Monday, December 6, 2010

Assignment 6

I hope I get a good grade on this. My head almost exploded trying to figure out how to upload images from OfficeShare to Pitt. LOL

http://www.pitt.edu/~daa45/

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Finished with Muddiest Points, Reading Notes, and Comments

I have fufilled my obligation of posting at least 10 comments, 10 muddiest points, and 10 reading notes.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Appich- 11/27 Reading Notes

Weblogs: Their Use and Application in Science and Technology Libraries
It was interesting to learn about how blogs are used in S&T libraries environment. I definitely think libraries could utilize blogs more. However, my one beef with blogs is that they are currently being over-utilized to the point where many people don’t care about them anymore, so libraries would need to be careful about how they use them in the future, in my opinion.


Using a wiki to manage a library instruction program: Sharing knowledge to better serve patrons
I love this idea! Who doesn’t love wikis? I am glad that libraries have found a way to utilize them in a way that serves their patrons. I like this idea for libraries much better than the idea about blogs. Wikis allow EVERYONE to be involved in the dissemination of knowledge, whereas blogs are usually only run by one person.

Creating the academic library folksonomy: Put social tagging to work at your institution

I like this idea, too. Tagging could really be helpful for library users and allow them to find information that they might otherwise overlook.
Jimmy Wales: “How a ragtag band created Wikipedia”

Jimmy Wales is my hero. Not only did he create such a brilliant digital community, but he did it without “selling out”. There are no advertisers or spyware on Wikipedia, which shows that he cares more about the dissemination of knowledge than making a profit.

Comments for 11/27

http://acovel.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-11-reading-notes_25.html#comments

http://akulp2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/11-29-reading-notes.html

Muddiest Points for 11/26

None this week.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Notes for 11/20

Web Search Engines

Like my fellow classmates, I loved this article. Since it talked about the history of search engines, it really gave me flashbacks. I don’t think most people realize how long search engines have really been around. I remember using search engines as early as the mid-1990’s. I remember using SE’s in the 1990’s such as DogPile, LexusNexus, AltaVista, AskJeeves, and more. But none of those search engines were ever as efficient as Google, hence the reason most of them are out of business while Google is still going strong today. Anyways, this article was a great trip down memory lane and reminded me of my own unique history with web search engines.

The Deep Web and the BrightPlanet Project

Like my fellow classmates, I was also shocked by the statistics presented in this article. The deep web is huge! I can’t believe that it is 400-550 times larger than the surface web. To be honest, I didn’t even know the difference between the Deep Web and the Surface Web before I read this article.

OAI Protocol for Metadata Harvesting
The OAL Protocol for Metadata Harvesting was interesting to learn about. I learned that it is used to collect metadata descriptions of records in an archive. That must be a very tedious task. To think, people actually used to do this task manually!   

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Notes for 11/13

Digital Libraries: Challenges and Influential Work

This library was great because it essentially talked about the evolution of libraries and how the dissemination of information has changed since many of us were children. Contemporary digital libraries are interesting because they are user-friendly and easy-to-use

Dewey Meets Turing

This article talks about the DLI (Digital Library Initiative) and how it changed information retrieval, and eventually ended up spreading to other groups. This initiative has been successful due to the explosion of the World Wide Web. This article was informative to me because I did not know that this DLI started in 1994, even before the World Wide Web become a prominent part of culture.

Association of Research Libraries

This article talks about the digital revolution and how it has changed the development and sharing of information. The article specifically talks about universities and how they are responding to this revolution. It discusses how universities have been taking an active role and publishing journals online as opposed to relying on print publishers, as they have in the past. Some of the reasons cited for this change in scholarly publishing is cheaper costs, as well as greater storage space. I liked this article because this topic was something we discussed in great detail in LIS 2000 and it's a topic I am very interested in. Information that was once difficult to find is now available at the tip of your fingertips in digital libraries.


Comments for 11/13

http://sherry-lis2600introinfotech.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-10-reading-notes.html#comments

http://lis2600racheln.blogspot.com/

Friday, November 12, 2010

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Notes for 11/6

Introduction to XML

With this introduction, we learn what XML is and how it differs from language like HTML and CCS. Basically, XML translates different mark-up languages so that computers can read them. In order to translate, XML uses lots of tags and other data. I liked this article because it was easy for me to understand and did not  go into too many complicated details. It was a simple but thorough introduction.

