From the Authors- Employing Virtualization in Library Computing: Use Cases and Lessons Learned

One of the interesting things we discovered while writing our article is just how popular virtualization technology is in the private and corporate IT environment. However, it is utilized far less in academic and public library computing. We’re interested in hearing thoughts on why that seems to be the case.

Do library IT shops apply a more conservative approach to managing their resources? Does the lack of profit-based competition lead to less risk-taking with regard to new technologies? Or is it simply that virtualization might not be the best fit for library computing needs?
Or are we missing the point entirely?

September issue now online at ITAL Web site

The index and linked articles for the September issue are at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/lita/ital/282009/2803sep/toc.cfm.

Delivering Information to Students 24/7 with Camtasia, by Kathleen Carlson

This  article  examines  the  selection process  for  and  use  of  Camtasia Studio  software,  a  screen  video  capture  program  created  by  TechSmith. The Camtasia Studio software allows the author to create streaming videos which gives students 24 hour access on any topics including how to order books through interlibrary loan.

The Efficient Storage of Text Documents in Digital Libraries, by Przemysław Skibiński, et al

In  this  paper  we  investigate  the  possibility  of  improving  the  efficiency  of  data  compression,  and  thus  reducing  storage  requirements,  for  seven  widely  used  text document  formats.  We  propose  an  open-source  text compression  software  library,  featuring  an  advanced word-substitution  scheme  with  static  and  semidynamic word dictionaries. The empirical results show an average storage space reduction as high as 78 percent compared to uncompressed documents, and as high as 30 percent compared to documents compressed with the free compression software gzip.

Gender, Technology, and Libraries, by Melissa Lamont

Information technology (IT) is vitally important to many organizations, including libraries. Yet a review of employment statistics and a citation analysis show that men make up the majority of the IT workforce, in libraries and in the broader  workforce.  Research  from  sociology,  psychology, and  women’s  studies  highlights  the  organizational  and social  issues  that  inhibit  women.  Understanding  why women are less evident in library IT positions will help inform measures to remedy the gender disparity.

Success Factors and Strategic Planning: Rebuilding an Academic Library Digitization Program, by Cory Lampert, et al

This paper discusses a dual approach of case study and research  survey  to  investigate  the  complex  factors  in sustaining academic library digitization programs. The case study involves the background of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries’ digitization program and elaborates on the authors’ efforts to gain staff support for this program. A related survey was administered  to  all  Association  of  Research  Libraries  (ARL) members, seeking to collect baseline data on their digital collections,  understand  their  respective  administrative frameworks,  and  to  gather  feedback  on  both  negative obstacles  and  positive  inputs  affecting  their  success. Results  from  the  survey,  combined  with  the  authors’ local  experience,  point  to  several  potential  success  factors  including  staff  skill  sets,  funding,  and  strategic planning.

Employing Virtualization in Library Computing: Use Cases and Lessons Learned, by Arwen Hutt, et al

This  paper  provides  a  broad  overview  of  virtualization technology  and  describes  several  examples  of  its  use at  the  University  of  California,  San  Diego  Libraries. Libraries  can  leverage  virtualization  to  address  many long-standing library computing challenges, but careful planning is needed to determine if this technology is the right solution for a specific need. This paper outlines both technical  and  usability  considerations,  and  concludes with a discussion of potential enterprise impacts on the library infrastructure.

Adding Delicious Data to Your Library Website, by Andrew Darby and Ron Gilmour

Social bookmarking services such as Delicious offer a simple way of developing lists of library resources. This paper outlines various methods of incorporating data from a Delicious account into a webpage. We begin with a description of Delicious Linkrolls and Tagrolls, the simplest but least flexible method of displaying Delicious results. We then describe three more advanced methods of manipulating Delicious data using RSS, JSON, and XML. Code samples using PHP and JavaScript are provided.

Missing Items: Automating the Replacement Workflow Process, by Cheri Smith, et al

Academic libraries handle missing items in a variety of ways. The Hesburgh Libraries of the University of Notre Dame recently revamped their system for replacing or withdrawing missing items. This article describes the new process that uses a customized database to facilitate efficient and effective communication, tracking, and selector decision making for large numbers of missing items.

Public Access Technologies in Public Libraries: Effects and Implications, by John Carlo Bertot

Public libraries were early adopters of Internet-based technologies and have provided public access to the Internet and computers since the early 1990s. The landscape of public-access Internet and computing was substantially different in the 1990s as the World Wide Web was only in its initial development. At that time, public libraries essentially experimented with public access Internet and computer services, largely absorbing this service into existing service and resource provision without substantial consideration of the management, facilities, staffing, and other implications of public-access technology (PAT) services and resources. This article explores the implications for public libraries of the provision of PAT and seeks to look further to review issues and practices associated with PAT provision resources. While much research focuses on the amount of public access that public libraries provide, little offers a view of the effect of public access on libraries. This article provides insights into some of the costs, issues, and challenges associated with public access and concludes with recommendations that require continued exploration.

Can Bibliographic Data be Put Directly onto the Semantic Web? by Martha Yee

This paper is a think piece about the possible future of bibliographic control; it provides a brief introduction to the Semantic Web and defines related terms, and it discusses granularity and structure issues and the lack of standards for the efficient display and indexing of bibliographic data. It is also a report on a work in progress—an experiment in building a Resource Description Framework (RDF) model of more FRBRized cataloging rules than those about to be introduced to the library community (Resource Description and Access) and in creating an RDF data model for the rules. I am now in the process of trying to model my cataloging rules in the form of an RDF model, which can also be inspected at http://myee.bol.ucla.edu/. In the process of doing this, I have discovered a number of areas in which I am not sure that RDF is sophisticated enough yet to deal with our data. This article is an attempt to identify some of those areas and explore whether or not the problems I have encountered are soluble—in other words, whether or not our data might be able to live on the Semantic Web. In this paper, I am focusing on raising the questions about the suitability of RDF to our data that have come up in the course of my work.

[Note: (8/20/2009) Commentary by Karen Coyle on this article, and additional discussion, may be found at http://futurelib.pbworks.com/YeeRDF.]

CatQC and Shelf-Ready Material: Speeding Collections to Users While Preserving Data Quality, by Michael Jay, et al

Abstract:
Libraries contract with vendors to provide shelf-ready material, but is it really shelf-ready? It arrives with all the physical processing needed for immediate shelving, then lingers in back offices while staff conduct itemby-item checks against the catalog. CatQC, a console application for Microsoft Windows developed at the University of Florida, builds on OCLC services to get material to the shelves and into the hands of users without delay and without sacrificing data quality. Using standard C programming, CatQC identifies problems in MARC record files, often applying complex conditionals, and generates easy-to-use reports that do not require manual item review.

LaneConnex: An Integrated Biomedical Digital Library Interface, Debra S. Ketchell, et al

Abstract:
This paper describes one approach to creating a search application that unlocks heterogeneous content stores and incorporates integrative functionality of Web search engines. LaneConnex is a search interface that identifies journals, books, databases, calculators, bioinformatics tools, help information, and search hits from more than three hundred full-text heterogeneous clinical and bioresearch sources. The user interface is a simple query box. Results are ranked by relevance with options for filtering by content type or expanding to the next most likely set. The system is built using component-oriented programming design. The underlying architecture is built on Apache Cocoon, Java Servlets, XML/XSLT, SQL, and JavaScript. The system has proven reliable in production, reduced user time spent finding information on the site, and maximized the institutional investment in licensed resources.

A Semantic Model of Selective Dissemination of Information for Digital Libraries, by J. M. Morales-del-Castillo, et al

Abstract:
In this paper we present the theoretical and methodological foundations for the development of a multi-agent Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) service model that applies Semantic Web technologies for specialized digital libraries. These technologies make possible achieving more efficient information management, improving agent–user communication processes, and facilitating accurate access to relevant resources. Other tools used are fuzzy linguistic modelling techniques (which make possible easing the interaction between users and system) and natural language processing (NLP) techniques for semiautomatic thesaurus generation. Also, RSS feeds are used as “current awareness bulletins” to generate personalized bibliographic alerts.

Classification of Library Resources by Subject on the Library Website, by Mathew J. Miles and Scott J. Bergstrom

Abstract:
The number of labels used to organize resources by subject varies greatly among library websites. Some librarians choose very short lists of labels while others choose much longer lists. We conducted a study with 120 students and staff to try to answer the following question: What is the effect of the number of labels in a list on response time to research questions? What we found is that response time increases gradually as the number of the items in the list grow until the list size reaches approximately fifty items. At that point, response time increases significantly. No association between response time and relevance was found.

