ILS user groups can be one of the greatest sources of tips, tricks and inspiration for tech-oriented library staff. There was a recent discussion on the Innovative User’s Group that has led to an interesting way to embed various media into OPAC search results.

Each of these work in Innovative’s Millennium OPAC. I have not had a chance to check whether this will work in other systems, but would greatly enjoy hearing whether or not it works for others.

The key to this is the MARC 970 field, using the subfield |t, which is used for Table of Contents display information. It was observed that the contents of the field were passed along to the browser, and that html code could be passed to the bibliographic display.

It works well, and is a perfect example of a “hack”, utilizing existing functionality in new and creative ways. To date, there are six ways to extend the OPAC.

To try out these examples, simply copy the html code, starting with the |t, and paste it into a 970 field in a bibliographic record. Each of the examples should work as is; some information about how to modify the code, as well as a screenshot of the example is provided.

Displaying an Image:
This is fairly straightforward insertion of an image stored on Flickr. Change the URLs to whatever you need, adjust the pixel height and width, and this will serve you well.

|t<center><object data="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3694927599_039309b2e6_o.jpg" type="image/jpg" width="400" height="600"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3433/3694927599_039309b2e6_o.jpg"></img></object></center>

Image Screenshot

Embedding a Search Form:
This code embeds a search form for OpenLibrary, including a selector check box and link to an advanced search page. Search forms can be tricky, and it can be very challenging to get even basic search functionality for some services.

|t<br />Search OpenLibrary:<form method="get" action="http://www.openlibrary.org/search"><input border: 1px solid #ccc; width: 100%" type="text" name="q" value="" title="type_search." /><button class="go" type="submit">Go</button><br /><input tabindex="9" type="checkbox" value="mhsncqbxgkup" name="ftokens">Scanned books only<br /><a href="http://www.openlibrary.org/advanced" style="text-decoration: underline">OpenLibrary Advanced Search Page</a></form>

Search Box Screenshot

Embedding a Video:
This example embeds a YouTube video, specifically the preview for the film “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Previews of videos available in the library, library instructional videos, and author interviews are examples of the types of embedded video that add can value to your OPAC.

The embedding information comes from the “Embed” information from the YouTube result page. You can also simply replace the URL information in the code below:

|t<center><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ilW32IKJoM0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="720" height="578"></embed></center>

Embedded Video Screenshot

Streaming Audio:
This example uses a third-party service called Odeo to stream the MP3 audio of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The audio file lives on the Internet Archive.

|tTo listen to the speech, click the "Play" button:<br /><center><embed src= "http://www.odeo.com/flash/audio_player_standard_gray.swf" quality="high" width="300" height="52" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars= "valid_sample_rate=true&external_url=http://www.archive.org/download/MLKDream/MLKDream_64kb.mp3" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></center>

Streaming Audio Screenshot

Journal Table of Contents
This example utilizes two separate third-party services. First, the ticTOCs Journal Tables of Contents service is used to locate an RSS feed for a table of contents, in this case “Educational Research“.

After this, the feed URL is entered into the Feed2js service, which generates the code. To display any RSS feed, simply use the Feed2js service with a feed’s URL.

|t<script language="JavaScript" src="http://feed2js.org//feed2js.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informaworld.com%2Fampp%2Frss%7Econtent%3D0013-1881&chan=y&tz=-5&targ=y&utf=y&html=a" charset="UTF-8" type="text/javascript"></script> <noscript> <a href="http://feed2js.org//feed2js.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informaworld.com%2Fampp%2Frss%7Econtent%3D0013-1881&chan=y&tz=-5&targ=y&utf=y&html=y">View RSS feed</a> </noscript>

Journal Table of Contents Screenshot

Virtual Bookplate
This example is simply a proof of concept, but I especially enjoyed putting this one together and hope to create a more polished version in the future. It uses a background image of an open book with blank pages (credit to happysweetmama via Flickr), and then applies Relative Positioning to place text on top of the image.

