The Second Reading Assignment

Reading Assignment #1

OCLC Report: As I read thought this report my first reaction was, “Well soon the only place where we are going to be able to see any print material is on-display in a museum.” Looking back though I don’t think those of us who like to read printed material, like journals and books, have anything to worry about anytime soon. (More on that a bit later on)

--I agree that most of the major trends in content aren’t technological but rather they are social. Smartphones or I-Phones are serious indicator of that. We can now text/I-M one another, send pictures of one another through e-mail, send video of one another, be in a chat room, play music on our phones and surf the web with our phones. Ten years ago these are things that we used to be able to do only on our computers. Now we can do these things anytime and anywhere without even thinking about it not only with our phones but with palm-pilots and blackberries. It’s about staying connected to one another and how we can do it easier.

--Marshall McLuhan was right in 1964 when he said, “The message is the medium.” So was Mark Fiderman when he said, “With this early warning we can set out to characterize & identify the new medium before it becomes obvious to everyone.” We can analyze the content of a container all we want, but if we don’t look at how the container itself is shaping our lives or how it could impact us as library professionals then we are missing an opportunity to see how a new container be used. Not only by us as library professionals but in changing people’s perceptions of a library. Showing that a library is a place of ideas and information, and not just a place where the books are kept.

--The section on Social Publishing caught my attention, because it mentioned that it could be a way for libraries to reach out to communities. I have seen this first hand. Carrier Library at James Madison University where I used to work at has a page on Facebook.

--I mentioned that as I read this I thought that this report was basically sounding the death knell for print materials, but after reflecting for a bit I was wrong. For three reasons: 1) In 2004 Inter Library Loan requests were at 51,000 they are projected to be at 57,000 by 2009. An example of technology and libraries working together. 2) Why would someone want to go through the process of “tiered access” for a sample of a book or article when they can have an entire book or article for free? 3) When was the last time someone you heard of someone having an issue like downloading viruses, spyware or other computer issues that one can face from time to time when they had an actual book or magazine in their hands? Now don’t get me wrong I am in-favor of new mediums and ways of getting information out to the public, but I just don’t think the print industry is on its last legs.

Clifford Lynch Article: When I read this article I thought, “Was he telling me any of this?” When I was done I felt more informed and that my time wasn’t wasted.

--His setting up the difference between Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy was something that helped me follow his train of thought and how he showed that both aspects were different and yet relied on one another. Much like technology & libraries are two sides of the same coin and they rely upon one another.

--He makes the case that students graduating from an educational system where they only have basics skills (concerning computers & technology) are cheated. I agree with him, however it raises a question for me, and that question is who is going to teach the children the more intermediate skills that Lynch is looking towards? Most of the people who can teach these skills effectively are probably teaching in colleges, working in the Government or working for a computer company making a far more sizable income than in the school system.

--His point about students learning how to type 40 years ago and how we moved onto Word Processors in the 1980’s brings up showing how things have changed and how fast they change in our world today. For example in 1993 when I was in college I learned how to work a Mac, and at the time I thought it was the greatest thing I ever used it blew the PC I had at the time out of the water. Today only 15 years later my cell-phone could put that Mac to shame in every way possible.

--Much like we have been told we need to change people’s perceptions about libraries I find that I need to change my perceptions about computers. There is more to computers than the desktop/laptop that I use all the time, and that computers impact us in other ways as well.

Lied Library Article: This article made me smile and brought back some good memories because when I was working at Carrier Library at James Madison University we too upgraded our computing systems in the summer of 2004, and we went through many of the things that LIED Library went through.

--Luckily when we did our computer switchover our summer session wasn’t that busy so the transition was relatively smooth. (Well as smooth as one can expect).

--We replaced our monitors with flat screens and disposed of our old ones in the same manner that they did at Lied Library.

--Lied Library began their E-Reserves program in 2002. I was involved in leading the E-Reserves program at JMU as a pilot project during the summer of 2004 into seeing if it could be a viable option in the future. I revisited JMU last year and discovered that E-Reserves are now the norm for reserve articles. They had maybe 3 paper articles at most in a semester.

--I had to smile when I read that they upgraded to the Millennium Operating system, because we did that as well. I wonder if they had a smooth transition like we did?

--While the technological aspects of Lied Library are impressive there are some serious negatives as well. The cost to run a place like that has got be huge, and I don’t just mean the monetary costs (which have got to just be huge to say the least). I am thinking in terms of cost to the staff. They are serving so many different patrons; they have to know a lot more about computers than the average librarian, not much in terms of office space, and Vaughn noted himself that there aren’t too many times when the library is shut-down for any serious length of time which means that there has to be someone there. One would think that the staff at times must just feel wiped out at the end of the day.

--I was interested in seeing that they have an attached café with the library. I wonder how they deal with food and drink messes especially around the equipment?

Muddy Question: I’ll be the first to admit that the Lied Library is, from a technological point of view, very impressive there is no denying that they have a well-earned reputation.

My question is this: How much can be seen as too much? Is there such a thing as too much technology in a library? To a point where the books, the archives, the print journals and other areas are overshadowed by the technology aspects of the library. Is that ever a possibility? Will we ever cross a line, and when we do will we realize it only after it is too late to do anything about it?


