Event: Planets Outreach and Training event, 22-24 June 2009

From the Digital Preservation discussion list.

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You are invited to participate in the Planets Outreach and Training event, ‘Digital Preservation – the Planets way’ at the Royal Library in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 22-24 June 2009.

Registration is now open, and a full event programme and registration form is available on the Planets website at: http://www.planets-project.eu/events/copenhagen-2009/.

Day 1 of the event explores the challenges of digital preservation and introduces the Planets tools and services. On Days 2 and 3 delegates will gain hands-on experience of working with Planets and a scenario (sample collection) to develop a preservation plan and preserve digital objects. The event will include plenty of opportunity for discussion, sharing ideas and best practice and to ask questions.

The event is aimed at CEOs, Heads of IT, Curation and Preservation, IT staff, digital librarians and archivists, curators, policy managers and other staff preparing to or involved in preserving digital content.

You can register for either Day 1 only at a cost of 80 EUR, or for all three days at a cost of 175 EUR.

Due to the nature of the event there is an upper capacity of 60 delegates on Day 1 and 40 delegates on Days 2 and 3.

Final closing date for all registrations is 11 June 2009.

This event is the first in a series of Planets outreach and training events to be hosted at venues across Europe between June 2009 and May 2010.

Planets (Preservation and Long-Term Access through Networked Services) is a four-year project co-funded by the European Union under Framework Programme 6 to address core digital preservation challenges. Planets is building practical tools and services to help ensure long-term access to our digital cultural and scientific assets.

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Technorati tag: Digital Preservation

Career Building and Staying Relevant in Trying Economic Times

Yesterday, the Upstate New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association held an all-day event on "Career Building and Staying Relevant in Trying Economic Times" at SUNY Albany. An abundance of good information was exchanged during the event, as well as during the informal times in the day.

The morning speaker was Rachel Singer Gordon who is an author, editor and webmaster of LISjobs.com. Gordon divided her talk into the 12 R's which all have to do with establishing your career:

1. Refocus
2. Recognize the need to be proactive
3. Reinvest
4. Resume
5. Relocate
6. Resources
7. Reconnect
8. Ready yourself
9. Rethink
10. Reframe
11. Resilience
12. Realize

If I were to summarize her talk, I would say that her message was to understand yourself and your options. Think broadly. Don't be quick to eliminate possibilities. Keep yourself current (and your resume). Set goals and set a path for achieving them.

Gordon pointed to LISjobs.com as a site that does contain resources for job seekers and noted that many people don't take advantage of that part of the web site. She "hammered home" that there are conference scholarships, etc., that are available for people to apply for, yet few submit applications.

Gordon noted that how you think about your career is impacted by who you think is in control of your career: you or external forces. The key is for you to take ownership of your career.

Another resource for us to know about is Beyond The Job which contains "articles, job-hunting advice, professional development opportunities, and other news and ideas on how to further your library career."

The other morning speaker was Noah Simon from the SUNY Albany Career Center. Simon said that this economy is teaching use about career development. Everyone wants a recession-proof career, but we all should have been building recession-proof careers before the recession hit.

Simon talked about the 2% rule. He believes that you should spend 2% of each work week focusing on your career (that's 30 - 60 min. per week). What should you be doing with that time?

• Update your resume
• Look at your skill set and think about which skills are transferable to other types of jobs
• Make new contacts
• Follow-up on old contacts
• Place yourself in appropriate social networking tools (e.g., LinkedIn)
• Work on your skills
• ...and more

He emphasized over and over again that we need to be in control of our careers. We spend a lot of time planning vacations, etc., shouldn't we also plan our careers?

One question he asked was, "Are you being shut out of your current field (of expertise) or are you shutting yourself out?"

During lunch, Chris Miller, treasurer for the Upstate NY Chapter, talked about the resources available through SLA. there are many, many resources available to members on the SLA web site and most of us are unaware of what is there. If you have not explored the web site in the last year, please take time to look at it. Your membership dollars are providing an increased number of resources to you.

BTW Miller used this interactive map during his presentation which shows when jobs disappeared in the U.S.

