JAKARTA LAMA RIWAYAT MUASALMU

Napak Tilas Jejak-jejak Batavia Lama

Kota Batavia dibangun oleh Jan Pieterszoon Coen (dulu Batavia dibangun di dalam sebuah Kastil Batavia). Dalam peta kuno Batavia tahun 1627, terlihat bahwa mula-mula dibangun kota sebelah timur ciliwung (Oostervoorstad). Kemudian pengembangan kota diarahkan ke tepian barat Ciliwung (Westervoorstad).

Batavia: Kota Jiplakan Amsterdam

Dalam benak Jan Pieterszoon Coen melihat struktur dan lanskap Batavia yang rendah dan berawa-rawa seperti di negeri asalnya Nederland, ditambah dengan lokasi kota Amsterdam yang dialiri Sungai Amstel, Coen ingin mendirikan Kota Batavia yang menyerupai kota Amsterdam. Ambisi serta impian Coen ini didukung oleh fanatisme warga Belanda, yang bahkan sepertinya ingin memindahkan bulat-bulat Kota Amsterdam ke negeri timur, Batavia.

Sebagai Kota Jiplakan Amsterdam, Batavia dibangun berbentuk persegi panjang. Kota Batavia dibangun dengan rumusan segi empat lurus, sesuai dengan model Romawi. Dalam kurun waktu antara 1630-1650, pembangunan kota ini dilanjutkan. Dengan demikian, bentuk Kota Batavia pada 1650 telah mencakup seluruh kota, baik bagian timur maupun barat Ciliwung. Bentuk Kota Batavia mengambil contoh rancangan ilmuwan Balanda, Simon Stevin, yang menghasilkan sebuah kota berbentuk bujur sangkar pada setiap sisi oleh parit pertahanan luar kota (Stads Buiten Gragt) dan parit pertahanan dalam Kota (Stad Binnen Gragt). Sedangkan untuk keamanan dan pertahanan kota, pada 1634 seluruh tembok kota dilengkapi dengan Bastion atau benteng-benteng. Di dalam Bastion ini ditempati pasukan penjaga yang dilengkapi dengan meriam. Nama-nama Bastion atau kubu pertahanan kota yang dibangun meniru nama kota-kota propinsi yang ada di Nederland, tempat terdapatnya kantor-kantor dagang VOC. Perlu dicatat bahwa pada masa pemerintahan Coen, orang-orang Cina diperbolehkan tinggal di Batavia, mengingat keahlian mereka dalam hal berdagang (sektor ekonomi). Perlu digaris bawahi ternyata para ahli bangunan dan orang-orang Cina memiliki peranan penting terhadap pembangunan Kota Batavia ini. Mereka memiliki kedudukan penting di bidang perniagaan dan sebagai pemilik perusahaan. Bahkan pada zaman VOC, pemungutan pajak oleh VOC digadaikan kepada warga Cina ini.

Jan Pieterszoon Coen meninggal dunia pada 20 September 1629, pada saat terjadi penyerangan terhadap Kota Batavia yang dilakukan oleh Sultan Agung dari Mataram di bawah pimpinan Dipati Ukur. Coen Meninggal konon karena terserang kolera.

Untuk lebih mengenal kota asli Batavia yang di kelilingi oleh tembok dan parit pertahanan, mungkin perlu dilakukan suatu pelacakan intensif dan serius. Namun jika kita ingin melakukan napak tilas Kota Batavia tempo dulu, cukup dengan mengikuti sebuah Oud Batavia Tour (Tur Batavia Tua), yaitu dengan melihat sejumlah obyek wisata sejarah yang masih tersisa di dalam bekas kota asli Batavia lama. Namun, jika anda secara personal ingin menjadi turis sekaligus peneliti yang bermaksud melacak jejak-jejak Kota Batavia Lama, dianjurkan untuk membawa dua buah peta sekaligus. Pertama, peta kawasan Jakarta Kota saat ini yang dulu merupakan kawasan Kota Batavia dalam lingkaran tembok kota. Kedua, peta Batavia dari Van Der Parra tahun 1770. Peta Van Der Parra sangat bermanfaat, karena sebagian besar keterangan yang tercantum dalam peta tersebut sangat membantu dalam pelacakan jejak-jejak kota asli Batavia ini. Peta tersebut dijamin akan melambungkan ingatan dan pikiran kita akan Batavia, sebuah kota yang dikelilingi oleh tembok pertahanan kota, parit pertahanan dalam dan luar kota yang mengapit tembok pertahanan tadi, kota yang penuh terusan dan kanal, jalan-jalan yang saling memotong membentuk pola kotak-kotak, jembatan, bangunan-bangunan, bastion-bastion, pintu-pintu gerbang, Kastil Batavia dan berbagai hal lainnya yang memungkinkan kita memperoleh sejumlah catatan sejarah yang lebih akurat.

*Taken from Toko Merah, saksi kejayaan Batavia Lama di Tepian Muara Ciliwung: riwayat dan kisah para penghuninya by Thomas B. Ataladjar

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Pelestarian : Definisi dan Permasalahan

Definisi

Di lingkungan perpustakaan, arsip dan museum belum ada kesepakatan dalam menafsirkan istilah pelestarian (preservation). Perbedaan ini dapat dilihat dalam beberapa buku yang membahas berbagai definisi mengenai pelestarian atau preservasi. Dalam The Principles for The Preservation and Conservation of Library Materials yang disusun oleh J.M. Dureau dan D.W.G. Clements, preservasi mempunyai arti yang lebih luas, yaitu mencakup unsur-unsur pengelolaan keuangan, cara penyimpanan, tenaga, teknik dan metode untuk melestarikan informasi dan bentuk fisik bahan pustaka. Sedangkan definisi lain menurut Introduction to Conservation, terbitan UNESCO tahun 1979 disebutkan bahwa istilah preservasi berarti penanganan yang berhubungan langsung dengan benda, kerusakan oleh karena udara lembab, faktor kimiawi, serangan dari mikroorganisme yang harus dihentikan untuk mencegah kerusakan lebih lanjut (Perpustakaan Nasional, 1995:2).

Menurut Hazen sebagaimana dikutip oleh Gardjito (1991:91), istilah pelestarian meliputi 3 ragam kegiatan, yaitu:”
  1. kegiatan-kegatan yang ditujukan untuk mengontrol lingkungan perpustakaan agar dapat memenuhi syarat-syarat pelestarian bahan-bahan pustaka yang tersimpan di dalamnya;
  2. berbagai kegiatan yang berkaitan dengan usaha-usaha untuk memperpanjang umur bahan pustaka, misalnya dengan cara deasidifikasi, restorasi, atau penjilidan ulang; dan
  3. seluruh kegiatan yang berkaitan dengan usaha untuk mengalihkan isi informasi dari satu bentuk format atau matrik ke bentuk lain. Setiap kegiatan menurut kategori-kategori tersebut itu tentu saja masih dapat dikembangkan lagi ke dalam berbagai aktivitas lain yang lebih khusus dan rinci”.

The American Heritage Dictionary mendefinisikan preservasi sebagai usaha untuk melindungi dari segala macam kerusakan, resiko dan bahaya lainnya, menjaga agar tetap utuh dan menyiapkan sesuatu untuk melindungi dari kehancuran. Sedangkan pengertian pelestarian bahan pustaka yang dikemukakan oleh International of Federation Library Association (IFLA) dan ditetapkan sebagai pedoman pelestarian oleh Perpustakaan Nasional Indonesia, mencakup 3 aspek, yaitu:”

  1. semua aspek usaha untuk melestarikan bahan-bahan, cara-cara untuk pengelolaan, keuangan, sumberdaya manusia pelaksananya, metode, dan teknik-teknik penyimpanan bahan-bahan pustaka;
  2. semua kebijakan dan kegiatan yang bersangkutan dengan pengawetan atau konservasi, yaitu cara-cara khusus untuk melindungi bahan-bahan pustaka demi kelestarian bahan-bahan pustaka tersebut;
  3. semua langkah untuk mempertimbangkan dan melaksanakan pemugaran atau restorasi, yaitu cara-cara yang digunakan untuk memperbaiki bahan-bahan pustaka yang rusak (Soedarsono, 1989) dan Sulistyo Basuki (1991)”.

Lebih lanjut dinyatakan oleh Sudarsono (1989) dan Sulistyo-Basuki (1991), bahwa salah satu cara pelestarian bahan-bahan pustaka itu adalah juga dengan cara mengalihkan bentuknya, dari bentuk media yang satu ke bentuk media yang lain untuk keperluan masa kini maupun mendatang. Kalaupun tidak mungkin dikerjakan demikian, haruslah diupayakan dengan berbagai cara agar bahan-bahan itu tetap dapat didayagunakan secara optimal.

Meskipun terdapat berbagai perbedaan dalam mendefinisikan istilah pelestarian, namun dapat kita tarik suatu benang merah dari keseluruhan definisi yang ada, yaitu pada dasarnya inti pelestarian bahan pustaka yaitu untuk melestarikan kandungan informasi (intelektual) maupun fisik asli suatu koleksi. Pelestarian fisik biasanya dilakukan dalam rangka menghemat tempat, dan juga untuk menyelamatkan fisik asli dokumen dari seringnya penggunaan yang tinggi oleh pengguna dengan cara mengalihkan bentuknya. Sedangkan pelestarian kandungan informasi biasanya dilakukan untuk bahan pustaka yang mempunyai nilai khusus, misalnya nilai sejarah, nilai keindahan, nilai ekonomis, dan juga karena sifatnya yang langka.

Pelestarian bahan pustaka merupakan salah satu hal penting bagi keberadaan perpustakaan selain pengadaan, pengolahan, dan pelayanan yang diberikan oleh perpustakaan. Keberadaan bahan pustaka yang patut dilestarikan merupakan salah satu unsur penting dalam sebuah sistem perpustakaan selain ruangan atau gedung, peralatan/perabot, tenaga, dan anggaran. Unsur-unsur tersebut satu sama lain saling berkaitan dan saling mendukung untuk terselenggaranya layanan perpustakaan yang baik (Martoatmodjo, 1993:1).

Sedangkan konservasi adalah teknik yang dipakai untuk melindungi bahan pustaka dan arsip dari kerusakan dan kehancuran (Dureau and Clements, 1990:2). Selain itu konservasi mempunyai arti lain yang lebih luas. Konservasi dalam Perpustakan adalah perencanaan program secara sistematis yang dapat dikembangkan untuk menangani koleksi perpustakaan agar tetap dalam keadaan baik dan siap pakai (Perpustakaan Nasional, 1995:2).

Prinsip-prinsip sebagaimana tercantum dalam ”Introduction to Conservation” terbitan UNESCO tahun 1979, menjelaskan bahwa ada beberapa tingkatan dalam kegiatan konservasi, yaitu prevention of deterioration, preservation, consolidation, restoration, dan reproduction, yang masing-masing dapat diterjemahkan sebagai berikut:

  • ”Prevention of deterioration” yaitu tindakan preventif untuk melindungi benda budaya termasuk bahan pustaka dengan mengendalikan kondisi lingkungan, melindungi dari faktor perusak lainnya termasuk salah penanganan.
  • Preservation” yaitu penanganan yang berhubungan langsung dengan benda. Kerusakan oleh karena udara lembab, faktor kimiawi, serangga dan mikroorganisme harus dihentikan untuk mencegah kerusakan lebih lanjut.
  • Consolidation” yaitu memperkuat benda yang sudah rapuh dengan jalan memberi perekat atau bahan penguat lainnya.
  • Restoration” yaitu memperbaiki koleksi yang telah rusak dengan jalan menambal, menyambung, meperbaiki jilidan yang rusak dan mengganti bagian yang hilang agar bentuknya mendekati keadaan semula.
  • Reproduction” yaitu membuat ganda dari benda asli, termasuk membuat mikrofilm, mikrofis, foto repro dan fotokopi.

