Semantic Web Technologies and Social Searching for Librarians (THE TECH SET® #20 [Paperback] Robin Fay (Author), Michael Sauers (Author), Ellyssa Kroski (Editor)
There are trillions of bytes of information within the web, all of it driven by behind-the-scenes data. Vast quantities of information make it hard to find what s really important. Here s a practical guide to the future of web-based technology, especially search. It provides the knowledge and skills necessary to implement semantic web technology. You ll learn how to start and track trends using social media, find hidden content online, and search for reusable online content, crucial skills for those looking to be better searchers.
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If you don't know what the semantic web is or understand why (or how!) libraries (and others - our tips and tools can be used by nonprofits, museums, archives, educators, historians, and more) will fit into the semantic or social web - this is the book for you. Michael & I bridge social media, traditional search tools, and semantic web functionalities through the beauty of metadata, written in a very easy to understand manner.
I've been catching up on some of my reading and tv watching over the holidays, especially with blogs and various tidbits of news (i.e., not headlines) and nonfiction. A few days ago I watched Botany of Desire based upon Michael Pollan's book of the same name. The book had been on my reading list for a while, but I just haven't made it to it yet (thank goodness for the cliff notes version aka tv...)
One of the most interesting thoughts from this program was about memory and the part that forgetfulness plays. Without forgetfulness (filtering) we would not be able to deal with all of sensory information we receive each day - forgetfulness gives us a filter to select (focus) on those parts which are most important or relevant (of course, that is if memory is working the way it should....)
Anyhow, in spite of the fact that I watched a show about the production and genetics of potatoes (among other topics!), there are some fascinating insights into culture, science, and more.
I've been thinking a lot about the concept of forgetfulness as a filter when I read the Mystery of Expertise:
Riding a bike, tying your shoes, typing on a keyboard, and steering your car into a parking space while speaking on your cellphone are examples.... You execute these actions easily but without knowing the details of how you do it. You would be totally unable to describe the perfectly timed choreography with which your muscles contract and relax as you navigate around other people in a cafeteria while holding a tray, yet you have no trouble doing it. This is the gap between what your brain can do and what you can tap into consciously. To the extent that consciousness is useful, it is useful in small quantities, and for very particular kinds of tasks. It's easy to understand why you would not want to be consciously aware of the intricacies of your muscle movement, but this can be less intuitive when applied to your perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs, which are also final products of the activity of billions of nerve cells.
So in some ways, the semantic web will just do what we already do as humans - it will make the path to get to our results less obvious and it will provide better filters without us having to do the work (hmmm.... computers thinking like people, kind of AI, isn't it? ;-)
“You’ll learn how to start and track trends using social media, find hidden content online, and search for reusable online content, crucial skills for those looking to be better searchers. The authors explain how to explore data and statistics through WolframAlpha, create searchable metadata in Flickr, and give meaning to data and information on the web with Google’s Rich Snippets. Let Robin Fay and Michael Sauers show you how to use tools that will awe your users with your new searching skills.”
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Okay, so here is one of my goals I am pitching for next year:
Become well versed in the fundamentals of RDA, focusing specifically on the changes between AACR2 and RDA, so that I can serve as a resource person for [my Unit]; additionally learn more about “future” data carriers: RDFa and other Semantic Web schemas and how they connect with FRBR, linkeddata and nexgen library softwares such as cloud based portals.
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btw, I do realize that these things are already here (& I know a bit about them already) but I felt I needed to put something in writing; ditto for the RDA. I certainly have a handle on the conceptual parts of RDA and the major differences (abbreviations, new fields, terminology changes, the pub date thing, no truncation, etc.), but until it all shakes out, it's hard to say as to whether my info will be relevant or just outdated. ;-)