 
Survey of XML Standards

 Here, we basically learn the standards for XML, such as Namespaces and Bases.  It makes sense that there are rules and standards for XML, and it was interesting to learn what they are and their specific functions.

Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial

 In my opinion, this was the best XML tutorial out of all the tutorials for this week. It talked about how XML influenced HTML, which was interesting to learn about. We also learned about how we can use stylesheets to convert XML into HTML. This was the most informative article out of all the articles for this week!
 
XML Schema Tutorial

  I did not enjoy this tutorial as much as the others. It was very complicated, and felt like it was geared for users who are experts at XML. I definitely would not recommend this tutorial for beginners like myself. 

Comments for 11/6

http://rjs2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/readings-for-11-8-11-13.html#comments

http://deyslis2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-9-readings-post.html#comment-form

Muddiest points for 11/5

I have no muddiest points this week.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Notes for 10/30

1) W3schools HTML Tutorial
    I wish HTML were as easy as this tutorial made it sound. Having used HTML in the past, I can tell you it is not this easy! Still, this is a fun tutorial with some useful information. I definitely see myself using this tutorial to help me the next time I try to set up a webpage.

2) HTML Cheatsheet
 
This is basically a dummy's guide to HTML. I actually like this better than the tutorial because it does a better job of simplifying HTML without being misleading to the viewer. My problem with the first tutorial is that I feel it is a little misleading as to what HTML really is and how to use it. 

3) Beyond HTML: Developing and re-imagining library web guides in a content management system. 
      
Like others, I also do not understand why libraries are trying to limit their staff accessing/contributing to the website. Can someone please explain this to me?

4) W3 School Cascading Style Sheet Tutorial

   It looks like CCS is a lot easier to use than HTML. I definitely would like to have more hands-on experience with CCS as I think it is a much easier and much more efficient way to create web pages. 

Friday, October 22, 2010

10/23 notes


Brin and Page
The Brin and Page talk was okay, but a little outdated. Technology has changed a lot in 6 years. In 6 years, Google has evolved from a fledgling search engline to a corporate giant. I just heard a news story on the radio last week that stated Google is now experimenting with A.I. cars that are able to drive themselves without human operators. There is no way that Google would have been doing that kind of stuff 6 years ago. I think that Brin and Page should do a new interview where they talk about how much Google has changed and how it has branched out into other business ventures.

ILS

The ILS article was good. I do not have any experience working with ILS, so it was great to learn about it. I think the ILS is under-utilized in libraries due to the fact that it is difficult to use. However, it has the potential to become a larger factor in libraries as the years go on, so it is important that future librarians know how to use it. 

howstuffworks.com
I loved the howstuffworks article. It really taught me a lot about the history of the Internet, such as HTTP and URL. In my opinion, too many people log on to the Internet every day without having any idea how it works or the history behind it, and this article explains a lot of that in Layman's terms that are easy to understand.

Comments for 10/23

http://adamdblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/unit-8-reading-notes.html#comments

http://marclis2600.blogspot.com/2010/10/readings_21.html

Friday, October 8, 2010

Week 6 Readings

RIFDs

RIFDs are very complicated, but Karen Coyle did a great job of explaining them in Layman's terms for technologically-challenged people like me. I am glad that she is advocating for libraries to keep circulation staff, despite the fact that many of them could one day be terminated due to this new technlogy. She is right that the circulation staff represents the human aspect of libraries.

LANs

The YouTube video about LANs was great! When learning new information, I am the kind of person that does well when hearing or listening to a lecture as opposed to having to read about it. So, needless to say, I got more out of the YouTube video than the Wikipedia article. Also, I had never heard about MANs or PANs before, so it was great to learn about them.

Computer Network
 
It was great to learn about the various types of networks that are out there. I erroneously commented on another students wall that a dial-up network was a LAN, and this article taught me that a dial-up is not a LAN but an overlay network. Oops, my bad! :)

Week 6 comments

http://guybrariantim.blogspot.com/2010/10/reading-for-fasttrack-weekend.html#comments

http://megrentschler.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-6-reading-notes-101210.html#comments

Muddiest Points Week 6

I have no muddiest points this week.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Week 5 Reading Notes

Databases

It's important for librarians to know about databases because we are going to be dealing with them A LOT in our field. Digital databases are an important advancement for libraries because they allow users to find information that they are looking for very quickly.  I like this article because it gives me information about specific types of databases I'm not familiar with.