Selain itu Wendy Smith dari The National Library of Australia membuat definisi yang lebih sederhana mengenai konservasi, yaitu kegiatan yang meliputi perawatan, pengawetan dan perbaikan bahan pustaka dan informasi yang ada di dalamnya.

Dari uraian di atas, dapat kita simpulkan bahwa kata preservasi dan konservasi sebenarnya masih rancu. Namun demikian kita anggap saja kedua kata ini mempunyai arti yang sama yaitu pelestarian, yang selanjutnya pelestarian ini mencakup kegiatan pemeliharaan, perawatan, pengawetan, perbaikan dan reproduksi (Perpustakaan Nasional RI, 1992:3).


*DAFTAR PUSTAKA:

Dureau, J.M. dan D.W.G. (1990). Clements. Dasar-dasar pelestarian dan pengawetan bahan-bahan pustaka. Jakarta : Perpustakaan Nasional.

Gardjito. (1991). Preservation and Conservation of library materials in tropical countries with particular reference to the National Library of Indonesia. Tesis untuk memperoleh gelar master bidang Library Science di Loughborough University.

Martoatmodjo, karmidi. (1993). Pelestarian Bahan Pustaka. Jakarta: Universitas Terbuka.

Perpustakaan Nasional. (1992). Keputusan Presiden Republik Indonesia No. 11 Tahun 1989 tentang Perpustakaan Nasional. Jakarta : Perpustakaan Nasional.

Sudarsono, B. (2006). Antologi Kepustakawanan Indonesia. Jakarta: Ikatan Pustakawan Indonesia.

Sulistyo-Basuki. (1991). Pengantar Ilmu Perpustakaan. Jakarta : Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

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JAKARTA LAMA RIWAYAT MUASALMU

Kawasan Tiga Kerajaan Besar

Kota Metropolitan Jakarta, yang kita kenal dewasa ini, tempo dulu pernah menjadi wilayah kekuasaan tiga buah kerajaan besar di Jawa Barat, yakni Kerajaan Hindu Tarumanegara, Kerajaan Pajajaran, serta Kesultanan Banten. Bahkan jauh sebelum itu, manusia zaman prasejarah sudah tinggal di kawasan yang kini namanya Jakarta. Hasil penggalian arkeologis berupa kampak batu, alat-alat rumah tangga dari batu dan lain-lain ditemukan di sejumlah tempat, seperti di kawasan Pasar Minggu, Condet, Pasar Rebo, Jatinegara, Karet, Kebon Sirih, Kebon Nanas, Kebon Pala, Rawa Belong, dan Rawa Lele, telah menunjukkan bahwa sekitar 1.500 SM, telah ada bukti kebudayaan manusia di kawasan Jakarta ini.

Catatan tentang keberadaan manusia di kawasan Jakarta ini semakin terang, sejak ditemukannya Prasasti Tugu. Sejarah mencatat bahwa pada abad ke-5 M, berdiri Kerajaan Tarumanegara dengan rajanya yang terkenal Purnawaman. Wilayah kekuasaannya meliputi kawasan Bekasi, Jakarta, Bogor, Banten dan Citarum. Hal ini dapat diketahui dari tujuh buah prasasti yang ditemukan di kawasan Bogor, Banten dan Jakarta yakni prasasti Ciaruteun, Jambu, Kebon Kopi, Pasir Awi, Muara Cianten, Lebak dan Prasasti Tugu.

Dari ketujuh buah prasasti yang ditemukan dan tersebar di kawasan yang sangat luas tesebut, dapat disimpulkan bahwa sekitar abad ke-5 M, telah ada sebuah Kerajaan di daerah Jawa Barat dengan rajanya yang berkuasa, Purnawarman.

Sunda Kelapa, Wajah Pelabuhan Utama Pajajaran

Pada abad ke-14 M, muncul sebuah kerajaan baru di Jawa Barat bernama Pajajaran, yang berpusat di Pakuan, Bogor. Rajanya yang terkenal adalah Sri Baduga Maharaja. Menurut Prasasti Batu Tulis yang ditemukan pada 15 Juni 1690, diterangkan pula bahwa Pelabuhan Pajajaran ini bernama Sunda Kelapa yang terletak di muara Sungai Ciliwung. Keterangan mengenai wajah Sunda Kelapa ini diperkuat oleh keterangan seorang pelaut Belanda, Jan Hyugen Van Linschoten, yang menemukan rahasia-rahasia perdagangan dan navigasi bangsa Portugis. Dalam karyanya Itinerario yang terbit pada 1556, yang menggemparkan Eropa karena mengungkapkan informasi-informasi rahasia yang sangat berharga. Antara lain ditulisnya, ”Pelabuhan Utama di Pulau ini (Jawa) adalah Sunda Calapa. Di tempat ini didapati sangat banyak lada yang bermutu lebih tinggi daripada lada India atau Malabar. Juga terdapat banyak kemenyan, benicin atau bonien (bunga pala), kamper dan permata intan. Tempat ini dapat disinggahi tanpa menemui kesulitan. Orang portugis telah sampai juga ke sini. Dan orang Jawa berbondong-bondong datang sendiri sampai ke Malaka untuk menjual barang-barang dagangannya.”

Dari keterangan tersebut, sudah dapat disimpulkan bahwa kawasan tepian muara Ciliwung, termasuk yang kini di sebut Kali Besar, sudah merupakan daerah hunian dan pemukiman penduduk sekaligus kawasan perdagangan yang ramai.

Wajah Bandar Jayakarta

Kesultanan Demak, yang pada 1513 gagal menyerang Portugis di Malaka, melihat perjanjian persahabatan anatara Portugis dan Pajajaran ini sebagai ancaman. Maka Sultan Trenggono, yang memerintah Demak (1521-1546), pada 1527 mengirim pasukan di bawah pimpinan Fatahillah atau Falatehan untuk menyerang Portugis di Sunda Kelapa dan pada 22 Juni 1527, armada Portugis berhasil dikalahkan. Fatahillah lalu menggantikan nama Sunda Kelapa dengan nama Jayakarta yang berarti Kota Kejayaan atau Kota Kemenangan. Selain itu pula tanggal 22 Juni kemudian menjadi tanggal Hari Jadi Kota Jakarta.

Menurut Ijzerman, Kota Jayakarta terbentang antara dua anaka sungai di utara dan selatan, serta sebuah anak sungai di sebelah barat kota. Di sebelah timur kota, mengalir ciliwung. Kota ini dilingkungi oleh suatu pagar yang terbuat dari bambu. Belakangan barulah sebagian pagar diganti dengan tembok, guna menghadapi kemungkinan serangan Inggris dan Belanda. Kompleks pusat kota terletak di tepi barat Ciliwung. Di pusat kota ini terdapat antara lain ”Dalem” atau ”Keraton” Pangeran Jayakarta. Di depan keraton terbentang alun-alun ke utara. Di sebelah barat alun-alun berdiri sebuah mesjid. Di sebelah utara alun-alun terdapat sebuah pasar, yang berada di kuar kompleks pusat kota. Seputar pasar dan kompleks keraton terdapat perumahan rakyat. Di sebelah utara pasar, masih di tepi barat Ciliwung, berdiri loji dan benteng Inggris. Dan paling utara terdapat Paep Jan’s Batterij atau Pabean. Dalam peta Batavia tahun 1619 terlihat bahwa di sebelah barat Kraton Jayakarta ini, terdapat kuburan pribumi.

Di tepi sebelah timur muara Sungai Ciliwung, terdapat wilayah Kyai Arya, patih Pangeran Jayakarta. Di sebelah utaranya berdiri rumah seorang Cina yang disebut Watting’s Huis. Diperkirakan di sekitar tempat ini terdapat perumahan bangsawan Jayakarta lainnya, serta pemukiman warga Cina. Paling utara tepat di sebelah tepian timur Ciliwung, berdiri loji Belanda, Mauritius dan Nassau. Disebut juga dalam peta tersebut bahwa di sebelah timur pemukiman Kyai Arya, terbentang areal perburuan buat bangsawan Jayakarta. Dengan demikian baik di sebelah timur maupun barat Sungai Ciliwung (Kini Kali Besar), terdapat perumahan penduduk Jayakarta.

*postingan akan bertambah, karena Bukunya belum selesai gue baca.....*

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Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih (Folklore from Central Java)

Bawang Putih lived with her step mother and her step sister, Bawang Merah. Bawang Ptih’s mother died when she was a baby. Her father remarried another woman and later her step sister was born. Unfornately, not long after that her father died.

Since then, Bawang Putih’s life was sad. Her step mother and her step sister treated Bawang Putih badly and always asked her to do all the household chores.

gambar dari http://scukz.com/khai/images/uploads/2006/11/bawangm_bawangp.jpg

One morning, Bawang Putih was washing some clothes in a river. Accidentally, her mother’s clothes were washed away by the river. She was really worried so she walked along the river side to find the clothes.

Finally she met an old woman. She said that she kept the clothes and would give them back to Bawang Putih if she helped the old woman do the household chores. Bawang Putih helped her happily. After everything was finished, the old woman returned the clothes. She also gave Bawang Putih a gift. The old woman had two pumpkins, one pumpkins was small and the other one was big. Bawang Putih had to choose one.

Bawang Putih was not a greedy girl. So she took the small one. After thanking the old woman, Bawang Putih the when home, her step mother and Bawang Merah were angry. They had been waiting for her all day long.

Bawang Putih then told about the clothes, the old woman, and the pumpkin. Her mother was really angry si she grabbed the pumpkin and smashed it to the floor. Suddenly they all were surprised. Inside the pumpkin they found jewelries.

“Bawang Merah, hurry up. Go to the river and throw my clothes into the water. After that, find the old woman. Remember, you have to take the big pumpkin,” the step mother asked Bawang Merah to do exactly the same as Bawang Putih’s experience.

Bawang Merah immediately went to the river. She threw the clothes and pretended to search them. Not long after that, she met the old woman. Again she asked Bawang Merah to do household chores. She refused and asked the old woman to give her a big pumpkin. The old woman then gave her the big one.

Bawang Merah was so happy. She ran very fast. When she arrived home, her mother was impatient. She directly smashed the pumpkin to the floor.

They were screaming. There were a lot of snakes inside the pumpkin! They were really scared. They were afraid the snakes would bite them.

“Mom, I think God just punished us. We had done bad things to Bawang Putih. And God didn’t like that. We have to apologize to bawang Putih,” said Bawang Merah.

Finally both of them realized their mistakes. They apologized and bawang Putih forgave them. Now the family is not poor anymore. Bawang Putih decided to sell all the jewelries and used the money for their daily lives.(*KOMPAS, Nov 16th, 2007)

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10 Top Tools for Doing Research Online

http://www.degreetutor.com/library/choosing-school/research-tools

As a distance/ online student, you probably have one or more reasons for choosing your mode of study, including the ability to balance study time and family time or to study at your own pace. As well, there may be a school that you would like to study at, but for whatever reason, being there in person is not possible.

However, just because you are a distance student and possibly have a more relaxed study pace doesn't mean you don't have as much research to do. Since you are likely spending a fair bit of time on the Internet to complete your distance/ onlinestudy requirements, you probably want to have a nice set of tools for making your research easier and more efficient.

As a person whose entire week consists of intense research on the Internet 5-7 days per week, followed by the writing of 80+ articles of various sizes, good online research tools are crucial to me. I've been collecting new tools on an almost weekly basis, trying them out for a while, then discarding a tool if it doesn't really improve my efficiency. But the tools I'm using are just as relevant to distance students.

