nirak.net - Musings of an LIS Student

I’m writing an evaluation of Quintura.com search engine for my Information Storage and Retrieval class. I’m having a lot of fun playing with it - it’s kind of like boolean searching for dummies. It uses Yahoo for search results, and gives a cloud of terms one can use to broaden or narrow the search. I’m not always a big fan of tag clouds, but in this case, it can work really well to show an overview of a subject. Plus, they have embeddable widgets-

All in all, a nice alternative engine. I much prefer it to similar engines like Clusty, KartOO and Grokker.

karin :: Feb.27.2008 :: School Stuff, Sites and Stories :: 2 Comments »

In the comments of Michael Sauers recent post about adding creative commons works to their library catalog, Dewi Morgan said:

I think this is great… but.

But like all copyright mechanisms, CC licences are only a means to an end, and that end is to restrict the rights of the consumer and purchaser. Some CC licenses are unarguably vastly better than most commercial licenses. But CC is not public domain.

Every time I see a government or a library getting “into” CC, I have to ask: as opposed to what?

If the alternative is Public Domain, then moving to CC is a giant leap backwards. If you are going to spend money promoting a rights mechanism, and preserving works released under that mechanism, and putting your weight and support behind that mechanism, then let that mechanism be the Public Domain, not some “watered-down Copyright that is still undeniably Copyright”.

I can’t speak as a government or library, but I can say why I myself post my work under creative commons and not public domain.

I have been trained as an artist. In school, I heard a LOT about not giving yourself away, about protecting your copyright, your “brand,” even about legal ramifications both of using others work and others using your work. I remember that the whole thing seemed weird. There was no way then, at least not that I knew, to release my work under a license that said “please use this, please share it” and allowed me to find other artists whose work was remixable. Artists have a tenuous relationship with copyright. Those that make art by remixing know, or at least should know, the copyright law as it applies to derivative works and fair use. Most artists, rather then spend a lot of time wrestling with legal definitions, will either use public domain source material, or try to use nothing at all (which can be stifling for many people.)

In general, if you release something into the public domain, that means anyone can do anything they want with it. There are limitations of course, but you wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on if you released something in the public domain and then someone else put it in a gallery show without attribution. Of course, there is nothing to stop someone from putting a CC:By work in an art show either, but if they are following the terms of the license, at least you’ll have your name attached. It may not seem like a big deal - after all, you aren’t making money off your work either way, right? But in the art world, as most other circles, name recognition is *really* important. So if you give enough away under CC:By that people know your name, that’s social capital.

In an ideal world, Creative Commons wouldn’t be necessary- people would be polite and cite their sources. CC is a way of reminding people that yes, you can use this, but don’t pretend you made it, ok? Attribute back.

What creative commons license you use will depend on your purpose: I attribute almost everything CC:By because the important thing to me right now is name recognition. I’m building my brand, so to speak. Even if I was selling artwork, though, I’d probably stick with the CC:By SA license, because I don’t mind people making money off the work, as long as they help the cause by releasing their work into the commons as well. The brilliance of CC:By SA is that it is self perpetuating- you are free to use my content, but you have to let other people use your content. I personally don’t believe in, and will never use the Noncommercial version of the license, because it stifles other’s ability to make money as an artist (if they so choose) and is too incompatible with the other licenses. I don’t begrudge others decision to put that restriction on their content, however, I try not to use noncommercial licenses in case I want to sell something based on another work* later on. (* I added “based on another work” to try to clarify what I was saying re: Mark’s comment below. My full reply to his comment is in the comments)

As a creator, I don’t believe it is wrong to assert some rights over my work. I believe in intellectual property- I just think that as a society, we need to be able to build upon things or we will stagnate. The only problem I see with creative commons as it is is the time span- my work goes into the public domain following the same schedule as copyright law which would be 70 years after I die - that is, unless I go back and manually change the licenses of older content. Ideally, I could set a limit of my CC license, after which point it passes into the public domain. I think 10 years is reasonable. As it is now, I’ll just have to do a reevaluation of old work and release it into public domain where appropriate.

The reason I think 10 years is a reasonable term is that artists don’t live by resting on our laurels. We don’t make one really great painting or book and go “well, guess I can retire now!” - We create, we keep creating, and we keep changing. What I made 10 years ago doesn’t matter near as much as what I will create tomorrow. I think 10 years is a reasonable term for me to monetize what I can. That may be just me. I think terms up to 30ish years or until death (whichever comes first) are reasonable- but not this 70 years after death stuff.

karin :: Feb.22.2008 :: Art, Free as in Freedom, My Stuff, Open access/Open source, Sites and Stories :: 3 Comments »

I realize that I have to blog now, because I can’t write an in depth piece about social networking and then have that be the last thing on my site for a week, right?

Things are busy around here- which is great - but it also means I’m having a hard time fitting everything in. I have more blog post ideas than I know what to do with, but I’m having trouble bringing things into a cohesive form.

This semester has been a little weird for me. My first semester of library school, I tool Library Administration- and since I knew nothing about libraries, I soaked everything up like a sponge and most of my blogging had to do with what I was learning in class. Now, though, I have different interests, and not all of them match up with my classes. My attention is more fragmented than ever- because I want to read all about what I’m learning in class, but I also want to read more about other topics, and there’s not enough time to do everything.

I’m also realizing that my attention is becoming more and more fragmented- I find it hard to sit down and just do homework at home because of all the distractions. I can think of two ways to solve this- either work at work (that is, either come in early or stay late and do homework at the library) or create a dedicated study space at home. May have to go with the library for the short term since I can’t think of anywhere to put a study place at home.

New Blog 

I have also found I’ve missed being able to blog about anything and everything that is on my mind. Here is not the place for that- I want to keep this space for library issues. So my solution is to start a new blog. You can find me over at os-agnostic.com, where I will ramble on about non library related tech stuff, talk about my art, and just generally be off topic. Feel free to subscribe, or just stop in and check up on me. OS Agnostic is probably more of interest to techno-geeks and my friends and family than the library crowd.

karin :: Feb.11.2008 :: School Stuff, Site Updates, Sites and Stories :: No Comments »

I’ve had this idea in my head for a presentation or article or something, but it’s not clearly formed yet. I’m hoping posting here (and maybe getting some feedback) will help me clarify my thinking. Maybe it is best left as a blog post.

When I started library school a yearish ago, I knew no one in the library world. I had never heard of Stephen Abram or Walt Crawford, let along Meredith Farkas or Karen Schneider. I had only started working in a library a few months before, and despite the fact that my first job was as a page in a library, my knowledge about libraries was limited.

I found that I really liked my first library class (Library Administration) and it spurred a lot of thoughts in my existing blog. As time went on, my blog became more and more about library stuff. At the same time, I sought out other library blogs and subscribed to them. At one point I was subscribing to hundreds of library blogs- I have cut back since then. Reading blogs did several things- it gave me glimpses into the different types of careers I might have, it clued me into what librarians were talking and thinking about now (something reading the professional literature just didn’t do) and also let me experience what a conference was about before I went. By selectively delving into the archives of some of the more long running blogs, I was able to gain an appreciation of where the profession has been in the last few years.

After reading blogs and writing for a while, I started commenting. I tried to keep up with my comments- looking for responses so I could respond back if needed, but I found the whole process unwieldy. Now, there’s a Firefox plug in called “cocomment” that watches my comments for me. I also started to examine my other web presences. I had a MySpace profile, which, luckily, had no embarrassing pictures or anything- I cleaned it up a bit so it looked presentable for potential employers and colleagues to find. I started actively seeking out librarians on social networks - looking through friends of friends for names I recognized, mostly. I did the same on Flickr, signed up for a Facebook account, etc. I joined the Ning network “Library 2.0” and was active there for a while. I created a library student Ning network, and though it is pretty dormant now I met a lot of great people through it and continue to find new blogs to read when new people sign up.

