Assignment Six--Web site

Here is the link to my Web site.  Enjoy!

http://www.pitt.edu/~maj66/

Week 12--Readings

Using a Wiki...
"Many professors are repeat users of library instruction so any stored information is useful."

When I was doing my practicum in the high school library, we were providing instruction on using the library for research on an STD assignment.  This is an assignment that is has been done for years by at least three different teachers.  Janna, the librarian who created the pathfinder for the assignment this year is new, and while at least one teacher did give her some information to work from, some also told her that "Karla (the other librarian) knows what the assignment is."  Finally, the lessons were taught by Janna, Karla and me.  A wiki would have been a great place for us to collaborate on the different aspects of the assignment--what does each teacher expect, what did we find when we were doing the lesson, what questions were asked frequently, etc.  I can certainly see the value of wikis for collaboration between librarians.  Teachers could also be encouraged to participate, which would add additional insight into the project.

Wikipedia

I'm glad I stuck around to the end of this presentation, because his answer to the teacher use question was something I had been wondering as well.  My experiences with Wikipedia and teachers has been split between professors like Dr. He, who use Wikipedia articles to explain difficult concepts, to librarians and teachers at the high school level who talk about Wikipedia like it's the devil and frown upon its use.  My personal experience with it has been favorable, not only for the information the articles provide but also for the resources that the articles point to.  I think it's a great jumping off point for research, and hearing about the whole process behind its creation was very interesting.

Social Tagging...
"But still many students turn to the Internet as a resource, without guidance and without a critical eye."

I found this quite a bit during my practicum.  I would give a great lesson on finding resources for a project, point out the best Web sites and how to find them easily using the pathfinder, but inevitably, several students would start their research by typing, "What are the signs and symptoms of herpes?" into the Google search box.  It's maddening.  While I think social tagging for the library has tremendous potential, I can't imagine high school students using it in a responsible way.  The added steps to add a site to the folksonomy would make participation undesirable for most teen who are looking to find what they need and move on.

Week 11 Comments

http://adamdblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-11-reading-notes-11-22-2010.html?showComment=1290130482771#c6303899962442136137

http://pittlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-eleven-reading-notes.html?showComment=1290130930822#c7689966507217926220

http://marclis2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/readings_18.html?showComment=1290131334094#c2316520757520371355

http://lostscribe459.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-11-reading-notes.html?showComment=1290131616245#c1808947605576017206

Week 11-Readings

Web Search Engines:  Parts One and Two--

There was so much good information in these two articles.  They were a little hard to find, so I'm glad I persevered.  After reading both I have one question:  are faster searches really what the average searcher is looking for?  I Googled "Beagle," and got 9,980,000 hits in .15 seconds.  How many of those hits contain information that I will be able to use?  How many are duplicates, and how many have nothing to do with beagles?  Would the average searcher be willing to wait longer for searches that are better?  I've waited several minutes for a YouTube video to load.  If I needed reliable, valid information about beagles, I'd be willing to wait a little while if it were going to save me time on the other end when I didn't have to comb my way through 9.9 million hits.

The Deep Web and the BrightPlanet Project--

The statistics presented in this paper are staggering--the deep web is 400 to 550 times larger than the surface web, there are 550 billion documents in the deep web compared to one billion in the surface web, and 95% of the deep web is information that is available to the public for free.  And these statistics are from 2001.  Nearly 10 years later, have technologies been developed that allow the general public access to the deep web?  If not, why not?

OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting--

"No one service provider can serve the needs of the entire public, hence user group-specific service providers have become the norm...These communities of interest are significant not only because they have adopted the protocol for a specific domain but also because they have developed additional standards, tools, and metadata scchemas to use along with the OAI protocol--much as the originators of the protocol had hoped."

It seems my questions about the deep web have been partially answered by the OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting.  It's interesting that an application originally designed for one use is being put to a similar use in many other communities.  I wonder, as the projects grow, will they become more or less useful, as disparate vocabularies make aggregating metadata difficult.  Controlled vocabularies are one way to avoid this problem, but who decides what vocabulary is the right one? 

Muddiest Point--Week 10

I'm not sure I understand the "handle system."

