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<p align="center"><span class="style5"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>4cast
#78: Digitization, OpenSocial, ILS, Websites</b><br>
</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">November 6 , 2007</span></p>
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<p>The <em><b>OPLIN 4cast</b></em> is a weekly compilation of
recent headlines, topics, and trends that could impact public
libraries. You can subscribe to it in a variety of ways, such as:</p>
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<li><strong>RSS feed</strong>. You can receive the <em>OPLIN
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<p class="style4">This week’s <em>4cast</em><b>:</b></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1.<strong> Don't Digitize That
Obituary Just Yet</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Anthony Grafton <a
href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/11/05/071105fa_fact_grafton"
target="_blank">writes in <em>The New Yorker</em></a> that massive
digitization projects (such as <a href="http://books.google.com/"
target="_blank">Google Book Search</a> and <a
href="http://books.live.com/" target="_blank">Microsoft Live Book
Search</a>)
have some people foaming at the mouth about a grand universal library
that will put traditional libraries out of business. Except for one
thing - these projects will never get around to digitizing everything.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/11/05/071105fa_fact_grafton"
target="_blank">Future Reading: Digitization and its discontents</a>
(The New Yorker)</li>
<li><a
href="http://www.endofcyberspace.com/2007/10/anthony-grafton.html"
target="_blank">Anthony Grafton on "Future Reading"</a> (The End of
Cyberspace)</li>
<li><a
href="http://intermittentthinking.blogspot.com/2007/11/stop-and-smell-knowledge.html"
target="_blank">Stop and Smell the Knowledge</a> (Intermittent
Thinking)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=7429" target="_blank">The
New Yorker is as wrong about e-libraries as Martin Luther apparently
was about paper books</a> (TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2.<strong> Google's Buddies Corner
Facebook</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>In a move that puts pressure on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/"
target="_blank">Facebook</a>, Google has unveiled <a
href="http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/" target="_blank">OpenSocial</a>,
a common set of technical standards (<a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API" target="_blank">APIs</a>) that
will allow third-party developers to more easily build applications
that work across multiple social networks. <a
href="http://www.myspace.com/" target="_blank">MySpace</a> and other
well-known services were quick to jump on board.</p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://www.wired.com/software/webservices/news/2007/11/open_social"
target="_blank">Google Aims to Break Open the Closed World of Social
Networking</a> (Wired) </li>
<li><a
href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/01/confirmed-myspace-to-join-google-opensocial/"
target="_blank">Checkmate? MySpace, Bebo and SixApart To Join Google
OpenSocial (confirmed)</a> (TechCrunch) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.news.com/2100-1038_3-6216300.html"
target="_blank">OpenSocial opens new can of worms</a> (CNET)</li>
<li><a href="http://searchengineland.com/071106-102435.php"
target="_blank">Google: As Open As It Wants To Be (IE, When It's
Convenient)</a> (Seach Engine Land)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">3.<strong> Out With the Old, In With
the Open</strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p>In
recent months, some more library systems have been dumping their
traditional ILS vendors in favor of open source solutions such as <a
href="http://liblime.com/" target="_blank">LibLime</a> and <a
href="http://www.open-ils.org/" target="_blank">Evergreen</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6482510.html"
target="_blank">InfoTech: LibLime Signs INCOLSA and Central Kansas
Library System</a> (Library Journal) </li>
<li><a
href="http://pegasuslibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/10/presenting-on-our-planning-for-future.html"
target="_blank">Presenting on Our Planning for the Future of the
Catalog</a> (Pegasus Librarian) </li>
<li><a
href="http://blogs.talis.com/panlibus/archives/2007/09/a_conversation.php"
target="_blank">A conversation with LibLime's Joshua Ferraro</a>
(Panlibus) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.lisnews.org/node/22251" target="_blank">Open
Source OPAC Market Presentation-beta 2</a> (LISNews)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4.<strong> Library Website? Don't Go
There. </strong></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p> Meanwhile, echoing a sentiment expressed a few weeks ago in <a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?p=103" target="_blank"><em>4cast
#73</em></a><em> (item 1)</em>, one of the key findings of the most
recent OCLC report (<em>see <a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?p=109" target="_blank">4cast
#77</a>, item 2</em>) is that less and less people are visiting the
library website. </p>
<ul>
<li><a
href="http://snedlibrary.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/declining-use-of-library-web-pages/"
target="_blank">Declining Use of Library Web Pages</a> (Something New
Every Day) </li>
<li><a href="http://tametheweb.com/2007/10/ponder_this.html"
target="_blank">Ponder This....</a> (Tame the Web: Libraries and
Technology)</li>
<li><a
href="http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2007/10/il2007-new-rule.html"
target="_blank">IL2007: New Rules of Web Design</a> (LibrarianInBlack)
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.walkingpaper.org/500" target="_blank">if
libraries made slides would they look like this?</a> (walking paper)</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
</div>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Joel Husenits
Managing Editor
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
2323 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 130
Columbus, Ohio 43204
Phone: (614) 728-5252
Fax: (614) 728-5256
E-mail: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:editor@oplin.org">editor@oplin.org</a>
Web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.oplin.org">www.oplin.org</a></pre>
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