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VRD and WebJunction

Subject: Virtual Reference Desk at SU

Virtual Reference Desk project joins WebJunction as Information Institute of Syracuse and OCLC expand partnership

SYRACUSE, NYâ??The Virtual Reference Desk, a pioneering project in the development of digital reference, is moving its resources to WebJunction, the online community dedicated to emerging technology and training needs of librarians. This represents an expansion of the ongoing partnership between Syracuse Universityâ??s Information Institute of Syracuse and OCLC Online Computer Library Center.

The Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) is a project dedicated to the advancement of digital reference and the successful creation and operation of human-mediated, Internet-based information services. The Information Institute of Syracuse has been home to the VRD since 1997. OCLC and the Information Institute of Syracuse have collaborated on the VRD project since 2002.

In the expanded partnership, VRD will make its substantial and highly regarded body of virtual reference information available to the library community at WebJunction, a rich environment that includes threaded discussions, online courses, over 15,000 members, and a growing network of other partners. The Information Institute will continue the projectâ??s ambitious research initiative, and will collaborate with OCLC on the 2005 Virtual Reference Desk Conference.

â??This is a logical move given the success of virtual reference,â?? said David Lankes, director of the Information Institute of Syracuse. â??As virtual reference becomes the norm, widely implemented in libraries around the world, VRD needs a home closer to the business of libraries. OCLCâ??s WebJunction is that natural home.â??

The Institute will continue to work with OCLC and others on an advanced research agenda. â??Ideas are what we do best,â?? Lankes added. â??A University is an ideal place to push the envelope.â??

â??We are thrilled that WebJunction is expanding to include VRD and the reference community it serves. The Virtual Reference Desk has a lot of recognition as a high quality source of unbiased information, and WebJunction is the perfect place for it to continue to grow,â?? said George Needham, OCLC Vice President for Member Services. The VRD will remain a separate project from OCLCâ??s QuestionPoint service.

Originally developed with funding by the United States Department of Education, The Virtual Reference Desk has grown from a basic research project in 1997 to a consortium, agenda setting international conference, tool builder and clearinghouse for the virtual reference community. The VRD project has been instrumental in creating technical standards, quality standards, education resources, software and setting the research agenda in the reference field.

The Information Institute of Syracuse (IIS) at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University is a long standing research center in the areas of education, technology and librarianship. It has been the source and host for a number of highly visible and widely successful digital education information services. The IIS created The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education), The Virtual Reference Desk (VRD), AskERIC and the Educatorâ??s Reference Desk. All projects share the same goal: to improve student learning by providing educators, policy makers and parents with quality information to improve teaching and the educational environment. IIS projects bring together universities, government agencies and private enterprises to promote easy access to high quality educational information to a diverse user population.

The School of Information Studies at SU is a nationally ranked center for innovative programs in information policy, information behavior, information management, information systems, information technology, and information services. The School offers an undergraduate degree, certificates of advanced studies, three professional masterâ??s programs, and a Ph.D. The School of Information Studies was established in 1896 as the School of Library Science and is accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). For more information, visit the Schoolâ??s web site at www.ist.syr.edu.

Contact:
Amy Sloane-Garris
Phone: (315) 443-6885
asloaneg@syr.edu
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VRD Redux

It is ironic that I pushed blogging so hard at this year’s VRD and didn’t actually do any blogging during the conference…well, a few StoryStarter posts. I wanted to give some more information on my last post and the status of VRD 2006 (post to Dig_Ref soon).

The VRD conferences have been part of an ongoing contract with the U.S. Department of Education (the Education Digital Library Initiative). This contract ended in June 2005. This funding paid for program development and staff time. OCLC joined the contract in 2002 and has handled the logistics of the conference (they have always insisted they have nothing to do with the program to avoid any perception of bias, and have been the best partners anyone could ask for). While the conference has always been able to cover its own expenses, OCLC, and this year SU, donated a sizable chunk of staff time to make this happen. With the end of the contract, and a seven year run, we and OCLC have decided it is time to turn the conference over to the virtual reference community.

What does that mean? Well, it means that as a community we need to come up with resources to run VRD 8 if we (the virtual reference community) decide it is worthwhile. We need volunteers to put the program together, we need an organization to handle the logistics (registration, program printing, etc), and we need a place to host 300-400 folks. That could be a hotel, or a campus, or a conference center. Bottom line, we need to come up a with a community and point organization that wants to keep VRD going. This is, by the way, how VRD started. VRD 99 was co-hosted with Harvard and NELINET, 2000 with the University of Washington, and 2001 with Florida State.

Let me be clear, we’re not talking money (that would help), but time. You could volunteer to review papers, or staff the desk, or whatever. If you are in an organization that can provide space, or wants to expand a current virtual reference event to an international audience, that would be great.

In about a week or so OCLC and we are going to schedule a conference call to get together those interested in continuing the conference. If you are interested, please contact either George Needham or me, or watch out for the call information.

I think a VRD 2006 would be great, and I plan on being as involved as this community wants. However, it is time for that community to decide if they need VRD, and if they do, step up.

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VRD 7 a Success

Thanks to all for making this year another successful VRD conference. As announced at the closing session, there will be no VRD 8 unless the virtual reference community steps up and takes it over. Keep your eyes out for more information on a December conference call for folks interested in volunteering and adopting the Virtual Reference Desk Conference. The future of the conference is in your hands.