As a result of over two years of regular online research, first as a Master's student candidate, then as a professional online writer (aka blogger), I've come up with a set of tools that I've been using regularly, sometimes daily. While I did set aside my bricks-and-mortar Masters degree plan, I do plan to complete a Masters degree online in the future. So the tools I've been collecting have also been selected with the intent that they will be used for research for an online degree.

Further below in this article is my list of ten very useful online research tools. They're not the only tools I use, but they're probably the most important to me. Many of these should be valuable to you as well if you are doing distance/ online learning, or even other types of research.

There is no significance to the order of the tools below, but there is an abundance of Google products and services. That's often because I came across them first, and became used to them. There are alternatives, and I recommend you explore them as well. Some of the tools listed overlap in functionality, but most are fairly distinct. Each tool falls into one of the following categories:

  • Viewing information
  • Seeking information
  • Subscribing to information
  • Comparing topic popularity
  • Networking with peers
  • Writing
  • Sharing information

Here's my brief review of ten extremely useful online research tools:

Firefox Web Browser

Without a web browser, you simply cannot do online research or even online tests. But one browser isn't the same as any other. Everyone has their favorite, though power surfers and researchers typically pick either Mozilla or Mozilla Firefox. Once Firefox became available, I stopped using Mozilla, so I can only tell you about Firefox: it quite simply is one of the most powerful web browsers around. From multiple tabs to skinnable interface to XUL-based add-ons to literally hundreds of free plugins useful for research, it can't be beat.

If you intend to do serious research on the Internet, this is a must-have free tool. Here's a link to Firefox, skins, and extensions. In fact, some of the tools referred to below require Firefox to function.

Emailed Topic Alerts Service - Google Alerts

One of the fastest ways to find online information about a topic and its related terms is a search engine. But that actually takes effort, because once you get a page of search results, you feel impelled to look at the links right away. A more efficient way, which gives you control, is to use one of the available Alerts services. An Alerts service delivers snippets of web pages to you, in your email inbox, so you can followup at your convenience. (Each snippet contains a link to the source web page.) It's basically a step above using just a search engine.

I've been using Google Alerts to great effect, but Yahoo! is now offering their own service - although it's accessed differently. With Google Alerts, you enter a simple or complex search query, and it emails you the search results with whatever frequency you indicate (as-it-happens, daily, weekly). Alert emails are sent to you until you delete an alert.

You can use Google Alerts with any email address, but I highly recommend getting a Google GMail account. If you are using Google GMail, you can build a list of Alert queries in your control panel. Google GMail also displays related emails as a collapsible collection, which makes it easier to browse through multiple Alerts. I find browsing my Alerts - or just any thread of related email messages - much faster with GMail.

There are only two ways to get a GMail account: sign up with a mobile phone number or get invited by someone who already has an account. Once you signup, you're allowed to give out 15 invites. I suggest you get one, because you can also use the account as a file storage service. (See "File Sharing Services", the last section of this article.)

Website Subscription: Bloglines News Feed Aggregator

As you do research for your distance and online courses, you'll find that some topics simply have have hundreds of websites covering them. Keeping track of all that information is an absolute chore. You need the information, but you don't really want to check in daily to each and every website of interest to you. If you're a typical distance student, you're probably taking more than one course simultaneously. You could potentially be tracking several dozen websites for new articles. Is there an easier way? Yes.

Several years ago, two separate web-based projects were seeking to accomplish the same result: a simple means of subscribing to your favorite websites. So, every time your favorite website added new articles or news, you would get some sort of notification in a stream of "headlines". Each feed item would consist of the article title and the first X words of the article, as well as a link to the original web page containing the article. [In some cases, websites will publish what is known as a "full-text" web feed, in which case you can read the entire text of an article through your feed reader.]

In a nutshell, the result was something now called RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which is both a file format and a technology. An alternative file format that accomplishes the same thing, with some added functionality, is Atom. Atom is actually both a file format and an online publishing protocol, but we don't need to know what's under the hood to use either RSS or Atom.

Collectively, some people (supposedly Microsoft) started calling information/ headlines distributed in either RSS or Atom file formats as "web feeds". Other people prefer the terms "RSS feeds" or even "news feeds". Either way, feeds are incredibly useful for research. Note that not all websites publish web feeds. However, most "weblogs" and large news sites do.

Of course, if you are going to subscribe to a website's feed, you need a way to track the "headlines" you'll receive. Some sites offer a feed-to-email service, which sends new article snippets to your email box. Most, however, just offer their web feed, for which you'll need either a standalone feed reader or a web-based feed aggregator to browse headlines with.

Standalone feed readers are software packages that you download to your computer and install. They often resemble email software such as Microsoft Outlook in that they have three panes: one listing all your feed subscriptions at far left, one at top right to show a list of headlines for a given feed, and one at bottom right to show the details of a specific feed item.

Web-based feed aggregators require no software download. They work straight from a suitable web browser, but have a slightly different viewing paradigm. It's this type that I've moved to, after nearly 8 months of trying various standalone readers. I find Bloglines to be mostly superior to the other feed aggregators. (I've tried a lot of them.) What's more, many websites have a "Bloglines" graphic subscription button.

I recommend that you register with Bloglines from the same browser that you do most of your web site browsing from. Then, when you see a "Bloglines" subscription button on a web page, clicking on it will take you to directly to Bloglines. From there, you specify a couple of details, then click the "Subscribe" button. Voila, the site's web feed is added to your Bloglines subscription list. You can now browse your subscribed web feeds by clicking on the name of a feed from the left pane. (Bloglines has only two panes.)

One thing to take note of. If a site you're subscribed to publishes a "full-text" web feed, you'll be able to read entire articles directly from Bloglines. If the site only publishes a "partial-text" web feed, you'll have to click on the item title to see the rest of the article. The item title is a link to the original web page where the full article ilves. So clicking on the feed item title will open either a new web browser window or a browser tab, depending on the browser you are using. (Simply for convenience, this is why I almost exclusively use a tabbed browser such as Firefox. Internet Explorer is hopelessly beyond in this regard.)

Because of this browser behaviour, some power users of Bloglines only subscribe to "full-text" web feeds. It's a decision you'll have to make for yourself. I personally don't like the font used in Bloglines, so I subscribe to both partial- and full-text web feeds, browse items, then click on those I want to read in entirety.

By the way, there are a couple of different Bloglines subscription buttons. If you want to see an example of one, visit Performancing. Then look at the top right for a "Sub Bloglines" button.

You can register for Bloglines free of charge with any email address. If you are going to use one browser primarily for your research (I highly recommend Firefox, as noted above), then you should register at Bloglines from the same browser.

Google News Search Results Feed Subscription

If you've discovered the usefulness to your research of Google Alerts, described above, you may like to try an alternative method of delivery. It's not precisely Google Alerts, but the source is the same: Google News delivered as a web feed to your Bloglines subscription.

First, go to Google News to search for terms of interest. When the results page is generated, look at the navigation menu at left. There is a link underneath the menu that says "RSS". Right click your mouse on it and copy the URL. Then go to your bloglines subscription page and "Add a feed".

The only drawback to viewing Google News search results this way is that all of the unread headline items in the web feed show in Bloglines all at once. (True of any web feed in Bloglines.) If you don't click the "mark all new" link for the feed, the next time you return to browse the feed, the items will be gone. With Google Alerts delivered to your email, the items remain until you delete them from your inbox.

What I do is subscribe via Bloglines for search results I use daily. For less frequently used results, I use the Alerts-to-email method.

Topic Popularity Comparison - Google Trends

Not everyone is going to need this tool, but I use Google Trends regularly. For those of you taking courses which require you to choose a topic for an essay or project, you might like this tool. Given a set of up to five search terms, Google Trends comes back with two line graphs and a series of geographically-defined bar charts.

The first line graph shows you the relatively popularity of each search term over a specified period of time - up to two years. The second line graph shows you the relative quantity of web pages that refer to each search term. This is particularly useful if you plan to write your research paper based on online materials. Obviously, if one topic has more web pages discussing it, then you'd probably find it easier to find relevant references. Finally, the bar charts show you the relative interest for each term by the most popular cities in the world, or countries, if you prefer.

Google Trends is thus a powerful tool that helps you narrow down a topic of research. I often use it to choose niche topics within a broader, more general area of interest. Since the line charts show you up to two years of relative popularity, it's a great tool for choosing topics that are currently of interest, based on searches performed using Google Search. So while one term may have been more popular than another a while back, it may not be so popular now. Meaning that you might not find recent references for the topic. Though sometimes using related terms will produce more favorable results.

Instant Messaging and VoIP Software

When you are doing a diploma or degree online/ distance, you don't always have the live support group of select classmates that you'd have if you were in actual bricks-and-mortar classes. For this reason, some distance schools team people up to work remotely with each other, and offer a dedicated instructor for small groups of students. But if the school doesn't have a toll-free phone number, what are your choices? Emailing someone doesn't always cut it, especially if you need to discuss something in real time. And being a distance student means that talking to your study mates on the phone is probably costly anyway.

Fortunately, there are dozens of free IMs: Instant Messaging clients. Some of these are well-known, others very new. If you've been using the Internet for anything length of time and have signed up for a free email with AOL, Microsoft or Yahoo, etc., you might already be familiar with IM software (aka "clients") such as Windows Live Messenger (aka MSN Messenger), Yahoo! Messenger, or even AOL's AIM Pro. Originally, these text IM clients had only text-mode real-time chat, whereby you'd communicate with one or more people by typing in your conversation.

More recently, these IMs are now enhanced with voice-mode chat, also called pc2pc (pc-to-pc) calling, and even video calling. That means that you can talk to a distant study buddy or instructor via your computer, as if you were on the phone. Free of charge. Unfortunately, you probably have to both have the same software, although this requirement is changing. For example, the latest versions of (Windows Live) MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger can communicate with each other.

Some of these IMs also let you call from your computer to a regular telephone. This is sometimes referred to as pc2phone or net2phone calling. There are also some voice IMs that assign you a real phone number so that people can actually call you from a telephone to your computer (phone2pc). (Hullo is one such VoIP IM, which for now provides a free telephone number and extension. Skype is another, but they charge for a real number - no extension, and you can choose from several cities' area codes.)

All these types of calling over the Internet (pc2pc, pc2phone, phone2pc) are referred to collectively as Internet telephony, IP communications, or VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol. (Services like Vonage are also called VoIP, but they do not require a computer They use regular phones routed through the Internet. Thus such calls are known as phone2phone, but strictly in reference to VoIP. We're not discussing this type here.)

The popularity of video- and voice-calling software such as Skype has forced many formerly text-only IMs into offering at least pc2pc calling. Some VoIP IMs often allow you to share files. So if you are working jointly on a project with another distance student, VoIP IMs make it easy to collaborate. AIM Pro and Windows Live Messenger even allow you to share applications. So if you need to show your study partner some document or media file or program in real time, you can run "application sharing" on these IMs.

The best part, at least for some students, is that Skype currently has free SkypeOut calls for users in Canada and the United States until Dec 31st, 2006. I actually use the SkypeOut service several times a week, and I use one VoIP IM or another almost every day. The quality of pc2phone/ phone2pc calls are usually lower than pc2pc or phone2phone, but here are some call quality improvement tips.

If you want to learn more about VoIP, including the hardware-based versions, please visit the website VoIP Now. I've also linked, above, to particular articles from the site, for specific IMs. A few more VoIP IMs not mentioned above are Sightspeed and Gizmo Project. There are many more, but all of the IMs mentioned here are the ones I use most regularly. A general overview of some of these and other VoIP software and services is discussed in the article How To Make Free VoIP Calls - A Reader Q+A.

