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December 2002 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THE USERS AND USES OF PUBLIC INTERNET ACCESS A new academic paper "Is There A Place In Cyberspace: The Uses And Users Of Public Internet Terminals," analyzes users and uses of the Internet according to access points, paying special attention to public terminal users. The paper was cowritten by Barry Wellman, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto, and several graduate students. The first section of the paper reviews the published literature and surveys on characteristics (gender, age, socioeconomic level, etc.) of Internet users and non-users. Analysis of the combined results showed that the users of public terminals are more apt to be younger, single, and "newbies." They are also slightly more likely to be women and university-educated. However, the variable most strongly associated with the use of public terminals is employment status; the unemployed are most likely to use public terminals. Only half of public terminal users are employed in traditional full time jobs. Public users make somewhat less instrumental ("practical", i.e. homework, job searching) use of the Internet and somewhat more recreational use. However, the differences between public terminal users, and work, home and school users are generally not substantial. The paper will be published in French in a forthcoming issue of Culture et Geographie. The English
version of the paper is available (in PDF format) at: 2. VANCOUVER FIRST LIBRARY IN THE WORLD TO OFFER NEWSPAPER DIRECT SERVICE This month, the Vancouver Public Library became the first library in the world to offer a cutting-edge service that provides its patrons with same-day access to international newspapers. Newspapers are laser printed at the library on 11x17 paper using PDF files supplied by the library's partner, NewspaperDirect. El Pais (Spain), Korea Daily News (South Korea), the LA Times (USA), Le Monde (France), the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines), the UK Times (England), and the Washington Post (USA) are all available at the Central Library and selected branches. Patron suggestions will be solicited to help in selecting other newspapers to offer in the future. NewspaperDirect is a B.C. company and a leading innovator in electronic newspaper delivery. For more
information: 3. ONTARIO ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY INITIATIVES During Ontario Public Library Week (October 21-27), the Ontario government committed to continued funding for three initiatives that make public library services more accessible to people across Ontario. The Virtual Reference Library (VRL) of the Toronto Reference Library will receive $1.4 million in 2002-2003. Through its subject guides, digital collections and online services, the VRL provides reliable information resources and enhances the reference capacity of public libraries. As well, the Ministry of Culture announced capital grant funding of $145,000 to help the Southern Ontario Library Service deliver its inter-library loan program, and $40,000 to help Ontario Library Service-North upgrade its Sudbury office facilities. The twin services offer staff training, manage the provincial interlibrary loan system, and provide programs to public libraries across Ontario. More than 1,200 public library outlets in the province of Ontario serve almost five million cardholders, receive more than 60 million visits a year and have more than 18 million circulating titles. For more
information: 4. PRINCE GEORGE LIBRARY CONNECTED TO PROVINCIAL HIGH SPEED NETWORK On November 15, the City of Prince George, the University of Northern British Columbia, and BCNET signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining a partnership agreement to bring advanced networks to northern B.C. The Prince George Public Library, City Hall, Prince George Regional Hospital, and UNBC will all be connected to each other, and to other participants in Vancouver and Victoria, over the provincial high-speed research and education network called the ORAN (Optical Regional Advanced Network). The three partners will work together to manage and oversee the Prince George Transit Exchange (PGTX), the northern hub of ORAN. Via CANARIE's CA*net4, ORAN participants in Prince George will also have access to their colleagues across Canada and to valuable online research and education resources worldwide. The upgraded provincial network will provide Internet access 200 times faster than current service. "We believe advanced networks like the Prince George Transit Exchange, will play an instrumental role in advancing this region's long-term economic and social viability," said Colin Kinsley, Mayor of Prince George. BCNET is a non-profit society that supports and promotes advanced networks for the province's research and education communities in order to enhance education and research capabilities over the Internet. BCNET is supported by the provincial and federal governments, as well as by its regional university members. For more
