I had the privilege of chairing a symposium organized by the Irish Manuscript Commission which invited participants from a variety of Irish cultural institutions to discuss issues arising from the new Europeana Data Exchange Agreement. Presentations from Jill Cousins, Director of Europeana and her colleagues, Georgia Angelaki, Paul Keller and Lucie Guibault sought to bring clarity to the new agreement and the issues emerging from the online presentation of digital cultural artefacts.

Unfortunately I had to leave during what was shaping up to be a very lively roundtable discussion. The presentations laid bare some of the salient points that surround Europeana’s new DEA. The key points of the new agreement are changes to licensing that will open up metadata submitted by contributors to wider and most ominous to many contributors to commercial uses. Metadata submitted must be done under a CC0 license placing it entirely in the public domain. Thumbnails provided are not covered under the CC0 and the contributors have the opportunity to define their licensing. This has alarmed many past contributors who see their data suddenly becoming prey to commercial vultures and open to be radically reused with or without any attribution.

This symposium provided a forum for free and open discussion of these issues as well as the challenges presented by the online. I opened the session with a short welcome which I include here should you be interested:

“The DHO has been privileged to work with the IMC and Europeana over the past two years. We have facilitated some of the technicalities involved in the metadata aggregation process and many of you have worked with Niall O’Leary directly in this. Thanks to many of you who have shared your cultural objects with Europeana in the past. The nature of the relationship has I hope been mutually beneficial.

Europeana has been a powerful initiative during the past decade and we hope it will continue to take a leadership role in increasing the freedom of access to Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage. It’s a fluid world though and we are here today because Europeana is changing. The objective remains the same but Europeana is moving from the role of being solely a portal to your collections to service becoming a service platform – dedicated to increasing access to the metadata representing the contributed artefacts.

What does this all mean? Well, today we have an opportunity to find out and to interact directly with the folks from Europeana to get the answers we need to make our own decisions. Each of your own institutions has its own objectives and briefs and you have to make a decision as to whether these coincide or are furthered under the new Europeana offering and their new Data Exchange Agreement. It’s crucial that you do take the time to consider your own objectives around what is presented today and how it is best served in this changing cultural space. In this fluid world there are new challenges to how we do what we have done in the past. The way that we engage with our audiences have changed…your artefacts have become data (and metadata) and more importantly people (through such social media as facebook, flickr or twitter) look to new ways to connect with you. Likewise new services and applications — especially in the mobile arena mean that your cultural objects may find new forms of expression — either by your own efforts — or by someone else’s.

And this is a crucial observation. There is a challenge to how you have carried out your own curatorial and dissemination activities and how you have sought to meet your objectives — but this also provides new opportunities. Europeana offers an opportunity. What you have to decide is whether it is an opportunity that makes sense for your institution.

At the DHO we have spent the last couple years demonstrating some of the ways that working with metadata can positively change the user experience of the digital collection. We have engaged with Europeana and with many of you to explore how people engage with ever larger collections of artefacts. The magnitude of these collections challenges the traditional ways of browsing and in many cases denies the utility of the search function. We have chosen to demonstrate how cutting edge data visualisation techniques can provide a route to discovery. And we have been thrilled with the response. DHO:Discovery has been one our response to the challenges that we have seen Irish cultural institutions facing and we have seen similar efforts undertaken by many of yourselves.

Working with Europeana has been one of those responses many of you have undertaken and we have all shared their objective to provide access to Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage. Although Europeana remains committed to this objective their new DEA has asked providers to commit contributed metadata and thumbnails to the public domain. The new DEA is a response to the changes taking place in the cultural sector and we are all called upon to find opportunities in the changes taking place. This has huge implications for existing and future contributors who may worry about others making commercial use of their data. One of the obvious and positive responses here is to be open innovators and to seize the powerful opportunity for you to both share and to draw benefit from what others are sharing to create new ways of meeting your own objectives.

Current EU directives have waded into this nebulous area and have similarly challenged our perceived notions of who has the rights to objects that we present online. And again we come back to this question of how to deal with the challenge.

Today we are all here to ask the questions and the participants from Europeana have come to brief us and to attempt to respond to these queries.”

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Galaxy S II: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla continues the missing manual series tradition of providing a comprehensive guide to emerging technology — technology generally in dire need of just such instruction. The Galaxy S II benefits from Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on Android Gingerbread. As such it’s currently at the pinnacle of the android field, offers a superb screen and speedy response. Nonetheless, as with other Android devices there’s much hidden power and without instruction most users will not benefit from many features without a guide to lead. Enter the missing manual.

This missing manual is chock full of useful advice presented as side notes and callouts and makes liberal use  screen shots and photos. The manual approaches the use of the phone from a basic to advanced level moving from standard operations such as making a call to use of the addresss book to syncing with desktop devices and the cloud. Each section deals exhaustively with the options available to the user and the comprehensive index allows the guide to be approached as both a tutorial approach and also a pure reference source. The manual is extensive and one of its strengths is that it leaves few stones unturned. It is specific to the Galaxy SII so it has approximately 90% applicability to other Android users and obviously even more so for other Samsung Android users.

The target audience ranges from new users who are starting to learn how to use their first smartphone to those who may be migrating from a different operating system. There is clear value for existing users who have already gained familiarity with their device but have left areas untapped. It’s always surpassing how many users haven’t started to tap the Android app marketplace. This manual offers a great tour of the app ecosystem and provides copies advice on how to manage apps once you start to add them to your Galaxy.

My only personal quibble would have to be with the fact that it is written from the perspective of an AT&T user and this creates some rather slanted advice. However, this is of marginal importance, but one simply wonders why this very single provider information is put into an otherwise universally relevant guide.

I would recommend this missing manual warmly for nerd users of the smartphone and equally to those wanting to maximize their Android experience.

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Conor O’Clery’s Moscow 25 December 1991 follows a notably growing trend for picking a pivot point in history and revolving round it to find a popular audience (witness 1066, 1421, 1434, 1491, 1492 etc. All good books by and large but adopting a very similar tact). The date provides a recognizable focus and then the space is open for provide the background and the aftermath in a popular fashion. O’Clery breaks the mold though in a most engaging fashion with the book. I am always in praise of those who can manage to effectively uses flashbacks within chronologically-driven narratives and the still hold the thread. In Moscow 25 December O’Clery very effectively picks the day that Mikhail Gorbachev signed the legal document dissolving the USSR as his pivot. The day is divided into a series of periods and as time coverless on the act of signing the paper, the author steps back to the genesis of the two protagonists careers. The careers of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin lead up to the day and as time slows as they converge on the act, the intermingling of the story lines converges. The structure and execution of the writing is superb.

This is not to downplay the actual events taking place. The cyclical nature of revolution in Russia (both political and economic) is thoughtfully documented and exposed and the author takes advantage of a privileged position on the sidelines to highlight much information that simply didn’t make it above the fold in the West. In my opinion Gorbachev comes of far worse than Yeltsin in the author’s handling. I am grateful for this as I feel that western media treatment of him may well have been lately shaped by cultural bias and the politics of the time. Neither of which should surprise. However, it is very good to have some corrective applied. Nonetheless, one is struck by how much the pettiness and personal animosities can play a huge role in the destiny of a nation (or in this case of nations).

I hung on to the few events that I felt I had a degree of familiarity with such as the failed 1991 coup and the rise of Vladimir Putin, and O’Clery thankfully fills in some gaping holes. The character treatment of Yeltsin gave much to consider and appreciate how his portrayal by western media as merely and opportunistic drinker misses a huge swath of his character and denies a truer appreciation of his motivations and accomplishments. The contrasting (less than complimentary) portrait of MIkhail Gorbachev surprises me, yet provides me with a corrective that illustrates how much a carefully managed public persona might hide simple human frailties. Both warn the reader that we much be more critical consumers of the media — forgive my rather naive moment here.

