Semantic Library

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The whole webinar has been archived with audio, slides and links from all the speakers available.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

I’m not going to comment on the video or the essays (from some great people which are really worth reading, though I would most definitely remove the fake Obama piece -it takes away the strength of what the other essayists have to say) other than to applaud Michael and David’s enthusiasm, but I did want to add and expand upon one small point in the project.

Michael Porter makes a very interesting comment about the inclusion of Hulu, a US-only video streaming service in the list of 101 “really important things to know” on the blog, Rebbetzin Man in Japan “Library 101 or is it?” and one that I would have liked to see made more strongly in the project -

I see Hulu as a demonstration of successful electronic content distribution. I clearly understand many of the reasons *why* this service isn’t offered though a library channel of some sort, but to me, it typifies how far from the mark we have becoming in providing some types of access to electronic content. It is a lengthy conversation that needs specific sources and documents to further the proof of concern that I have here specifically, but I hope this provides some explanation for why that particular resource was in the list.

From my pov it represents an entire front of threats that libraries are not prepared to address any time soon. And that causes me grave concern. It is more than just a fad that iTunes, Amazon, Hulu, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, let you access content electronically that you cannot access through your library. I realize this is a large issue for Public Libraries *at this point*, but that will change imo and we are dangerously lagging in the legal and technical expertise that is require to effective navigate in these waters.

I wholeheartedly agree that we need legal and technical skills not only to make such content available in libraries, as Michael says, but also the skill, will, and momentum to advocate successfully to challenge licensing and contractual agreements that currently prevent or curtail libraries from making electronic content available in the format and method to the public that is permitted by law and library exceptions.

Librarians need the confidence to not buy electronic books that have restrictive lending and printing conditions, or databases with article download limits, or even systems that don’t allow for the straightforward import and export of data. We need to work together, all of us, not just directors and managers, to point out flaws in licenses and products and make the case for change.

This is the kind of skill that really should be a “Library 101″.

Despite advocating for neutral design (not tied to one particular platform or device), I have been interested in libraries that are looking at iPhone/Touch/Pre applications to provide catalogue searching, collection information and so on. What I would love to see is a general library app that helps librarians and users find and access libraries all over. As anyone who uses public libraries knows, that information can get buried on council and municipality sites, and even academic libraries have found that their homepage links have been disappearing in increasing numbers.

What could such an app include?

• Maps of all publicly accessible libraries near you (location aware) and at a given location worldwide
• Information about access – can you use the Internet without a membership card? Are there access gates? Are books on open access shelves?
• Are there local traveller services? One thing that has always struck me in all of my travels is how few libraries make available information about the local area in a prominent spot. So often I have had to be buried in the collection to find street directories, local maps or local travel guides, or ask at the reference desk for the librarian’s copy. It has always seemed like an obvious and easy service that libraries could provide since they have the resources already and because libraries are so often located in key areas in cities and towns.

  What else would you be interested in?

Internet Librarian International 2009 is being held in London next week. I will have a presentation at the conference, but unfortunately due to a work travel commitment I am not able to attend myself. Instead, this gave me an opportunity to find a co-author/presenter and explore some  ideas about the role of the catalogue in discovery. I’ve called it, “Adaptability, aboutness, and authenticity: Towards discovery platforms with next-generation catalogues and Linked Data” -

>Next-generation catalogues give libraries an opportunity to better meet user needs and changing search habits, but there is a need for more than innovation at the interface level. Many academic libraries have now implemented software that provides an improved search experience in the catalogue, but libraries also need to be able to anticipate user needs and emerging uses of resources and to provide tools that meet needs one step ahead. Linked Data, associated with the Semantic Web, is one way to open up data to the web to expand the ways that users can be connected to library resources. Linked Data also provides the opportunity to consider how catalogues present resources to users. The paper presents a case study of Work Based Learning as an example of a multidisciplinary academic field in which the notion of authenticity is evolving. The question of whether library catalogues can or should help navigate users to authentic resources is considered.

We enjoyed writing it and thinking about how subject experts and librarians may be able to work together to create new platforms for sharing data within and beyond libraries.

I’ll be following ILI2009 tweets from afar, if you’re going have a fantastic time and learn well!