New Report #5

Mallory Phillips

November 24, 2009

LIB 103 News Report

Cheshire Library Retains True-Crime Book about Town Murders

By: Greg Landgraf: American Libraries

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/november2009/chesirecrimebookstays111709.cfm?persistent=&expy_dt=

In 2007, three members of a family in Cheshire, Connecticut were murdered. The man accused of these murders is currently awaiting trial, but in the meantime he gave his perspective about what happened in a book titled, In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood. The Cheshire Public Library Advisory Board voted 5-1 in favor of the decision to purchase two copies of this controversial book for the library. The one who opposed this vote did so because she was trying to protect a member of the community, and she believes that disputing a censorship issue would give too much credit to the book. A supporter of making the book available argued that not choosing this book because of its offensive material towards the victims’ family and friends would set a precedent that could be applied to almost every book. She also pointed out that by trying to keep the book out of the library has only made it more popular. If it would have been ignored it probably would have just vanished quickly to the remainder rack with other trashy books.

In a way I kind of disagree with their choice to put this book in their library. I feel as if they should have supported the victims and their families by trying to keep it out. Keep in mind that this killing took place in 2007, so only two short years later it was made available in the public library. I think if they would have given it a few more years before publication then people wouldn’t be as offended.

New Report #4

Mallory Phillips

November 12, 2009

News Report #4

It May Cost Too Much to Close Libraries in Reading, Pennsylvania

By: Beverly Goldberg, American Libraries

November 4, 2009

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/november2009/readingfightsback110409.cfm?persistent=&expy_dt=

In late October, it was announced that Reading, Pennsylvania would have to shut down three of their four public libraries at the end of the year. This will lay off 9 of the 20 branch library workers, and leave the city with only one operating library. Officials say that the reason for this is that the library would be losing more than $650,000 in aid from its original operating budget. Reading residents have been showing their love for their neighborhood libraries. Some elementary school children even gave the mayor several containers full of dollar bills and change for the library. One child told the mayor that, “We need libraries because it’s important for us to read. It’s good for your mind.” Concerned citizens have been brainstorming ways to help out with this issue. They have thought of incorporating part-time library staff and volunteers to help keep the other three branches open. Trustees and library advocates rallied outside of the main library, giving out information about the budget crisis, and getting people to sign a petition to work on a funding solution.

I think it’s neat to see how much libraries mean to people. The citizens of this town are really involved in this issue and desperately want something to stop the shut down of these three branches of the library. It’s sad to see that everything revolves around money. They are taking away something that people love and rely on just because there is not enough funding for it. I thought it was cute that the elementary school kids got involved and gave the mayor some money to show just how important libraries are to them. Hopefully something can be done about this situation before 80,000+ citizens only have one library to go to.

Reading #5

Mallory Phillips

November 3, 2009

LIB 103

Reading #5

Information Navigation 101

By: Andrea L. Foster

Many people these days rely heavily on technology. College officials believe that students are unaware of how to do scholarly research because they easier, more simple search engines such as Google. This causes problems because students are not using reliable material for their academic research. Colleges are trying to encourage students to use more scholarly material by offering instruction on how to be more information literate. The vice president of Educause states that we all go to the Internet because it is more convenient, but it is important that we all develop research skills in order to effectively use it. Faculty members are frustrated with student’s overreliance on Google and other search engines because they feel that student’s do not know the difference between peer-reviewed scholarly sources and random Internet pages with false information. Since colleges are requiring graduates to be information literate, they are now giving tests to ensure this.

I do not necessarily believe that just because students use Google as opposed to libraries means that they are not information literate. Google has a lot of unreliable information, but it also includes scholarly stuff. The only reason why students use Google is because it is something that has been around for the majority of their lives and that is what is familiar to them. We did not start using libraries scholarly sources until we got to college. So, I think that we use Google more just because it is easier. I am glad that schools are incorporating these classes to help people become more information literate, and I think that once students complete classes like these then they will begin to rely of Google less and less.

