Betty Maguire 10290273 betty84@eircom · Betty Maguire 10290273 [email protected] Assessment Submission Form Student Name Betty Maguire ... of text, numbers, graphics, sound, video

Betty Maguire 10290273 [email protected]

Assessment Submission Form

Student Name Betty Maguire

Student Number 10290273

Assessment Title Assignment 2 learning journals

Module Code IS 40560

Module Title Digital Libraries

Module Co-ordinator Andrea Johnson

Tutor (if applicable)

Date Submitted 29-4-11

Date Received

Grade/Mark

A SIGNED COPY OF THIS FORM MUST ACCOMPANY ALL SUBMISSIONS FOR ASSESSMENT.

STUDENTS SHOULD KEEP A COPY OF ALL WORK SUBMITTED.

Procedures for Submission and Late Submission

Ensure that you have checked the School.s procedures for the submission of

assessments.

Note: There are penalties for the late submission of assessments. For

further information please see

the University.s Policy on Late Submission of Coursework,

(http://www.ucd.ie/registrar/)

Plagiarism: the unacknowledged inclusion of another person.s writings or

ideas or works, in any

formally presented work (including essays, examinations, projects,

laboratory reports or

presentations). The penalties associated with plagiarism designed to impose

sanctions that reflect the

seriousness of University.s commitment to academic integrity. Ensure that

you have read the

University.s Briefing for Students on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism and

the UCD Plagiarism

Statement, Plagiarism Policy and Procedures, (http://www.ucd.ie/registrar/)

Declaration of Authorship

I declare that all material in this assessment is my own work except where

there is clear

acknowledgement and appropriate reference to the work of others.

Signed...Betty Maguire................ Date .....28-4-11............

Assessment submission form_modular


Learning Journal week 1

Description

This week, we discussed the concept of a „digital library‟ and attempted to define

what a digital library is. We discovered that there are two main definitions of digital library,

one which was developed from a Computer Scientist‟s perspective and one which was

developed from a professional Librarian‟s perspective.

Analysis

According to Borgman (1999, 239): The research community’s definitions (of a

digital library) serve to identify and focus attention on research problems and to expand the

community of interest around those problems. The library community’s definitions focus on

practical challenges involved in transforming library institutions and services. A librarian‟s

definition of a digital library therefore focuses mainly on the function of the digital library in

providing access to knowledge to a wider audience than was previously possible prior to the

development of digital libraries (in Chowdhury & Chowdhury, p. 5). Borgman (2000b, 41)

goes on to describe the key four components of a digital library which she regards as being a

combination of „ 1) a service 2) an architecture 3) a set of information resources, databases

of text, numbers, graphics, sound, video etc and 4) a set of tools and capabilities to locate,

retrieve and utilize the information resources available‟ (in Chowdhury & Chowdhury, p. 5).

Evaluation

In my reading on the topic of digital libraries, I discovered that most libraries today

have digitized resources in some format as well as printed books and that therefore most

libraries would today be termed „hybrid libraries‟. Knowledge of digitized resources and how

to develop a collection of digitized resources is therefore becoming increasingly important in

today‟s library profession. According to the introduction of the Scholarly Communications

Project Report, June 1998, digital library involves not only a collection of digitized items

such as books and journal articles in order to preserve these items, but also the making

available of information to a wider audience than was previously possible through the

digitizing of that information: “The "digital library" is not merely equivalent to a digitized

collection with information management tools. It is also a series of activities that brings

together collections, services, and people in support of the full life cycle of creation,


dissemination, use, and preservation of data, information, and knowledge”

(http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/DLI2/defineDL.html).

Conclusion

There are therefore many different definitions of a digital library. In his paper entitled

„Creating services for the digital library (Online Information 96, Proceedings of the

International On-line Information Meeting, London, 3-5 December, 1996), Dennis J. Crane

states his view that „ the intelligent, informed experienced, reference librarian provides the

greatest service value in many libraries‟ and goes to explain that, in his view, „the service

most essential to fully enabling a digital library will be the Digital Researcher‟ (Crane, 1996,

p. 2) Crane goes on to explain the Digital Researcher will be therefore a service and not just

a technology (Crane, 1996) . It is Crane‟s view that these Digital Researcher services will not

replace information professionals but will enhance and extend the value delivered by these

professionals (Crane, p.1 1996). I find this view of the changing role of the librarian and the

from an agent of service delivery to digital researchers very interesting. Given that the paper

was written in 1996, I believe that Crane possessed great hindsight in his assertions as the

changes in the role of the librarian and the information professional which he describes are

evident in many libraries today.

Feelings

I was apprehensive about the topic of digital libraries before the introductory lecture on the

subject as I believed that digital libraries were replacing the „librarian‟ and resulting in the

need for less staff in the library. Following the lecture, I believe that this is not entirely true as

people value face-to-face contact in the library and librarian‟s are still valued in the digital

library, where there role has extended to include that of an instructor who teaches patrons

who to access and utilize digital resources.

