Web 2.O : Mashups, Folksonomies

Tim O'Reilly of O'Relly computer books, recently published an article on Web 2.0. Buzzwords such as 'folksonomy', AJAX and "Mashup" herald not only new terms but new methodologies and applications that are guiding next generation web development. This entry looks at a few of these in light of a resurgent generation of developers willing to again push boundaries to possibilities of the Internet's original promise.

Visual Film Grammars and Information Systems

Is there anything to be learned from historically established twentieth century grammars of cinema in constructing information systems for the twenty-first century? With 2D paradigms and visual metaphors fairly well-established as 'icons' for enhancing intuitive usability in operating systems, the next level of development involves widespread application of narrative and visual metaphor towards information systems. This entry reflects briefly on possible avenues of investigation with regards to established codes of film grammar and possibilities for new information systems.

Wider Library Acceptance and Games

The OCLC midwinter 2005 conference presented a symposium on online Games and the significance for information literacy. This is excellent news as what has been known for a while is finally being acknowledged within wider institutional parameters. This entry summarizes a few discussions at this panel. To note, this excellent panel is available with streaming video and parallel powerpoint at http://www.oclc.org/membership/escan/default.htm#launch and is definitely worth reflecting upon.

New Possibilities for Data Visualization

An new generation of commercial and easier-to- use'data' visualization applications are emerging. In a sense, building on Ben Shneiderman and the HCIL at Maryland's work on dynamic database queries and taking advantage of new possibilities with Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Actionscript 2.0, these applications begin to visualize multivariate data groupings dynamically by taking simple everyday data programs such as Excel and turning these into interactive data visualization applications. This entry looks at one of these new applications, Infommersion's Xcelsius.

New Perspectives on Leonardo - Horizons for Digital Possibilities

In the last year there has been a wealth of interesting publications with regards to Leonardo Da Vinci. What is so interesting about some of these newer texts is that focus has shifted from the paintings to more renaissance perspectives covering the notebooks, design, mathematics and visual/scientific investigations of Da Vinci. This entry briefly glances at some of these newer texts abstracting some of this material in the hopes of creating awareness of renaissance modalities with regards to our own projects and information systems, digital libraries and possibilities for visualization and multimedia.

Visual Learning Spaces or Games - 2004 Year in Review

2004 saw the continuing technologic shift of the library from 19th century repository to 21st century visual and virtual 'learning space' and the accompanying challenge that goes along with the shift of large systems of information from physical and static entities to online, virtual and dynamic ones. A signal development was the expansion of the World Wide Web and accompanying implications for a global networked society. Tim Berner's Lee futuristic vision for the WWW came one step closer to realization with widespread acceptance of the web as a viable medium for education, commerce and 'learning space'. This entry reflects on this year's concerns with regards to libraries, information visualization and the ongoing technologic transformation that is occurring in our early 21st century landscape.

ASIS&T 2004 - Managing Information

The American Society for Information Science and Technology is an interdisciplinary organization focusing on the use, implementation and possibilities for information science and large scale information systems - theory and technology. The ASIS&T annual conference was held this year in Providence, Rhode Island on the theme "Managing and Enhancing Information". Conference keynotes were WWW inventor Tim Berners-Lee and online video game futurist, JC Herz. Along with Diane Neale, of the University of North Texas, I presented at a panel on a newer topic for our field, "Information Visualization". The conference was held at crossroads of information systems, digital libraries and information science and was useful as much for academic digital library directions as for ideas regarding the future web. This entry focuses on a few conference highlights and salient learning points with regards to information visualization and wider conference parameters.

Interdisciplinary Pedagogy, Multimedia Possibilities

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate as an instructor in the "Florida Public Space Project" a University of Miami semester workshop. Bringing together architects, urban planners, civic officials, historians and technologists, the interdisciplinary seminar was organized by Dr. Greg Bush, Director for the UM Institute for Public History in an effort to learn from each other with regards to projects for "Public Spaces". This entry reflects on this workshop's methodology with regards to interdisciplinary pedagogy and multimedia possibilities in learning and digital library environments.

New Digital Music Library Possibilities

In beginning to build new digital music libraries, the stronger online models that we currently possess are commercial. Both Real Networks Rhapsody and now legal and Sony owned Napster provide robust models for online digital music libraries. This entry focuses on the current incarnation of Napster to look at an example of a well developed and innovative model regarding 'digital' music libraries. Academic digital libraries would do well to copy from these well funded music industry ventures in developing their own digital audio libraries.

DVD Interfaces, New Media Possibility

Current DVD technology provides opportunities for instructional design through new video and display possibilities. More than simply packaging a 'movie' in a larger digital space, DVD technology is enabling paradigms of augmenting learning and enhancing digital archiving through the medium specificity inherent in the DVD's larger digital and non-linearly accessed storage space. This entry abstracts current DVD interface technology, to reflect on new media learning possibilities for universities and university libraries.

