Although it sounds novel, biometrics is not a new technology at all. I bet you have seen some movies or dramas in which people scan their fingerprints or eyeballs to open some security doors. Yes, this technology has been developed for years, but due to the high costs of the implementation and its immaturity, biometric systems were only used in some special places. Nowadays, many organiztions in public sector such as libraris begin to accept this new technology. The Naperville (Ill.) Public Library board approved a $40,646 contract May 18 with a local technology firm to install fingerprint scanners on its public internet computers. The scanners, to be installed this summer, will replace the current system of requiring patrons to enter their library-card and PIN numbers to prove their identity (ALA, May, 2005 news).
So what on earth is biometrics? Simply put, biometrics refers to authentication techniques that rely on measurable physical characteristics that can be automatically checked. There are several types of biometric identification schemes:
face: the analysis of facial characteristics
fingerprint: the analysis of an individual¡¯s unique fingerprints
hand geometry: the analysis of the shape of the hand and the length of the fingers
retina: the analysis of the capillary vessels located at the back of the eye
iris: the analysis of the colored ring that surrounds the eye¡¯s pupil
signature: the analysis of the way a person signs his name.
vein: the analysis of pattern of veins in the back if the hand and the wrist
voice: the analysis of the tone, pitch, cadence and frequency of a person¡¯s voice.
Compared with current library authentication, biometrics identification has many advantages. It can provide extremely accurate, secured access to information; it can be done very rapidly and uniformly, with a minimum of training; user's identity can be verified without resort to documents that may be stolen, lost or altered.
However, it also involved some privacy issues. Some opponents pointed the ability of third parties to access bio information in identifiable form and link it to other information, resulting in secondary uses of that information, without the consent of the individual. (Cavoukian, 1998). Given this, an individual has no means over the control of his or her personal information, who uses it, or how it gets distributed.
Some references that may help you understand more:
Privacy & Technology: Surveillance & Wiretapping
U.K. Privacy Groups Give Thumbs-Down to Storing Library Users' Fingerprints
Learning to Live With Biometrics
A blog, also called Weblog, is a Web page that provides frequent continuing publication of Web links and/or comments on a specific topic or subject (broad or narrow in scope), often in the form of short entries arranged in reverse chronological order, the most recently added piece of information appearing first. An example in the field of library and information science is LISNews.com, which accepts postings from its readers.
Blogs may be popularly seen as a type of web diary expressing a personal viewpoint, but some library blog directories show how the technology is being used for professional information dissemination. A list of library Weblog sites is maintained by Peter Scott on LibDex. Library Weblogs sorts entries by country, and makes prominent those blogs featuring an RSS feed. RSS (no consensus on meaning, but many accept Really Simple Syndication) feeds can be harvested by an RSS reader on your computer, which can automatically gather and present you with updated information from sources which you specify. (from LITA site)
Basicly, RSS is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a popular means of sharing content between sites (including the BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, ZDNet, and more). RSS solves myriad problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for additional content distribution services. Today, many librarie websites have deployed RSS feeds.
Some good references:
Pack, Thomas. "Through the Blogosphere" Information Today, Nov. 2004, v. 21 no. 10
"The Blogosphere" (special issue) Communications of the ACM, Dec. 2004, v. 47 no. 12.
Oxfeld, Jesse. "Blogs Rolling in 2005" Editor & Publisher, Jan. 2005, v. 138, no. 1
Open Directory: Library and Information Science Weblogs
Pilgrim, Mark. What is RSS? December 18th, 2002 from xml.com
From WebMonkey: "Sharing Your Site With RSS"
From Gerry McKiernan: RSS: General Bibliography
Folksonomy is a neologism for a practice of collaborative categorization using freely chosen keywords. More colloquially, this refers to a group of people cooperating spontaneously to organize information into categories. In contrast to formal classification methods, this phenomenon typically only arises in non-hierarchical communities, such as public websites, as opposed to multi-level teams. Since the organizers of the information are usually its primary users, advocates of folksonomy believe it produces results that reflect more accurately the population's conceptual model of the information. Folksonomy is not directly related to the concept of faceted classification from library science. (from Wikipedia)
Folksonomy is currently understood somewhat narrowly as "tagging." Social sciences and anthropology have long studied "folk classifications"¡ªhow average people (non-experts) classify the world around them. Folksonomies work best when a large number of users all describe the same piece of information. For instance, on del.icio.us many people have bookmarked Wikipedia, each with a different set of words to describe it.
