Apr 29

SemanticWeb.com Spotlight on Library Innovation

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Have you been working on a linked data project for your library? Or do you know someone doing great work promoting or demonstrating the benefits of linked data for libraries? If so, consider nominating yourself or that colleague for first the SemanticWeb.com “Spotlight on Library Innovation”!

Offered by SemanticWeb.com, supported by OCLC and LITA, the Spotlight will provide a selected individual with the chance to showcase his or her work with linked data and semantic web technologies at the Semantic Technology and Business Conference 2013, June 2 – 5, in San Francisco.

If you know of someone working on an interesting project, nominate him or her for the Spotlight. Note that the project can be ongoing, but significant practical work should have been accomplished prior to March 31, 2013. The Spotlight opportunity gives one selected individual space on the conference program to give a short, lightning-style talk about their work. Travel & lodging costs during the conference will be paid by OCLC, plus a full conference pass from Semantic.Web.com.

Nominations (http://bit.ly/11K9uzJ) for the Spotlight are being accepted through May 10. Self-nominations cheerfully accepted.

Even if you do not nominate anyone, the Semantic Technology and Business Conference is well worth experiencing. SemTechBiz brings together industry thought leaders and practitioners to explore the challenges and opportunities jointly impacting both business leaders and technologists. Conference sessions include technical talks and case studies that highlight semantic technology applications in action. The program includes tutorials and over 130 sessions and demonstrations as well as a hackathon, start-up competition, exhibit floor, and networking opportunities.

As supporters of the SemanticWeb.com Library Spotlight, LITA and OCLC members will get a 50% discount on a gold conference pass – use discount code LITA or OCLC when registering -

LITA members – http://semtechbizsf2013.semanticweb.com/?c=stsflita – discount code “lita” minus quotes

OCLC members – http://semtechbizsf2013.semanticweb.com/?c=stsfoclc – discount code “oclc” minus quotes

Thanks and good luck!

Apr 19

Call for Proposals: LITA Lightning Rounds at ALA Annual

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Will you be at ALA in a few weeks? Do you have a great new technology idea that you’d like to share? LITA Program Planning Committee is accepting proposals for Lightning Presentations at ALA.

Please complete this form by May 8 at midnight to be considered.

This program, coordinated by Katie Miller, will be held Saturday, June 29 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Presentations should be 5-7 minutes

Apr 12

Creating Scalable Laptop Services in Support of Learning & Research: Join Us in Chicago for a LITA Preconference

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Since its inception a decade ago, the laptop lending service at the UCLA Library has become a cornerstone of the UCLA experience for students and instructors. With a campus of nearly 40,000 students, laptop lending operates on a large scale: Last year alone, our fleet of 275 laptops were checked out over 100,000 times across 7 lending locations, with an average checkout time of 2.7 hours. Another 100 laptops were used in classrooms for a combined 20 weeks of instruction.

Our current system of managing laptops has evolved with hardware choices, staffing changes, patron requests, lending methods and the forward march of technology. We expect to continue this evolution as we address physical and virtual security, increasingly collaborative environments, software virtualization, and the growing momentum behind mobile devices.

  •  Are you looking to institute a laptop or other mobile device lending program?
  • Do you have an existing program that you’d like to expand?
  • Want to gather ideas about what software to offer patrons while keeping the laptops secure?
  • Want to see how we clone 350 laptops on a quarterly basis?

Please join us for a hands-on workshop that will help you strategize key technical, administrative and instructional considerations at the LITA Pre-Conference Workshop Creating Scalable Laptop Services in Support of Learning & Research Friday, June 28, 2013, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Event Code: LIT1

The UCLA Library currently provides close to 500 dual-boot laptops for instruction and short-term loans to all UCLA students, faculty and staff. Each laptop offers the OS X and Windows operating systems with software packages in support of instruction and research. Library staff share the workflow and logistical details for preparing software, imaging the machines, tracking software licensing, processing lending through an ILS (Voyager) and maintaining the hardware and software.

Apr 02

March issue of ITAL available

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I’m pleased to announce the publication of the March issue of Information Technology and Libraries.

Issue contents are listed below. To receive automatic notifications of future issues, please subscribe to ITAL.

Suggestions and feedback are always welcome, please send to:

Bob Gerrity
ITAL Editor
gerrityr (at) gmail.com

Information Technology and Libraries
Volume 32, Number 1 (March 2013)
CONTENTS

Editorials

Bob Gerrity

Editor’s Comments

Patrick “Tod” Colegrove

Editorial Board Thoughts: Libraries as Makerspace?

