Computers in Libraries 2008

April 7-9, 2008
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
Arlington, Virginia

  Below are notes from some of the better sessions I attended.  Because I attended 6 sessions on the third (last) day, some of the notes on gaming may not be exactly clear.

Page index:  Keynote from Pew Internet - Web tools - Wikis - Creative Commons - Visualization Tools - Gaming Keynote - Learning from Games - Math & Library Collaboration - Convincing Administrators of Virtual Value

Lee Rainie, Pew Internet & American Life Project
  With a combination of enthusiasm and humor, Lee poured out a wealth of data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.  One of the most curious aspects of wireless technology is use of cell phones:  58% of wireless users used their cell phones to access the internet, and this means of access appears to be turning around the digital divide.  [But what does this say about library websites designed for computer access only?]  Rather than storing things on harddrives, more people today store things online because of different means of access.  While 34% of all internet users have uploaded photos, 62% of young adults have, in part because photos are equated to text.  58% of online teens have social sites compared to 34% of adults.  33% of college students blog and 54% read blogs compared to 12% of adults blogging, 35% reading blogs.  However, most people do not recognize blogs when they read them, so the reading percentages are probably higher in fact.  19% of young adults have created avatars for online use. 
  In some research funded through an IMLS grant to Pew, the G.P.O. requested research into how to people want their info? Using a 10-question survey related to problem solving, Pew discovered:  79.5% (=169 million adults) had experienced problems they needed to research.  Of these, 53% of American adults fisited the library in the past year.  A breakdown by age, however, indicated the current generation (18-30 years) are the most likely to use the library.  In fact, 60% of teens use the internet through a library, up from 36% in 2000.  Of households with income over $60,000, 61% of internet users use libraries; 38% of non-internet users use libraries.  The racial breakdown was one of the most surprising results of this survey:  Of those using the library, whites 53%; blacks 53%; English-speaking Hispanics 53%.  The survey results showed that 58% used the internet, 53% consulted professionals or experts, and 13% used the public library.  BUT, young adults used the library 21%, the highest group by age (compared with 15% of the over 70 age group.)  The lowest use was by those from households with income under $40,000, 17%. 
  Focussing on a single question, those who used the library to research schooling, paying for education, or training for a job:  69% consulted the library staff; 68% used computers; 38% got one-on-one help; 58% used reference materials; 42% used newspapers and magazines.  Of the respondents, 68% were "happy" with the public library; 36% got "lots of information."  While 29% would "likely use the library", among low income 40%; Gen Y 41%; less education 41%; Latinos 42%; Blacks 48%.  Rainie stated that the results seemed to indicated that because young adults have been forced to use the libarary recently, they are aware of what is offered by today's libraries and are therefore more likely to use it.  He suggests libraries need to make a greater public education effort of what changes have been made in recent years, focus on success stories.  Patrons make happy & zealous advocates; after all, this is the era of the consumer evangelists.  Therefore, be sure to get their feedback.  The survey seems to indicated that the library's "un-patrons" are nonetheless primed to use the library, so 1)build awareness of our work; 2)create a comfortable environment; 3)improve the staff's mentoring skills.  He also suggested the library "aspire to be a node in people's social networks."  The library needs to offer its expertis in the new literacies.

Darlene Fichter, University of Saskatchewan; Frank Cervone, Chicago State University, formerly of Northwestern U.
  In a rapid fire presentation, these two hit on a number of useful sites for webmasters and for anyone else who creates websites.  Eventually, the presentation notes (with URLs) will be on the CIL2008 website.  [Link is near the bottom of this page.]  Both highly praised Firefox for its many useful plugins, such as Safety Cache (privacy), SafeHistory (wwww.safehistory.com), Foxmarks (www.foxmarks.com - similar to "del.icio.us").  Some others mentioned:  Doc Syncer (from Google Docs) converts all documents to Google docs, with clients for Windows and Macs.  Twitter provides constant saves of whatever you are working on now (www.twhirl.org).  Polldaddy.com allows you to put a poll on your site.  VisCheck simulates what a person with different types of color blindness will see when viewing your site.  FengGUI (www.feng-gui.com) simulates eye-tracking to create a "heat" map.  Browsershots.org tests a site against different browsers (including different versions of each) on different platforms.  Photoshop Express (wwww.photoshop.com/express) is a free version of Photoshop online software for editing photos online.  (Beware:  there is also a for-fee version on the website.)  Among translation sites, there is Translate This (urltea.com/32lx).  Another site that backsup what you are working on is File Hamster (www.mogware.com/FileHamster).  Pando is a new site that requires 1gb for peer-to-peer transfers.  Recaptcha.net stops spam.  Anonymouse (//anonymouse.org) will check to see if resources are accessible outside from your IP, as a security check.

