TILT | JULY 2012
Inside this issue

From the section Chair

From the ChairDear Colleagues,


Iinformation technology (IT) developments have brought enormous challenges to libraries during the last ten years. Social networks with their unstructured data made library work more challenging and innovative. Now, the semantic web is returning the library to structured data and making sense of the chaotic digital world. Open source solutions have matured bringing new possibilities to all parts of the developed and developing world to share the same tools. The information technology has become present in all library segments. That is why the focus of the IT section is very wide, and our work is related to other IFLA sections with which we have been cooperating all these years.

Being aware of these recent IT developments, the IT Section Standing Committee members have tried to address the burning issues related to IT in libraries during the mandate of the former Chair Reinhard Altenhoener. In the next two years we will continue this way by paying attention to the most important problems that may arise from the use of IT in libraries, and by giving further support to the Special Interest Groups for RFID and Semantic Web.

The IT section SC members are coming from very different areas and countries; however I am confident that we all share the same vision of making the library more efficient, secure and accessible. We understand how difficult it is to work in libraries without IT equipment or internet access. There are also many other issues that require time, attention and a lot of efforts. We will try to focus on those that are most relevant, or may have significant impact on libraries.

At the 78th IFLA World Library and Information Congress to be held in Helsinki this August, we will address the problem of disaster recovery in digital libraries. This is a very important issue regarding the huge amount of data and digital collections kept in libraries. Last year at the IFLA conference in Puerto Rico, we organized a session together with the Libraries and Research in Parliament section on open source. This year, continuing this practice, we will have a joint session dedicated to mobile devices. Since the integration of IT with libraries is becoming considerably significant, we need new library professional profiles and skills. Different experiences on this topic will be presented in the joint session of IT and Education and Training Section.

I would like to invite you to the regular meetings of the SC to be held on August 11 and 15 2012 at the IFLA Conference in Helsinki. We would like to get your opinion about relevant trends and developments from your experience and environment. You can also suggest activities that should be given priority in the next years. You can also contribute as volunteer to the activities of our section.

And last, but not least, I would like to thank Edmund Balnaves, Information Officer and Editor of the Information Technology Section Newsletter, for his enormous efforts in producing the section's newsletter. He has done a wonderful work by changing its format and including more professional content. We hope that you will find it interesting and useful.

Alenka Kavčič-Čolić

alenka.kavcic@nuk.uni-lj.si


IFLA Tilt Journal

In this issue

Editorial


From the Chairby Edmund Balnaves,

IT Section Information Coordinator and Editor

Welcome to the first issue in our new newsletter in our new format. Regular news, events and blogs are available on the Information Technology section website at http://www.ifla.org/it. The newsletter will focus on in-depth coverage of topics of relevant to all those engaged with technology in the library (which these days is pretty much everyone!).

The changes in the IT landscape for libraries are apparent across all types of libraries. Digital libraries are becoming mainstream resources for libraries just as the OPAC did two decades ago. Mobile access becomes increasingly important across the diverse range of devices used by library clients. The IT section itself is, therefore, quite a melting pot of standards, ideas and interests. The forthcoming conferences exemplifies the cross-disciplinary nature of the activities of the section in:

DISASTER RECOVERY - many organisations discover the importance of disaster preparedness after the even. This session will focus preparation for and practical experience in the use of IT for disaster recovery and disaster management.

RFID - the new Special Interest Group in this area has organised an interesting update in the widening application of RFID in libraries and the ways in which standards development is improving inter-operability.

PROFESISONAL DEVELOPMENT - Information Technology is affecting the way nearly every profession operates, and especially so in the area of Librarianship. The sessions at IFLA cover the ways in which professional education, employment and ongoing professional development are affected by IT.

MOBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY - Our joint session with the Libraries and Research in Parliament section has an interesting lineup of presentations in the rapidly developing area of services delivered through mobile devices and the overlap with more effective delivery of informatipurposes of Accessibility.y.

There continue to be significant developments in the area of digital rights and copyright. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)has the potential to significantly affect library and information technology operations. IFLA has been active in consultation regarding ACTA.

On a daily basis it is hard to avoid the impact of technology on libraries, publishers and clients. Some publishers are being marginalised as part of this process. Dramatic cutbacks among newspaper publishers in Australia reflect the changing scene of readership of traditional newpaper publications. School libraries are discarding their print collections. Some libraries are being marginalised in the process change, but certainly not all. We live in a time of extraordinary possiblity. Open source solutions are mature, and increasingly integrated: digital libraries are not longer the preserve of large, well funded, institutions. Semantic metadata integration allows libraries to feed into a wider pool of networked information to make their organisational assets move visible and accessible. Digital Textbooks is a lively blog on the transition to electronic books in Universities: http://digital-textbooks.blogspot.com.au/.

