Good news from Germany

Back in December 2008, the German Federal Archives donated 100,000 images to Wikipedia documenting the history of Germany. Not only that, but more has come from Germany. Today, German libraries donated yet more images to the Wikimedia Commons. All the materials are also provided direct from the Archive as well. One presumes that this project will entail preserving copies in other locations as well. I certainly appreciate this sort of leadership from Germany. It strikes me as an improvement from a recent book by a former President of the French National Library who decried efforts by Google to digitize books (in English, this book was called Google and the Myth of Universal Knowledge : a view from Europe (2007) versus the original French title Quand Google défie l’Europe : plaidoyer pour un sursaut (2005).

Let me be clear that I recognize that these are different projects in so far as they deal with different media (books vs. photos) and differing intellectual property regimes (public domain vs. mixed copyrighted & public domain). That all said, in many academic circles (and some library circles), it is commonplace to critique Google for its failure to conform to various canons of professionalism or beliefs about intellectual freedom (the company’s cooperation with China’s Internet firewall is well known, such as can be seen in this 2006 BBC article). Such criticisms have their place and can lead to lead to worthwhile critical thinking. However, I think it is better to build something better rather than simply offering criticism. Wikipedia and related projects may not always work, but they are worth keeping in mind.

To my delight, I see that the German Federal Archive has already uploaded 5 black and white images of Canada, including an amusing scene of a conversation in Ottawa involving a sword. If you’ve read this far, you also deserve to see an amusing photo of Albert Einstein from 1931 (here is the link that will give you the meta-data on it).

It Has Computers, Gives Advice and Is Free (New York Times)

A few days ago, there was a great article on the role of public libraries in New York, New York in the New York Times. When I last visited the city in 2006, I very much enjoyed visiting the “headquarters” (central?) branch on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. It might be the most majestic public library building I’ve seen anywhere. As much as I liked it, that is not the point of today’s post.

The article describes the main functions of the public library in the recession in specific, positive terms. Libraries provide free* Internet access, training to help people look for work (and the related network of skills required for successful job hunting) and supportive environment. For some unemployed professionals, for example, the public library takes on the role of an office. Sure, you could do some of these things at home (though that assumes you have Internet access at home – 25-30% of Canadians still do not have broadband access), but the library provides a environment that supports study and recreation. Unlike a coffee shop, you can stay in the Library as long as you want without buying anything.

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New iSchool Podcast episode published: Keynote Address from the Housing Memory Conference

Yesterday afternoon, a new episode of the iSchool Podcast was published; it is a recording of the keynote address given a few weeks ago at the Housing Memory Conference. The topic of the lecture is, “Memory Practices and the Imagined Future Self“” and it was given by Professor Geoffrey C. Bowker. There were some difficulties in producing the recording, but it should still be usable. My apologies for the the Question & Answer section at the end – recording that portion of lectures is always difficult. That is an ironic problem to have in this case, as one of the core themes of the lecture “what do we choose to remember and how?.”

As usual, the episode was produced using a handheld battery-powered recorder and Audacity, everybody’s favourite free open-source audio editor.

On Being Noticed by the British Library

I note with much interest that the British Library has linked to one of my posts about the exhibit “Taking Liberties.” To my delight, the British Library has collected together blog postings about the exhibit and posted them online. Alas, I think that the selective quoting they did is confusing, unless one reads the original post. I am also pleased to discover that the British Library has launched a whole podcast series dedicated to the exhibit (example topics include:Can we be green without losing our freedoms?, Paine’s Rights of Man, Is Liberty British?) of 11 episodes with various formats such as interviews, lectures and debate.

I think it is a great idea for libraries to take notice of how people interact with their services and exhibits. Sure, there are comment cards and things like that but I rarely see people filling in such cards. I wonder if this monitoring is a first step toward a greater engagement with bloggers or the public more broadly? I have seen cases where movie promoters have sent promotional items to bloggers (e.g. the case of Coraline, a film inspired by Neil Gaiman’s book), but I don’t know of any museum, library or archive doing anything like that. I am also curious to know is whether such commentary is included into the planning or other decision-making practices used at the Library.

The MLS debate

I am fascinated by education and the role it plays in society. The topic of today’s post is the role of formal education in the professions. For the ancient professions of medicine and law, obtaining a degree in the field has long been a requirement to practice that discipline. This is also true of newer professions such as nursing. All the professions cited thus far may be considered “hard” professions in that educational requirements are enforced and standardized exams are required to enter. What is the role of education in the case of the so-called soft professions? In this post, I will discuss a recent debate on the issue and offer my own perspective as a graduate student in the field.

