Throughout the practicum I am participating in a recurring topic of discussion has been the quality of the tools utilized by many public and academic libraries. These tools are often designed and marketed specifically for libraries, and therefore supported only by libraries and their staff. Many of these programs, subscriptions and softwares mimic other more […]
The practicum group used a Qualtrics survey to gather quick feedback on two different interface mock-ups for the EDS project. With an afternoon of planning (mock-up creation and iterative testing of the survey with student participants) followed by 2 hours of guerilla testing in the lobby of Bobst, the team was able to collect over […]
After a semester and a summer of research, 2 months of intense editing (including the entire re-framing of our our short paper), and about 15 LaTeX formatting snafus, I flew to North Carolina with a fellow SILS student to attend and present at my first ever conference. The paper we wrote addressed how linked open […]
Linked open data technology and the Semantic Web open up new opportunities for information architects in the connection, management and publishing of information. Information Architects, in turn, can help to make resources published through the Semantic Web more user friendly. Traditionally, locating and querying information within the Semantic Web has been difficult for general web […]
The first step in many linked open data and digital humanities projects is requesting data from institution’s APIs. The documentation for APIs can be extensive (New York Times) or more limited in scope, especially for projects that are not yet complete. While attempting to retrieve data from the new Cooper-Hewitt API for a school project, […]
Digital Archives are easier to create than ever before, utilizing content management systems such as Omeka, Drupal, Collective Access or even WordPress, libraries and institutions can share and organize their collections through the web. Digital archives can turn 300 years of chowder recipes into a resource that historians can utilize to analyze regional cuisines, or a media preservation […]
The library map is one of my most used tools at the Reference Desk. Prospective students and their families take copies as they pass through on tour, students and professors utilizing the library from other schools use it to find their way around, freshman locate quiet spaces to study and almost every student who comes […]
Brownstone Wreath (opens as a PDF) These little brownstones came from a web design project from work (a new home for the Academic Libraries of Brooklyn!), but I though that they would also be a fun thing to print and share for the holidays. Please feel free to make, print, email and share the PDF of […]
Many government funded information sources have been affected by the Federal Government Shutdown, however there are still a few ways to access government information online during the shutdown. Bulk Census Data Downloads: http://census.ire.org/data/bulkdata.html Census Reporter: http://beta.censusreporter.org/ IRS Tax Statistics: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Stats-2 USA.gov: http://www.usa.gov/ Available without updates: PACER: http://www.pacer.gov/ & RECAP the law: http://archive.recapthelaw.org/ FDsys limited updating of Congressional Materials and documents necessary to […]
The Federal Government Shutdown has affected the following institutions. These are institutions that serve the American people and citizens of the world by connecting people to valuable information and resources. I will update this list as more websites and institutions are forced to shutdown due to a lack of funding. Please feel free to comment […]