IST 612 help

Hello folks,
well for anyone still in town and wanting more info on the 612 assignment here's a link to the scholastic web page. It has correlations for every state, a very useful little guide. It's also up in the forums for the class but that can be buried easily.
Correlations page
Just recall please that these are guidelines, no need to take each book they give you and treat it as gold. Also if you want I'm up in my room, Watson 336, so feel free to drop on by, say hello, work, ect. Trust me there is plenty of room.

Poster session IST

I must say that I was proud to be a member of my group. Not only did we all present but we engaged each other, made the poster and did so without mishap. I will admit that the late night sessions in Hinds were long, me being ill only complicated matters, but despite all that we prevailed. I think that our poster was one of the best ones there, if for no other reason than I know what our group did in order to make it. From the cuts of the exacto knives moments before the session started to the idea pounding that we did until the dawn, I know who was there all that time.
To the rest of my group 13,
Good job

Web site

Need to thank Professor Nicholson on this one. Took his advice, bought my own domain, and then made a site. www.imaginationsway.com Not to bad for an hour's worth of work. Now back to the page for more edits.

Games

Who else recalls Scotts attempt to load Second Life on the school computer? I did not realize it then, but there is another potential example of life on the web. Perhaps not the same degree as Second Life but still quite relevant and real. Massive multiplayer online role playing games or better known as MMORPGS. One well known example is World of Warcraft. Known for it's vastness, number of players and addicting habits. I refuse to play World of Warcraft (aka WOW) for one reason. It is expensive.
Yet there are other games, akin to WOW which I do play. First off they are free.
The one which I know quite well and use is known as Perfect World International. There are active online communities, games, events and while a library most likely would not make a character on a game like this it still might be interesting to see the results if a library sponsored a group of locals to all go onto a game, create a group of their own with the library as their sponsor, and see what happened.

Perfect World International

Trips and Tips

ALA. The American Library Association. A massive organization who presents a wondrous opportunity twice a year to learn, talk, and as some videos say even mate.

March of the Librarians

However, one must be wary on these trips. There are many goodies to be had, internships, people have committees, exhibits and sessions to attend. A swarm of librarians like no other has ever seen.
The ALA appears to be a giant organization with multiple offerings for a plethora of people.
Their site is
www.ala.org
and I was quite thrilled when Professor Nicholson announced that Syracuse University provided one year subscription to the ALA or SLA which can be found here www.sla.org

Tips for travelers. Bring bags, try as much as you can, learn, have fun, and meet people. That's what important.

Which way do we go?

Professor Nicholsan said something like this. That IST 511 was to take us and make us change which librarian we wanted to be, seven ways from Sunday. For me that statement was brought to life today with the tour of the library.
First was Professor Lavender and the books. Lovely books, wonderful books full of fun, history and so much work and detail it is eye opening. Five square miles of manuscripts alone in their collection. Mind boggling. That made me say, oh, this is more interesting than I thought.
Now time for Round Two - special collection restoration.
Conservation. Restoration, taking a broken old book and making it usable once again. I love fixing things, always have. I'm also a very tactile person, so feeling things, holding them in my hands is so important to me. Watching the process of book recovery made me want to work on them.
Final Round - Digital Conservation.
Take the work from the Special Collections and up the ante. A streamlined process of constant motion. People going about repairing book after book. I counted at least five books glued in the time I was there. Having the knowledge of how books are repaired is so essential. Now, at the very least, I know that I want to take some preservation courses.

What could be bad?

You know, copyright is fun. It really is, just like a root canal. A painful evil that is supposed to make life better for all of us. Still doesn't mean it makes you feel any better when they drill. Then comes along something new. Something exciting. Instead of drilling all the way they just scrape the surface. Say hello to Creative Commons, the official it's okay to do this with this material site. See below.

Creative Commons

Now then how do I describe this and do it justice. A rock library music vid? A comical conglomerate of bookish material? How about you look for yourself and decide.


Music video of Libraries

Let it be known that the professors here certainly know how to keep students engaged in class.

IST 511

I must say I am impressed with 511. A blazing overview of each and every aspect of library science and then twisting you around to say "ok, NOW what do I want to do." Professor Nicholson is both entertaining and educational (I think the next group of 511 folk who don't have him will miss out) and Professor Cooper is just as good. All professors should be so good. The guests are educational as well with their insights that they bring.
A little bit of a info OVERLOAD.
Then again, this is a summer class which only lasts five days.
It's to be expected.

IST 601 Pros and Cons

I will be quite frank. The class was not for me. While yes the games were entertaining, the powerpoints were nice, there was nothing new there for me to learn. I attribute that more to my varied background. I was brought up with a theatre background, singing almost constantly until I went to college. There I obtained a physics degree, as well as a minor in East Asian Studies. Not to mention one credit short of having a minor in creative writing. So a hard science background with a plethora of creative energy. Not to mention I enjoy writing for fun.
Thus the focus of 601, which was creativity and innovation, I found mundane. Yet, as I said, that was for me. Others might learn much and I'm sure they have but it is certainly not for everyone.
Yet there were some positive points. The card game for instance was fun and once the rules were explained. The amount of time I think could've been a bit less but that's my opinion. The group work helps people in multiple ways. Communication, learning, presentation and more.
My main issue is besides the creativity and innovation ( which I had already) I do not see a point for the class unless it is the case where such things are lacking in most people. I will be quite honest, I do not know most of humanity.

Chapter Fifteen review

The Process of Understanding

The need to know is part of our very being. Without it we could not grow and evolve as a species. How would our ancestors have discovered the use of fire? Why else would Galileo have risked his life but for the desire to know the truth. Thanks to those countless many who came before us we now have the freedom to explore as much as physically possible. Breakthroughs are occurring everyday almost. Something new is being discovered. Yet very little has changed from the days when Galileo first did his experiments. How are discoveries made? Some are made by chance but most are through long and dedicated research.
The time spent to sit down and study, analyzing patterns and the histories that came before are exactly the tools needed in discovery. How else what the Titanic found but by careful research of first hand accounts, sea charts of the area and methodically planning. Such research takes time. Just as the saying goes “Rome was not built in day” nor then can good research be hurried. Doing so invites more trouble than the shortened time would deem necessary. Then again one cannot rush understanding.
That is the essence of what research is, trying to understand the concept which one is attempting to uncover. The varying types of research methods are there to aid people in their endeavors. One wouldn't use a car to try to fly. One would use the proper instrument, a plane for example. That is the reason which varying research methods exist. They are tools to aid in our understanding.

Chapter 14 Making Use of Space

You knew you were at home when you entered Tims dorm room. A little stuffed panda clung to the bedposts while posters portraying both friends and stars alike adorned the walls. Music gently wafted out from all four corners of the room though from the sight of the mixer quietly sitting atop of the fridge you knew the walls could shake if needed. A full array of rigidly organized chaos sat atop his desk, threatening to break out at any instant if one so much as dared to breath the wrong way. People flocked here. It was the rare sight when one knocked and found just Tim. Studying, talking, playing games his room was a hub of life. There were two reasons for this. First was Tim's personality itself. He naturally drew people in and so they enjoyed to be around him. Second was he knew how to organize space.
A ten by fourteen space seems like a large space where any number of people could be stuffed. Yet, there are other factors that must be taken into consideration. Tim's room contains, like many dorm rooms, a desk, chair, closet, and bed. These reduce the available space by over half. Still yet was a mini fridge thus taking up another spot where a person could have sat. Despite all these factors I easily recall at least nine, if not ten people being able to gather in his room. Tim knew how space could arranged. He, more often than not, would sit at his desk and work at his computer and behind him two could stand without any trouble. Three more friends chatted on his bed while to the side in front of the closet four hunkered over a small television playing Super Smash Brothers Melee. Sometimes a person would bring in another chair, more often we'd sit on the floor to play.
Libraries need to make use of space the way Tim did. Make every square inch able to do something for the community. Tim knew his community quite well. He knew how space should be organized and how it would be used by whom. He didn't need to carefully plan out his space, he just created and if improvements could be made the suggestions were taken into consideration. Though during my entire time of knowing Tim his room may have changed locations but very little changed. Friends have come and gone but the image of a crowd gathered in his room, either hanging out, playing games, or doing work is still clear in my mind. His room was a community room very much like libraries. Libraries must have spaces where people can play games, talk, do work, and read. Those spaces must be made clear so that everyone can use them freely.

Chapter 11 Review

Wicked Problems

Everyday that goes by people encounter, solve, and create new problems. Most of these are so mundane and ordinary that we hardly give them a second glance. Figuring out change for groceries, determining how much gas to buy are just a few of the problems we solve without realizing it. Those are problems who are domesticated. We know where and how they act and though they can potentially grow large they are not complicated. A very good example of a wicked problem many of us face everyday of our lives is that of driving an automobile.
How is driving a car complicated? You stick the key in the ignition, shift gears and point the nose foreword and it goes. The only time it gets iffy is when it doesn't do that. That only happens in an ideal world. Nobody is alone on the road and watching not only the road but those on it is part of the drivers job. Thus the more vehicles driving the more things to watch, hence each object has a smaller frame of time that the mind pays attention to it. What do we have then? A crowded street, bumper to bumper traffic with horns blaring and the guy ahead of you chewing on french fries while talking on the cell phone while your kids are fighting in the backseat. Thus not only are you supposed to watch the movement on this street but you're also bombarded by a plethora of sounds from all directions. Dedicating your mind to one task might be difficult but doable. The problem here is that traffic is moving slowly so thus you can limit your scope to just the few vehicles around you.
That works, you slowly make your way through the congestion but your kids up the ante and start fighting behind you. Like any good parent you turn around, stop them, and suddenly find yourself blocking a construction entrance since you were blindly following traffic. Worse yet, a construction is careening backward down the ramp. You do the only thing you can think of, floor the gas and the horn. The truck misses you and thankfully the person ahead of you saw what was coming and was able to give you enough space to dive into . The person behind you wasn't so lucky and broadsided the truck, being turned into an accordion in the process.
The issue with driving is that no matter what there are almost always other options to any situation. By simply paying attention to the road and stopping where one should have the above situation would have been averted. Another idea would have been to pull into the construction entrance, get out of the car and then chastise the kids. Just like a stone in a pond every persons actions ripple outward and influence the way others will react. The process of driving can also be related to personal relationships. We hope that they will go smoothly but sometimes they are bumpy or worse. Unlike with driving where there are rules of the road to help guide people there are no such rules for the interactions between people. That truly is the most wicked problem.

Chapter 9 review – Change in Times

I know firsthand that formats change over time. VHS changed to DVD and nowadays that is slowly changing over to BlueRay. Something I never considered though is how such a transition would affect a libraries collections. Evans states that in audio technology alone there are seven transitions when one goes from vinyl records to modern and still forgoing online sources. The potential loss of whole collections is quite possible if the library does not keep up to date with the technologies.
Two good examples of these technologies are eight track cassettes and also audio cassettes. The eight track cassette tapes are almost four times the size of a audio cassette but they have two very different features. First is that they hold multiple tracks which one can jump to at any moment. The second is that they do not have to be rewound, the track is on a giant loop which moves from track to track to track. Yet they are not without drawbacks. Their size is a hindrance and since they have moving parts and a thin tape they wear quickly as well. There was a reason why the audio cassette soon replaced the eight track as a standard in audio for quite some time. Thus in just a few short years a collection of eight track cassettes would be rendered almost totally useless for the reason that the technology was now no longer available for people to listen to the tracks. There is a way around that fate though.
Collections do not need to be rendered completely obsolete with a little bit of planning. Providing the appropriate viewer or player for the user to use on site unlocks countless hours of use. Another potential option is to either A) purchase the collection under the newer format to allow for greater use or B) if copyright allows one might be able to transfer the collection onto another medium by themselves. Digitizing collections and works have been occurring around the country for some time now. I know for a fact how impressive some works can be. During my stay at Bucknell University I was part of such a project to help bring otherwise unknown works out into the open. Without the support and drive of countless individuals such projects rarely get can even even get off the ground. Certainly not when one has such a large scope. If anyone is curious I added the link to the collection which now is accessible to the world wide web.

