Had to do some research on free Genogram software, and thought I’d share a couple of programs here.
Genograms are essentially family trees with metadata about relationships between people. The software does a great job with making family trees, and the metadata can be whatever one wishes to add to it.
For a Windows-only software program that is free and transferable (but not open source), I recommend WinGeno.
An online Java-based program that does a good job is Progeny’s Pedigree Chart Tool.
So you are an author. You check your book’s entry on Amazon.com. You see a review. It is not good. Someone bought a copy of your book and it was flawed. You want to make it right.
What do you do? You promise the reviewer that you will send a good copy via overnight delivery. Then you realize that it is Christmas Eve, the reviewer lives in Ontario, Canada, you live in Ohio, and there is a massive snowstorm between the two locations. The delivery services cannot deliver, bookstores are closed, and time is running out.
Then what do you do?
Perhaps what Whittenberg University professor Dan Fleisch did : You deliver it yourself.
via LISNews
LibraryThing has implemented the start of a solution for the problem of distinguishing authors with the same names.
This has been a challenge for libraries since the beginning of cataloging. The accepted solution thus far has been Authority Records. I like that LibraryThing has found a simple, elegant solution that matches what people think and say when distinguishing between two authors with the same name.
I also like that they will be following the Disambiguation model used by Wikipedia; it works well and oftentimes leads users to serindipitous information.
OCLC announced the members of the Review Board of Shared Data Creation and Stewardship yesterday, save for a member yet to be announced from the European National Library:
I do not know anyone from this list, nor do I know of them, but I like the that they are drawn from a fairly wide range of libraries. At this point I have every confidence that they will approach their duties with the best of intentions. Theirs will be a challenging task, and one which will be watched and commented on closely.
In the same announcement, OCLC posted an e-mail address for questions and comments: reviewboard@oclc.org . I encourage everyone who has an interest in how the records are to be licensed and/or used to compose their views and send them to the board. Every viewpoint, every arguement, every communication sends a message. The library community created and nurtured OCLC as it exists, the library community created and nurtured the bibliographic records that are at the heart of this matter; the library community should make its wishes known.
found via ResourceShelf
Open Solutions for Libraries Gain Momentum is an article on Information Today which gives an excellent overview of the current state of library data and sharing. Not only does it present the current struggle with OCLC’s licensing efforts with a fair approach, it also presents the up-and-coming players such as LibLime, Open Library and biblios.net.
This is one of those articles that is good for updating those not deeply involved in libraryland.
found via LISNews
Cybermetrics Lab, a research group based in Spain, has released a listing of the top 300 digital repositories in the world, which include a Top 300 Repository List and a Top 300 Institutional List.
This looks to be a great way to explore and discover new reference resources. Take a look at the lists, follow a few links, see if you don’t find something worthwhile!
found on Stephen’s Lighthouse
When does your library waive fines and fees? How much do circumstance matter?
I like that the book was about professional ethics.
found via LISNews
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) opted on Friday to delay implementation of many of their new testing and certification regulations for one year, to enable them to review what products and organizations should be covered under the law.
This allows libraries to keep offering services to children, as the CPSC had ruled that libraries were covered under the statute, and would need to individually test each item to certify that it does not contain unsafe levels of lead or phthalates, effectively closing most childrens’ libraries.
My previous post, with links to various sources, can be found here.
found through Publishers Weekly (includes information on a request made by supporters of the regulations to President Obama to replace the head of the CPSC)
If you have been concerned about the possible effects of the global financial crisis on libraries, you aren’t alone. The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) has issued a statement that is not only short, succinct, and dire, but also proposes some solutions that would not only aid libraries and consortia, but the content providers from whom they purchase.
This is a very powerful and constructive statement which is meant to initiate some significant changes in the way resources are offered, selected, and purchased. My compliments to those who crafted the statement; it is a good, proactive document. Adopting its suggestions will benefit everyone. From the statements:
“While there may be practical limits to this principle, publishers, authors, scholars, and libraries will be best served by those solutions that retain as much access to as much content as possible.”
Note that there are many, many adopters of this statement, including CARLI in Illinois, as well as INFOhio, OHIOLink, OhioNet, and OPLIN, all in Ohio. Check the list at the bottom of the statement to see if your consortial partners have adopted it.
found via the Disruptive Library Technology Jester
It’s a post that is months old, but the information is just as useful: Swiss Army Librarian has a guide for Using Firefox on Our Public Computers.
If you have computers that restore themselves to a pre-determined state upon reboot, I also recommend Zotero so that people can organize their research (though power users should customize their own version of FirefoxPortable.
found via the Innovative User’s Group (thanks Gus Calderon!)
A Fire on the Plain is a post by Peter Brantley of the University of California that relates the essence of conversations he has had with several rightsholders who were part of the Google Book Search negotiations. An exerpt:
From the rightsholders’ perspective, one terminal per library, instead of being stingy, quivered with profligacy. I heard remarked by several individuals (and often enough now to feel it corroborated) that indeed this concession started out far more restricted: either no public access, or starkly limited access – perhaps apocryphally, a single terminal in each State capitol, or one terminal in each city. In short, it was impressed upon me that libraries were lucky to get as much as they did.
As I understand it, rightsholders feared that having unhindered access to books online at libraries might (among other issues) encourage libraries to decelerate buying print books, thereby reducing royalties to authors and profits to publishers. In this equation, more public access = less revenue.
