Brainfreeze, er, Fuse

For upcoming back-to-school night I needed to save information on this library service. Connections are sometimes impossible within school's firewall. So here is HelpNow's guide to using Brainfuse. If I could remember how to post my own "Brainwave," which is truly pathetic, I would do so.

Oogling Google, 3rd Q Explo

This isn’t exactly according to Questions A, B, C but FWIW:

I rarely use the Boolean-type operators in Google searches. Matt skillfully demonstrated their usefulness, as well as that of advanced search (which inexplicably Google now makes much harder to get to…)

Shockingly, I never noticed the left-rail search tools on Google (they’re in a drop-down menu). What a great way to narrow the results! It even sorts by reading level, and will pull up archived pay-per-view news stories. Much quicker to find results in Google and then go to the newspaper archive database with the specific date and paper to find a story.

Years and years ago, I used AltaVista, Yahoo and other search engines. Google trumped them all for digging deeper into websites, often besting a site’s own internal search function. Now, I’m not so sure; aside from privacy concerns and feeling like those oo’s in Google are spying on me, Google results often are junked up. It also spends more space promoting its other products like + and gmail. If I can break the Google habit, I’ll try Bing and some of the others.

On Explorer, the drop-down by the search window at the top takes you to a scrollable page of search engine suggestions, with ratings. Some are specialized, searching only for videos, for example.

All this reminds me of a great bit in Alan Jacobs’ new book “The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction.” He quotes Clay Shirky as saying that we don’t suffer from “information overload” but from “filter failure.”

Back to searching: For directions, I prefer Mapquest. I was using it before Google Maps existed and got comfortable with it. I also find its directions easier to follow and more accurate. Google has sometimes gotten me turned 180 degrees around. Mapquest more often goes the backroad way I would: Google seems to like the beaten path.
I’d been having trouble with the little Google streetview man; Matt’s demonstration made it clear how to get him to go where you want to go and not spend so much time looking at his toes.

In talking to high school classes, I’ve mentioned Google Scholar and Google Books. The teachers as well as the students didn’t know about them and were happy to see they could use Scholar to get rid of some of the spinach in search results and could read their forgotten homework assignment at Google Books.

Speaking of privacy, Google’s been running a series of advertisements in the paper-paper for its “Good to Know” pages. This one on managing your online data looks informative. And for the narcissistic or paranoid, look at Me on the Web.
Finally, thanks to Matt for an awesome set of videos and terrific narration. He could go work for www.teachparentstech.org, which (surprise) is a Google site.

Hitting Them Where It Helps

Checked into another Booklist Webinar, similar to one last year (see earlier post) on online references. Scholastic's Grolier Online, Encyclopedia Britannica, World Book and ABC/Clio showed their interfaces, although this time they did seem to mention content and search results more than entry points and Facebook-like home pages.

ABC/Clio's rep talked about technology and the limits thereof, that technology without content is no answer to the question of how to reach students. His company's products are "not a content dump from the backlist" (Snap!) but vetted reference material offering context and analysis.

Other presenters touched on the value of databases over Google, which delivers so many links that even a refined search will blast the student with an overwhelming pile of largely irrelevant material. (None of them mentioned Google Scholar, which I told a high school class about, figuring they were still going to head to Google, even with all the library's marvelous digital resources.) Type "cougar" into an encyclopedia database, they noted, and the hits, so to speak, won't be on the middle-aged female sort of cat.

Grolier was new to me and seems to have some unusual features. It is provided over the Internet, requiring the library to have no special software and not taking up its server space. It includes 1,300 magazines from Ebsco, 1,200 clickable maps, and a staggering 340,000 editor-vetted Web links. (How many people do they employ, I wonder, and what do they pay??) It now has seven separate homepages, from elementary school to adult and librarian/educator. And it has 30-second and 60-second "GoTube" videos for quick intro to subjects, plus TrueFlix, which includes 47 ebook and video "True Book" series titles, with quizzes and other interactivities.

But at this Webinar, for a change, the best was saved for first, a brief talk by Harvard's Susan Kane on digital natives. Having barely survived millennial training, I rolled my eyes at first, but her descriptions seemed less stereotypical than most and also aimed more at helping libraries engage those people who, poor things, never new a world without a Wide Web. This makes me feel not so much a dinosaur as cosmic dust, but apparently even 40-year-olds' brains are wired differently than these dignavs.

Among Kane's points: Dignavs like to make and create as well as consume information. In Olden Days this might have resulted in a research paper, or article, or art, all of which involve the individual reprocessing input and molding it into a new form. Now, whatever it is, it is shared with friends because dignavs have an "ambient awareness" of their social group at all times, even when not physically in the same space. They also don't need to tone down the chatter of all those open tabs and iPods and videos and emails and tweets and Facebook posts etc. in order to focus. And problem-solving is one of the things they enjoy. On the negative side, Kane said, somewhat apologetically, these kids have "difficulty with linear thought." No wonder. "Read read read learn learn lear.... oh look a new text msg."

