The Way of the Word

The printed word as we know is dead! Try telling that to Jorge Luis Borges who himself was the director of the National Library in Buenos Aires. "...I suspect that the human species-the only species--teeters at the verge of extinction, yet that the Library-enlightened, solitary, infinite, perfectly unmoving, armed with precious volumes, pointless, incorruptible, and secret-will endure." That is taken from a slim volume entitled The Library of Babel.

Much is being written about libraries and the volumes contained inside; they are becoming obsolete, on their way out. The Googlization of the printed word is causing today's reader to opt for an electronic hand-held device rather than a traditional volume with a dust jacket and pages to turn. According to William Skidelskey in the New Statesman, such hand held devices (Kindle), are slowly replacing how people get their information. I agree that there are numerous formats in which a variety of persons prefer to receive news and entertainment.

I myself love to read daily news online, blogs, and how I receive probably 60 percent of my information on a daily basis. I also like reading print magazines and of course, books. The death of the printed word? Just recently published (in print) in American Libraries magazine, statistics for library cards issued are up 5 percent since 2006. In other words, 68 percent of Americans have a library card. 76 percent of Americans visited their local library in the last year. The popularity of libraries is indeed not dwindling. Salai Taylor, Lead Librarian at Southern Peaks Library in Alamosa says that an average daily gate count of patron visits is 250 in the winter and 300 in the summer.

Is it any wonder libraries are popular and seen by 92 percent of Americans as "an important education resource." Not only do libraries provide access to materials and resources, but they also have programs for every age. The Maricopa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona has a videogame night in the library. Other services provided by public, academic, and special libraries range from computer classes, story hour for children, puppet shows, ESL classes, bike checkout, book clubs, homework help, coffee bars, and of course books.

The printed word and libraries are evolving as are the tastes and preferences of the library user/book lover. There are those who enjoy sitting at a table in a library surrounded by volumes of dusty volumes and others that prefer the bustling coffee shop while surfing the Internet. So grab your laptop, pack that book and enjoy the world of information.
-Paul

Wi-Fi More Popular Than Beer?

Well it is official, being without Wi-Fi is totally a pain. Recently, Reference & Instruction Librarian Brooke Andrade and myself attended the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) conference in Denver.
The conference entitled Communities & Libraries was held at the Denver Tech Center Marriott. The conference was well attended and had informative workshops from librarians around the state. Not only did public librarians present on timely topics, but academic and special librarians as well.
Upon entering my room, a sign on the desk read "Wireless Internet Access- 9.95 a day." I have a hard time accepting anything but free Internet access. Don't most small local coffee shops have it? Nielsen Library has it. I could get free wireless in the lobby of the Marriott. Isn't that convenient? Traipsing downstairs in my Batman pj's to post my assignment for school, check email, weather conditions...
This inconvenience reminded me of a recently read article about the significance of connectivity, more specifically, connectivity on college campuses. In the article, "nine out of 10 college students in the United States say Wi-Fi access is as essential to education as classrooms and computers, and nearly three in five say they wouldn't go to a college that doesn't have free Wi-Fi." Interesting.
The article continues giving this startling statistic, "If forced to choose, nearly half of respondents (48 percent) would give up beer before giving up Wi-Fi.?
Wow, beer before Wi-Fi? That is amazing. Can you hear it now, 'give me Wi-Fi or give me death.' Anyway, come on over to the library where you don't have to make these difficult choices. Although you can't drink beer in the library, you can bring your latte. Enjoy.
Paul

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 has been defined as an interactive online medium where collaboration and innovation meet to build a network of professional and recreational communities. In other words you can create, edit, and publish material in an online format that is ubiquitious, malleable, and is rather easy to do. Examples of social software applications or Web 2.0 are Blogger, MySpace, Facebook and the recently written about Ask Colorado; all of them harness this unique technique.

Since its inception, there have been a good number of us that feel like Ansgar in this video, without the hairdo of course. Terms like "digital native" or the "net generation" is more common in research about today's student in higher education and how to engage with this diverse student population. Students are comfortable with this medium.