This is not a good sign. If this is applicable to rightsholders as a group (and be mindful that this is an incredibly small sample of opinion), then the resistance of publishers and other rightsholders is going to increase exponentially when we finally get an e-book reader that becomes the equivalent of what the I-Pod was to e-audio. Libraries and other organizations need to ensure that Fair Use is respected (and utilized), and that there is a broad understanding of the changes happening to media and culture.
found via Open Access News
TechCrunch is a blog. A blog about technology startups. It is run by Michael Arrington, who is someone I consider to be a straight shooter. When evaluating a new technology, company, or service, he states what he feels about it, and does it in a fair, straightforward manner. He is not always right in his reviews (who could be?), but he is insightful and correct most of the time, from what I have read.
In today’s post, Some Things Need to Change, he spells out what his life has become over the past few years. Because he calls things as he sees them, he has had to deal with a great number of indignities, including physical abuse, being spat upon by strangers, and worst of all, death threats upon him and his family last summer from what turned out to be a credible threat.
I have written posts based on items I have seen on TechCrunch at least 18 times over the past couple of years. If you look them over, you can see the range of ideas and resources that he covers. That he is needing to take time off and decide whether to continue is understandable; the actions by others that have forced this is not.
Mike, I hope you have a restful break, and that you are able to come to a clear decision that will be best for you, your family, and the world as a whole.
The Open Library Environment (there will be a post on this project in the near future) recently met at Lehigh University’s Linderman Library in Bethlehem, PA. Pictures were taken and posted on Flickr.
I especially love the stained glass skylight…
Find Any Film is a British site that strives to be the starting point for locating films for purchase and/or viewing.
It is not nearly as comprehensive as the Internet Movie Database (I could not find The Story of English, the award-winning PBS Miniseries), nor does it provide a wealth of detail, but it certainly seems to be worth adding to one’s list of references.
found via ResourceShelf
Self-Publishers Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab is an article in today’s New York Times on how this one area of publishing is booming, while it seems all other areas are scaling back.
The headline itself doesn’t quite fit the article (but oftentimes the headline is written by someone other than the article’s writer) in that many of the prominent self-publishing companies don’t require much of a payment in advance (if any payment at all – see Lulu.com).
The downside of self-publishing, according to the article, is the lack of advance payments and the absence of the marketing efforts that traditional publishers offer. However, when one is publishing a niche book, the marketing offered by a publisher, unless they specifically serve that niche, won’t necessarily do much for sales.
This is, as many things seem to be, reflecting a trend. With web sites, blogs, wikis and other “new” media flourishing, it makes sense to apply many of those principles to the publishing world. I want the traditional publishers to do well; they provide access and support to writers that we would sorely miss if they went out of business. However, I suspect that in five years we will see more self-publishing (especially if you combine the small publishing companies that will form around the idea of print-on-demand and small press runs).
For libraries: prepare to widen your search for materials. Traditional vendors will eventually need to find ways to include these “niche” publications in their offerings; in the meantime Amazon and others will be the primary nesting ground for these books. There will be a period of time in which it will seem that it is harder to find the right books than before; afterwards it will be easier than ever.
There is a concept for all this, not mentioned in the article: The Long Tail.
SitePoint Reference is an online guide with a wealth of information on web design. Divided into three sections, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, it is a great place to find that bit of information you need while designing or editing a web site. Keep it in your bookmarks.
You might recognize SitePoint from their book publishing, including the recent Everything You Know About CSS Is Wrong! which details the use of CSS tables in web design. The title is hyperbole, in my opinion, but the book itself is excellent. It has changed how I view the design of web pages, and I hope to put it into practice in the near future.
found via the SitePoint blog
The New York Times Blog announced today that they have released an API for their Best Sellers list. Library programmers should jump on this. Imagine being able to display information about an item’s rankings – dates, placement, etc. – in your OPAC like you can show book covers, Google Books, etc.
The data only covers June 2008 forward, but they will be extending it back to 1930 within the next few months.
This is a great move by the NYT; their Best Sellers list is considered definitive, and encouraging its use and adaptation means it will continue to be influential.
found via Web4lib (thanks to Steve Toub)
A post on the Unshelved Blog reminds me of the varying philosophies towards upgrading web sites.
In the post, Bill discusses how much easier it is to make incremental changes to their site fairly often, rather than a major overhaul less often.
I agree, but also have found that completely re-doing a site occasionally, combined with incremental and on-going changes, allows for the least amount of overall work in maintaining a web site. This is because some changes are more easily accomplished from the ground up rather than afterwards.
Think of it in terms of one’s house: adding forced-air heating, or plumbing, or network cable is much easier in a new construction than in an existing home. Changing windows, flooring, or updating a bathroom can all be accomplished relatively easily in an existing house.
The trick, with both the web site and the house, is to determine what is needed, what is wanted, and the resources and options you have to make it happen. There is a great deal you can do to an existing web site / house, but at some point it makes sense to start fresh. Figure out which is best, and plan ahead for the big changes.
Data, Copyrights and Slogans, Oh My! is a post on the Common Knowledge blog discussing the idea that data is not subject to copyright. With the OCLC kerfluffle still echoing about the libibliogosphere, it stands out as a nice, succinct argument – and one that is not specifically about library catalogs.
Update: Data, Copyrights, and Slogans, part II has been posted (27 January 2009)
found via Open Access News
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Libology Blog
Established July 2006
ISSN: 1946-1852
by Rick Mason
