Catching up on my blog reading after attending a conference and doing a bit of travel late last week and early this week has brought several items to my attention that I’d like to share.
First, The Boston Library Consortium commissioned this paper about the need for a new approach to digitizing collections written by Richard K. Johnson.
The report takes on the concept of “enclosure” for public domain works that are being digitized by commercial publishers such as Google in what has been assumed to be an “Internet Public Library.” The argument presented juxtaposes the business profit versus public good cultural differences. The paper concludes with a call to find a middle ground that allows the preservation of a digital culture that benefits the public good and the shareholders.
I’ve heard many pro and con arguments on the topic of commercial scanning projects using public institutions collections to provide a comprehensive digital library. This is the first time I have read anything that discusses the cultural manifestations of this type of project so clearly. I fully support a digital library and feel that if Google wants to expend capital to make it so, great, but let’s make sure that those who should have access do. The digital divide is shrinking but it is still there and the crack will probably just widen with today’s economic reality.
Second, a report was released that describes trends in nursing home complaints from 2005 to 2007. Thanks to the Resource Shelf for bringing the report to my attention. In my other job, I am serving as a Marketing Director for a service provider to nursing homes so I will give this report a thorough review. Alarming from the report is that 17% of homes in survey were cited for harm. As our population ages and with the trend for less in-home care I find this disturbing. On a positive note private facilities were cited more than government or not-for-profit facilities.
Last, take a look at this site for ITLA 2008 conference downloads. Items that might be of particular interest are sessions related to virtualization of services, integration of application with Sharepoint and Web 2.0 adoption. I’ve not had a chance to review any of these in-depth myself but as law firms struggle with business challenges and client service ITLA continues to offer content worth paying attention.