Articles

Danielle Becker and Lauren Yannotta

Modeling a library web site redesign process: developing a user-centered web site through usability testing 

This article presents a model for creating a strong, user-centered web presence by pairing usability testing and the design process. Four rounds of usability testing were conducted throughout the process of building a new academic library web site. Participants were asked to perform tasks using a talk-aloud protocol. Tasks were based on guiding principles of web usability that served as a framework for the new site. Results from this study show that testing throughout the design process is an effective way to build a website that not only reflects user needs and preferences, but can be easily changed as new resources and technologies emerge.

Kathleen W. Weessies, Daniel S. Dotson

Mapping for the Masses: GIS Lite & Online Mapping Tools in Academic Libraries

Customized maps depicting complex social data are much more prevalent today than in the past. Not only in formal published outlets, interactive mapping tools make it easy to create and publish custom maps in both formal and more casual outlets such as social media. This article defines GIS Lite, describes three commercial products currently licensed by institutions and discusses issues that arise from their varied functionality and license restrictions.

Vandana Singh

Experiences of Migrating to Open Source Integrated Library Systems 

Interest in migrating to open-source integrated library systems is continually growing in libraries. Along with the interest, lack of empirical research and evidence to compare the process of migration brings a lot of anxiety to the interested librarians. In this research, twenty librarians who have worked in libraries that migrated to open-source integrated library system (ILS) or are in the process of migrating were interviewed. The interviews focused on their experiences and the lessons learned in the process of migration. The results from the interviews are used to create guidelines/best practices for each stage of the adoption process of an open-source ILS. These guidelines will be helpful for librarians who want to research and adopt an open-source ILS.

Danijela Boberic Krsticev

Information Retrieval Using Middleware Approach 

This paper explores the use of a mediator/wrapper approach to enable the search of an existing library management system using different information retrieval protocols  It proposes an architecture for a software component that will act as an intermediary between the library system and search services.It provides an overview of different approaches to add Z39.50 and Search/Retrieval via URL (SRU) functionality using a middleware approach that is implemented on the BISIS library management system. That wrapper performs transformation of Contextual Query Language (CQL) into Lucene query language. The primary aim of this software component is to enable search and retrieval of bibliographic records using the SRU and Z39.50 protocols, but the proposed architecture of the software components is also suitable for inclusion of the existing library management system into a library portal. The software component provides a single interface to server-side protocols for search and retrieval of records. Additional protocols could be used. This paper provides practical demonstration of interest to developers of library management systems and those who are trying to use open-source solutions to make their local catalog accessible to other systems.

Mar 08

LITA Guide: Improving the visibility and use of digital repositories through SEO

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Recent OCLC surveys show that less than 2 percent of library users begin their search on a library website, which is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so crucial. And though a survey of faculty researchers at four major universities showed that most consider Google and Google Scholar amazingly effective for their research, low Google Scholar indexing ratios for library institutional repositories is widespread because it ignores common library metadata. Kenning Arlitsch and Patrick OBrien, who have presented and published widely on the topic, show how to ensure that high-value content is visible to researchers in their new book “Improving the Visibility and Use of Digital Repositories through SEO: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource. Drawing on their expertise in digital libraries and corporate marketing, they show how to mount a successful SEO strategy, including:

  • Recommended dashboards for increasing participation by sharing data;
  • Avoiding the four most common crawler errors that lead to low rankings;
  • How to effectively utilize the Google Keyword Tool;
  • The use of domain settings to generate unit-specific reports for special collections, institutional repositories and university presses.

Arlitsch is the dean of the library at Montana State University. Prior to his current position he was the associate dean for information technology services at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. He is the founder of the Mountain West Digital Library and the Utah Digital Newspapers program, as well as co-founder of the Western Waters Digital Library and the Western Soundscape Archive.

OBrien is the Semantic Web research director at the Montana State University Library. Prior to his current position he was the SEO research manager at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. He is an expert in Semantic Web technologies and their application for improving data integration quality, discovering new relationships, and turning diverse data stores into conceptual knowledge. OBrien has more than 15 years’ experience implementing data-driven marketing and risk management strategy within various industries.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing (at) ala.org.

Mar 07

LITA Guide Available: Implementing virtual reference services

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Social Web technologies present an often confusing array of options for answering library users’ reference questions. In “Implementing Virtual Reference Services: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource, editor Beth C. Thomsett-Scott applies 20 years’ experience as a reference librarian to sort through the clutter of tools and technologies in the industry. Contributors from across the field lay out how libraries are using vendor services such as LibraryH3lp, LibAnswers and Text a Librarian, as well as free tools like Twitter and Google Voice, for their reference needs. Practitioners offer details on virtual reference services such as Twitter Search, instant messaging (IM) services such as Google Voice and Chat and collaborative services such as My Info Quest.

