The URL for my website is:
http://www.pitt.edu/~ces76/
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Unit 11: Web Search and OAI Protocol
OAI Protocol
This article, filled with acronyms, gives an overview of OAI-MPH (open archives initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting—specifically what its original purpose for creation was and the different ways it’s being used today. OAI’s original goal was to provide access to “diverse e-print archives through metadata harvesting”, but is now used in a variety of communities. The article highlights three of these communities, which include: Open Language Archives Community, The Sheet Music Consortium, and the National Science Digital Library. The Open Lang. Archives uses OAI to create a “network of repositories” from 27 metadata harvesters. The Sheet Music Consortium utilizes the Dublin Core to describe sheet music, which is a cataloging challenge. OAI provides a means of “virtual collection”. For the Nat’l Science Digital Library, OAI acts as the aggregator of metadata. It’s interesting that OAI’s original purpose has branched out to help a wide range of communities in the information world.
Web Search Engines, Parts 1 & 2
After reading, I’ve realized that I had never given much thought to what goes into a search engine producing the results that it does. I am amazed not only at what a complex process this is, but also how incredibly quickly we are given our search results. Another important aspect of the search engines is their PageRank. This popularity score given to web pages ensures us that if we search for “University of Pittsburgh”, we are almost guaranteed that the school’s website will be the first hit in the list, rather than some random person’s website that says they graduated from the “University of Pittsburgh” in 1989.
The Deep Web
Like most topics in the readings for this class, I didn’t know much about the Deep Web. This article provides quite a bit of information regarding information buried on the web. It makes me wonder what I’m missing out on when researching and just fooling around online. I was amazed to read that, “Public information on the deep Web is currently 400-550 times larger than commonly defined on the WWW”. This number could be even greater now since this article was written in 2001. The article also states that ‘directed query technology’ is the method necessary to bring deep and surface web information together.
This article, filled with acronyms, gives an overview of OAI-MPH (open archives initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting—specifically what its original purpose for creation was and the different ways it’s being used today. OAI’s original goal was to provide access to “diverse e-print archives through metadata harvesting”, but is now used in a variety of communities. The article highlights three of these communities, which include: Open Language Archives Community, The Sheet Music Consortium, and the National Science Digital Library. The Open Lang. Archives uses OAI to create a “network of repositories” from 27 metadata harvesters. The Sheet Music Consortium utilizes the Dublin Core to describe sheet music, which is a cataloging challenge. OAI provides a means of “virtual collection”. For the Nat’l Science Digital Library, OAI acts as the aggregator of metadata. It’s interesting that OAI’s original purpose has branched out to help a wide range of communities in the information world.
Web Search Engines, Parts 1 & 2
After reading, I’ve realized that I had never given much thought to what goes into a search engine producing the results that it does. I am amazed not only at what a complex process this is, but also how incredibly quickly we are given our search results. Another important aspect of the search engines is their PageRank. This popularity score given to web pages ensures us that if we search for “University of Pittsburgh”, we are almost guaranteed that the school’s website will be the first hit in the list, rather than some random person’s website that says they graduated from the “University of Pittsburgh” in 1989.
The Deep Web
Like most topics in the readings for this class, I didn’t know much about the Deep Web. This article provides quite a bit of information regarding information buried on the web. It makes me wonder what I’m missing out on when researching and just fooling around online. I was amazed to read that, “Public information on the deep Web is currently 400-550 times larger than commonly defined on the WWW”. This number could be even greater now since this article was written in 2001. The article also states that ‘directed query technology’ is the method necessary to bring deep and surface web information together.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Unit 10: Digital Libraries
Digital Libraries: Challenges and Influential Work
One of the details that struck me in the article is the fact that there are over 80,000 online journals. My guess is that since this article was published in 2005, there are now an even greater number of online journals. It’s interesting to think just how much digital libraries have changed over the course of the past 10-15 years, especially when you think of how much technology has changed in these years as well.
Dewey Meets Turing
First, I never imagined hearing that Digital Libraries have “sex appeal”. Awesome.
