Ubiquitous Computing & Libraries

Michael Porter, Interactive Strategy Manager, WebJunction
Chris Peters, Technical Writer and Technology Analyst, MaintainIT Project TechSoup

Ubiquitous computing is: “A model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities.” These objects don’t take our focus away from what we are doing, but allow us to continue while they run unobtrusively in the background.

Examples:

• rfid: radio freqency identification – check in your books all at once with this system. use an rfid device to find out which books are out of order on the shelves (object beaps when it finds an out of order book)
• i-fi A card that you can use with digital cameras, makes it possible to upload to flickr by your location (?)
• phones, hardware, software = convergence
• Seattle PL: reference staff have voip phones to contact each other for reference questions.
• open source

Chris Peters:
Low cost information processing embedded in everyday objects.
Technology should be calm, unobtrusive, not taking all of your focus
Devices are context aware of time and space, noise, temperature
Devices can be personalized

Characteristics of ubiquitous computing:
- will be happening at the level of individual people and their environment
- Wireless networking protocol will be improving, with an ability for these devices to be able to communicate with each other
- Interoperability and open standards
- universal addressability
- sensors – what are sound levels, light levels, etc.
- position awareness
- power – the vision that we are talking about requires more power sources (witricity = wireless electricity)

Spimes: definition from spime.com: The name Spime comes from “space” and “time” – these words reflect Spime’s focus on developing location-enabled applications that empower users with information at the right time and the right place.
These devices have these properties:
-location awareness
-social awareness
-time awareness (history)

Calm technology: informs you of changes in your environment
- example: ambient orb a device that sits on your table and changes color to alert you of some event: The Orb arrives preset to track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, glowing more green or red to indicate market movement up or down, or yellow when the market is calm.

wikinear: wikipedia pages near you: – location-based reference based on wikipedia – a mashup

Fabbing: Digital fabricators A fabber (short for “digital fabricator”) is a “factory in a box” that makes things automatically from digital data. Fabbers generate three-dimensional, solid objects you can hold in your hands, submit to testing, or assemble into working mechanisms. They are used by manufacturers around the world for low-volume production, prototyping, and mold mastering. They are also used by scientists and surgeons for solid imaging, and by a few modern artists for innovative computerized sculpture. Manufacturers report enormous productivity gains from using fabbers.

Biotelemetry: applications for medical testing

Biofeedback – games and other uses

Some library applications:

• location-based reference
• anticipatory reference
• information therapy
• emotion mapping of the library
• community manufacturing center

Question: But…..what about information privacy for these objects, is it just a few steps away from the end of anonymity? Convenience vs. privacy, the old question.

Solving the OPAC Problem

John Blyberg, Head of Technology and Digital Initiatives, Darien Library
Christopher Barr, Design & Interface Specialist, Villanova University

John Blyberg:
previous and current work on SOPAC (Social Online Public Access Catalog) at Ann Arbor Library and Darien Library.
Ann Arbor District Library – catalog uses the open source Drupal program. He created a catalog using social media of tagging, reviews, ratings etc. as you can in other types of social network sites. Problems with the adaptations they made: you cannot search by these elements, no way to get to them directly other than through the book record.

Darien Library uses Drupal as the database system for the catalog. SOPAC-2

Link: Advanced search

Here is screenshot from the advanced search catalog showing the tag cloud. Library users contribute tags and reviews. When a library user logs in, they can change the tags and edit reviews, etc. that they contribute to the library catalog.

They are adding RSS and other programs since it is very easy to develop new pieces now that the catalog architecture is completed. How do they handle e-commerce: through their SSL system managed through Drupal. Anyone can create a Darien Library account and add tags, reviews, etc. to the library catalog. Participation is not just restricted to people who have local affiliation to the library.

Chris Barr: Villanova University Library
Resource discovery in their catalog
Many people in the audience were not happy with their opac. Chris believes that open source is the solution.
Problem: We have various pieces of software for the OPAC, all with different systems. Answer: we need to get everything under one system. Problem: we need a system that doesn’t require you to know the LC subject headings to do a subject search. Answer: need faceted search. Problem: syntax may be too specific for practicality. Answer: need more flexibility in searches. They needed a catalog with more web 2.0 features. Answer: use open-source and make a new one. Solution: make a system that gives you a search across the whole system in one search. They are working on creating integrated digital systems for all of the library services.

