• Codex Sinaiticus – Home

  This ancient biblical manuscript is an excellent example of collaboration between institutions and how digital collections are invaluable to scholars. These four manuscripts could not be combined into a whole without their digital surrogates.

  tags: bible, religion, history, christianity, digital, collections, bethel, manuscripts

This will really help to circumvent the unattractive interface of CONTENTdm. 

• North Carolina Digital Collections Collaboratory » User-friendly CONTENTdm interface design?

  Code created by UNLV to improve CONTENTdm’s interface and enabling Web 2.0 features.

  tags: contentdm, digital collections, usability, web design

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

ABC News ran a story about doctors who expect to have access to the medical literature but can’t because of publisher costs.  They also mentioned the open access movement including the NIH mandate to deposit publications funded by the federal government to PubMed Central so they can be accessed by the public for free.

This is a great opportunity to educate the public about the need for Open Access promoted by advocates like Peter Suber in the United States and Steven Harnad in the UK.  The story begins with a direct connection between the doctor who did the research that would help many people and the lack of access by most people because of commercial publication costs.

Maybe us librarians could hit the comment section with a dose of open access education?  This way more people will understand that the disproportionately rising costs of journals compared to library budgets is a danger to them as well as the “ivory tower”. That’s the ticket.

Institutional Repositories: Thinking Beyond the Box – 3/1/2009 – Library Journal

Current state of IR’s is poor writes Andrew Richard Albanese. Begins with Harvard’s open access mandate and details what went wrong overall with repositories. Mentions some things that IR’s need to do to be successful such as enticing faculty to contribute by providing services.

Some interesting quotes from the article followed by my comments:

“IRs have failed to catch on for a multitude of reasons, Salo explains, not the least of which is that the first generation was hopelessly passive about their collection activities.”

• Librarians must better understand faculty motivations, including tenure and reputation, and build services around that desire. – post by kgerber

“In his opening keynote at the 2008 SPARC Digital Repositories Meeting in Baltimore, John Wilbanks, director of Science Commons, spoke about what would move IRs forward: incentives. ‘My experience is that faculty don’t like to be hit with sticks,’ Wilbanks said. ‘They prefer carrots.’”

• What carrots can we provide? Some ideas:

• Offer assistance in submitting to discipline-specific repositories or organizations
• Provide personal Web space
• Repository submissions recognized in tenure process – post by kgerber

Many news organizations trumpeted the release of the World Digital Library on April 21st.  John Billington, from the Library of Congress, with the help of UNESCO and other funders, succeeded in putting up an interesting interface that provides access to over 1,000 of the world’s precious documents of cultural history.  Included are items from all continents, except Antarctica, which are old, beautiful, and high quality.  You can zoom in on an ancient map or manuscript to get a good look and can experience it in seven languages.

It is an excellent example of what a digital library can do by providing access to items that some would never be able to see.  This site will not substitute for a visit to the actual holders of the items but is a wonderful opportunity for those who can’t.

You may have heard the term open source mentioned many times but are wondering what it really means.  Karen Schneider from Equinox,  the software company that supports the open source ILS Evergreen, presented an excellent introductory Webinar on Open Source software on March 17, 2009. Follow the “Here’s the recording” link. The first 12 minutes are an orientation to the Webinar functions and troubleshooting for the attendees.  Skip forward to get to the content on Open Source.

The Webinar inspired this post and I am highlighting  some important points in the presentation while including my own comments and examples. The five main sections are:

1. Definition of Open Source
2. Examples
3. Reliability and Quality
4. Cost
5. Assessment
6. Question and Answer session

Definition

The definition of open source software is set by the Open Source Initiative and is paraphrased below:

Software that allows its users to access and modify the computer code it was created with and includes licensing that allows it to be freely shared and modified without restriction.

A similar concept exists in the GNU Operating system and the Free Software Foundation who originally developed the concept of free software distribution. The major difference with their license and philosophy is that they choose to emphasize the word “free” and do not accept some license restrictions that open source does.