Consider one last benefit of using a VoIP IM over calling on the phone. Some IMs not only let you talk to someone in audio mode, but you can often type messages simultaneously. So if you need to pass information for later reference, or info better deliver in text mode, then this beats a phone call. Especially since such hybrid conversations are free.

Zap Reader Web-Based Speed-Reading Service

Inevitably, when you're taking courses or simply doing research, you'll find yourself with a ton of reading to do and the feeling that there just isn't enough time. Speed-reading is often the answer, provided you are not consuming overly technical content with lots of formulas or diagrams.

I've read many speed reading books and found that while I was able to achieve higher speeds, the effect was not permanent. (That is, I couldn't always maintain my high speed.) To really benefit from speed-reading, start by doing a quick browse of new text, then follow up later with a more thorough read. This method will often result in persistence of the knowledge gained, whereas a single speed-read will not. If you like, you can re-read a third time, with speed.

To give you an idea of how effective speed-reading can be, I used to read 3-4 novels per week, 1-2 non-fiction books per week, and several newspapers daily. And I did most of that while riding the subway to work in the morning and home in the evening, with some extra reading on weekends and occasionally at night.

The problem is, speed reading traditionally requires you to run your finger across a printed page in a variety of patterns, often dependent upon the width of the page. Obviously, this isn't going to work when you are researching articles online. Besides smearing your finger oils across your computer screen, it really doesn't work.

Enter Zap Reader, a handy little web-based tool that lets you paste in blocks of text and set the playback speed in words-per-minute. I can't tell you what an optimum speed is. It's different for each person. Also, you won't be able to read formulas. But assuming you're reading pure text, non-technical material can be read and absorbed fairly quickly.

Try different speeds and see what's comfortable for you. If you are going to try the double-read method, start with a high speed, making sure you can at least catch some of the key concepts. Then later (day, week), read at a slightly slower speed, for better concept absorption. If you feel the need, read a third time at an in-between speed.

Note: apparently women seem to be able to more consistently read at faster speeds than men, at least for print. But this is purely based on my observations of speed readers I've met (or read about) while I was a teaching assistant at college. It may or may not apply to online text. Hopefully, a tool like Zap Reader will level the playing field. Or not.

Web-Based "Office" Software

Once you've done all your research for a project and are ready to start writing your paper, you have a couple of choices for tools. Typing on a typewriter is obviously something of the past. That leaves using one of the popular word processing tools such as Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, or Open Office (free, and also has spreadsheet and other software included).

With the exception of Open Office, these packages cost money. Sometimes, a word processing program might have been included on your computer when you bought it. But if you are collaborating with another distance student, there's a better option: web-based office software. A web-based word processor allows you to share your document and even collaborate. Just assign "write" access to a document to each virtual team member.

There are actually quite a few contenders, but this time, I'm not favoring Google's. Instead I'm recommending Zohowriter. I find it easy to use, and easy to share files. The interface is sort of a cross between Microsoft Word and an HTML editor for creating web pages. In fact, if you intend to create web pages, you can actually post directly to certain free blogging platforms. Or you can export to a number of formats including HTML, Microsoft Word and others.

Performancing For Firefox (PFF) HTML Editor

On rare occasions, your online studies might require you to create web pages on a type of website known as a weblog. But even if this isn't the case for you, there's a tool that's great for accumulating information from one or more websites, simultaneously, for your research, regardless of how you'll use your finished document. The tool is called PFF, or Performancing ForFirefox.

PFF, which requires the Firefox web browser to function, is one of the simplest yet most versatile HTML editors designed for weblog-style websites (aka blogs). But you can use it to accumulate research and write documents for other purposes.

PFF was created by the guys who founded Performancing, a community website for people who want to make a living writing online for weblog (blog) websites. (Something you might consider after you finish your studies.) PFF was created to give bloggers a robust tool for collecting information, writing articles for web pages (i.e., including formatting and hyperlinks), and then easily publishing them to a variety of blogging platforms.

Keep in mind that the Firefox web browser has "tabbed" browsing, which lets you browse multiple web pages one at a time from a single browser window. PFF uses this to advantage and can be used in three different configurations:

  1. From a Firefox tab.
  2. From a separate window than the browser.
  3. From a pane of the browser window. This pane splits the window in two, vertically.

I regularly use all three forms on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. The form that beats all other HTML editors hands down is the 3rd form, the pane. If you are writing a research paper and need to include quotes and URL references from a web page, you cannot beat this tool. You don't have to be writing for a weblog or website to use it.

You can view your document edit window at the same time as a web page in configuration 3. From there, using your mouse you can highlight text or links from the browser pane and drag and drop the text it into the PFF editor. Any link information will be preserved. Imagine now that you have multiple tabs open in Firefox, each showing a different web page relevant to your research. Consider how quickly you can drag and drop quotes from each page, one at a time, into a single edit window that stays put.

It's incredibly easy to use and time-saving besides. In my ten years as a webmaster and Internet consultant, I've never seen a document editor like it, HTML or otherwise. I research at least 6-8 hours daily, and write 4-8 hours daily. So I use PFF all day long, even if I'm not writing for a weblog or website.

File Sharing Services

Once you have finished your research, maybe you want to share it (or a draft copy) with friends, an instructor, or possibly yourself (between computers). There are loads of file-sharing services, but two that work from within Firefox are GSpace and AllPeers. Both are "drag and share" services, making them very easy to use.

GSpace is incredibly clever in that it takes advantage of the free multiple Gigabytes of storage space that you get when you sign up for a Google GMail account (described earlier, under the "Google Alerts" section). What a brilliant idea. If you are on a computer that for some reason will not let you save files to a diskette, you can install the GSpace extension for Firefox, navigate to the directory that the file is in, login to your GMail account from the GSpace multi-panel window, and drag the file into your account. Or maybe you just want to share files with someone else. If they trust you with their email account password, you can login into it with GSpace and drop in files for storing.

When you check your (or your friend's) GMail account, there will be a new email with details about the saved file, as well as a .ZIP attachment. As long as you do not delete the email, the file will stay saved in your GMail file space. GSpace doesn't keep the shared file in its native form, but rather compresses it into .ZIP format to save space.

AllPeers works similarly, but uses a social network and doesn't require GMail. You can add people under your own group categories (friends, family, colleagues, study team, etc.), tied to their email address. They must be registered with AllPeers with that same email address. (Provided you and they are both registered with AllPeers, and both have the other in your respective AllPeers contact list, you can actually tell when the other person is logged in and using the Firefox browser.) You can select files from your computer and share them with one or more contacts. According to the AllPeers site, there is no file size restriction - something that many free email services have (usually 10 Mb attachment size). In fact, according to the info on their website, you can share hundreds of gigabytes if you want to.

A word to the wise: if you have any sensitive/ private documents, you might not want to use file-sharing services. While they offer some measure of security, anything really sensitive should be encrypted and sent to the intended party by other means.


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Jenna Freedman - Future of Librarians Interview

http://www.degreetutor.com/library/librarians-online/jenna-freedman

Jenna Freedman is the Zine Librarian and coordinates reference services at Barnard Library, she is also a librarian for Radical Reference and
blogs at Lower East Side Librarian. But let's pretend for a minute that you were not involved in libraries. How do you personally use the library and search for information in general?

I have access to Columbia University's vast circulating collection, and avail myself regularly of books from Barnard and Columbia. I also check out books, videos, and DVDs from my neighborhood branch of the New York Public Library. I go there almost every Saturday and have their weekly schedule memorized, as I do my 14-digit library card number. I use NYPL primarily for leisure reading and viewing.



I use the electronic resources at Columbia for my professional research and to help friends and family with theirs. (FYI Barnard librarians are not faculty, so my professional research is, in a way, personal in that there is no requirement or reward for publishing, presenting, or contributing to the profession.) I use Barnard and Columbia's resources, and also NYPL's to answer questions for Radical Reference. I often use WorldCat.org to refer to books in email messages about this and that.

As to how I search for and access information in general, I'm sorry to get all reference librarian on you, but it depends on the information I need. In the course of a day I'll use web search engines, search interdisciplinary and subject specific databases, employ IM or the telephone to contact experts, consult reference books (print or online), etc.

In general, what are the most useful features of libraries today?

Same as yesterday and I hope tomorrow - their employees.

What would you say are the most useless features of libraries today and what can libraries do to eliminate them?

Employees that don't live up to librarianship's reputation for good service. Administrators who adopt a business "customer service" or IT "technical support" model. The solution is to remember what libraries are here for and what librarians do better than anyone else - serve the information wants and needs of our communities. We are not here to be slick (though we can be), and we are not here to make money (though donors do seem to favor us over dorm rooms and parking garages). If we remember and prioritize our service mission and design our programs, budgets, and buildings based on that, we should be fine.

Is Web 2.0 technology changing your role as a librarian?

It's just adding to my job description, like everything else. I bet the reference librarians of yesteryear griped when they had to add telephone reference to their list of responsibilities.

Although I do blog, tag and chat, most of the library users with whom I interact (professors and college students at a fairly elite institution affiliated with an Ivy League university, i.e. young, privileged, and smart) don't yet tend to avail themselves of my attention in those ways though. I do have some IM exchanges with students. I've communicated with zinesters and zine researchers, other librarians, and even been contacted by a reporter via or because of my use of MySpace and LiveJournal. However, even with these and other technologies, I don't feel that my role has changed in the six years I've been a librarian. I see my role as being that of listener, teacher, sharer, selector, developer and strategist. I use any and all appropriate tools to accomplish those many goals.

If you had to name a single most important technology to the future of libraries, what would it be? Any additional thoughts on L2, the future of libraries or anything else?

Again, it's not the technologies that are important. It is the people developing, implementing and teaching them. I think technology without humanity is what is going to destroy librarianship. Unless library administrators and communities, as well as society at large can learn to value public service as much as they do shiny new tech tools, the library of the future may replicate the experience of shopping at one of those chain electronics stores where the sales people don't listen; speak only to lie, exaggerate or up-sell; and you can't get a human on the telephone, but maybe their web interface is pretty good. This, rather than a library, where in addition to a good web interface you've got people with genuine people skills and subject expertise, who aren't working on commission.

Thank you Jenna for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. You can keep up with Jenna Freedman at Lower East Side Librarian.

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Michael Hart - Interview on the Future of Libraries

http://www.degreetutor.com/library/librarians-online/michael-hart

Michael Hart invented the eBook, and founded Project Gutenberg, one of the world's largest online collection of free eBooks. Michael, what was your inspiration for starting Project Gutenberg?

Even I would have to say the whole thing was very serendipitous. I learned a bit about one of our local mainframes simply because a good friend was one of the operators, so I used to hang out in the computer room a lot, doing my homework in air conditioned comfort, and because it was closer than going back to my place.

One day I saw one of our favorite patrons come to the little stainless steel window, and because it was too busy a time for anyone to load and run it, he couldn’t get his program run. I volunteered. Everyone, even my best friends, looked at me somewhat in shock. I said, "It is not that hard, is it?" So they asked me how I would do it, then they decided that this was not going to kill the computer, so they let me try. It all worked fine, and I was eventually kind of the first "hitchhiker" on the Internet.

Eventually, however, the big boss operator got worried that I would actually do damage, and insisted that I be given may own account and password; that way I wouldn’t always be logged in with operators' privileges, able to delete all the files, he he. It just so happened that the day this account came through was July 4, 1971, complete with more money in it than I ever dreamed of, something like $100,000. It hit me that I should do something worthy of this much time and effort it took to give a computer account to me.

Instead of walking home after the fireworks, I camped out in the computer room. I pondered the situation, realizing that the hope of me writing program material that would still be around in a decade was slim to none, so I tried out a few ideas of what I could do that would be worth this kind of investment. I had just learned that we were on the Internet, and that we could send files to Berkeley and Harvard and many places in between, but that no one was doing an introductory message such as "What hath God wrought?" as via telegraph, so I decided to try to come up with something that would last like that.

Well, back in 1971 they were already doing things for the upcoming United States Bicentenniel in 1976. Someone had handed me a faux parchment copy of The Declaration of Independence, and, literally, just like in the comics and cartoons, the light went on over my head! I knew that if I typed in The Declaration of Independence that it would never, ever disappear from the Internet. I typed it in that very night, so technically it was July 5, by then, and the file was available for download after that, and that was the beginning of the efforts of Project Gutenberg, every year some new "History of Democracy" file was added for the rest of the 70's, and not always by me, either. The snowball had started down the mountain.

What are the major differences between Google Book Search and Project Gutenberg?

The major differences are that Project Gutenberg eBooks are yours to own, to edit as you see fit, to create new editions from, read in any font you choose, in any color you choose, any margins you choose and a host of other variables that are under your control. With Google's eBooks, it's more like reading over someone's shoulders - you pretty much have to leave most of the control to them. (I hear that Google has constantly been promising changes to some things of this nature, but I haven't actually seen the results). Also, Google does not provide a catalog of their eBooks. They don't copyright research on their eBooks. They don't make it trivial to download their books. They don't proofread their eBooks -

Why would proofreading be necessary if Google is just scanning print books into digital form?

Google eBooks do not have the integrity of a single work, they are in fact two indpendent works, one a graphicial/pictoral representation and the other the actual kind of computer text we are all used to in the email. These are not at all the same. You can't search the text in a picture. A picture of a book is NOT an eBook. I like to quote Magritte's famous painting here: Ceci n'est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe), under a depicted pipe.

What Google does is to make a quick and easy scan of the books, and then make a quick and dirty OCR pass [Optical Character Recognition] but then instead of cleaning up the OCR output as Project Gutenberg does with the army of Distributed Proofreaders volunteers and others, instead Google's solution was to write a "fuzzy search engine" that would put up with the sloppy full text file created by their OCR programs.

This is why they didn't want people to download their files, it would be all to easy to see where the discrepancies were, and to realize that the Google Print Library or Google Book Search wasn't up to snuff, when it's compared to the eBooks that were already populating the Internet.

After Project Gutenberg initially set the standard for 99.9% accuracy in for the first edition of an eBook, The Library of Congress raised it for their own later operations to 99.95%, and later Project Gutenberg raised it again to 99.975% and we are currently working to get to 99.99%. As time goes on, we hope to keep moving to an increasing accuracy level. However, from Google's point of view it is much easier just to leave the quick and dirty OCR output.

Project Gutenberg eBooks are designed to be completely searchable end to end with any search engines, used with any word processor, cut and paste should work into emails, research papers, or what have you...and would be an easy source material for new paper editions or eBooks. Google has intentionally avoided all these valuable considerations for a more "Limited Distribution" philosophy that kept too many of their eBooks out of circulation, from being quoted, etc.

Remember, Google eBooks are TWO entities. . .one is an unproofread e-text output of their OCR transcription program, the other is a set of graphic files that usually number one for each page, are much more difficult for the user to download, store, recall, etc. than a plain text eBook with a single book in a single file that can be read, quoted, edited, etc. by a vast majority of the hardware and software combinations out there.

Try downloading "The Balcony Scene" from Shakepeare's Romeo and Juliet - from both Project Gutenberg and Google Book Search, and you'll see.

It will take me only a minute...I got it on the first Google hit by searching "Project Gutenberg" "Romeo and Juliet" "wherefore art thou". Now, just think of how much time it would take to do the same thing from a graphical representation where you had to retype or OCR their files!!! This didn't even take me a minute to find, highlight, cut and paste!!! That is what eBooks should be all about. . . .

You should own your own eBooks, correct any errors you find, cut & paste the entire play into a script for your own production, and so on.

Even with Google Book search, Project Gutenberg is still necessary, more than ever, because Project Gutenberg wants you to own the library in the same sense you can now own your own computer, or "supercomputer" as most of the computers being sold today would have been considered supercomputers not that long ago. Today you can add a brand new terabyte drive to any computer for under $400 as an internal drive, or a few dollars more in an external box. This is enough to hold a million eBooks without using compression, two and half million with the best compression.

A million books!

And there have been a million books freely available on the Internet, perhaps for the last two years or longer. Before The Gutenberg Press the average person could own zero books. Before Project Gutenberg the average person could own zero libraries, speaking only of the words, of course, not the physical entity or the library staff, etc.

Would you say Project Gutenberg inspired Google Book Search?

I got an email or phone call from most or all of the various eBook projects around the world, asking for advice. This goes all the way back to The World Library [the first eBook CD] which was my honor to present at the 1990 ALA Midwinter Conference in Chicago along with various other aspects of eBook presentation, Project Gutenberg, etc. It also includes Voyager, the first model commercial eBook vendor with classic modern books such as Jurassic Park.

I gave them all friendly advice, and if Google had taken my advice the whole legal copyright suit issue probably would not have come up, nor the huge redefinitions of their projects as Google Print Library to Google Book Search, since their early philosophy was definitely not print and not library. I quote from their public response to these issues: "Google Book Search is a means for helping users discover books, not to read them online and/or download them."

It was obviously a commercial endeavor from the outset, and if they had made a serious attempt to show the publishers that they were trying to sell books for them to a wide public audience, perhaps that would have ameliorated situations that soon went out of control and into the lawsuit arena. The trouble is that Google wanted to pretend to be a public library without an equally sufficient effort to BE a public library, so it was all to obvious, sadly to say, that their real goal was more that of a commercial library. If they had gone either way, much more public library or much more commercial, or even both, with two separate projects, I think they could have made it.

As it was, there were too many obvious shortcomings, and not just shortcomings in the traditional sense, but obvious attempts to sabotage efforts of readers, so the readers could neither read the average Google book, nor even download a small portion to read.

The limitations placed on the readers were just too great, and when combined a bit with their huge media campaign of December 14, 2004, in which every medium I could find was saturated with what appeared to be a new public eLibrary from the likes of Oxford, Harvard, Michigan, Stanford, NYPL, etc, well, the seeds of a great disappointment were sewn.

With free eBooks online from Project Gutenberg, are libraries still important?

It is not that I think libraries are not important, I would like to think that they will change as much due to eBooks as they did via The Gutenberg Press; i.e., there will be more eBooks in periods of 50 years after eBooks showed up than paper books, just as when Gutenberg books arrived, there were more paper books published in the next 50 years than all the manuscripts of previous history. In addition, with the advent of RAMsticks, thumbdrives, etc. and terabyte hard drives for under $400, I think "Personal Computers" are rapidly evolving into "Personal Libraries."

Personally, I think that libraries containing music, movies, etc, as they have for decades now, is no different from containing eBooks. After all, the discs are the same, only the bits are different. I think that the library should preserve whatever the current media used, and that this obviously has changed throughout history I am quite certain the same kinds of conversations took place when it was the change from stone tables to clay tablets, or clay to papyrus, or to linen, rag, or what we call "paper" today. We still use the phrase "written in stone" to emphasize a huge truth, but when is the last time you heard of anyone really going to stones, when searching for the original text?

We have "books" from the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese - not to mention that so many of these came to us through Arabic, Arabic numerals included, not to mention the great libraries of the Moors in Spain that gave us so many of the classics in science and literature. However, the authors of those "books" would not recognize our books just as books in the future will not be as physical as before - just as our books today aren't as physical as ancient tablets, scrolls, etc. were.

How will libraries change in the next 50 years?

The changes will be so great, just as The Gutenberg Press changes, that there will be forces at work beyond what perhaps anyone other than myself will even try to say today. However, my own predictions are measured in terms of 2021 which is the 50th anniversary of doing The Declaration of Independence. Let's just say that there will be 10 million public domain eBooks, if not more, by 2021.

Now here's the kicker: automated translation is a new factor that will be introduced by 2021, one that will convert those 10 million public domain eBooks into 100 languages, thus creating, in terms of sheer number of volumes, a library larger than any the world has yet considered, A Billion Book Library and and eBooks in this library will all be free of charge, if I can manage it. Of course, by then I predict there will also be petabyte drives at a cost the average computer owner can afford, that will hold these billion books, should anyone want to own the entire library.

Of course, at this moment, there is more resistance to translation by machine than I would have liked to see, and even more to adding 100 languages to the list they are working on. But I have my hopes, and I intend to do all I can to encourage the machine translation industry to use Project Gutenberg eBooks for a test bed, and to encourage each project to add one more language.

And how will these changes affect librarians?

Well, I can remember when librarians thought film was the greatest and latest thing they had to offer, and when many of them refused, or were simply unable, to work the various projectors, so, library "audio-visual" assistants were added. I can also recall when this same sort of thing happened with the telephone and certain members of the library staff who were more comfortable with the telephones ended up taking care of that end of things. Most people don't see that kind of turmoil, but it happens with almost every huge change in technology, it's just usually kept behind the scenes.

However, the computer revolution is going even faster than phones, movies, or anything other than music's switch from vinyl to CD and the result is that these changes are becoming more obvious.

No one I know has been talking about terabyte drives, and I say it loudly and clearly that they should have been, and should talk now about how long it will be to petabyte drives. Why? Because every word ever published could be stored on one petabyte. Now that is a library! Point is that individuals can download a million book files today, without undue expense to the average household budget.

Thank you very much Michael for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. You can learn more about downloading free eBooks online at Project Gutenberg.

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Daniel Lee - Future of Librarians Interview

http://www.degreetutor.com/library/librarians-online/daniel-lee

Daniel Lee is a Research Librarian at Navigator Ltd, a research-based strategy firm, and is President-Elect for the Toronto Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. For those who don't know you, could you talk a little bit about your background?

Sure. Prior to joining Navigator, I was the Internet Content Coordinator at the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS). Before CIPS, I was the Research Coordinator for the Marketing and Communications department at Knowledge House, a Halifax-based e-learning software company. I have a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from Dalhousie University and I also have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Let's pretend for a minute that you weren't involved in libraries. How do you personally use the library, search for and access information?

My main interaction with libraries outside work is using the public system. My local branch of the Toronto Public Library (1 of 99 branches) is amazing. I am there all the time browsing the shelves, taking out books, movies, magazines, etc. And TPL has a great online system for holding items and having them delivered to your local branch for pickup. I also access their Virtual Reference Library online for personal resource recommendations and research.

I primarily search for and access information using the Web. If the Web fails me, I go to either my own personal print collection or the one I manage at work. Failing that, I turn to one of my colleagues for assistance. Instant messaging is great for that. I have a crew of experts in various fields on my contact list who are only one instant message away.

What are the most useful features of libraries today?

The librarians and inter-library loan. I am finding that there is a refreshing attitude of fun and experimentation out there in libraryland. Many of my colleagues recognize the chaotic world we live in and the difficulties to be surmounted in delivering quality products and services to their users. Their approach is to experiment with new ways of working and I love that. Libraries are buildings and they don't do anything - it's the librarians and staff that make things happen in any library. They are what's most useful.

Why inter-library loan? Because it's an underused service that can open up an entire world of print and electronic information, if you just ask for it. If my branch doesn't have what I'm looking for, they'll get it for me - and it's usually free!

What are the most useless features of libraries today, and what can libraries do to eliminate them?

