Online Textbook Copyright Infringement

Posted on 3 July 2008 by Rick Mason

Peter Suber at Open Access News has an excellent post on the language being used when discussing copyright infringement of textbooks. I personally prefer what I have in the title of this post; results may vary.

We have been through this with digital music. Music publishers and distributers were all up in arms about downloading music, but now they have come to see that the paradigm is shifting and what was needed was a change in their approach. People will follow the rules, generally, as long as those rules make sense to them.

Watch for the misuse of language on both sides of the argument, and remember that the movement in publishing is towards open access and digital downloading. The sooner everyone understands this and adapts, the sooner people will get what they want/need at a fair price, and publishers will make a fair profit.

Posted in Books, Copyright, Ethics, Open Access, Publishing | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Online Textbook Copyright Infringement

Marketing Your Library

Posted on 2 July 2008 by Rick Mason

Marketing Your Library is a blog chock full of ideas, lists, and links for marketing, you know, your library!

from LISNews

Posted in Blogs, Libraries, Promotions | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Marketing Your Library

One Big Library Unconference Report (part 2)

Posted on 2 July 2008 by Rick Mason

continued from here…

Evergreen and Project Conifer (John Fink) was a progress report / Q&A session about the installation of the Evergreen ILS for a consortium of academic libraries (McMaster University, University of Windsor, and Laurentian University). John gave a fantastic overview of the project, intended to go live sometime next year. It is a large undertaking, especially considering that they are writing the code for the Acquisitions and Serials areas of the software. He had an observation that I found interesting (and have noticed as well): people using III’s Millennium ILS tend to have a higher opinion of the software than is deserved. It is good, and it works fairly well, but it is deeply flawed, in my opinion. I will add that users of Voyager need to be reminded of the good points of their system now and then, but that it is also flawed. I will say again that Evergreen is going to have a much bigger impact than people realize.

Open Book, a WordPress plugin (John Miedema) was another high-interest session, since I had installed and used the plugin just one week earlier. To discuss the plugin and the reasons behind its functionality and existence with the developer was a great experience. The group discussed Amazon, OCLC, and Google (and their relative restrictions and freedoms) at length. John is a great supporter of the Open Library project, and for good reason.

Metasearch / APIs / Facebook for Libraries (David Fiander, Geoff Sinclair, Me) was a bit of a blur, since I was at the front and trying to think as effectively as possible (more challenging some days than others). I got to discuss my idea (a piece of software that uses an API that is as straightforward as possible, which passes requests to various library and bibliographic systems and returns the results… this could allow search tools and OPAC overlays to work with a standard set of rules, as well as allowing meta-search tools to become more effective), but didn’t feel that any brainstorming actually took place. If someone doesn’t point out a big flaw in my thinking (especially when I am stretching my abilities beyond their comfort zone) I suspect that I am politely being listened to. Maybe not…

The Wrap-up went fine, but there wasn’t a call for action, or a consensus as to what should come next from all of this. I can’t say I expected one, but I was hoping to have some sort of Eureka moment. I did have a strong feeling that I was going to put everything together in an interesting way during the drive home on Saturday, but it didn’t happen that way (keep reading).

We then walked over to the BiblioCommons office for a buffet tray/beer/wine dinner party. I had some great conversations here, and completely forgot to find out what exactly it is that makes people speak of BiblioCommons in reverent tones. There isn’t a lot of information out there beyond it being a “complete social discovery system for libraries” (from their website). People whose opinions I respect are very impressed with it, and I was in a conversation with one of the people directly involved and never asked one question about it. Shame on me!

I ended up skipping the pub night outing, as I stopped by the hotel and felt tired, and spent the time putting pictures online. I went to bed early, and slept very fitfully, until about 4 a.m. That was when the gunshots began. There were 7 ro 8 of them, from at least two guns, sounding like they were just outside the building. I woke at the first shot, rolled out of bed (away from the window) on the second, and duck-walked to the bathroom with my phone as they continued. I was on the third floor, so I don’t think I was likely to get caught in the line of fire (I figure they were either shooting at each other, or shooting into the air). It was a very unpleasant experience, and I didn’t get to sleep for quite a while (and didn’t sleep well then). When my alarm went off, I decided to cancel my sightseeing activities, get some more rest, and leave Toronto straight from the hotel.

So that’s why I didn’t spend the trip thinking about neat library technology and such. Too bad, because this was as good a conference as I have ever attended, and I complimpent John, William and Stacy on their excellent work. I encourage more groups to consider this format (it would work well as part of a standard conference format as well… just set up a block of time, or a conference track, as an unconference).