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OpenQA

Openqa2-1
Today at the Virtual Reference Desk Conference, David Lankes announced the availability of OpenQA. OpenQA, the latest in the line of QABuilder software, allows libraries and organizations to build online cohesive blogging communities. Check out the OpenQA Wiki for more information.

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Blogging Software

I use WordPress. Some might wonder why the StoryStarters decided to start with WordPress integration before other blogging packages. The same reasons apply to why I use it for my personal blog:

Active development community that keeps it secure
Excellent anti-spam features
Excellent blogging features including calendars, search and support of RSS
Open source PHP with an easy to use plugin architecture
I should come clean and admit I donâ??t use WordPressâ?? â??writeâ?? tab that much. I prefer ecto as an authoring package. It integrates with a lot of blogs using XML RPC, and is very mac friendly.
In case you wondering why I am writing this, this is my first official StoryStarters post! Check it out:

http://storystarters.iis.syr.edu

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StoryStarters is Open for Business

LogoConsider this a bonus sneak peak for those who read my blog. On Monday I’ll be announcing StoryStarters at the VRD Conference. However, it is ready to use right now! Create an account and get started. Download the plugin if you use WordPress and go to town:

http://storystarters.iis.syr.edu/
For those of you who don’t remember, StoryStarters is a blog utility site. You can create lists of questions and items for folks to blog about. You can map these questions to Google Maps. If you don’t use WordPress feel free to cut and paste or use bookmarklets. All you need is to use a Trackback URL.

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Slashdot | Using Copyrights To Fight Intelligent Design

Read this article: Slashdot | Using Copyrights To Fight Intelligent Design. Brilliant! Basically, it’s about using academic standards and copyright to fight intelligent design (a very good idea).

For those of you not familiar with the current state of affairs in K-12 education, states (driven in no small part by the Federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ law) are aligning just about everything that happens in a classroom to curriculum standards. Standards are more or less agreed upon curricula. While many of the standards are developed by the states themselves, most are at least derived from national standards. National standards are, for all intents and purposes, copyrighted books.

By not allowing Kansas to align intelligent design stuff to their copyrighted standards, they force Kansas to either abandon intelligent design, or a set of rigorous nationally recognized standards. Brilliant!

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Making Digital Reference History…well, at Least Reconstructing It

First the facts, then the plea, then the larger picture.

Facts:
I’ve put up a website to allow the VRD community to add events, articles, people and other to an interactive timeline (surrounding the VRD conferences…more on that later). It is anonymous and pretty informal. People go to the timeline at http://askeric.syr.edu/VRDTimeline and they can add (or edit) items they feel should be part of the history of virtual reference (at least over the past 7-10 years). You can browse the timeline, and I even put up an RSS feed and a cloud view of the entries.

Plea:
I need folks to add things they feel should be part of this timeline. I also need folks to vote for items they feel are particularly significant. While the timeline is centered on the VRD conferences, I’m really hoping to build a more comprehensive view. If you wrote an article in virtual reference…add it! Started a service – add it! I’m very interested in the people you feel shaped the past 7-10 years in virtual reference (people seem reluctant to add those). I’d really like this to be a resource of and for the community.

Larger Picture:
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that this has a VRD perspective (particularly the conferences). This is because I’m hoping to use this data as part of the next VRD book from Neal-Schuman. The next book will be more of a continuous narrative, and less proceedings (it will include articles from this year’s conference). The idea is to capture the evolution of digital/virtual reference over the past decade. In the text will be people profiles, important articles, and a good dose of “movement building” activities and descriptions. I’d hope to really reflect the community, and hence the desire to have the VRD community add information and vote.

So please add and vote.

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Open Infrastructure for the Greater Good

200510261103
In the spirit of sharing ideas early (even before they are fully developed), I’m posting a prospectus I put together on building an Open Infrastructure for the Greater Good. Maybe it already exists and I just don’t know about it, that’s why I put them into the public realm for comment. I think it is a good idea, but I’d be interested to see what others think:

Developing an Open Infrastructure for the Greater Good

A Brief Prospectus
R. David Lankes, Syracuse University
rdlankes@iis.syr.edu

Vincent and Didi Frochette lost their son Lukie to a rare form of cancer. In memory of their son they formed a charitable foundation to raise money for the Syracuse Childrenâ??s Hospital. Each year they hold a golfing event and want to put up a website to both advertise the event and recognize sponsors. Both Vincent and Didi had full time jobs, and no technology experience. Imagine if they could go to a place on the web and with three clicks of a mouse and 5 minutes time build a web site. Not a simple 1 page brochure on the web, but a website that allows Vincent to blog about the upcoming event; allowed the couple to upload pictures of the current and past events, allowed them to set up e-mail accounts and listservs for volunteers, and ensured their site conformed to standards for disabilities, usability.

Funding agencies are taking scarce funds from program activities and devoting it to building project websites. While there may be projects where the construction of highly unique web resources is key to the success of a program activity, in many cases funds for web sites lease web server space, hire designers, and train staff in how to build web pages. If the primary purpose of funding organizations is to promote Internet literacy, this makes sense. Otherwise these dollars represent money that could be spent on program objectives.

Continue reading “Open Infrastructure for the Greater Good”