Can we make the internet suitable as an infrastructure in times of crisis?

Something said in the Webcast “Why the Internet is the Way It Is…” struck me as extremely significant. Is it possible for the internet to be a suitable alert system in times of crisis? Of course, I get the impression that we’d have to have a battery-operated device to access the web if the power was out. But the real question I have concerns finding the correct information on the web to help you get through an emergency and help you find out what is going on. I suspect that, unless there was strict protocol, it would be very difficult to know where to find what you need in a time of crisis. I recently had an experience that I can relate to this topic.

I don’t have cable and no television channels come in. I also don’t get any newspapers, and I check my phone messages once a week or so. I check my email more often, but not on the weekends. I work very hard to maintain the lack of these things in my life. (Dr. Tomer: I’ve heard of this Lady Gaga of which you speak, but that’s about it.) However, one day, I needed to find information about a current, potentially tragic event, and I didn’t know how.

I was driving through town and I noticed that the American flags at local banks and car dealerships and whatnot were all flying at half-mast. I was listening to NPR, but they weren’t talking about any major crisis and apparently I only think there is one radio station, because it didn’t cross my mind to hit the seek button. Instead, I went home quickly to get on the internet to see if I could find out any information. I was honestly worried that someone had been assassinated or I had somehow missed a memo about a past president’s death.

When I got home, I checked the New York Times website first. Nothing. Then I went to Google to see if I could find something out. There wasn’t anything indicating it in the news section. I decided to Google information, but what would I search for? I sat there for a minute trying to figure out what I should type in to get the results I needed. For some unknown reason, I settled on “who died today?” It was at that moment that I realized how ridiculous it was to be searching for information on the web that wasn’t obviously present. Usually Google “guesses” what I want before I’m even done (or at least comes up with some really interesting suggestions), but this time I didn’t know what to search for. It's funny now, but I couldn’t find anything and I honestly felt very frustrated and lost at the time. News becomes old news so fast that I was worried I’d missed something significant.

Several days later I found out that they were flying the flags at half-mast for the miners lost in the recent accident in south WV. I had asked a coworker.

On the most basic level, I am sure that if some kind of serious emergency took place, the internet news providers would do their best to inform as many people as possible. But what happens of someone misses the latest yahoo update that said not to drink the water, or to stay put because help is on the way? Could the internet be trusted with such important information? I think so, but there would have to be clear rules and instructions on both the sides of the news providers and the general public.

Library Catalog

Dr. Tomer talked about whether library catalogs are user-friendly in our 2000 class, but it applies to this class as well. This is something I have thought about with regularity for the past seven months. Last October, I had the chance to see Tim Spaulding, creator of Library Thing, give a lecture. He really opened my eyes as to how user-unfriendly most library catalogs actually are. I think his lecture ruffled a lot of feathers in the room, but for me, it really hit home.

The catalog at our library is really not developed with users in mind. The aspect that always gets me into trouble is the search bar. I really hate that it doesn’t guess which words you mean if you happen to type something in incorrectly. It just comes up with no results. I’m sure we lose people right there if they’re searching from home.

The other thing that I’ve found disappointing is our “shopping cart” feature. Yes, you can save titles into a list; however, it does not save the call number. How they can design this feature and not include the call number, I have no idea. It doesn’t seem logical and it’s totally frustrating. I try to pull related books for a program or display and I have to actually write down every call number, rather than click, click, print.

Spaulding mentioned the fact that our catalog does not come up on a Google search. I’m not a computer expert, but I think it’s because your screen will refresh after 30 minutes and totally clear out, which in itself is troublesome. We aren’t marketing ourselves very well through our catalogs. What would happen if someone could Google a title and our catalog would come up, saying the book was available? That would be incredibly fortunate, I think. At least people would think of the library, which is not something everyone does anymore.

Discussion Boards as Idea Formulation, Blog as Idea Builder?

I just realized that I should probably clarify that part of my last post was originally an idea that I got from one of my courseweb discussion board topics for 2000. I am realizing that there is a lot of cross-referencing for these classes, at least on my part. I’m not going to worry too much about it, as I feel that much of the information I am gathering for both can be applied to both. Also, I think it’s great that we are able to formulate ideas and discuss them in the discussion boards. What a great, informal (yet semi-formal, as we’re being graded) venue to “try out” new ideas on others. I feel like it’s been less than a week and I’ve already put so many things regarding libraries into a different perspective. I have a feeling I might often discover something on the discussion boards and take it here to the blog for a bit more hashing out. I assume that is the point, though.

