Monday, July 06, 2009
Ex Libris' UMI - development partners announced
Ex Libris announced that it has selected its development partners for its Unified Resource Management (URM) framework. The most interesting part of this release, for me, is this quote from Oren Beit-Arie, Ex Libris' chief strategy officer: "This is a momentous time for the information community, in which we openly and collaboratively depart from traditional models of integrated library systems into a new framework built to support current and emerging missions of academic, research, and national libraries" (emphasis mine). The complete announcement is available here.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
reading 'the race for perfect'
I'm now reading 'The Race for Perfect,' Steve Hamm's 2009 history of the development of portable computers. I'm typing this first paragraph on my battered but powerful BlackBerry handheld computer, which supports electronic mail, web browsing, interactive work with the Facebook and Twitter services via client software, and SMS and MMS messaging (the latter of which I'm using to post to the blogger service).
Yahoo Pipes
In preparation for a LITA preconference, I'm spending my first serious time with the Yahoo Pipes service.
As a start, I'm using existing examples in conjuntion with Twitter's API:
Simple example using Twitter Pipe
(result: success, very easy to apply)
Twitter followers map
(result: works, but source data inaccuracy is a problem)
Twitter for Facebook Notes
(esult: it works! I already knew it was easy to display (as text) URLs within a tweet; that's the default....)
Then, I created a pipe to extract data on Breeding's library technology feed related to OCLC, using this tutorial as a map.
As a start, I'm using existing examples in conjuntion with Twitter's API:
Simple example using Twitter Pipe
(result: success, very easy to apply)
Twitter followers map
(result: works, but source data inaccuracy is a problem)
Twitter for Facebook Notes
(esult: it works! I already knew it was easy to display (as text) URLs within a tweet; that's the default....)
Then, I created a pipe to extract data on Breeding's library technology feed related to OCLC, using this tutorial as a map.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
use of Twitterizer
I'm continuing with Twitter API coding, in preparation for a LITA preconference that I'll be attending in less than two weeks. Previously, I just used the Twitter API and XML parsing in .NET. I tried a couple of different approaches in continuing my work: shifting to Python for application programming (which I found more difficult than I expected, in part because of the shift from Python 2.x to Python 3.x, and poor documentation of available libraries.
I've gone back to using .NET for coding Twitter applications and I'm working on a Windows client at this time. I investigated two library options (TwitterLib and Twitterizer) and, again, the poor documentation issue was evident. I have made enough progress with Twitterizer that I think I'll stick with it for my Twitter development for the immediate future.
I've gone back to using .NET for coding Twitter applications and I'm working on a Windows client at this time. I investigated two library options (TwitterLib and Twitterizer) and, again, the poor documentation issue was evident. I have made enough progress with Twitterizer that I think I'll stick with it for my Twitter development for the immediate future.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
ERes 5.6 release
There was an annoucement release for SirsiDynix Docutek ERes on Friday, version 5.6.
The two features most emphasized by Talin Bingham, CTO of SirsiDynix, in the release are streaming media support and encyrpted cookies. This is the key sentence on the streaming media support: "Each audio or video file can be designated to allow downloading or be restricted to streaming via the built in streaming media player." With this built-in support, undoubtedly some libraries will be free to either drop licensing for an existing streaming program or to begin serving AV content to its user community. Cookie encrption offers additional security for user authentication data.
My institution has been pretty aggressive in implementing ERes upgrades (taking advantages of the new features and dealing with some minor problems from early adoption), and I'm hoping to apply ERes 5.6 very soon. As with recent upgrades (like the 5.5.x level, SirsiDynix has done a good job in documenting and publicizing this release.
The two features most emphasized by Talin Bingham, CTO of SirsiDynix, in the release are streaming media support and encyrpted cookies. This is the key sentence on the streaming media support: "Each audio or video file can be designated to allow downloading or be restricted to streaming via the built in streaming media player." With this built-in support, undoubtedly some libraries will be free to either drop licensing for an existing streaming program or to begin serving AV content to its user community. Cookie encrption offers additional security for user authentication data.
