The Source: news about digital libraries and library innovations from around the web

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Online Catalogs: What Users and Librarians Want (Note: PDF)

From the OCLC website

An end user’s expectations and work practices on the Web influence his or her decision to use a library online catalog. Catalog interfaces matter, but catalog data quality is also a driving factor of the catalog’s perceived utility — and not only for end users, but also for librarians and library staff. To gain a rounded, evidence-based understanding of what constitutes “quality” in catalog data, OCLC formed a research team to:
• Identify and compare the data quality expectations of catalog end users and librarians
• Compare the catalog data quality expectations of types of librarians
• Recommend catalog data quality priorities, taking into account the perspectives of both end users and librarians
The findings suggest two traditions of information organization at work — one from librarianship and the other from the Web. Librarians’ perspectives about data quality remain highly influenced by their profession’s classical principles of information organization, while end users’ expectations of data quality arise largely from their experiences of how information is organized on popular Web sites. What is needed now is to integrate the best of both worlds in new, expanded definitions of what “quality” means in library online catalogs.


Preservation of Art in the Digital Realm (Note: PDF)

From the British Library website

This paper discusses the challenges of preserving art in the digital context. It provides an overview of the broader digital preservation challenge, and then considers new media art within that context. Through several case studies, it illustrates and discusses problems, issues and proposed solutions to digital art preservation. We will see that while work has been done towards digital preservation, significant issues remain.


Long-term Preservation of Electronic Literature (Note: PDF)

From the British Library website

This paper, given at iPRES 2008 (British Library Conference Centre, 29-30 Sept. 2008), discusses the threats to electronic literature and efforts in Germany by the German Literature Archive, German National Library and nestor to address the challenges of developing preservation strategies for this material.


Looking to Big-Screen E-Readers to Help Save the Daily Press

From the New York Times website

The iPod stemmed losses in the music industry. The Kindle gave beleaguered book publishers a reason for optimism. Now the recession-ravaged newspaper and magazine industries are hoping for their own knight in shining digital armor, in the form of portable reading devices with big screens.


The Mobile Difference

From the Pew Internet & American Life Project website

Mobile connectivity is now a powerful differentiator among technology users. Those who plug into the information and communications world while on-the-go are notably more active in many facets of digital life than those who use wires to jack into the internet and the 14% of Americans who are off the grid entirely.
* Some 39% of Americans have positive and improving attitudes about their mobile communication devices, which in turn draws them further into engagement with digital resources – on both wireless and wireline platforms
* 8% of adults use mobile devices and broadband platforms for continual information exchange to collaborate with their social networks
* 7% of adults actively use mobile devices and social networking tool, yet are ambivalent about all the connectivity
* 8% of Americans find mobility lighting their information pathways, but have comparatively few tech assets at home
* 16% of adults are active conduits of content and information for
* 61% are anchored to stationary media; though many have broadband and cell phones, coping with access is often too much for them


Semantic Web Awareness 2009: A Comparative Study on Approaches to Social Software and the Semantic Web (Note: PDF)

From the Semantic Web Company (SWC) website

The Semantic Web Awareness Barometer 2009 aims at providing the reader with a brief overview over current trends and possible future topics in the fast evolving and dynamic field of web semantics. It also addresses Social Software, since these two areas are expected to condition each other. The data analysed in this survey was primarily collected among Semantic Web specialists from science and industry.


New Inks Cut Costs of Office Color Printing

From the New York Times website

After years of research, Xerox will release the first in a new series of large machines this month that it claims will change the economics of printing large volumes of colour documents at offices. Unlike traditional laser printers that use cartridges of powdery, sometimes messy toner, the revamped products rely on hunks of ink that remain solid at room temperature and then melt when heated.


New Study Examines Technology Generation Gap in the Workplace (Note: PDF)

From the LexisNexis website

A national survey of American white collar workers found that while technology is widely embraced among working professionals, significant gaps exist among generations regarding its use and application in the workplace. The newly released Technology Gap Survey found generational differences in the effect of technology on workplace etiquette, the blurring boundaries between personal and professional tasks, and the impact of technology overload.


Twitter for Libraries (and Librarians)

From the Information Today website

For many people, the word “twitter” brings to mind birds rather than humans. But information professionals know that Twitter is a fast-growing, free messaging service for people, and it’s one that libraries (and librarians) can make good use of—without spending much time or effort.