The Search Principle blog

Allan and I are working on a conceptual piece about the semantic web which grew out of our random thoughts on the matter published recently in the Semantic Report. This week’s Social software class was an extension of our thoughts about Web 2.0, and the tensions it introduces for librarians, educators and students.

One tension around social software that I wanted to revisit is the notion of socializing to learn. I believe humans are social beings and learn best from each other. (Check out the photo to your right – that’s a social pod of whales navigating waters in the Pacific.)

A media guy named Morgan, who attended our session, challenged some of my ideas around socialization as a learning activity. We even got clarity around our definition of socializing from Nancy (who googled and provided definitions). I take their points that socialization is not necessarily educational or a part of learning.

However, my point is that a lot of knowledge-creation is inherently social. Think of how we work together on projects and how children learn in pods. I challenge the idea that solitary acts of knowledge-creation (ie. an expert writing a book, let’s say) are superior to thinking-working-doing with others. And contest the resistance to social software in the educational and library contexts.

Some educators and librarians (even some government organizations that block social tools) don’t get Web 2.0, or see its potential. This, to me, was why we did our session this week. To show how social tools can be used to raise awareness and start conversation. Sorting through problems with each other is a first step to thinking together, which is a social act, I argue, and a precursor to knowledge building, and the sharing of new ideas.

Today, Eugene Barsky, Allan Cho and I are doing an exploratory ‘hands-on’ session for a group of SLAIS students, some members of the CHLA/ABSC Student Interest Group and a few EDST students who I have invited to the session to mix things up a bit.

Here are some important/relevant links for the session:

1. Eugene and I gave a similar, longer session at the CHLA/ABSC Conference in June 2007.

2. Physician bloggers, medical librarians, and edubloggers.

3. What is microblogging?

4. UBC Health Library Wiki; the Curriki Wiki: global education & learning community; other wiki projects (Brian Lamb’s Toward Open Education).

5. Facebook groups that I follow…. like Classroom 2.0 and Librarians Who Support Open Access.

“To be an open educator today is to embrace contradictions. Online activity is increasingly being fragmented and integrated. Open culture takes giant steps while forces of control tighten their grip. The future has never been brighter nor so perilous. Can we inhabit irresolvable dilemmas and still manage to act?”
– Brian Lamb’s Keynote, Open Education Conference, 2007.

Irresolvable dilemmas is about right. This is what I experience most about being a librarian circa 2007, and what I discuss with SLAIS students – a mix of discomfort about the hegemony of technologies, and a technocratic zeal for them at the same time. Brian Lamb is a kind of intellectual swing at UBC (think Broadway swing, or Figaro as factotum), a technocrat in both the positive and pejorative senses of the term, and now a vermin virtuoso. You gotta read this post.

Related links from The VV:

1. Links from the Keynote – http://opencontent.org/wiki/index.php?title=Its_All_Coming_Apart
2. abject learning Blog – http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/

My colleague Allan Cho and I recently wrote our ideas down about Web 3.0 in an article called The Semantic Web as a large, searchable catalogue: a librarian’s perspective in which we explore our ideas about Web 3.0, also known as the Semantic Web.

In general, the Web (in its current state of disarray) is not unlike print libraries of the 19th century before the Library of Congress and Melvil Dewey introduced classification systems (and better methods of organizing materials on library shelves) – parallels worth exploring. Of a more recent vintage, check out the OCLC and its work in developing Semantic Web technologies. We suggest that the techniques of bibliographic control which have figured so prominently in the training of librarians for more than a generation should be applied to the coming Semantic Web.

Think about the rise of the graphical web since 1995. Computer scientists and engineers created the pre-Google Web and Web 2.0 using various free social software tools, but it will be professionals in the library science and information science field who will play prominent roles in Web 3.0. Although we are still coming to grips with the implications of Web 2.0, we are in a liminal stage. Folksonomies, social tagging, wikis, blogs, podcasts, mashups are building blocks for the coming Semantic web.

As you may have noticed, I’ve been pondering the writings of Paolo Freire, and the idea of finding our true selves in the context of learning. In the Pedagogy of the Oppressed Freire is arguing that education is critical to effect positive change in the world. Further, for true learning to occur, it is essential that it occur within a particular learning community.

This links very closely with transformative education because any oppressed groups must find a way to play a role in their own authentic empowerment.

The first step in this process is to recognize our own place in the world. If we are aware of oppressive discourses, what Freire calls “conscientizacao”, we can utilize critical awareness to initiate social change. The most effective change is possible when groups of like-minded individuals band together to transform their circumstances.

This it the essence of finding your true, authentic Freireian voice, I argue, and one that we must consciously work toward in academic contexts.

