November 16, 2006

Pretty shade of lipstick

By cj · Permalink · Comments (2) ·

Not knowing the ins-and-outs of ILS land, but just from a patron perspective, this pig looks awfully purty all made up.

Why do I like it?
1) It gave me no grief on my standard misspelling test - "Hemmingway" and allows you to sort by popularity (although I am not sure how that is measured - circ?).

2) It pulls reviews from Amazon - so in a roundabout way, your patrons could add reviews. The one thing I do not understand is why the feature of adding the book to your "Virtual Shelf" is only available when you click on the MARC record view. That seems strange to me - the only reason I even know and venture into MARC record view is to remind myself of how much I did not pay attention to in my cataloging class.

3) And the item records have links to multiple search options -OPLIN, WorldCat, and Google Scholar.

4) The presentation of results is familiar - a little cluttered in my opinion, but so much better than the current OPAC I interface with on a daily basis . Especially refining your search in Austin's OPAC is clunky. If you want to limit it to only items that can be checked out, you have to first use the advanced search interface and then when you get results you have to scroll alllllllllllll the way to the bottom of your results and then click a radio button that is almost falling off the screen it is so far down there.

Here, there is a nice little link right at the top of your search results when I searched by author asking if I want to limit it to only available items. Why yes, I do, thank you for making it so easy and apparent that I can do this.

Enough with the praises - I am sure that there are warts to the system, but at first glance and especially from a non-librarian user perspective, this thing WORKS and is pretty (especially compared to many current OPACs). I really am still stunned that more people have not banded together and bought into Koha. Again, not knowing the details, but I wonder whether it is support options or perceived lack of functionality - the limitations with "traditional" ILS providers in these areas do not seem to stop libraries from purchasing their products. Is it just that OSS model throws libraries off?

And I am not positive, but on this page at LibLime that highlights the various options for the ILS, if I read it correctly, it looks like you can download all of the data in XML - again, Mr. Basic Understanding enters the conversation - but doesnt that mean that you could do all sorts of manipulation given the time or the effort of, say, one Mr. Blyberg (or one in a similar mold) or open things up for a local SuperPatron.


Thanks to Catalogablog for the heads up on the new release.

November 13, 2006

Is it sad when you look forward to new tech planning tools?

By cj · Permalink · Comments (1) ·

Sometimes I wonder if my life has gotten into a rut when the announcement of enhancements to a technology planning tool is something that actually makes me pause.

Congrats to Jeff and Phil - I got the chance to work with both of them on various TechAtlas projects and they are always looking for feedback, so let them know what you think - or sign up if you are not a current TechAtlas user.

Enhanced Features in TechAtlas version 2.3

"We have devoted substantial development effort to improving the existing tools in TechAtlas. Major changes that you will see in TechAtlas 2.3 include:

*The Assess tab has been re-named to Survey, and the tools available under this category have been enhanced to better serve libraries with evaluating and planning for staff professional development needs.
*The Event Tracker "help desk" tool has been greatly enhanced; some of the specific changes in Techatlas 2.3 include:
**A new read-only view of previously logged events for those entering new events.
*Additional sorting options on the list of logged events.
*Text search across all logged events.
*Events can now be linked to specific Library Locations.
*Automatic "date stamping" of notes added to event records.
*Event reporters can choose to have e-mail updates sent to them.
*Ability to add custom instructions to the Event Form page.
*Usability and web accessibility fixes.
*Enhanced Partner functionality. TechAtlas version 2.3 features an expanded list of reports for TechAtlas partners (i.e. state library agencies) allowing them to better assist individual libraries that they have partnered with in TechAtlas.
*Descriptive text throughout TechAtlas has been updated to be more "library-specific."
*The account creation process has been shortened to make it less time-consuming.
*Edits have been made to make labels consistent across all areas of TechAtlas.
*Brand new features have also been added to the TechAtlas interface. For more information, see the New Features in TechAtlas version 2.3 article.

