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Omeka Assignment

Omeka seems to be a good tool for creating collections, even though I haven't used any other similar system. The challenging part is cataloging the item with the Dublin Core metadata scheme. Without having a good understanding of Dublin Core, many of the fields don't make sense to me. I can see that most of the metadata doesn't pertain to the types of items in my collection (documents & websites) so I've left much of the metadata blank.

HTML

I had my first experience looking at HTML tags (or code). I had embedded the Jing video in an earlier blog post, and the size of the video was too large. The code from Screencast.com showed the width as 1920 & the height as 1080. I tried a few different dimensions and settled on 425x344. The embedded video fits in the blog, not perfectly, but good enough.

Is a National Identification Card Necessary for the Security of the Nation?

This issue was mentioned in the LIS 2600 textbook. There is a Federal initiative underway that calls for a national ID card. Some groups fear that the information contained in the cards would be shared among other government agencies and that would erode civil liberties. One of the examples given would that police power would be increased in an event where a person could not produce their national ID.

Other arguments include whether biometric data should be on the card or whether the information should be tied to a national database.

Many other countries have the sort of thing we're talking about. Each state has a requirement for drivers to have a license and to carry it at all times when driving. States even offer a state ID card for those who do not drive. I generally trust the government when it comes to protecting my information. One example, I believe the census bureau when they say my data is only used for census purposes. I believe we would have the necessary safeguards that would address people's privacy concerns. (Heck, I think we trust companies like Facebook and Google more than we trust our own government. Which is surprising!)

I can appreciate a healthy concern. However, I think a national ID card would be a good idea if it can protect people.

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Comments about assignments

LIS 2600 assignments have been a pleasure to complete. I've enjoyed the practicality of the latest Jing assignment and foresee using that technology in the future. I'm a little anxious about the midterm exam because I'm not sure what it might cover. There seems to be quite a bit of information over the past 10 chapters of the textbook and I'm having trouble identifying the most important parts. My hope is that the review this week in class will put me on a good path for success on the midterm exam.

LIS 2000 has been a challenge. Critical thinking and reading large amount of material can be a real challenge. I'm sure the latest essay on scholarly communication is the most difficult assignment I've ever done in my school career. The fact that there were three books to read along with the requirement of an additional six outside sources has made it challenging and I fear not having made decent connections.

I think the reason writing this latest essay in LIS 2000 has been so challenging is that I didn't have a clear road map or outline for the essay before I started. I've also not had to write many essays in school before. In contrast, the Double Fold essay was practically written in my mind before I started. I think I can handle short essays with at most one book and a few outside sources where a thesis can be formed much easier. The biggest challenge I'm having is critically analyzing what I've read and figuring out what the influence is on scholarly communication.

The advice I'm giving myself is that this is the first time I've tried an assignment like this and that going through the process will make it easier the next time.

Jing Assignment: Video (with audio narrative) demonstrating how to install and configure the Firefox extension for Zotero

2010-06-04_2010

The link to the video presentation is above and the embedded video below. I used the entire 5 minutes allowed by Jing. I successfully installed Zotero and walked through the preferences. I would have liked to introduce the Zotero interface by clicking on the Zotero name in the lower right hand side of the browser window. In any event, enjoy the presentation. Thank you for watching.

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Benefits of Web 2.0 for Libraries

After reading an article in the online magazine Ariadne, I wanted to share a few of the highlights in my blog. I think one of the ways this blog is developing is like a journal or a place for me to organize my thoughts and discoveries about library science and technology. I still reach for a typical journal to jot down a note, but I can see myself using this blog more and more. It has it's advantages (searching, easy to organize) and it's disadvantages (need to have a computer handy, privacy.)

The link to the full article is below.

http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue63/nogueira/

The article focused on libraries (and by extension archives) using Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. An LIS professional Dongmei Cao listed these benefits:

• increased importance of the library to the user;
• improvement in the library’s image;
• potential of new interactive services to raise the level and quality of the service provided;
• increased involvement of users and improved communication of the library with such users;
• improvement in communication among librarians;
• greater ability to find quick solutions to meet the needs of users;
• improvement in shared knowledge and collaboration.

Other advantages listed in the article include: an increased awareness of the collection; varies access of the collection; diversification of users; improved relationships and links; new dynamic ways to engage; free of charge; contributes to the improved information literacy of users and the general public; the recognition of users as a valid source of information; and the opportunity to enthuse users with the type of contact established and better communication through contact that is simultaneously institutional and informal, professional and personal.

Scopus and Google Scholar

I've had the opportunity to work with the Scopus database and Google Scholar. Google Scholar isn't very good for the following reasons:

1. Exporting to Refworks is tedious. There isn't an option to mark citations and export all at once. Each citation has to be exported one at a time.
2. The advanced search feature isn't all that advanced. The facets available to narrow searches are limited. For example, a user can't limit the search by name of journal (like in Scopus).
3. A user can't save previous searches.
   

Net Neutrality: Who's In Charge of the Internet?

A 17 minute interview on Fresh Air about Net Neutrality from May 25, 2010. The link is to the abstract and interview.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126978125

Metadata

Working with this blog is giving me some experience with metadata (tags) in some introductory way. I've also created a Flickr to work with tagging there too. I only had a few digital photos to upload from a previous trip to Cuba in 2004. I haven't labeled the photos or given them any tags yet. I was interested in Flickr after reading about it in the book Everything is Miscellaneous.

Follow the link below to view the photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/honestweightssquaredealings/

I plan on taking the Metadata class in the fall, along with Digital Libraries. I think taking those classes together might create some synergy.

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The Outlook for Librarians - (from Occupational Outlook Handbook - Bureau of Labor Statistics)

According to the latest Occupational Outlook Handbook, job prospects for librarians is expected to be favorable and growth is expected to be at least as good as the average of all fields. The outlook is based on a large number of librarians retiring in the next decade.

As I read the report, I feel better about my job prospects, but not as confident as I was in job opportunities the last time I was looking for a job in 2004. One adjustment I'll make this time around will be a willingness to volunteer. It seems the library profession offers volunteer opportunities, which will benefit me by putting my skills to use, acquiring new skills, and networking with other professionals.

For now, most of my effort is dedicated to getting the most out of my classwork, rather than job searching.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm

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Five Ways to Keep Online Criminals at Bay

The strategies seem so simple, but criminals hacking into people's computers is reported all the time. Two of the ways to keep your computer safe involve software updates. The most vulnerable software according to the article is your browser and Adobe Reader. The other three are to avoid malicious ads, poisoned search results, and antisocial media. Criminals like to entice you to click on their ads found in Facebook, as an example of antisocial media.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/technology/personaltech/20basics.html?src=me&ref=homepage

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