Posted in Conferences, Libraries, Library 2.0, onebiglibrary, Open Source, Presenting, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One Big Library Unconference Report (part 2)

One Big Library Unconference Report (part 1)

Posted on 2 July 2008 by Rick Mason

Previous posts here and here…

I attended the One Big Library Unconference (Facebook too) last Friday, and haven’t had a chance to post about it yet, so here goes:

I arrived in Toronto around 7 p.m. on Thursday after a smooth journey. I stayed in a hotel about 3 walking blocks from the conference venue, mainly so I could park the car on Thursday and walk everywhere. In daylight the neighborhood, part of Toronto’s Chinatown, reminded me of the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago: a wide variety of people in a busy, urban environment that feels very alive. At night it became somewhat worrisome: many homeless people sleeping in doorways and sidewalks, groups of people “hanging out” and looking a bit dangerous, and panhandlers approaching passers-by for change. I never felt directly threatened, but was very aware of the potential.

The conference was sponsored by York University, and held at the Centre for Social Innovation. The building was very warm, but the facilities were comfortable and pleasant. Everyone I came in contact with was fantastic.

How can I describe everything? Take about 70 people, self-selected to be interested in Libraries and Technology, everyone intent on learning and interacting with others of like mind. I have never seen a conference group as positively engaged in all that they were doing. I think this came about from a combination of the Unconference format, the selection of a well-defined yet general topic, and just the right amount of planning and structure (and not too much of either).

The organizers introduced themselves and described the day’s schedule process. The topics that had been submitted via the wiki were laid out on sheets of paper (see the photos in the second post for detail) on tables, along with blank sheets for newer ideas. I suggested what I had been brainstorming about during the previous day’s drive, and voted on the topics I most wanted to attend.

They ended up combining sessions in order to include all ideas, meaning that I co-presented with two other people (kind of strange, since I wanted a roundtable discussion in order to brainstorm). While they were tabulating the votes and arranging the schedule, we all attended the first session.

Zotero: Start watching for the next update of this incredible tool… it is about to become even more powerful. Then, once you have that gem, watch for the next big release. A great summary is located on their roadmap. I am left with an exceptionally strong positive feeling about this tool and the people developing it. Trevor Owens did a great job with the demo and presentation.

Drupal: This ended up being more of a detailed presentation of what it takes to implement a new web presence in an institution when it involves dozens of people in many departments. Politics, control over presentation of content, and seamless functionality were the main points discussed. On alternate days I think it might just be better for a small team (no more than four people) to install, configure and implement the system. The other days I suspect the “many hands” approach might be better. I had hoped for more tips on installing and configuring Drupal (having installed and configured it for the first time only a couple of weeks ago… watch for an announcement), but didn’t get that. Good session, nevertheless.

Lunch was buffet sandwiches and fruit (and a wonderful coffee bar that was open all day). The highlight was the tours offered to the building’s roof, which has a rooftop garden installed. I enjoyed taking pictures of the people in my tour group.

(more in part 2)

Posted in Conferences, Libraries, Library 2.0, onebiglibrary, Open Source, Presenting, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pics from One Big Library Unconference

Posted on 30 June 2008 by Rick Mason

I will be posting about the conference soon, but since I have already posted photos, I thought I would offer the link now:

One Big Library Unconference photos on Flickr

More soon!

p.s. here’s a sample:

One Big Library pre-conference networking

Posted in onebiglibrary | Tagged | Comments Off on Pics from One Big Library Unconference

Zoomii Books

Posted on 24 June 2008 by Rick Mason

Zoomii Books is not library related… yet. It is a virtual bookshelf built around Amazon’s book cover images and inventory. However, the concept would make for an excellent method of “browsing” a library catalog. The company founder has even mentioned that he would love to adapt the software to work with a library catalog.

It reminds me very much of a Firefox add-on called PicLens, which uses a similar interface for viewing a large number of images. If you haven’t tried it, you really should, if only to experience how much it improves image search and browse.

Mentioned on the NCG4lib list by B.G. Sloan

Posted in Books, ILS, Libraries, Search, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Zoomii Books

Scriblio Update

Posted on 23 June 2008 by Rick Mason

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been making some changes to the Scriblio installation on Libology.

The improved:

  • I installed the Pop Blue theme, mainly because I didn’t like the way the default Scriblio theme used screen space. I like the layout, but need to format the content sections in the search results pages, as it looks more like gibberish than holdings information.
  • I upgraded WordPress to the current version. This would have been done several weeks ago, except that the database is so large that I had to experiment with a wide variety of backup processes before finding one that worked.
  • The facets work! Yea!

