Libraries Are 31337

tiltowait writes In response to the incredulity expressed in this story about the technical prowess of libraries, I'd like to present a short essay titled "Librarians: We're Not What You Think" - read on for more. Update: 10/20 18:15 GMT by M : The author has also put up his essay on his own webpage. From the spinster librarian in It's a Wonderful Life to the crochety archivist in Attack of the Clones, librarians are often portrayed (in everything from movies, musicals, children's books, literature, science fiction, comics and cartoons to pornography - yes, pornography) as something less than noble or admirable. The perception of librarians has been a popular topic recently, with several articles focusing on the fringe-type librarians (ska, rockabilly, bellydancing, modified, bodybuilding, laughing, and lipstick). Although something of an anti-stereotype, these people illustrate the range of librarian personalities.

Many people may hold the image of a librarian as a shushing school marm who does little more than stamp and shelve books because that's all they've seen librarians do. Well think again - that's about as inaccurate as believing that Alan Greenspan is nothing more than a glorified bank teller. The job titles may change but the mission of the profession remains the same: organize information and help people find it. Libraries have been around a lot longer than the Internet, and even library technology can hold its own with the best out there. For example, Google's savvy results ranking was hardly the birth of citation analysis (next up: metadata - cough, cataloging, cough), and there are enormous library systems that also predate the Internet.

Although library geeks and technology nerds may have contrary images, in today's world the boundary between the career of the librarian and the information technologist is disappearing. Librarians today not only administer Web servers and dynamic databases to help manage large digital collections and thousands of electronic resources, they teach people how to use library systems. And just as enlightened computer engineers are advocates of noncommercial software and campaign for online rights, the library profession has a long history of staunchly defending freedom - from book burnings to the FBI's Library Awareness Program to the latest copyright battles and almost all other current issues in intellectual freedom.

Check out LISNews.com (recognize the format?) and some library blogs if you're interested in reading more about real librarians.

Comments

Memepool.com was talking about this...

[PDHoss]

... a while back. Right from their site:

"Although the general public often seems surprised when librarians don't fit their pre-conceived image, the profession has celebrated its own differences for years. Librarians are funny, irreverent, interesting, and often radical people. Though popular culture includes considerable library material, it often ignores those on the fringe."

PDHoss

Librarians

[yar]

I have a library degree.
In "library school" things I learned about included information architecture, web design, HTML, XML, Javascript and CSS, metadata, authentication and authenticity, network and information security, databases (Access, mySQL) how to install and run Linux, and most importantly how to organize and present information. It was library school that introduced me to Open Source adn Free Software. The basic fuctions and principles of libraries and librarians are probably the most useful of the bunch, even in my current tech job.

ALA

[alexc]

A good thing about the American Library Assocition, there are against DMCA and other potential laws that reduce fair use. That is a good thing for open source.

We have the technology....

[tiltowait]

the freedom to take a digital copy of the book, leaving the original on the shelf for someone who is not able to use a digital copy.

The biggest impediment to the type of access you describe nowadays isn't the technology, it's capitalism and all its derivatives, such as copyright.

Case in point: A few years ago, the ebook vendor netLibrary offered an offline reader. This product was removed due to publisher paranoia. Currently you can only view netLibrary titles one page at a time while connected to the Internet. Furthermore, despite the medium, only one patron per purchasing library can check out a book at any given time. But never fear, now they're offering - for an extra fee - the ability to use a (somewhat) DRM crippled offline reader.

Publishers are about as up to date with technology and new pricing models as the RIAA. Copyrights disputes have been cited as the reason several publishers have pulled their titles from full-text databases. So instead of moving towards the single search box method for library resources, we now have hundreds of competing library database vendors, each with different coverage and search interfaces. It is the most difficulty time in history to do library research (and the slack that Google is picking up is a detriment to research skills) not just because of varying library materials formats, but because of copyright.

Libraries Are 31337

Re:librarians

[edmcw]

Disturbing fact: A number of years ago, I worked as a library custodian; my responsibilities included throwing away the donated books the librarians didn't think they could sell. It frequently amounted to several hundred books a week, many of them very cool. (My personal library certainly benefitted.) I doubt this is true of all libraries, but at that particular library, donated books never made it into the stacks. I've been a lot less enthusiastic about donating ever since.

Re:what every library needs is...

