Stream of Consciousness

Yahoo! had a piece on this recently - fascinating stuff - using technology to line up humans behind the screen.  Much like in the ‘Wizard of Oz’, except you know there’s someone behind the curtain.

They highlighted ‘mechanical turk’ - a venture by Amazon to “complete simple tasks that people do better than computers. And, get paid for it.”  They call each of these tasks a “HIT” which stands for Human Intelligence Task.

There’s also a search engine out there - ChaCha - that combines brainpower with bandwidth.  Their ‘Search with a Guide’ will “get the few exact results you want, not the millions of results you don’t.”  Sounds like a librarian to me!

Check out this list of ‘bests’ for Web 2.0: http://realsoftwaredevelopment.com/2006/10/best_of_the_bes.html

They say they’re updating it daily based on user feedback, so watch for new innovations too.

Wow!  This is truly the power of an online community.  Catalog and review your own library of books, and share that info with others!

Do you do the Library Thing?

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, and what it means is you can use your computer like a telephone.  Many VOIP services are ‘free’ - all you need is an internet connection.  Some have minimal charges for special services. 

Skype is one example of a VOIP software.  Here at the university, iLinc is our VOIP software for classes that meet online. 

I’m looking forward to the day when there will no longer be an old-fashioned “telephone” on my desk - technology has made it redundant.  All I need is my computer with a microphone headset and I can talk to anyone for ‘free’ - is this the end of ‘long distance’ and ‘roaming’ charges?  (I’m not holding my breath, but it’s good for now.)

Social networks like MySpace and facebook gather thousands of new users each week.  Are we (libraries) gathering thousands of new users each week?  People are beginning to create sustainable social networks online that go beyond participating in high school or college groups.

The idea is that libraries need to go where the people are.  To be part of those groups, we can make our own page in these environments, and also enable others to save our online library catalog (OPAC) into their own page as well.

The biggest draw is that these services combine a lot of Web 2.0 functions into one place.  Interactive events, blogs, publishing, communication, photos, avatars, etc. are available to members.

Should University Libraries have a presence in these online communities?

Avatars - what are they?  They are a visual representation that you use for yourself in the online world.  They can be cartoons, photos, drawings, a logo, etc.

The importance of visualization in the Web 2.0 environment was discussed by Stephen Abram in his recent podcast on technology in libraries.  He believes this is how people are going to be using the web in the future. 

Like colors on a map, patterns can be seen visually that convey information without words.  Retrievers will be used to draw and prioritize pictures that match up with your drawing - a visual search tool that will give the ability to find pictures without metadata and without words.

Do you have an avatar?  Have you found any retriever tools online yet?

Stephen Abram mentioned podcasting in his own recent podcast on technologies in libraries.  Per Stephen, with a $15 microphone you’re in business. 

Suggestions included recording story hours, lessons, book reviews, speeches, and to use a program like iTunes to organize your content.  Reconnect with people who are stuck in traffic and can listen to these podcasts while they commute.  Subscribe to podcasts with RSS.  Incorporate podcasts into your blog.

Please give your ideas on a podcast that you would create for the University Library System.

Fun stuff - there are quite a few people out there getting into the game.  Check out the links I’ve added to LTC (Librarian Trading Cards) at blogspot, flickr, and Carleton College. 

Please comment - which style is your favorite, and why?

Wow!  From subscriptions to dvd/movie/video collections to posting do-it-yourself productions on popular sites like YouTube, streaming media will change the way we do business.

Stephen Abram, in a recent podcast, gave the example of Denver Public Library, which has thousands of streaming media videos available over the web.  No more bulky cabinets required to store all of that media!  Stephen predicts that streaming media signals the death of the DVD as we know it today.

And streaming media is not just visual.  Streaming audio is here too - that includes mp3 files and podcasts.  Software programs such as iTunes create a personal ‘library’ for you of your own ‘collection’.  And watch for Spiralfrog to come out with UMI’s entire backfile of music for free very soon.

My personal view is that people are becoming their own librarians and they don’t even realize it.  I believe that there will be more need for public education on how to organize, classify, store, and retrieve information than in previous decades.

Please share your thoughts on streaming media and how it will affect the University Library System.

As mentioned in his recent podcast, Stephen Abram observed that libraries can take better advantage of the use of digital photography.  “Good marketers work very hard to make sure you have pictures of hands and faces” in your library.

Be sure to recognize your librarians as “individual professionals” and make the library more human by posting their photos too, just as you would find for doctors and lawyers.

You can even incorporate digital photography into blogs, or create an entirely photographic blog.  One example Stephen gave was the use of a photo blog to illustrate (no pun intended) the progress of a new building going up.

Please add comments on digital photography as it can be used to enhance the University Library System.