After lunch, Ruth Wolfish, Association Chapter Cabinet Chair-Elect, spoke about SLA's Alignment Project. She provided us with a overview of the project and some of what had been learned. She encouraged each of us to go through the information on the SLA web site about this project. The goal of the Alignment Project is to help the Association and each of us understand how we should be positioning ourselves in the mind of our employers and clients. We know that the terms "special libraries" and "special librarians" are not clear and so what words, etc., should we be using?

SLA has been thinking about the "name thing" for a long time and this project is a very organized attempt at figuring it out. I think our earlier failed conversations on this really paved the way for this project. I, for one, have an open mind about the results.

The final part of the day was a panel discussion with Ruth Wolfish, Euan Morton, Polly-Alida Farrington, and myself talking about our career paths. None of us would have guessed the paths our careers have taken! Three of us are now independent information professionals with our own consulting businesses. Three of us had worked in IT or library systems during our careers. Three of us had corporate backgrounds. (And I should note that who the "three" are changes with each statement.) All of us had worked in libraries at some point. Our tips overlapped and included:

• Remaining flexible
• Being curious
• Learning how to network
• Developing and maintaining a good network
• Understanding how to promote yourself
• Being open to the possibilities that come your way

While hard to define, those of use who had some IT experience felt that it was a good addition to our skills set. I think our consensus was that the how-to wasn't as important as understanding how to communicate with IT and how to collaborate with them.

The themes of the day continued on the drive back to Syracuse between four of us who carpooled together (two MLS students and two information professionals). The day raised questions and also provided inpetus to "get moving". The students really saw the day as a wake-up call.

One of the conversations we had was about the value of the MLS. I've been in several conversations this spring on this topic. My bottom line is that there are library positions where the MLS is important: reference, research services, cataloguing, and management. Some libraries are hiring retail managers to run specific "client-facing" departments. In those areas, there are skills that those people have that an MLS may not have. The staff in circulation tends not to have an MLS, since circulation does not require the knowledge that is gained with an MLS. Those who do technology training within a library (for staff and users) often do not have an MLS. As for the IT area, that group may be a mix of MLS and non-MLS employees because both will bring necessary knowledge and skills to the position.

It is important to recognize that those who have an MLS and those who do not are all doing important, valuable work. Without each group, our libraries would fail. Members of each group are active in the overall profession through their writing and speaking, volunteer work, and leadership.

Yesterday was a long day. We left at 6 a.m. and return to Syracuse at 6 p.m., but it was very worthwhile! I'm glad for the new people I met and for those that I got a chance to see again. Hopefully everyone took away some action items; I know I did. Besides being reminded to tend to my own career every week, I was reminded to encourage others to tend to theirs. Of course, I found some tools to check out including Prezi and Wordle (I may be the last person on earth to try Wordle).

BTW for Upstate NY SLA members, I know that there will be a longer summary of the day likely in the next newsletter. These are just my notes and I know they only skim the surface.

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Technorati tag: SLA

Life photos on Google and copyright:: Updated info

I've complained here and here about the copyright statement on the Life photographs likely being inaccurate. Now I see that the photos are marked:

For personal non-commercial use only

While this is better, it would still be in Life's (and Google's) best interest to provide more information on their expectations of those who use the site. Yes, this requires thought but it would be good to document and communicate. For an example, see the Conditions of Use page for the UBdigit program.

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Technorati tags: Digitization, Google

World Digital Library launched on April 20

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and 32 partner institutions launched the World Digital Library on Monday. It is a $60 million joint effort. Quoting the press release:

The World Digital Library functions in seven languages―Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish―and includes content in more than 40 languages. Browse and search features facilitate cross-cultural and cross-temporal exploration on the site. Descriptions of each item and videos, with expert curators speaking about selected items, provide context for users and are intended to spark curiosity and encourage both students and the general public to learn more about the cultural heritage of all countries.

The World Digital Library was developed by a team at the Library of Congress. Technical assistance was provided by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina of Alexandria, Egypt. Institutions contributing to the WDL include national libraries and cultural and educational institutions in Brazil, Egypt, China, France, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Contributed content covers nearly 200 countries and includes 1,200 high-resolution digitized files. 1,200 files is a modest beginning, but it is a beginning. The project's funding and partner commitment should allow this to grow to include much, much more.

