tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303545232024-03-13T03:04:10.840-05:00Information and the FutureThis is the blog of the Information and the Future task force of the Rolfing Library at Trinity International University. The IF task force exists to explore the role of libraries in the future of Christian higher education.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-64981530663516182742009-07-27T11:52:00.002-05:002009-07-27T12:04:01.475-05:00Antiquated technologyWired's article on <a href="http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/07/100-things-your-kids-may-never-know-about/">100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About</a> lists a whole host of resources and methods that were common in our generation, our parents generation, or even our grandparents generation, but, hey, times have rapidly changed. <br /><br />For a good laugh and a trip down memory lane, have a look at this article.<br /><br />Here are a few things from the list that relate to libraries:<br /><br />Finding out information from an encyclopedia.<br />Phone books and Yellow Pages.<br />Newspapers and magazines made from dead trees.<br />Privacy.<br /><br />Actually going down to a Blockbuster store to rent a movie.<br />Finding books in a card catalog at the library.<br />Libraries as a place to get books rather than a place to use the internet.<br />A physical dictionary — either for spelling or definitions.arceehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18319174438942717132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-88516035574347667352009-07-22T11:27:00.004-05:002009-07-22T12:24:10.890-05:00How do we explain the value of the library?In my last <a href="http://infoandfuture.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-announces-os-plans.html">post</a> I mentioned that Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon are each taking a different approach towards making money in this online tech economy. Namely:<br /><ol><li>Microsoft: Software = Money</li><li>Google: Services + Ads = Money</li><li>Apple: Hardware = Money</li><li>Amazon: Content = Money<br /></li></ol>I think these four options are similar to messages we send about the value of libraries. Libraries are valuable and should continue to be funded and used because...<br /><ol><li>They create the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">metadata</span> that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">facilitates</span> finding and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">efficiently</span> using information.</li><li>They provide bibliographic instruction, reference aids and other user services.</li><li>They build academic commons - spaces that encourage conversation and learning.</li><li>They collect lots of valuable stuff that users need access too in order to learn.</li></ol>The easy answer is to say that we do (or should do) all of these things. However as a response to both the general uncertainty about libraries continuing relevance and the competition for funding, I think libraries would do well to identify a core <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">competency</span> and focus our message around it. This does not abandoning the other listed items but it does mean relegating them to secondary status.<br /><br />So which one to choose? I think the choice needs to be number 2. I believe we need to position ourselves as information experts who can help users understand and use all the information technology tools at their disposal. Of course the presupposes that we actually are information experts who have this knowledge - we may need to start by acquiring it. This will not be an easy position to market when simplicity and un-mediated access is the siren song of technology marketing but I think there is currently and likely will remain a need for educated guides to teach information skills and assist those who are awash in data to make sense of it.<br /><br />Briefly reviewing the other options:<br />1. In the world of Google and Wikipedia it is hard to argue that librarians are necessary to find information (even if that is true at a deeper level).<br />3. Wonderful buildings are nice but seem like a shaky rock to build on as more things move online.<br />4. Some of us may indeed have collections that are truelly unique and of obvious value but as Google and others make millions of resouces available anywhere I think physical collections becomes a very hard point to sell (but thanks <a href="http://onbooksandbiblios.blogspot.com/">Anthony</a> for trying!).Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-22477252517935131032009-07-09T15:22:00.006-05:002009-07-09T15:44:42.733-05:00Google announces OS plansGoogle has announced plans to build an operating system based on it's Chrome web browser. You can read C-Net's coverage <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10281744-2.html">here</a> and additional commentary <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13512_3-10282844-23.