 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||
|
|  |
   
|
|||
|
December 2000 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. NUMBER OF CANADIANS ONLINE CONTINUES TO GROWMore and more Canadians are using the Internet and for more diverse reasons, according to Statistics Canada. In the December 4, 2000 Daily, the agency reports that about 42 per cent of Canadian households (approximately 4.9 million homes) had at least one family member logging on, either at home, work or school, in 1999. That's an increase of 13 per cent from when the study was last performed in 1997. Other figures from the study found Canadians use their Internet connection for more than recreational reasons. Electronic shopping is also on the rise. About 19 per cent of households with Internet access at home used the Web to buy online, doubling the 1997 figure. Fifty-four per cent used the Internet from home to seek medical and health information, and 28 per cent used it for electronic banking, up from 20 per cent in 1997. One in five households used their home Internet connection for self-employment purposes in 1999, while one in four did so for employer-related reasons. Internet use has increased for all age groups, but growth is fastest among seniors over the age of 65. The Daily article was based on "Plugging in: The increase of household Internet use continues in 1999", the first report to be published in a new Connectedness Series by Statistics Canada's Science, Innovation and Electronic Information Division. This series, which will appear on an occasional basis, will provide in-depth analysis on a variety of topics ranging from e-commerce to telecommunications. For more
information: 2. ACCESS TO INFORMATION FOR PRINT-DISABLED CANADIANSOn October 31, the Task Force on Access to Information for Print Disabled Canadians presented its final report to Roch Carrier, National Librarian of Canada, and Euclid J. Herie, President and CEO of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). More than 3 million Canadians have a print disability. Beginning in June of this year, the Task Force received over 75 formal briefs and held public consultations in six cities across Canada. Many of the report's 26 recommendations are aimed at increasing access for the print disabled through public libraries. As the report states, "The role of the public library is to be an information equalizer or provider of equal access for all. Although public libraries are deeply committed to serving all of the members of their respective communities, including those with print disabilities, a terrible lack of resources jeopardizes these services." Some notable recommendations include:
To read the
full text of the report: For more
information: 3. PUBLIC LIBRARY INTERNET USE AT BURNABY PUBLIC LIBRARY"What Are Public Library Customers Viewing on the Internet?", a new study by Dr. Ann Curry of the University of British Columbia, is now available online. The study gives a detailed picture of how the Internet is used in the public library setting through examining log records of patron internet activity at the Burnaby (BC) Public Library. The transaction logs from seven Burnaby public access computer terminals were downloaded for a one- week period (March 5 to March 11, 2000). These logs contained all of the URL addresses for Internet websites visited on these terminals for the seven days, approximately 110,000 addresses in total. (The privacy of library patrons was preserved, since the identity of individual patrons cannot be connected to these logs.) A sample of the logs was taken by selecting a URL address every five minutes from the 22,000 lines of data. The results give a much more well-rounded and accurate picture of the use which library patrons are making of the Burnaby computers than was available from the previous use study done in December 1998. Web-based e-mail continues to be the most popular use of public access terminals, making up 41.3% of the websites classified. This was followed by sites mounted by for-profit corporations (15.9%), and sites which serve as access points for other sites (11.4%), i.e. web portals and directories. It appears that patrons are accessing more news-oriented web sites and that the new electronic "web communities" are growing rapidly in number. The diversity of languages in the websites accessed is greater, and the number of sites hosted in non-North American countries appears to have grown. The transaction log analysis was carried out as one component in a community needs assessment funded by Human Resources Development Canada. The overall project was carried out in collaboration with the Adult and Continuing Education Department of the Burnaby School District. To read the
full use study (in PDF format): For more
information: 4. "ASK US QUESTIONS" ONLINE REFERENCE SERVICEAskUsQuestions.com is a unique online reference service with a twist, allowing users to chat with librarians from their local public libraries. AskUsQuestions.com is a service provided by fifteen Ohio public libraries and the NOLA Regional Library System (northern Ohio). Patrons from participating libraries can talk live and work collaboratively over the Internet with experienced reference librarians from 8:00 PM until 12:00 PM (EST) Sunday to Thursday. AskUsQuestions.com uses specialized software that allows patrons to directly communicate with its librarians. Features available depend on the browser the patron is using and the speed of their Internet connection. Users working with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, or Netscape 4.5 or higher, are able to make use of the most full-featured version of the service, including chat, shared web browsing, assisted form filling and more. Users of older web browsers can use the HTML version, which is more limited. Soon, users with fast internet connections will be able to speak directly to a librarian, using VoIP (Voice Over IP) technology. For more
information: 5. REFERENCE LIBRARIANS THRIVE IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENTAn article in CNN.com's Career section reports that contrary to popular wisdom, reference librarian job opportunities have actually increased in the past few years. According to the article, the number of reference specialists working in U.S. public libraries has increased by 56 percent in the past five years. The data is taken from research by Market Data Retrieval, a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet that provides information on the education market, including public libraries. Market Data's figures give the number of reference librarians employed by American public libraries as 2,634 in 1995. Today, there are 4,100 reference librarians. Larry Keller, the author of the piece, writes: "With seemingly infinite research data at the fingertips of everybody linked to the Internet, you might think reference librarians are doomed to go the route of door- to-door salesmen and elevator operators. Instead, many Internet users have found the information glut daunting and confusing. And frequently, it's a reference librarian they turn to make sense of it." Walter Gegner, supervisor of the art, music and video department at the Minneapolis Public Library and a 30-year library veteran, says "Increasingly, the reference librarian's role is becoming one of being an instructor or adviser on how to find something on the Internet." The website also has an informal online poll which poses the question "We can tell you're on the Internet. So do you find you still use reference librarians, as well?" Currently 86% of respondents are answering "Yes" to the question. To read the
