Interaction and Visualisation Technologies in the Library
Friday 6 July 2012, University of St Andrews
http://sachi.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/activities/workshops/interaction-and-visualisationtechnologies-in-the-library-open-session/
This was the first in a series of lectures which is aimed at bringing together University
of St Andrews library staff and researchers.
First Presentation pt. 1 – Emerging technologies and digital initiatives at the
Taylor Family Digital Library, University of Calgary
Shawna Sadler, Technology Officer for University of Calgary’s Taylor Family Digital
Library (TFDL) – http://tfdl.ucalgary.ca/
The old library was a 1970s building badly in need of modernisation. The new library
cost $205 million and is 265,000 square feet. It is a state of the art learning and
research centre. The building itself is regarded as an instrument of research. Most of
the funding for this library came from donors.
In addition to holding text there are archival collections of physical and digital
objects. Everything is catalogued in one database providing a single search interface.
The Nickle Arts Museum opens fully in 2012. This holds items such as meteorites to
fine art – http://people.ucalgary.ca/~nickle/index.shtml.
The building meets four criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Agile – adaptive and changeable
Contemporary – again changeable
Inspiring
Innovative
There is a raised floor system with the wires underneath. The walls are mobile and
demountable and the furniture is moveable. There is 100% wireless infrastructure.
This was difficult to achieve as books and stacks absorb signals. The furniture is user
friendly e.g. tables for mobile technologies are slightly lower than normal
workstations and study carrels have electric sockets and locks for laptops. The library
is all about collaboration allowing students to move furniture about.
There vending machines that sells supplies e.g. batteries, USB drives and post-its.
The business school vending machine sells tights in case a student rips theirs prior to
giving a presentation. The library circulates fresh air from outside.
Digital signage is used. These are kiosk mode and touch screens. The screens are
free standing and can be moved about due to the wires being located underneath
raised floors. Graduate students can set up surveys on the display boards so students
coming into the library can see and complete them. Also, art students can use the
displays to exhibit their art work. This has resulted in some students getting shows.
Ruth Robinson 16/07/12
Student workrooms are bookable via touch displays. This allows the students to book
rooms themselves. There are visual displays so students can see what rooms are
available. These work rooms are very popular.
RFID has been a great success and has freed up staff time. There is a check-in and
check-out station, a sorting station and security gates.
Reference and circulation services have an integrated service desk, providing a single
point for students to go to.
The library offers:
1. Collaborative workrooms
2. Presentation practice room (with large screen and webcam)
3. Edit suites – students can create their own digital resources e.g. language
learning software.
The library has a licence to TeamSpot software. This allows students to work
collaboratively e.g. all can contribute to a file so no single person is left to type up the
notes. It also means that everyone walks away with the same file. There is also a
licence to ClassSpot software which enables interactive teaching.
New public computing technologies are used allowing multi-surface computing e.g.
there are touch tables instead of traditional computer screens. These are very good for
students with disabilities. There is also a globe shaped computer screen instead of the
usual flat screen. This has proved popular with the engineering department. A large
wall screen and touch table screens are useful for collaborative work. Dual monitor
PCs are the most popular with students.
The library is unable to satisfy the demand for seats. It is very popular with people
spending lots of time there, so much so that it is not comparable to the old library.
Study space is competitive and students do not want to leave their space, therefore
library staff are considering taking reference services to them e.g. by giving the staff
iPads. This idea is not popular with all staff.
Bohemian Bookshelf display touch screens were mentioned but not elaborated on.
There is some information here –
http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/48717/1/2011-1009-21.pdf
First Presentation pt. 2 – Miguel Nacenta, SACHI Group, School of Computer
Science, University of St Andrews
(Miguel used to work at the University of Calgary)
There is a visualisation room at the new TFDL. This cost 500,000 (I can’t recall if
it’s $ or £). CAVE automatic virtual environments were popular in the 1980s for
research. They are a cubic room where all walls are projectable. The visualisation
room takes this idea a step further.
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TDFL visualisation room (6m x 4m) enables:
-
collaborative discovery
can do things you can’t do on a desktop
serve all communities
high resolution wall
configurable
large central multi touch table
small multi touch tables
interactive rotatable displays (hinged to wall)
This room is all about the visualisation of data. More than one group can work
simultaneously in this room depending on the configuration. The room is not yet
completed to the full desired specification and currently a funding bid is being
submitted to try and secure the necessary funds.
The astrophysics department are really excited about this space as there are lots of
pixels on wall screen. They can use it to view telescopic images. The visualisation
wall is also good for viewing large Excel spreadsheets eliminating the need to scroll
therefore giving a clearer insight into work and also special collections e.g. 18th
century maps. The room can also be used for digital poster sessions. Currently
someone in-house is writing an application with ‘pull tabs’ which will enable images
or screens to be ‘pulled down’ layering one on top of another on the wall.
Some points about the visualisation room are:
-
neutral position on campus
collaborative workspace
no windows therefore complete privacy
high resolution
configurable space
The TFDL also purchased two cocktail bars on wheels. These are used by researchers
for openings and presentations.
It was noted that technologies are not being used to replace the traditional but instead
to enhance and support new learning styles and research techniques. It is essential to
know your campus by capturing data from staff and students while using library staff
intelligence and creativity and take it one step further. The challenge for the TDFL
will be staying on the cutting edge in utilising new technologies.
Reference was also made to Seattle public libraries who are using data visuals. They
have giant screens behind the main counter showing statistics of library activity. This
has helped with funding and profile raising.
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Second Presentation – Visualisation, public displays and interaction Research at
the SACHI Group
Miguel Nacenta, SACHI Group, School of Computer Science, University of St
Andrews – http://sachi.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk
SACHI (University of St Andrews Computer Human Interaction research group)
Information visualisation:
-
communicating large amounts of data effectively
enabling new discoveries
Supported through:
- interactive novel representation of data
- new devices e.g. large displays
He spoke about his work on FatFonts – http://sachi.cs.standrews.ac.uk/2012/05/miguel-nacentas-work-on-fatfonts-features-in-the-newscientist
Third Presentation – The Centre for Geoinformatics at St Andrews: multi
disciplinary opportunities for collaboration
Carson Farmer, Research Fellow, Centre for Geoinformatics, University of St
Andrews – http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/geoinformatics/tag/centre-for-geoinformatics
Geoinformatics involves any aspect of the capture, storage, integral management,
retrieval, display and analysis of spatial data. Spatial data contains locational
information as well as attribute data. Google Earth has brought geoinformatics to the
public and is what researchers were doing years ago.
He mentioned the Pigeon Simulator where the user flaps their wings (arms) to ‘fly’
over London getting a birds eye view. It uses Google Earth –
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2012/04/flap-around-london-with-thepi.html
Fourth Presentation – The University of St Andrews current technological
outlook
Vicki Cormi, Senior Academic Liaison Librarian (Science & Medicine), University of
St Andrews
The University of St Andrews are looking at visual representation of the town for new
students so they know what to expect. They are using OpenSim –
http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page
Ruth Robinson 16/07/12