The IFLA congress in Helsinki is an excellent place to catch the pulse of international developments affecting the library scene. In the meantime, enjoy the articles in this newsletter. In this issue we have articles on the affect of Information Technology education on the library, digitisation and digital library development, and the iPad as an example of the rich mobility now available in supporting library activities.


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In this issue

How IT Continuing Education has Transformed our Library

How IT Continuing Education has Transformed our Library

By:
Mark Ellis,
Govt. Documents, Law, Maps Librarian
Sherrod Library,
East Tennessee State University.

Leslie Adebonojo,
Undergraduate Outreach Librarian,
ETSU.

Kathy Campbell,
Head of Reference,
Sherrod Library, ETSU.

Having the skills and knowledge to adequately respond to technology-based information demands has never been more important. When the library at East Tennessee State University was opened in 1999, it was the first new academic building that had been constructed on the campus in a number of years. During the design development phase, the librarians worked with the architects to create a facility that would have the adequate infrastructure for the information technology used in the 1990’s. At that time, all of the computers were required to have data connection cabling. All cabling was designed to be carried though the floors.

The reference area was considered the principal site for research and instruction. A reference collection of some 25,000 volumes was moved from the old facility to the new, and 24 computer workstations were placed through the center of the reference room. At the back of reference, the library had a smart classroom, outfitted with an instructor’s workstation, a data projector, an Elmo overhead projector, and sixteen student workstations. Most classes involved the students following the librarian through a session using relevant databases.

In many ways, the interior of the library had a very traditional layout. Circulation was across from reference on the first floor. Other departments such as Periodicals, Government Documents, and the Archives were arranged according to foot traffic at the front of the building on higher floors. A large book stack area for the circulating collection lay at the back of the building on each floor. Since the building was the newest structure on campus and centrally located, it was immediately popular as a gathering place for students. It was also viewed as prime real estate for other units on campus. A mural from the Appalachian Studies Center was hung on the first floor. The campus tutoring services set up shop in classrooms on the third floor, and instructors in a number of departments used study rooms to meet with students.

As the Office of Information Technology’s training section grew and developed a twofold mission of providing technology to students (principally through computer labs) and training to faculty and staff, the section of the unit devoted to training faculty and staff was split off as a new department called Academic Technology Services (ATS). Due to the growth of the Office of Information Technology, ATS had spread into a number of buildings, repurposed to provide support and instruction.

In 2003, the Director of ATS met with the Dean of the Library to look at several areas which might be converted into a home for ATS. They finally settled on a large area at the back of the reference room. It was considered a good location for the new ATS offices, since the their staff needed office space to provide individual help to clients as well as manage and prepare their workshops. The Dean and the ATS Director also decided to transfer the smart classroom to ATS. Since both areas were the responsibility of the Head of Reference, and moving the collection out of the area would require significant staff time, they asked him if he would be willing to give up the area in exchange for services or technology yet to be determined.

After a long discussion, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of giving up the space and the classroom, the Dean and the Head of Reference decided to go along with the plan with several stipulations outlined below. The stack area at the back of Reference housed old editions of indexes. While it was the policy of the library not to subscribe to both print and electronic versions of an index, the older editions which were duplicated electronically had been retained. A new policy was set to withdraw print indexes duplicated by electronic subscriptions. This change was more revolutionary than it might sound, because at the time, there were many questions about budgeting for renewals and ownership of electronic databases if subscriptions lapsed. In the end most of the retrospective collections were withdrawn. Probably the most difficult decision was to give up the smart classroom, as it was well outfitted and used by other departments in addition to the library. The library had another large classroom on the third floor, although it was not a smart classroom. The Director of ATS agreed to refit the third floor classroom as a smart classroom with equipment the library selected. ATS also initially offered to let the library use the first floor classroom; however, due to the course load of ATS, the library has rarely been able to utilize the room.

Between the time the library was planned and the date it opened, wireless technology grew as an important mode for transmitting information. The new building was, unfortunately, planned without wireless network capability. By the early 2000’s library users were beginning to use more technology that required wireless capability.

We were between the PDA era and the Smartphone era, and most laptops were also incorporating wireless technology. It was finally decided that the best bargain for giving up the space would be the installation of a wireless network in the library building. The network would also benefit ATS and any other units working in the building. Consequently the first wireless hubs were set up in the library.