WebJunction will be presenting a series of free webcasts, beginning in mid-November, to highlight these new functional areas in TechAtlas. For more details, please visit WebJunction's TechAtlas Online Learning Materials page."

"We're pleased to be introducing several brand new features in TechAtlas version 2.3:

***Software License inventory tool. This new tool allows you to track installed copies of software products on your library computers and capture details of the associated software licenses that your library has purchased. You can even use this tool to verify that you have not exceeded the terms of your license!
***Network Notebook. This is a great new feature that allows you to consolidate the technical inventory information that you have entered in TechAtlas and download that information as a formatted word processing file, suitable for printing or local editing.
***Computer Upgrade Wizard. This new report allows you to review the computers that you have inventoried in TechAtlas, and identify individual computers that can (and cannot) support popular software products that you would like to install (such as operating system or software application upgrades).
***Staff Professional Development Survey. This new tool expands on the existing TechAtlas Staff Skills Survey, and allows TechAtlas partners to create a customized professional development survey with links to recommended resources for library staff continuing education. "

November 02, 2006

Relevance in digital age? A counterpoint to Lawrence

By cj · Permalink · Comments (0) ·

The Lawrence KS opinion piece stirred up lots of reaction in the library world - here is an alternative viewpoint, "Top 8 Reasons to Vote for a New Main Library", from a similar university town supporting the passage of a bond issue for a new central lirbary here in my newly adopted home of Austin. $90 million seems cheap to me after seeing the funding that went to the Seattle Public Library (my former haunt) capital campaign. The buzz that the SPL central building and the economic impact were both uite remarkable and hopefully can be duplicated here.

The intersting piece is that many of the subpoints within each of the 8 reasons has to do with how the delivery of information has changed and how the library's role has changed also, but that the efficient and effective delivery of those services are held back by the environment it inhabits.

November 01, 2006

Selecting conference sessions - SXSW model

By cj · Permalink · Comments (0) ·

Came across this when apophenia asked for votes for her session many moons ago but i was reading it after the fact. Although i was not able to vote for the presentation, i find the idea intriguing. While i understand that not every session could be picked this way, it would be an interesting addendum to fill some possible spots, especially with some more current offerings than you often see, especially at the ALA conferences that have such a long lead time on submitting session suggestions.

2007.sxsw.com/interactive/panel_picker/

For those session just below the threshold for being selected, it could also drive discussion topics in the birds of a feather/topic table sessions.

What is your library's niche?

By cj · Permalink · Comments (0) ·

After reading this -
*Tiny Slice, Big Market -
Now that a billion people are online, even sites aimed at a narrow slice of the Web audience can attract huge crowds. Make way for the meganiche!
wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/meganiche.html

an article in Fast Company -
Hyper-Local Hero
*Ten years ago, Rob Curley was covering city hall for the Topeka daily paper. Now he's lighting up the entire industry. How a "nerd from Kansas" discovered the web, and hit the big time.
www.fastcompany.com/subscr/110/open_hyper-local-hero.html

and reading about the acquisition of JotSpot by Google so that Wikis become mainstream (esp. if we stop calling them wikis) and thinking about all of the unique collections that public and academic libraries have ready to be digitized. In addition, libraries often have a storehouse of local knowledge that could, in combination with data pulled form the ILS, make some interesting, and I woudl say compelling data if presented in innovative ways. For example, the reader's advisory wikis that are rolling out in multiple places - how about a "gainers and losers" top 10 page that combines data from multiple ILSes in a region or state to show the newest books that are catching on in various areas. It woudl serve as another point of entry - some place where people could make comments and build out the community in that niche.

and the falling prices of storage combined with the rise of services (Amazon S3, etc.), it makes it easier and easier for niches to be quickly, cheaply, and easily built around all of that library content (tip of the hat to Panlibus for pointers).