Examples

• Some familiar examples:
  • Firefox browser, WordPress blog software
• For libraries:
  • Integrated Library Systems (ILS) – Evergreen, Koha, OLE (in development)
  • Digital Repositories – DSpace, Fedora, Greenstone, ePrints
• For programmers and Web developers:
  • Databases – PostgreSQL, MySQL
  • Scripting code – PHP, Perl
  • Web Server – Apache
  • Operating System – Linux

• For more examples fast forward to (33:30) for a list of open source software in libraries – The audio mentions moreOther lists
  • Jessamyn West wrote a post about open source in libraries on Feb. 2007
  • Library Success Wiki (not all items are open source)
  • Open Source Systems for Libraries (choose the type of application)

Reliability and Quality

(15:20) It is reliable enough that over half of commercial vendors use open source such as the Linux operating system

• Many Websites are run on a whole suite of these software called the LAMP stack:
  • L – Linux operating system, A – Apache Web server, M – MySQL database, P – PHP or Perl scripting language
  • Karen informed me that Evergreen runs a variation called LAPP because they use PostgreSQL instead of MySQL because it is more powerful. DSpace, the repository software, also uses this database language.

(19:00) How is quality maintained in these projects?  Description of the meritocracy helps to answer this question.

• (22:20) In Evergreen, some major problems are fixed within hours because of the amount of people collaborating with access to the code

Cost

A common statement about open source is that it is as “free as a free kitten”. (28:00) Karen provides a cost comparison with proprietary or commercial software that takes this comment a step further:

• Traditional – pay for use of proprietary code
• Open source – pay for support and development

Assessment

(36:00) Three open source coding terms that are important to know for assessment

• Commit – “process where code change becomes permanent”,
• Trunk – “base of a product on which development progresses”, and
• Fork – “starting another software program using code from an existing project”

(38:42) Questions to ask

1. How open is it? – based on these principles Foundations of Openness
2. (40:45) How has it grown and how is growth managed?
3. (42:20) Is there a development plan and is it documented?
4. (43:00) How engaged is the community?
5. (44:35) What support models are there?
   1. Self-service
   2. Commercial
   3. Hosted

Questions

(52:40) How do you make a conversion from proprietary software?

• Examine what is currently available – know what you want
• Blog post from Equinox, Migration Nation, assumes you have chosen a product
• Issue an RFP

(53:45) Programming Languages used in Koha and Evergreen

• Evergreen – C, SQL, Javascript  Koha – Perl, some SQL
• also learn Python

Michael Stephens posted part of a proposal to measure the effect of Learning 2.0 in Libraries and I wish him the best of luck.  Since the program began with Helene Blowers in 2006 it has been adopted by close to 1000 organizations worldwide proving that it is clearly a success in the library world. Why should we stop there?

Libraries are not the only groups that are struggling to understand the effect of Web 2.0.  The structure of Learning 2.0 provides the space for people to learn at their own pace and join a community of learners.  Why not open this opportunity to a larger community?  Librarians could lead the way in educating their communities about these tools.  For academic libraries, workshops centered around Learning 2.0 could be a valuable service for faculty or students.  Public libraries could extend this to the general public or specific communities like small businesses.

Has any library used Learning 2.0 as an outreach tool?  I would love to know.

Your institution uses software services like Turnitin.com so you can rest assured that student cheating will be caught, right?

Not so, says Thomas Bartlett of the Chronicle of Higher Education in an article on March 20, 2009. While many professors are aware of different services that help students write their papers for them, they may not be aware that it is a profitable and global industry they are up against.

These companies called essay mills write custom papers for students who pay per-page, and avoid software like Turnitin because the essays are original works; they just aren’t created by the student. The Chronicle tracked one of these companies, Best Essays, from Virginia to Ukraine to the Philippines, back to the US.
John Gordon of Future Tense interviewed Bartlett about the story on March 27 and it is well-worth the four minutes to listen.

What is a professor to do?  Solutions using technology can help but as Bartlett concludes, having a relationship with the student and their work is still the best deterrent.

This post is a summary of a presentation given by two Information Literacy Librarians from Wartburg College, Kimberly Babcock Mashek and Kari Weaver,  at the Library Technology Conference on March 19, 2009.  They compare different user guide models and present best practices to make them more interactive and effective. 

The main points of the presentation are to:

1. Understand what your users want
2. Understand what resources you have available
3. Choose the most appropriate resources according to points 1 & 2.
4. Continue to evaluate and maintain your services.
5. Share their experience and successes at Wartburg College

Brief History of User Guides

Pathfinders or Static Web Pages

Problems

• Don’t know if people are using them
• No standardization
• Users don’t understand library jargon

Why user guides?

• Enhances Info Lit Instruction
• Virtual Access
• Model proper research behavior

What is expected?