Week 10 comments

http://skdhuth.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-10-notes.html?showComment=1289878948473#c5778733820137445191

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/reading-notes-for-unit-10.html?showComment=1289879205177#c7005020828007820328

http://pittlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-ten-reading-notes.html?showComment=1289879689210#c7850762156681967141

http://jonas4444.blogspot.com/2010/11/reading-notes-for-week-10.html?showComment=1289880101312#c8266438736780789737

Week 10 readings

Digital Libraries: Challenges and Influential Work
While I enjoyed the second article more than this one, what I found interesting in this one was the list of all the digital library standards and technologies that emerged outside the federally funded research, including Oracle, Yahoo, Fedora and Ex Libris MetaLib.  Some good did come out of the federally supported projects, including Google, but it makes one wonder whether these things would have emerged on there own without government intervention and strictly supported by consumer supply and demand.

FYI:
armamentarium:  the aggregate of equipment, methods, and techniques available to one for carrying out one's duties  (I had never seen this word before.)

Dewey Meets Turing
What an interesting article.  While librarians and computer scientists were busy trying to figure out how to collect and disseminate digital information, the Web exploded, bringing an unprecedented amount of information that no one ever expected to factor into the equation.  I love the contrast between the roles of librarian and computer scientist.  This article seems to provide a respectful overview of both positions without pointing fingers at who's wrong and who's right.  And the conclusion is hopeful for both sides.

Institutional Repositories:  Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age
"At the most basic and fundamental level, an institutional repository is a recognition that the intellectual life and scholarship of our universities will increasingly be represented, documented, and shared in digital form, and that a primary responsibility of our universities is to exercise stewardship (emphasis mine) over these riches: both to make them available and to preserve them." 

Scholarship in the digital age is a tricky proposition:  those producing the content want it widely available, they want recognition (and often payment) for the work and they want the work preserved.  Making this scholarship available and preserving it at the university level just makes sense.  If this is something that a university is going to take on, they must ensure they are doing it properly and for the right reasons.

Muddiest Point--Week 9

I'm embarassed to admit the entire concept of Web design is a muddiest point for me.  I will try to review the lectures and the powerpoint presentations from the last two weeks, and hopefully I will have a better grasp.  But I have to wonder if there is a point to my understanding beyond being able to complete assignment six.  Will this information change before I need to use it again?

Assignment 5

The name of my list is Generation Millennials.
My user name is MAJ66

http://upitt01-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=118

Week Nine Comments

http://skdhuth.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-9-notes.html?showComment=1289059334793#c3457758995440906417

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-9-reading-notes.html?showComment=1289059518740#c4343782389496826401

http://pittlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-nine-reading-notes.html?showComment=1289059764111#c6555875681434156762

http://dougappich-informationtechnology.blogspot.com/2010/11/notes-for-116.html?showComment=1289059926739#c8705482690927453432

Introducing XML--Week 9 readings

Wow!  These articles are getting more and more difficult.  I feel like I'm getting nowhere with some of these readings.  What made the most sense to me after looking at all the articles for this week is that XML is not a standard way of coding text, since it would be impossible to find a way that would work with all languages, but rather a way to pass documents from one computer to another, keeping the structure intact.  If I've gotten this wrong, I hope someone can clear it up for me.  I thought the W3 schools article was the easiest to understand, but there is a lot missing in my basic foundation for these articles to be truly comprehensible.

Muddiest Point--Week 8

I have no muddiest point this week. I have been unable to watch the lecture because I have been without Internet service since Tuesday.

CSS Tutorial

I am amazed that the W3 School is willing to provide this information for free.  While this infomation is interesting, I cannot imagine myself creating a Web page using HTML and CSS.  Isn't there an easier way?  Oh wait, I just looked at assignment 6:  HTML authoring:  My 2600 page.  I guess I'll have to rethink my earlier assertion.  It looks like I will be creating a Web page with HTML afterall.

HTML Cheatsheet

Most of the comments posted on the Web site were very positive, but I noticed that some of the tags that were given were identified as out of date on the W3schools Web site, and the cheatsheet is only 8 months old.  Is XHTML going to dramatically change the codes for Web page design, or will old codes continue to work?

W3Schools HTML Tutorial

I'm not sure I ever needed to know that much about html, but I was surprised to learn it is very straightforward and dare I say, easy to understand.  I can't see myself actually doing it, but I think I could.  I do have one question--what is the point of the HTML comments if they are not displayed?  I didn't understand who the comments are important to.  The tutorial says the comments make the code "more readable and understandable" but I don't know how that is true if you can't see them.

Muddiest Point--Week 7

I don't understand what a DOI directory is.

Assignment #4

http://www.citeulike.org/user/mjohnston85

The three topics I searched:  school librarianship, school library collaboration and RFID in school libraries.  All articles imported to Citeulike are labeled "Zotero," and all articles found in Citeulike are labeled "Citeulike."