Reading #4

Mallory Phillips

October 20, 2009

Reading #4

The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an Appetizing Alternative to Google

By: Steven Bell

This article mainly focuses on the competition between Google and libraries. Librarians have a hard time getting students to use the databases that the library provides for them. Bell says that the library has lost its position as the campus information gateway, but can return. The reason that students normally choose Google over libraries is that they want fast, easy accessible, full-text documents. However, they do not realize that some things on the Internet are not very accurate. Even if using the library is slower and more inconvenient, at least you are getting reliable information. James Morris coined the term “infobesity,” describing Google as a junk-information diet, consisting of large amounts of bad quality material that is hard to digest. He says that the cure for this is databases known as aggregators, which return better search results. Libraries are contemplating on how to become more like Google; the challenge is getting students to convert from low quality Websites to more accurate information.

Personally, I use Google on a regular basis. I believe that it is much easier than these complicated search engines. There are ways to get reliable information from Google, you just have to make you search pretty specific. While Google is not as reliable as library databases, at least it is easier to use, and more convenient. I feel that someone needs to develop search systems that are easy to use, but also include the sophistication of library catalogs. To resolve this issue, we need to improve students’ information literacy.

Reading 3

**Sorry, I posted the wrong thing yesterday!

Mallory Phillips
October 9, 2009
Reading #3
The Future of Libraries
http://www.futuristspeaker.com/2006/11/the-future-of-libraries/

Libraries played a huge role in helping preserve Leonardo da Vinci’s collections of art. Without libraries, this collection would have been ruined. The role of libraries in the past was pretty much just to house books, manuscripts, art and important documents. These books and other things used to be scarce and hard to find, but now they are readily available. This article puts together ten trends that are affecting libraries generations to come. The first trend takes a look at the continually changing communication systems. This article states that there is no way to know the ultimate form of communication, but they bet that it will not be reading and writing books. The second trend predicts that all technology that we have today will end and be replaces by something else. Trend three talks about reaching the ultimate storage particle. The fourth trend predicts that search engines will become much more difficult. They say that searches will become much more specific, and therefore can cause complications. Trend five talks about time changing the lifestyle of people who use libraries, and basically we have more needs. The sixth trend predicts that overtime we will be transitioning to a verbal society and that there will be no more keyboards. Trend number seven states that the demand for global information is growing exponentially and that we need to learn and understand other cultures to prepare ourselves for these global societies. The eighth trend says that a stage is being set for future global systems. Trend nine believes that we are changing from a product-based economy to an experienced based economy. Last but not least, the tenth trend predicts that libraries will change from a center of information to a center of culture.
I can see some of these trends actually happening in the future. The main trends that I can fully agree with are one, two, and six. Communication is continually changing and getting more and more advanced. I do not think that books will ever be completely removed, but I feel that they will not be as popular with more advanced things being invented. Some technology, such as cell phones, will never be extinct. Cell phone appearance and what they can do are constantly changing, but no matter how much they change, they still do pretty much the same things. I agree with the sixth trend because when I was in high school, in my digital communications class, we “talked” into our computers, not typed. Everything that we spoke was “keyed” into the computer.

New Report

Mallory Phillips

October 8, 2009

New Report

Washington: Sorry, Library Is Closed

The New York Times Associated Press

September 3, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/us/03brfs-SORRYLIBRARY_BRF.html

In Seattle, Washington, the downtown central library and twenty-six branches decided to shut down their entire systems for a whole week to help save money. And I mean everything was shut down, from the branches, book drops, and web sites. The city had been told to reduce spending to make up for a $43 million gap in the 2009 budget. The library is trying to cut 2% of that, and with closing the library for a week, it is estimated that about $655,000 will be saved. As a result, about 700 library employees had to go a week without pay. During this week of closing, no books were due, and there were no fines. This is nothing new to Seattle; there are been closedowns for two weeks in 2002 and 2003 in effort to save money.

