Week 8 Blog Comments

I commented on the following blogs this week:

http://cstalkerlis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-html-web-authoring-software.html?showComment=1288356698253#c7683379689986512270


http://elviaarroyo.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-html-and-web-authoring-software.html?showComment=1288357511359#c4743342967159737383

Week 8 Readings

w3schools.com’s “HTML Basic” and the “CSS Tutorial” are great resources.  HTML is a markup language that uses tags to describe web pages.  Web browsers read HTML documents and display them as the web pages we see.  Tags are used in pairs at the start and end of a command, and are enclosed in angle brackets.  CSS takes HTML further by defining how HTML elements should be displayed, or the format of a document, including backgrounds, fonts, links, colors, etc.  CSS can be saved in external .css files; this makes it easy to change the appearance and layout of a web page, because you can edit a single file. 

Webmonkey’s “HTML Cheatsheet” is another winner for getting the basics of HTML.  (I am a little concerned about some the comments at the end of this document, which seem to suggest that not all the information here is valid any longer [body attributes, bold and italics, color].)  Still, I’m sure there is enough here about basic tags to get one started.

And getting started seems easy enough--the tags for very basic formatting don’t seem particularly complicated.  It looks like it gets a little dicey when you start to add images and tables and lists and forms.  But adding color is really cool--all those different combinations of rgb values give a wide range of results. The “Quick List” at the end of w3schools.com’s HTML section is very handy--indeed, I’ve printed this out to keep as a guide. 

“Beyond HTML” describes one university library’s experience in developing a content management system (CMS) for its library web guides.  What struck me about this article is the importance of hiring a “web development librarian.”  I wish I weren’t so unsure of myself when it comes to technology; had I more confidence in my understanding of the nuts and bolts of computers and technology, I might have chosen a different track in this program.  With one course left to go, at this point, I will not do that.  But for those of you just starting out, it seems that a program focused on technology is the smart thing to pursue.  The web development librarian of whom this article speaks made significant improvements to the library’s web infrastructure, displaying content in a consistent way, which led to a clearly defined organizational voice and thus credibility and improved usability.  And he or she did this using existing technology of in-house web development projects (as opposed to commercial or open-source options)!  The end result was a CMS that provided standardization and ease of use through templates.  This article really made clear to me that future librarians should direct a good portion of their education toward learning “web site information architecture and writing for the web medium.”  As for me, I should devote any continuing education I pursue to this area. 

Week 7 Muddiest Points

How does one ensure that an email message is encrypted?  Are messages automatically encrypted, or is there a setting you have to change in your email program?

Do cookies make one's computer vulnerable to spam or viruses?  Or are they just a privacy concern? (Doesn't Ad-Aware get rid of cookies?  I kind of remember that.  Or maybe it's Spybot?)  Are cookies something to be concerned about?

Assignment 4 - Google Scholar, Zotero, and CiteULike

Here is the link to my CiteULike library:

http://www.citeulike.org/user/magpie2600

The tag "ch" stands for "consumer health."

Week 7 Blog Comments

Here are my comments on blogs for this week:

http://megrentschler.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-7-reading-notes-102510.html?showComment=1287495572181#c5324700297525190927

http://christyfic.blogspot.com/2010/10/reading-notes-week-7-oct-25-2010.html?showComment=1287496014654#c6832375785973058057

Week 7 Readings

The “How Stuff Works” article about Internet infrastructure was very helpful in describing how a computer connects to the Internet.  (Where Tyson loses me a little, however, is when he gets into Company A and Company B and NAPs, which I guess connect large ISPs to each other.)  Routers enable computers to send information between one another.  The explanation of IP addresses was also informative--I’ve used the term forever, it seems, and never knew that it stood for “Internet Protocol.”  I wish I would’ve had this article last semester, when I was trying to explain in a presentation the “official” terms for the parts of a URL address:  top-level or first-level domain name (.com, .org, .net, .edu, and .gov); second-level domains, and host.  The DNS server role is amazing, in that it does its work so seamlessly and quickly.  It’s pretty amazing, when you stop to think about it, that these “backbones” of our technological world are what’s behind being “able to talk to everyone else on the planet.”  I think it’s safe to say that most of us never even think about all of these components that drive the engine of the Internet.  But without them, there would be no Internet.

