literature as a (web) service peter brantley digital library federation 10 feb 2009
TRANSCRIPT
Literature as a (Web) Service
Peter BrantleyDigital Library Federation
10 Feb 2009
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When we think of books …
we think of books as objects …
(albeit of a special sort)
sometimes
we even
behold them as
works of art
“hand°i°craft°Art”, Vali..., Flickr
\\
books are
machine things
“M&H Type Arion Press Tour”, inarge, Flickr
(sans dynamism, texture)
(size shape proportions)
2 ✚D(very limited conception)
the book is a
social construction
a successful
commodity
“a book is a machine to think with.”
- I. A. Richards
- Principles of Literary Criticism
- 1924
Nota Bene:
booksneverstatic.
we read books.
“Northfield Carnegie Reading Room”, Olivander, Flickr
reading
is itself a
social
product
a commodity
in concert with
language, and
a conception of
personal space.
what the heck?
\ now our
\ analog culture
\ is being
uplifted
|
to
|
digital
“The Rocket blasts off”, Phil Gyford, Flickr
and what is a “book”
is about to be redefined
not just in the context of itself
“This is No Barnes and Nobel: El Ateneo Bookstore”, longhorndave, Flickr
new form of commodity
a new set of relationships
books are now
networked
commodities
“Network Operations Center at NPR”, Collapse the Light, Flickr
“reading”
becomes
redefined
“Things to do while traveling by train”, Akbar Simonse, Flickr
reading
(silently)
always before
a solitary act
1 person + 1 book
reading many things[in the context of others]
reading will be increasingly
embedded in & produced in
highly networked contexts
So,
what I want to say ...
what is published
will become
less about the
books
than the
people who read them
“reading in the sun”, gnackgnackgnack, Flickr
Booksto
People
extract
what’s important-
[inside the books]
words, ceoln, Flickr
the words
that the books
contain.
words that
represent
• fact
• beauty
• thought
• expression
digital
words
can be –
described by other words
joined across books
linked with data
“MMMMathemmmmmatics”, Flickroff, Flickr
words that:
describe themselves
↓
words that:
build new services
ah, let me explain that ...
“The P Word”, racineur, Flickr
via a torturous analogy
... ... ...
Gemeinschaft books
Gesellschaft books
future:
when we
read a book
(networked)
we don’t need to stop at
the “cover” of the book
(read just
the words
in the book)
“book cover collage”, monkeyc.net, Flickr
an environmentof participatoryengagement
environmentis emerging
across books
any book
can be a passage
into the world
of all the thoughts
that can be found
in the book
“books strung up by their spines, and the words that fell out of them”, glitter feet, Flickr
books can now work together
words of books
can be associated
among each other
“now”, quinnnchick, Flickr
(via Shelly Jackson’s The Skin Project)
literature
can become a
(web) service
“Teaching How to Dance”, William Forrester, Flickr
Homework Exercise
Imagine-1:
1. All digitized non-fiction books
2. ... a rough machine translation
3. ... the major world languages
jumble of words
ruptured contexts
- but -
“knowledge tokens”
preserved
a highly derivative work
indexed and searchable
awareness of knowledge
becomes accessible
to a huge portion
of the world
“book”, mybloodyself, Flickr
Imagine-2:
1. Wikipedia entries
2. ... machine-enhanced
3. ... linked to books
data in wikipedia
with
data in books
linking_data
Linked Data– .– using the web – to connect data– .
Linked Data
uses words
--- to join ---
other words
“Xarxa”, Xarxes socials i llengües, Flickr
new awareness /
new knowledge /
machine generated
machine enhanced
we can do
these things
: today :
(Google does)
“Platinum spiral catalyzing methanol oxidation”, ystenes, Flickr
we are
thinking of the things
you make
the words
the ideas
as a catalyst
for new services
(not products)
Δrequireschanges
we have to think
of (IP) rights
in a new way
just as we think
of our books
in a new way
upsidefor developers of services
services
generate
renewable
revenue
In ∑ …
books
are empowered
in the digital age
by
words
And the peoplewho read them.
“At The Bookstore Café”, erix!, Flickr
Google figured this out
(Google Book Search)
When you
think of literature
as a catalyst
as a whole
assemblage
of thoughts
concepts
ideas
you are limited
only by your
imagination
“Sweet dreams for Christmas...”, carf, Flickr
kthxbai!
peter at diglib.orgnaypinya {twitter, skype, slideshare}