Assignment 6- Website

My Webpage

Unit 11 Comment

Comment

Unit 10 Comment

Comment

Muddiest Point 11/15/2010

I do not have a muddy point from class today but I was wondering about how to link my pages together in Dreamweaver, as well as posting pictures to the page(s).  I understand that this question may be best answered in the Lab, but I thought I'd post it in here as well and see if anybody could help me out.

Unit 11

Web Search Engines: Part 1 and Part 2

            I am not really sure what I was supposed to look at/read for this article(s), so I just looked at the table of content and the website in general.  From what I saw it seemed like they had a good number of articles on various subjects, especially in dealing with the IT world. I did not get a chance to read any of the articles but from just reading the authors mini biographies, I got the feeling that these articles were being written by people who know what they are talking about.

Current developments and future trends for the OAI protocol for metadata harvesting

            The information in this article was informative, especially since I do not have that much background knowledge about OAI’s.  The liked how the authors listed why something was both good and bad.  Most articles go one way or the other, forcing readers to read multiple articles to get both sides of the story.  Having everything in one place was very helpful I felt.  I also liked how they listen various programs in work, such as the Sheet Music Consortium and Community- and Domain-specific OAI services.  I am interested in how these services can be expanded in the future.

“The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value”

            The analogy in the begging about the Web being a sea was entertaining.  I don’t think I fully understand exactly what the Deep Web is, but the way they explained their research and everything was very well done.  Unlike after reading some articles and questioning where their information came from, I knew exactly where this information came from and how it came to be.  I greatly appreciated it. 

Muddy Point from Nov. 8

What is XSL? I was going over the slides and saw this in a few of them but could not readily find any point where it was explained.  Also, simplecontent v. complexcontent? I'm a little unsure about this as well.

Unit 10 Readings

Digital Libraries: challenges and influential work

It is amazing to me how one thing can lead to another.  Like how Google grew from the research the people with the Stanford DLI-1 project did.  Although, it seems normal for this to happen, it is still amazing and interesting to see it happen.  Hopefully federal funding will continue to be given to institutions to keep these projects going.  More powerful and helpful research tools can and will be created with the help of federal government.  This in turn will allow students and other researchers the change to look at more things to improve their theses. 

Dewey meets Turing: librarians, computer scientists and the digital libraries initiative

            The analogy of the parents with a child is slightly entertaining and describes the relationship between computer scientists and librarians and with the World Wide Web.  The relationship though is a tad strained, at the beginning and now.  Computer scientists do want to do things their way and sometimes ignore the needs of librarians.  While librarians do the same thing on their end.  The happy medium for these two is slowly being found.  Arguments are still going to be fought, and may always be fought, but compromises will also be found.  If a compromise is not found, then these two groups just need to move on to something else.  The work that these two groups are doing is a great one.  These collections do need to be moved online and libraries do need to find cheaper ways to get the information to their patrons.  Hopefully computer scientists and librarians can stay in partnership and figure out new and improved ways for patrons to get information.

"Institutional Repositories: Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the Digital Age"

            Lynch seems to have a good grasp on his thoughts.  I am not sure if I fully agree or disagree with him.  I may have to go back and read this again to fully understand what he is saying and to form my own thoughts. 

Muddiest Point for 11/1 Class

I have no muddiest point from today's class.

Assignment 5

British Romance Writers

User Name: JLL106
List Name: LIS_2600_JLL106

Unit 9 Readings, part 2

After reading the Martin Bryan article, I still believe that the tutorial helped me understand it better but it was good to read.  This article did explain it better than the original one posted on CourseWeb.

Unit 9 Readings

Introducing the Extensible Markup Language (XML)

            This program sounds like a good idea.  Sadly, I agree that with the cost of CDs and DVDs going down and Internet access going up this program lost steam.

A survey of XML standards: Part 1

            It seems like the creators of XML are creating different tools to expand the markup language.  Some seem to be working, others need more improvement before more people will use the product again or support it.

Extending your Markup: a XML tutorial by Andre Bergholz           

            This article explained XML and the various additions to it much better than the IBM article. I still have some confusion about it, but I think that smoothing out the confusion will only go away after using the markup language. 

XML Schema Tutorial

            This tutorial helped me gain a better understanding of what XML is and how it is used.  I will need to go through this tutorial a few more times before I am fully comfortable with the language, but it is a good start

My overall question for this is how would this be incorporated into libraries?  Would we use in OPAC systems or something else?  I find it easier to learn things when they are put into prospective. 

Unit 7 Muddiest Point(s)

I do not have any questions about class this week.

Unit 7 Readings

How Stuff Works: Internet Infrastructure

            I am glad that we no longer us IP addresses to go to various web pages.  Remembering all of those addresses would be impossible.  The invention of Domain Names was a great thing.  It is easier to remember lots of DN’s than it to remember lots of IP addresses.  Either way people still bookmark their favorite sites so they do not have to remember the addresses.