I think it is sad that the city was in so much financial trouble that they had to shut the library down for a week. If you think about it, that is a pretty long time. Some people rely heavily on libraries, and the city of Seattle let these people down during this week. Shutting the library down had good intentions to help the city save money, but think about all the people that were affected. The librarians and staff all went a week with pay. They may not seem that long to some people, but some people need that money. I think that they could have came up with some better ideas to save money than closing down this significant public place for a week.

News Report #3

Mallory Phillips

September 30, 2009

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Virtual-Medical-Training-Comes/7277

 

 

Virtual Medical Training Comes to Second Life

By: Erica Hendry—The Chronicle of Higher Education

 

            Virtual medical training is nothing new; CD-ROMs and other interactive programs have been used for years. Now, some universities are beginning to use Second Life to help train nurses. Second Life allows students to use real life participants, allows access to professors, and even has people volunteer to be patients. Students can do many things such as, interact with doctors, patients, order tests, make diagnoses, and recommend treatment. One professor has made a Heart Murmur Sim that uses real cardiac sounds to train students how to listen to someone’s chest. Another program that has been created is the Nursing Education Simulation. Students wear headsets with displays monitor and use defibrillators, IV’s, and medication to treat computer patients with certain symptoms. This style of learning offers pretty good resources with lower costs than actual physical training.

            The reason I chose this article is because we were just talking about Second Life the other day in class. I think that this style of learning will be very effective. It offers a semi “hands on” experience without actually being in a hospital. I think that doing it this way is safer because if these students mess up, there is no negative effect on the patient. 

New Report 9/23

Mallory Phillips

September 23, 2009

New Report

 

Copyright Head Tells House She Opposes Google Books Settlemen

 

By: Gordon Flagg: American Libraries Online

 

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/september2009/petersopposesgooglebooks091609.cfm

 

            This article is basically about the Register of Copyrights, Marybeth Peters, opposing the settlement with Google’s Book Search project. She feels that this deal will undermine Congress’ right to govern copyrights, and could have serious problems internationally dealing with books that are published outside of the United States. The settlement would allow Google to scan copyrighted books, and display 20% of that book to users for no charge. If you wanted to see the whole book, you would have to pay for it. Thirty-seven percent of the revenue would go to Google, and the rest would go to the copyright holders. Peters feels that this is taking away from the copyright holders. Google Chief Legal Officer disagrees. He feels that this is “fully compliant with copyright law,” and it provides choice and competition to the rights holders. Some people believe that this provides the public with information that otherwise would not be so easily available to them, even though they would have to pay for it, and others still feel that it is not fair to the copyright holders. The final hearing on this issue will be held October 7 in New York.

            I can see why some people would oppose this issue, and I can also see why some would be perfectly fine with it. I think it is a good idea to have a variety of books available to the public, but I don’t understand why Google? They are just in it to make money from it. I don’t see why publishers don’t already have something like this available. If they just had their own setup like what Google is trying to offer, there would probably be no controversy. 

"Can Wikipedia Ever Make the Grade"

Mallory Phillips

September 15, 2009

Reading #2

 

“Can Wikipedia Ever Make the Grade”

By: Brock Read

Chronicle of Higher Education 10/27/06

http://0-web.ebscohost.com.uncclc.coast.uncwil.edu/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=106&sid=5e163795-3e76-4a10-90ee-7d162116cb6c%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=22984124

 

The main idea of this article is basically whether or not Wikipedia is a reliable source or not. Many people believe that because anyone can add or edit articles that it is not a reliable source. Some argue that it is just as accurate as encyclopedia’s. One professor decided to test the accuracy of the site and put false information into a few articles. A few hours after he posted this false information, it was removed by Wikipedia editors who frequently check the site. They even told him not to post anymore false information. This goes to show that Wikipedia stays on top of their postings. However, some people find it frustrating that when they edit false information, within a few minutes it can be right back on there. This is what happens when you allow the public to post.

