2004 LITA National Forum Schedule

Thursday, October 7, 2004, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Preconference I (Preconferences require separate registration fee.)

Developing a Culture of Assessment in Library Information Technology Services

-- Frank Cervone, Northwestern University

Just as libraries are increasingly being called upon to demonstrate the impact of their services and outcomes on their parent institution or community, information technology services within the Library must be able to do the same. A critical component in making this happen is to adopt a model of continuous service assessment that uses user-centered decision making in order to gather relevant requirements data and information. In 2002, the Information Technology Division of the Northwestern University Library began adopting a continuous assessment model for decision-making and service provisioning. Learn what the forces were that caused us to adopt a culture of assessment, what a culture of assessment is, how our goals and work environment have been influenced by this change, how this had led to the adoption of a new method of thinking and supporting services within the Library, and what you can do to get started with this methodology.

Friday, October 8, 2004, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Preconferences II and III (Preconferences require separate registration fee.)

What's In It For Me? Evaluating and Reporting the Effectiveness of Electronic Information Services in a Multi-Library Environment

-- Beverley Shirley, Texas State Library and Archives Commission
-- William E. Moen, University of North Texas
-- Denise M. Davis, American Library Association

The Library of Texas is a partnership of Texas libraries using standards-based, metasearching software to provide the citizens of Texas access to multiple information resources. Originally funded through a grant, the program is now supported by a combination of federal funds, state funds, and membership fees. Evaluation is an integral and ongoing component of the Library of Texas. Attention must be paid to A) selection of appropriate measures to report to governmental agencies, members, and funding bodies; B) accurate measurement of output, outcome, and efficiencies; D) data continuity to enable longitudinal comparisons; E) compilation of data to meet local, regional, statewide, and national reporting needs. In such an environment, it becomes vitally important to automate data collection and compilation to maximize accuracy and minimize amount of staff time devoted to "number crunching." Using the Library of Texas project as a case study, this presentation will discuss how library consortia can best answer the questions: What do I measure? How should I measure it? How can I automate the evaluation process?

Dancing Cheek to Cheek: One Library's Tale of Content Management Systems and Collaborations with "Outside" IT

-- Brandon A. Barnett, Multnomah County Library
-- Michael O. Hanna, Multnoman County Information Technology
-- Michael J. Spicer, Multhomah County Information Technology

During a multi-year process, Multnomah County is moving its Internet and intranet sites into a Content Management System (CMS). Multnomah County Library staff worked closely with county IT to plan the project, select a CMS product and vendor, plan and execute a pilot site (the library's intranet), and create an overall structure for the entire project. In doing so, the staff developed strong collaborative working relationships, built a model for the remaining phases of the project, and demonstrated the importance of information professionals' participation in technology projects.

Most libraries across the nation are part of some larger organization, such as a county, a service district, or a university. Increasingly, these organizations are consolidating and centralizing Information Technology services. Libraries are finding that their IT is no longer really theirs, and yet so many new, innovative projects and services are heavily dependent upon IT involvement.

Shortly after just such a consolidation, Multnomah County (Portland, OR) embarked on a Content Management System project, with Multnomah County Library leading the pilot project. We, the library team, quickly understood that we were not only building a model for the CMS but also a model for working with an "outside" IT department.

This pre-conference will focus on the collaborative working relationships we developed, the various planning processes, and the nuts-n-bolts of a CMS project.

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Opening General Session -- Globalization and Its Discontents: A Preview from 1904

Dr. Robert Rydell, Professor of History, Montana State University

With all of the current angst about 'globalization,' it is easy to forget that we are not the first generation to experience it. Neither are we the first generation to wrestle with complex cultural technologies that radically revision the way the world is seen. The centennial of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of globalization a century ago and on what has changed and what has remained the same.

2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.

Break

2:50 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

OITP Update

-- Rick Weingarten, American Library Association

Rick Weingarten, Director of ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy, will update participants on the latest developments in Washington, DC affecting libraries and the uses of technology. This session will be repeated Saturday at 10:50 a.m.