Thomsett-Scott is currently the engineering librarian at the University of North Texas Libraries. In her previous role as reference unit manager, she assisted with establishing the libraries’ Meebo service, as well as their chat and text messaging services. She has served in various positions in professional associations, including ALA, the Special Library Association and the Texas Library Association. She has published in a variety of journals and presented conference sessions on the topics of website usability, mentoring and training reference staff and students and technology.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide. Contact us at (800) 545-2433 ext. 5418 or editionsmarketing (at) ala.org.

Mar 07

Cory Doctorow to present LITA President’s Program

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Cory Doctorow will present “More than a book-lined Internet Cafe: LITA President’s Program” from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 30th in Chicago. 

Zoe Stewart-Marshall, LITA President, welcomes Cory Doctorow to present the LITA President’s program.  Doctorow is a digital rights activist, science fiction writer, and, Boing Boing co-editor.    Stewart-Marshall said “More than a book-lined Internet Café” promises to be a lively, thought-provoking talk on how libraries can and do stand on the front lines of the debate over the role of free information, and free information technology in ensuring the healthy maintenance of a free society.  And yes, he will talk about DRM.”

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger — the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of young adult novels like PIRATE CINEMA and LITTLE BROTHER and novels for adults like RAPTURE OF THE NERDS and MAKERS. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in London.

The LITA President’s program is part of “Sunday Afternoon with LITA” at the ALA Annual Conference.   “Sunday Afternoon with LITA” begins with the LITA awards presentations, followed by the popular Top Technology Trends panel discussion, and, culminates with the LITA President’s Program.  

Details on all LITA Annual Conference programs and events are available at http://www.ala.org/lita/conferences/annual/2013.

Mar 07

Jobs in Library Technology: March 7

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New vacancy listings are posted weekly on Wednesday at approximately 12 noon Central Time. They appear under New This Week and under the appropriate regional listing. Postings remain on the LITA Job Site for a minimum of four weeks.

New This Week

Executive Director/System Administrator, Montgomery County Library & Information Network Consortium, Conshohocken, PA

Mar 07

Meet the Candidates on Circulating Ideas

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CI1

Check out the newest episode of Circulating Ideas, for short interviews with most of the candidates for LITA offices in the upcoming election (I was unfortunately not able to get ahold of all candidates). I encourage everyone in LITA, and throughout ALA, to learn more about the candidates running for office. We don’t have mud-slinging smear campaigns in the library world, but the candidates do all have their own strengths and interests and will take their divisions in different directions. Other March episodes of the podcast will deal with other ALA offices / divisions, so stay tuned.

Thanks for listening and I hope everyone takes the time to vote, starting March 19!

Mar 06

Introduction to Python: Join Us in Chicago for a LITA Preconference

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Are you ready to start coding? Have you made your ALA Annual travel plans yet?

The Library Code Year Interest Group (a joint ALCTS and LITA Interest Group) will be offering a full-day pre-conference workshop on Python before this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Attendees will learn the basics of the Python programming language with ample opportunities for hands-on, project-based practice. Using a curriculum based on the one developed by the Boston Python Workshop, we will teach attendees the syntax and key features of Python while providing them with an opportunity to work through practice exercises. During the second half of the day, attendees will have the opportunity to complete a short project in Python to use the skills they have learned. Experienced teaching staff will be on hand to provide support and feedback throughout the workshop.

While we’ll cover a lot of ground, this workshop does not assume any prior programming experience. We will provide a supportive environment and explain everything you need to know through a mix of lecture, self-paced hands-on exercises, and projects. By the end of the day, attendees will be ready to tackle new projects and will have ideas about how they can integrate Python into their work going forward. Whether you have never written a program in your life or you already have experience in other languages and want to add Python to your repertoire, this workshop will be perfect for you! Come to learn a new skills and to meet like-minded individuals in a fun, welcoming setting. While Division members get a discount, you need not be a Division member to attend; we’d love to see all kinds of library staff represented! If you have any questions about the workshop, please feel free to contact Carli Spina (cspina@law.harvard.edu) for additional information. Registration and Cost Information

Please note: Attendees will be asked to bring a laptop with them to the workshop and will need to set up a Python development environment on that computer in advance. The teaching staff will offer support throughout this process, including step-by-step instructions and virtual office hours. Depending on your experience level, this may take anywhere from half an hour to a few hours.

Can’t make it to Chicago for ALA this summer? Want to start learning today? Find out other library coding projects and educational opportunities in the Library Journal Digital Shift’s post Cracking the Code: Librarians Acquiring Essential Coding Skills