IRLS 571 Assignment 5

Hello -
My name is Michael Saar and this is my 5th assignment for IRLS 571. Here I will review four different technologies and briefly discuss their application to libraries.

I had originally planned on doing a podcast for this assignment, but I ultimately chose a blog because
1) I did not have a microphone, and it was hard to get a decent sound recording from the computer mic
2) I did not feel like shaving

However I will not let these setbacks stop me from discussing the technology as the first of my four technologies!

A. PODCASTS

Podcasts is typically short, serialized, audio or video content created by individuals or organizations for broader distribution. It was designed as a technology to allow amateurs and organizations with little or no money to produce their own multimedia clips and publish them on the internet. These clips would be created and then other people could download them to their computer or personal media device (ie iPod). Typically creators of this content serialize their podcasts by releasing an RSS feed that allows others to subscribe to their show and receive new episodes automatically as they are posted. Aside from the democratic potential of bringing audio and video production to the masses, the Podcast's biggest benefit is asynchronicity. Users can download the content and play it back at their leisure, without losing the important audio/visual clues that could not be conveyed by a transcript or summary of a live lecture for example.

Podcasts have really only recently begun to become a staple part of many libraries but there are already a large amount of ways libraries are utilizing podcasts. Some of these ways are:
- Programming
- Information Literacy and other Education opportunities
- Tours of the libraries or special collections
- Book reviews and overviews of new materials
- And internal communications

Athough at its heart the concept is simple, there is enormous potential for this technology. Its social impact for library users lies in its adaptability to users' information seeking behaviors. This is especially potent in information literacy opportunities. As an asynchronous medium users can download a podcast instructing them how to access a database or use refworks and view the tutorial whenever it is convenient for them (such as when they are wrapping up a paper in the middile of the night). This also points to a greater ease of access. Information can be available at any time because it is downloaded to their computer. Additionally the podcast allows the opportunity for Computer Supported Collaborative Work. Right now this is most clear in the internal communication side (allowing staff members to share updates on projects with each other, despite their schedules), but if libraries began hosting podcasts for its patrons, it could definitely increase collaboration on projects for its users.

WEB FILTERS

Filterin internet content began almost immediately after the internet became a household phenomenon. Filtering basically involves an attempt to block objectional material from users who are not mature enough to view the content or who otherwise would like to avoid seeing the content. It may also be used to block sites that may compromise the security or work productivity of an organization. There are two conventional ways of filtering content:
- Blocking individual words or phrases - sites containing these terms would be blocked
- Or targeting specific websites and blocking them

There are some problems with filtering
- It is subjective - what one person deems inapporopriate may not be viewed that way by others
- Overblocking - websites that contain no offensive content may accidentally be blocked
- Underblocking - websites that DO contain offensive content may slip by the filters, or be deliberately constructed to avoid filters.

While filtering was a web-wide phenomenon early on, it is especially an issue for libraries today. Two laws passed during the Clinton administration have made web filtering a common issue in federally funded libraries:
- The Neighborhood Protection Act - necessitate that all libraries have a internet safety policy and make it publicly available
- CIPA (Childhood Internet Protection Act) - states that any government funded library must use web filtering in order to receive its funding

The social impact on this is obvious. It creates great restrictions on users access to information. This is primarly due to the three problems listed above. While libraries are allowed to designate certain computers as "filter-free" or turn off filters upon a patron's request, the negative connotations of such a request often result in people being to embarassed to request this action. This is not to say filtering does not have benefits: it can offer protection to minors from objectionable content for example, but one of the biggest controversies is how this effects patron's access to information and their individual liberties.

OPEN URL

Unlike Podcasts and Web Filters, Open URL technology grew out of library science. It is a tool that allows users to directly access library resources through the library's OPAC. Before its inception, searching for electronic resources was a hassle to say the least. Libraries had a plethora of different licensed databases and content suppliers and accessing this material could be very confusing to the user. Open URL's allows the permission requesting and problem of locating appropriate copy to occur (for the most part) "behind the scenes." This is all done without the users interaction and instead the user is presented with a clickable link that will take him/her directly to the resource.

Its use in the library began with electronic journal articles but it continues to expand everyday. Now Open URL can be utilized to access just about any digital library resource. As it expands into the commercial sector (e.g. e-commerce), this may also expand the library's application of the technology allowing patrons to purchase items that they want to own for example. The only barrier to this progress is the lack of wide spread standards outside the library community.

More than any other technology in library science this may be the greatest example of disintermediation at work for the user. Rather than going through a series of links, entering user id's, choosing databases, etc, the user now can potentially type in a few keywords and click on the link for a full text article on the topic they are interested in. This greatly affects the users access to information by working in conjunction with their information seeking behaviors.

RFID

RFID, or radio frequency identification began decades ago as a military technology but has recently found use in other fields including libraries. RFID consists of implanting a computer chip into a chosen device. This "tag" can then be read by a radio transmitter which sends a signal that activate the chip. It is similar to a barcode scanner in this way although it is not as restricted as bar code scanners are in its readability. It can read many items at once, from many orientations and from greater distances than an optical scanner.

This technology has had great applications in library circulation. For the reasons listed above, it has been a popular option. Users can check in/out materials at a much quicker pace. Theoretically, an RFID that could read both resources and library cards could allow the patron to check books in/out just by walking by the reader. This not only helps patrons but also curbs theft. It is additionally beneficial in its potential as an inventory device. The reader allows librarians to keep much more efficient track on materials. Since any item could be read, it makes it difficult to lose a resource due to misshelving.

Like the Open URL the biggest social impact of this technology is in its disintermediation. The patron no longer has to wait in line to check in or out books. The process could potentially become immediate.

B. Because of its potential for inventory tracking, RFID will most improve libraries for librarians. Three brief examples will illustrate this point:
- A patron "accidentally walks out" with a resource. The reader automatically reads it as he/she exits and lists the item as checked out under her account. So the library knows exactly where that missing resource went.
- Similarly a book is misshelved by a patron. When a librarian does a periodic inventory, rather than spending hours pouring through the stacks, the reader tells the librarian in a few seconds that a book is on the shelf that shouldn't be, AND exactly which book it is, AND its current location on the shelf.
- A patron takes a book off the shelf to read and then puts it back in its proper place. This long standing problem of recording these types of transactions are solved because the reader can now log in every time a book is removed from the shelf, which book is removed, and for how long it was removed.

While RFID will benefit librarians the most, Open URL technology will improve libraries for patrons the most. Not only will it greatly increase the speed which individual can access resources, it will make it much more intuitive for the user. Open URL is much more similar to conventional web browsing than the older access alternative was. In addition, the speed and simplicity with which resources are available will allow users the time to select and choose a greater variety of resources if they desire. It exponentially increases the users' access to information.