I can imagine how computers revolutionized the library world in the 80s and 90s, what with their ability to automate everything from checking in and checking out books, tracking circulation and interlibrary loans, purchasing acquisitions and subscriptions, and providing a public interface for patrons, among other things.  But I guess as technology has progressed, libraries are realizing how “inflexible and nonextensible” these early systems are, and they now must choose between starting all over, at great cost, or purchasing a stand-alone product (what I think of as a “patch” that meets a particular need), also costly, or coming up with their own solution (which would require a staff person with technological know-how).  Pace argues that libraries don’t pay enough for technology, and are going to have to face the music that “better costs more.”  At the same time, I do think developers and vendors need to design and market products that are interoperable--they’re doing it for other systems (HR and course management), why not for library systems?  Till that happens, I suppose the answer for some libraries is open source ILS, like Koha, or Evergreen (two such systems I’ve heard of). 

Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed the video “Inside the Google Machine.”  I guess I’ve been a bit jaded when it comes to Google, even though it’s my search engine of choice, my go-to for just about everything.  I found the early minutes of discussion and lighted maps showing how many people are using Google the world over to be fascinating, even though I felt really sad about Africa being literally in the dark.  I’d never even heard of Orkut or Google Answers (and I guess these never really took off).  But what this video demonstrates to me is that this is a company that has a true entrepreneurial spirit--they’re not afraid to give their employees freedom to pursue what interests them--and on company time!--and it’s often worked out in their favor.  And they won me over with allowing dogs to accompany their owners to work.  Are they hiring???  :)

Week 6 Muddiest Points

You lost me at slides 58-62, the ones about TCP/IP and UDP.  What are these, exactly, and what do I really need to know about them?

Also, I think you said in the lecture that FiOS was an example of a DSL, right?

Assignment 3 - Jing

Here is the link to my Jing video about using MedlinePlus:

http://www.screencast.com/users/xylogirl/folders/Jing/media/65be5ef6-ffc7-49c9-8b46-0606b2460ac6

And here are the links to my Flickr screen capture images:

The entire set:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/sets/72157625120802168/

Or individually:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062741042/in/set-72157625120802168/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062744518/in/set-72157625120802168/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062135125/in/set-72157625120802168/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062136279/in/set-72157625120802168/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53967109@N08/5062749512/in/set-72157625120802168/

This was a fun assignment! 

Week 6 Blog Comments

Here are my comments on blogs for this week:

http://gemma2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-readings.html?showComment=1286547950843#c5202910552124482305

http://the2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-musings.html?showComment=1286550624569#c8267135485565293796

Week 6 Readings

Wikipedia on LANs:  This Wikipedia article briefly introduces the history of and the technological makeup of LANs.  In very basic terms, I understand that a LAN stands for “local area network,” which is a computer network that connects other computers and devices within a limited geographical area.  They are distinguished from WANs (wide area networks) by their speed, the smaller area that they cover, and the fact that they don’t need leased telecommunication lines.  We always want faster connections, so I’m sure before long, we will have something else to connect networks that’s even faster than FiOS.

Wikipedia on Computer Networks:  This article defines “computer network” and why we have them:  to share resources and information.  We take so much for granted, I think, when it comes to technology—I am always amazed at what I’ve been learning of the behind-the-scenes when it comes to computers, and also to see how predictions from a few years ago are already common standards in the industry (e.g., optical fiber cable technology, which I assume is FiOS, right?).  (As an aside, I remember three years ago, listening to Tomer, in LIS 2000, say that FiOS was the wave of the future.  And this was just as Verizon’s FiOS was beginning to be installed in the area.  I went home that day and told my husband, “We might’s well switch to FiOS.”  And we did, as soon as it became available in our area.  Chalk that decision up to library school!)  Anyway, there are different kinds of wiring technologies that go into networks, and there are wireless technologies now, too, that connect networks.  Then, once connected, those networks get classified according to their “physical scope,” or what I think of as “range.”  There are LANs, WANs, PANs, HANs, CANs, and MANs—all of which is just to say that there seems to be a network for everyone.  But I have to say that I never think of the Internet as a “network,” even though of course it is!  The discussion of hardware is helpful just to be familiar with terminology you often hear IT people using.  One thing, though:  How does one actually say “ITU-T G.hn”?????  I mean, when two IT people are talking amongst themselves, how do they actually say this term????

I enjoyed the YouTube video—short and sweet and to the point.  The guy makes it all seem so simple.

