Thoughts of a [wannabe] librarian

Riding High Amongst the Waves*

Google Wave seems to be just about the hottest thing on the internet at the moment. People have been eagerly waiting that magic invite dropping into their inbox just so they can get onboard the Next Big Thing. Fortunately for me, I was lucky enough to receive an invite care of a fellow Tweeter (Twitter certainly has its advantages!). So what is Google Wave actually like?

Google Wave - The Next Big Thing?

Well, to be honest, I haven’t spent a great deal of time on it so far so I’m not really in a position to give a full and fair appraisal. That said, I’m still going to share some initial thoughts on it. The first thing I feel I should point out is that it is quite bewildering when you first start playing with it. When presented with the homepage (see image above), it took a little while to work out how it was supposed to work. That is maybe why Google recommends you watch a ridiculously long video before you even contemplate diving in (do you see what I did there?!). However, I did find this handy little video that talks you through some of the main features of Google Wave:

Although it is a little confusing to start off with, there is potential there for it to be a very useful collaborative tool. By inviting others to join you on a ‘wave’ you can work together on a shared piece of work or just communicate in real-time (a bit like MSN Messenger but you can actually see what they are typing as they type it). There are a number of gadgets that can be incorporated into ‘waves’ including Sudoku puzzles and chess. It is also possible to embed Google Maps which enables people on the same ‘wave’ to collaborate on a map (which is quite useful and very easily done). I think Mashable’s description of Google Wave sums it up quite nicely:

It combines aspects of email, instant messaging, wikis, web chat, social networking, and project management to build one elegant, in-browser communication client.

So pretty much all the best elements of Web 2.0 rolled into one.

It will be interesting to see how Google Wave develops over the coming weeks and months as more people get onboard. It certainly has great potential to be a very useful tool, as long as people are prepared to overcome the initial hurdles. I’ll certainly continue to play around with it and share more thoughts on it as time goes by. Hopefully I’ll be able to share something a little more comprehensive than this effort!

There is also a Complete Guide to Google Wave available that may also help with getting to grips with it.

* I have been wondering how I would incorporate my love of Pearl Jam into one of my blog posts….looks like I managed it!

Plodding Along, Singing a Song, Walking in a Aber Wonderland

November 2, 2009 at 6:07 pm | In Studies | 4 Comments
Tags: Assignments, collection management, information retrieval, parenthood, personal, research in the profession, Study

Well, as I have said before, studying has been a bit hard going since the birth of our daughter six months ago (the fastest six months of my life!). I have found it particularly hard to strike the right balance between studying for my course, and fulfilling my responsibilities as a parent. This has become increasingly difficult over recent weeks as my daughter has started to slip into a regular sleeping pattern. Until recently, she usually went to sleep quite late and would normally be awake to greet me when I got in from work. Just recently, however, she has started going to bed much earlier and there have been many occasions when I don’t see her at all when I get in from work. As a result of this, I tend to try and spend as much time as possible with her on my days off. Unfortunately, these were the days that I used to do the large bulk of my studying. I find it quite hard to study in the evening when I get in from work, it’s very hard to concentrate on studying after a busy day in the library. I try to do at least an hour in the evening whenever I can, but it is not the same as dedicating a day to some serious study.

Due to the studying I need to do, and the decreased time in which to do it, I have had to cut some things out of my personal life for the short-term. For example, I used to play football every Tuesday night without fail for the best part of 16 years. I have temporarily stopped going now whilst I use the extra time this gives me to catch up on my studies and get some serious work done. Sadly this has had an impact on my rapidly expanding waistline…by the time I get back to playing football I could well be subject to ‘who ate all the pies?’ type chants. Not good for the old self-esteem! Depressing though this is (it’s amazing what kicking a ball around can do for your stress levels!), it was a necessary move to give me just a little more time.

