[CODE4LIB] LC MARC records?

[CODE4LIB] LC MARC records?
Imagine the possibilities for LibraryThing and the future of cataloging if Spalding manages to get his hands on these MARC records. I wonder if LC would try to sue him (although it seems that they would be unable to if the records are truly not under copyright or redistribution restrictions. If the records became public, than libraries would no longer have a need to buy them (they could turn to the Internet for the information). This would result in LC and OCLC losing money. Eventually will libraries be dependent on the LibraryThing database rather than on OCLC and LC? Will Tim Spalding create a monopoly for himself; and if so, will he be greedy and start charging high fees to access the info.? Or, maybe Spalding will be a boon to library budgets everywhere because he will get his kickbacks from publishers and the LibraryThing database info. will be a free service to libraries. Enough of my prognostications; tell me your thoughts on what the effects might be of Spalding gaining possession of LC MARC records.

Library Geeks 003 - The Thing You Do | One Big Library.

Library Geeks 003 - The Thing You Do | One Big Library.

An Interview with Tim Spalding and Abby Blachly on Podcast that Proves My Fears Unneccessary (oops!)

This interview really allayed my fears about Tim's site. Ironically, I find that his principles and ideals are very much in line with my own; and that, my librarian paranoia was actually uncalled for in the context of the Librarything site. Really and truly it appears that Tim and other Librarything users know nothing about you as an individual unless you decide to provide the site with personally identifiable information. Of course, there is the sticky issue of ISP addresses being traceable, but this is quite unlikely to be a strong concern for most people (Tim briefly mentions that, yes, he would cooperate with legally authorities if approached appropriately, but otherwise, this is a mute point).

So now that I am over my paranoia (see what working in a library can do to you-ha!ha!), I can see how valuable this site can be not only to users but to the future of librarianship. The implications of incorporating social tagging with traditional classification headings is really going to change the intuitiveness and accessibility of searching for materials. In the pod cast, Tim and Abby touch on the idea of OCLC making authoritative records available as open source material. The availability and understanding of library classification has existed as privelaged knowledge that primarily only librarians (especially cataloging librarians) have possessed. What will happen in the future if Tim figures out a way to completely and seemlessly mash tagging and controlled subject headings in a world wide arena (he states in the podcast he plans on going international with the site)? Imagine the power he could derive for compiling and sifting through the data (tags) people enter if grid computing takes off. His site may enable intuitive tagging to become a viable reality if statistical data is collected concerning tags for materials.

I highly recommend watching the hour and a half long podcast. Also, keep an eye on Librarything because it just may be a crystal ball for the future....

Forget Tim Spalding...who am I?

Okay, after my previous post, I decided to do a little more "playing" at the Librarything site. I did find that it is not all that easy to decipher who actually has created personal book catalogs. Most people do use pseudonnyms so it is anyone's guess who they actually might be in reality. I do wonder about the possibility of tracking ISP addresses, but that is not exactly an easy feat, either. The reason I am so paranoid about this site definitely is related to my background working at a public library. I have been trained to protect the privacy of patrons records. The whole concept of Spalding's site just seems an antithesis of the procedures I have been taught to enforce at the library. So maybe the question of this sites' security has more to do with who I am than who Spalding is...I am still uncertain about creating my own catalog at this point. I think I will mull it over for awhile and wait and see how things develop on the site before rushing to my bookshelves. However, it is a great site for lurking and learning, so for now, I will observe this site with a scientific eye and see what evolves.

Time Waster - WSJ.com

Time Waster - WSJ.com
Who is Tim Spaulding?
Very little is actually known about the elusive Tim Spaulding. He is a lover of ancient Greek literature and a computer programmer who has created several social networking sites: a wiki for ancient literature, mothboard, a collaborative writing site and, most recently, Librarything. Of this list of creations it is Librarything that, at only a year old, has taken off and attracted tens of thousands of users (some paying, some not). Two of the sites I checked no longer function (mothboard and the writer's project). It seems that they are just two more pieces of garbage floating aimlessly in cyberspace. Librarything, however is a growing, profitable project for Spaulding who can now live off the profits it brings him.

So what is my problem? Spaulding is profiting on information that people are giving him willingly. These people are given the ability to socially network with other bibliophiles and their books get neatly tagged and cataloged. Its a win-win situation, right? Well, perhaps, for those who do not question who is tracking all of this information that is being volunteered. According to the Wall Street Journal article I have linked this blog to, Spaulding has decided to pair up with "AbeBooks.com, an online service that connects independent booksellers to customers [and AbeBooks has] purchased a 40% stake in his site." Show me the love.

I may not know much about who Spaulding is, but I know one important thing about who he is not: a librarian. He does not keep the records of his users private. He expoits those records for his own personal gain. Do users of his site really realize that in addition to possibly paying him a fee outright they are contributing to his wealth by divulging their collections? Have users contemplated the reasoning behind librarians standing up to warrantless law enforcement officers in the interest of protecting patron privacy and intellectual freedom? The biggest question I have is who would Spaulding willingly give your personal information to if he believed it to be in his best interest (financially or not).

