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Monday, November 17, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Muddiest Point #7
I assume (since I wasn't in class last week and haven't viewed the class taping yet) that the week 10 and week 11 readings were switched...or did miss something from more than a week back?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Muddiest Point #6
Before DSpace was created in 2003, what were other institutional repositories, digital or otherwise, available on a mass scale to those working in academia, or was DSpace the first?
Reading Notes, Week 11
Digital Libraries: Challenges and Influential Work
I think the Federated Search Diagram made the article easier to understand right from the beginning. Usually, my eyes glaze over the text trying to fully understand this material, so it was nice to have a visual to help guide me along.
I found Lynch's statement, "there is a huge difference between providing access to discrete sets of digital collections and providing digital library services," to be insightful, as well as accurate. Anyone can provide access to a collection (limited, at that), but it doesn't count as library access unless full library services are provided, or at least something resembling that.
Following that issue, the article was able to address funding issues and how to expand digital library services. This was helpful because it allowed me to understand just how we can and must go in providing full service.
Dewey Meets Turing: Librarians, Computer Scientists, and the Digitial Libraries Initiative
After reading this introduction, I first thought about how our IS program covers those divided between librarianship/archivists and computer scientists. Without the DLI and programs similar to it, what would our educations be like now? Is it likely that both fields would be under the same tent of information science, or would it have an inevitable marriage anyway as a result of computer systems to automatically expand information access? According the article, yes. "The scientists had been trained to use libraries since their years of secondary education. They could see, or at least imagine how current library functions would be moved forward by an injection of computing insight." However, I think it's just as true that those of us on the library side were able to recognize the value of computer science (And the article acknowleges this). Still, I'm not sure if it's an important to wonder who met who, or if both sides met halfway.
I felt that the last section of this article, "Mutual (Mis?)Conceptions" really highlighted what is possible in the future of this ever-evolving union, and this quote really sums up frustration (at least among aspiring librarians): "[I]n any union both sides need something that recalls their old identity."
Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age
First off, it never ceases to amaze me just how much funding, or lack thereof, drives innovation. Technology is already advancing at fast rate, but it's simply an understatement to say that innovative ideas are a result of those cut off from either access to information or funding, which is frustrating, but encourages creativity all the same.
Anyway, while I think I understand the concept of an instituational repository, I'm not sure I can visualize an actual repository of colloaborative student/faculty work that Lynch discusses (aside from the MIT example - dspace.org), mainly because he tends to write in abstractions and generic terms. Obviously the web and the advancement of computer science in general has given people, specifically faculty, the ability to disseminate information, but I don't really have an idea of what the ideal digital repository (although there is large list of them here) is or how to create it, let alone how to engage in, as Lynch puts it, stewardship. The closest I can get to visualizing this idea, is to think about library vendors such as JSTOR. So, I guess what I can take away from this idea is the creation of an open source project, similar to a wiki, only privy, for example, to the students and faculty at Pitt - with more rules, mostly relating to control of content.
If institutional repositories become an accepted and common reality, should it be a requirement that every students' and faculty members' academic work be submitted to the repository?
Note: This was orginally sorted under "Reading Notes, Week 10" until I realized that everyone but me had the above readings under Week 11, and the syllabus's Week 11 readings under Week 10 on the blogs
I think the Federated Search Diagram made the article easier to understand right from the beginning. Usually, my eyes glaze over the text trying to fully understand this material, so it was nice to have a visual to help guide me along.
I found Lynch's statement, "there is a huge difference between providing access to discrete sets of digital collections and providing digital library services," to be insightful, as well as accurate. Anyone can provide access to a collection (limited, at that), but it doesn't count as library access unless full library services are provided, or at least something resembling that.
Following that issue, the article was able to address funding issues and how to expand digital library services. This was helpful because it allowed me to understand just how we can and must go in providing full service.
Dewey Meets Turing: Librarians, Computer Scientists, and the Digitial Libraries Initiative
After reading this introduction, I first thought about how our IS program covers those divided between librarianship/archivists and computer scientists. Without the DLI and programs similar to it, what would our educations be like now? Is it likely that both fields would be under the same tent of information science, or would it have an inevitable marriage anyway as a result of computer systems to automatically expand information access? According the article, yes. "The scientists had been trained to use libraries since their years of secondary education. They could see, or at least imagine how current library functions would be moved forward by an injection of computing insight." However, I think it's just as true that those of us on the library side were able to recognize the value of computer science (And the article acknowleges this). Still, I'm not sure if it's an important to wonder who met who, or if both sides met halfway.
I felt that the last section of this article, "Mutual (Mis?)Conceptions" really highlighted what is possible in the future of this ever-evolving union, and this quote really sums up frustration (at least among aspiring librarians): "[I]n any union both sides need something that recalls their old identity."
Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age
First off, it never ceases to amaze me just how much funding, or lack thereof, drives innovation. Technology is already advancing at fast rate, but it's simply an understatement to say that innovative ideas are a result of those cut off from either access to information or funding, which is frustrating, but encourages creativity all the same.
Anyway, while I think I understand the concept of an instituational repository, I'm not sure I can visualize an actual repository of colloaborative student/faculty work that Lynch discusses (aside from the MIT example - dspace.org), mainly because he tends to write in abstractions and generic terms. Obviously the web and the advancement of computer science in general has given people, specifically faculty, the ability to disseminate information, but I don't really have an idea of what the ideal digital repository (although there is large list of them here) is or how to create it, let alone how to engage in, as Lynch puts it, stewardship. The closest I can get to visualizing this idea, is to think about library vendors such as JSTOR. So, I guess what I can take away from this idea is the creation of an open source project, similar to a wiki, only privy, for example, to the students and faculty at Pitt - with more rules, mostly relating to control of content.
If institutional repositories become an accepted and common reality, should it be a requirement that every students' and faculty members' academic work be submitted to the repository?
Note: This was orginally sorted under "Reading Notes, Week 10" until I realized that everyone but me had the above readings under Week 11, and the syllabus's Week 11 readings under Week 10 on the blogs
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Reading Notes, Week 9
Introducing the Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Yet again, here's another article that uses lingo unfamiliar to me, but, I suppose, I'm familiar enough to follow along. For instance, I've seen XML or HTML before and know what their acronyms stand for, but I don't really have much knowledge about what they "do." This makes it very difficult to contextualize the importance of these things.
Anyway, the article attempts to make that problem go away by explaining step-by-step how and why, for example, XML works. To illustrate, XML "bring multiple files together to form compound documents." Well, at this point, at least, I can make a distinction between XML and HTML.
I'm anxious to see if this article will help me with assignment 6, although I think we're using HTML.
A Survey of XML Standards: Part 1
"The world of XML is vast and growing, with a huge variety of standards and technologies that interact in complex ways. It can be difficult for beginners to navigate the most important aspects of XML, and for users to keep track of new entries and changes in the space."
Great. Well, I'm certainly a beginner (although I did make a webpage once, about 8 years ago, when I was a freshman undergrad). However, I would have been better off reading this page first. It has a better overview of XML, and made reading "Introducing the Extensible Markup Language (XML)" a little more understandable, especially with all the links and tutorials available.
Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial
This article is much better written for the layperson. The XML Resources section of the article also gave a nice overview of where to go for more XML information. I also think this statement seems important, yet somewhat implicitly ignored: "Of course software that supports XML is essential. Because existing standards continue to develop and new ones constantly arise, many tools support only parts of some specifications. An excellent overview of existing systems and tools can be found at http://xmlsoftware.com."
XML Schema Tutorial
This was also a good tutorial, because it explained what you needed to know when and why, and provided the links to further understand key concepts and applications. Myself, I had to go to the DTD tutorial first to gain a better understanding (DTD still isn't all that clear, but this site made it a lot more comprehensible).
