Sunday, 12 July 2009

Anne of Green Gables Gone Bad?

Oh my, a 'dark' version of Anne of Green Gables is coming out! It's titled 'The Blythes Are Quoted and is a collection of poems and short stories written by L.M. Montgomery, set around the time of the first world war.
"The book looks set to reveal a darker side to the author, with its publisher promising themes of "adultery, illegitimacy, misogyny, revenge, murder, despair, bitterness, hatred, and death – usually not the first terms associated with LM Montgomery". Wow. At least it's written by Montgomery, and not someone else like the recent 'Before Green Gables' (which is on my rapidly expanding 2read pile). And at least it's faithful to the Anne timeline, not like that awful movie Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story. The only good thing about that one was Jonathan Crombie and Megan Follows. People need to stop making fake stories about much loved classics.
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Web 2.0: Video Sharing: Uses and Implications For Libraries

Note: This post was created for a graduate level class at the University of Alberta: EDES 501 Web 2.0 for Libraries. Warning: this one's a long one folks.
Have you ever made a movie?
You'd be surprised how easy the process is. Move over Steven Spielberg, the librarians are coming, and they're online!
Libraries are embracing video making and video sharing technologies. Video sharing involves posting to and viewing online media from a video sharing website. Examples of video sharing websites include YouTube, Vimeo, Slideshare, and Animoto. Each provides different services, but their basic mandate is the same: share information online. Most services provide the ability to tag and organize videos by content, and allow for commenting which encourages user involvement and the creation of communities. It presents information and learning in a different way, rather than just flat text or audio content, and may appeal to users with different learning styles.
YouTube is by far the biggest free video sharing website: 1.2 billion YouTube videos are viewed each day! YouTube provides free video hosting of short (up to ten minutes) videos, as well as a personalized subscription page where registered users can keep favourites, make playlists, and follow channels. Video subscriptions can be linked to Twitter, Facebook and RSS readers, and videos can be embedded into websites and blogs.
I have been using YouTube for years, but only to watch videos. I have numerous playlists set up, and often add videos that interest me personally. I have not used YouTube to follow or save professional videos. I thought it was time to set up a professional account, so I signed up for another account under a different name. I was very easy to sign up, and I was personalizing my page in no time, something I never bothered to do with my personal account. I found the site interface to be very intuitive and it was easy to add content and change the visual format of my login space. I also subscribed to a couple channels, an option I had never made use of before. On my channel you will also find the links to all the YouTube videos I have included in this post, under the 'Favourites' section.
Though I often watch videos, I wanted to explore the other end: creating and uploading. I have never made a 'movie' before, but figured the iSight webcam on my macbook must be capable of producing something. I discovered a program called iMovie already on my macbook, and watched the numerous video tutorials provided by Apple. It was very easy to create a simple video, although I can see how using advanced functions such as editing would indeed involve specialized knowledge and this was quite intimidating. Thus, I resolved to stick with simple video production of the 'point and shoot' variety. Mostly it involved getting the timing right, and clicking appropriate buttons. Once recording was finished, I was faced with the daunting task of actually getting my video onto YouTube. However, much to my surprise, uploading the video to YouTube was even easier than making the video, as iMovie provides this option from the menu bar. A couple clicks and my movie is ready to be seen by millions of people online! YouTube also provides a way to upload videos from their site itself. I tested this process and it was also very simple and intuitive.
Here is my very first video, for your viewing pleasure, but please note this assignment is about the implications of video sharing for libraries, not about how to film and edit fancy videos (or how to produce an effective book review!). I think I need to take those classes too!
It is easy to create and upload a video, which makes YouTube a free, simple, viable option for libraries. Though the article "Social video videoblogging & YouTube" (2007) does state that smaller libraries do not have the time, staff or money for this sort of venture, I realized you do not need expensive equipment or specialized staff to produce online content. All it takes is a little creativity, and motivation to explore and learn about the technology already available. Plus, there are thousands of tutorials already on YouTube to help inexperienced staff get started.
Similar to the uses of photo sharing, the uses of video sharing in libraries could include:
