Finally Facebook!

Because Facebook was the only social media site (SMS) that I was familiar with prior to entering this class, I was initially disappointed that this particular site was not on the agenda until week 10. Well, my perspective has changed. The SMSs we have visited each week and others that have been presented as a result of suggestions from classmates and my own “surfing” (is that the right word?) have been a real education. I am excited to expand my knowledge of Facebook, but now understand that this is not the only venue available. In fact, it is mind-boggling how many options are actually out there! This is a whole new world for me and I find myself jumping from one SMS to another to try them out. Unfortunately, or should I say - fortunately J, I work a full-time job and have a family-life, in addition to classwork and a few hours of sleep at night. So, the amount of time available to investigate these sites is limited.

Well – back to Facebook. The articles this week were informative and thought-provoking. I started by reading the 2006 article, The Terrible Twos. While not necessarily about Facebook, the information about Web 2.0, as well as the AJAX and API technologies, was interesting. There are also references in this article to several sites that I plan to research further. 

The next article I read was the 2008 article, Use of Facebook in academic health sciences libraries.  I took Health Sciences Librarianship a couple semesters ago at UMass Medical Center. While the focus of the course was on the medical databases, the librarians strive to increase their outreach to the medical students and physicians. There was no mention of Facebook during this course, nor do I recall a Facebook icon on the Lamar Souter Library website… just looked – Twitter is there, but no Facebook. This article indicates that “the 2 most-cited reasons why academic health sciences libraries did not have a presence on Facebook were the lack of time to set up and maintain a Facebook page (36%) and the belief that Facebook demonstrated little or no utility in an academic setting (28%).” The reason Lamar Souter does not have a Facebook page, is most likely a combination of these 2 reasons. Even the Twitter posts by some of the medical school librarians was limited.

The articles we read this week indicate that those libraries currently using Facebook, public and academic, are using them mainly from a marketing standpoint. At this point, little outreach is being done. The Connell article, as well as the two Fernandez articles, stress the importance of waiting for the library patrons to set the boundaries.  As historical mentors for privacy, librarians can take a leadership role in the privacy issues surrounding  social media.  Also, in their role as “translators of knowledge” (Fernandez, 2010, p. 15), librarians should strive to understand and impact how information is obtained going forward. Fernandez (2010) makes several statements that sum up the importance of the library’s role in social media  – “the nature of information is changing” (p. 15) – “the information contained within a SNS (social networking site) is caught between worlds.” (p. 14) – “the very essence of information science is to study the flow of information.” (p. 16)

I’ve been doing a little work with the Facebook page at the public library in the town where I work. While I am only one of several administrators who post, I have been struggling a bit with what is appropriate to post and what isn’t.  This week’s articles helped to focus some of my concerns, but obviously there is a lot to learn about Facebook, the recent changes to the site and the role that Facebook will have as a networking and information-transfer tool for libraries.

Next Generation Catalogs

As a visual learner and a non-techie, I found the specifics in this week’s articles a bit difficult to follow. However, the idea that OPACs need to become more user friendly and intuitive is not difficult to understand. The experiences described by NCSU with their implementation of the Endeca Information Access Platform and OSU’s implementation of WorldCat Local indicate that progress is being made, but that there are challenges remaining to be overcome. I wonder how much change/improvement has taken place since these implementations  in 2006 and 2009, respectively.  

Everything Is Miscellaneous - Book Review

Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder   

by David Weinberger

Although this book was written over 4 years ago (copyright 2007), a relatively significant amount of time in the digital age, I found Everything is Miscellaneous to be both pertinent and informative. Weinberger has an easy writing style and provides intriguing and thought-provoking examples, making this an enjoyable and informative book for everyone. I found myself at times chuckling, at other times having “ah-ha” moments and quite often writing down interesting concepts for future reference.

The book includes discussions about philosophers through the ages, the history of information, and various examples of the first, second and third order of information. Weinberger uses the analogy of a tree throughout the book to bring home his points about the evolution of knowledge transfer.  In the first and second order, knowledge is categorized and linear. Because information is printed, it is finite in nature and limited by the physical; experts provide and organize information; it is categorized into “branches” with “leaves” representing pieces of specific knowledge.  As knowledge organized in the first and second order becomes larger, it also becomes more difficult to use. 