Almost as an afterthought, ATS offered to hold a place in its Faculty Technology Leadership (FTL) class for a member of the library faculty. Each year ATS offers a two-semester, graduate-level course called Faculty Technology Leadership to a select group of faculty across disciplines. The purpose of the course is both to train faculty in advanced educational technology and to encourage the development of online courses. As a bonus, participants are given the means to use the technology, including video cameras, laptops with programs such as Camtasia, and other equipment to develop multimedia presentations. Librarians immediately responded to this opportunity, and for almost every year since ATS moved to the library, a librarian has participated in the class.

ATS Staffer Adam Greever with Dr.Susan Epps in the FTL Classroom

ATS Staffer Adam Greever with Dr.Susan Epps in the FTL Classroom

Having ATS in the library provides the added benefit of immediate assistance with technology, as well as attracting faculty and staff from other departments to the library. Now that ATS has been in the library for ten years, the entire library faculty has made the commitment to complete the FTL course, and new library faculty members are encouraged to enroll in the course at their earliest opportunity. The skills and knowledge taken from the FTL course have transformed the library in almost every area. The following list outlines some of the ways librarians incorporate technology into their work:

  • Using the university’s course content management system to market library resources and serve as a training site for student workers and graduate assistants
  • Responding to online reference questions with short Camtasia and other multimedia videos
  • Using LibGuides (web-based subject guides) as basic research guides, as specific course guide, and as organizational tools
  • Incorporating the QuestionPoint chat service into reference
  • Developing streaming video through local hosting on the ATS server

A major consequence of incorporating elearning technology has been a restructuring of the library. This emphasis on elearning has created a fluid environment for librarians, so that as users’ information needs change, our jobs have been transformed. Every librarian’s job description now incorporates technology relevant to their specialty, and new hires are now expected to have a technology skill-set applicable to their specific job. For example, candidates for the distance education librarian position had to demonstrate competence with Adobe Connect and other web conferencing applications.In addition to changing the administrative structure, the physical structure of the library has undergone major changes.

First Floor of the library
First Floor of the Library

The reference area is now classified as a computer lab, with more workstations and improved printing. The reference desk itself is also the center for IT advisors who lend laptops and other equipment and help students configure their laptops and tablets for use on the campus network. The IT workers have taken the job of technology trouble-shooting from the library staff, so that librarians now have more time to concentrate on helping users with content. With the wireless network, service points in all departments are busier because patrons take laptops to all areas of the building. Probably the greatest change can be seen on the first floor. Beyond the reference and circulation departments, the stack area has been replaced with a tutoring and writing center, a testing center, and a café/deli, in addition to an expanded ATS.

Earth Day Event in the Library Plaza

Earth Day Event in the Library Plaza

The library as place has become more important. During the past five years a complex of new dormitories was built in the area next to the library. Since the majority of students living on campus now pass the library to go to the student center, classroom buildings, or campus recreation facilities, the library and the plaza in front of the library have become the true center of the campus. Students have definitely come to view the library differently and are requesting that we provide services 24/7, year-round. Now that the library has been retooled, students see the library as an indispensable resource, a place to do research, a place to get help with research and writing, and a place to meet and study. We must meet the challenges presented by our students’ new perspective of our value to the university, and with the help of our friends in ATS, we feel we can meet these challenges.

Contact:

Mark Ellis (Govt. Documents, Law, Maps Librarian, ETSU Library) ellism@etsu.edu


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Inside this issue

Support of digitisation in small memory institutions through open educational content

How IT Continuing Education has Transformed our Library

By

Adam Dudczak, Marcin Werla, Cezary Mazurek, Bogna Wróż

Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center

Introduction

Small memory institutions willing to get involved in digitisation projects need to overcome various organizational and economic problems, among which the lack of appropriate training seems to be one of the most significant. In this paper we would like to describe the development, contents and international deployment of two online e-learning courses created to address such needs. These courses, entitled "Digital repositories for small memory institutions" and "Cooperation with Europeana", were developed by Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC, http://www.man.poznan.pl) within the framework of ACCESS IT project (and its continuation, ACCESS IT Plus), funded by the European Commission Culture 2007-2013 program.