Using video sharing technology is an effective way to reach the current generation of young, technologically capable young people (Ariew, 2008). These internet-savvy young people are using school and public libraries, and are attending colleges and universities. Ariew (2008) notes "the practice of finding, using, sharing and evaluating online videos has already entered the domain of information literacy and is likely to become an essential part of the educational landscape" (p.2057). By using a media that students and many patrons are already comfortable with, libraries can better reach their users, and can thus better act as educators as they disseminate knowledge. I really like the Arizona State University Libraries 'Library Minute Series'. So far they have over 20 videos on their YouTube channel that contain excellent information literacy resources for students. They are very well done, and exhibit obvious technical film making skills. Not only is the information presented in an accessible way, but each one ends in a funny/quirky quote also!
Catering to young people who are knowledgeable about the internet does create a digital divide. One might initially think that seniors would not often access video sharing, but "The new digital divide" (2007) argues the real demographic left out by online content is "the 30 and 40 something urban professionals, too frazzled from family, too washed out from work [who] are simply too tired and scared to engage and explore new digital technologies" (p. 110). I would disagree, noting that this demographics' use of facebook has grown recently, and one may assume these adults are also catching on to YouTube. Regardless, a library should consider that a portion of their population might not (by choice or by circumstance) have access to their online tools. Information must be made available in a number of mediums in order to reach all patrons.
The Association of College and Research Libraries posted a very interesting article on their blog about 'reinventing the wheel'. There are so many useful library videos out there already, should a library make their own or just link to others? Issues of copyright abound, and linking to others instead of making your own video removes the personal elements of each library. Is it worth saving the time, effort (and possibly money)? Will it have a negative effect on your community if they do not see 'themselves' in your library's videos? What would your patrons rather have? I personally am currently of two minds about this. I do think it is important to personalize content and make users proud of and involved with their library. However, linking to other excellent videos is another way to provide useful content to patrons, while saving local resources. It is certainly an issue to consider and comments regarding this issue are most welcome.
The concerns and issues regarding video sharing are similar to photo sharing. Copyright issues are always of concern. YouTube is able to bypass many infringements because users cannot actually download videos, only view them. However "file streaming can violate the copyright holders' rights to distribute works and their rights to perform or display the works" (Pike, 2007, p.16). I also think that embedding videos within websites and blogs is actually a form of downloading, and thus does indeed infringe on the copyright of certain videos that are not user created, or otherwise contain licensed content. YouTube does remove content that actively infringes on copyright if someone complains, and monitors and removes licensed content such as certain television shows and music videos (Pike, 2007).
How does this affect user uploaded content? Pike (2007) explains that by uploading their own material, users "are voluntarily exercising their publication and distribution rights using YouTube as the 'publisher' of the work" (p.16). Libraries certainly need to be aware of this: by uploading their videos, they are basically signing away their copyright, which gives online viewers free reign over how they choose to use the content. While this encourages sharing and the free dissemination of knowledge, I think libraries need to be aware of what they are sending out, and the implications of possible misuse online.
Once again one must consider privacy issues, especially when filming members of the public and children. Though it is unlikely libraries would post videos that are of a questionable nature, or that contain criminal activity, I think it is worth educating users about the dangers of their own personal use of video sharing. Another current trend worth considering is that more and more students and children are using YouTube to search for information for their assignments. Librarians need to be aware of this, and should strive to promote educational materials, perhaps providing users with videos about certain topics, as well as about how to search appropriately.
I think video sharing is an easy, and effective way to build community online between a library and its users. It was interesting to see so many excellent videos about libraries already on YouTube. Now that I know how simple it is to do, I certainly would consider video sharing ideas for my own library one day.
References:
Ariew, S. (2008). YouTube culture and the academic library: A guide to online open access educational videos. Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 45(12), 2057-2063.
Pike, G. H. (2007). Google, YouTube, copyright, and privacy. Information Today, 24(4), 15-16.
Social video videoblogging & YouTube. (2007). Library Technology Reports, 43(5), 52-57.
The new digital divide: Rebels against the future. (2007). Multimedia Information & Technology. 33(4), 109-110.
Webb, P. L. (2007). YouTube and libraries. College & Research Libraries News, 68(6), 354-355.
Useful Links:
(YouTube imaged acquired from Creative Commons.)
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Saturday, 11 July 2009

