12/14 readings

Siva Vaidhyanathan (2005). The Googlization of Everything and the Future of Copyright.
http://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/Vol40/Issue3/DavisVol40No3_Vaidhyanathan.pdf


Many articles that protest copyright violation do so on behalf of the publishing companies and authors who are shortchanged by the free sharing of their creative work. This article seemed more concerned with the end user being shortchanged because Google's Library (if it was created) would not revolutionize research as the hype promised. The free, web-accessible, aesthetic digital library would be user-friendly by most measures. However, Google's PageRank algorithm is not up to the challenge of classifying and interconnecting texts beyond "keywords in passages." This system of organizing the internet works better than any other algorithm so far, but the Google Library Project implies that their digital archive can be used in place of conventional libraries.

The author was not completely supporting the current copyright laws or the courts' rigid enforcement, as in the lawsuits regarding Google's caching websites, or mp3.com's storing audio files, neither of which affected market value in anyway. Google has argued in favor of its Library Project according to the four factors checklist, that it excerpts are "transformative" not "derivative," and that the excerpts are small enough parts of the whole. The author doesn't clearly take a side, but argues that the current copyright laws are too vague and too difficult to apply to current digital controversies.

A takeaway message is that even if Google's legal and ethical arguments triumph, they may not be the best organization to create a universal digital library. They are branded as the good guy who helps the public according to their own needs and wishes. However, libraries should be playing a role (beyond allowing books to be copied) in such a large revolutionary endeavor.


Discussion question: If you were a library director, would you allow Google to scan your collection for its digital Library Project? If you were a publisher, would you allow Google's LP to feature excerpts from your books for marketing purposes?




Brian Gambles (2010). "Rewriting the Book: On the Move in the Library of Birmingham." Ariadne Issue 64: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue64/gambles/


I loved the optimism and innovation in this article. The word "cloud" to describe the new norm of storage is very fitting for a technology that is so lightweight and accessible from anywhere. The article did a good job highlighting the potential of mobile apps to provide information in new integrated ways, such as the walking tours of museums or historic city centers, as well as mobile apps designed for the specific library. Having a GPS/QR system to guide a user around the physical shelves would be useful. I remember my college library had a link you could post to Facebook of your exact location so study buddies could find you. If a similar system was incorporated onto mobile apps, it would be even smoother and easier to use.

A takeway message as stated by the author: "user experience is everything."

Discussion question: LoB also understands the importance of drawing students and tourists into the physical space; then having lounge space and well-designed collections to pique their curiosity; then expecting these impressed visitors will give good reviews or share specific documents online. What features would draw you into a library?



Zimerman, M. (2010). Technology and privacy erosion in United States Libraries: A personal viewpoint. New Library World. 11(1) 7-15.


The author claimed the difference between a totalitarian state and a free society it the control people have over disclosing their personal information. I'm not sure that the government demanding and possessing information qualifies the system as problematic and restrictive; what about the Census and the IRS? However in the last decade, the digitization of all types of records as well as increased concerns of terrorism, have changed the norms of individual privacy.

A takeaway message is that libraries should make their stance on user privacy clear to both the users and the government investigators. A policy that requires a court order to reveal records seems reasonable.


Discussion question: Now that expontentially more user information can be efficiently stored, should libraries take advantage of this available data to improve marketing, budgeting, and customization, as many businesses do? Or should the digital archives be periodically wiped to prevent abuse of the system?