Comments for NYPL Labs http://labs.nypl.org The Process Behind the Product Fri, 09 May 2008 20:17:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 Comment on The Once and Future Genre: Online Exhibitions by Jennifer Anderson http://labs.nypl.org/2008/05/01/the-once-and-future-genre-online-exhibitions/#comment-492 Jennifer Anderson Thu, 08 May 2008 17:59:05 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/05/01/the-once-and-future-genre-online-exhibitions/#comment-492 no need for apologies, Mr./Ms. "comments," we love lots of links! :) unfortunately, a bunch of them seem to have disappeared. would you be willing to try to repost them? no need for apologies, Mr./Ms. “comments,” we love lots of links! :) unfortunately, a bunch of them seem to have disappeared. would you be willing to try to repost them?

]]> Comment on NYPL on iTunes U. by iTunes: Greatest Learning Tool Ever | Rick Tech http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-491 iTunes: Greatest Learning Tool Ever | Rick Tech Thu, 08 May 2008 02:46:35 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-491 [...] in each one.Get University of Berkeley podcasts here: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/index.phpThe New York Public Library has also joined the ranks of Podcasters. Their collection is so far extensive and impressive. Being [...] […] in each one.Get University of Berkeley podcasts here: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/index.phpThe New York Public Library has also joined the ranks of Podcasters. Their collection is so far extensive and impressive. Being […]

]]> Comment on The Once and Future Genre: Online Exhibitions by Eric http://labs.nypl.org/2008/05/01/the-once-and-future-genre-online-exhibitions/#comment-489 Eric Wed, 07 May 2008 21:37:30 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/05/01/the-once-and-future-genre-online-exhibitions/#comment-489 Wow, great information. I hadn't heard of Omeka before, but this excites me when I ponder the use this could be to my own library. Thanks for posting this! Wow, great information. I hadn’t heard of Omeka before, but this excites me when I ponder the use this could be to my own library.

Thanks for posting this!