In the digital world, third order information is not limited by the physical and organization is not a requirement. In fact, organization of information in the third order may turn out to be a hindrance for optimal utilization. In the third order, more information is beneficial, increased size means increased possibilities; knowledge is not linear and information can be found in more than one place at the same time. Examples of existing third order tools are numerous and Weinberger discusses many of them in this book: iTunes, Wikipedia, Google, Flickr, Dabble.com, Reddit.com to name a few. These tools and others are used to help us find our “leaves” when more information has less organization.

Characteristics of first and second order “traditional” knowledge: 1. There is one reality, one knowledge, the same for all 2. Neither reality nor knowledge are ambiguous 3. We need experts, human filters, to help us understand 4. Experts earn their place in our society 5. Knowledge is explicit

Characteristics of third order knowledge: 1. Everything is metadata 2. Information should be in as many “places” as possible 3. Information is not organized, filter on the way out not the way in 4. Loss of control – the information owner does not have control over the use of that information 5. Knowledge is implicit

 Web 2.0 Tool:

I chose the tool ScoopIt! as the Web 2.0 representation for this book. The nature of this site exemplifies the concepts that David Weinberger discusses in his book. Based upon the keywords and sources entered for a topic, ScoopIt! searches the web for the “leaves” that appear to pertain to the topic. This Web 2.0 tool is helpful for the information-curator because the leaves are not found on branches, but in a “slush pile” where there is no true categorization of information.  Because the “leaves” presented have been “scooped” out of this virtual pile of information using keywords (a rudimentary controlled vocabulary), some of the scoops are pertinent to the topic at hand and some of them are “compost”.  The curator of the site has the opportunity to individually review each suggestion and decide whether to ScoopIt! or discard it.  The curator also has the ability to be the “expert” and create their own posts for the site.

Here is a link:
http://www.scoop.it/t/the-third-order-of-information

Book Review

The book I've chosen to do the book review project on is "Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder" by David Weinberger. The book is fascinating. Until recently, I have been somewhat out of touch with the evolution that has been taking place in libraries and with information technology. While I've always used libraries for my personal reading, I've been out of school for more years than I care to admit. One reason that I came back to school and chose this field was because I wanted to become educated on how information is organized. With the exponential increase in the amount of information out there, it was a question in my mind as to how information would be organized and retrieved. So, this book by David Weinberger was of particular interest to me because he seemed to be proposing that the answer is actually in the disorder of information. He has convinced me :).

For the media presentation aspect of the book review project, I chose “Scoop It”. I’ve created a page entitled “The Third Order of Information” and have been “scooping” information digitally from a variety of sources and publishing them to my site. I think this particular social media site is a perfect example of the “power of the new digital disorder”. Based upon keywords that I choose, the web is searched and content is presented for my review. The content can be "scooped" or discarded. I can add new keywords and select different social media sources to search. Scoop it! has presented me with some very pertinent and interesting information regarding my topic.

Here is the link to my Scoop it! Page:
  

http://www.scoop.it/t/the-third-order-of-information

This is an amazing site and I am anxious to try this out for additional topics of personal interest. If you haven’t used this site already, give it a try! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Where have I been ???

The readings for this week on tagging and folksonomies were a total eye-opener for me.  As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve been totally out of touch with what has been happening with social media. Up to this week, I’ve at least heard of the media that we have been using;  but, never before have I heard the term “folksonomies”, had  any idea of what a “tag” was,  and gave no mind to those circle of words that showed up periodically.  
The paper, Social Tagging as a Knowledge Organization and resource Discovery Tool by Hesham Allam was a well-rounded overview of the topic, comprehensive yet basic enough for a novice to understand. The paper provides informative definitions and examples, as well as the pros and cons of social tagging. The article from First Monday, Survival of the fittest tag: Folksonomies, findability, and the evolution of information organization written by Alexis Wichowski was an excellent article that brought my understanding of this topic to the next level. 
When others have asked me why I am studying library science, very often questioning the future of this field, I have responded that in this age of information overload, continued information organization becomes critical. I find this a challenge on a minor level in my own personal and professional life. The problem is exponentially more important on a universal level. Both of these readings brought home to me the fact that I have been missing some very important organizational tools.

As I was reading these two articles this week, my grandson was at my house completing a homework assignment on the behavioral adaptations of animals. As a biology major in college, I am very familiar with the theory of evolution. However, the quote from Charles Darwin at the beginning of the Wichowski article had me smiling as my grandson and I completed our assignments, both realizing the importance of behavioral adaptations.

