Process:

In the electronically connected world that we live in today there are many ways to access information. Early on in the digital age, the online public access catalog (OPAC) was viewed as a sophisticated source of information retrieval. This is not the case anymore. Compared to popular search engines such as Google, the library catalog is clumsy to search and rigid in design. It is little more than an inventory listing a particular library’s holdings. The limitations of the standard OPAC have led to serious interest among librarians to adapt and update the catalog by adding basic search engine functions along with social networking features. I will look at what library catalogs should be able to do and make a case for using open source software to resolve some of these problems.

The project that Janelle and I worked on was to use Pageflakes as a portal for library related economics information. Other information sources were also included since our overall concept was to develop a portal where we were accessible as librarians and the information being offered was easily available and reliable. The page was developed for economics students and faculty at a fictional academic institution.
For our project we used a variety of social networking tools. Janelle set up economics related delicious feeds and we occasionally twittered information to each other. Janelle also set up a PBwiki site where we had our PowerPoint presentation and other relevant information about our project. However, rather than rely solely on meeting via the computer, we were also able to meet in person. Although we could have easily completed our project without meeting, I’m glad that we had the opportunity to meet. Since there were only two people in our group we didn’t have as much to work out as larger groups may have had.
As far as individual contributions to this project, Janelle was definitely much more tech-savvy than me, adding delicious feeds and making everything work smoothly while I was still figuring out how to do things. We were able to get a lot of the portal done while we were together so it felt like a pretty collaborative process.

The Saint Paul Public Library system (SPPL) has had another unfortunate event happen at one of their branch libraries. This time a nineteen-year-old girl was repeatedly stabbed on the steps of the library. Coupled with the story from a few months ago of a ten-year- old being molested in one of the restrooms it gives people the impression that Saint Paul libraries are dangerous places to be. I’ve read the news stories (2nd incident) and I’ve read the LISnews posts in response to the molestation, which I found to be overly blaming and bitter towards parents and library staff – mdoneil has an axe to grind…enough said.

The voice that I haven’t heard much from is the library director. I’ve gotten the idea that they are getting security cameras and police. There were a couple of quotes from the director taken at the discretion of the reporter, the “we monitor our computers” and “librarians aren’t parents” variety. I went to the SPPL website and there was nothing there about either of these events. I realize that this is not the sort of thing that SPPL might choose to prominently post on their website. On the other hand, I believe a director’s blog would offer a unique and appropriate opportunity for the director to address public concern over these events. D. Weinberger talks about how the web has brought about a new sort of transparency for many institutions and in this case I believe that it would serve the library well to open up a forum for discussion on how seriously (or not) they’re taking these incidents.

At least once a semester I experience some sort of computer problem.  This time my wireless service at home is down and let’s just be honest, dialup is useless. Every time I experience a computer problem it makes me think about the digital divide. There are still people out there that don’t have computers and of those who do many still have dialup. Something that was brought up in our text for this class was the idea of reaching the “long-tail” of users, the people who don’t take advantage of library services. One idea mentioned is to send out books, Netflix style, to users’. This solution seems very limited to me. How many people would libraries really be able to reach through this service?

So, my idea for library 2.0 services for the “long-tail” would be for libraries to provide wireless service for a certain area of their community. I’m not sure if this would be financially prohibitive or not but there is a strong case to be made to city officials for providing funding to an area that is economically depressed. The service would be sponsored through the library, so the first thing that would pop up when you go to log into the network is, you got it, the lovely library website.

The book I read by David Weinberger was enthusiastically supportive of the participative Web. Because of this, I found it interesting to read many of the other blog posts that were written for class. Particularly, The Cult of the Amateur and Against the Machine:  Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob. I agree with many of the points that Rebecca and Erin made in their posts referring to the ideas in these books, that knowledge, credibility and reliability are becoming suspect because of all the people posting on the Web. As a librarian, I see the danger of this, but it doesn’t sway me to believe that the Web is making our information worse. There’s just a whole lot more of it and it becomes more of a challenge for user’s to sift through it. I’m leaning toward Weinberger’s point of view, that having many voices and a new sort of transparency can make us better. The Web has subverted authority and in many ways this is a good thing. I think of it in terms of blogs that have become influential like Talking Points Memo or Daily Kos. Some news blogs have uncovered stories that traditional newspapers then reported on (TPM). Is this because the Web has caused newspapers to struggle? I’m not sure the answer is that simple. TV news and newspapers aren’t the only sources of information anymore but, in some ways, this seems like an inevitable evolution and I’m happy that it has gone the way of more voices than less. Think of the days when there were only (what was it) three networks. I don’t really want to rely on one of three institutions to offer me “the facts”. It might be harder to find a credible voice but it’s out there and, like Weinberger, I find that it is having a positive impact of many things. As librarians, it makes our jobs more challenging but, hey, that’s what I find so exciting about the prospect of being a librarian now. 

