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November 2000 LibraryNet Monthly TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. IMPACT OF THE NET ON PUBLIC LIBRARY USEOn October 19, the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) and the School of Information Studies at SUNY Buffalo released a research study, "The Impacts of the Internet on Public Library Use," analyzing the results of a 3000+ household U.S. survey of Internet use and public library use. The survey illustrates that the two information providers, rather than competing with each other, can complement each other's services. Forty percent of the respondents indicated they use both the Internet and the library, and even more encouraging, three out of four Internet users used the library within the past year. Sixty percent of the library users were also Internet users. The results also illuminate areas of concern to libraries; younger people (ages 18-35) were more likely to use the Internet, but not the library. When asked about service characteristics, people who use both ranked the library higher than the Internet on: cost, getting a paper copy, trusting the information to be accurate, protecting their privacy, helpful assistance, and being easy to use. The Internet outranked the library in terms of: not taking much time to get there, expectation of finding what is being sought, information being up to date, enjoyability of browsing, always being open, and several others. One particularly significant finding for all public libraries was that, while almost 100% of U.S. public libraries report having public Internet access capacity, 41% of the survey respondents reported not having access to the Internet. Clearly, many people still do not know that Internet access is available through their local library. "The greatest value of this research," said Joey Rodger, president of the ULC, "is that it will help libraries discover what services are most valuable to the community, and then focus their efforts and resources on these services." Founded in 1971, the ULC is an association of public libraries in U.S. metropolitan areas and the corporations that serve them. The study was funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Highlights, a research report, and the survey questionnaire are available on the ULC website. For more
information: 2. CANADA FIRST IN NET USERSPricewaterhouseCooper's second annual "Canadian Consumer Technology Study 2000" summarizes Canadians' overall use of the Internet and views of new technologies. Some of the highlights of this year's study include:
For more
information: http://www.pwcglobal.com/extweb/ncsurvres.nsf/docid/ According to the most recent survey by the Internet Industry Almanac, Canada is the leader in Internet use per-capita, with nearly 43 percent of our population being regular Internet users. The U.S. has an overwhelming numerical lead, with almost 40 percent of the total 280 million Internet users; however, it ranked fourth in users per capita. An Internet user was defined as any person over 16 who uses the Internet at least once a month. These numbers include business, educational and home Internet users. For more
information: 3. NEW U.S. NATIONAL CONNECTIVITY SURVEYThe US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) recently published the results of the sixth national public library Internet study it has commissioned in the last decade. "Public Libraries and the Internet 2000," prepared by Drs. John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure, measures the level of connectivity, public access, training support, and technology funding, current and anticipated, for both staff and the public in public libraries across the United States. According to the survey, Internet connectivity in U.S. public libraries is 95.7 percent, up from the 83.6 percent reported in the 1998 study. Suburban libraries showed the largest increase in Internet hook-up, with a 20 percent increase since 1998. Data is also available on prevalence of acceptable use policies, installation of filtering software in libraries when searching the Internet, and use by the public of Internet- accessible resources including commercially produced databases. NCLIS is an agency of the U.S. federal government charged by law to assess library and information resources and services and to advise the President and Congress on library policy. The summary
findings of the 2000 study are available online at: For more
information: 4. ALBERTA TO CREATE PROVINCE-WIDE BROADBAND NETWORKAlberta plans to move ahead at 21st century speed with the creation of Alberta SUPERNET, a high- speed broadband network to reach every hospital, school, library and government facility in the province within three years. On November 2, Alberta Minister of Innovation and Science Lorne Taylor announced the provincial government will contract a consortium of leading global and provincial technology companies to build and implement a high-speed broadband Internet network to 420 communities in the province. Access to smaller communities and rural areas is the key part of this initiative as institutions, organizations, businesses and individuals will no longer be penalized in service or in costs because of where they are located. "The Internet is for the 21st century what the telephone was to the 20th century. As a result, this may be the most important investment this government has made in rural Alberta since the elimination of party lines," said Taylor. The province will provide $193 million to a consortium led by Bell Intrigna to build the network, on which the government will serve as the anchor tenant. The government will not own the network; it is using its buying power as a customer to encourage development and introduce competition to the Alberta telecommunications marketplace. The consortium (including Bell Intrigna, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nortel Networks and leading Alberta technology companies) will work together to create and build the network infrastructure through a combination of leasing existing fibre lines - ones currently in use as well as lines that have not yet been activated - and by installing new fibre optic cable lines to areas that do not have high-speed broadband service. Alberta SUPERNET also positions the province to take advantage of the federal initiative, announced in October, to provide high-speed broadband network across Canada by the end of 2004. For more