The Campus Portal as a Solution to Electronic Resource Presentation: the Intersection of MyLehigh + MyLibrary

-- Tim McGeary, Lehigh University

In January 2003, Lehigh University unveiled a campuswide SCT/CampusPipeline portal. That same semester, LibQUAL survey results and a series of meetings with faculty groups underscored the urgent need for an easy-to-use, subject-based, personalized, and customizable interface to the burgeoning array of electronic resources. The intense involvement of the library in the development of content and training for campus portal set the stage for the library group to develop a creative, unique and integral solution to electronic resource presentation through the portal.

Creating Streaming Media for Your Library: Theory & Practice

-- Brian F. Clark, Western Illinois University
-- Paul Asay, Indiana State University

Traditional forms of reference and instruction are giving way to newer high tech ways to reach our computer savvy patrons. Some libraries have begun creating and using streaming videos for library reference, instruction and public relations purposes. This presentation includes an overview of the technology, and a practical step-by-step how to do it yourself workshop. This session will be repeated Saturday at 3:20 p.m.

Managing Your First Digitization Project

-- Krystyna K. Matusiak, Univeristy of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Undertaking a first digitization project can be a challenging endeavor, especially for librarians in smaller academic institutions and public libraries. This session demonstrates how digitizing a collection can be not only a manageable task, but also a rewarding experience. The program will focus on the first collection created at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries and will provide an overview of the process of building the collection including selection, scanning, image processing, metadata, indexing, and digital image preservation. The presenter will discuss the standards and tools used in the project and share experience with using CONTENTdm as digital media management software. Come and hear about the lessons learned from the project, solutions that worked and pitfalls to avoid.

Open Source Applications for Communication and Collaboration

-- May Chang, North Carolina State University

This session will focus on a program to implement a series of open source communication and collaboration tools on both the public web and staff intranet at NCSU Libraries. The project was based on a convergence of several factors including need, availability of applications, and a new server environment. Since then, we have implemented discussion forums, weblogs, and wikis as well as an instant messenging system with an LDAP-authenticated client. These applications range from php/mySQL running under Apache to Java and C running its own server. Overall they have had an impact on staff communication and collaboration within the Libraries as well as with the campus community and beyond. This session will be repeated Saturday at 3:20 p.m.

Introducing Ecommerce: How to Empower Patrons to Pay Online

-- Dinah Sanders, Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
-- Kristen D. Hewitt, Westerville Public Library

With 24-hour accessibility and online shopping now familiar to the average library user through sites such as Amazon.com, libraries are under increasing pressure to provide services similar to those patrons enjoy elsewhere. As a growing number of activities such as renewals and requests can be handled through the library's web-based catalog, patron expectations regarding their financial interactions with the library are also on the rise. Online payment of fines and fees is the next level of anytime, anywhere service which can and should be offered. This session will cover the crucial questions you'll need to answer before adding this service.

4:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.

Break

4:20 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

Using MarcXML for Archiving, Transforming, and Displaying Complex Bibliographic Citation Metadata -- A Surprisingly Flexible & Robust Option

-- Miriam Blake, Los Alamos National Laboratory
-- Beth Goldsmith, Los Alamos National Laboratory

The LANL Research Library digital collections hold more than 60 million metadata records, covering a range of different formats -- including journal citations, books, conferences, and technical reports -- with data originating from a variety of vendors in a wide range of metadata formats. To simplify the increasingly complex task of storing, indexing, and displaying these records, and as a building block for keeping a long-term repository in-house, the library recognized the urgent need to convert the data into a consistent internal format. After experimenting with various locally-created XML schemas, we recognized the inherent advantages of using an existing standard - e.g. at least some industry-wide recognition/support, the ability to use tools and stylesheets which already exist. We reviewed numerous existing and emerging standards, seeking a schema which could be applied without local extensions/enhancements. Although originally dismissed as too monograph-oriented, possibly too rigid, and potentially too unwieldy for stylesheet transformations which must maintain the granularity of data elements from different vendors, the MarcXML standard eventually was chosen for reasons including its relative maturity in XML standards world, its familiarity in the library community, and its self-defined extensibility -- which provides surprising flexibility. In adopting MarcXML as the schema for our metadata, we concurrently decided to use existing standards (ISO language codes, openurl, AACR2) whenever possible within the records and to maintain strict adherence to MARC tag definitions rather than defining new tags and/or changing the meaning of existing tags. By adhering to such standards and the strict schema, we are able to take advantage of numerous existing tools for post-processing of our digital collection metadata and to create a standards-compliant repository which simplifies data indexing, display, and interchange. This session will be repeated Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Online Content Access and License Management: The Role of the ILS

