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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Libology Blog
Established July 2006
ISSN: 1946-1852
by Rick Mason
An Interesting Orphan Works Example
In a brief essay titled Orphan Works: A Rant, posted on ©ollecanea, Kenny Crews presents an interestingly common example of how a common encounter results in an orphan work.
“…I kindly handed the camera to a total stranger, requesting a photo of the whole gang. The stranger complied, took a picture, and handed that camera back to me. I might own the camera and stored image, but the tourist who just drifted back to Iowa composed the picture and evidently under the law owns the copyright.”
It is extremely unlikely to become an issue for those of us who are on either side of the camera in this situation, but the potential is there. An absolute stickler for copyright would need to have a release form handy, or limit their use of the photo to that allowed under the fair use section.
Now we understand that these situations reflect a favor without any expectation of payment, but it is interesting that in the current legal environment we would need to recognize these possibilities. What if it were to turn out that one of the people was (or is about to become) famous, and the photograph is later featured on the cover of a national magazine? Then the photographer might become interested in the fine points of copyright law.
Posted in Copyright, Fair Use, Photography
Tagged copyright law, Iowa, Kenny Crews, photographer
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Infochimps.org
Think of Infochimps.org as not only a wikipedia of data sets, but as potentially the greatest data mash-up tool yet.
Imagine having loads of census, weather, sports, and other statistical data available in one big database. Then standardize the fields so that you can interconnect the data sets with each other. From the Infochimps site:
“A central, community-driven repository solves these problems and presents amazing possibilities. Once we interconnect the datasets along concepts they share, instead of 100,000 datasets, there’s just one. Study the physics of baseball by comparing the hourly weather during every single baseball game to game outcomes. Uncover political campaign irregularities by comparing neighborhood per-capita income, historical voter trends, and public campaign finance records. Plan real-estate decisions based on what news-and-other-media keywords rank highly in each area.”
Still don’t see the possibilities? Browse through the datasets that are already loaded. Then check out what is coming in the near future. This will likely be the first place we will want to go for statistical information, as long as it is fast and easy to extract what we need. I am looking forward to seeing what they (or some other enterprising web designers) come up with to work with data on the web.
(does this sound vaguely familiar? you might be thinking of Freebase.com, previously discussed here)
found via Open Access News
Posted in Online Databases, Online Services, Open Access, Search, Statistics
Tagged baseball;, data mash-up tool, greatest data mash-up tool, news-and-other-media keywords, public campaign finance records, web designers
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APML
APML stands for Attention Profiling Markup Language. Its purpose is to permit a standardized way to gather and transfer your interests from site to site across the web. It is built using XML, and is definitely a new technology that may or may not catch on. It could become an important element of using the web, because of the benefits it offers to users.
For example, Amazon.com tracks what you purchase, what is on your wish list, and even what you view (while logged in). If you incorporated this into your APML file (which could be stored with an online service, on your computer or flash drive, etc.) your interests could be applied to other APML-compatable websites.
This has the potential, as with much web 2.0 technology, of creating privacy issues and complications. It also could save users an incredible amount of time and effort, as resources relating to their interests would gain relevance and become much easier to find. Think of the potential for searching news sites, link services such as Digg, and many other specialized discovery tools.
And yes, as John Fudrow suggests, it has a lot of potential for libraries. Imagine how our users could benefit from this, especially when you add “suggested by others who liked this” and other social connectivity tools.
Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Search, Web Design, WebSearch, XML
Tagged 2.0 technology, discovery tools, John Fudrow, link services, online service, social connectivity tools, XML
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Words and Music (plus copyright)
Most of us have been in a restaurant when someone is celebrating a birthday. In many chain restaurants, the wait staff will gather around the table and sing a song to the celebrant. It usually isn’t “Happy Birthday to You” however, as the lyrics are still protected under copyright.
The George Washington University Law School has a page with links to an exhaustive amount of information on the background of the song’s copyright history.
The history of the lyrics, the music that goes with them, and the copyright is a confusing mesh of publishing, litigation, and royalties. You have been warned.