Dismantling Integrated Library Systems

            The end of this article rings true, “In the end, it may be necessary for librarians and vendors to dismantle the ILS in order to rebuild it.” The current systems only go so far and can only be modified so much.  To fully make everyone happy and enable them to modify their systems to their needs, a new system will have to be built from scratch, erasing the old one.  Hopefully these new systems will be easier to use from the end-user end as well as from the programmers end.

Inside the Google machine

            It was interesting to learn how Google operates and how they keep their employees happy.  It seems like they learn from their mistakes and how they plan for the future.  If something does not work, then they take it off.  The try to make their employees happy by letting them work on their own things during 20% of their time and by taking them on vacation once a year.  By keeping people happy and by allowing them to make outside work friendships, work relationships and work will be done quicker and better.  

Assignment 4

Assignment 4

Unit 8 Comment

Comment

Unit 8 Muddiest Points

I do not have any muddy points about the readings.

Unit 8 Readings

W3schools HTML Tutorial

The HTML tutorial was an easy way to relearn HTML and how to make websites.  In the computer class I took in my undergrad we were taught HTML and created our own websites.  I did not fully understand it at the time, but this tutorial has helped me understand it better.  I think that understanding HTML and creating websites only comes through doing and use.

HTML Cheatsheet

This cheatsheet helps keep all the different HTML codes in order. The codes are easy but because there are so many of them it can get confusing as to which does which.  Having the cheatsheet will keep them all in order and be there for easy accessibility.

W3 School Cascading Style Sheet Tutorial

CSS was not covered in the computer class I took in undergrad so this tutorial helped me understand what CSS is and how it works.  It will also be useful to come back to this to refresh my memory when I get confused or forget what the difference is between HTML and CSS.

Beyond HTML: Developing and re-imagining library web guides in a content management system

It is good to see how other institutions are handling technology and the transition from one technology to another.  Georgia State University set up a system and timeline to transfer their existing web-page creator to another one.  It was done in a timely manner, which seems haphazard for those departments with large database systems.  I think that more time should have been given to them to convert their materials so they did not have to copy-paste their existing materials.   This makes it seem like they will not learn the new features of the new system, although I know that they will once the system is in place.  It is up to the department, though, to go back and update their page once this has happened, which may or may not occur.  Things at GSU seem to be moving in a good direction and the way they went about converting their system is one that could be followed by other institutions. The way that different departments worked together to make this happen shows how working together can get something done quickly and easily. 

Jing Project: About

For the movie portion of my project, I did it silently.  In the movie, I am showing you about Twitter.  I show where to create an account and where to sign in if you already have an account. I also go through the basics: how to post a tweet, retweet, check various things, like messages and mentions.  This service is a simple one but one that allows you to quickly see what everyone is doing. Unlike Facebook, you can see what everyone is doing but without seeing their Farmville updates.  I personally enjoy Twitter because it allows me to see what various authors are doing, what businesses are advertising, and getting daily jokes from people like Stewie Griffen and Michael Ian Black.

I try to show those who do not have a Twitter account what can be done in the system.  Although it is not a service like Blackboard, it does allow users to know what people and things are doing.  Yes, this is a little stalker-ish, but it is entertaining to see what some people are saying. Also, some businesses are using Twitter to put out sales.  For instance, a local restaurant in my home town uses Twitter to put out a secret code word.  When this word is said at the restaurant, or bar, the sayer gets the sale. This may be a free pint of the new beer on tap or half priced nachos.  This video allows those who are not Tweeters to see how to sign up and what the service allows once they do this.

Unit 6 Comment

Comment

Jing Project

Movie

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

Unit 6 Muddiest Points

I have no muddy point for this week.

Unit 6 Readings

Local Area Network

            This article helped explain what the Local Area Network was.  I learned this in a computer science class I took in my undergrad, but revisiting it is good.

Computer network and Common types of computer networks

            Both of these articles helped remind me of what all of these networks are. The video did a good job of explaining these networks in layman’s terms. The article had nice diagrams to explain what they are.  Revisiting them has helped me understand them better.  I also began to thing about how libraries could be set up in different network types.  A small, local library would be a PAN, but a college library would be a WAN. 

Management of RFID in libraries

            This author of this article poses some good suggestions and reasons why RFID tags should and shouldn’t be used in the library.  All of her points I agree with.  I think that the technology is a good one and that it would be a good thing for libraries to have, but I am still on the fence about actually implementing the technology into libraries.  Since, some patron information can be placed into the tag, I’m scared that this will give patrons a “big brother” feeling.  Although, this technology would be a good one for library workers, it may scare patrons off.  More research is required before I am 100% behind this technology and the implementation of it in libraries. 