Library Quote Goes To The Dogs

Though I often dis library 'school', I do love libraries and books and reading and people who love libraries and books and reading. Here's a little bit of sunshine for you:
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
And that's why I'm a cat person.
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Friday, 10 July 2009

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

Bother. My fantastic web 2.0 series of blog posts are not going over well with the prof. At least a few of us seem to be in the sinking ship that is our G.P.A. You'd think I could write a decent post about this sort of stuff, not like I haven't been blogging for awhile. You'd also think they would've told us they wanted scholarly research for each post before the class started, instead of failing us for two posts first.
Grr. I hate school so much right now I want to quit and go back to working at the mall. I love the mall. I hate university. This is the summer from hell and I want it to be over now.
I'm too stressed to sleep.
Sunshine, where is all the sunshine?
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Thursday, 9 July 2009

Suspended?

This is so cute:
Who uses the word "mosey" these days? I think I'll take it up and introduce it to Etown like I introduced "y'all" to London. Just for something to do...
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Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Castle Novel Being Published By ABC

I'm supposed to be cutting down my TV viewing, but I did pick up a new show this year: Castle. It's a crime drama and I like crime dramas. The main character is an author and I like to write. It's witty and quite funny and not bad for a new show. But let's face it, this is the reason I'm watching Castle:
I heart Nathan Fillion.
Anyways, to promote the second season, ABC is publishing a book written by 'Castle':
"Starting Aug. 10, the first chapter of a novel titled "Heat Wave," credited to Richard Castle, will debut on ABC.com as a round of on-air repeats lead up to the Season 2 premiere in late September.The network will post the first half of the book, a chapter a week, for 10 weeks. The full novel will be published Sept. 29 by Disney sister company Hyperion. The story apparently is a stand-alone mystery with cross-over elements to the on-screen story."
Fun! Where do I sign up?
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Tuesday, 7 July 2009