Chad Boeninger, Ohio University (boeninge@ohio.edu)
  From the speaker's experience, wikis are most useful in solving communication and collaboration problems.   Before creating a wiki, define the problem (or purpose) it is designed to solve.  One of the most common uses is replacing all the "staff" drive files, that inevitably include folders from people who have been gone 5-10 years, but still reside on the "staff" drive.  Boeninger also found that a wiki helped him in maintaining research guides in the business field, for which he is responsible.  He recommends using www.wikimatrix.org to find the best wiki for your purposes.  Other sites he suggested include wetpaint.com and wikia.com.  Basically, the user provides structure and content; start by using old data or subject guides, don't wait until it is fully populated—that will never happen because wikis are constantly developing.  Another website to examine:  //wikiindex.org/.  In constructing a wiki, providing help (general) and more help (contextual) is critical.  Yes, of course you will add content, but provide for your users to add content and encourage them.  He warned against being defensive or perfectionist; the wiki is a place for constant development, not perfection.  He actually uses his wiki to teach in his instruction session instead of Powerpoints.  Don't forget to link to your wiki from your library's pages.  In addition to adding "desireable" content, measure the wiki use.  Your wiki is flexible; users may use without contributing, others (including yourself) may add info on the fly.  He even has an "articles to add" list.  When is a wiki done? (Never.)  How do you know if it is still alive?  When people stop adding material, stop using it–time to move on to other things.  Lessons he has learned:  Have reasonable expections, be patient.  Is a wiki for you?  Yes if any of the following is desireable:  Need flexibility, need to save time, need something adaptible to meet your needs, if your website requires constant maintenance.

Michael Sauers, Nebraska Library Commission (msauers@nlc.state.ne.us).
  Beginning by pointing out that copyright (www.copyright.gov) equals restriction as opposed to the "creative commons" concept which is a matter of licensing, Sauers traced the growing dissatisfaction with legal copyright from Hillel Schwartz's Culture of the Copy (Zone Books, 1996) in which the author argues that our culture's creativity is based on copying, then modifying the copy.  Especially in blogging, there is much conflict between what is "fair use" and what will result in receiving a DMCA "takedown" notice.  Unfortunately, not only do these notices originate from corporations without regard to author's concerns, but they are often obeyed, even when they violate clear examples of fair use, because the recipients' organizations would rather not fight such legal threats.  Which, unfortunately, only erodes the foundation of fair use.  As a result we are now in what has been called a "clearance culture."  To counter this growing restriction on creativity, the creative commons concept was originated by Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Stanford University.  [ALA presents an award in Lessig's name each year.]  The biggest problem with copyright is that all rights are restricted until permission (clearance) is given.  The Creative Commons concept is about allowing in advance what uses are permissible.  Works registered under "CC" cannot be copyrighted, because this is a legal licensing situation, whereby the creator, in registering an original work, defines by the type of "CC" license what uses are permissible without contacting him or her.  The basic options are:
    Attribution:    Any use as long as credit is given the creator.
    Non-commercial:    Any use is permitted so long as the user is not making money.  (This definition is a bit hazy at present.)
    No derivative use:    Cannot be used in a mashup or other situation where it is merged with other content.
    Remix:    [Bad notes on my part, but I think this is the opposite to the previous option; alternative options.]
    Share-alike:    Any derivative must also be under CC, not copyrighted.
  In the Creative Commons, the author of a work basically licenses what uses of the work are permissible without contacting the author.  When registering through CC, the author choses between various options, starting with country (licensing is a legal arrangement, thus is based on national laws).  In choosing from the above options, most software that is compatible will incorporate the appropriate icons and licensing language (usually hidden but linked to the icons) into the document and you get the legal "deed" with the appropriate html legal code.  There is a CC Firefox plugin; Flickr allows choosing, but copyright is the default; MS Office has an add-in for CC for Word and the other programs.  WebJunction is a collection of work licensed under CC.  Cory Doctorow, a science fiction author, has some work on the web under CC.  J. Cole has "The Flickr Song" available.  More information can be found at:  http://search.creativecommons.org/, both the plugins and actually searching the web for CC sources.  Flickr also has its own search engine with CC options. 
  Problems to consider: 1)Once you choose a license for your work, it is irrevocable.  While this may have a negative market effect, nonetheless, copyright has become, for all purposes, a perpetual ownership, despite the U. S. Constitution's "limited period" clause.  (The speaker pointed out that every time a certain mouse nears public domain, the copyright is extended, just in case the audience wanted to know who was the major motivator behind copyright extension.  Mind, MM was based on another cartoonist's mouse, but Walt never bothered with getting copyright permissions from that cartoonist.)  2)The definition of "non-commercial use" is still hazy.  3)Licensing under CC still allows for "unintended use," including by persons/groups with ideas you find repugnant.  4)Right to publicity.
  Libraries have options to support CC:  1)License your work rather than use copyright; 2)Catalog CC works on the web, and incorporate such into your collection development policy. 
  The slide show is available via www.slideshare.net at http://www.slideshare.net/travelinlibrarian.

