Library Website Fails

I see these types of messages all the time on library-related websites, and I agree that it sends the message that those who manage those sites don’t have a good grasp of current web technology:

Time to Update? by David Lee King.

Check the web sites that your library presents to the world.  If you see messages like those highlighted by David, start talking to people about getting them up to date (or better yet, getting rid of them, since a good standards-designed site will work well across browsers and browser versions).

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OCLC Policies Directory Preview

OCLC is previewing their new Policies Directory site, which is set to go live on December 13th.  To try it out, point your browser to:

https://policies-preview.oclc.org/

  • Authorization:  100028264
  • Password:  oclc

Be sure to enter your OCLC Institution Symbol to view your library’s directory information.

Be sure to visit OCLC’s overview of changes to the directory, which includes the link to the live directory.

found via ResourceShelf

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How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age

How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age (pdf) is a report from Project Information Literacy, maintained by the Information School at the University of Washington that contains a few surprises for libraries:

  • Course readings were the first place most students turn to for course-related research (97%).
  • Over 80% of students used library-provided research databases.
  • Usage of library offering (research databases, OPAC, print materials, and study areas) were all above 50%.

Now the not so good:

  • All interactive library research (talk to a librarian, attend a training session, use chat, e-mail or other online “Ask A Librarian” service) fell below 25%.
  • Students are missing out on potential resources (including library research assistance), simply because those resources are not within their range of research activity.

Where are students going for assistance?  They tend to go to their instructors for guidance and assistance, but otherwise they simply use the resources they already know about, or discover in the course of their research.

What might this mean for libraries?  We should push for better interaction with instructors, so that they will be more likely to understand the full range of resources available for students to use, and will be more likely to refer students to an interactive library resource (which was only done 26% of the time — and the only result on the survey below 60%).

We also should examine our online presence.  How does it present research resources?  Will someone looking for a particular type of information be able to locate all the resources that the library has to offer?  Print and online library guides for these activities can also be very beneficial.

This report should be read, and reviewed, with each of our libraries in mind.  By understanding that the people we interact with are only one-fourth of the population using our resources, we can begin to re-focus our efforts to ensure that what we have to offer will be used effectively.

found via Bill Drew, who found it via the Free Range Librarian

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Business Models and Comments

A link to a thought-provoking article on Open Source business models was posted by Stephen Abram on his blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse.  If you follow that last link, you may note that not only does he post the link “without comment”, he has also turned off the option for his readers to comment on the article.

I suspect (but truly don’t know) that this is because of the firestorm of attention he received surrounding a position paper he wrote, and that his company was circulating to some of their customers.  If comments were enabled on his post, the following thought (probably compressed) would have been left by me.  Now it is a post all its own:

What libraries need now, more now then ever, is a good, open discussion of software and service models.  Many of our problems derive from weaknesses in those models, and many of our future problems will derive from weaknesses in the models we choose to move forward with.

The New York Times article is a good example of reporting that misses the elephant in the room:  the Open Source model is not the same as the Closed Source model.  The closed source model uses sales and company profit to determine success.  An open source project could succeed in that way, but looking simply at this ignores the model.

If a group of people put the effort into creating, maintaining, distributing, and using an open source software product, it will survive.  If the project is dynamic, and responds to the needs of the users, it will thrive.  If it does all of the above better than the closed source companies that make competing products, then it is not fair to judge them based only on sales and profit.

One other thing to add to the mix:  don’t ignore the wealth created and saved by those who use the product.  If this were calculated and compared, there might be a few surprises in store for companies, including some companies that have libraries for their customers.

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SSNs @ Your Library?

My former place of work (FPOW) used to have Social Security numbers as college ID numbers, which were written on book checkout cards.  About ten years ago, we switched to an ILS and began generating in-house ID numbers for students.

This transition worked well, and when we conducted our next inventory we removed every checkout card from all of the books.  There had been growing concerns about ID theft, and completing this task eased our minds.

