Another excellent publication in the text series, "Library and Information Science Text Series". Great history of the internet and its influence on learning today. This book offers ideas about the technologies in use presently and identifies key issues that need to be considered. Not for the casual user of the Internet, this book is a great tome for librarians to explore and understand more about the technologies their learners and students use daily. The roles of blogs, social media, and play are well covered. Well researched, indexed, useful glossary. Recommended.

This is book is dense with information, key terms and technical definitions. This was a required textbook in LIS 488 Technology for Information Professionals at Simmons College GSLIS in the fall semester of 2009. The glossary of terms is well put together, despite the fact that oftentimes I found myself struggling to find terms that were left out. The introduction provides a general overview of the development of the internet as we know it today, whereas the conclusion suggests trends in web 2.0 and the "semantic web." ( )

The Call Number in CU Library is Z674.75 I58 M55 2009. 4 HKALL libraries have this item.
I have read up to and including page 33 as at (Tue)2-6-2009.
I have also read the whole of Chapter16: Libraries and the Internet: Learning from the Past, Exploring the Future.
Other chapters seems to be too technical and I would not need such knowledge.

Did you take an in-depth course in computers and technology while in library school? I did, back in the days of the punched cards! One does not need to be very old to admit familiarity with that era. But times have changed and Miller’s book written as a textbook for a technology course is a current example of just what all librarians including teacher librarians need to understand about the digital and virtual world. Check your knowledge against the topics of the table of contents to judge whether you need this book: Introduction (covers the history of computers and the Internet you have probably lived through), Networks (how they work whether wired or wireless), Internet Technologies TCP/IP, Internet Protocols (from email to http), Internet Computers and Security, Web Design, Graphic Printer, Web Publishing with HTML and XML, Styles in HTML, Web Programming, XML Printer, Internet Content, Information Retrieval, Internet Search, Web 2 and 3.0. Well, how did you do? Such a book and a course in the topic poses a good question for all of us: How much do we really need to know and understand about the technical workings of the Internet and must we know HTML to be able to construct information spaces and assist patrons in searching and construction? Having made assignments to graduate students to construct virtual learning commons using the various simple construction tools such as Google Sites, those who succeed the best are those who do have HTML background, but the tools keep getting better so that one begins to believe that to operate a refrigerator, you don’t need a degree in engineering or manufacturing. Do you have to be a cataloger to use the OPAC effectively? Wel, it does help, but it is becoming more and more optional. So, if you have the inclination dig in deeper and have a week to attack the book, one chapter at a time, this is one choice among so many books on the market. The advantage here is that Miller also speaks library in addition to computers.