This Week in LIS - 25 September 2009

Headline of the Week: Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall

Be still sad heart and cease repining;
Behind the clouds the sun is shining,
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life a little rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

   — (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

fail_whale.gifI’ll admit I’m something of an information junkie (big surprise there I know). Going a few hours without the news feed reader can make me start twitching. But collectively the power of the always-on network is so alluring for all of us, that in the space of a few short years we’ve redefined principal portions of our life on the idea and service of the network. Facebook, email, IM, blogs, RSS, Twitter, etc. are slowly working their way down Maslow’s hierarchy to the physiological level for many of us. Which is why when hiccups occur in the delivery of some of these services, we react rather strongly as if a limb has suddenly gone missing.

This week, we at Luther have seen a few blips in service availability thanks to a major electrical failure in the library resulting in a twelve-hour building closure, and some intermittent Internet service issues. Some of those issues were related to our power troubles (as most of the campus connectivity to the Internet travels through the Library basement), and some were related to Google woes. All taken together illustrate the reliance we place on fragile systems and services. Ones we work very hard to make reliable at all times.

While the power goes out, it’s usually a pretty local experience. Interruptions in services such as Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter make international headlines … and Twitter gets the short stick here because every time another major online service hiccups, the resulting avalanche of tweets often summon Twitter’s own Fail Whale.

After Gmail’s early September outage, online magazine Slate looked at why we freak out so much when the service goes down. Here’s some context:

In a blog post last year, Matthew Glotzbach, a product manager in Google’s enterprise software division, reported that Gmail had been down, on average, about 10 to 15 minutes per month over the previous year. As he pointed out, that’s an extremely good record. All e-mail systems suffer both “planned” and “unplanned” outages. Gmail never has planned outages (engineers work on the system while it’s up), and its unplanned outage time is far shorter than that of in-house business e-mail, which typically sees about 40 to 90 minutes of downtime per month, according to one survey (subscription required) of corporate IT managers. In making a pitch for corporate customers, who pay Google for Gmail and other apps, Google thus argues that its Web-based programs are more reliable than local versions. (You probably can’t sue Google for the outage, but you may be entitled to some compensation if you’re a paying customer.)

Indeed, Gmail’s uptime is comparable to that of other systems whose reliability we take for granted. The power grid in the United States is online about 99.9 percent of the time—the average household will see fewer than eight to 10 hours of downtime per year. The landline telephone network operates with similar uptime; you’ve probably picked up the phone to find a dead line once or twice, but it’s very, very rare. And I can tell you from personal experience that Gmail is at least as reliable as my home TV and Internet connections, which go down about once or twice a month, usually for a few minutes or so.

The transition to cloud-based services that we’re currently muddling through is not without controversy, and it is principally the loss of control that drives IT managers crazy when considering making the leap. But can the argument really be sustained that local services have greater reliability than massively redundant cloud-based systems? or that security issues are somehow greater at a remote datacenter? While clearly the goal of providing any network-based service is to have it available 24/7/365, there is an inevitability of downtime no matter where the service originates. Perhaps it is with the service itself, or perhaps it is the network infrastructure the service travels through – something will break. International cloud-based services have the benefit of large staffs who can instantly respond to service issues (that will be very public ensuring rapid response). You cannot compare that support infrastructure with 95% of technology operations in businesses today.

The real issue is examining why we respond the way we do. I think it says more about our addiction and dependence than it does about the underlying technology or technology failures. In the just-in-time world we live in, we’ve become accustomed to functioning on deadline without the need for resource planning. Collectively we assume all the tools we need to accomplish a task will be functional at the exact moment we need them. The fact that service providers get it right so often makes the hiccups seem even more amplified. This level of general success encourages us to forget exactly how fragile some of these systems may be (and how many links exist in the chain between us and these services). Quality should be a top priority in any service, and service providers have a responsibility to deliver the best product they can. Consumers should have the right to choose the best service that fits their needs, but also shouldn’t lose sight of the complexity and fragility of the services they use. Personally I’d rather have the resources of Google scrambling to make things right again when something goes haywire than struggling to maintain similar expected services on a local scale. Besides can we make the case that a couple hours now and then without complete connectivity is really a bad thing?

LIS Blog Highlights from the Week

The following articles are sampled from those available on the LIS Blog:

Notes from LIS Council

LIS Council met August 18th and discussed the following topics:

  • EDUCAUSE Conference
  • Swift Kick session on Facebook/Social media
  • Network issues over the weekend
  • Update on Service Points
  • Procedures for library opening
  • 40th Anniversary update
  • LIS & Round Table Room
  • Communications & marketing student hired
  • LIS Metrics/Dashboard
  • Alumni access to licensed databases
  • Print periodical review project update

NITLE Opportunities

As a member of NITLE (National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education), Luther has the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of developmental and training programs intended for faculty, librarians, and information technologists. Events listed at the link below are currently open for registration by Luther participants. LIS Staff who are interested in participating in an event should speak with Christopher Barth. Faculty who are interested in participating should speak with Lori Stanley. Participation is contingent upon available funding and program acceptance.