The not-improved:

  • It is still slow, slow, slow. I was talking with a database programmer over the weekend, and she confirmed my guess that it is probably an indexing issue. Now to figure out the details…
  • Book covers are gone with the upgrade, even though the placeholders are still there. I haven’t spent any time figuring out why.

I am a little happier, but still wouldn’t consider using this as a replacement for my work’s OPAC. Time and effort will tell. I am learning a lot, which was the point all along.

Posted in ILS, Libraries, OPAC, Open Source, Software, Web Design | Tagged , | Comments Off on Scriblio Update

TC is PO’d over AP

Posted on 20 June 2008 by Rick Mason

An interesting situation is brewing over at the TechCrunch blog.  Michael Arrington, upset over the Associated Press going after bloggers who quote from AP stories, has argued that the AP is not taking Fair Use into consideration and has declared that he will not report on stories distributed by AP.

Extreme?  Not if you take into consideration the APs rate schedule for online quoting of their articles.  If your quote of an AP source contains just five words, you are supposed to pay them $12.50!  I doubt that there are many AP articles short enough to make a five word quote not fall into Fair Use (plus, I assume under this fee schedule that quoting just four words is free).

The new twist is that an AP article about the controversy contains a 22-word quote from the TechCrunch blog that Arrington says was “in clear violation of their warped interpretation of copyright law”.  His response:  his lawyer is submitting a takedown request and a bill for $12.50, in order to hold the AP to their own standards.

I have written about “copyfraud” before, most notably here, but this is a fantastic example as it involves a company that derives tremendous benefits from the application of Fair Use.

Posted in Blogs, Copyright, Fair Use, News | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on TC is PO’d over AP

Medici Effect

Posted on 19 June 2008 by Rick Mason
[Open Library Data Unavailable (books)]

The Medici Effect is, besides the title of a book, a description of a method of problem solving and innovation. The idea is not new, in fact the term comes from the Medici families and the Renaissance.

Simply put, the Medici Effect is what occurs when different disciplines intersect. People tend to approach problem solving by applying what they already know and what has worked in the past. This is good, but is less likely to create a new paradigm, or to fit the solution to anything broader than the scope of the person’s knowledge and experience.

However, when the same problem is addressed by someone with a different background and a different knowledge foundation, the potential increases for finding a solution that better fits the big picture. Purposefully mixing staff with a variety of approaches and backgrounds can help to encourage this effect, and in the long run can make any organization more efficient and innovative.

In my opinion, this is also a great argument for cross-training. The better someone knows your job, the better they can do theirs, and vice-versa. Very few of us do everything for our library (though it is wise to remember that some library staff in small libraries do this) and understanding how other areas do their work can only help us when we approach our own work.

found via The Medium is the Message

By the way, this is my first application of the OpenBook plugin, which imports book covers and basic information from the OpenLibrary project. I hope you like it!

Posted in Libraries | Comments Off on Medici Effect

OCLC: A Review (a review)

Posted on 10 June 2008 by Rick Mason

OCLC: A Review (PDF here) is the title of an essay by Jeffrey Beall that is included in a book titled Radical Cataloging: Essays at the Front.

First, let me reiterate my own attitude about OCLC: They are, for good and for bad, the 800 pound gorilla of the library world. Decisions that they make, and the approach they take towards librarianship, effect us dramatically, and there is not much that we can individually do about it.

They have done great things, from WorldCat.org to providing as complete a set of bibliographic records as exists in the world. Among the negatives are the cost barriers that can eat away much of the budget of smaller libraries, as well as the one-way trip that bibliographic information seems to make into their system.

This article, however, is a strong attack on OCLC that simply overreaches. Many of the projects run by OCLC, including WorldCat, have benefitted from their monolithic approach, and while I would much prefer to see them be more open and flexible, I still appreciate their scope and vision.

One example of the style of his argument: He opens the article with criticism for the title of Karen Schneider’s posts on ALA TechSource (“How OPACs Suck” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)). He states that her title is “specious, of course” because “they have quietly and efficiently been linking researchers and others with desired information for about twenty years.” He does not address the main concerns of the posts, which is how library search tools have fallen behind, and that the search capabilities that people have grown to expect are lacking in many of the major ILS OPACs.

It would be interesting to see an article that addressed each of her points in detail, explaining how the results she retrieved from various libraries in Part 1 are both valid and desired. What we get is his calling the TechSource editor “spineless” for allowing “such rubbish to be published”.