Asking users to classify content and generate metadata within online knowledge sharing systems can improve the findability of content, but it has two main problems areas: the taxonomy or metadata structure may be too rigid to support user needs; the overheads of classification are borne by the user, but the group reaps the benefits.
Some references:
Terdiman, Daniel. "Folksonomies Tap People Power." Wired, 2/1/2005.
Social Consequences of Social Tagging
Can Social Tagging Overcome Barriers to Content Classification?
Folksonomies - Cooperative Classification and Communication Through Shared Metadata
Sample Uses of Folksonomies or Tagging:
Jots: Collaborative bookmarking system.
Open source software is a computer program for which the source code is made available without charge by the owner or licenser, usually via the Internet, to encourage the rapid development of a more useful and bug-free product through open peer review. The practice also allows the product to be customized by its users to suit local needs. It has both advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
The availability of the source code and the right to modify is very important.
Users have the right to redistribute modifications and improvements to the code.
The user can use the software in any way.
Disadvantages:
There is no guarantee that development will happen.
There may be significant problems connected to intellectual property.
It is sometimes difficult to know that a project exist, and its current status.
Today, more and more libraries begin to accept Open source software for daily use. The Well known electronic document delivery software, Ariel is open source. Here are some ongoing open source library projects.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID is not a new technology. It has been widely used in warehouse and supermarket for prevent theft. Not until recently, many libraries begin to research the possibility of using it to replace traditional barcode systems for ciculation.
So what is RFID? Generally, it works in this way: there are microchips to tag library materials and the library card, enabling patrons to check out items by walking through a self-service station equipped with an antenna that emits low-frequency radio waves. When an RF tag (transponder) passes through the electromagnetic zone, a reader (antenna + transceiver) decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit, passing it to a computer that automatically links data from the physical item(s) to the patron record that corresponds to the library card. Line-of-sight is not required for this noncontact system. RFID technology may eventually replace the barcode and optical technology in library circulation systems. Tags are available in various shapes and sizes for use in a wide range of applications, with read/write capability for interactive applications. (from ODLIS)
Richard W. Boss's article "RFID Technology for Libraries" summerized some advantages and disadvantages of implementing this technology in libraries. The advantages include rapid charging/discharging, simplified patron self-charging/discharging, high reliability, high-speed inventorying, automated materials handling, long tag life, etc. The disadvantages include high cost, vulnerability to compromise, removal of exposed tags, exit sensor problems, perceived invasion of patron privacy, etc. If you are interested, please read the entire article.
Tagging Books to Prevent Theft by Kendra Mayfield
RFID in Libraries - Introduction to the Issues by Mats G. Lindquist
Choosing Your RFID Library Solution by VTLS
Personal Privacy and Use of RFID Technology in Libraries by Vinod Chachra et al.
RFID Poses No Problem for Patron Privacy by David Dorman
Web Services Technology (based on OCLC's 2003 Environmental Scan)
In the future, developers and end users will license software in pieces¡ªsome from traditional application and systems software vendors and others from companies specializing in particular business functions. Open-source applications will become part of the mix. Companies will also write their own modules for activities in which they already enjoy a distinct advantage and combine them with the increasing number of standard, easily available components. These changes will help to eliminate the painful and unsatisfying make-or-buy dichotomy of today¡¯s technology environment.