According to David Weinberger, “The Web will have its deepest effect as an idea. After a while someone notices that we’re not thinking about things the way our parents did.” The Web, unlike telephones, faxes or plasma TV’s is a technology that is having a profound effect on how we think about ourselves and our world. The Web exists as a place where people meet and socialize but it does not conform to our accepted ideas about space and time. Time on the Web is immediate with no day or night.  Unlike the physical world we live in, when we’re establishing a presence on the Web we can take up space wherever we choose. We can link to people without asking and search their sites without them ever knowing. This is very different than the world I’m used to – people don’t come and check out my house unless I’ve asked them over, but anyone can search my website without my permission.

During class discussions the idea of privacy and control has often come up. People who haven’t spent a lot of time using social networks on the Web are not as comfortable having a presence there while early adaptors and younger people who’ve grown up with access put themselves out there freely and uncritically. I saw a Frontline documentary called Growing Up Online that described the generation gap that the Web has created between kids and their parents as similar to the gap caused by Rock and Roll in the 1960s. The Web is shifting how we think about ourselves socially. Weinberger believes that this is a good thing. According to him, the Web only exists because we use it as a way to connect to other people with similar interests. Through reading his book, I saw the Web as an incredibly open and democratic place, an amazing place that is able to exist with very few controls. It will be interesting to see how the Web will continue to shape our ideas of what it means to be social.

I admit it – Twitter is pretty fun. I’ve been thinking about how this, and other 2.0 applications, could be used effectively in libraries. Since I’m not working in a library presently I’m approaching it as what I’d like to see as a patron, what would draw me to the library’s web site and make me want to be an interactive user. Most of my library use right now centers around children’s books. I check out 20 to 30 kids books weekly. Both of the library systems I use offer kids sites but they are geared to the children using them. As an adult I would love to Twitter about books that I’m reading with my daughter. A message could be something like, if you love Tomie DePaolo don’t miss “Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup” Or, if you want to read a book that makes your heart ache for animals at the zoo read Anthony Browne’s, ZOO. I would also like to see user-generated tags for children’s books. I’m sure there are libraries doing this but the library systems that I use aren’t particularly interactive for kids or adults.

On another unrelated, but relevant 2.0 note, I noticed this post from a blog called Stephen’s Lighthouse. It’s about the precarious position that many Web 2.0 companies are in during these tough economic times. Twitter, Meebo, NetVibes and many others are on the list. Will they last or will they end up like Kozmos, a “munchie messenger service” that was apparently well loved but I’ve never heard of, not that that’s saying much.

Okay, I know that I’ve spelled myself out as being a little behind the times as far as technology but that Twitter video really made me feel like a curmudgeon. I guess they’re trying to be funny when they say, “real life happens between blog posts and e-mails” and then post things like “I missed the bus” as an example. It is real life but exactly who could possibly care? Alright, enough of that rant, I got it out of my system.

I keep being interested in open access publishing and its relation to libraries as a possible Library 2.0 topic. I’m not sure if this fits or not but I read that Harvard University is now mandating open access publishing by their professors. The library will be setting up an, “Office for Scholarly Communication to make the open access repository an instrument for access to research across all disciplines”. I don’t understand all of the implications of this but it sounds really exciting. Serials costs are taking an enormous chunk of library budgets and something needs to change.

Another little interesting bit I found while looking at the Harvard information –

“Book superstore chain Borders on February 22 was to open, in its headquarters city of Ann Arbor, MI, the first of 14 new “concept stores.” The 28,900 square foot store offers not just a café and a community space with stage but also Innovations like a staffed Digital Center for customers to make custom CDs, download books and music, explore genealogy, and create photo books.
Borders’ “phrases like ‘hub for knowledge, entertainment, and digital downloading’ or ‘they offer people with shared interests a site to gather and socialize’ could have come straight from the strategic plan of many a library,” observed Katherine Gould, director of the Palos Verdes Library District, CA, on her blog.
Several subject areas have computer kiosks and LCD screens; the Travel section offers trip recommendations and even booking opportunities. Software in the Graphic Novels section will help users create their own comic books. The store is the nation’s first retail location to feature the LongPen(TM), conceived by author Margaret Atwood, which allows authors and others, available via video conferencing, to autograph materials.”

So, is this libraries influencing the private sector or vice versa?

My first experience with actually posting to a virtual community was using Blackboard in my library management course. This feels like a sad thing to admit to, especially in terms of this class. For me, finding a “passion-based community” online has not been a priority. There are many reasons for this, probably the biggest being an issue of limited time. Spending the time it takes to read through comments on certain web sites or blogs I visit often feels like work, even if it’s something I’m interested in.

To sort of outline myself in terms of this topic, I’m someone who loves to read the newspaper on the couch at the end of a long day but is fairly unwilling to read it online. I just got a cell phone a month ago for the sole purpose of being reachable by my daughter’s preschool (they are one of two people who know the number). I still listen to record albums and love the static-y scratch of them. Really, none of this bothers me that much but I am struggling to understand what my resistance to online culture is? Is it an issue of design? Is it an issue of comfort? Am I just woefully stuck in the past? And, probably the biggest issue for me is that I see the value that interactive web technologies can play in libraries. I want to be cognizant of them and comfortable using them so that I can contribute to the discussion of how they might best be used. One thing that I’ve realized while writing this is that, being online for me has always been related to work. Prior to being in school I’ve always had a slow connection or a crappy computer at home. Even now when I use the computer it’s mainly for school – online entertainment is something I just don’t make time for.