Near the end of the essay he also takes on Lorcan Dempsey, OCLC Chief Strategist and Vice President of Research. Again, he doesn’t quote, doesn’t give specifics, and doesn’t keep it on an opinion level:

“Have you ever tried reading one of his articles? They are some of the most incoherent and desultory articles in the history of information.”

“…of course, has a blog. He lives for new technology. It seems as if he thinks that any new library or information technology is automatically better than the technology that predates it and it must be implemented immediately, especially if OCLC has a hand in it.”

I use these two examples because I have been reading Karen and Lorcan’s blogs for some time. I saw Lorcan Dempsey present at the Ohio State University Library 2.0 Seminar last year. I can vouch that they have substance behind what they write, and that they are well worth reading. His blanket portrayal of OCLC as existing only to “separate libraries from their money” reminds me of a library director I met who once referred to the OCLC logo as a “swastika”.

And so, about this essay? Read it and recognize that there are some very valid criticisms contained within. Some of these are criticisms that I have expressed over the years. However, beware the hyperbole and the personal nature of his criticism, for they strongly overshadow that which is worth stating.

found via ResourceShelf

Posted in Blogs, Libraries, OCLC, Online Services, OPAC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Making a Business Case for Open Source ILS

Posted on 6 June 2008 by Rick Mason

Making a Business Case for Open Source ILS is a column by Marshall Breeding that appeared in the March 2008 issue of Computers in Libraries.

You may remember Marshall from his annual survey of Integrated Library Systems (the words behind the ILS acronym). If you think the idea of using an open source ILS is interesting, then you should read this column.

His comments highlight one of the interesting aspects of how libraries approach technology : we tend to hang on to technology, even if it causes us added work and grief, until there is a critical mass of other libraries that switch. Part of this is human nature and a healthy dose of conservatism. Part of this, however, is a symptom of what has been holding us back.

On a small scale (i.e. within our own libraries and/or systems), we need to be inventive and creative. We need to be constantly trying new technology and ways to improve our services. This can be as simple as trying a different web browser, or altering our work flow. It can be as complex as trying out a new OPAC or ILS to see how they compare and contrast to the current offerings.

With Open Source, the primary cost in all of this is time. What you gain, both individually and as an institution, is the broader understanding of what exists and what is possible. You better appreciate what you currently have, and you discover the possible improvements (and/or trade-offs) that come with the new.

Am I saying that your library needs to download and install the latest version of Evergreen or Koha, or set up an alternate OPAC like Scriblio or vufind? Nope. You should learn what they can do, play with their OPACs, and then decide if you want to experiment a bit. This will cost time, and you have to decide what amount of time you can afford. You also have to decide what amount of time you can afford not to learn and experiment, and what that will cost your library in the long run.

found via GuidePosts

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Open Source | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Making a Business Case for Open Source ILS

Revolution in the Stacks

Posted on 3 June 2008 by Rick Mason

Revolution in the Stacks is the title of an article in the June 2008 issue of Governing magazine.  An exerpt:

“When library experts talk about the future, it’s remarkable how little the topic of books comes up. To be sure, libraries will carry books for as long as a critical mass of people wants to read them. The same is true of newspapers, magazines, CDs, DVDs and every other form of media that libraries have adopted over the years while following consumer tastes. Increasingly, however, libraries are talking about flipping the content equation around. That is, rather than thinking of themselves merely as a place to find content created by somebody else, the library will create content — and give patrons the tools to create content of their own.”

I don’t think that it is as cut-and-dry as the quote suggests, but we need to recognize that information is not only becoming easier to find, copy, and make available, but that we are going to discover that the next upheaval will be the combining of different resources to add depth and context to all of the information contained within them.

Our job will be making resources such as literary reviews, patron reviews, reading trends, additional sources, and whatever else is relevant to the topic available to users (and to us!).  Are we up to this?  We’d better be!

thanks to Jo Budler, Ohio State Librarian for sending the link!

Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Web Design | Tagged , | Comments Off on Revolution in the Stacks

TS : Technical Services

Posted on 2 June 2008 by Rick Mason

The work cycle of Library Technical Services as told by the Arlington Heights Memorial Library (in the style of ER).

TS (YouTube video)

Bonus creative points for the idea of using a packing tape dispenser in the style of CPR as a defibrillator!

thanks to Cindy for passing this along

Posted in Acquisitions, Humor, Libraries, Video | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on TS : Technical Services

Japanese Translation

Posted on 30 May 2008 by Rick Mason

I noticed when reviewing my server statistics that one of my entries was run through Google Translate.  Curiosity being what it is, I called up the page:

Translated Page

When I realized that the post was about (see it here in English), I wondered if the humor would translate properly and if the reader would understand the nature of the post.  Low key tongue-in-cheek humor doesn’t tend to translate well.