ACCESS IT / ACCESS IT Plus (http://access-it.org) aims for delivering a unique package of practical training and skills development to maximize the opportunities provided by new technologies, to most effectively deliver and disseminate arts and cultural offerings worldwide, all over the Internet. ACCESS IT initiated work in the three target countries – Serbia, Turkey and Greece, by transferring expertise and successful approaches which are used elsewhere in Europe by creating a practical model for training and implementation. One of the most important elements of the ACCESS IT project was an on-line training course, initially prepared in English, for further translation and adaptation to suit the needs of the communities of practice in mentioned target countries. Success of ACCESS IT caused the extension of the initial project as ACCESS IT Plus for further development of training materials and covering additional countries: Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the following chapter we will describe how this online course was developed and deployed during the first ACCESS IT project. Third chapter will outline the structure and content of both courses. Fourth chapter summarizes the goals of ACCESS IT Plus project and its results which might be relevant for the reader.

Preparation of courses

The first step of the online training courses preparation was focused on gathering requirements and analysis of available educational resources. At distinct from existing projects like Digital Library Curriculum Project (http://curric.dlib.vt.edu/), which aimed for developing complete curriculum for educating on digital libraries, ACCESS IT project scope was not associated with traditional levels of education and addressed to the very diverse group of recipients. Therefore, ACCESS IT courses are rather a deliberate training, designated for practitioners, more interested in simple recipes than getting a broad and deep view on a given topic.

Next step included identification of online resources. Set of links prepared by Minerva project (http://www.minervaeurope.org/guidelines.htm) was used as a starting point. After removal of old, broken links and addition of recent materials we’ve obtained a database of more than 90 sources, wherein each entry has a link, date of recent modification, title and a short summary. This database is available at http://dl.psnc.pl/moodle/mod/data/view.php?id=130).

All described findings were used to design and develop the first version of the training, which was presented to participants (from Serbia, Turkey and Greece) during a three days session in February 2010. During these three days two teachers delivered nearly 20 hours of lectures and practical exercises. While designing this course we tried to cover the whole digital object lifecycle starting from selection and preparation of an original object and its metadata, over digitization and post processing (OCR in particular), preserving digital master copy, preparation of web delivery formats and publishing object on the web.

Participants of this training were asked to express their opinion about content and structure of the training. While in general we obtained good marks for the training preparation and delivery, there were some voices which suggested that: training should be divided into smaller parts and more practical examples and exercises should be included. This insufficiency was caused mainly by the time limitations associated with the nature of the live training. As the online training does not have this drawback, we were able to introduce significant number of step-by-step instructions into e-learning materials.

Thanks to obtained feedback we were able to reformulate and extend the initial course structure. We have also asked Polish and foreign experts in digitisation and digital libraries to review the content of both e-learning courses as they were at that time.

Finally the educational content was divided into two parts (“Digital repositories for small memory institutions” and “Cooperation with Europeana”), and the final version of both courses was released in October 2010. These courses together offers access to 40 modules and more than 200 test questions. We have decided to release courses content under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, Share-alike license. This enables all interested parties to reuse, adapt and translate the courses for their own goals and may in future help us to maintain course content to keep it up-to-date.

After the release, courses were deployed in Serbia, Greece, Turkey and since June 2011 have also been available in Poland (http://fbc.pionier.net.pl/elearning). ACCESS IT partners with a help of PSNC were able to translate and adapt the course content to their local conditions. This was done to reflect local needs, situation in cultural heritage sector.

Online training structure

During preparations for the course development we reviewed some of existing e-learning courses and software which was used for their creation. Among many software platforms (like Sakai, Microsoft Blackboard etc.) we decided to deliver our course using Moodle (http://moodle.org). Such decision was taken mainly because of its compliance with standards (i.e. SCORM, which might be relevant for further course development), wide application, numerous plugins and great documentation. Also a fact that Moodle is an open source software written in PHP/MySQL is important because of free license and cheap server hosting, which might be relevant for future reuse of the course. Finally Moodle instance for the generic/reference Access IT course was deployed at http://dl.psnc.pl/moodle/.

Choice of platform imposed the course structure to some extent. We decided to divide course into topics, which consist of lessons and reading materials. Additionally each topic ends with a compulsory quiz. Each course has a common glossary, we have also added a wiki and forum in order to give participants assets to discuss and cooperate with each other.

The “Digital repositories for small memory institutions” course consists of 28 modules (including lessons and articles) divided into 9 topics. It is directed mostly to employees of small memory institutions (but not only) like public libraries or regional museums. It can be also an interesting source of knowledge for library and information science students. As mentioned earlier, while designing this course, we tried to cover the whole digital object lifecycle. The course contains practical instructions, e.g. how to create a PDF file with a text layer using free tools.

To emphasize the practical character of the course, all lessons were formulated as an answer to a particular (but sometimes quite broad) question e.g. “When should I create my own digital library and how to do it?”. Participants of the course have a chance to introduce themselves to a number of instructions describing the way of realization of some typical tasks of a digital librarian step by step.