The history of all this is also fascinating, and a good example of how complex it can be to determine copyright issues for even the worlds most popular song (according to the Guinness Book of World Records, according to Wikipedia with a “citation needed” note).
Posted in Copyright, History, Licensing
Tagged George Washington University Law School, The
George Washington University, The
George Washington University
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Unshelved and Rearranged
On April 22nd, Unshelved ran a comic strip that, among other things, gave a tip of the hat to Peanuts. I was inspired and spent a few minutes of my lunch hour rearranging the letters via cut and paste. I had to get a bit creative (please don’t look too closely at the “u”), but it came out well.
I just received word that Bill and Gene and the rest of the Unshelved gang are fine with the revised strip being posted, so here it is:
Modified and posted with permission, (c) 2008 Overdue Media LLC. www.unshelved.com .
Thanks Jana!
Posted in Humor, Libraries
Tagged Bill, Gene, Overdue Media LLC., www.unshelved.com
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Unicode ascending
Unicode has recently become the top website character encoding in the world, according to Google. The point is driven home in this chart.
Even if you do not use foreign languages or encoding on your web sites, Unicode should be the default encoding for anything you create for the web. It puts everyone on the same (web) page, so to speak.
The Missing Link in the ILS
Karen Coyle writes about what is needed for the libraries of the world that don’t have the resources needed to install and use a full-featured integrated library system (ILS).
There must be a minor psychic link involved (don’t worry Karen, your secrets are safe with me! 😉 ), because just a few minutes before she posted this I was explaining to someone the benefits of a fully online ILS that would allow libraries to get by using only an internet connection. There are a few (very few) systems that follow this philosophy, and I am looking through them to see if any are fully fleshed out. I will post what I find out.
Posted in ILS, Libraries, Online Services, Software
Tagged internet connection, Karen Coyle
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RFID Post-It
RFID, which stands for Radio Frequency Identification, is currently the leading edge in managing inventories and supply chains of items in a variety of industries, as well as acting as a personal identification device. It is used in many situations, from retail warehouses, to highway toll collections, and even in libraries.
Post-it notes are a particular brand of notepads that have a coating of adhesive along the edge of each sheet of paper, allowing the user to stick them to nearly anything. Yes, even in libraries.
And now, some bright group of researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have combined the two to create a new way to use each of these technologies.
MIT Reinvents the Post-It note… with Post-It notes
I don’t see it doing much for libraries, but it is an interesting technology mashup!
found via LISNews
Posted in Libraries, Video
Tagged bright group, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, personal identification device, researcher, retail warehouses, technology mashup
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Loyola University’s Information Commons
Information commons in a library is an idea being considered by most academic libraries, especially if they have plans to make changes to their allocation of space. Michael Stephens at ALA TechSource writes about his tour of Loyola University’s new information commons, and it sounds like they have a really well-thought out design.
I especially like that they developed core principles (the ultimate purpose of the space) and recognized the need to address a range of users and uses of the commons.
Almost completely off-topic: I spent a wonderful hour at Loyola in 1990 or so when I drove a friend there so that she could prepare for starting classes. I was very stressed out for a variety of reasons, and sitting on the beach, watching the waves crash on the shore while I soaked up some sun made all the difference. I am glad that the commons allows for people to look up from their work and see the lake… it will certainly help to relax a few people when they most need it.
Posted in Libraries
Tagged Loyola University, Michael Stephens
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WorldCat and Digital Images Collections
Go to WorldCat and type in a search. The results contain books, video, audio, you name it. One of the more recent additions is the Digital Images Collections, which can be wonderful to view. How to find them, though?
Type in your search terms, then add cntnt (“Content” without the vowels) as an additional term (which acts as a limit). Viola!
Try airplanes cntnt
You get the idea…
found via the WorldCat blog
Posted in Archival, Libraries, OCLC, Online Databases, Photography, Search
Tagged search terms
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National Library Workers Day
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is National Library Workers Day, and everyone should take a moment today (before the rush) and think about those who make libraries better by the quality of both their attitude and the work they do.