Action Plan

I am going to find out more about the instructor role of the librarian. I will also explore

different definitions of a „digital library‟ in order to better understand all the concepts

associated with the term „digital library‟.

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/DLI2/defineDL.html


Learning journal week 2: Presentations from Library Staff

Description

In today‟s lecture, four members of UCD Library staff gave presentations on different aspects

of the UCD Library Management System (LMS), form the management of information

technology services to the management of the marketing of the library. The titles of the

presentations included; „Managing Information Resources in UCD‟, „Reader Services‟, and

„Institutional Repository Management‟. Towards the end of the presentation there was a short

group exercise during which we were asked to discuss in groups of 5-6 any aspect of digital

libraries which interested us. Each group was allowed to ask three questions. Topics of

interest which arose in the group discussions included; innovations of the digital repository

service in UCD Library in the next 5-10 years; The interoperability of the UCD Library

digital repositories with other systems; digitization as a means of preservation and

collaboration between digitization projects.

Feelings

I was apprehensive about some aspects of the presentations before the presentations began as

I felt that some of the content concerning the management of the Information Technology

services of the library would possibly require greater background knowledge of Library

Information Technology Services than that which I possess in under to understand the subject

fully. I found that the material was presented in such a way that I understood the majority of

it. At the end of the presentations, I felt that I had gained great insight into the inner

workings of UCD Library and how the systems within UCD Library are interconnected.

Evaluation

Challenges for electronic integration systems include; integration and flexibility. Challenges

as a result of increased user expectations have also arisen. One of the many systems of UCD

Library includes the system of acquisitions of which there are three main types which are

shown in the diagram below:


More books are now coming into UCD Library shelf-ready; to which there advantages and

disadvantages.

Analysis

There are several layers within the Information System of UCD Library, such as the

Discovery Application Layer and the System Layer. The future of the UCD Library

Information System may include cyber infrastructure and Data Curation.

Conclusion

There are many systems operating within UCD Library and these systems seem to be

interconnected. Marketing of UCD Library through face book, twitter and library blogs or

through the design of marketing products such as the UCD Library bag is becoming more

important.

Action Plan

I found the presentation on the digital repositories UCD Library and the Irish Virtual

Research Library & Archive (IVRLA) particularly interesting. It occurred to me that one

group of people which digitization projects such as the IVRLA have not targeted there

projects is older people. I think that older people would be very interested in learning how to

digitize photographs or other resources, such as old transport tickets. Digitization projects

involving the older members of the community would be beneficial not only from a historical

viewpoint but also from a community relations view point as younger members of


communities could also be involved in such a project through showing older members of

their community how to digitize items.

Learning Journal Week 3: The Digital Humanities Observatory (DHO)

Description

This week, we were presented with two very interesting talks from Shawn Day and Faith

Lawrence who work at the Digital Humanities Observatory. Shawn Day is an historian and

Faith Lawrence is principally a Computer Scientist; therefore the DHO was presented to us

from two differing perspectives. Shawn Day first asked us who amongst the group had heard

of the term „Digital Humanities‟. Day then went on to discuss how digital technology may be

used within the Humanities sector to humanities research. He then spoke about Digital

Humanities Projects specifically. Faith Lawrence then spoke about meta-data, mark-up and

encoding, focusing on xhtml and the different types of metadata which may be encountered.

Feelings

I felt apprehensive when being introduced to the topic of metadata as I felt I had very little

knowledge of the topic and that the topic would require a background in Information

Technology in order for it to be completely comprehensible. I enjoyed the activity at the

beginning of the talk during which we were required to write the name of an inanimate object

in the room on a post-it and to then stick the post-it on to the named object. It helped me to

understand that to mark-up something is essentially to name it so that other people will know

what you mean it to be, as different people can have different names for the one object.

Analysis

The DHO is a knowledge resource providing out reach and education on a broad range of

digital humanities topics. There are many definitions of digital humanities; Paul Spence of

Kings College London defines Digital Humanities as “encompassing all work combining

humanities research and digital tools and

methodology”(http://tapor.ualberta.ca/taporwiki/index.php/How_do_you_define_Humanities

_Computing_/_Digital_Humanities%3F) while Jentery Sayers, University of Washington,

USA defines the Digital humanities as “the synthesis of technical competencies in

computing with critical thinking in fields such as history, literary criticism, cultural studies,


textual studies, and information management”

”(http://tapor.ualberta.ca/taporwiki/index.php/How_do_you_define_Humanities_Computing_

/_Digital_Humanities%3F)

Evaluation

I particularly liked the exercise which was conducted at the beginning of the talk on Meta-

data during which we had to write down on separate post-it‟s the name of five every-day

items in a room. It enabled me to understand that marking up is effectively adding electronic

post-its to electronic objects; the format we had used for marking-up during the exercise at

the beginning of the talk were post-its and the standard which we had adopted to „mark-up‟

items in the room was tagging.