Anyone who follows the development of social software tools, like wikis, and their impact on learning will know the names of major thinkers in this area, such as Tim O’Reilly and Tim Berners-Lee. But, how many of you hear about and know the names of the many worker-bees, those who share their thinking and knowledge-making on their blogs and wikis on a daily basis without reward, such as Canadian wiki-wunderkind, Simon Pulsifer?

(See the Canadian Council on Learning‘s Profiles in Learning interview with Simon).

When asked about his voluminous contributions to Wikipedia (~3000 article entries, at last count), Simon’s mum, a librarian at the Ottawa Public Library, and his father, a military historian at the Canadian War Museum, understand their son’s love of learning but like most parents just want him to get on with getting a job. Now gainfully employed in Toronto’s publishing field, Simon has a story to tell that exemplifies informal learning in the digital era.

In the wiki-sphere, as users contribute to a shifting digital landscape, the ideas they share with others leave imprints of knowledge digitally, and become part of and linked to a whole new world world of meaning. Isn’t that a powerful thing? Isn’t the premise of all learning to construct new meanings by building on what others have said and knowledge perceived anew?

Simon’s journey from average student to tireless writer of encyclopedia entries in Wikipedia is also a case study in identity development. The theory of enactivism – a Tara Fenwick experiential theory – argues that ‘who I am’ arises in split-second changes (micro-identities) given the circumstances of my existence. An aphorism used to describe this type of experiential learning is “knowing is doing is being”, where your knowledge and new identities co-emerge with your experience.

In exploring an ever-evolving landscape of possibilities, linking to new ideas and ways of enactment, Wikipedians take action (not even necessarily consciously) with an innate understanding of new ways of creating and sharing ideas and knowledge. That to me is the most obvious and powerful aspect of Simon Pulsifer‘s story.

Hail all digital learners!

This is the second installment of a series interviewing NLM Associates who are doing some important work in the area of health librarianship. This week, I interview Courtney Crummett who received her MLS in August of 2006 from the University of South Florida. Courtney has library experience in academic and corporate settings, and has an MS in geology from the University of Maryland where she gained teaching and experimental laboratory experience.

I met Courtney on my trek to NLM in April 2007 and enjoyed my discussions with her about social software and blogging.

1. Tell me about your year at NLM, and what it was like to be and Associate/Fellow at the largest medical library in the world.

“My year at NLM consisted of two phases – a curriculum phase and an individual projects phase. In the first phase, the Associates learned about NLM, from facilities to collection policies and product development. The running joke around NLM is that after curriculum, the Associates end up knowing more about NLM than people who have worked there for years! Although not completely true, I walked away from the year knowing a great deal about medical libraries on a national level.

The project phase of the fellowship provided opportunities for more autonomous research allowing each Associate to explore her interests. It was also a great compliment to the curriculum period. We were given the opportunity to work directly with senior staff to share our ideas and suggestions. These projects also benefited NLM’s programs and services. My projects dealt with the NLM podcast, Director’s Comments, and the TOXMAP resource. My year at NLM was an amazing behind-the-scenes look at one of the most fascinating research institutions in the world, and I am fortunate to have been a part of it.”

2. What are your specific areas of interest/ research? Do you think librarians should be doing research?

“My interests include scholarly communication, bioinformatics, and how social software is implemented in libraries. Recently, I was part of a research group that did a needs assessment for the creation of a karst information portal. This research led to a publication, which was fantastic.

So, yes, I think librarians should be doing research. There is an observed lack of quantitative and qualitative research in the library and information science literature, especially by non-academic librarians. Librarians should be active participants in the profession by conducting research to demonstrate the value added by the library and the return on investment. There are many issues, such as budget restrictions, changing technology, collections and users where research may provide solutions, development and progress. Librarians should not only be conducting research within their libraries, but also for the communities, research groups and laboratories within their institutions. Conducting research is one way for librarians to determine trends, better meet their users’ needs and demonstrate value.”

3. Tell me about your work at MIT. What do you hope to get out of the second year of your NLM fellowship?

“I will be working at the MIT Engineering and Science Libraries. My work at MIT is comprised of three areas: bioinformatics, scholarly communication, and outreach. I will work on the development of bioinformatics multi-media tutorials, outreach strategies to the MIT community regarding scholarly communication and develop liaison services to specific departments. Also, part of my time will be spent working with Harvard’s Countway Medical Library. Details for my projects are still in progress, but so far so good! The topics are great, the work is challenging and I can’t wait to get started.

I also anticipate gaining practical experience in areas such as reference services, instruction and the library liaison role. I am really interested in service/product development. I would love to see the process from the initial vision to the actual service implemented, and be active in the planning process.”

4. There’s been a lot of discussion lately about open access, and the de-emphasis of print collections. What do you think this means, in the longer term, for our work as librarians?

