Last Thursday I attended a lecture that was held as part of Open Access Week, which runs from October 19 to October 27. (There are some other great events going on in the next few days - you can see the schedule here.) The talk that I attended was about open access repositories for scholarly work and featured two presenters: Dr. Oya Rieger from Cornell University Library and Yuan Li from Syracuse University Library.
This was an interesting topic for me, since I don't really know very much about open access aside from hearing rumblings every now and then about how it relates to scholarly publishing. Dr. Rieger spoke about two open access projects that Cornell University is involved with, Euclid and ArXiv (pronounced archive - I never would have figured out how to say it!) Both of these are subject specific projects, dealing with math and science, and Dr. Rieger detailed some interesting initiatives that have been undertaken to ensure the sustainability of these projects, including asking the institutions that access that databases the most to make a voluntary donation. And most institutions did!
Then Ms. Li talked about SUrface, which is Syracuse University's open access repository for scholarly and creative works produced by SU faculty, researchers, departments, and students. It is a new project, just over a year old, but it already houses over 4,000 papers and was downloaded almost 60,000 times in the past year. Although I don't really know anything about open access repositories, those numbers seem pretty impressive to me.
All of this inspired me to check out the SUrface database, which I had ignored until now, even though there is a link to it right on the SU Library homepage. There is a lot of really interesting information to be found there, on subjects from art to law and everything in between. Take a look if you have a little bit of time!
October 22, 2011
October 17, 2011
Not Keeping Up With The Joneses
In 511 last Tuesday we talked about the digital divide and the various reasons that people do not use new technology. The reasons ranged from lack of access, not knowing how to use technology, and just not wanting to use new technology. When Professor Lankes mentioned the motivational aspect of technology use, I recognized myself. Apparently there has not been a lot of study or focus on this area, so I thought I would say a few words about my own personal experience. This is obviously anecdotal evidence, but it may help explain to technology buffs why some of us don't automatically run out and buy the next big thing.
First let me say that I am not anti-technology. I think that technology has its place and is very useful in some situations. It has changed the way we live, and I use it when I have to for work or school. (For example, I would never choose to create a blog on my own, but I learned the necessary skills to do it for this class.) So I recognize the importance of technology and I keep up with developments because it is necessary for success as an information professional.
But in my life outside of work and class, I seldom use new technology. I don't use Facebook, don't have cable, and watch about two television shows a week. I recently got a cell phone, but I treat it more like a land line and only turn it on when I don't mind being bothered. I never had internet service at home until I started taking classes this fall. And I usually wait until an old technology is practically obsolete to switch over to a new one (think cassette tapes to CDs or typewriters to computers.)
Why am I reluctant to adopt new technologies? I'm sure that everyone in this category has their own unique reasons, but for me it boils down to not wanting to clutter up my life with new things or gadgets or processes if the old ones work just fine. I have absolutely no interest in keeping up with the Joneses. I also don't want to be constantly "on call" with an expectation of perpetual connectedness. I don't want someone to be able to call me while I'm driving or to be constantly bombarded by tweets and Facebook updates. I hate feeling like I have to answer the phone, read about what my friend had for lunch, and find something interesting to say in 140 characters or less. That's just plain exhausting.
So if you try to reach me and I'm slow in responding, don't worry, I will get back to you. But I might finish my knitting or reading my book (in print of course, not digital) before I do.
First let me say that I am not anti-technology. I think that technology has its place and is very useful in some situations. It has changed the way we live, and I use it when I have to for work or school. (For example, I would never choose to create a blog on my own, but I learned the necessary skills to do it for this class.) So I recognize the importance of technology and I keep up with developments because it is necessary for success as an information professional.
But in my life outside of work and class, I seldom use new technology. I don't use Facebook, don't have cable, and watch about two television shows a week. I recently got a cell phone, but I treat it more like a land line and only turn it on when I don't mind being bothered. I never had internet service at home until I started taking classes this fall. And I usually wait until an old technology is practically obsolete to switch over to a new one (think cassette tapes to CDs or typewriters to computers.)
