- Email: [email protected]
Reviews section February 2012—Part III
Reviews
potential to expand the market for publishers making new content available. In education, students are more interested in core reading. The chapters present two case studies. The first based at City of Bristol College and Yeovil College and the second at Portsmouth University. Engaging the academics is key to getting students to use e-books. Generally the most popular textbooks are not available as publishers worry that they will lose revenue if students no longer buy reading list books however an increasing amount of enriching material is available. In the Kingston University survey we found that if a book was available in both electronic and print form 60% of students prefer the print format and only 16% e-books. Portsmouth asked the same question of their students and had the same result. E-books are mainly used by students when all print copies are on loan. The main deterrents for both FE and HE students were the technical issues and that the books they most wanted were not available. An interesting feature of this book is that the editors have allowed space for the contributors ato look in the crystal bala and predict the future in 10 years’ time. There are also appendices which include some top tips from the contributors together with a glossary and a list of suppliers. I think this book is a very welcome addition. Librarians involved in e-book purchase or even just interested in their use would find this invaluable. It is highly readable and because of the layout can equally be dippaed into or read from cover-to-cover. Reference Amazon. (2011). Amazon.com now selling more kindle books than print books. Available from: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irolnewsArticle&ID=1565581.
Robert Elves ∗ Kingston University, Nightingale Centre, Kingston Hill, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey KT2 7LB, UK ∗ Tel.: +44 20 8417 9000. E-mail address: [email protected]
Available online 15 December 2011 doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.11.009
Reviews section February 2012—Part III Getting Started with Cloud Computing: A LITA Guide, E.M. Corrado, H.L. Moulaison (Eds.). Facet Publishing, London (2011). 225p, price £49.95, ISBN: 978-1-55570-749-1 Cloud computing represents the latest in a long line of technological developments that are either hailed as being either a ‘game changing new paradigm in computing’ or as just another ‘fad’ being offered to gullible potential customers and users. The truth, as always, lies somewhere between these two extremes with the effective deployment of cloud technologies being dependent upon the associated business models of adoption that are put in place by the organizations wishing to exploit such technologies together with a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages offered by moving their activities and processes “into the cloud”. The central question, therefore, is whether or not this new text edited by Edward Corrado and Heather Lea Moulaison, who are American academics at Binghamton University New York and the University of Missouri-Columbia respectively, can help in clarifying the way in which organizations think about and implement this
95
new set of technologies. The book’s title would certainly suggest, or hint at, the fact that this is the editors’ intention but unfortunately this is somewhat misleading. The book is in fact a LITA (Library and Information Technology Association) guide and is designed specifically as a “start-up guide to cloud computing in libraries” and produced in order to “explain cloud computing as it pertains to the library community”. To achieve this goal the editors claim that they take the “broadest possible approach, considering ANY (my emphasis) use of remote computing power accessed through the Internet as a kind of cloud computing. . .” Such an all-encompassing definition is useful at a practical level but tends to confuse the central question of what is different about cloud computing and how this difference can be exploited to add value to an organization’s activities and processes. According to the editors the book aims to: (i) convey the current state of affairs in library uses of cloud computing; (ii) give ample ideas of projects that libraries and cultural institutions can undertake; (iii) share expertise from a variety of information professionals who use cloud computing in their jobs. The overall intention is that “after learning more about cloud computing and seeing how it pertains to libraries, readers will understand the requirements for trying various cloud computing projects at their own institutions”. The book is divided into three parts: (i) general concerns; (ii) technologies; (iii) case studies. The first part has two chapters, understanding the cloud: an introduction to the cloud and cloud computing: pros and cons which are obviously of general interest to anyone who has a passing knowledge of the topic and wants to get a quick easy-to-read overview of the subject together with its strengths and weaknesses. The other four chapters in the first part of the book are all related more directly to the field of librarianship and these cover: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
perspectives on cloud computing in libraries; what cloud computing means for libraries; a librarian/vendor perspective on cloud computing; cloud computing for LIS (library and information science) education.
