Week 4 Notes

Data Compression (Wikipedia & DVD-HQ website)

I never really knew much about data compression.  Yes, I could probably conclude what the overall goal was, but I did not know the different applications or methods.  From the Wikipedia website I learned that there were two different methods, lossless and lossy compressions.  Lossless seems like the best option because the data is exactly the same after decompression, where with lossy you lose some data indefinitely.  Also, I learned that lossy is used more for audio, video and digital images compressions, while lossless is used more for text, spreadsheets, and programs.  The DVD-HQ website was more helpful in diving deeper into the explanations of data compression.  It explained the basics in more details and helped me to understand all the acronyms better such as RLE and LZ.  In addition, the examples and images on the DVD-HQ website made it easier to follow the explanations, especially with quantisation and motion compensation.  I feel that data compression is a great way to save space and valuable resources, but I think that the time and extra processing needed for decompression is a major difficulty.

Imaging Pittsburgh: Creating a Shared Gateway to Digital Image Collections of the Pittsburgh Region by Edward A. Galloway

This article was the most interesting to me this week.  As a Pittsburgh native I was excited to hear that there was a digital collection of photographs of my hometown's past.  I actually visited the website (http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/) and explored through the images.  I really enjoyed that you could search by region, which allowed me to view the specific area, through images, of where my family lived, dating back to when my grandparents settled in Pittsburgh. My favorite aspect that website provides is the ability to order reproductions.  It would allow visitors to have a copy of the images for their personal collection.  The article was also helpful in showcasing all the challenges that arise in forming a digital collection with numerous institutions.  It really made me think of all aspects that have to be considered such as selection process, website development, and communication among the different establishments. 

YouTube and Libraries: It Could be a Beautiful Relationship by Paula L. Webb

After reading the article, I think that using one of the most popular and visited websites would be extremely beneficial in helping library patrons.  I believe that students would highly enjoy these videos and learning visually about the library services, I know I would.  Also, the examples given of the different YouTube videos provided by universities, such as tutorials, tours through the library, and introductions to resources, highlight just the beginning of what could be accomplished through this partnership.