[CODE4LIB] Info request - Library Hackathon for students
Dear Code4Lib, Has your library ever hosted a hackathon for university students? If so, would you do it again? Anything you wish you had known before hosting the hackathon? From the list archives, it looks like most of the hackathons at libraries have been for librarians, rather than university students. Please feel free to share any ideas. Thanks, Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 300 College Park Dayton, OH, 4569
[CODE4LIB] Adobe privacy follow-up
Hello Code4Libs, What are your thoughts on the current state of Adobe's Digital Editions' privacy? Has Adobe made any changes yet to allow greater privacy or is this still an issue? I have been searching the series of tubes but I haven't found much followup information after the initial lack of privacy revelation. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Craig Boman, MLIS Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 300 College Park Ave Dayton OH, 45469
Re: [CODE4LIB] Streaming Copyrighted material
Hi Cornel, Although I'm sure you will get some good advice from Code4Lib on this topic, perhaps you might also get some better advice from electronic resource librarians who deal with these sorts of legal issues all the time. I would recommend posting this to eri...@listserv.binghamton.edu as a start. All the best, Craig Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 300 College Park Dayton, OH, 45469 On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 11:31 PM, Riley Childs rchi...@cucawarriors.com wrote: The following is NOT legal advice, please consult your legal department in depth. Now that my disclaimer is out of the way you utilize the in place playback mechanisms given by vevo (embeding a YouTube video) for example that is perfectly legit, unless you are prohibited from hosting an aggregate site under YouTube/Vevo's ToS (you likely are) Now some streaming services prohibit embeds so this isn't an option but you can still link to the content source for example (which may still violate ToS, but this may not be legally enforceable) Now at the end of the day it all comes down to how the content is licensed to the viewer/consumer and weather the terms are legal under your jurisdiction laws or are within the terms of existing agreements. And most importantly weather you are considered a distributor or not under the terms of the agreement and the laws in your jurisdiction. I come at this after spending the day dealing with MS Client/Server Licensing, so I maybe being a little conservative. But better safe than sorry in many cases. //Riley Sent from my Windows Phone -- Riley Childs Senior Charlotte United Christian Academy Library Services Administrator IT Services Administrator (704) 537-0331x101 (704) 497-2086 rileychilds.net @rowdychildren I use Lync (select External Contact on any XMPP chat client) From: Cornel Darden Jr.mailto:corneldarde...@gmail.com Sent: 12/2/2014 10:43 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDUmailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Streaming Copyrighted material Hello, What about websites that stream their content for free like Vevo? Would making that type of content accessible in a more organized manner be acceptable? Or would that be considered circumvention? I don't plan on doing that, I only plan on making Public domain content accessible but the questions of organizing material from abc.com or Fox news has come up. Since I'm certain that these commercial websites would love to have subscription services for Libraries, the legal issues are very interesting. Thanks, Cornel Darden Jr. MSLIS Library Department Chair South Suburban College 7087052945 Our Mission is to Serve our Students and the Community through lifelong learning. Sent from my iPhone On Dec 2, 2014, at 9:25 PM, Riley Childs rchi...@cucawarriors.com wrote: First: Technically when you stream a video a portion of the video is local, so it wouldn't necessarily be legal for the viewer either. Second: Regardless of legality streaming copyrighted content without a license or payment is a morally grey area. And most AUP at universities specifically exclude use of the network to provide access to content if that content is not properly licensed. I always err on the side of caution with this sort of stuff. Licensing is tricky regardless of application. And yes i have absolutely faced these questions from both an IT Capacity and a librarian capacity. //Riley Sent from my Windows Phone -- Riley Childs Senior Charlotte United Christian Academy Library Services Administrator IT Services Administrator (704) 537-0331x101 (704) 497-2086 rileychilds.net @rowdychildren I use Lync (select External Contact on any XMPP chat client) From: Cornel Darden Jr.mailto:corneldarde...@gmail.com Sent: 12/2/2014 10:00 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDUmailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Streaming Copyrighted material Hello, Is streaming (viewing online) copyrighted material illegal for individuals. According to the copyright.gov website this seems to be completely legal for the viewer when there isn't a copy of the work on the viewers computer. It only mentions hosting streams as being a misdemeanor, even if there isn't any profit. This is becoming a huge issue as more content consumers become cord cutters. Has any librarians faced these questions? I am planning on implementing Kodi in my library, but will only make public domain material accessible. Kodi provides an excellent user interface for organizing and viewing public domain material. Thanks, Cornel Darden Jr. MSLIS Library Department Chair South Suburban College 7087052945 Our Mission is to Serve our Students and the Community through lifelong learning. Sent from my iPhone
Re: [CODE4LIB] Whatever Happened to the Northeast Code4Lib?