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Reportedly the plan is to try to target the netbook market at least initially. One of the questions this raises is would you rather have an OS you pay for like Windows or one that uses advertising to offset at least some of the cost presumably like Google's OS.<br /><br />I also think it is fascinating to watch MS, Google, Apple, and Amazon among others try to both anticipate the computer marketplace and manipulate it. Although a bit too simplified, I think fundamentally there are 4 different models in play for the future of IT.<br /><br />Microsoft is a software company, Google is a service/advertising company, Apple is a hardware company, and Amazon is a content company. All are trying to make the case that their speciality is the piece of IT that is truly valuable and worth paying for/investing in.<br /><br />We in the libraryland are also trying to figure out what is truly valuable (in the eyes of stakeholders) and how to position ourselves. Should we champion our software (Catalogs, Subject Headings, Call Numbers etc.); or our reference and instructional services? What about our "place" as an intellectual commons or do we focus on our collections?<br /><br />I know the easy answer is to say yes to all of the above but when resources and attention spans are short - which vision do we push? What offering are we willing to stake our future on?Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-66697741294872999032009-06-08T14:17:00.002-05:002009-06-08T14:37:09.527-05:00New search engineI was just reading this article about a new search engine that's supposed to answer your questions directly, instead of directing you to websites:<br /><a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2218594/">Like Google, Only Much, Much Worse</a> <br /><br />For example, you can ask the box office results for a movie, and it will give you the dollar amount. The problem that the article points out is that it's limited in its scope. It searches reference works like CIA World Factbook, U.S. Census reports, Wikipedia, and "about nine-tenths of what you'd see on the main shelves of a reference library." So it points out that it's not able to answer as many questions as a Google search can.<br /><br />I find it interesting that this limitation is the same one that we have for our print reference collections. It is now sadly true that for many questions, you can't find the answer in a reference book and it's better to go to Google. (Reliability questions aside)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-62109661053130757092009-05-12T16:07:00.003-05:002009-05-12T16:34:09.948-05:00Wikipedia hoaxHere's a new story about a hoax on Wikipedia:<br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irish-student-hoaxes-worlds-apf-15201451.html?.v=1">Irish student hoaxes world's media with fake quote</a><br /><br />A student posted a fake quote on Wikipedia about a musician who had just died. Several new sources picked it up and quoted it, before the student announced he had made up the quote. As the article notes, what is scary is that once these more "reliable" sources published it, it gave the quote added credibility. Someone maliciously making something up could then cite those as an authoritative source.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-61151915398349375022009-05-08T09:27:00.002-05:002009-05-08T09:41:05.778-05:00Slowing our patrons downI thought this was an interesting paragraph from a recent <a href="http://acrlog.org/2009/05/05/no-joy-in-research-for-the-spoiler-generation/">ACRLog post</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>For Abrams, it is all about the mystery. He says it “demands that you stop and consider - or at the very least, slow down and discover”. Isn’t that what library research is supposed to be about? You begin with a question to which the answer is unknown or uncertain. You don’t know how it’s going to end. Then you go through a process to collect the information needed to answer the question and resolve the mystery. Just like a good puzzle, in research you need to assemble the pieces correctly to discover the big picture. How do you communicate the natural enjoyment and challenge of the research process to a generation raised on the pursuit of spoilers and cheats? Taking the time to learn to research and then go through the discovery process, they must conclude, is for fools and suckers only.</blockquote>This goes right along with some conversations we've been having in the library. I look forward to trying to think about practical steps we can take to make our library a place where the enjoyment, challenge, and pace of good research are all celebrated.<br /><br />See also this <a href="http://acrlog.org/2009/05/07/disruptive-technology-alert/">ACRLog post</a> on the new Kindle as a threat to libraries and possibly to the understanding of research espoused above. The "faster and easier" promise of technology involves trade offs that I think are rarely considered.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-29060284324605013862009-05-08T09:25:00.002-05:002009-05-08T09:27:31.607-05:00Now TwitteringFailing to post as regularly here as I would like, I've begun using Twitter. I (Matt) try to post the single most interesting thing I read in library blogs there each day. Feel free to check it out.