Internet Librarian Conference Report

Citation

Riggs, C., Kasianovitz, K. and Gelfand, J. (2003), "Internet Librarian Conference Report", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2003.23920aac.005

Internet Librarian Conference Report

Colby Riggs, Kris Kasianovitz and Julia Gelfand

The 2002 Internet Librarian Conference, "Navigating in turbulent waters", was held November 4-6, 2002 in Palm Springs, California. The conference was a mixture of leading-edge ideas, tools, expert speakers, and events focused on information professionals and Internet-related technologies. Internet Librarian 2002 featured four keynote sessions, over 100 speakers in four simultaneous tracks each day for a total of 12 different themes (Virtual services, Knowledge sharing applications, E-learning and training, Wireless Web world, Search engines, Future focus, E-resources, Web operations and opportunities, Searchers and search strategies, Intranets and portals, DRM tools and technologies, and Web design and development), and more than 20 in-depth learning events and workshops. The exhibition hall featured over 70 booths, displaying products covering all aspects of Internet technologies, including content providers, online services, software, document and Web delivery systems and search engines. It was impossible to cover everything but the following are summaries of the highlights.

Jack Powers, the Director of IN3.ORG, the International Informatics Institute, gave a thought-provoking opening keynote titled, "Digital information: real-time, immersive, and intelligent". Powers illustrated the developing real-time media environment. He began by defining the changing nature of digital information focusing on three areas: technology – it is immersive and intelligent; culture – people desire their information in real time; and policy – the climate is open, accessible and inclusive. The other areas impacting the nature of our information environment are the changes in technology. He said technology is influenced by Internet that is cheap, easy, wireless and ubiquitous. He described other influences like the increasing use of the moving image or "pervasive video", and the development of content intelligence.

Powers described real world examples to demonstrate the increased use of the video in our information environments, from the networked multimedia home to pocket digital libraries, to instant wireless access to intelligent information robots. Some examples were:

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  Community network nodes – free wireless access in public spaces without having to access a telecom company.

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  Video walls – movie marquees that are video screens.

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  Virtual signs – video screens that project advertisements in stores, malls and ATMs.

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  Portable devices – multi-function devices PDAs, mobile phones, cars, watches, pens and eyeglasses.

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  Intelligent agents – systems that learn, judge and act such as "know bots", shopping bots and personalization bots.

Wireless Web track

The Powers keynote session was a perfect segue into the track on the "Wireless Web World". The program, "The Wacky World of Gadgets", presented by Barbara Fullerton, Electronic Resources Librarian, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian, introduced the audience to new products such as printers, pocket PCs, palm pilots, fun gadgets, e-readers, the newest in cell phone technology, microphones, laser pointers, digital cameras, and software with an emphasis on gadgets that have library and information service applications.

Fullerton and Levine defined a gadget as an object that is a small device, specialized, mechanical, electronic, has practical use and is a novelty. They described over 40 gadgets. The noteworthy were:

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  OQO's Ultra-Personal PC – a full Windows XP PC the size of a PDA that runs any Windows XP application.

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  Logitech KeyCase – functions as a PDA case and a keyboard made out of fabric.

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  Dual Screen 2-VU – two touch screens 12" or 15" each which allow the viewing of two different documents at the same time.

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  Soundbug – a portable sound system that turns any window or tabletop into a speaker.

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  Windows XP Tablet PC – mobile and wireless PC that is usable with other Window applications.

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  Samsung SPH-A500 Cell Phone – has text messaging, a color display and Web surfing.

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  Kyocera 7135 Smartphone – combines the functionality of a cell phone and Palm PDA with a color screen and a 16Mb internal memory with an expansion slot.

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  PAC Mate – a PDA for designed for the visually impaired on a Windows CE platform that includes Pocket PC applications and can be worn while accessing applications.

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  RIM Blackberry 5810 – combines wireless e-mail with a PDA and has the capability to sync with a PDA, ISP, enterprise or handheld e-mail accounts.

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  SplashPad and Mobilewise – ability to recharge devices simply by laying them down on the pad, which is a portable flat surface.

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  VKB Virtual Keyboard – a laser that projects keyboard and/or mouse activity on to a surface such as a table that includes an infrared (IR) mechanism for detecting user keystrokes.

Another program in the track on the "Wireless Web World" was "Devices Dual: What's Ahead for Nomadic Computing?", by Jack Powers, the Director of IN3.ORG, the International Informatics Institute. Powers described more devices that impact the information world. The devices in this presentation focused on mobile devices that will be a single device providing access to personal information management, productivity software, e-books, videos, games, telephony, e-mail and Web browsing. In particular, Powers described the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone. This multi-function device is a personal digital assistant, which includes a personal digital assistant, IR beaming, games, and Microsoft Word and Excel. The T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone also offers three-way calling, caller ID to a database, short message services and a speakerphone. The device provides access to the Internet including e-mail and a Web browser. The device is also a multimedia player with an MP3 and real video and audio, TV and e-book reader capabilities.

