Reading Activity #5

Reading and Activity #5

Monday, November 19^th, 2012

The word “privacy” correlates to the word: “freedom”. Privacy directly corresponds to freedom because, to me, it is the knowledge that your basic human right to individuality is safe and free of judgment.  Privacy is very much an issue to me and of the world. It is a concern because as we advance technology, we also advance the ability to turn our actions into recordable data. As our every action gets permanently recorded our sense of safety and individuality is stripped. The article, “Facebook & your privacy” states a good point; ““Facebook has purposefully worked to erode the concept of privacy by disingenuously claiming users want to share all of their personal information.” It has convinced the government, lawmakers, and corporations that users purposely share personal information because users want to be found. This leads to the assumption that “making” money is more important and that the sense of privacy is not valued. I am in no way discouraging Facebook or the notion that data collection is a bad thing. In fact, research is great! Research fuels our minds and finds truths/patterns that are useful in understanding the world. However, when does data collection turn people into objects?  Where is the line for collecting information or stealing it?

The point that I am making is that privacy is rooted in our sense of freedom and security. A bigger picture than Facebook monitoring/recording clicks and views is that our world is being churned into a faceless mass. A mass that is recognized to simply pump out numbers and a mass that feels unsafe. When the sense of individuality is removed, fear is triggered. Society then is made up of unstable, paranoid individuals that instinctively turn to whatever that will make them feel safe again. When a society is unable to think critically, they become accessible and gullible…and that’s how the world will end.

That might have been a little dramatic, but seriously consider how the Mao-Communist government was able to brainwash it’s citizens into unspeakable atrocities. China is the world’s largest country with millions and millions of individuals, yet it only took one government to convince them that the slaughtering of the intellectuals and middle class was the way to make China successful. It was because after years of fathom and instability, the Chinese people were desperate for someone to make them feel safe.

Physically locking up people may not essentially take their sense of freedom away. However, strip away their feel of security and individualism and effectively you will have robbed them of freedom.  

News Report #5

News Report #5

“Technology Makes Self-publishing much Easier for Area Residents”

Allison Hurtado, Ahwatukee Foothills News

11/16/2012

http://www.ahwatukee.com/arts_life/article_c7e4e9a4-2db3-11e2-8379-0019bb2963f4.html

            Publishing, at times, can sound not only intimidating but also unobtainable. Publishing can involve large publishing companies that require many channels, twists, and turns, before an author can get his/her novel published. This process could take years. As November is National Novel Writing Month, organizations such as www.nanowrimo.org, encourages young writers to write and publish. Many libraries are offering “writing centers” that help writers to get started or to check grammar, like the library in Phoenix. Phoenix’s public library noticed a need for some “writing support” in the local writing community and saw this as an opportunity to share their knowledge and resources. Their librarian stated that since this, she has noticed a dramatic increase in writing produced. For those who aren’t sure exactly how to publish or know that publishing with an agent is too timely and unpredictable. Writers are encouraged to enter book competitions and “self market”. Local authors suggest uploading works onto Amazon, contacting local publications, and creating a website to promote are first steps, then hopefully as the author gets noticed contracting with an agent will be easier. The Phoenix Public Library is currently partnering with Changing Hands Book Store for a publishing conference this upcoming February.

Creativity has accelerated into a technology phenomenon. The use of social media, the Web, and the ability to share information quickly has greatly supported the movement of creativity for this generation. Today’s artists, writers, and fine arts are no longer limited to an audience or restricted to a publishing company. Technology has provided an outlet for independence that allows the author to decide what s/he wants to do with their work. The education to self publish is not only beneficial in educating society, but also very empowering. More libraries should acknowledge aspiring writers and offer support.

News Report #4

News Report #4

“Morgan Library Becoming Information Technology Center”

Kevin Ruby, Rocky Mountain Collegian

10/30/2012

            Colorado State University has recently put major strides in utilizing their library by synthesizing the importance of technology and education. Steve Hayman, the senior consulting engineer for Apple, was invited to present at the Morgan Library in Colorado State University. CSU recognized the remarkable success of the Apple brand- with 400+ iPhones sold though June and 35+ billion Apple iOS Applications downloaded. David Ramsey, a director at CSU hopes that Hayman will introduce new technologies to students and offer valuable insight into the industry. Ramsey quotes, “What we’re focusing in on is making the library the information and technology center for the university, we’re going to be crossing over and trying to educate people with technology and then also having the most amount of information that the library normally does. And that kind of convergence between those two of information and technology is probably best suited in the library”.

            Inviting Steve Hayman from Apple to educate students on technology- in a library nerveless- exemplifies the idea that libraries today are recognizing the new role they play in a student’s education. As Ramsey had illustrated, the convergence of library and information technology are hand in hand. The libraries continue to play the role that they’ve always played- educating students. It is important that our own Randall library is aware of strives other schools are taking and to reflect back onto the UNCW student population in what they would want. The defining of the “role” that the library plays will continue to change and be ambiguous but I support the idea of libraries and technology merging into one. 

