Week 3 Reading Notes

Data Compression- Wikapedia and Data Comprehension Basics

·      Data Compression

o   Process of reducing the size of a data file

§  2 Types- Lossy and Lossless Lossy- reduces by identifying unnecessary information and removing it

·      Some loss of information is acceptable

o   Dropping non-essential details saves storage space, preserving meaning rather than data

·      Used in digital cameras and DVD/Videos, streaming audio files, and interactive applications

o   Video Compression

§  Intra-frame vs. inter-frame

·      Inter-frame uses previous or future frames in a sequence to compress the current frame

·      Intra-frame uses only the current frame aka image compression

§  Lossless-reduces by identifying and eliminating statistical redundancy

·      Compressing highly repetitive text efficiently without losing any information

§  Lossless=identical to the original, Lossy=no guarantee of being identical

§  In both, Information redundancy is reduced using methods such as coding, pattern recognition, and linear prediction

o   Compression helps reduce data storage space or transmission

§  However, it must eventually be decompressed to use and that can be expensive

Imaging Pittsburgh: Creating a shared gateway to digital image collections of the Pittsburgh region

Edward Galloway outlines a collaborative project between the University of Pittsburgh’s Digital Research Library, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society. The goal of this project was to digitize images from physical collections that these institutions held depicting the people, places, and events in the Pittsburgh region during its heyday and subsequent transformation. A single web gateway was created allowing users to search all three collections simultaneously. As with any collaborative project, institutional differences in policies and practices created problems. Each institution is going to view their collections from a different vantage point, and this in turn affects how they educate their patrons and how they catalog in regard to subject terms. In order for users to utilize and search the web gallery efficiently, all three institutions had to agree on metadata that was interoperable. Many decisions and compromises had to be made by all three institutions to produce a product that was informative and user friendly.

The ultimate outcome of this project was for users to experience the collections in ways not possible in their analog format. I personally think that this was an attainable, and successful outcome. These collections are Pittsburgh’s history and they should be available for access. I saw the Teenie Harris exhibit when it was at the Carnegie Museum and I absolutely loved it. It was so rich in culture and history, showcasing a Hill District that has since changed drastically. I was lucky enough to have had the chance to view the photographs in their original form, but many were not. If nothing else, digitizing these collections allows users the opportunities to view priceless historical images that might otherwise have been missed. I imagine that this project was a ton of work (imagine every minuscule detail that went into the process of digitizing these collections), however I think that the end result was well worth it.

YouTube and Libraries

I think it’s a great idea to incorporate YouTube videos into library instruction, and I think many libraries are probably doing this already. It’s one thing to read directions, but for a new user it’s often easier to see a demonstration first-hand (think of all the demonstrations we had during orientation week). This would be especially beneficial to distance-learners who do not have direct access to the library or the librarians. I also think videos could be used into other capacities in the library besides for instruction. At a public library for example, YouTube videos could be utilized to promote a current best-selling book or a “librarian’s favorite” book. Videos have the potential to engage patrons further into the library and it’s services.