The text position, font, size, and content are all able to be controlled for each record. This can be a great way to honor those who add to a collection, or to highlight items from a particular collection.

|t<center><object data="http://www.libology.com/capital/OpenBook500.jpg" type="image/jpg" width="500" height="364"> <img src="http://www.libology.com/capital/OpenBook500.jpg" width="500" height="364"></img> </object><div style="position: relative; top:-225px; left:-125px"><font size="+1" font-family:"Times New Roman",Georgia,Serif;>A Gift from:</font></div><div style="position: relative; top:-260px; left:125px"><font size="+2" font-family:"Times New Roman",Georgia,Serif;>Josiah H.<br />Blackmore II</font></div></center>

Virtual Bookplate Screenshot

There are, I am sure, dozens of ways that one can use this hack to enhance the OPAC… these are just a start.

The University of Michigan has unveiled the PictureIt Rare Book Reader, an on-screen reader that is similar to others that I have seen, but faster, smoother, and simply beautiful to see and use.

The first book available online is volume one of John James Audubon’s Birds of America:

Click the image to open the reader

The software will be released under a Creative Commons license at some point in the future.

found via the Blog for Library Technology

As the economy continues to remain weak and budgets tighten for public libraries, here is a study that should encourage any community of the value of high speed internet access via their libraries:

Internet Use and Job Search (pdf)

In a nutshell, the rate of “discouragement” (giving up hope for finding work) is reduced by 50% when job seekers have high speed internet access, and is reduced by 30% when job seekers have access to dial-up internet.

This provides a justification for providing high speed access to the community, in that it will encourage not only a higher rate of employment, but also less desperation in those still seeking employment.

To take this one step further, I would suggest that providing training and support (perhaps through volunteers among job seekers) might improve a community’s results beyond the scope of the study.

found via LISNews, who found it via NPR

2010 : The Only Year of the E-Reader is a post on Kit Eaton’s blog at Fast Company.  He argues that the days (well, years) of the e-reader are nearly through, because the multi-function tablet seems to be coming into its own.

I agree, but will take it a step further:  we are in a period of technological convergence.  Our cell phones are cameras, organizers, and many things once reserved for the realm of computers (such as web browsers and e-mail software).  Products like the iPhone, Droid, and Nexus have shown what can be done in a small form factor.

Take things a few steps further, and there is no reason that future devices won’t have larger screens (folding? flexible?) that will serve well as e-readers.  In fact, one can keep adding software functionality and see that these will be primarily limited by our ability to interact with them.  The best smartphone keyboards only approximate what we can do with a standard keyboard, and I suspect that fixing that problem will be a quantum leap for users.

I expect this convergence to continue, until we will be carrying our computers on our hips and simply connecting to whatever networks and user devices we need at a particular location.  This is a common thing for web browsing and e-mail, watch for it with other functionality.  And yes, the “cloud” will play a big part (even though we are currently seeing a backlash against it).

When this day (year) arrives, will libraries be ready to integrate these new behaviors into our routines?  Will we see “reference as a service” or location based offerings become part of our forte?  I suspect that it will be like many current library technologies… we will get there eventually, with some leading the way.

found via Bobbi L. Newman at Library by Day

Baker & Taylor has the next big thing in ebooks. Really!

As with all of  the “next big things” we see in digital technology, we get to “wait and see”.

However, reading the post makes me marvel at the possibilities that this could provide to libraries that use Baker & Taylor and their Yankee Book Peddler (YBP) subsidiary.  Imagine being able to offer e-books bundled with any print copies purchased, with cataloging services included.

found via LISNews

I see these types of messages all the time on library-related websites, and I agree that it sends the message that those who manage those sites don’t have a good grasp of current web technology:

Time to Update? by David Lee King.

Check the web sites that your library presents to the world.  If you see messages like those highlighted by David, start talking to people about getting them up to date (or better yet, getting rid of them, since a good standards-designed site will work well across browsers and browser versions).