Anyway, it makes more sense to see that XML is a replacement for DTD, adding context to the problem. One problem, however, is that this tutorial doesn't explain why it's "easier" to use. What does the author mean by "easier" anyway? I'm not sure that the examples and references show that very well, although they are very simple to understand. Once I got to the Complex Elements and Types sections, etc, though, I got a little lost again - but this is due to my, obviously, incomplete comprehension of the subject matter.
To conclude, I think it's clear I have to tutor myself a little better on this stuff. I get most of it, initially, but then I tend to get bogged down in details that I don't really understand well enough to comment on, other than to say "Okay, I get this part, but how do I connect the part of which I have an elementary understanding to the part I don't really understand at all?"
Yet again, here's another article that uses lingo unfamiliar to me, but, I suppose, I'm familiar enough to follow along. For instance, I've seen XML or HTML before and know what their acronyms stand for, but I don't really have much knowledge about what they "do." This makes it very difficult to contextualize the importance of these things.
Anyway, the article attempts to make that problem go away by explaining step-by-step how and why, for example, XML works. To illustrate, XML "bring multiple files together to form compound documents." Well, at this point, at least, I can make a distinction between XML and HTML.
I'm anxious to see if this article will help me with assignment 6, although I think we're using HTML.
A Survey of XML Standards: Part 1
"The world of XML is vast and growing, with a huge variety of standards and technologies that interact in complex ways. It can be difficult for beginners to navigate the most important aspects of XML, and for users to keep track of new entries and changes in the space."
Great. Well, I'm certainly a beginner (although I did make a webpage once, about 8 years ago, when I was a freshman undergrad). However, I would have been better off reading this page first. It has a better overview of XML, and made reading "Introducing the Extensible Markup Language (XML)" a little more understandable, especially with all the links and tutorials available.
Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial
This article is much better written for the layperson. The XML Resources section of the article also gave a nice overview of where to go for more XML information. I also think this statement seems important, yet somewhat implicitly ignored: "Of course software that supports XML is essential. Because existing standards continue to develop and new ones constantly arise, many tools support only parts of some specifications. An excellent overview of existing systems and tools can be found at http://xmlsoftware.com."
XML Schema Tutorial
This was also a good tutorial, because it explained what you needed to know when and why, and provided the links to further understand key concepts and applications. Myself, I had to go to the DTD tutorial first to gain a better understanding (DTD still isn't all that clear, but this site made it a lot more comprehensible).
Anyway, it makes more sense to see that XML is a replacement for DTD, adding context to the problem. One problem, however, is that this tutorial doesn't explain why it's "easier" to use. What does the author mean by "easier" anyway? I'm not sure that the examples and references show that very well, although they are very simple to understand. Once I got to the Complex Elements and Types sections, etc, though, I got a little lost again - but this is due to my, obviously, incomplete comprehension of the subject matter.
To conclude, I think it's clear I have to tutor myself a little better on this stuff. I get most of it, initially, but then I tend to get bogged down in details that I don't really understand well enough to comment on, other than to say "Okay, I get this part, but how do I connect the part of which I have an elementary understanding to the part I don't really understand at all?"
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Muddiest Point #4
This is from the class lecture: Can someone further explain the "dot com bubble" and why that "bubble" burst? Beyond that, what are the ramifications for Internet access, if there are any?
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Assignment #4: Jing Video and Images
Video:
http://www.screencast.com/users/dmb97pitt/folders/Default/media/6ec55ed7-7918-4b7f-9a6c-61a7e2cf77a1
Images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2920335281/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2921178680/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2921178698/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2920335367/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2920335387/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.screencast.com/users/dmb97pitt/folders/Default/media/6ec55ed7-7918-4b7f-9a6c-61a7e2cf77a1
Images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2920335281/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2921178680/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2921178698/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2920335367/in/set-72157607815482569/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30555409@N03/2920335387/in/set-72157607815482569/
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Muddiest Point #3
I think we're all familiar enough with PANs, LANs and CANs because of personal use, but I think it would be beneficial to the class if we went over MANs, WANs and GANs as they relate to LIS professions.