information: 5. GOVERNMENT SERVICES & DOCUMENTS CONTINUE TO MOVE ONLINE Delivering seamless access to government online services is crucial to ensuring the public uses the Internet for services, according to public sector experts from around the world who gathered in Ottawa on November 26 and 27 for the Government Online 2002 International Congress. Michael Messinger, director of marketing and communications for FirstGov.gov (a portal to U.S. federal government services and information) says that government websites must target those he calls "multipliers" - people who help get others online and using government services. Librarians are one of his major targets, because public libraries are often the only place where many people can access the Internet. "Beyond allowing people to use our services, libraries were given a great deal of feedback by Internet users, and that helped us organize our priorities to what people were looking for," he said. The two-day conference was aimed at providing strategies and solutions to help the Canadian government meet its goal of having all of its essential services online by 2005 and making them more user-friendly. Numbers released by Communication Canada at the Congress revealed user dissatisfaction with the GOL experience. Since January 2002, 51 per cent of Canadian Internet users have visited a federal government website, yet 27 per cent of those users weren't happy with the overall quality of service. An article in the San Jose Mercury News on December 3 highlighted the continuing trend towards government publishing online in the U.S. The article calls this "a radical change in how people seek information" and "an equally radical shift for librarians who spend less time helping visitors and more time cataloging materials online." According to the article, the U.S. Government Printing Office has been shifting since the mid- 1990s to electronic distribution, and about 60 percent of its new titles are now available online. The move to electronic documents saves shelf space and lets patrons access information anytime and anywhere. Online keyword searches are faster and easier than having to identify a document and search for it in a library. However, the article does mention some of the drawbacks to online publications, including incomplete sources and recall. For more
information on the Government Online Congress: To read the
full text of the article: 6. CLA OPPOSES DEPOSITORY SERVICES PROGRAM RESTRUCTURING Communication Canada, the federal government department responsible for the Depository Services Program (DSP), recently announced that the DSP will be "restructured and consolidated" under the department's Publishing operations. The DSP ensures public accessibility to government information, and acts as a government information safety net by supplying depository libraries in Canada and abroad with the latest government publications in all formats. In turn, these libraries provide public access to this information. The Canadian Library Association (CLA) is concerned about the long-term viability of the DSP if reorganized under Communication Canada's Publishing division. The reorganization could drastically curtail public access to government information, the program's mandate and budget, and input into the administration of the DSP from the library community. Instead, the CLA recommends as a possible solution moving the DSP to the new National Library and Archives. The CLA encourages all Canadian librarians to write letters to Ralph Goodale, the Minister responsible for Communication Canada and the DSP, calling on him to ensure the preservation and long-term stability of the Depository Services Program. For more
information: To read the
original letter detailing CLA's concerns, and two responses: 7. NEW LIBRARY EVALUATION TOOKIT AVAILABLE ONLINE What differences does your library make in your community? Can you document and communicate them? If not, then you're with the majority: 73% of librarians in a recent survey said that they were unsatisfied and frustrated with current evaluation tools. "How Libraries and Librarians Help: A Toolkit" focuses on developing indicators reflecting the range of social contexts in which individuals access and use public library services, and how these services build community. The toolkit focuses on users and the patterns of use they make of public library services as the best means of outcome-based evaluation. Developed by researchers in the School of Information at the University of Michigan and the Information School at the University of Washington, the Toolkit will help librarians understand how their library's services are affecting the people in their community and showcase the impact of their library services. The Toolkit guides librarians through four steps. One: preparing for evaluation and defining objectives. This section also provides resources for further information regarding outcome-based evaluation. Two: collecting data. Decide which data collection approach is best for a particular program. Sample instruments are provided. Three: analyzing data. Several different techniques are presented. Four: using what you find - how to present the data to a variety of stakeholders. The development of the toolkit was funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. To view the
toolkit: 8. HOW DO USERS EVALUATE A WEB SITE'S CREDIBILITY? Two new studies released last month confirm that people may be at risk from misleading and inaccurate information on the Internet. Consumers International's WebCredibility project, involving researchers from 13 consumer organizations around the world, found that it is difficult for consumers to evaluate the integrity, reliability and credibility of information sources on the web. Websites investigated included sites that provide information on health, sites providing information on financial services and products, and price-comparison sites. The results indicate users must exercise caution when soliciting information from certain sites. Roughly half (49 percent) of health and financial sites failed to give warnings about appropriate use (i.e., they did not warn consumers searching for advice that they should consult a professional before acting on advice given). 55 percent of sites said nothing about how up-to-date their content was. At least 50 percent of sites giving advice on medical and financial matters failed to provide full information about the authority and credentials of the people behind that advice, and only 57 percent of general advice sites gave their sources for that advice. 60 percent of sites provided no information on whether their content was influenced by commercial interests (e.g. partners, sponsors or advertisers). 39 percent of sites that collected personal information did not have a privacy policy. "The results of this research are particularly alarming when you consider that the majority of consumers using the web are relying on it for credible information they can trust," said Anna Fielder, a director of Consumers International. To read the