Teaching in an online environment is prevalent on campus as well as off. Asynchronous learning or distance education is now an avenue in which college campuses teach around the world. The world of multimedia learning helps educators adopt new means of communication and to push content to users.

So why would a library be so inclined to use a Wiki as an intranet or a means of communication? Or use an online chat service like Meebo as a reference desk? Why would the discipline of nursing education want to use something as entertaining as video sharing website YouTube to push content to its users? (Skiba, 2007) The answer is simple. It is everywhere and a good number of people are using it. These Web 2.0 tools are being used to transform not only the entertainment industry but how we get our information, how we educate our students (Teacher Tube), how we exchange ideas, and in the words of Thomas Friedman, make the world flat.

The idea behind Web 2.0 is community and collaboration. The Internet is filled with user generated content. It is the user that is making videos, writing blogs, constructing websites and sometimes reporting on news that mainstream media misses. Anyway you look at it, the users are in control of what they want to see, hear, read, watch, and contribute. Taken from the Pew Internet/American Life Project (2007) statistics show that 64% of online teens use social networking sites. Whether the purpose behind these statistics is recreational use or educational, the student uses this technology almost exclusively and daily.
-Paul

Skiba, D. (2007). Nursing education 2.0: You Tube. Nursing Education Perspectives, 28(2), 100-102.

“Can u help me pls?!” Using AskColorado Chat Reference Service

It’s 2AM and your research paper on the brain physiology of serial killers is due in six hours. You realize that you are lacking the two peer reviewed journal sources that your professor demands. Hastily, you stuff all of your articles, books, and laptop into your bag and get ready to head out of the comfort of your dorm room and go to the library. But then you realize that the library is closed. Very closed – it has been for three hours! Desperately, you look to your virtual savior – Google – and try to find some sources. No luck. All of the articles you find in Google want you to pay, and you’re a college student, so that’s not an option. Now you feel doomed to failure, all because nobody was there for you during your middle of the night academic crisis.

Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Have you ever desperately needed the help of a research specialist only to discover that your library is closed? Or, have you ever wanted to ask a question that is too personal or embarrassing to discuss at the reference desk?

Fortunately for you, there is a service out there that can help you with your research needs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. AskColorado is a virtual reference program funded and staffed by the State Library of Colorado and college, public, and school libraries around the state. You can ask any research question, academic or personal, at any time of the day and you will receive help from an actual librarian.

Let’s say that you, as an Adams State College student, need help finding sources for a paper. The AskColorado librarians will use the Adams State College resources, such as Marmot Catalog and the article databases, and guide you through the process of finding relevant research. If you have a more personal question, the AskColorado staff will allow you to remain anonymous while they find reliable websites and articles to answer you.

Another great aspect of AskColorado is that it is a chat format. Many students today spend a great deal of time texting and feel comfortable communicating in that style. Chatting with a librarian on AskColorado is very similar to texting. In fact, the AskColorado staff members make a point of keeping up with the texting abbreviations and lingo!

Two Adams State College librarians, Brooke Andrade and Paul Mascareñas, answer reference questions on AskColorado; Paul works from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Mondays and Brooke has the 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM shift on Thursdays. You can access AskColorado two different ways. From the Nielsen Library website, go to the Reference Services link and choose AskColorado. You can also go to the service directly at http://www.askcolorado.org.

Overdrive audio

Download Books & Music - highlighting a cool resource

By using the Nielsen Library Marmot Catalog, you can download books, music and video. Once downloaded onto your computer, you can listen to it on your computer or transfer it to your MP3 player (iPods should work). Some files may be burned to a CD, some may only be used on your computer or you player. If you don't own an MP3 player, the library has three players available for checkout to ASC faculty, staff, and students.

In order to use this free service, you’ll need a current library checkout account. You’ll also need to download two free applications: Windows Media Player and the Overdrive software. Links to both of these are available at the website linked below.

