IRLS 571 Unit 5 Assignment

A.
There are many technologies that are making huge impacts on libraries. Four of these technologies are web filters, blogs, RFID, and open URL resolvers.

Web filters have become more prevalent after the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was created in 2000. This act stated that all public and school libraries that received funding from the government must install some form of filtering software on their computers. The intent was to protect children from inadvertently seeing pornography, or other inappropriate materials while in the library. There are many pros and cons to filtering. Many believe that it is a great deterrent from pornography on the web. They also argue that filters work for the most part in filtering only those sites that are deemed inappropriate. But those against filters argue that the filters don’t work effectively, and end up filtering sites that shouldn’t be filtered. The ALA also argues against filtering, as it is a form of censorship. By prohibiting our patrons from accessing certain websites, we are taking information away from them. Web filters are used in most public and school libraries. The library administration decides on a web filtering software and installs it onto the computers. The library where I work has a system set up where there are two types of filtering: the basic, and the advanced. Those patrons who are older than 17 can choose what kind of filtering they would like. Those under 17 are automatically given the more advanced filtering, which not only filters pornography, but also filters sites with violence, lingerie and anything else deemed inappropriate for children. I think that the major social impact of web filtering technology is that it censors information from library patrons. One of the goals of a librarian is to provide access to as much information as possible. When we place filters on our computers, we are denying them that access. As I stated before, one of the arguments against filtering is that it is flawed, and doesn’t always do its job correctly. There are a vast amount of sites that are blocked when they shouldn’t be, and then there are others that aren’t blocked that should be. I can understand the government’s desire to protect our patrons, but until we find filtering software that can be more exact, an alternative to web filtering should be developed, ie. privacy screens.

Blogs have been around for a while, but it seems like they have become very popular over the last several years. Blogs are basically online journals that are accessible by anyone. Blogs can also be called vlogs or podcasts. Vlogs are video blogs and podcasts are audio blogs. There are several free blog sites in existence, including www.blogger.com and www.livejournal.com. Vlogs and podcasts are both very simple to create, and that is part of their appeal. Podcasts can be created with a microphone, a PC and some audio software. Once the podcast is recorded, the creator simply needs to add some music or other audio effects, edit it with audio software, convert it to an mp3 format, and upload it to a server. Vlogs are created with a video camera, video editing software, and a place to upload the video. Vlogs are becoming incredibly popular, especially with young people. There are many places to upload video logs, but the most common is www.youtube.com. Vlogs are becoming a great format of communication for people. Instead of talking on the phone or emailing, they can communicate via vlogs and actually see the other person. A vlog that I have gotten into is at www.brotherhood2.com. Two brothers had determined that they never seemed to communicate by any other method than email, so they vowed to only speak to each other via video blogs for one year. The site has actually gotten really popular, and can be very funny to watch. Blogs, vlogs and podcasts all have a use in libraries. Blogs are being used by patrons and librarians to create recommended reading lists and book reviews. Vlogs can be used in libraries on their websites to advertise new programming and activities. They can also be used for book talks in the children and teen areas. This can be great for an understaffed library that doesn’t have enough time to do live book talks in schools and libraries. This same idea could be used for podcasts. Podcasts and vlogs could also be used for tutorials, library guides and book reviews. When I was thinking about the social impact of blogs, I decided that a major impact is communication. Gone are the days when we had to write letters to keep in touch. Now we can just email. On that same line, blogs allow us to stay in touch with our family and friends in a much more interesting and sometimes amusing way. It also allows us to meet and communicate with people from all over the world. By allowing anyone to read, hear or view your personal thoughts, you are communicating with a wide assortment of people. This can create friends (or enemies) with people that you wouldn’t normally ever meet. Another impact is access to information. There are numerous sites online that list tons of podcasts and the topics they cover. Users can subscribe to these podcasts through RSS feeds and listen to new information daily. The same can be said for the blogs created at libraries. We are creating and/or sharing information with countless users whenever we create and post a blog, vlog or podcast.

Open URL resolvers are something that I have never really thought about before. I never thought about what was enabling me to download articles off of databases, or view e-books from my public library catalog. Now I understand that these resolvers allow us to do that. When a patron looks in a database and finds an article, the open URL resolver shows a web link to access that article. The link then takes the patron to whichever vendor is distributing that article. Some common vendors are EBSCO, Jstor and LexisNexis. The hope is that once that link is clicked, the user can see a full text version of the article. Some vendors allow PDF and html versions. There are also times when the patron cannot see the article, only an abstract or an ILL request form. But even though patrons may not always be able to access the article directly, there is always an option to access it someway, even if it is through ILL. Resolvers are also used with e-books. When a patron looks up an e-book through their library catalog, a web link will display. When that link is clicked, the patron is taken to a new website away from the library website that actually distributes the e-book. Open URL resolvers have direct influences on libraries. Libraries are never able to carry as much information as they would like. Space and tight budgets restrict the amount of new resources and materials they are able to purchase. Because of this, librarians utilize technology to bring more information into their libraries. Open URL resolvers allow libraries to provide access to articles from databases, e-books, mp3 files and other resources not actually in the library. Without this technology, we wouldn’t be able to provide the best possible access to information. As our society progresses and becomes more comfortable with technology, resources like resolvers will become more and more necessary. The younger generations are so used to computers and online searching, they don’t want to have to look at actual books for their research. They would rather get it online. By having resolvers to access good resources like databases, we can teach our youth, and adults how to find reliable sources.

RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification, and has existed since WWII. It is a device called a tag that can be attached to something. The tag has a small computer chip and an antenna. A radio transmitter sends a signal to the tag that activates it and also gives it its power source. The tag then sends out a response to the transmitter. The transmitter can look at the signal and determine what the tag is attached to. These tags are used in many places and situations including department stores, automobiles and even passports. RFID tags are extremely useful in libraries. They benefit both patrons and librarians. RFID tags can be placed on all the materials in the library, and are better than bar codes for many reasons. The tags can be on the inside of the book, thus preserving the covers. Tags can also be read simultaneously, which aids in check out. Instead of having to check out one book at a time, all of the books can be checked out at once. Also, it can be used as a security device. The aspect of it that I liked the best was its “smart shelves” feature. This is library shelving that knows what books should go on which shelves, and can tell you when a book is missing from a shelf. One of the social impacts with RFID is disintermediation. RFID takes out the middleman regarding checking out books. Most libraries have self-check out, but there is still always a librarian available to help. And most self check-outs run into all sorts of problems. At my public library, the check out system requires you to position your card a certain way and keep it there while you scan each book. And the computer seems to take forever checking them out. With RFID, patrons can plop their books down and scan them all at once. But there is also a negative social impact. Many people argue against RFID tags on the grounds that they are an invasion of privacy. They insist that the tags carry personal information about patrons. This paranoia is due to the fact that these tags can be used to tag human beings. But what they don’t realize is that libraries don’t put patron information on the tag. The tag holds information about the book. Also, the transmission is only viable a short distance. It could only be tracked in the library.

B.
I selected RFID as the technology that will most improve libraries for the librarians. One of the things I have noticed during my short time so far working in a public library, is the amount of books that get lost in the library. We have people coming to the reference desk all the time looking for a book that isn’t there, but should be. By installing RFID tags in the books (which apparently my library is doing), we can keep better track of our materials. Also, by installing smart shelves, this will help us out immensely when we are re-shelving, or looking for a book. By knowing exactly the order that the books need to be shelved, librarians could shelf books so much more quickly. Another improvement is in check out. Yes, this benefits patrons. But it also benefits librarians. Self check out doesn’t exist everywhere. And in those places, RFID would help librarians check things out much more quickly. In areas where there was self check out, RFID tags would probably allow the library to minimize their staff in that area, since there would be fewer problems. The last thing that I thought about was security. My co-worker mentioned that he accidentally walks out of the library all the time with books that he hasn’t checked out. The security measures we have don’t work. He never gets beeped at when he leaves. But RFID tags would fix that problem.

The technology that I feel improves libraries for the patrons is Open URL resolvers. These resolvers provide access to information that libraries might not normally be able to provide. It is economically unfeasible to subscribe to every database in existence. But with resolvers, we can subscribe to certain vendors who carry databases that our patrons want. The resolvers also provide the patron with access to the actual article a lot of the time, which can be especially beneficial to students. Patrons can also use resolvers to get other online resources such as e-books and mp3’s. As I have already stated, patrons want to be able to access information online. By having online resources, we are catering not only to patrons who come into the library, but to people who are accessing our library website from home or work. We can disseminate information to a vast majority of people this way, much more than if the only materials we had were on the shelves.