Response: Meredith Farkas Lecture

The video of Meredith Farkas’ lecture really got me excited about the future of libraries because she addressed so many ways to achieve what she calls Library 2.0, or this idea of a collaborative library system. I got a lot out of this lecture because these are things I think about everyday in my job. I could compare what she was talking about with a real, functioning library system while at the same time evaluate what we’ve done in our library system to make us more 2.0 and, more specifically, what I’ve done personally in my position to make the library more 2.0 (without knowing that this was a buzzword or that these concepts were significant).

Since I’ve worked in the library system, we’ve made several advances in making our library more user-friendly and more tech. savvy. We’ve implemented an online eBook and audiobook service so people can download from home. I started a Facebook page and blogs for the library as ways to get our name out there and become more interactive with our community. I also ran an in-house “librarian recommendations” display to make us seem more friendly, which admittedly was stolen directly from bookstore marketing techniques. Our eBooks are now IPhone compatible.

But there are things we still can’t quite manage. We may have material patrons can use on their IPhone, but I don’t think any staff members could actually help if a patron had issues. We can’t quite manage to open an hour earlier on Saturdays to accommodate the hundreds of people just across the street from us at the farmer’s market. We have had the workings of placing online holds ready for almost a year and still haven’t managed to get it out to the public.

But I think that the more we can push forward to accomplish these things, the more it puts the library into focus and not only will more people use it more often, more people will use the library in different ways. This seems to be where we, as a profession, are headed. Perhaps some day we will be able to put into place more collaborative concepts like visible comments, catalog tagging, and what have you. I think some people will embrace this and some people will never quite get there.

Farkas does mention the fact that not all library users will appreciate these technologically advanced services. I think she is absolutely right. I don’t often work on the service floors, but when I do I am amazed at how many patrons are resistant to and almost fearful of something as simple as learning to use our online catalog computer stations to see if we have what they’re looking for. The replacement of a physical card catalog to a digital one took place many, many years ago, and yet, daily we have people who come in and prefer not to use it. So, in ways, I think the gap in what all patrons want widens further as we progress with Library 2.0 services. Trying to navigate on which party to focus your services, or how to find a balance between the two will be of utmost importance.

It's a Wiki World Out There

This is a test post. After having watched the first class session of 2600, I am realizing how much “unlearning” and reevaluating I might have to do to get a degree in Library Science. It is so different from what I was taught in my B.A. For starters, Wikipedia is linked right off the bat in the syllabus. As a faithful believer in wiki and all it stands for, I warmly welcome it into academia. However, my mentors from English would probably faint. If there was one motto I learned in the last two years of school, it was that Wikipedia does not count as a factual source. I understand that, even as a faithful user. However, questions arise: are there places where it counts and where it doesn’t? What happens when it starts to count? What is its role in libraries versus academia and what could its role be in the future for both of these venues?

I think these are questions that the librarian asks but the English major doesn’t ask. When I started my career in libraries, I thought: “This fits perfectly with my interest in books! What better place for a book lover to work than a library?” As I move forward, I see every day that I don’t actually work with books, I work with people. I work with getting the information and entertainment that people want and need into their hands. For me, this really connects with what Dr. Tomer was talking about in class: we have to make library materials accessible on our patrons’ terms and those terms are increasingly mobile and wiki-fied. Seeing it linked in the syllabus helped me realized that Wikipedia is counting more and more as a factual source and I need to realize that as a librarian.

I see Wikipedia as a jumping off point on a subject. What I mean is this: if I want some basic, introductory information on a subject, a bit more than (or even just) a definition, I’ll start there. It leads me to more Wikipedia articles -- I’ll likely open ten new tabs on various topics mentioned within an article, which might closely or more loosely relate to the beginning topic – and it leads me to sources outside the wiki-realm. Dr. Tomer talked about location reading abilities. What if it was able to do that and libraries could set up a system to link their available related materials to articles? Would people use it? Would I myself use it as a library patron and Wikipedia bottom feeder? I think I would, if I were interested enough in the topic, especially if it linked to a library’s eBook or whatnot and I could simply click a link to access library materials. If I were really interested in the topic, I might even physically go to the library for something listed that seemed worthwhile. With that, I can see that I am already getting ahead of myself.