Muddiest Point, October 15, 2010

I have no muddiest point for this class.

Comments on Classmates' Blogs

Here are links to my comments on classmates' blogs:

http://acovel.blogspot.com/2010/10/assignment-3-working-with-jing.html

http://amybeeslisblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/assignment-2.html

Reading Notes, October 14, 2010

Jeff Tyson - Internet article
Andrew K. Pace - "Dismantling Integrated Library Systems"
Sergey Brin & Larry Page - "Inside the Google machine"

The reading I found most interesting was "Dismantling Integrated Library Systems."  They really don't seem compatible with a lot of other online services, which puts a strain on the IT department of libraries.  It's hard to keep all services up and running and to make sure they work properly when they don't have interoperability.  Though the article says that starting from scratch is too expensive, I wonder what options open source software might open up in the future.  If open source software can more easily be interworked with ILS and online systems, then there might be a solution in that.  The library where I worked this past summer was planning on switching to an open source ILS, the one used by the public libraries in the state of Georgia.  Currently they use SirsiDynix, which is ok, but can be a challenge to use easily.  I disagree in part with the article when it states that ILS is functional because a lot of the traditional ILS systems are notoriously not user-friendly.

Assignment 4: Zotero and CiteULike

Here is the link to my CiteULike library. 

http://www.citeulike.org/user/kem126

I have a few extra articles in there, but I acquired the minimum requested in the assignment. 

Comments left on classmates' blogs, October 7, 2010

http://att16.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-computer-networks-wireless.html

http://archivist-amy-in-training.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-computer-networkswireless.html

Reading Notes, October 5, 2010

Wikipedia article on local area network
Wikipedia article on computer network
YouTube video: common types of computer networks
Coyle: "Management of RFID in libraries" Journal of Academic Librarianship

The advent of networks greatly enhances computers' ability to revolutionize society.  Computers would be useful, but they wouldn't be nearly as important today if they lacked network capacity.  Yet this is something I've rarely thought about and always took for granted.  There is a great variety of network technology out there but they all serve similar purposes.  They fascilitate communication and allow multiple people to share external devices such as printers.  Networks can be very small (home area network) or very large (wide area network).  Ethernet seems to be the dominant network technology in use today.

Regarding RFID technology, I found the privacy debate around this topic to be very interesting.  Obviously, a library wants to protect the privacy of its patrons, but at the same time RFID technology is often the best anti-theft mechanism a library has.  Without it, a library stands to lose a large portion of its inventory to theft.  I witnessed this first hand at the library where I worked this past summer.  It was a public library, and they didn't have RFID technology on their books -- only on their DVDs.  When we did inventory checks, we found that a lot of books were missing -- far too many to be merely misplaced.  I think RFID technology is necessary in light of this.  Sometimes its the only thing keeping books on the shelves and available for honest patrons.     

Muddiest Point, October 5, 2010

I have no muddiest point question for this week.