The fiddling librarian is looking for some advice for publicizing the WiFi node he’s setting up at his library. Anyone been there, done that?
Category: ‘puters
google print + harvard library
Interesting wrinkle in the Google Print Library project as it’s being worked out at Harvard Library. Publishers think Google needs to ask their permission before it copies their works, even if they’re in the public domain.
“The law does not permit wholesale copying (which is what digitisation is) by a commercial organisation of works that are still in copyright,†she wrote. “It is also illegal to make those works available digitally once they have been copied.â€
Morris wrote that Google needs to obtain permission from publishers before using their work. While she wrote that it may be impractical to ask every publisher, Google should ask permission through collective licensing organizations.
Also interesting, seems that while Google Print actually destroys the books it scans, Google Print Library does not.
classes I wish I could teach at my library
Aaron outlines a few classes he wishes he could teach at his library. I have always maintained a similar list in my head, here are some titles.
“Where is all the porn that people are talking about?” Even in an unfiltered environment, good free porn can be hard to find. We’ll discuss how to locate what you’re really looking for and learn all new meanings for the words virus and trojan.
“P2P, it’s not just for music and porn anymore!” With more people joining peer-to-peer networks lately, there’s more to download than ever before. You can get software, television shows and even games. Learn how to effectively search and download whole new media types.
“How to really cover your tracks” While it’s pretty difficult to be truly anonymous on the ‘net, there are a handful of techniques that can boost your anonymity above the threshhold of most average citizens ability to figure out who you are.
other information poor pitfalls
Sethf explains one of the pecadillos that I have a hard time putting in to words. His example concerns filtering and just who is responsible for overfiltering. These problems magnify when people believe what they are told by vendors [and other advocates with an agenda] about hardware and software “solutions” to their problems. It’s important to maintain a critical perspective to provide the best service to our patrons. Remember, to them we’re the experts and we shouldn’t outsource that responsibility just because we’re outside of our comfort range with new technologies.
It’s a tale of a typical “censorware shuffle”. The administrators have no idea what blacklists are in place and what’s blacklisted (they probably think censorware “filters pornography”). The service reseller (SonicWall), as a hardware manufacturer, just repackages the censorware blacklists (here, “Cerberian”). The censorware company will say the site fits their category, so it’s the school policy maker’s fault. Everyone’s fingers point to someone else. And the eventual effect of it all is that the government has a free hand to propagandize. While critics – who remember, are sometimes told by net-bubble-blowers that The Uncensorable Internet gives them an equal opportunity to be heard, because you can put up a website – are marginalized from important audiences.
podcasting, more
Damn you Greg Schwartz, for making me listen to your podcast to see what you had to say about me! Fascinating stuff, though once again I would have rather read it quickly than listened to it slowly. Greg on the other hand, probably liked getting to talk rather than type for a change. Plus, he has a mellifluous voice, so it was a painless and rewarding eleven minute intro to the podcast world, thanks Greg. I wonder if my “Why I don’t listen to podcasts.” pronouncements sound like my friends when they tell me they just don’t use RSS, or me when I explain why I don’t TiVo. There are two parts to these arguments I think
1) I don’t need the new technology to improve the experience I have [“I read blogs pages by page, who needs RSS?” or “I have an answering machine who needs voicemail?”] versus the subtly different
2) what the new technology brings me is something I don’t feel that I need in the first place [“I don’t need a cell phone.”, or “I don’t need an MP3 player.”].
There’s more room to move and convince in the first kind of argument than in the second. As for my personal choices, I have an answering machine, MP3 player, RSS reader and no cell phone, all pretty much intentionally.
This has more to do with technology adoption generally than podcasting in specific. Greg makes some really good points about the strengths of getting your news and/or new music this way. If you listen to a lot of radio, you should look into podcasting. The radio I listen to here has my traffic reports, weather updates and the status of the parking garage demolition. I’m sure over time I’ll be refining my “why I am not listening to your podcast” line like many people greet me with the “why I am not reading your blog” line but right now my answer is “I’m waiting for the local podcasters” Tell me if you find them.