Digital Commons Network^™

Policies For Improving Accessible Web Development Techniques And Management, Michelle Armstrong

Michelle Armstrong

When examining web site accessibility for individuals with disabilities, it is important to address development from the premise that web sites should be aesthetically pleasing and usable – as well as accessible. By applying these criteria, developers are encouraged to work as teams, utilize comprehensive management techniques, and address the need for long-term maintenance. This approach ultimately results in a web development infrastructure that can handle both high demand, as well as change. In the case of the WIND Web Services Team this infrastructure takes the form of a “Development and Guidelines and Recommendations” document, core values conveyed to all …

Electronic Journals: How User Behaviour Is Changing, Carol Tenopir, Donald W. King

Carol Tenopir

No abstract provided.

Creating An Instant Messaging Reference System, Jody C. Fagan, Michele Calloway

Jody C Fagan

Libraries are expanding digital references services to include chat and instant messaging. Various companies have developed systems for purchase that meet this need without requiring users to download new software or learn a new skill. These systems share many features in common, including transcript storage, sending URLs, and pushing Web pages. Several librarians at an Association of Research Libraries academic library wished to test instant messaging reference with the ability to control and experiment with different implementations of these features. This article describes the features of instant messaging reference systems and the in-house development of a system that incorporates them.

Transition To A Liaison Model: Teaching Faculty And Librarian Perceptions, La Loria Konata, Lyn Thaxton

La Loria Konata

Georgia State University is a culturally diverse urban institution in downtown Atlanta, with a full-time equivalent enrollment of approximately 15,000. At the heart of this urban and culturally diverse institution is the GSU Pullen Library. The library established a separate collection development department, with several subject bibliographers in the 1970s. When a new university librarian began work in October 1997, each of the five bibliographers dealt with broad subject areas, such as business and science/health science. The bibliographers worked with departmental faculty representatives, also called book chairs, to determine what was needed in the library. Another group of ten librarians …

What A Character: Zora Neale Hurston’S Autobiographies, Amy M. Elliott

Amy M. Elliott

Zora Neale Hurston’s Dust Tracks on a Road is a complicated text that reflects a complicated woman, and one that falls somewhere between the categories of autobiography and biography. While the work cannot be completely discounted as autobiographical, it contains themes surprisingly reminiscent of James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Like Johnson’s autobiography of a fictional man, Hurston’s account contains hard to believe situations that lead readers to question its authenticity and verisimilitude. Additionally, Hurston’s stance on the race issue, a preaching of one view while practicing another, leads to questioning. Further, Dust Tracks on a Road …

Visual Displays Of Information: A Conceptual Taxonomy, Scott Warren

Scott Warren

This paper creates a taxonomic model for visual information displays looking at three levels: information design (based on Edward Tufte’s work), information architecture, and information spaces. Special attention is paid to the use of spatial and navigational metaphors in visual systems as they affect the user’s experience. Especially interesting is how a user creates an “information space” – a mental model of what he has seen, how she keeps track of where she is within a system, and how these activities fit together with the data that is being sought. Mathematics is one area that holds promise for better understanding …

Mental Health Parity: National And State Perspectives 2001: A Report To The Florida Legislature, Bruce Lubotsky Levin, Ardis Hanson, Richard Coe

Ardis Hanson

The federal Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 requires insurers to offer the same benefits for mental disorders and substance abuse as they would for physical disorders, including any annual or lifetime limitations and restrictions placed upon such coverage. This report examines actuarial studies, the current state of parity legislation across the nation, cost of treatment issues, and the impact on Florida should parity legislation be passed.

Academic Librarianship: Changing Roles In The Digital Age, Yuhfen Diana H. Wu

Diana H. Wu

No abstract provided.

Brave New Opac, Or Rube Goldberg Meets Aleph, Paul A. Soderdahl, Ed Holtum

Paul A Soderdahl

Periodical Price Survey 2001: Searching For Serials Utopia, Lee Van Orsdel, Kathleen Born

Lee C. Van Orsdel

No abstract provided.

Partial Annotation Of The Sound And The Fury, Amy M. Elliott

Amy M. Elliott

A partial annotation of William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, this project focuses on the Quentin section, specifically, pages 125-145 of the First Vintage International Edition, October 1990. Annotations define and explain selected words and phrases from the text that are likely to be unknown, unfamiliar, or misunderstood by the average reader. This project examines linguistics, archaic words, and colloquialisms in some depth, while still including aspects of rural life (i.e. facts, folklore, customs, songs, and sayings); references to local history, laws, and customs; analogues; and various allusions and references. Further, it reflects extensive research drawn from literary criticism, …

Role Clarification And Role Dilemmas: New Challenges For Teacher-Librarians?, Ken Haycock

Ken Haycock

No abstract provided.

