Dustin's Blog

Makeup Comments/Answers, Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:49:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=271112965323219834&postID=4646146343127834431&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6990210798143775197&postID=7123894730000402946&page=1

Makeup Reading Notes, Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:04:00 +0000

See Muddiest Point #8...Zhen informed me that we may make up an assignment if we were short one as a result of thinking that 10, instead of 11, posts were necessary to complete all blogging assignments.

How Internet Infrastructure Works

This article gives a nice overview of what the internet actually is. I think most of us, at least I have, sometimes tend to think of it as a concept rather than a distinct network of computer systems. The illustration, while not all that necessary, helps explain how it works at its core.

While the internet is a collection of systems and not owned, it is, obviously, monitered and maintained in order to avoid numerous problems. I suppose that's part of the reason for ISPs.

Anyway, this is a good article. I think the router illustration and explanation is especially effective in trying to explain how the internet works. Also, if you're wondering about the seemingly random progression of numbers that makes up you IP, this article answers why it's not so random.

Dismantling Integrated Library Systems

I understand Pace's frustration with dismantling of the ILS. Every few years, it seems like it's going to have to be deconstructed from its current from in order to keep up with existing technologies...only to be dismantled once again. With technology increasing at a greater speed year after year, one wonders if an ILS can ever have an constancy.

Inside the Google Machine

Wow, a twenty minute video; this is probably twice as long as the longest video we've been required to view. Anyhow, this video enlightened me (how could it not?) on how Google works for all kinds of people, users and founders.

The beginning illustration was cool....and effective. It literally showed where the Google users are. Of course, it's not just Google users, but those who have an internet connection. Some of the answers were predictable: The US, China, Japan, India, parts of the Middle East, and Europe. Africa was almost completely absent, but as Brin pointed out, it's because there's a lack of power.

Part of Brin and Page's intent is to increase internet usage, mostly to places like Africa where there's very little of it. Obviously, yes, they'd like to turn a profit and promote their company; I mean, it IS called the Google Foundation, so it's definitely self-promotion as well. Still, I'd like to think that at least half their intent is altruistic. Besides, using Google searches to illustrate overall usage seems to be a pretty accurate measure since it's the most popular search engine on the internet.

Comments/Answers, Week 14

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:46:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=633484337573796975&postID=1786636238241762083&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2759599872455292147&postID=3644247960673435496

Reading Notes, Week 14

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:59:00 +0000

What Cloud Computing Really Means

Well, this week I got to learn about cloud computing: a term I had not heard until today. Basically, it's "an updated version of utility computing," which means that there are virtual servers now on the intenet. Some go further stating that anything you consume outside the firewall, into the cloud, is cloud computing.

Apparently this is a problem for IT professionals, but I feel so poorly versed in this area that I couldn't really tell you why. Unfortunately, I think this article, while written well enough for a layperson to have a basic understanding, is still too geared toward those who have familiarity with this issue...whatever that may be. Anyway, it was still interesting to read the seven ways of breaking down cloud computing. I guess my conclusion, probably naive, is that it's always better to have more user options. By my reading, that's what this concept allows, and at a lower cost.

Explaining Cloud Computing

I should watched this video first. It makes the cloud computing concept easier to understand. Evidently, my conclusion from the first article wasn't really all that naive, even though I made it based on limited information. But I have a question: When I chose to use Google for my last assignment of designing a website, was that an instance of SaaS? I am using an internet service to create something that normally, or at least years ago, required some kind of software. But instead, I accessed a website, used its HTML editor, and created my own website at no cost or storage space. I realize these are pretty simple questions for a lot of people in this class, so feel free to make fun of me.

Also helpful in understanding this idea is the analogy to an electricity grid. Poor Microsoft, they can't run a monopoly.

The Future of Libraries: Beginning the Great Transformation

I liked this article, especially the introduction that explained the history value of libraries to all societies before books so ubiquitous. Today, of course, the libraries are still valuable but for different reasons. Information is readily available for just about anybody, at least in the industrialized world. That means that libraries must function a different manner, but with the same purpose. Obviously people still frequent the library for information, but since they can get what they want just about anywhere (I'm not speaking of those who choose to go there just so that don't have to purchase something), it means that they are going there because it offers faster communication (Trend #1) or more efficiency in locating the desired information (Trends #4 and #5)

The trends listed in this article break down the future of library services quite well. I think the first and seconds trends are the most important "live by" if you're a librarian, because you have to realize that all technology has a lifespan. What's the value of a library if any regular person that uses the same technology on a day-to-day basis? Well, then you're just a discount book lender.