This is a gripping read. The pace of the narrative holds you in thrall and the richness of the story envelops. A true pleasure. I was fascinated by much of the detail that I simply would not have come to appreciate at the time of the events taking place and dismayed that I feel that I was starkly out of touch with the momentous things going on. I am grateful for O’Clery’s work in crafting such a fine account and sharing his experiences. Highly recommended!

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This is one mighty manual! There’s certainly nothing missing from this one. iPhone The Missing Manual by David Pogue is the gold standard for iPhone users. I decided to take a look at this one principally to make sure I know what I need to about PhotoStream and some of the new iOS 5 features. Colour me impressed. This book is far more really than one could hope for. Now in its Fifth iteration, this is the manual brought up to date for iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S. It is the most comprehensive and reference source available for new and existing users of iPhones from the 3gs onward.

It’s all here. This offers out of the box first time users with hemp getting setup and getting their new iPhone configured to suit their needs. It offers seasoned users with detailed and comprehensive instruction on particular aspects that they might want to know more about or run into issues with. I find myself in a third group, considering myself a more seasoned user of the iPhone with no particular problems or concerns, but a general interest. To my surprise, there were all sorts of handy tips and hints that I simply had no idea about. These are the sort of things that Apple doesn’t seem to publicize or really make forefront as part of the interface. For example, I had no idea about the wealth of assitive technologies that Apple have now incorporated into iOS5. I have already enabled speak aloud which voices the words that the iPhone suggests as replacements when typing. This is a handy thing for me. I did try reversing the type for curiosity and even enabled Voiceover, but these were more novelty — but the point being I simply had no idea and Pogue’s intense coverage of all the features of the iPhone and iOS5 brought them to light.

There’s definitely something in here for everyone. The treatment is quite readable and because there is just so much useful information I found myself compelled to read this one. Hints are clearly marked in callouts so that you can scan for them. The volume is well illustrated and screen shots provide thorough and easy to follow directions.

This is the manual for all users and will be both welcome and valuable for users novice and expert alike. I would highly recommend this for any iPhone user and think it is a superb investment.

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Well, hot off the digital press and literally out of the box comes a handy manual for the Amazon Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire: Out of the Box provides a comprehensive look at a variety of the features of the Android-enabled Amazon tablet. The volume is short and concise, but throughly addresses the Fire’s features. It is copiously illustrated and provides a great overview of what makes the Fire special. This is useful manual for those who possible feel intimidated by the rather unique Kindle Fire interface. As Sawyer states, Amazon made a decision to ‘turn Android on its head’ and focus on content delivery and then put a custom interface on top of Android that allows for access to the Android platform and a variety of Amazon-ok’d apps through a simplified user interface.

Does the Fire need a manual? Probably for most people no, and this is why Amazon took the decision to include in the package (in the Apple manner) a tiny getting started pamphlet. There is additional material provided as an ebook on the device itself. This manual picks up where the amazon ebook takes off looks at the configuration and setup of the Fire, Books and Newstand, Videos and Music and finally Apps and web services. The general tone of the narrative is peppy and sardonic, but clear and as I mentioned terse but makes copious use of screen shots and graphics. There are call outs providing handily tips clearly identifiable and to the point. The volume ends rather suddenly though and I was surpassed that there was no conclusion or discussion of future steps or directions which would have been a great addition.

The book is clean, clear and a useful overview of how to make the best use of a new Kindle Fire. Most users may not require the extra detail provided by this manual, but for those wanting to make sure that they are exploiting all the exciting new possibilities of the Kindle Fire, this is a useful resource.

