Monday, April 9, 2007

Jon Udell's Interviews With Innovators :: Geoffrey Bilder

Originally posted on IT Conversations on April 6, 2007. See also Jon Udell's blog posting about this conversation.

Although Tim Berners-Lee once famously declared that "Cool URIs don't change," factors beyond our control make it hard for most of us to avoid link rot. Geoffrey Bilder is the director of strategic initiatives for CrossRef, a company whose mission is "to be the citation linking backbone for all scholarly information in electronic form." CrossRef, in other words, is in the business of combating link rot.

The world of scholarly and professional publishing revolves around reliable citation. In previous podcasts with Tony Hammond and Dan Chudnov I've explored some of the technologies and methods used by these publishers -- including digital object identifiers and OpenURL -- to assure that reliability.

CrossRef plays a key role in that technological ecosystem. In this conversation, Geoffrey and I discuss how everyday blog publishing systems could offer the same kinds of persistence, integrity, and accountability provided by scholarly and professional publishing systems. And we explore why that might matter more than most people would think.

Geoffrey Bilder is Director of Strategic Initiatives at CrossRef, and has over 15 years experience as a technical leader in scholarly technology. He co-founded Brown University's Scholarly Technology Group in 1993, providing the Brown academic community with advanced technology consulting in support of their research, teaching and scholarly communication.

Bilder was subsequently head of IT R&D at Monitor Group, a global management consulting firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From 2002 to 2005, he was Chief Technology Officer of scholarly publishing firm Ingenta, and just prior to joining CrossRef, he was a Publishing Technology Consultant at Scholarly Information Strategies, where he consulted extensively with publishers and librarians on emerging social software technologies and how they may affect scholarly and professional researchers.

Resources:

Friday, April 6, 2007

Chronicle of Higher Education :: Brewster Kahle - How Digital Book Collections Will Change Academe

Brewster Kahle, Director of the Internet Archive, was interviewed this week in a Chronicle of Higher Education podcast on the Economics and Feasibility of Mass Book Digitization. Among the many interesting points in the interview was that one of the biggest challenges is to such a mass digitization effort to believe that to digitize massive numbers of books and make them available is actually possible. The Open Content Alliance has put together a suite of technology that brings down the cost for a color scan with OCR to 10 cents per page or about $30 per book. He then goes on to perform this calculation: the library system in the U.S. is a 12B industry. One million books digitized a year is $30M, or “a little less than .3 percent of one year’s budget of the United States library system would build a 1 million book library that would be available to anyone for free.” He also covers copyright concerns including the more liberal copyright laws in countries such as China.
(Abstract from Peter Murray)

Talking with Talis :: Dan Champion talks about Revish

Originally posted on the Talking with Talis podcast on March 27, 2007.

In our latest Talking with Talis podcast, Richard Wallis talks with Dan Champion founder of Revish.

Revish is a book review community site which is to be launched on Friday 30th March 2007. We talk about Dan's career and how the idea of Revish took shape and developed in to a reality. How Revish differs from other book sites such as Shelfari and LibraryThing is also discussed as well as the motivations of the type of person that would want to be a member of the Revish community.

Download MP3 [17 mins, 4 Mb]

During the conversation, we refer to the following resources:

Thursday, April 5, 2007

MediaBerkman :: Gavin Yamey on “Opening Up to Open Access: What Can Other Disciplines Learn from the Sciences?” (part 2)

Originally posted by MediaBerkman, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society Podcast, on March 17, 2007.

Gavin Yamey on “Opening Up to Open Access: What Can Other Disciplines Learn from the Sciences?”

Download part two of the audio podcast (time: 23:10).

What can academics do to ensure that their research results are included in the growing “knowledge commons?” Gavin Yamey MD, Senior Editor of PLoS Medicine and Consulting Editor of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, shares his experiences in the open access movement and explores possible avenues for its expansion to other fields, with a focus on the social sciences and humanities.

MediaBerkman :: Gavin Yamey on “Opening Up to Open Access: What Can Other Disciplines Learn from the Sciences?” (part 1)

Originally posted by MediaBerkman, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society Podcast, on March 17, 2007.

Gavin Yamey on “Opening Up to Open Access: What Can Other Disciplines Learn from the Sciences?”

Download part one of the audio podcast (time: 1:17:38).

What can academics do to ensure that their research results are included in the growing “knowledge commons?” Gavin Yamey MD, Senior Editor of PLoS Medicine and Consulting Editor of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, shares his experiences in the open access movement and explores possible avenues for its expansion to other fields, with a focus on the social sciences and humanities.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Dan Chudnov - Fun with ZeroConf MetaOpenSearch

Presentation by Dan Chudnov at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 1, 2007.

What if we could share our libraries like we can share music in iTunes? Maybe we can. Maybe a little ZeroConf and OpenSearch added to existing library systems like metasearch and service resolvers can help make it happen faster, easier, and cheaper than you might think. Or two of those, at least.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video and slides available.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Ed Summers - Atom Publishing Protocol Primer

Presentation by Ed Summers at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 1, 2007.

The Atom Publishing Protocol is an HTTP based protocol for publishing and editing Web resources. It has direct relevance for libraries and archives that are increasingly interested in building repositories of content on the web. In this presentation I will cover why the protocol was created, how it is being developed, and how to build out and exercise a simple APP application.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video and slides available.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Bess Sadler and Tigran Zargaryan - Library-in-a-Box

Presentation by Bess Sadler and Tigran Zargaryan at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 1, 2007.