Genre-Based Navigation On The Web, Barbara H. Kwasnik, Kevin Crowston, M. Nilan, X. Liu, J. Cai

Barbara H. Kwasnik

We report on our ongoing study of using the genre of Web pages to facilitate information exploration. By genre, we mean socially recognized regularities of form and purpose in documents (e.g., a letter, a memo, a research paper). Our study had three phases. First, through a user study, we identified genres which most/least frequently meet searchers' information needs. We found that certain genres are better suited for certain types of needs. We identified five (5) major groups of document genres that might be used in an interactive search tool that would allow genrebased navigation. We tried to balance the following …

On The Fly Bi: Reaching And Teaching From The Reference Desk, Nancy B. Turner, Susan E. Beck

Nancy B. Turner

Today’s reference librarians are constantly faced with the challenge of orienting users to the complex, ever changing world of the electronic library. A well-structured library instruction program is one important approach to the overall goal of educating users. But library instruction sessions cannot and do not reach all students. Studies indicate that students are most receptive to learning research techniques at the point of need, which most often occurs at the reference desk. Although many reference librarians are committed to ‘‘teaching students to fish,’’ they are frequently faced with students whose research needs require in-depth lessons that exceed the time …

Storytelling, Folktales And The Comic Book Format, Gail De Vos

Gail de Vos

The reading process in comics is an extension of text. In text alone the process of reading involves word-to-image conversion. Comics accelerate that by providing the image. When properly executed, it goes beyond conversion and speed and becomes a seamless whole. In every sense, this misnamed form of reading is entitled to be regarded as literature because the images are employed as a language. There is a recognizable relationship to the iconography and pictographs of oriental writing. When this language is employed as a conveyance of ideas and information, it separates itself from mindless visual entertainment. This makes comics a …

Review Of Running, John Stephen Brantley

Steve Brantley

No abstract provided.

Review Of Food's Frontier: The Next Green Revolution, John Stephen Brantley

Steve Brantley

No abstract provided.

Review Of Gale Encyclopedia Of Alternative Medicine, John Stephen Brantley

Steve Brantley

No abstract provided.

Review Of Encyclopedia Of The Biosphere: Humans In The Worlds Ecosystems, John Stephen Brantley

Steve Brantley

No abstract provided.

Review Of Handbook Of Hypnotic Inductions, John Stephen Brantley

Steve Brantley

No abstract provided.

Applying Xml To The Bibliographic Description, David Fiander

David J Fiander

Over the past few years there has been a significant amount of work in the area of cataloging internet resources, primarily us- ing new metadata standards like the Dublin Core, but there has been little work on applying new data description formats like SGML and XML to traditional cataloging practices. What little work has been done in the area of using SGML and XML for traditional bibliographic description has primarily been based on the concept of converting MARC tagging into XML tagging. I suggest that, rather than attempting to convert exist- ing MARC tagging into a new syntax based on …

Ye Elders Of Israel - 2-Part Men's Choir, Keith D. Rowley

Keith D Rowley

A tenor-bass duet (or men's choir) and piano arrangement of the hymn by Thomas H. Bayly with words by Cyrus H. Wheelock.

Homeward Bound - Sacred Song (Low Voice), Keith D. Rowley

Keith D Rowley

A sacred song with words by David L. Crowley.

Core Competencies For Libraries And Library Staff, Beth Mcneil

Beth McNeil

Declining financial support and the explosion of new technologies and information resources have led library directors and leaders in the library field to rethink choices about services that libraries can and should provide. Considering these choices, library administrators are forced to carefully evaluate how adequately prepared library staff are to support new and changing services. Libraries, like all other institutions, must change. They must adapt to the changing environment and proactively prepare for the future. One step in the preparation for the future is the identification and development of core competencies for library staff.

Creating A Web Research Guide: Collaboration Between Liaisons, Faculty And Students, Tammy Sugarman, Constance Demetracopoulos

Tammy Sugarman

This article discusses the efforts of two liaison librarians at William Russell Pullen Library, Georgia State University, to build a long-term, sustainable partnership among teaching faculty, graduate students, and librarians in the development and maintenance of a Web-based research guide for world history. The projects' goals are: to provide access to the resources available at Pullen Library; to serve as a gateway to resources available on the Internet; and to showcase student contributions, including bibliographies and annotations of Web sites. The project is an organic endeavor, with the Web site's organization open to periodic review and modification. Continuous discussions and …

Methods For Journal Collection Evaluation In Academic Science Libraries, K.T. L. Vaughan

K.T. L. Vaughan

No abstract provided.

Mixing And Mapping Metadata To Provide Integrated Access To Digital Library Collections: An Activity Report, Karen S. Calhoun, Tom Turner, Meryl Brodsky, George Kozak, Martin Kurth, Fred Muratori, David Ruddy, Sarah Young Chandler

Karen S Calhoun

This paper provides a report of work in progress to implement integrated access to multiple digital collections that are described using a variety of metadata formats. Using the emerging resource discovery and digital library management system, ENCompass, a team at Cornell University Library is experimenting with the principle of modularity–as described by Lagoze–in which a metadata format tailored for simplicity (Dublin Core) is used alongside other, more complex metadata formats.

The Intangible Benefits Of International Resource Sharing, Robert A. Seal

Robert A Seal

No abstract provided.