So, how to grab their attention? Focus on delivering the data, Kane said. And the content is more critical than the wrapper -- make sure the information is there, not just the flashy stuff. Then, distribute it through multiple channels, make it easy for them to share with that omnipresent-even-when-absent social group. Because sharing leads, as we all know, to FBI Piracy WARNINGS and long jail sentences, Kane urged that the vendors consider more creative licensing. For example, she suggested that a link to copyrighted material be available for a defined time, say, 24 hours (after that, it's history anyway in this interconnected universe), so kids can share it with their cohort.

Kane also recommends that librarians "friend" their patrons, sharing with them stories, games, what you're reading, and meeting them where they live online, not just on the library's Web site or in the physical building. In a broader context, she gave the example of the Contra Costa library, which has bus cards with QR codes so that commuters can download audiobooks right there on the bus. Bring the service directly to the people, Kane recommended.

For an intro to ways to draw customers with QR codes, read this. This picture of the Naperville, Ill., library is included in that article. I hope this is a kosher use of it.

Back to the Webinar: Allow the dignavs to teach as well as learn, Kane said. And isn't that a wonderful idea, to have teen volunteers or perhaps teen pages provide some one-on-one computer help to patrons who are more terrified of computers than of snakes.

And finally, lend them things they can't afford, for example the technology to access content.

The archive should be available soon at booklistonline.com/webinars. Do watch at least Kane's talk. Or view the slide version.

Going Digital, Pixel by Pixel

Information seekers dream of the day when all the world's knowledge will be at their fingertips, just a few keystrokes away. Certainly the Internet has boosted the availability of facts -- as well as bottomless opinions. But the day when digital libraries and archives can truly compete with the old bricks-and-mortar model with its dusty, book-laden shelves is still years, if not decades, away.

Having recently read that 41 percent!! of Americans think the Second Coming will occur before 2050, if not this May 21st, perhaps the future of the digital library isn't worth troubling about. Here are some of the more earthly stumbling blocks to virtual omniscience, as outlined by Maryland State Law Library and Maryland State Archives staff members.

1. Physical and monetary limits. Digitizing takes time and, yes, the sort of digits still found at the ends of arms. The Archives has a spiffy microfilm-to-digital machine through which the fiche flies. Not so with print that has not been converted to microfilm. In the Archives' small and crammed digital images lab, high-tech scanners digitize documents, page by page, with constant oversight by Human Beings, who also have to make the decisions on how best to copy fragile works. Digitizing all of Maryland's land records, archivist Mike McCormick said, took eight years and $15 million.

2. Copyright. The Law Library puts legislative bill files on microfilm. These are the collections of supporting documents and hearing records that form the history of legislative action. Why not digitize them?

Legislative Services makes the decisions on what/whether to digitize. Informing that decision are copyright laws. With the bill files, for example, microfiche is allowable because only limited copies are made and are available only to those who enter the building (or get the material through interlibrary loan). While much of the content of the bill files is public record, the files do include copyrighted works such as news articles. Rights would have to be obtained for each such work if a complete file is to be digitized.

Another example is the annotated code. The annotations to the laws, which are by their nature public domain, are written and published by legal sources. These copyrighted annotations again cannot be included in the digital version without permission from the publisher, and possibly, a fee for use. And by the way, because of Point 1, the library is behind in digitizing in any case.

3. Accessibility. Digital is not always better. The Law Library maintains the historic Baltimore Sun on film. "Sometimes the database is not as searchable," librarian Catherine McGuire said.

4. Longevity. Biodegrable as it is, paper is still a format to be trusted. After the Rapture (see above), when computers may not function optimally, or at all, and the last remaining microfiche reader needs an irreplaceable part, those volumes of Old English law will still be housed in the Law Library. I do worry about the loss of climate-control, but still, there remain the physical, readily accessible books. The Smithsonian ran into this sort of dilemma a few years ago, when the ancient tape recordings in its collection could no longer be played because of the lack of the ancient technology to play them.

Another kind of longevity problem is due to the instrinsic evanescence of the Web. So much of what was once "published" online is gone for good, hence the need to clean up your dead links periodically. This problem gave rise to entities such as the Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group, of which the Law Library is a partner. They term the aforementioned broken-link problem "link rot." What the group's site includes:

• Reports and studies relating to U.S. government and policy
• Selected state, federal, and foreign government documents
• Materials relating to public policy and legal issues in the state of Maryland
• Publications issued by Virginia's judicial branch of government
• Materials by and about the District of Columbia

Be sure to read the Chesapeake Group's copyright policy.

