[14935] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Current Cites, September 2003
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (CITES Moderator)
Wed Oct 1 19:28:13 2003
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 16:33:56 -0700
From: CITES Moderator <citeschk@LIBRARY.BERKELEY.EDU>
To: PACS-L@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
Reply-to: cites@LIBRARY.BERKELEY.EDU
Message-id: <Pine.OSF.4.10.10309291612420.494456-100000@library.berkeley.edu>
Current Cites
Volume 14, no. 9, September 2003
Edited by [2]Roy Tennant
The Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720
ISSN: 1060-2356 -
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/2003/cc03.14.9.html
Contributors: [3]Charles W. Bailey, Jr., [4]Margaret Gross, [5]Terry
Huwe, [6]Shirl Kennedy, [7]Leo Robert Klein, Jim Ronningen, [8]Roy
Tennant
[9]Cataloging Culutural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural
Works and Their Images NY: Visual Resources Association,
September 2003. (http://www.vraweb.org/CCOweb/). - It may be
jumping the gun a bit to review this publication before it is
actually published, but we are nothing if not current here at
Current Cites, so we will do it anyway (so sue us!). This
publication-in-process is a joint effort of the [10]Visual
Resources Association and the [11]Digital Library Federation. It
aims to "provide guidelines for selecting, ordering, and formatting
data used to populate catalog records" relating to cultural works.
Although this work is far from finished (Chapters 1, 2, 7, and 9
are available, as well as front and back matter), the authors are
making it available so pratictioners can use it and respond with
information about how it can be improved to better aid their work.
A stated goal is to publish it in print at some point in the
future. Besides garnering support from the organizations named
above as well as the Getty, the Mellon Foundation and others, the
effort is being guided by experienced professionals at the top of
their field. Get the point? If you're involved with creating
metadata relating to any type of cultural object and/or images of
such, this will need to be either on your bookshelf, or bookmarked
in your browser, or both. - [12]RT
Cedergren, Magnus. "[13]Open Content and Value Creation"
[14]First Monday 8(8) (4 August 2003)
(http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_8/cedergren/index.html). -
The author defines open content as materials that others can
improve upon and redistribute, or as content that is produced
without expectation of immediate financial reward. He argues that
this sort of open content is becoming an important development
track in the shifting media landscape. He suggests that open
content is distinct from open source programming, yet related in
some ways. However, content by definition is not programming, and
invites additional, extensive and subjective responses and review.
Therefore content creates new value streams, often with broad
appeal to non-technologists. The author explores the dynamics of
value creation in terms of the economic literature as well as the
dynamics of software piracy. He asserts that the lifespan of open
content will be heavily influenced relationships between producers
and distributors, all of whom are presumably working for free. -
[15]TH
Kawakami, Alice, and Pauline Swartz. "Digital Reference: Training
and Assessment for Service Improvement. " [16]Reference Services
Review 31(2) (2003): 227-236. - It must be a sign of our
maturity with electronic reference that many libraries have moved
from simply getting the system off the ground to assessing quality
of service. This progression was inevitable of course. But even
here the newness of the service is reflected. The article looks at
an assessment of technical competencies needed to work the digital
reference desk at UCLA. The authors found that librarians were
still having problems either getting the software to work or taking
full advantage of its capabilities. Some of these problems could
(and should) be alleviated by improvements to the software, in
addition of course to more training. Once that happens we can start
looking forward to quality assessments that go beyond the more
immediate technical issues. - [17]LRK
Knezo, Genevieve J. . [18]'Sensitive But Unclassified' and Other
Federal Security Controls on Scientific and Technical Information:
History and Current Controversy Washington, DC: Library of
Congress, Congressional Research Service, 2 April 2003.
(http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL31845.pdf). - The U.S. Government has
always maintained a level of security over the release of
scientific and technical information that is deemed vital to
national interests. The events of 9/11 have added to and broadened
existing controls governing access of this type of information. The
challenge to policy makers is how to balance the free flow of
scientific information with the needs of national security. Ms.
