Open Access Journals for Libraries

Title:  Scholarly Open Access Journals and Libraries

Author: Jan Hagerlid

Publisher: Kungliga biblioteket

URL: http://www.kb.se/dokument/Om/projekt/scholarly_journals_hagerlid.pdf

Abstract

The role of academic libraries is changing in response to the profound transition of the scholarly communication system from a subscription based to an Open Access model. The development of Open Access is briefly described and the concept defined. The options for the future of journals in the social sciences and humanities, focussing on the Nordic context, are discussed. Research councils and library funding bodies should support the transition of these journals to on-line and Open Access publishing. Libraries will in this process move from the role of a gate-keeper for research material owned by others to providing web access to content produced within their parent institutions (Hagerlid).

Three things I learned from the article

1.  Electronic journals or e-journals could save space and administrative costs in the library. It minimizes the budget and acquisition of printed journals, some of which are expensive. And since e-journals are stored in the web, expansion of space and construction of additional physical storage have been minimized.

2. In 1997, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition or SPARC was formed by major American research libraries and led by Association for Research Libraries to work with the advocacy, education and support for new alternative and cheap price of quality journals and later, they support for the Open Access model.

3. According to Hagerlid, academic libraries has a new role in organizing and providing the technical infrastructure for electronic publishing within their universities, also, in providing

Application/Implication of what I've learned to my work/to me as a person:

Open access journals provided users with a wide-range of information for free that are easily accessible through computers and over the internet. It is a helpful tool for users who have limited time to spend in browsing the printed materials and it is a great addition to library services. So we should think of adding the OA journals and save space and lessen the expense of the library. 

Visit Philippine E-Journals to know some academic and research OA online journals. 

Health Concerns of Computer Use

Title:   Health Hazards Related to Computer use: Experience of the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania

Author:  V. P. Mvungi, J. Mcharo, M. E. Mmbuji, L. E. Mgonja, and A. Y. Kitu

Publisher:  World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology

URL: http://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v48/v48-76.pdf

Abstract

This paper is based on a study conducted in 2006 to assess the impact of computer usage on health of National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) staff.  NIMR being a research Institute, most of its staff spend substantial part of their working time on computers. There was notion among NIMR staff on possible prolonged computer usage health hazards. Hence, a study was conducted to establish facts and possible mitigation measures. A total of 144 NIMR staff were involved in the study of whom 63.2% were males and 36.8% females aged between 20 and 59 years.   All staff cadres were included in the sample. The functions performed by Institute staff using computers includes; data management, proposal development and report writing, research activities, secretarial duties, accounting and administrative duties, on-line information retrieval and online communication through e-mail services.  The interviewed staff had been using computers for 1-8 hours a day and for a period ranging from 1 to 20 years. The study has indicated ergonomic hazards for a significant proportion of interviewees (63%) of various kinds ranging from backache to eyesight related problems. The authors highlighted major issues which are substantially applicable in preventing occurrences of computer related problems and they urged NIMR Management and/or the government of Tanzania opts to adapt their practicability (Mvungi, et al.).

Three things I learned from the article: 

                                                                  

1.      Computer users are exposed to a number of computer-related injuries and health problems due to prolonged use of computers. The most common health problems that computer users encountered is ergonomic hazard such as eye strain, back pains, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

2.      In United Kingdom, there is a legislation to protect computer users from computer-related health problems. The said legislation aims to make sure that all employers provide their employees with work stations that meet the required specifications to avoid strains and discomfort. Also, users should have regular breaks from computer works. Eye tests and special glasses should also be provided upon request.  

3.      Computer users should be given sufficient knowledge and proper training in using computers, most importantly, the proper use of computer input and output devices such as the keyboard and monitor. With the knowledge and proper training, computer health hazards can be prevented or kept at a minimum.

Application/Implication of what I've learned to my work/to me as a person:

As one of the million users of computer, I should be more cautious in using the computer to prevent ergonomic hazards. We cannot avoid using computer but we can avoid the health problems by being knowledgeable and cautious every time we use it.

Discovering IRRI Library

After the Lopez Museum, the next stop for the LIS 260 students was the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Library in Los Baños, Laguna. The class paid a visit to the library last October 4, 2011. The class was welcomed by Ms. Mercedes Vijandre, the new head librarian of IRRI Library. She gladly toured us and gave a presentation about the IRRI and its Library.

Ms. Vijandre discussed the history of IRRI and the IRRI Library and Documentation Service. According to her, the mission of IRRI is "to reduce poverty and hunger, improve health of farmers & consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability, while the mission of the library is "to build the world's most comprehensive collection of technical rice literature in any language and to provide open access to this body of knowledge."

The IRRI Library was established in 1961. It has the widest collection of rice literature here and around the world. Books, theses, journals, maps, and scientific papers, proceedings and reports, journals, audio-visual materials, maps, and online databases are the collection of the library. They have three online databases, the Web of Science, CAB Direct, and TEEAL.  Most of their rice literatures are focused on the breeding, growing, harvesting, products, and its economic aspects. Biotechnology and genetic engineering, climate change, and even the population growth can also be found in their library. In organizing their collections, the library uses the LC Classification scheme and expanded classification scheme for rice materials.

IRRI library serves the IRRI community, UP Los Baños community, students from other institutions, Los Baños community, farmers, and the scientists and researchers worldwide.

IRRI library offer services like the fully automated library services, interlibrary loan, centralized cataloging, AV collection, and photocopying services, bindery, and orientation to the visitors and users. They have the facilities such as the main reading room, book stack, Journal stack, OPAC terminals, E-readers, AV Center, and Wi-fi ready.

I asked Ms. Vijandre if they are digitizing their collections. She answered yes, but unfortunately we were not able to see or observe the process.

The library system of IRRI Library is the Millennium ILS which is considered as the most expensive system. IRRI and La Salle are some of the few users of the said system. One of the staff showed us how to use and how to search on their database. The system was able to give the search results quickly. One thing that I observed with their library system is that the recall is low and the precision is high.

The tour ended with the class munching on superb lunch at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan together with Ms. Vijandre. Taking of photos were enjoyed by class as well as buying pasalubong for our loved ones.

Photo credits: Ma'am Sharon

Exploring Lopez Museum & Library

Last September 20, 2011, LIS 260 class together with our professor, Ms. Sharon Esposo, went to the Lopez Museum & Library for a tour and to observe the digitization process of the museum and library’s vast collection and to evaluate their Information Retrieval System.

The Lopez Museum & Library was opened in 1960. The museum houses large and rare collections of Filipiniana books, manuscripts, maps, artifacts and paintings of famous Filipino artists like Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo.

Upon arriving at the Lopez Museum, we were accommodated by the head librarian, Ms. Mercy Servida. She took us for a tour of the library and allowed us to observe how they digitize materials. We’ve learned that scanning and microfilming the materials are some of the processes in digitization. The library is outsourcing the personnel for their digitization project. They do the scanning, microfilming, and even the indexing of finished materials.

After observing the digitization processes, Ms. Servida showed us some rare collections that they have preserved like the photo album of Rizal and rare books. She also shared with us the documentation of photographic treatment on a book. I’ve learned that the processes in treating the books are: de-acidification, re-binding, consolidation of each leaf, fill-in holes and loses, lining with RK-0, and attached acid free barrier on the book box. Also, Ms. Servida also presented some samples of how a book looks like before and after touching the object. All the preserved rare books are kept in an acid-free box while the digitized materials are stored in their server.

Ms. Servida also presented the library system that they have. They used Alchemy and now transferring to other database, to search all the digitized materials. We also tried to search on their database. Admittedly, the library has many collections but, upon searching on their database, I found out that the recall is high and the precision is low. I think, the reason for this kind of result is on the issue of indexing. The library has only two licensed librarian and two to three library staff. They rely on outsourced personnel for the indexing task. However, the personnel have no background in library and information science. Because of the observation, I’ve recommended that the library should hire a professional librarian that will be assigned to do the indexing.

Before we ended the day, the class went to grab a snack at Yellow Cab.  Besides the slices of pizzas and cans of colas, we also shared each other’s experiences and things we’ve learned from visiting the Lopez Museum & Library. Our class definitely enjoyed the tour and looking forward to our next library tour at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Library in Los Baños, Laguna.