They used VuFind to create a discovery layer that sits above the ILS, and expand searching. They also created a CMS for their system and numerous projects for library functionality out of open-source.

From the VuFind site: www.vufind.org

VuFind is a library resource portal designed and developed for libraries by libraries. The goal of VuFind is to enable your users to search and browse through all of your library’s resources by replacing the traditional OPAC to include:

• Catalog Records
• Locally Cached Journals
• Digital Library Items
• Institutional Repository
• Institutional Bibliography
• Other Library Collections and Resources

VuFind is completely modular so you can implement just the basic system, or all of the components. And since it’s open source, you can modify the modules to best fit your need or you can add new modules to extend your resource offerings.

Some libraries that are using this system:
National Library of Australia, Yale Univ., CARL System in Illinois, plus many who are testing.

They designed the catalog to fit this system, not the other way around.

Features of the catalog: “faceted browsing” – a feature that is like advanced search for including multiple concepts or elements.

The Villanova catalog allows many features, including firefox extensions, bibliographic save systems such as Endnote, Syndetics book cover images, text messaging to keep track of catalog items, they used wordpress-like and del.icio.us style templates to create simple systems that expand use.

Summary: we can all benefit from a discovery style system like VuFind that combines elements of the library web site.

Fostering Creativity & Innovation in Your Staff

Frank Blair, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC)
Tom Kozak, Library Assistant, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC)
Tom Cole, Librarian, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC)
Paul de Villo, Web Services Manager, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC)

All of the speakers are from Charlotte & Mecklenburg County

Frank Blair:
About this library: Check: Does this match your library as well for its place in your community?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Library is:
They are the largest provider of free internet service in their area
They are one of the very few places in the county where anyone can walk in
Annual foot traffic exceeds other cultural institutions, including the sports teams.

A new idea starts like this: There should be a site (system) that…..does this..
To make ideas happen, they set up a program for staff to take a 6 month break to work on the new projects that people suggest. The Technology Scholar system that they developed is a chance for staff to develop leadership opportunities for front-line staff. the program is designed to encourage staff to stretch their wings and provide leadership opportunities. Front-line staff are eligible since they have the most daily experience with the public, and this is important for successful outcomes. How did they find a way for staff to take time off? In their case, branches were closed for renovation, and staff were shifted around to allow for people to have time away to participate.

When they select candidates for this program, they look for individuals who have these qualities:

• question the status quo
• tolerate risk gladly
• exhibit patience
• trust the process
• are open to unexpected outcomes
• demonstrate an ability to “leverage resources”

Tom Kozak:
Make sure that you get access to everyone’s ideas. Share information with a wiki. They use a wiki for all of the projects for documentation. Link projects to intranet. Ideas are out there: everyday problems are the seeds for proposals. Broaden your applicant base: reach beyond your normal movers and shakers. Make it clear that you will provide them with the assistance to make the project happen. Provide guidance for working with your organizational structure, by providing project-building experience, strategies for innovation, resource availability.

Tom Cole:
Some projects that they have sponsored for staff: Technology Scholar, Hands-On Experience, Live Online Learning.
Here is the process they used:
- define your deliverable: You can do 1 thing only in a 6 month project; think about your project this way to use tax dollars wisely.
- understand costs: take into account all types of costs, such as time, IT staff time,** training costs
- listen to your testers: focus groups and others
- learn from mishaps in the testing phases
- implementation

Paul de Villo: sample projects from the Tech Scholar program
- The Digital Times – a newspaper-like project for after school students and home schools. 9not found on the web site today.
- the Gaming Zone
- Live Online Learning Project
- PLCMC Learn & Share Project – wiki-based intranet for staff

** they used web-based services to reduce reliance on staff time.

Innovation: from best practices to fresh practices

Helene Blowers, Director, Digital Strategy, Columbus Metropolitan Library

Link: Slides for this presentation.
librarybytes.com Helene’s blog

What is innovation? doing something a bit different.
What innovation is not? It’s not about a just using a plan or recipe that comes from a book, but taking a fresh set of ingredients and doing something with it. Innovation is doing new things, and this is the easy part, but getting management buy-in is not always easy. For management, making innovation happen is not always easy either. The role of supervisors is to get out of the way, and help creative work happen among workers.