Why limit it to the Northeast? We might get some more interest if it is an Eastern US Code4Lib event, especially from all the librarians in Ohio who can't travel to Oregon. Best, Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 9:03 AM, Joseph Montibello joseph.montibe...@dartmouth.edu wrote: Hi, Yale hosted a C4L New England event a couple of years back ( http://wiki.code4lib.org/NECode4lib_2012_Home). I was on the planning committee - it was fun and I know I learned a lot. It was good to have a local event that folks could go to. The nice thing is that for an event like this to happen, we only need a few people willing to work on it, and a little luck in finding an institution to back it. (And of course a two-day event like the one we had at Yale is by no means the right/best/only format - there are lots of other ways that Code4Lib could take shape in New England / the northeast.) Joe Montibello, MLIS Library Systems Manager Dartmouth College 603.646.9394 joseph.montibe...@dartmouth.edumailto:joseph.montibe...@dartmouth.edu On Nov 24, 2014, at 3:39 PM, Abigail abigaildiscov...@gmail.commailto: abigaildiscov...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Matt, Thanks for posting - I'm new-ish to Code4Lib, and in Western MA. Would be excited to see more NE activity. Abigail Systems Librarian Hampshire College On Sat, Nov 22, 2014 at 3:03 PM, Christina Marie Harlow cmh2...@columbia.edumailto:cmh2...@columbia.edu wrote: Hi Matt- We have stuff going in Code4LibNYC, but I'd be happy to help get something going on in the Northeast. Thanks! Christina On Sat, Nov 22, 2014 at 2:40 PM, Matthew Sherman matt.r.sher...@gmail.com mailto:matt.r.sher...@gmail.com wrote: While riffing on an old DC comics title the subject line is my question. I've been working in Connecticut for a little over a year now and I have heard of nothing going on with Code4Lib in this part of the US. I find this sad since I see all sorts of activity in a variety of other spots, particularly in my old beloved midwest stomping grounds. So I was wondering if anyone knows why the Code4Libbers in the northeast have been so quiet? Is the communication being done in some back channel or are there not many of us out in this part of the US? I am just curious as I would love to touch base, collaborate, and learn from other folks in the community. Matt Sherman -- Christina Harlow Metadata Specialist Columbia University Libraries cmh2...@columbia.edumailto:cmh2...@columbia.edu http://www.christinaharlow.com/ @cm_harlow +1 212 854 8457 102 Butler Library, MC -- Abigail Baines Systems Discovery Librarian Harold F. Johnson Library Hampshire College phone: 413-559-5766 email: abai...@hampshire.edumailto:abai...@hampshire.edu - - abigaildiscov...@gmail.commailto:abigaildiscov...@gmail.com web: library.hampshire.eduhttp://library.hampshire.edu blog: theharold.hampshire.eduhttp://theharold.hampshire.edu
[CODE4LIB] Contact info request for Code4Lib Midwest 2015 Conference Ohio State
Does anyone know who is on the planning committee for next year's Code4Lib Midwest conference at Ohio State? I am having difficulty finding any contact info and I am hoping to get involved in the planning. None of the event wikis have any specific information. ( http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/Midwest) Thanks, Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu
Re: [CODE4LIB] Stack Overflow
I agree with Joshua Welker. Being able to choose between either a listserv or a QA site have benefits for end users. Thanks, Craig On Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 11:47 AM, Owen Stephens o...@ostephens.com wrote: Thanks for that Mark. That's running on 'question2answer' which looks to have a reasonable amount of development going on around it https://github.com/q2a/question2answer/graphs/contributors (given Becky's comments about OSQA which still hold true) Owen Owen Stephens Owen Stephens Consulting Web: http://www.ostephens.com Email: o...@ostephens.com Telephone: 0121 288 6936 On 4 Nov 2014, at 16:05, Mark A. Matienzo mark.matie...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 11:00 AM, Owen Stephens o...@ostephens.com wrote: Another option would be a 'code4lib QA' site. Becky Yoose set up one for Coding/Cataloguing and so can comment on how much effort its been. In terms of asking/answering questions the use is clearly low but I think the content that is there is (generally) good quality and useful. I guess the hard part of any project like this is going to be building the community around it. The first things that occur to me is how you encourage people to ask the question on this new site, rather than via existing methods and how do you build enough community activity around housekeeping such as noting duplicate questions and merging/closing. The latter might be a nice problem to have, but the former is where both the Library / LIS SE and the Digital Preservation SE fell down, and libcatcode suffers the same problem - just not enough activity to be a go-to destination. I would add that the Digital Preservation SE has been reinstantiated as Digital Preservation QA http://qanda.digipres.org/, which is organized and supported by the Open Planets Foundation and the National Digital Stewardship Alliance. Mark A. Matienzo m...@matienzo.org Director of Technology, Digital Public Library of America
Re: [CODE4LIB] Linux distro for librarians
Hi Cornel, As a linux librarian myself, there may be some issues with having a linux OS for librarians, as follows. First is security. Although linux is supposedly better for security, linux security requires setting up your own PC firewall rules where Windows or Macs have most of these predetermined. Most university IT departments, I would presume, have Windows anti-virus vendors which they encourage library IT to use. And also almost all of our university's technology infrastructure is more friendly towards PC. For example pay-for-print systems, etc. If individual librarians have linux, they wouldn't be able to print easily at our university. What about the differing needs of librarians? Are you presuming the needs of all librarians are similar? My needs in library IT are drastically different than your needs in reference using Ubuntu. Technical services staff have differing needs from IT. And most library staff don't have a choice what they get to use, due to how universities purchase PC's with Windows pre-installed. There appear to be a lot of technical and practical limitations to making a linux software for librarians. From a library IT standpoint, having different operating systems which we in IT then have to troubleshoot would be a bit of a nightmare; standardization does have some benefits. Please elaborate on how a linux for librarians would make our jobs easier? Are you referring to automation? Surely any automation features available in linux can be emulated in Windows, no? Have you looked at AutoIT or AutoHotKey? All the best, Craig Boman, MLIS On Sun, Oct 19, 2014 at 2:32 AM, Cornel Darden Jr. corneldarde...@gmail.com wrote: Hello, I did find Potthakalya on foss4lib. I'm not sure if it has a very active development: https://foss4lib.org/package/potthakalaya But it was what I was looking for. It looks like a linux operating system built on puppy linux that comes pre-packaged with software for librarians that make our jobs easier and more efficient! Does anyone know of anything similar. Something like this is very helpful to the field. Thanks, On Sat, Oct 18, 2014 at 8:30 PM, Pottinger, Hardy J. pottinge...@missouri.edu wrote: Honestly, your Host distro doesn't much matter, everything will be in Docker soon. Here's a quick way to get there https://coreos.com/blog/coreos-just-got-easier-to-try-with-panamax/ But if you want a non-nonsense just get things done distro, try Crunch Bang http://crunchbang.org/ --Hardy Sent from my iPad On Oct 18, 2014, at 7:47 PM, Cornel Darden Jr. corneldarde...@gmail.com mailto:corneldarde...@gmail.com wrote: Hello, I believe librarians are special people. It would be nice if there were an operating system created by us. Haven't come across one though. Thanks, Cornel Darden Jr. MSLIS Library Department Chair South Suburban College 7087052945 Our Mission is to Serve our Students and the Community through lifelong learning. Sent from my iPhone On Oct 18, 2014, at 7:13 PM, Henry Mensch he...@henare.orgmailto: he...@henare.org wrote: because there aren't enough other distributions out there? :) ---Sent from Boxer | http://getboxer.com Hello, Every now and then I consider switching my main operating system. I've been using Ubuntu for years. Does anyone know of any Linux distros made by librarians or One that's most used by librarians? Thanks, Cornel Darden Jr. MSLIS Library Department Chair South Suburban College 7087052945 Our Mission is to Serve our Students and the Community through lifelong learning. Sent from my iPhone -- Cornel Darden Jr. MSLIS Compound interest is the greatest invention in the history of mankind. - Albert Einstein-
Re: [CODE4LIB] Linux distro for librarians
Hi Cornel, Following through with your intent, would you survey librarians to ask them which distro version of Linux to use for your library OS? What version has the best repositories for librarians? How would you determine this? What if half the community uses Gentoo and the other half Fedora or Mint? I'm partial to Gnome3, what if others prefer KDE or XFCE, would this be in an interest survey? To be honest, I have had negative experiences with distros managed by a small team. Perhaps others have had better luck, but I tend to prefer distros which have a large user base and active forums. I do wish you the best in this endeavour if you see a need. However there are criteria which must be met before I consider an alternative to my current distro, making a switch unlikely. I presume these sentiments may be shared by other linux librarians. All the best, Craig Boman On Oct 19, 2014 4:56 PM, Joe Hourcle onei...@grace.nascom.nasa.gov wrote: On Oct 19, 2014, at 3:20 PM, Francis Kayiwa wrote: [trimmed] I'm willing to bet it would be much less effort to fix this Ubuntu problem dealing with the Ubuntu devs (I've found them reasonable to work with) than trying to heard the cats around yet another debian fork Another alternative would be to pick an existing OS, and make sure that all of the requisite packages are in their package manager. -Joe ps. 'OS for librarians' was never defined as being (1) for servers at libraries, (2) for librarian workstations, or (3) for public-use machines. Things that make a good client machine doesn't always make for a good server. And what makes a good personally managed desktop doesn't necessarily make it a good desktop when you're managing dozens or hundreds. (take MacOSX ... replacing bits to make it 'easier' for users, but harder to manage remotely in bulk)
Re: [CODE4LIB] Technology for Librarians / Libraries for Technologians
Hi Cornel, Do IT librarians not teach staff how to use new software? Do IT librarians not provide digital access? I have done three major software upgrades this calendar year alone, all of which included a significant amount of teaching staff how to use our new ILS, for example. And who knows the amount of hours I have spent teaching students how to resize their PDF or how to install print drivers on their laptops. I'm not sure everyone would agree with IT as Librarianship without concern for teaching and access. Thanks, Craig On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 8:22 AM, Cornel Darden Jr corneldarde...@gmail.com wrote: Hello, When I think of IT and Librarianship I don't see a huge difference. I see librarianship as IT without in depth computer skills. I see IT as Librarianship without concern for teaching and access but major concerns about security. Sent from my iPhone On Sep 3, 2014, at 2:18 PM, Michael B. Klein mbkl...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I was talking this afternoon with a friend of mine about what makes a good Director of Library IT. Does the job lie more within librarianship or IT? (Depends on the library.) Is there a natural separation between the Library IT of ILS/MARC/e-resource/circ. technology maintenance and the Traditional IT of network management, staff and public workstation provisioning, telecom, etc? (Also depends on the library.) I know a lot gets said (here and elsewhere) about Technology for Librarians - important skills and standards, what's important/useful/trending/ignorable, and the like. But I'd love to start a discussion (or join one, if it already exists elsewhere) about the other side of things - the library-specific stuff that experienced IT folks might need to learn or get used to to be successful in a library environment. Not just technical stuff like MARC, but also ethical issues like fair use, information privacy, freedom of access, and the like. Of course there are plenty of snarky answers, and I welcome them all, but some constructive input would be nice, too. :-) I hope to compile a So You're an Experienced IT Worker/Administrator Who Wants to Work in a Library? wiki page with pointers to resources. So there's my vague intro. Have at it, code4lib. Michael
Re: [CODE4LIB] Technology for Librarians / Libraries for Technologians
Hi Micheal, You present some interesting questions. I think the answers you get might depend entirely on what you define as the role of librarians in IT. For instance, yes library IT professionals do have a role in PC support in libraries, and sadly printing still takes up a lot of our time. These types of skills are translatable across the IT industry. However, when you are considering the role of IT librarians in the support and distribution of online resources, the skills are much different. If I may explain, to assist reference librarians in designing information delivery mechanisms (ie- library catalogs, patron APIs, proxied databases, etc) we IT librarians must have a thorough knowledge of how patrons gather and consume information, and often we are required to anticipate information needs, skills which an MLIS is great at developing but skills which traditional IT professionals may lack. Based on the assumption that most Directors of library IT more than likely delegate PC support, I presume a good library IT director would do best to know more about the about Library IT rather than Traditional IT. However I am always open to changing my opinion. All the best, Craig Boman, MLIS (Ph.D student) Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 3:18 PM, Michael B. Klein mbkl...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all, I was talking this afternoon with a friend of mine about what makes a good Director of Library IT. Does the job lie more within librarianship or IT? (Depends on the library.) Is there a natural separation between the Library IT of ILS/MARC/e-resource/circ. technology maintenance and the Traditional IT of network management, staff and public workstation provisioning, telecom, etc? (Also depends on the library.) I know a lot gets said (here and elsewhere) about Technology for Librarians - important skills and standards, what's important/useful/trending/ignorable, and the like. But I'd love to start a discussion (or join one, if it already exists elsewhere) about the other side of things - the library-specific stuff that experienced IT folks might need to learn or get used to to be successful in a library environment. Not just technical stuff like MARC, but also ethical issues like fair use, information privacy, freedom of access, and the like. Of course there are plenty of snarky answers, and I welcome them all, but some constructive input would be nice, too. :-) I hope to compile a So You're an Experienced IT Worker/Administrator Who Wants to Work in a Library? wiki page with pointers to resources. So there's my vague intro. Have at it, code4lib. Michael
