Print

Print


On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 1:18 PM, Wayne Lam<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> So i start browsing on the internet about what OAI, Solr and all related
> thing without a direction, reading books on what Semantic web is and
> subscribe some mailing list of interesting projects. But for a newbie like
> me, it was a bit like information overflow for me. There are so many
> technology that are new to me and i am afraid that by the time i manage to
> "know" it, that became an old-fashion already. I am wondering if there are
> some way that i can learn it in a structural way.

The first step is admitting that you are unable to understand *all*
the crazy library technology lingo, and that library-technology
environment as a whole has become unmanageable. :-)

Seriously though, I think what David said earlier can't be over-emphasized:

"""
2. Don't forget to look at trends outside of "Libraryland". A lot of
professional library discussion takes place in an echo chamber, and bad
ideas often get repeated and gain credibility as a result. Librarians
usually overstate the uniqueness of their organizations and professions.
When the question, "What are other libraries doing?" arises in
addressing a technical problem, don't be afraid to generalize the
question to other types of organizations. Too often, the answer to the
question, "What are other libraries doing?" is "Failing." Emulate for
the sake of success, not conformity.
"""

//Ed