The Chronicle: Daily news: 11/27/2002 -- 01

The Chronicle: Daily news: 11/27/2002 -- 01

IF THEY BUILD IT, WE WILL COME...
Here is an interesting article discussing the power and usefulness of creating grids. What I found most interesting was the comment stating "that biologists and molecular biologists "haven't actually said that they need a grid." But, he says, that probably is because "the only people that really know very much about grids right now are the people that are in information technology developing them."

Bug Scope re-post

I am reposting a connection to bugscope. Hopefully it will allow you to connect. I am not sure what happened last time...It really is worth checking out. By the way, Kip, using bugscope would be an excellent way to teach dissection (and it would be much more economical for schools, too). I wonder if a similar idea could be used for blood typing. They had to stop allowing for that experiment in highschools due to biohazard regulations (what a bummer-that was one of my favorite highschool experiments and it allowed me to find out my blood type which is actually a pretty useful piece of info. to be aware of). The new URL is:
http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
Copy the URL and paste into your browser window to learn all about bugscope. Enjoy!

Amazing...GRACE!

GRACE IST Project

Here is another great site that clearly details all of the amazing benefits of GRACE (GRid SeArch & Categorization Engine. Some expected capabilities that get my high praise are:
-deep web harvesting (no more buried information)
-ability to search the Web and databases all at the same time
-no more depending on Google's biased popularity based ranking system
-ability to conduct complicated queries that enable this search angine to use logical analysis. (WOW!)
When GRACE becomes a reality, I'll be the first to sing Hallelulah! What about you, will you offer praise...or outright condemnation?

The Grid Makes Cooties up Close and Personal

Students in science class can thank scientists in Champaign, Illinois for up close and personal images of any creepy crawly insect that their science teacher can send in to be put under a high powered electron microscope. They can also thank grid computing. Grid computing supplies the power behind such a virtual experience. Teachers and students in the classroom may actually direct the placement and magnification of their specimens by using their own classroom computer. A special interface is designed to permit the use of the microscope by teachers and students while online. Unbelievably, students from as far away as Ireland have participated in this hands-and-eyes-and-brains-on experiment.
For students the experience is just plain creepy...but really educational and interesting. The bugscope is the forerunner of future applications of grid technology that will expand the boundaries of science education forever leading ultimately to an increase in the number of students tuned in.
For more info. about bugscope, check out http://www.bugscope.com/

Developing a Grid-Based Search and Categorization Tool

Developing a Grid-Based Search and Categorization Tool

Librarians will be giving thanks around the world if GRACE, a Grid-based search and categorization tool, someday comes into existance. This tool will enable librarians to do advanced searches of all information available via the internet. Even online databases and information normally hidden deep within the web will be searched. Although database access may not be possible for a librarian lacking appropriate authorization, a bibliographical notice indicating the source housed within the database may be given. Searching this way could enable librarians to do advanced searches that yield appropriate and highly relevant materials for patrons. The work of creating a bibliography for a professional or student within a particular field would become quicker, efficient and more accurate.
As I continue on in my blog I intend on delving further into the information available on GRACE. As you can see, the article I blogged on was published October 2003. I am very interested in what is currently transpiring in this particular area of grid computing. I will try to have a more current article blogged next time, but please feel free to direct me to any appropriate sources of information on this subject if you are aware of any...

GridCaf�- What is the Grid?

GridCaf�- What is the Grid?
This is a really informative site that explains grid computing in layman's terms. Grid computing has awesome potential to harness the latent potential of everyone's computer through out the whole world to create a species of distributed computing on a grand, ubiquitous scale unparalleled in current times! The grid is currently being developed to help scientists and computer analysts handle hordes of mathmatical computations and data. Someday,the grid could enable people around the world to communicate with one another as though connected on a local network. The implications, for libraries and schools would be amazing! Libraries could hypothetically obtain the remotest bit of information for a patron because, potentially, every library in the world would be part of a universal system. Of course, this could lead to even more likelihood of libraries becoming virtual repositories transferring information digitally (because who would want to pay the shipping costs for a ten pound book to be sent from Tanzania)? As we all try to understand the concept of grid computing over the next few weeks, let's try to imagine what the implications of this technology might mean to us as future librarians.

The original Ka-Boom...

To view the original site of this blog, click on "Ka-Boom!!!" in the blog aggregator below. I learned the hard way that not all blog sites are created equally. Bloglines does not enable comments to be posted. A requirement of the class I am in is for comments to be posted, so I re-created my blog here, at blogger.com, where comments may be posted.

On the bright side, all my time and energy was not in vain. I now know how to create a blog that does not allow for commentary (one that functions perhaps as an ongoing bulletin board). This could be useful for postings to the public (for example, a public library might use it to post current events and new arrivals). Without commentary, the blogger doesn't have to worry about rude or obscene remarks and upkeep is relevant to the needs of the blogger to share news. Its a very low-maintenance, hassle-free sort of blog.

That said...in the spirit of democracy and the freedom of expression, I rather like a blog that enables discussion (even if it does receive nasty remarks once and a while).

KA-BOOM!!!

Library and information science is exploding with possibility due to the constant evolution and implementation of new technology. This blog is an assignment. It will discuss library relevant technology and two course designated topics (grid computing and pubsub).
WARNING: It will be mind blowing!!!