<br /><br />http://twitter.com/mostercaMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-71724460861645045512009-05-07T15:22:00.003-05:002009-05-07T15:37:55.380-05:00Google BooksA student just asked me if we would be subscribing to Google Books, so I was investigating to see if there have been more developments regarding this.<br /><br />I came across an article where librarians are expressing concern about the possibilities, fearing that costs could be very high, and also issues with privacy:<br /><a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews/idUKTRE5436SI20090504?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0">Libraries skeptical of Google books settlement</a><br /><br />Another article said that librarians are asking for a judge to monitor the settlement so costs don't become too high:<br /><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/libraries-ask-judge-to-monitor-google-books-settlement/">Libraries Ask Judge to Monitor Google Books Settlement</a><br /><br />I didn't find anything that sounded like prices or details had been set yet. Has anyone else heard anything more?Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-47098206383961701222009-04-27T07:33:00.003-05:002009-04-27T07:39:23.614-05:00Kindle debate continuesHere's one interesting (and relatively brief) take on the downside of <a href="http://www.inhabitatiodei.com/2009/04/23/three-arguments-against-the-kindle/">Kindle</a>. <br /><br />Can't say I weigh in too much with my own opinion because I don't anticipate having the funds to splurge on such a device. I still haven't bought an iPod with enough space to download podcasts, sermons, and audiobooks, so the Kindle isn't in my future. <br /><br />Interestingly enough, my aunt's husband recently purchased a Kindle and he's been reading fiction books on it and apparently likes it. I hadn't seen one up close before then, but it was a bigger device than I anticipated.arceehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18319174438942717132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-15167870666565273472009-04-13T13:40:00.003-05:002009-04-13T13:50:29.480-05:00Bookless librariesThe professor for my class posted an article in Moodle about how Stanford was planning a bookless library:<br /><a href="http://chronicle.com/cgi2-bin/printable.cgi?article=http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i30/30b00601.htm">Blind Spots: Humanists must plan their digital future</a><br /><br />Stanford was planning on digitizing all their books in their engineering library, moving the physical books to off-site storage, and turning the building into a computer commons. The faculty objected, and so they've put the plans on hold. But the faculty have submitted a proposal for what they think should be developed. They suggest creating "research portals" that could mimic as closely as possible what faculty value about browsing real books.<br /><br />One of the author's main points is that planning the future of online libraries shouldn't be left to librarians and technologists. At first, I was prepared to be offended that he didn't think librarians were competent enough to do it. But then I realized that I could agree with his argument that faculty should be working with librarians and technologists to decide what should be done. It would be better to be working closely with faculty to determine what will be most helpful for them and their students. Sometimes we can be too cut off from faculty, which prevents us from really serving the academic community effectively. The author ends by saying, "Unless scholars in the humanities help design and model the environments in which they will work, they will not be able to use them."Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-84588611144044836062009-03-31T15:43:00.002-05:002009-03-31T15:48:43.059-05:00Copyright and Free Speech<a href="http://library.duke.edu/blogs/scholcomm/2009/03/06/a-call-to-action/">Kevin Smith</a> has blog about a recent lecture he attended given by <a href="http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/profile/anthony-falzone">Anthony Falzone</a>. These paragraphs caught my attention:<br /><br /><blockquote><p>In setting the context for his discussion of fair use, Falzone made the fairly common point that copyright is a monopoly, which is something we usually disapprove of in the US as economically and socially inefficient and harmful. Jamie Boyle, in his <a href="http://www.thepublicdomain.org/">book on The Public Domain</a>, discusses the reluctance felt by Jefferson and Madison over copyright for this very reason. But Falzone went a step further to stress that copyright is a monopoly <em><strong>over speech</strong></em>. For me this fell into the category of things I knew but had not fully considered; Tony helped my really think about what it means to give someone a monopoly over expression in a nation where free expression is the first guarantee in our Bill of Rights.