• Build in some kind of bibliographic control for tags. I’ve posted about this once before, there needs to be some kind of standard for tagging. Something like, no plurals, correcting spelling, etc…
• They need to build in support for multi-word tags. It drives me crazy that everything has to be a single mass rather than two or more terms (i.e. “web 2.0″, “graphic novel”, “science fiction”, etc…). Other web 2.0 apps can do it, how come Del.icio.us can’t?
• Design. I like the simple basic design of Del.icio.us but they need to do just a little bit more… Nothing fancy, but how about alternating shades of gray for each link so that it’s easier to differentiate between different links.

All in all Del.icio.us is a pretty useful tool. Supposedly there is going to be a redesign next year, but we’ll see about that…

My colleague sent this to me. I never saw the first version. Great food for thought.

• MP3s
• Podcasts
• Digital Books
• Movie downloads.

We then discussed how libraries would store this content. Would it be on a central server? Would it be available through an online digital service? Would the library still buy physical copies of content? Would the library check out content players to patrons with preloaded content?

We talked briefly about what equipment a library would have to purchase to provide for digital content. If the library doesn’t purchase or provide technology to patrons, then this could drive a wedge deeper into the digital divide.

We also briefly discussed the issue of DRM. Aurora public library has a service called Media Mall that allows patrons to “check out” digital content. It only resides on the computer for a limited amount of time before automatically being erased or uplayable (returned) from the computer. Unfortunately these downloads are not playable on iPods, only through the Windows Media Player (double check me on that).

“They’re Wikiracing.” “They’re what?”

“Wikiracing. They start at the same page and then have to navigate to a random page using links on their current page. No searching allowed.”

I had never heard of this before so I was really amazed by this game. The kids probably played it for 15 or 20 minutes more and they were totally into it. I want to play.

1. Wikirace logo ©2007 Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

What I basically would like to see is an implementation of a form of subject headings. Tags are definitely different from subject headings in that they are broader and encompass multiple facets of a work but the basic idea isn’t all that different. I think that web 2.0 could really benefit from some tag management.

Photo: “Boundary / Fence” by PartsnPieces. Image link.

The Chicago Public Library will launch a completely redesigned website in conjunction with the 2006 introduction of our new Integrated Library System. We envision that chicagopubliclibrary.org will be our “virtual branch library” for accessing the rich and varied resources available online through CPL….
The redesigned website will offer an improved online catalog of the Library’s collections (including a children’s catalog), enhanced patron services, general information about the Library, programs and events, increased digital journals and collections, reference assistance and links to additional Internet resources.

I can’t wait. The current CPL site drives me crazy. The site feels like 1995. I emailed CPL asking about the new ILS and this is the response that I received.

The vendor working on our new ILS is TLC (The Library Corporation).

Both the ILS and our newly designed website will debut this spring.

The current ILS was designed by CARL and was implemented in 1995. (I knew it)

Our new ILS will offer library users more convenience and will include online patron-placed holds, online renewal and telephone renewal.

Additionally, patrons will have more options when searching the CPL catalog. The Chicago Public Library has spent a great deal of time researching patron’s needs and the features that will be provided are in response to what our users tell us they want. The result will be a robust, dynamic system.

Thank you for your interest.

Greta Bever
Assistant Commissioner

I received the email in mid February of this year. Spring has come and gone. I hope we see the new site soon.

Let’s make an analogy with language. A native speaker can fluently traverse a language, using metaphor and slang and all sorts of linguistic acrobatics. Do they understand the mechanics or the intricacies of the language? Not really. Is this a bad thing? Not really, depends on the situation. A non-native speaker has to learn all the rules and mechanics of the language. Not only do they learn how to speak it, they know why they speak it the way they do. Does this make them better speakers? Not really, it depends.

In my own experience I’ve had a lot of kids come to me (I work in a school) asking me for computer help but when I try to help them, they give me these blank looks like I’m speaking a different language. They don’t understand the difference between file formats or application versions. They don’t know what DRM is and how it effects them even though most of them use iPods, iTunes and buy music from the iTunes music store. These are the same kids that have myspace/facebook accounts, text message, instant message and have grown up immersed in the digital culture in general. These are the digital natives, yet they have no understanding of their digital environment. They can use it, but only at what seems to be a superficial level.

