Transcript Information Technologies and Their Impacts on the LIS Field

Information Technologies and
Their Impacts on the LIS Field
LIS510
History of Technology
• Technological progress is not new.
• Historical overview.
– development of computers and networks in
libraries
– development of the Internet, which largely
happened outside libraries.
Early technical advances
• Microphotography in the early 20th century.
– It allowed to photograph sheets of paper and
allow to read them with a special device
• tremendous savings of storage cost
• hard to read
• photocopier, invented in the 1960s, was a
great advance in libraries, but brought
attacks from copyright holders.
Computers in libraries
• most important application was in
bibliographic data, with the development of
the MARC record.
• OCLC became a significant organization
that allowed libraries
– to share MARC records
– print catalog cards
– interlibrary loan facilities
– acquisition support.
Networks in libraries
• also appeared in the 60s. this allowed for
online information retrieval, eventually
• in 1964 Lockheed developed the DIALOG
system, offering online access to database
– this system collects databases
– it makes them away collectively or individually
through a search interface
• access to DIALOG was limited to
specialized staff.
CD-ROM
• This came along in the 1980.
• It could hold a lot of information.
• It did not need network to use,
theoretically. In practice it was hard for two
users to use the same CD-ROM without
some kind of a network.
• It certainly did not need a remote network,
that was where all the cost was.
Integrated library system
• this is a local computer and network
application that integrates
– acquisition
– serials
– catalog maintenance
– catalog access
– circulation records
– collection management
• these systems took a while to mature.
OPAC
• an OPAC is an online public access
catalog.
• it allowed a user access to the library
catalog via a computer terminal
• no need to buy catalog cards and no need
to file them.
Linked OPACs
• As more and more OPACs became open
access from outside, there was more
demand to search many of them at once.
• A special distributed searching protocol,
Z39.50 was developed over many years.
Internet
• Internet is not a physical network.
• It is as abstraction that allows different
physical networks to work together and
appear as one.
• Main facilities
– email
– remote use of computers
– file transfer
– World Wide Web
E-mail
• it is the oldest Internet application
• also one of the most complex these days
because
– old protocols
– never designed to deal with spam
• not likely that you will get much involved with
running an email system
• Email lists are very important information
sources that are not readily found on the Web.
Remote computer use & file
transfer
• There are two common protocol
– telnet for remote login and use
– ftp for file transfer
• some older OPACs may be accessed with telnet
• but telnet and ftp are no longer used in private
transaction because they are not secure
• ssh (aka secure shell) is a successor to ftp and
telnet.
The Web
• The web is a medium that uses three
standards
– URI for addressing objects “on the web”
– http for transferring these objects
– HTML to build a hypertext system to build and
navigate resources.
Web and libraries
• Libraries have become heavily involved in
– building web site
– buying access to toll-gated web sites
– building resources that are indirectly available
on the Web
• Web OPACs
• archives with machine interfaces
Digital libraries
• Nobody really knows what they are.
• Much of the LIS literature discussing digital
libraries in fact addresses web sites.
• I like Bill Arms’ definition best. Digital libraries
share the fact that
– organized on computers
– available over a network
– maintain procedures to
• select
• organize
∙ make available
∙ archive
Digital library definition
• An informal definition of a digital library is
a managed collection of information, with
associated services, where the information
is stored in digital formats and accessible
over a network.
• “managed” in the key word here.
Web Portal
• A portal can be understood as an interface
on the web, that allows you to use a digital
library.
• Portals can sometimes be personalized.
• Portals may be used as an intermediary
for online reference services.
technology and next generation
libraries
• five challenges
– malleability (information changes)
– selectivity (people abandon print-only)
– exclusivity (not everyone has access)
– vulnerability (print assets are more
vulnerable)
– superficiality (some rubbish is on the Internet)
Libraries adapt
• libraries get wired
• they offer electronic access
– even to the home user
• shift from information access to community
center
• adopt digital reference with 24/7
asynchronous help
• get involved in digital archiving of
institutional assets.
Digital library cost
• digital library material will cost more
initially because publishers want to see a
return in the extra functionality they have
developed.
• in the longer run, digital library costs may
be lower than in print
– lower storage cost
– less risk to the items
– fewer staff requirements
Digital library cost
• Non-digital libraries are very expensive.
• Digital libraries are also expensive. Many
publishers charge more for online editions
that for traditional print.
• However the cost of the infrastructure is
dropping.
• And there are potentials for changes in the
way information is supplied in digital
libraries.
Roles for the library with digital
material
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investigation what to buy
negotiation of the purchase
acquisition of access to a service
installation of access devices
training of users
maintenance: update, migrate, replace
and in the future, maybe: archiving.
Digital preservation
• this is hugely complicated area
• keeping files is not a big deal as long as
one avoids
– proprietary formats
– removable media
• but this issue of what to preserve is tough
when the contents shows lack of fixity.
Impact of technology on staff
• information professionals that are
technologically savvy will thrive better than those
who are not.
• constant computer use can cause serious health
problems
• Problem areas are
– bad posture problems at the desk
– eye strain
• use of mouse is particularly bad. learn how to
avoid using it.
• injuries take a long time to heal
Impact on the mission
• none. libraries are still there to
disseminate quality information to the
largest number of people
Benefits of digital libraries
• The digital library brings the library to the
user.
• Computer power is used for searching and
browsing.
