1. Sound archive of the British Library goes online, free of charge: Guardian (Hat Tip: Guy Kawasaki )

I  have often been impressed with the work of the British Library and this latest move only strengthens that opinion. In its latest move, the Library has made available close to 30,000 audio recordings of all sorts of things. If you visit the Archival Sounds Recordings section of the BL, you will find a wealth of interesting materials. However, this is no mere collection of recordings. The many different accents of the England (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland aren’t there yet) are often a delight for visitors and you can hear samples of all UK accents and dialects here by browsing simply browsing a map. Here’s an example of a Manchester resident talking about pigeon racing. You can also enjoy World War 1 war songs like, “If the sergeant drinks your rum, never mind” sung by a war veteran Roy Palmer. Alas, the British Library has followed the lead of BBC and locked up some of the content to UK IP addresses only. Still, there is a lot there to enjoy for Anglophiles, audiophiles and others.

2. Emerging Trends in New Zealand Special Libraries (PDF) (April 2009) Hat tip to Stephen Abram

It is always interesting to see detailed research on the state of the profession, in this case in New Zealand. Based on research with 786.45 full time equivalent library staff in 292 special libraries, the report has a wealth of detail. The main areas for growth has been government and health organizations as industry and manufacturing have suffered in New Zealand as head offices go eslewhere. The literature review section of the report was of great interest to me as it surveys trends around the world including Canada, Australia, Germany, the United States and other countries.

The report offers numerous recommendations including skills to acquire: business skills, such as project planning, budgeting and preparing a business case were needed. IT training is essential for working in new areas of opportunity such as records management software systems.

3. The Open Book Alliance vs. Google Books

The Open Book Alliance is a big tent organization (ALA, SLA, ARL, Amazon, Microsoft, the Internet Archive and Yahoo! are all members) that seeks to change the Google Books arrangement reached last year. My general sympathy lies with the OBA which has raised quite a few questions about Google Books including privacy and economic/access issues. The controversy over the Google Books court settlement is something I need to investigate further.

4. The Humble Index

Dorothea Salo offers a defence of the indexing arts and why they are more valuable than fully automated search engines. Salo argues that search engines do not produce indexes, but rather concordances – a subtle but important distinction. In essence, an index is an selective construction of a book’s ideas whereas a concordance is rather more like a glorified list. One of the greatest virtues of indexes is that they can cover concepts, rather than merely words. Some particularly well constructed concepts can even provide a guide to a book’s ideas. I do hope that indexes will continue to be produced.

5. The Future of Libraries, with or without books: CNN

Appearing in the technology section of CNN, this article reminds of the keynote address at this year’s CLA conference – print materials will stay important with ever declining importance. Librarians understand that and are not threatened by it. CNN is right on the money in understanding the mission of many libraries: To be a free place where people can access and share information. Free is a bit misleading as that best applies to public libraries and then not really. I am fond of saying that libraries are free like health care (i.e. you can walk in and get services but those services are paid for by taxes). The remark about libraries opposing Google Books is also a bit confused (some libraries fully cooperate with Google, while others have concerns about quality etc). Still, I found it a thoughtful look at the current and future state of U.S. libraries.

It has been far too long since I posted a Friday five, here is a mix of things that I have come across lately that interest me.
1. Standing on guard for Canada’s records (Globe & Mail Interview, June 16, 2009)

This article discusses the career and views of Ian Wilson, who served as the first executive to lead Library and Archives of Canada (formed in 2004 after the National Library of Canada and National Archives were merged into a combined institution) and has also served as national archivist of Canada and other positions. I found the comments on digitizing LAC’s collection to be quite interesting. Wilson argues that even if the institution digitizes millions of images per year, this will scratch the surface at best: “Do it for 10 years and it’ll still be about 1 per cent unless we find some way to do a one-time mass-digitization program,” Wilson said). The only way to get everything done is likely to find private support. Seeking private money or other forms of support may be it.

Other interesting items from the interview include the fact that the LAC website records about 1.2 million hits a month on its website (approximately 40,000 per day). LAC has also acquired the reputation of responding very quickly to Access to Information requests which strikes me as great: showing leadership on access by doing it well. The one disappointment (or perhaps it would be better to put it as “incomplete goal”) Wilson refers to is his effort to start a national portrait gallery. After visiting Washington DC and London, the lack of such an institution in Canada is unfortunate.