I’m not saying all kids are like this. I’ve learned A LOT from kids (thanks Robert, I’ve learned a ton about command line thanks to you) but I’ve also taught kids a lot. It’s a two way street, the information is not flowing in just one direction. I say this because I feel like whenever I read about the digital native it feels like they are being put up on a pedestal, like they are something that we immigrants should aspire to be. Digital natives are neither good or bad, they just are. We should study them to understand how they navigate the digital environment and resources, but I don’t think we should necessarily try emulate them.

The reason why I bring this up is because I was catching up on my feeds the other day when I saw another post about the digital natives. I can’t remember who posted it (Michael Stephens, Jenny Levine, Jessamyn or another librarian blogger. (I need to weed my feeds.)) and maybe I was reading it wrong, but I got that feeling like, “we need to be more like the digital natives.” I don’t think we need to be more like them. They (digital natives) have strengths and weaknesses and we (digital immigrants) have strengths and weaknesses. We complement each other, and that is the way it should be.

P.S. I’ve been watching the digital natives project and it’s a great site to find out more info on the dn. It’s a wiki so contributions can be made. The site sort of reminds me of a nature show, like we are trying to observe the digital native in the wild.

Library Elf can then send you an email or RSS feed or an email AND rss feed letting you know that your books are due in 2 or 3 days or if you have any books on hold.

There was a discussion going on over at the library law blog about the privacy issues raised by using this service. It seems that the RSS feeds are not password protected and people using bloglines (and other rss services?) ran the risk of their library record feed showing up in a public search. The problem seems to have been sort-of fixed but it’s still something to keep in mind when using a service like this.

It should be noted that Library ELF is not affiliated with CPL. They just figured out how to get the data on your library card (I’m guessing) through the same mechanism that gives you your information when you obtain your records through the CPL provided page. It’s great to see 3rd party services expanding and improving our library service for free! Honestly, I’d be willing to pay for an expanded service like this.

On the privacy issue… If somebody wants to see my records that’s just fine. I use librarything to keep track of all the books that I’ve read and anybody can look at that. I really don’t care all that much. If somebody else is concerned about their privacy then they don’t have to participate in a service like this. More power to them. I’m a pretty big believer that the idea of privacy as we know it is over.

I’m a Mac user.

Okay. I’m going to state the obvious. Macs are a very small portion of the home computer ecology. I can’t expect everybody to create applications that support Macs when there really is very little market for it. I absolutely support that idea. I was disappointed that I can’t download audio books to listen to on my computer, but I can live with that.

Here’s what really bothers me. iPods dominate the audio market. (source, source, source) Chicago Public Library has bought into a service that basically locks out iPod users which happen to be a majority of the audio playback market. Now even if somebody has an iPod they could still be a Windows user and therefore listen to the audio book on their Windows machine but I really doubt that. I don’t have any data to back me up but I’m willing to bet that most people that listen to audio books are listening to them while they are doing something else like driving, exercising, commuting to work, etc. They are probably not just sitting in front of their computer. CPL has bought into an audio book download service that probably locks out a majority of the people that would download an audio book and listen to it. It would be nice if CPL and other libraries that use this service demanded compatibility with all audio playback devices (mp3 players and the like) so that ALL their patrons could use this fantastic service. (By the way, I am not an iPod owner.)

There is a rumor that Apple might be opening up their Fairplay DRM a bit for licensed vendors, so maybe Overdrive will be able to support iPods at some point in the future.

One thing that I should clear up is that I do not support checking out materials from the library and ripping them to your computer. I was taken to task for that at another blog and the other writer is absolutely right. My purpose for using the audiobook was for an author presentation I was giving in a class I was taking. Please correct me if I’m wrong but as far as I understand it, it is within my fair use right to incorporate 30 seconds or 10% of an audio clip (whichever is less) in any multimedia presentation that I create. So if I checked out an audio book on CD (with no DRM) and ripped a portion (according to fair use guidelines) to my computer to place in a powerpoint, that’s okay. With Overdrive DRM, (I can’t use this because I own a mac) I can’t do this because according to the DMCA circumventing DRM is illegal (and windows users that I have talked to about this know of several different ways to possibly circumvent this DRM). I understand that CPL wants to expand service to their patrons, but it shouldn’t necessarily be at the cost of fair use.

Then again, you could always just check out the CD and rip it to your computer, then you can use it anywhere and anyhow you want.

P.S.
I didn’t realize it, but some audio books from Overdrive can be burned to CD but others cannot. It depends on the wishes of the publisher.