Reading #4

"The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an Appetizing Alternative to Google" by Steven Bell. Chronicle of Higher Education (2/20/2004).

In Steven Bell's article, "The Infodiet," he talks about the competition between Google and academic libraries - "the original search engines." He explains that critics and students alike are lured by Google's elementary accessibility and the heaps of information it produces, but just because there is a lot of it, does not necesarily mean that it is all useful or the best information you can get. He describes Google's search results as a "junk-information diet," comparing it to greasy fast food, while libraries are the eschewed hearty and healthy meals. However, he feels that libraries should "Googleize" their databases in athestic and accessbility standards, but while still yielding high-quality information, because students find libraries' electronic resources difficult to use. He quotes several libraries from universities who feels their students shouldn't have to deal with eResources' complexities and that libraries should "emulate popular Web search engines." He then talks about the "RedLightGreen" project, "a nonprofit group of more t han 160 universities, national libraries," etc. whose database interface has only a single search box (like Google), but the result screen yields categorized, relevant material more in sync with academic searches. Bell ends with the argument that it is up to librarians to remind professors, administrators, etc. that no Internet search engine will ever equal the services a campus library can provide.

I thought Bell's article was really interesting and very, very relevant. I hear the word "Google" come out of professors' mouths at least five times a day, in relation to obtaining information for whatever. This, combined with their corporate power and economic worth, I think, leads my generation to believe that Google is number one source for information when it comes to doing some sort of academic research. Yeah, I use Google for things that I need to brush up on, but when it comes to gathering information to write any kind of paper (argumentative, anaylsis, opinion, etc.) I use more obscure sites to seek out richer thoughts. I have used the libraries' electronic resources in the past, and have always been impressed by the non-cliches and unrepetitive info I could use from it (as opposed to any online search engine). However, like Bell says, for a student who does not use the eResouces on a daily basis, to actually obtain information is like a complex task. I was intimidated and frustrated just trying to access this article, and had to consistently refer to the directions you gave. It's relieving to hear that groups are trying to make the libraries' databases more accessible, because I am aware that its content is way more hearty.

Reading #3

Firstly, the article would probably be meaningless if you did not take the time to see Thomas Frey's credentials on the side of the webpage, which states he is a "Senior Futurist at the DaVinci Institute, and Google's top rated futurist speaker. Unlike most speakers, Tom works closely with his Board of Visionaries to develop original research studies, which enables him to speak on unusual topics, translating trends into unique opportunities." In his article "The Future of Libraries" he offers insight into how things were and how things will be pertaining to the way people interact with the library and its services. Frey begins the article with a intriguing anecdote involving the journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's extraordinary works after he died and how they passed between libraries over the years, rearranging itself into collections. He then tells lists out all of the beneficial aspects of library services and then informs the reader that definition of all that is changing. Later he re-caps prior technologies in the library (the oldest being writing, reading; recently, iPod and Podcasting) and tells us that all technologies have a limited life span. Though, it is not until scientists can "conquer the ultimate small storage particle" that we can start technologically advancing. the simple search days are numbered. result of this opportunities for libraries to interact with it and build new and exciting “information experiences”. Currently our searches are in text form using "some forms of image, audio, and video" to search, but "the next generation search technology will include the ability to search for such attributes as taste, smell, texture, reflectivity, opacity, mass, density, tone, speed, and volume." He concludes with his main point, about how the way people interact with the library is changing. By spanning the history (so far) of the library, Frey illustrates that they have changed drastically from the time of da Vinci, but "we’ve only scratched the surface of many more changes to come" so we should enjoy the journey.

Okay, so I was really impressed with Frey's occupation/credentials and thought what he had to say was really intriguing after reading through it for a second time. Yes, the article pertained mainly to the future of libraries and how they will technologically advance (slowly), but all of the technologies that are in a library are the ones people will use inside on an everyday basis, outside of the library. One thing that kind of made me think was when Frey said that the keyboard will be soon to go.. So I guess that means you just actually speak the letters or words to a computer, cell phones, etc.? That sounds pretty cool, but currently I have a Moshi alarm clock, which I speak with to set alarms, time, get temperature, etc. and it's convenient, but sometimes it can be really frustrating. And I don't see anyone every using voice-activation for their cell phones. I think people like the privacy of not saying the words aloud? It's kind of scary having Frey predict all these new things coming out replacing what you haven't even bought yet, but it is good to know. Also, I'm sure it is really helpful to librarians to get the gist of knowing what to expect and plan ahead for continuous change while still delivering all of the services libraries have always provided to people.

News Report #3

Ryan Singel, Wired Magazine

09.17.09

"Google Lets You Custom-Print Millions of Public-Domain Books"

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/google-books-publish-on-demand/

Google has found a way to let people print legitimate, customized copies of books that are in public-domain. Seven years ago, Google began scanning endless books from the nation's leading university libraries and have been converting them into documents available, through Google, to be searched and read. Recently, Google partnered with On Demand Books -- a company that is best known for its Espresso Book Machine, which is, according to their official website, "a fully integrated patented book making machine which can automatically print, bind and trim on demand at point of sale perfect bound library quality paperback books with 4-color cover indistinguishable from their factory made versions." It can also print, bind and cut to size with a color cover a 300-page book in about four minutes. To buy and print any public-domain book of your choice, they're predicting, will cost approximately eight dollars. Dane Neller, On Demand Books CEO, claims this partnership "flips book distribution on its head" and calling it a "revolution" now that “content retrieval is now centralized and production is decentralized.” You may have not noticed an Espresso Book Machine in your city quite yet, because currently only 30 of them are offered sparsely in Ann Arbor, London, Egypt, Canada, and Melbourne. But the company hopes to sell 60 more printers in the next year, so keep your eyes peeled.

When I began to read this article to be advertising a new revolution in the world of books, I was not surprised to see Google's name all over it. However, I was shocked to read that they are actually (somewhat) encouraging books to be read on paper. From what I can gather, I think this is a great idea. The idea of being able to personally customize the look of your novel and print it in professional quality hot off the press is pretty cool. I knew personally I've tried to find hardcovers of a few of my favorite books only to find that you can pretty much only find them on Amazon or eBay for an obscene amount of money, because they are now out-of-print and/or a collectible. Also, there are a lot of readers who are skeptical, on-the-fence, or just not interested in the current craze of digital book readers, like Amazon's Kindle, and if they knew that they can purchase a book electronically with the option of reading it on a Kindle or print a fresh copy (hard or soft) "indistinguishable from their factory made versions" all for about eight bucks. The only thing that unnerves me is that Google is already pretty much leading the game for the online consumption of digital books, and now they plan on having a monopoly* with turning those purchased eBooks into actual hard-copies. Hmm.

*(with On Demand Books, so technically not a monopoly)