Tag Archives: computers

Code4Lib 2011 Conference in Bloomington, IN

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On February 7-10, Smithsonian Libraries web developer Joel Richard attended the Code4Lib conference held at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Sub-freezing weather aside, the conference was a hotbed of software developers, metadata experts and computer people getting together to discuss their latest work in developing software, websites, tools and technologies that support the mission of libraries across the country and the world!

Attended by 270 people, the conference is loosely organized into 20-minute presentations held every day on a variety of topics, voted on by the Code4Lib community, a dozen daily 5-minute "lightning talks" delivered at a rapid pace, and more in-depth breakout sessions held once a day. The conferences also offers attendees, especially #c4l11 Code4Lib 2011 on Twitpicthose who are new, a chance to get their feet wet at a "newcomers' dinner" hosted by a veteran (one of which was organized by Joel.)

The attendees to the conference ranged from leaders in the computers+library world (i.e. Diane Hillmann, the keynote speaker, Karen Coombs of OCLC, and Naomi Dushay of Stanford University Libraries) to catalogers and IT people working at small and large libraries and institutions around the country. Some attendees help in producing open-source products and come to the conference to present and share knowledge. Others attend to "sip from the fire hose" of information and to meet and connect with their fellow library IT and computer professionals.

The high points of the conference that have most immediate use to the Libraries are the variety of ways that Drupal is being used to develop (or re-develop) library websites and mobile-based library web applications and development of Digital Libraries using open-source tools and technologies. The knowledge gleaned from these presentations will be put to use in future development efforts at the Libraries.

When it comes to the types of mobile applications, many libraries are turning to web-based applications (or WebApps) to do their development. This helps insulate them from the increasing variety of platforms on which to program real applications (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc) and instead use more familiar languages for development (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, etc). Those presenting mobile applications were Josh Bishnoff of the University of Illinois, Jason Casden and Joyce Chapman of NCSU Libraries, Esme Cowles of UCSD, Cory Lown also of NCSU Libraries, and Shian Chang of Georgetown University. 

Drupal was discussed a fair bit at the conference, possibly due to the presence and friendly evangelism of Cary Gordon, a board member of the Drupal Association. He gave a great presentation on using Drupal 7 as a Rapid Application Tool for web development. Mentioned earlier Shian Chang described in a lightning talk how her group used Drupal to build their mobile library website. In one of the breakout sessions, Drupal's history and future were discussed with a group of 15 or so developers, some of which were already using Drupal and others who were just getting started or were considering it.

The most interesting Drupal-related talk was actually given at one of the pre-conference sessions that took place on Monday before the full conference started. A good 20-25 people discussed the Islandora project, which is a merging of the Fedora repository and the Drupal content management system. Islandora extends and replaces some functionality of Drupal to make it a powerful and flexible tool for developing your repository and associated website.

The Indiana University Library was the host for this year's Code4Lib and they did a remarkable job, most importantly with the live streaming of the conference for those who were unable to attend in person. The video archive of the conference can be found: here

Connect and Learn with the Libraries

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National Cash Register Annual Report, The National Cash Register Company, 1953. Computers ready for test and inspection at Computer Research factory.

October is Computer Learning Month. The Libraries, like the rest of the world, does most of its work on computers. But it is also seeking to use computers and the internet in innovative ways to bring its collections to researchers and folks just curious about the Libraries and the Smithsonian.

Through its online catalog, Galaxy of Images, this blog, facebook and twitter, the Libraries connects thousands of people every day with its collections which range over twenty separate libraries and myriad subject matters, such as: Natural History, History of Science and Technology, Anthropology, Philately and Postal History, African and Asian Art, American Art and Portraiture, Aviation and Space Exploration, Botany and Horticulture, Decorative Arts and Design, Tropical Biology, Museology, and Native American and African American History and Culture. The Libraries' Special Collections include 40,000 rare books and large holdings in Worlds Fairs and International Expositions, Manufacturer's Trade Catalogs, and scientific manuscripts.

Connect with the Libraries and continue the learning process with us.

—Elizabeth Periale

Happy Birthday Alan Turing

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National Cash Register, Annual Report, The National Cash Register Company, 1953, Computers ready for test and inspection at Computer Research factory

National Cash Register, Annual Report, The National Cash Register Company, 1953, Computers ready for test and inspection at Computer Research factory

Alan Mathison Turing was born on this day, June 23, in 1912. He was one of the founders of computer science and artificial intelligence.  

His paper Computing machinery and intelligence (Mind, New Series, v. 59(236):433-460, Oct., 1950) became one of the most influential papers in the philosophy of mind. In it, he raised the question: "Can machines think?" and he proposed a test, which became known as the Turing test: a human (call him the "judge") communicates via teletype with two parties: another human and a computer—will the judge be able to tell, from the written interaction, who is the human? For those interested in an overview of the philosophical aspects of the "Turing test," there is a paper by Clint Kelly in our digital repository of Smithsonian research papers. 

The Libraries has a number of monographs by and about Alan Turing: 

Turing and the universal machine: the making of the modern computer, Jon Agar. U.S.: Totem: Cambridge: Icon, c2001.

From mathematical constructivity to computer science: Alan Turing, John Von Neumann, and the origins of computer science in mathematical logic, by William F. Aspray, Jr. 1980. Photocopy. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International, 1988. 21 cm. Thesis (Ph. D.)–University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1980.

A.M. Turing's ACE report of 1946 and other papers, edited by B.E. Carpenter and R.W. Doran. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press; Los Angeles: Tomash Publishers, c1986.

Alan Turing: the enigma, Andrew Hodges; foreword by Douglas Hofstadter. New York : Walker, 2000.

A.M. Turing's original proposal for the development of an electronic computer: reprinted with a foreword by D.W. Davies. [Teddington, England]: National Physical Laboratory, Division of Computer Science, [1972]

Turing's brilliant, short, and tragic life has inspired several works of art and literature, including a film, Breaking the Code, starring Derek Jacobi. A whimsical take on Turing and artificial intelligence is the Turing Hopper mystery series, by local author Donna Andrews: 

Turing Hopper is a computing device that "can process up to a billion pieces of information per second. She's an Artificial Intelligence Personality, an almost-sentient mainframe computer, with a mind like Miss Marple and hardware that hides a suspiciously human heart."

The Chartered Institute for IT has lauched an online competition for favorite information pioneer. Right now, Alan is doing well! Don't miss your chance to vote. 

Related:

Derek Jacobi in a scene from Breaking the Code