Freedom of thought

Chapter 1 Review of the Portable MLIS

Thoughts are the only thing we have which nobody can screen and say “No, that's a thought we don't like or Yes, we like that idea. You can keep that one.” Only our own will is capable of that. Everything else though is subject from the radio and television all the way the content of libraries. Other people choose what is to be there on the shelves, not you, and hence because of that there is already one level of censoring. That is because every person is different and if asked to find a solution for one problem two people may very likely have two very different answers. Thus is the case with librarians and books. Just because there is a human element involved it limits the scope of what potential could be there. Yet that is true regardless of where one goes but this inbuilt censorship should not be ignored. It should be accounted for and thus we won't be surprised by it. Children, however, tend to not have as much as a problem with this.
Perhaps it is since they have not been molded by society. They do not have the forms in their minds which claim that some ideas are “good” or “bad”, “outlandish” or “fool hearty.” They are free to think in whatever way they wish which is something that we as a society tend to lose. Thus the thought of deliberately screening children for the sake of their protection I find, troublesome at best. What is wrong with a child asking what is sex? Does the answer of reproduction not sit well with some people? If so they may take their discomfort and find the nearest facility where they may vent their displeasure for the truth is the truth. Religion also holds no bar here for there are a plethora of examples in religious works of people multiplying.
The most likely reason why people want children to be limited on what they can view and learn is that people are afraid. Their long held values and beliefs would fall under constant attack with questions that have no answer. What again is a child's most potent question but “why?” Many people would not be able to answer or at the very least don't believe that they can and so to avoid the argument altogether they sweep the concepts they are concerned about under the rug and wait, hoping the children grow up and find an answer they agree with or put it off as them now been a “teen” or “that generation.” What censors are doing is attempting to keep the fact that fewer and fewer people are actually fulfilling their roles as parents. Who else cast the most shackles on our intellect but those who raise us?

Fun times with images

A useful site containing links to online image programs
http://www.sueblimely.com/online-image-generator-tools/

To the left is an example of what some of the programs can do.

Green Dam - a problem in the making

It seems to me that technology to censor things, might, be a good idea. Depending on how it's done, for example there is no need to expose children to grotesque violence or movies which disturb the psyche. At least not unsupervised. We're also talking about children. They need to learn and to learn they need to be exposed. Thus the big question becomes why is censorship needed in the first place?
Schools can claim to have a reason to censor. Keeping the child on track with the curriculum and also for the potential safely of the equipment. Public institutions have every right to do that. Not only are they trying to keep their own equipment from potential harm but then they are are also ensuring that that same equipment is available for the next user. The drawbacks though come into play if the software is too ambitious and blocks sites needed by the users. There is always a fine line to balance with such a thing.
That situation is in schools or within the realm of the public where an individual does not own the computer in question. Based on what I have read thus far China is close to mandating the use of a censorship system known as Green Dam. How it is to be mandated and for what I do not know but the fact that a government has already gone this far and given it's initial approval to such a thing makes me uneasy. My feelings were further strengthened when I stumbled upon this site, just a few links down when I typed Green Dam into Google.

http://www.cse.umich.edu/~jhalderm/pub/gd/

A basic summery

• The inner workings of the software are easily accessible
• The software used is outdated
• It censors based on the amount of human skin tone seen on the screen
• Certain phrases or politically sensitive materials causes the program to trigger
• Most important it allows the possibility of hacking into the users computer and for malicious code to be entered into the censorship software itself

If I might say I am completely unimpressed with Green Dam.

Back to my first question, why is censorship needed? My personal opinion is that it is not. The restriction of the flow of ideas, both good and bad, hinders and limits all of us. Who is the one that decides what is a "good" site or not? What criteria are used? Are we to go back to the age of the inquisition and burn anything that goes against the mainstream? Most people claim that pornography and sites of that nature are not suitable for children. Physically that might be so, children may not be mature enough to appreciate what is displayed. However, do people forget that, for most humans at least, what is forbidden tastes the sweetest? If one wishes for an example the book of Genesis holds the story of Adam, Eve and the serpent.
The best censor is not some program but instead you, yourself, your own person. There is nothing wrong with the sight of a person's body save that society instilled a concept known as modesty. A perfectly useless thing if there ever was one, it does nothing to advance the culture in anyway shape or form. Not only that but some people seem to have a phobia of discussing reproduction. One of the most basic functions we have as a species and certainly not one to be embarrassed about.
My theory is this

• instead of censoring instead explain to a child what it is that they are looking at
• don't try to make it understandable to be, explain it naturally
• if they want more clarification give it even if it means going back all the one to square one
• a valid answer to a question you don't know is "I don't know"
• in that case sit down with them and look it up

Hence my last gripe with censorship software. It takes the job of parents and mentors and instead tries to shove it off onto some inconsequential bits of data. Who would you like to be raised by, bits of data or bits of flesh?