-- Theodore A. Fons, Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
-- Janet Crum, Oregon Health & Science University

There are a variety of tools now available to libraries to help them maximize their investment in electronic resources. Integrated library systems can provide a useful role in both providing these tools and integrating them for maximum staff and patron benefit. For research and general information discovery tasks the Web-based catalog, the OpenURL link resolver and the meta-search engine are powerful tools for the discovery of free and licensed online content. For electronic resource rights management and acquisition, license tracking systems are becoming indispensable for library staff. Using the integrated library system as the locus for these tasks allows the library to make rights management and searchable access points data available in all of the information discovery tools used by the library patron. This presentation will feature a review of the information discovery tools available, the prospect for full integration of rights management data and an exploration of the role of the integrated library system in this domain.

Firewalls, Ad-Blockers, Web Accelerators, etc.: Helping Remote Users of Electronic Resources Overcome Barriers to Access

-- David Bickford, University of Phoenix

The past ten years have seen remote access to electronic resources emerge as the preferred method of use for many, if not most, library patrons. Unfortunately, the misuse of the Internet has also led to a culture in which many personal computer users feel they must install accessory programs that complicate the normal processes associated with the retrieval of Web-based information. Various programs that users install, often with the best of intentions, can interfere with the authentication processes that many libraries and their vendors use. An exploration of firewalls, ad-blockers, pop-up blockers, Web accelerators, and similar software will examine the complications caused by popular programs in each category when users attempt remote access to library-provided information resources. Additional exploration will focus on similar complications experienced by users behind workplace firewalls. Discussion of each type of software will include minimally invasive remedies to recommend to users and suggestions for managing the technical support burden. Particular attention will focus on the interaction of firewalls and related software with popular remote access solutions such as EZproxy. Finally, analysis of this situation will include consideration of human factors, including suggested messages to convey to skeptical patrons and network administrators. This session will be repeated Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Using Voice-Over-IP to Expand and Improve Web-Based Library Services

-- Tom Peters, TAP Information Services
-- Lori Bell, Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center

This program will include an overview, demonstrations, and critical analyses of several library services recently started by the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (MITBC) that utilize voice-over-IP (VoIP). MITBC provides library services for anyone unable -- temporarily or permanently -- to read regular print because of a visual or physical disability. VoIP greatly increases the accessibility and usefulness of the Web for print-impaired library users.

Building OAI-PMH Harvesters Using the Net::OAI::Harvester Toolkit

-- Ed Summers, Follett Library Resources

The Open Archive Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) is an increasingly popular technology for sharing metadata on the Internet. Much of its popularity can be attributed to its use of ubiquitous technologies such as HTTP and XML. However, even with its simplicity there are still challenges to effeciently interacting with and extracting data from OAI-PMH repositories. The open source Net::OAI::Harvester Perl module is designed to make it easy to write harvesting programs that retrieve metadata from OAI-PMH repositories. This presentation will provide background and examples of how to use the Net::OAI::Harvester module to retrieve Dublin Core, MARC21 and MODS metadata from an OAI-PMH repository. Emphasis will be on building practical applications, and will show how to hook up Net::OAI::Harvester to a relational database.

"Find Articles" -- Fourth Generation Design for Federated Searching

-- David Lindahl, University of Rochester
-- Brenda Reeb, University of Rochester

Rochester's "Find Articles" product is task-based in its name and in its user interface design. The technologies behind it (OpenURL and metasearch) are invisible. We were excited about library technologies like SFX and Endeavor's ERA from the beginning. However, we saw them as unusable. Our breakthroughs came when we focused our point of view on library tasks as mapped to the capabilities of the technologies instead of their out-of-the-box appearance. Through four generations of design, we learned how to map usability results to design iterations, grounding us firmly in user tasks first, technology capabilities second. This led to improved user success in finding articles through each generation.