information: 5. 24/7 REFERENCE PROJECTIn the May 2000 issue of American Libraries, an article entitled "The Librarian and Mr. Jeeves" appeared. Steve Coffman (a Director of the County of Los Angeles Public Library) and Susan McGlamery (Reference Coordinator of the California Metropolitan Cooperative Library System) argued that the decline in traditional library reference services should be combatted by offering round-the-clock Internet reference services modeled on such commercial providers as WebHelp and Ask Jeeves. In order to test that approach, Coffman and McGlamery are now heading a new 24-7 Reference Project. The long-term goal of this project is to provide libraries with the tools they need to do live, real-time reference on the Web 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The immediate objective is to test whether the software that commercial sites like Webhelp use to answer user questions is adaptable for library reference services. The software enables staff to track and capture details on the reference questions asked and answered, for more quality control over the reference process. It provides scripting to prompt reference staff to ask certain questions for certain subjects, or refer to certain key sources, and allows easy authentication of the patrons so that only library card holders can query the staff or access any proprietary databases. It also allows routing of calls, so that staff can work in remote locations, such as networking a group of librarians from different libraries or staff working at home. And it permits live, collaborative browsing over the web, allowing a reference librarian to "push" the patron's browser to appropriate URLs. The project operates under the direction of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System public library consortia located in Southern California. However, interest in the project has been so strong that the number of participating institutions has already expanded to include the Library of Congress, the Southwest Regional Medical Library of the National Library of Medicine, selected campuses of the University of California system, and a growing number of other libraries, both public and academic. The first group of libraries went online with the new service in the spring and summer of 2000. For further
information: 6. PULSE PARTNERS LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLSPULSE (Partnership uniting Libraries and Schools Electronically) is a unique learning collaboration that creates a virtual presence for teachers and students at the Canton (Michigan) Public Library. It links the library, its professional staff and its many databases and other resources with six classrooms in each of three elementary schools. In effect, a "virtual branch" of the Canton Public Library is established in each classroom. For each classroom participating in the PULSE project, the Canton Public Library creates a user-driven, assignment-specific, web-based portal to the Internet. This means teachers can create customized webpages complete with Internet resources that complement major classroom assignments and projects. PULSE also establishes regular communications between teachers and children's librarians at the Canton Public Library. Teachers give the library an early alert regarding the topics that children will be studying in the weeks and months ahead. Librarians identify age-appropriate resources, especially Internet-based sites, that meet the needs of teachers and their students. Another key component of PULSE is BookTalk, which will debut in January 2001. It will introduce customized conferencing software designed to support book-related interaction among students to enhance reading and writing skills. For more
information: 7. CANWEST GLOBAL SPONSORING MEDIA AWARENESS NETWORKCanWest Global is MNet's newest sponsor, as of November 9. Starting this year, Global will contribute $100,000 to the Media Awareness Network every year for five years. Global joins a growing roster of Media Awareness Network sponsors from the broadcast, cable, telecommunications and new media industries, as well as provincial and federal government departments and agencies. The Media Awareness Network's sponsors acknowledge and support rigorous sponsorship guidelines, ensuring that MNet's programs are free of commercial content. "We are pleased to recognize Global as MNet's first donor through the CRTC benefits program," said Jan D'Arcy, Co-Director of the Media Awareness Network. Global's contribution to the Media Awareness Network is part of the public benefits package which was a requirement of Global's application to the CRTC for the purchase of WIC Western International Communications Ltd. The Media Awareness Network is a national non-profit organization promoting and supporting media education in Canadian homes, school and communities. MNet has mounted a national public education program, Web Awareness: Knowing the Issues, designed to raise awareness of the issues facing children and young people as they go online. For more