</p> <p>The message I came away with is that fair use is not really primarily about who has to pay whom, when and how much. Rather, fair use is a safety valve that protects one of our most fundamental values. Do we really want a copyright owner, for example, suppressing an expression of political speech such as the Barack Obama HOPE poster or the Ben Stein movie <em>Expelled</em>? From this perspective, fair use is a fundamental and absolutely necessary part of the fundamental structure of copyright in the context of American values. It is an incentive for creative expression just as much as the exclusive rights themselves are. Without fair use, I asked myself, would copyright’s monopoly be unconstitutional?</p></blockquote><br />He goes on to talk about our (Universities/libraries) need to exercise and protect fair use and not cave in at the first threat of a law suit.<br /><p></p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-27761931288342992732009-03-25T16:59:00.001-05:002009-03-25T17:01:10.865-05:00Screens like paperChristopher and I were talking about the new screens they're coming out with that will be like paper - the same size and flexibility. This article also says they will have the same clarity as a printed page. (The article is hopeful it could save the declining publishing industry!)<br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/03/technology/copeland_epaper.fortune/index.htm">The end of paper?</a>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-26488536775261716702009-03-23T16:42:00.003-05:002009-03-23T16:55:29.759-05:00The postmodern information-retrieval cultureI was reading an essay for my class ("Heidegger and Borgmann on Technology" by Dreyfus and Spinosa). They were talking about how our culture has changed from modern to postmodern. They labeled the shift as a change from a "library culture" to an "information retrieval culture." In the "library culture" there is a focus on careful selection of texts, authenticity, classification and organization, and permanent collections. In the "information retrieval culture" there is a focus on access to everything, inclusiveness of all texts, diversificiation of ideas and paths to follow, and dynamic collections. They say "the user seeking information is not a subject who desires a more complete and reliable model of the world, but a protean being ready to be opened up to ever new horizons."<br /><br />I hadn't thought about this before - how post-modernism, with its relativism and ideas about constructing truth, could affect research. Certainly if you don't believe in a solid truth or reality, you won't be as concerned about trying to find it. If you think that all ideas are equally valid and that we can create our own truth, then why trust a scholar more than a random person on a blog? The random person may be as useful as the scholar.<br /><br />I've encountered this somewhat when I'm teaching (even older students) and I'm trying to convince them why they should be finding scholarly rather than popular sources. And to some extent I can agree with them - one student asked why a scholar would be better than a pastor for a pastoral issue. (Especially since many scholars are more liberal.)<br /><br />So how does this affect how we teach students to evaluate information? Perhaps more and more we'll be fighting against an entire worldview that says that each idea is equally valid. How much should we fight it and how much should we work within that worldview?Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-40906690760112222282009-03-20T12:02:00.002-05:002009-03-20T12:03:05.720-05:00Cyberbully attacks Dead Sea Scroll scholarsThe Chronicle of Higher Ed has an article about a cyberbully who was using different aliases to attack Dead Sea Scroll scholars on blogs and via email. He is the son of a Dead Sea Scroll scholar, and was using this method to try to defend his father's views and attack his opponents. One of the scholars he attacked was an IT person, who tracked him using the IP addresses of the different aliases. The cyberbully also impersonated another scholar and sent email messages with his name.<br /><br />I don't know enough about the Dead Sea Scroll debate to know which side we would agree with, but one of the attacks charged that there was a "Christian agenda" to an exhibit (apparently a horrible charge!).<br /><br />It reminded me of Lee Seigel's complaints about anonymity on the web. I was a little curious why the scholars involved were so concerned about this, when they should know the web isn't reliable anyway and are full of flame wars. But they said that the web can influence people who don't know a lot about the topic. There was also a comment that scholars should take more responsibility to use the web to educate the public with accurate information. -Of course, it would help if they could prove they are who they say they are and aren't being impersonated!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-44954925632110543352009-03-12T14:44:00.002-05:002009-03-12T15:05:41.340-05:00Google BooksI was just reading more about Google Books new agreement with libraries:<br /><a href="http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/#1">Google Book Settlement Agreement</a><br /><br />There were a couple of things that sounded like we should pay attention to.