Re: [CODE4LIB] Password management for teams and organizations
LastPass might do what you need, but I don't believe there is offline access. I have had great luck with KeePass (all open source), when storing/syncing the database on your choice of cloud storage, however you'll have to weigh your security needs with ease of access. I would recommend using a personal Keepass database to store the password for your office keepass, as an added layer of security. Good luck, Craig Boman Ph.D Student On Fri, Aug 22, 2014 at 2:05 PM, Scott Prater pra...@wisc.edu wrote: Mark, Shibboleth (for authentication, including multifactor) + Grouper (for centralized user, role, and permission management) might be a good fit. They have the added bonus of integrating nicely with InCommon. http://www.internet2.edu/products-services/trust-identity-middleware/ shibboleth/ http://www.internet2.edu/products-services/trust- identity-middleware/grouper/ -- Scott On 08/22/2014 12:51 PM, Mark A. Matienzo wrote: Howdy, We're looking for a password manager application or service that works well with teams, and I'd be eager to hear about particular recommendations. Desired features include the following: - 2 factor authentication - The ability to define groups or teams, and assign specific credential sets to those groups - The ability to revoke access - Hosted services are a plus Thanks, Mark -- Scott Prater Shared Development Group General Library System University of Wisconsin - Madison pra...@wisc.edu 5-5415
Re: [CODE4LIB] Software to track website changes?
An update to the Github giving free repositories to universities: I created a Github account on Friday and requested the educational discount. Within twenty-four hours they approved us and our library now has free private repositories. Although it is confusing because they give the free repositories to the Github organization you create and not the personal Github account you created the organization with. No hoops to jump through for us. All the best, Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Fri, Jul 11, 2014 at 3:42 PM, Terrell, Trey trey.terr...@oregonstate.edu wrote: It likely helped that we already had a variety of open source projects on github, and I told them our primary impetus for private repositories was to get off of gitlab and centralize everything with them. Trey On 7/11/14, 10:01 AM, Francis Kayiwa fkay...@colgate.edu wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 7/11/2014 11:29 AM, Terrell, Trey wrote: Another +1 for Github Issues. If youąre uncomfortable putting the website in a public repo theyąve given us 50 private repositories for free and have asked us to spread the word. You can just head over to https://education.github.com/ and request a discount for your organization - theyąve been amazing to work with. =) I had (sample of one) to jump through so many hoops and still couldn't convince them to give me what you got. FWIW All bitbucket needs is a .edu account and they will give you unlimited repos. Sure not as *cool* as github but also has had less bad press than github. ;-) Cheers, ./fxk - -- Anything is good if it's made of chocolate. -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v2.0.22 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://www.enigmail.net/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJTwBhNAAoJEOptrq/fXk6MsNwH/25k4JrBHUcarVh2ZhwQUw64 RAUw7qmoiMPJlJbQCGkAZT683Mq5BogFkl18IrZaLWBRo27l59sVwf6tLZoge7CB zxh86iucb0RKUTU4K+HBulnjXdHEVXX+EEgNXwOkeqcv4loLTxH7wEPews9TQgYg lfObSqiIEaf0qzaLtWVgi/XwErrholJdjcGyrbmFBmX8FCQqCbRgpZhbvCVWYAeo O7Mjs9oH7ew82Y1ZaJ5gjsskZVqlYZ32csIu76GS4iDCJkEiBBrRdMiKF9/QhWQH K38XS2rnjItajpY1hL31GmMUMMKlXfMIrokJB8mVb1SjfKxSOOxK4g/iMfNrrcY= =8b05 -END PGP SIGNATURE-
Re: [CODE4LIB] Barcode scanner
To build on Mark's recommendations, you might try altering Google's open source checkout software https://code.google.com/p/open-source-self-check/ to do on-the-fly inventory via a smartphone. The software can interface with most mobile browsers, but it may need some responsive design html updates. Riley, you have some coding experience, right? Let me know if you need any help. Good luck, Craig Boman On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 12:50 PM, Mark Pernotto mark.perno...@gmail.com wrote: I was thinking about this in Craig's line of thought as well - would it be plausible to just use your phone, a little code and develop your own scanning software? I can't speak much on Android development, but there are established libraries in iOS7 you could program/plugin/develop to read barcodes. I realize this might be out of scope of your immediate need - but you know, if you wanted a challenge .m On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 5:38 AM, craig boman craig.bo...@gmail.com wrote: Hey Riley, We have metroset voyagers too. They are great, but have you tried extending the functionality of the voyager (or any scanner)? If you haven't, try connecting a USB barcode scanner to an android phone, via a USB OTG adapter cable. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/179-6049859-1069161?url=search-alias%3Dapsfield-keywords=usb%20otgsprefix=usb+ot%2Capsrh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ausb%20otg This opens up a world of possibilities (scanning barcodes directly into a Google spreadsheet, or an ILS API, etc). Good luck, Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Jun 30, 2014 9:24 PM, Riley Childs rchi...@cucawarriors.com wrote: I am trying to find a barcode scanner that i can do inventory with, I was looking at the KDC20, but it is a tad out of my price range, what barcode scanner do you like? I have a Metroset Voyager (Honeywell branded) that i like, but am trying to see what others have and get some better suggestions. Riley Childs Student Asst. Head of IT Services Charlotte United Christian Academy (704) 497-2086 RileyChilds.net Sent from my Windows Phone, please excuse mistakes
Re: [CODE4LIB] College Question!
I have a BA in Music and the MLIS(union card), starting the Ph.D this fall. Even though an MLIS was not required for my job, I find it incredibly useful to know the language of librarians and be able to serve all the librarians I support to the best of my abilities. Without the MLIS I would feel less able to speak the same jargon/language. And along the same lines as everyone else, I would highly recommend getting the most IT practical experience you can get with the most personal connections you can get in libraries. Attend as many library conferences you can as a student, while its still cheap. And once you get a part-time student IT job, volunteer to do everything you can. Also don't underestimate being a nice guy; having people like you in our customer service/IT type employment is a highly prized commodity. Good luck, Craig Boman, MLIS, BA On Fri, May 30, 2014 at 9:43 AM, scott bacon sdanielba...@gmail.com wrote: I got a BA in Anthropology, made my millions, heh heh, then got my MLS about 10 years later. No, but Karen is right, I constantly use what I learned about cultural anthropology in my job as a librarian. My place of work is currently hiring a library systems administrator and we don’t require an MLS. The upside is that we offer tuition remission for a certain amount of credit hours per semester. So in theory someone could take this job with a bachelor’s in CS or IT or Info Science, learn while on the job, and also take classes to earn an MLS through an online degree program offered at another university we partner with in our state. So it definitely varies by institution. I’d echo the sentiments others have made in this thread by saying get to know what it’s like to work in a library by taking any library job you can find. I’ve known people to spend years and years getting degrees only to find that they didn’t like the job once they started working in the courtroom, cubicle, etc. And I believe the most important thing regarding valuation of employees is the ability and drive to learn new things. Your job duties will probably change significantly within a short amount of time after your hiring, whatever it is you end up doing, so the drive to learn will serve you well no matter what undergrad path you choose. _ Scott Bacon Web Services and Emerging Technologies Librarian Coastal Carolina University On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 2:15 PM, Joshua Welker wel...@ucmo.edu wrote: Yes, experience trumps education completely in my experience as far as developing skills in libraries and technology. Some employers will demand the degree, but it is really of secondary value to hands-on experience. One possibility would be talking to a systems librarian or anyone else at your university whose job interests you and explain to them that you are looking for some mentoring and experience. It is quite likely that they could whip up a student worker position just for you. At least I know I would if a student approached me that way. All the libraries where I've worked have had fairly free reign with student worker hours. Chances are you are going to end up doing some kind of student work position anyway, so you might as well use it learning something valuable rather than raking leaves or cooking pizza. Josh Welker -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Fleming, Declan Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 1:05 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] College Question! Hi - I'm also an English undergrad. This was after miserably failing out of a Math/CS program (although I learned a lot). The English degree forced me to write a lot while in college - a time when one's mind needs some expanding lest it get caught in ruts. This helped my communication skills immensely. Despite what Giarlo says. I also agree that a background in informatics is going to be really helpful in the years to come. We are awash in data, yet little of it has the semantics needed to automate the extraction of meaning. I think there are going to be many years of smart people plowing meaning back into the data sets that we're struggling to put away at the bit level now, and I think it sounds like fun work. Another common thread I agree with, and one my kids have heard since they were in diapers, is GET A JOB! Especially in the area you think you're interested in. You'll learn more practical things there than in any class. You may suck at it at first, but hey, they're paying you anyway! If you like doing it, you'll get better, build your resume, and be better able to see if it's something you want to do long term. Year later, after working in corporate IT for a while and getting sick of my profession being treated like an expendable commodity, I went back and got an MBA to better understand business - and learned that corporate
