1. Wiki - LAN http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Area_Network
Local Area Network (LAN) connects computers together. This took off once computers needed to be hooked up to printers and shard memory. An example of a LAN is if you have a DLS router in your house. If so all of the computers that are connected to it, are then connected to the internet.
2. Wiki - Computer Network - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network
This article provides a summary of networks and the hardware needed to run them. I discovered why Internet always is misspelled in MS Word when I write it as "internet." It is to distinguish it from generic networks.
Examples of Networks:
PAN - Personal Area Network - Example: Bluetooth with a cell phone or printer, or a printer hooked to a computer via a USB chord
LAN - Local Are Network - small geographic region (home or office) with the use of ethernet chords, they do not need to lease telecommunications lines
CAN - Campus Area Network - connects two or more LANs
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network - does not extend beyond the boundary of a city or town
WAN - Wide Area Network - broad geographic area
GAN - Global Area Network - supports mobile communications over many networks
Internetwork - Contains - Intranet, Extranet, Internet
3.) Management of RFID in Libraries
Radio frequency identifier (RFID) tags can be used in libraries to track the collection, it also has privacy concerns for the users, the article does not deal with privacy issues. It is a barcode that is read by a electromagnetic feild. There are a variety of RFID chips and technology. The thought is that these can reduce the cost of taking an inventory of the library and help produce a ROI. These seem like a good idea for libraries, but the privacy issues and the possibility this would eliminate some library positions concerns me, if i library would be 100% self checkout.
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3 comments:
Jen,
You are right I hadn't even thought about the privacy issues concerning the RFID tags.
That could really be an interesting issue that isn't solved with an easy "the end justifies the means" attitude.
Regarding concerns that RFID could eliminate library jobs--I can't see it effectively doing that. I used to work in a library that had begun offering self-check-out stations, and if anything, this increased the numbers of people coming in. We actually increased the number of employees due to that increase in patrons. Even though most people preferred using the self-check-out (for privacy reasons in addition to speed), it was still necessary to offer assistance to anyone who had an issue with their account, or when lines got long, or for anyone who was not comfortable doing it themselves and simply wanted the human contact. I think these RFID tags could really be beneficial in the long-run.
Jean-- I agree with you, I'm not sure that RFID would actually reduce job opportunities. Like you said, sometimes the staff might need to be increased. The support staff are so important to the library. I mean, most of the time when patrons use a library, who are they interacting with? I am mixed on self-checkout right now, but I think that freeing up the circ staff to actually interact more and help patrons would improve the library. Sometimes circ desks get so busy that all you can do is check out and there isn't enough time to help people find things-- at least, not without rushing them.
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