Digitization 101

Details are below and at https://wnylrc.org/cdl. Note that registration will close on March 7.

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Exploring the Future of Digital Library Loans: Controlled Digital Lending

 March 10 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm (EST)

Register here for the virtual only version of the symposium

Register here for the in-person version of the symposium. Lunch will be provided only to in-person attendees.

Join us in person or online for a one day symposium on controlled digital lending. You will learn what controlled digital lending is, where the concept came from, the technical aspects of how it works in the library, and the legal frameworks of controlled digital lending.

This symposium is being offered in a hybrid format. There are two registration pages - one for in-person, one for online. Please ensure you are on the correct page for the format you desire before registering.

The in-person version of the conference will be hosted at the Western New York Library Resources Council (Airport Commerce Park East, 4950 Genesee Street, Suite 170, Cheektowaga, NY 14225). Lunch will be provided.

Online registrants will receive the Zoom information one day prior to the event taking place. Live transcription and closed captioning will be provided via Otter.ai and Zoom.

Presenters:
Tom Bruno (University of Pennsylvania Libraries)
Charlie Barlow (Boston Library Consortium)
Reed Jones (State University of New York at Buffalo)
Sui Mei Grierson (State University of New York at Buffalo)

 

Academic libraries are becoming places that contain many different things to support the academic life of the campus, and that means books need to be moved. Many academic libraries are moving physical books out of their open stacks, placing those books in closed stacks, and then often delivering materials digitally to students and faculty upon request.  So the move to digital is happening. That means the news from Vermont State University should not be a surprise.

Vermont State University seems to moving to digital as a way of cutting costs (i.e., financial sustainability).  As this article states, this move:

...involves eliminating all physical resources in the university’s libraries and transitioning to a digital-only library. Books, collections and other materials are set to be redistributed, in part to community members, according to an FAQ published by the university. 

The FAQ states:

This was a data-driven decision. The libraries of Vermont State University have seen year-over-year declines in circulation of physical materials. We also met with and surveyed students. What we heard was that students need and want access to library resources where they are, whether on or off campus. Students also want to see physical libraries repurposed to better suit their needs.

Sadly, I suspect that all of the works the academic programs need will not be available in digital format. I wonder how VSU will handle that?

Question: As you digitize materials and license more digital assets, is a digital-only library in your future? If that is a possibility, are you preparing your leadership, staff, and patrons for the transition?  Have you spent time envisioning what a digital-only library might be like, perhaps as a way of thinking about the "distant" future? If yes, how is that informing what you're doing today?

Published on Nov. 15, this blog post by Brewster Kahle has been read by many and if you haven't read it, you should. Kahle begins by writing:

Ever try to read a physical book passed down in your family from 100 years ago?  Probably worked well. Ever try reading an ebook you paid for 10 years ago?   Probably a different experience. From the leasing business model of mega publishers to physical device evolution to format obsolescence, digital books are fragile and threatened.

He then goes on to talk about what the Internet Archive and others do to keep digital works available and accessible. Yes, it takes a concerted effort of people and machinery, and that requires money. 

Looking back at my own blog posts, I know that I've written about digital preservation for a LONG time. It is not my constant focus, but I'm glad it is the focus of other folks who have the knowledge and fortitude to help our digital assets last for years to come. If you are able, support their work...if by no other way than helping them make the need for the work visible.

If you're interested in digital lending in a controlled environment or other areas where you might need DRM, you'll be interested in this about Readium LCP.

Readium LCP was developed five years ago to protect digital files from unauthorized distribution. Unlike proprietary platforms, the technology is open to anyone who wants to look inside the codebase and make improvements. It is a promising alternative for libraries and users wanting to avoid the limitations of traditional DRM. 

For more information, read the entire post.

 

This webinar, Past, Present, and Future of Digital Libraries, is free and open to all. It will be on August 3, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET.

As received in email.

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Sharon Yang, in her 2013 article "From integrated library systems to library management services: Time for change?" wrote:

According to OCLC, an estimated 50 percent or more of a library's collections are electronic resources, and 65 percent or more of the materials budget of libraries are spent on e‐content today (Burke, 2012). Based on this rate, by 2020, an estimated 80 percent of the materials budget will be spent on e‐books and e‐journals (OCLC, 2010). In spite of these trends and changes, libraries are still using outdated systems to manage modern collections.

Two things stand out to me from this quote.  First, the increased amount of money which is and will be spent on digital resources. Yes, we know this and it is impacting every library budget.  Second, the phrase "libraries are still using outdated systems to manage modern collections." I'm sure library vendors do not believe this is true, but I wonder if they - and us - are thinking big enough about the problem.

As emphasized in the IMLS event on the National Digital Platform (relevant blog posts), libraries, museums and archives need to create better platforms for the work they are doing.  In my mind, these are platforms which would allow for better discovery and sharing of material.  These are platforms that would adhere to specific standards, so the sharing of data, as well as material, can be done easily.  These platforms would be built to support the processes our cultural institutions have in place, rather than our institutions needing to radically modify their processes in order to use the software.

I like that vision and there are people already working on it, and systems already being built. What we need, though, are people - who are emerging from their undergraduate/graduate programs - who are willing to carry this work forward.  We need people who will support this work over the course of their careers.  That may mean helping to build and maintain, or it might mean being willing to break with the status quo and use these new systems, OR it might mean working with/for our software vendors to bring them on board.  This means breaking with the way things were done before, even "before" means literally yesterday.

Are you on board?

Rolls of hay in Pennsylvania

My last post here was June 20.  Since then I've been on the road for work and vacation, and then catching up from being "out of the office."  Blogging has not be on my mind.  However, I do have a series of blog posts in the works on increasing your library intelligence.  My goal is to begin to release them next week.

I am not the type of librarian, who must visit libraries while on vacation.  However, I do notice libraries and during the last T is for Training podcast, I started the conversation by mentioning the signage at one public library.  That opened an hour-long conversation on library signage, signage audits, and the digital face of a library. If you haven't thought about your signage (or web site) in a while, you might use this podcast episode to prompt a review.  The T is for Training web site contains show notes for the episode.

I am catching up on reading and Internet surfing, which means I'm finding things I should have read months ago.  This blog post wonders if award winning book covers are on books with highly rated content.  I've copied the post's graphic below and you're welcome to go read the original post.  However, this got me thinking about web site design and specifically library web sites.

Most libraries have a web site.  Those sites are created in a number of different ways, using free and fee-based tools.  Some provide basic information about the library, while others are more in-depth.  I suspect that most do not provide all of the information that their users want, such as information about the staff or board of trustees, or details about borrowing privileges.  Indeed many libraries only provide what the staff is interested in sharing, and that could be very little.

Most libraries do not have someone on staff who can create a professional design of the web site.  Sites which we might consider "award winning" are likely owned by large, well-funded libraries, where a tech-savvy person internally or externally is charged with maintaining the site.  As our computing devices have changed (e.g., the move to mobile devices), our site designers have had to create sites that will look good and function on any type of device. This is called responsive design.  My own site is an example of one that uses responsive design so that it functions well on any type of device.

The problem with web sites (and books) is that a great looking site may have very little useful content.  In some cases, a great looking site may actually contain fake content, while a site that is not designed by a professional may have extemely useful content.  Yes, judging a book (or web site) by its design can be problematic.

So what are you to do? 

• Whether your site is for a digitization program, a specific department, or the entire library, make sure that it gives users the information that they desire about you (program, department, library).  If you are waiting until it is designed perfectly, don't.  Place the information online, then schedule time to make it better.
• State your assumptions.  You actually have no idea who will use your web site, so don't assume that they will know specific details about you (e.g., location).  
• Work towards a design that is compliant with American with Disabilities Act rules/guidelines.  If you don't know what that means, ask someone.  Yes, there are free tools, like this one, which you can use to assess accessibility.  I know you might get frustrated with the errors, but try to work on fixing them.
• Work towards functional and informative, then towards beautiful.  People will endure a less than beautiful web site, if it delivers worthwhile information.
• When possible hire someone - even a knowledgeable intern - who can help you with your web site.  Remember that you can contract with someone to provide this service on-demand.

