Kate

NPR, a non-profit news radio distributor has an interesting report on the destruction of Iraq’s National Library and the beginnings of the extensive rebuilding process. This report includes descriptions of the widespread damage to the Rare book collection and archival material, the mamoth rebuilding challenges ahead and interviews with the Director of the library, Saad Eskander. Story runs for 5.54 minutes (SMIL Multimedia Presentation).

The Age (Melbourne) has a good article about search engines, largely from a librarian or information professional perspective. The article discusses various search engines and also new collaborative relationships between search engines and organisations such as the Library of Congress. The OAIster Project, a collaboration between Yahoo and the University of Michigan, is outlined as are various recent research projects into the “tacit connections� of internet searching and attempts at increasing search engine functionality. Ends with a timeline of the development of the search engine.

The American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress recently acquired the ‘Alan Lomax Collection’ archiving the archival work of Alan Lomax. Alan Lomax was a music producer, writer and musicologist who methodically collected recordings and ethnographic records of American music from the late 1930s until his retirement in 1996.

The American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress recently acquired the ‘Alan Lomax Collection’ archiving the archival work of Alan Lomax. Alan Lomax was a music producer, writer and musicologist who methodically collected recordings and ethnographic records of American music from the late 1930s until his retirement in 1996.

Predominately associated with early American folk music, Lomax also became renowned for his archiving and research into other styles of music, including blues and traditional music genres. Lomax won a National Book Critics Award for his 1993 book, the Land Where the Blues Began and is perhaps best known for his recording work with Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly.

The Library of Congress announced the acquisition in late March with a press release in which Mickey Hart, (former drummer of the Grateful Dead and now a board member of the American Folklife Center) describes the Alan Lomax collection as a “sonic treasure chest represents the vivid stories, history, hopes and dreams of many cultures. Through these recordings, generations will come to know what has passed before them. The Lomax Collection is a jewel in the crown.”. Lomax died in 2002 at the age of eighty-seven.

The current issue of Intensities: the Journal of Cult Media includes an article about the particular forms taken by amateur web authors in the electronic archiving of “Video Nasty-themed web sites� and the social meaning of such archives. This is particularly interesting because it explores the ways in which fans of a marginal genre (‘Video Nasties’ includes cult and horror films created in the 1980s and beyond which were censored by the 1959 Obscene Publications Act) organise and archive information electronically and how new forms of archives are adopted by various fandoms and subcultures. Further, the article argues that the archival nature of these fan sites serves to re-enforce the gendered identity of the creator within the subcultural context. The author, Kate Egan , discusses at length the writing of Jim Collins, whose work revolves around the concept of the “popular archivist�. Also, thankfully, the article refrains from blindly supporting the argument that the archiving or organisation of information is an inherently masculine trait.

An interesting view of the social dimensions of informal archival creation in the very least.
Update: 04/02 07:31 EST by B: URL fixed

Reuters reports that J.K. Rowling has won her first Adult fiction award for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, although the major prize (the WH Smith Literary Award) went to Richard Powers for The Time of Our Singing. These awards are based on votes received from the British public.

There is yet another search engine on the block, this time in the form of an Australian-based engine called Mooter, officially launched in late 2003. The difference with the Mooter approach is the use of what the company refers to as “artificial algorithms� which essentially apply psychological principles to search engine design. The publicity of the Mooter company promises that, unlike standard Boolean search engines, Mooter personalises searches to the extent that no two searches will be the same. Or something. This revolves around the premise that the Mooter search engine understands “the psychology of how users interact with information�. Stands to reason, as the company CEO has a BA in Psychology.

While it is an interesting (and undoubtably worthwhile) goal to understand the underlying needs of the searcher, the logistics of this are harder to attain. Mooter creates graphical concept clusters based on the choices made by the searcher within the results already attained and, again, according to the company press release, the site uses underlying linguistic analysis of keyword searches to create these clusters. This has apparently involved extensive research into website ‘themes’ and, in this way, is similar to a subject access approach. It will be interesting to see how these aims of search psychology coexist with the site’s reliance on paid keyword searching revenue and initial technical glitches.

Salon.com has published an article relating to recent claims about research being conducted into data mining technology that have invoked privacy concerns. According to the article writer, Michael J. Sniffen, the Bush government’s ‘fight against terrorism’ has contributed to the closure of two privacy-protection projects and continuing research into somewhat dubious software technology. This relates to an earlier story posted about the activities of DARPA.

Salon.com has published an article relating to recent claims about research being conducted into data mining technology that have invoked privacy concerns. According to the article writer, Michael J. Sniffen, the Bush government’s ‘fight against terrorism’ has contributed to the closure of two privacy-protection projects and continuing research into somewhat dubious software technology. This relates to an earlier story posted about the activities of DARPA.This research is reportedly based on the abandoned research of retired Adm. John Poindexter and is being carried out by the Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA), on behalf of US Intelligence bodies. Such software would allow government agencies to scan personal transactions, such as financial transactions, for potential terrorist activity. The article is largely based on claims made by Teresa Lunt, formerly an employee of the Palo Alto Research Center which was one of the two projects shut down by the Bush administration.

There have been a number of stories focusing on the environmental effects of discarded computers, mostly as a result of the publishing of a book called Computers and the Environment
by the United Nations University in Tokyo. Wired.com have reported on the book, whose major premise is that recycling of computers in not really viable, as the most feasible solution lies in extending the lifecycle of the computer.

Similarly, the Guardian (UK) and the Sydney Morning Herald have also recently covered this topic.

The Wired article is the most interesting discussion of the book because of comments made by one of the editors, Eric Williams, regarding the possible ramifications of extending the lifespan of the computer for current business practices (including the issuing of software licenses).

For those of us who missed World Book Day yesterday, the 4th of March, the official website includes details the various activities conducted throughout England and Ireland. This includes video of authors such as Sarah Waters and Nick Hornsby. The transcipts of the web chats with authors (including JK Rowling) are expected to be archived on the Festival site soon.

An article in the Guardian (UK) reports that a group of authors have begun campaigning in the UK against the removal of the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) from the dust jacket of books. The authors, campaigning as the Society of Authors, fear that this will result in best selling books, such as that of John Grisham, being given shelf precedence over more ‘literary’ works that sell as a slower rate. This in turn could result in a reduction in variation in the book market. This change is also expected to result in reduced royalties received by authors, as this is determined by the RRP of a book.

Others, particularly publishers and major retailers, dispute the worth of keeping the RRP listed on the book cover. These groups dispute claims that removing the cover price may subject books to ‘supermarket’ pricing strategies.