But seriously, before starting the program here at Pitt, I never imagined that the computer science field and library field were so closely related. The two go hand in hand. Digital libraries ultimately do change traditional librarianship. However, as the article writes, “the core function of librarianship remains”. We still are collectors and organizers of information, and we are still serving the needs of patrons. Digital libraries just change the way that this happens and what it looks like.
Institutional Repositories
Repository was a foreign word to me before the beginning of this semester. An institutional repository can be a great resource for faculty and students alike in a university (or other setting). Security is certainly an issue for repositories though, which cannot be overlooked. Repositories should not be formed haphazardly, but given great thought and planning before launched.
One of the details that struck me in the article is the fact that there are over 80,000 online journals. My guess is that since this article was published in 2005, there are now an even greater number of online journals. It’s interesting to think just how much digital libraries have changed over the course of the past 10-15 years, especially when you think of how much technology has changed in these years as well.
Dewey Meets Turing
First, I never imagined hearing that Digital Libraries have “sex appeal”. Awesome.
But seriously, before starting the program here at Pitt, I never imagined that the computer science field and library field were so closely related. The two go hand in hand. Digital libraries ultimately do change traditional librarianship. However, as the article writes, “the core function of librarianship remains”. We still are collectors and organizers of information, and we are still serving the needs of patrons. Digital libraries just change the way that this happens and what it looks like.
Institutional Repositories
Repository was a foreign word to me before the beginning of this semester. An institutional repository can be a great resource for faculty and students alike in a university (or other setting). Security is certainly an issue for repositories though, which cannot be overlooked. Repositories should not be formed haphazardly, but given great thought and planning before launched.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Unit 9: XML
Reading Notes
From my understanding, XML is a more sophisticated markup language than XML. Its tags allow document formatting to be easily transferred between different systems and software. As Bergholz wrote in "Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial", "meaningful annotation is, in essence what XML is all about".The tags are more descriptive to the elements of the document and have a start and end just as HTML tags do. XML seems more logical and explicit. Another difference between HTML & XML is that HTML is used mostly for web layout. I found Bergholz's tutorial article to be the most helpful article in understanding XML. The W3 school's XML tutorial is also a great resource.
From my understanding, XML is a more sophisticated markup language than XML. Its tags allow document formatting to be easily transferred between different systems and software. As Bergholz wrote in "Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial", "meaningful annotation is, in essence what XML is all about".The tags are more descriptive to the elements of the document and have a start and end just as HTML tags do. XML seems more logical and explicit. Another difference between HTML & XML is that HTML is used mostly for web layout. I found Bergholz's tutorial article to be the most helpful article in understanding XML. The W3 school's XML tutorial is also a great resource.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Unit 9 Muddiest Point
I am a Mac user, and wondering what program to use to write my HTML code for Assignment 6 since I don't have "Notepad" on my computer. Is it the "TextEdit" application?
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Assignment 5: Koha
My Koha bookshelf list:
http://upitt01-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=53
My Koha username is CES76 and list name is "Cooking and Food-C.Stalker".
http://upitt01-staff.kwc.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/virtualshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=53
My Koha username is CES76 and list name is "Cooking and Food-C.Stalker".
Unit 8: HTML & Web Authoring Software
HTML Tutorial & HTML Cheatsheet
I took a basic technology class during undergrad and had to create a website with HTML code, so this site was a useful refresher. It had some useful tips, though I did find the website a little hard to navigate, It was hard to tell at first what the actual content of the site was, and what was advertisements or links to other areas of the web site. The cheatsheet is also a great resource to have all the handy tags in one place.
CSS Tutorial
I remember discussing Cascading Style Sheets in my previous technology class, but couldn't have told you much about it before reading this web page. HTML defines what is contained within a document, while CSS defines what the document looks like and how it's formatted (or defines the HTML). You can't have CSS without first having HTML.
