Implementing Wikis at Lincoln Lab

As I mentioned in a previous post, the library at Lincoln Laboratory uses quite a bit of social software, most of the software that we have discussed in this course so far (e.g. social bookmarking, tags, RSS Feeds and blogs). One application the library does not use as much is wiki software. Lincoln Laboratory does contain an Information Services wiki that includes a link to the library. The library does not have its own wiki. I would suggest that the library develop its own wiki to serve as a gateway and entry point to the library. It could just include simple information about services, staff, news, programs, and possibly some links to frequently used reference sources. I would include links to all of the other software applications that the library users to deliver its information. The library does have its own committee, and the wiki could include information and links concerning its members and meeting minutes. The wiki would also include surveys directed toward the library users, as a way of collected feedback about services and how the staff could improve them.

In order to put these ideas into practice, the library staff would have to address this proposal at its monthly meetings. If everyone agreed to this undertaking, then at least one member of the library staff would have to maintain the wiki to keep the information current and make sure the links work properly. It would also be useful to have a separate survey pertaining to the wiki only; this way, the library staff could receive feedback on it effectiveness, and assess whether or not it is worth maintaining.

Facebook and SecondLife

I was still in college when Facebook emerged and was all the rage on campus and generally among people my age. I initially felt that it was a good was to stay in touch with classmates, during school and after, and was a good way to keep abreast of social on-goings. It is a site that allows a user to set up a profile with as much or as little information as he chooses. This can include email or phone numbers and pictures. If you include the college and high school you attended, you are linked to a network of other users who attended the same schools. In order to view the full profile of another user, you have to be admitted as his “friend.” You can send a message to someone else, requesting confirmation as this person’s friend. When he confirm, you can view the full profile.  I have used it, although not as extensively as others, and I have found it somewhat useful. I usually go the the Facebook site to see what my former classmates are up to. It is a good way to stay in touch with other people with whom you attended high school and college. I do find it frustrating that some old friends will send me a message through Facebook, rather than sending me an email directly. However, when someone sends you a message, you are notified through your personal email account; you can then go to the Facebook site and view the message. So it’s just an extra step. But it’s also another site you have to check. The main reason why I even bother with this site is because I feel “out of the loop” if I ignore it.  If I were a college librarian from a different generation I would probably check the site as a way of accessing the students and conversely, making myself more accessible in manner they could relate to.

I also took a look at SecondLife, and I am not sure of its purpose. It consists of an online, virtual world created by the users. It almost reminds me of a 3-D video game. I think those who are interested in the high-tech computer video games would enjoy this site the most. I don’t see it as a site that would organize or disseminate information that is relevant to my life, professional or otherwise. In my opinion the site is not really worth the time to explore and use.

Implementing social software at MIT LL

One of the biggest issues that confronts the implementation of any software at MIT Lincoln Laboratory is the high level of security and firewalls.  Any division within the Laboratory, including the Library, must work closely with security and with the IT department to make changes. Lincoln Laboratory is a restricted and closed facility, and is fairly self-contained. The facility must keep tight control over all work generated due to its proprietary nature. Certain workstations, such as the computer that I use in the archives, do not even allow the installation of plug-ins from the internet. As with many libraries, anything on the Lincoln Lab intranet is not accessible remotely unless the user has the appropriate login information. I am certain the IT department works tirelessly to ensure that all the software and anything else generated at Lincoln Lab is safely locked by the firewall so that no outside user could mistakenly stumble upon government restricted documents.

The library has been able to implement quite a lot of social software, including blogs RSS feeds, and tags assigned by the on-site reference librarians. One software application that the lab could never use is Flickr,  because of the security restrictions on cameras. Employees are not allowed to bring any kind of camera (cell phone or otherwise) into the laboratory. So, visual images and photographs are limited. But the library has been able to serve the laboratory effectively without such software.

Social Tagging

Del.icio.us is a great site that help users organize their bookmarked links. I have enjoyed setting up my account with this site because it allows me to organize all of my bookmarks in one location. Because everything I need to check on a daily basis in the same place, I won’t forget my list of sites and accounts to monitor. This is critical for personal and professional use. Professional librarians can easily monitor the latest sources of importance to them and their organization. They could easily find and access websites and other links that would help their patrons. This centralized, remote location is a major advantage because it facilitates organization of information, and allows for easy access anywhere, as long as there is an internet connection present. The public tags also facilitate information discovery because you can search any topic of interest to you. Searching such a global collection exposes the user to sites and ideas he may never even thought about.