This subject was recently debated at the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) meeting in Seattle. I would argue that such education plays an important role, but making that case is more difficult in a soft profession. The arguments advanced in favor of the role of the graduate degree in the profession include the idealistic (“it fosters shared values”) to the highly pragmatic (“The only way to get better pay is to get the MLS”). Of the two claims, the better pay argument is likely easier to prove or disprove with data. I would suspect that MLS (or equivalent; some graduate degrees in the field go with different names and can have a different focus such as information science or knowledge management) information professionals do tend to earn more than non-MLS librarians, if only because one can likely ascend to a higher level professionally with it. I’ll flag that argument as potentially convincing, but only if data was produced to back it up. While the shared values point is interesting, I wonder about it. Are professional values actually imbibed during the program or is it essentially already present in those who choose to work in the field?

What about my own experience? I have found my education to be quite valuable professionally on several counts. My studies of management and policy have played an important role in preparing me for management and leadership positions in the long term. This is one case where practical entry-level work experience cannot function as a substitute. I have also had the opportunity to think more deeply about questions of privacy, citizenship (had a wonderful class exploring that point yesterday), intellectual property and other issues. While one can learn about such issues through one’s own reading (e.g. the blog of Professor Michael Geist is a good way to stay informed about developments in Internet law), discussions with others and the like, the setting of formal education allows for greater depth of examination. I have also benefited from studying at an institution where I can study with people in different fields whether that be the Knowledge Media Design Institute, The Collaborative Program in Book History and Print Culture and the School of Public Policy & Governance; this combined experience has been invaluable.

Friday Five: A mix of tools and education

There is a long standing custom in the blogosphere of writing about fun or entertaining topics on Fridays. A number of academic blogs I used to read had Friday blog posts showing photos of cats, for example. I like cats too, but that is not what I’m going to write about today. Instead, I am going to review five free Web tools.

1. Pew Internet & American Life Project

This is probably one of the world’s most quoted sources of data on Internet usage and its effects on society. Alas, the organization is exclusively concerned with Americans (I have long wanted to see a Canadian version of it, perhaps also an EU or British version too), but the trends and data are still very much worth a look. Where else can you find information on generational differences in Internet use (here is the Pew chart on generational differences). The differences are important for information professionals to know. For example, Pew found that 82% of those in the Gen X and older (i.e. age 33 and older) use to the Internet to find health information. In contrast, the most popular (72%) activity for Gen Y (aged 18-33) is watching online videos – that leads directly into my second item.

2. Academic Earth

I recently discovered Academic Earth when somebody else referred me to it. The website’s mission can be summarized by its tagline: “Thousands of video lectures from the world’s top scholars.” Disciplines covered by this website include political science, economics, computer science, English, philosophy, medicine and astronomy. This is not a replacement for being a student in university, but it does offer another way to begin learning about new topics or to refresh your knowledge. It strikes me as a much expanded, deeper version of the videos put together at TED (it is an annual conference in California describing itself as “Inspired talks by the world’s leading thinkers and doers.”). TED is also worth a look for its inspired organization of content – it is both easy to navigate and a pleasure to use.

3. Evernote

Evernote is a company that has a simple tagline: “Remember everything.” The reason Evernote is useful is that you can upload notes (either text you type in, handwritten text, photos etc) and search all of it, tag material and so on. Further, it is all private to the user. This type of approach may not be appropriate for some organizations such as government, but the general premise of the idea should be considered the next time your organization’s intranet gets refreshed. The company offers two types of accounts: free and premium. The service can be accessed through the website and by mobile devices such as the iPhone. Alas, there is no application providing easy access for the BlackBerry which limits the utility of this for many business users.

4. Flickr

With more than one billion images available, flickr is one of the Web’s best sources of photos. Of course, it is not a replacement to professional sources of images such as Getty Images which is the place to go if you are looking for photos of breaking news events. Beyond the fun of browsing around, this source of images can be used to illustrate presentations, blog posts or other pieces of writings. If you are working on such a project and you have a limited budget, I would suggest you limit your search to Creative Commons material only (you can find that option under Flickr’s Advanced Search). If you use Creative Commons material, one should offer a link back to the original source or provide credit in some other way.

5. Mashable

Describing itself as “the Social Media Guide,” this website is one of the best places on the Internet to stay informed about new developments in social media. There is coverage on Wordpress (which powers this blog), YouTube, Twitter and many other mainstays of the social media world. With more than 200,000 people subscribing to their RSS feed, it is also quite a popular resource. I am only an occasional reader of the website, but I have the impression that is heavily populated by developers and those who use social media as part of their work. This focus is valuable since it provides an advance look on new developments and it shows how social media is being applied.

Information Professionals as Connectors

I have recently been thinking more about the role of information professionals in organizations. The above image is a metaphor that I wish to explore further in this post. Increasingly, the future of the profession is to be the spark that connects people to each other and to the information they need, whether it is somebody else in the organization, published information or something else.

Rather than seeing our role primarily as managers of systems or technolgies (though we certainly do that and do it well), I think the notion of connection is more powerful. In the context of an organization, this could mean everything from consulting to knowledge management. Everybody uses information and knowledge and this can be our way into the conversation.

