Data Compression (Wikipedia and Data Compression Basics)
These articles were both lengthy, so I will just try to summarize. If I understand correctly, compression works by breaking data down into fewer bits and then you have to unencode it to open it up again. It is particularly useful for large files such as photo files. There are two types of compression the articles discussed- lossless compression and lossy compression. With lossless compression, it just gets rid of repeats in the data, but you don't actually lose any data, whereas with lossy compression, you have to sacrifice the quality of your information for the sake of compression. I think that this is unfortunate and it almost makes me wonder why would you compress it into that form if it won't be as good anymore. If the data was important enough to be there to begin with, shouldn't it stay there? But, I guess depending on what you're compressing perhaps the loss of data wouldn't be significant enough to impact your experience.
Imagining Pittsburgh: Creating a Shared Gateway to Digital Image Collections of the Pittsburgh Region
I thought this article was very cool. It was very balanced and expressed the challenges and benefits of working with several diverse organizations on a joint, yet customizable, project. I didn't visit the website with the photos on it, but it was neat how the author described they set up the database interface so that it would have one general appearance for the whole, but each institution could alter the interface on their specific part of the website to best suit their collections since each collection was different. I also liked how they opened up sort of a preview version of the website for the public to view so that they could submit feedback. I think this is important because after all, if your users are confused by the website and can't find what they're looking for, no matter how many photos you upload, it won't do them much good! But I could also see this as opening some sort of Pandora's box where users submit so many ideas for changes the project team just becomes inundated with ideas they really don't want to put into action, thus possibly disappointing users who assumed they were having an impact on the website design.
YouTube and Libraries
I never thought of starting a YouTtube account for a library before, but the article really opened my eyes to all of the possibilities this forum would provide. Many people spend a lot of time on YouTube anyway, so clearly it is a format they are comfortable with. From all of the readings and class discussions we've had in our different courses this semester, I am noticing a trend of libraries reaching out to users in their familiar territory. I could imagine some users being intimidated by a library website, catalog, or database options. A lot of library sites have so much information on them, sometimes it is hard to know where to start. By posting library information on YouTube, it would narrow the amount of information available, and maybe present it in a format users are comfortable with. This could lead to more use of the libraries resources and services.
I believe that the ideas expressed in the YouTube article should be implemented by libraries, to provide a better image of libraries to not only students, but the general public also. Even though YouTube is most definitely not regarded as an academic website, if libraries were to upload videos on the website to assist students and other users of library resources, it could allow YouTube to become much more educational.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Christy and James' comments on YouTube. It is a great way to reach out to potential library patrons. However, to make use of of YouTube as a resource, you're going to have to get people to view them. Getting people to your videos on YouTube is probably the biggest issue, I doubt that potential patrons are out searching for videos from their local libraries. Also, making videos that people will find interesting enough to watch is important. Many of the videos I found looked terrible and were just librarians going over library services. We're going to have to be a bit more creative if we expect to use YouTube as a resource and remember that most YouTube viewers are there to be entertained.
ReplyDeleteGrammarcore, that is an excellent point! The videos definitely won't do anyone any good if they don't know they're out there. Or if the videos are boring. No one wants to waste valuable YouTube time watching boring videos. Great point!
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