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If there was ever a product needing a manual, frankly it’s Google Plus. It remains a rather obtuse beast — at least to my way of seeing things. Google Plus: The Missing Manual attempts to remedy this by providing a comprehensive review of all the possible interactions you’d have with the web service from a user perspective. So, do I feel like I know the service any better after reading the book. No, not really, unfortunately maybe it’s just the case that G+ doesn’t work the way I do. The book makes a valiant effort, but I have a sense that I personally would be better served by a pure cookbook approach. I would characterize this ‘manual’ as a hybrid approach. Although it structurally does follow a cookbook like structure, I found a tendency to words where graphics and images would better suit the purpose. This isn’t to say that the information isn’t there, I just found it harder to find. This is not to say that the book isn’t well illustrated. It’s full of great full-colour screen shots. I think what might improve it for me would be the addition of diagrams that represented the processes related to accomplishing tasks using pictures rather than words.

I am loathe to blame the author or the book overly for any failure as I really think that it’s the product itself that just doesn’t jive for me in terms of usability and this puts the judgement of the book in the negative column for me. So, in fairness this is a very thorough book that does attempt to deal with all the idiosyncrasies of the product and does it very well, it just seems to interracially suffer from the same defect of the product in how I like to work with information. It may well serve your needs admirably and if you are still confused about how and why to use Google Plus then this could well be the book for you. It is nicely self-paced and it provides copious side-info about the rationale behind the various features that I did find very illustrative and helpful. The prose here is lively and engaging, there just seems to be an overabundance of it.

It’s just that you really shouldn’t need a manual with a product such as Google Plus. If you do…then there is a problem with the product and as yet, it just doesn’t work for me…and I so want it to. I just spent the time to read a book to help me use it. I am making a commitment to it, but don’t feel it makes the same commitment to me.

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Mapping with Drupal by Alan Palazzolo and Thomas Turnbull provides a hands-on, in-depth exploration of a the most popular tools for turning your favorite CMS into a geospatially enabled data management system. Contextualising and demonstrating modules such as Geofield, GMap and Location modules and the OpenLayers framework, Palazzolo and Turnbull  provide a superbly crafted guidebook to allow a user to quickly get up to speed and understand the strengths and weaknesses of available solutions.

Background information on cartography and a limited amount on extending Drupal quickly brings a novice up to speed. Subsequent chapters take a practical approach and the step-by-step instructions lead the reader through concrete real-world examples.

The volumes is well illustrated and comprehensive. It further offers useful references at handy points for those who would like to explore more deeply. This allows the authors to maintain a solid focus on moving through the work steps and o accomplish the projects. They demonstrate a particularly well thought out process and addresses many common reader thoughts just as they arise.

I was particularly impressed with the attention of the authors to look at the importance of how data is represented visually and the implications of making stylistic decisions about particular aspects of online cartography. Chapter 6 — Making Beautiful Maps is a very thoughtful and recommended read even if you aren’t attempting to use the tools dealt with throughout the book as a whole. There are really about three separate aspects to this book. A hands-on tutorial, an overview of the context of online cartography and a superb bibliography that provides much fruit for future reference.

As the authors state, extensive knowledge of Drupal is not required, nor of online cartography or GIS. Although they work through examples relying on PHP, knowledge of such is not requisite and can be inferred from the content. This volume provides a self-paced and well referenced approach to the subject of deploying geospatial visualizations within a content management system. It is highly recommended for novice to expert applying to anyone with the need to work with geospatial data.

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Head First by Jeff Siarto is one of a superb series of Head First books that adopt a visual approach to teaching. This particular volume is very well done and offers a deeply basic introduction to setting cup, configuring and managing a WordPress blog. It takes a new user through the basics and then provides a hands-on practical experience with all the appropriate skills to meet basic to intermediate user demands. It is well written and comprehensively delivered and if you are either a visual learner or a person who does not want to sit down with a stock manual than this is the approach for you. It combines exercises so you can pursue a self-directed and paced course while at the same time finding enough background information when demanded to make you a skilled blog administrator.

Not a criticism, but merely a guidance, this is a largely basic text as it advertises. Ten next topics are identified and given one-page treatments at the end of the volume and for me those where I would really have liked to explore further — but then that is the point. This volume gets you in and doing and thereby gain familiarity. It gets you and you blog up and running and runs through  some common avenues of customization taking you into the WordPress cycle and working with themes and plugins to meet your needs. It doesn’t deman familiarity with PHP, although there you go you’ll be working away modifying themes (in the approved fashion) to suit a variety of challenges. I was pleased to see it venture into security issues as this is something that inevitable emerges and the chapter on ‘Locking it down’ gives some great advice and identifies good practice and available plug-ins to accomplish this.