Personally, I believe that Wikipedia is a good source, and I tend to use it often. It is an easy and quick way to get information on a certain topic. As long as it is accurate, it should be fine to use as a source. In order to make it more accurate, they should have an expert to look over edits before they can be added to an article. Many teachers frown upon the use of Wikipedia as a source because it is not “scholarly,” but this article points out that compared to the Encyclopaedia Britannica’s average error of 3, Wikipedia had an average error of 4. So in my opinion, Wikipedia is just fine. 

Reading #1--Web Hoaxes

Mallory Phillips

September 8, 2009

Reading #1

Web Hoaxes, Counterfeit Sites, and Other Spurious Information on the Internet

By: Paul S. Piper

            This article informs readers about whether websites are legitimate or not. There are different types of these websites, and some of them are: counterfeit, malicious, parody/spoofs, fictitious, hacks, and misinformation. A website that has mistakes is not included, simply because mistakes happen! Counterfeit sites try and trick people by making itself seem just like the original website. Malicious sites intentionally misguide information seekers, and there is really nothing that can be done about this because of the First Amendment right to free speech. Parody/spoof websites use humor to try and make fun of the original site. Fictitious sites represent a website that has been completely fabricated. Misinformation websites are based on opinions. This does not mean that they are necessarily wrong, just not 100% factual. Some websites pretend to be something that they are not, and this is known as a Trojan horse. One of the first counterfeit websites was www.makah.org. The Makah tribe has won the right to harvest a few gray whales to keep tribal tradition. Animal rights groups protested and made a website that was identical to the Makah website, but all links led to anti-whaling information. The purpose of this article is mainly to inform its readers that there is plenty of false information on the Internet, and that you need to determine the validity of a website before you use it as a source.

            One example that the author gives of a counterfeit website deals with a Martin Luther King Jr. site. This website gives questionable information on a supposed plagiarism accusation against King. They also accuse King of being part of the Communist party, and that the night before he was shot, he was partying with three white women, one of who he supposedly beat up. There are a few clues that give away that this website is counterfeit. At the top of the page there was an email link to the author, and the end of the address was @stormfront.org. Stormfront’s website is dedicated to white nationalists “fighting to preserve white western culture.” There are also some other pro-white links on the website. I just don’t see why people would take the time to make a false website. Instead of copying the original website, why don’t they just make their own website? Also, are there not any copyright laws on websites? If there were, people who do things like this would get punished, and it would probably deter people from making more of these websites. 

Assignment #1: News Reports

Mallory Phillips

September 1, 2009

News Report #1

“Florida Man to Plead Guilty to Credit-Card Data Theft”

Jason Kessler, CNN.com

8/28/09

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/28/US.hacker.plea.agreement/index.html?iref=newssearch&eref=rss_tech

Albert Gonzalez, of Miami, Florida, has been indicted in the largest case of identity theft in U.S. history. Not only was he stealing people’s identity, he has also been charged with 19 counts of credit card fraud. Gonzalez has agreed to serve 15-25 years for stealing data from more than 40 million credit cards. This sentence does not include the aforementioned identity theft charges. He must formally plead guilty by September 11 in order to the plea agreement to be good. The plea agreement states that he will serve 15-25 years (not including other charges), give up 1.65 million dollars in cash, three Rolex watches, and a Tiffany diamond ring. He is currently in a New York jail awaiting trial for the other hacking schemes that targeted the restaurant chain Dave & Busters.

I find it hard to believe that this man can get credit card information from 40 million people, and is just now being punished. It seems like they would have put a stop to it before it got that out of hand. People say its not safe to carry cash anymore these days because it can easily be stolen, but this shows you just how easy it is for someone to steal credit card information. I just had my bank call me yesterday to verify some purchase that I have made to ensure that my card information hadn’t been stolen. What a coincidence that I read this article a few days ago, and then I get that type of phone call. It just goes to show you that no matter what you do with your money, someone is always going to be able to get their hands on it.