I was also excited to explore LibraryThing, which is basically one giant, online library catalog. This website contains millions of cataloged books and allows a user to search for just about anything. The site contains recommendations, tags, ratings, and reviews of books of all genres. Since the records contain tags that are somewhat more “colloquial,” it is easy to find any type of source; someone searching online does not need to be concerned with standardized taxonomy. I enjoyed searching this site because it is really useful for reader’s advisory. I am always looking for something to read, but I usually don’t know where to start. Now I can find all sorts of recommendations, reviews and summaries for “top authors” and “top picks.” Now I know exactly where to go when I need a book to read for fun.

Flickr is an interesting site that allows users to upload, organize and share photographs. As with the above two sites, a user can search for any subject, except in this case, the user is seeking some kind of visual information. This process is facilitated by the use of tags. I don’t believe I would personally have much use for Flickr in my day-to-day life. I suppose if I needed an image or photograph for a project, I would look here. The chances that I find what I need by doing a simple search are quite high. Overall, the more tags assigned to an item, whether it is a book, image or website, the greater the chances of finding it.

RSS Feeds

I had actually been subscribing to an RSS Feed without really knowing it. When I registered for classes for my first semester at Simmons, I signed up for a feed that would notify students of changes in the course schedules. I found it extremely convenient and useful, because it pushed the information I needed to my Simmons email so I did not need to retroactively check the particular web page. From this experience I decided that I would try and subscribe to feeds that were of interest and importance to me. In some cases, a feed is like having a daily reminder. This becomes invaluable when you trying to juggle a lot in your day-to-day life. When the information is sent to your computer, you have no excuse not to be up-to-date on any subject or on-going!

Additionally, during my first semester at Simmons, I learned about ways to receive feeds and updates from different academic databases. Although this is something I did not use when doing research for my classes, I will start using it in the upcoming semesters. One of the librarians showed us a way of signing up for updates for a particular research query. This way, a student could receive a notification of new and relevant articles or publications from that particular database. It is a great way to add to your sources when working on a project.

Reaction to Week 1 readings

I found the readings we had regarding the read/write web, Library 2.0, Web 2.0 and blogs very interesting and informative. I did not know very much about any of these topics, and I feel more technologically informed just from the few articles we explored. I enjoyed the article on blogs by Greg Schwartz. I had some idea of what a blog is, but this article helped clarify a lot of my own confusion. I like the idea of subscribing to blogs as a way of staying current; I think having up-to-date information about local or national events is helpful for busy students.

The article “11 reasons why Library 2.0 exists and matters” cites a definition of Library 2.0 that I liked and found straightforward. I fully support the idea of making a library relevant to user needs and desires. But at the same time, part of this “revolution” involved a significant use of different types of technologies. There are other improvements made by libraries that do not necessarily involve computers, the internet, or technology, but technology still remains a major force in all of this. I feel that individuals who are not as computer-savvy as the “millenial” generation encounter challenges. Even though I am technically part of the “millenial” generation, I still don’t know the extent of everything that is out there, and I often feel that if I don’t keep up with everything, I miss out on a lot. I wonder how difficult all of these changes must be for older library users, and I wonder what public libraries can do or are doing to deal with patrons who are less inclined to use all the fancy tools. If there is something new out there, it is fairly easy for someone like me to learn it, but it is more difficult for the baby boomer and senior citizens to adapt. Technology has made our lives easier but it isn’t without problems.

About Me

Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my blog, and thank you for visiting! My name is Kimberly Giedd, and I am the author/creator/administrator of this blog. I usually go by the shortened version of my name, just “Kim.” I am originally from Watertown, Massachusetts, located about 10 miles west of Boston. I attended Skidmore College, in Saratoga Springs, New York, where I was the recipient of the Lincoln and Therese Filene Music Scholarship, and where I studied history and government. After graduating in 2005, I moved back to Watertown and worked in law for about two years before returning to graduate school. Currently, I attend Simmons College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science full-time. I also work part-time as an assistant in the library of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts. Lincoln Laboratory is the Department of Defense funded research and development center of MIT, specializing in air defense. You can check out their website by following this link: http://www.ll.mit.edu/.

I am currently working on a clean-up project for the Laboratory library online catalog. Over time, the names of authors had been catalog inconsistently, thus yielding a large number of variations of author names. It is my job to search the publications authored by Laboratory employees in order to streamline the variants, ultimately to maximize author searches. I also do some other odds-and-ends within the Laboratory archives.Ultimately, I am not sure of the specifics of my future library career. So far, I am interested in doing reference, and I think any college library would be a nice environment. However, I am open to a number of possibilities. I decided to take this course because I would like to expand upon and improve my overall technology skills. I feel that learning about blogs, wikis, and all the forms of social bookmarking is important knowledge. I believe the course will help me build good general technical skills that I will be able to take with me to any position in the future. I am excited to get started!