My progress has not been helped by the two modules I have been working on: Collection Management and Research in the Profession. Yep, I thought Information Retrieval was a tricky module to plough through. I think I can safely file these on the shelf marked ‘irksome’ (there’s an underused word!). To be fair, I don’t know if that is down to the content of the modules, or just my state of mind whilst trying to complete them. In fact I should find the Collection Management module very interesting as I have been doing a lot of work related to this module in recent months. Maybe it is my state of mind. Anyway, I think the end of the tunnel may be within sight. After some fairly arduous drafting (I’m sure it wasn’t this difficult on previous assignments!), I think I am almost at a point where I can stuff my assignment in an envelope and pass it onto the Royal Mail. Here’s hoping anyway.

Once the Collection Management module has been sent off, I just have the Research in the Profession module to complete before moving on to the optional modules. Easier said than done, but I aim to get both complete by the end of the month. I’ve just got to the point now where maybe it won’t hurt to send-off a couple of duff assignments. After all, I understand that getting good marks in the coursework is not as important as getting a good mark on the dissertation so maybe that should be my priority. I am fortunate enough to be in quite a good position at the moment in terms of marks so surely a few sub-60s aren’t going to hurt are they?? I think I have been saddled with this ‘must maintain good scores’ mentality when what I should really be doing is getting the assignments done and focus my energies on researching for a good, solid dissertation. It all seems so easy when you written down. If only putting that into practice was as easy!

More eBooks…..

October 13, 2009 at 6:37 pm | In eBooks | 3 Comments
Tags: Amazon, DRM, e-book reader, e-books, european union, government, Kindle, poll, Sony Reader, tweets, Twitter, VAT

As promised, I thought I would share the results of my recent (entirely unscientific) ebook poll. Much as I expected, the cost of the technology (both for the readers and the ebooks themselves) was the primary concern of many who voted. In total, around 40% of the votes cast reflected the need for cheaper ebooks and cheaper readers. Range was also a factor with 15% of votes counted suggesting that the limited range of titles at present is a hindrance to making the move to the electronic format. A further factor was DRM (Digital Rights Management) with 13% of votes cast indicating that the removal of DRM would be desirable. However, it was encouraging to note that only six votes flatly refused to even contemplate the idea of ebooks – although given that this poll was primarily circulated via Twitter, one has to consider the type of person who was partaking (generally tech-savvy types who would likely give serious thought to purchasing an eReader). Consequently, it is impossible to extrapolate these results across the general population (which makes you wonder why I bothered in the first place!), but it is fair to say that there is a high degree of interest in ebooks and certainly the poll suggests that a number of people could be persuaded to buy an eReader if the price is right. The interest is there, it is up to publishers and manufacturers to meet the demands of the consumers.

Ebooks, audiobooks and VAT

One of the factors keeping both ebooks and audiobooks high in price is the application of VAT at the full 15% rate. Printed books have been zero rated for VAT for sometime now and it is about time that a reduction in VAT was also applied to audiobooks and ebooks. Given that both formats have huge advantages for those who suffer from visual impairments, it seems hugely unfair that they should be penalised in this way. The EU has already voted to reduce VAT on these items, but it is entirely optional as to whether member states apply this ruling. In order to give the government a gentle nudge, there is currently a petition running at the No10 website urging a reduction on VAT on these items. At present there are only 21 signatures and there needs to be over 200 for there to be an official government response, so there is some way to go to reach the target. The petition closes on 20th November so that doesn’t give a lot of time. I would urge people to Tweet about this poll, spread the word and get as many people as possible to sign the petition. These technologies can be of great benefit to those who would otherwise be excluded, so I would urge everyone to support a reduction in VAT on them.

Facebook Group

Finally, I have set up an ebook Reader group on Facebook to share experiences with ebooks in whatever format they come in (including on the iPhone). If you are interested/curious/sceptical about ebooks, feel free to join the group and share your thoughts. With the imminent release of the Kindle over here, ebooks are going to get bigger and bigger and there will be much to ponder in terms of how their growth will affect libraries and retailers in the future.