full text of the Consumers International report (in PDF format): An American organization, Consumer WebWatch, participated in the Consumers International study, and also commissioned the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab to investigate whether consumers actually perform the online credibility checks (e.g. reading privacy policy pages) they said they did in an earlier national poll. The resulting survey, entitled "How Do People Evaluate a Web Site's Credibility?" asked more than 2600 average Americans to rate the credibility of websites in 10 content areas. A parallel project ("Experts vs. Online Consumers: A Comparative Credibility Study of Health and Finance Web Sites") asked fifteen health and finance experts to assess the credibility of the same sites. The two organizations claim that this collaboration is "the largest Web credibility project to date." The study found that in evaluating websites, as in most areas, there was a large discrepancy between what computer users say is important and what they actually do. Consumers rarely used rigorous criteria when evaluating credibility. The data showed that the average consumer paid far more attention to the superficial aspects of a site than to its content. Nearly half of all study respondents (46.1%) assessed the credibility of sites based in part on the appeal of the visual design. Nearly 7 percent (or 6.4%) made comments about a site's customer service or related policies when assessing credibility. Beau Brendler, director of Consumer WebWatch, said, "Internationally, we see a lot of web sites clearly are not playing fair when it comes to separating what is supposed to be objective editorial content from economic concerns." To read
the full text of the Consumer WebWatch reports: For more
assistance in assessing website credibility, and training users in how
to do so, see the annotated bibliography "How To Evaluate A Web Site":
9. UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA LIBRARY TESTS NEW VISUAL CATALOGUE The University of British Columbia (UBC) Library is using a software product called Visual Net for Libraries to display the entire contents of its catalogue - over two and a half million items - in a visual interface. Students simply click on the map to see any subject. Zoom in and see it further sub-divided, with all of its holdings. In an amusing touch, the catalogue is displayed as an outline map of Vancouver, with books on the Westside, journals and other serials on the Eastside. The Belmont Abbey College Library in North Carolina also uses Visual Net to create a visual interface for all of their library holdings. They found that after implementation of Visual Net, circulation of e-books more than doubled as students were able to find them more readily. There are a number of reasons why visual navigation may improve upon text. Cartography allows more information per unit of display area than any other medium, and search accuracy is increased when the categorization is exposed visually. When looking for a specific title or author, it's still better to use traditional catalogue indexes. But when a query is inexact, visual search results provide excellent access to concepts and related sources. The theory of visual representation is that, once you've become accustomed to interpreting it, users can assimilate graphical information much more rapidly than textual, and this efficiency in turn can enable them to navigate very large information spaces. To view
UBC's visual catalogue: For more
information on Visual Net for Libraries: Other sources
of information on visual interfaces: 10. BILL GATES VIEWS WHAT HE'S SOWN IN LIBRARIES An article in the New York Times on November 6 covered a visit by Bill Gates to one of the many public libraries to which computers were donated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates' visit came as the Foundation begins wrapping up its five-year program to provide computers and Internet access to underserved and poor libraries across North America, particularly in rural areas. The article says that Gates is disappointed that the program has not had the desired impact of helping to prevent rural flight. "I thought digital technology would eventually reverse urbanization, and so far that hasn't happened," he said. Kristie Kirkpatrick, a librarian in Colfax, Washington, is quoted as saying, "They come into the library, and they may use the computer to get a job and leave." Andrew C. Gordon of the Public Access Computing Project (PACP) at the University of Washington, who was hired by the Foundation to evaluate its American library project, called it a "a success, but not an unqualified one." In his survey, Gordon found that library use did go up - and not at the expense of books. He also found that most people who used the donated computers fell under the low-income bracket where the digital divide has been greatest. The primary task that people used the computers for was keeping in touch with family and friends through email. 22 percent of new computer users in the libraries said that the computers helped them to find jobs, although whether those jobs were in a different location was not tracked. The biggest question about the project, as the article points out, is whether it can be sustained after the Gates Foundation walks away. Foundation staff members currently provide technical support to librarians, but that service will be phased out over the next two years. To read