Libraries in developing countries have difficulty implementing and supporting commercial ILS systems. Poor support for internationalized interfaces and expensive software licensing fees contribute to an increasingly unsupportable situation in libraries around the world. Electronic Information for Libraries is currently planning the development of "Library-in-a-Box," an open-source, fully internationalized integrated library system, designed to be easy to install and support, and with next-generation OPAC features like faceted browsing. Library-in-a-box will build on the work already done by evergreen and koha. This talk will discuss the current state and future plans of this project.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video available.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Terry Reese - LibraryFind

Presentation by Terry Reese at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on February 28 / March 1, 2007.

Over the past 1/2 year, Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries have been actively developing a hybrid federated search service called LibraryFind. We believe that our approach is unique in a number of ways (knowledge-base management, caching, OpenURL integration). OSU believes LibraryFind has something to contribute to the library community, and I’d like to show attendees what LibraryFind is, some things we learned through usability studies and how they can get the software and start playing.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video available.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Michael Doran - The Intellectual Property Disclosure Process: Releasing Open Source Software in Academia

Presentation by Michael Doran at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 2, 2007.

Presentation by Michael Doran at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA

This presentation will cover the copyright issues and pitfalls that arise when a locally created software application is being considered for release under an open-source license. It will be based on the knowledge and experience gained shepherding two applications through the intellectual property disclosure process at the University of Texas at Arlington, so that the applications could be officially released as open source.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video and slides available.

Code4Lib 2007 :: Casey Durfee - Open-Source Endeca in 250 Lines or Less

Presentation by Casey Durfee at Code4Lib 2007 in Athens, GA on March 2, 2007.

I will detail how you can create an OPAC with features comparable to Endeca or AquaBrowser's search products (faceted browsing, relevancy ranking, fuzzy searching) using the open-source Apache Solr search engine and your favorite web programming language. I will present a catalog with most of Endeca's features in 250 lines of code or less and discuss performance/scalability concerns and common pitfalls when using Solr.

Play talk on Odeo.

Video available.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: The Internet: Fact or Fiction: Web Site Evaluation Strategies

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

The Internet: Fact or Fiction: Web Site Evaluation Strategies presented by librarians from the Library of Congress on November 8, 2006.

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: A 21st Century Printing Press: Blogs as a Publishing Mechanism

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

A 21st Century Printing Press: Blogs as a Publishing Mechanism presented February 13, 2007 by Rebecca Hedreen as part of the Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.

(18.1 MB file; playback time of 43 minutes)

Text chat transcript

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: Blogging Beyond the Basics

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

Blogging Beyond the Basics presented on February 15, 2007 by Nanette Donohue as part of the Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.

(21 MB file; playback time of 52 minutes)

Text chat transcript

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: Getting Up to Speed with RSS Feeds

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

Getting Up to Speed with RSS Feeds presented on February 20, 2007 by Michele Mizejewski as part of the Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.

(16.6 MB file; playback time of 41 minutes)

Text chat transcript

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: Make Your Library del.icio.us: Social Bookmarking in the Stacks

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

Make Your Library del.icio.us: Social Bookmarking in the Stacks presented on February 22, 2007 by Jason Griffey from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as part of the Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.

(25.8 MB file; playback time of 64 minutes)

Text chat transcript

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: The Wonderful World of Wikis

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

The Wonderful World of Wikis presented on March 1, 2007 by Chad Boeninger from Ohio University and Starr Hoffman from the University of North Texas as part of the Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.

(8.4 MB file; playback time of 55 minutes)

Text chat transcript

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: flickr + libraries

Originally posted by OPAL LIS Topics and Trends.

flickr + libraries presented on March 6, 2007 by Michael Porter and Steve Lawson as part of the Five Weeks to a Social Library series of online workshops.

(21.1 MB file; playback time of 53 minutes)

Text chat transcript

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: Copyright and the Academic Librarian, Part 2

Part 2 of Copyright and the Academic Librarian, presented on March 14, 2007 by Rebecca Butler, the author of the book, Copyright for Teachers and Librarians, published by Neal-Schuman in 2004. Sponsored by the Rolling Prairie Library System.

(15.5 MB file; playback time of 39 minutes)

OPAL LIS Topics and Trends :: Copyright and the Academic Librarian, Part 1

Part 1 of Copyright and the Academic Librarian, presented on March 14, 2007 by Rebecca Butler, the author of the book, Copyright for Teachers and Librarians, published by Neal-Schuman in 2004. Sponsored by the Rolling Prairie Library System.

(32.3 MB file; playback time of 81 minutes)

ACRL Podcasts :: Ever Wonder What the Future Holds?

Originally posted on the ACRL Podcast on March 31, 2007.

The ACRL Research Committee unveiled the top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries during ACRL National Conference on Saturday March 31, 2007. A panel representing community and liberal arts colleges, research university libraries, as well as an observer of the higher education environment reacted and commented upon the assumptions.

Listen to Pamela Snelson, president, ACRL and college librarian at Franklin and Marshall College, and James L. Mullins, chair of the ACRL Research Committee and dean of libraries at Purdue University discuss the top ten assumptions.

Now it's your turn. The Research Committee wants to know what you think:

  • How does each assumption impact your library or you professionally?
  • Are you aware of any developing issues or nascent trends that are not captured in the list?
Reply online by April 30, 2007, at https://marvin.foresightint.com/surveys/Tier1Survey/ACRL/156

Top ten assumptions for the future of academic and research libraries:

1. There will be an increased emphasis on digitizing collections, preserving digital archives, and improving methods of data storage and retrieval.

2. The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations (student and faculty) that they serve.

3. Students and faculty will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services.

4. Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common in higher education.

5. The demand for technology related services will grow and require additional funding.

6. Higher education will increasingly view the institution as a business.

7. Students will increasingly view themselves as customers and consumers, expecting high quality facilities and services.

8. Distance Learning will be an increasingly common option in higher education, and will co-exist but not threaten the traditional bricks-and-mortar model.

9. Free, public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow.

10. Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship.