Carrie’s LIS Weblog

Just today, my boss asked if I would show him my Facebook page.  “I’m still kinda clueless about these new technology sites,” he told me.  So I gladly showed him my page and he marveled at how I could post pictures, connect with old friends, etc.–all through a simple website.  But while it just seems like part of everyday life today, the Internet is still relatively young and has an interesting history.

 I found it interesting to read about the Internet’s origins.  I did some Google searching, and most sites state that the Internet can be traced back to the 1960s, when ARPANET started developing.  Wikipedia defines ARPANET as “the world’s first operational packet switching network.”  ARPANET was just the beginning though–soon other countries besides the U.S. were connecting their networks through TCP/IP.  In its early stages, the Internet was used by and for computer scientists and the government (later expanding to universities).  In the U.S., DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) was a major force behind the Internet, and in Europe, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) was another key player.

Fast forward to the late 1980’s and early 90’s.  The Internet was alredy allowed use at universities for research, and around this time expanded to commerce.   The Computer History Museum online also cites the late 80’s as being the time when the concept of the “World Wide Web” was first introduced.  The 90’s saw the growth of email and the use of the World Wide Web among everyday citizens.  I think for a lot of people, the draw was how fast the Internet was (although it was slower than it is today!)  I can still remember my first experience with the Internet in high school and just being amazed at how fast I could get information.

This leads us today, with billions of web pages, high-speed Internet options, and networking sites such as Facebook, which continues to amaze my boss.  He has three young children, and I asked him what sort of technology he thought his children might encounter in the future.  “Who knows?” he said.  “When they’re older, things like Facebook and Myspace will probably seem old and like nothing to them.”  He may be right!  Who knows how the Internet will continue to evolve in the future…..

Web Tool Review: Wikis

(Note—I’m just going to envision that I’m providing this information for my Roosevelt University Performing Arts Library co-workers).

Today’s librarians are increasingly looking for new ways to connect with patrons and each other. One of the ways libraries are now doing this is through wikis. Wikipedia defines Wikis as “a medium which can be edited by anyone with access to it, and provides an easy method for linking from one page to another.” Essentially, wikis are like websites or electronic discussion boards, but the difference is that anyone who is signed in can edit and write information on it. Many librarians have begun using wikis, from school libraries to public libraries to academic libraries. One of the best things about wikis is that they can be used by staff members or patrons on topics ranging from book discussions to updating staff procedures manuals.

Setting up a wiki is easy. One way to get it going is to install open-source software such as Mediawiki or Tikiwiki. According to Wikipedia, Mediawiki is the most popular software and will give an appearance similar to that of Wikipedia. Or you can go to a hosted “wiki farm” (defined by Wikipedia as a server that provides a hosting for a wiki) site and use software such as Wikipspaces, PBwiki or Wetpaint Wiki. I found several library wikis that used PB or Wetpaint. Once the wiki is set up, then librarians just have to get the word out! Then users can start commenting on topics, editing the pages, and creating fun discussion amongst themselves.

In order to demonstrate how wikis are currently being used, I’ve provided three examples of library wikis.

• Yale Arts Library wiki at http://yaleartslib.pbwiki.com/. This is an example of an academic library wiki, with this one being tailored to arts students. Users can view and edit information on artist copyright, library resources on the arts, scholarship info, and Yale arts faculty.
• Roosevelt University Library wiki—this is also an academic library wiki, but instead of being geared towards students and faculty, this one is just for the staff. Since Roosevelt has two different campus locations—Chicago and Schaumburg—it’s a good way for staff to keep each other informed about what’s going on in their department. The wiki includes pages for all the library committees, contains forms such as instruction session evaluations, and allows librarians to discuss various topics without having to email each other back and forth.
• Since the wiki is intended for internal use only, I prefer that the link not be made public. Instead, I’ve included a screen shot (used with permission) of one of the topics being discussed. These are some ideas were thrown around as possible library blog topics. NOTE—I’m having some trouble getting the screen shot to come up, but I was able to copy and paste some of it on here.  If I can get the entire shot to come up I’ll post it.

• Pierce County Library System (Tacoma, Washington) wiki at http://wiki.piercecountylibrary.org/?t=anon. This is an example of a public library wiki. Patrons can view the teen blog entries, discuss their favorite books and movies, and add to the ‘favorite places in the area’ list.