The New Kindle

October 8, 2009 at 8:48 pm | In Public libraries, eBooks | 3 Comments
Tags: Amazon, e-book reader, e-books, Kindle, Public libraries, Sony Reader, Waterstone's

As you may be aware by now, Amazon have announced that their Kindle ebook reader will now be available in 100 countries across the globe. Couple this announcement with Sony’s recently released readers and things are getting very interesting in the ebook world. Of course the Kindle news isn’t without a downside. It will only be available to UK users through the US website at a cost of £200 once import duties are taken into account. Sadly, affordable ereaders are still a pipe dream at the moment.

That said, it is still exciting news. With the imminent UK release of the Kindle we will see some much needed competition in the ebook market over here. Sony has been by far and away the market leader, holding a fairly dominant position in the market for sometime. The release of the Kindle could, however, lead to a price war with the cost of the hardware decreasing and the appeal of owning a machine increasing. An added benefit may well be an improvement on the retailing side of ebooks. The current offering is still pretty poor with prices still not markedly different from paper copies. A new name on the market (and a leader in the largest ebook market – the US), could kickstart a revolution in the retailing of ebooks and make for a fare better customer experience (I get rather frustrated with the current offerings, Waterstone’s in particular has a poor site), as well as reduced prices for ebooks.

I remain optimistic about the future of ebooks and, when getting people’s views on ebooks, I sense that there is a lot of interest in them once a number of problems have been resolved. I believe that they will really start to take-off once Amazon fully enters the market here. For that reason, I think it is essential for public libraries to get onboard (in a considered way of course) as soon as is feasible. How great would it be for users to be able to ‘borrow’ your books and take them on holiday with them without physically taking the book? Borrowers wouldn’t have to worry about either losing their book while they are away or the baggage allowance (although admittedly losing the reader would be a major worry – although not for the library as the books will not be lost!). As for the ability to alter the size of the font, the advantages for those that rely on large print books are obvious.

In response to the growing media interest in ebooks, I have set up a twtpoll to see what would convince people to invest in an ereader. The poll closes on Sunday and I will post the results at the beginning of next week.

Ebooks – Is A Breakthrough Near?

September 15, 2009 at 4:57 pm | In eBooks | 5 Comments
Tags: Amazon, Borders, DRM, e-book reader, e-books, EPUB, Kindle, Sony Reader, Waterstone's, WHSmith

With the press coverage that has accompanied the release of the latest Dan Brown ‘novel’ (I’m not a fan!), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to look once more at ebooks and share a few thoughts of my own experiences, as well as what I think publishers need to do to ensure the success of the format.

It has been nine months now since I first got my hands on my Sony Reader. Although I have always read a great deal, I am not particularly precious about hard/paperbacks. The thing that has always been of primary concern to myself is the actual content. Now, some may say that there is nothing like the smell and feel of owning a book, and that may well be true for them but I don’t buy books for smell and appearance, I buy books because the content interests me. That’s not to say that the opposing view lacks legitimacy, it’s all about personal preference. At this point I feel I should re-iterate my position on ebooks and their place in the publishing world.

In my view, ebooks are simply an alternative format for the delivery of text. They will not replace paperbacks or hardbacks anymore than audio books have displaced paper copies. My attitude to ebooks is much the same as it is to MP3s. Some bands I set out to purchase hard copies of everything they release (in my case everything by Pearl Jam or Radiohead). Some other bands I will mainly buy hard copies, but the odd EP/single I will download (for example, I own all Bloc Party’s albums, but I only have digital copies of their EPs), whereas some others I will simply buy the digital download and that is all. For me, this is the same with ebooks. Should it be a book by Bret Easton Ellis, I will purchase a hard copy without hesitation. If it is an author I am less interested in, I will simply download a copy of the text (I have recently downloaded Slaughterhouse 5 having never read a Vonnegut before). To me, it is not a case of either/or, there is much more to it than that.

Anyway, I digress. I have been very happy with my Reader since I received it as a gift. I find it exceptionally easy to read from the screen and although there is a slight delay when turning pages, it has become barely noticeable with time. I like the way that I can carry a whole library of books around with me and dip in and out of any of them at any moment (aided by the fact that you can have multiple bookmarks on as many books as you like). I like the fact that I can organise them into collections (such as ‘non-fiction’, ‘fiction’ and ‘classics’ – you can categorise however you see fit) just like I was carrying my own personal library. One of the biggest benefits, however, has been when travelling. On my last trip to Spain I had read all the books that I had taken with me, leaving me nothing to read on the flight home. However, instead of rushing to the nearest bookshop and hunting down an English language text (both hard to find and ridiculously expensive), I visited the WHSmiths ebook store, found an appropriate title and downloaded it, all in a matter of minutes. Thus I ensured that I didn’t have to endure the flight home without something to read. Overall, my experiences with my Reader over the past 9 months have been very positive and it has become one of my best loved gadgets.

Despite my attachment to my Reader, there are a great many people out there who are very sceptical about ebooks. A recent poll in The Guardian suggested 77% of people would not consider using an ebook reader (although the poll itself is flawed as it uses the common either/or dichotomy which is not appropriate as I have already indicated). The comments that follow certainly seem to support this viewpoint (although they are perhaps misled by the false dichotomy of the poll in question). Whilst a number of comments relate to the physicality of books and an emotional attachment, there are a number of valid comments from people regarding the format itself.

Although the potential for ebooks is great, there are still a number of factors that need to be addressed for the sceptics to be won over and for ebooks to become a popular alternative:

Reduce the price of ebooks and readers – The cost of ebooks is still far too high compared to paper copies. When you also factor in the cost of the equipment needed to read ebooks, it is clearly an expensive option. A case in point: Dan Brown’s heavily promoted novel is retailing for £13.29 in ebook format and the hardback is available for £4.99 at Amazon.
Publish more ebooks – Although more and more ebooks are coming onto the market all the time (and perhaps more will after the release of Dan Brown’s latest), there is still not enough choice to warrant the purchase of a reader. Even now, it is quite a rare thing for me to find something that I really want to read in ebook format.
Support one format - The best way for ebooks to succeed is for one solitary format to be the preferred method of delivery. Amazon are still promoting their format over all others for obvious reasons. EPUB would be the preferable option (in fact that format is pretty much accepted as standard now so one wonders how Amazon intend on proceeding with their format).
Address DRM – Digital Rights Management is still a concern. Whilst some ebooks have been relaxed regarding DRM (Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science allows 35 copies every 7 days) others off no such relaxation. If ebooks were to take off, the DRM issue needs to be seriously considered and addressed, particularly with the associated danger of losing your entire collection.
Improved retailing – At present, ebook retailing in the UK is pretty poor at best. There is a very limited choice of retailers (at present you can only purchase through Waterstone’s, WHSmiths and Borders) and the actual purchasing experience through any of these retailers is pretty poor (the fact that WHSmiths of all places is the best tells you all you need to know about the state of ebook retailing in the UK). There needs to be a dedicated UK based ebook retailer who can provide a much better purchasing experience).

Although addressing these issues would not necessarily ensure a bright future for ebooks on their own, they would remove some of the doubts in people’s minds about the rationality of purchasing an ebook reader. If these issues are not addressed, ebooks are in danger of becoming very much a niche product that will never break into the mainstream, no matter how hard manufacturers try to appeal to the iPod generation.

The Customer and Public Libraries

September 8, 2009 at 9:58 pm | In Public libraries | 2 Comments
Tags: classification, customer services, fiction, library usage, non-fiction, Public libraries

A little while ago I wrote a post about classifying fiction in public libraries. I had been trying to decide whether it was a good idea to remove genre distinctions from the fiction shelves and go for a straight A-Z run. After much thought, I decided to stick with our current system of a mixture of A-Z plus a few genre categories. Having temporarily resolved that one in my mind, I then started thinking on broader terms about what our customers want from their public library. What changes could be made to improve the user’s experience? Funnily enough, having gone through another period of analysis and brain storming with colleagues, the module I am currently studying on Collection Management provoked a few more ideas on how to ensure the best possible service for our borrowers.

