Semantic Library

A diversion, if I may. Well, perhaps not a diversion, since this is a post about meaning, and the semantic web is all about that. But I want to step back from technology for a moment to consider the public library. In recent years, I’ve been following public libraries more and more closely as this is where a lot of the innovation in our profession is coming from. They are leading with user-centred design, responding to changing user needs, and capitalising on their location. I had a good conversation recently with some colleagues about the importance of local in the public library, which I was sceptical of at first but having just watched a typical Paxman grilling on Newsnight over the future of public libraries (alas, iPlayer link only available in the UK) I think if we change our notion of what it means to be local, public libraries could have a major role for decades, if not centuries to come.

When I was in library school, local meant that the library provided a local history service. Generally, a stack of books about the surrounding area, and perhaps a few oral histories of notable residents. Not particularly exciting. The DOK in Delft, Netherlands have taken this to the next level by creating amazing interactive applications that tell the history of streets, people and places in Delft (Youtube video) and an entire interactive wall that tells stories about the town. Kathryn Greenhill also has a post and presentation on “getting deeply local at your library“.

Three other local ideas that are not new that could bring value to the library and help it to connect to others:

Tourism information. Many times I have lamented going into public libraries on my travels, wanting to sit and relax for a short while, and never finding a shelf on local information. Street directories are one of the most popular items in libraries (at least, when I worked in an academic library), couldn’t libraries provide local information about the area, things to do, interesting facts, instead of this being left to commercial booksellers and (in larger places) tourist bureaus? Why it probably isn’t being done now: tourists by their definition are not local taxpayers.

Small meeting rooms for freelancers and small business. I really like the Business and IP Centre at the British Library, but it doesn’t really do meeting spaces very well if you don’t have a reader’s card (my BL card is just about to expire…). I frequently have to find meeting spaces in the city during business and after hours, and usually end up at a coffee shop, which is far from ideal – noisy, bad lighting, crowded etc. Not to mention, it’s a commercial space. Wouldn’t it be great if businesses and freelancers could stay local and rent out small meeting places now and then in the library, or even a casual coworking style setup? I’m sure some libraries are already doing this, but where are they? How would I find out when such information is so buried on their website?

Linked data. Collect really local publications, including zines, pamphlets, magazines, anything. Let others know you have it by publishing your collection as linked data. Digitise these materials and put them online for the world to see.

What new local services would you like public libraries to take on?

A clear indication that concept of semantic web and libraries is moving into the mainstream – ALA’s Library Technology Reports is publishing Understanding the Semantic Web: Bibliographic Data and Metadata by Karen Coyle:

The change that libraries will need to make in response must include the transformation of the library’s public catalog from a stand-alone database of bibliographic records to a highly hyperlinked data set that can interact with information resources on the World Wide Web. The library data can then be integrated into the virtual working spaces of the users served by the library.

LTR is a great series, looking forward to seeing reviews of this title and a spike in interest in semantic web in 2010.

At this moment, I am sitting in the dark (during the middle of the day, mind, it’s that grey and dark here in London today) cold, with the power off. Not for the first time in the past few months I find myself without electricity, without warning (and not by choice), in my building. There’s some irony in that I was watching the trailer for No Impact Man just minutes before it spontaneously shut off.

I was able to get back online again fairly quickly after rustling up a mobile broadband dongle and my laptop. But there is a danger in the era of always-on computing or assuming that essential infrastructure will be there when you need it. I’m lucky to live in a highly developed country with a relatively stable electricity grid. But I’ve also worked at a university that fell prey to frequent power failures, a happenstance of location and an ageing building. At my first workplace I remember a full day without power where we embraced the dull cast of the generator’s emergency lighting glow and took to shelving to fill in the day. Basic connectivity is an issue I’m increasingly aware of when I travel and plan for work in all kinds of different places. We anticipate having to work around technical difficulties in developing nations, but we are less prepared for it when it happens in our home environment. When we design services and software, do we make plans for what might happen if suddenly you couldn’t connect to it anymore? Even if just for an hour? Or a week? What impact being thrown off the grid would have for being able to communicate?

Food for thought while I sit in the dark, waiting for my laptop battery to run out.

8/365

Originally uploaded by Fiona Bradley

Once again, I find myself in a new year doing new things and being not entirely sure what to do with the blogs and domains I’ve dragged along with me.

In 2009 I wrote several articles on next-generation catalogues thanks to my role in working on a new catalogue for the academic library I was working at. I then found myself not working in a library, but still writing about library catalogues. In 2010 I have one more article on the topic before I hang up my catalogue writing hat.

The Semantic Web in libraries has started to take off in leaps and bounds, with all kinds of interesting projects taking shape. This blog will likely change shape and focus to align with new interests and developments in 2010.

Happy new year, and here’s to all kinds of interesting in 2010.

Last month I participated in an online webinar for Webjunction co- hosted by REFORMA. In it, I gave a short presentation looking at strategy for the use of social media for advocacy and the need to consider all kinds of tools including photo, video, microblogging, and community sites along with email and mobile services depending on the audience you are targeting. The need to measure the impact and communicate the difference the use of such tools makes to your stakeholders is important.

The whole webinar has been archived with audio, slides and links from all the speakers available.

It was a new experience for me, and an interesting one. My VOIP line connection was not great during the webinar, and I needed to resort to traditional landline to dial back into the presentation (with a reshuffle of the lineup). It all stands to make the point though that whatever you do, you need to have backups but to not also forget the importance of alternative communication methods!

View the archive and learn how non-profits such as libraries can use social websites to put access to information and libraries on the agenda of community leaders, elected officials, and local and national agencies. The content of this WebJunction and REFORMA co-sponsored webinar includes a background on social websites, how to use social websites for advocacy, national and international advocacy efforts by representatives from American Library Association (ALA) and the International Federation of Libraries and Institutions (IFLA), and suggestions on how to advocate for services for Latinos and Spanish speakers presented by a panel of guest speakers

Thanks to WebJunction, and the other participating speakers – Loida Garcia-Febo from REFORMA, Meredith Farkas, Marci Merola, Max Macias, it was great to be involved.