Dangerous Methods
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Help?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
AhHA!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Ethics
Thursday, November 17, 2011
children's input
I apologize in advance for this not being under the proper heading but in an attempt to 'get-ahead' on work (as if that is even possible lol) I'm posting wicked early:
I think the article brings out a lot of innovative ways that we can change how things are searched/presented in the children’s section of the library.
First off, since researchers “reported that children suggested such search terms as “dinosaurs,” “dragons,” and “princesses,” children’s libraries can innovate and change to meet children’s needs by adopting different Boolean operators. I wonder how this would work: maybe research their search terms and input it into the system but have it be in a separate “kids search” section of the catalogue/website?
Secondly, based on the research finding “that children looked primarily at the book’s cover, pictures, and title when selecting books from a shelf and used these as selection criteria,” this suggests that children’s libraries could develop a different way of shelving these sections altogether. I envision rather than showing spines of a book, having frontal display units. I imagine that we would run into problems in terms of how much we could put on display but perhaps a rotation would peak kids’ interests in things other than what is hot/relevant?
It’s unfortunate that “despite children’s diverse and enthusiastic use of technology, they are a marginalized user group.” Reasons for this include: security reasons, impose restraints to achieve a uniform Web design, complexities of intellectual property and the rights of children to have access to information. I found the last one very interesting since things become even more complicated since when you add in the restrictions to access of information based on their age (for their protection) this can call in to question accessibility issues.
I’d like to finish off by playing Devil’s advocate (this will be a serious leap based on all the changes I’ve just suggested based on children’s inputs): the article states:
“The question of what materials are appropriate to be included in a collection is not new to librarians. What is new for digital collections is the diversity of materials that can be considered. Curatorial policies need to be reexamined in light of what is now possible in the digital realm… What has not changed is the concerns of children. Children still want more copies of books in better condition and more books for entertainment.”
Therefore, if children’s concerns are constant and are clearly outlined here, why do they need to be involved in the development of new digital libraries? Why don’t we get books in better condition and more books for entertainment? I’m sure there is a librarian with young children that can inform the collections development people what his/her kids are interested in based on what they see them doing (they may not even have to ask their kids!)…
The does article suggests a rebuttal and I Whole Heartedly agree BUT is it possible to not include them an still have a well-rounded kid’s section… ?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Offline/Online
I found Orgad’s discussion of offline and online data fascinating. I had not really gone so far as consider separating the research of the internet in that manner but Orgad’s makes a great argument for it. I am immediately drawn to online data collection because online behavior is often bizarre and extraordinary in comparison to what we expect out of citizens of our society. The space that it creates by promoting (physical?) distance between people participating in interactions also allows for a difference in presentation of self during these interactions. This is where the possibility of offline fascinates me. The possibility to have face-to-face conversations changes the dynamic and limits the 'acceptable' within confines of society norms. An interesting example could be looking at the new trend of internet vigilantism and talking to the people ‘unmasked’. The current Canadian example would be: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/11/16/bc-teen-vigilante-predator-superhero-costumes.html.