2. Wiki Patterns (learned about this at a SLA Toronto “Best of the Web” event this week; thanks to Daniel Lee)

I have been looking for something like Wiki Patterns for quite some time; this resource explains which social patterns can contribute (or undermine) the successful use of a wiki. One successful strategy to encourage wiki use is “Barn Raising” where everybody focuses on a single project. In contrast, there are anti-patterns such as Gate which slows down contributions by having too many processes. As somebody that uses wikis regularly, this looks helpful.

3. Value Based Management (learned about this at a SLA Toronto “Best of the Web” event this week; thanks to Daniel Lee)

This resource is dictionary to management concepts and buzz words. If somebody mentions something you’ve never heard of in a meeting or document, then you can get a basic definition here. I looked up something I had heard about recently – Six Sigma – and learned that this technique is ultimately concerned with the identification of defects in processes and eliminating these as much as possible. New terms in business books and writing occur so often that it can be difficult to keep up.

4.Facebook and academic performance: reconciling a media sensation with data by Josh Pasek, eian more and Eszter Hargittai (First Monday, May 2009)

This article looks a study that made the rounds earlier this year arguing about the supposedly negative effects of Facebook use on students. My post about Facebook and grades (and workplace productivity) has been among the most popular I’ve written here. Here is part of the abstract of the article: “In none of the samples do we find a robust negative relationship between Facebook use and grades. Indeed, if anything, Facebook use is more common among individuals with higher grades. We also examined how changes in academic performance in the nationally representative sample related to Facebook use and found that Facebook users were no different from non–users.” This happens to support my general view – Facebook is not uniquely good or bad, it is just another form of social media that people use.

The author’s articles put this analysis (that linked FB use to poor grades) in part of a decades old academic tradition that focuses on the negative effects of media on young people. Back in the 1930s, some argued that movies were ruining children. It seems this idea comes up every few years whenever something new type of leisure is created, especially if that type is popular among young people. If it isn’t TV, it is comics or the Internet or video games. Old ideas like this die hard. I would hope greater awareness of this history should increase our collective skepticism.

5. Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013 (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

While the full text of this report is not available for free, there are some interesting items available. There is a video that provides an overview of the sector that I found interesting. “The pace of digital migration is increasing significant as a result about the recession.” I’m still waiting to see this impact book publishers and newspapers (most of the newspapers I read have no active plans to drop their print editions). There is also an observation that old concepts like “prime time” are gone in an era when users drive demand. As the video puts it, “monetizing [digital] demand is a struggle.” I still haven’t seen much in the way of robust new business models that sustain digital media that could support the staff of a major magazine or publisher.

I’m taking a breather between projects and decided to write another Friday Five.

1. Zoho (Tagline: “Work. Online”)

I had heard of Zoho in several places but I’ve never worked with it until today. Essentially, Zoho offers “cloud computing” applications focused on office productivity. Why is this appealing? Well, cloud computing generally means no longer needing to worry about leaving that USB stick at home. All files are constantly available for use online. Many readers will no doubt be familiar with Google Docs (a basic word processor application offered by Google; there are also a presentation and spreadsheet applications), but Zoho offers more. What exactly? It offers (for free): a wiki, a word processor, a web conferencing tool (would like to test this!), an invoice creator, and a project management tool. I tested the word processor and it does appear to be compatible with Microsoft Word.

2. Book Camp (Toronto, June 6 2009)

This one-day event is all about books and their future, with an emphasis on publishing. The event will be using an “unconference” fashion (still a new idea to me; here’s the Wikipedia entry
– in brief, “there is no agenda until .. the attendees made one up.”). Some interesting topics to be explored include: online book communities, digital marketing, books and podcasts etc). I am planning to attend and hope to write an entry about it.

3. Custom Search Engine: Indeed

Indeed is a search engine that specializes in searching job listings. It has a simple interface wherein one supplies some key words and a location (i.e. a city or province). A search for “librarian” generated 33 results today across Canada while a search for “accoutant” generated 2,225 results and a search for “lawyer” generated 768 results. While it is far from comprehensive, it is a useful tool to play around with. One great feature is the ability to set up email alerts so you can be informed about new positions of interest. If you’re employed (or in management), this tool is still useful since you can use it to see what skills are being mentioned.