My institution has been pretty aggressive in implementing ERes upgrades (taking advantages of the new features and dealing with some minor problems from early adoption), and I'm hoping to apply ERes 5.6 very soon. As with recent upgrades (like the 5.5.x level, SirsiDynix has done a good job in documenting and publicizing this release.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
code4lib nw summary
I was very pleasantly surprised by this meeting and I think that this conference was far more valuable to me than the national/intl code4lib conference would have been. I found the presentations and discussions focused on real-world solutions and automation efforts. There was a short evaluative discussion at the end of the meeting and the overall take of attendees was very positive.
code4lib nw afternoon
I need to learn more about OSIDs. Mike Spalti of Willamette presented on his institution's work with NEH on an OSID for CONTENTdm.
I fired off Twitter messages throughout the afternoon. Check here for additional presentation details.
I fired off Twitter messages throughout the afternoon. Check here for additional presentation details.
code4lib nw morning
Terry Reese (right) kicks off the northwest code4Lib meeting in downtown Portland, Oregon. 
Right now, Ryan Wick (who also works at Oregon State University, in the special collections area) is describing the Omeka Platform, which strikes me as another good relevant OS package. It is a solution, complementary with core digital collections/repository solutions such as CONTENTdm and DSpace, that enables a special collections unit to build a quick online exhibit site with a unique appearance.
Right now, Ryan Wick (who also works at Oregon State University, in the special collections area) is describing the Omeka Platform, which strikes me as another good relevant OS package. It is a solution, complementary with core digital collections/repository solutions such as CONTENTdm and DSpace, that enables a special collections unit to build a quick online exhibit site with a unique appearance.
code4lib northwest, open source IR software
No question, I've been neglecting this space as I've gone bonkers with Twitter.
Today, I'll be attending a code4lib conference for the northwest region in downtown Portland. I attended the 2006 code4lib meeting in Corvallis. Some of the presentations and discussions at that meeting were quite intriguing (e.g., discussions on the future of the ILS and the need for better assessment options from ILS vendors). Some were crude (e.g., a virtual presentation on the Evergreen OS ILS, in which a presenter first bragged on the exclusion of librarians from the development team, then noted later in his remarks, when struggling with a point, that he had suffered a "brain fart" (sic). I witnessed heavy drinking at evening events and the ostracism of multiple attendees who didn't fit the model of a "progressive," late-30s, OS geek who's shacked up in his parents' basement.
Based upon my experiences since that time, I now see the pure OS position as analogous to the pure vendor-dependence position, with both entailing significant service risks for an institution. The implementation of OCLC WorldCat Navigator in the Alliance, as one example, illustrates why working with a cooperative is a more reliable development path for libraries, and it's not surprising that OCLC's published WorldCat API and efforts to integrate metasearch into its WorldCat Local product have come under attack from the open source community (http://oregonstate.edu/~reeset/blog/archives/623, point 6).
The archival software community is another case where the pure OS position has led to serious technical problems. Both the Archon and Archivists Toolkit projects are commendable efforts, but both rely upon mapping XML to a RDBMS; for AT, I spoke with a project developer who confirmed to me that an RDBMS was selected for storage because of developer preference.
The one place where OS solutions have taken the strongest hold in the region is in the institutional repository/durable digial repository area, with the four largest public academics in Washington and Oregon all using the DSpace software stack to support their services. My view: the regional OS community should build on this foundation and focus less on moving institutions from relatively low-cost commerical solutions that work to roughly-comprable OS solutions.
Today, I'll be attending a code4lib conference for the northwest region in downtown Portland. I attended the 2006 code4lib meeting in Corvallis. Some of the presentations and discussions at that meeting were quite intriguing (e.g., discussions on the future of the ILS and the need for better assessment options from ILS vendors). Some were crude (e.g., a virtual presentation on the Evergreen OS ILS, in which a presenter first bragged on the exclusion of librarians from the development team, then noted later in his remarks, when struggling with a point, that he had suffered a "brain fart" (sic). I witnessed heavy drinking at evening events and the ostracism of multiple attendees who didn't fit the model of a "progressive," late-30s, OS geek who's shacked up in his parents' basement.
Based upon my experiences since that time, I now see the pure OS position as analogous to the pure vendor-dependence position, with both entailing significant service risks for an institution. The implementation of OCLC WorldCat Navigator in the Alliance, as one example, illustrates why working with a cooperative is a more reliable development path for libraries, and it's not surprising that OCLC's published WorldCat API and efforts to integrate metasearch into its WorldCat Local product have come under attack from the open source community (http://oregonstate.edu/~reeset/blog/archives/623, point 6).