Somewhere along the way I redesigned my site and migrated to WordPress from Movable Type. I created a second site at karin.dalziel.org to serve as my C.V. I tried for a professional looking design. I started treating everything online as part of my professional identity- this may not always be important, but I believe it makes a difference, especially in the year or two before job hunting. That said, I tried not to totally stifle myself, either- much of my life is online, after all, and I don’t want to completely cut that off. Another big change was to start using my real name for nearly everything - commenting, site logons, etc. I still have a few places where I use an alternate logon, but there aren’t many. I check my name in several search engines to make sure my site comes up first, and that the results are indicative of what I want people to see.

A bit before I attended my first ALA conference in Washington D.C., I joined Twitter and started friending library people (later I extended friending to local people, educators, and computer geeks.) When I went to the conference, I brought my PDA- while I wasn’t always connected, I had internet often enough that I could see what people were doing on Twitter. I found it very useful, and would definitely recommend it.

Now I am in the maintenance phase of my online life- I take a look at new applications occasionally, but mostly stick with what I have. My MySpace and Facebook use has dropped off, but I’m active in blogging on my website, Flickr, del.icio.us and Twitter, among other places. I carefully tag photos to make them more findable, and CC license my work so it can be re-used with credit.

A few specific examples of what online networking has done for me:

I created an “Open Access for Librarians” presentation for a class. I was very happy with the slides and the talk. This was the first thing I put on my “Publications, Presentations and Projects” part of my professional website. I quoted Dorothea Salo’s blog, Caveat Lector in my presentation, so I sent a quick email with a link to the presentation on my own site so she would know. (At the time, I considered this more of a professional courtesy than anything- I’d like to know if I was being quoted.) Dorothea linked to my presentation (and complemented my on my website!!) and it was also picked up by Peter Suber and American Libraries Direct, an email that goes out to American Library Association members. It was also featured on the home page to my own library’s website.

More recently, I gave a brown bag talk on Zotero, a open source citation management program I have been using for over a year. I worked hard to create some amusing, attractive slides. I added the talk to my website (as I always do) and told people about it in Twitter and on my blog. I also responded to a request for slogans on the Zotero forum, pointing to the research LOLcats I made for the presentation on Flickr. I got a nice email thanking me, and got a free Zotero Tshirt and stickers. I was also recommended to do another presentation on Zotero.

Can it work for you?

I don’t necessarily think the online social networking approach will work for everyone, but for me, it has been amazing. I can’t afford to go to that many conferences (at this point, I pay out of my pocket for them) but online I can take part in conversations I wouldn’t otherwise be able to. It’s not a replacement for traditional, face to face networking, publishing, and conferences, but it is a great supplement. Another huge advantage for me is that I am a little shy when meeting people for the first time, but if it is someone I know from online, I at least have a way to start up a conversation.

Tomorrow I’ll post some do’s and do not’s for professional social networking.

karin :: Feb.06.2008 :: Conferences, Library, School Stuff, Sites and Stories, Work :: 14 Comments »

I didn’t actually get tagged for this, but I saw it on the blog humachine, and it looks like fun.

I added a step 4 to go with step three, so that I could use use a Creative Commons licensed photo. The previous directions just pulled from Flickr’s “interesting” page, of which very few are CC licensed.

1. The first article title on the Wikipedia Random Articles page is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last quotation on the Random Quotations page is the title of your album.
3. Use the random word generator to generate a word.
4. Use the word to search FlickrStorm (creative commons licensed photos) and the third picture will be your album cover. Or just choose any image.
5. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result.

Article Title: The World Famous Pontani Sisters
Random Quotation: The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. - Bertrand Russell
Random word: Tread
Image: Tired Cone by Travis Gray

Software & Hardware: Wacom Bamboo Tablet, ArtRage 2 (Through Wine), Gimp, Inkscape, Ubuntu 7.10

If you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged. Be sure to let me know in comments!

karin :: Jan.14.2008 :: Art, Free as in Freedom, Linux, My Stuff, Open access/Open source, Sites and Stories :: 1 Comment »