The librarian who cannot utter the words, "I don't know." I travel around North American fairly regularly and I make it a point to stop into the local branch of the public library wherever I am. I also make it a point to ask a reference question at the reference desk to see how my colleagues respond. Call it my own secret shopper program. I am always amazed by the number of professionals out there who flub their way through a response just to appear intelligent instead of simply saying, "I'm not really sure. Let's go take a look." In my opinion, it's doing a serious disservice to users to point them in a direction that will end up being a goose chase because of one's own pride.

Most OPACs suck. There are a number of librarians out there who have had enough with vendors and have decided to take matters into their own hands. While not everyone can build their own OPAC from the ground up, this work is inspirational and we, as a profession, should aspire to learn the skills required to take back the OPAC! Of course, the ultimate is to work towards integrating the various systems in a library of which, the OPAC is only a part, but considering most people out there are increasingly more comfortable doing their own research and go to the library's website and then the catalog, the OPAC should, without fail, lead people to what they're looking for.

What are the biggest challenges to libraries, and librarians' jobs. How can these challenges be overcome?

Fiscal ignorance (i.e. money is not manna from heaven - it's a line item in a budget usually approved by a bureaucrat, politician or CFO), invisibility, lack of metrics to put a value on information, lack of research from the practitioner community and a lack of access to published research in the library science field. Politically saavy librarians are successful librarians. I have often found there is a huge disconnect in librarians' understanding of where their funding comes from. And it's shocking to me when my colleagues say, "But I don't understand they they are closing my library." Or, "Why has my budget been cut?" I don't have the answer for the research aspect, but I would suggest that bring the practitioner community more into the research that is happening at the universities would certainly help. And I am thrilled to see open journals appearing like Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. This opens up avenues for practitioners who wish to contribute to the intellectual capital of the profession without having to return to the unversity or joining a faculty as an adjunct.

What does Library 2.0 mean to you?

To me Library 2.0 means users interacting with library-related websites they visit, generating their own content that blends seamlessly.

Why are librarians still important?

The infoverse is becoming increasingly complex and we put structure where there is chaos. This is what we have always done and what we will always continue to do. It's sense making. This combined with our service orientation makes us the perfect fit for tackling the infoglut that's out there right now - both online and offline.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights on librarianship with us.

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Future of Librarians

http://www.degreetutor.com/library/librarians-online/future-librarians

by Will Sherman

The Internet’s unforgiving speed is forcing split second changes on a profession that dates back millennia. But while many describe upheaval and chaos, is the revolution really that untidy? Some librarians, after all, make it look easy to adapt.

In all, twenty-seven librarians and thinkers weigh in on the current evolution of librarianship. (We would appreciate your contribution too!) They also ponder how to remind the world that they exist. Nearly everybody extols the advancements of Web 2.0. Yet as social networks light up, what about those left out in the dark? Let’s begin, however, by taking a closer look at the very words used to describe the changes facing librarianship today:

Terminology 2.0

“Library 2.0”, which is an extension of Web 2.0, is used so commonly that “L2” has long since become a recognized abbreviation. It has caught on, but it’s still not agreed upon.

“I think Library 2.0 is a terrible term and should absolutely be banished,” says T. Scott Plutchak, Director of the Lister Hill Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Why? It’s too ambiguous, and is used to express whatever foggy definition the term’s user might think applies. “Since no two people really use the term in the same way,” Plutchak says, “there’s no way that it can really be useful in professional discourse. I think it’s lousy.”

Worth noting that at practically no other point in our conversation does Plutchak use such strong language – that fact is far from shocking. In addition to abhorrence of the term’s lack of utility, I would argue that there’s something else underlying some peoples’ aversion to “Library 2.0.” Names of professions, like the names of people, become intrinsically wound up with identity. A presumptuous nickname, whether applied directly to a person or one’s profession, can thwart communication by its offensiveness as much as by its ambiguity.

Improved communication is what motivates Jeff Barry, a librarian and book designer based in Buenos Aires, to also avoid the term. To him, Library 2.0 sounds like a buzzword developed by vendors. That quality, he fears, will inhibit peoples’ receptiveness to the concepts behind the term, which feels are good: the intelligent evolution of library services and technology.

Yet “Library 2.0” is already spilling out onto blogs outside libraryland, getting “believed in” by this online strategist. One can hardly blame such satellite commentary; I have used “Library 2.0” and “L2” on numerous occasions, albeit oftentimes with an unclear definition in mind. In my experience, acceptance of the term is much more common than not. And obviously, there is a strong 2.0 timbre sounding from librarians themselves.

Michael Stephens, author of Web 2.0 & Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software, applies the “2.0” appendage liberally. Not just libraries; Stephens talks about “2.0 attitudes,” a “2.0 philosophy” - even a “2.0 world.” He’s hardly alone. Helene Blowers' successful Learning 2.0 program is designed to get librarians up to speed with Web 2.0 technologies so that they can better provide services and work together. As the term’s apparent originator, Michael Casey, comments on Barry’s blog, it’s “logical” to name Library 2.0 after the Web 2.0 tools that help to power it.

Barry seems to be reacting to the acoustic dissonance of the term more than anything - it’s the word, not the concepts behind it, that is the problem. Plutchak, however, finds fault with the meaning, albeit foggy, that he sees many people attaching to “Library 2.0,” implying a “paradigm of libraries that are more supportive of change.” According to Plutchak, libraries “have always been very innovative,” and recent technology is just the “latest evolution in something that goes back thousands of years.”

I agree. The “2.0” appendage seems to highlight the hubris of technology - it grants us the confidence to draw a line in the sand between a couple of years ago and the rest of history. I would hope that nothing about librarianship, or the world for that matter, could be labeled as if it were a software product, brand new and obsolete tomorrow.

Yet at the same time I understand the historic, intrinsically human impulse to reach out to today’s technology when seeking ways to describe and understand the world. There is nothing unnatural about the way in which “2.0” has cropped up alongside staple words like business, education, and life.

Nevertheless it’s potentially counterproductive to effecting change in libraries, if not downright offensive. Barry hopes that eventually the new services often described as “Library 2.0” be called “the library.” But Plutchak sees the “library” as something becoming less and less important, while the “librarian” (no name change or 2.0 appendage required) steps up to an increasingly needed role of consultancy in today’s society, no matter where the information comes from.

Plutchak again underscores the importance of terminology: “we often talk as if ‘libraries’ and ‘librarians’ are synonymous - they’re not.” Which would imply, I think, that without libraries, collections and storehouses of information, librarians could push off into uncharted waters as consultants navigating a wider world of data. Says Daniel Lee, research librarian at Navigator Ltd, “libraries are buildings and they don’t do anything – it’s the librarians and staff that make things happen in any library. They are what’s most useful.”

Library, Library 2.0, or Librarian. Or something else entirely. What is the best term you would use to describe the profession’s relationship to the current changes in the information landscape?

Or is terminology not that important after all?

“I’m not that sure it matters what you call it,” says Steven Bell, author of Academic Librarianship By Design, “but it is something we need to acknowledge because of the way people interact with the web and websites, and their expectations as information users.”

Old Vs. New

Plutchak raises the possibility that librarians who express frustration with the slow pace of change could be using local problems to paint a global picture. But among those I interview, complaints of an old guard holding back progress are common, almost routine and often accompanied by allusions to an enormous, fitful struggle between old and new.

David Lee King, a Digital Branch & Services Manager at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, tells me that the “library/information world is in the midst of a revolution” and that librarians need to be “highly adaptable” although some “have a hard time with that.” Librarians and library staff who refuse to change are, he says, a “huge problem right now.”

Laura Solomon, a Web Applications Supervisor at the Cleveland Public Library, says that she hears various complaints from colleagues in different libraries about their inability to effect change because of resistance from the old guard. She sees an “internal battle between the ‘Get Its’ and the ‘Don’t Get Its/Don’t Cares.’”

Paul Pival, the Distance Education Librarian at the University of Calgary, also cites “Librarians who aren't willing to learn about new technologies and methods of communication” as something holding libraries back. When asked if Library 2.0 would create a chaotic revolution, Solomon tells me, “frankly, I think we’d be lucky to get as far as that.”

These commentaries would reveal that the sum of certain peoples’ routines and attitudes are slowing the pace of change. Furthermore, as the world outside libraries accelerates forward, resistance to change is causing the gap to stretch further between libraries and their social relevancy.

Stephens says that libraries’ greatest challenges “come from within” citing “institutional inertia” and a “lack of focus on trends and the future.” He urges libraries to keep a close eye on how businesses adapt to change, as well as the power of blogging, and says, “libraries that embrace these ideas and attitudes will overcome the challenges of budget, limitations of space and mindset.”

A tall order for librarians playing tug-o-war with the “Don’t Get Its,” not to mention the “Don’t Get Its” themselves. Yet while resistance appears to be common, are retrograde tendencies a true reflection of the profession as a whole? American Library Association President Loriene Roy, after all, tells me, “Libraries are versatile, surprising, and adaptable institutions.”

But why would such a versatile institution employ so many “Don’t Get Its/Don’t Cares”? Is this old guard really an unbending force that simply won’t listen to reason? Is it them that’s holding back the more progressive librarians? Or is perhaps it the way in which these people are being approached – or not approached – that is preventing the ball from rolling as it should?

Blowers’ first approach was a relative failure. When trying to effect change by teaching Web 2.0 skills, she was only reaching about 60 staff. She changed her approach, and now over a hundred libraries on three different continents have participated in her Learning 2.0 program (this despite the “2.0” appendage).

In fact, Blowers tells me that it hasn’t faced any resistance by library staff; instead librarians have “readily welcomed” her approach to learning. It probably wouldn’t surprise Plutchak or Roy; that libraries and librarians are adapting, as they always have, is nothing revolutionary.

Interestingly, however, Blowers is careful to point out to me that it’s the non-tech “things” in her program that she considers most important to teach people - these involve exploring cultural change and developing a continued readiness to adapt. But there’s something strange about that message of adaptability being delivered in such a 2.0 bottle. Why does social software have to embody the concept of adaptability? Why this particular toolset, and not the one that came before it?

Plutchak says that while “right now people are enamored of blogs and wikis and Facebook,” five years from now will usher in a whole new set of tools. Jenna Freedman, a Reference Services librarian at Barnard Library, points out that social software doesn’t mark the first time that Web 2.0 technology is simply adding to her job description. “I bet,” she says, “the reference librarians of yesteryear griped when they had to add telephone reference to their list of responsibilities.”

Similarly Eric Lease Morgan, Head of the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department at Notre Dame Libraries, asserts that it’s a mistake to associate a profession, like librarianship, with its tools. Instead, it’s about the goals that it wants to accomplish. Just as carpenters are not “hammer specialists,” neither are librarians’ jobs bound to leather bound books, he tells me.

So what’s so historically special about Web 2.0 in libraries?

The answer might be as simple as: it’s happening right now, and it’s happening fast. Karin Wittenborg, University Librarian for the University of Virginia, which recently partnered with Google Book Search, describes libraries’ greatest challenge as openness to “rapid change” in order to “serve the fast-changing needs and demands of…students and faculty.”

But how, exactly, do libraries plan to do this?

The Business Model

In meeting the challenges of rapid change, many librarians point to the business world’s swift application of the internet and Web 2.0 to better serve their clientele. Businesses are typically keen on survival in a world of fierce competition which is new to libraries, and it would serve them well to take cues from the pros. A necessary model, I am told, if libraries are to stay relevant in this “2.0 world.”

Stephens talks about meeting “retail expectations” which include “experience, choice, service and branding.” He notes the excitement he feels before going to the Apple Store in Chicago, the intentional experience created by Starbucks, and in turn decries the prohibitive signage he finds at many libraries. “I'm sorry,” he says, “but a sign stating the rules of the building on the front door is not encouraging.”