Conclusion

Definitions of metadata include the following; „data which describes attributes of a resource

(Dempsey and Heery 1997, in Chowdhury and Chowdhury „An introduction to digital

libraries‟ ,p.138); Meaningful data describing another discreet object‟ (Gill, 1998, 9 in

Chowdhury&Chowdhury, p.138)‟ and „Data associated with objects which relieves their

potential users of having to have full advance knowledge of their existence or characteristics‟

(Dempsey and Heery, 1998, p.149, in Chowdhury&Chowdhury, p. 138). Metadata may be

categorized into five categories on the basis of their use; administrative metadata, descriptive

metadata, preservation metadata, technical metadata and use metadata (Gilliland-Swetland

1998, in Chowdhury&Chowdhury, p. 139).

Action Plan

I would like to find out whether there are similar digital humanities observatories outside of

Ireland and if so, what existing collaboration exists between the foreign DHO and DHO

Ireland. I would also like to find out whether there is resistance amongst humanities scholars

to the digitization of their work.


Learning Journal Week 4 UKSG Road show

Description

In this week‟s lecture, we were presented with four different talks on Reader Services and

Collection Management (including processing activities, checking issues and claiming

missing items issues), The Business of Journal Publishing (including peer review, how

journals are sold and open access) and database agents, including Swetswise, Ebsco, Prenax

and Local Agents.

Feelings

I was unfamiliar with the operating systems between database subscription agents and

libraries and felt a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the lecture. By the end of the

lecture, however, I felt that I had grasped a good understanding of the role of the journal

publisher and the role of subscription agents such as Swetswise.

Analysis

The use of electronic journals is growing within the library sector; for example, within the

library at Trinity College Dublin between 1997 and 2003, the number of journal titles has

increased from 200 titles to approximately 70, 997 titles. The work of a journal publisher

may be described as illustrated in the diagram below:

Author

↕

Editor

↕

Reviewer

↕

Editor

↓


Production Editor

↓

Print Editor

↓

Electronic Editor

The above diagram illustrates that the work-flow between author, editor and reviewer is

iterative and that it is the most important aspect of the journal publishing cycle. Leading

journal publishers include: Elsevier, Springer and Blackwell. Springer publishes

approximately 1, 900 journals. Journals are sold usually through one researcher purchasing

one annual subscription to a journal.

Evaluation

I have gained an understanding of the relation between libraries, electronic journal publishers

and subscription agents. These three bodies are inter-linked via an institution such as a

library; subscription agents and are dependent on journal publishers to publish journals on

their database; subscription agents are also dependent on libraries to subscribe to their

journals. In turn, libraries are dependent on subscription agents to increase the number of

journals which the library subscribes to and thus increase the number of people who access

the library, via their website for example, in order to access particular journals. Library

personnel responsible for subscribing to journals, must therefore be aware of the journals

which currently have the biggest impact factor. Markets for journal publishers such as

Springer include

Conclusion

Agents such as Swetswise and EBSCO can assist library and information services in reducing

their invoicing and processing costs as the information service/library personnel can renew,

order, claim, and invoice items through an agent.

Action Plan

I would like to find out more about the process of peer view, in particular, I wish to find out

how people are chosen to review a research article an d whether the reviewer is aware of the


name of the author of the research article as he/she is reviewing the article or whether the

researcher‟s name remains anonymous to the reviewer.

Learning Journal Week 5: ‘Interleaf Presentation’

Description

This week, we were introduced to Interleaf Technology in a powerpoint presentation given by Charles

Quain, Director of interleaf. Interleaf Technology has responsibility for the sale& installation of

SIRSIDynix products in Ireland, the sale& installation of Softlink products in Ireland and is the sole

agent for single source records in Ireland.

Feelings

At the beginning of the presentation, I felt that libraries here were not making an effort to adapt

themselves and make themselves relevant to today‟s library user; after listening to the presentation,

however, I think that library‟s are adapting to today‟s library user and are making themselves more

relevant, in particular, through the way in which certain libraries abroad, and recently in Ireland, are

considering the possibility of OpenSource, in which users have more control of developments and in

which there is no competition for proprietary or competition for support. It was mentioned that a local

authority library in Ireland will be adopting OpenSource next year.

Analysis

OpenSource has been developed in part due to a change in Current trends in Library Systems

Management market. Among the changes highlighted during the presentation were; the segmentation

of the market place into Academic, Public, Institutes of Technology, Special and School/College

Libraries each with individual requirements for a LMS. For example, Horizon is the LMS

predominantly used in Public Libraries and Tallis is predominantly being used in Academic Libraries,

though Tallis is now repositioning itself as a result of the development of Opensource. Another trend

in the market place which was highlighted is the consolidation of suppliers such as McDonnell

Douglas into Dynix and Exlibris into Endeavour.

Evaluation


There are several definitions of OpenSource which can be found on the internet: some are listed here

below:

Definitions of open source on the Web:

of or relating to or being computer software for which the source code is freely available

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

refers to software products that are freely available and offered by development

communities online. They come with no warranty but are usually very well tested by

development groups.

www.geemultimedia.com.au/glossary.asp

Software that has the source code used to build it available for everyone to view, enabling

other people to modify the code if necessary.