The module has prompted some more ideas and challenged some of my beliefs about what does make a user-friendly public library service. For example, when I first started at my current place of work, the non-fiction section was a mixture of stock ordered in Dewey order, but broken up by the odd category here or there. This I found too confusing so I proposed that we re-arrange it into a single run from 000-999. This meant that we didn’t have a dilemma about where some stock should be shelved, making it easier for staff to locate the item. Of course, this was the fatal flaw. It may be easier for the staff, but it is not necessarily easier for the borrower. I know a lot of libraries have switched to the bookshop format of categorised non-fiction and it seems to work quite well. In fact, one study I read noted that, after one month of utilising such a system, Bexley library saw issues in non-fiction stock rise by 30% – pretty impressive statistics¹. So maybe we should all be doing this after all? Or is it unwise to take one example from one library nearly 20 years ago and apply that across the board. Would be interested to hear what your thoughts are.

There were also some other interesting assertions that came from my reading today. For example:

Of those found to have no books in the home only 6% belonged to a library. Subsequent studies have confirmed that reading and book ownership relates strongly to library use.²

That was something I had never really considered before. I tended to believe that people who didn’t have many books at home were more likely to use their local library. Shows what I know! It was also interesting to note the following:

Library members, like the book readers, are predominantly young, middle-class and well educated³.

Again, this makes sense. Libraries are always struggling to get working class families to use the library service and are constantly trying to find ways to attract them to their local library. But why do they not use the service? As was noted in the article:

Libraries do not change the social situation, they reinforce it.

It is of great concern that those that would most benefit from their local library service seem to use it less than the affluent middle classes. What causes this? Is it a lack of awareness of what the library service could offer? Is it disinterest? Whatever the cause, it is very worrying.

There was one other statistic that got me thinking:

7% of borrowers account for 38% of issues
18% of borrowers account for 62% of issues⁴

So the vast majority of issues are down to less than 20% of all borrowers. One-in-five of our borrowers who come into the library will be ‘heavy’ users of book stock, whilst the remaining 82% are ‘casual’ users who use the library as and when they need. The challenge is getting that 80% to use the library more regularly than they do – which could be particularly difficult given that they use the library according to their individual needs.

I guess some of these assertions should have been obvious to me. Whether it was down to naivety or inexperience I hadn’t really given these much thought. I am well aware of the importance of getting working class families to use their local library, but I had never fully considered that there was such a class divide when it came to libraries – particularly when you consider the role of the public library. Although I guess there wouldn’t be much point in studying the course if all of this was already at the forefront of my mind. Besides, you can have assumption but until you see cold, hard facts, it’s all pretty intangible. I’ll try not to feel so bad about my obvious naivety!

¹ Partridge, Jan (1992). Dumping Dewey: Promoting the Collection through Categorisation. Libraries: the Heart of the Matter: Proceedings of the ALIA Second Biennial Conference. Maryborough, Thorpe, 274-6

² Smith, Ian (1999). What do we know about public library use? Aslib Proceedings, 51 (9) 302-314

³ Smith, Ian (1999). What do we know about public library use? Aslib Proceedings, 51 (9) 302-314

⁴Smith, Ian (1999). What do we know about public library use? Aslib Proceedings, 51 (9) 302-314

Getting Back on the Horse

September 2, 2009 at 10:01 pm | In Studies | 2 Comments
Tags: blogs, Study, writer's block

Studying has been a little tricky of late (and blogging for that matter) due to a number of factors however, I am really determined now to up the pace and get back on course. My progress wasn’t helped by my desktop packing up and deciding it had had enough. This put a real crimp on my studies especially as I hadn’t backed up my data for a little while (a cardinal sin I know). Although we have a laptop, this is not ideal as typing for long periods can be very uncomfortable (I have actually had to invest in some wrist supports for my newly repaired desktop as I have been feeling a little pain in my wrists – hopefully it will fade….). However, the lack of a desktop did highlight one utility I had hitherto overlooked – cloud computing. I will certainly look into using Google Docs a lot more often in the future (as well as instigating a cast iron back-up routine using my external hard drive), and I would certainly recommend it anyone that hasn’t used it (although I have some reservations).

