This
month I look at books to help librarians in
the technical aspects of their jobs. Read these
books to learn about the principles of computer-based
training, develop Web pages using database
technology, demystify and apply P3P technology,
and go forth and conquer with enhanced systems
librarian skills.
Michael Allen's Guide
to e-Learning
by Michael Allen
ISBN: 0-471-20302-5
Published: 2003
Pages: 328 pp.; softcover
Price: $29.95
Available from: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken,
NJ 07030; 800/762-2974 or 317/572-3993; www.wiley.com/business
This excellent book, written by the man
who founded Authorware, the popular software
for creating electronic instruction applications,
provides a wealth of common sense and practical
ideas for anyone involved in training. It
is not a step-by-step guide on creating an
e-learning application. Rather, the author
focuses on the principles and methods involved
in getting a learner motivated and eager
to learn.
The first half of the book is a justification
for e-learning, which is loosely defined
by the author as any type of computer-based
training, whether it is on a CD-ROM or delivered
over the Internet. Allen points out that
many e-learning applications fail due to
a lack of involvement of the appropriate
people at the right time, including senior
management. Too many applications, he laments,
are simply re-purposed content thrown into
an electronic environment. Other failures
can be caused by a lack of identification
of what the required outcome is. What exactly
do you want the user to be able to do after
the training?
The second part of the book focuses on
the principles of good instructional design,
with many examples. The author repeatedly
points out that motivating the user to learn
is the key to all success. Putting tasks
in context and making interesting activities
will help a user want to learn more. He points
out that the technology is not what makes
e-learning a success: The content in context,
with technology as an enabler, does this.
If you are involved in any kind of training,
even if it is not computer-based, you will
gain by reading this book. The focus is on
how to engage the student and keep them motivated
and learning, which are principles that apply
in all areas of training.
Database-Driven Web Sites
edited by Kristin Antelman
ISBN: 0-7890-1739-3
Published: 2002
Pages: 133 pp.; softcover
Price: $24.95
Available from: The
Haworth Information Press, 10 Alice St.,
Binghamton, NY 13904-1580; 800/429-6784 or
607/722-5857; www.haworthpressinc.com
Edited by Kristin Antelman, associate director
for information technology at North Carolina
State University, this short book contains
nine profiles of successful database-to-Web
applications in a variety of academic libraries
and one state government library. The projects
varied in scope and budget, but most made
use of open-source software to keep the cost
down. Someone at the library who was actively
involved in doing the work wrote each profile,
so the focus of each chapter is quite different.
Some focus on the political and cooperation
aspect, some on the technical, some on the
benefits, and so forth.
The most interesting aspect of this book
is learning how each library chose a different
path and software to accomplish more or less
the same outcome. A few chose ColdFusion
for their database applications, but others
used Zope, iDriver, customized software,
and even bibliographic management software
to get information up on the Web.
The articles in this book are just long
enough to give you a glimpse of what was
done in each library, probably because in
the long-established Haworth tradition, it's
a reprinting of a journal issue (InternetReference
Services Quarterly, v. 7, n. 1/2, 2002).
In many cases I found myself wondering why
the libraries made a particular decision
and wished there had been more details. Some
of the articles contain extensive lists of
references, but these do not substitute for
more information on an individual project.
If you are thinking of embarking on a database
project and want to see a bit of what has
been done before, this book will help you.
However, it is by no means enough to get
you on your way in a new project.
Web Privacy with P3P
by Lorrie Faith Cranor
ISBN: 0-596-00371-4
Published: 2002
Pages: 321 pp.; softcover
Price: $39.95
Available from: O'Reilly & Associates,
Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol,
CA 95472; 800/998-9938;
www.oreilly.com
Who isn't concerned with Web privacy these
days? Even the spammers want to keep their
own privacy so the rest of us can't find
them. This book provides a thorough overview
of the Platform for Privacy Preferences Project
(P3P), a technology developed by the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that allows both
Web site users and producers to state their
privacy preferences through a negotiated
agreement.
The author, who is the chair of theP3P
Working Group at the W3C, clearly knows her
stuff. More importantly, she can convey her
knowledge in a way that is clearly understandable
to non-techies.
The book is divided into four parts. The
first gives an overview of the privacy concerns
that led to the development of P3P, along
with an explanation of what the technology
can do and why you would want to use it.
Part Two is for Webmasters who want to use
P3P on their sites. These chapters provide
an overview of the steps involved, detailed
instructions for implementation, and examples
of P3P-enabled sites. Part Three goes into
more technical details aimed at software
developers who want to build P3P capability
into their software, and Part Four contains
five appendixes with specific details on
how to build and implement P3P policies,
including a list of all the XML tags that
can be included in a privacy policy.
P3P is growing in popularity and provides
a good way for both Web site producers to
inform users of their privacy policies and
users to choose if the site conforms to his/her
own privacy preferences. For anyone collecting
user statistics from their Web site, P3P
makes good sense. Read this book to find
out all you need to know about it.
The Accidental Systems
Librarian
by Rachel Singer Gordon
ISBN: 1-57387-161-3
Published: 2003
Pages: 262 pp.; softcover
Price: $29.50
Available from: Information
Today, Inc., 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford,
NJ 08055; 609/654-6266; www.infotoday.com
Anyone who thinks that librarians are behind
the times should read this book, written
by Rachel Singer Gordon, the former head
of computer services at the Franklin Park,
Illinois, Public Library and founder/Webmaster
of the library career site Lisjobs.com, who
is herself an accidental systems librarian.
Many of us have grown in technical expertise
simply by doing and being in the right (or
wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time.
This book attempts to formalize and organize
these ad-hoc skills into a definition and
guide to systems librarianship.
The book starts out by defining systems
librarianship. Read the job functions and
I guarantee that any librarian with access
to a computer has to fulfill at least a few
of these tasks. Hence, we are all at least
part systems librarians and will benefit
from the accumulated knowledge in this book.
The major focus of the book is showing
how traditional library skills and a willingness
to embrace change can aid you in solving
technical problems. For instance, the chapter
on Research Techniques shows how to use reference
skills to troubleshoot problems and find
answers to technical questions. Organizational
skills are used to help keep track of computer
systems information, document procedures,
and to collect and analyze statistics. A
great strength of this book is relating unknown
technological tasks with familiar library
ones.
Each chapter includes references at the
end, as well as an extended bibliography
as an appendix. The many Web resources mentioned
throughout the book are amalgamated into
one list as an appendix, sorted by chapter.
In addition, the author is maintaining a
Web page with updated links and additional
resources.
For all those who accidentally find themselves
dealing with technology, this book is a valuable
reference tool. For true systems librarians,
this book is a bible that will help you progress
through your accidental career. |