Unit 5 Comments

Comment

Unit 5 Muddiest Point

I do not have any questions about the class.  I just want to clarify a few things:

1) Class on October 18, after the Fast-Track weekend, is cancelled.
2) Coming to the Fast-Track class is optional for on-site students.

I believe that what I have stated is true but just want to clarify them so that I do the right thing.

Thanks!

Unit 5 Readings

An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model

            This allowed me to gain an understanding of what the Dublin Core Data Model is and how it came about.  It lost me though when it started to show examples of the behind the scenes stuff. 

Ie: ...

<!-- declarations in resource http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/ -->

<rdfs:Property rdf:ID = "contributor">

  <rdfs:label> Contributor </rdfs:label>

  <rdfs:comment> An entity responsible for making contributions to the content of the resource. </comment>

</rdfs:Property>

...

I understand that this is just one way of trying to coordinate standards and that it is making some headway, or has already taken place.  The author said that it was just his opinion of the relationship between RDF and DCMI, but I did not see his opinion anywhere.  I may have just missed it, though. 

Introduction to Metadata, pathways to Digital Information: 1: Setting the Stage

            If metadata is like the Internet, then how do we contain it?  This is the major question that, I think, will be asked throughout the semester if not the time we spend here at Pitt.  This article does a good job of showing how it is trying to be contained, but agrees that it is ever growing and that some things can not all be contained or described the same way.  Which is the problem.  Our job as future librarians is to help solve this problem.  I personally have no solution.  I think that because it is so vast that there is no way to contain it all.  Once we think it is all contained, something will come along and screw this system up.  I do think that there has to be a way to at least make sense of all the information out there and create some kind of system to organize it all.  What that system is, I have no idea.

Database

            I did not know that there were various types of databases.  After reading this article though, I now realize that there are many of them, but that they all try to do the same thing. Locking the various databases seems like a good and bad idea.  If you lock it so no one sees it, then how do you gain advice on it?  I do agree that some things need to be locked so other people don’t edit them unnecessarily.  I agree with what was said by the author about indexing.  If indexes can speed data access but slow data maintenance, it is worth it to index?

Unit 4 Readings, Part 2

Imaging Pittsburgh

            This is a great idea.  I’d really be interested to know if other communities were doing this same thing.  I think it is a great idea to put photo’s of the community up on the web for those who grew up in the area to see old photographs or for people doing research.  My own community has done this, except they put the photos into a two-volume book series.  After reading a previous article about the cost of digitizing though, I wonder how much this cost.  With cost in mind, I also wonder if that means that certain photographs were not digitized.  How, as and archivists or curator, do you decide what gets digitized and what doesn’t? It must be a very difficult question and one I do not wish to make and one I do not wish to make.

YouTube and the Library

            This is another great idea.  I know as an incoming student at various stages, I hated sitting through those “This is the library” speeches.  Having a video of this and other resource videos would be great.  Students and visitors would be able to watch the video on a need-to-know basis.  It would also show that the library was not ignoring the technology available or the fact that we are in the technology age.  As someone who has an Internet phone and uses it regularly around Pittsburgh, having this option would be a great one.  Reading and walking is very hard to do, but if someone were talking to me while it walked, going places would be much easier.  With these instructional videos, students would also be able to pause, rewind, and watch it as many times as they would need.  I’m in full support of this option.

Unit 4 Comment

Posted on Adam's Blog

Unit 3 Muddiest Point

At this time I do not have any questions about the last class.

As I stated in my blog though, I am having some trouble connecting data compression to the library.  I understand why it is done, but not the connection between it and the library. I'm probably being really dense about it but I'm not getting it.

Unit 4 Readings

Data Compression (both the Wiki document and the Data compression basis document)

         I understand the reasoning behind compressing data.  It saves room in the computers hard drive and memory for more things to be put in.  I just don’t understand how this can be related to the library.  Maybe it can be related to libraries because library computers have many different programs on them, especially the ones used in the children’s department, and by compressing the data it enables librarians to put more programs on the computer.  But, that’s the only way I can relate it to the library.  If anyone else can explain this to me, it be greatly appreciated.

 ATTN: At this time I am having problems getting the last two links (First Monday and ALA) to work, hence why I have not commented on them in this posting.  I have posted in the Discussion Board a question regarding this and am waiting for a response.  I wanted to get what I had done so far posted though, just to get something out there.  Thanks for the understanding!

Flickr Assignment

Flickr Assignment

Week 3 Readings

Introduction to Linux

I know this has been stated before, but this system is something that should be used in libraries.  It is free, so it would cut down on costs.  The system is also not difficult to learn to use.  Yes, it is not Windows and what everyone is used to, but I believe it is easier to use then Windows.  Things are easier to find and use in the Linux system.  But the main reason this system should be used in the library is that it is free.  It runs in the background, updates on its own, and would not cost the library anything to run.  If this is the cheaper system to run, then why are we not using it in libraries now?