Yes, it’s easy to point out where libraries are bleak and businesses sleek. But in the rush to measure up and even make up for lost time, I think libraries should remember that they simply are not Starbucks, nor are they sales outlets for iPods. This extends beyond the literalism of debating whether or not libraries should serve coffee. Rather, it has to do with a fundamental distinction between what libraries do, and what businesses do.

One of the primary distinctions is as follows: while businesses make it their business to collect personal data, libraries have traditionally been defenders of patron privacy. Jessamyn West, co-editor of Revolting Librarians Redux, compares the confidentiality and neutrality provided by librarians to that of doctors and lawyers; it’s invaluable because it’s so rare in our society. Apart from disputed USA Patriot Act incursions, “what you do in the library, stays in the library,” she tells me.

The problem seems to be that up till recently, information retrieval wasn’t such big business. At least not to the degree of Google, whose enormity also gives it an upper hand in defining the rules of the game and forcing libraries to think much more competitively than they have in the past. Now, many look to Google, not the library, when seeking information, Netflix when seeking movies, Amazon when looking for books. These and other online businesses have an insatiable appetite for personal data; privacy is often forfeited by the consumer, in exchange for the convenience of the service.

What businesses do with personal data depends, but what libraries do is almost certain: they won’t divulge it, at least not without a fight. In yet one more reason for librarians to become more technologically competent, West warns, “the more libraries outsource services - and even products, like eBooks and whatnot - the more that data is potentially outside our ability to keep private.”

Now let’s revisit Plutchak’s distinction between “libraries” and “librarians.” According to him, the two words are not synonymous and in fact “libraries” are phasing out of importance. Conceivably, therefore, libraries could eventually cease to exist while librarians thrived. But I wonder: without a library, where will patrons’ information-gathering activities not be monitored? The adeptness of a librarian in connecting people with information is a valuable service, but sheltering patrons’ privacy is priceless.

Still, the business model resonates strongly with librarians. Both Google and Netflix are successful because they bring their products and information “directly to the user.” says Solomon. “Any aspect of a library that forces the user to come to them, rather than the other way ‘round, is problematic.”

Chad Boeninger, Reference & Instruction Technology Coordinator at Ohio University, tells me that “business as usual is not going to bring more users into the library,” pointing out that inhibiting policies – no cell phones, no food or drink, etc. – are going to have to be altered so that libraries can “cultivate a new group of patrons.” It’s a whole new generation that likes to bring technology to learning places, talk in a normal voice, drink coffee and surf the web using free wi-fi, he tells me. “Not adapting to change is a very bad business model.”

But as librarians re-organize the way they serve their patrons, it is critical that they narrate, and create, a strong distinction between themselves and the business world. While libraries seek better ways to reach the patrons, the patrons must retain the ability to access the sanctuary provided by the library. The neutrality of the librarian and the privacy provided by the library are unique, attractive features. Getting rid of those would also be a bad business model.

“We’re not here to be slick,” says Freedman, or to “make money.” Raymond Barber, the Senior High Core Collections editor at H.W. Wilson, points to the efficiency of library self-checkout systems, but worries about “the loss of personal contact between librarian and patron.” Martín Harfagar, founder of the TransAñihué Community Library located on a remote island in southern Chile, is seeking to turn away from the cold, impersonal design of Santiago’s city libraries, and create a library that will restore the “fullness to the path between the person and the book.” To Freedman, it’s about “living up to librarianship’s reputation for good service.”

Of course, I would think that good businesses also do achieve a “reputation for good service.” In this sense it’s wise for librarians to, when applicable, follow suit. Especially when making acquisitions. Stephens cautions against “technolust,” and extols Web 2.0 for creating affordable solutions that diminish the need for overpriced solutions from vendors. West laments a “ ‘keeping up with the cool kids’ vibe that is hard to ignore,” and says it’s oftentimes best that librarians do just that - ignore it. To her, it’s important that librarians “honor where they’ve come from, as well as where they are going, in order to choose appropriate technologies but not be force fed.”

And choose they do. Librarians are citing blogs, RSS, video conferencing, and a variety of other Web 2.0 technologies as empowering tools of the trade. Phil Bradley, author of How to Use Web 2.0 in your Library, sees plenty of potential in Library 2.0, which he describes as “simply an incarnation of what Web 2.0 can do.” According to him, it offers the hope that instead of being a hindrance, “technology can start to help…give librarians a voice, and one that travels further.”

Marketing Librarians

No matter how improved a library is, it is important to narrate, evangelize and educate potential patrons in order for the institution, and the profession, to remain robust. Many librarians note the ease and affordability of social software as a budget-friendly marketing solution for libraries. But there is also room for improvement in the application of technology to these ends.

“I think that the biggest part of Library 2.0 that is being overlooked right now is online marketing and outreach,” says Sarah Houghton-Jan, Web Services Librarian for the San Mateo County Library in California. She advocates paying closer attention to local bloggers, review sites, and opportunities for libraries to reach out via social networks. “If we don't, we continue down this insular path that has gotten us to the situation we're in now, trying to catch up with the rest of the world,” she says.

But Stephens points to a study showing that while 84% of internet users begin searching with a search engine, only 1% start with a library website. This might signal the need for an even more momentous, dramatic approach to reminding the world about libraries. Solomon, for instance, would like to see a collective PR campaign like “Got Milk?” to convince the public that libraries are necessary in the first place. “Libraries keep selling themselves individually,” she tells me. This is fine, but it needs to be coupled with a broader approach in order to have a greater effect.

Better marketing of libraries is a “huge issue” to Meredith Farkas, author of Social Software in Libraries, who emphasizes the importance not just of libraries, but how to use libraries. Student and faculty library users are either unaware of, or unable to use, the databases in her library. More than simply announcing the existence of these tools, Farkas tells me, librarians need to offer educational workshops.

It seems this educational approach brings the added benefit of delivering a sense of ownership to the library user. Empowered with the ability to manipulate the tools that only librarians have traditionally had access to, patrons would begin to positively valuate their experience and participate more, just as many internet users are doing with social software and networking websites.

Similarly, Farkas encourages libraries to implement viral marketing strategies such as teen advisory boards, which are more time intensive than expensive, and ultimately effective: “People would rather hear that something’s cool from their peers - whether it’s teens or faculty members,” she says, and points to a couple examples of successful teen advisory boards in libraries.

So there are success stories, although apparently extensive room for improvement. One flaw might lie in what is actually getting marketed. Despite my concern expressed above for the disappearance of the library, Pival observes that efforts to market libraries to teens are very successful. His concern, however, is that the librarian is being left out of the story.

To address the decline in visitors to the reference desk, his library is thinking to scatter laptop-equipped staff out around campus - meeting students where they are. Pival also talks about how his staff has “embedded” librarians in faculties, thereby creating stronger bridges between the academic library and the rest of the school. “Getting ourselves in front of our patrons, virtually or physically, seems to be the key…marketing does not seem to be a strong point for libraries, and it needs to be.”

Marketing tends to benefit from creative approaches, as well. While Gene Ambaum says that the library-themed Unshelved comic strip he co-creates wasn’t intended “to promote libraries or library use, it has the effect of doing both.” Not to mention book promotion, which has had measurable success. Ambaum also notes an intensely online consumption of the comic strip, yet another indicator that the internet is certainly a viable place to market libraries.

Wittenborg says that in addition to student and faculty advisory boards, Web 2.0 technology is used at the University of Virginia to evangelize services and receive feedback. Roy lists several budget-friendly marketing tips for librarians, including “having a message” and “personalizing contact” through social technology including the phone, IM and blogs.

And if anyone were to question the urgency for libraries to be better marketed, Nicole Engard, a Metadata Librarian at Princeton Theological Seminary, highlights it: “There are community leaders out there writing to their local papers to say that libraries are not necessary - that average people using internet cafés can do everything we (librarians) can,” she says, citing a need to “get out there and show the world that libraries are not just about information and books; we are about finding the right information - trustworthy information.”

Consensus would have to be reached on exactly where to get out to and what world to show. Both local outreach and the “Got Milk?” approach have their respective merits, and might work well together if coordinated properly. But even a national campaign would be limited to one nation, and its message accordingly homogenized. Libraries aren’t milk, and the most successful libraries will be the ones that reflect their respective communities, whether located in a big city, small town or an impoverished third world country.

The Digital Divide
On Añihué Island in the south of Chile, there is no electricity or running water. There is, however, a library. Among the 85 families that inhabit the island, about 50 people have become inscribed patrons. Five children, plus a couple adults, regularly check out books.

It’s strange. The development of a library – as with any cultural institution or museum – would seem to be the domain of a more highly developed community than that of Añihué Island. First take care of running water, one might conclude; then talk to me about a library.

Harfagar, an architect based in Santiago who founded the library, himself says that if a survey of the archipelago were conducted, the people might respond that they need “decent roads, or a post office, or good quality employment, or a school nearby for their children. Or,” he adds, “possibly a library.”

But Harfagar makes it clear that the library is not the result of a survey, nor is it intended to meet a quota or increase literacy by a given percentile. In fact, when I ask him why Añihué Island needs a library he says, “It doesn’t need one.”

Instead, he seems to measure the library’s successes with anecdotal examples of how it has become “like one more neighbor,” while not imposing itself upon the islanders. Looking to expand the collection from its current 900-or-so items, Harfagar foresees highly specialized book purchases that reflect the needs of the community, harmonizing with Barber’s words, “I know that while there are some resources that almost every library should have, that every library is also unique.”

Harfagar thinks that digitization is inevitable, someday, but says that the need for developing “identity and local spirit,” beforehand. This also involves improvements in infrastructure, as digitization could only come after ensuring “potable water, sewage, a clean environment, electricity, health and education. These would come before technology,” says Harfagar.

The austerity of the islanders’ living conditions is remarkable. All but neglected by their regional government, the islanders live, as Harfagar puts it, very close to the earth. Their material plight serves as an extreme metaphor for the developing world. Commenting on the state of libraries in Argentina, Barry says, “It's difficult to foster the development of a library culture in less developed countries,” and notes that both the concept and the institution of libraries are overshadowed by more immediate concerns.

In exceptional situations such as Añihué Island, where a library is achieved, an intimate understanding of the community – and the physical poverty itself – is critical to becoming a relevant neighbor. Harfagar tells me, “The tiny population and characteristics of Añihué Island, with a rainy climate and slower pace of life, make for a small-scale library with less membership than others, but this makes sense within the logic of the way things work there.”

When discussing technology in Vermont’s rural libraries, Westnotes that “progress is slow” and that even if librarians were to implement Web 2.0 technology to serve their patrons better, it “wouldn’t make a difference,” to rural community members who currently don’t use the internet that often. Also noting low turnover among librarians, West tells me, “most people don’t mind or, frankly, they don’t live here.”

Again, a slower pace of life. In communities where the evolution of technology is less accelerated, the people have different needs, and will respond better to those who address those needs. Harfagar reminds us that the percentage of the world’s population that owns a computer is, or at least only recently was, in the single digits.

Further exacerbating the digital divide are politics. While the government of Chile boasts high rates of computer penetration in low-income households, Harfagar points out that the hardware and software is usually obsolete or defunct, even if anybody were to know how to use it. The number of households with computers ends up being a meaningless statistic, he tells me; one that is used as a device for political gain.

Is Chile the only country where this happens?

Getting people up to speed technologically is a lot more complex than sending them computers, even if the computers work. West tells me that the Gates Foundation putting computers in libraries is hardly analogous to the Carnegie Library constructions of the past, “it’s a different thing,” she says, “a really different thing.” West devotes much of her time to helping people in rural Vermont catch up to basic technological skills. She and many others are working tirelessly to fill a gap created by the introduction of computers, but no assistance and training for community members.

