Issue Introduction: What Do You Mean by “Discovery”?, by Judith Carter

Mwuah  ha  ha  ha  haaa!  Finally  it’s  my  turn.  I hold  the  power  of  the  editorial.  (Can  you  tell
I’m  writing  this  around  Halloween?)  Seriously now, I’ve been intimately and extensively involved with Information  Technology  and  Libraries  for  eleven  years,  yet this is the first time I’ve escaped from behind the editing scenes  to  address  the  readership  directly.  As  managing editor for seven of the eleven volumes (18–22 and 27–28) and  an  editorial  board  member  reviewing  manuscripts (vols. 23–26), I am honored Marc agreed to let me be guest editor for this theme issue.

“Discovery” Focus as Impetus for Organizational Learning, by Jennifer L. Fabbi

The  University  of  Nevada  Las  Vegas  Libraries’  focus on  the  concept  of  discovery  and  the  tools  and  processes that enable our users to find information began with an organizational review of the Libraries’ Technical Services Division.  This  article  outlines  the  phases  of  this  review  and  subsequent  planning  and  organizational  commitment to discovery. Using the theoretical lens of organizational learning, it highlights how the emerging focus on discovery has provided an impetus for genuine learning and change.

Information Discovery Insights Gained from MultiPAC, a Prototype Library Discovery System, by Alex A. Dolski

At the University of Nevada Las Vegas Libraries, as in most libraries, resources are dispersed into a number of closed  “silos”  with  an organization-centric,  rather  than patron-centric,  layout.  Patrons  frequently  have  trouble navigating  and  discovering  the  dozens  of  disparate interfaces,  and  any  attempt  at  a  global  overview  of  our information  offerings  is  at  the  same  time  incomplete and highly complex. While consolidation of interfaces is widely considered to be desirable, certain challenges have made it elusive in practice.

Usability as a Method for Assessing Discovery, by Tom Ipri, Michael Yunkin, and Jeanne M. Brown

The  University  of  Nevada  Las  Vegas  Libraries  engaged in three projects that helped identify areas of its website that  had  inhibited  discovery  of  services  and  resources. These  projects  also  helped  generate  staff  interest  in  the Usability  Working  Group,  which  led  these  endeavors. The first project studied student responses to the site. The second focused on a usability test with the Libraries’ peer research  coaches  and  resulted  in  a  presentation  of  those findings to the Libraries staff. The final project involved a specialized test, the results of which also were presented to staff. All three of these projects led to improvements to the website and will inform a larger redesign.

UNLV Special Collections in the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas Sommer

University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Special Collections is consistently striving to provide several avenues of discovery to its diverse range of patrons. Specifically, UNLV Special  Collections  has  planned  and  implemented  several online tools to facilitate unearthing treasures in the collections.  These  online  tools  incorporate  Web  2.0  features as well as searchable interfaces to collections.

Smartphones: A Potential Discovery Tool, by Wendy Starkweather and Eva Stowers

The anticipated wide adoption of smartphones by researchers  is  viewed  by  the  authors  as  a  basis  for  developing mobile-based services. In response to the UNLV Libraries’ strategic plan’s focus on experimentation and outreach, the authors investigate the current and potential role of smartphones as a valuable discovery tool for library users.

Building Pathfinders with Free Screen Capture Tools, by Patrick Griffis

This article outlines freely available screen capturing tools, covering  their  benefits  and  drawbacks  as  well  as  their potential applications. In discussing these tools, the author illustrates how they can be used to build pathfinding tutorials for users and how these tutorials can be shared with users. The author notes that the availability of these screen capturing tools at no cost, coupled with their ease of use, provides  ample  opportunity  for  low-stakes  experimentation from library staff in building dynamic pathfinders to promote the discovery of library resources.

Enhancing OPAC Records for Discovery, by Patrick Griffis and Cyrus Ford

This article proposes adding keywords and descriptors to the catalog records of electronic databases and media items to enhance their discovery. The authors contend that subject liaisons can add value to OPAC records and enhance discovery  of  electronic  databases  and  media  items  by providing searchable keywords and resource descriptions. The authors provide an examination of OPAC records at their  own  library,  which  illustrates  the  disparity  of  useful  keywords  and  descriptions  within  the  notes  field  for media item records versus electronic database records. The authors  outline  methods  for  identifying  useful  keywords for  indexing  OPAC  records  of  electronic  databases.  Also included is an analysis of the advantages of using Encore’s Community Tag and Community Review features to allow subject liaisons to work directly in the catalog instead of collaborating with cataloging staff.

Camtasia article

Since writing this article I have moved on to different software that is very user friendly and is open source (FREE). It is produced by TechSmith and is called JING. I have created four flash tutorials in JING and they can be seen in the ASU Nursing LibGuide. Here is the link http://libguides.asu.edu/content.php?pid=4690&sid=401513 (Tab -Advanced Tutorials EBP)

The fourth flash tutorial can be found at the same link under the RefWorks tab and is moving citations from PubMed to RefWorks (the bibliographic management tool).

Unfortunately the streaming video "How to Order an Article that ASU Does Not Own" has been taken down. The ASU Libraries Online Learning Workgroup has decided to brand all videos on the tutorials web page. All of my videos that were created with Camtasia have been taken down.

Kathleen Carlson

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.]