Darlene Fichter, University of Saskatchewan (darlene.fichter@usask.ca).
  With everyone becoming amateur professionals, there is increasing interest in do-it-yourself (DIY) data displays.  Afterall, conveying information visually can open eyes whereas, for most of us, a table (or list) of numbers means nothing.  Among the sources recommended is Google "my maps."  Other tools:  www.aharef.info/static/htmlgraph/;  Data Place (www.dataplace.org) compares places, job availability; Every Block (www.everyblock.com) is strongest on the west coast, but provides information by city block; Timepedia (timepedia.org/chronoscope); Track nGraph (wwww.trackngraph.com) enables creating different types of tracking.  Some tabular data sites:  graphwise (www.graphwise.com); Freebase (www.freebase.com) has 3.8 million topics.  There are social sites for data visualization such as Many Eyes from IBM Alphaworks, which can analyze textual works, providing bubble charts.  Swivel provides graphs based on statistics from WHO, OECD, UNESCO, and other international organizations, with data "badges" (what used to be called "buttons") for adding to your website.  [By this point the speaker was racing through sites too fast for me to take notes.  Her slideshow should be available by mid-May on the CIL site linked near the bottom of this page.]  Frappr can show community statistics using "pushpins."

Elizabeth Lane Lawley, Rochester Institute of Technology.
  Much about gaming is contrary to what outsiders believe/expect.  For instance, one of the main qualities of most games is "The Grind":  repetitive tasks that are eventually rewarded.  [Curiously, the poet John Ciardi made a similar comment about games in general and chess specifically half a century ago:  "Chess is a play activity..."]  A. J. Kim noted 5 main activities in Game Mechanics:  1)Collecting; 2)Achieving points; 3)Feedback; 4)Exchanges; and 5)Customization.  A major difficulty is the conflict of attitudes as viewed in "productive play" versus "serious" games.  The less organized playing is more valuable than the more structured game.  More important is the level of recognition.  Games in libraries can be something like "Get a Clue" (as opposed to the old treasure hunt), which, if organized well, not only familiarizes the library user with resources but requires interaction with staff.  [But, prepare staff to participate!]  Some organizations use games such as "Social Genius" to improve morale as well as the staff's knowledge of each other.  Pathfinders can be presented as search "missions."  In most games there are "mines" (punitive conditions) and presents (rewards.) 
  Play can also be viewed as a drug; people develop a habit for it.  Many online games have "play money," which can be traded for other things (both virtual and real.)  Many players want something real, not just virtual, which led one author, as part of a charity effort, to print and hand bind several copies of his own book, each with a warning akin to software, which begins, "The book is not a book;,,,"  Increasingly, there is a growing desire for a mix of the virtual and real; the full virtual seems to not be desired.  This has resulted in etsy.com, an online market for hand-made things. 
  Lawley concluded with the questions, "How does the library make people feel happy: How do we bring the virtual back into the real?"  She suggested that we make our library a place that connects the virtual with reality.

Chad Boeninger, Ohio University (boeninge@ohio.edu)
  Boeninger began the session by asking, "Games, what makes them engaging? Why do people play them?" followed by the comment that, as librarians, we teach important skills.  Males compose 62% of game players whereas Second Life is more attractive to females.  The average age of game players?  33!  So games are not just for "the kids."  Good games teach through process (the "Grind"). 
  The idea is learning while doing.  How can we "explore" the library?  One factor is the need for consistent interfaces.  Our users are accustomed to exploration.  So, what does exploration within a library produce?  How can we create environments that attract, engage, involve our students?  We need to make the physical enviornment more inviting, comfortable.  Learning commons should be comfortable, with adjustable seating, chairs, monitors, etc.  Following this thought, why do we not have customizable interfaces?  Why don't we have widgets for our catalogs and/or databases that students can add to their desktops? 
  Again, games require "learning while doing."  Game require mastery, which itself requires repetition.  Games have quick tutorials but there are also "smart tutorials" which popup in small boxes or are keyed to certain indicators.  Students want/expect interactivity (38%).  Instant, contextual help is key to success. 
  Second Life is, technically, not a game but uses many game-like qualities.  One advantage is there is a low initial investment (purchase of "land" and construction of facility.)  No cost for "players" only for those who want a place.  Of "inhabitants", 6% often use SL.  However, the population of SL is increasing and the greatest number of users are those who are in high school today. 
  Bibliography: