[15012] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Current Cites, November 2003
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Mon Dec 1 20:17:23 2003
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 18:21:01 -0800
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Current Cites
Volume 14, no. 11, November 2003
Edited by [2]Roy Tennant
The Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720
ISSN: 1060-2356 -
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites/2003/cc03.14.11.html
Contributors: [3]Charles W. Bailey, Jr., [4]Margaret Gross, [5]Shirl
Kennedy, [6]Leo Robert Klein, [7]Roy Tennant
[8]Applying Fair Use in the Development of Electronic Reserves
Systems Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries, 2003.
(http://www.arl.org/access/eres/eresfinalstmt.shtml). - This
document, which was drafted by noted copyright experts Georgia
Harper (Manager, Intellectual Property Section, University of Texas
System Office of General Counsel) and Peggy Hoon (Scholarly
Communication Librarian, North Carolina State Uni versity
Libraries) provides U.S. academic libraries with guidance about how
to provide electronic reserve systems that both maximize access to
needed materials and comply with copyright law. Given the failure
of the CONFU talks to develop electronic rese rves guidelines,
academic libraries must directly interpret the fair use provisions
of Section 107 of the Copyright Act to support electronic reserves
use. The authors believe that this section provides strong support
for electronic reserves if it is pro perly applied, and they note
that under Section 504(c)(2) when academic libraries "act in good
faith, reasonably believing that our actions are fair use, in the
unlikely event we are actually sued over a use, we will not have to
pay statutory damages even if a court finds that we were wrong."
This document was endorsed by the ARL Intellectual Property and
Copyright Committee and by ALA, AALL, MLA, and SLA. - [9]CB
Bennahum, David S. "[10]Warren Buffet for Coupon-Clippers"
[11]Slate (12 November 2003) (http://slate.msn.com/id/2091142/).
- You may have seen a sign in your local grocery store telling you
it is no longer accepting coupons downloaded/printed from the
Internet due to fraud/conterfeiting. This article discusses a new
and intriguing way that people are using the Internet to maximize
their savings from grocery coupons. A website called [12]The
Grocery Game analyzes the dead tree coupon inserts from Sunday
newspapers all over the country and indentifies whether each coupon
offers a "'rock bottom sale' (buy now!) or a mere 'phantom sale'."
The website takes all this information and provides a shopping list
geared to each subscriber's local supermarket. (Subscribers pay $10
for eight weeks of shopping lists.) It is interesting to read how
Teri Gault, The Grocery Game's founder, got her start analyzing
coupon amounts and grocery prices in Southern California, mainly
due to financial necessity. She began publishing her findings
online in February 2000, and now "she franchises the business
across the country, with six franchisees covering supermarkets in
22 states." The website also includes a message board for
subscriber discussions. The author speculates about how "a
collaboratively filtered, '[13]smart mob' nation of coupon-clipping
shoppers" could significantly change the coupon business as a
whole. And, he points out, "When it comes to consumer services,
Internet companies can be divided into two broad categories: those
with gee -whiz technology that isn't necessarily useful, and simple
ideas that help people to better accomplish an existing task. The
latter have fared better than the former." - [14]SK
Broun, Kevin. "[15]Integrating Internet Content" [16]netConnect
(Fall 2003): 20-23.
(http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA323333). - When someone
refers to RSS, most people think blogs (web logs or "diaries"). But
as this article explains, one of the best uses of RSS is in
automatic web site updating. Broun, Senior Web Developer at the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) provides an informative explanation
of how they use RSS to automatically update their web site. He also
explains how they are also producing RSS feeds themselves, so that
others can discover what's new from NCI. - [17]RT
Byers, Fred R. [18]Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs: A Guide for
Librarians and Archivists Washington, DC: Council on Library and
Information Resources and the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, October 2003.
(http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub121abst.html). - Written by a
technical staff member at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, this guide should be enthusiastically welcomed by any
librarian or archivist who must store and manage CDs or DVDs. When
optical discs were first introduced, the hype was that they were
virtually indestructible. Of course that was simply hype, and
librarians and archivists are only too familiar with the many ways
in which optical discs are vulnerable. But what has been difficult
to find until now has beensolid, authoritative information on this
topic presented in an easy to understand manner. This slim report
(42 pages including bibliography) is just such a resource. Included
are diagrams and explanations of all the various physical
architecture of thesediscs, a discussion about each type of disc
regarding life expectancy (as you might imagine, it depends on a
number of factors), how to properly clean them, and perhaps most
important given its potential impact on life expectancy, conditions
that affect CDs and DVDs. Highly recommended for anyone with
something on an optical disc they care about keeping. - [19]RT
Cochrane, Nick. "[20]Too Much Information" [21]The Age (11
November 2003)
(http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/10/1068329472603.html).
- "Despite having more information at our fingertips than any
generation before, there is little evidence that our ability to
make good, timely decisions has improved." Who can argue with this?
We are increasingly computer-literate and Intern et- literate, but
we are woefully lagging when it comes to information literacy --
this refers to society as a whole, of course, and not to
information professionals. We are bombarded with facts that we can
memorize, but we don't know how to sift and synthes ize, According
to [22]Ralph Catts, a University of New England researcher, "people
need to check for authenticity, currency and reliability." British
researcher Sheila Webber points out that " information illiterate
doctors are 'literally a disaster area' because health is 'a matter
of life and death'." One thing we can do is pay more attention to
how our personalities influence our information-seeking behavior.
Read information literacy rese archer Jannica Heinstrom's study,
[23]Fast Surfers, Broad Scanners and Deep Divers, to find out which
one of the three you are. Other issues having a negative impact on
information literacy: "the spr ead o f unfiltered information" and
unequal access to technology and connectivity. - [24]SK
Coyle, Karen. "[25]E-Books: It's About Evolution, Not Revolution"
[26]netConnect (Fall 2003): 8-12.
(http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA323334). - Coyle has long
tracked the e-book phenomenon, and is active in professional and
industry groups such as the [27]Open eBook Forum. Therefore, she
knows whereof she speaks, and thus this is a piece that anyone
interested in e-books should read. Beginning with the fall of the
Rocket Reader, Coyle contrasts that debacle with the countervailing
statistic that ebook sales are growing (albeit for different
platforms). After a quick nod to public domain and university-based
projects, Coyle surveys the commercial landscape and variant models
for ebook publication and marketing, with an eye toward the
particular needs of libraries. - [28]RT
Hirtle, Peter B. "[29]Digital Preservation and Copyright"
[30]Copyright & Fair Use (November 2003)
(http://fairuse.stanford.edu/commentary_and_analysis/2003_11_hirtle
.html). - Hirtle provides a very useful overview of all the various
aspects of copyright law that may apply to a library or archive's
work to preserve digital content. The upshot of the piece is
probably contained in this excerpt: 'Fortunately, while there is no
general exemption for preservation activities in copyright law,
there are exemptions that can help individuals and especially
libraries and archives legally preserve expressive works for the
future. There are some specific exemptions for certain types of
actions and for certain actors. Furthermore, in the absence of a
specific exemption, one can always consider fair use as a defense
when making a preservation copy.' Most the remainder of the piece
provides the justifying details for that statement. This should be
required reading for any library or archive intent on preserving
digital material that my be under copyright. - [31]RT
Kanellos, Michael. "[32]Microsoft aims for search on its own
terms" [33]CNET News.com (24 November 2003)
(http://news.com.com/2100-1008_3-5110910.html). - Microsoft is
tinkering with various technologies that, essentially, would link
search functions more closely to the operating system --
specifically, the forthcoming [34]Longhorn OS, a major update that
should hit the streets in 2006. This article specifically mentions
an experimental application, Implicit Query, that "retrieves links,
music files, e-mails and other materials that relate to
applications running in the foreground" -- without the user
specifically having to search for them. The author says that such
applications may "undermine the utility of commercial search
engines," by making its own software the most convenient place to
initiate a search. More than 1,000 internal users at Microsoft are
currently using a prototype application called [35]Stuff I've Seen,
that stores "every screen that has popped up on a given computer
monitor for a year" right on the hard drive, creating a local
database that is easily queried. In fact, the experimental search
applications mentioned here are concerned mainly with the universe
of information that exists on the local hard drive -- which may not
be so limited when, according to studies conducted by the company,
"up to 81 percent of Web pages accessed are repeat visits." Thus,
the links someone is interested in may already be residing on his
or her computer. - [36]SK
Karat, J., and C. M Karat. "[37]The Evolution of User-Centered
Focus in the Human-Computer Interaction Field" [38]IBM Systems
Journal 42(4) (November 2003): 532-541.
(http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj/424/karat.pdf). -
Interesting look at Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) over a twenty
year period. In the beginning, the authors see a terrain divided
into two parts: In one part were the theorists who came out of the
behavioral sciences and who emphasized clinical observation of
users interacting with technology; In the other part were the
technologists who concentrated on improving the hardware and
software. These two parts gradually drew together as the general
goals of HCI became clearer. Along the way, what practitioners
called themselves underwent a change. First, they were "human
factors specialists", then "usability engineers", and finally
"User-Centered Design (UCD) specialists". This change suggests a
broadening of focus and approach. The article is part of a special
issue devoted to Ease of Use. - [39]LRK
Klein, Leo. "[40]The Expert User Is Dead" [41]Library Journal (15
October 2003) (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA323336). -
This essay, by fellow Current Cites contributor [42]Leo Robert
Klein, touched a very sensitive nerve. It is a wonderful,
articulate rant against bibliographic "experts" who are fixated on
giving users what the experts think they need rather than what the
users really want. We make a huge mistake, Klein maintains, by
assuming that our users are just like us. They aren't. Like it or
not, most library users carry over their Web search habits into
proprietary database searching. The returned results that come up
first are the ones most likely to be utilized; many users do not
scroll down or click to go onto the next page of results. Their
objective is to seize on something usable as quickly as possible,
so they can complete their research projects. As information
professionals, we may lament this, but we are hard-put to change
peoples' habits. So we need to be working with them rather than
against them, by designing library websites with user-friendly
interfaces rather than sites for "expert users." Says Klein, "The
expert user is dead, not because we no longer need sophisticated
tools to find information -- emphatically we do -- but because we
can no longer get away with designing for expert users only." -
[43]SK
Stott, Victoria. "[44]A Museum Library in Transition" [45]Library
+ Information Update [Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals (CILIP)] (November 2003): 5pp..
(http://www.cilip.org.uk/update/issues/nov03/article3nov.html). -
This article capsulizes the history of an old and venerable British
institution, the Natinal Art Library (NAL), based in the Victoria &
Albert Museum. As librarians we face both continual change, and
uncertainty over our roles. It is both encouraging and refreshing
to see that this dichotomy is not new. In 1837 the Museum and its
adju cnt Library were created in order to train artisans in design,
which could be applied to British manufacture. This measure was
implemented in an attempt to improve the floundering fortunes in
the export of British products. Over the years the MAL saw its
mission and services expand and erode in step with the vagaries of
the times. The 1960s through to the 1980s proved to be dire times
for the NAL. Increased user demamd, explosive publishing, combined
with the twin evils of budgetary cutbacks and staff lay offs forced
the Library to serve only as a 'library of last reort.' Finally at
its nadir, the Library was forced to shut down frequently.
Presently the NAL is being revitalized. It now has a firm mission,
to serve and support the Museum. It will the Gate way, as single
access and process for client enquiries related to the Museum's
collections. New communications technologies are being utilized to
develop a host of user connectivity products and services. All
should be in place by 2006. - [46]MG
Tognazzini, Bruce. "[47]D'ohLT #2: Security D'ohLTs" [48]AskTOG
(November 2003)
(http://www.asktog.com/columns/058SecurityD'ohlts.html). - If
you've ever been irked by seemingly inane computer security
measures, this article is your revenge. In it, well-known human
interface evangelist, Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini points to
self-defeating practices that are so confusing they inherently lead
to workarounds, say a post-it full of passwords stuck to the
computer monitor. These workarounds lead in their turn to very
insecure computer systems. Favorite line: "Excessive security can
not only turn your financial and medical information into an open
book, it can actually kill you." - [49]LRK
Youngstrom, Erica. "[50]Technology poses problems for journals"
[51]Yale Daily News (21 November 2003)
(http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=24250). - Lots of us
assumed that journal subscriptions online would naturally be
cheaper than the print versions. It has not turned out that way.
Granted, the online versions are easier and more convenient to use,
but according to Yale Associate University Librarian [52]Ann
Okerson, journal subscription costs are going up at a rate of nine
percent a year...and how many library budgets are increasing at
that same rate? The problem is particularlyacute in the sciences;
at Yale, for example, of the $6.5 million Yale spent on journal
subscriptions in 2001-2002, $3.6 million went for scientific,
medical and technical journals. Price increases for journals in
other disciplines have not seen such dramatic increases, but prices
are not dropping, either. A key issue is whether it is necessary to
also continue with print subscriptions. Most faculty members
understand the economic issues involved, but some worry about
ongoing access to out-of-print materials, etc. One professor
conceded,"Maybe not every department has to have a hard copy at
every university." Another professor said that although he
acknowledges the financial aspects involved in the dissemination of
information, "as a researcher I sincerely wish it was free." -
[53]SK
_________________________________________________________________
Current Cites - ISSN: 1060-2356
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References
Visible links
1. LYNXIMGMAP:http://sunsite/CurrentCites/2003/cc03.14.11.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://www.hooboy.com/
6. http://leoklein.com/
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52. http://www.library.yale.edu/~okerson/alo.html
53. http://www.hooboy.com/
54. mailto:listserv@library.berkeley.edu
Hidden links:
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