Week 5's Reading Notes- M. Farina

9/27 Notes on Reading for Week 5:

Wikipedia’s “Database”
From this reading, I’ve learned that there are many more aspects to databases than I was previously aware of- such as the R/ODBMS components, the three types of databases, storage structures and locking. Although much of the article is over my head, I do now have a greater understanding of databases as a whole.
I’m mostly a user of databases, and rarely a manager of them. I’ve entered and retrieved data, chosen various display methods (lists, graphs, etc.) but I have very limited experience with the management and creation of databases. A realistic goal for me at this point is to continue learning how to use Excel! I’m a beginning-level user who would really like to use this to its fullest capacity, databases included.

Introduction to Metadata, “Setting the Stage” by Ann J. Gillilard
As I began reading this article, it reminded me of the Imagining Pittsburgh project from a previous week’s reading. The participants in that project needed to decide on a common set of descriptive data (metadata) to describe the hundreds of photographs, for cataloging and retrieval needs.
A quote that caught my eye is, “there is no single metadata standard that is adequate for describing all types of collections and materials.” Although this surprised me at first, it became a logical and even obvious idea after I thought about it. ON the same lines, there’s no one ‘best’ method for adults to learn a foreign language, and there’s no set of adjectives that can precisely describe all teenage boys, for example.
The vast array of metadata standards and requirements across the various disciplines, make talking about “metadata” in general somewhat confusing. Adding a specific context, i.e. museum archives, a bank’s customer account information, to the discussion allows for a common ‘metadata language.’
I found the tables of types, attributes, and characteristics of metadata to be very helpful. In the little known fact section, I like this: “Metadata continues to accrue during the life of an information object or system.” Oh, no! Does this mean that we’ll have to continually update metadata fields entered in to cataloging databases, for example?
The Conclusion and Outstanding Questions at the end wrap it all very well….”Carefully crafting metadata” is best! As with many things in life, it’s best to begin with a GOOD PLAN.

Dublin Core Data Model
Eric Miller explains factors that must be considered in the development of universal, multi-disciplined metadata architecture. Can you imagine trying to create one set of controlled vocabulary that covers all disciplines? And that’s only one component of DCMI’s role. I think this metadata initiative is very interesting, and I’d like to hear how it has evolved since 1999, which is when the author wrote this article.

Week 4's Muddies Point - M. Farina

Flickr- Got it!

I think I have finally got it right.  I have created thumbnails and uploaded those, as well as the 'regular' pictures themselves, directly from my iPhoto program. 
If you could, please let me know if you see both thumbnails and big pictures.

Thank you,
Michele
Michele's 2600 Flickr

Week 4 links to comments of others' postings

link to comment for Ryan

link to comment for Adam

Week 3 Muddiest Point M.Farina

The idea of data compression is not clear to me. I'm not as interested in understanding how it works, as I am in knowing HOW to decompress files sent to me.

Week 4 notes Multimedia Representation and Storage- M. Farin

Week 4 notes 9/21/10 Multimedia Representation and Storage

                  “Imagining Pittsburgh” was a very interesting article, made even more meaningful by the fact that it’s about the city I now call home.  The details about the project, digitizing a collection of images which  tell the story of a city over time, demonstrate the enormous amount of work involved in digitally preserving a collection.  The three major participants covered a lot of ground in realizing this cultural heritage project. 

One thing that jumped out at me is the number of times the author uses the word, “challenge,” as it appears they faced many!  The Imaging Pittsburgh project exhibits the massive expenses of money, resources, and time involved in digitization.  How realistic is it to do this with an average library’s collection?

                 

The “You Tube and Libraries” article points out the benefits of publishing to the You Tube site.  As far as libraries are concerned, I’m not convinced this is the most appropriate venue.  Sure I’ve watched videos on You Tube, but nothing that I’ve taken too seriously.  So, with my limited exposure to You Tube, I don’t feel it’s professional or serious enough to be The Place to educate university students to use their local library.  However, putting my idealistic self aside for a moment, and being more realistic...if You Tube IS a site taken seriously by undergraduate students, then why not give it a try?  The whole idea is for them to become proficient library users, right?  Whatever it takes…..

The articles on Data Compression left my head spinning!  (And I’ve even developed an algorithm to calculate the speed of the spin.)  I have a difficult time grasping the very technical ideas of data compression.  This really isn’t too much of a surprise to me, because I was never able to figure out how to decompress files that people sent to me!  I either had to email back and forth several times until they could send me another file format, or simply give up all hope of ever opening the mysteriously compressed file!  Although I do not understand the specifics, I do see the need for data compression.  I’m very happy to know that there are programs working in the background, which I am not required to understand or manipulate, that take care of decompressing videos on my computer.  I’ve also realized that I do compress data when I save pictures in JPEG, for example.

I’d also like to mention some of my favorite new vocabulary for the week:  lossy, lossless, RLE, squeezing algorithm and data deduplication.  My favorite phrase of the week from our required reading is, “The Flying Spaghetti Monster is real.”

Michele Farina

Links to my comments and other postings.... Week 3 (w/o 9/13)

http://gemma2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-readings.html?showComment=1284843539110#c4508446149332249496


http://rjs2600.blogspot.com/2010/09/readings-for-9-20-9-24.html?showComment=1284584927385#c8598011962177651964


http://guybrariantim.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-3-readings.html?showComment=1284843899213#c2124130825127465537


http://lis2600fall2010priyashenoy.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-notes-for-92010.html?showComment=1284843184027#c1723532787016488044

9/15 Reading Notes: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows - M. Farina

 Reading Notes: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows

            Honestly, the majority of the technical discourse in the Linux and Mac writing was way over my head.  It was as if I were reading Arabic.  Let’s say that my knowledge of Operating Systems in general could have been rated as a 5 out of 100 two hours ago, it’s now at about 10.  Not much of a jump, I know, but I’m at least beginning to grasp the topic a bit.

            I’ve always owned an Apple computer, and I’ve used Windows at school and work.  I’m able to use both operating systems, yet I couldn’t explain the underlying differences very well.  Without putting much thought into it, I have continuously chosen to buy Apples, because they seem easier and more ‘logical’ to use.  I know that lots of others have a contrasting opinion, so I’m glad there’s a choice!  It’s been comforting to me to not have to worry as much as PC users about getting viruses on my computer.  It’s been frustrating to me that I haven’t always had as many programs or games available to me, because I have a Mac.  So I understand Amit Singh’s point that all operating systems have advantages and disadvantages. 

            If I ever find myself in a position to completely understand the technical aspects of Linux or Mac OSX, I will be in real trouble!

                                                                                                Michele Farina

Muddiest Point 9/15

My muddiest point this week is about the one part of our weekly assignments - responding to others' blogs......
Are our comments (on others' notes/blogs) that are due on Saturdays, on the PREVIOUS week's notes or the upcoming week's notes? 
Because if the comments for the upcoming week's notes are due on the same day as the original notes are due, it seems like we won't have a lot of time to comment....  What if the people I follow post their upcoming week's notes late on Saturday?  Then I won't have much time to respond with my comments on their notes.

I apologize for asking about this again, if it has already been addressed somewhere.

Other comments / postings of mine - Week 2

RFID - posted 9/5/10 on Courseweb

Let me first state that I am only beginning to learn about RFID technology. Form what I’ve discovered so far, it seems like RFID can be very useful in libraries. Libraries need a way to deter theft of library items, identify and inventory material, and track their assets, and RFID can do these tasks. RFID can potentially reduce the amount of time it takes to find items, as well as the number of errors in processing.

 As far as privacy is concerned, I believe it always needs to be taken seriously. In this day and age, when we lose a bit more privacy each day, with each new ‘convenience’ and advance in technology, it’s good to know that groups such as NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and PRC (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse) are working to set standards. I like the recommendations on page 10 of this NISO document, http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/RP-6-2008.pdf 

Until I learn more about libraries’ needs and RFID capabilities, I can’t add to the debate of how to make RFID better for libraries. However, I do not want to see personal information added to RFID use in libraries. While I am not embarrassed of the library sources I use, I do think such information should be kept private.

 I look forward to reading the comments of those of you who have experience with RFID technology in any capacity, not only libraries.

Digitization - posted 9/5/10 on CourseWeb

 I found Stuart D. Lee’s article interesting, specifically the chart outlining sample costs for digitization. Preserving a few pages or photos this way is one thing, but preserving lots of complete books…? That gets into some serious money issues. It would be easy to say, “Oh, let’s just digitize the important items,” but how would we ever agree on what is important? It seems like it will simply come down to whoever has the most funding available to digitally preserve material, gets to choose which material to “save.” Unfortunately this will mean that much information also risks being “unsaved,” or lost. Another relevant point is made in Jean-Noel Jeanneney’s concern of the “risk of a crushing domination of America…” 

Links to my comments and other postings.... Weeks 1

http://gemma2600.blogspot.com/2010/08/week-1-readings.html?showComment=1283430607680#c3520432094857305600


http://guybrariantim.blogspot.com/2010/09/thoughts-on-week-1-readings.html?showComment=1283609694088#c8649535886813890906


http://nrampsblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/reading-notes-week-1.html?showComment=1283438438590#c2303692749319258369

More Week 2 Reading Notes M. Farina

Week 2 more Reading notes:

Computer History Museum
The online computer museum kept me entertained for about two hours! I had the most fun at the Timeline of Computer History exhibit. If you would like a good laugh, click on 1972 and scroll down to the Pong game. I had that! I won it as a prize at school, around 1979! The next trip down memory lane comes in the year 1978, the Speak and Spell. There was another Texas Instruments handheld educational game called Little Professor, which my brother and I played endlessly and learned all of our math facts! Since we aren’t supposed to write a summary of the reading (site) I will just end by saying that the online exhibits of The Computer History Museum are all very informative and entertaining. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the archives of advertising brochures for personal computers, do it ~ you’ll get some good laughs!

Personal Computer Hardware
I’ll give myself a grade of C for my knowledge of these terms. Although I knew many of them, I’ve got a ways to go. BIOS, north ridge, PCI, SATA and some others are parts of the motherboard that are new to me. I’m also lacking in my knowledge of secondary storage ideas and vocabulary. The information on this site, along with my Discovering Computers book, are a big help to me though (and a way to even out the playing field in our class.)

Moore’s Law
Wow! I think I had heard the term, “Moore’s Law” before but hadn’t grasped its concept. Now, I seem to have an idea of it, but I can’t necessarily explain it clearly to someone. Let me just make sure I have this right: The number of transistors that can fit on a chip(?) doubles each year. This trend has been going on for the past forty years and is expected to end around 2015 or so. The video did a great job of explaining in layman’s terms along with visual aides – my kind of teaching!
There was mention of the law unfolding as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Well, I’m not so sure I buy into that idea. Working toward the goal of exactly doubling the number of transistors, would mean that scientists ‘stopped’ themselves from advancing further at times just to fulfill the prophecy. Hmmmm?

Michele Farina

Week 2 Notes: Digitization & RFID (previously posted on Course Web) M. Farina

RFID
Discussion Questions
– Is RFID really useful in libraries?
– Is privacy concerns about RFID in library a real concern?
– How to make RFID a better technology for libraries?

Let me first state that I am only beginning to learn about RFID technology. Form what I’ve discovered so far, it seems like RFID can be very useful in libraries. Libraries need a way to deter theft of library items, identify and inventory material, and track their assets, and RFID can do these tasks. RFID can potentially reduce the amount of time it takes to find items, as well as the number of errors in processing.
As far as privacy is concerned, I believe it always needs to be taken seriously. In this day and age, when we lose a bit more privacy each day, with each new ‘convenience’ and advance in technology, it’s good to know that groups such as NISO (National Information Standards Organization) and PRC (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse) are working to set standards. I like the recommendations on page 10 of this NISO document, http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/RP-6-2008.pdf
Until I learn more about libraries’ needs and RFID capabilities, I can’t add to the debate of how to make RFID better for libraries. However, I do not want to see personal information added to RFID use in libraries. While I am not embarrassed of the library sources I use, I do think such information should be kept private.
I look forward to reading the comments of those of you who have experience with RFID technology in any capacity, not only libraries.


Digitization
I found Stuart D. Lee’s article interesting, specifically the chart outlining sample costs for digitization. Preserving a few pages or photos this way is one thing, but preserving lots of complete books…? That gets into some serious money issues. It would be easy to say, “Oh, let’s just digitize the important items,” but how would we ever agree on what is important? It seems like it will simply come down to whoever has the most funding available to digitally preserve material, gets to choose which material to “save.” Unfortunately this will mean that much information also risks being “unsaved,” or lost. Another relevant point is made in Jean-Noel Jeanneney’s concern of the “risk of a crushing domination of America…”
I think it is a legitimate worry, and I imagine that many other countries and cultures would feel the same way.
I’m not fully buying into the idea that digitization is the ONLY way to guarantee print’s survival. We have some historically important books today whose words and ideas date back thousands of years (Epic of Gilgamesh, Symposium, etc.) Granted, we can’t always see what the original pieces of work looked like, but we still have these works available to us. So, somehow it has been possible to preserve ideas, books, works, and information over the millennium. While there is always the tragic example of loss from the ancient library in Alexandria, the risk of losing an entire library today wouldn’t have the same impact.
Smith’s article uses the word guarantee to tell how digitization will impact the survival of books. Is there really such a guarantee? How long is digitized material expected to last? What will be the next step to preservation when digitization’s life has run its course?

Michele Farina's Muddiest Point - Week #1

Week 1

9/2 Muddiest Points

There are primarily two points which I still need to understand:

1.     The days that the various assignments are due:

a.     Reading notes

b.     Responses to other students’ reading notes

c.      Muddiest point(s)

2.     Blog vs. Discussion Board- What goes where?

a.     I assume we are to post our comments directly to the other students’ blogs, right?

b.     Do we post our muddiest points on the discussion board or in our own blogs?

Michele Farina