OCLC is previewing their new Policies Directory site, which is set to go live on December 13th.  To try it out, point your browser to:

https://policies-preview.oclc.org/

• Authorization:  100028264
• Password:  oclc

Be sure to enter your OCLC Institution Symbol to view your library’s directory information.

Be sure to visit OCLC’s overview of changes to the directory, which includes the link to the live directory.

found via ResourceShelf

How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age (pdf) is a report from Project Information Literacy, maintained by the Information School at the University of Washington that contains a few surprises for libraries:

• Course readings were the first place most students turn to for course-related research (97%).
• Over 80% of students used library-provided research databases.
• Usage of library offering (research databases, OPAC, print materials, and study areas) were all above 50%.

Now the not so good:

• All interactive library research (talk to a librarian, attend a training session, use chat, e-mail or other online “Ask A Librarian” service) fell below 25%.
• Students are missing out on potential resources (including library research assistance), simply because those resources are not within their range of research activity.

Where are students going for assistance?  They tend to go to their instructors for guidance and assistance, but otherwise they simply use the resources they already know about, or discover in the course of their research.

What might this mean for libraries?  We should push for better interaction with instructors, so that they will be more likely to understand the full range of resources available for students to use, and will be more likely to refer students to an interactive library resource (which was only done 26% of the time — and the only result on the survey below 60%).

We also should examine our online presence.  How does it present research resources?  Will someone looking for a particular type of information be able to locate all the resources that the library has to offer?  Print and online library guides for these activities can also be very beneficial.

This report should be read, and reviewed, with each of our libraries in mind.  By understanding that the people we interact with are only one-fourth of the population using our resources, we can begin to re-focus our efforts to ensure that what we have to offer will be used effectively.

found via Bill Drew, who found it via the Free Range Librarian

I have always been a fan of the idea of creating a mediated search engine – one in which the results have been reviewed in order to ensure a lean, relevant results list.

The reality of the idea is, shall we say, a different matter.  The process is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and usually falls short in the relevance category.

Springo may be the reality that falls closer to the ideal.  Focusing on topic-based searches, they provide results that reflect sites that people most use when they are seeking solutions to more generalized questions, such as e-mail software, movie reviews, or open source software.

The results aren’t perfect, but they do appear relevant.  Most of what I notice are the sites I would expect to be top-tier, but aren’t.  It is a great resource, especially for those who might otherwise find it challenging to wade through several dozen results to find what they need.

My other observation is that I almost immediately began to use the URL to form my search strings, rather than use the provided interface.  It just seems faster and easier to do so.  Plus, it would be nice to be able to right-click (Windows-centric) in order to open results in a new tab.  Minor quibbles, though, for an effective tool that has been a long time coming.

found via Library Journal (print edition, 1 November 2009)

punypng is a great service for those who work with the .png image format.  If you work on web sites, presentations, or other projects that involve image files, this is really worth adding to your toolkit.

What it does is fairly straightforward:  you upload your .png image file to their site, their algorithm examines the file and determines what can be done to make the file smaller without sacrificing image quality, and offers you the file as a download.

I tried it, and got as much as a 48% reduction in file size, without any visible loss of quality.  Even if all you get is a 10% reduction in file size, it means that your web sites, presentations, etc. will load and run faster.  For a busy web site, like Google or WorldCat, every reduction in the data needed to be sent to each user can add up to large savings in time, energy, and ultimately money.

found via SitePoint

A follow-up to yesteday’s post on HealthBase:

It wasn’t what I was thinking of when I provided a caveat regarding Wikipedia being used as a source, but apparently some search results have offbeat listings, occasionally with negative associations.

My caveat was in regards to the fact that Wikipedia is what I call a “starting point” for information search, not a source itself.  This actually places it in the same category as HealthBase, in that one should not take any particular piece of information as accurate, but to use the information to follow to primary sources and develop search terms and a broader understanding of the topic.