• Be specific
  • by class or assignment
• Allow customization
  • what are primary databases in their field
• Need to be current
  • link checking (can pay or have student workers do it)
• Want sophisticated search but not have to struggle to use it
• Easy to find library Web page
• Familiarity/comfort with interface
  • use Wikipedia platform (MediaWiki)
• Explanation of resources and context
• Minimal clicks
• No library jargon
  • research help
• Anytime, anywhere convenient

Meeting Expectations

• Target appropriate audience
• Ask for input
• Be specific – don’t do broad and general topics
  • Newspapers specifically in their collection is popular
• Quality vs. Quantity
  • Not broad sources, maybe dont’ include encyclopedias
• Make it easy
• Check links
• Speak their language

Technical End (Kim)

Widgets

• Social Bookmarking – Delicious, Diigo
  • Pros
    • Free
    • Collaborative
    • Multiple tagging – health, medicine, consumer heath
    • variety of sophistication
  • Cons
    • Link maintenance – must check your links
    • Controlled Vocabulary is not used
    • Coding experience needed with RSS feeds
  • Example
    • use link roll to post a feed into Web page
• RSS feeds
  • Pros
    • free
    • aggregates content in one location
    • create many different ones
    • push and pull tech
  • Cons
    • ?
    • ?
  • Examples
    • can add blog feed to page in LibGuides
• Chat Widgets
  • Pros
    • fre
    • instant access
    • low tech – small learning curve
    • point of need
  • Cons
    • fee
    • Availability – are you going to be available all the time?
    • Demand – How many will use it?
  • Examples
    • Meebo
    • Volero (paid)
    • Customer Service database
• Search Widgets
  • Pros
    • Free from vendors (serials solutions)
    • search from multiple places (catalog, databases)
    • google like
  • Cons
    • need to know html code
    • unavailable from vendor or for a fee.
  • Examples
    • U of M

Automated Options

• Wikis
  • Pros
    • Free
    • increase productivity
      • searchable
      • small barriers to participation
    • easy to use and update
    • search
    • many options
    • easy cross-references
  • Cons
    • Fee (sometimes)
    • Security (collaborate with IT)
    • Set up
    • Local Hosting
    • Many options available
    • User generated content
  • Examples
    • Biz Wiki at Ohio ULibrary a la Carte (from Oregon State)
• Library a la Carte (open source)
  • Pros
    • free
    • customize
    • interoperable with Web 2.0
  • cons
    • programming skills and time required
    • Server space and maintenance must be locally available
    • No easy Facebook integration
  • Example
    • at Oregon State 
• Lib Guides
  • from Springshare
  • Pros
    • Easy updates
    • limited Web design skill necessary
    • customization available
    • off-site hosting (they host it)
    • easily reusable (can harness items within and at other institutions with Libguides)
  • Cons
    • High cost – based on FTE – 17000 students – $5,000)
    • Access problems with off-site servers
      • trouble with authetication because of location
    • Not fully customizable
  • Examples
    • Kari Weaver’s Marketing class

Advanced Technology Options

• Podcast or screencast
  • subscription based
  • invest in great microphone to include audio
  • need server space
  • get a video camera – some for $100
• Tutorials
  • Anywhere, point of need
  • need screen capture software with good audio
  • Camtasia, Captivate, Jing, Camstudio
• Mashups
  • RSS feeds, Images everything fed onto Web page
  • Content is not owned by guide creator, could disappear
• Examples
  • New Zealand University of Auckland
  • Wartburg

Library Playground – demo of Yahoo pipes

libraryplayground.wordpress.com

Implementation at your Library

• Get buy in from staff
  • Create standards first (would have done this first)
• Interfacing with Tech department (don’t recommend doing first and asking for forgiveness)
• Matching talents with tools
• Addressing user expectations

Find help and experience

• Springshare has some online tutorials

Assess your User Guides (offer prizes or food)

• usage statistics
• surveys
• focus groups
  • six students, six people was very successful

Final thoughts

• Choose items carefully and start small

Send email if you want copy of presentation.

PRESENTER:
David Collins, Associate Director for Public Services in Library, and Barron Koralesky, Associate Director for Information Technology Services, Macalester College  

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Using a mix of demonstration, hands-on experience and conversation, participants will dig deeper into Google and Google Apps.   You may want to bring your lab coat.  Macalester has been using Google Apps for nearly a year, and will share some experiences as well as ways we have been integrating / leveraging Google into the day-to-day life of our library and institution.  We want to know how others are using Google, and hope to develop a shared “best practices” project as one outcome of this session.