[mccalli]

We used to guilletine standard books (ie. those still in print), because they were easily replaceable. They'd then be fed through an automatic document feeder, converted to 300dpi TIFFs, then the book would be restiched by another company involved in the contract.

For the rare stuff, like original Isaac Newton Principalia Optica and the French Academy of Science journals from the 1700s, we'd take photographs of every page, then scan the photographs. The original book never went through and scanner, as it was too frail.

Sounds a bit less destructive than the process you're describing.

Cheers,
Ian

Behind the scenes at a library.

[psychopracter]

I work as a Library Asst III for the state of Nevada. I'm soon to be a Library Technican I. The time I spend on the reference desk answering questions is only some of what I do, although what I do there is also very important. I'm expected to know how to use a large variety of specialized subject databases to help patrons find information. I'm expected to know how to use a large variety of paper indexes to help people find information that predates the PC age. I am my department's technical writer. I will shortly maintain several in-house databases for collections that have no cataloging. I also write and maintain webpages. I am also the co-expert on the university's microforms collection. I have to know which collections are cataloged, which aren't, and what finding tools are avalible. Though I have my areas of specialization, I'm also expected to be something of a polymath and know enough about all subjects to get *anybody* started on research. And I don't even have the MLS or MLIS. A lot more is expected from those who do. And even in the pre internet age, library staff did a lot behind the scenes to make their collections as accessable as possible to people.

Re:call em information broker

[Gonzoman]

I agree. Google is a wonderful tool, but it cannot compare with information that is actually cataloged. The other reason for not going completely digital is that information stored digitally is not stable. Just think how easy it would be for someone like Ashcroft to change history if there were no hard copy records. Or when we find out our 30 year cd's crap out after five years.

Re:call em information broker

[zeugma-amp]

Another reason we haven't gone further in converting the dead trees to bits is because copyright is just so darn long.

99%+ of everything ever published is under copyright now that it has become pretty much perpetual.

Project Gutenberg's site has some information about this. They've also managed to scan thousands of books that existed prior to 1920. I think they are up to about 6 or 7 new books posted per month.

There are also other efforts out there doing essentially the same thing. You might want to check out the Online Books Page for even more titles.

The progress made so far in this effort despite the efforts of corporate interests to destroy the very concept of the Public Domain are really pretty astounding.

Re:Agree in Houston - libraries going wireless

[Om242]

How very odd that I read this on here. I happen to work for the very library that the representative is from. :)

I work at Harris County Public Library (www.hcpl.net), in the the information technology area. Basically the central office where all 27 branches are connected to throughout Houston.

Personally, I'm their 'Linux guy' to make my job description short. I admin a small Linux network that works alongside the Windows network which provides various functions for the network as a whole. Network monitoring (using MRTG/RDDTools for display on a web page), IDS (using Snort and Demarc) and backups (backup sendmail server, and web server)

What my collegue and I are attemping to do, is utlilize some freeware software called Nocat (runs on Linux, www.nocat.net) which will allow patrons to the various libraries to walk in with a laptop (and a wireless card), turn it on, and open up IE. The NoCat system which is running as an 'open network' will send DHCP info, and route the http Post to an authentication server, and send the user a login box, which will then (if login succesful) relax the firewall to allow that particular DHCP address to access you're regular ports (80 for the web, and whatever else we feel like allowing them).

I wont get into any more details, but, in my opinion, this really does have interesting implications that I just started to grasp as I was working on this project.

A PUBLIC ISP?

Think about that a bit... seems pretty neat to me as wireless gets more powerful.

++John

Databases of gold

[certron]

If you want a reason to go to a library, do it for the online databases they subscribe to. Most impressive to me were the image databases, specifically the art museums and the AP photo archive (you can even search by predominant hue of the photo).

Check out www.libraries.rutgers.edu for an example of how much stuff is out there. Some of them are subscription-only, so see if there is a large school near you that has the same services. They have remote access capabilities, but I'll leave that up to the reader to figure out.

I'm not afraid to say it, librarians can be quite l33t. If you look at it from a pseudo-hacker perspective, they have access and control over massive massive amounts of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. They can help you find what you are loking for, too! Can it get bettter than that? Well, uh... Don't answer that one. :-)

Although it is amusing to see what happens to be filed under "throbbing elbow" on google, it can't always compete with all the specialized databases out there that your library might subscribe to. Give it a shot, worst thing that happens is that someone things you are a geek for going to the library. But hey, you are reading this comment, so what does that make you? :-) (a reader of this comment, nothing more)