On HealthBase’s problem:  this is to be expected with new methods of indexing and searching, and this type of problem will tend to show itself with a broad base of users.  I still think it is a great starting point for health information searches, and that the searching algorithm will become more sophisticated over time.

The State of Ohio has launched an iTunes site that is designed “to share educational resources, professional development materials, and student videos which have been produced by members of higher education, the K-12 community, and community partners free of charge with unlimited access.”

There is a wide range of material available, and it is great to see them open to everyone, with the only requirement being the iTunes software.

Launch the site within your installed iTunes, and see a model for what other states, educational institutions, and libraries can do with their media content.

discovered via the OhioLINK Digital Resources Management Committee (Drmc) list

Jenny Levine makes a great case on The Shifted Librarian for adding a feature to your sites that allows users to easily share your content via social networks.  Not only will this offer a way for your users to help spread the work about services and activities that you offer, but it can help them keep track of information they find so that they can revisit it later.  This will be a benefit for users of mobile browsers, which are rapidly becoming a more significant portion of visitors to our web sites.

You may notice that I have followed her advice and have added the Add to Any service to this blog, visible at the bottom of every post (and checked to ensure it validates against XHTML and CSS standards, of course; a requirement I have for any add-on).

I wrote a post about the BookChaser Editions service last year, but encountered a reference to another service they offer, and this led me to others:

• BookChaser Covers : compares cover images available from Amazon, Google Books, LibraryThing, and Open Library.
• BookChaser BookInfo : compares information about a book obtained from Amazon, Google Books, ISBNDB, Library of Congress, LibraryThing, Open Library, and WorldCat.
• ISBN Analysis Tool : compares x-ISBN-like service availability for a given ISBN obtained from Amazon, Google Books, LibraryThing and WorldCat.

All lookup services are by ISBN.

For those who have been following  H1N1 influenza virus news (and those who might expect to get questions about it), the Public Library of Science (PLOS) and Google have launched a new mashup service:

PLOS Currents : Influenza is built utilizing Google Knol and a new service from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) called Rapid Research Notes.  This service allows the user an easy way to follow current research and search for relevant scientific information.

As we approach influenza season, expect greater levels of concern and interest in H1N1.

found via the Official Google Blog

I have been aware of the Center for History and New Media for quite some time (even posted a link here), but only recently did I take a look at their site beyond the work they do with Zotero.  I was surprised, in a very good way, at all of the resources they have available:

• Zotero – One of the best Firefox add-ons available, this should be taught to every college freshman as an aid to research.
• Omeka – Designed as a platform to create online exhibits and collections, this tool appears to be a great option for digital collection projects.
• ScholarPress – A collection of WordPress add-ons geared towards educational use, including Courseware, which offers an array of tools for instructors to connect with their students (although it would serve well for library instruction, I suspect).
• Syllabus Finder – Nearly two million syllabi can be searched and viewed through this site.
• ECHO – a directory of over 5,000 websites “concerning the history of science, technology, and industry.”

These are just a portion of the resources under their Research + Tools tab.  When you consider their offerings under the Teaching + Learning and Collecting + Exhibiting tabs as well, you can see that it would take hours to properly sample the useful items in this site.  Take some time to see what they can offer to help your projects.

The Perfect Storm is a brief essay in the current issue of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) newsletter.  G. Sayeed Choudhury, the author of the essay, states that

“Universities have authentication and authorization systems to identify who you are and what you can use; they also have office software or course management systems to support collaboration.    How many passwords do you use within your university system? How easy is it to collaborate with people outside your university? Yet within and without our universities, many faculty, students, and staff collaborate daily using Google’s suite of tools.  This trend will almost certainly grow once Google Wave is launched later this year.  With its impressive integration of services and novel method for identity management, Google Wave may become a tsunami that washes away the office software suite—and perhaps even the course management system.”