Have someone in mind? Post them on the website for all to see!
found via ResourceShelf
Berkeley Accord
ILS Basic Discovery Interfaces, a.k.a the Berkeley Accord
In what may turn out to be a historically significant event in the history of library tech, a group called the ILS Discovery Task Force has generated an outline detailing what amounts to an Application Programming Interface (API) for the library OPAC. They are calling this the Berkeley Accord. Not only have they hashed out the basic understanding, but the following companies/organizations have undersigned the document:
- Talis
- Ex Libris
- LibLime
- BiblioCommons
- SirsiDynix
- Polaris Library Systems
- VTLS
- California Digital Library
- OCLC
- AquaBrowser
What does this mean? This means that sometime in the hopefully not-too-distant future, someone can create an online search tool and know that it will work with OPACs from many different ILSs. Much like browsing the web is a similar experience with Internet Explorer 7, or Opera 9, or Firefox 3 (because they use a shared understanding of how to display the html and css found on the web) searching various libraries using the same interface (because they use a shared understanding of how to access the information in the ILS) can make research more effective for everyone.
If this is realized, it will make our jobs easier, our patrons happier, and the institution of the library more powerful and effective. It can be a “win” for everyone who recognizes that the future is dependent on advancing search technology and interoperability.
Of note is the lone abstention: Innovative Interfaces, Inc (III). They indicate that while they agree with the general principles, they cannot offer their support until much greater detail is known about the framework. My initial thought is to question this: if you feel that this is a good foundation, then agree to it and work to build upon it. If there are flaws, express them and work to build support on an improved foundation. What comes to mind is a zen koan:
“When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don’t wobble.”
found via a posting on NGC4lib (Next Generation Catalog for Libraries) by Eric Leese Morgan
Posted in ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, OCLC, Search, Software, Web Design
Tagged API, California Digital Library, Eric Leese Morgan, html, ILS Discovery Task Force, Innovative Interfaces Inc, Internet Explorer, online search tool, Polaris Library Systems, Search, search technology
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State of the ILS
Marshall Breeding provides his annual overview of the shifts and trends in the world of the Integrated Library System (ILS) in the current issue of Library Journal.
Of interest is the definite movement of the open source systems, Koha and Evergreen, into the mix. I’m surprised that they haven’t made this much impact in the past year or two, but I suspect that contracts and switching effort has made the library world very hesitant to try out new technologies at the level of the ILS and OPAC until they sense that others are using them effectively.
We could stand more experimenting, even on the sandbox level… who knows how much better we could be with a bit of time and effort?
Posted in ILS, Libraries, OPAC, Open Source, Software, Statistics
Tagged ILS Marshall, Library Journal, Marshall Breeding, open source systems
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Simple truths in a comic strip
It’s a simple truth, and we all know it, but it still makes for a humorous punchline over coffee:
Thanks to Donna, former co-worker extraordinaire, for passing that along!
Sandboxes
A couple of posts about sandboxes have caught my eye:
- LISNews posted about Peter Morville (writer of Ambient Findability, which if you haven’t read – you should) and his Flickr “sandbox for collecting search examples, patterns, and anti-patterns.”
- Roy Tennant writes about the benefits of libraries having a sandbox to try out new software and technology, in particular he points out the University of Cincinnati’s sandbox.
I have, in a somewhat disorganized manner, been creating and working with sandboxes for several years. Libology is, at least in its first phase, my effort to make a structured sandbox for my own efforts, with an eye towards demonstrating how various tools can work for libraries. These have been scattered throughout several other domains, and one of my first tasks will be to combine what I have done so far under one domain.
Web hosting is inexpensive. A site that can run blogs, discussion lists, wikis, CMSs, and a great many other helpful tools can be had for about $5 per month. An individual or group, taking things one step at a time, can learn a lot from simply getting a site and setting up various software. There is no better way, in my opinion, to learn about open source and web 2.0 than to jump in the sandbox and start playing!
Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, Open Source, Software, Training, Web Design, Wiki
Tagged Ambient Findability, helpful tools, Peter Morville, Roy Tennant, search examples, University of Cincinnati, USD, web hosting, writer
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Web 2.0 Tools
Teaching a Dog New Tricks is a post by Michelle Boule on ALA TechSource that contains a great overview of what good Web 2.0 tools have in common.