The second part of the book covers a number of so-called “cloud technologies” that are currently being used within libraries such as “discovery layers”, “Koha”, Web Services, “DSpace repository”, tools for file sharing, and Microsoft SharePoint hosted in the cloud. Although these examples are quite interesting in themselves I believe that they also demonstrate some of the confusion surrounding the promotion of cloud computing as a separate technological solution and as a topic in its own right. The third and final part of the book describes several projects that have been carried out in libraries throughout the United States. Since I have no great knowledge of the field of librarianship I am not able to assess the extent to which these case studies will have applicability outside of the United States but I certainly found them interesting in themselves. The projects include the saving of archival quality images in the cloud, integrating cloudbased library guides with a locally hosted website, file sharing and remote access between and among librarians, the use of free software from Google, distance education, web conferencing and instruction.
96
I felt at times that the separation of the topics between Parts 2 and 3 of the book was somewhat artificial and contrived and reflected the fact that this is an edited set of papers by different authors. I was not clear what was being touted as a ‘cloud technology’ as opposed to simply being a technology that is offered and deployed via the ‘cloud model’, for example the use of Google Apps or SharePoint. Does any benefit or advantage accrue from the software tool itself or the manner in which it is made available? I would have liked to have seen the various contributions arranged in a different manner with perhaps a summary chapter that drew together some general conclusions and recommendations based on the individual contributions. In summary then I believe that this is a very readable and accessible text that should certainly be of interest to, and read by, people working in the fields of librarianship and information sciences generally. However, they will need to read it very quickly as the danger is that it will soon become out-of-date from both a technical perspective and given the rate of adoption and application development.
Reviews
One final point. A recent feature article in the media guardian supplement on cloud technology (17.10.11) opined that “whether the term ‘cloud computing’ itself has been a help or hindrance to the adoption of these technologies is debatable”. I fully concur particularly in light of the many puns that the term provides for authors, such as “Head in the Clouds”, “From the Ground to the Cloud”, “Parting the Clouds” and worst of all, “Not Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining”. Please stop it!!
Bob Wood Emeritus Professor of Information Systems, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom E-mail address: [email protected] Available online 14 December 2011 doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.11.010
potential to expand the market for publishers making new content available. In education, students are more interested in core reading. The chapters present two case studies. The first based at City of Bristol College and Yeovil College and the second at Portsmouth University. Engaging the academics is key to getting students to use e-books. Generally the most popular textbooks are not available as publishers worry that they will lose revenue if students no longer buy reading list books however an increasing amount of enriching material is available. In the Kingston University survey we found that if a book was available in both electronic and print form 60% of students prefer the print format and only 16% e-books. Portsmouth asked the same question of their students and had the same result. E-books are mainly used by students when all print copies are on loan. The main deterrents for both FE and HE students were the technical issues and that the books they most wanted were not available. An interesting feature of this book is that the editors have allowed space for the contributors ato look in the crystal bala and predict the future in 10 years’ time. There are also appendices which include some top tips from the contributors together with a glossary and a list of suppliers. I think this book is a very welcome addition. Librarians involved in e-book purchase or even just interested in their use would find this invaluable. It is highly readable and because of the layout can equally be dippaed into or read from cover-to-cover. Reference Amazon. (2011). Amazon.com now selling more kindle books than print books. Available from: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irolnewsArticle&ID=1565581.