I really like the approach taken and it works for me. Siarto has a great style and this book will not disappoint those looking to gain an immediate and up to intermediate familiarity with how and what you can do with WordPress. Fun, fast, and deep where it needs to be, this is a recommended read.

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Here’s a bit of a diversion from recent reviews. Keeping Score: Project Management for the Pros by Frank Ryle is a lively, yet deceptively prescient look at adapting a variety of management styles to the PM process. Using a narrative centered on golf — both because it offers a shared passion to the project managers and also as superb metaphor for exploration of the PM process — Ryle delivers an engaging exploration of current thinking in project management. The short book explores a variety of ways of seeing the processes, techniques and approaches to PM (and I use these terms some trepidation as their precise meanings are an important aspect to this topic).

Ryle’s book is intricately woven with a clear passion and experience with golf. However, like the game or not, this metaphor works both practically as a unique way of approaching the subject but doesn’t suffer should you not have spent time playing the game. The book is subtly structured to work through an ordered approach to the facets of project management in light of a fictitious case devised by the author. The characters in the ‘story’ epitomise unique perspectives to the problem faced and the entire treatment pulls together both the process and the varied approaches to dealing with a project management challenge.

This uniquely approachable and appropriately concise book offers a valuable teaching experience for digital project managers in the dh community. Having lectured over the past few years offering a variety of workshops for new principal investigators a the post-grad, post-doc and staff levels within the academic sector and ruing the fact that there is simply no solid, but approachable volume for newbies to the challenge, this book is a superb candidate for the role.

One of the caveats that informs much of my activity in the area of project management is to take the time up front to get things straight — to take the time to reflect in advance of moving blindly ahead (or mistaking a grant application for a project plan). Taking the time to digest and reflect on the cleverly delivered lessons from this ‘tale’ would serve any of the constituency I have dealt with extremely well and will be one of my strongest recommendations go forward.

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The premise of the Information Diet by Clay Johnson is: ‘What if we started managing our information consumption like we managed our food consumption?’ And so it begins. This is a fascinating book framed as an open discussion in which Johnson carries along this metaphor of information intake being likened to nutritional sustenance. The initial chapters explore overeating and the obesity of America, but the reader is increasingly wondering how far the author planning on carrying this overeating consumption metaphor. As the narrative starts to move into the realm of information provision and the ‘industrialization of information’ the author’s intentions become clearer. The case study of AOL’s Blogsmith software that allows for the measurement of information’s impact on revenue and profitability highlights is quite fascinating and paints a picture of information becoming turned into ‘fast food’ — that is easily absorbed, desired, but of limited or destructive nutritional value.

The author lays out the threat by plumbing the intentions of many of the more popular information providers on the internet and through more conventional media and then shifts to discussing the ways in which we can and have to combat the information deluge for our own sake. The author makes frequent forays into his own experience to provide anecdotal evidence of the impact of ‘delusion’ resulting from becoming too deep in the political morass and likens this to a malady that increasingly effecting a greater proportion of the American populace.

This is a thought provoking book that poses a number of challenges to how we can maintain mental as well as physical health in a world that is ever changing how we receive and digest information. The metaphor is apt and exploring symptoms such as apnea, lack of concentration and providing remedies such as filtering, fitness and maintaining proper diet are intriguing. The use of information labeling — much like nutritional — is creative and although seemingly humorous…extremely apt.

All in all I enjoyed the reading experience and would recommend it for wide consumption. It reminds me of Information Anxiety by Richard Saul Wurman or even going further back to Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock. This is not the first attempt to diagnosis the problem and surely won’t be the last, but this interesting parallel with nutrition and diet is … please pardon me for this… great food for thought ;-)

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