4umi.com/web/glossary.php

I visited the Open Source Library Operations website (www.oslo.ie) to investigate OpenSource

further. Open Source Library Operations was formed to offer technical support for a variety of Open

Source Library Systems mainly the Evergreen and Koha Library Management Systems

(http://www.oslo.ie/support).

Conclusion

Opensource software includes ptfs and Equinox. There are currently thirty companies who can

develop Opensource software.

Action Plan

One part of the presentation which I found particularly useful was the section on issues to consider if

you are in the position of selecting a LMS for a library. I think the considerations mentioned will

definitely be of benefit to me in my professional career . Even if I am not asked to select a LMS for a

library, I think I would be able, following the presentation, to offer advice to someone who was

choosing a LMS. Issues to consider when selecting a LMS include; the company‟s with whom you are

dealing track record, the financial and personal stability of the company, future development plans for

the software, developing and writing a proposal, and choosing appropriate people to demonstrate the

system to library staff.

Learning Journal Week 6

Description

http://www.google.ie/url?q=http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn%3Fs%3Dopen-source&sa=X&ei=b7FrTY_jLMK0hAelseEH&ved=0CBoQpAMoAA&usg=AFQjCNHMuD2sQV4KDUNtG2RQPHo8r3NgVQ

http://www.google.ie/url?q=http://www.geemultimedia.com.au/glossary.asp&sa=X&ei=b7FrTY_jLMK0hAelseEH&ved=0CCEQpAMoBw&usg=AFQjCNFl8ZbwL8V_c_iP6B5G0R-gud9-kA

http://www.google.ie/url?q=http://4umi.com/web/glossary.php&sa=X&ei=b7FrTY_jLMK0hAelseEH&ved=0CCQQpAMoCg&usg=AFQjCNEvfMd52m5A6Cc19rBq-lCYz_xPnA

http://www.oslo.ie/


In today‟s lecture we discussed various aspects of the presentations of the Guest Speakers

whom we had heard so far during the course of the module which we found particularly

interesting; for example, it was commented that a presentation on e-reader services in UCD

Library, such as sending a query to the information desk via the library blog, was particularly

interesting. We also discussed how the digitisation of materials is changing the role of the

librarian. It was commented that today‟s librarian must embrace the role of a „translator of

information‟; I think this is a very interesting perception of the role of the librarian.

Feelings

I enjoyed discussing the content of the presentations of the guest speakers which have been

given so far during the course of the module. Before the lecture, I felt apprehensive when

discussing the topic of Metadata and Metadata Standards as I felt that I knew very little about

the subject; after the lecture, I realised that I know more about the topic that I first believed

and that, though I would not be able to programme a computer to a new metadata schemes, I

would be able to talk about metadata schemeata, such as MARC21 and Dublin Core, with a

computer programmer or computer scientist.

Analysis

The role of the librarian is changing; according to a „report from the field‟ article in

„Information Today‟, Vol 28, Issue 2, February 2011, one way in which the librarian role is

changing revolves around university research and assessment: „..the historical approach to

research is assessment is evolving to include social media, interdisciplinary and non-peer-

reviewed publishing and.. libraries need a seat at the table‟ („Information Today‟, Vol 28,

Issue 2, February 2011, p. 16).

Evaluation

The digitisation of material is changing how people use a library. For example, many people

may look at a digitised version of a manuscript which a library has made available as means

of preparation of looking at the physical object. The digitisation of material has therefore not

led entirely to the making obsolete of physical material such as books and manuscripts.

I visited the website of europeana.eu and found some fascinating photographs of Christ

church Cathedral, which is near where I live:


Source: http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/STP_2194?loadLightbox=yes

I also found a photograph of a ceramic vase which was installed in the Breton Museum

(Musée de Bretagne) in Rennes, a town which I visited, in 1847. Coming across this item in

the europeana digital archive highlighted for me the importance of digital archives such as

that of europeana which gives people immediate access to photographs of objects and places

many miles away.

Source:

http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/03901/457E97C6F414690E16A4AA1E15984B8A3A4BFE77.html?quer

y=Rennes&qf=-TYPE:Wikipedia&start=12&startPage=1&view=table&pageId=brd

Conclusion:

Traditionally, the librarian was seen as a „ gatekeeper‟ or custodian of information; only the

librarian could facilitate access to the information and it was largely the librarian who

influenced the process in which that information was going to be used. However, the

digitisation of material has led to a change in the role of the librarian. The librarian is now

seen as a middle ground between the person seeking information and the information

required.

http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/STP_2194?loadLightbox=yes


Action Plan

Today I learned that Open Source is a computer encoding language and that there are

numerous computer programmes within the Open Source but I would like to find out more

about Open Source.

