Assignment 5: Koha

For my Koha topic, I chose to compile a list of books related to the topic of Victorian literature, one of my favorite literary genres. The link to my assignment is:

http://upitt04-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=31

Week 8 Comments-

This week I commented on Ken and Rachel's blogs,

here- http://ken-tsukuda.blogspot.com/2009/10/unit-8-html-and-web-authoring-software.html

and here- http://knivesnmatches.blogspot.com/2009/10/readings-for-1027.html

Muddiest Point Week 8

I didn't have a Muddiest Point from last week's lecture (on 10-20).

Week 8 Reading Notes

Reading Notes Week 8
1) W3schools HTML Tutorial-
I thought this tutorial on HTML was really well written. They covered the most basic ideas, as well as some more complex codes, and it was all very in depth and easy to understand. I haven't had any reason to use HTMl/web design since some classes I took back in high school, so it was a great refresher given that I have forgotten just about everything I've learned since then. Also, since everything is constantly changing, it was nice that they discussed many of the changing 'rules' of HTML that are different than when I learned the basics back in the day. I also really liked the Tryit Editor because for me, and many others I'm sure, hands on learning and messing around with the different codes are the easiest way to learn something like this.

2) HTML Cheatsheet
-I thought this cheatsheet was really handy, although it was probably not written for extreme beginners. It's really nice to have a list of all the basic codes in one place, but it didn't really explain how to use them as in depth as the other tutorial did. However, for just a resource you could bookmark or print out to have on hand once you've learned a little bit of the background knowledge, I think this would be great.

3) W3 School Cascading Style Sheet Tutorial
-Like their HTML tutorial, I think this tutorial on CSS is again very well written, easy to understand, and thorough. I haven't really used CSS before with the exception of an old blog I worked on that allowed you to use style-sheets, so I have much less experience with this than HTML (and pretty minimal experience with that as well.) However, once again, I felt like this website does a great job explaining the basics and the Tryit Editor is extremely helpful for this as well.

I bookmarked all 3 of these websites to refer back to in the future, because I think that as libraries continue to embrace technology to reach their communities in innovative ways, some basic web design skills will be very helpful for any librarian to have.

4) Beyond HTML: Developing and re-imagining library web guides in a content management system
-Content management (CM) can be defined as the process of collecting, managing and publishing content
-In a CMS, the content is disconnected from the layout and design elements of the page
-The article gives the example of GSU's librarians' attempts to create a website with research guides for their assigned subject areas, and the many problems that arose from not having any sort of guidelines or standards; the article goes on to describe how they rectified this situation by hiring a single web development librarian and implementing the use of a Content Management System
-covers how a CMS functions, its benefits and advantages, various options for implementing a CMS in your library, how to design templates for students and librarians, the findings from the GSU study, and future implications
-After reading this article, it's very easy to understand why and how a CMS could be useful and essential to the function of a library's digital content. The standards implemented by a CMS appear to make a huge difference to this. The example from GSU was very illustrative of how a CMS benefits both the librarians and their patrons, as it enables ease of both design and access to all the information the library wishes to publish in an online format. As librarians, this is likely something we will see in the future more and more in our careers as we continue the shift to a digital information environment, so I felt that this article was very beneficial.

Assignment 4- Jing/Flickr

For assignment 4, I created a video and screencaps to show how to search for music and create/play a queue on the website Grooveshark.

video link:
http://www.screencast.com/t/7hOQHJAgZ

screen captures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42533674@N06/4005517185/in/set-72157622447220729/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42533674@N06/4005518975/in/set-72157622447220729/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42533674@N06/4006288524/in/set-72157622447220729/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42533674@N06/4005524067/in/set-72157622447220729/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42533674@N06/4006291864/in/set-72157622447220729/

Comments

My comments for this week's reading notes are here:

http://suzydeucher2600.blogspot.com/2009/10/reading-notes-week-7.html

http://knivesnmatches.blogspot.com/2009/10/1020-readings.html

Week 7 Reading Notes

1) Tyson, Jeff. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure.htm/printable
internet- interconnected networks
-has grown from four host computers in the 1960s to tens of millions
-Internet Society, started in 1992, oversees formation of protocol and policies defining how we use and interact with the internet
-every computer connected to the internet is part of a network
-POP: Point of Presence
-NAP: Network Access Point
-networks rely on NAPs, backbones and routers to talk to each other
-routers determine where to send information from one computer to another (makes sure it doesn't go where it's not needed, and does make it to its intended destination)
-backbone: massive connections that have huge amounts of bandwith that link smaller networks
-IP Address: unique identifying number for every machine on the internet
-Domain Name System (DNS) maps text names to IP addresses automatically
-URL: Uniform Resource Locator
-servers: provide services to other machines; clients: machines connected to those services
This article provides a basic overview of several essential aspects of Internet technology. I appreciated that it was written in fairly simple language, and could be easily understood by the average reader. I thought it was really interesting that the article explains things I see and use every day (urls, etc.) but don't really give much thought to on any other level than, say, typing a url into the address bar to get where I want to go.

2) Andrew K. Pace (2004). Dismantling Integrated Library Systems. Library Journal, 129(2), p.34-36. Full Text
-issues concerning library automation in the U.S.
-explores what influences and factors have contributed to changes within ILSThese seeemed to be the primary focuses of Pace's article, but the author also provides examples of some of the
more prominent products and services in the area of library automation, as well as exploring the effects of past solutions devised to deal with interoperability within library systems. As I read this article, I found myself thinking that the topic was interesting (even if the writing was incredibly dry). I do think this is something all information professionals should make a serious effort to understand, because it affects all of us. Also the article gives the indication that there is really no simple, black and white answer to any of the questions raised, so it will become even more important to try to understand all sides in the event that we are ever making decisions
about this that will affect our libraries and communities.

3) Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Inside the Google machine. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sergey_brin_and_larry_page_on_google.html
It's hard to describe Google in simple terms because as we all know, it has completely changed the way we organize and access information, and communicate and interact with the world around us. Seeing the founders of Google talk about how it is utilized all over the world, and how they are working to improve worldwide access, was definitely fascinating. I think the charitable arm of Google could even have a greater impact than the commercial aspect. I also think that, since access to technology is definitely not universal at this point, and yet free and equitable access to information is one of the goals of librarianship, their philanthropic goals could help change the world even more than they already have.

Muddiest Point- Week 6

I have heard some people indicate that some networks such as MAN and PAN don't really exist. I didn't know what to make of that because obviously we discussed in class and read in the readings that they do, so I would assume that they do in fact exist. What are some real life examples of these types of networks?

Assignment 3: Personal Bibliographic Management Systems

Here is the link to my CiteULike library created for assignment 3:

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

Week 6 Comments

My comments on classmates blogs for the week 6 reading notes can be found here:

http://shanlis2600libblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/rfid.html

http://knivesnmatches.blogspot.com/2009/10/readings-for-oct.html

Week 6 Reading Notes

Week 6 Reading Notes
1) Local Area Network: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Area_Network
Local Area Network (LAN)- computer network covering a small physical area (such as home or office)
-in contrast with Wide Area Networks (WAN), have higher data-transfer rates, cover smaller geographic area, do not require use of leased telecommunication lines
-Ethernet over twisted pair cabling and Wi-Fi are most commonly used
-began developing in the 1960s as large universities and labs acquired more computers & there was a great need for highspeed interconnections
-structured cabling is the basis of most LANs today, and fiber-optic cabling is being used more frequently for high-bandwidth local networking

-This article provided a good overview of LANs. I found some of the technical aspects at the end to be a little confusing, but I think this is a good read for a very basic explanation of LANs, especially since we all make use of these in our personal and professional lives but a lot of us, myself included, may have limited technical experience related to LANs.

2) Computer network http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network
computer network- group of interconnected computers; allows computers to connect with others and to share resources and information
-ARPANET (funded by the The Advanced Research Projects Agency, for the DoD) was the first operational computer network in the world
-networks may be classified by a wide variety of characteristics, including connection method, wired technologies, and wireless technologies
-Networks are often classified as Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Personal Area Network (PAN), Virtual Private Network (VPN), Campus Area Network (CAN), Storage Area Network (SAN), etc. depending on their scale, scope and purpose.
-also Internet, Intranet, and Extranet
-All networks are made up of basic hardware building blocks to interconnect network nodes, such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), Bridges, Hubs, Switches, and Routers.
-router: networking device that forwards packets between networks using information in protocol headers and forwarding tables to determine the best next router for each packet

This article defined computer networks, and outlined several different types. I think everyone in the information field should have a general understanding of these, even if we aren't planning or receiving training to work in the IT field. One reason I feel this way is many smaller libraries (like the one I work in) don't have a designated IT department- we have to phone a helpdesk located elsewhere if technical issues arise. I think it's important to be familiar with the different types of network and technology so we can both accurately describe the problems to the IT professionals whose job it is to fix them, and in some cases, they may be able to provide us with enough assistance to fix the problem ourselves if we have at least a very basic understanding of the technologies. I have definitely been told I am "the worst person ever" at describing problems with my computer ("My Internet broke!" is apparently not a helpful statement) and while I do not fully agree with that harsh assertion made about me, I think it definitely highlights the need to understand at least enough about the technologies we're relying on at work to be able to not only use them but describe them when things go wrong.

3) Common types of computer networks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dpgqDdfUjQ
The Youtube video featured the CIO of Relativity explaining types of computer networks that we read about in the Wikipedia article. I felt like the video was really helpful because as someone who is not very familiar with this subject, hearing someone explain the topic in pretty simple terms made it a little easier to understand than when I was just reading dry technical articles.

4) Coyle, K. (2005). Management of RFID in libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31(5), 486-489.Karen Coyle briefly outlines what RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) technology is, and how it can be used in libraries in terms of its being a more advanced technology than barcodesCoyle also briefly explains some of the other types of RIFD technology, such as on toll booths or office entry cards. If I am understanding correctly, I have a debit card (Visa Pay Wave) with RFID technology and it is wonderfully convenient and simple to use. After the brief introduction, Coyle mostly focuses on the management of RFID technology in libraries, asking questions such as whether they should use this technology, and pointing out some of the pros and cons. After reading the article, I felt like I learned a lot about this technology and the possible benefits in terms of inventory and statistical analysis in the library, but I would like to learn more about it because I wasn't sure whether or not I agreed with its use. I think one of the biggest issues right now would come back to the simple, practical issue of funding- it may pay off in the long run, but libraries are in such dire straits right now that it may not be wise to invest in new technology that doesn't have an immediate benefit towards helping libraries keep their doors open. I also dislike the idea of completely self-service library check out sytems, because I think that people have too many questions and issues and many people seem to look forward to intereacting with the library staff. I agree that libraries serve a social role in many communities and we should not completely eliminate that aspect of the library in favor of convenience. In the long run, however, it sounds as if RFID could be very beneficial to the library in many ways.

Week 5- muddiest point

I don't really have a muddiest point from last week, but I will be sure to add one if I think of something.