Trend #7 I have the most doubt about. I mean, really...there will be zero literacy? We'll be a verbal society? I don't think it's that black and white, even if growing technology verbal communication a near necessity. People will always have a desire to read and write simply because it's either a) the preferable form of communication or b) more likely, they just like to do those things. I'll "only" be 70 years old by then, and I can promise anybody reading this that I'll be reading and writing, because it's what I love to do. Trend #10 is a bit dubious...too vague.

Muddiest Point #10

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:54:00 +0000

I am in Zhen's group. If I currently have 9 reading responses, 9 comments (18 total) and 10 muddies (counting this one), does that mean I only need to post a reading response for week 14 (this week) and the required comments to get full credit, or do I have to post one more reading response (total 11) and comments to get full credit? There's been some confusion with this, so any answers, either by Zhen or those who count their scores through her statistics, would be great. Thanks.

Comments/Answers, Week 13

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:36:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6990210798143775197&postID=5175292907204162321&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2759599872455292147&postID=7967432130580806965&page=1

Muddiest Point #9

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:07:00 +0000

How much security do Pitt students have using university software? How and why is it better (or worse) than the average user's?

Reading Notes, Week 13

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:41:00 +0000

No Place to Hide

This week's readings are of great interest to me. While the technological advances in information retrieval have been a blessing, they've also become quite burdensome because of security issues. These advancements work to our benefit for the most part, I think. But there are, of course, people out there who use their empowerment for criminal purposes, sometimes under the guise of "what's best for us."

The No Place to Hide website helps play more into the second part, in my opinion. Whether or not you disagree with motives for the PATRIOT Act, there's no doubt our privacy has been affected in adverse ways. Is it worth it? No in my opinion. I think this investigative website shows why.

TIA and Data Mining

This website run by the Electronic Privacy Information Center is concerned by the problems that No Place to Hide is, although I think it's less alarmist. The vast majority of the site is informational with less emphasis commentary, and, I think, allows the people more of an option make their own minds on the privacy issue.

You Tube Video

Apparently, this video has been removed because of copyright issues, so I can't review it.

In any case, I think this week's issues aren't just interesting, but important, relevant topics for anyone going into an information science career.

Comments/Answers, Week 12

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:45:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3738264038991209647&postID=5124915412996994776

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6994306389856188940&postID=3446624597141656109&page=1

Reading Notes, Week 12

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:14:00 +0000

Weblogs: Their Use and Application in Science and Technology Libraries

The article helpfully begins its description of a weblog, which is, simply, a blog. This makes me think, though, how much more confusing upcoming technology really is. Without clear and definite terminology, it only serves to be more difficult to educate the public about new technology. Sometimes I think those "in the know" forget about that.

Anyway, much of the article was common knowledge for a lot of us, I'm sure, at least since we've begun blogging. For example, most of us know by now that a blog works as something of a personal journal and that our entries, if we desire, can be archived (106). We also know that they can have great success (106). What isn't so clear is the history (107). A lot of us may have been keeping up with the advances in blogging for the past decade, but I've only been blogging since about 2004 or so, although I have been using involved in online communites prior to that.

Basically, this was a good introduction for those who have only an elementary knowledge of computers, blogging and blogging software. There are some terms referred to that I was unaware of, but it took very little time or effort understand them. Most of the meanings could be inferred. I do wish some of the prior articles we have read were only this challenging.

Using a Wiki to Manage a Library Instruction Program: Sharing Knowledge to Better Serve Patrons

The explanation of the wiki was pretty straightforward and there was little confusion as to what the author meant, mainly because I, along with everyone else in class, has used one. If it's not Wikipedia, then it's likely the course wiki for LIS 2000 or another specialized wiki. For instance, I like to read Thomas Pynchon, and I often have to consult a wiki (given the nature of his work) run by fans and Pynchon scholars in order to understand the references and context of his novels

What I really liked to read, since I've never bothered to try and set up my own wiki, is section on "making your own wiki." Maybe I'll try it now.

Creating the Academic Library Folksonomy: Put Social Tagging to Work at Your Institution

Arch is correct with the assumption that most of current literature on the interest is, in fact, now on the internet. The reasons are obvious, I suspect, because 1) if you're discussing the internet, then the internet would be the obvious place to publish your finding and 2) the development of the internet is increasing so quickly that by the time literature is published on paper, it's already become dated.