These sessions were helpful in providing an up to date account of the rapidly growing world of Internet appliances and wireless devices and stimulated thoughts on what applications and strategies will be applicable to the library environment.

Colby Riggs (cmriggs@uci.edu) is a Systems Librarian at the University of California, Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California, USA, and co-editor of LHTN.

Web Design Track

Kris Kasianovitz

The 2002 Internet Librarian Conference was quite a showcase of technological innovations, trends, and gadgetry. A track devoted entirely to Web Design and Development was offered. The opening speaker, Roy Tennant, the main brain behind UC Berkeley's Digital Library Sunsite and Library Journal's "Digital Libraries" column, and Web developer extraordinaire, delivered a scan of the Web environment. In his talk, "Riding Shotgun Down the Avalanche: Libraries & IT OR Strategies and Ways to Approach the Current Technology Landscape", he offered a set of approaches to either help dig yourself out of the technological avalanche or prepare for what is around the bend. The crux of his talk was that in these times, change is the constant, so rather than focus on any one particular program, application or method, develop your analytic skills to maximize your time, money, and benefits of your Web or digital project.

So, how do you deal with this avalanche of information and developments in the world of technology? Tennant suggests using the SIFT method; Scan, Investigate, Filter, and Target:

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  Scan – see options in the broad landscape; know what it is and what it will offer.

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  Investigate – dig into the information.

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  Filter – decide what technologies will best help you with your tasks; ignore; choose; come back later; this is your decision-making stage.

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  Target – those things that need immediate attention.

This is sound advice, especially since this is the basic tune most experienced "techies" seem to be singing these days. Being able to take in and digest large quantities of applications, utilities, programs, etc. requires one to be savvy enough to know what is important and what is not. Let us face it, we are not all going to be proficient in every aspect of Web site development, but knowing some key strategies and possessing the ability to "learn-on-the-fly" will give you a solid foundation.

Tennant discussed some basic skills that anyone working in this area must have or acquire. If you are new to Web development, this might sound daunting at first, but as Tennant affirms (and this author can attest to), this is what you are going to need to survive:

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  The ability to write a simple program or script will make it easier to envision the possibilities for your projects.

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  Know how to restart your Web server or know how to contact the person who can.

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  Be able to assess a technology's possible utility.

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  Be able to migrate/transition to new technology.

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  Know how to make an arbitrary set of data or documents searchable (e.g. the accessibility of Gray Literature).

According to Tennant, we can soon toss aside our floppy discs, HTML code, and even MARC. New trends and standards are on the rise. Tennant offers some solid ones that should be investigated:

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   XML & XSLT – this is the format information will be coded.

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   Emerging metadata standards that apply to your work:

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  OAI (Open Archive Initiative), MODS (Metadata Object Description Data) and METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standards).

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  Establish interoperability with others; know what barriers you have to this interoperability; ex. MARC is not always the appropriate carrier of information.

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  Know what you can do to help the interoperability situation.

In all of this, one cannot leave out the user. It is key that you know your users, since this is the group who will use your Web site or digital library.

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  Learn what users want – this is not necessarily what librarians think they want.

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  Learn how to give users what they want, even though they might not know what it is. Conduct usability studies or just spend some time on the reference desk listening to users.

Tennant put together not only an engaging talk, but one that offered some extremely worthwhile approaches to technology. His message was applicable across many professional arenas, libraries in particular, but anyone in the private or nonprofit sector could utilize these methods just as well. For those who have already been working with technology and the Web, his talk might have been somewhat self-evident, as they are probably employing strategic learning methods or in Tennant's terms, SIFT. Keep in mind that when dealing with technology, some concepts can be given a cursory look, while others may need a more in-depth investigation. You will need to choose whether you need to hire someone or do it yourself. There will always be a technological learning curve to overcome, just remember to "SIFT your way through it".

Kris Kasianovitz (krisk@library.ucla.edu) is a Local Documents and Web Resources Librarian at UCLA Young Research Libray, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Capturing Another Keynote Address

Julia Gelfand

Danny Sullivan, a well respected Internet consultant from Calafia Consulting and creator of Search Engine Watch (http://search enginewatch.com/), gave a very entertaining overview of trends in Web searching. He sees the death of directories with the example that Yahoo essentially become Google and we now have an abandonment of giving preference to human compiled results. He demonstrated how crawling compares with human results and suggested that crawler technology is getting better and is more successful at finding and sorting information. Whether they will survive may depend on the link manipulation concept as "bloggers" and site owners challenge new methods of crawling. Directories remain especially useful when you want a list of something. Sullivan confirmed that Google is the search engine of choice in 2002. He went on to explore the Search Hours Concept with origins in Nielsen Net Ratings (see http://sewatch.com/reports/netratings.html) and demonstrated that Google now has a catalog search function as well as an answers, news, and page rank function. With more interest in personalization and customization of information management, there will likely be more legal activity regarding search engines in an increasing regulatory climate. Sullivan predicts that the solution to this kind of dilemma will be the development of more speciality tools such as www.originsearch.com and www.scirus.com, both already strong products. Later this year, it is expected that Google will roll out a new shopping search engine and combine or partner with other resources. The goal for all of this is that relevancy will be improving and that applications will get stronger with more support for PDFs and other file management types. Let us stay tuned. For a copy of the slides from this exciting presentation, see http://www.infotoday/il2002/presentations/pps