Anyway, as well as increasing the pace on my studies, I will be aiming to blog a little more often than I have been recently. Scrub that, I will be blogging more regularly. There is certainly plenty of interestto discuss at the moment. Conservative policy towards libraries, the recent comments by James Murdoch about BBC and what his intentions mean for the information society not to mention the recent price reduction of the Sony Reader and Sony’s announcement of new models. With all that to mull over, I should have plenty to blog about!

Is Murdoch Heralding The End of Free News?

August 7, 2009 at 12:47 pm | In Information Society, Public libraries | 5 Comments
Tags: blogs, free content, information, information divide, Information resources, Murdoch, newspaper, Public libraries

With Rupert Murdoch’s announcement that News Corp will start charging for content on the internet, there has been much talk about what the implications are in a society that is used to accessing such content for free. Whilst it is only News Corp at the moment who are looking at this, it will almost certainly lead to other newspaper groups considering their options. Will others follow suite? Or will Murdoch’s media empire be the sole crusader against free news? As a library student, I will be hoping that it is the latter rather than the former (although I also don’t think it makes much business sense either – it won’t increase revenue as long as other groups keep content free).

One of many problems associated with this move is the impact it will have on public libraries. For years now, public libraries have been able to access news content on the internet from reliable sources free of charge. Suddenly, that looks like it could be threatened by this move. How will public libraries be able to afford to subscribe to a range of newspapers should others follow suit? Certainly it seems unlikely that they would be able to subscribe to every national newspaper. But cost isn’t the only concern.

Although the idea is to charge for news content, ensuring that only subscribers can access it, in practice this will be very difficult to manage. In an era when anyone can publish information for all to see, what is to stop a subscriber from copying chunks of news content and publishing it on a blog? Very little. Sure, it risks breaching copyright, but as we saw with the distribution of music files it still happened. Once these extracts are published on blogs they will be distributed far and wide making it virtually impossible to prosecute everyone involved in its distribution. And therein lies the other problem for libraries: the temptation to rely on blogs for news content. It would be very tempting to rely on a freely accessible blog rather than worrying about having to pay for content – quite possible leading to inaccurate information being disseminated. Good news for bloggers who want to make a name for themselves, bad news for those who require access to accurate information. (Although that doesn’t mean that I have a problem with allsuch content. There are some excellent blogs out there and I also see the value of resources such as Wikipedia, it just means more care needs to be taken.)

It will be interesting to see if anyone else does follow suit or whether this is a massive error by a newspaper owner who has never really got to grips with the internet. Personally, for the sake of access to information, I hope that the majority of newspapers continue to carry freely accessible content.

New Sony Reader?

July 31, 2009 at 7:50 pm | In eBooks | 1 Comment
Tags: Amazon, e-book reader, e-books, Kindle, Sony Reader, wireless

A member of the MobileRead forum has posted some information on the rumoured next generation Sony Reader. The poster quoted a source on the Sony Insider forum who claimed to have discovered two service manuals for the supposed new Readers. According to this source the models are called the PRS-300 and the PRS-600:

The Sony Reader PRS300

PRS-300: 5″ screen, no touch screen, no audio output, no card slots, ~440MB user partition, 220g.

The Sony Reader PRS-600

PRS-600: 6″ screen, touch screen, audio output, SD/MS slots, ~380MB user partition, 286g.

As with the PRS-505, it is rumoured that these models do not have a wireless connection or built in light. Personally I do not find that too much of a problem, especially in light of the Kindle/Orwell debacle. As the Sony Reader is the market leader in the UK at the moment, wireless probably isn’t a major concern. Should the Kindle make it to Europe however, it could be a very different story.

Update

Engadget has more details on these models:

If said sheets are to be believed, the 5-inch (800 x 600 resolution) Sony PRS300-RC Reader Pocket Edition will ship with 512MB of onboard memory, PC and Mac support, a battery good for 7,500 page turns and USB 2.0 connectivity. The 6-inch (800 x 600 resolution) PRS600-SC Reader Touch Edition checks in at 0.4-inches thin and boasts a virtual keyboard, doodle capability, 512MB of storage, a built-in English e-dictionary, PC and Mac support and the same battery as on the smaller sibling.