Why am I reluctant to adopt new technologies? I'm sure that everyone in this category has their own unique reasons, but for me it boils down to not wanting to clutter up my life with new things or gadgets or processes if the old ones work just fine. I have absolutely no interest in keeping up with the Joneses. I also don't want to be constantly "on call" with an expectation of perpetual connectedness. I don't want someone to be able to call me while I'm driving or to be constantly bombarded by tweets and Facebook updates. I hate feeling like I have to answer the phone, read about what my friend had for lunch, and find something interesting to say in 140 characters or less. That's just plain exhausting.
So if you try to reach me and I'm slow in responding, don't worry, I will get back to you. But I might finish my knitting or reading my book (in print of course, not digital) before I do.
October 11, 2011
Bird After Dark
In an earlier post I discussed gaming in the library. Well, here's a slightly new twist on that idea, with a game that helps you learn how to use the library.
Bird Library is holding its annual Bird After Dark event where students answer questions and play silly games in an attempt to win prizes and learn about library resources along the way. It will be held on November 4, 2011 and YOU (wonderful LIS students that you are) have the opportunity to volunteer!
But I'm busy you say, why would I want to do that? Aahh, let me show you....
Video from last year (highly entertaining)
Photos from last year (also entertaining)
Now let's hear from Camille Chesley, the person in charge of gathering volunteers:
Bird Library is holding its annual Bird After Dark event where students answer questions and play silly games in an attempt to win prizes and learn about library resources along the way. It will be held on November 4, 2011 and YOU (wonderful LIS students that you are) have the opportunity to volunteer!
But I'm busy you say, why would I want to do that? Aahh, let me show you....
Video from last year (highly entertaining)
Photos from last year (also entertaining)
Now let's hear from Camille Chesley, the person in charge of gathering volunteers:
We’re looking for volunteers to help out from 9pm-1:15am (At the latest). Some of the duties will include staffing Minute to Win It! game stations, monitoring floors during rounds, scoring during party breaks, and taking pictures and video. Volunteers will be required to attend a short orientation session the week of the Lock-in. The Lock-in is always a blast, so we hope you can join us!
And really, after seeing that video how could you possibly resist? The line to sign up starts here!
October 2, 2011
Atlas and Index
Imagine my surprise when, during the course of reading The Atlas of New Librarianship, I discovered that there is no index in this book! I was shocked to say the least. After all, what's a girl to do when she knows there is a discussion of online encyclopedias somewhere in the first thread, but can't find it to save her life? Use the index, of course! Except when there isn't one.
To be fair, there is an index page on the book's companion website where some supplementary indexes can be found, including a names index, a contributor index, and an index of web citations. These indexes are all well and good, but they still do not answer my encyclopedia dilemma.
The same helpful site also tells me that the Agreement Supplements are supposed to function as the main index for the Atlas, so I decide to give it a try. The supplements appear to be in alphabetical order...and there is a page number at the beginning of each agreement that tells me where to find that topic in the threads...but I still can't find my encyclopedias. And I've had to flip through pages and pages of text to find this out.
I suppose I could have looked up the agreement supplements in the table of contents first, just to see if there was one called "Encyclopedias" or something similar. But even if I found one, I would still have to go to the back of the book, find the appropriate page number, and then flip through the book again to find the agreement's appearance in the threads.
So in conclusion, I would like to make a humble suggestion for the second edition of the book: please add a traditional index for desperate folks like me. We just want to find the encyclopedias. Really!
To be fair, there is an index page on the book's companion website where some supplementary indexes can be found, including a names index, a contributor index, and an index of web citations. These indexes are all well and good, but they still do not answer my encyclopedia dilemma.
The same helpful site also tells me that the Agreement Supplements are supposed to function as the main index for the Atlas, so I decide to give it a try. The supplements appear to be in alphabetical order...and there is a page number at the beginning of each agreement that tells me where to find that topic in the threads...but I still can't find my encyclopedias. And I've had to flip through pages and pages of text to find this out.
I suppose I could have looked up the agreement supplements in the table of contents first, just to see if there was one called "Encyclopedias" or something similar. But even if I found one, I would still have to go to the back of the book, find the appropriate page number, and then flip through the book again to find the agreement's appearance in the threads.
So in conclusion, I would like to make a humble suggestion for the second edition of the book: please add a traditional index for desperate folks like me. We just want to find the encyclopedias. Really!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)