Virtual reference services track

The virtual reference track gave those attendees not headed to Chicago for the annual Virtual Reference Conference a bit of a preview. Steve Coffman, the popular returning speaker from LSSI provided documentation that in 1998 there were four libraries engaged in virtual reference. In 2002, at least 2,900 libraries worldwide are known to be offering virtual reference services. Canada has a very strong presence, followed by the rest of North America, Australia, Scandinavia and many developing countries in all parts of the world now participating. This enormous magnitude of growth suggests a mini-industry maturing at a fast pace and offered the sub-themes for this track. They included staffing issues; outsourcing; collaborative efforts utilizing "following the sun" with time zones dictating partnerships; special services like "homework help" and other after-hours emphases; service by subscription models; and the "darker side" of virtual reference. The major question is how to promote this kind of service so that the low usage changes and virtual reference programs have a greater chance of survival in this resource intensive environment and can be sustained.

Donna Meyer, from Northcentral University, in Prescott, Arizona, reviewed the "Day in the life of a virtual librarian". She highlighted a best practice model for a virtual library, that:

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  provides content and imposes a structure to present that content to patrons;

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  offers search capabilities of databases and catalogs;

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  grants access to fulltext documents;

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  provides tutorials for database use and information literacy;

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  links to course specific Web sites reviewed and annotated by subject librarians;

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  links to general reference tools;

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  encourages interaction through e-reference options;

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  provides interlibrary loan and document delivery;

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  presents 24/7 accessibility and reference services seven days a week.

With three primary constituencies needing to be served, the librarian, the user, and the intermediary, that can be described as a specific program utilizing virtual services, such as distance education, there needs to be a support system built in to serve each element. This new service model definitely changes the tenor of the workday and gives access to users who may not have been able to come to the library for the information they seek. Juggling many different activities and enjoying the "hunt" puts the librarian much closer to the teaching role than only service provider because librarians are engaged more in the learning objectives and assessment exercises of this totally online campus.

Darlene Fichter, from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, delivered a very clear presentation on usability requirements for virtual services. She referred to usability as the "science of the obvious". It is necessary to engage in usability testing to preview how the end-user experiences the service. This can lead to improvements in the design part of the Web site that you are using for either a live or e-mail service. When staff beta test a Web site, it is a very different experience than when actual users test it. Libraries should invest in serious pre-testing by both populations as well as conduct interim post-operational tests and task-based testing when you consider adding a new feature or layout. Among the most critical things said at this session, is that testing should be done on each and every page of the site, so that users know what they can and cannot do, and library staff can determine where success vs. failure meets. By being aware of and consistently engaging in testing and usability the effectiveness of a virtual reference service is greater, and the sophistication of the service grows with the users as they learn how best to interact with the service. This was a very informative session, and the content is often overlooked.

Knowledge-sharing applications track

Darlene Fichter, gave a second session on "Blogging for knowledge exchange". Related to usability, blogging is an extension of Weblogs that can be utilized for knowledge exchange, storytelling and fostering online communities. These enhanced features allow a library to promote special services via the library intranet and focus on special needs. Again, the confirmation for this can be achieved with increased testing.

E-resources track

The California Digital Library's eScholarship program has launched a new digital repository of scholarly content from faculty at the nine campuses. Terry Hume, from the University of California, Berkeley, described this launch and what it contributes to the bigger arena of scholarly communication. This paper distinguishes between the archival role of repositories and the sense of original publishing venue with parallels to other preprint publishing experiences. Increasingly, eScholarship redefines a new scale of content management and provides a new knowledge management opportunity for librarians and libraries. The content placed in the repository can be unbundled, meaning that it may be part of a larger package of future content, it has undergone peer review, and will be part of a persistent or perpetual collection. There are several accompanying tools that are required to ensure that content is protected, can be searched, and promotes new alliances and partnerships. Some of those partnerships include eprints.org, a software copy that conducted the initial experiments, Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress) that pioneered a Web-based peer review system and now is a part of this venture. The repository is OAI compliant, can produce METS records, can accept datafiles, and follows traditional eScholarship models of having an editorial board and local control emphases while encouraging open source publishing and access to a richer and more diverse body of literature published at a university. For more information, one should visit, http://escholarship.cdlib.org and http://repositories.cdlib.org This is clearly a trend and has enormous possibilities as an alternative active publishing medium.

Julia Gelfand (jgelfand@uci.edu) is Applied Sciences and Engineering Librarian at the University of California, Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California, USA, and co-editor of LHTN.

These were only a few of the highlights of the 2002 Internet Librarian Conference for more information see: http://www.infotoday.com/il2002/default.htm The 2003 Internet Librarian conference will be in early November in Monterey, California with an unannounced theme as this issue goes to print. For additional information, please check the Web site at: http://www.infotoday.com/