Articles by Mickey

From the Ubiquitous Librarian, Brian Mathews’ blog:

This post isn’t about libraries, but rather in the realm of social information literacy

I’ve seen a dramatic rise in phishing on MySpace lately. Many people are getting their accounts compromised. What I am most fascinated by is the fake-friend-hacking concept, the idea of “borrowing” someone’s identity with the sole purpose of advertising, and of course also stealing more accounts. It’s a tactic to deliver spam through a thinly disguised cloak of assumed friendship. If a stranger tells me to visit a site, I probably won’t, however if someone I know told me about it, I would. That’s the core of social networking: people influencing people that they know.

The Con
Spammers create bogus accounts and become friends with tons of people. I call these “shell” account because they put just enough info to make them seem like believable people, yet they are simply out to get clicks. Next they will direct their “friends” to a site that essentially looks like MySpace, but appears to log them out. The individual thinks nothing of it (since this happens frequently) and logs into the replicated site and hence gives away their email address and password. There are definitely security concerns but again, I am fascinated by the process. Once they obtain access to these accounts they don’t change passwords or tamper with the profile, they simply use it to invite people’s friends to visit external websites. This is endorsement theft because what they are stealing is trust and authenticity: a person’s character. It is the equivalent of someone sneaking a false article in a peer-reviewed journal. Elsevier tells us it is legit research so we believe them.

This has actually been going on for awhile now on MySpace. It’s creative because they are not only using email messages, but also message boards (individuals), bulletin boards (all friends), and group boards to spread their message; it’s a multiplatform operation. So watch out and don’t trust anyone online!

Here is a very interesting ALA TechSource article on our NExpresss shared automation vendor, Sirsi Dynix, which recently announced it has abandoned plans to release Horizon 8.0, the much-touted makeover of Dynix’s flagship ILS product. Instead, the Unicorn platform will be the basis for a new product called ROME, which will essentially be an enhanced version of Unicorn GL3.2. Read the entire article for an excellent overview of Sirsi Dynix’s past, present and future.

Here’s a follow-up story on the Man Who Had His Laptop Confiscated (see March 2 posting)

 http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/8679625p-8574795c.html

Headline: Alaskan Library lets down Patron

By john on wifi [John Blyberg]
I’ve been watching this story (article) with a growing level of frustration. Not with the user, nor with the police (who were simply doing their job), but with the Palmer Public Library in Palmer Alaska.

First, can anyone give me a good reason why a library’s wifi service should be only available during business hours? Perhaps we ought to shut off our web servers along with the lights as well.

I’ll admit that this situation brings up some interesting issues. Obviously the Palmer Public Library usage policy forbids after-hours access. They have a plan in place to shut off access at night, though they’re waiting until they find a technician to do it: *hint* maybe your parking-lot superpatron could help you out there, guys. But that is a flawed policy, and is also nowhere to be found on their website. It’s important to remember that Internet usage policies don’t hold business hours, so no matter what time a user hops on, they are still subject to those rules of governance.

This could have been a fabulous public relations opportunity, but the Palmer Library took a big pass. Worse, it didn’t come to the defense of this user who may very well be saddled with some real criminal charges. Yes, he may be arrested for playing Risk in the parking lot of his town’s public library. But, the fact that the user in question was using the service for gaming is completely inconsequential. Since when do libraries pass judgement on our user’s activities and choice of material?

This user has been let down by his library.

So, what should the Palmer Library do if it is so inclined?

First, they should notify the police and the district attorney that a) using wifi after hours is permitted and b) the user’s laptop should be returned immediately and c) charges should not be filed against the user because there was no theft of service involved.

They should then re-evaluate their Internet usage policy and make any changes necessary to remove any ambiguity regarding hours of operation and make sure language is included that allows for after-hour usage.

Then, if it were up to me, I would see what kind of wifi coverage the parking lot was getting, and have additional access points installed if signal strength was spotty. I might even place some signage in the lot to advertise the hot spot.

Finally, I would invite that user to the library to talk about his experience as a moderator on the site, Conquor Club. I don’t know what’s going on in Palmer, Alaska, but I imagine that there might be other library users who’d be interested.

Identifying our most valuable users and taking advantage of their expertise should be ever present in our minds. So when I read a story like this where a library simply stands back, takes the easiest and safest path, I get mightily frustrated.

What a waste of a great opportunity. And what a lack of cojones.

Alaska, Internet, Library, Palmer Alaska, policy, wifi

Our friend Jenny Levine over at THE SHIFTED LIBRARIAN reports that one teen librarian she knows is using DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION to settle fines and minor squabbles with teen patrons.

http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2007/01/21/gaming_for_fines.html 

NEKLS’s recent pilot project using WordPress for easy-t0-create, easy-to-update and easy-to-maintain web pages for libraries appears to be a harbinger of things to come. Another such project, announced in late April, is called EngagedPatrons.org./

Read the rest of the FAQ at their web site, and learn more about this exciting development in improving library access for everyone!

Here’s a great tip from Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian. For those of you pondering the issue of providing IM on your public computers, here’s a workable compromise! –Mickey

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IM on the Desktop
By Jenny

Just a reminder that if you want to offer instant messaging on your public workstations but you don’t want to install software or your IT department is worried about the security of IM apps, you can always put desktop shortcuts and quick links in the browser to the web-based versions of these IM clients and/or Meebo.

Your patrons will lose some of the great functionality of the full clients, but it’s a start, and it might be a stepping stone to offering more down the road if you’re meeting resistance. In addition, it looks to me like you circumvent some privacy issues, too, because no transcripts of conversations are saved on the hard drive. Granted, information may still be in the browser’s cache, but hopefully you’re already addressing this issue with software that clears it out after each user.

Posted on: Mon, Nov 7 2005 11:09 PM

One of my most delightful recent discoveries has been Google Earth, a wonderful free program that allows you to fly from outer space to the rooftop of your house. Using satellite pictures and sophisticated digital technology, Google Earth puts a planet’s worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop. If you’ve always dreamed of flying, Google Earth is about as close as it come to the real thing.

Download it here: http://earth.google.com/

The September 2005 issue of Consumer Reports contains the long-awaited Online Survival Guide. The article discusses security, internet service providers, home networks, and computers–both laptop and desktop. Of particular interest to wireless users is the box on page 23, which describes what you can do to keep your wireless connection secure. Among the tips:

Activate encryption
Change your router’s default password
Disguise your network
Create a computer “guest list.”

A new study, Public Libraries and the Internet 2004: Survey Results and Findings, issued by the Information use Management and Policy Institute at Florida State University in Tallahassee and funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the ALA, found that:

99.6% of public library outlets in the U.S. had internet connectivity
98.9% offer public access
15.7% don’t have enough terminals to serve demand on a consistent basis, while 70.2% have problems meeting peak demand times
Rural libraries continue to lag behind urban libraries in connectivity speed
40% of public libraries use one or more methods to filter internet access
While a majority of libraries offer some computer training, only 28% offer training on a regular (weekly or monthly) schedule
Most libraries do not have set plans or schedules for upgrades of software, hardware, or bandwidth

See the complete report here: Public Libraries and the Internet

Starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time will be extended a month on each end to run from March to November. Computers, cell phones, VCRs, and other electronic devices are currently set up to respond only to traditional (April-Oct) Daylight Saving Time adjustments. Resetting these devices to reflect the new DST scheme will be a nuisance for techies everywhere. Read the whole story at:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050808-5184.html