ITAL Information Technology and Libraries (E-Journal)
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The Role of the Library in the Digital Economy
Get PDFThe gradual transition to a digital economy requires all business entities to adapt to the new environmental conditions that are taking place through their digital transformation. These tasks are especially relevant for scientific libraries, as digital technologies make changes in the main subject field of their activities, the processes of creating, storing, and information disseminating. In order to find directions for the transformation of scientific libraries and determine their role in the digital economy, a study of the features of digital transformation and the experience of the digital transformation of foreign libraries was conducted. Management of research data, which is implemented through the creation of Current Research Information Systems (CRIS) was found to be one of the most promising areas of the digital transformation of libraries. The problem area of this direction and ways of engaging libraries in it have been also analyzed in the work
What More Can We Do to Address Broadband Inequity and Digital Poverty?
Get PDFWhile libraries have always worked to help breach the digital divide by providing free Internet access, public access computers and teaching media literacy, the current pandemic has made it abundantly clear that much more needs to be done. This article proposes ways that libraries might work with community, state, national and even global partners to help promote universal broadband
Integrated Technologies of Blockchain and Biometrics Based on Wireless Sensor Network for Library Management
Get PDFThe Internet of Things (IoT) is built on a strong internet infrastructure and many wireless sensor devices. Presently, Radio Frequency Identification embedded (RFID-embedded) smart cards are ubiquitous, used for many things including student ID cards, transportation cards, bank cards, prepaid cards, and citizenship cards. One example of places that require smart cards is libraries. Each library, such as a university library, city library, local library, or community library, has its own card and the user must bring the appropriate card to enter a library and borrow material. However, it is inconvenient to bring various cards to access different libraries. Wireless infrastructure has been well developed and IoT devices are connected through this infrastructure. Moreover, the development of biometric identification technologies has continued to advance. Blockchain methodologies have been successfully adopted in various fields. This paper proposes the BlockMetrics library based on integrated technologies using blockchain and finger-vein biometrics, which are adopted into a library collection management and access control system. The library collection is managed by image recognition, RFID, and wireless sensor technologies. In addition, a biometric system is connected to a library collection control system, enabling the borrowing procedure to consist of only two steps. First, the user adopts a biometric recognition device for user authentication and then performs a collection scan with the RFID devices. All the records are recorded in a personal borrowing blockchain, which is a peer-to-peer transfer system and permanent data storage. In addition, the user can check the status of his collection across various libraries in his personal borrowing blockchain. The BlockMetrics library is based on an integration of technologies that include blockchain, biometrics, and wireless sensor technologies to improve the smart library
Tackling the Big Projects: Do it Yourself or Contract with a Vendor?
Get PDFEveryone who works with library technology sooner or later finds they are faced with a major project to tackle. Sometimes we contract with a vendor to do the bulk of the work, sometimes we do the project ourselves. This article reviews the advantages and disadvantages to both methods
A Collaborative Approach to Newspaper Preservation
Get PDFThis column explores a collaborative undertaking between the Denton Public Library in Denton, Texas, and the University of North Texas Libraries (UNT) to build digital access to the city of Denton’s newspaper of record, the Denton Record-Chronicle (DRC). The process included coordination with the newspaper publisher, solidifying agreements between the libraries, obtaining grant funding for the project, and ensuring scheduled uploads to build digital access to the DRC via The Portal to Texas History’s Texas Digital Newspaper Program (TDNP). TDNP builds open access to Texas newspapers, and the partnership between the Denton Public Library and UNT exemplifies the value of collaboration to preserving history and building digital access to research material
Creating and Managing a Repository of Past Exam Papers
Get PDFExam period can be a stressful time for students, and having examples of past papers to help prepare for the tests can be extremely helpful. It is possible that past exams are already shared on your campus—by professors in their specific courses, via student unions or groups, or between individual students. In this article, we will go over the workflows and infrastructure to support systematically collecting, providing access to, and managing a repository of past exam papers. We will discuss platform-agnostic considerations of opt-in vs opt-out submission, access restriction, discovery, retention schedules, and more. Finally, we will share the University of Toronto set up, including a dedicated instance of DSpace, batch metadata creation and ingest scripts, and our submission and retention workflows that take into account the varying needs of stakeholders across our three campuses
Collaboration and Integration: Embedding Library Resources in Canvas
Get PDFThe University of North Florida (UNF) transitioned to Canvas as its Learning Management System (LMS) in summer 2017. This implementation brought on opportunities that allowed for a more user-friendly learning environment for students. Working with students in courses which were in-person, hybrid, or online, brought about the need for the library to have a place in the Canvas LMS. Students needed to remember how to access and locate library resources and services outside of Canvas. During this time, the Thomas G. Carpenter Library’s online presence was enhanced, yet still not visible in Canvas. It became apparent that the library needed to be integrated into Canvas courses. This would enable students to easily transition between their coursework and finding resources and services to support their studies. In addition, librarians who worked with students, looked for ways for students to easily find library resources and services online. After much discussion, it became clear to the Online Learning Librarian (OLL) and the Director of Technical Services and Library Systems (Library Director) that the library needed to explore ways to integrate more with Canvas
Evaluating the Impact of the Long-S upon 18th-Century Encyclopedia Britannica Automatic Subject Metadata Generation Results
Get PDFThis research compares automatic subject metadata generation when the pre-1800s Long-S character is corrected to a standard < s >. The test environment includes entries from the third edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and the HIVE automatic subject indexing tool. A comparative study of metadata generated before and after correction of the Long-S demonstrated an average of 26.51 percent potentially relevant terms per entry omitted from results if the Long-S is not corrected. Results confirm that correcting the Long-S increases the availability of terms that can be used for creating quality metadata records. A relationship is also demonstrated between shorter entries and an increase in omitted terms when the Long-S is not corrected
Seeing through Vocabularies
Get PDFOntologies and vocabularies are common when working with RDF (Resource Description Framework). Well-known “vocabularies” include FOAF and SKOS. Well-known “ontologies,” specific to the library community, are Bibframe and FRBR. Interestingly, even though FOAF is expressed formally as an ontology, it presents itself and is generally regarded as a vocabulary. Conversely, Bibframe and FRBR, while also expressed formally as ontologies, present themselves up front as vocabularies but are nevertheless perceived as ontologies. That’s because the decision to create an RDF “vocabulary” or an “ontology” is a technical one and a political one, both of which must be in alignment. This essay explores the technical distinction alongside the more subtle political distinction at work and how librarians seem to gravitate to the more formal comforts of OWL even though it may not be in their long-term interests