Europeana

What I appreciated most about Katy's Europeana presentation is that it acknowledged the political motivation that can drive digital library development. Much of our class content has focused on technology, formats, specifications, etc., for good reason, but I think it's equally important to always keep in mind that any collection of material, digital or analog, entails a process of selection and interpretation. "Information" does not exist in a neutral vacuum; as information professionals, it's our job to maintain and disseminate an awareness of exactly this circumstance. As Americans, we likely have a tendency to see Google and its various projects outside of a national context and it was very interesting to consider the Europeana project as an interruption to this mentality. It is a very real and concrete effort to build a counter to Google and to an Americanized web.

The history of the project raises a very compelling set of questions, regarding the way we can consider concepts like "the future geography of knowledge." I don't think that anxiety over preservation and access to information is anything new in libraries, but the ability to digitize changes our sense of what we can control, what feels like chaos, and what we are afraid of losing to more talented internet denizens.

Information is political. Even despite our pronouncements that we are in an internet-facilitated global age with few barriers remaining, the story of the Europeana project reminds us that we may sometimes take this view precisely because we are Americans and we are privileged in our ability to access and disseminate information. In reality, this circumstance is not yet a global constant. In short, the political framework is essential and I'm very appreciative that Katy included it in her presentation.

Semantic Web

Marianna's presentation on the Semantic Web was among my favorites of the semester. Reese & Banerjee touch briefly upon the concept in their chapter on metadata formats, as well as in a few other places in the book, and provide good, concise explanations. But Marianna's powerpoint presentation will be useful as a detailed source of clear definitions and visual interpretations of the Semantic Web.

Specifically, the presentation is noteworthy for the inclusion of several slides detailing the components of a Social Semantic Web. Taking into account the increasingly social nature of the internet, the idea of a Social Semantic Web is critical. Among the range of ontologies that any manifestation of a semantic web would need to link are the user-generated folksonomies. Most ontologies, whether or not of library-related origin, are dynamic systems, constantly in formation. I like that Marianna's presentation directly addresses this reality, rather than assuming a scenario in which static semantic links can be drawn and established indefinitely.

Archivists' Toolkit

Sibyl Roud's presentation on the Archivists' Toolkit was highly useful and educational. In spite of its description as a data management system that is "for archivists by archivists," I found many of its features to be applicable in a wider context. These include the compatibility with multiple metadata formats, the attention to rights management issues, and the well-designed, intuitive interface. While some of the terminology in the version that Sibyl showed us is clearly archives-specific, much of the functionality could easily apply to digital repositories that are not necessarily proper archives.

What I find most compelling about the Archivists' Toolkit is its significance in terms of open source systems. It can conceivably make archives processing work into a more efficient and affordable operation for a wide variety of institutions, collections, and organizations, even as it promotes data standardization online, among other benefits. Repository developers and managers outside of the archives community can potentially learn a lot from this type of project. As an open source initiative, it is truly admirable in scope and value.

Week 7: KML Files

We covered geotagging in this week's class and watched a thorough demonstration of how to build and place KML files. I enjoyed watching this process because it provided some transparency to a concept that I have previously been somewhat intimidated by. It is always inspiring to realize that something seemingly new or complicated is actually simple to learn and execute.

Before now, I have encountered KML files mostly via Google applications and sometimes touristy websites. Geotagging, as a concept, is a little more widespread. Flickr does a great job with geotagging (and can also be a great reference tool). But I'm excited by the prospect of using it in more library applications.

Week 6: Technologies Useful for Digital Repositories

First of all, I 'd like to say how much I have enjoyed reading Reese & Banerjee. Their writing is informative and accessible and I look forward to referring back to it. What I like about chapter four is that it is not explicitly about metadata, but retains a thread, throughout the chapter, emphasizing the role of metadata and its significance for digital library technologies, ultimately concluding that metadata is second only to content, as far as what is most important for any repository. While it is possible to make alternate arguments, e.g. that preservation is most important or that the ability to transfer content is most important, I feel partial to the metadata-centric approach and the idea that a collection is only as useful as it is findable.

I especially appreciated the inclusion of the "XML family tree" and the description of various XML components that followed, including XPATH, XFORMS, XLINK, etc. One aspect that I find especially intriguing is the function of the XLINK and the concept of describing the actual links between XML documents, as well as documents themselves. It seems that this type of description is at least loosely related to some of the concepts underlying the semantic web and the tendency toward a more data-driven web environment.

Week 5: Assessment

In week 5, we heard a very interesting and well-researched presentation from Jason Phillips on methods of assessment for digital libraries. I think this was a very important contribution to the class, for several reasons. It is tempting to want to focus very heavily on learning about technology and infrastructure--literally how to build digital libraries--sometimes without a user-centered or user-driven approach. It can also be easy to speculate on how users interact with systems or interfaces or digital collections, without necessarily taking well-planned methodological steps to test assumptions. Jason's presentation was particularly valuable for offering multiple assessment methods, with an understanding that there is no one right way to assess or evaluate a service or a digital collection. The nature of the content and the user community, among many additional factors, are critical factors in determining how, when, and why to assess a digital collection. These factors will likely change over time, impacting the chosen method of assessment.

Week 4: HTML & Preservation

In preparation for week 4, we were referred to Cornell Library's Digital Imaging Tutorial, available online here:

http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/index.html

This is the second time I have encountered the site in an educational capacity and I find it to be among the most useful resources of its kind available to students and library professionals. It is very well-organized and easy to search and navigate. It is also a very informative site that provides a lot of technical information but is not weighed down by jargon; in other words, the content is very accessible to the student or lay reader. As a reference guide, I think this tutorial will continue to be useful for me in almost any capacity that I can imagine working in a library.

During the actual class, we spent a lot of time practicing simple html coding and put together small sample pages. I think that for anyone who hasn't had hands-on experience with html, this was certainly a valuable exercise. I have used html in school and at work several times and am familiar with how to transfer and upload files to a server. Still, it's useful to revisit the basics every so often.