Reading Notes, Week 6
Local Area Network
The wikipedia article was basic enough I could understand it. Besides, if you've used the internet at any time in your life, you should probably have an idea of what LAN means. Of course, being literate enough to take this class and do well only takes you so far; I wasn't aware of the technologies encompassing LANs. For example, I've used Ethernet and WiFi, but I've never even heard of Token Ring or how it works. I assume that it's similar, in some way, to internet access afforded to those using Ethernet and WiFi (Okay, it does. I just read the link).
The history covered in this article was interesting, but I would wanted to read more about the future of LANs.
Computer Network
This article doesn't seem to differ too much from the prior article in the sense that we're still discussing a connected system. The connection systems appear to be very much the same. The differentiation between the area networks (e.g. PAN, LAN, CAN, etc) was helpful because it gave us a sense of how varied connected networks can be.
The "basic hardware components" were a little less clear, but I attribute that to the terminology. For example, I know what a router is (you need to if you have internet at home), but I never understood it in the detail given by wikipedia - and I'm not sure that I should.
Common Types of Computer Networks
Interesting - Instead of PAN, I thought LAN would be the most common type of network. Of course, this makes sense. I didn't really think of it on the level given by the man in the youtube video. But, of course, my computer transferring information to my printer is an example, although I still think I use my LAN more than my PAN since I'm using the internet probably more than anything else on my PC.
Management of RFID in Libraries
RFID is an acronym I'm familiar with, mostly because of the paranoia that seems to inherently follow it's name and purpose. After all, any time radio waves are used to track something (hopefully not free adults unless, of course, they want that), then people tend to scared.
Anyway, it's good to know that RFID is used for many reasons, which Coyle presents here in her article. For example, "to identify drugs and counterfeiting" or "to track animals on farms or identify lost pets," but what we're talking about here is RFID's usefulness in libraries. Not surprisingly (see rest of blog), there are privacy concerns here as well. Coyle makes a key and, I think, appropriate comparison barcodes. Barcodes are now, and have been for years, the way we pay for almost anything. I'm sure about the tracking system of the bar codes (or if there even is one, which I don't think there is), but it's worth mentioning that there was a subgroup of citizens fearful of barcodes for exact reasons they are fearful of RFID - privacy. Is this just another "sky is falling" reaction?
Maybe it is, but Coyne gives us the distinction in cost. RFID might not be used to purchase anything as a result of cost (again, though, paranoia. Some think we'll be chipped with RFID in order to buy anything, but that's another story), yet it would be cost-efficient, perhaps, in libraries since books are checked out and returned. I'm not so sure, though. Many books stay on the shelves for years, which would probably offset any of the cost savings of implementing RFID. Inventory, however, should be considered.
RFID may be convenient, but, as Coyle states, it could cut out the "human factor" that I think we need.
The wikipedia article was basic enough I could understand it. Besides, if you've used the internet at any time in your life, you should probably have an idea of what LAN means. Of course, being literate enough to take this class and do well only takes you so far; I wasn't aware of the technologies encompassing LANs. For example, I've used Ethernet and WiFi, but I've never even heard of Token Ring or how it works. I assume that it's similar, in some way, to internet access afforded to those using Ethernet and WiFi (Okay, it does. I just read the link).
The history covered in this article was interesting, but I would wanted to read more about the future of LANs.
Computer Network
This article doesn't seem to differ too much from the prior article in the sense that we're still discussing a connected system. The connection systems appear to be very much the same. The differentiation between the area networks (e.g. PAN, LAN, CAN, etc) was helpful because it gave us a sense of how varied connected networks can be.