One Law with Two Outcomes: Comparing the Implementation of CIPA in Public Libraries and Schools, by Paul T. Jaeger and Zheng Yan

Abstract:
Though the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) established requirements for both public libraries and public schools to adopt filters on all of their computers when they receive certain federal funding, it has not attracted a great amount of research into the effects on libraries and schools and the users of these social institutions. This paper explores the implications of CIPA in terms of its effects on public libraries and public schools, individually and in tandem. Drawing from both library and education research, the paper examines the legal background and basis of CIPA, the current state of Internet access and levels of filtering in public libraries and public schools, the perceived value of CIPA, the perceived consequences of CIPA, the differences in levels of implementation of CIPA in public libraries and public schools, and the reasons for those dramatic differences. After an analysis of these issues within the greater policy context, the paper suggests research questions to help provide more data about the challenges and questions revealed in this analysis.

Update to Monitoring Script

When we last updated the software for our system highlighted in the
Sept. 2008 issue, we noticed that our monitoring script had some issues.
This was related to a regular expression found in the script. I'll spare
the details and just provide a link the new updated script:

http://lance.mckendree.edu/wireless/wirelessScript_v2.txt

jim

MyLibrary is about creating relationships

MyLibrary is more about creating relationships than it is about personalization and customization.

When MyLibrary was made available in 1997/8 the application was all about creating "my pages". Since then it has matured and evolved. First and foremost, it is not a turn-key application like it was previously. Instead, it is more like a digital library framework and toolbox akin to Fedora, just written in Perl. Second, with the advent of object-oriented programming techniques, MyLibrary is about four types of things: 1) resources, 2) patrons, 3) librarians, and 4) facet/term combinations. The first three things are are well-known to us librarians. The fourth is not.



Using facet/term combinations it is possible to create strong relationships between resources, patrons, and librarians. By "cataloging" resources, patrons, and librarians with facet/term combinations it is possible to address things like:

• The resources I curate are...
• My patrons are...
• The resources recommended for me include...
• This resource is like that resource...
• My librarian is...
• People like me include...

Moreover, facet/term combinations are not just about subjects and formats. They can also be about audiences, resource tools, true/false values, academic classes, dates, genres, etc. By "cataloging" resources, patrons, and librarians with these sorts of facet/term combinations it is possible to create relationships between them in a much fuller way than what we are doing now.

Update on PDF accessibility

Dear readers,

from the submitting of the original work for the article, many things have happened in the publishing world. Mainly XML is spreading its domain more and more in many areas, one of them the accessibility fields, of course.

For PDF three remarkable things could change the landscape:

- The inminent approval of PDF/UA standard as an addendum to ISO 32000-2 [1]

- The Adobe Mars project and its downloadable plugin to convert back and forward PDF documents to XML documents => This could open many possibilities to include PDF in XML workflows [2]

- The CWA 15778 report [3], on document processing for accessibility, showing many scenarios in which PDF is included in an accessible multichannel publishing workflow

Adobe is working hard to enhance its flagship format and Adobe 9 includes the optimization of file size for PDF files, a long desired option.

Still, authoring tools fall short in their capacity to process PDF and XML for accessibility. Adobe InDesign is pushing hard against QuarkXPress for its better support to XML.

Other formats in the accessibility world have take their place: DAISY and its component DTBook [4], with free conversion tools from Microsoft Word and Open Office, is also pushing hard.

Will PDF maintain its niche position? the discussion is open.

Mireia Ribera
http://bd.ub.es/pub/ribera

[1] http://pdf.editme.com/PDFUA
[2] http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/mars/
[3] http://www.cen.eu/CENORM/BusinessDomains/BusinessDomains/ISSS/activity/ws-dpa.asp
[4] http://www.daisy.org/

Repurposing "Born MARC" metadata

Just wanted to repeat the question that I posed in my original comment but under its own header:

What opportunities and challenges can we anticipate as we start working with (e.g. manipulating, searching, augmenting, cleaning up, transforming) MARC metadata from an ILS (or from another MARC-based system) outside of that system?

How can we ensure that reusing MARC data is a worthwhile undertaking, and convince those outside the library world of this, if necessary?