the full text of the article (registration required): For more
information: 11. UN REPORT SHOWS ONLINE USE STILL GROWING A new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that the number of people around the world using the Internet is still going up, despite the current economic slowdown. The annual E-Commerce and Development report predicts that one-tenth of the world's population will be online by the end of this year, or an estimated 655 million users, compared to 500 million last year. The United States, with nearly 143 million users, continues to have the most people online. Asia and Africa saw the most significant increase in the number of users, with 44 and 43 percent growth respectively in 2001. Broken down by region, Internet users in 2001 jumped 44% in Asia, 43% in Africa, 33% in Latin America, 33% in Europe and 10% in North America. Internet use has also grown rapidly in India, with 25% growth last year, to one in 147 of the population. UNCTAD's report, providing both information and analysis on a range of topics that influence the expansion of e-commerce in developing countries, is considered a key indicator of the development of e-commerce, which is notoriously hard to quantify. Developing countries continue to lag behind in conducting business over the Internet, although the trade of goods and services could reach $2.3 billion by the end of 2002 and nearly $3.9 billion next year. The report said that IT products now form a larger share of developing countries' exports than agricultural, textiles and clothing products combined. This was due mainly to multi-national companies using cheap labour to produce hardware and software, the report said. To read the
full text of the report (in PDF format): 12. FRANCOMMUNAUTES VIRTUELLES FUNDS A "RESSOURCES PEDAGOGIQUES" PROJECT IN NOVA SCOTIA One of the Francommunautés virtuelles web development grants announced last month will go to the DocuToile project headed by the Nova Scotia Centre provincial de ressources pédagogiques (CPRP). The CPRP is a French-language education resource for teachers, students, and parents. The purpose of DocuToile is to catalogue and make freely available online the library holdings of Francophone schools and school boards across the Atlantic region (excepting New Brunswick). It will also provide access without charge to the CPRP interlibrary loan service, its bibliographic records, and its publication, Entre Nous. Francommunautés virtuelles supports innovative French-language projects that meet the needs expressed by Francophone and Acadian communities. This year, Industry Canada, in partnership with Canadian Heritage, will provide $4 million in order to create original French-language content on the Internet. For more
information: 13. U.S. TRIES NEW CHILD PROTECTION TACTICS, AS FILTERING ACT GOES TO SUPREME COURT On December 4, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act, creating kids.us, a new second-level Internet domain intended to establish a "child-friendly" space on the Internet. According to Bush, the domain "will function much like the children's section of the library, where parents feel comfortable allowing their children to browse." An independent board will set content criteria for the .kids domain, deemed appropriate for children 12 years old and younger. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the international body that governs domain names, refused to create a stand-alone suffix (such as .com or .org) for child-appropriate content, so the new '.kids.us' domain will be overseen by Neustar, the American company that administers the .us domain. Neustar will be in charge of monitoring sites within the dot kids domain for content and safety, and of removing all objectionable material. The new law represents a more modest attempt to protect children from violent and sexually explicit material, after previous attempts failed to survive court challenges. On November 12, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear a Justice Department appeal defending as constitutional the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires American public libraries to install Internet filters or lose federal funding for Internet access. In May, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals struck down CIPA, ruling that the law was illegal because the technology suppressed both obscenity and material protected by the First Amendment. The upcoming case will mark the third time that the Supreme Court has considered efforts by the U.S. Congress to shield children from online pornography. The Court earlier ruled that the 1996 Communications Decency Act violated the First Amendment and barred enforcement of the 1998 Child Online Protection Act, which raised similar concerns. The Court will hear arguments in the CIPA case next spring, with a decision expected by the end of June. For more
information on the dot kids domain: For more
information on CIPA: 14. SELF-SERVICE LIBRARY OPENS IN SINGAPORE The brand new Sengkang Community Library in Singapore, opened to the public on December 2, is a completely self-service facility, with no on-site librarians and no service counters. Residents can register as library members, renew their memberships, and replace lost library cards at two self-service membership kiosks. Patrons are encouraged to search the online catalogue for the books they want and sign them out electronically at one of seven self-checkout stations. Patrons who need more assistance can use telephones provided to talk to a librarian at a regional library, who will guide the patron through the online catalogue and other databases. The off-site librarian can even direct the patron to the physical location of materials by highlighting a map of the library's floor plan on a monitor. The library is also set up with Wireless Land Area Network (WLAN) capability. Patrons who subscribe to a WLAN service provider will be able to connect their laptops to the Internet over the wireless network. For more