Comments--Week Seven

http://lostscribe459.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-7-readings.html?showComment=1287867128914#c2090419670215250988

http://dougappich-informationtechnology.blogspot.com/2010/10/923-notes.html?showComment=1287867435824#c5607574857291973119

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/comments-for-unit-7-readings.html?showComment=1287867829625#c5022681505882981509

http://pittlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-seven-reading-notes.html?showComment=1287868104391#c4188212426786349132

How Internet Infrastructure Works

I hope Monday's lecture clears this up for me, because after the first few pages, I really got lost.  Which is too bad, because I did believe I had a handle on it at the beginning.

Dismantling ILS

I don't know a lot about ILS, but there are two things I do know about libraries, whether they are public, school or academic:  they never have enough staff and they never have enough money.  Whatever a library decides to do about ILS, it needs to be cheap and easy to implement, use and maintain.

Inside the Google Machine

Despite how interesting this lecture was, I couldn't pay attention after Larry Page said both he and Sergey had attended Montessori school.  As a teacher, I have always felt the Montessori method was bizarre--how could the children learn all that they needed to learn if they were permitted to do only those things interested them, neglecting everything else?  Yet here are two brilliant minds who have done quite nicely for themselves and their employees, and they are now running their company employing some of these same principles.  If someone out there is more familiar than I with the Montessori method, I'd love to know more.

Also, after seeing that picture of the skiing vacation, I wondered where I could get an application :)

Muddiest Point--Week Six (revised)

So I do have a muddiest point after all--well, maybe not a muddiest point but rather a cry for help.  My family bought a new computer in August.  It did not come with a wireless model installed, so we bought and installed one we thought would be compatible with Windows 7.  We are not experiencing success.  We can connect with the phone line (I should have mentioned this was DSL,) but that requires a 20 foot cable running from the kitchen to the computer in the next room.  Does anyone have a suggestion?  I've contacted our internet provider (Frontier,) and after multiple attempts to fix, it seems like the problem is with the modem.  Thank you in advance for your help.

Muddiest Point--Week Six

I have no muddiest point this week.

Week Six comments

http://dougappich-informationtechnology.blogspot.com/2010/10/rifd-rifds-are-very-complicated-but.html?showComment=1286853166996#c6782299607513936726

http://kcc18-lis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-reading-notes.html?showComment=1286853415059#c2425171084087719846

http://skdhuth.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-notes.html?showComment=1286853790571#c7258702598308385044

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/reading-notes-for-unit-6-computer.html?showComment=1286854029548#c4050223905170247073

Assignment #3: Working with Jing

http://www.screencast.com/t/YZx2apPUhcl

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/5067649749/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/5067669727/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/5068287962/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/5068344008/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/5067765417/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/5067770585/

RFID

For the sake of time, I have not yet had a chance to read and view the other items that have been posted on RFID, so I will save the questions I have concerning RFID until after I have.  But I did want to comment on two items that I found interesting in the Coyle article.  Number one concerns library security.  She remarks, "The reason to use RFID for security is not because it is especially good for it, but because it is no worse than other security technologies."  She also mentions that there is only a "modicum of security" in the library to begin with.  This begs the question, why spend so much time and money on theft protection if those who really want to steal from the library are able to do so with very little effort?  The second comment I would like to make concerns return on investment.  I imagine this discussion is held everytime the library looks to encorporate new technology, including the soon to be obsolete bar codes and scanners.  I'm not sure if a library could ever justify any purchase if ROI is the driving force.  What I think will happen with RFID is that it will become the standard, bar codes and scanners will go the way of the typewriter, and libraries will be forced to make the change, whether it is fiscally sound or not.

Computer Networks

I found this week's readings on networks to be enlightening.  I've seen the term LAN used, but I'll admit that I didn't know what it meant.  I also learned a lot concerning the connection of the networks.  There are many types of connections that I didn't know about, including the ITU-TG.hn technology that uses a home's existing wiring to connect at high speeds.  Connectivity is always an issue, and the more we can do with the wiring that already exists in a home, school or office will ultimately save money.  I visited a school library yesterday with all glass walls.  The connectivity problems in that space are daunting, and there are cables running everywhere.  It would be interesting to see if ITU-TG.hn technology could solve some of the problems they have there.

Muddiest Point--Week Five

I think Jiepu's lecture was great, but I'll be honest--it went way over my head.  What do I really need to know about databases in order to survive in my school library?

