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<div>Hello, all -</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Don addresses the issue of an educational database...I am not
sure if readers of this list are familiar with the International
Children's Digital Library project -- http://www.icdlbooks.org/ (Tim
Browne, Allison Druin and others). This could be a great
resource. I believe there has been some exploration/discussion
as to how this can link up with OLPC....</div>
<div> Kim</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>At 5:46 AM -0800 12/14/06, Don V Black wrote:</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Hi All -<br>
<br>
The magnificence of the laudable task you have set for yourself
staggers even my overgrown imagination. <br>
I have been waiting for this since the introduction of the
microprocessor over 30 yeas ago.<br>
<br>
How many Net-librarians will we need when we get to 100,000 laptops?
250,000? 1,000,000? <br>
Remember that these OLPC devices will be in literally every timezone,
and in every language.<br>
Also we need to make them useless for adults, or the resources will be
mis-allocated.<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>ABOUT VOLUNTEERS:<br>
<br>
</b>1) Internationally: the process must be automated in some
manner,<br>
with the human element introduced only
when necessary (or requested). <br>
An academic specialty specific (or
pedagogically specific) cadre of volunteer<br>
librarians could thus be efficiently
allocated and accessed.<br>
<br>
2) Nationally: Another option is to make the resource available at the
local level,<br>
and to encourage the client nations to
provide a national net-library clearing<br>
house staff, thus reducing the language and
timezone barriers.<br>
<br>
3) Locally: A hierarchy of students, teachers and volunteers could be
accessed<br>
via the OLPC device's network to provide
local librarians, and regionally<br>
specific libraries and support.<br>
<br>
With a networking plan in place, cost estimates could be generated,
and funding<br>
then becomes a real possibility. Also, it is easier to find
volunteers, when they<br>
can understand their place in the bigger picture, and their exact
duties.<br>
<br>
<b>ABOUT AN EDUCATIONAL DATABASE:<br>
<br>
</b>Another issue that I would like to address later.<br>
<br>
Kindest Regards,<br>
Don V Black, Founder<br>
Edutech Project<br>
<br>
===<br>
At 08:12 AM 12/13/2006, Idit Caperton wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Joos,<br>
Thank you for your email and putting your energy and thinking in
an<br>
important direction.<br>
<br>
Some things to think about:<br>
1. Different styles/kinds of NetLibrarians? Real and Virtual?<br>
2. Different NetLibrarians who are creating different kinds of
experiences<br>
for different people who have different personalities, purposes,
needs, and<br>
inquiries? Maybe NetLibrarians are not waiting in a specific library,
but<br>
rather creating one for you on demand based on what you are looking
for?<br>
3. How to create good "matches" and "mashes" for
the above?<br>
4. Generating on the fly different kinds of libraries in terms of
content,<br>
size, locations, and experiences?<br>
5. How NetLibrarians are different than your current concept of
Librarians.<br>
Let's not try to imitate the old, but invent something new,
different,<br>
better...<br>
- Idit.<br>
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: library-bounces@laptop.org [ mailto:library-bounces@laptop.org]
On<br>
Behalf Of Joos Search<br>
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:21 AM<br>
To: library@laptop.org<br>
Subject: Online librarians<br>
<br>
Hello all.<br>
<br>
I'm currently working on a "do-it-yourself" method for
becoming an<br>
online librarian. I'm somewhat concerned that the children that
we<br>
are welcoming to the world of the Internet may just need some
helpful<br>
assistance finding the correct place to go sometimes.<br>
<br>
If I could use one word to describe the Internet it would be:
Library.<br>
In fact, it's the best darn library in the world. I helped
to build<br>
much of that library over the past 20 years through programming
for<br>
fun and industry. I'm determined to take a gigantic step
backwards<br>
in my own life and **stop programming** in order to help persuade
the<br>
Internet that the library needs to have some librarians.
Otherwise,<br>
"Web 2.0" may come along and perhaps move the Internet in a
direction<br>
that reduces the usability of the library.<br>
<br>
If I may, I'd like to extend the analogy to "the Internet is a
town."</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Let me explain.<br>
<br>
When the Internet originally began, it was a really small town
with<br>
just a library. Anyone could come to the library to find
information<br>
or put up new information. Then, the town began to
develop. They<br>
put in a movie theater, and a mall, and strip clubs, and an
amazing<br>
telephone system, just to mention a few additions.<br>
<br>
And the library is still there, it's just not as flashy as all
those<br>
other new and hip things that are being added to the Internet town<br>
everyday. Fortunately, the library just got a fantastic new
card<br>
catalog (Google) and an amazingly growing encyclopedia
(Wikipedia).<br>
Unfortunately, the library doesn't have a librarian to tell any<br>
visitor who just happens to stumble in where to go if it's their
first<br>
time. And the librarian(s) really doesn't have to do
much. They can<br>
just be available if anyone has a question and be trustworthy.
While<br>
they're not busy, they can help catalog and cleanup.<br>
<br>
In some ways, I'd like to help an effort to gather a group of
advanced<br>
Internet users to serve as Internet librarians. Or,
another way to<br>
think about it would be Internet concierges. Welcome to the
Internet,<br>
may I help you?<br>
<br>
I've started some research on the matter. If you're interested,
I'm<br>
keeping it cataloged at joossearch@gmail.com. Thanks for
reading my<br>
ramblings.<br>
<br>
-Jeremy Lueck.<br>
aka Joos<br>
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</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font
size="-1">===================================<br>
<span
></span> Don V Black, Chairman<br>
IEEE-OC Video Game Engineers<br>
<span
></span> http://www.gamesig.org<br>
Executive Committee Member,<br>
IEEE CS Task Force on Game Technology<br>
<span
></span> 1-949-548-1969<br>
<span
></span> dblack@ieee.org<br>
===================================<br>
Affiliate of
Center of GRAVITY<br>
Electrical Engineering & Computer Science<br>
University of California at
Irvine<br>
http://newport.eecs.uci.edu/~dblack/<br>
===================================</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
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