ETC Blog

The meeting minutes:

ETC Meeting Minutes, Aug 20, 2008 [Word Document]

Bruce’s Presentation Slides:

Video Streaming and Podcasting at Loyola [PowerPoint Slides]

 CommentPress: http://www.futureofthebook.org/commentpress/

Developed by the Institute for the Future of the Book, CommentPress provides a creative way to use WordPress Blog software for publishing books and documents.  It allows readers to comment paragraph by paragraph in the margins of a text.

  PhotoSynth lets you take loads of pictures of the scene that you are trying to capture and simply load it up in the desktop software. This software then looks through all the pictures and finds overlapping areas and then stitches them up automatically. Then the newly created picture could be uploaded to the PhotoSynth servers for viewing.

Read more and see it in action here:

 http://photosynth.net/

http://photosynth.net/about.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/photosynth/archive/2008/08/20/welcome-to-photosynth.aspx

In our last meeting, we briefly discussed Web 3.0 and its current status. Here’s a New York Times article from 2006, where the term was “supposedly” coined….its pretty interesting.

Entrepreneurs See a Web Guided by Common Sense

Here we go – The Library could sponsor a contest like this one:

http://www.blyberg.net/2006/08/18/go-go-google-gadget

Susan

Tags: google, ideas

Two Blogs I like to read to keep up are:
Librarian in Black http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/
The Shifted Librarian – http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/

Susan

Tags: blogs, Jenny Levine, Librarianinblack, shiftedlibrarian

New service called Slydial allows you to go directly to someone’s message service rather than talking to them. This would be good for automated messages.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/07/22/cellphone.voicemail.ap/index.html

Susan

Tags: cell phones, messages, voicemail

This mashup awards site not only provides news about new ways of combining data that is freely available on the internet, but also gives instructions and tools for creating your own mashup. One of my favorite categories to look under is Amazon. Try the Zoomii tool, which allows you to view Amazon titles in a shelf like arrangement.

http://mashupawards.com/winners/

Tags: mashups

Ex-Google engineers debut ‘Cuil’ way to search from PhysOrg.com
(AP) — Anna Patterson’s last Internet search engine was so impressive that industry leader Google Inc. bought the technology in 2004 to upgrade its own system. She believes her latest invention is even more valuable – only this time it’s not for sale.
[…]

Tags: cuil, google, search engine

Emerging Technologies Committee Meeting [Minutes, Word Document]
July 22, 2008, 1:30 – 3:00 pm

Present: Fred Barnhart, Bill Cuthbertson, Taya Franklin, Leslie Haas, Ewa Laska (recorder), Susan Malisch, Chulin Meng, Bruce Montes, Bob Seal, Adam Smeets, Susan Wardzala

Agenda:

1. Welcome and introductions
2. Review goals and charge
3. ETC blog
4. Sharing information
5. ETC resources list
6. Learning 2.0/2.1 and “The 23 Things”
7. Future topics [open discussion]
8. Next meeting: Wednesday, August 20, 1:30 p.m.

Welcome and introductions:

• Bob welcomed committee members and everyone introduced themselves to the group

Committee goals, objectives and charge were reviewed:

• goals came out of overall committee charge
• committee will investigate technology developments in all areas not just library related (we should have fun)
• developments in emerging technologies will be communicated to all staff and training opportunities will be provided
• committee will host an annual all staff meeting in which new tools that are being used by the libraries will be presented
• periodically an overall inventory will be taken to see what is being used and done at the libraries and university
• committee’s specific 2008-09 charge:
  -development and implementation of a staff tutorial program based on Learning 2.0/2.1 (November 08)
  -hosting a workshop or presentation for students and faculty on Web 2.0 (spring 09)
  -make at least one web 2.0 service recommendation to the LLT that could be tried by the Libraries

• Discussion:

1. the committee should look into the future and beyond Web 2.0 and social networking, especially look at Web 3.0 and things the students and professors are using
2. Web 3.0 has not yet been defined, but it will provide the framework and structure around the applications developed by Web 2.0/2.1

ETC blog:

• Bob thanked Chulin for setting up the blog and asked all committee members to contribute to it
• Chulin will add ITS members to the account

Sharing information:

• committee should share information from meetings on the committee blog
• committee should not limit itself to library literature only
• let others know about interesting blogs that you’re reading or if you have one of your own
• Discussion:
  • committee should look into the social networking and privacy implications (future topic of discussion)
  • Leslie mentioned an O’Reilly Emerging Technologies blog she reads. The blog talks about technology tools developed by the business community: http://radar.oreilly.com/

ETC resources list:

• ETC Hot links were mentioned and members were encouraged to take a look at them:
  1. Fairfield University Library: www.fairfield.edu/lib_home.html
  2. Fairfield’s 23 Things: http://dnlibrary23.wordpress.com/about/
  3. Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County: http://plcmc.org
  4. ETC blog: http://blogs.lib.luc.edu/etc/
  5. Michael Stephen’s blog: Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com/
  6. Lorcan Dempsey’s blog: http://orweblog.oclc.org/
  7. Stephen Abram’s blog: http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/
  8. The 23 Things from Stephen’s Lighthouse blog: posted Feb. 4, 2008: http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2008/02

• add a list of other relevant blogs, magazines, books, etc. that library staff can look at to the ETC blog

• Discussion:

1. Susan Malisch mentioned the newly created ITS Techconnect resource http://luc.edu/its/techconnect/ which provides the Loyola Community with a concentrated list of free or discounted software and hardware. These have been tested and are recommended by the ITS staff. In the future, ITS can edit the site to make it more relevant and based upon student/faculty/staff usage and comments
2. LUC Facebook presence was discussed: -several members mentioned independently created Facebook pages:

-the concern was raised about not diluting the LUC presence by too many separate pages, but cooperating when creating them
-historically, students have been using Facebook and other social networking sites for private purposes, but as university presence increases students are beginning to see the professional potential of these sites
-Facebook and other social networking sites will allow network connections to groups from the same institutions based on the metadata in place
-Adam Smeets mentioned that students began to use Facebook to set up appointments with their professors
-Bruce Montes mentioned teaching classes on Facebook and Second Life

Learning 2.0/2.1 and “The 23 Things”

• program was originally developed in 2006 by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC)
• PLCMC came up with the 23 Things program that all staff should know
• currently, many other public and private libraries are implementing their own versions of the program
• LUC libraries became interested in implementing the program after the Michael Stephen’s presentation on Web 2.0
• Bruce Montes, Chulin Meng and Susan Wardzala volunteered to create a proposal of 23 things which should be included in our program to be presented to the committee by the next meeting
• colleague input should be solicited and communicated to the group
• LLT would like the program implemented during this academic year
• all staff will be encouraged to participate
• the program might be opened up to faculty and students, but not until the staff participation is completed
• Discussion:

1. Susan M. mentioned letting the ATC Committee know about the types of things the libraries are doing and possibly have them participate
2. all committee members are to spend time investigating The 23 Things and reading blogs, such as Michael Stephen’s Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com/

Future topics [open discussion]

• gaming and its place in educational institutions and libraries
• tablet PCs and their uses
• possibility of a technology kiosk where different vendors could provide equipment which could be tested and played with (during convenient times of the year)
  • -currently, some individuals (Bruce, Adam) and individual departments either purchase or have samples from vendors that they can test
  • -we would have to be careful not to portray a preference for one vendor over others
  • -certain vendors would not be interested in coming (iPhone) or providing equipment because they do not need to increase their markets or because the policies governing their interactions with institutions of Higher Education would not allow it
• possibility of trying to use hand held devices to do reference work (at this time there is no established platform at LUC for delivering information to the hand held devices)
• improving internal communication by utilizing new technologies: IM chat groups, web cams
• currently, the libraries are trying web cams at different public desks to answer patron questions without sending the patrons to different locations
• examine SharePoint or applications like it which enable easier document sharing
• explore Assisted Technologies (visually and hearing impaired patrons) as new technologies become available
• personalization of online web services
• Susan M. mentioned Locus 2.0 and its redesign
• a new customizable portal for newly admitted students will also be implemented in November, which will allow students to easily connect with each other and the services they use
• the new portal will be examined to determine which aspects to carry over to the future portal for the current students
• Bob asked Adam to do a presentation on what the Media Lab is currently doing
• Bob asked Bruce to do a presentation on video streaming and pod casting

Bob thanked all committee members for attending the meeting and for volunteering.

Next meeting: Wednesday, August 20, 1:30 p.m.

Tags: emerging technologies