Learning Journal Week 7: Web 2.0;

Description

In this week‟s lecture, we discussed aspects of the Web 2.0, second generation web based

communities and hosted services, and in particular social networking sites such as Bebo,

MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and Second Life. In particular, we discussed how, in this era

of reduced budgets and decreased resources, libraries can utilise web 2.0 features such as

social networking sites, to maximise their availability to their current target audiences and to

engage and recruit new target audiences.

Feelings

At the beginning of the lecture, I was sceptical about the effectiveness of social networking

sites in reaching a wider target audience as I believed that the majority of social network

users were young people aged 16- 30 years if age, and so the utilisation of social networking

sites by libraries would widen access to the above mentioned target audience but not other

possible target audiences, such as the 5-8 yrs age group, the 30-55 yrs age group and old-

age pensioners.

Analysis

In his article entitled Effectiveness Of Social Networking In An University Library

Environment, by Hou Ieong Ho & Jieh Hsiang, Department of Computer Science and

Information Engineering, National Taiwan University,

[email protected],[email protected]

(http://gra103.aca.ntu.edu.tw/gdoc/99/D93922021a.pdf), a paper given at the 2010 KMIS

Conference on Knowledge Management & Information Sharing, Ho and Hsiang make

reference to a type of library patron known as a „webized patron‟, patrons who are effectively

young, undergraduate students who make use of the web not only as source of information

mailto:[email protected],[email protected]

http://gra103.aca.ntu.edu.tw/gdoc/99/D93922021a.pdf


but also for also as a „working and social networking environment (p.1)‟. In the paper, Ho &

Hsiang go on to describe the social networking services provided by National Taiwan

University Library

(NTULIB). They describe how they introduced a bookmarking service via facebook and

Plurk, a free micro-blogging service that allows users to post micro-blogs (called

“plurks”) of up to 140 text characters in length, to demonstrate that there were in fact

webized patrons accessing the library. They then incorporated different services of NTULIB

into Facebook and Plurk, without announcing them officially, at first. The Facebook page

contained library information, librarian selected library events, library news, and an NTULIB

Search box. The study found that, the number of patrons accessing library services via

facebook increased from 2,400 users in April 2009, before the official announcement of the

facebook service, to 5.686 users in July 2010, after the service having being announced

officially in November 2009. The researchers at NTULIB, on analyzing the statistics

provided by facebook, found that 90% of the facebook patrons were under the age of 34 and

that the majority were undergraduates

(Ho&Hsiang, 2010, p.3).The NTULIB Plurk Service was launched in July 2009 when it

acquired 150 friends and 30 fans before the official announcement was made in November

2009. By 14

July 2010, it has accumulated 1,057 friends and 145 fans (Ho&Hsiang, 2010, p.3). By

analyzing the statistics provided by Google Analytics between 1 November 2009 and 17 July

2010, the researchers noted that there were 1,448 visits (via 656 different Plurk pages) from

Plurk to the NTULIB webpac system. Plurk also ranked 1st in visits (from external sites) to

the NTULIB‟s Featured New Books Blog, recording 2,024 such visits (Figure 1)

(Ho&Hsiang,2010, p.3).

Figure 1


Evaluation

Social Networking is a valuable collaborative tool which libraries should utilize to promote

and provide access to library services. However, as social networking sites are as of yet

predominantly used by a very specific target audience, libraries should use other

collaborative tools, such as blogs, RSS feeds, microblogs and wikis, in conjunction with

social networking sites, to reach as wide an audience as possible1. One collaborative project

which successfully utilized other collaborative tools apart from social networking sites was

the FOREASt: The Internet East Asian Library Project, the primary aim of which is to

facilitate the discovery and use of free and open access resources in the field of East Asian

studies with web 2.0 technologies2. The main site is built on WordPress.com, which includes

a blog, static web pages, and RSS feeds, while all the relevant resources are also bookmarked

and shared on del.icio.us3. The user comments feature in WordPress is facilitating the

participation of East Asian studies librarians across North America, especially in terms of

suggesting new resources and identifying issues with existing resources4.

Conclusion

Libraries can utilize social networking sites to promote and provide library services among a

wider target audience, such as distance users, as demonstrated in the Effectiveness of Social

1 http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Collaborative_Tools_in_Libraries




http://foreast.wordpress.com/


Networking in an University Library Environment study. Library Services are accessed via

Social networking sites predominantly by patrons under the age of 34.

Action Plan

Following the lecture, I would really l.ike to investigate how web 2.0 features such as social

networking sites can be utilised to provide access to library resources for people in disadvantaged

areas and people with reduced mobility for whom physical access to a library would be difficult. I

would also like to investigate the use of social networking sites by public libraries, as the research

which has been conducted in the area to date, seems to be predominantly in the Academic Library

sector.

Learning Journal Week 8: Digitisation (DMS Digital Asset Management)

Description

Mr. Brendan Dempsey from the DPI introduced us, by way of a Microsoft powerpoint presentation, to

the core elements to consider when beginning a Digitisation Project. He also familiarized us with

some of the equipment currently being used in digitization projects. We then gained hands-on

experience in using some of this equipment through the medium of a digitization Master Class.