<br />-- The in-copyright, out of print books that Google had scanned from libraries had previously only had snippet views. Now they will allow page views like other books.<br />-- People will be able to pay to access full books online (including out-of-print books).<br />-- Libraries will be able to purchase subscriptions so that their users can access the books. (I wonder how much that will cost?)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-75317927140332714442009-03-11T10:21:00.002-05:002009-03-11T13:01:22.941-05:00Thoughts on TwitterSo far I've not set up a Twitter account and generally been a skeptic about micro-blogging. In my mind I've thought of Twitter as basically a different way of sending Facebook status updates - a feature of Facebook that I don't use particularly well.<br /><br />But as I've talked to twitters about their tweets (what a fun sentence fragment that is!), I've learned they don't think of them as status updates. Instead they tell me that Twitter is best used to send out interesting links preferably with snarky comment attached. Seldom do they actually try to communicate much in the 144 character limit other than point to useful information or reply to people who've done that. One of the big advantages of Twitter thus far over Facebook is that you can search Twitter for info you want.<br /><br />I'm sure others use Twitter differently but this use makes sense to me. A common mistake with new web technologies is to use them to do the wrong thing or to try and make one tool work like another. If we are going to use Twitter, Facebook, or even blogs I think it is important we try to understand what the technology does well and use it for that.<br /><br />Twitter might be a good way for us to send out suggested link of the week (or more often) to the TIU community.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-62242510436041590952009-03-06T09:54:00.002-06:002009-03-06T09:55:52.778-06:00Using Twitter and FacebookYou may have noticed in the today@trinity announcement that the graduation office is using Twitter and Facebook to communicate with upcoming grads. I wonder if this will be a growing trend for announcements on campus? And I wonder if students will get annoyed if they get too many announcements that way? Maybe if they volunteered to sign up for it, like in this case, they would be okay with it. I wonder how many would voluntarily sign up for library announcements? Probably some dedicated library users.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-73087608182420183742009-03-05T10:21:00.003-06:002009-03-05T10:27:09.644-06:0060-second lecturesThe Chronicle of Higher Ed had an article about a university that is creating 60-second lectures for their online program. Professors have to take their one-hour lectures and condense them into 60 seconds. It sounds like it's been very popular - the program has grown quickly. The students do spend time after the lecture with hands-on assignments that help them learn the material. I could actually see this as a positive thing. Students are likely to learn something better if they're actively engaged in the process, instead of passively listening to a lecture - especially if it's online from a distance.<br /><br />But it's also interesting to think about the decreasing attention span of people. As a few professors in the article noted, you can give brief information but you can't make a sustained argument you need longer than 60-seconds.<br /><br />But the short-attention span is probably something we'll have to increasingly consider in the library. We may have to make our instruction sessions more concise and to the point. Information on the website may have to be as brief as possible, which still conveying needed information.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-48991352068195539192009-03-05T07:35:00.001-06:002009-03-05T07:37:05.704-06:00ebook Reader Comparison GuideCheck out this <a href="http://siue.libguides.com/content.php?pid=36227&sid=266759">comparison guide for ebook devices</a> put together by Charlotte Hoffman of SIU-Edwardsville and William Harroff of McKendree University.Everetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10803043142391446777noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-22870009914866894652009-03-04T16:28:00.002-06:002009-03-04T16:46:35.505-06:00Netbooks & KindleI wanted to share a couple of news items that got my attention recently.<br /><br />First, the New York Times is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/technology/04kindle.html?_r=1">reporting today</a> that Amazon plans to sell ebooks for Apple products breaking from their previous practice of only selling ebooks for the Kindle. Amazon is hoping not only to extend their dominance in the print book world to the ebook world but also that people exposed to ebooks on iphones and ipods will want to buy the Kindle for a better reading experience. I think this is a significant step forward for ebooks and an interesting strategy to sell more Kindles.