Pre-installed VM Versus Building My Own

To be quite honest, I think I liked building our own VM. At least for me this provided more insight so that I understood what the requirements were and what elements were needed to make a VM work. Having a pre-installed VM didn’t give me the complete perspective and especially the appreciation for a VM. The preconfigured solution did not mean that I dedicated more time to the collection. Instead I dedicated myself to other things that needed to be done. In having to perform the configuration I felt that I forced myself to be thinking of why certain configurations were necessary and how they would fit into the overall creation of the VM and add to the functionality. Yes, for me I would definitely have to say that loosing the opportunity to learn about how a repository is structured and modified from scratch prevented me from getting a better grasp on the repository as a whole and how there are different elements that provide differ features and also how some depend on each other, this forced me to think about the collection from the beginning. This is as opposed to dealing with a collection and not having an understanding of how it can be used within the repository and what a repository has as its main and potential features to enhance your collection or that limit your collection. I most definitely have to say that my preference is to build my own. This will remain true as long as the instruction tell us what we are doing and why.

Unit 8: Service Provider Review

The service providers I have selected are as follows:

1) METALIS: Service Provider for the Library and Information Science field. We harvest metadata from institutions that offer full-text papers and documents about Library and Information Science

2) OASIC : Search engine for french articles, memories and thesis in Communication and Information Sciences. It provides a single point of access to a significant number of Open Archives in these areas.

3) Scirus: Concentrates on scientific content only and by searching both web and (often proprietary) databases. Scirus' aim is to provide scientists with one comprehensive search platform covering both the web and the normally "invisible" databases. Scirus now harvests Open Archives data.

A good federated search I would offer has several characteristics. Some characteristics that come to mind are that a federated search should…

• Have a high level retrieval effectiveness of individual collections/resources. If each collection/resources does not have good metadata the results will also mediocre.
• Retrieving unique results across different resources
• The ability to be able to present the search results is a meaningful way to the user, either by categorizing the results that came from a specific collection, by a certain author and the like.
• Be sustainable as the number of collections being searched grows.

I do feel that the service providers were good overall examples of employing federates searches for the reasons discussed above and especially for the reason I address below in being a source of similar information and thus producing a better searh results page from a specified query.

Some sites may choose to index metadata from a large number of repositories and my outlook on this is that has both its advantages as it does its drawback. For example, if the College of Arts and Humanities is implementing a repository then it would serve a great purpose if the contents and collections were of relevancy and within a certain scope so that its community could make most of the information. An individual not seeking information in this area of expertise or interest would not find this repository of the highest value. In that sense, if a repository is made up of a large quantity of unlike and broad disciplines, then the usefulness to the focused user would diminish. Generally speaking, we categorize the like with the like and similarly my thought would agree with a repository. The amount repositories indexed is not a problem so much as that resource has a defined purpose. Have repositories of unique and unrelated meta data can slow things down and just present other challenges, such a process of elimination for search results for the user.

Unit 7: Catalog Record Challenges

There were two distinct challenges that I experienced in cataloging my items:

Challenge #1: Selecting the Subject Listing

This proved not to be as straight-forward as I expected, especially considering there is a wide range of possible subjects. In my situation where I found myself having to make a decision, and having to really consider what really my deposit was, was deciding the most appropriate subject. Specifically. for a couple of images I ended up deciding to choose “T Technology > TR Photography” as the subject. Technology really would not have been my first thought. Originally I started out thinking the subject that best suited the images of my children was “N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General)”. This is because such an image depending on what I may use the image for can be considered visual arts as it is an image that has a purpose to produce general feelings through the sense of seeing, the visual aspect of our senses. Ultimately I decided that the best subject was “T Technology > TR Photography” because the images will be many and not all of them will used as art, but instruments of memory and personal gratification that came through the use if technology, the digital camera which produced a digital image.

Challenge #2: Selecting the appropriate keywords

I had to ask myself if this was supposed to be something different than the text I inputted in the “abstract” field. Generally speaking, they were always the same because the words that were used depict the abstract were keyword terms that appropriately and most accurately described the image. I then decided the keywords needed to have a set of rules or guidelines, especially in the word tense and other grammatical distinctions. This is so that when that when I, or others, are attempting to search for an item the conventions will be set forth so that searches do not produce empty results as a consequences of choosing to input the wrong word choice, for example inputting a verb as or a plural instead of a noun or the single form of a word. This will increase search timing and increase system efficiency in locating and displaying the correct results.