]]> Comment on The Once and Future Genre: Online Exhibitions by comments http://labs.nypl.org/2008/05/01/the-once-and-future-genre-online-exhibitions/#comment-488 comments Wed, 07 May 2008 01:11:23 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/05/01/the-once-and-future-genre-online-exhibitions/#comment-488 The best online exhibitions are going to foster connections between regular perusal through casual internet net surfing and the more exacting process of scientific research. This is due to the fact that of all the archival and historical special collections in the world, only a small fraction of them are digitized. While it is fun to look at <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">old pictures,</A> there is also a large number of people who rely on archival holdings for the advancement of <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">their careers.</A> We also cannot ignore the fact that those people who have the power to digitize artifacts within an institution and therefore promote <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">usage at the casual level,</A> are often the very people who do not have the power <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">to facilitate scientific research</A> which includes the use of books, journals, conference activities and most importantly a comprehensive understanding of an institutions holdings in their entirety. While you would of course have to talk to a librarian to discover the latter, digital projects continue to pop up exhibiting the best aspects of the former and serving as welcoming gateways to materials still held in a library. There is so much going on in <a HREF="http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/2/index.html" rel="nofollow">digital humanities</A> that it's impossible to know where<a HREF="http://www.neh.gov/grants/digitalhumanities.html" rel="nofollow"> to begin.</A> Surely, there are a mess of bloggers out there worrying about <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">just this.</A> Even <a HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812219236" rel="nofollow">books get printed</A> on the subject. At the end of the day, digital exhibitions may all seem <a HREF="http://web.archive.org/web/19980209030634/www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/rbk/pforz.html" rel="nofollow">very 1990s</A>, as libraries continue to load databases with worthwhile information and scholars <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">come of age </A>in a completely digital <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">knowledge universe.</A> Some examples of worth learning from are found at the <a HREF="http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/" rel="nofollow">Harvard University Open Collection Program</A> and offer astoundingly well designed projects well integrated with their library system: Two high level "exhibitions" are: <a HREF="http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/" rel="nofollow">http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration</A> <i>Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930, is a web-based collection of selected historical materials from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums that documents voluntary immigration to the US from the signing of the Constitution to the onset of the Great Depression.</i> & <a HREF="http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/cc/" rel="nofollow">http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/cc</A> <i>Through four centuries and six countries, from admonishing biblical allegory to scathing political cartoon, the images in the Bleichroeder Collection of prints at Baker Library resound with the same caution: where there is money, there is power, vice, corruption, and misfortune. To view these prints is to trace society's changing attitudes toward money from the Reformation and the Church's injunctions against usury, to the Industrial Revolution, to the emergence of modern capitalism. Visit the Exhibit Web Site for more information as well as a gallery of 70 items from the collection.</i> Additionally, I am a big fan of the <a href="http://dl.lib.brown.edu/" rel="nofollow">Center for Digital Initiatives</a> at Brown University and their <a href="http://dl.lib.brown.edu/bamco/" rel="nofollow">Archival and Manuscript Collections Online</A> which allows users to search for archival holdings <i>with digital facsimiles.</i> If it seems daunting, I recommend in particular <a href="http://pike.services.brown.edu/bamco/bamco.php?eadid=msbackus" rel="nofollow">the Isaac Backus papers.</A> It's wonderful to be able to <a href="http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=1071506102994555&view=pageturner" rel="nofollow">actually read</A> digitized documents. … PS. Apologies for the presence of links throughout, but I can’t help but think to myself about how<a HREF="”" rel="nofollow"> the fuss </A> over <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">hypertext</A>, at one point <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">the revolution</A> in communication continues, <a HREF="”" rel="nofollow">unachieved</A> today. The best online exhibitions are going to foster connections between regular perusal through casual internet net surfing and the more exacting process of scientific research. This is due to the fact that of all the archival and historical special collections in the world, only a small fraction of them are digitized. While it is fun to look at old pictures, there is also a large number of people who rely on archival holdings for the advancement of their careers. We also cannot ignore the fact that those people who have the power to digitize artifacts within an institution and therefore promote usage at the casual level, are often the very people who do not have the power to facilitate scientific research which includes the use of books, journals, conference activities and most importantly a comprehensive understanding of an institutions holdings in their entirety. While you would of course have to talk to a librarian to discover the latter, digital projects continue to pop up exhibiting the best aspects of the former and serving as welcoming gateways to materials still held in a library.
There is so much going on in digital humanities that it’s impossible to know where to begin. Surely, there are a mess of bloggers out there worrying about just this. Even books get printed on the subject. At the end of the day, digital exhibitions may all seem very 1990s, as libraries continue to load databases with worthwhile information and scholars come of age in a completely digital knowledge universe.
Some examples of worth learning from are found at the Harvard University Open Collection Program and offer astoundingly well designed projects well integrated with their library system:
Two high level “exhibitions” are:
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration
Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930, is a web-based collection of selected historical materials from Harvard’s libraries, archives, and museums that documents voluntary immigration to the US from the signing of the Constitution to the onset of the Great Depression.
&
http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/cc
Through four centuries and six countries, from admonishing biblical allegory to scathing political cartoon, the images in the Bleichroeder Collection of prints at Baker Library resound with the same caution: where there is money, there is power, vice, corruption, and misfortune. To view these prints is to trace society’s changing attitudes toward money from the Reformation and the Church’s injunctions against usury, to the Industrial Revolution, to the emergence of modern capitalism. Visit the Exhibit Web Site for more information as well as a gallery of 70 items from the collection.
Additionally, I am a big fan of the Center for Digital Initiatives at Brown University and their Archival and Manuscript Collections Online which allows users to search for archival holdings with digital facsimiles. If it seems daunting, I recommend in particular the Isaac Backus papers. It’s wonderful to be able to actually read digitized documents.
…
PS. Apologies for the presence of links throughout, but I can’t help but think to myself about how the fuss over hypertext, at one point the revolution in communication continues, unachieved today.

]]> Comment on Rethinking the Redesign by Marijane White http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/18/rethinking-the-redesign/#comment-487 Marijane White Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:51:26 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/18/rethinking-the-redesign/#comment-487 <blockquote>What does it really mean to browse? It means to look through a bunch of things at random, right? In that case, grouping the links to the Collection Guide categories (Arts & Literature, Cities & Buildings, etc.) under the term “browse” is misleading. You’re not really browsing if you’re being guided, right?</blockquote> If I browse the stacks at a physical library, I'm not looking through things at random because the books have been arranged by subject. That arrangement is definitely guidance, but we still call it "browsing". Are the Collection Guides so different from arranging books by subject? <blockquote>But why, then, would they not use facets in, say, the advanced search? Issue #3. Our advanced search page is just not that well designed. The limits are hard to find, and hard to understand how the limits work together. Also, I buried the link to the advanced search interface.</blockquote> I agree with this assesment. You might also consider whether your facets are that useful to users. They seem very collection-oriented to me, rather than user-oriented, especially the Center or Division limits -- it just seems like something that only a small group of users would care about. This is just my opinion, but I think the best faceted search interfaces are the ones that merge the search and browse experience in an interface that integrates the facets/limits into every page of results, like the <a href="http://orange.sims.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flamenco.cgi/nobel/Flamenco" rel="nofollow">Flamenco Project Nobel Prize Winners browser</a>. I suspect that keeping limits sequestered on their own page limits their frequency of use considerably. -Marijane White MSLIS Candidate, UIUC-GSLIS

What does it really mean to browse? It means to look through a bunch of things at random, right? In that case, grouping the links to the Collection Guide categories (Arts & Literature, Cities & Buildings, etc.) under the term “browse” is misleading. You’re not really browsing if you’re being guided, right?