full article: 6. INTERNET RESTRICTIONS FOR YOUTH STRONGEST IN U.S.New research on Internet usage among teens and young adults in 16 countries shows wildly varying approaches among parents around the world when it comes to supervising Internet usage. While American youth spend more time online than kids elsewhere do, they are also more likely to have their parents monitor what they see and set limits on where they go. Conversely, youth in Europe spend less time online but have fewer restrictions on what they can see and do. Worldwide, about two-thirds of 10,000 teenagers and young adults with home Internet access surveyed said their parents set no restrictions on their online activities. About 40% of American youth report some form of Internet time or content limits, the second-highest level among the countries surveyed (children in the U.K. reported slightly higher restrictions). Americans are also much more likely than youth in other countries to report that their parents have installed filtering software on their home computers. 19% between the ages 12 and 24 with home Internet access said that their online activities are limited by filtering software. By contrast, only 4% of surveyed youth with home access in France, 3% of them in Italy and Sweden, and 2% of them in the Netherlands face the same limitation. However, site censorship isn't the main worry about Internet use for all parents. For some, mainly in Europe, the greatest concern is the amount of time spent by their kids online. These results emerge from Ipsos-Reid's The Face of the Web: Youth, a two-phase survey conducted in the spring and summer with over 10,000 youths between the ages of 12 and 24 in 16 countries. National samples each consisted of 300 12 to 24-year-olds, except in the U.S., where 600 interviews were conducted. For further
details on these results: For more
information about The Face of the Web: 7. 'NET SAFE, NET SMART' LIBRARY TOOLKITOn November 27, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) launched 'Net Safe, Net Smart,' a new web- based toolkit on managing and communicating about the Internet in the public library. The kit was developed in consultation with the CLA Executive Council Task Force on Internet Service in Public Libraries, which was appointed to develop tools and strategies to assist public libraries in both offering and defending this popular service. The toolkit, now available on the CLA website, is a collection of practical resources designed by library and information professionals for use in staff and board training, as well as for public education programming. It includes policy framework resources, such as a position paper and position statements to assist library management in developing usage and access policies; a guide to legal issues; the newly revised version of CLA's popular "Have a Safe Trip!" brochure, formatted for use as a handout or poster for your Internet center in the library; "Getting Good Press: A Media Guide for Libraries," featuring key messages and sample Q & A's for responses to press coverage on Internet access in the library; and links to a collection of selected online resources. A print version of the kit is available for purchase at a cost of $20.00 per copy (taxes, shipping and handling included). To view the
toolkit online: To order
the print version: For more
information: 8. VIRTUAL COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT COURSEThe School of Library & Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a continuing education course via the Internet on Virtual Collection Development. This online course for all types of libraries covers how to select and evaluate both free and licensed electronic resources and looks at the evolving responsibilities of a collection development librarian. It examines collection development policies for electronic resources, licensing agreements, selection tools, and delivering electronic resources to patrons. The next session of the course will be offered February 12 to March 31, 2001. The fee is US$299. For more
information: To register: 9. INTERNET SEARCHING COURSESTwo web-based courses about searching the Internet will be offered by the Continuing Education program at the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto from January 22 to March 12, 2001. Mastering Web Searching builds skills in using the Web-search tools and applying strategies for better searches. Students learn how to apply syntax in keyword searches, locate specialty services, penetrate the Invisible Web, mine newsgroups and mailing lists, find people, and much more. Internet Competitive Intelligence presents a wide range of Internet-based tools and techniques for business research and competitive intelligence, as well an approach for creating a competitive intelligence mindset. Each course is 7 weeks long. They are available to librarians through LibraryNet at the reduced rate of $215 per course. For more
information or to register: 10. CALL FOR PAPERSInternet
Research 2.0: INTERconnections The Internet's ever-increasing points of connection to almost every element of 21st century life have prompted strong interest in understanding the social aspects of cyberspace. The popular press offers wave after wave of speculation and vague forecasts, but what is really needed to help us understand how to live in our wired world is research: research that is collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary. The Association of Internet Researchers invites paper, presentation, and panel proposals on topics that address social, cultural, political, economic, and aesthetic aspects of the Internet. Submissions from any discipline, as well as work from those producing new media or working in multimedia studies are welcome. Panel presentations which establish connections across disciplines, institutions and/or continents are especially encouraged. The following are suggested as possible themes for proposals: communication-based Internet studies; digital art; distance education and pedagogy; e-commerce and business; gender, sexualities, and the Internet; human-computer interaction (HCI); international perspectives on the Internet; Internet technologies; law and the Internet, including privacy and copyright issues; methodological issues in Internet studies; new media and Internet journalism; psychology and the Internet; the "Digital Divide"; race and cyberspace; rhetoric and technology. The deadline for submissions is March 2, 2001. All proposals
should be submitted electronically at: For more
information: 11. CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTEmerging
Technologies 2001 Contact North is hosting this conference on wireless technologies and communications for northern Ontario. The Conference will introduce delegates from all over Northern Ontario to the incredible opportunities that the exploding wireless technologies and communications offer, showcase emerging wireless technologies as a complement to broadband fibre optic communications, and demonstrate how the public and private sector in Northern Ontario can profit and improve service provision from the cutting-edge strategies of industry leaders and innovators. Registration forms will be available soon. For more
information: If
you have information you would like featured in the next issue of LibraryNet
Monthly,
|
|||||
|
||||||||