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Sponsor Showcase Reception

Saturday, October 9, 2004, 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Sponsor Showcase Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.

General Session

Stuff I've Seen: Personal Information Management and Use

Susan Dumais, Senior Researcher, Adaptive Systems and Interaction Group, Microsoft Research

Most information retrieval technologies are designed to facilitate information discovery. However, much knowledge work involves finding and re-using previously seen information in the context of work activities. We have developed a research prototype called Stuff I've Seen (SIS) to facilitate information re-use. The system provides a unified index to information that a person has seen, regardless of whether the information was seen as an email, appointment, web page, document, hand-written note, etc. Because the information has been seen before, rich contextual cues and visualizations can be used to present search results. Qualitative and quantitative aspects of system design and use will be described.

10:15 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.

Break

10:50 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Create Your Own Knowledge Management Tools

-- Debbie Taylor, North Suburban Library System
-- Christina Johnson, North Suburban Library System
-- Ian Baaske, North Suburban Library System

This presentation takes an in-depth look at two technologies the North Suburban Library System has been using to share knowledge with and between its member libraries. First we'll take a close look at an e-newsletter, exploring such topics as technology choices, formatting issues, subscriptions, writing for an e-mail audience and usability. Next, we'll look at how to set up online Communities of Practice including discussion forums, calendars and file archives. We'll examine software choices and technological concerns as well as tips for helping your online communities succeed.

Creating a Digital Future Through Cooperation: the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections (UWDC)

-- Nolan Pope, University of Wisconsin-Madison
-- Patrick Wilkinson, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

The University of Wisconsin System established the UWDC Advisory Committee and the UWDC Center in 2001. The advisory committee was charged to develop a production plan that would lead to the creation of a UW Digital Collections. The digitizing center was established to be the utility that creates, hosts and maintains the digital collections. The presenters will describe how the initial digital collections were created by cooperative efforts of librarians within UW System and the general technical and organizational issues that were addressed in the creation of the UWDC. Current efforts and future plans to develop the UWDC, as an ongoing, system-wide library service will be explained.

One Site Fits All: Making Your Library's Web Site Ready for Wireless

-- Michael Providenti, Northern Kentucky University

How will a proliferation of devices with wireless access capabilities impact your library? Does your library's Web site transform gracefully for wireless devices, and does it transmit efficiently? Web standards can ensure transformability, optimized bandwidth usage, and ADA accessibility, as well as backward and forward compatibility. This presentation examines the need for redesign in this time of growing wireless access and retracting budgets. Examples will be drawn from the standards-based redesign of the Web site for W. Frank Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University.

Greenstone in Practice: Implementations of an Open Source Digital Library System

-- Allison Zhang, Washington Research Library Consortium
-- Ian H. Witten, University of Waikato
-- Laura Sheble, Wayne State University
-- Tod Olson, University of Chicago

The Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), University of Chicago Library, and Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET) each chose to develop digital library collections with Greenstone, an open source digital library system produced by the New Zealand Digital Library Project at the University of Waikato (New Zealand). Technical, workflow, staffing, and architectural requirements differed remarkably among these organizations, yet Greenstone is flexible enough to fit the needs of each organization. Representatives from the WRLC, University of Chicago Library, and DALNET will discuss the requirements of a digital library system for their organization, why Greenstone was chosen, and the development of digital library projects with Greenstone. Greenstone Developer Ian H. Witten will discuss Greenstone Digital Library Software development in relation to the needs of a diverse and international community of Greenstone users at universities, libraries, and public service organizations. This session will be repeated Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

OITP Update

-- Rick Weingarten, American Library Association

12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m.

Sponsor Showcase Lunch

1:30 p.m. - 2:40 p.m.

Combining Geographical Information System (GIS) Software and Library Statistical Data to Provide Map-Based Library Service and Location Planning

-- Ted Koppel, The Library Corporation
-- Lynne Williams, Solano County Library
-- Marc Futterman, Civic Technologies, Inc.