Has your institution used Social Security numbers as library identifiers?  Do you have checkout cards in your books that could lead to ID theft?  If so, do you have a plan to remove them?

It is best to be proactive about  this sort of thing.  You don’t want to wake up to the type of news story that the University of Toledo did this morning.

found via LISNews

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Koha LiveCD

Most of us who have used and installed any of the many variants of Linux started off with a live CD.  These allow you to boot your computer up using the CD, and try out the operating system without having to install or configure it.  The CD can have whatever software the creator decides to install, pending available space.

I first used the Knoppix live CD, later Ubuntu, and now many other variants (including my current favorite, LinuxMint).

Mizstik has put together a live CD with Ubuntu server and an installation of the Koha ILS, calling it Koha LiveCD.

I think this is a fantastic idea, and it holds the potential for introducing many people to Koha, and giving them a better understanding of what the software can and cannot do for them.  This understanding will only help the adoption of open source library software.

My next wish at this point would be for a live CD of Evergreen.

found via What I Learned Today

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Springo

I have always been a fan of the idea of creating a mediated search engine – one in which the results have been reviewed in order to ensure a lean, relevant results list.

The reality of the idea is, shall we say, a different matter.  The process is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and usually falls short in the relevance category.

Springo may be the reality that falls closer to the ideal.  Focusing on topic-based searches, they provide results that reflect sites that people most use when they are seeking solutions to more generalized questions, such as e-mail software, movie reviews, or open source software.

The results aren’t perfect, but they do appear relevant.  Most of what I notice are the sites I would expect to be top-tier, but aren’t.  It is a great resource, especially for those who might otherwise find it challenging to wade through several dozen results to find what they need.

My other observation is that I almost immediately began to use the URL to form my search strings, rather than use the provided interface.  It just seems faster and easier to do so.  Plus, it would be nice to be able to right-click (Windows-centric) in order to open results in a new tab.  Minor quibbles, though, for an effective tool that has been a long time coming.

found via Library Journal (print edition, 1 November 2009)

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Library 101

The Library 101 video debuted today at the Internet Librarian conference.  Created by Michael Porter (a.k.a. Libraryman) and David Lee King, the video is a foot-tapping, library-rocking tour-de-force.  Clear the next eight minutes in your schedule, put on some headphones, and enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVq5WDDA5a4&fmt=18

The Library 101 website not only has the video, but also a collection of essays by prominent library supporters, as well as a “101 Resources and Things to Know” page that provides a great overview of just what they are striving to communicate.

To settle any bar bets, as well as disclose a connection:  I am in the video.  I first appear at the 30 second mark (though all you see is my arm and notebook computer), but show up later in full frame.

My using the computer for the “1” and “0” was the solution to a problem:  when the call went out for pictures of library people holding sheets of paper containing the magic numbers, I was on vacation in Branson, Missouri.  No printer.  I could probably have found a Kinkos, but it wouldn’t have gone over well with my family because, you see, I was on vacation.  Drawing the numbers might have worked for someone with artistic talent; not for me.

I really like my idea of using the computer… it fits the theme of the video:

Library101-0Library101-1

So, I hope you watched and enjoyed the video… Michael and David deserve some serious positive feedback for their ideas and efforts.

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APA Offers to Replace 6th Edition of Style Manual

For the background on this issue, see Quis custodiet isos custodes.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the American Psychological Association has decided to offer copies of the second printing of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed as replacements for July’s first printing, which was found to contain a significant number of errors.

A quick search of the APA website hasn’t found any announcements or instructions, but a quick search of the social networks has turned up the following:

“I have just received word that After November 2, call APA at 1-800-374-2721, ext. 5510. Ask for instructions on how to go on-line and print a mailing label you can use to return your copy and receive a corrected copy.”

Whether this is all correct remains to be seen (and any incorrect information will be changed or removed as I learn more), but it appears that there is a window between November 2nd and November 15th to initiate replacing copies of the manuals.

found via Bill Drew on Facebook (more of that social networking)

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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

The title is latin for “Who watches the watchers?”

The American Psychological Association’s current style book, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., contains dozens of errors, several of them in examples and sample papers.  Needless to say, this is causing quite a stir among those who rely on the manual for defining the rules used for papers.

(It also makes me want to write a new verse for a certain Alanis Morissette song, but that isn’t the point…)

The APA has posted a pdf with links to other pdf files with categories of corrections.  Those categories are:

  1. Errors in APA Style Rules
  2. Errors in Examples
  3. Clarifications
  4. Nonsignificant Typos

Complete versions of the corrected sample papers can be found here.

Those libraries that serve students who use this style guide should decide how to handle the corrections.  Whether to include the correction pages with the book, or even to indicate the changes within the books themselves, are possibilities.  We should, as we ought to be prepared to do for any resource, inform users that there are known errors in the manual.

One option that we don’t have is the ability to exchange the error-containing manuals for corrected versions.  The APA will be correcting the errors in the second printing, and states that

The first printing was carefully proofed and vetted at multiple stages. The guidance provided in the book is accurate and sound.

I am not sure if I would recommend that a student use that approach when appealing a marked-down grade for typographical errors within a paper.  Of course, I wouldn’t recommend myself as a source for error-free work, as any careful reader of this blog could attest.

found via American Libraries Direct

Additional note:  it seems that the errors are not the only controversy surrounding the manual.  Many users are upset that the manual has changed the spacing recommendation after a period back to two spaces.  I learned to type on a typewriter (and still own the cast-iron glass-key Royal KMM typewriter (photo not my actual typewriter) I bought from the Brookfield Public Library’s book sale when I was a Page), and two spaces are a habit I haven’t even tried to break.  I still see it as a way to differentiate between an abbreviation and the end of a sentence.  I suspect that this will be a generational behavior.  It will be easy enough to search and replace two spaces with one, if it becomes necessary.

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Maximizing Eureka Moments

Want to Innovate? Stop Working So Hard is a post on Librarian by Day by Bobbi Newman that reminds us that the ideas most likely to transform the way we work tend to come at moments of relaxation.

Not convinced?  Check out the linked articles and video (thought he New Yorker article requires you to be a subscriber) for more in-depth persuasion.

This isn’t a call to slack, but an emphasis on prioritizing your downtime, and to recognize when an idea has that extra something to make your library world that much better.  How much time can you save by making changes to your work flow?  What activities and results should be priorities?  Can you achieve more with less effort?

Probably!

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gOOGLE Barcode

Google is celebrating the 57th anniversary of the first barcode patent by (surprise!) replacing their logo:

gOOGLEHaving played around with barcodes over the years, I got curious.  I printed out the page, plugged in my declawed CueCat, and scanned the barcode.  The result was both expected and surprising:  “gOOGLE”.

I haven’t been able to determine which barcode format is being used, and I have tested about 25 different formats.  Some sources are indicating that the format is Code 128, but I haven’t been able to replicate that even though I have tried several different barcode generators.

Why lead with the lowercase “g”?  Why have “OOGLE” in uppercase?  Why celebrate the 57th anniversary?  I am curious, but have not found any clues, nor has Google posted anything on either their official blog or the logos page.

I think barcode standards are under-appreciated in the library world.  They have done more to aid our handling of materials than anything short of computers, with which they are intertwined.  They serve as perhaps the best example of a standard that benefits all users, and I suspect they will be around in some form or another for quite a while.

Update:

Following some information found on TechCrunch led me to the Google zxing project.  Running the barcode09.gif file through their barcode recognition software generates “Google” with the format of CODE_128.  Within the Google sofware family, at least, the barcode works as I would expect.

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Inspirational Library-related StoryCorps

This morning I heard one of the most inspirational library-related stories I have encountered.  It was a StoryCorps segment on NPR’s Morning Edition radio program, and I feel that everyone who works in libraries should listen to it, if only to remind us of the power we have to transform lives.  Follow the link, and then follow the “Listen to the Story” link before reading the article:

Boy Lifts Book, Librarian Changes Boy’s Life

Note that the librarian didn’t follow the rules; she understood what he was doing and why, and then went out of her way to encourage the love of reading in someone who was under tremendous peer pressure to avoid it.  Recognizing those situations where allowing something negative to happen in order for an even greater positive to occur is challenging.  I hope I don’t let too many of those slip past me in life; the opportunities are fewer than we think, but all around us if we look.

p.s. As inspiring as this story is, it is not the most inspiring StoryCorp segment I have heard.  I recommend you dig through their archive and experience the power of oral tradition.

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Cookery is Toast

My favorite example of “proper” library terminology that doesn’t relate to the language in use by the general public (or most library employees for that matter) is Cookery.

The Library of Congress is in the process of retiring the subject heading for “Cookery” and replacing it in most cases with “Cooking” (Pdf).

found via Catalogablog

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punypng

punypng is a great service for those who work with the .png image format.  If you work on web sites, presentations, or other projects that involve image files, this is really worth adding to your toolkit.

What it does is fairly straightforward:  you upload your .png image file to their site, their algorithm examines the file and determines what can be done to make the file smaller without sacrificing image quality, and offers you the file as a download.

I tried it, and got as much as a 48% reduction in file size, without any visible loss of quality.  Even if all you get is a 10% reduction in file size, it means that your web sites, presentations, etc. will load and run faster.  For a busy web site, like Google or WorldCat, every reduction in the data needed to be sent to each user can add up to large savings in time, energy, and ultimately money.

found via SitePoint

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BBC Languages

BBC Languages is fantastic web resource provided by the British Broadcasting Corporation, and is filled with audio language resources.  These include 12-week beginning lessons, a Quick Fix section containing “essential phrases”, and teacher’s resources.

found via Librarian in Black

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Professionalism

Circulating Zen posts about dealing with a staffing issue on a holiday weekend. She is faced with a student worker scheduled to cover several shifts (allowing other students to travel home for the holiday weekend) who has come down with influenza.

Her solution is one that doesn’t fit the guidelines of her workplace.  It does, however, fit the guidelines of her work ethic : professionalism.

Read her post, and remember the instances where you, and others, have stepped beyond your working hours, your job classification, or some other guideline to solve a problem.  Why is this done?  Someone sees a need, determines a solution that fulfills the need in a way that best serves the principles of libraries and their own work ethic, and follows through.

Simple?   Not really.  It is easy to say “not my job” or “I’m simply following the rules”.  Far more challenging is determining when and how to step beyond what you are supposed to do, and do what is truly called for in the situation.  Especially since the person potentially exposes themself to criticism by doing so.

Circulating Zen sums it up well:  “I shouldn’t pawn it off on anyone else. It’s not professional.”

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Future of Libraries, With or Without Books

The Future of Libraries, With or Without Books is a rarity : a mass-media (CNN) news article about the ongoing evolution of libraries that doesn’t dwell in stereotypes, cliches or “gee-whiz” style examples.  What the reader gets is a well-written news article that paints a well-balanced picture of the issues and general direction of the library world.

Good work, CNN!

found via Helene Blowers on FB

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HealthBase, continued

A follow-up to yesteday’s post on HealthBase:

It wasn’t what I was thinking of when I provided a caveat regarding Wikipedia being used as a source, but apparently some search results have offbeat listings, occasionally with negative associations.

My caveat was in regards to the fact that Wikipedia is what I call a “starting point” for information search, not a source itself.  This actually places it in the same category as HealthBase, in that one should not take any particular piece of information as accurate, but to use the information to follow to primary sources and develop search terms and a broader understanding of the topic.

On HealthBase’s problem:  this is to be expected with new methods of indexing and searching, and this type of problem will tend to show itself with a broad base of users.  I still think it is a great starting point for health information searches, and that the searching algorithm will become more sophisticated over time.

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