Feelings

Prior to the digitization presentation and Master class, I felt that digitization of items was primarily

used as a means of preserving items which would have historical significance in the future. I also

held the belief that one type of equipment would be sufficient to scan different types of materials,

such as maps and photographs. I was also apprehensive about digitization as I felt that it would

require a high level of technical skill in order to be able to digitize an item. Having listened to the

presentation and having participated in the Master Class, I now feel that I could, with practice, digitize

a set of slides or pages from a book with relative ease. I also learned that digitization is not only used

to preserve items of historical significance but also to preserve items, which if lost through fire or

flood damage, would be irreplaceable.

Analysis

When embarking upon a digitization project, there are a number of considerations which it is

necessary to take into account: These are: Use- intended use of the material; User- how the target

audience of the material is going to be; the User Experience- how you wish the user to experience

using the digitized material; the Infrastructure available, Presentation of the images, and whether to

use a working copy or adopt a long-term archiving approach. It is necessary to examine the


digitization project under each of the above headings before deciding on the digitization hardware and

software to be used.

Evaluation

I found the Digitization Master class very useful in terms of the Group Project in which I am engaged;

I am part of the Literature Review for the Slides Group and I feel that my contribution to the literature

review will be more insightful after having been given the opportunity to physically digitized a set of

slides during the Master class.

Conclusion

I found the Digitization Master class particularly beneficial and I can see how some knowledge of

how different items are digitized will be beneficial to me in my future career. I was particularly

interested in the digitization of a set of slides which I observed during the Master class; the piece of

equipment which was used to digitize the slides was an Epson perfection v 750 PRO photo scanner.

When digitizing any item, the three important steps to consider are: 1 choosing hardware and

software, 2 choosing and saving your settings (for example, in the case of scanning the slides, the

slides were scanned to a size of 800 epi) , 3 scanning and 4 saving the final product.

An Epson Perfection V 750 Photo scanner

Source: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sciencemagnews.com/wp-

content/uploads/images/Epson_Perfection_V750_M_Pro_Scanner.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sciencemagnews.

com/epson-perfection-v750-m-pro-scanner.

Action Plan

I would like to learn more about how to correct pages scanned erroneously from a book, for example,

how to erase finger shadow from a scanned image or how to correct pages which were accidentally

scanned at angle or skewed pages, as I found this particularly difficult to do during the Masterclass.

From what I understand, it would be necessary to export the scanned image to a USB and to correct it

on a desktop computer and to then scan the image back into to where the original image was scanned,

but I would like practice in doing this.


Learning Journal week 10: Users and Use

Description

In this week‟s lecture, the issues and challenges surrounding the identification of a user group

and the specific needs of user groups within a library context were identified. Different types

of library users were identified, such as female, school children, undergraduate students,

postgraduate students, the over fifties, the unemployed, and families. These users were then

further subdivided into categories according to Donald Case‟s (2007) identification of user

classification according to three main classifications: the role /occupation of the user (e.g.

student), the social description of the user/s (e.g. family), the demographic description of the

user (e.g. over 50). It was highlighted that this model of descriptive- classification of a user

is perhaps does not reflect the full user description of the user; for example, several types of

descriptions could apply to the same user. Also, people move from category to category

during a life, such as moving from the „single‟ category to the „married‟ category or from the

„gainfully employed‟ to the „unemployed‟ category. The needs of a user will therefore

change as they move between these categories during their lifetime. It was then mentioned

that many studies were conducted on the needs of peripheral or hard-to-reach groups, such as

people with disabilities, members of different ethnic groups, and people with literacy

difficulties. However, these studies were conducted prior to the economic downfall and,

therefore, many of the recommendations made in these reports have yet to be implemented

due to lack of funding resources.

Feelings

I was familiar, within the context of information behaviour, with Donald Case‟s (2007)

writing on the classification of users according to three specific descriptions. I hadn‟t

considered the shortcomings of this method of user classification and I felt that it was useful

to be presented with the criticisms of Case‟s method.

Analysis

In an article entitled „Growing up digital‟ by John Sealy Brown (fresh, D., The Whole Digital

Library Handbook, 2007, p 70) Sealy discussed some of the characteristics‟ of the generation

who have grown up with the Internet and the World Wide Web, who are sometimes referred

to as „digital natives‟. I thought that this was a particularly interesting article for libraries that

wish to draw in this particular user group and therefore must understand this user group.