Knezo has produced a well research and well documented (There are
163 footnote references) report that examines the background of
these safeguard measures. She also explores several key policy
issues pertaining the the release of data. The report is organized
into four major sections. The report begins with a review and
summary of significant pieces of legislation, including patent law,
the Atomic energy Act, the USA Patriot Act, etc. Secondly the
author examines the various definitions of 'Sensitive But
Unclassified' (SBU), and how this term has evolved for use by
various governmental and military organizations. The third and
fourth sections of the report cover controversies and policy
options respectively. The policy options seek to develop a
coherent, consistent and balanced definition of the SBU
classification, and its application to the publication of
scientific and technical information, emanating from both
governmental and private sectors. All this shielded by controls
designed to prevent sensitive data from getting into the hands of
terrorists. A good read for those seeking background information,
and current status in understanding how information is to be
protected. - [19]MG
LePoer, Peter, and Judith Theodori. "[20]The Design and
Management of a Dynamically Created Intranet at Johns Hopkins
Applied Physics Laboratory" [21]Intranet Professional: Managing
Knowledge Ecosystems 6(5) (September/October 2003)
(http://www.infotoday.com/IP/sep03/lepoer_theodori.shtml). - This
is a short article focusing on the development and maintenance of
interactive resources on the intranet at the Applied Physics
Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. After reading the article,
it is evident that success in providing web based interactivity is
the result of close collaboration between a librarian and an IT
professional. The foundation of the system is a Microsoft SQL
Server database at the back end, which when queried, dynamically
generates content for their intranet websites. Library staffers
maintain the database using a Microsoft Access 2000 front end. It
is here that adding, editing and deleting occur via data entry
forms. Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP) are the "glue" which
connect the front end interface with the back end database. Scripts
running on the server, rather than the client, communicate
information to the SQL Server. Based on user input they construct a
SQL query, receive the desired content matching the query, then
build HTML to dynamically generate standard web pages. A 'User
Favorites' feature, developed using cookies, and server-side and
client-side scripts, further enhance the system. The Microsoft.Net
platform is being considered for future developments. - [22]MG
O'Leary, Mick. "[23]E-Books Scenarios Updated" [24]ONLINE 27(5)
(September/October 2003)
(http://www.infotoday.com/online/sep03/oleary.shtml). - In this
column O'Leary takes a look back at some forecasts of the future of
e-books he made some three years ago. He admits that a few of his
predictions were off, including that the use of e-book readers
would be "commonplace" by now. But he believes his predictions
about the uses of e-books were "right on". These predictions
include: 1) use, not read (that is, that e-books will be mostly for
using for reference types of activities rather than sustained
reading, 2) aggregations, not single works (for example, for
searching), 3) institutional customers, not individuals, and 4)
subscription pricing, not transactional. In association with his
"use, not read" trend, he puts forward this rule of thumb: "The
more time you spend with a book at one sitting, the less attractive
it is as an e-book," which seems true to this reviewer. - [25]RT
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, . [26]Libraries: How They
Stack Up Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, 2003.
(http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/community/librariesstackup.pdf). -
How much do you think that U.S. libraries spend each year? If you
said $14 billion dollars, you're right according to an estimate in
this new OCLC document. That's about half of the $31 billion that
libraries spend worldwide. How many people worldwide are registered
library users? One out of every six. Think that libraries are
irrelevant in the age of Amazon.com? U.S. libraries circulate
almost four times as many items each day as Amazon handles, and
that's nearly as many items as FedEx ships each day. If you find
such statistics about the economic aspects of libraries intriguing,
this six-page compilation of facts from diverse sources is for you.
- [27]CB
Pedley, Paul. "[28]Tips on Negotiating Licences for Electronic
Products" [29]Free Pint (145) (18 September 2003)
(http://www.freepint.com/issues/180903.htm?FreePint_Session=8baf0ef
b6b21698e1891023742586e74#tips). - "Electronic products" are not
just databases. These days, we are also talking about "news feeds,
e-books, reference materials, encyclopaedias, newspapers or
electronic journals." If you haven't been there already, you may
one day find yourself in the position of having to wrangle with
vendors in order to obtain an optimum licensing agreement for your
institution. One key point the author makes here is that "a licence
does not confer ownership rights. It merely specifies the
conditions upon which databases and other copyright works can be
used and exploited, and by whom." He provides a well-thought-out
list of ten things to keep in mind when you are negotiating such
agreements. These includes such basic things as understanding what
you are reading and knowing what will happen if there is a dispute,
and issues you may not have considered, such as being sure the
contract can not be reassigned without your permission. - [30]SK
Rennie, Frank, and Robin Mason. "[31]The Ecology of the