Blogs I have posted to:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7114620464717775258&postID=8006325409564131110

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=3224525137548604663&postID=6073455576871728850&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=271112965323219834&postID=1386571618696058234

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1129785935180596689&postID=9208681496334963649

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1693482552938456993&postID=5202360343339771744

My first reading assignment

Reading Assignment #2

Computer Hardware: Thought it was a good “getting to know you” reading from Wikipedia. Although going in I thought I had pretty good understanding of a computer there were certain things about the article that helped open my eyes a little more.

--My understanding was limited to Hardware & software and nothing more. Then I find out that there is something stored in the R-O-M called “firmware.”

--I was surprised to find out that although many people have home-computers in reality they compose only a small minority of the computer hardware in use. That CD players, automobiles, & microwave ovens have computer hardware embedded into the system and is not seen by most people.

--Something I noticed in the removable media devices is that the “A” drive is now classified as obsolete. That the CD, DVD & even Blu-Ray drives are seen as more common media devices, and I remember when the CD-Rom drive was considered a big deal. That playing a music CD on the computer was something special now it is just another part of the computer.

--Reading through the “internal & external bus controller” sections I noticed one thing. Out of the 16 bullet items listed 7 of the items are either being phased out, outdated, or for older machines. This made me reflect on something I heard during the lecture. The students were asked how they would describe integrated technology. After reading this article the term I would use is “fluid,” because technology is constantly changing all around us constantly. For example, I bought a computer in 2001 & another one in 2007 from the same company. The differences are the newer one is faster, can do more programs, and the biggest difference is no “A” drive on the newer one. These changes happened only 6 years apart. Who knows what the next computer I own will do that my newer one can’t.

Moore’s Law: I must confess ignorance before reading this article I had no clue who Gordon Moore was or what his law was, but after reading this I have to wonder why more people do not know of this man or his law.

--I was amazed to discover that Moore was a co-founder of Intel and that he foresaw the day when “The number of transistors the industry would be able to place on a chip would double every year.” Of course in 1975 he then revised his law saying that it would be every two years as opposed to every year.

--In spite of all of the advances that we have made in technology like all things man-made the transistor has its drawbacks. One quote, among many, that stood out to me was, “The cost to make each transistor decreases, but the chance the chip will not work due to defects increases.” Even in the world of transistors money/costs is a factor. For example the cost to “tape-out” a 90nm chip is at least one million dollars. The cost of one 90nm chip costs more than many of my friends and family make in a year. The cost for 65nm chip exceeds three-million dollars a year. Very interesting that many times we do not think of the financial aspect of what technological advances cost.

--Moore’s law is not only in-effect today, as seen in NAND Flash Memory, but that many in the technology field predict that Moore’s Law will continue in effect for the foreseeable future. However Moore knows that his law cannot last forever.

--Looking at the Computer History Museum I was shocked to see what a computer chip looked like in the 1950’s with just one transistor in it. I bring this up because it is believed that by 2015 the processors will contain 15 billion transistors. That is billion with a “B” not just 15 million.

--While the hardware improves the software doesn’t always keep up with the changing times. Another quote, Wirth’s Law to be exact, that stood out for me was, “Software gets slower faster than hardware gets faster.” While the number of transistors increases it should be noted that doesn’t mean more processor speed.

--The video, while brief, gave me a good overview of what I read. That the bottom line is more Moore’s Law is about constant doubling.

--That technology trends in the last 4 decades has taken us from computers that were as big as a room to the I-Pod nano.

Computer History Museum: Again I confess ignorance I had no idea that this place even existed nor had ever heard of most of the people who were in there or their accomplishments. I thought most of the computer technology today started and ended with Bill Gates and Microsoft. I was surprised to find out that Mr. Gates and Microsoft are hardly even mentioned.

--I liked the fact that when I looked at the Silicon Engine I was able to see Moore’s Law once again being discussed and utilized. That in the 1950s there was one transistor, but by the 2000’s there were 592,000,000 transistors on a chip.

--That the internet timeline actually began in 1962 not in 1992 when it was more widely known and used

--Seeing computers that were bigger than any of my suitcases. I had always heard about room sized computers but never really saw any of them. I was just amazed that any of them worked at all and for something so big that at times it seemed like they did so little.

-- Reading about how Charles Babbage’s difference engine machine was re-built from the original drawings in the 1800s. That it had 8,000 moving parts weighed 5 tons and was 11 feet long just floored me. I used to work in a warehouse and many of our machines were not that big.


Muddy Question: One thing that stood out to me in the lectures was when it was mentioned that most people think books when they hear libraries. That what we want them to think is information first. I agree with this statement and I have heard this several times at the library I work at.

My question is this: How can we do this when at times it seems as though libraries have a difficult time dealing with ever changing technology due to a limited budget, limited resources, qualified people not being availible or people's unwillingness to embrace new technology?

Blogs where I have posted:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6709282551702346326&postID=485981395426362657
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7821109072135779287&postID=4962163656489671707
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8747228788318880740&postID=8407104800590130460
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4527425204800506090&postID=9179574221183744791
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4619180577856147392&postID=925690530959679777

(Responded to these on Saturday as a courtesy to those who responded to my blog)
http://stephaniec-lisblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/comments-ive-made-so-far.html
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5671000685629389967&postID=2808884919242478778