Zoomifyer Applications

This entry continues from a previous entry that introduced the Zoomifyer application with a focused look at a few specific applications that Zoomifyer is currently used for and future digital library possibilities. The standard edition of Zoomifyer is being implemented by leading edge libraries, cultural and scientific institutions while the technologically more complex and robust enterprise edition with accompanying interesting possibilities has yet to see widespread application.

New Media 2004, The Continuing Edge

Each year "Communication Arts Magazine" presents a series of 'winning' projects in its Interactive Design Annual. The projects are a good indication of the present state of interaction design. This entry glances at a few of the winning 2004 entries to reflect on directions in interaction design but also to present a critique for digital libraries. The examples here are from advertising, but models presented may be easily reoriented to a spectrum of academic and robust digital library models.

New Visual Technologies, Multimedia Possibilities

In her study of Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century, Berkeley Scholar Svetlana Alpers makes the assertion that advances in 'visual technologies' resonate large cultural advances. Alpers uses this to analyze Dutch renaissance painting using notions of the 'telescope', 'microscope'. Recently, online 'networked' visual possibilities have begun to open up with similar 'new' sets of visual technologic possibility. This entry glances at 'zoomifyer' for Flash and what it means for digital libraries and online cognitive possibility.

New Flash Online Video Possibilities

With the entrance of Macromedia Flash 2004 Professional, new online video possibilities have opened. Currently, the main multimedia products for integrating video online are the Real Player, Quicktime 6, Windows Media Player and the new Flash Video. While Real and Windows Media essentially follow a 'television' model with limited interactivity, both Quicktime and Flash allow more robust models with new possibilities for film/video, information architecture, interactivity and online multimedia possibility. This entry explores a few new Flash video possibilities for multimedia and online digital libraries.

Enabling Pedagogy through New Media

Pedagogy is currently experiencing a renaissance with regards to technology and the enabling capacity of new media. Web CT, Blackboard, electronic reserves and other internet technologies offer a range of methods to present, disseminate and digitally archive current academic curricula. This entry looks at my UM colleague, Dr. Lyn MacCorkle's online application for enabling a recent team taught course at UMiami on "The Sixties". This entry abstracts parameters to open discussion regarding this type of application as a way of assisting academics but also providing students with learning tools.

A Note on Information Retrieval, Search Engines, Current Page Rank Technologies

There is an evergrowing depth of information with regards to bodies of knowledge present on the Internet. The problem becomes not whether information exists but 'how' to find specific information within larger bodies of data. Whether academic university site or subject-centred website, questions surround 'metadata' (i.e. data describing data) but also different search methodologies and page rank technologies. By looking under the hood of various search engines, it is possible to glimpse at some of the parameters of 'information retrieval within larger information spaces.

Histories of Proto-Multimedia Visionaries

Jose Ferez Kuri's "Brion Gysin: Tuning into the Multimedia Age" presents a series of essayistic portraits of the mercurial and proto-multimedia visionary, "Brion Gysin". Gysin is largely known through his more famous colleague, William Burroughs and Burroughs oft-quoted remark that Gysin was the originator of the 'cut-up' technique. In terms of digital library possibilities Gysin is important - his biography provides a window to the historical protogenesis of multimedia. A glimpse at Gysin's proto cut-n-mix digital montage aesthetic also provides a talisman as to the future development of digital libraries.

Cuban Rafter Multimedia Archive

Between 1959 and 1994, in defiance of Cuban law, more than 63,000 citizens left Cuba by sea in small groups and reached the United States alive. Thousands more washed up in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and other Caribbean shores. Over the years, they have been collectively known as balseros (rafters) and their precarious vessels as balsas (rafts). At least 16,000 additional rafters did not survive the crossing.

Over the summer of 2004, I had the opportunity to develop a multimedia archive on this topic working with Dr. Holly Ackerman, one of the world's experts on this rafter phenomenon. The result was The Cuban Rafter Phenomenon: A Unique Sea Exodus.

Digital Libraries, Connecting Disparate Physical Objects

The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative is a joint project of UCLA and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Essentially, the larger idea for the digital library is to amalgamate and collect under one umbrella the extant global tablets containing cuneiform for research and study. Because these objects exist in disparate physical locations, basic research and comparison for the past 150 years has been hampered. This entry looks at this effort at systematic digital documentation and electronic publication.

Design, Digital Libraries, Online Exhibitions

Current academic digital library projects tend to collaborate between different entities to put together larger projects. This entry looks at "Extra Ordinary Every Day: The Bauhaus at the Busch-Reisinger", a physical exhibition and digital library collaboration currently at Harvard museums and libraries and built as a collaborative effort between Harvard University Art Museums, the Harvard University Library Collections and several design partners. By deconstructing and looking behind the veil of these digital projects, it is possible to think a little more deeply about digital library construction.