Metadata

Metadata is a very interesting concept. The phrase "data about data" is often used when describing metadata. At first, this definition may sound kind of confusing and ambiguous. However, as you read on, you discover that metadata really is data about data. Metadata is especailly important to libraries because they use metadata to help patrons not only search for information, but find the information that they are searching for. For example, if I am looking for a book about bald eagles, I may find that there are a lot of books about this particular bird, and I may want to narrow my search down. Therefore, I could use a metadata system to find the BEST and most RELEVANT books before I checked them out. PittCat is a good example of this kind of metadata system. 
 
Dublin Core

It's interesting how Dublin Core uses computers to create metadata.The Dublin Core metadata record can describe various types of data, including books, images, soundbytes, and more. Metadata based on Dublin Core is used specifically in the field of library science. Personally, I think it's great that  libraries have their own specific type of metadata that it uses. Hopefully, libraries can figure out how to further use Dublin Core to their benefit in the future.

Week 5 comments

http://megrentschler.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-5-reading-notes-10410.html?showComment=1285889888396#c8647755381716609991

http://maj66.blogspot.com/2010/09/metadata-and-dublin-core.html#comments

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Week 5 Muddiest Points

Do you know when we can expect to being receiving grades for our blogs and assignments? Thanks.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Week 4 Readings

YouTube and Libraries:  Utilizing YouTube in libraries is a great idea, in my opinion. As those of you may or not know, libraries face serious competition due to the fact that there are new Internet tools like Google. Information that was once only available in libraries is now available at the touch of your fingertips in the comfort of your own home. Thus, in order to compete, libraries are now having to come up with new ways to serve customers. I agree with the article that YouTube would be a great way for libraries to serve customers, and it would also be a good promotion tool for libraries. Libraries need to step up and come up with new ideas if they are going to survive in the Information Age.

Imaging Pittsburgh: The “Imaging Pittsburgh” project was also really great.  I was particularly amazed at all of the images of the Digital Library. Since I am not originally from Pittsburgh and have only lived here 6 months, I enjoyed getting an inside look of the city.  I thought that this project was beautiful, and that it's an incredible gift to the city of pittsburgh.

Data Compression: The Data Compression wiki was interesting. I didn't even know what data compression was until I read this. There is more to encoding data than I ever realized. Also, the part about "machine learning" was particualrly interesting, as it can predict the posterior possibilities of a sequence. I hope to learn more about the concept of data compression as the class goes on.

Week 4 Comments

http://magpie-maggiemagpie.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-readings-data-compression.html#comments

http://saralis2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-readings-927.html#comments

Saturday, September 18, 2010

My comments for Week 3

My two comments for week 3:


http://magpie-maggiemagpie.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-readings.html?showComment=1284760773417#c4585438267165014472

http://rjs2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/readings-for-9-20-9-24.html#comments

My comments

I wrote this on Ryan's blog:

Douglas Appich said...
I respectfully disagree with you about Windows. I applaud any company that addresses customer concerns the way Windows did in that letter. There are too many companies that simply don't care about their customers and do not make an honest effort to address compaints. Comcast is one example of this kind of company. I can't tell you how many times I've had to call Comcast and complain because my cable or internet wasn't functioning properly. Most of the time, I get a customer service rep. that is rude and doesn't know what they're talking about. Not once have I ever gotten an apology letter or anything of that nature. So I applaud Bill Veghe for at least making an

Week 3 Notes

Mac OS X:

It was interesting to learn about the Mac OS X, the lastest operating system for Macintosh. Some of the features look really cool. You can choose from eighteen different languages as the system's default language. Also, Mac OX X uses Dashboard, which is a group of applications that can be summoned and called away in a single second.

Reading this article was kind of a surreal experience for me. When I was in Kindergarten in 1988, I remember playing on one of the Macintosh's in my school's computer lab and thinking it was the coolest thing ever, and the Mac's back then didn't even have HALF of the features that Mac OS X has.  It's simply amazing how far technology has come along in the past 20 years.

Linux:

My father LOVES Linux, and I never understood why because I really didn't know what Linux was. So this article was a good overview for me.