Time Magazine wonders, though:

While the artifacts themselves are well-presented and engrossing, it's hard to see how this promising collection of primary sources can avoid competing with the likes of Google and Wikipedia for readers who don't need to read Genji in the original Japanese.

Good point and hopefully something that has been addressed in the project and marketing plans for this effort.

If you haven't looked at it, please do. The browse function is quite cool and will undoubtedly get people to play with it, use it, and learn from it.

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Technorati tag: Digitization

For New Yorkers: Report on the Meeting with the Regents Committee on Cultural Education, April 20

Yesterday morning, the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries (RAC) met with the New York State Board of Regents' Committee on Cultural Education. In addition to the members of the Committee, Chancellor Merryl Tisch was also in attendance. Norm Jacknis, chair of RAC, presented our report to the Regents, which focused on three areas:

• Fiscal Challenges -- It is clear that many of our libraries are facing fiscal challenges at a time when our citizens are relying on them more. We urged "the Board of Regents to press right now to maintain and increase state and federal funding for our libraries and library systems. Along with funding for State Aid to Schools, the Board of Regents needs to make state and federal funding for libraries a Regents priority budget and legislative item, each and every year."
• The Key Role Of Libraries In The Education Of All New Yorkers -- We asked that the Regents"ensure that libraries and library systems are recognized as full partners in the educational process and as necessary for student achievement. " As part of that we asked that the Board of Regents "strengthen and expand [the] present mandates for school library programs to include certified library media specialists at the elementary school level." We also asked that the State Library's role in providing electronic resources not be threatened.
• The Need To Re-evaluate Library Services In The Internet Age -- It has been a number of years since the Regents Commission on Library Services. Given the changes that have occurred since 2000, we asked that the Regents consider creating a new commission. Understanding the changes that have occurred in technology, we hope that any new commission could work effectively together while limiting the need for face-to-face (costly) meetings.
  

The Regents in attendance were vocal in their general support of our report and specifically in the need to have strong libraries in New York State. They recognize that the fiscal challenges that we face will be with New York State for a while, but are hopeful in helping libraries get through this tough time. They clearly understand the role that libraries can and do play in education, both for those in P-16 as well as those who are re-tooling themselves for new careers. I was pleased with their questions, suggestions and comments.

I left the meeting (and the post-meeting informal conversations) believing that now is the time for libraries to form the partnerships with business, industry, etc., so that our position in society is clear to everyone, especially those who control library funding. With those partnerships in place, requests for funding will be met with fewer challenges. We need to understand that although education is important, our societal concern at the moment is with an unstable economy. We need to connect ourselves to those engines that keep the economy moving forward and demonstrate ourselves a necessary core of that work.

It is not enough to say that businesses need us. They need to be at the table with us. For example, we need to be working with the Department of Labor and others on providing services that our users require (i.e., for job searches). We need to open our doors and make our "house" a "home" for more activities and more partners.

In addition, I left the meeting realizing that the Regents need to hear more from libraries, and those who advocate on behalf of libraries. And that does include hearing much more frequently from the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries. The Regents have important work/decisions ahead of them and we need to be sure that they have the needed information for those decisions.

Finally, I want to note that New York State Librarian Bernard Margolis and Deputy
Commissioner Jeffey Cannell were also in attendance yesterday and voiced support for RAC's report. Michael Borges, Executive Director of the New York Library Association, was in the audience. And I believe that State Education Commissioner Richard Mills was present for part of the meeting.

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Technorati tags: Regents, New York State, NYS, RAC

Event: Digital Futures, London, 27 April to 1 May, 2009

Likely not too late to register.

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Digital Futures: from digitization to delivery

27 April to 1 May, 2009

King's College London is pleased to announce the Digital Futures 5-day training event.

Led by experts of international renown, Digital Futures focuses on the creation, delivery and preservation of digital resources from cultural and memory institutions. Lasting five days, Digital Futures is aimed at managers and other practitioners from the library, museum, heritage and cultural sectors looking to understand the strategic and management issues of developing digital resources from digitisation to delivery.

Digital Futures will cover the following core areas:

• Planning and management
• Fund raising
• Understanding the audience
• Metadata - introduction and implementation
• Copyright and intellectual property
• Sustainability
• Financial issues
• Visual and image based resource creation and delivery
• Implementing digital resources
• Digital preservation

There will be visits to 2 institutions to see behind the scenes and receive expert presentations. For the London Digital Futures this will be the National Gallery and the National Archives.

Digital Futures aims for no more than 25-30 delegates and every delegate will have the opportunity to also spend one-to-one time with a Digital Futures leader to discuss issues specific to them.
Digital Futures will issue a certificate of achievement to each delegate.

The Digital Futures leaders are:

• Simon Tanner - Director of King's Digital Consultancy Services, King's College London
• Tom Clareson - Director for New Initiatives, Lyrasis

The leaders have over 30 years of experience in the digital realm between them. Other experts will be invited to speak in their areas of expertise.

Jill's April - June schedule: Will I see you soon?

With teaching 2.5* graduate classes this semester AND consulting, my schedule has left me little time for blogging. That doesn't mean that I don't have things to blog about; I just don't have the time. I should gain some time for blogging after mid-May and I look forward to catching up!

I did , however, want to tell you my speaking schedule and where you'll find me when I'm on the road. If you're in the same location, please do find me and say "hi".

• April 24, Upstate NY Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, Albany, NY (Career Building and Staying Relevant in Trying Economic Times) - afternoon panel about library and information science (LIS) careers.
• May 1, NFAIS, Philadelphia, PA (The Future of Scholarly Communication) -- Social Media in the Library Environment (presentation with Wayne Hay)
• May 21, Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting, Columbus, Ohio (Archival Access & Accessibility: Tradition & Technology) -- What We Are Learning From Google & Flickr About Digitization and Partnership (Plenary Session)
• May 29, Rochester Professional Consultants Network, Rochester, NY (Marketing Yourself—The Power of Marketing through Publishing, Presenting & Teaching) -- Designing the Ideal Speaker Engagement: Creating ROI for You and the Audience (presentation)
• June 14, Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC - 10 Things in One Day: Applying social tools to your library (workshop with Sophia Guevara)
  
• June 15, Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC - Copyright, Social Media and the Corporate Library (presentation)
  
• June 16, Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC - The Consultant's Toolkit: Discovery in the Round (panel discussion)
• June 17, Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC - Digital Preservation: Discovery in the Round Conversation (panel discussion)

* A half class? Yes, it's possible.

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Technorati tags: Digitization, Social Networking Tools

Article: Google Book settlement faces legal assault

I've heard that some people have publicly been for the settlement and privately been against it. Perhaps they are toeing the party-line publicly, while privately recognizing that it's just not right. Well, here is an article that mentions a few possible challenges to the settlement including:

Consumer Watchdog is appealing to the Justice Department on the grounds that the orphan works situation, along with another provision of the settlement, both create barriers for other companies interested in digitization efforts. The group believes the department could potentially ask a court to compel Google to sub-license the orphaned works if the settlement is approved.

The settlement is will be finalized later this year.

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Technorati tags: Copyright, Digitization, Google

Article: Archiving Writers' Work in the Age of E-Mail

The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article in the April 10 issue entitled "Archiving Writers' Work in the Age of E-Mail". If you are a Chronicle subscriber, then you can read the article online. If you're at an academic institution in the U.S., you likely have a copy of the issue somewhere. If you have no access to the Chronicle, well I'm sorry.

What's the article about? Well, archives are facing new access and preservation issues as writers (and others) donate personal papers that include digital media. The article states that among John Updike's personal effects were floppy disks, which is old (dead) technology. How do you curate a collection of dead digital media? How do create access to these materials? It is clear that there are no easy answer. For now, these archives are keeping everything as they think through the issues.