Mac OS X

     To combine comments on both the Mac OS X articles, I would like to say first that I am a Mac user and have always been a Mac user.  I know how to do things on the Windows interface, but I like coming home to my Mac.  In my opinion, Mac’s last longer.  I have owned my current Mac for five years, where as my mom has been through two PC laptops in that same time period.  I agree that Mac’s are not cheap, but in the long run, they are worth their price for their longevity. 

      The system is easier to use for programmers and are harder for hackers to get in.  According to a friend of mine who uses a PC for his personal computer but a Mac for work, using the Mac/Linux system for everyday things is pointless.  It is easier to use a Windows interface for those things.  I can agree with him on this point to a certain point.  I do not program anything or create viruses, and I would spend my money on another Mac in a heartbeat then on a PC.  The things that Windows advertises, such as the drop down screens (like when you click File and a thing comes down), the ability to switch between programs with a simple keystroke (ALT-TAB), or the quit programs without clicking a mouse (ALT + F4) are all things that have been created on Mac’s.  Some things are uniquely Windows, but other things they have gotten from Mac’s. So, why not use the system that created these things instead of the system that copied them?

Comment Link

Link to comment

Week 2 Muddiest Point

I have no question about the lecture that was given.  I am still a little confused about where to post things and when to use Course Web and when not to use Course Web.  I understand that the comments about the readings and the muddiest point going into the blog, but what about the things posted on the discussion board? Are we supposed to respond in the discussion board or the blog? I also have something that needs clarification, the blog.  From what I understand, were supposed to write in the blog, publish it, and then put the link on the blog discussion board...? I just need some clarification so I can understand it better.

Week 2 Readings

Moore’s Law

            I understand how this Law has allowed for the technology expansion during the 20^th and early 21^st century, but I am not sure exactly how this has happened.  After reading this article several times, I am still not 100% sure what exactly this law is.  I’m hoping that this will be further explained in class on Monday, or someone can point me to a simpler definition. 

Personal Computer Hardware

            I have taken a computer technology course before where we were taught all of these terms and how they worked.  Sadly, I am the type of person who does not really know how her computer works, just as long as it does.  So, it is useful to have relearned all of these terms and to hopefully better understand all of it, especially how it all makes my computer work. 

Computer History Museum

            My first two thoughts on seeing this were (1) there’s a museum about computers? and (2) can I visit it? Then I looked further into the website.  Sadly it is located in California, so I cannot visit it readily at this moment.  The thought that there is a museum about computers though should have been a “duh” thought.  There are museums about everything: torture, spying, sports.  Having one about computers should be nothing. The fact that computers are something that has only evolved during the last 50 odd years is what gave me pause.  Most museums feature “old” items, ones that were created 100 or more years ago.  A museum with a subject that is only 50 years old is shocking, yet exciting at the same time.  I really hoped looking at the website that it was located in Pittsburgh because seeing some of these exhibits would have been interesting to see.  I may not fully understand how computers work, but am interested in their evolution.

Week 1 readings, part 2

I feel that the Lied Library has done an awesome job in keeping updated with the current technology and has a good system in place from doing this.  The OCLC article has some good points to it and is very true, especially about email and SMS messaging.  The world around us is changing and we either have to change with it or get left behind.  One article shows how the technology is changing at an increased rate, and the other shows how one library is keeping up with this problem.  Libraries around the world have had to change their view on what it means to be a library and how to share their information to the masses.  Some have not survived this transition, which is sad.  Those libraries who have survived now have economical issues to look at keeping themselves afloat.  Books and libraries have never been cheap things. With the printing press, making books became cheaper and more people could afford purchasing them.  Now that the world has become fixated on computers and technology, the price has risen again. Whether libraries should move away from technology for the sake of their funding or move ahead with technology is unsure. Libraries have to look at their own resources and make this decision for themselves.

Week 1 Readings and Muddiest Point

The article from OCLC had very good points about the expansion of technology and the cost these technologies are going to be for consumers.  There is no limit to how many new programs will be coming out in the coming years and how much these are going to cost for consumers.  The article on the Lied Library shows how this problem can be solved.  The library has revamped itself in past years to try and solve this technology problem and to stay updated with the technology.  Although problems have arisen since the opening of the new library, these problems have been solved to the best of the libraries abilities.

The article by Clifford Lynch had some good points to it, I guess, but I am not sure what these are or what they have to do with the technology overload and libraries.

Muddiest Point: I do not have any questions from the first class. I do have some questions about the Lynch article and how it relates to this class, libraries, or other two articles.

Testing, Testing

Hi,

Just testing this out and making sure it works.