Announcing Scriblio on Libology
Libology’s Scriblio installation.
Scriblio, the open-source Library OPAC that runs on a WordPress installation, has been installed on Libology. Several notes about this software installation:
- The library catalog contained within this installation of Scriblio is Capital University’s, located in Columbus, Ohio. I could have used any of dozens of libraries, but since I work there, it made sense to create something I could use on a regular basis.
- The software is fairly close to the default installation, although I plan to tweak the design over the next few weeks. I have several projects on my plate, and I am happy to have reached a “live” status for this, so I may put it aside while I finish the book.
- Many of the links, especially the related subject and author links, do not work. I haven’t looked into this yet, so it may be something I didn’t do, or activate, or something.
- It runs very slowly, most of the time. I am not sure how much of this is due to my hosting service’s specs (a new service, for me), how much is due to database clutter (I have neither indexed the tables, nor adjusted the cache settings yet), or how much is due to factors in how I set it up. The database is about 2GB, so I would imagine that it might take a bit of time to conduct a search.
- Most of the time delay over the past couple of weeks has been due to my chasing a ghost in the php code. I had been attempting to set up the “real time status” reporting (this tells the location, call number, and availability of each item), and couldn’t get it to work. As I am relatively new to php, I assumed that I was missing something there. It wasn’t until I decided to try to work backwards and find the reference in the html code that I found out that it wasn’t working because it was made invisible via the style sheet. From there it was a very quick fix.
- To see a very well implemented Scriblio installation, check out Plymouth State University’s Lampson Library’s OPAC. They have nearly twice the number of records in their system, but their response time is much faster. They have also done a great job with the page layout… very little wasted space.
My feeling about the software, at this particular point, is that it is an incredible demonstration of what can be done with a solid piece of software (WordPress) and some well-focused creativity. Casey Bisson and the rest of the people who created this software have done a terrific job.
The downside is that it seemed, to me, harder than it should have been to get my installation this far. To set things up properly one needed be comfortable working with WordPress, PHP, HTML, and CSS. And this is only to get everything installed, imported, and configured to show the real-time status of the items. I am not complaining… this is a young project, and what might be easy for one library (or one developer) might be tougher for others.
So, the question is : should you try to do this. If you are interested, I say go for it! If you have ever installed WordPress before, then there isn’t much that won’t be familiar (mostly editing URLs in PHP and editing a style sheet). This is a great way to push your own envelope, and to learn a few things along the way. This has certainly been a good learning experience for me….
Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, OPAC, Open Source, Software, Web Design
Tagged Author, Capital University, Casey Bisson, Columbus, html, installation of Scriblio, Lampson Library, Libology Libology's Scriblio installation, Libology\'s Scriblio installation, Ohio, php, Plymouth State University, Plymouth State University's Lampson Library;, Scriblio, Scriblio installation, software installation, WordPress
installation
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Announcing Libology
And now the announcement I alluded to a couple of weeks ago…
Libology.com is a new web site that I have begun work on. The focus of the site is described by its tag line : “Tools and Ideas for Libraries”. Basically, it will be a showcase for various library technologies, as well as a “sandbox” for me to try out technology that I think would apply well to libraries. I have a couple of other ideas for the site, but we will see once I get those elements fleshed out.
The site is pretty bare, with only the main page in place. However, the first piece of technology has been installed and is running: Scriblio, a library Online Public Access Catalog (OPACO) built on the WordPress platform(the blogging software that runs this blog, among many others). More on that in the next post….
Posted in Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Software, Web Design
Tagged library Online Public Access Catalog, library technologies
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BookChaser Editions Lookup
BookChaser Editions Lookup is an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) lookup service with a twist : it obtains information from the amazingISBN, thingISBN and xISBN services and displays them, all for the purpose of letting the user compare and contrast different editions of the book entered. Think of it as a meta-ISBN service.
Try it with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
This can be a great way to locate audiobooks, foreign language editions, and other forms of a book that might not easily be found otherwise.
found via ResourceShelf
Posted in Books, OCLC, Online Services, Search
Tagged Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, xISBN
services
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