The Law Library also is trying to capture "born digital" information and records, print them out and bind them so they will be retrievable after they disappear into the ether.

Relevant reading:

Robert Darnton in Chronicle of Higher Education:

"Despite the efforts to preserve the millions of messages exchanged by means of blogs, e-mail, and handheld devices, most of the daily flow of information disappears. Digital texts degrade far more easily than words printed on paper. Brewster Kahle, creator of the Internet Archive, calculated in 1997 that the average life of a URL was 44 days. Not only does most information not appear online, but most of the information that once did appear has probably been lost."

Bobby Glushko in American Libraries:

"Any library with a good scanner and some staff hours can make high-quality digital copies for online distribution or provide patrons a place to comment on and discuss materials online. Many libraries don’t, though, because they are unsure whether they can legally do so."

This just in from Chronicle of Higher Education, via Library Link of the Day.

Annapolis's Other Libraries: Law

The interlibrary loan tour began at the Maryland State Law Library, beautifully housed in the Courts of Appeal Building on Rowe Boulevard. They don’t seem to have any dust, despite stacks filled with volumes of the Maryland Code, superseded volumes of the code, treatises and textbooks, county codes, code for the 49 other states, Maryland legislative bill files and other legal references, including Nolo and Sphinx publications.

Our guide was outreach librarian Catherine McGuire, who walked the group through the history of the library, and the freshly updated web site, as well as the facility.

Begun in 1827 as the Maryland State Library and housed in the State House, the law library collected a broad range of materials, but with the bulk of users being of the judicial persuasion, the library moved in 1972 to the Courts of Appeal and was formally housed under the judiciary in 1977.

Existing collections include genealogy resources and history, not a "huge" collection but "really good," McGuire said, and including a complete microfilm run of the Baltimore Sun back to 1837. Microfilm is more searchable than the digital version, McGuire said. plus a rare and wonderful collection of Audubon prints and texts dating back as far as 1579.

Both the law librarian and the archivist (a later post) mentioned that Maryland’s laws are based on English law, and legal researchers may need to refer to those exceedingly historic records. (West of the Appalachians, state laws are based on the Northwest Ordinance and follow more of a federal model.)

The public is welcome to use the library and its impressive online databases six days a week. It's usually not very crowded, our guide said. Visitors cannot check out materials, but public library patrons can receive them – including microfilm-- through interlibrary loan, for use only in the branch. Exceptions: Maryland genealogy, special collections, loose-leaf binders and Maryland-specific material of which the law library has only one copy are not loaned. The ILL number is 410-260-1430.

Among the to-die-for databases, accessible on the library’s WiFi or its public computers: Lexis Nexis, LegalTrac, BNA Tax Management, and HeinOnline (legal journals). I was unable to locate a “standard” will form – the library also uses Gale’s forms database -- and found a couple of disclaimers that should be stamped on every legal form we hand our patrons:

“Library policy prevents library staff from recommending forms; however, staff can assist with using the web sites and databases below or finding print forms from our extensive collection of form books.”

And: “Please note: All forms in 'Maryland Legal Forms' are provided without any warranty, express or implied, as to their legal effect and completeness. The library staff suggests consulting the Maryland Rules when submitting forms to the court. Please use at your own risk." Or, as our guide put it, they can’t provide legal advice but can point people to resources and provide research assistance.

The law library also maintains the People's Law Library of Maryland web site, revamped as of December '10. Its home page provides links to information in a host of popular areas, from consumer law to motor vehicles and health.

People's Law is billed as "self-help for Marylanders" and like the larger library's site makes this important distinction:

"This site offers legal information, not legal advice. We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information and to clearly explain your options. However we do not provide legal advice - the application of the law to your individual circumstances. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney."

Next: Let's get digital. Or not.

eeeeeeBooks

Useful and thought-provoking materials in the second quarterly exploration, on ebooks. If you missed the Electronic Frontier Foundation article on digital books and readers’ rights, linked to on the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library’s site (thanks for pointing us to it!), go back and read it.

It firmed up my answer to the question of whether I plan to get an eReader: Highly unlikely and certainly not before a thorough investigation of the privacy rights afforded by the various providers. This is on top of my aversion to technological devices because I have been crippled by computers and avoid them and their portable ilk whenever possible.

A small excerpt from the February 2010 EFF document:

“Digital book providers have the potential to track, aggregate, analyze, and disclose reader activity to an extent far beyond anything possible with physical books. Both book download services (like the Kindle) and those like Google Book Search (where the user accesses a book stored on a server) can continue tracking during and after the initial transaction, as well as maintain records of every book purchased over the lifetime of the reader. That means digital book providers can collect data on what books you search for, what books you browse, what pages you view, and for how long—and they can keep that data for a very long time.”

