I received a link to an interesting story today and thought that I'd share it. With greater access to mapping technologies, this article asks the question "who are the mapmakers?"
You Are Here: How Digital Maps Are Changing the Landscape of the 21st Century
Monday, December 13, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
No Need to Blow the Dust off these Maps
The Digital Archives Initiative of the Memorial University Libraries has thrown open the doors on a collection that, although open to the public, was largely inaccessible for a couple of reason. For one; some may not even know of its existence; or two, users may feel that they do not want to go through the extra steps, or make the request to staff if it isn’t something that they are ‘very serious’ about using.
What the Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) is able to accomplish is to place the material into the hands of the user, to enable them to browse the items electronically - without guilt of placing extra requests with library staff. Or else it may simply increase the awareness of the collection through its ease of access. In many cases, the materials held as part of this collection are rare and certainly something that you would not want out as part of the general collection. For example, Captain Cook’s Chart of the South-East Part of Newfoundland from 1771 is a map that libraries would certainly handle with care.
Happy Browsing!
What the Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) is able to accomplish is to place the material into the hands of the user, to enable them to browse the items electronically - without guilt of placing extra requests with library staff. Or else it may simply increase the awareness of the collection through its ease of access. In many cases, the materials held as part of this collection are rare and certainly something that you would not want out as part of the general collection. For example, Captain Cook’s Chart of the South-East Part of Newfoundland from 1771 is a map that libraries would certainly handle with care.
Users are able to zoom in on parts of this map to use it, almost just like viewing the original, only without being able to touch it. Making this map available electronically through the DAI, places this resource back into the hands of the users rather than behind locked doors. In the Map Room here at the Queen Elizabeth II Library, a 1909 map of St. John’s has become so brittle that even staff are hesitant to handle it. Steps have been taken to preserve this map and add it to the DAI to ensure that this map is not lost to library patrons.
Simply opening up the DAI site and browsing the collection is an incredible experience. There are videos from the opening of the current Memorial Campus; personally I could spend hours browsing the Geography Collection, which are historical photographs of Newfoundland and Labrador by three prominent photographers from around the turn of the 20th century. Or perhaps you may wish to browse the first volume of the Newfoundland Quarterly.
All of these resources are readily available through the Digital Archives Initiative of the Memoriual University Library system and can be found online at http://collections.mun.ca/.
Happy Browsing!
Smart Phones and Libraries
To start, what is a smart phone? Perhaps a smart phone can be thought of, not so much as a telephone, but more as a mobile computer that you can make a phone call with. One of the big pushes in the technology world is towards integrated technologies. Cell phones were once just that, phones, now a whole myriad of functionality has been added to these devices so that they are now more akin to personal computers. Users are making use of their ‘phones’ for just about everything these days and are able to download custom applications to take advantage of the full resources of the device.
So, how can libraries take advantage of the functionality that comes with these mobile devices? Let’s start with the internet resources. First of all, library catalogues are all available online, however, downloading a streamlined version of the catalogue designed specifically for mobile devices would certainly increase access and utility. Other users may wish to access information pertaining to their library accounts such as overdue materials, print credits, or other vital information. The convenience of having a ‘terminal’ in your pocket is immediately realized.
Beyond simply browsing the catalogue, how else can libraries make us of smart phones? There is a whole range of uses that the library can employ such as: providing facilities information; hours of operation; study room bookings; virtual tours; and so on. The library can also grant access to audio and video resources, ebooks, or journal articles in support of your research that can be browsed from anywhere, whether inside the library or not. Likewise, libraries can provide suites of tools or specialized apps (applications) that could be downloaded to mobile devices for use with other resources of the library. Another benefit, perhaps more so for users, is the ability of more substantial devices such as laptops or tablets to be ‘tethered’ to the phone, thereby enabling access to the internet - via the phone - where wireless connections are unavailable.
How are these devices of benefit to the library? The beauty of this scenario is that once someone starts to make use of the device for anything, it will trigger an idea for someone else for a completely different application. The possibilities are endless!
So, how can libraries take advantage of the functionality that comes with these mobile devices? Let’s start with the internet resources. First of all, library catalogues are all available online, however, downloading a streamlined version of the catalogue designed specifically for mobile devices would certainly increase access and utility. Other users may wish to access information pertaining to their library accounts such as overdue materials, print credits, or other vital information. The convenience of having a ‘terminal’ in your pocket is immediately realized.
Beyond simply browsing the catalogue, how else can libraries make us of smart phones? There is a whole range of uses that the library can employ such as: providing facilities information; hours of operation; study room bookings; virtual tours; and so on. The library can also grant access to audio and video resources, ebooks, or journal articles in support of your research that can be browsed from anywhere, whether inside the library or not. Likewise, libraries can provide suites of tools or specialized apps (applications) that could be downloaded to mobile devices for use with other resources of the library. Another benefit, perhaps more so for users, is the ability of more substantial devices such as laptops or tablets to be ‘tethered’ to the phone, thereby enabling access to the internet - via the phone - where wireless connections are unavailable.
How are these devices of benefit to the library? The beauty of this scenario is that once someone starts to make use of the device for anything, it will trigger an idea for someone else for a completely different application. The possibilities are endless!
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