Wikileaks leak

So online journalists are once again breaking stories and digging for access to information that traditional print journalists are not. This time it was Wikileaks publishing "secret" documents about the war in Afghanistan. This may or may not be responsible citizenship on the part of Wikileaks...however I see it as another example of how online "citizen journalists" of the world are becoming much more relevant than that of their traditional print counterparts.

It's fascinating to see how much the practice of journalism is being completely revamped by the Web. You no longer need a journalism degree and a long list of published articles to declare yourself a journalist, you really only need a laptop and an Internet connection. This is having really profound consequences on how we get our information...is it more accurate and truthful because it is not backed by huge media conglomerates or is it less reliable because it's coming from unsubstantiated sources online?

The end of the semester

So we're almost at the end of the semester! I think taking LIS 2000 and LIS 2600 together is a good pairing. I've gotten a good computer technology and web design base with 2600 along with the content and overview of the library profession as well as the Web 2.0 environment with 2000.

Both classes have sparked an interest in me in lots of subjects...the 'Googilization' of information, social bookmarking, "participatory culture" as seen at sites like Wikipedia, and other ways in which libraries can incorporate Web 2.0 culture into their institutions to help take them into the future.

Many of the books Dr. Tomer has mentioned throughout the semester I'm planning on reading during the remainder of summer. I really enjoyed the readings we had for LIS 2000, so I'm hoping these other titles will be as good.

How does the brain perceive e-books?

Here's an interesting article from The New York Times titled "Does the Brain Like E-books?" Here's a link to the article: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/does-the-brain-like-e-books/?ref=technology

It asks 4 different specialists to give their take on how the brain perceives e-books versus print books and issues like whether comprehension rates are the same when reading e-books. There are some interesting observations, such as people tend to read much slower when reading digital copy and the fact that it is much harder to focus when reading digital material...particularly online when you can check your email every other minute simultaneously.

Maybe e-books are just next in the long evolution of different mediums by which we read...be it long scrolls, bound novels, newspapers, magazines, etc. Our brains will slowly adapt to reading e-books just as it has reading print books.

The future of public libraries

This is a great, although brief article on how threatened public libraries are, especially within the context of state budgets being cut back to the bone. The article was in The Los Angeles Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/06/opinion/la-oe-johnson-libraries-20100706. It was written by Marilyn Johnson, who most recently wrote This Book is Overdue!

In her article, Johnson writes that "Those in cities that haven't preserved their libraries, those less fortunate and baffled by technology, and our children will be the first to suffer. But sooner or later, we'll all feel the loss as one of the most effective levelers of privilege and avenues of reinvention — one of the great engines of democracy — begins to disappear." I don't think this is an exaggeration...the next few years will be crucial for the survival of public libraries.

Flipping the page on e-readers

Very busy, very busy with coursework!! But I thought I'd take a break and post something. I read this in The New York Times about a Microsoft patented application to virtually 'flip' pages on an e-book reader: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/turning-the-page-on-the-page-turn/?ref=technology

Personally, I don't think this technology is necessary for e-book readers. There is no use in trying to mimic a physical book. I think it would serve as more of an annoyance than a helpful feature when reading e-books...it's much easier to just scroll through the digital page.

Of course I'm saying this without having an e-reader of my own yet, so I could be wrong. I am pretty devoted to the printed page, however, and am not ready to give up my books, magazines and newspapers all together. I think there is something to be said in holding the physical object in one's hands...plus you can appreciate the layout design much more than you'd be able to online.

Libraries moving to all digital collections?

The link in LIS 2000 in regards to Stanford University's engineering department going (just about) all digital was very interesting. On one hand, it completely makes sense due to the fact that most journals are published digitally now and can be updated much more quickly than print books or journals can. Plus many students now do much of their research online already. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm post-modern enough to be comfortable walking into an academic library with hardly any books on the shelves.

I think it's inevitable that libraries are heading in this direction, however. It may well turn out to be a very good thing, allowing librarians to work more closely one on one with students and provide them access to the most up-to-date journals in their subject area.

Have fun this weekend

Hope everyone has fun during FastTrack weekend. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend due to medical issues. I was really looking forward to it, too! I think it will be a great opportunity to meet everyone in the cohort as well as Drs. Alman and Tomer. I'm sure I'll be able to make it this October for the next FastTrack weekend.