Connection" [32]First Monday 8(8) (4 August 2003)
(http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_8/rennie/index.html). -
The authors argue that the growing pervasiveness of broadband
access, combined with the increasing educational opportunities that
follow access, are reshaping how the Internet works. They see the
seeds of "self organization" and complex processes, combined with
greater technological stability. They describe this more "organic"
version of the Internet as the Connecticon. The Connecticon
operates at three levels: infrastructure (servers and clients,
etc), "human resources (the people who are online), and complex and
creative interaction between the people. As the network grows and
becomes adaptive, people use it in increasingly subtle and organic
ways. The authors give several examples, all with a distinctly
British flavor, of how the Connecticon works. These include Welsh
Internet Radio, The Great Book of Gaelic, and The Cambridge Ring
North East, a non-profit, home grown effort to bring broadband
access to residents in the Cambridge region. This article's
principal theories restate and extend some of the longstanding
beliefs that Internet futurecasters have promoted -- namely, that
creativity takes on local characteristics, and serves local
constituencies better, if high speed access becomes affordable. -
[33]TH
Ronan, Jana Smith. "Staffing a Real-Time Reference Service: The
University of Florida. " [34]Internet Reference Services Quarterly
8(1/2) (2003): 33-47. - Here's another article on e-Reference,
this one on staffing issues. It's billed as the "University of
Florida Experience" but the author shows a wide familiarity with
operations of all kinds both near and far, in academic and public
libraries. It touches on everything from user expectations and
skills required to the relative merits of centralized versus
distributed workplace environments. All in all, it's a good
introduction to the nuts-and-bolts of running such an operation. -
[35]LRK
Ryan, Terry, Richard H. G. Field, and Lorne Olfman. "[36]The
Evolution of US State Government Home Pages from 1997 to 2002"
[37]Journal of Human-Computer Studies 59(4) (October 2003):
403-430.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WGR-4938JRM-2/2/26f
b7e232b69d72e2f09bedae366dc75). - If home page design is your
shtick, you're going to love this article examining state
government home pages over a five-year period. The authors made
screenshots of the various home pages courtesy of the Wayback
Machine. They then asked volunteers to group the pages however they
thought fit. By analyzing patterns in the groupings, the authors
came up with a set of criteria ("dimensions") such as navigation,
layout and information density. They then developed additional
categories of design from "Simple Rectangle" and "Long List" to
Portal. Finally, they discuss how their set of measures relate to
the original home pages over time, what was hot, what simply
shriveled up and died. (Available through ScienceDirect.) - [38]LRK
Schonfeld, Roger C.. JSTOR: a History Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 2003. - As the struggle continues over the
problem of costly academic journal subscriptions for libraries it
can be a welcome break to read this detailed and clearly-written
history of JSTOR, the digital archive of the backfiles of hundreds
of scholarly journals, which grew through careful negotiations with
publishers who have actually agreed to give up royalties. A crucial
point of agreement was the exclusion of the most recent years
(usually five) of a serial, seen by publishers as the
revenue-producing segment of the serial's lifespan; the phrase
"moving wall" which describes the concept is now part of the
librarian's lexicon. From its beginnings as a Mellon Foundation
grant-funded project attempting to provide a solution for
shelfspace overcrowding, to its status today as an independent
non-profit treasured by scholars worldwide, there is fascinating
organizational analysis here, treating issues in intellectual
property, the economics of pricing and marketing, management
politics, and of course the capabilities and limitations of digital
technology. The author has been very thorough in documenting each
twist and turn in the narrative, citing sources for every fact and
providing a time line, list of abbreviations, extensive
bibliography and statistical tables and graphs. This is valuable
for all involved in digital archive projects and interesting for
the endusers of JSTOR; for any readers who might be undecided about
taking this book on, I'd recommend browsing the epilogue titled
"Lessons Learned." It will whet your appetite for more. - JR
Sinclair, Jenny. "[39]Online Health Sites a Worldwide Worry"
[40]The Sydney Morning Herald (16 September 2003)
(http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/15/1063478109311.html). - A
study by a Melbourne researcher -- who is also a nurse and a
communications consultant -- concluded that most health-oriented
websites "failed to meet basic standards." Many are "commercially
driven," the study found, and others are downright misleading. The
study reviewed the top 100 sites returned by a Yahoo! search for
breast cancer, diabetes and depression, and compared them to the
Health On the Net Foundation's [41]code of conduct. The biggest
failing was the amount of unverified information found on 58 of the
sites. Other issues: "user confidentiality, openness about
sponsorship and, importantly, making sure that users treat the
information as complementary to proper medical treatment, rather
than replacing it." The study did find that there was plenty of
good information out there, and that it is generally a good idea
for people to have unfettered access to online health information.
- [42]SK
Suitt, Halley. "[43]A Blogger in Their Midst" [44]Harvard
Business Review 81(9) (September 2003): 30-40.