As far as approaching the problem of consistency I believe it is important to set conventions and guidelines when inputting information in fields such as “keywords” and “abstracts” as well as “subject”. This will minimize the potential for error in search results and it will improve efficiencies and produce a well formed, balanced and predictable repository system. I mean this in the sense that if the user follows the conventions/guidelines in the text they input they can predictable results that correspond to their search terms.

Unit 5: Drupal Discussion

I installed the Link module, it is CCK content field which let me add a link to my content types. I was able to decide if I wanted to include URL, title, and optionally a target attribute.

Now that I have had the opportunity to experiment with some modules I can a much better grasp of how Drupal can help me manage my image collection. Different modules add to the cleanliness of the entering and updating data. Also, I like how I can prevent errors is making certain characteristics required or through the “Help” text box let the user know what I am expecting them to type in and how. Such error checking and specificity will allow me to confide more in others to enter data, and at the way that I and it, not how they happened to enter the information. I will not have to rely on if they remember how I wanted information entered. I also do not have to think about the potential deletion of items, I can specify what each user has the capability of doing. Overall, I have to say that I have a very positive impression of this product. Even though you provided the instructions, it was easy to use and navigate. Again, these assignments also allowed me to accomplish 2 things, very important at that. I can a now have a very real and likely option for my digital collection as well as a minor understanding of how this may work in an organization setting as with an intranet. Instead of having to hear a presentation of the prepackaged CMS, this allowed me to have a better understanding of the behind the scenes requirement of such a product. Very cool!

Unit 3: Thoughts on Taking 2 Classes

Taking two classes has definitely been much more challenging, especially because the majority of the students are adults with families and professions. Someone it is a much more unique than the undergraduate experience of a par-time job with no kids and other responsibilities. I have to say that what is most noticeable to me in the amount of reading that is done each week for each class. The technical portion of it I find to be less noticeable, I believe because I enjoy this aspect of the course. So as far as the pace of the technology assignments I think the pace is appropriate. The reading may be reduced a bit, but then again it may seem like a lot to me because both courses are requiring quite a bit. I think more discussion on such topics is more interactive instead of one specific discussion question and it will make it more interesting.

I know I have already this before, but I appreciate the clearness of the instructions when we are doing our technology assignments. The steps are very easy to follow and the fact that you provide the reason for such commands makes grasping the concepts and commands understandable.

Unit 2: CMS Article Discussion

In reading CMS/CMS: content management system/change management strategies I quickly related to the change concept. This is because the Phoenix Public Library is in phases of changing its virtual presence. Just like the article stated a "committee" has formed to make strategical and tactical decisions in the direction the virtual library presence will take. For this reason different people, at different levels and outlooks were selected as part of this group. Prior to this there was another group that was established with the best interest of the website. What ended up happening was that the meeting turned into brain-storming seminars about the cool things for the library website to employ. The problem was that this structure lacked fulfillment and responsibility to execute. Many ideas died at the table with the agreement that it was important and in addition upper management was not invested in the major direction or presence that the virtual environment had or could have. Now there is more fulfillment and execution with a priority in making this the best experience for the public, just like they value the experience of going to a physical branch.

If a content management system can help create a virtual environment that easily and conveniently facilities it target audience, the Library needs to invest resources, through finances, personnel and initiatives to create an understanding and support movement that such change is necessary because ultimately the goal is to provide the best experience and service level to its visitors, even if it is a virtual experience and electronically delivered service. In involving key people in the decision-making group, these change agents can relay the importance of the change and also express the other point of view to a management team that in many respects may be a bit divided between reality and their own agendas. Additionally, in agreement with the article, the CMS implementation needs to reflect an overall purpose not just an implementation of technologies and an outpour of databases and collections. It should be a reflection of the entity and its missions, community and also a coordinated and organized reflection of all its resources. What message, usability factors, and other elements are of value and needed to the users? I enjoyed this article very much.

Unit 1: Digital Collection - E Prints

The digital collection I have collected is comprised of digital images of my children. I like to have images of special occasions and holidays. I would most definitely access it the most for reason such as enjoyment, editing the images and updating the collection. My husband and I would love t share this collection with our immediate family and intimate friends. The term of access would be very strict. There would be a short list of people that would have complete viewing access, an even shorter list (just my husband) who would be able to manipulate and manage the database, and fewer people could receive special privileges as granted by us (for example long-lost family members).