• Information can be shared.
• Information is easier to keep current.
• The information is always available.
• New forms of information become
possible.
Technological change
• Electronic storage is becoming cheaper
than paper
• Personal computer displays are becoming
more pleasant to use
• High-speed networks are becoming
widespread
• Computers have become portable
Metadata
• Metadata is data about data. The
distinction between data and metadata
depends often on the context.
• Metadata is often divided into
– descriptive metadata
– structural metadata
– administrative metadata
Metadata
• Structured data about data
• Priscilla Caplan:
– “Metadata really is nothing more than data
about data; a catalog record is metadata; so
is a TEI header, or any other form of
description. We could call it cataloging, but for
some people the term carries excessive
baggage, like Anglo- American Cataloging
Rules and MARC.”
MARC21
Text Encoding Initiative
Dublin Core
Encoded Archival Description
Columbia University
MASTER METADATA FILE PROJECT
HTML, XML
MARC RECORDS
pages, menus & digital
objects for Columbia
Digital Library
from Columbia OPAC
(NOTIS), OCLC, RLIN, etc.
NON-MARC
METADATA
from DL projects &
publishers
DIRECT STAFF INPUT
via customized web / SQL-based
input forms
Master
Metadata
File
(SQL)
Extract,
convert to
MMF
Format
& load
SQL,
ODBC,
HTTP
DISTRIBUTED USER INPUT via
Customized Web / SQL-based input forms
Extract,
format &
publish
metadata
SQL,
ODBC,
HTTP
USMARC
formatted output
SGML, DUBLIN CORE
formatted output
DIRECT USER QUERIES
& specialized reports using industry
standard SQL products
The Web as a Digital Library
• The Web is the most rapidly growing
information system in the world:
– An electronic publishing medium
– An advertising medium
– A market-place
– A collaboration medium
– A library
• BUT IS IT REALLY A LIBRARY?
What is a Digital Library
• Libraries support five classes of functions
in support of cultural, technical, and
scientific information services: SCOAP
– Selection
– Collection
– Organization
– Access
– Preservation
The Web is About Access
• The rest is left as an exercise to the reader
(and the writer, webmaster, publisher,
researcher, librarian, secretary, etc.)
• “The Web is a library with the pages torn
out, scattered randomly, without a naming
system, catalog, or classification system. It
has no walls. Unfortunately the roof is
gone, too.”
Digital Library Myths
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Soon everything will be digital
Digital is better than print
Digital replaces print
Digital is cheaper than print
Digital serves all disciplines equally well
All digital library projects are worth our
attention
Issues & Trends:
The Hybrid Library
• Libraries are, and will remain, a varied and
complex mix of collections and services
• Collections will continue to be in print,
electronic, and digital formats
• Services must increasingly be
disconnected from time and place
• Staff will be called upon to gain new
competencies and fulfill new roles
Issues & Trends: Indexes
• Authentication issues
• Lease v. purchase (continued access &
preservation)
• The plethora of databases available often leaves
the user adrift
• Problems that need solving:
– Robust authentication
– Integration of access (one-stop searching, linking to
content, etc.)
– Advice and guidance on database selection
Issues & Trends: Content
• Are we are still in “low hanging fruit”
mode?
• Will we will continue to have “islands” of
digital content in a “sea” of print?
• Therefore…
– We need to integrate access to information in
all forms
– We need to make print more desirable
Issues & Trends: Access Systems
• Being “Out of Their Way”: Why?
– Our users simply want to get their work done
– Anything extraneous gets in their way
– Over-complicated search systems hinder access for the
majority
• Being “Out of Their Way”: How?
– Simplify the front end
– Complicate the back end:
• Pre-processing the query
• Post-processing the results
• Filter options
• Sort options
– Provide ways the user can control and personalize their
interface
Issues & Trends: Services
• Users will increasingly expect to be served where, when,
and how they wish
• For the first time in our history, libraries now have
serious service competitors
• Being “In Their Face”: Why?
– Many catalogs and search systems are difficult to understand
and use
– Users need help at the moment they get stuck — email is
inadequate
– Unless assistance is obvious and convenient, the user will
remain stuck
– Other, readily available information sources, can be convenient
but inadequate (web search engines, for example)
What’s in the digital library?
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Items ?
Material ?
Documents ?
Objects?
Digital Items ?
Digital Material ?
Digital Documents ?
Digital Objects ?
Five Suggestions for the Internet
(Debora Seys)
• On the Internet no one knows you’re a
librarian
• Truth, beauty and satisfaction are in the
eye of the beholder
• Maybe the haystack knows a lot more
about the needle than we think
• It’s a whole new ballgame
• The Internet will win
Questions for discussion
• Is technological change evolutionary or revolutionary? Is
there a little bit of Luddite in each of us? How can
librarians manage the technological change that is
always pushing them, and how can librarians
accommodate the disquiet of technophobic patrons?
• Librarians and information professionals play an
“intermediary role.” How does it fit into the new social
context created by new information technologies, e.g.
the Internet and World Wide Web, to promote
information services?
• Is the content of the World Wide Web (in your opinion)
mainly information or communication?
Questions for discussion
• What are the ways that one can evaluate
the content of the World Wide Web? What
is our role as information professional in
evaluation of Web content?
• What is a digital library?
• Do we still need a physical library?
• What forces are driving the development
of digital libraries?