Remodelling library education after medical eduation

At an ASIST student meeting we are talking about how we can better integrate library practice with research. The issue of library education being separated from the pracitce was also discussed.

One person raised the issue of having library education being modelled after medical education. Doctors who teach are situated in hospitals and their students have days that they walk around with their teachers and get to apply what they learn.

Why not have library educators situated in libraries, and have some teaching days where students are actually spending time doing work in the actual library?

Brief update on my immature thesis idea

Just providing a brief update on my messy thesis concept. Right now it has evolved into the idea of using folkloric artificial intelligent conversational agents for transmitting business information for micro-enterprise owners.

 For the summer, I am hoping to look at literature on folklore being used to convey business information and/or use in online information services. By folklore - I am narrowing down to the use of folkloric storytelling and proverbs as well as the role of natural conversation in using these methods to convey information to micro-enterprise owners.

Also looking for theory to support this perspective. Thoughts, suggestions, or literature welcomed.

Preliminary thoughts on creating a chatbot to answer business questions from Jamaican government online sources

I am currently exploring the process of creating a chatbot for information provision, with view to apply it to my thesis and secondly to discuss its application to libraries in providing a new small business online information service.

So far, I am basing the chatbot as a question answering interface to Government documents for business users. My hope is to create the interface to answer questions by users regarding a Government process. In a sense, this moves into e-governance and the access to e-government information/ or simply the access to information.

So far, one of the issues that I have come across is the issue of updates. When basing the information for a business query on a government online source, in the case that I am doing, the particular Jamaican government agency has had a name change. Since the old/former name is in the document that I am attempting to use to feed my chatbot, one wonders when last the site was updated and how this could be a liability to libraries providing this service.

Stay tuned within the next few weeks for more on this matter.

Brief update on original thesis idea: Folklore in online information provision for Jamaican small business development

by Mark-Shane Scale on Tuesday, 7 February 2012 at 21:20 ·

It has been awhile that I haven't been blogging. That is because I have had little time to think. Well now, I have had a little time to converse with myself (intellectually that is).

A number of persons were wondering if I am dropping folklore from my thesis. This is a partial answer to those persons as well as an opportunity for me to share my thinking so far.

After pursuing a quest to find out about conversational agents, I am now in a better position to propose how folklore can be incorporated into designing an online library service to serve small business persons. I am not going into detail here, but just giving you a synopsis of my head space as my ideas evolve. Perhaps though I may not pursue the idea for my thesis but beyond it (or when I have completed) as I have to think about practical considerations regarding supervisors.


Currently I have seen that a conversational agent can be created with a unique personality. For me, I have the dream of taking Anansi/Anancy from Jamaican folklore and converting him into a conversational agent for small business persons. As an artificial intelligent agent, Anancy will be able to converse in the natural language of Jamaicans, incorporating proverb and proverbial sayings while answering questions on where to find business information sources. Anancy could also be programmed to converse with Jamaican youth entrepreneurs who want to get guidance on how to go about their establishing their businesses.

Hence, just to let you know, folklore can still be important to my thesis. You can give your comments, share your ideas and give feedback. I am open to thinking it through some more and will entertain whatever critique that can be levelled against this idea.

Borrowing e-books and online videos from London Public library using OverDrive

I have always heard or read about OverDrive and the public library lending e-books. Well I decided to actually test it. So I borrowed my first e-book. Actually, I did it by accident. I actually searched for a book on the catalogue and discovered another by accident that was an e-book. Hence I decided to try accessing it.

I accessed the ebook through the library's website. All I needed was my library card identification number to verify that I am an authorised user of the library.

It was like downloading a movie from one of those free movie sites, that you have to subscribe to. Just that with the library you need not give out any more personal information, just the library card  identification number. After entering it, I was directed to a place where I could view other books available or search for others. However, I used the one that I had found in the online catalogue. I was confused when it took me to a page with information about the book. I clicked on the image, but it just showed me the image. So I went back and looked carefully at the remaining options.

I saw the options for adding to my wish list or check out. Apparently, they have built library jargon and means of operating in the physical world into the online environment. So I clicked on check out, and came up on an error page that said that I did not have any item in my cart.

I persevered despite the confusion until eventually I clicked on my digital account and then eventually on the My 'Bookshelf' link. There I saw the book that I had 'checked' out. So I clicked on it. This lead me to a download page that indicated system requirements for download and a link to download the software to be able to view the book.

Another complicated process, but I just went ahead and downloaded the software for my computer system and then after running the software installation, came back to the page and downloaded the e-book as a file to be read by that software.

With that I was able to view my first public library borrowed e-book.

I also borrowed an online video: Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock
Similar process, however, this time the software was video software and the file was also a video file.

The video though was more like a slideshow of images of a printed book with someone reading the story. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story. I am therefore very delighted that being in London, Ontario has enabled me to get the opportunity to test out actual library services that I have only read about in the library literature.

Business Information not limited to a "thing"

In the capitalist world/ the neo-liberal world information tends to be commodified into a thing or a resource. This thing or resource is then handled by technology. However, I want to argue that information is not just a thing or a commodity packaged in a particular format or medium or media. Business information is much more.

First there is people information or people sources of information (most commonly referred to as knowledge).  For those seeking business information, much of the information that is relevant comes from social capital or people sources (otherwise known as oral or personal sources). As such a business information system for business users cannot only provide information embodied as thing, but must also facilitate the exchange of information or knowledge transfer through interaction with personal or people sources. This may be done through technology and spaces that facilitate online social networking and digital communication.


For further discussion on information as a "thing" see Buckland (1991).


Buckland, M. K (1991). Information as Thing. Journal of the American Society for Information Science  42, 5;  351-360. Retrieved from http://www.publicpraxis.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/informationasthing.pdf

Student entrepreneurs on the rise

This week in my findings, readings or browsing of the web in relation to my refined thesis idea:

Student entrepreneurship in colleges on the rise: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/student-entrepreneurship-in-college-is-on-the-rise-in-poor-economy/2011/10/17/gIQAxEMuiM_singlePage.html

And the US pushing their postsecondary students, including those on student loan into entrepreneurship http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-11-28/young-small-business-economy/51446300/1

Column: Entrepreneurs are public servants, too

www.usatoday.com

Laura Vanderkam: Give enterprising and business-minded students the same loan breaks as those who work for the government.