4. How To Do An Annual Reports that People Remember: The British Library Annual Report for 2007-2008 and the Columbus Metropolitan Library Report

Annual reports have the reputation of being boring documents, but that is changing. The British Library report referenced above is an engaging work of art that is a pleasure to use. The “front page” of the report offers three videos: a statement by a fiction author who used the BL, a conservator and a businesswoman who used the BL. In each case, you have a reference to the BL staff who assisted these people and you can watch a video of the staff member explain who they are and what they do. In fact, video is used heavily through the website to good effect. However, video does not work for everyone so the British Library has also offered a text only version of its report. The Report itself has four themes: Shaping (public debate on major issues), Understanding (other cultures and eras through our exhibitions and events), Advancing (access to our collections through new and exciting technology), and Developing (our people to provide the best service for our users). The Library has even presented its hard data in novel and engaging ways. I learned that the British Library had about 24.5 million searches performed on its catalogue in 2007-2008 and created about 9.6 million digital images in the same period. Well done! This is a model for libraries around the world to study.

On this side of the Atlantic (thanks to Tame The Web for pointing this out), we have the Annual Report of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (Columbus, Ohio – home of the OCLC and Ohio State University). The report puts an emphasis on the recession, the innovation nature of the report (an interesting emphasis on stories) and the green nature of the report. The last point is worth thinking about further; if we shift funds from printing expensive glossy reports to sophisticated websites, maybe that would be a better use of funds…

5. The Creating Future Libraries Notebook

Sometimes it helps to think on paper and this notebook explores that idea. Thanks to the Librarian in Black for mentioning it. One possible use for these would to buy a few (they’re only $3 US each) and distribute them at a staff meeting. Get people thinking using a new tool and make meetings more interesting. I would also imagine that these notebooks could be a good idea to get a new project off the ground, when it is still in the defining stage.

Lists are fun and it has been a while since I did a Friday Five, so here goes. The list is a mix of fun and useful things, as before.

1. Unshelved & PhD Comics: Because Librarians and Graduate Students Need Their Comics Too!
These are two webcomics I read regularly. I like PhD Comics more than Unshelved, but they are both fun. PhD Comics is about grad students; Unshelved is set in a public library. One of the good things about comics is that they’re light and easy on you and your computer; you read a couple strips in a few minutes and then move onto something else.

2. Authors @ Google: Watch authors talk about their work!

There are lots of these, including quite a few authors I like: Neil Gaiman, Richard Florida, and Jeffrey Sachs. Having regular events like that is one great job benefit!

3. Using More Than One Web Browser Is Good For You: Good for testing things and figuring out problems

If you use Windows, your computer came with Internet Explorer. If you use Mac OS X, then it is Safari. If it is Linux, it is probably Firefox. The important point is to have more than one, especially if any part of your work involves heavy use of the Web. Even for recreation, you should have more than one. While Firefox is my “primary” browser, I also have Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer. Switching around sometimes is fun and can be very helpful to test things or just give you a welcome change of pace. It also means that if I’m using a computer or device other than my own computer, I’m still comfortable using whatever is on offer.

4. Wiki Travel: Or Why You Might Never Buy a Lonely Planet Again?

I only heard about this website a few days ago and already I’m impressed with it. To test the usefulness of it, I looked at four cities: Toronto (needs some work), London (looks very good & detailed!),  Washington DC and Berlin. I’ve given examples of major cities, but it covers more than that. It has neighbourhoods of cities, provinces and country level entries. If you are traveling and need something in paper, there is a company that offers print on demand frequently updated Travel Guides based on Wiki Travel. The print side of things has much room for improvement still (I wonder how well Wiki Travel does maps? Maps matter a lot to me when I travel).

5. PB wiki: Or, You Really Should Learn When To Use Wikis

This is a free Wiki hosting service (as with most Web based companies, there is also a paid version with more features, but the free version is great). Wikis are one of the best collaborative tools out there – I’ve used them to manage several projects successfully. It is MUCH better than trying to use email to collaborate (email doesn’t do sharing well, it doesn’t manage files well, and it doesn’t support versioning/managing iterations well) on projects, share information and so forth. What I  have found difficult is that some people prefer to use a poor quality but familiar tool (email) rather than learn a high quality but unfamilar tool (wikis). I’m not one of those people who think that email is dead – it is still great for many things and so much still depends on it. However, wikis are good for many things and they are fairly easy. I’ll share one important rule of thumb though; if you are using to collaborate between a group of people that you know, then having somebody serve as the “curator” is worthwhile. Untended, wikis can grow in messy ways. Before you say it, don’t just say “Well, search it!”

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.