News Report 5

April 15th 2009
"Economy highlights libraries"
Bucks County Courier Times
Amanda Cregan
http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times/courier_times_news_details/article/28/2009/april/15/economy-highlights-libraries-1.html

This story was focused on how public libraries, namely Bucks County Free Library, have seen a rise in visitors. The cause for the surge is the recent economic recession which has struck, and left many citizens a lot worse off in the wallet. A lot of newcomers are visiting because they cannot afford to buy the books they used, when they can just read them for free now. Others have come for the free computer access, which enables them to do anything from learn how to use it, to look for jobs online. With not everyone having access to a computer it certainly helps bridge the divide. A lot of people are realizing that the free alternatives the library provides are greatly needed in this time of economic turmoil. The recent surge in numbers has left some library personnel stretched a little thin, but some workers, like branch manager Dianne Malvoso, is happy that these people are “taking advantage of them more than ever.”
I found this story really uplifting because almost every other story I have come across recently relating to libraries has been a negative one. Most stories are about either libraries being downsized or disbanded altogether, so to see a library really doing well in these times is good to hear. I also think it is a good thing that people are starting to use these public libraries and their resources; the story about the woman who bought a book from Borders only to ask herself why immediately after resonated with me, too. I have been doing that a little bit lately, and I think a lot of often forget how accessible and price-friendly these public libraries are. I just hope that these library personnel do not get taken advantage of at these jobs now, as most of them are seemingly wearing several different hats every day they come to work.

News Report 4

The New York Times
“In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update”
Motoko Rich
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/books/16libr.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
February 15th 2009

This article was once again about libraries and the struggle they face with attempting to mesh with all the new information technology. Also, in this recession we currently face, a lot of librarians are the first workers to be cut when the budget needs restructuring. A lot of parents have expressed outrage over this, as librarians are not just keepers of the library, rather they are teaching students, especially young kids, how to think with an open-mind. Most school librarians are realizing that in this new information age it is better to get with the times than to be left behind. Therefore many of them are implementing new ways to make learning and reading fun. Stephanie Rosalia, a librarian in New York, teaches her young students information literacy skills, for instance. Her take on all of this is that if you can at least get children wanting to learn and read anything, then they will probably eventually come to want to read books.
I found the article relevant to a lot of our class discussions. I also thought it was sad that almost always the first job to get cut in school budgets is the librarian job. These librarians obviously play a pivotal role in today’s information age, because we all know that the information that is so readily available to us is not always reliable. Without anyone to tell young people this, they may go on assuming that everything they read is true, which is not a good premise for life or learning. I think it will be interesting to see how libraries and librarians’ roles evolve in the coming years. Already we have begun to see a shift in their job description, because when I was coming through grade school the librarians did not teach the students the types of things outlined in this article. Also, I do not believe this class I am currently taking would have been available to me years ago.

Reading Report 5

This latest reading was also about information literacy. It presented a number of differing opinions, with some scholars and professors believing the innovative techniques presented to students should be taught more, as part of a curriculum sometimes, while others feel it is a lost cause. A lot of academics feel students have actually regressed in terms of the information they are finding for research, even though the abundance of such information is far greater than in the past. Part of their problem lies in the easy accessibility of sites like Wikipedia and Google. While these sites allow students and professionals the ability to delve through information faster than ever before, the reliability and accuracy of some of these sites are inferior when compared to a school library or another database. In the past, and still today, the library’s materials are checked by academic professionals to ensure their accuracy, whereas information on a site such as Wikipedia is able to be altered by anyone.
I think it is important for schools to test students on their information literacy, as some schools in California are doing. While most students can find a slew of websites using Google, these sites are not always reliable. Only after being exposed to the numerous databases at UNCW did I realize how much better they were than Google at finding respected articles. The next time I do research of any kind, I am pretty sure I will use these databases at least as a reference. If all students knew about the opportunity to use the archives, the content of their papers would surely improve. I am not even sure I could pass the test some of these schools make students take, but the idea of testing is a good one to me. The ability to access tons of information is increasing by the minute, but if you are unable to use this ability, or are unfamiliar with it, then it might as well not even exist to you.

Reading Report 4

The reading report dealt with the current alternatives libraries possess to counter the Google mania taking place today. While few would argue the overall superiority of these databases in terms of search depth, the convenience of other sites, predominantly Google, is causing students to take the easy way out. The effect of this means often sloppy research for college term papers, and overall simplified information, compared to its alternatives. The author, Stephen Bell, partially believes libraries are not focusing enough effort into making these alternative search engines, such as EBSCOhost, more attractive to students. He also ascertains that the reason for this is the lack of understanding of these sites by the library faculty.

I thought this article was extremely relevant to our class. Often times I feel I do not learn anything useful that I can use in everyday life in my classes, but I know that the search engines which were introduced to me in this course and detailed again in this article will definitely come in handy when I have to do research on any given topic, which I am sure I will do countless times in my future. I thought Bell had a great point about making the other search engines and databases look more appealing or “smell like fast food” in attempts to lure the students in. This may sound like false advertising, but I think once most students see what these alternatives are really all about, they will begin to use them on a more regular basis. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, maybe apathy, these search engines will probably never be as successful in terms of hits as Google. Google is simply too convenient. For instance, just to find this article I had to do a lot of searching, or at least a lot more than I would have used had I used Google. In today’s world where everything is all about speed, I am afraid Google is simply too guilty a pleasure to turn down.