Addendum (7:35 p.m.): The full-text of the article is now available online. I wrote the text above from memory, since I was able to read the article in print yesterday, but not online this morning when I was blogging. So as I now re-read the article, I see text about them transferring data to new media, and I also see a very interesting phrase - ecosystems of data. As Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, associate director of the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at the University of Maryland, said:

You could potentially look at a browser history, see that he visited a particular Web site on a particular day and time. And then if you were to go into the draft of one of his manuscripts, you could see that draft was edited at a particular day and hour, and you could establish a connection between something he was looking at on the Web with something that he then wrote.

For more on this, read the article.

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Technorati tag: Digital Preservation

CIL2009: Final wrap-up and thanks

The was my fourth straight Computers in Libraries (CIL) conference and I truly enjoyed the event and I learned from it. As I wrote in an earlier post, CIL is both an event and a "family reunion". This is where I see many of my blogging buddies. It is where I get to hang out with people like me who believe that information, technology and libraries belong together.

In hindsight, here are the things I think everyone should know about CIL (and perhaps why you should go next year):

• The conference sessions are solidified several months in advance, unlike some association conferences where the schedule is cast in concrete 1+ years in advance. And the Cyber Tours are decided within a few weeks of the conference. This means that the sessions are going to be more relevant to what is happening in the world.
• There is always something presented that you should know, need to know, and can use.
• Everyone at CIL -- participants, speakers, and staff -- are very accessible and welcoming. Got something on your mind? Let's talk!
  
• LobbyCon -- the ad hoc unconference that happens everywhere (and all the time) -- is very informative.
  
• Information Today, Inc. (ITI) really tries very hard to make it a good conference experience for everyone and they are attentive to our needs. One of the things they do is to actually build a wireless network for the conference. And when we overwhelm the network, they quickly expand it.
• CIL doesn't replace an association conference, but it will put you in contact with people and ideas that you might not discover at an association conference.
  

My list of people I should thank is pretty extensive and might sound like an Oscar award winner's speech, so instead let me say:

• Thanks to the extended ITI/CIL staff. You all make this event possible!
• Thanks to everyone I talked with, ate with, hung out with, and listened to. You ROCK!
  

BTW here are all of my blog posts on this year's CIL.

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Technorati tag: CIL2009

CIL2009: Bringing the Back Channel The Front (T is for Training podcast)

Maurice Coleman, host of the podcast T is for Training, was able to arrange for a show taping at Computers in Libraries. Ten of us gathered (list) in a room with a microphone and PC to talk about the conference. Our conversation quickly went from Paul Holdengraber (Tuesday's keynote) to many other topics including broadband access, staff technology training, library science programs being web 2.0 enabled, library staff stratification and more. Normally this podcast is done with all of us on telephones calling into the program (and using a chat back channel), so it was wonderful to be together and key off of visual clues.

You can use the play button below to listen to the podcast (58 minutes). If you are interested in knowing more about T is for Training or even participating in the podcast, you can find more information here. Truly anyone who is interested in training in regards to libraries is welcome to attend. (BTW we don't always talk about training.)



Note: Since we only used one microphone, some people will sound a little soft, but you'll hear most of the participants very clearly.

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Technorati tag: CIL2009

CIL2009: Identity, Reputation, Authenticity, and Community

In 2006, I was stopped on a subway platform in Washington, DC by someone who knew me through my blog.... and the person actually recognized me in public as I was hauling my suitcase to my hotel. The truth was clear -- I was not longer a wall-flower; I was known.

Out of several of the sessions on Tuesday came a long evening conversation about identity, reputation, authenticity and community. Web 2.0 has changed how we present ourselves, so that who we are isn't just who we are in the flesh, but who we are online. Some of us really think long and hard about how to move our "selves" into the online world. We want to "be online" in a way that reflects authentically who we are in real life. With that in mind, let's think through the four words.

Identity -- It's important that we each understand what our identity is online. Is our identity consistent? If I am Jill_HW on Twitter, for example, am I Jill_HW everywhere else? There are some among us who have done just that like Michael Porter, Michael Stephens and others. Why is it important? If I know mstephens7 on Twitter, I know what user to look for in Flickr. Michael S. is in charge of his identity.