DRSMI website

Figure 1: Main site of the “Digital repositories for small memory institutions” course.

First topic describes basic concepts associated with the cultural heritage digitization process. In second topic, different kinds of equipment and software necessary to digitize and process various types of cultural objects are described e.g. scanners, digital cameras, tools for image, text, audio/video manipulation. Third topic introduces primary knowledge about digital libraries: basic concepts associated with digital libraries, their organizational models and case study of digital libraries infrastructure in Poland are presented as an exemplary model aiming at showing what role a single digital library in the local, regional and national context can play. Fourth topic answers the questions how to build good digital collections and how does such a collection look like. It also introduces the subject of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), their most important concepts and problems. Fifth topic describes the most important aspects of the preparation of digital versions of the cultural heritage objects process. Equipment, practical solutions, useful for preparing such versions of image based objects and textual content are presented. Sixth topic introduces the concept of metadata. It shows why metadata is important, how can metadata be divided into types (like descriptive or structural metadata) and what should be considered when creating it. Seventh topic covers a number of issues associated with the publication of cultural heritage objects on the Internet. It presents a few digital library software platforms and digital objects promotion which helps to attract end-users to a digital library. In eight module, reader can find hints associated with evaluation of a digital library from the end-users point of view, particularly how to perform usability and accessibility analysis. The last topic of the course summarizes the list of the most important elements of this course and introduces Europeana (http://europeana.eu).

The second course - “Cooperation with Europeana” (11 lessons in 3 topics) actually explains the concept of metadata aggregation, describes the basics of the OAI-PMH protocol, reviews the basic assumptions underlying Europeana and other portals that are based on metadata aggregation. Further, it describes the Europeana Semantic Elements metadata schema and shows how metadata unification and mapping can be done. In the last part of the course participants learn about general procedures associated with cooperation with Europeana and read some case studies of aggregators and digital libraries which already established a connection with Europeana. It aims also at remitting the significance of joining Europeana as a part of digitisation and availability development of European cultural heritage.

Further development of the course

As was already mentioned ACCESS IT Plus project continues the work of the initial ACCESS IT effort. At the moment, courses are once again under review before its content will be deployed in three new countries Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. PSNC will also develop a dedicated software packages in order to simplify inclusion of the new changes made in the reference to the English version of the e-learning materials into existing national versions of courses.

Educational resources available now, will be extended by addition of a DigitLab - a compact set of free software tools which will be useful in everyday work of a digital librarian. It is implemented as a Linux Ubuntu dedicated version distributed as a bootable image, which can be easily placed on the pendrive and used for the purpose of training or normal work. An initial list of tools includes applications like GIMP, gScan2PDF, Scan Tailor, the free OCR engine Tesseract with support for multiple European languages. Three examples of digital libraries created with are DSpace, Greenstone and dLibra, and MINT, a tool for metadata aggregation and mapping.

An ISO image of DigitLab will be freely available at:http://dl.psnc.pl/activities/projekty/access-it-plus/lang-pref/en/.

Summary

Courses described in this paper are without any doubts a valuable resource for everyone interested in digitisation and digital libraries. Since the very beginning they were created with the limitations of small memory institutions in mind. They offer access to the practical step-by-step instructions, which can be used to solve everyday tasks related to the publication of digital cultural heritage objects on the web.

Thanks to their wide adoption ACCESS IT courses were reviewed by significant number of users and the feedback was used to enrich and improve quality of offered materials. Tools developed in ACCESS IT Plus project promise to create a sustainable development model for e-learning course used in multiple language versions by institutions with different needs.

As it was already mentioned, reference courses content is available under the terms of open Creative Commons license which enables all interested institutions to use e-learning materials to implement their missions.


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Inside this issue

iPad 2.0: Information Professionals Don’t Leave Home Without It!

From the Chairby Ida A. Joiner

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America, ida.joiner@gmail.com

ipad As more and more of our library clientele are becoming techno-savvy, librarians and other information professionals must not only keep abreast of the technology in order to assist them but must lead the charge.

The Apple iPad is one of the best selling computer tablets in the world. Many patrons of all ages own iPad computer tablets and look to the library for technical assistance, downloadable books, videos, music, and other electronic resources for their iPads.

In this paper, I will discuss how the iPad 2.0 is a must-have tool for research, multimedia, reading books, magazines, and other resources online, social networking, collaborations, word processing, databases, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, photography, and other uses for assisting library patrons and other clientele as well as a tool that librarians can use to make their lives and work more productive, fun, and rewarding.

I will discuss real world iPad examples for information professionals and library clientele; how the iPad 2.0 can be used for research; some of the applications or “killer apps” for information professionals; real world examples; and why as a librarian and information professional, I don’t leave home without my iPad.

What is the iPad 2.0?

The iPad is a line of tablet developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. (Apple Computer)

 The iPad comes with several applications, including Safari, Mail, Photos, Video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, App Store, iBooks, Maps, Notes, Calendar, and Contacts.  "iPad Features": Apple Inc. January 27, 2010. http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/.

The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs.

ipad

The iPad Market

According to Peter Pachal of mashable.com, "Most US Small Businesses Plan to Buy an iPad in 2012 [Study in December 29, 2011.] "The iPad is certainly the top tablet as far as consumers are concerned, but businesses prefer it, too. The results of the survey show that nearly three quarters of small and medium sized businesses are looking to buy tablets for their workers in 2012, strongly preferring the iPad over competitors. http://mashable.com/2011/12/29/ipad-biz-2012-npd/

How Can Information Professionals Use the iPad 2.0?

There have been more than 200,000 applications that were created and programmed just for the iPad and more than 500,000 applications through the App Store. Many of the apps are “must haves” for librarians and information professionals that I will address later in this article including how the iPad 2.0 can be considered the “go to device” for librarians and information professionals.

 

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The iWorks suite should be at the top of every information professionals list. They can use iWorks for presentations, documents, and spreadsheets. iWorks is the equivalent to Microsoft Office. It is a combination of Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. Information professionals can use Keynote to create presentations (i.e., PowerPoint), Pages to create documents (i.e., Word); and Numbers to create presentations (i.e., spreadsheets).

Librarians /Information Professionals are experts in gathering, organizing, and disseminating information and can use utilize research databases such as ABI/Inform, African American Experience, Contemporary Authors, Dun & Bradstreet, Grove Encyclopedia, and Medline Plus to gather information. They can organize the information in either Numbers or Pages, write a report using Pages or create a presentation using Keynote and email the presentation as a PowerPoint, PDF or Keynote file. They can send the document as a Word, PDF, or Pages file. They can send the spreadsheet as an Excel, PDF, or Numbers file.

Information professionals have access to exciting and informative courses on any topic imaginable through Apple’s iTunes U. They can subscribe to courses, take self-paced classes, and get access to learning materials from some of the most erudite scholars in education.

Description: InsertedImage.jpg

Information professionals can use Drop box for storing, retrieving and sending large files and can synchronize all of their Calendars through the Calendar application.

Librarians and information professionals can collaborate with colleagues all over the world using the Facetime and Skype applications. For example, librarians in New Orleans can meet with librarians in Haiti and give them advice on updating their library collections using Facetime or Skype without leaving the comfort of their libraries and/or homes.

Librarians can use Web Ex and Go to Meetings to meet with colleagues all over the world at the same time. For example, a librarian in Nigeria can meet with colleagues in Kuwait, Finland, Vienna, Scotland, Japan, China, Brazil, Turkey, London, Paris, and the United States to meet on organizing the next IFLA conference.

They can use Notes or Evernotes or other applications to take notes during meetings and share them with others.

Consultants can use the Numbers app to track their consulting hours and manage their budgets. They can insert their hours and/or budgets into a report in Pages and send them to colleagues, managers, and others as PDF, Excel, or Numbers file formats.

Librarians and information professionals have many uses for the iPad 2.0. There are a plethora of iPad apps or applications for librarians and information professionals some are free and others can be purchased through the Apple Apps Store at a minimal cost.

Some of the popular Apps that librarians have recommended are included below. Top 10 iPad Apps for Librarians by Andy Burkhardt (Information Tyrannosaur) - http://andyburkhardt.com/2010/07/07/top-ten-ipad-apps-for-librarians/

  • ibooks
  • Stanza
  • Evernote
  • Dropbox
  • Twitterific
  • Dictionary.com
  • Good Reader
  • Quick Office
  • Audiobooks
  • Wikipanion

As a librarian and information professional who travels throughout the United States and around the world consulting on many topics, I have trained many clients and library patrons on many of these apps and others.

Why I Don't Leave Home Without My iPad 2.0

As a librarian and information professional, I use my iPad for banking, research, language instruction, creating reports, documents, presentations, budgets, booking travel arrangements, shopping online, and facilitating WebEx and Go to Meetings for conference calls with co-workers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I read the Economist, New York Times, New Yorker, Guardian, Mashable, and other magazines and newspapers on my iPad.

I love the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Talks and have the app downloaded to my iPad. I share TED Talks with friends, family, and colleagues.

I use my iPad to create and edit reports and other documents that people have created with Microsoft Office products and email them in their original format, or PDF, or as an iWorks document. I am very impressed with the exemplary fidelity of the text, video and audio capabilities of my iPad.

I attend a great deal of music and cultural events, and take pictures and videos with my iPad to share with the cultural organizations. The quality is unsurpassed. In addition to sharing the pictures and videos with the cultural organizations, I email them to teachers and information professionals who integrate them into their presentations and reports that they share with their students and colleagues.

In my role as a librarian and information professional, I train others on how to use the iPad. I share its rich anywhere, anytime, and anyuse apps, features, and research capabilities that make it a “must have” device for all librarians and information professionals.

For me, it is the “end all… be all” device that I never leave home without. I have investigated and tinkered with many other tablet devices, but for me the iPad is the one and only device that makes me GLAD!

Librarians and information professionals don’t leave home without it!


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Inside this issue

Book Reviews

Book reviewsKnowledge management: an introduction . Kevin C Desouza and Scott Paquette.

London: Facet, 2011. ISBN 9781856047357.

book coverThe discipline of Knowledge management has had highs and lows. In its rise to prominence in the early 2000's, some grandiose claims. While it's role has perhaps now been tempered by quite a few failed experiments, there are also very solid examples of the role of Knowledge management in the organisation. Speical libraries in commercial and government organisations are well aware of the importance of knowledge management and the potential that the library has to facilitate this role. This book therefore presents an interesting dissection of the nature and role of knowledge management in the context of both library and organisation theory. The authors have systematically organised the broad concepts in the area. Their examples often interesting, if sometimes a little too replete with capitalisation ("The Major Points for Knowledge Managers Regarding Management"). The authors are careful to emphasise the contingent nature of knowledge management in the organisational culture, and indeed the concepts of knowledge management really are best expounded through examples and case studies. While this book will leave the librarian hungry for more detailed case studies going down to the practical implementation, it is important have a solid framework for knowledgement management in the organisation. The exmaples in this book temper over-reach with practical examples and interview. Desouza and Paguette also have a good discussion of the importance of awareness of cultural differences when building multi-national Knowledge management systems (the Geert Hofstede dimensions are particularly relevant to the implementation of Knowledge management in multi-national organisations). This is a useful contribution to the better formulation of knowledge management as discipline.

Book reviewsEssential law for information professionals book review pedley by Paul Pedley

London: Facet, 2012. ISBN 9781856047692.

Professionals are expected to equip themselves with awareness of the legal obligations that touch on their area of work. Legal issues can be complex and challenging, despite the general principle that "ignorance of the law is no excuse". Information professionals face a challenging world in areas copyright, disability discrimination law, open access - let alone the complexities of law as it applies in different regions. Essential law for information professionals by Paul Pedley navigates through the key topics of copyright, legal deposit, patents and trade marks, contracts, data protection, privacy, freedom of information, cybercrime, professional indemnity, human rights, disability discrimination and range of other issues. It touches also on software-related issues such as escrow. The discussion is clear and interesting. Pedley explores challenging issues of law with clarity andexcellant examples, case studies and references to additional information. The case studies are fascinating (and at times terrifying) - see for instance the short snippet on the Bookshop Libel Fund. The author has provided in one short book an excellent tour through critical issues in law that affect information professionals. A minor gripe: the index for the book is less than satisfactory. For instance, it has a brief discussion of open access, but the term open access does not appear in the index at all). This is ameliorated by an excellently organised table of contents and overall structure of presentation. This book is an excellent resource and a must-read for library and information professionals.


About the Section


The Information Technology Section (ITS) serves to promote and advance the application of information technologies (IT) to library and information services in all societies, through activities related to standards, education and training, research, and the marketplace. At present, the IT Section has 24 standing committee members from 23 different countries.

The section meets every year at the IFLA annual Congress. In between congress sessions, section members collaborate with other Sections in progres and workshops.

The section mantains a micro-site within the IFLA website at http://www.ifla.org/it. This site has news, blogs and resources regarding activities of the Seciton, as well as session minutes, pulibcations and section membership details.

There are ballots for elections every two years, as members complete their terms of four years. See the complete list of SC member at the end of this newsletter. The IT Section is the second biggest section in IFLA with over 370 members from 90 countries and all types of libraries. The section members come from a range of disciplines, and the seciton itself is strongly involved with the activities of other IFLA sections. If you would like to join our section, please contact IFLA Headquarters or consult the IFLA membership information at: http://www.ifla.org/en/membership.

The section also maintains a listserv. The purpose of the IFLA-IT mailing list is to provide a forum for the members of the Section on Information Technology to exchange ideas and experience in use of information and communication technologies in libraries.

Submissions: ifla-it@infoserv.inist.fr

To subscribe please go to the web interface at http://infoserv.inist.fr/wwsympa.fcgi/info/ifla-it.


IFLA Tilt Journal

Inside this issue

About the contributors

Mark Ellis,
Govt. Documents, Law, Maps Librarian
Sherrod Library,
East Tennessee State University.

Leslie Adebonojo,
Undergraduate Outreach Librarian,
ETSU.

Kathy Campbell,
Head of Reference,
Sherrod Library, ETSU.

Adam Dudczak

(M.Sc. Eng in computing science), is a member of Digital Libraries Team (http://dl.psnc.pl) a division of Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC). His scientific achievements includes several publications in professional journals and conference proceedings in field of LIS and computer science (full list can be found at http://dl.psnc.pl/publications/). He is responsible for development of the e‐learning courses related to digital libraries, digitisation and Europeana, created during the ACCESS IT project. Adam is also an experienced trainer, who had a chance to work with various communities in the area of digitisation, digital libraries and software development.

Ida Joiner

ida joiner

Ms. Ida A. Joiner is a graduate of Chatham University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Administration and Management and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh. Ida is a Project Manager, Librarian, Teacher, and Technology/eLearning/Web Consultant. She is currently a Project Management Consultant for PNC Bank, Substitute Librarian for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and a Web Consultant for Tucker Arensberg, P.C. She was the Computer Teacher and Librarian for the St. Benedict the Moor School. Ida has consulted for Motorola Solutions, Teletracking, Texas Breast Care, Las Colinas Cancer Center, Visa International, AT&T, Federated Investors, PNC Bank, Optiron Corporation, Pittsburgh Public Schools, University of Pittsburgh, Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and others on technology, research, e-Learning, web design, and competitive intelligence. Ida has published on technology and social networking in leading journals and conference proceedings. Her global presentations include: “If We ‘E’ It, Will They Come: Lifelong e-Learning at a Large Urban Public Library” at the 75th IFLA 2009 conference and at BOBCATSSS 2012; “Two Worlds… One Librarian: My Experiences as a Public and School Librarian” at the 76th IFLA2010 conference; and her workshop on “iPad2.0: Information Professionals Don’t Leave Home Without It” at BOBCATSSS 2012.Ms. Joiner reviews children’s books on her blog: A Children’s Book a Day, Keeps the Scary Monster Away (http://dailychildbook.blogspot.com/).

Dr Cezary Mazurek

Dr Cezary Mazurek is the Head of the Network Services Department at Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (www.man.poznan.pl). He received his PhD in Computer Science from Poznan University of Technology in 2004. His research expertise and experience include a wide variety of advanced network services including digital libraries, interactive television, videoconferencing, telemedicine, data and information management and access to grid services. His recent activities are closely related to Future Internet technologies and advanced experimental research infrastructures. He has been the manager of numerous projects in those fields coordinated by PSNC, including the Wielkopolska Center for Telemedicine, Multimedia City Guide, Polish Educational Portal, Digital Library Framework: dLibra, interactive TV platform. Cezary has been participating in national projects: Future Internet Engineering, SYNAT and PLATON, where he is a leader of service U5 (infrastructure and services for Research HD Television). He participated in FP6 projects: GridLab, Géant2 and Qualipso. He has also coordinated PSNC’s participation in projects IMPACT, Europeana Local, HIPERMED. Currently he is a leader of activity SA4: Software Governance and project management team member in FP7 Geant3 project as well as Quality Coordinator in Wf4Ever project. He is the author or co-author of over 100 papers in professional journals and conference proceedings.

Marcin Werla

Marcin Werla is a graduate of the Poznań University of Technology in Computer Science and of postgraduate studies in the field of project management at the Poznań University of Economics. Since 2002 he has been working in Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center as a computer systems analyst. Since 2004, he leads the PSNC Digital Libraries Team. His professional interests include architecture of digital libraries, the integration of resources of distributed digital libraries and software engineering, especially software products management.

Bogna Wróż

Bogna Wróż, since 2011 a member of PSNC Digital Libraries Team. Responsible for development of the e‐learning courses related to digital libraries, digitisation and Europeana, created during the ACCESS IT project.

PDF Version

The PDF version of this newsletter is available at: http://www.ifla.org/files/information-technology/Newsletter2012July/tilt_v1_i1.pdf