Social tagging is a good method for people to reach what they want, but everyone has to contribute in order or it to work. While we've all agreed on the language we using (more or less), some users will have slight discrepancies on a meaning. Others might try a more specific search, while some will begin their searches on a broader level. So, it's important that a large population contributes so as to cut down on these problems. There is, however, a risk to open contributions. Says Arch, "[t]here are, of course, a few risks and issues to consider when implementing social tagging in your library, especially if the site is open for all library patrons to update. One is the wonderfully named spagging, or spam tagging. Users with bad intentions can tag unsuitable sites for their own profit or simply to create havoc." It'll be interesting to observe what direction social tagging goes in.

How a Ragtag Band Created Wikipedia

This 11 minute recording (I listened to the audio; didn't watch the video) was pretty interesting. Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, gives a talk about how he and some developers made the website into a reality. As a frequent user (and, by the way, well-aware of both it's faults and benefits), I held a special fascination Wales's presentation.

Wikipedia runs on donations from the public; important, I think, since it is also open source. This is truly a public collaboration and illustrates the appeal of the website. Wales points out the common surprise, and it was a surprise to me, that only 1/3 of the traffic is to the English version, which comprises 600,000 articles out of the 2,000,000 total. It is a truly global website and one of the top fifty in use. This is particularly fascinating because, as Wales points out again, it runs on comparatively very little money to, say, the New York Times, which is a huge corporate organization, and, yet, has less users.

Of course, there's the question of "how good is it?" Wales claims that it's pretty good but, of course, not perfect given its chaotic system. Part of the reason it works is that most people understand the need for neutrality, which Wales insisted upon from the beginning, and, as he points out, that doesn't necessarily equate to the truth, which, of course, can differ from person to person depending on the entry or idea. "Right v Left" problems are not that big of an issues, probably because of the fact that those engaging in that debate are asked to leave the community. The vast majority of the "community" is comprised of 600-1,000 dedicated members, not the controversial anonymous users, who only make up about 18% of all edits. In my opinion, most of the erroneous claims are probably edited by the dedicated members or members like me, those with a username and who care about Wikipedia's veracity but infrequent with their edits.

Overall, I think Wales did a decent job in clearing up the issues or problems with Wikipedia, particularly with idea of neutrality, but I wanted a little more detail in some areas and wished the talk could have been longer. Hopefully, most people would come away believing that Wikipedia is usually reliable, impressively so, but also understand why it isn't appropriate to use it as a source.

Postscript: Earlier I could not access the second and third articles via the online syllabus, and so I I did not post any notes (but mentioned my efforts). Thanks to Jake's comment, I was able to access them via Course Documents on Blackboard today, 11/22. Keep in mind, though, that my original notes were posted on Thursday.

Muddiest Point #8

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:01:00 +0000

This is for my T.A., Zhen, or anybody who knows the answer -

Apparently we need 11 blog entries instead of 10 to get full credit for the blogs. However, in my case, I have 7 entries so far, which means I need four more to get full credit. The problem is that there are only 3 weeks left in the course, and I was counting on blogging for the remaining weeks of the course to get full credit. Being as how we were just informed of this development today and the fact that some of us inevitably used the reading response statistics to keep count of our scores, is it possible for those of us who are one short (and, therefore, probably, used to reading response statistics to keep count of our scores) to blog about a prior week's readings?

Comments/Answers, Week 11

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:11:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=3597120324813438115&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7533952523781723717&postID=8143661996901007019&page=1

Muddiest Point #7

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:11:00 +0000

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?

Assignment #6: Website

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:34:00 +0000

http://sites.google.com/site/2600dmb97/

Muddiest Point #6

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:34:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:22:00 +0000

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

Comments/Answers, Week 9

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:15:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4619180577856147392&postID=7019179531229777074

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1475137707322366107&postID=351362268738673599

Muddiest Point #5

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:21:00 +0000

How and why is XML "easier" to use than DTD?

Reading Notes, Week 9

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:23:00 +0000

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?"

Assignment #5: Collection Building in Koha ILS

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:10:00 +0000

My virtual bookshelf - http://pitt4.opacwc.liblime.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-shelves.pl?viewshelf=47

Muddiest Point #4

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:02:00 +0000

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?

Assignment #4: Jing Video and Images

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:39:00 +0000

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/

Comments/Answers, Week 6

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:06:00 +0000

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5762270205496001556&postID=1233933044973598143

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7036399065753048748&postID=4733897159971341260

Assignment #3: Zotero and CiteULike

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:41:00 +0000

http://www.citeulike.org/user/dmb97

Tags: academic libraries, public libraries, IR

Muddiest Point #3

noreply@blogger.com (Dustin) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:48:00 +0000

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.