Year archives: 2012

The risks if the DPLA wont create a full-strength national digital library system: Setbacks for K-12, family literacy, local libraries, preservation, digital divide efforts?

David H. Rothman maintains that the Harvard-originated national digital library initiative is an underachiever in K-12 matters and identifies other areas where the DPLA could better serve America’s libraries and their users. These areas range from family literacy to the content creation needs of local libraries, preservation and digital divide efforts. Rothman details specific remedies to these challenges consistent with his strong advocacy on behalf of strengthening national digital library systems.

Subjects: Digital Archives, Features, Libraries & Librarians, Virtual Library

Deep Web Research and Discovery Resources 2013

Marcus P. Zillman’s research reveals the facets of The Deep Web, comprising in the vicinity of 1 trillion pages of information located in various files and formats that the current search engines cannot find, or have difficulty accessing. Some of the more comprehensive search engines have written algorithms to search the deeper portions of the world wide web by attempting to find files such as .pdf, .docx, .xls, ppt, .ps. and others. These files are predominately used by businesses to communicate within their organization or to disseminate topical information and work product to customers and potential clients. Searching for this information using deeper search techniques and the latest algorithms allows researchers access to a vast amount of actionable corporate information and intelligence. Research has also shown that even deeper information can be obtained from these files by searching and accessing the “properties” information on these files.

Subjects: Features, Internet Resources - Web Links, Search Engines, Search Strategies

New Economy Web Guide 2013 Under Obama

Internet research guru Marcus P. Zillman’s new guide is an essential resource for researchers in all sectors for whom identifying and leveraging economic data, news and scholarly publications is a requirement. It identifies comprehensive, accurate knowledge available through reliable and current sources from government, NGOs, advocacy groups and the private sector that is critical to effective and actionable work product.

Subjects: Blogs, Business Research, Features, Government Resources

Hurricane Sandy and the national digital library issue: Could we have stopped or slowed down global warming?

David Rothman’s commentary maintains it is imperative that civic matters, including those that resulted in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, not become lost opportunities to find and share information, and to make best use of lessons learned. Accountability, effective communications, access to actionable information, building reliable infrastructures, and providing dynamic access to agile solutions during times of national crisis provide opportunities to leverage the evolving Digital Public Library of America.

Subjects: Features, Internet Resources, Internet Resources - Web Links, Libraries & Librarians

Arson and the Science of Fire

Ken Strutin’s expert commentary focuses on the duality of fire as both a science and a set of actions and behaviors initiated by individuals and groups. Strutin documents how these factors relate to the complexities of criminal prosecutions in this arena, and how assumptions about the former have led to misjudgments about the latter. Further, he examines how progress in the understanding of how fires begin and spread has called into question the integrity of arson convictions. His guide is a collection of selected research publications, web resources and case studies as well as scholarly legal articles and scientific reports on arson investigation and fire science.

Subjects: Criminal Law, Features, Legal Research

Litigation, trial and pre-trail iPad apps for lawyers

One of the most popular and rapidly growing categories of apps for lawyers are those developed for litigation, during trials and during the pretrial discovery phase. In this article, attorney, legal blogger and legal tech expert Nicole Black recommends more than a dozen affordable, flexible and innovative iPad apps to assist attorneys in their work to develop, streamline, simplify and track critical litigation processes.

Subjects: Courts & Technology, Criminal Law, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Litigation Support, Mobile Tech, Mobile Technology, Technology Trends

Kirtsaeng v. Wiley

What if you had to ask permission before selling, lending, or even giving away your books? On October 29, 2012 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Kirtsaeng v. Wiley & Sons, a case that could change the way we own everything from books to watches. Brandon Butler and Jonathan Band discuss how libraries, who own books, movies and other copyrighted works on behalf of the public could be hit especially hard by this decision.

Subjects: Copyright, Features, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians, Publishing & Publishers (Legal)

Employment Resources on the Internet

Web research guru Marcus P. Zillman’s guide is a comprehensive listing of employment resources available on the Internet. Zillman identifies links, search engines and resume writing sources from across many professional sectors which will help you discover, review, leverage and incorporate actionable information into a successful job search strategy.

Subjects: Data Mining, Features, Internet Resources - Web Links, Job Hunting, Recruiting

DPLA Grant: Possible Synergy Between Libraries, Schools and Newspapers

David H. Rothman, a leading national digital library advocate, continues his series on the evolving framework for the Digital Public Library of America. In this column, he discusses the impact of new program funding from the Knight Foundation. Rothman believes the potential result could be the start of new synergies between libraries, schools, and newspapers – leading to more interest in civic participation, better monitoring of government at all levels, and maybe even a revival of many young people’s interest in newspapers.

Subjects: Features, Libraries & Librarians