edit and even add pages, although as administrator I can delete anything. I could change the settings in the future so that only members of my wiki may contribute and edit, but we'll see what happens...
Here's the answer that I usually give; it may be basic, but I think it's a good start for someone unfamiliar with blogs and wikis.
A blog (like this one) is generally maintained by just one person (sometimes one organization or department). S/he may post links, write about items of interest, discuss current events, etc. People may post responses, but it's up to the blogger to maintain the site.
A wiki is a collaboration among multiple people. It's a place to share information with others, whether it be a small group of friends in a private wiki or a global collaboration in a public wiki like Wikipedia®. A wiki can only be maintained if multiple people contribute and edit its pages. Administrators, moderators, members, and contributors can have differing amounts of control, and wikis themselves can have different levels of accessibility. Some may have one administrator who invites select members to join and edit their private wiki (accessible only to those people), while on the other extreme some wikis allow anyone to contribute and edit pages.
Right now my new wiki Northeast Ohio Gardening allows anyone to contribute, edit and even add pages, although as administrator I can delete anything. I could change the settings in the future so that only members of my wiki may contribute and edit, but we'll see what happens...
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