One thing I learned that Linux is not actually a system itself, but it's a term for a FAMILY of operating systems. I also learned that Linux has been in existence since 1969. This was surprising to me because I thought that Linux was releatively new. Linux software is also one of the first and most prominent examples of "free and open source software", where a wide variety of people can modify and design it at the same time. It's kind of like the way Wikipedia operates.

Windows:

Interesting info. about Windows. I have had Windows for a long time, so it was interesting to read about Windows XP and Windows Vista. What was the most interesting part of the article, however, was Bill Veghte's (Senior VP of Microsoft) approach to customer service. From this letter, it seems like Veghte really cares about customer satisfaction and wants people who buys his products to be happy. This is clear by how, at the beginning of the letter, Veghe immediately addresses customer concerns about receiving support for Windows XP. Microsoft's dedication to serve their customers is also evident with the "telemetry system" that is a feature for Windows Vista. This system gathers information about how users are specifically using Windows Vista. This allows the Windows development teams to prioritize their work on Vista applications to better serve the customers. Overall, I was really impressed by how Windows treats their customers. I only wish Comcast treated their customers like that!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Reading Notes- Week 2

1) Computer Hardware


This was a nice overview for me. I was already familiar with most of the hardware that was mentioned here, but it is always nice to have a review.

2) Moore's Law

Now THIS was new to me! I had never heard of Moore's Law ever nor had I ever heard of Gordon E. Moore, so reading this was a lot of fun. I find it pretty amazing that in 1965, long before computers were seen in every household, Mr. Moore was able to make a prediction of this magnitude that continues to hold true today. From what I know about American history, computers were mostly only available to the government in the 1960's So the fact that Moore was able to predict in 1965 that the amount of transistors would double every year tells me that he had a good idea that computers would eventually become available for commercial use in the future. Interesting stuff!

3) Computer History Museum

Again, interesting stuff! Computers have had a long and fascinating history. "The History of the Internet" was also interesting. Imagine my surprise to find out that Al Gore didn't actually invent the Internet! LOL

Friday, September 10, 2010

Reading Notes for Week 1

My Thoughts on: OCLC Report: Information Format Trends: Content, Not Containers

Let me first start off by saying that, when it comes to all of this new age technology and terminology that is mentioned in this article, I would consider myself at about an intermediate level in terms of my understanding of it. By that statement, I mean that I am familiar with a lot of terminology/technology that is mentioned in the article, but I don't use it a lot. For example, I know what blogging is, but I don't like to do it unless I have to. I know what a smartphone is, but I don't have one. I know what Wikis are, but I don't use Wikipedia for anything other than looking up information. I think you get my point.

But nonetheless,  I did learn some new terminology from this article that I had never seen before but that directly applies to my life. One example was "Snam". Until reading this article, I had no idea that "Snam" was unwanted advertisements solicited through e-mail. However, I have been getting "snams" all the time in my inbox lately, so I'm glad I finally have a name to go with  the annoying e-mails I've been getting.

Another term I becamse acquainted with for the first time when I read this article was the term "Moblog". With cell phone technology constantly expanding, it makes sense that new terminology is developing to address this new trend, so I'm happy to be learning some of these new terms.

All in all, this was a fun article that re-introduced me to some terms I was already familiar with and introduced me to some new terms I had never seen before. Good stuff!

My Thoughts on Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy: New Components in the Curriculum for a Digital Culture by Clifford Lynch

I thought the recurring themes of "information literacy" and "information technology literacy" were interesting. In the work force, I have known many people that simply refused to become literate with information technology. In many fields, this is career suicide. Technology is now embedded to so many careers that people need to become literate with the new trends or face losing their jobs. I am glad that Lynch's article explains to people specific ways to go about being literate with technology because, in this day and age, it's more relevant than ever.

My Thoughts on Lied Library

I really felt like Lied Library simply reinforced a lot of the themes that Lynch's article focused on. It basically talked about how important it is for employees of the IT field to have an understanding of their craft. This may seem like common sense but, as I stated in my response to Lynch's article, I think a lot of people work in fields that they don't have a clear understanding of. Therefore, it is important for us, as prospective employees in the IT field, to have a clear understanding of what our job description will be before we start to work full time. The last thing any of us wants is to start our first day of work only to find out that we have no clue what we are doing.