As one freaked out by Amazon, Borders, etc. popping up titles that I surely will like based on my browsing history, the thought of more intrusion into the life of my mind is disturbing at best.

That said, I do use and promote ebooks at work. For reading a few chapters of the book left in the school locker or to decide if you really need to bother doing an ILL request for a title, the ebook is really handy. Students I’ve talked with have been excited by the availability of classics through Google Books or Net Library, and the aural learners appreciate the option to have the book read aloud to them. (Yo! Mom! Dad! Family bonding time. Get yourself a real book and read it to your kid after dinner.)

The ebook is also an affordable option for those needing quickly outdated technical publications that they can’t afford or don’t want to spend money on. And in terms of accessibility it has proved far easier for me to download an ebook than to load an e-audiobook onto the iPod.

The future of e-books? They’re unlikely to go away; they’re also unlikely to replace physical books for the majority of readers in the next several decades. They may, oddly, ensure the continued existence of libraries. Librarians may be forced into even more of an electronic-device troubleshooter role, but without a public entity that supplies books and e-books for free, the class divide in America will reach Atlantic Rift proportions. Once the early adapters snatch up their eReaders, sales are likely to flatline, unless the devices prove to have short lives and need to be replaced frequently.

Last note: Beware patrons bandying about ebook terminology. One last week was very upset with me because I said the library did not have books for the Kindle, after a friend of hers said it did. After I started in on DRM and which devices she could use, it finally occurred to her that “Kindle” is not synonymous with “eReader.” She actually has a Nook. (If “to Kindle” is to read a book on an electronic device, what might “to Nook” mean?)

The Tech Petting Zoo

Spent the morning with technology and am happy to say none of the animals in this zoo bites.

An iPod Touch is a wonderful device, though for the purpose of reading books, probably not my first choice. For pure pleasure of reading a lovely font, Kindle wins, though the Sony Reader isn't far behind. Ease of use, possibly the Sony Reader. for a more considered opinion see this, linked to from the downloadables LibGuide.

Will this library system buy e-readers for patrons to check out? In the immortal words of MatMan, "No. No. No. Nononono. No. Never." But if his prediction of a $99 Kindle for Christmas comes true, more people might be able to afford their own.

Other pass-alongs for the rest of the team:

* Don't feel you have to answer every question patrons have on how to download audiobooks or ebooks to their computers or mobile devices. We don't have to know all the devices, just where to direct people for Professional Help from Certified Geeks.
The updated LibGuide has clear instructions and links for more specific answers and help from live people.

* Circulation staff should feel free to share information about the system's collection of electronic materials, and to point patrons to the LibGuide for further information.

* Circ staff also should be aware when replacing lost library cards that while holds on physical materials transfer, holds on downloadables don't. There is a link under "Troubleshooting" on the LibGuide to a form the patron must fill out to transfer holds on electronic books.

* Use of ebooks in the system has increased 92 percent (to 6,911) in the past fiscal year, and use of downloadable audiobooks has grown 58 percent. By the way, the new nomenclature will be "eAudiobooks," like it or not.

* NetLibrary aka One-Click Audio has Pimsleur language tapes, a good thing to know since they are popular and we have few hard copies.

* NetLibrary's titles are always available. On OverDrive, do an advanced search to limit titles shown to those available for immediate checkout if the patron wants something to listen to right away.

* You can't place a hold on an ebook or eAudiobook directly from the catalogue; the patron needs to go to the OverDrive site. That might change as we migrate to Enterprise.

* More eAudiobooks are now iPod compatible. Ebooks don't download to Kindle not because the library doesn't like Kindle but because of Amazon's digital rights management.

* DRM also explains the differences in numbers of copies available of downloadable audio. NetLibrary (Recorded Books) has contracts with various parties, including publishers, authors and agents, and they may limit available copies or formats. Simon & Schuster, for example, NetLibrary's Dave Wiley explained, doesn't want the MP3format, which has little DRM and is easily bootlegged. (He did muse as to how many audiobook bootleggers there actually are out there...) The trend is toward MP3 and as that format is added, NetLibrary will simply convert titles in its collection. OverDrive has a different business model, however, and would have to sell MP3 formatted audiobooks as new copies.

* The system is part of a statewide consortium that purchases ebooks, with selection of titles rotating among the partners.

* The technology, both hardware and software, evolves quickly as does DRM, so keep checking the vendor sites for changes. Just recently, for example, NetLibrary upped its checkout limit from 10 titles to 50. Whoever reaches that number could probably literally say, "I'm all ears."

* The next Quarterly Exploration is on downloadables, so stay tuned for further adventures and frustrations in Gizmoland.