As a performing arts library, we can use wiki for a variety of topics. Since Roosevelt University already has a staff library wiki, it would be helpful to create one for our students and faculty. We could possibly adopt some of the same things that Yale University has used on their wiki, but tailor it for Roosevelt music and theatre students. Possible topics could include tips for music score searching, where to find course reserve lists, and helpful music and theater job and internship sites. We could also include pages for faculty on topics such as how to set up a reserve list and what laws are concerning music and theater copyright.

If you’d like to read more about wikis, there’s plenty of articles out there. One I like is Putting Wikis into Play by Michael Stephens and Rachel Singer Gorden from Computers in Libraries, volume 27 #2 February 2007, pages 42-43. The article does a good job of explaining wikis in simple terms and gives librarians helpful tips on how to get started. Another good article is An Information Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson from Teacher Librarian, Volume 34 #5 June 2007, pages 57-59. This article explains the basic characteristics of wikis and explains how librarians can use them in the classroom to teach students to work together for writing exercises. It’s a good example of one of the unique ways wikis are used.

Happy wiki-ing!

After studying the Dominican University library website, I think it has some positive features and is definitely moving in the right direction, but it could probably benefit from some modifications. NCSU and Columbia College Chicago are both good examples of how libraries can have a professional, yet fun site.

Visual attractiveness: I found the NCSU site- http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/ -very visually attractive. Instead of having a bare background with just one or two colors, the site makes use of photos at the top, graphics in the middle of the page, and different colors to enhance visual interest. The photos of the library and students studying add a fun visual element, and the color-coded boxes below make it easy for the students to eyeball what they’re looking for.

Columbia College’s site- http://www.lib.colum.edu/ -is very basic, yet still visually attractive. Although the site contains a white background, the photo and different color headings still keep it visually attractive without being boring. I also prefer Columbia’s use of fonts—the headings are bigger than the rest of the text, while NCSU uses almost entirely the same font throughout.

Layout/Ease of Use: NCSU lays out its information very nicely—everything is categorized into boxes. Additionally, in the “Browse Subjects: box, clicking one of the links brings up a pop-up box. You can then click on whichever field you’re looking for and are taken directly to that area’s information on research help and resources.One thing I like about both NCSU and the Columbia College site is that they both have information divided into different color categories and maintain the same color throughout the categories’ pages. For example, on the Columbia page, “find books” is under a red heading. If you click the link for it, the following page still keeps the red heading and the research tab stays on the right side of the page. You always know what part of the site you’re at and it makes it easier to navigate.  For example, see the link  http://www.lib.colum.edu/research/findBooks.php

I once had a co-worker describe what he called the “toilet paper” site—the kind of site that just keeps scrolling and scrolling. NCSU and Columbia both manage to keep all of their information on one page and structured in a way that requires little scrolling.

Content/human element: As a primarily visual arts and media school, Columbia College does a good job of tailoring their site to their unique student body. The “About” section contains links to images from the library’s art exhibits, and the library blog (found under “Library News) uses language and topics familiar to arts students. For example, there’s an entry on a staff member who was named “one to watch” in fashion and links to his own clothing design line. This shows that the staff knows how to connect with their student body.

Suggestions for Dominican site improvements

Visual appearance: The current library website- http://domweb.dom.edu/library/crown/ -is a little stark and bland; it doesn’t attract much visual interest. I think Dominican could take a cue from NCSU and Columbia and add some color to the site, perhaps by color-coding the different categories.

Layout/ease of use: I like the categories and would not change them, but I would perhaps arrange them in a different way—it would help to not have to scroll down too much. Perhaps if they were arranged in columns of three rather than two, it would make the site easier to navigate. It would also help if separate categories were created for faculty/staff and students. The faculty link could include information such as how to book an instruction session, while the student link could include information such as how to how to view what’s checked out on their account.

There were also a few cases of clicking a link and having the subsequent page contain mostly white space at the top, forcing you to scroll down to view the information, such as when you follow this link http://domweb.dom.edu/library/crown/lib/govdocs.htm. The white space at the top should be eliminated.

Content/human element:The Dominican library site doesn’t feel very personal. When you access the library site from Dominican’s home page, you see the icon and quote of Michael Stephens, which I like, but it would also help to add a ‘welcome’ graphic and a photo or two—perhaps of students studying in the cyber café or at one of the tables.The Dominican library site has some helpful features and is off to a good start, but a little retouching will help make it even better!

A note to those who commented on Roosevelt University’s library blog–my colleagues really appreciated your nice comments.  And apparently the word is finally starting to get out more–readership has gone up!

One of the librarians who writes the blog, Jake, told me that I’m welcome to contribute to the blog anytime.  I definitely hope to–what a great experience!