<br /><br />Second, in the March copy of Wired magazine there is an article about netbooks (not yet online). These are small, cheap lap tops with little memory but the ability to connect to the web. Originally designed as a way to get children in poor countries onto the internet they have proven quite popular with adults in rich countries. This goes against the trend of people buying more and more powerful computers and suggests that consumers are starting to realize they don't need super powerful computers to check email, facebook, or twitter. As cloud computing matures many of the most popular computer tasks can be done in a browser that requires less resouces from your computer.<br /><br />So we see the continued progression of trends toward small, very mobile computers or phones that can function as computers. I'm not sure what all this means for libraries but I think these are trends we need to be thinking about as we plan for the future.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-91104383896394495612009-03-02T16:50:00.003-06:002009-03-02T17:10:01.156-06:00Wide vs. narrow researchMy professor asked me what I think about the new search tools such as Google Books vs. the old-fashioned method where you would actually go to the shelf and browse the books. I answered that I thought it was a different style of research. Google Books and other tools like that allow you to get much more specific in your research. I've been using it a lot lately for my research. It helps me to pinpoint which books cover something related to fairly narrow topics that I'm researching. I don't have to wade through as much unrelated material to find what is useful.<br /><br />Although that made me wonder if I am missing something by not doing that. Perhaps I get too narrowly focused on my specific topic and miss some of the broader perspective of the larger topic. It reminds me of what history class, where we learned about how at the end of the 19th century there was a trend toward increasing specialization in education. Before that time, professors were more generalists, and were knowledgeable in a variety of subjects. But there was the increasing trend toward doctoral studies being focused on very narrow topics, and professors becoming experts in their niche.<br /><br />I do appreciate the new tools that enable me to more quickly research exactly what I'm most interested in, and thereby to make more of a unique contribution. (Speed and efficiency probably play a role here too!) I do want to avoid the danger of becoming so narrowly focused that I miss the big picture. Perhaps I can try to address it to a certain extent by reading some broader overview works - and wasting time browsing (both online and in print).Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-8321691524210454382009-02-27T15:57:00.005-06:002009-02-27T16:10:26.031-06:00RE: Online CommunityThe <a href="http://infoandfuture.blogspot.com/2009/02/shane-hipps-on-virtual-community.html">video</a> Matt posted was interesting. I was especially struck by what Hipps said about looking for people who agree with you online. In a PBS video, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/">Growing up Online</a>, that was a major thing young people said they liked - being able to find people online who were like them, when they felt misunderstood in their real world communities.<br /><br />We had an interesting conversation related to this in class this week. There was a youth pastor who said he had grown their youth group largely due utilizing online communities, such as a Sony community. He noted how it created another way to connect with the kids, since often they would share things more freely online than they would in real life. He did say, however, that you need the real life interactions in addition to the online. (Someone else I talked to said there's also a problem when the kids will share something online but are unwilling to talk about the same thing in person.)<br /><br />Someone brought up the example of Christ - how he could have chosen to connect to people on a mass scale, but he chose to come in a physical body to a few people. But another person also noted how there was a form of technology even in the early church - Paul wrote letters that he sent to the churches. He wasn't there physically, but still managed to have influence and some form of relationship with a large number of people from a distance. (Although he did say he wished he could see them in person!)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-83848333153110663942009-02-23T13:08:00.002-06:002009-02-23T13:11:55.388-06:00Shane Hipps on virtual community<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object width="425" height="350"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/bJkSJmvK7eg" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/bJkSJmvK7eg" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p><p>I really appreciate Shane Hipps' thinking about media and communication especially as it relates to the church so I thought I'd share this video of him talking about virtual community.