Brown says for example, that this generation is particularly skilled at multiprocessing. In

their article entitled „Chips and dips: Educating and serving the Net Generation‟, (fresh, D.,

The Whole Digital Library Handbook, 2007, p 76) Stephen Abram and Judy Luther also

identify the ability to multi-task as a characteristic of this generation and suggest that the

principal impact of this on libraries is that „The Net Generation expects that all information

appliances-desktop, mobile telephones, and PDAs-will support multitasking‟ (Kresh, D.,

2007, p. 79). Abram and Luther also suggest that „libraries should provide signage for the

PCs that limit functionality (Kresh, D., 2007, p. 79). In the long-term, Abram and Luther

suggest that „we must ensure that we have the hardware that matches this generation‟s needs

to access information, share it and place it into their workflow patterns simultaneously‟

(Kresh, D., 2007, p. 79). Abram and Luther also identify information use characteristics of

the net generation, identified through studies published by the Pew Internet and American

Life Project, OCLC , Ontario Libraries Strategic Directions council and the Digital Library

Foundation among others, which are defined as follows:;format agnostic, nomadic, and multi-

tasking (Kresh, D., 2007, p. 82). Each of these characteristics of information use will impact

upon how this group uses the library and searches for information within the library. For

example, the nomadic characteristics of the net generation means that „this generation expect

information and entertainment to be available to them whenever they need it and wherever

they are‟ (Kresh, D., 2007, p. 78). The implication of this upon libraries is that „librarians

need to be able to reach members of the Net Generation on their devices of choice which

operate on a wide range of standards and formats‟ (Kresh, D., 2007, p. 78).

Evaluation

Methods of measuring user needs may not accurately reflect the true characteristics of the

user or their needs. Users move between different user classification descriptions through out

their life and, as such, their needs will change. Libraries must examine the needs of their

users through a variety of measures in order to adequately meet their needs.

Conclusion

The Net Generation is an important user group for a library to draw in order to ensure its

continued use. However, this user group also appears to be among the most difficult to

please, as it seems to expect a particular user interface, to be able to access information


wherever they are and whenever they want it, and to be able to carry out a number of tasks

on the same device at the same time. This user group also appears to be very out spoken

when their user expectations are not met.

Action Plan

I am going to go into my local public library and record observations on measures which it

has taken to attract this user group into its library, such as the introduction of a virtual

reference service through Instant Messaging.

Learning Journal Week 11: The Digital Curriculum Laboratory

Description

In today‟s lecture, Professor Michele Cloonan, the Dean of Library and Information Studies at

Simmons College, Boston, New York, came to speak with us , within the context of preservation,

about the Digital Curriculum laboratory at Simmons College. The Digital Curriculum Library at

Simmons College is „a web-based space. It can be used to experiment with a range of archival and

preservation procedures for digital records, following a continuum from record creation through

arrangement, description and delivery‟ (Michele Cloonan, Powerpoint Presentation, 14-4-11).

Feelings

As I knew little about the topic of preservation within the context of digital libraries, I felt a little

overwhelmed at the beginning of the lecture. I found that the scenario which Prof. Cloonan presented

to us, a sample scenario which she presents to her students at Simmons College, helped me to better

understand the concept of preservation within the context of digital libraries. The scenario was „a

retiring professor wishes to hand over his papers and other resources to the library. These resources

include cassettes, papers on floppy discs and papers on an old apple-mac computer from the 1980‟s.

How would you proceed to digitize and preserve these items?

Analysis

Prof. Cloonan identified a cycle through which preservation is occurs, known as the DDC Curation

Life Cycle Model, illustrated below.


The DDC Curation Life Cycle Actions are divided into Full Life Cycle Actions, Sequential Actions

and Occasional Actions. Each of these actions is described below:

Key elements of the DCC Curation Lifecycle Model

(source:http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/curation-lifecycle-model)

Data

Data, any information in binary digital form, is at the centre of the Curation Lifecycle. This includes:

Digital Objects: simple digital objects (discrete digital items such as text files, image files or sound

files, along with their related identifiers and metadata) or complex digital objects (discrete digital

objects made by combining a number of other digital objects, such as websites)

Databases: structured collections of records or data stored in a computer system

Full Lifecycle Actions

Description and Representation Information

Assign administrative, descriptive, technical, structural and preservation metadata, using appropriate

standards, to ensure adequate description and control over the long-term. Collect and assign

representation information required to understand and render both the digital material and the

associated metadata.

http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/curation-lifecycle-model


Preservation Planning

Plan for preservation throughout the curation lifecycle of digital material. This would include plans

for management and administration of all curation lifecycle actions.

Community Watch and Participation

Maintain a watch on appropriate community activities, and participate in the development of shared

standards, tools and suitable software.

Curate and Preserve

Be aware of, and undertake management and administrative actions planned to promote curation and

preservation throughout the curation lifecycle.

Sequential Actions

Conceptualise

Conceive and plan the creation of data, including capture method and storage options.

Create or Receive

Receive data, in accordance with documented collecting policies, from data creators, other archives,

repositories or data centres, and if required assign appropriate metadata.

Appraise and Select

Evaluate data and select for long-term curation and preservation. Adhere to documented guidance,

policies or legal requirements.

Ingest

Transfer data to an archive, repository, data centre or other custodian. Adhere to documented

guidance, policies or legal requirements.

Preservation Action

Undertake actions to ensure long-term preservation and retention of the authoritative nature of data.