The archival software community is another case where the pure OS position has led to serious technical problems. Both the Archon and Archivists Toolkit projects are commendable efforts, but both rely upon mapping XML to a RDBMS; for AT, I spoke with a project developer who confirmed to me that an RDBMS was selected for storage because of developer preference.
The one place where OS solutions have taken the strongest hold in the region is in the institutional repository/durable digial repository area, with the four largest public academics in Washington and Oregon all using the DSpace software stack to support their services. My view: the regional OS community should build on this foundation and focus less on moving institutions from relatively low-cost commerical solutions that work to roughly-comprable OS solutions.
Friday, May 22, 2009
the big switch: what's Nicholas Carr talking about??
Reading The Big Switch by Nicholas Carr. When I question what Carr is talking about, I mean to say this: He describes a centralized "information utility" that this space and other services (Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, Hotmail...) are powered by (22). But how far will this centralization go? Won't the advantages of decentralized computing (privacy, control over data archiving) still lead institutions to use hybrid solutions that harness centralized computing when it works and local applications when they provide the best solution?
Based upon the Prologue, this quote from chapter 3 is central to Carr's argument: "most of the software and almost all of the hardware that companies use today are essentially the same as the hardware and software their competitors use...the same goes for the employees who staff IT departments" (57). As one example, the National Science Foundation's DataNet solicitation stands as a counterargument to these assertions. In this case, the NSF is looking for partners to develop, over a decade, a sustainable, revenue-neutral solution for the preservation of digital data sets. The awarded institutions will undoubtedly be the "haves" of computing infrastructure and human talent. The "have-nots" will become their customers.
I agree, at a high level, with Carr's argument but I have some issues with the details. Carr asserts that Microsoft was founded "to write software for the newly invented PC"; in fact, the company started by developing software for microcomputers (54). While Microsoft's OS and productivity applications are threatened by software as a service, Microsoft was and is strongly positioned to support hybrid solutions involving both locally-loaded and online services.
The Big Switch is quite relevant to the industry that I work in, library automation. As one example, OCLC recently issued a press release in which it described its work in moving library systems to the network level. In analyzing this release and work, Vanderbilt's Marshall Breeding's described what he sees as the likely results of this development; his analysis is very similar to Carr's for the information industry as a whole:
Time to move on to the next work. This title is recommended as a basic grounding in cloud computing and as a means of learning more about specific commercial firms/ventures that have succeeded using this model.
Based upon the Prologue, this quote from chapter 3 is central to Carr's argument: "most of the software and almost all of the hardware that companies use today are essentially the same as the hardware and software their competitors use...the same goes for the employees who staff IT departments" (57). As one example, the National Science Foundation's DataNet solicitation stands as a counterargument to these assertions. In this case, the NSF is looking for partners to develop, over a decade, a sustainable, revenue-neutral solution for the preservation of digital data sets. The awarded institutions will undoubtedly be the "haves" of computing infrastructure and human talent. The "have-nots" will become their customers.
I agree, at a high level, with Carr's argument but I have some issues with the details. Carr asserts that Microsoft was founded "to write software for the newly invented PC"; in fact, the company started by developing software for microcomputers (54). While Microsoft's OS and productivity applications are threatened by software as a service, Microsoft was and is strongly positioned to support hybrid solutions involving both locally-loaded and online services.
The Big Switch is quite relevant to the industry that I work in, library automation. As one example, OCLC recently issued a press release in which it described its work in moving library systems to the network level. In analyzing this release and work, Vanderbilt's Marshall Breeding's described what he sees as the likely results of this development; his analysis is very similar to Carr's for the information industry as a whole:
OCLC’s vision involves shifting increasing portions of activity managed library-by-library through locally or consortially implemented automation systems to the network level, subsumed under the global WorldCat infrastructure...in this era where cloud computing gains an increasing portion of business automation, OCLC sees WorldCat Local as a platform that offers libraries an opportunity to achieve similar efficiency, leveraging the power of the cooperative.Breeding cites reduced personnel demands as a motivator for moving to the envisioned model; Carr deals at length with the impact of utility computing upon staffing in chapter 7, "From the Many to the Few." While I agree with Carr's general argument, I have trouble picturing relying upon "social production" for a large subset of the "nonroutine cognitive tasks" cited by the author, particularly those tasks that are ongoing and improved by a company or institution through experience (136-7).
Time to move on to the next work. This title is recommended as a basic grounding in cloud computing and as a means of learning more about specific commercial firms/ventures that have succeeded using this model.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