Copyright

Title: Understanding Creative Commons Licenses

Author: Rebecca Scudder

Editor: Michele McDonough

Publisher: Bright Hub

URL: http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/publishing/articles/86231.aspx

Abstract:

This article presents how Creative Commons (CC) works and enumerates the different types of copyright licenses that CC offer.  It is important for us to understand the copyright, know how to use the creative works of others, and choose which license is suitable for us. According to Scudder, the main Creative Commons licenses are:

Attribution (CC BY) - licensed materials can be used and modified for non-commercial and commercial purposes as long as you acknowledge the original creation.

Attribution without derivatives (CC BY-ND) – licensed materials can be used for non-commercial and commercial purposes as long as you acknowledge the original creation, but the original creation may not be modified.

Attribution Share Alike (CC BY-SA) - licensed materials can be used and modified for non-commercial and commercial purposes as long as you acknowledge the original creation and the license for the new creation is same with the terms of the original creation.

Attribution Noncommercial  (CC BY-NC) – licensed materials can be used and modified for non-commercial purposes only, you should acknowledge the original creation.

Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA) – licensed materials can be used and modified for non-commercial purposes only, you should acknowledge the original creation and the license for the new creation is same with the terms of the original creation.

Attribution Noncommercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) – this is the most restrictive CC license among other CC licenses. Licensed materials can be used for non-commercial purposes only, but it cannot be modified in any way and you should acknowledge the original creation.

No Right Reserved (CC0) – the license you assigned to work allows anyone to use the new creation in any purpose and modification they want. This licence not requires you to acknowledge the creator of the original work.

Public Domain - Copyright-Only Dedication* (based on United States law) or Public Domain Certification (Scudder).

Three things I learned from the article:

1. Creative Commons licenses help the creators to share their works with legal protection.

2. There are different kinds of CC licenses which you can use to make sure that all the materials/works that you’ve used is legal and did not violate any copyright laws.

3.  All of us should know who owns the copyright of the work and do not use any copyrighted material without any permission.

Application/Implication of what I've learned to my work/to me as a person:

As one of the users of information and works of others, I should properly acknowledged/cited their works. Also, I should choose what kind of CC licenses is suitable for me when I’m using the works of others and creating my own work too. 

Cloud Computing

Title: The Advantages of Cloud Computing

Author: Arun Kumar

Publisher: Bright Hub

URL:  http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-computing/articles/10026.aspx

Abstract:

The article presents the advantages of cloud computing and its contribution to green computing. Green computing is the energy efficient usage of computing resources. Some of the advantages of cloud computing are: remote accessibility, easy expansion, security, and environmental friendly. Also, the author discussed the different types of cloud services, such as SaaS (Software as a Service), Paas (Platform as a Service), and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

Three things I learned from the article:

1. Cloud computing reduced costs – no need to purchase the infrastructure, server, etc. You only need to pay the resources or services that you’ve needed.

2. It is easy to maintain – no management service involved to the user, you can easily backup your files/data anytime you want and access them too.

3. It saves the environment.

Application/Implication of what I've learned to my work/to me as a person:

As one of the children of our mother earth, I/we should contribute to protect and save our environment. I should utilize the clouds to save and access the resources/files that I’ve needed and encourage others to use it too.

Computer Security

Title: Tips on Correctly Setting Passwords

Author: William Springer

Publisher: Bright Hub

URL: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/articles/98927.aspx

Abstract:

William Springer gave some tips on setting and creating a good computer security codes and passwords to protect and secure the computers and private information. One of the tips that he advised was to choose a password that is not commonly used but meaningful to you. He also discussed the bad example of password. Using default passwords is a bad habit because if someone knows the default password, he can easily track and access you account.  

Three things I learned from the article:

1. Always change the default password for protection.

2. Avoid using dictionary words such as love, lust, money, password, private, qwerty, secret, sex, and snoopy, etc. Using dictionary words, hackers can easily identify your passwords.

3. Another example of bad passwords are zip codes, birthdays, kid’s name, spouse’s birthday, even these examples are easy to remember, hackers can also guess it easily.

Application/Implication of what I've learned to my work/to me as a person:

After reading this article, I’ve realized that I should change some of the passwords that I’ve created to protect my accounts more and use passwords that are meaningful to me but meaningless to others.