One of the goals of the Library Technologies and Metadata department is to describe our work in more detail. This week, I'll look at technology in use with our conversion project, including perl scripting, APIs, and Microsoft's tools: Access and Excel. Taking a cue from our Metadata Librarian, Kim Sanderson's recent thought, "I’ll have to try that when I come across something particularly onerous…", one of the joys of working in library systems is automating parts of a project that are … [Read more...]
What’s in a name?
February 9, 2016 By
The Library's department Discovery Systems is changing names to Library Technologies and Metadata. It seems the idea of a library is well ingrained in our social fabric. With that as part of the name, people know we are talking about information, research, description, access, and sharing. Without library in our name, people wonder what Discovery and Systems might be about. Well, certainly discovery of desired information is one of the goals of the library’s services. So is discovery of the … [Read more...]
Browsing as Problem
September 23, 2015 By
I have long been fond of a 2010 article in American Libraries by Donald Barclay entitled “The Myth of Browsing.” Writing in reaction to faculty opposition to offsite storage of books and journals, Barclay pointed out that open stacks date back only to about 1940. He reminded readers that browsers are perusing whatever small segment of the information universe is owned by their library, that books can be shelved in only one place even if they cover many topics or perspectives, and that the most … [Read more...]
ACRL Conference
April 1, 2015 By
Last week I attended the conference of the major professional society for academic librarians, the Association of College and Research Libraries. I’ve been to every one of their conferences, which are usually held every other year, since 1986. While there, I ran into a Davidson alum, Tammy Ivins, who was thoroughly enjoying the conference and finding much of relevance to her work. As someone who’s been in the profession much longer, though, I’m sorry to say I was rather disappointed. I went … [Read more...]
Fare Thee Well RefWorks, Hello Zotero
March 25, 2015 By
Let’s say you are over at Summit getting some coffee, and, as you are about to order, the barista announces a special offer: all light roast coffee is free, for the rest of the year, and for a matter of the fact, forever. Now, you happen to be a strictly dark roast enthusiast, and switching to a light-roast blend seems like it would be a bit of a transition. On the other hand, the potential of free coffee is appealing. Would you take the deal? In a sense, we at the library have found … [Read more...]