I would expect to see a couple big partnerships between the larger libraries that share content and utilize the emerging service infrastructure to create some interesting niche sites that are possibly inter-related into a larger network of sites. But the sites will not be "branded" with a particular library's name, but instead focuses on attracting the users by focusing on the content. The big issues here are no longer technology (for the most part) but political and governance in nature.

If it explodes beyond a niche, that is where the flexibility and value of utilizing the services infrastructure comes in to keep costs reasonable while scaling to meet the demand. And if stays a niche, then you have not made a huge infrastructure investment, but just rented that service at the appropriate scale from a vendor. Many of them will stay a niche and will provide a valuable and interesting service to their local community and will occassionally snare a visitor from outside the community seeking the value in this niche.

Of course, this could already all exist and I may not know about it because I am not in that niche....

Also from ideas discussed at PanLibus, the use of APIs for the ILS and opening up the data could provide some interesting chances for comparison among larger geographic niches than just local, for example, comparing the annual "top books" list from your library as compared to your cross-state rival for literary bragging rights or comparison to other libraries in your peer group - or even doing some aggregate data analysis to show the highst circulating books in each zip code of your city or town. That would be a fascinating map mash-up - especially if you could tie it directly into the catalog so people could see the status of these books or the literary equivalent of the Zillow.com heat maps (www.zillow.com/heatmaps/CityHeatMaps.htm).

September 15, 2006

Open source filtering project

By cj · Permalink · Comments (0) ·

Interesting project at UTexas School of Information - I had read about this in an IMLS grant announcement last year, but was unable at that time to find any detailed information about it. They now have a project web site with a full description.

They are looking into utilizing a "review panel" of librarians to judge sites and to share the filter list and build that on top of SquidGuard. As they state, it addresses to main concerns: cost of filtering software and what the heck is on the "block list".

I hope that this results in a "filtering appliance" that can be run on an old PC or beefed up to run on a server at a regional or statewide level to save money for public libraries who are filtering so that they can receive e-rate funds. Or maybe someone will offer it as a hosted service for very low cost - at this point bandwidth and storage are relatively cheap and if you were able to get enough libraries signed up, it would seem possible economically as the actual proxy requests would appear to take relatively little bandwidth.


OpenChoice - A Platform for Web Content Classification & Filtering

"OpenChoice is a research project being conducted by a team of researchers at the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. Many organizations would like to be able provide a filter for Web information be it blocking advertising, pop-ups or for providing kid-safe access on public computers. The current state of commercial filters provides little, if any, control over the type of information each organization may need to filter. The OpenChoice system currently in development, will provide an open source filtering system to allow organizations to configure and tune for their own Web information filtering requirements. Using webs of trust and open source statistical modeling software, OpenChoice is intended to further the open source community's efforts to be independent from commercial software vendors. OpenChoice attempts to re-imagine content filtering as a form of collection development to be practiced by system administrators and information professionals working in diverse environments."

Article on impact of public access computing

By cj · Permalink · Comments (0) ·

Arguing for your library's technology budget? This could provide some useful context for decision makers.

Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries: The role of public libraries in egovernment and emergency situations by John Carlo Bertot, Paul T. Jaeger, Lesley A. Langa, and Charles R. McClure

"This article presents findings from the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet study and other research that demonstrate the impact of public Internet access in public libraries on the communities and individuals that the libraries serve. This article focuses on the importance of public library Internet access in times of emergencies and for a range of electronic government (egovernment) services at the individual and communitywide levels. Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries function as a first choice, first refuge, and last resort in a range of emergency and egovernment circumstances, allowing individuals to engage successfully in essential egovernment services such as registering for Medicare or other benefits and filing tax information. With this key centrality as agents of government services, public libraries increasingly play significant roles in times of emergencies, like the aftermath of a hurricane, in which communities rely on the public library Internet access to request aid, try to find missing family and friends, file Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance claims, and begin rebuilding their lives. This article also discusses the need to revise government policy related to the role of public libraries in their support of egovernment as public libraries increasingly serve as agents of egovernment."



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