24,630 research outputs found

    Striking a Balance Between Physical and Digital Resources

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    In various configurations—be they academic, archival, county, juvenile, monastic, national, personal, public, reference, or research, the library has been a fixture in human affairs for a long time. Digital — meaning, content or communication that is delivered through the internet, is 20 years old (but younger in parts). Basically, both approaches to organizing serve to structure information for access. However, digital is multiplying very fast and libraries all-round contemplate an existential crisis; the more hopeful librarians fret about physical and digital space. Yet, the crux of the matter is not about physical vs. digital: without doubt, the digital space of content or communication transmogrifies all walks of life and cannot be wished away; but, the physical space of libraries is time-tested, extremely valuable, and can surely offer more than currently meets the eye. Except for entirely virtual libraries, the symbiotic relationship between the physical and the digital is innately powerful: for superior outcomes, it must be recognized, nurtured, and leveraged; striking a balance between physical and digital resources can be accomplished. This paper examines the subject of delivering digital from macro, meso, and micro perspectives: it looks into complexity theory, digital strategy, and digitization

    Managing access to the internet in public libraries in the UK: the findings of the MAIPLE project

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    One of the key purposes of the public library is to provide access to information (UNESCO, 1994). In the UK, information is provided in printed formats and for the last decade via public access Internet workstations installed as part of the People’s Network initiative. Recent figures reveal that UK public libraries provide approximately 40,000 computer terminals offering users around 80,000 hours across more than 4,000 service points (CIPFA, 2012). In addition, increasing numbers of public libraries allow users to connect devices such as tablets or smart phones to the Internet via a wireless network access point (Wi-Fi). How do public library staff manage this? What about users viewing harmful or illegal content? And what are the implications for a profession committed to freedom of access to information and opposition to censorship? MAIPLE, a two-year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council has been investigating this issue as little was known about how UK public libraries manage Internet content control including illegal material. MAIPLE has drawn on an extensive review of the literature, an online survey to which all UK public library services were invited to participate (39 per cent response rate) and case studies with five services (two in England, one in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland) to examine the ways these issues are managed and their implications for staff. This presentation will explore the prevalence of tools such as filtering software, Acceptable Use Policies, user authentication, booking software and visual monitoring by staff and consider their efficacy and desirability in the provision of public Internet access. It will consider the professional dilemmas inherent within managing content and access. Finally, it will highlight some of the more important themes emerging from the findings and their implications for practitioners and policy makers

    Academic Gateway, Fall 2015

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    Performing Art Libraries at Duesseldorf : their role in the field of introducing computer-based information management within the Theatre Museum and the Film Museum

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    DĂŒsseldorf is the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, the state with the highest number of inhabitants in Germany. The city has a rich cultural history: The theatre history started in 1485 (the festivities in the context of a princely marriage at DĂŒsseldorf). Theatre historiography marks three great periods for DĂŒsseldorf (Immermann, 1834-1837; Dumont-Lindemann, 1905-1933; GrĂŒndgens, 1947-1955). The city has a long history of involvment with film, too. For instance the first German film journal „Der Kinematogaph“ began publishing here in 1907. DĂŒsseldorf became after 1945 a distribution center and served for decades as site of all major German and foreign distributors‘ headquartes. It offers still a lot of cultural events: performing arts in different forms (theatre at the DĂŒsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, musical at the Capitol, opera and ballet at the German Opera DĂŒsseldorf-Duisburg, dance at the Tanzhaus (Dance House) North Rhine-Westphalia, free and independant theatre groups, private theatres, cinema, media, museums, cultural institutions, representing other countries like France, Poland ..

    Digital Diversity: Broadband and Indigenous Populations in Alaska

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    Presented at the Experts Workshop. Sponsored by the Ford Foundation.Alaska Natives comprise several cultural and linguistic groups including Inupiat, Yupik, Athabascan, Aleut, Tlingit and Haida, organized into some 226 tribes. Approximately two-thirds of the indigenous population live in more than 200 rural villages, most of which are remote settlements with fewer than 200 people and no road access. Since the late 1970’s, all communities with at least 25 permanent residents have had telephone service, but broadband connectivity remains limited. The major mechanism for extending Internet access to rural Alaska has been federal universal service funds, specifically the E-rate program that subsidizes Internet access for schools and libraries, and the Rural Health program that subsidizes connectivity for rural health clinics and hospitals. Under the federal Stimulus program, Alaska has also recently received funding for infrastructure to extend broadband in southwest Alaska, for improved connectivity for rural libraries, and for training and support for rural public computer centers. These initiatives primarily support improvements in Internet and broadband availability for rural Alaska. However, this paper proposes a more rigorous framework including not only availability, but more broadly access, and also adoption, and examines how these concepts apply to Alaska natives. The paper also examines other elements of digital diversity, including innovation in applications and content, ICT entrepreneurship, and participation in telecommunications policy-making

    Broadband for culture, a culture for broadband?

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    The augmentation of cultural participation in Flanders is one of the major cornerstones of the current cultural policy. Digital technologies offer a wide range of opportunities to achieve this goal, as the internet is often seen as a way to augment the number of visitors for arts centres. However, the availability of digital information technologies and the willingness to adopt these new ways of processing cultural material, is a prerequisite for this (r)evolution. This article is based on data collected in three surveys, one for each of the cultural actors; cultural organisations such as museums, arts centres etc, individual artists and art lovers in Flanders. Despite that most artists and cultural organizations are sufficiently equipped with up-to-date technological infrastructure, most websites lack true interactivity with a strong one-to-one relationship between audience, artists and cultural institutions. We therefore conclude that, although there are plenty of broadband connections and other digital tools available to the Flemish art scene, artists and cultural organisations lack a mind-set (or culture) to truly embrace and benefit from the potential of the current digital technologies

    Evaluating Digital Libraries: A Longitudinal and Multifaceted View

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    published or submitted for publicatio

    After Over-Privileged Permissions: Using Technology and Design to Create Legal Compliance

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    Consumers in the mobile ecosystem can putatively protect their privacy with the use of application permissions. However, this requires the mobile device owners to understand permissions and their privacy implications. Yet, few consumers appreciate the nature of permissions within the mobile ecosystem, often failing to appreciate the privacy permissions that are altered when updating an app. Even more concerning is the lack of understanding of the wide use of third-party libraries, most which are installed with automatic permissions, that is permissions that must be granted to allow the application to function appropriately. Unsurprisingly, many of these third-party permissions violate consumers’ privacy expectations and thereby, become “over-privileged” to the user. Consequently, an obscurity of privacy expectations between what is practiced by the private sector and what is deemed appropriate by the public sector is exhibited. Despite the growing attention given to privacy in the mobile ecosystem, legal literature has largely ignored the implications of mobile permissions. This article seeks to address this omission by analyzing the impacts of mobile permissions and the privacy harms experienced by consumers of mobile applications. The authors call for the review of industry self-regulation and the overreliance upon simple notice and consent. Instead, the authors set out a plan for greater attention to be paid to socio-technical solutions, focusing on better privacy protections and technology embedded within the automatic permission-based application ecosystem
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