By the way, I did run my own web site through the WAVE tool and I can see that I have some changes to make!  I guess I better do that before I look at any of the books below.



Created by Syracuse University's School of Information Studies master of information management program.

David Ferriero and John Palfrey

I tweeted that (above) from a session at the ALISE 2013 conference that was about the Tea Party and Occupy movements.  What does it mean, really?

We've all heard or said things that weren't exactly correct, but whose sentiment was correct.  It could be a misquote or even a made-up quote from someone.  It might be totally contrived like the image to the right.  The question is...if the sentiment is correct, does the "exactness" matter?

While this question was raised in talking about content produced by social movements, I find it interesting from the point of view of our digital archives.  We want our archives to be accurate, but does that mean that we want the content to be verifiable or true?  What if the sentiment was accurate, while the words were not?  Would we place these things in our archives for future access?  If yes, how would we label them?  Personally, I think the descriptions could be tricky, since it could mean understanding who create the information and why.

As I write this, I am also thinking of images that have been Photoshopped liked the one, several years ago, of the British royal family where they altered Prince William's smile.  Was the image accurate?  No. Yet is was an official photograph and has been archived as such, I'm sure.  I wonder if the metadata includes a note saying that William's smile is a fake?

This blog post in the The Signal is a must read because it presents the results of a survey that asked about qualifications a successful job candidate needs.  I'll not repeat it here...so go read it for yourself!

The Digital Public Library of America has received a $1 million award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  The money will be used to help make library materials from across the nation freely available to anyone online.  In addition, funding "would also free up resources for local libraries to focus on community needs and activities catering to neighborhood kids and adults."  For more information read the article in InnovationNewsDaily.

I have been talking with practitioners recently about their expectations of new library and information science graduates.  One thing is clear - they expect graduates to be able to use, learn, adopt, integrate, and teach technology.  Every library uses or is impacted by technology.  Yes, libraries are implementing digitization programs, installing general use databases, relying on integrated library systems, and circulating ebooks (and other digital media).  And...yes...no matter where you work in a library, you will need to use technology.  Technology isn't compartmentalized.

Historically as a profession, we have attracted people that are interested in books and reading.  Look at your library?  Are the books multiplying before your eyes or is the technology multiplying?  I would argue that technology is dominating libraries and so if you are interested in the profession because of books, I hope you're interested in ebooks, audio books, etc., because those are where important conversations and innovations are happening.

As for reading, yes, it is important, but so is information that comes in forms other than text, including audio, graphics, etc.  Our users don't just want to read and our librarian-technologist need to be comfortable helping them find what they want, no matter the format.

While every librarian-technologist does not need to be a programmer, each should understand how to communicate with programmers as well as library users.  The librarian-technologist needs to be able to talk about specifications, user needs, project requirements, etc.  No...you can't just push this responsibility off on someone else!  You...YOU...need to be an equal partner in the conversation and to do that, you need to be a technologist.

If you're a library science student, consider taking classes that will help you understand and use technology, including a good class on creating databases.  Do you need to learn a programming language?  I think the answer is "yes".  Does it matter which one?  No.  Part of learning a programming language is learning how programmers think and why.  Also, once you learn one programming language, it is easy to learn another.  (And you know, they keep changing!)

If you're entering a library science program and your interest is in books and reading, please be willing to expand your horizons.  That is the only way you will have the impact on the profession (and its users) that you desire.

Let me tell you three situations that have me thinking about this.

First, if you are trying to catalogue or create metadata for an item that is not in your native language, can you complete the task?  Would it be helpful to know another language?  We know that some languages have similarities, so could knowing one additional language actually help you navigate a few more than that?  And would it make you a more effective librarians?

Second, if you are working the reference desk in a city that has a diverse population, should you be able to service people in their own language?  In some industries that diversity in language is sought and valued (e.g., hospitals).  Should libraries also seek to have that type of diversity on their staff?