I am not so sure that Google Wave will be the tipping point, but it is certainly another step in this direction.  How many of us have stepped outside of the boundaries of the traditional tools we use for our work and schooling?  It is humbling to recognize how much time and effort can be saved through the proper application of a new software program, or an online service, or even tapping into social networking to gain insight (it is interesting that e-mail lists are considered standard, while Facebook, Twitter and blogging still have the “Library 2.0″ label stuck on them… they are all different forms of social networking, with their accompanying strengths and weaknesses).

Choudhury adds:

Too often we fail to examine trends beyond our own institutional context; we are reluctant to embrace risk taking when developing services or infrastructure.  The choices that universities and libraries make regarding infrastructure in the next few years will have profound implications for the future.

I would take it a step further, and suggest that we not only don’t look beyond our own context, we fail to grasp the possibilities that exist with new technology and new applications of existing technology.  When the environment surrounding our libraries changes, the environment within our libraries changes as well – whether we incorporate these changes or remain passive.

In other words:  We ignore tools such as Google Wave, Open Source, Open Access, Wikis, Blogs, Social Networking, social library catalog tools, and everything else at our own peril.  These tools have changed our libraries, are currently changing our libraries, and will continue to change our libraries as far into the future as we can see.  If we want to remain relevant (in other words:  if we want to survive), we need to pay attention.  Libraries as they have existed in the past will continue to play a role, but that role will be viewed more as an archive than a dynamic library.

We have lost a lot of ground, but we have the ability and the resources to do this, and it starts with each and every one of us.  How can we do our job better?  Smarter?  Faster?  What tools can we use?  How can others help?  The libraries that pay attention to those questions, and strive to answer them effectively, will be the ones to thrive.

I challenge you to, within the next week, find one new tool, idea, or resource that makes you better at your job.  Repeat, ad infinitum – from here it appears that it is Turtles all the way down.

PACER is the online access portal for “U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide”.  Because the documents it provides are created by the federal judiciary, they are not copyrightable; because PACER is the only place to obtain these records, it is a critical link to those who need case information.  PACER also charges a per-page fee ($0.08 per page up to 30 pages in a specific document) for access.

RECAP (which is PACER spelled backwards) is a new, open source Firefox extension which appears to follow all the rules:  you access documents through PACER, paying all assessed fees, and you get your docuements.  RECAP, however adds two elements to the mix:

1. RECAP automatically uploads any document that is accessed by users of the extension to a public repository hosted by the Internet Archive.
2. RECAP will alert the user when a document they wish to access is available through the public repository.

On the surface, it may appear that people are conducting an end-run against the court’s system for providing documents.  However, a broader view strongly suggests that these documents are public, and that the PACER system is actually an exception in the realm of access to public records.

The Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government provide documents free to the user; this is an attempt to make the workings and decisions of the judiciary as public as the other branches.  RECAP is a fully legal means to provide information in a way that is the spirit of the law.

Further reading:

• The Case Against PACER
• Firefox Extension Liberates US Court Docs from Paywall
• Use RECAP to Bypass Court Document Paywall

TinEye is an image search engine with a twist:  you provide it with an image, and it returns a list of websites utilizing that image.

I can quickly think of a few really good uses of this service:

• You have an image that you downloaded sometime in the past, but you don’t remember where you got it.
• You have found an image that would be perfect for a project, but you aren’t sure who the owner is, or what the usage terms might be.
• You are the owner of an image, and want to ensure that it isn’t being mis-appropriated by others.
• You have an image, and want to locate a site with a higher quality or different version of the image.

found via a comment thread in MetaFilter

Copyfraud : Poisoning the Public Domain is an introduction to some of the ways that content providers (websites, publishers, etc.) abuse copyright protections when they use public domain materials.  A couple of minor points, however:

• The act of assigning a copyright to something already in the public domain is the issue; taking a Project Gutenberg text, formatting it, and publishing it is of great benefit to people, as long as one doesn’t claim protection that doesn’t actually exist for the material.
• The Creative Commons Public Domain Tools is not a license, nor is it  an attempt “to become the arbiter of  public domain licensing”, but a way to allow people to have an easy and effective way to display that a work belongs to the Public Domain.

found via LISNews