Reputation -- I have been very impressed at the number of people who know me or my name (my identity), and are impressed with my reputation. My reputation, however, has been built by me and by my community. My community includes many people with whom I have worked, attended conferences, or communicated. While I can impact part of my reputation, it is my community that really has control of it. If I live my life justly, I hope that I'll have a good reputation. But we know that one mistake (e.g., former presidential candidate Gary Hart) can tank someone's reputation.

In 2006, when I attended my first Computers in Libraries, I was amazed that I already had a reputation with other presenters (and some attendees) and that it was positive. How did they know me? They knew me from my blog posts and from the content I had placed online. Other speakers "friended" me after the conference (initially in Flickr) and professional friendships ensued. That has led to us exchanging ideas and advice, which has been wonderful. Over the years, my CIL network has expanded, and being connected to people like Michael Sauers, Maurice Coleman, Sarah Houghton-Jan and others has only helped my reputation.

I know, however, that I could lose my positive reputation at any moment. I need to be mindful of my real life and online identities, and the information that circulates about me. I know that whatever I place online may be used or misused by others, but that it is a risk that I need to take. It is a glass house that could fracture with the toss of a stone.

Paul Holdengraber yesterday acknowledged that he knew that he was being blogged and tweeted. He said he could feel it! He knew that he had no control over what people were saying about him. He, however, understood that not controlling everything about his reputation was an important aspect of being "out there" for him and the NYPL.

And that brings me to the community. Holdengraber believes in the power of the community. I believe that the community we help us, who are doing good work, maintain our reputations by keeping us on task, challenging us when we need it, and cheerleading us when we do good.

When I thought about this post in the middle of the night, I didn't think about this being so long. Likely I'm "beating a dead horse"...and maybe that's okay.

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Technorati tag: CIL2009

CIL2009: Implementing CMS: Academic

David Bietila and Jonathan Smith are providing information on the CMS projects that they did at their institutions (George Washington Univ. and the Catholic Univ. of America). I missed taking notes at the beginning of the session.

David Bietila -- Started with a needs assessment and created ways of keeping staff in the loop. The evaluated features and looked at what others had done. Were interested in Drupal, Joomla and Plone. They created scoring criteria in order to select a product. Plone scored significantly higher (even though the product is based on Phython and Zope).

Jonathan Smith -- They initially choice Mambo has their solution. But then the developers abandoned the software and created Joomla. CUA decided to install Joomla.

"STAR: Staff Resources for the CUA Libraries is a collaborative effort to facilitate communications though CUA..." Emphasis on policies, procedures and forms.

In doing the selection process, they established needs and evaluated features. Had to decide how to import existing content. Was there a strong, active user community? (Very important.)

Deployment - Learning

• Install CMS on a development server and played with the product
• Used online documentation
• Checked user forums
• Joomla in Libraries
• Books -- none written in 2005, but now there are some books available

Deployment and costs

• Technical deployment - Local hosting, development and production servers
• Costs - servers, software ($0), initial staff time, ongoing staff time. Requires very little staff time on a ongoing basis.

Was important that librarians did not need to learn any HTML. Th editor would be familiar to most people.

Organization

• Variety of content types
• Taxonomy -- hierarchical structure, by function (not department). Each content item can only be assigned to one category.

Security / Ownership

• Accessible to the general public?
  
• Public content vs. restricted content -- There are different access levels
  
• User levels - author, editor, publisher
• Content ownership
• Is not indexed in Google
• Public web site does not point to this site

David Bietila --

Deployment - learning

• Local laptop installation
• Documentation on web and in books
• IRS support channel
• Courses, conferences, user groups
• Peer institutions
• Consultants

Deployment - Technical

• Decided to host with a hosting company
• Plone expertise
• Academic clients
• Level of support
• Did development and production servers
• Divided content migration duties and manually transferred pages

Implementation costs

• Hosting - $5000/yr
• Consulting ~$2000 -- configuring caching and load balancing; development of custom templates (news items on the front page).
  
• Staff time - 1.5 year project for the web team. People worked on it intermittently.
  