A full list of events (sortable by registration deadline) is available at http://www.nitle.org/www/events.

Upcoming LIS Training, Instruction, and Professional Development Opportunities

Click on the event below for specific information and for a link to register. More information on training and development events is available.

CourseFormatDateStart TimeEnd TimeLocation
New Faculty Teaching Group: Undergraduate Research and Honors Opportunities at LutherFaculty DevelopmentSep 282:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Teaching Writing: Creating Effective AssignmentsFaculty DevelopmentSep 284:00 pm5:30 pmOlin 101
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingSep 2911:00 am3:30 pm
Norse Calendar Tips & TricksSkills TrainingSep 309:30 am10:30 amOlin 301 – Round Table Room
Philosophy / MFL MarMacLibrary InstructionSep 3010:00 am1:00 pmPreus Library – Hovde Lounge
Crafting Recommendation Letters for Rhodes, Fulbright, and other CompetitionsFaculty DevelopmentSep 3011:00 am1:30 pmDahl Centennial Union – Borlaug
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingSep 3011:00 am3:30 pm
Preus Library 40th Anniversary CelebrationLibrary InstructionOct 111:00 am3:00 pmPreus Library – Hovde Lounge
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 111:00 am3:30 pm
Art 121: Foundations in Art and DesignLibrary InstructionOct 52:45 pm3:45 pmRare Book Room – Preus Library
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 611:00 am3:30 pm
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 711:00 am3:30 pm
Open-Office Hours for KATIE Site InstructorsSkills TrainingOct 811:00 am3:30 pm
Norse DocsSkills TrainingOct 82:45 pm3:45 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
New Faculty Teaching Group: Academic Support and AdvisingFaculty DevelopmentOct 122:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Music 131: Honors Music TheoryLibrary InstructionOct 169:30 am10:15 am
Norse Mail Tips & TricksSkills TrainingOct 2211:00 am12:00 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
New Faculty Teaching Group: Research and Technology ResourcesFaculty DevelopmentOct 262:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Teaching Writing: Helping Students ReviseFaculty DevelopmentOct 264:00 pm5:30 pmOlin 101
Norse FormsSkills TrainingNov 52:45 pm3:45 pmOlin 301 – Round Table Room
New Faculty Teaching GroupFaculty DevelopmentNov 92:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
New Faculty Teaching GroupFaculty DevelopmentNov 232:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen
Teaching Writing: Using Rubrics to Evaluate PapersFaculty DevelopmentNov 304:00 pm5:30 pmOlin 101
German 201: Intermediate German ILibrary InstructionDec 212:15 pm12:15 pmRare Book Room – Preus Library
New Faculty Teaching GroupFaculty DevelopmentDec 72:45 pm3:45 pmDahl Centennial Union – Nansen

Internet Resource of the Week: MarineTraffic.com

Even though we’re land-locked in Iowa doesn’t mean some don’t long for the open water. MarineTraffic.com gives you a chance to watch a slice of the world’s economy in real-time via the web. The site is hosted by the Department of Product & Systems Design Engineering at the University of the Aegean which lists the following goals for the project:

“This web site is part of an academic, open, community-based project. It is dedicated in collecting and presenting data which are exploited in research areas, such as:”

  • Study of marine telecommunications in respect of efficiency and propagation parameters
  • Simulation of vessel movements in order to contribute to the safety of navigation and to cope with critical incidents
  • Interactive information systems design
  • Design of databases providing real-time information
  • Statistical processing of ports traffic with applications in operational research
  • Design of models for the spotting of the origin of a pollution
  • Design of efficient algorithms for sea path evaluation and for determining the estimated time of ship arrivals
  • Correlation of the collected information with weather data
  • Cooperation with Institutes dedicated in the protection of the environment

The site relies on individuals who live near waterways to install and support receiver antenna that capture real-time data being broadcast by ships in the area. The data is sent back to the central site and then displayed on the map. Since it is a community-based open source effort, coverage may be spotty, though the project continues to grow as more people sign on to participate. Data on individual ships includes type, destination, flag, speed, course, size, and often includes photographs and other details.

On the web at http://www.marinetraffic.com/

Quote(s) of the Week:

  • “Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.” – John W. Gardner
  • “Every communication advancement throughout human history, from the pencil to the typewriter to writing itself, has been met with fear, skepticism and a longing for the medium that’s been displaced.” – Vincent Rossmeier
  • “Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late.” – Seth Godin

Image of the Week: Google Acquisitions and Investments

Video of the Week: The Year the Media Died

Links of the Week

  • Mobility
    • None

infoneer.pngThe links and media above are selected from material posted to Infoneer.net, which gathers links and comment on the worlds of libraries, technology, higher education, culture, intellectual property, copyright, information, ethics, design, professional identity, leadership, and the future. Subscribe to Infoneer.net RSS

This Week in LIS is published most Fridays by Christopher Barth, Executive Director of Library and Information Services at Luther College for the Luther College community as well as those interested in information services and higher education.

Content is made available under Creative Commons license. Creative Commons License

Related Categories: