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This post is for Emily Frigo, the greatest librarian at GVSU.
So I’ve updated my website and showed it to one of my students workers. She said that it was old school and that she can write much cooler sites, and that I should use Dreamweaver. How sad! But it seems that kids from 18 to 22 seem to know how to write web sites.
Its a work in progress, but here it is:
Do you feel information overload. I am constantly trying to catch up with my readings and RSS feeds. Well, a new site (brijit) aims at reducing the amount of information. It uses people, not algorithms or computers, to summarize articles to 100 words or less, and ranks them from avoid to must read. Wired magazine adds “Every day, Brijit publishes around 125 concise summaries of newspaper and magazine articles, as well as audio and video programs”. Check it out.
Is the wisdom of crowds coming to an end? A recent article in Newsweek is indicating that the pull of the wisdom of crowds movement is waining. It says, “In more recent years the ideal of the noble amateur has been bent to include a general disdain for the professional writer, editor or journalist. But while the tide of investment seems to be shifting somewhat, the nature of the Internet suggests that Web 2.0 populism will never be thrown out entirely. “There’s always a Big New Thing, but the old Big New Thing doesn’t really go away,” says Reynolds. “It becomes just another layer—like we’re building an onion from the inside out.” “
Only time will tell. Maybe people are realizing that the democratization is really an affront for pure business. Somebody is making money for all their hard work, it just isn’t them.
Many of my classmates have given wonderful descriptions of the history of the internet. I especially like David’s account. So I decided, and hope that Michael approves, to write about the history of the internet as it relates to libraries. Much of this post will be dervided from the IMLS study “InterConnections“.
The question the IMLS wanted to answer was whether or not the internet was replacing libraries. They stated,
Museums and libraries have long been sources of recreation, learning and information for personal, family, educational and workplace purposes. However, the Internet, Web and other technologies have become an increasingly used source of information that some believe will largely replace their physical counterparts. On the other hand, some have speculated that the Internet and related technologies will actually enhance and increase museum and library use. There is no solid evidence to support either assertion, particularly considering the wide range in types of museums and libraries.
What did they find? They found that Libraries and Museums are the MOST trusted sources of information for the more than 1,700 adults surveyed. They also found that nearly half of information seekers use the internet, libraries and museums. 
The best results of the survey found that
“In 2006 remote online access increased adult visits to museums by 75%
and to public libraries by 73% (while in-person visits have increased over
time).” and that “
Public library in-person visits per capita have increased 26% over the past
13 years.”
How cool is that! The internet has increased both trust in libraries and number of visits. So how does this relate to the history of the internet? Well the report summarizies
The on-line information environment has changed dramatically since the
earliest on-line systems emerged in the early 1960s. Growth has occurred
both in the number of users of on-line information as well as in the number of
on-line information resources and providers. The rate of growth in each of
these areas increased exponentially with the availability of the public Internet
and the World Wide Web. These foundational technological developments
created an environment in which almost anyone can “publish” or function as
an information provider and have virtually instantaneous access to massive
volumes of information.
So the history of the internet is also a history of libraries. The library has moved from the physical building to the “galatic network”. As the internet has gone everywhere so has the library.
This post is all about Open Library. I recently read an article in the Chronicles entitled ”An Upstart Web Catalog Challenges an Academic-Library Giant“. It talks about Aaron Swartz – yes the creator of RSS at 14 years old. Now he is an elderly 21. His new endeavor is taking on Worldcat.
This new project, Open Library, allows for users to add and create access points for the books. His rationale is that he saw all these books locked up in the library “but nobody ever found out about them, because they didn’t have a spot on the Web, and people weren’t browsing the stacks anymore.”
The Chronicle describes “The project is similar to WorldCat, which is owned by OCLC, a nonprofit group that promotes technology in libraries. But it seeks to be bigger. While WorldCat has catalog records only from libraries — including about 10,000 academic libraries — that pay to be part of OCLC, the Open Library will include records from anywhere, free of charge. And while librarians maintain WorldCat, the public would maintain Open Library.”
Open Library will scan all 20 million books so that they can be read online (Worldcat contains only 10 million records). If they are no longer protected under copyright, they can be downloaded for free. Otherwise they can be purchased, or sent to a third-party binder for a fee.
One interesting point comes from “Jessamyn C. West, a librarian based in Bethel, Vt., who runs a popular blog, Librarian.net, wants Open Library to flourish. The small libraries she counsels can’t afford subscriptions to WorldCat. As a result, their holdings are invisible to Vermonters searching online.”
My library, after much pleading, launched a blog. This is the email I received…
Each of you will shortly receive an invite to join but first here are the ground rules (subject to revision):1) There are no restrictions on how often you post. However, each of the librarians is required to post at least once a quarter, just like you had to write once a quarter for Informatics. If need be, we will remind you. Your area of responsibility will be the same as it was for Informatics. Talk to Mary if you need a reminder of what this is.
2) You will be designated as a contributor. This allows you to write, but not publish, a post.
3) Mary and I will have editorial control. We will check for new postings on a daily basis, review them and then publish.
4) Please limit your postings to 500 words or less. (Red mine)
My question is where is the trust?