Web 2.0: Online Photo Sharing For Libraries

Note: This post was created for a graduate level class at the University of Alberta: EDES 501 Web 2.0 for Libraries.
Photo sharing has rapidly become a popular web 2.0 tool. Photo sharing involves registering for one of the many online photo sharing sites such as flickr, photobucket, facebook or picasa. One may then upload, edit and share photos online. The entire process is streamlined and easy to learn how to do. There are numerous reasons why photo sharing could be used. Storing photos online is a form of backup, and keeps photos safe should an emergency such as computer failure or natural disaster destroy other digital or hard copies. Photos can be grouped and tagged, which are easy ways to organize large collections. Sharing photos is also a very social activity which connects people, making the entire process useful and fun.
Personally, I have been using photobucket since 2005. Photo sharing was very new, and I had never heard of flickr. I signed up for photobucket after a friend recommended I use it to upload all of my travel photos. As I was living abroad at the time, I created a travel blog to share my adventures and photos with friends and family back home. I used a function within photobucket to create slideshows of labelled photos, which I then inserted into the travel journal pages on my blog. I have also noticed how photobucket has evolved over the past four years: now photos may be easily edited, tagged, commented on, and shared over numerous platforms, all of which were not present or as easy to figure out back in 2005.
Other than posting to my travel blog, I have never had much use for online photo sharing. I naturally am not a photographer, and rarely photograph objects, people or events, other than when I travel. While I am on facebook, I only post photographs from concerts I have attended in order to personally archive and remember those events, and I often untag photos that others have posted of me. I am concerned about privacy, as well as about how I may be perceived in a professional environment, should employers see photos of me online. A library should also be concerned with the image their photos reflect, as libraries are professional institutions and must uphold a professional appearance.
Despite this reluctance, I have decided it might finally be time for me to use photo sharing for more than blogging. Before viewing the Common Craft video regarding photo sharing, I had never thought of photo sharing as a back up tool. I think that in the future I will consider opening an extra account in order to back up all my photos online and ensure their enduring safety. I will likely choose flickr over my current photobucket account because flickr does not contain ads (which are annoyingly obvious on photobucket), and has a minimalist interface, making it pleasing to look at. I think photobucket is cluttered, which makes it more complicated to use than flickr, which appears quite simple to use. Both sites offer similar functions such as the tagging, editing, commenting and the ability to embed and share photos over a variety of platforms such as facebook, email or blogs. Flickr has also just announced a partnership with twitter, and now new content can be automatically tweeted. The sky is the limit for the new phase of photo sharing!
The only downside with flickr is that it is a Yahoo company, and to sign up I would need to create a Yahoo ID and email. At this point, I don't want to sign up for a yahoo email account. I also explored Picasa, a Google product. I use numerous Google services, and already had a Picasa account because it automatically uploads all the photos I put on my blogs. I uploaded a couple on my own, and felt the process was very simple. The Picasa interface is also simple like flickr, and doesn't contain any ads. However, it doesn't have all the added functions of the other two photo sharing sites. While photos could still be tagged and commented on, I thought only way to 'share' a photo was through email, but discovered how to embed a photo after three tries. Embedding that photo was not very intuitive, and there was no easy way (besides changing html code) to centre or realign it (so I delete it). Plus there was no way to make a slideshow, a function I appreciate. Picasa also is not as popular as flickr, but there is still an active community on Picasa and the 'explore' tab allows you to view and comment on other's photos. I think Picasa is not as impressive as flickr, but has a cleaner interface as compared with photobucket.
flickr - clean, simple, ad free interface
photobucket - cluttered and full of ads
Picasa - ad free and simple, but not as functional or popular as flickr
Regardless of the lack of my personal use of photo sharing, I have realized libraries can use it in a variety of ways. Some suggested uses of photo sharing in libraries that I like and think would be beneficial include:
  • Posting screen shots of presentations (guest speakers or conferences for example).
  • Posting instructional photos or sets on a variety of research processes, services or library use.
  • Storing photos, which could then be displayed on a library website through a widget or other form of embedding.
  • Posting answers or screenshots to reference questions and queries (which may be found online, or in the library) for distance patrons who do not have email addresses or who prefer to view the answer online in a visual format.
  • Creating a photo tour of the library (for example, the University of Winnipeg Library Tour), local tour, or collection of local attractions or sites.
  • Sharing images of events (like programming and author visits).
  • Using photos to promote new books, groups, events or the library in general.
  • Encouraging patrons to tag, and comment on photos to increase involvement (perhaps in the form of a poll).
  • Displaying virtual exhibits.
  • Posting photos as part of historical archives (like the Library of Congress).
  • Searching other library collections for examples of best practices.
  • Joining groups to network and share ideas with other libraries.
I also think some of these ideas may also be accomplished by using tools such as screencasts, video sharing or perhaps in conjunction with a tool such as SlideShare, which allows for viewing, uploading and embedding of powerpoint presentations.
There are many concerns regarding photosharing, including identity theft and the safety of children and teens. Recently it was widely reported that an American family's photo, which was posted online, was spotted as a store front advertisement in the Czech Republic. This is perhaps a whimsical example of "online photo sharing gone wrong", but the consequence can be more severe, and thus require awareness. Online safety regarding children and young people would certainly be a concern and consideration for public libraries, although similar issues of privacy could occur in academic or special library settings. A library must take into consideration the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), and might consider having patrons sign wavers if photographs of people (especially children) are to be displayed.
Another issue is copyright. When posting photos online, should they be licensed or copyright protected? Who owns the rights to posted photos? Who controls how they are used by third parties? As an alternative to full copyright licensing, Flickr provides users the option of licensing their photos under a Creative Commons licensing scheme, which has numerous options and levels. Flickr also gives the option to distort photos that a third party may right click and download, and firefox users may enable a hack to prevent photos from being downloaded at all. This may be one solution, and libraries should critically think about how they would like to protect their photos.
When deciding how to use photo sharing, a library must critically think about safety and security issues. Libraries should not be scared off by these concerns, as the numerous positive uses for photo sharing make it a tool worth considering in order to further improve services for patrons.
Resources Used:
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