I don’t think I will change my approach, but it was interesting enough to share.

Posted in Google, Humor, Language, Translation | Tagged | Comments Off on Japanese Translation

OpenBiblio on Libology

Posted on 27 May 2008 by Rick Mason

I have loaded another piece of library software on Libology : OpenBiblio.  It is an open source ILS (Integrated Library System) designed for schools, churches, and smaller libraries.

I am impressed with it so far.  It doesn’t have a lot, but what is there works fast, and the software seems very stable. It has circulation, cataloging, and administrative modules, as well as a basic reporting tool.  You can see the main screen here (although you need a login to actually go into the modules themselves… if you are curious, I can set you up with something temporary… let me know)

Most of all, it is written in php and runs on a mysql database, meaning that I can modify pretty much any part of it, given time and incentive.  I have a desire to update the Opac most of all:  it is table-based, and I know that it could be much more flexible and usable (not to mention standards compliant) with some adaptation.  Can you say microformats?

There are currently about 1800 items in the collection, which belongs to a church which is tired of paying a three-figure annual support fee for 10-year-old software.  The collection consists primarily of Christian materials, so keep that in mind when you check out the Opac.

Posted in ILS, Libraries, OPAC, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , | Comments Off on OpenBiblio on Libology

International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork

Posted on 27 May 2008 by Rick Mason

One area of scholarly research that I enjoy following is Therapeutic Massage.  Having taken an introductory class taught by an excellent instructor, as well as enjoying regular sessions, I have found the benefits to be many.

So it is a pleasure to see an overlap between my massage interest and libraries with the forthcoming introduction of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork : Research, Education, & Practice by the Massage Therapy Foundation.

I used to keep up with a couple of the journals in this field, but since changing jobs have not had access to them.  The added bonus of this journal’s Open Access format will let me keep up with new ideas and studies via the web.

found via Open Access News

Posted in Libraries, Open Access, Periodicals | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Death of a Digitization Project

Posted on 23 May 2008 by Rick Mason

Microsoft announced today that they are shutting down their book digitization project.

They also announced that the Live Search Books site will be shut down sometimes next week.

This is a disappointment in that I was hoping that the competition factor would push both Microsoft and Google to extend their respective projects further and further, thereby making that which we could access better and better.  Hopefully both Google and the Internet Archive keep up the good work, and that we reach the point where books are as easy to locate and access online as are many other forms of information (such as news, journals, etc.).

from TechCrunch

Posted in Books, Google, News | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Death of a Digitization Project

“You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!”

Posted on 20 May 2008 by Rick Mason

OCLC and Google are exchanging parts of their data in a way that will likely change the way we view full-text scanned books:

  • Google is providing linking information to OCLC in order to make Google Book Search items discoverable through WorldCat.
  • OCLC is providing their cataloging records via libraries who are members of the Google Book Project in order to enhance Google Book Search, primarily by linking directly to WorldCat records.

I doubt that it will be long before this will be able to be used to enhance library OPACS.

found via ResourceShelf

(and the post title refers to this commercial)

Posted in Books, Google, Library 2.0, News, OCLC, Online Services, OPAC, Web Design | Tagged | Comments Off on “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!”

One Big Library Unconference

Posted on 19 May 2008 by Rick Mason

I will definitely be attending the One Big Library Unconference next month in Toronto! I am enthusiastic about this, as it has been nearly a year since I have attended a conference, and I have been very curious about the unconference format. Having worked with Reaching Forward South for a few years, experiencing a participant-organized conference will be a big change.

This (un)conference is, partly because of it’s broad theme, a close fit for much of what fascinates me these days. Unstated, but implied, is the idea that the larger and more distinguished libraries need to join the tiny, underfunded community and special libraries in a way that the world as a whole can benefit. This is a challenging concept, and one that will strongly shape the library world in years to come.

Oh, yes… they’re in Facebook, too.

Posted in Conferences, Libraries, Library 2.0, onebiglibrary, Travel, Workshop | Tagged , , | Comments Off on One Big Library Unconference

XML in Libraries

Posted on 19 May 2008 by Rick Mason

Eric Leese Morgan has updated his workshop notes for XML in Libraries : A Workshop.  This is as good an overview of XML for library staff as I have seen anywhere.

found via Catalogablog

Posted in Cataloging, Libraries, Library 2.0, Wiki, Workshop, XML | Tagged | Comments Off on XML in Libraries