Karen Coyle’s article on RFID was very good at explaining what RFID technology is.  I read this on the day this week that the PA Turnpike announced it was considering doing away with toll plazas and going to electronic systems where, if a car didn’t already have an EasyPass, a camera would take a picture of your license plate and the owner would receive a bill in the mail for the amount of the toll.  I assume they’ll be using RFID technology for this.  So it’s kind of interesting to see how this technology is creeping into all aspects of life, for better or worse.  I can see how using this technology in the library would be good for tracking inventory, locating misplaced items, and providing some measure of security.  But realistically, in this day and age, I don’t see how all libraries could afford to implement such a system.  (And if it gets to the point—and maybe it already has—that publishers are automatically including RFID tags in materials, they will simply increase the prices to cover the cost of technology, making it even harder for libraries to buy new items.)  I thought it was ironic how Coyle talks about how the retail sector uses RFID as a “throw-away” technology—that is, they use it once, and that’s it.  They can afford to be wasteful, I guess.  Libraries, on the other hand, could re-use the technology, yet can’t afford it in the first place.  Coyle treats both the pros and cons of this technology as it relates to the library.  If libraries are in the fortunate position of implementing such technology in the future, they will have to address the issues of privacy, RFID tag signalling, and tag durability.

Week 5 Muddiest Point

As long as we'll go over MARC and Dublin Core and metadata again, I have no Muddiest Point for what was covered in the lecture this week.

Week 5 Blog Comments

Here are links to the comments I made this week: 

http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/metadata-and-dublin-core.html?showComment=1285942981868#c1668467383049878198

http://jobeths2600blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-5-readings.html?showComment=1285943875110#c4037833116054478051

Week 5 Readings

The Wikipedia entry on “Database” was enlightening--who knew there were so many different types of databases?!  It’s helpful to see examples, too:  now I know that Microsoft Access, which I have tried to used on occasion, is a DBMS; that Oracle/PRISM human resources application, and PeopleSoft and the Data Warehouse used here at Pitt are (I’m assuming) all “operational” database; that the IMDB that I use often at work is an “external” database..  Would the Excel spreadsheet I use to keep track of my family’s finances be considered an “end-user” database, I wonder?  I’m also wondering if the “indexing” discussed here is the kind of indexing and query-running that you can do with Access?  I didn’t understand much of the rest of this, I’m afraid. 

I found Gilliland’s “Introduction to Metadata” extremely helpful.  I especially like her comparison, at the end, of metadata to the Rosetta Stone.  I have had some minimal exposure to metadata, having taken both Cataloging and Indexing in the course of completing this program.  But my cataloging experience was limited to books, and Gilliland reminds me that there are a lot of other things that get metadata attached to them:  in fact, “any information object” can (and will) have metadata.  So it’s not just libraries that use metadata, but museums and archives and repositories and even Internet resource providers. Which means that lots of people will be creating and using metadata.  Here are some key points I’d like to remember:  

• “All information objects have three features:  content, context, and structure”
• “There is no single metadata standard that is adequate for describing all types of collections and materials”
• “Metadata not only identifies and describes an information object; it also documents how that object behaves, its function and use, its relationship to other information objects, and how it should be and has been managed over time”
• “It is helpful to separate metadata into distinct categories--administrative, descriptive, preservation, use, and technical metadata”
• “Metadata continues to accrue during the life of an information object”
• “Effectiveness of searching can be significantly enhanced through the existence of rich, consistent, carefully crafted descriptive metadata”

Now, I do think metadata can be overwhelming for those who aren’t in the know about it.  I find the idea of “user-created” metadata intriguing, since the average person using, say, Flickr, may use the same “vocabulary” as me, and so I might have an easier time finding what I’m looking for using folksonomies rather than the controlled vocabularies of LCSH.  On the other hand, I can see how folksonomies could really become--in the truest sense of the word--uncontrollable, and therefore useless.  The section entitled “Some Little-Known Facts about Metadata” is a nice summary of the full discussion.  And the section on “Why Is Metadata Important” reminds me, also, of the issues confronting the information professional and why it all matters. 

The Dublin Core document was more distracting than informative, for all its typos and poor writing.  I understand it’s a “work in progress,” but geez. . . .  Anyway, what I take away from this is that Dublin Core (DC) is an international effort across disciplines to describe “diverse resources” so they can be searched for and found electronically (which, I think, means it was intended to deal with Web resources).  There’s lots here about “semantics” and “refinement” and “standards” and “vocabularies,” but it’s all way over my head.  It’s clear that there’s a lot of techy-geeky stuff that’s behind the creation of this particular metadata format, which is all very impressive.  But I'd need to have it really dumbed-down if I were going to really understand the Dublin Core Data Model.