The "basic hardware components" were a little less clear, but I attribute that to the terminology. For example, I know what a router is (you need to if you have internet at home), but I never understood it in the detail given by wikipedia - and I'm not sure that I should.
Common Types of Computer Networks
Interesting - Instead of PAN, I thought LAN would be the most common type of network. Of course, this makes sense. I didn't really think of it on the level given by the man in the youtube video. But, of course, my computer transferring information to my printer is an example, although I still think I use my LAN more than my PAN since I'm using the internet probably more than anything else on my PC.
Management of RFID in Libraries
RFID is an acronym I'm familiar with, mostly because of the paranoia that seems to inherently follow it's name and purpose. After all, any time radio waves are used to track something (hopefully not free adults unless, of course, they want that), then people tend to scared.
Anyway, it's good to know that RFID is used for many reasons, which Coyle presents here in her article. For example, "to identify drugs and counterfeiting" or "to track animals on farms or identify lost pets," but what we're talking about here is RFID's usefulness in libraries. Not surprisingly (see rest of blog), there are privacy concerns here as well. Coyle makes a key and, I think, appropriate comparison barcodes. Barcodes are now, and have been for years, the way we pay for almost anything. I'm sure about the tracking system of the bar codes (or if there even is one, which I don't think there is), but it's worth mentioning that there was a subgroup of citizens fearful of barcodes for exact reasons they are fearful of RFID - privacy. Is this just another "sky is falling" reaction?
Maybe it is, but Coyne gives us the distinction in cost. RFID might not be used to purchase anything as a result of cost (again, though, paranoia. Some think we'll be chipped with RFID in order to buy anything, but that's another story), yet it would be cost-efficient, perhaps, in libraries since books are checked out and returned. I'm not so sure, though. Many books stay on the shelves for years, which would probably offset any of the cost savings of implementing RFID. Inventory, however, should be considered.
RFID may be convenient, but, as Coyle states, it could cut out the "human factor" that I think we need.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Reading Notes, Week Four
Database (Wikipedia)
A database seems pretty self-explanatory. Going through the different operating systems, however, has made me realize more acutely than before just how much they can differ (i.e. the database model).
Not surprisingly, IBM was one of the first companies to further the models we're not familiar with. Ironically, the closer the article got the present, the more confused I became. Words like PostgreSQL and MySQl, if they can be called words, are totally foreign to me, but I do know what an open source database is. Although I'm functioning computer illiterate (at least by the standards of this class), I am intrigued by open source databases. If someone could explain them a little better, that would be great. Until then, I'll be checking the Wikipedia article and probably the idea of the Free Culture movement.
Honestly, I think this is one of the more interesting and understandable articles we've read, probably because most of us are at least familiar with some type of database. What makes it more difficult to understand is due to the sheer number of databases.
Introduction to Metadata: Setting the Stage
Anytime the word 'meta' is used, you know it's going to have some convolution, and this article is no exception. Luckily, Gilliland provides some context, providing what she calls a "big picture" of "the sum total of what one can say about any information object." Additionally, she provides the three feature of information objects: Content, context, and structure. Of course, it was helpful to provide library terms we all use or may use. For example, when I work at CCAC, we use MARC fairly often, and I didn't know what the acronym stood for until now (I guess I could have been a little less lazy and looked it up).
In my opinion, this article was very helpful in terms of career relevance, because it provided good examples of how and why we must organize material for our patrons, and how the concept of metadata helps us accomplish that feat.
An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model
Miller's article is almost ten years old and he admits that it's a work in progress, but I think that having an article this old might help me better understand some concepts here since, at the time, it was fairly new to everybody as it is to me now.
The DCMI seems comparable to an open source model. Is this correct in any way? Apparently its purpose is to be open to a large population, but I don't know if this makes it "open source" at all. If it's not open source, is it simply a model that usable, or attempts to be more usable, for everyone else?