If I browse the stacks at a physical library, I’m not looking through things at random because the books have been arranged by subject. That arrangement is definitely guidance, but we still call it “browsing”. Are the Collection Guides so different from arranging books by subject?

But why, then, would they not use facets in, say, the advanced search? Issue #3. Our advanced search page is just not that well designed. The limits are hard to find, and hard to understand how the limits work together. Also, I buried the link to the advanced search interface.

I agree with this assesment. You might also consider whether your facets are that useful to users. They seem very collection-oriented to me, rather than user-oriented, especially the Center or Division limits — it just seems like something that only a small group of users would care about.

This is just my opinion, but I think the best faceted search interfaces are the ones that merge the search and browse experience in an interface that integrates the facets/limits into every page of results, like the Flamenco Project Nobel Prize Winners browser. I suspect that keeping limits sequestered on their own page limits their frequency of use considerably.

-Marijane White
MSLIS Candidate, UIUC-GSLIS

]]> Comment on NYPL on iTunes U. by Electronics » Blog Archive » NYPL on iTunes U. http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-486 Electronics » Blog Archive » NYPL on iTunes U. Sat, 12 Apr 2008 05:54:23 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-486 [...] Ian Dixon wrote an interesting post today on NYPL on iTunes U.Here’s a quick excerptNew York Public Library has joined the universe of cultural and educational institutions making their content available on iTunes U. Take a look at our new site. Thanks to Brian Hurley, Don Mennerich, James Briggs Murray, Rich Stalzer and Michelle Misner who worked together to make [...] […] Ian Dixon wrote an interesting post today on NYPL on iTunes U.Here’s a quick excerptNew York Public Library has joined the universe of cultural and educational institutions making their content available on iTunes U. Take a look at our new site. Thanks to Brian Hurley, Don Mennerich, James Briggs Murray, Rich Stalzer and Michelle Misner who worked together to make […]

]]> Comment on NYPL on iTunes U. by CAM-007, JinShiBang Consumer Electronics Shop Blog» Blog Archive » New York Public Library adds lots of free content to iTunes http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-485 CAM-007, JinShiBang Consumer Electronics Shop Blog» Blog Archive » New York Public Library adds lots of free content to iTunes Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:44:32 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-485 [...] March, three networks added content to the iTunes Store, and yesterday, the New York Public Library began offering content through iTunes [...] […] March, three networks added content to the iTunes Store, and yesterday, the New York Public Library began offering content through iTunes […]

]]> Comment on 24 Hours of Public Programming at NYPL by NYPL LAB « Jekhipster’s Weblog http://labs.nypl.org/labs-projects/24-hours-of-public-programming-at-nypl/#comment-484 NYPL LAB « Jekhipster’s Weblog Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:35:48 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/labs-projects/24-hours-of-public-programming-at-nypl/#comment-484 [...]  It would be such a shame to not incorporate the NYC community with the blogs, RSS feeds, and 24 hours of public programming at the NYPL, national digital newspaper program that NYPL Lab offers. [...] […]  It would be such a shame to not incorporate the NYC community with the blogs, RSS feeds, and 24 hours of public programming at the NYPL, national digital newspaper program that NYPL Lab offers. […]

]]> Comment on Blogs by NYPL LAB « Jekhipster’s Weblog http://labs.nypl.org/labs-projects/blogs/#comment-483 NYPL LAB « Jekhipster’s Weblog Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:16:33 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/labs-projects/blogs/#comment-483 [...] material out in front.  It would be such a shame to not incorporate the NYC community with the blogs, RSS feeds, and 24 hours of public programming at the NYPL, national digital newspaper [...] […] material out in front.  It would be such a shame to not incorporate the NYC community with the blogs, RSS feeds, and 24 hours of public programming at the NYPL, national digital newspaper […]

]]> Comment on NYPL on iTunes U. by Apple » NYPL on iTunes U. | NYPL Labs http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-482 Apple » NYPL on iTunes U. | NYPL Labs Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:03:04 +0000 http://labs.nypl.org/2008/04/08/nypl-on-itunes-u/#comment-482 [...] Targuman wrote an interesting post today on NYPL on iTunes U. | NYPL LabsHere’s a quick excerpt bookmark this on del.icio.us - posted by waikowhai to apple itunes library library2.0 new_york_public_library and saved by  people… [...] […] Targuman wrote an interesting post today on NYPL on iTunes U. | NYPL LabsHere’s a quick excerpt bookmark this on del.icio.us - posted by waikowhai to apple itunes library library2.0 new_york_public_library and saved by  people… […]

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