I am still thinking through my ideas on this, but I think this is an idea worth developing further. At its best, the profession provides context, affect and meaning to information so that it becomes valuable for others. For example, IT systems are sometimes designed with non-user needs at their core, such as cost or ease of administration. Information professionals can translate the social and work needs of staff into IT services. The idea in that example is that we have a foot in both the operations side of an organization and the support side of an organization.

This suggestion also challenges some of the traditional values and personality traits commonly found in librarians and those in related professions. In a course reading last academic year, I read a joke about archivists that went like this: “How do you know you’ve met an extroverted archivist? They stare at your shoes, rather than their own, when they talk to you.” This is not a winning strategy, to say the least. Yes, we need technical skills, knowledge of professional standards and so forth, but the value of those skills are hobbled if we don’t get out and make connections.

For myself, I think it is also important to maintain an attitude of curiosity about the world and other people. As you will know, this comes easily to me. However, it does require some attention to do it well. Stephen Abram recently put it well in his blogpost with the great title Learning from Everywhere:

I think that if you serve a specific market that it’s a good idea to temporarily immerse yourself in it. I visit a lot of libraries, all the time. I observe. I borrow books, ask for ILL’s, try to get an out-of-town library card, ask for directions, information about programs, etc. I learn a lot.

So in the case of my participation in an international clinical trial, I do the same thing. I ask questions. What research sources so they use? How do their computer systems work? What do patient records look like and what are the privacy issues and protections? Where so they publish? Have they heard of open access? What do they use the library for? How do they relate to other parts of the community and hospital? What are their quality practices? I watch. And so on. There’s a lot for a librarian to learn.

So, here’s an idea for anyone serving a market that does experiments or conducts trials. Can you get yourself on the team? Can you be a participant? My personal advice based on my experience is that you can’t get a better education that actually immersing yourself in your user’s ecology.

Then you’ll have personal stories to share and connect with users.

That entry was part of the inspiration for this post. I was also partly inspired by some of the discussion that followed the Housing Memory confernce keynote address last weekend.

The Decline and Fall of Newspapers?

The “Great Recession” has had all kinds of effects, some good and some bad. One effect that has interested me a great deal is the accelerating decline of newspapers. Professionally, this is a concern on several levels. Most immediately, some newspapers have responded to this situation by laying off staff including information professionals. More generally, newspapers are a great source of information, opinion and reporting that is still unmatched compared to other forms of media. The blogosphere does some great things, but I still remain skeptical that it can replace full-time paid journalists (though I remain open minded on this). Personally, I have always enjoyed reading newspapers both online and in print. When I travel abroad, looking through the local newspapers is always an enjoyable experience. The flexibility to read whatever one wishes makes me like them much more than TV and radio news too.

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Notes on the British Library

After visiting the British Library in February, I’ve wanted to write up some of my thoughts regarding it. I should note that I did not conduct research while I was there, so I cannot comment regarding that aspect of the institution.

The Library itself was in a much more modern building than I thought it would be and it took some time for this fact to grow on me. Architecturally, I like the fact that there is a piazza between the main gate and the entrance itself, where one can stroll or linger at the cafe. There was a presentation back at the Ontario Library Association conference in January that looked how libraries work as space and their context. By the criteria of that presentation, the BL is doing well.

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Two Valuable Student Projects

In addition to my formal studies, I have also benefited from working on two student projects this academic year; a podcast and a journal. It has also been informative to play the role of founder and chair in the first case, while playing an important if not central role in the second case.

Back in the fall of 2008, I organized a group to podcast lectures at the University of Toronto. The result is the iSchool Podcast which has published seven lectures so far, with more to come. In my view, this project has been a success on at least two levels. First, I have received postive feedback from people who tell me that they appreciate the project. These kind  words are backed up by our own statistics; more than 1200 unique visitors have visited the blog and 25,000 pageviews have been registered since December 2008. I have enjoyed podcasts for several years now as a listener, so it was gratifying to give back to the podcast community. For myself, I  have also found the project valuable in that it has given me a way to learn new skills (e.g. what makes a podcast work, using Audacity, marketing, management and so forth). Managing in an all volunteer environment presents some challenges that I am still learning from. As I will be graduating this year, I am also making efforts to train and mentor other students to take over the project.

On the other front, I have worked as an editor and author for the Faculty of Information Quarterly. This is an online-only student led publication that has been interesting to work on. The journal was co-founded and currently managed by  Meghan Ecclestone, a friend and fellow student at the Faculty. So far, most of the content has been produced by students in our program but that will hopefully change in the future. Working on the journal has provided me with an opportunity to improve my editing skills further and learn more about the field, two things I enjoy doing. I am not sure what plans are in place regarding the journal’s future, but I do hope it will stay around.

Interestingly, both of these projects were not for pay or academic credit. They were both created out of an ambition to contribute to the profession and learn new skills.