Preservation actions should ensure that data remains authentic, reliable and usable while maintaining

its integrity. Actions include data cleaning, validation, assigning preservation metadata, assigning

representation information and ensuring acceptable data structures or file formats.

Store

Store the data in a secure manner adhering to relevant standards.


Access, Use and Reuse

Ensure that data is accessible to both designated users and reusers, on a day-to-day basis. This may be

in the form of publicly available published information. Robust access controls and authentication

procedures may be applicable.

Transform

Create new data from the original, for example: by migration into a different format, or by creating a

subset, by selection or query, to create newly derived results, perhaps for publication

Occasional Actions

Reappraise

Return data which fails validation procedures for further appraisal and re-selection.

Migrate

Migrate data to a different format. This may be done to accord with the storage environment or to

ensure the data's immunity from hardware

Sample Scenario 1 from: http://calliope.simmons.edu/dcl/lab/scenarios/preservation1

your university library has received a donation of old media (three-and-a quarter inch diskettes and

Zip disks) containing digital files that need to be preserved so that they are usable in the future. The

files are all word-processed files, files created using simple database software, and files created by

Microsoft Word. They date from the mid 1980s to about 2005.

Evaluation

EvaluatioEvaluation

Conservation, Preservation, and restoration are terms that apply to all heritage, movable, immovable,

natural, man-made and socially constructed (Cloonan, M.V., (2010) „Conservation and Preservation

of Library and Archival materials‟, Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Third Edition,

1 :1, 1250-1268, p. 1250). As more and more information becomes available for digitization through,

for example, items which have become out of copyright, „there needs to be constant appraisal: the

analysis of what to keep and what to let go‟ (Cloonan, M.V., (2010), p. 1266). According to Michele

Cloonan, „Today‟s challenge of caring for our heritage is daunting; so preservation continues to

demand our best efforts‟ (Cloonan, M.V., (2010) p. 1266).

Conclusion

http://calliope.simmons.edu/dcl/lab/scenarios/preservation1


Consideration for preservation identified by Prof. Cloonan were: standards, copyright, and the social

and cultural value of the item to be preserved. Prof. Cloonan also highlighted the importance of

preservation as a means of passing on cultural heritage for future generations.

Action Plan

I now understand that the concept of preservation does not apply only to libraries but also to the realm

of cultural and historical heritage. Preservation also occurs within a life cycle, the DCC Curation

Lifecycle Model which I would like to find out more about.

Evaluation of Digital Libraries Module IS40560

I enjoyed this module very much and I learned many aspects of the Digital Library during the module.

I choose this module as I understood that digital libraries and hybrid versions of digital libraries are

becoming common place and thus it is important to have at least a basic understanding of how digital

libraries work and how items are digitized. I certainly gained this understanding during the model.

An aspect of the module which I found extremely useful was the Master-class on digitization during

which I gained hands on experience of scanning pages from a book using a desktop scanner. During

the Master-class, I also viewed the digitization of slides using an Epson Perfection V 750 Photo

scanner. The master-class allowed me to put into practice some of what I had learned about

digitization up to that point in the module.

Another aspect of the Digital Libraries module which I found interesting was the technology

assignment on e-books and e-readers. I learned a lot about how e-books are being used in the states

through sharing of e-books through consortiums between universities. I also learned a lot about e-

readers and some of the difficulties users, particularly visually impaired users; have in using and

navigating through an e-reader.

I also really enjoyed the lecture on the Digital Humanities Observatory during week 3. I also found

the lecture in metadata which followed the lecture on the DHO very useful as it helped me gain a

better understanding of the concept of „tagging‟ or encoding information and how it is important to

use standards when encoding information as people can associate the same object with different

terms.

I also enjoyed the group project. I was in the literature review group for slides. Through the literature

review, I learned a lot about the planning of a digitization project. I found it interesting, for example,

that the most time consuming aspect of a digitization project is actually selecting items for

digitization. Bauer, Catherine and Follett, Roslyn (2002). Digitisation of unique collections of

architectural and historical images at the University of Queensland Library. In: E-volving information

futures : proceedings. Victorian Association for Library Automation. Conference and Exhibition (11th


: 2002 : Melbourne), Melbourne Exhibition and Conference Centre, 6-8 February 2002, the

determinants in selecting items for digitization identified by Paul de Stefano are discussed; these are :

„pedagogical utility, intellectual or scholarly value, and the need to reduce handling of fragile items‟

(p.3. Another time and cost consuming aspect of a digitization project, I learned is the indexing of the

digitized items. This was also discussed in particular in Bauer, Catherine and Follett, Roslyn (2002):

„The descriptive process consumed more time and resources than originally envisaged and

represented the major cost of the project‟ (p. 10).

During the group project, I also learned that the aspects of any digitization project, from scoping, to

digitization, to curation and preservation are inter-related and influence each other. For example, the

scoping of materials will influence the materials selected for digitization. Finally, during the digital

libraries module, I have developed an understanding of the concept and practice of digitization which

will benefit greatly in my future career and have developed a personal interest in aspects of „the

library‟ which I had not previously considered.

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