Reading Report 3

The article was an outline of the early beginnings of libraries and where they will end up in the future. It also touched on other forms of media and technology, where they have been, and where they too are going. Libraries in the medieval period were extremely important all over the world. The history of the great Leonardo Di Vinci’s artwork is well documented throughout time and the protection of it has always been deemed important. Libraries helped to store his work and other great important documents throughout the years. The invention of the Gutenberg printing press and the endowment of Andrew Carnegie helped to spawn equally important library revolutions in their time, with Carnegie’s loan helping to establish over 2,000 libraries worldwide. Coming from all of this, we are left to wonder where the future of libraries are headed. With all the new information technology becoming more and more available, and with the trend of all forms of technology having limited lifespans, the question is outlined with several trends which to expect over the coming years.

I could definitely see libraries becoming a quasi museum in the future. The “culture center” analogy they used in the article really struck a cord with me and I think that is probably indeed the future of libraries. They will in some way always have a purpose, as the housing of books in my mind will always be necessary. Also, the ability to put books online and onto handheld things is becoming ever more so available, but I am one of those who believe that the physical tangible asset of a book will always be wanted by a great number of people. The only trend I really disagreed with was number 6, as I do not really believe literacy will ever be “dead.” Maybe Dr. Crossman is right, but I think that is an awfully soon timeframe for literacy to be completely dead. I think books and written information have far too great an impact and use to ever be fully defunct.

News Report #3
“Closures loom for UA libraries”
Nathan Mitchell, The Arizona Daily Wildcat
02/02/09
http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2009/02/02/News/Closures.Loom.For.Ua.Libraries-3607944.shtml


This story is an appropriate one concerning the current situation our economy is in. It seems even the libraries are affected by the downturn, which makes sense, because nothing really goes by unscathed. The libraries at the University at Arizona are the topic here, faced with the decision to either raise tuition or downsize one library and eliminate two more. The likely scenario will include both the libraries being cut and an increase in the money students pay. The fee which students currently pay is at $30 and will go up nearly $150 more than that. In addition to the libraries being cut, people will also be getting laid off at the university. It appears as the 15% cut which the government is enforcing is in a way a loan from the university, as 10% of the taken money is supposed to be given back at a later date. The cost of reopening one of the closed libraries is estimated to be about $50 million, so other alternatives need to be looked at. In addition to this disappointing news, the cuts are expected to continue in the years to come.
First of all I was surprised to find out how many different libraries this university had. I mean I know the University of Arizona has a good deal more students than us, but if they are closing this many libraries they probably have at least a few more, leaving them with a lot more than us at one point. On one end I can see where the government is coming from concerning their wanting to close the libraries. The economy has truly affected everyone, and maybe Arizona had a few too many libraries that were not fully being utilized. But to close them just to reopen them later seems like a dumb idea. The cost of reopening is astounding, and if they are truly planning on reopening the closed libraries as they have indicated, they should find ways to severely minimize the cost of doing so. To me it just seems like a whole bunch of wasted money in a time where we cannot afford to do so.

News Report 2

"Sex offender arrested for violating parole on Myspace"
Elinor Mills, CNET
February 4th, 2009
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10157193-93.html?tag=mncol;posts


Myspace has recently caught a pandemic of sexual offenders who have created accounts in attempts to solicit underage persons. The recent count of violators numbers 30, but over 90,000 sex offenders were suspected to have personas on the social networking site. While the man in question did not yet attempt anything explicitly illegal on the site, his parole contained provisions which prohibited him from making a page. Four other men, who did not yet appear to be registered sex offenders, were arrested for trying to solicit sex from undercover agents posing as minors. Myspace has since handed over the names of these people to the Connecticut Attorney general, who requested their submission. In an attempt to get the bad spotlight of them for a minute, Myspace called out rival networking site Facebook and accused it of having over 9,000 sex offenders registered. Some argue that both sites contain accounts which appear to be sex offenders, but are really just fake profiles made up in attempts to raise the total number of users or lure potential predators into capture.

First of all, the number of supposed sex offenders on Myspace especially, and Facebook, is astounding, if those numbers are indeed true. I do not know much about Myspace, but that seems like a ton on people. It just reiterates how careful young people and especially girls should be on the internet, and hopefully parents are involved in these accounts. And while I am glad that the authorities are taking measures to clean these sites up, I do sometimes have reservations about their tactics. The way they described catching these predators reminded me of a show I sometimes watch on television, called “To Catch a Predator.” Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the show, and the people they catch truly are disgusting most times, but it just seems so low in a way. Is there no better way to stop these people? Maybe not, and the important thing is that they are caught after the way they handle the situation, but sometimes these officers posing as minors can initiate the conversation and throw themselves at the offender. I am certainly not condoning what happens after the initial invitation, but at times it seems like a big scheme to set someone they don’t like up. I just wonder how the dialogue the agents use parallels that used by real underage girls. Nonetheless, it is gratifying that these guys aren't going unnoticed, and perhaps the crackdown on the sites and the TV show will deter other adults from conducting similar behaviors.