“In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment.”  Charles Darwin

Pageviews from Russia

Looking at the Stats on my blog .... Is someone from this class in Russia?

 

Pageviews by Countries

United States  15

Germany          7

Russia              3

Twitter … #changeofopinion

Never thought I would be saying this…I am enjoying Twitter!  It took some perseverance to figure out enough to get rolling, but I have gotten far enough to say I am hooked.

The article from the Library of Congress was interesting.  Initially, I could not comprehend why the LoC would acquire the Twitter archives and felt that this was a waste of time and money.  Who in the future would possibly review all of these tweets, and isn’t this a total invasion of privacy??  However, after making my way through the virtual brainstorming and reading the 93 comments posted, I can see the value.  “Bryan C’s” post about the inability to retrieve data from prior to 1996 and “berikson’s” post about wishing that he “could hear my ancestor’s talk” really hit home for me.

The “Twitter for Librarians: The Ultimate Guide” provided a lot of useful information about how and why incorporating Twitter into library services could be beneficial. I had tweeted earlier this week that I needed a “Twitter for Dummies” book and then read this article - great list of resources!  

Love this

The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker

The Gospel According to Shug

HELPED are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be constant.
HELPED are those who love the entire cosmos rather than their own tiny country, city, or farm, for to them will be shown the unbroken web of life and the meaning of infinity.
HELPED are those who live in quietness, knowing neither brand name nor fad; they shall live every day as if in eternity, and each moment shall be as full as it is long.
HELPED are those who love others unsplit off from their faults; to them will be given clarity of vision.
HELPED are those who create anything at all, for they shall relive the thrill of their own conception, and realize an partnership in the creation of the Universe that keeps them responsible and cheerful.
HELPED are those who love the Earth, their mother, and who willingly suffer that she may not die; in their grief over her pain they will weep rivers of blood, and in their joy in her lively response to love, they will converse with the trees.
HELPED are those whose ever act is a prayer for harmony in the Universe, for they are the restorers of balance to our planet. To them will be given the insight that every good act done anywhere in the cosmos welcomes the life of an animal or a child.
HELPED are those who risk themselves for others’ sakes; to them will be given increasing opportunities for ever greater risks. Theirs will be a vision of the word in which no one’s gift is despised or lost.
HELPED are those who strive to give up their anger; their reward will be that in any confrontation their first thoughts will never be of violence or of war.
HELPED are those whose every act is a prayer for peace; on them depends the future of the world.
HELPED are those who forgive; their reward shall be forgiveness of every evil done to them. It will be in their power, therefore, to envision the new Earth.
HELPED are those who are shown the existence of the Creator’s magic in the Universe; they shall experience delight and astonishment without ceasing.
HELPED are those who laugh with a pure heart; theirs will be the company of the jolly righteous.
HELPED are those who love all the colors of all the human beings, as they love all the colors of the animals and plants; none of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.
HELPED are those who love the lesbian, the gay, and the straight, as they love the sun, the moon, and the stars. None of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.
HELPED are those who love the broken and the whole; none of their children, nor any of their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.
HELPED are those who do not join mobs; theirs shall be the understanding that to attack in anger is to murder in confusion.
HELPED are those who find the courage to do at least one small thing each day to help the existence of another–plant, animal, river, or human being. They shall be joined by a multitude of the timid.
HELPED are those who lose their fear of death; theirs is the power to envision the future in a blade of grass.
HELPED are those who love and actively support the diversity of life; they shall be secure in their differences.
HELPED are those who KNOW.

Retrieved March 3, 2012 from http://outofprintclothing.com/blog/

Following on Twitter

In addition to my fellow classmates, I have started to follow a few people and organizations on Twitter:
@berkmancenter
@edgarschein
@Lifeisgood
@Worcester_PL
@BarackObama
@Ctr4SocialMedia
@LibraryJournal

As I searched for Twitter accounts, it was interesting to see who is already on Twitter and who isn't. Our public library (Worcester, MA) has a Twitter account. This is kind of exciting now that I sort of know what Twitter is. The town library that I do some volunteer work with on thier Facebook page, does not have a Twitter page. I have heard that it is important for businesses to participate in Twitter. If you feel that this is important, I would love to hear why.