Library directors and managers are charged with serving current community library service needs, as well as anticipating these needs over a 5-10 year time frame. The task is made more challenging given the current context of unprecedented budget cuts and staff reductions. The continual and rapid changes in community demographics make this task difficult. Neighborhoods gain and lose population, mean educational levels vary, median income levels shift, and areas become gentrified. This fluidity affects library use, service delivery, collections development, and constituent support. Library planners need solid statistical data and reasonable population projections presented in a clear format so they can make better-informed decisions about future service and facilities needs, and to substantiate and validate their budget requests.

MyLibrary @LANL: a Personalized and Collaborative Digital Library Portal for Facilitating Scientific Research

-- Mariella Di Giacomo, Los Alamos National Laboratory
-- Frances Knudson, Los Alamos Nationial Laboratory

The Research Library of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) designed and implemented MyLibrary @LANL portal, a service that provides digital library users (scientists, students, staff, etc.), as individuals or groups, with a personalized Web environment while enhancing scientific collaboration. Mutations in the nature of scientific research have created new expectations for digital libraries supporting research. Personalization services have been explored as one possible application to improve customer satisfaction, user's experience and encourage subsequent usage. At the same time, personal data, services and documents constitute a resource for sharing data and collaboration with others as well as personal work. MyLibrary @LANL portal differs from the other digital library portal projects in its uniqueness of direct collaboration, such as shared and collaborative environments, and indirect collaboration with the user community, such as the active recommendation system for Electronic Journals.

Online Learning and Training for Library Staff: WebJunction and Online Learning Partners

-- Marilyn Gell Mason, WebJunction
-- Philip Turner, University of North Texas
-- Kara Hannigan, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
-- Celisa Steele, Isoph

Education and training for library staff is one of the most pressing issues facing libraries today. Survey after survey reveals an enormous gap between the supply of needed education and training and the demand for it. The IMLS has clearly identified a need in the educational and training opportunities available to librarians, potential librarians, and library staff across the United States, estimating the loss "of as many as 58% of the current cohort of professional librarians by 2019..." Considering the current crisis, how do schools of information science and training groups reach library staff who are either too busy to go to fulltime programs, or geographically located too far away from them? Online education and training is rapidly gaining ground in the library world as an alternative to scheduled, face-to-face training, and can be a cost savings for libraries, a time savings for staff, and help bring new members into the library profession, especially from underserved communities in more rural areas of the United States.

Firewalls, Ad-Blockers, Web Accelerators, etc.: Helping Remote Users of Electronic Resources Overcome Barriers to Access

-- David Bickford, University of Phoenix

Linux for Public Workstations

-- Perry C. Horner, Arizona State University West Library

From April 2002 through August 2003 the ASU West Library migrated all of its public workstations (70) and support servers (14) off of a Microsoft OS and architecture and onto a Linux OS and open source/open systems architecture. This activity was the result of careful planning and strategic directives which began in November 1999. The foundation and process of this decision was bold. The resources available were limited. The objectives of this project would provide a foundation for the Library to deliver a user experience that met our user wants and needs as well as provide a platform allowing us to innovate services and contribute the results of our innovation to the library community. Since completion of the conversion project we have realized a 50% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership and have already developed user feedback instruments that take advantage of open source resources. The systems developed also allow management of access based on user type and real-time capacity oversight. This presentation will provide a case outline overview of what problems we were trying to solve, the solutions identified, the implementation necessary, and the results delivered.

Using MarcXML for Archiving, Transforming, and Displaying Complex Bibliographic Citation Metadata -- A Surprisingly Flexible & Robust Option

-- Miriam Blake, Los Alamos National Laboratory
-- Beth Goldsmith, Los Alamos National Laboratory

2:40 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.