"When we write a sentence in natural language we use words that are meant to convey a certain meaning. That meaning is crucial to how humans understanding the statements and, in the case of applications on the web, is critical to establishing that the correct processing occurs as intended. It is very important that both the writer and the reader of a statement understand the same meaning for the terms used, such as 'Creator', 'approvedBy', 'Copyright', etc. or confusion will result. In a medium of global scale such as the World Wide Web it is not sufficient to rely on shared cultural understanding of concepts such as "creatorship"; it pays to be as precise as possible. [RDFMS]" No kidding. I think this a huge problem, actually, when it comes to making the public (heck, even students) into savvy, or even competent, users. Not that everyone needs to understand how to create a database or comprehend the fine intricacies of metadata, but in order for any database to be usable, there needs to be a vernacular that's friendly to all users if for no better reason than it makes it easier to study.
A database seems pretty self-explanatory. Going through the different operating systems, however, has made me realize more acutely than before just how much they can differ (i.e. the database model).
Not surprisingly, IBM was one of the first companies to further the models we're not familiar with. Ironically, the closer the article got the present, the more confused I became. Words like PostgreSQL and MySQl, if they can be called words, are totally foreign to me, but I do know what an open source database is. Although I'm functioning computer illiterate (at least by the standards of this class), I am intrigued by open source databases. If someone could explain them a little better, that would be great. Until then, I'll be checking the Wikipedia article and probably the idea of the Free Culture movement.
Honestly, I think this is one of the more interesting and understandable articles we've read, probably because most of us are at least familiar with some type of database. What makes it more difficult to understand is due to the sheer number of databases.
Introduction to Metadata: Setting the Stage
Anytime the word 'meta' is used, you know it's going to have some convolution, and this article is no exception. Luckily, Gilliland provides some context, providing what she calls a "big picture" of "the sum total of what one can say about any information object." Additionally, she provides the three feature of information objects: Content, context, and structure. Of course, it was helpful to provide library terms we all use or may use. For example, when I work at CCAC, we use MARC fairly often, and I didn't know what the acronym stood for until now (I guess I could have been a little less lazy and looked it up).
In my opinion, this article was very helpful in terms of career relevance, because it provided good examples of how and why we must organize material for our patrons, and how the concept of metadata helps us accomplish that feat.
An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model
Miller's article is almost ten years old and he admits that it's a work in progress, but I think that having an article this old might help me better understand some concepts here since, at the time, it was fairly new to everybody as it is to me now.
The DCMI seems comparable to an open source model. Is this correct in any way? Apparently its purpose is to be open to a large population, but I don't know if this makes it "open source" at all. If it's not open source, is it simply a model that usable, or attempts to be more usable, for everyone else?
"When we write a sentence in natural language we use words that are meant to convey a certain meaning. That meaning is crucial to how humans understanding the statements and, in the case of applications on the web, is critical to establishing that the correct processing occurs as intended. It is very important that both the writer and the reader of a statement understand the same meaning for the terms used, such as 'Creator', 'approvedBy', 'Copyright', etc. or confusion will result. In a medium of global scale such as the World Wide Web it is not sufficient to rely on shared cultural understanding of concepts such as "creatorship"; it pays to be as precise as possible. [RDFMS]" No kidding. I think this a huge problem, actually, when it comes to making the public (heck, even students) into savvy, or even competent, users. Not that everyone needs to understand how to create a database or comprehend the fine intricacies of metadata, but in order for any database to be usable, there needs to be a vernacular that's friendly to all users if for no better reason than it makes it easier to study.
Muddiest Point #2
Although I have defragged my computer, I only did it the past because my old computer forced me to...I didn't really understand why, except that I needed more space (I think). Anyway, two points:
1. When you decide to defrag a computer, how you be sure that a needed file won't be moved to a place you can't find it or, worse, erased?
2. Why does the space between two given files make a computer run slower?
1. When you decide to defrag a computer, how you be sure that a needed file won't be moved to a place you can't find it or, worse, erased?
2. Why does the space between two given files make a computer run slower?
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