Re: [CODE4LIB] A ticketing system for internal troubleshooting purpose
If you really want to save money with a bare-bones IT help ticket tracking system, you can piece together a combination of Google Forms/Spreadsheets. It might not have all the bells and whistles of Spiceworks but it will get the job(s) done. Good luck, Craig Boman Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 4:18 PM, Marc Chantreux m...@unistra.fr wrote: hello, On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 03:43:57PM +, Jenny Jing wrote: We are in the process of replacing our internal ticketing system. We need it to be web-based, and staff can attach screenshots when they report an issue, and we can run reports to get the usage statistics. RT (http://bestpractical.com/docs/rt/4.2/) is installed for years at university of strasbourg and we're planning more usage of it. it comes with a simple and yet rich web UI (with the ability for each users to configure their homepage with results and graphs built with graphical query builder). for automating, it comes with * scripts that can be executed at every stage of the ticket lifecicle * a simple text based rest API * a way to comment, respond, command a ticket by mail you can build associate content with extensions for SLA, KB, FAQ, ... users can send us questions and we can keep track of what kind of questions we get, who is working on it, etc. you can reply (also sent to requestor) or comment (just for your eyes) any ticket. It could be an open source or commercial tool. open source with a commercial support. It supports really large scale (it's the resquest tracker for the CPAN community). Does anyone know of something which is good to use? I don't know a lot of them but RT is from far the best i seen (for users *and* administrators). Note that it follows unix philo: RT by itself is just a bug tracker (but a very good one), everything else comes as extension or intercommunication with other systems. hth -- Marc Chantreux Université de Strasbourg, Direction Informatique 14 Rue René Descartes, 67084 STRASBOURG CEDEX ☎: 03.68.85.57.40 http://unistra.fr Don't believe everything you read on the Internet -- Abraham Lincoln
Re: [CODE4LIB] Usability Person?
Hi Andrew, At our small university, our usability librarian has the dual function in library assessment. Because of this, the position falls under our reference department in our organizational chart. The person also teaches some reference classes. All the best, Craig Boman Craig Boman, MLIS Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 10:24 AM, Haines, Anne ahai...@indiana.edu wrote: In addition to the team that Mark describes, the IUB Libraries' Discovery Research Services Department - which is part of public services, not IT - has several positions with significant UX responsibilities. We're currently hiring for a Discovery User Experience librarian to manage UX for our discovery tools services, and my position - Web Content Specialist - is responsible for content strategy on the Libraries' website (although not the catalog, digital projects, etc.). We're in the process of migrating to a shiny new Drupal site, btw, so don't look at our current (ancient!) site and wonder where we hid the content strategy. :) While it's fantastic to have a dedicated usability or UX librarian, I think it's also good to have more than one position with UX responsibilities written into the job description - less likely that way to have one lonely usability voice crying out in the wilderness and so on. Of course that depends on the size and culture of the library. The important part is to have it written into the job description, not just as part of a committee assignment. -Anne Anne Haines Web Content Specialist IUB Libraries, Discovery Research Services Herman B Wells Library W501 1320 E. Tenth St. | Bloomington, IN 47405 ahai...@indiana.edu 812-855-0103 -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@listserv.nd.edu] On Behalf Of Notess, Mark Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 2:16 PM To: CODE4LIB@listserv.nd.edu Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Usability Person? We are spinning up a UX team at IU Bloomington Libraries-below is the current opening for the initial hire. More are anticipated. As library collections and services move increasingly online, we need to invest in the kind of staffing needed to create successful online experiences. We did formerly have a usability specialist, but we haven't had a dedicated team. The team will provide internal consulting to technology projects. Mark -- Mark Notess Head, User Experience and Digital Media Services Library Technologies Indiana University Bloomington Libraries +1.812.856.0494 mnot...