Week Five--comments

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-5-reading-notes.html?showComment=1285946258147#c279937476600702667

http://pittlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-five-reading-notes.html?showComment=1285946552407#c3577954086063117748

http://marclis2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/readings.html?showComment=1285947047011#c8595533152222577877

Metadata and Dublin Core

I liked this definition of metadata:  the sum total of what one can say about any information object, including content, context and structure.  Metadata ensures interoperability, but interoperability requires the objects to "speak the same language."  With the Web open to everyone to post items (no longer only information professionals,) the metadata may no longer be written in language that is understandable by all.  In order for there to be interoperability, there needs to be standards and quality control.  I think this is what Dublin Core is all about, but to be honest, I have not been able to fully comprehend that concept.

One last note about metadata--"it is the Rosetta stone that will make it possible to decode information objects and their transformation into knowledge in the cultural heritage information systems of the future."  That's a great definition and an even greater application if indeed it works that way.

Database

Two points I found most interesting from this article:

1.  The indexing of a database can speed up access to the information but slow down data maintenance.  This is a dual-edged sword--we want the client to have fast access to the information provided in the database, but it costs money to maintain the databases, and if indexing requires more maintenance, then it seems indexing requires more thought than one would think.

2.  Database replication.  It is a simple concept, but one I hadn't really thought about:  mulitple copies of a database could be running on different computers.  Given the fragile state of computers, it certainly makes sense.

Muddiest Point--Week Four

My muddiest point this week concerns compression.  If I have text files on my computer (Word documents, Excel files,) and I want to compress them so I can store many files on a flash drive or some other storage device, how can I do it?  And then, how do I reconstruct (uncompress?  decompress?) the files when I need to use them?

Week Four: Comments

http://pittlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-four-reading-notes.html?showComment=1285425986995#c6176308435544805626

http://skdhuth.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-notes_21.html?showComment=1285426400173#c5174925773496580330

http://dougappich-informationtechnology.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-readings.html?showComment=1285426779232#c6154969212351786557

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-readings-comments.html?showComment=1285427257456#c5864740971251177195

Youtube and Libraries

This article could not have come at a better time for me.  I am beginning my practicum in a high school library on October 4, and my cooperating teacher librarian asked me if there were any special projects I wanted to work on while I was there.  I told her I was hoping to create a more high profile Web presence for the library--a Facebook page or Twitter account, perhaps.  She was very reluctant to use social networking in the library, so I was trying to find some other way to reach the students that would be relevant.  This may be the way to go.  They have a production class at the library.  Perhaps they could create "commercials" for the library that we could post on Youtube.  I did send the link to this article to my CTL.  I hope she's receptive to the idea.

Imaging Pittsburgh

After reading this article, I wondered what happened after the project was over.  This is what I learned:

• Three more libraries joined the project:  Chatham University Archives, Oakmont Carnegie Library and Point Park University.
• There are over 18,000 images.
• You can access the collection at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh
• The site also contains texts, maps, videos and census records.

I can only imagine the value of this project to a Pittsburgh historian or anyone doing any type of research on Pittsburgh.  The description of the project shows that multiple venues with differing ways to approach a task can collaborate and compromise when necessary to work in the most efficient way possible.

Week Four--Data compression

From the perspective of a non-mathematician, I found the Wikipedia article concerning Data Compression to be nearly incomprehensible.  However, I was able to glean some information from the documents in the other posting.  It is fascinating the complexity of an idea that is really so simple--how can we make what we have fit in a smaller space.  We do it in our own lives--how can we cram more stuff into the space available.  For me, data compression is like a Space Bag--it squeezes the air out of the spaces in between the stuff, so you have space for more stuff.

Muddiest point for week three

The obvious advantage of open source software use in the library is cost.  But what are the other advantages, and what are some of the disadvantages?  Is there appropriate support for open source software?  Does the life of open source software rival that of paid software, or does it disappear faster?

Flickr URL

The URL to view my photos in Flickr is www.flickr.com/photos/mjohnston85/

Week three comment links

http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-notes-week-3.html?showComment=1284754325591#c9037330221177740010

http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/introduction-to-linux.html?showComment=1284754613715#c1042641337887283517

http://skdhuth.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-notes.html?showComment=1284755563916#c3966344095895615099

http://archivist-amy-in-training.blogspot.com/2010/09/muddiest-point-2.html?showComment=1284756001222#c4800358367486660869

Introduction to Linux

After reading that article, I'm still not sure if your average person, like me, with little to no programming knowledge, would ever want to try Linux.  If my computer already comes with Windows, what are the advantages to switching to Linux?  And could I do it, knowing relatively nothing about programming?

What is Mac OS X?