In a component-based environment, information technology professionals will have the ability to manage components independently, making modifications far simpler, faster and potentially cheaper. Patrons and customers will benefit by access to information and services on more devices and at multiple, distributed points of service.
One of the dominant enabling technologies in this field is Web services. Using Web services, small software modules located anywhere on the Web are able to interact with each other using standard protocols, making it possible to quickly link together computer systems across organizations worldwide.
The basic Web services platform is XML plus HTTP, which consists of three elements: SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) and WSDL (Web Services Description Language). To know more about this technology, you may want to read the following articles too.
Dale, T. Sign Me Up For Web Services. AIIM E-Doc Magazine v. 18 no. 2 (March/April 2004) p. 72
W3School.com, Learn Web Services
Digital Libraries: What To Know About Web Services (Roy Tennant)
An Introduction to Web Services (Tracy Gardner)
World Wide Web Consortium - Web Services Activity
Wireless mentioned here means "wireless networking" or WiFi technology. It becomes one of the hottest issue among library technical trends. It has been implemented in many libraries so far. But how it works anyway? By using the wireless connection, a user can access the Internet via electromagnetic airwaves, rather than wire or cable. Telecommunication charges are eliminated, but an Internet service provider is still required to gain access to the Internet. Wireless technology enables the ISP to offer greater bandwidth without the expense of adding cable to its own connection. However, in most wireless systems "line of sight" is required, which means that the radio antenna installed at a library must have an unobstructed path to the antenna maintained by the ISP. Each client antenna can serve 50-100 workstations at T1 speed.(ODLIS)
Originally WLAN hardware was so expensive that it was only used as an alternative to cabled LAN in places where cabling was difficult or impossible. Such places could be old protected buildings or classrooms, although the restricted range of the 802.11b (typically 30ft.) limits its use to smaller buildings. WLAN components are now cheap enough to be used in the home, with many being set-up so that one PC (a parent's PC, for example) can be used to share an Internet connection with the whole family (whilst retaining access control at the parents' PC).
Early development included industry-specific solutions and proprietary protocols, but at the end of the 1990s these were replaced by standards, primarily the various versions of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) (see separate articles) and HomeRF (2 Mbit/s, intended for home use, unknown in the UK). An alternative ATM-like 5 GHz standardized technology, HIPERLAN, has so far not succeeded in the market, and with the release of the faster 54 Mbit/s 802.11a (5 GHz) and 802.11g (2.4 GHz) standards, almost certainly never will. (Based on Wikipedia)
Some advantages of wireless networking include it allows LANs to be deployed without cabling, potentially reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion; many Wi-Fi networks support roaming, in which a mobile client station such as a laptop computer can move from one access point to another as the user moves around a building or area; many access points and network interfaces support various degrees of encryption to protect traffic from interception, etc.
Some disadvantages are power consumption is fairly high compared to other standards, making battery life and heat a concern; the most common wireless encryption standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy or WEP, has been shown to be easily breakable even when correctly configured; free access points (or improperly configured access points) may be used by a hacker to anonymously initiate an attack that would be impossible to track beyond the owner of the access point.
Some more in-depth readings on this topic:
From Security Focus - Basic Security Mechanisms for Wireless Networks
This article gives an overview of wireless networks and security issues. It lists several measures users can implement in order to make their networks more secure.
From Wi-Fi Alliance - Wi-Fi Security
An index of articles on many different security concerns about wireless networks.
An interesting company Web site that offers security advice for wireless networks. In addition they sell a wide range of wireless network security products including radio wave blocking paint.
From Eweek - 802.11i Strengthens Wi-Fi Security
An article that describes the 802.11i standard and its wireless networking security impact.
A blog by Bill Drew that discusses developments in wireless technologies related to libraries.
W ireless Internet Resource Channel
Wireless.com Everything Wireless
Wireless LAN resources for Linux
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