Digitization

Sometimes the smallest thing can inspire a flood of ideas. For me this was one line in the Digital Document Quarterly newsletter linked in the Digitizationblog for October 13. 2007. The author of the newsletter asks the question, what might be done to achieve the long-standing medical dream called “the longitudinal patient record”? In his footnote he details that a longitudinal patient record is a lifetime collection of the medical records of a human being, held to be readily available. This may seem a tangential topic, but for a medical librarian it could help in the organization of records. Companies add and drop insurance providers, people bounce from doctor to doctor, vital records get lost in the shuffle. It would be interesting to see a digital medical library develop that would allow doctors and patients to upload their information to a secure location where it can be managed and accessed as needed. This could include basic records, X-rays, MRI data, and lab tests. By have a single collective location for a patient’s records the history of a patient’s health would be complete allowing physicians to better diagnose illnesses that might be chronic. Researchers could also get a better understanding of hereditary illnesses, as a family’s records would be more complete and traceable. Or an adopted child could be provided with a familial medical history without having to track down biological parents if they given the child limited access to the records (no names or addresses, just pertinent medical information) as a part of the adoption process.

A library such as this would require some careful consideration in regards to data management and systems. The Cornell Tutorial addresses this by listing some points to consider.

Follow some basic file system recommendations:
 Use a file naming scheme that is compatible with whatever operating systems and storage media you plan to use
 Use standard file extensions for different file types
 Don't overload directories with too many files
 Rely on storage management software to manage large collections across multiple physical disk drives
 Allow for generous amounts of collection growth

It seems that a beneficial resource that could be developed, but it needs to be available to different doctors or patients who may have different operating systems (no pun intended) or the information won't be accessible.

Recommended U of A Computer Requirements

I am quickly realizing how quickly my computer is becoming obsolete. While it is only a few years old, it is hard to keep up with all the new programs that I need to stay current. I have the necessary requirements according to the SIRLS specifications, but I would be lacking if I were a law student. When taking a class which meets physically, I would say generally that a basic computer with the usual hardware would suffice as long as you had a current word processing and spreadsheet type software. You will need a quality ISP. Many of the classes I have taken have had required reading online as well as being able to do any applicable research. While the university library and SIRLS office have computers available, they are not always available when you need them, and investing in a computer makes sense since you will be able to take the work you’ve done in school into your career. With this in mind I would recommend that if you were going to invest, use the College of Law specifications. It will pay for itself in the longevity of use and reliability. Your computer will also more readily adapt to new technologies that may be introduced during your schooling. For those students who are taking classes virtually, the College of Law specifications are almost a necessity, especially if you are a distant student who can’t stop by the university for help. You want your computer to be as reliable as possible since these classes can move quickly and a computer breakdown can cause you to fall behind quickly.

Let's get started

This is intended to be a blog where I can post thoughts and ideas that relate to my career as a library and information professional. I often find valuable online resources or other materials that I want to share review for others in my field. This is a great place to share those ideas and I invite any comments or suggestions.

The title of this blog for those of you who are curious comes from an article I read for an ethics class, "The Mission of the Librarian," by Jose Ortega Y Gasset, wherein he says that the librarian should become "master of the raging book." While I don't agree with everything that the author writes, I thought that was a great phrase. I'm thinking about putting it on a t-shirt or something.

Some of the blog entries will be evaluations I have done for classes I have taken which were originally podcasts. If I can post the audio then I will, just for continuity until they can be podcast somewhere more permanant or replaced as necessary.