information: EBL 2003
The second international Evidence Based Librarianship Conference will concentrate on practitioner-based research, the implementation of research in practice, evaluation as a way of informing future activities or programs, and the application of evidence based practice models and tools to librarianship. For more
information or to register: Professional
Learning Centre Courses beginning in January include Introduction to Records & Information Management, and Mastering Web Searching. Other courses begin in February or March. Most FIS web-based courses run for seven weeks and cost $375. For a complete
list of web-based courses or to register: École de
bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information Principes
de veille stratégique Approche
stratégique au service à la clientèle dans le domaine de la recherche
d'information Introduction
à XML Introduction
à la schématisation mentale Les outils
de recherche d'Internet : comment s'y retrouver Tuition is $225 for one-day courses, $350 for two-day (taxes included). For more
information or to register: Bruce County Virtual War Memorial The site provides access to the names of the men and women of Bruce County who have died in wars this century. Names are linked to the Veteran's Affairs Virtual War Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the online Books of Remembrance. Local residents can submit names and suggest changes or corrections. http://www.bruceremembers.org/ Catalogablog A blog devoted to "library cataloging, classification, metadata, subject access and related topics," from a librarian and cataloguer at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. As well as news items, it includes links to cataloguing standards and MARC tools. http://catalogablog.blogspot.com/ Findnews.org A searchable online news resource with a directory of links to news sites, including the categories of mainstream sources, newspapers, global and local news, business and finance, political, weather and science, health, and major stock exchanges. International Children's Digital Library This joint project of the Internet Archive and the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab will eventually hold about 10,000 books aimed at children 3 to 13. Access to the prototype website requires high speed Internet access, but by next summer the ICDL plans to offer a version with minimal technical requirements that can run on any Internet-enabled computer. New Glasgow and Surrounding Towns A digitized version of a collection of old photographs of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, and nearby towns. http://www.parl.ns.ca/projects/surroundingtowns/ Nova Scotia Air Force Fatalities: World War II, 1939-1945 A digital edition of Douglas Stallard's book of the same title, this is a register of Nova Scotians lost while serving in the RAF, Commonwealth Air Forces and the US Air Force. http://www.parl.ns.ca/projects/airforce/ Prospero Prospero is an open source Internet Document Delivery (IDD) system that allows libraries to send, receive, and post documents in electronic format. The staff module (Windows XP/2000/NT/98) allows libraries to scan, send, and receive documents. The server-side/user interface allows patrons to retrieve their password-protected documents using any web browser. http://bones.med.ohio-state.edu/prospero/ The Scout Portal Toolkit This open source software package allows organizations to develop an online portal without a large investment in technical resources or expertise. Features include: a MySQL database with Dublin Core compliant metadata default fields; cross-field searching; a metadata field editor, which allows portal administrators the ability to add, delete, or disable a variety of metadata fields; discussion forum options; and many more. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/research/SPT/ Survey Monkey A free survey tool that (unlike many others on the Internet) does not require you to provide personal details before trying it out. The free basic subscription is limited to a total of 10 questions and 100 responses per survey, but there are no banner ads and you have the option to customize the page and add a logo. Teenlibrarian.com "Teen Librarian" Miranda Doyle of the San Francisco Public Library created this website as "an online community for librarians who serve teens, whether in a public library, school, or other setting." Includes a message board, a chat room, a directory of teen librarians, links, news stories, and career suggestions. Tips for TRIPS The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (or TRIPS) aims to set a common standard for intellectual property protection in all World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has produced a brief introduction to the WTO system, TRIPS, and its dispute-resolution procedure, as a practical guide for librarians. http://www.ifla.org/III/clm/p1/tt-e.htm
Wondir This new search engine's ambitious goal is to offer the best combination of broad metasearch, deep search of the invisible web, and live human answers. Wondir also indexes some of the hundreds of "AskA" virtual reference services provided by libraries around the world. WWWEDU WWWEDU offers educators, administrators, parents, policymakers, researchers and others a moderated, ongoing discussion on the role of the web in education and libraries. To join the
WWWEDU discussion group, send an email message to: If
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