Reading & Activity #4

According to Bell’s 2004 article, titled “The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an Appetizing Alternative to Google”, students are lacking “substance” in their information “diet”. Comparing quality information to healthy food or “salad” and quick searches and secondary information to “fast food” , Bell believes that students today want fast, easy access to research. He states that the current generation wants instantaneous everything, including research that requires no critical thought or evaluation. He recognizes that it is not simply the students that have this mindset. He discusses the impact the “aggregators” have in this process by their lack of simplicity for research. He believes that in order to produce quality education all must work together. Aggregators should work on developing search systems and interfaces that provides a balance of the sophistication of library catalogs and databases but also the ease of a quick search engine so that the databases are more user-friendly and accessible.

In the 2010 study of college students and their use of information, Head and Eisenberg found that students in fact did care about the quality of the work produced and the approach taken to find information was consistent and thoughtful. The use of search engines such as Google ranked the highest for everyday searching, but the biggest issue was that student’s expectations of research were skewed from high school. Since most of the interviewed students reported that their research routines were reflected from high school, students in college are assuming that good research simply meant finding “the answer”. Obviously information is more 3 dimensional then that, it is understandable why college students are resorting to the secondary sources, which had met their teacher’s expectations, to base their research on. With this in mind, one can begin to see the motives behind the way college students are conducting their research and can begin to conceptualize a solution for a simple problem: students are not being taught properly how to research.

When starting a research paper I tend to begin searching Google and pulling up my topic to see what it brings up. Mostly, it leads me to Wikipedia and I comb through the articles quickly and search for related links and terms. After I feel as that I have a specific purpose for my topic I then will go onto the library databases and search with specific terms. If I need help I usually will ask a peer or email my teacher but I rarely have turned to a librarian or library worker for help. With the two articles above, Bell states that the students have a “fast, quick” mindset when doing research because of our instantaneous lifestyles and Head & Eisenberg found that it was the “concept” of research that was disabling proper research. Both have valid points concerning today’s modern college student, even if they had different WHYS. It is important to focus on the ending of each article. Although starting from different angles, both agreed it was necessary for teachers, librarians, and database companies to intervene and properly teach a quality research process. Both authors agreed that classes (like LIB 105) that implement correct research process is imperative for a quality of education. 

Reading and Activity #3

In Jennifer Howard’s article, “Maybe Even Some Books” (published in the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2011), traditional roles of librarians and physical library spaces are being pushed into the spotlight as budget cuts rise. She references the libraries at Drexel University and John Hopkins University- two universities that are evolving their library systems. She examines Drexel’s Library Learning Terrace and Hopkins’s informationist program. Drexel University’s library is booming, so much that there is not enough space to house all the students. Like many other schools, students have redefined what libraries are for. Gone are the days that students used this resource to find books. Rather, libraries are used as a “space and [a place for] company”.  Drexel’s answer to the space crunch is the Library Learning Terrance or a “bookless learning center”. In John Hopkins’s case, “informationist” are used in attempt to replace the traditional librarian. The informationist concept is simple. Instead of “embedding” a librarian to one place, the librarian works out of classrooms, labs, and wherever there is need.  They are assigned to jobs and are able to educate many students about information literacy based on their vast reach of students.

            However, there is nothing like being able to step foot into a building with full knowledge that someone with a Masters will be at your service in helping your research. Maria Steward’s advice column on Inside Higher Ed’s website, praises librarian and library personnel on their patience, knowledge, organization, and intellectual curiosity. Her emphasis was on urging readers to spend more time in the library because it is one of the “kindest” places on campus.

            If I were to transform Randall Library into the ideal academic library, I would first start on the physical space. I would extend floorspace and add bright colors along with large windows so it wouldn’t feel as claustrophobic. Randall should mimic Drexel’s “more space” philosophy because students can’t focus if everyone is sandwiched together (don’t get me started on the squeaky chairs). As Howard’s article had stated, most students now use the library as a space more than a resource. I would then add a better coffee bar. The lines at Java City is ridiculous considering how limited the menu is. Randall should consider the financial gain of offering a better, more efficient coffee station that sells more than just cold sandwiches and chips. As for changing personnel, I can’t help but agree with Steward’s column. Although having traveling “informationists” is beneficial, a library is not complete without its personnel. Librarians are not given enough respect for the knowledge they obtain and the work they do for the community/university. A library, the complete package with librarians and books, is a timeless symbol of education, hope, and the commitment to achieving better. Besides improving the library’s aesthetic qualities and expanding, I don’t think we need to change a thing.