Break

3:20 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions

WikiWikiWebs: New Ways of Interacting in a Web Environment

-- Brenda Chawner, Victoria University of Wellington
-- Paul H. Lewis, University of South Carolina-Aiken

Tim Berners-Lee originally saw the web as "a system in which sharing what you knew or thought should be as easy as learning what someone else knew" (Weaving the Web, 33). However, early browsers only provided read access to existing HTML pages, and this "publishing" model for the Web has predominated. This has led to libraries concentrating their efforts on increasing the availability and accessibility of web-based electronic information, extending traditional services into the digital environment. WikiWikiWebs give us one option for realising Berners-Lee's early vision -- a wiki is a server-based collaborative tool that allows any (authorised) user to edit pages and create new ones using plain text HTML forms. Wikis can be used on intranets or on the open web; access can be open to anyone, or restricted in some way. Simple markup is used to format pages, meaning that authors don't need to learn HTML. Wiki engines are available in a range of programming languages (such as Perl, PHP, Python, and ASP). Most wiki software is available under a free/open source license, making it possible for anyone with access to a server and the necessary technical knowledge to install a wiki quickly. Wikiwikiwebs have been adopted with enthusiasm by people in computing science and IT support, but so far they have had a low profile in libraries. This session will describe the history and development of wikiwikiwebs, list typical wiki features, and outline factors to consider when choosing a wiki engine.

Networking Reference Across Domains: Enabling Standards and Trial Use

-- Donna Dinberg, National Library of Canada
-- Jeff Penka, OCLC
-- Cary Gordon, Cherry Hill Company
-- Mark Needleman, Sirsi

Digital reference services constitute a new but rapidly growing extension of the traditional reference service offered to library patrons. While the service may be delivered via real-time chat or asynchronous e-mail, the essential characteristic of the service is the ability of the patron to submit questions and to receive answers via electronic means. Because of a growing interest in evolving localized network reference services into more fully interconnected, collaborative reference services, in late 2002 the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) began development of standards to support interchange of messages from one networked reference domain to another. The NISO Committee was tasked to 1) Develop a question processing transaction protocol for interchange of messages between digital reference domains. This will support processing and routing of questions and responses and packaging of other information to be exchanged. 2) Develop metadata element sets to identify and describe key components of both question and answer data and institutional and personal data. These include: Question/answer metadata and Profiling metadata (of institutions and people) 3) Conduct experimentation and/or research in both areas to test the proposed standard.

Architecture of a Centralized Portal to Distributed Information: Portal to Texas History Project

-- Cathy Nelson Hartman, University of North Texas
-- Mark Phillips, University of North Texas

In 2002, the University of North Texas Libraries received funding to create the technical structure to support a portal to Texas history. The site architecture uses open source software, from the Linux operating system, the content management software, to the discussion and chat software. This presentation will offer an in-depth discussion of the structure of the site and some examples of ways the site is currently used to facilitate collaboration across institutions for access to and creation of digital resources related to state history.

Power to the People: The IUB Libraries' Digital Asset Management System

-- Doug Ryner, Indiana University

The Indiana University Bloomington Libraries are in the midst of a massive website redesign and migration to a new home-grown "Content Management System." The system allow for mass distributed publishing of web content to the new site. The system incorporates several components, services and sources of data, including HRMS, Intranet, and Administrative Interface. The core elements of the system are the electronic content either local or subscription based assets. The assets are defined as the over 300 plus databases, 30,000+ electronic journals and our many local resources. These assets are incorporated into the content management system, allowing for website content publishers to provide links and lists of resources for their users using this central storage and management of assets. This presentation will discuss the many features of this system, technology driving the storage and collection of metadata and asset records (MySQL & PHP), user tested public interface to the assets, workflow and administrative interface.

Open Source Applications for Communication and Collaboration

-- May Chang, North Carolina State University

Creating Streaming Media for Your Library: Theory & Practice

-- Brian F. Clark, Western Illinois University
-- Paul Asay, Indiana State University

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Poster Sessions

Are We There Yet? Surveying the Landscape of E-Books and Licenses

-- Emilie Algenio, University of Texas at Austin

E-Book licenses, like their delivery technology and their integration with library services, are still in the inceptive stages. This presentation reviews their evolving nature within an academic context, covering the present and the future. It also discusses e-books and points of convergence with the following issues: law, technology, other electronic content, and the marketplace.

Bridging the Digital Divide: The Impact of Public Libraries on Computer Access and Internet Use

-- Mee-Aeng Ko, University of Missouri-Columbia
-- Shenghua Zha, University of Missouri-Columbia

This session reports the results of a research study on the use of public access computers and the Internet at a public library in a mid-sized University town. The research focused on users' needs, problems of access, the presence of factors creating digital divides for these library patrons, and suggestions for improving library computing services.