</p><p>I discovered this video by reading a discussion of it on the <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/">Jesus Creed blog.</a> Scot McKnight has a more positive view of virtual community that is also <a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/02/is-the-jesus-creed-community-a.html">worth reading.</a><br /></p></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02694809197339676527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-84857281888737327472009-02-20T15:58:00.002-06:002009-02-20T16:54:24.885-06:00Reading MachinesSpeaking of the future of reading, I just ran across a book on the topic:<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=bj91xZd7PIEC&printsec=frontcover"><br />Ex-foliations: Reading Machines and the Upgrade Path</a> by Terry Harpold.<br /><br />I didn't quite understand what it is all about. Apparently it looks at early ideas of hypertext, such as the Memex and Xanadu. Memex had the idea of storing a large research library in a machine (now true!) and was supposed to be a "Memory Extender." The book also examines hypertext fiction, and looks at "questions of media obsolescence, changing user interface designs, and the mutability of reading." The author proposes that "we may detect traits of an unreadable surface—the real limit of the machines’ operations and of the reader’s memories—on which text and image are projected in the late age of print." (Whatever that means!)<br /><br />One of the interesting things when I was looking at the book was that it was set up so it could be a print version of hypertext. Each paragraph had a number, and there could be references in one paragraph to a different paragraph using the number.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30354523.post-61417863249823425652009-02-20T14:32:00.010-06:002009-02-20T15:26:44.340-06:00Librarians' roleI was pondering more my <a href="http://infoandfuture.blogspot.com/2009/02/librarians-as-professors.html">question</a> about what librarians will have to offer that regular professors wouldn't. As I thought about it more, I think that at least for the foreseeable future librarians will have a very valuable skill to offer to professors - being more up-to-date on the latest research methods. I taught a class recently, and the professors were very impressed with the latest tools they didn't know about (particularly Google Books & Google Scholar). I think even with all the new technology available (or perhaps <span style="font-style:italic;">because</span> there is so much new technology), students (and professors) need help learning how to do good research.<br /><br />A while ago I read an article that studied what professors thought about teaching research: <a href=" https://www.tiu.edu:9443/login?URL=http://firstsearch.oclc.org/WebZ/DARead?key=0099-1333%2528200611%252932%253A6%253C573%253AWFTTBT%253E%26fsapp6-49232-frfbtyz3-32jzp8%26efa8df9f87f99760e7b6751b552bfa84ac3186038b23c4cf9378a81463304585&sessionid=0&db=WilsonSelectPlus_FT&format=PDF">"What Faculty Think–Exploring the Barriers to Information Literacy Development"</a>. They discovered that many of the professors learned to do research on their own through trial and error, and figure that students should learn to do it that way as well. I've actually talked to professors who have said that it is the students' fault if they don't know how to research properly.<br /><br />If that was ever true, I think it's even less so now, because it's very easy for students to fall into poor ways of researching that seem to work. So I think it actually takes more education to teach them how to break away from that and do higher quality research. And it seems like it should also be something that builds on itself: they should be taught to do higher levels of research in college than they did in high school, and grad school than undergrad, for example. Of course, professors have to expect higher-level research for that to work. And so part of it is also educating professors on what they can expect from their students.<br /><br />I find <a href="http://infoandfuture.blogspot.com/2009/02/research-in-digital-age.html">Matt's ideas</a> about encouraging reading intriguing. It would be fun to have a book discussion group in the library. Although the students here have so much reading already and discuss books in class, so I wonder if they'd want to add something else on. I bet a movie discussion group would be more popular. In fact, I was talking to a couple students who thought that our campus should have that - opportunity to view and discuss theological ideas in movies. (Of course, that wouldn't fit with Matt's idea of encouraging reading!)<br /><br />Another idea - at Lake Forest College, when a professor published a new book, the library would host a forum for the professor to talk about their book and for people to ask questions. They were quite popular - especially with the other professors and members of the community. (Here I imagine students would also be very interested.) We have such great authors here, it would be cool to do something like that.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17287474331988029774noreply@blogger.com2