information: 8. FULL UCLA INTERNET REPORT RELEASEDOn October 25, the Internet Report of UCLA's Center for Communication Policy was released. (Excerpts from the report were released a few months ago, as reported in the September 2000 Library Net Monthly.) According to the study, 66.9% of Americans use the Internet, and most of them deny the Internet creates social isolation. In fact, the majority of Internet users said e-mail, Web sites and chat rooms have a "modestly positive" impact on their abilities to make friends and communicate with family. More than 70 per cent said that children's grades are neither helped nor harmed by Internet activity. Lack of privacy was the greatest concern; about two-thirds of Internet users agreed that people who go on line put their privacy at risk. Funded by America Online, Microsoft, the Walt Disney Company, Sony, GTE, Pacific Bell, the National Cable Television Association and the university, the study focused on the opinions and online habits of 2,096 U.S. respondents, both Internet users and nonusers. The study is in the process of surveying people in Singapore and Italy, and plans to expand to additional countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa over the next 3 to 5 years. The Center also hopes to continue the study over the next 10 to 20 years in an effort to address the long-term effects of Internet technology. The UCLA Center for Communication Policy, created in 1993, is a forum for the discussion and development of policy that addresses the critical issues in media and communication. For the full
text of the report in PDF format: 9. CANADIAN IT STATISTICS ONLINEConnecting Canadians' slide show "Key Statistics on ICT Infrastructure, Use, and Content" is now available on the Strategis website. This publication provides information on the latest trends in the information and communications technologies (ICT) sector, in Internet access and use, and in new applications and content including electronic commerce, online courses, telehealth and the environment. The data were current as of August 2000. To view the
slide show: 10. HAMILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY CREATES MULTIMEDIA SITEFlames of Affection: Tongues of Flame is a multimedia site created by the Hamilton Public Library to showcase a poem of the same name by John Terpstra, a Canadian poet living in Hamilton. This particular poem was chosen because of its perspective on the geologic history of the area's Niagara Escarpment. The site includes a multimedia version of the poem with photographs and other images, a musical accompaniment, and background notes. There is also an animated version which can be viewed using Macromedia Flash. To visit
the site: 11. CDC LEADER WINS AGATHA BYSTRAM AWARDOn November 6, the sixth annual Agatha Bystram Award was presented to Industry Canada's Nora Hockin for her leadership of the Canada's Digital Collections program. The award for leadership in Information Management, presented by National Librarian Roch Carrier, is given by the Council of Federal Libraries (CFL). "This initiative is an excellent example of a federal government manager using creativity and initiative to inspire and motivate others in the use and application of information management techniques," said Mr. Carrier. "Ms. Hockin is to be congratulated on her success in bringing together partners from many communities." Canada's Digital Collections provides funds to museums, libraries, archives, schools and other organizations to hire teams of youth to digitize significant Canadian holdings and create multimedia Web sites. One of the most important sources of Canadian content on the Internet, Canada's Digital Collections houses over 375 websites and receives over 1.5 million visits per month. Ms. Hockin was selected from among 14 nominations received. For more
information: To visit
Canada's Digital Collections: 12. GG AWARD READINGS WEBCAST LIVEFor the ninth consecutive year, the National Library of Canada celebrated the Governor General's Literary Awards by inviting winners to read from their works. This year, for the first time, the readings were broadcast live over the Internet to make this event accessible to the readers of the country and of the world. The readings, in both English and French, were held in the auditorium of the National Library on November 15, the day following the announcement of the winners. They were followed by an autograph session. For more
information on the webcast: 13. SEEKING BEAUTIFUL LIBRARIESISIM has just released the "Renaissance Library Calendar 2001," with twelve beautiful photographs of classic library buildings. In a high tech world, this calendar is a chance to remember how the information business started and how the first Information Revolution began. As all of this year's featured libraries are in Europe, ISIM hopes to make next year's edition more international, with libraries from all over the world. If you have a favourite old library that you would like to see included in the 2002 edition, you can nominate it for inclusion at the ISIM website. They will give a free copy of the calendar to the first person to nominate each of the libraries featured in the next edition. ISIM (Information Strategy & Information Management) is a Swedish information services consulting firm. To nominate