Content types

• Used default types - Used collections as a means of grouping content types from across the site

Security / Ownership

• Plone supports granular ownership and rights over site content
• Publication - content staging (public and private)
• Workflow - can assign rights over different parts of the publishing process

Taxonomy

• Opportunity to rethink organization
• Move away from departmental organization of content
• Categories intended to reflect functional needs of users
• Also created a secondary

Themes

• Creation of unique look at feel
• Began from a set of draft page designs predating our selection of Plone
• Modified Plone display elements to reflect our proposed layout

Training

• Did presentations and updates for staff
• Technical issues occurred mostly in initial month of use

Feedback / Problems

• Very positive user feedback
• Most staff found page editor intuitive
• Technical issues in the first month
• Plone / site has been relatively stable

Results

Eliminated redundant content occurrences
No longer have to support a separate blog platform
Staff able to make edits
Consistent visual identity across the site
Enhanced navigation features

Future plans

• Long enhancement list
• Plan to configure second Plone instance as Intranet
• Usability testing

Jonathan --

Feedback / Problems

• Initial rush on content then decreased content creation
• Fulfills role as policy repository
• Desired features
• Not used for communications
• Use is consistently high or low depending on department

Future plans

• Site redesign
• Major upgrade
• Reevaluate taxonomy
• Desired features
• Refresh visual design

Addendum (4/3/2009): I forgot note that I guest moderated this session for Michael Sauers, who was scheduled to be in two places at once.

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Technorati tag: CIL2009

CIL2009: The Future of Federated Search

Frank Cervone & Jeff Wisniewski -- What's new? Not as much as we would have hoped. It is a pretty immature technology. It is better than nothing, but there is vast room for improvement.

Many more smaller ILS companies are getting in the game:

• TLC - Indigo
• Madarin
• Auto-Graphics - AGent Search

More companies entering the market.

EntropySoft, Inc. -- Materials come in and can be repurposed.

• Connectors
• ContentETL -- Schedules transfers between content stores
• ContentFederation-- Individualized view of data

Specialized search engines:

• Scitopia.com
• Science.gov
• Biznar.com
• Epocrates.com

Moving away from the ability search everything and moving towards federated search "modules". Searching smaller groups of databases. Perhaps more focused.

Epocrates -- Built with Vivisimo Velocity Search Engine. Built on base of 3100 monographs. Federated search ties in external resources. For health professionals. "Help health care workers quickly find details without scrolling through pages of content."

Federated search on the desktop:

• Introduced in Windows 7
• Primary basis OpenSearch protocol -- Many search applets usable in other environments.
• Uses LiveSearch as an intermediary. To translate from other search protocols. (Where they don't have proper connectors.)
  

What's wrong with federated search?

• Built on fundamentally old technology
• Too slow compared to pre-indexed content (or pre-coordinated)
• Lack of term coordination annoys librarians - but no one else really seems to care...

Their conclusion -- Federated search as a primary technology must die!

Serial Solutions' Summon(TM) -- It's not the be all and end all, but it's better than what we have now. Conceptually it is a good start in the right direction. They believe that other vendors will create similar products.

Trends:

• Number of choices from commercial vendors is rapidly shrinking
• Progress on the standards front. More so on open search.
• Move towards holistic content discovery

Rich Turner -- Future of Federated Search: A Vendor's Viewpoint

Search technologies drive business

Over 100 companies develop "enterprise search" software

Federated search is a universal problem

More is going to happen "in the cloud". SaaS model is gaining traction.

Significant new search paradigms will drive seemingly radical solutions.

The business of data will change radically

Digital storage companies will splinter

The "locators"

• Maintain the data -- match data with search techniques
  
• Manage the access -- will become subscription and pay-as-you-go
  

The "federators"

• Access to data -- including user delivery
  
• Individualized access -- serving data to wide range of organizations. Completely cloud-based
  

Implications for library science:

• "Background nature" of search
• Very high user expectations
• No clear delineation where search is and where it isn't
• Welcome to the World if IT?
• Managing, indexing, maintaining data might be outsourced
• User challenges, expectations remain
• Tremendous opportunities because paradigms don't yet exist

Stephen Abram -- is federated search growing up? Has it gotten out of kindergarten? Out of third grade?

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