I have a student who is doing an internship in a public library.  He has realized that being conversant in Spanish would be a good thing.  In the U.S., a growing segment of our population speaks Spanish, so shouldn't our library staff speak Spanish?  (And if there is another language widely used in the community, shouldn't we have staff members that also speak that language?) 

Third, if you are build a service (e.g., digital collection) that will be used by a diverse group of people, would it be helpful to have text in their own languages that would help them use the site?  Would you want to outsource that work?  Would you want someone on staff to do that work or even know the language well enough to be able to supervise the work?

If you agree that knowing a foreign language would be useful for library and information science graduates, how do we encourage them to learn a language or maintain fluency in a language?  Should we ask existing staff to learn a language that is being used in the community and even tell them which language they need to learn?  (For example, you need to learn Mandarin, not French.)

In September 2010, I wrote a Wayback Wednesday on digital libraries.  Now I want to write another post on the topic, but with a different focus.

We have this concept of a digital library.  If you follow the links below, you will see that there are many definitions of what a digital library is. (more here) Very very simply put, a digital library is some manner of online resources.  There are graduate students who study digital libraries with a goal to become a digital librarian.  What the students learn how to do is to be a librarian whose tool set include the application of normal library ideas to a digital realm. Indeed, because most libraries now contain electronic/digital resources, every librarian is involved in a "digital library". 

I interact daily with students that are interested in digital libraries and who want to take classes in the subject.  Yet, I look at courses such as "reference" and see the amount of digital content in them. Reference is not a course related to the area of digital libraries, yet many digital libraries are used in reference services.  Reference librarian are involved with contract negotiation, discussing the installation of digital resources, etc.  They need to understand a bit about how those digital resources are constructed, in order to teach how to use them.  Does that make a reference librarian a digital librarian?

A cataloguer (or metadata librarian) may not have studied digital libraries, yet the person's work is vital for the creation of digital collections and digital libraries.  Are those workers digital librarians?

I see students learning the latest technologies and delving into database construction, etc., but who do not take digital library specific courses. Yet when they graduate can they call themselves digital librarians?

Or perhaps as hinted in the title of this post, the phrase "digital librarian" has outlived its usefulness.  Maybe it is time to admit that every librarian is a digital librarian.

What do you think?

Previous blog posts:

• What is a digital library? I need YOUR definition. - This contains three definitions.
• David Lankes on “Participatory Librarianship and Digital libraries”
• Paper: Collaboration Services in a Participatory Digital Library: An Emerging Design
• Thomas Frey on electronic outposts (a version of digital libraries)
• John Unsworth's definition of a digital library 

If you haven't read or skimmed this article - published in June 2011 - then you should.  Here is a teaser:

The library clearly has reevaluated its role within the Internet information ecosystem and found a set of new identities. Let's start from here: One, the New York Public Library is a social network with three million active users and two, the New York Public Library is a media outfit.

In this 20 minute video, Jim Del Rosso, the Web and Digital Projects Manager at the Cornell University Catherwood Library (part of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations), talks about their institutional repository, social media, networking and other topics.  I'm sharing this because I found it interesting to hear what they are including in their institutional repository, which includes asking for material in digital form as well as digitizing content.



8/2/2011: Fixed the video URL. Not sure what happened. Sorry.

Last year, Günter Waibel, Program Officer at OCLC Research, wrote a two-part series on collaboration:

• The Future is Collaborative Part I: Give The People What They Want
• The Future is Collaborative Part II: Early Exemplars

Waibel wrote:

...the 17,500 museums in the U.S. effectively divide what they have to offer over an equal number of institutional websites. To make matters worse, cultural content is not only silo’d into segregated sites, but further dispersed across 122,356 libraries and countless archives (I literally couldn’t find a count) across the U.S. All of them believe that they are at the center of their user’s universe – and none of them truly are.

I have written here before abiut the need for collaboration. Waibel's words serve as another reminder of their benefit.

If you haven't yet collaborated, what are you waiting for?

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