Important that Library and IT collaborate

3 sections – Presentation, Hands-on, Group Reports

Had year long exploration of email.

• Found and picked Google
• Soon after had massive power outage condensing transition to a couple of weeks.
• What happens if you go to Google?
  • seperated security and privacy
  • Google does security well (much larger resources)
  • Privacy
    • Assumption – everything sent by email is not private

Education account does not have Reader, Groups, and ?.

What it has changed in Campus

• more open environment – perpetual beta
• new things appear and don’t know about it until after the fact.
  • traditional IT prefers limited controlled support of applications.

Google Books and WorldCat Local

• Google may have helped with transition to WorldCat Local.

Google Scholar

• didn’t at first get the importance of Preferences.
  • Can set it up so that you are using library resources
    • “Scholar Preferences” to right of tool bar
• Bibliographic management – can set up direct link to RefWorks
  • Import into RefWorks under individual search item

Google Docs

• different usage – varies by user
  • some expect training documentation
• eliminate need for attachments
• This presentation in his account (shot of his account)
  • mentions that it is more than just docs, + spreadsheets, presentations
• Student project – silent auction  for New Orleans (Form)
• Using it in Teaching
  • Great value in classroom
    • Collaborative writing –
    • more transparency
      • see revision history (looks different in each document type)
      • compare version
    • eliminates need for version control (central document)
  • using in Library for strategic planning documents.
  • Can work offline through Google Gears
• Google Forms – appeared 6 months ago
  • web services put this in for student, faculty use
  • ITS ticket survey
    • satisfied with service? – attach this to any closed ticket email.
  • Shows spreadsheet that it populates
    • also showed graphs that can be created from it.
  • Data types
    • text
    • paragraph
    • multiple choice
    • checkboxes
    • choose from a list
    • scale

Google Reader (not part of education suite)

• Asked about RSS – who knows what it is?, who uses it?, daily?, use Google Reader?.
• Why not built in?

Google Talk

• Virtual reference or helpdesk
• Web conferencing (video chat)
  • only 1 to 1
  • could bring in one guest to a conference
  • he says smoother than skype
  • Demo – can bring up on presentation screen (full screen)
    • can’t text chat at the same time in full screen but can in smaller
  • Based on Jabber, so can be used with Meebo

Google Custom Search

• benefit is that you can restrict to specific sites
  • ex. within liberal arts institutions look for facebook
  • different portals for disciplines.

Google Tricks

• Earthquakes
• Time in other countries

Google Photos – Picasa

• Standout items
  • Geotags
  • Face recognition software

 Hands-On Time

• Created a Custom Search for biology

Fourth Grader is using Google Docs

Group responses to these questions:

• How is Google used in your library?
• What did you try today?
• What did you find surprising/interesting?
• How will you use this in your library?

Answers from participants

UW Stout

• Google calendar for lib hours, embedding Google preview in WorldCat

U Nebraska – Omaha

• Looking at Gmail
  • Macalester is one of the first to go campus-wide

Google Maps talking about Fair Use

Only officially using Google Scholar

Hamline – custom search

Grandview univeristy

• Nothing official yet
• Likes forms, transparent grading

St Thomas

• docs for library hours
• Analytics

MN Historical Society

• Blocked from Google Mail
• Individuals use it for collaborating

What about conversation part of Gmail, can’t turn it off. Why move away from Microsoft with which most are familiar with?

• Google search tech is advantage.
• Conversations help once you can get used to them. (Mac has had no complaints after time)

Gmail used in public libraries

• Hated it for a month – tried again later and loved it.
• Cuts out overhead (even if you pay for user less)
• Better bandwidth (used additional money for this)

Calendar is used in many instances. Mac didn’t expect this but it happened as time went on.

Widget for iGoogle home page, embedded into Webpage.

Good for Netbooks – get stuff from the cloud.

MIINITEX

• benefit she sees – Google Groups

St Paul Public

• Google forms is enticing
• Teaching public
• Can get above limitation of bad hardware.

Mentioned CommonCraft videos which are great intros to Google Docs stuff.

Google Talk – don’t have to travel to the “mother ship”

Karen Wittenborg quote about libraries.