a library: 14. NEW ISSUE OF INFORMATION RESEARCH ONLINEInformation Research is a free, international, scholarly quarterly, dedicated to making freely accessible the results of research across a wide range of information-related disciplines. It publishes both refereed and working papers in the fields of information science, information management, information systems, information policy and librarianship. The October 2000 Special Issue on Web Research has just been published online. Contents include "Use of historical documents in a digital world: comparisons with original materials and microfiche," by Wendy M. Duff and Joan M. Cherry of the University of Toronto, and "The effect of query complexity on Web searching results," by Bernard J. Jansen, University of Maryland (Asian Division). There is also a collection of reviews of new books on digital libraries. To read current
and past issues of Information Research: 15. USEFUL INTERNET RESOURCES"How To Make Money with Your Web Site" is a practical guide for libraries interested in fundraising opportunities on the Internet. The site is a response to the growing demand from librarians to know more about affiliate and other revenue-generating programs on the web. http://www.lights.com/how-to/libraries.html The Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM), a joint project of Canada's Digital Collections and Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), was launched Friday, November 10. The CVWM is a multimedia database containing records on the 116,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who have died in war service since Confederation, including a link from each record to the corresponding page in the on-line Books of Remembrance (digitized by students in 1995). The public may submit digital images and other digital memorabilia about those Canadians whose names are entered into the database. Family and official records will be combined in this virtual memorial. In commemoration of Remembrance Day, the Digital Library of Canada Program announced the following additions to the National Library of Canada's digital collections: Songs from
the First World War Period http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/gramophone/ Canadian
Sheet Music from Canada's Past: First World War Era http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/csm-pmc/1/ From Colony
to Country: A Reader's Guide to Canadian Military History The NLC released its thirteenth annual "Read Up On It" kit for children's literature on October 1 (International Music Day). The theme of the kit is "Symphony of Words." http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/pubs/ruoi/eruoi.htm Johan Beetz, a young Belgian aristocrat, arrived in a small village on the North-coast of Quebec in 1897. He was a fox breeder, a naturalist painter and a doctor of agricultural sciences. A man of many talents, he is remembered in the village of Piastrebaie's name change to Johan-Beetz Bay. Created with the assistance of La bibliotheque nationale du Quebec, this French language website tells the story of this extraordinary man who marked his generation. http://collections.ic.gc.ca/johanbeetz/ 16. CALLS FOR PAPERSECDL 2001 This conference will review the impact Digital Libraries have on science, technology, and society in general. In this perspective the conference will emphasize applications of Digital Library systems and their integration in user communities. Future perspectives, such as the convergence of libraries, museums, and archives into Collective Memories, will be discussed. Scientific papers are called for in (but not restricted to): applications in science, technology, and society; integration in user communities; user interfaces, user models; technologies supporting knowledge management; information and knowledge environments; collaboration in information spaces; information retrieval, filtering, personalization, and enrichment; multimedia digital libraries; digitalisation and annotation of real world artifacts; data models, metadata models, ontologies. Authors of regular papers are invited to submit original contributions, not exceeding 5000 words. April 1, 2001 is the deadline for all proposals. For more
information and details on electronic submissions: "Society
desperately seeking librarian" As humorous as this title may seem, it raises several issues that the library community must address, especially the job market. Graduates of library and information science schools, as well as working professionals, are facing new job opportunities. Even if the job market sounds promising for librarians, there seems to be a paradox. When jobs become available, they are not taken systematically by librarians or part-time positions are created instead. Some employers already seem to have problems recruiting new librarians. Is this limited to some regions, to a specific type of library, to some levels of jobs? Are employers having difficulty defining the job profiles with all the new required skills? What are future employers looking for? This job issue is also related to other matters, for example, career plans for librarians, problems with mobility; management skills versus specialized library skills, requirements for continuous training, etc. With this global perspective in mind, the CPLQ is accepting communications (either formal papers or workshops) on the following subjects: new competencies and skills in demand; continuous training in preparation for the new jobs; the responsibility of existing managers to find replacements; external factors (including merging of cities, merging of media, new technologies) and their influence on the job market; description of the situation in Québec and abroad; promotion of information and marketing of a profession; professional values of library and information sciences; new strategies to help information professionals face the competition; the image of librarians and its consequences. Proposals are due on or before December 15, 2000. A submission
form is available on the CPLQ web site: If
you have information you would like featured in the next issue of LibraryNet
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