“I think the de-emphasis of print has a large impact on the Science, Technology and Medicine (STM) disciplines, and the work of health science librarians. The STM user groups rely on serials more than monographs, and need the most current information available.

As de-emphasis on print collections continues, librarians are faced with space management challenges, more e-friendly user groups and budget constraints. As print journals are duplicated electronically and moved off site, librarians will have to deal with the task of rethinking library spaces. Users are more technologically savvy and librarians will have to approach supporting them differently. We will have to think about information retrieval and -seeking behaviors differently in the electronic environment. Our instructional services will have to adapt to an evolving electronic environment, and collection policies and budget allocations will have to be rethought.

Regarding open access (OA), I think our main work as librarians is informing academic and research communities. Until the processes that evaluate researcher productivity change, such as tenure review, and more publications in OA journals are as rigorously reviewed as those in subscription-based/ fee-based journals, such as Science or Nature, change will be slow. Individuals up for tenure may support and publish in OA journals, but faculty will publish in the journals favoured by review committees.

Librarians need to position themselves on the front lines of scholarly communication and showcase the benefits of OA. We can show our users the reputable OA journals within their discipline and comparable citation statistics. Librarians need to be advocates for author rights and copyright initiatives, and explain both to faculty to ensure that we provide access to research published by our faculty. The success of OA depends on us partly, and we will need to sell it to faculty, researchers and students.”

5. What are the two most important trends in health librarianship?

“I think the two most important trends in the academic context are technology and scholarly communication. Social software technologies such as blogs, instant messaging, and even PDA search interfaces are being used in health science libraries in order to provide information access at the point of care. A quick scan of the scholarly literature shows this is an important trend. Some health science libraries have success stories with implementing creative social software services. I would like to see the NIH’s Public Access Policy recommending NIH-funded research to be deposited in PMC realized fully. Many libraries are looking at this issue, determining what their faculty and researchers need to get this done and how libraries and librarians fit into the picture. I hope that this recommendation will evolve into a standard practice for faculty and researchers.”

1. Annenberg Media – Video lectures ranging from abnormal psychology to – ?
2. ArsDigita University – no longer active, course lectures online at MIT.
3. BBC Learning – Online courses from the British Broadcasting Corporation.
4. BruinCast – UCLA course lectures.
5. Chinese University Lectures – lectures held at Chinese universities.
6. iTunes U – course podcasts from well known universities.
7. Learning from YouTube – Pitzer College lectures on YouTube (read more here).
8. MIT OpenCourseWare – many classes held at MIT.
9. MIT World – more lectures at MIT.
10. MITE AP Courses – Free Montrey Institute AP courses.
11. Open Learning Initiative – Engineering, chemistry and more from Carnegie Mellon.
12. Project Gutenberg – free eBooks, including course textbooks.
13. Sofia – Creative Commons licensed courses at colleges.
14. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (SWTC) CourseCasts – Lectures on everything from debt to microbiology.
15. The Open University OpenLearn – U.K.’s first open learning university offers free courses.
16. UC Berkeley Webcasts – audio and videocasts from Berkeley.
17. UChannel – Princeton-sponsored online lectures.
18. Utah State University OpenCourseWare – from theatre to cattle management.
19. W3Schools – Tons of free online web developer tutorials.
20. Western Kentucky University Distance Learning Podcasts & VODcasts – Read, listen to, and watch lectures.

I’ve been contemplating the strange silo that is librarianship during my year away. The academic study of education has shown me just how interdisciplinary UBC’s campus is, in parts, and how inward and – dare I say it? – shortsighted we are in libraries at times. When was the last time you attended a conference peripheral to your expertise and outside your comfort zone? I’m the first to admit that I don’t either.

In October, Vancouver is hosting the Association of Internet Researchers conference down at SFU Harbourside, with the amusing title ‘Internet Research 8.0: Let’s Play’. A number of educational scholars are speaking, including John Willinsky. They even have a conference wiki.

Here’s a little marketing blurb (it’s a bit ‘out there’):

“The Internet is at once part of the background hum of the developed world and an exotic realm of fantasy and play. It is an essential, mundane part of daily life, and simultaneously radical, revolutionary, profane and fun. Internet/s invite us to play. We surf, blog, role play, and chat in the interest of work, learning, and play. Serious technologies and applications invite playing around as a way to learn how to use them. Playful applications take root in serious business, as online chat becomes a business communication tool. Games find applications in education, business, and war. Playful blogging evolves into a social and political force to be reckoned with. We play with our identity online, shaping current and future roles offline. The play goes on…”

The question is: will any librarians attend? I might, if I can find the time and money.

In April 2007, I made a trek to Washington, and visited the National Library of Medicine. I was able to meet a young Canadian health librarian by the name of Robin Featherstone who toured me around the Bethesda campus of the NIH. As a National Library of Medicine Associate Fellow, Robin provided an insider’s view of the NLM, and introduced me to several Associates, including Courtney Crummett (who will be interviewed on this blog this week).