"Beyond HTML"
This article outlines CMS, or content management systems at the Georgia State University Library. The libraries at GSU implemented a web-based development system. This article outlines the methods used to test the systems and the outcomes. The researchers found that the system allowed the libraries to have a great control over the user interface and also managing the content of the system and the collection as well, especially in using templates. Despite the success they found, these new systems have not been implemented in each library at the university. This kind of change would take a lot of preparation, both technologically, and in preparing both staff and patrons for the change as well.
I took a basic technology class during undergrad and had to create a website with HTML code, so this site was a useful refresher. It had some useful tips, though I did find the website a little hard to navigate, It was hard to tell at first what the actual content of the site was, and what was advertisements or links to other areas of the web site. The cheatsheet is also a great resource to have all the handy tags in one place.
CSS Tutorial
I remember discussing Cascading Style Sheets in my previous technology class, but couldn't have told you much about it before reading this web page. HTML defines what is contained within a document, while CSS defines what the document looks like and how it's formatted (or defines the HTML). You can't have CSS without first having HTML.
"Beyond HTML"
This article outlines CMS, or content management systems at the Georgia State University Library. The libraries at GSU implemented a web-based development system. This article outlines the methods used to test the systems and the outcomes. The researchers found that the system allowed the libraries to have a great control over the user interface and also managing the content of the system and the collection as well, especially in using templates. Despite the success they found, these new systems have not been implemented in each library at the university. This kind of change would take a lot of preparation, both technologically, and in preparing both staff and patrons for the change as well.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Unit 7: Muddiest Point
After class today, I am wondering more of what the difference is between HTTP and HTTPS. I'm a bit confused between the two.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Unit 7: Internet and WWW Technologies
"How Stuff Works" Article
I found this article to be more confusing than clarifying, particularly the "Internet Network Example". I suppose that I understand the basics, but one thing that just baffles me is the speed at which this all happens. Especially when I think back to my family's first laptop, which I believe was on loan from my dad's work. We would hook up that clunker to our phone line and it just took an unbelievable amount of time to accomplish anything. But to think of the changes that have taken place is just incredible!
"Dismantling Integrated Library Systems"
I had never heard of an integrated library system (ILS) before reading this article. It seems that a great deal of research must be done by a library before selecting an ILS, especially because of the interoperability between vendors. It seems there's no easy solution in selecting an ILS or in finding a fixable solution for an already existing ILS.
Google Video
I found this video to be very interesting. I was surprised by how young both the founders are and how down to earth they seem. As a teacher, the fact that they both attended Montessori School struck me. I also found it interesting that they allow their staff to work on these "Googlettes", or the smaller projects within the company. It seems like more companies could learn from how they operate and would benefit from the work environment they've created within the company. From what I've heard, the Pittsburgh office of Google is much the same.
I found this article to be more confusing than clarifying, particularly the "Internet Network Example". I suppose that I understand the basics, but one thing that just baffles me is the speed at which this all happens. Especially when I think back to my family's first laptop, which I believe was on loan from my dad's work. We would hook up that clunker to our phone line and it just took an unbelievable amount of time to accomplish anything. But to think of the changes that have taken place is just incredible!
"Dismantling Integrated Library Systems"
I had never heard of an integrated library system (ILS) before reading this article. It seems that a great deal of research must be done by a library before selecting an ILS, especially because of the interoperability between vendors. It seems there's no easy solution in selecting an ILS or in finding a fixable solution for an already existing ILS.
Google Video
I found this video to be very interesting. I was surprised by how young both the founders are and how down to earth they seem. As a teacher, the fact that they both attended Montessori School struck me. I also found it interesting that they allow their staff to work on these "Googlettes", or the smaller projects within the company. It seems like more companies could learn from how they operate and would benefit from the work environment they've created within the company. From what I've heard, the Pittsburgh office of Google is much the same.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 6 Muddiest Point
At this point I think I'm just struggling with keeping the terms and acronyms straight and remembering what's what.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Assignment 4: Personal Bibliographic Management Systems
This project was completed using Google Scholar, Zotero, and CiteULike.
My CiteULike Library:
http://www.citeulike.org/user/caitlinstalker
My CiteULike Library:
http://www.citeulike.org/user/caitlinstalker
Assignment 3: Jing
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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