Innovation is not about duplicating someone else’s successes, but taking an idea and applying it to your own situation. Creative ideas come from the most unexpected places. Take an application or process that works in one place, and turn it around into a new idea. Put some energy and passion into this process to help others. The best ideas can come from places outside your usual work environment. Come up with lots of ideas, the more the better, so you have a lot to work with. The most difficult part of creative work at the library is how to get an idea through the implementation part. Strategy is the next part, that needs the most focus. Create connections and alliances to develop creative projects. “Don’t ask for permission, ask for support” “sell your vision personally, not just in written reports” You cannot sell ideas just on paper, but through alliances. Make an appointment with the person who you can see will help champion your idea, or a group, and ask for time to meet with them, even 15 minutes. Find a champion for your idea to promote it with you. Implementation of a project is a triangle consisting of resources, time, and scope.
Books she referred to:
The Innovation Circle
Purple Cow

Comments: how does your work look from the other side of the desk, as a reason for creating change?

Tuesday keynote: Search Engine Land: what’s happening out there?

Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-chief, Search Engine Land

Google took the stats about number of pages they indexed off their web page since it isn’t any longer needed for promotion. There have been several “google killers” who say that they will be the largest and best search engine, but basically it just doesn’t happen. It would be hard for any service to surpass google for usage. Microsoft began planning in 1998 to start up a search engine, but this hasn’t succeeded as well. If you look at the stats of web site owners, 80%-90% of their traffic comes from google. If you go to other countries, google is the most-used search engine. In China and Japan, there are a few others that are competitors, but in most places, it’s google that people use to search.

However, there are places where google does not dominate everything. Here are some other options that work better than google for find-it types of services and some types of communication:

• twitter – Microblogging is a different medium, a real-time tool for news exchange and dialogue, that google could do, but probably won’t.
• urbanspoon – works with iphone, choose a restaurant based on location of your phone, for whatever type of restaurant you are in the mood for.
• eventful – works well on pdas and iphone
• yelp – reviews and map integration is more successful than google maps
• trulia and zillow – for monitoring real estate
• kayak, farecast – travel arrangements
• craigslist – no equivalent in google  “craigslist is very 1.0 but works better than google for finding rentals, etc.
• indeed.com – for jobs
• pipl.com spock.com for finding people
• digg.com – news and discovery
• blinkx.com, videoSurf.com – video
• gas buddy.com – gas prices

But…how do you remember all of these and how to find them? How do you remember what to use? It’s not very easy.

A bigger challenge to Google = Yahoo:
Yahoo continues to face uncertainty. They have innovation with mobile, Boss, and Search Monkey but uncertainty leads to brain drain, plus an assumption that Microsoft will eventually take over, which makes for more uncertainty.

And Microsoft? Live search (Microsoft’s search engine) is not as successful as google.

What is the google master plan? Where are they taking us?

• some planning, of course: chrome, google checkout, google shopping
• but much comes naturally, through a “hive mind” mentality.
• expect perhaps more focus as economics gets harder. But in a recession, people still need things, and they will use the search engine on the internet to find it. Google is still a good industry in a depressed economy.

A few services that google is expanding:

• google video
• universal search mixing continues
• google trends continues to grow, data about web site traffic
• community editing on maps grows, but this has spam problems
• google does blog search clustering
• google personalized search – ranking for sites you have searched on google. This uses web history service on google.
• customizing your search based on location, previous query, web history.

Conclusion:
Google will continue to dominate the search space, but with some degree of “vaporware” or “googleware” bringing a chilling effect due to the state of the economy. But mobile technology and “vertical” (depth, long-tail) opportunities do offer new directions for google to expand.