Generating Content

“With changing information needs, the introduction of many new library services, and the availability of new web technology, it was time for a comprehensive restructuring of the online window to our services,” said Library President Paul LeClerc. “The new www.nypl.org is easier to use, reflects a diverse range of staff voices, and provides increased flexibility for future growth. It will greatly improve the experience of Library users as we move ahead into new realms of digital service. I am immensely proud of it.” Annually, millions of users visit www.nypl.org to reserve books, search for classes, check library hours, order prints of digital images, sign up for classes, get homework help, read blogs and take advantage of the myriad of other features the website offers. The development of the new site began in 2008. Numerous prototypes were created and shared with staff and users who participated in a variety of in-person and online studies producing more than 100,000 responses.

Improved Navigation and Searching Analysis showed that 25% of all searches of nypl.org are for basic information about the Library, so a new “Using the Library” section was created as one of eight core navigation items at the top of each page. Deep footers and sidebars on every page also provide shortcuts to multimedia content, job information resources, exhibitions, and other popular content. Librarian-created content also increases instances of broad Internet searches leading back to reliable Library-vetted information. A link to Ask NYPL, where users can reach librarians directly, is for the first time accessible on almost every page. Searching within the site is one of the most crucial activities, so those functions were significantly improved. Previously a search for information on Edgar Allan Poe, for example, would produce results in different categories and require the user to choose which category seemed most likely to have the relevant results. In the new site all relevant information relating to Poe appears in one set of search results, with filtering options for further refinement. Additionally users may easily toggle back and forth between searches of the Library’s catalog and other content.

Staff Voices and Serendipity Librarians have been charged with generating content such as blog posts and photo uploads and with tagging relevant information from throughout the website that will help visitors access the depth of services available, recreating the serendipitous nature of research that happens at the physical libraries. The pages for each of the 89 libraries in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island will now be created and managed by staff in the local libraries, allowing each page to continue to provide the basic information and also showcase the unique qualities of the library and the neighborhood it serves. For example the 96th Street Branch page highlights a podcast series, Turn it Up at 96th Street, created and hosted by its teen users.

Full Story: New York Public Library Launches New Website, www.nypl.org - Art Daily

ANP learn how to effectively police their community GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – In the early morning on Dec. 22, before their normal daily patrols were scheduled to begin, 17 Afghan National Policemen lined up outside their district center.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – One job is aboard a nuclear submarine and is responsible for $500 million worth of equipment. Another job requires knowledge and analysis of insurgent messaging and propaganda in newsprint, radio and television. One requires a service member to be underwater for months at a time. The other involves working at a computer for 10 hours-a-day.

That is okay, because there is no connection besides the fact that in today’s armed services, America’s best are often required to quickly master and perform duties that are outside their area of expertise. U.S. Navy Lt. David M. Bartles, 29, is one of many service members here in Afghanistan that rises to the occasion to fill roles required of them during war-time.

Full Story: Navy submarine engineer takes on new role - Combined Joint Task Force 101 - Afghanistan

Critics question School Board's budget for Web site: The Duluth school district is paying local blogger $19,000 to generate information for its new Web site, www.goduluthschools.com.

Adopt a Unified Approach to Address Convergence of IT and OSS White paper  Learn more, download free white paper.

Profitability and OSS Support: A Return on Investment Analysis of IBM Tivoli Netcool  Learn more, download free white paper.

Full Story: Critics question School Board's budget for Web site: The Duluth school ... - TMCnet

While the traditional enemy of serious art has been commerce and the pressures of commodification, the battle of late has been made tougher by technology — across artistic domains. Indeed, technology often dictates even the kind of story that is told, as exemplified by all the effects-driven fare churned out by Hollywood.

The hand of the machine is also palpable in the sheer number of Hollywood and Bollywood films that are such visual and auditory feasts — with brilliant cinematography and mind-boggling sound effects — and yet, as works of art, are but crude assemblages that cynically manipulate the audience according to pre-determined formulae. In the realm of fiction, the formula calls the shots in books such as those of Dan Brown, James Bond as resurrected by Sebastian Faulks, Sam Bourne’s synthetic thrillers, the burgeoning chicklit, and most recently, the vampire genre.

A formula is nothing but a technology of manufacturing that increases efficiency in the delivery of a product as per pre-decided parameters. But in an era where formulaic fiction is not just flourishing (it has always flourished, viz, the Westerns, M&B, and other genre fiction) but is the foundational principle of creation, creativity becomes innovation and originality turns into the originality of the formula, not of artistic vision.

Full Story: A good novel is hard to find - Daily News & Analysis

William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson, both career consultants, provide an Online Identity Calculator that asks a few questions about your current employment and career goals, then steps you through a Google search of your name and its results. Based on the number and type of responses that show up in the search, the online calculator assigns you to a spot in one of four quadrants on a two-dimensional scale. The two dimensions are: - Volume: number of returns in the search, and - Relevance: if the returns are favorable vs. unfavorable or irrelevant.

If the search of your name has only a few returns and they do not say good things about you, you fall in the Digitally Dissed quadrant. If the search yields a lot of returns, but they are still not favorable, you're really in trouble: the Digitally Disastrous quadrant. In either of these categories, you need to get those negative items removed or start generating content that says good things about you and your work; examples -- a LinkedIn profile or thoughtful comments on leading blogs.

If your name search yields only a few returns but they are generally favorable, Arruda and Dixson say you are Digitally Dabbling . In this group, your online identity still needs work, but you're in better shape than the people with unfavorable details in their searches. And if you have both high volume and favorable content in your name search, you've reached Digitally Distinct status. Arruda and Dixson warn, however, that even at this stage -- what they call "the nirvana of online identity" -- you still need to monitor your online presence, in case negative information pops up.

Full Story: Calculating Your Online Identity - Science Magazine (blog)