Robin is now in the second year of her NLM fellowship and she is working at the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at Yale University. She obtained her MLIS from Dalhousie University in 2006 where she interned at the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library. Her undergraduate work was completed at McGill University, where she studied English Literature and Anthropological Archaeology. Robin grew up in Victoria, British Columbia.

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Interview with Canadian health librarian, Robin Featherstone:

1. Tell me about your year, Robin, at National Library of Medicine (NLM), and what it was like to be an Associate/Fellow at the largest medical library in the world.

“I knew about the National Library of Medicine (NLM) from working at Dalhousie University’s medical library, and because I used Medline/PubMed on almost a daily basis. But I never dreamed I would get a chance to spend a year studying and working there. It’s difficult to compare the associate experience to anything else, as we were small fish in a big pond but a lot of attention was paid to us; we were called “the associates.”

Each associate’s experience is unique, but I had a feeling of ‘separateness’ during my year as I was the only Canadian. I felt like ‘a socialist in the corner’, while adapting to a new system of government and a different culture. Despite those differences, I am very grateful to the US government for their federal investment in medical librarianship.

My first year at NLM exposed me to many new areas of librarianship. I learned about the History of Medicine and explored the oldest collection of medical books in the world. I learned about applications for new technologies like Podcasts, PDAs and Webcasts, developed an understanding of web design for user groups such as children, seniors, and non-English speakers. For the first time in my life, I had to wear a suit to work and speak to leaders in a boardroom. I also made a virtual presentation to all of the Regional Medical Libraries from across the United States.

The year was full of many highlights. There were challenges too. But, the knowledge and experience gained was tremendous.”

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2. What are your specific areas of interest/ research? Do you think librarians should be doing research?

“A lot of my energy was spent investigating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. I was fascinated by this collection management tool as RFID brings up fundamental questions about personal privacy – not to mention information security, library automation and preservation.

I enjoy working in diverse areas, and recently collected stories from librarians across the United States about their involvement in community disaster response efforts. I developed a prototype for a children’s web page on environmental health and toxicology. So many projects appealed to me and my interests.

The question of whether librarians should be doing research cannot be answered simply. Should we be required to conduct research, apply for grant funding, and publish in order to advance our careers? No. So much of librarianship is about teaching others. Many of the best librarians I know have never had time to conduct research.

But is research in the area of medical librarianship legitimate? Yes, we must understand the changing needs of our users to serve them better and the nature of information in order to make it more accessible. We have the skills and the knowledge to conduct research, but spend too much time doubting our abilities. Research is one of these areas where acting would do more for us than asking about it.”

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3. Tell me about your work at Yale. What do you hope to get out of the second year of your NLM fellowship?

“Working at Yale will be a chance to serve users directly again. NLM is a great place to work with other information professionals but you do not work as closely with medical students, residents, faculty and other health professionals. This year I’ll be working on a project for the public health school involving Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It is my hope to develop a curriculum for teaching the use of GIS software for mapping epidemiological data.

The second year is a chance to put theory into practice. And it is also a chance for me to learn new skills. Ultimately though, the one thing I want more than anything is a job offer!”

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4. There’s been a lot of discussion lately about open access, and the de-emphasis of print collections. What do you think this means in the longer term, for our work as librarians?

“Print still has a place, and libraries will always have books. But the benefits of digital information are worth heralding. The goal of the modern library should be to achieve the fastest means of transmitting the greatest amount of accurate information to the widest audience possible.

Unfortunately, e-journal costs are a major cause of concern. Libraries won’t survive if we keep paying high subscription fees. And we have been at the mercy of the data vendors and aggregators for too long. Why do we pay for a package of journals to get access to one or two core titles? Why do we accept embargoes and non-cancellation clauses and heavily restricted site licenses? And why do we depend on vendors to provide us with usage data on their own products? Libraries have lost control of their collections. Open access is the only way for us to turn the corner.

Information will find a way to be free. And librarians must be public advocates for open access. We need to support our faculty members in retaining their copyright. We must encourage the use of federally funded open access repositories. It is an absolutely injustice that tax payers fund research that they cannot afford to read. Further, we need to support open access models through involvement with publishing.”

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5. What are the two most important trends in health libarianship?

“First, health librarians are reaching a broader user group. Consumer health librarianship represents an incredibly positive recent development in the profession. Everyone needs health information. The trend to conduct outreach to potential users will hopefully continue. Second, librarians are leaving the libraries. We are providing for our patrons’ information needs at the point of care. Informationists are working in the wards with nurses and patients and doctors. The trend toward increased mobility of library services is a boon for the profession. And the further we travel, the greater our influence will be.”