What's New in Digital Preservation: Issue 18 now available

From the announcement on DIGITAL-PRESERVATION@JISCMAIL.AC.UK (02008 11 04):

"Issue no. 18 (March - August 2008) of the DPC "What's New in Digital Preservation" bulletin is now available from the Digital Preservation Coalition Web site:

http://www.dpconlime.org/graphics/whatsnew/issue18.html"

HistoGrafica: historical images and Web 2.0

Received an e-mail from someone named Agata Dras to take a look at a new site called HistoGrafica that features historical photographs and other kinds of pictures and utilizes some Web 2.0 technology to make them more relevant to the Flickr generation. While I thought the site was based in Latin or South America, it's actually hosted in Ireland of all places. The site's very well thought out and could evolve into an important focal point for historical images of specific geographic locations. Much if not all the images are sourced from public domain repositories such as the Library of Congress or WikiMedia. The developers are hoping that individuals and institutions will decide to add their own images, especially if they're out of copyright. Users will not necessarily be able to verify the accuracy of any information on the site, especially user comments.

The Genographic Project

IBM and National Geographic co-sponsor the Genographic Project. Launched in April 2005, the project examines human migration through DNA studies. If you have a $100 lying around, you can buy a DNA testing kit and submit your own sample.

SkepticBlog debuts

Except for Michael Shermer, chances are you won't recognize any of the names associated with the new SkepticBlog that began publishing on October 24, 02008. The collaborators are members of the Skeptologists, "a pilot skeptical reality show." Sounds a bit like Mythbusters. They did film a pilot. I wonder how they'll keep viewer attention beyond the usual talking heads and images of things they'll be debunking.

Reality Check for Your Muses: Creativity and Business Innovation Resources

My latest article for Searcher magazine, "Reality Check for Your Muses: Creativity and Business Innovation Resources," was published in the November/December 02008 issue (vol. 16, no. 10). It's not available online for free, so you'll have to either purchase it through Information Today or access it through one of the full-text commercial databases.

[caption id="attachment_2747" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Searcher magazine cover, November/December 2008"][/caption]