To explore this resource, you could start by visiting the front page of the Marmot Catalog and click on “Download Books & Music”. Or, go to directly to http://marmot.lib.overdrive.com/

Of course, if you search the Marmot Catalog you can search for Overdrive materials by limiting your search to Audio Book or Audio Music. Materials in this collection have a location defined as "Marmot Digital Library". If you'd like more information, contact Glenda at gmgeu@adams.edu or 587-7581. Enjoy!

Digitization-Brought to you by Google

Mega search engine Google is attempting to digitize the entire world of print in order to make books accessible to you, to me, to anyone with an Internet connection. Libraries that have already signed on include Stanford, Oxford, and New York Public Library (list not inclusive). This is quite a feat logistically not to mention expensive. Google Books has already scanned millions of titles that are available through their beta site. Google argues that this is an opportunity for authors and publishers to advertise their products through Google Books. They say more people will want to buy the book after reading a preview. There is the issue of copyright law. Already the American Association of Publishers and The Author's Guild have sued, claiming copyright infringement. Google argues that by offering "snippets" of the book, they are by no means infringing on the copyrighted works.
So what does this mean for the publishing industry? How does this affect libraries? Does Google have the right, without permission from author of publisher, to scan and post said works online? Does this cause us to re-evaluate copyright law? What about "orphan works?" Orphan works is when a book has not the author or publisher to ask permission for use of this work.
In a recent Salon.com article, "Throwing Google at the Book," author Farhad Manjoo comments that Google's undertaking "is poised to create a tool that could truly change the way we understand, and learn about, the world around us." He also asks a provocotive question, "Can we really afford to let content owners stand in the way of Google's revolutionary idea?"
The books scanned and available in full text on Google Books website are published before 1923 and no longer protected by copyright law. This means they can be scanned and made available online with fear of litigation from the author or publishing house. Other full view books include works published after 1923 that received author or publisher permission. Although, the books are not available full-text, it can be searched using keyword terms.
So the question is whether Google Books hurts the printing industry by digitizing books from libraries all over the world or can this only increase the sales and make information that might not otherwise be found available.

Banned Books Week

Listening to NPR this morning inspired me to start a project that has been a long time waiting-a Blog for the library. This is the first installation.

On Morning Edition, they talked about Banned Books Week (September 27-October 4) and how John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was banned soon after its publication in 1939. In the piece, Librarian Gretchen Knief said, "It such a vicious and dangerous thing to begin...Besides banning books is so utterly hopeless and futile. Ideas don't die because a book is forbidden reading."

Nielsen Library's Instruction Librarian Brooke Andrade participated on a panel this past weekend on KRZA to discuss Banned Books Week. Brooke discussed the children's book And Tango Makes Three, which topped the Banned Book list in 2007. The book caused a huge controversy spawning an outcry for the book to be pulled from library shelves. The book is about two male penguins who hatch a penguin egg and raise the chick together. Brooke talked about the importance of intellectual freedom. She said that people may be offended by the content of some books but they are important for a library collection in that these largely unheard voices and points of view be made available for all patrons. "Politics, religion, sex, witchcraft" are just some of the reasons a book may be challenged or banned according to Judith King of the American Library Association.

Another 1st Amendment issue concerning libraries is Internet access. A recent article written for the HeraldNet discusses open access to the Internet in public libraries despite complaints from patrons that pornography is being viewed on library terminals. The debate hinges on whether a filtering system is censorship or if it is a librarian's responsibility to control what patrons view. All of this stems from a larger debate that public libraries face. Through the Child Internet Protection Act or CIPA, public libraries receive funds which is contingent upon the installation of a software that filters websites allowing only those that may not have questionable material. Now, no software is perfect and if someone is looking for information about breast cancer or a sexually transmitted disease, will the software deny a patron access? These are some of the problems with filtering software and these are some of the issues when talking about intellectual freedom, censorship, and the right to read.

So celebrate your freedom to read, to express, exchange ideas. This is your book, this is your library, these are your ideas.
Paul