@iu.edu -- User Experience Designer Rank: PAE-3IT Position#: 00039047 List #: 9631 FTE: 100% Job Summary: Provides interaction design consulting services to key technology-based projects. Works with stakeholders across IU Bloomington Libraries' departments to understand requirements in order to design web-based user interfaces, mobile user interfaces, and online visual elements. Performs usability testing and ensures accessibility of services. Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in a user experience discipline such as human-computer interaction design, interaction design, or related field and two years of experience in interface and visual design (as demonstrated by a portfolio) or a related professional position required. An equivalent combination of related education, training, and experience from which comparable skills can be acquired may be considered at a 2:1 ratio. Experience with interaction design, visual design, web design, mobile design; demonstrated experience with the relevant interaction and visual design tools (Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent); and demonstrated experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills. Knowledge of and experience with academic libraries or higher education work environments preferred. Note: Submit a letter of interest and resume that provides evidence of the qualifications outlined and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of at least three references that can comment about your qualifications for the position. Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to excellence through diversity. Indiana University has a strong commitment to principles of diversity and in that spirit seeks a broad spectrum of candidates including women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and encourages applications from candidates with diverse cultural backgrounds. For more information about Indiana University-Bloomington go to www.iub.edu http://www.iub.edu/. To browse other open staff positions at Indiana University, please go to https://jobs.iu.edu https://jobs.iu.edu/ On 10/30/13 11:24 AM, Andrew Darby darby.li...@gmail.commailto: darby.li...@gmail.com
Re: [CODE4LIB] Faculty publication database
Hello Allie, We use a vendor database to archive faculty publications. We just started using it, so I can't give much more information at the moment. But there are a lot of products out there. If you find the right vendor, their database may provide for more functions or purposes, so you don't have faculty publications siloed where no one goes. However, I would second Ken Varnum's comments as well. All the best, Craig Boman, MLIS Applications Support Specialist University of Dayton Libraries 937-229-3674 cbom...@udayton.edu On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 12:51 PM, Laura Robbins pope...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Allie, We have a database that we maintain of our ft faculty publications. Like others have mentioned, this is not any easy thing to maintain and depends upon the scope of the project. We only collect ft faculty publications. We have an MS Access backend and then use asp to pull the citations for display in various places on our website. We went with that because I was already running various access databases on our website, and it was easy for me to set up. You can see it here: http://www.dowling.edu/library/facultybib/searchpubs.asp I've got our faculty pretty much on board with getting me their citations after several years, but there are things you can do to get buy in. One of the biggest selling points for us has been that accrediting bodies, like NCATE, want to see faculty publications. Our faculty also have to submit a yearly self evaluation and cv, so I usually time a call for latest publications right after that is due. They already have the info compiled, so it's easy for them to share at that point. The hardest thing will be the initial data entry. For that, we initially had web- based forms that I had several librarians working with me to use. Now, I do all of the maintenance. Laura Pope Robbins Associate Professor/Reference Librarian Dowling College On Oct 25, 2013, at 11:35 AM, Alevtina Verbovetskaya alevtina.verbovetsk...@mail.cuny.edu wrote: Hi guys, Does your library maintain a database of faculty publications? How do you do it? Some things I've come across in my (admittedly brief) research: - RSS feeds from the major databases - RefWorks citation lists These options do not necessarily work for my university, made up of 24 colleges/institutions, 6,700+ FT faculty, and 270,000+ degree-seeking students. Does anyone have a better solution? It need not be searchable: we are just interested in pulling a periodical report of articles written by our faculty/students without relying on them self-reporting days/weeks/months/years after the fact. Thanks! Allie -- Alevtina (Allie) Verbovetskaya Web and Mobile Systems Librarian Office of Library Services City University of New York 555 W 57th St, Ste. 1325 New York, NY 10019 1-646-313-8158 alevtina.verbovetsk...@cuny.edumailto:alevtina.verbovetsk...@cuny.edu