Continuous Learning Opportunities Online Database and Registration (CLeO)

-- Chris Deweese, Lewis & Clark Library System

Lewis & Clark Library System (LCLS) staff designed and developed a new Continuous Learning Opportunities database (CLeO) allowing library staff to register for class offerings online. Individual member library staff information is entered into a database through the LCLS website, enabling reports, schedules, and reminders to be a seamless process. Member library staff create their own accounts that remain private and secure, they then do everything via the LCLS website for class attendance (register, cancel, track their hours of education, view their schedules, etc). The design of the website/database permits people with a wide variety of technological skill levels easy access to Continuous Learning events sponsored by the Library System. There are now over 750 individual accounts in the database. CLeO is a "server side" program and does not require the users to have any special software other than a standard web browser.

Developing an Email Reference Management Database: Lessons Learned

-- Heather Tunender, University of California-Irvine
-- Jason Hedrick, Univeristy of California-Irvine

Email reference has become a standard service in libraries. Many libraries have created formalized services to answer their email queries. A few libraries have created in-house databases to manage their email questions from submission to archiving. The UC Irvine Libraries' created a customized database (MS SQL/PHP) to manage our email reference questions and automate many of the repetitive tasks associated with answering them. We will discuss the database features; the planning process, from design to programming; and the lessons we learned as well as the pros/cons of undertaking such a project.

If You Build It, Will They Come? Using Distance Learning Software to Create a Learning Community for Specific Disciplines

-- Linda Lillard, Emporia State University
-- Mollie Dinwiddie, Central Missouri State University

A superior learning environment provides students with an opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of an instructor and to engage in research into the subject matter of the course. Librarians can use distance learning software, such as Blackboard, to create such an opportunity for students. Collaboration between course instructor and library liaison using online courseware leads to the development of a learning community that enhances the learning experience. The presenters describe an experiment that produced a learning community that nurtures students and fosters student retention and success. Examples of how the learning community for nursing and criminal justice students serves as a communication forum and learning tool are included in the presentation.

An Introduction to Topic Maps: the Librarian's Perspective

-- Suellen Stringer-Hye, Vanderbilt University

In October of 2003, Dr. Michel Biezunski and Dr. Steven R. Newcomb presented "Topic Maps: The inventor's perspective on Subject-based Access" as one of the Luminary Lectures at the Library of Congress. What exactly are Topic Maps? What standards are used to create them? How are they similar to the current practices of providing subject based access and how are they different? What role will librarians play in the development of these technologies? This presentation will explain the fundamentals of Topic Map creation and provide directions for further research on the topic.

Library Digital Projects: Crossroads for Collaborations

-- Rob Weidman, Lehigh University
-- Brian Simboli, Lehigh University

Lehigh University recently completed a project that involved digitizing two books from the PA Geological Survey as well as other related material. The project employed CONTENTdm, which provided a framework for the management and presentation of the page images from these two volumes and the associated metadata describing them. A multi-faceted website was built around this presentation, and the functionality and appearance of the CONTENTdm interface was customized to more seamlessly and effectively integrate with the other elements of the site. In addition to providing a public source of information about local geology and much else, the website -- and work on it-- became a vehicle for promoting liaisons between librarians and the faculty, between librarians and the Friends of the Library board, and between Lehigh and the community at large. Also, it provided a way to publicize Lehigh's Special Collections.

Linux & Library - Web Kiosks for Peanuts

-- Sam Deeljore, Saint Louis University Libraries

Faced with the need to replace aging character-cell terminals used for public searching of the library catalog, Pius XII Memorial Library of Saint Louis University has turned to Linux-based thin clients for an answer. Based on the Linux Terminal Server Project, this open source solution not only affords web kiosks for browsing library catalogs, but also possesses the advantages of centralized management, lower client-processing power requirements, reusability of old equipment, and all the perquisites of open-source licensing. Attendees of this presentation will discover how they can create thin clients from obsolete, "thick client," desktop PCs, and how a terminal server can be designed easily using Linux. Web kiosks are an excellent application of this technology, but a Linux-based thin client can also be used to replace high-maintenance desktops for some workers who do not depend on specific Windows applications.

Using Digital Index Maps to Provide Remote Access to Map Sets and Map Series

-- Paige Andrew, Pennsylvania State University

In most libraries today users must visit the library to use an index map for a particular geologic or other map set or series in order to determine the sheet(s) required from that set or series. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for the user to then find that the library does not own the sheet in question. This project describes an experiment in providing remote access to these index maps via the Internet and in enhancing the utility of the library catalog and the index maps for remote users. Digital index maps were created for various geologic map sets, featuring links from each individually represented map sheet on the index to the relevant library catalog record. Methods to represent sheets not owned were also explored. Records for digital index maps were added to the library catalog and links to the index were added to the library catalog records of the geologic maps and sheets. This cross-linking allows users to access the index map from multiple entry points and facilitates its eventual use.

Web Applications as Tools for Improving Internal Communication Within the Library

-- Kathrine Montgomery, Tulane University
-- Ariana French, Tulane University

In an effort to improve internal library communication, knowledge sharing, and workflow, and to streamline common tasks, staff from the Digital Services department of Tulane University's Howard-Tilton Memorial Library conducted user-needs assessments and met with department heads to discuss ways in which technology could meet departmental and library needs. Following analysis of the data, staff created a development plan, and began designing a library intranet.

9:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

Upstream Content Management in an ILS, Downstream Integrated Access, Authentication, Portals, and Statistics

-- David Palmer, University of Hong Kong Libraries

Several years ago the University of Hong Kong Libraries (HKUL) was using several different online systems for many overlapping functions, and which all called for information common to many or all functions. We met this challenge by having all bibliographic, and access control data, Chinese and English, input by one group of people only, in one repository only, our Innopac's bibliographic, checkin, and patron records. This data serves as the "catalogue of record" as well as, after extraction in XML to Oracle, the basis for authentication and access control in EZproxy, subject pathfinders for all disciplines at HKU, creation and population of HKUL's MyLibrary portal, HKU's uPortal, a portal on distance learning, and another for alumni. We will explain the design of this upstream content management, and the strategies and tools used to create the downstream products.

Greenstone in Practice: Implementations of an Open Source Digital Library System

-- Allison Zhang, Washington Research Library Consortium
-- Ian H. Witten, University of Waikato
-- Laura Sheble, Wayne State University
-- Tod Olson, University of Chicago

The Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), Mercy Corps, and the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET) each chose to develop digital library collections with Greenstone, an open source digital library system produced by the New Zealand Digital Library Project at the University of Waikato (New Zealand). Technical, workflow, staffing, and architectural requirements differed remarkably among these organizations, yet Greenstone is flexible enough to fit the needs of each organization. Representatives from the WRLC, Mercy Corps, and DALNET will discuss the requirements of a digital library system for their organization, why Greenstone was chosen, and the development of digital library projects with Greenstone. Greenstone Developer Ian H. Witten will discuss Greenstone Digital Library Software development in relation to the needs of a diverse and international community of Greenstone users at universities, libraries, and public service organizations.

iVia and Data Fountains: Open Source Internet Portal System and Metadata Generation Service for Amplifying the Efforts of Subject Experts

-- Julie Mason, University of California-Riverside

This session will discuss iVia and Data Fountains. iVia is an open source portal system that is the software platform for the INFOMINE virtual library. Data Fountains, currently under development, is an array of iVias. Both projects have been funded though IMLS National Leadership grants. Each is intended for use by a subject community or virtual library to automatically identify Internet resources of value and provide metadata describing these resources as a service to the cooperating subject community. The presenters will discuss working with machine learning technology to provide machine assistance in Internet collection building.

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Closing General Session

Libraries and Library Systems in the New Information Landscape

Clifford Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information

Clifford Lynch will wrap up the LITA National Forum with a talk about preservation, personalization, education delivery and learning management systems, and consumer marketplace developments. He will also tie in some topics from Forum sessions that attendees will have seen.