Robert Elves ∗ Kingston University, Nightingale Centre, Kingston Hill, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey KT2 7LB, UK ∗ Tel.: +44 20 8417 9000. E-mail address: [email protected]
Available online 15 December 2011 doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.11.009
Reviews section February 2012—Part III Getting Started with Cloud Computing: A LITA Guide, E.M. Corrado, H.L. Moulaison (Eds.). Facet Publishing, London (2011). 225p, price £49.95, ISBN: 978-1-55570-749-1 Cloud computing represents the latest in a long line of technological developments that are either hailed as being either a ‘game changing new paradigm in computing’ or as just another ‘fad’ being offered to gullible potential customers and users. The truth, as always, lies somewhere between these two extremes with the effective deployment of cloud technologies being dependent upon the associated business models of adoption that are put in place by the organizations wishing to exploit such technologies together with a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages offered by moving their activities and processes “into the cloud”. The central question, therefore, is whether or not this new text edited by Edward Corrado and Heather Lea Moulaison, who are American academics at Binghamton University New York and the University of Missouri-Columbia respectively, can help in clarifying the way in which organizations think about and implement this
95
new set of technologies. The book’s title would certainly suggest, or hint at, the fact that this is the editors’ intention but unfortunately this is somewhat misleading. The book is in fact a LITA (Library and Information Technology Association) guide and is designed specifically as a “start-up guide to cloud computing in libraries” and produced in order to “explain cloud computing as it pertains to the library community”. To achieve this goal the editors claim that they take the “broadest possible approach, considering ANY (my emphasis) use of remote computing power accessed through the Internet as a kind of cloud computing. . .” Such an all-encompassing definition is useful at a practical level but tends to confuse the central question of what is different about cloud computing and how this difference can be exploited to add value to an organization’s activities and processes. According to the editors the book aims to: (i) convey the current state of affairs in library uses of cloud computing; (ii) give ample ideas of projects that libraries and cultural institutions can undertake; (iii) share expertise from a variety of information professionals who use cloud computing in their jobs. The overall intention is that “after learning more about cloud computing and seeing how it pertains to libraries, readers will understand the requirements for trying various cloud computing projects at their own institutions”. The book is divided into three parts: (i) general concerns; (ii) technologies; (iii) case studies. The first part has two chapters, understanding the cloud: an introduction to the cloud and cloud computing: pros and cons which are obviously of general interest to anyone who has a passing knowledge of the topic and wants to get a quick easy-to-read overview of the subject together with its strengths and weaknesses. The other four chapters in the first part of the book are all related more directly to the field of librarianship and these cover: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
perspectives on cloud computing in libraries; what cloud computing means for libraries; a librarian/vendor perspective on cloud computing; cloud computing for LIS (library and information science) education.
The second part of the book covers a number of so-called “cloud technologies” that are currently being used within libraries such as “discovery layers”, “Koha”, Web Services, “DSpace repository”, tools for file sharing, and Microsoft SharePoint hosted in the cloud. Although these examples are quite interesting in themselves I believe that they also demonstrate some of the confusion surrounding the promotion of cloud computing as a separate technological solution and as a topic in its own right. The third and final part of the book describes several projects that have been carried out in libraries throughout the United States. Since I have no great knowledge of the field of librarianship I am not able to assess the extent to which these case studies will have applicability outside of the United States but I certainly found them interesting in themselves. The projects include the saving of archival quality images in the cloud, integrating cloudbased library guides with a locally hosted website, file sharing and remote access between and among librarians, the use of free software from Google, distance education, web conferencing and instruction.
96
I felt at times that the separation of the topics between Parts 2 and 3 of the book was somewhat artificial and contrived and reflected the fact that this is an edited set of papers by different authors. I was not clear what was being touted as a ‘cloud technology’ as opposed to simply being a technology that is offered and deployed via the ‘cloud model’, for example the use of Google Apps or SharePoint. Does any benefit or advantage accrue from the software tool itself or the manner in which it is made available? I would have liked to have seen the various contributions arranged in a different manner with perhaps a summary chapter that drew together some general conclusions and recommendations based on the individual contributions. In summary then I believe that this is a very readable and accessible text that should certainly be of interest to, and read by, people working in the fields of librarianship and information sciences generally. However, they will need to read it very quickly as the danger is that it will soon become out-of-date from both a technical perspective and given the rate of adoption and application development.
Reviews
One final point. A recent feature article in the media guardian supplement on cloud technology (17.10.11) opined that “whether the term ‘cloud computing’ itself has been a help or hindrance to the adoption of these technologies is debatable”. I fully concur particularly in light of the many puns that the term provides for authors, such as “Head in the Clouds”, “From the Ground to the Cloud”, “Parting the Clouds” and worst of all, “Not Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining”. Please stop it!!
Bob Wood Emeritus Professor of Information Systems, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom E-mail address: [email protected] Available online 14 December 2011 doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.11.010