Good question!  It is safe to say I do not, nor will I ever, possess the knowledge required to understand that article.  I'm a PC, so I do understand that unless I should decide to become a Mac, I'll never have to worry about the Mac OS X.  That is good, because if I have to understand that article to be a Mac, it'll never happen.

Muddiest Point--Week Two

I can't say I really had a muddiest point this week.  I appreciated the lengthy discussion of what was due when and where it was to be posted, and I found the lecture to be quite fascinating.  There is so much about the technology that we use every day that I just don't understand.  This lecture helped to clear up a lot of questions.

Computer History Museum

I had no idea there was a computer history museum, but I'm now fascinated.  I would love to visit and see the exhibits, especially ones that would concern the early computers and how the technology and equipment have evolved from computers that filled a room to ones you hold in your hand. 

Wikipedia articles

I found the personal computer hardware article to be very helpful.  It's been a while since I've felt like I knew what was going on with my computer, so it's nice to know there's a place I can go to make sure I can at least sound like I know what I'm talking about when I need to call Dell for tech support.  Also, as a future school librarian, there's no telling what I may be called upon to do concerning the technology in my school.  I will need to know what I'm doing.

As for the Moore's Law article, that went over my head.  I would certainly put it in the category of a muddy point.  And I couldn't get the Scientific American video to load, which was disappointing, because I think it would have made things a little clearer.  However, the one thing about this article that stuck with me is the idea of technology obsolescence.  My husband and I purchased our first computer in 1992.  The cost was around $2000 and it had 2 MB of RAM.  Several years later we upgraded the RAM by purchasing an additional 4 MB for $200.  Fastforward 18 years and 5 different computers.  The latest model, purchased a month ago, cost around $1000 and has 8 GB of RAM.  I hate to think of the money we've spent on technology (computers, phones, cameras, iPods,) over the lifetime of our marriage, but I can tell you that the tv we purchased with our wedding money 20 years ago is still working.  The fact that the cost has come down and the speed and storage have gone up doesn't change the fact that it's ridiculous that these items are being replaced every two-five years.  It's fiscally and environmentally irresponsible.  I don't know what it is, but I hope there's a solution.

Muddiest point--week one

Like some others, my muddiest point is where to post everything.  Do I respond to the blogs within the blogs?  Does the muddiest point belong on my blog or on the discussion board?  Do the discussion board questions have a due date as to when we post/respond?

Content, not container

"[M]any of the most disruptive changes are taking place outside of the arena of traditional information management. They are being driven by the manufacture of phones and entertainment devices as well as by consumers of content whose interests and tastes are supported by the technology." 

Also,
"[L]ibrarians will need to pay attention to how content is created, found and used by the increasingly self-sufficient, but also increasingly demanding and discerning information consumer/producer."

And also,
"What seems clear is that libraries should move beyond the role of collector and organizer of content, print and digital, to one that establishes the authenticity and provenance of content and provides the imprimatur of quality in an information-rich but context-poor world. The challenge is how to do this."

Finally,
“We are drowning in information but are starving for knowledge. Information is only useful when it can be located and synthesized into knowledge.”

This article reveals a future that is now, where we have all the information we could ever imagine literally in the palms of our hands.  The job of the librarian will be teaching information consumers how to turn that information into usable information and then ultimately, knowledge. 

Information Literacy and IT Literacy

Clifford Lynch had me from the very beginning when he spoke about the importance of teaching information literacy, and his concluding statements about information literacy were quite prescient in 1998.  Having just spent a semester learning about information literacy skills and the importance of teaching them in schools, I definitely agree with his statements.  However, he lost me with his discussion of the extensiveness of information technology literacy in order for us all to function as informed citizens.  I think an understanding of those areas, such as electrical power distribution, broadcasting and financial infrastructure, would indeed be valuable, but I hardly believe that not having a basic understanding of these and other areas will, as Lynch stated, limit one's ability to function intelligently in society. 

Lied Library

My main take away from this article was the enormous costs of information technology.  When I was teaching (around 1998,) a family donated a large number of computers to our school, enough so each classroom received three.  Unfortunately, there was no money for support, networking, additional training, etc, so the computers were almost useless.  At Lied Libary, in just four years, they had seven new major system installations, 600 PC units replaced, an air conditioning upgrade from a three-ton system to a 10-ton system and additional security cameras and a central security monitoring system installed.  "Extensive documentation is regularly provided to Library Administration to help predict budget costs necessary to maintain the library’s technology."  How important is it to remember that the cost of the system is only the beginning of the costs of maintaining a well-functioning library.