West tells me that many of her students simply don’t know other people who can help them with computer problems, making her job more or less critical. She seems to have a similar importance to the libraries she routinely attends to, having helped bring wi-fi and even to “strongarm the cable company into coming and doing the install.”

“No,” she tells me, rural libraries will never fully catch up to big city libraries, and then asks me, “should they?”

Good question. If a library isn’t seeking to be the most cutting edge, then what is it doing? What is the purpose of a library in the first place?

Harfagar places a strong emphasis on the formative role of the library that he envisions. He talks about the library being a place where the local fishermen, farmers and especially their children can let their imaginations set sail. He goes on to say that in such primitive communities, the physical world is all there is; if the library can open up the mind to a new world, it will allow for added appreciation of the immediate, physical world.

He says that “information,” such as reading the weather report to find out about what to wear tomorrow, is different from “formation,” which is knowledge that you internalize and carry with you to have a more meaningful impact on the community, such as one who studies up on the roots of global warming and effects a more lasting change.

While Harfagar isn’t unraveling a fiber optic connection between mainland Chile and the island of Añihué, it appears that the library is much less passive than one might assume from the “neighborliness” he alludes to. Rather, it seems the library is assuming the role of an educator, responsive to the community and its pace of life, but guiding it as well. The purpose of the library is to challenge and improve the community, in the case of Añihué Island, as a friend, not an imposed literacy project.

As a friend to the community, however, the library should deliver some basic skills to equip people with necessary skills for their own wellbeing. The need for emergency preparedness is something that the library can meet, even in some rural, less technologically literate communities.

West encourages “baseline technology know-how,” noting that with increasing e-government in the United States, computer literacy is becoming an absolute necessity. She points to taxes, interaction with elected representatives, and the infamous example of Hurricane Katrina, where people were forced onto the internet to fill out FEMA forms. “If you didn’t know how to use a computer,” says West, “it was a terrible time to have to learn.”

Libraries, which are so often esteemed the loser – or losing party – in a world whose information has gone online, are nevertheless proving themselves to be essential resources for technology, technology training and vital resources found online.

Chris Zammarelli, a University of Maryland graduate student and Brookings Institute library assistant, talks about how United States libraries are becoming “de facto e-government resource centers,” and cites both the electronification of libraries and the increasing sophistication of library patrons as the cause for library staff having to “learn more about IRS and Medicare forms and things of that sort than we've ever wanted.”

Yet another argument for the necessity of libraries, and one that in many cases will apply to the poorer segments of the United States. Although conceivably the librarian could survive as a freelance consultant removed from the library, there are many who vitally depend upon the library.

“Space and resources are valuable,” says Barber, who sees many of the Saturday patrons at his local public library as having “one thing in common; they don’t have access to a computer or resources at home.”

Nor do some have a home. The free public library is often the only place with public restrooms, and the public library is often the only place where the poor and marginalized are welcome. It’s also a place where people who take care of children seek refuge, it’s safe, and it’s getting rarer. As Roy reminds us, “libraries are still social institutions and can be centrally positioned to assist their communities, especially those who are often ignored, overlooked, or under-included.”

Digitizing Physical Space
Even in more affluent circumstances such as academic medical libraries, physical library space is being promoted – even created – as a result of technology. Plutchak points out that due to an increase in available information online, a patient center library was created at his University’s clinic to give people the physical space in which to receive, process and gather around a new surplus in information. He tells me that in the print world, the patient center library was not a priority.

New library space may even bear the image of that which inspires it, molded around the habits of patrons who demand that their search for information, space and social connections resemble how they find things and interact online. Pival tells me that the University of Calgary’s new library building is being designed with collaborative spaces that “seem to mirror the plethora of social spaces found online these days.” Underscoring a paradox, the physical building even has the words “Digital Library” in its title.

One would hope, however, that physical library space won’t be a 1:1 mirror of the Internet. The frenetic nature of online activity would hardly be conducive to a environment in which patrons seek refuge from distraction, and embrace lengthy periods of time in which to delve deep into their thoughts and research. Balancing the digitization of content with today’s students’ “different ways” of studying, where they group together and reconfigure spaces, Wittenborg notes a continued need for “‘analog’ places to read quietly and learn together.”

Naturally, many libraries are facing a reorganization and reutilization of space that already exists. Oftentimes it involves massive removal of books. St. Claire talks about the transformation of that “warehouse in the middle of campus” to an important center for a successful lifelong learning program, a video collection, café, an increasing number of study group rooms and more electrical outlets for laptops. She also notes that they threw 400,000 books into storage.

Similarly, Bell’s library is also carting books off into storage, and replacing stacks with computers as “wireless is becoming ubiquitous” in his library and all the academic libraries he knows about. “Technology is forcing libraries to eliminate book warehouse space,” he says, “and to replace it with people spaces that are inviting.”


But could this happen without technology? In distinguishing the TranAñihué library from the cold, inhuman public libraries of Santiago, Harfagar demonstrates a similar “progressiveness” on Añihué Island, despite the rustic backdrop. It seems that regardless of how one integrates with the community - whether walking in the mud and drinking mate with the islanders, or employing social software to interact with a more high-tech neighborhood, the success of a library seems to rely largely upon empathy.

Inside-out library

In addition to interpretations of what a library is, so too have some fascinating manifestations been realized. Apart from Web 2.0 interactivity being adopted by librarians, there are various projects underway which have potentially dramatic effects on librarianship today and in the future.

One of the least novel is book digitization, which arguably began with Michael Hart, the inventor of the eBook and founder of Project Gutenberg. It’s a noble, open source effort to make all the world’s public domain books free for readers to own on their own person computers or data storage devices. Hart draws many distinctions between Project Gutenberg and Google Book Search (GBS), another massive digitization effort that provides the user a dramatically different experience.

“With Google's eBooks, it's more like reading over someone's shoulders - you pretty much have to leave most of the control to them,” says Hart. He goes on to cite GBS’s eventually expressly stated purpose, that it is “a means for helping users discover books, not to read them online and/or download them.” But he finds fault with the “seeds of great disappointment sewn” by GBS’s 2004 media blitz that gave the impression of “what appeared to be a new public eLibrary.”

Project Gutenberg, on the other hand, is about as open as it gets, designed to give the end-user complete control. Books can be downloaded, fonts adjusted, corrections (should they be necessary) made - or any other modifications. Not just complete ownership, Hart advocates extensive ownership. He repeatedly points out the increasing capacity and affordability of electronic storage, that petabyte drives will be available the not-too-distant future, and “every word ever published could be stored on one petabyte. Now that is a library!”

This power of storage further reveals the meaninglessness of using libraries as collections warehouses. Pulling out this carpet from under the supposed (for some at least) identity of librarians, a redefinition of the librarian’s role, and what the library is, must entail a discussion of how libraries are to continue providing a safe place where librarians help connect the dots, but stay neutral and don’t snitch.

A library housing free, open source eBooks – or a librarian helping someone manage all the freely obtained information contained on her personal petabyte – sounds great. However Hart says very little about the role librarians will play in a world of digitized content. Perhaps just reflecting that GBS, through Google’s financial prowess, is the one who has managed to answer libraries’ dreams of digitization, Manager of Library Partnerships Ben Bunnell does talk a lot more practically about the effects of digitization on libraries. Unenthusiastic about calling GBS itself a library, Bunnell tells me that it’s best described as “just a tool for libraries and librarians” while “libraries have become centers of our community and librarians have become stewards of information.” He cites two major benefits of library partners – eliminating the delay of interlibrary loan, and dramatically improved ease in searching the full text of books.

Until Google came along to foot the bill, the cost of digitization has been just too high for many libraries. Project Gutenberg has an army of dedicated helpers who scan and enter books regularly, but their pace of production is no match for Google. Wittenborg explains that the University of Virginia “needed Google more than they needed us,” describing how GBS gave their long-term (since 1993) digitization efforts a “turbo-charge,” and says, “we can focus our efforts on areas where we can add value to digital information, such as how to use digital texts in scholarship and teaching.”

Breaking down the library walls to open up long-distance collaboration is one of the chief benefits of digitization. In the past, researchers collaborating over large distances would necessarily depend on a slower pace of communication and shipment of rare books. Assuming books simply didn’t get shared as much, it’s clear that more than just speeding up the process of collaboration between more people on a worldwide scale, digitization is creating interaction where none was happening before.

While Hart’s complaints about the restrictive nature of GBS are valid, it is GBS’s denial of public End Users’ access to the entirety of a book (in many cases) that necessarily draws attention to a different purpose to digitization – the digital book as a reference point, a piece of metadata, beyond the words and chapters of a book.

LibraryThing, a social networking site for bibliophiles developed by Tim Spalding, takes it a step further. While in terms of sheer volume, the site has more books than the Harvard Library, there’s not a single “book” in his library…thing. It’s purely metadata, an advanced form of namedropping around which people relate to one another and find common interests while, as more and more data is amassed, the predictive capabilities of automated book recommendation are further finessed.

Marshall McLuhan’s playful prediction that “the future of the book is the blurb” really seems to have come true. No longer is having the biggest, bestest library important – Spalding’s tabs on LibraryThing’s growth seems to mock the majesty of large library collections as he rapidly exceeds them. To Spalding, the quantity of content no longer seems important, but rather the quantity of social data. He expresses a loathing for the term “user-generated content,” because it's dehumanizing and implies an absurd productivity-based outlook when referring to peoples' devotion to their communities. To me, it seems that the data LibraryThing thrives upon is the conceptual antithesis of “content.” It's something immaterial that seems not only to depart from paper, ink and binding, but also from books' full-text digital counterparts. Explaining the effects of social data, such as tagging, Spalding tells me, “It’s taking things that are hard to make social, and it’s making them social in a huge way.”

Digital content is exploding, but what does it matter that in a few years someone could store all the world’s books on a petabyte, or all the world’s content on an iPod? Who would have the hundreds of lifetimes necessary to consume it all? Isn’t the real work about piercing through the data and finding meaningful patterns?

Hart draws a couple of apt analogies to the past, but I wonder whether or not they are relevant to the present, and future of content management. First, he points out that the evolution of books from paper to digital is probably inevitable – as what used to be written in stone is now on paper, what’s now on paper will soon be on screen. Similarly, he notes the exponential growth of and access to book content. “Before The Gutenberg Press the average person could own zero books. Before Project Gutenberg the average person could own zero libraries.”

Yet this enthusiasm for storage seems to overlook the greater effects that technology; not only is it increasing the quantity of content but, more importantly, it’s revolutionizing the way people orbit around that content. Moreover, the traces people leave behind and the patterns that they weave are almost becoming more interesting than the books themselves. In a recent talk to the Library of Congress, Spalding noted that certain aspects of cataloging simply couldn’t be replicated by a collection of full text copies of books, hinting that in some ways the content of the book is less important than the way people use it.

Will this trend continue to the point where content no longer but matters, but rather the idea of it? Or is that foolish hubris, like thinking that need only imagine food, not actually eat it?

One must remember that the cultural changes brought about by the Gutenberg press were extraordinary, and fueled not only by a sudden surplus of content, but also by a new way of interacting with that content. What seems unique about our age, however, is that social interaction is a form of content itself, and it’s up to librarians to take an active role in the creation and collaboration within this ethereal “user generated content.” It's more than just guiding patrons, but making this guidance contribute to the new substance of interaction.

The librarian contingent on LibraryThing does not call the shots. Similarly, the TransAñihué Community Library is just another neighbor. Nevertheless, librarians are indispensable, and nobody knows this better than librarians themselves. As times are changing faster than ever, now is the time to make yourselves known.

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