(http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_d
etail.jhtml?id=R0309A). - Interesting case study in the September
issue of the Harvard Business Review, for those who have access
either online or receive the dead tree edition. Executives at a
fictitious medical supply company learn that one of their employees
("Glove Girl") is commenting on their products and relationships
with customers in her own weblog, which has developed quite a
following. Largely because of Glove Girl, there has been a
significant upsruge in the demand for their surgical gloves. And
yet, some of her comments are edgy and not particularly flattering
to the company. The executives are unsure what to do about this
"unofficial" non-sanctioned communications vehicle. Weighing in
with suggestions: [45]David Weinberger, [46]Pamela Samuelson,
[47]Ray Ozzie, Erin Motameni (VP of human resources, [48]EMC). The
author of the case study, Halley Suitt, maintains her own
[49]weblog. - [50]SK
Van de Sompel, Herbert. "[51]Developing New Protocols to Support
and Connect Digital Libraries: An Interview with Herbert Van de
Sompel" [52]OCLC Newsletter (261) (July 2003)
(http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/design/e-newsletter/n261/interview.
htm). - As the "father" of the OpenURL standard and a key moving
force behind the [53]Open Archives Initiative, Van de Sompel is
clearly on of librarianship's leading lights. His ability to think
imaginatively about library problems, and to create simple yet
effective solutions is remarkable. Therefore, this interview is
both interesting and likely to prove prophetic regarding new ways
libraries will be able to interoperate (e.g., a SOAP version of the
OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting). His comments on RDF and the
Semantic Web are particularly worthy of your attention. - [54]RT
_________________________________________________________________
Current Cites - ISSN: 1060-2356
Copyright (c) 2003 by the Regents of the University of California All
rights reserved.
Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin
board/conference systems, individual scholars, and libraries.
Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collections at no
cost. This message must appear on copied material. All commercial use
requires permission from the editor. All product names are trademarks
or registered trade marks of their respective holders. Mention of a
product in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of
the product. To subscribe to the Current Cites distribution list, send
the message "sub cites [your name]" to
[55]listserv@library.berkeley.edu, replacing "[your name]" with your
name. To unsubscribe, send the message "unsub cites" to the same
address.
References
Visible links
1. LYNXIMGMAP:http://sunsite/CurrentCites/2003/cc03.14.9.html#head
2. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
3. http://info.lib.uh.edu/cwb/bailey.htm
4. http://www.cam.org/~mgross/mgross.htm
5. http://iir.berkeley.edu/faculty/huwe/
6. http://www.hooboy.com/
7. http://leoklein.com/
8. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
9. http://www.vraweb.org/CCOweb/
10. http://www.vraweb.org/
11. http://www.diglib.org/
12. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
13. http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_8/cedergren/index.html
14. http://www.firstmonday.dk/
15. http://iir.berkeley.edu/faculty/huwe/
16. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/rsr.htm
17. http://leoklein.com/
18. http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL31845.pdf
19. http://www.cam.org/~mgross/mgross.htm
20. http://www.infotoday.com/IP/sep03/lepoer_theodori.shtml
21. http://www.infotoday.com/IP/default.shtml
22. http://www.cam.org/~mgross/mgross.htm
23. http://www.infotoday.com/online/sep03/oleary.shtml
24. http://www.infotoday.com/online/default.shtml
25. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
26. http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/community/librariesstackup.pdf
27. http://info.lib.uh.edu/cwb/bailey.htm
28.
http://www.freepint.com/issues/180903.htm?FreePint_Session=8baf0efb6b21698e1891023742586e74#tips
29. http://www.freepint.com/
30. http://www.hooboy.com/
31. http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_8/rennie/index.html
32. http://www.firstmonday.dk/
33. http://iir.berkeley.edu/faculty/huwe/
34. http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/product.asp?sku=J136
35. http://leoklein.com/
36.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WGR-4938JRM-2/2/26fb7e232b69d72e2f09bedae366dc75
37. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10715819
38. http://leoklein.com/
39. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/15/1063478109311.html
40. http://www.smh.com.au/
41. http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Conduct.html
42. http://www.hooboy.com/
43.
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R0309A
44.
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/%20%20b02/en/hbr/hbr_home.jhtml
45. http://www.evident.com/
46. http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/~pam/
47. http://www.ozzie.net/blog/
48. http://www.emc.com/
49. http://halleyscomment.blogspot.com/
50. http://www.hooboy.com/
51.
http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/design/e-newsletter/n261/interview.htm
52. http://www.oclc.org/news/publications/newsletters/default.htm
53. http://www.openarchives.org/
54. http://escholarship.cdlib.org/rtennant/
55. mailto:listserv@library.berkeley.edu
