Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

libraries and computing 275of technical architecture, private initiative, and reasonableregulation.In his book Free Culture (2004) Lessig celebrates the creativityand freedom of expression of the Internet but warnsthat the Net may soon be “locked down” by the power ofthe corporate media. Lessig is therefore a strong supporterof “net neutrality,” the proposed policy that would prohibitInternet service providers from charging different rates fordifferent content providers or types of content (see netneutrality). Without this policy, advocates believe thatlarge corporations will gradually squeeze smaller, independentvoices off the Web by making it harder for them toaccess users. In effect, what had been a shared “commons”would become property bounded by fences, much as commonpastures were once turned into private farms.According to Lessig, another obstacle to a vigorousonline creative culture is the present copyright system.Under this system there is a presumption that permissionis required for most usage of a work. This makes it difficultfor creators to confidently use all the tools for working withexisting content to create new expressions (see mashups).To protect free expression, Lessig founded an organizationcalled Creative Commons in 2001, which has developeda new kind of license. Under this license the creatorcan specify what users can do with the work—copy it, createderivative works, and so on. Thus far Creative Commonslicenses have mainly been applied to online works such asimages shared on photo-sharing sites. Because applying fora Creative Commons license includes providing descriptors(metadata) about the work, people looking for material tobe used in their own work can easily determine what theyare allowed to do with a given work.In 1997 Lessig left his professorship at the Universityof Chicago Law School to become a professor at HarvardLaw School (1997–2000), and then Stanford (2000– ).Lessig has been a guest lecturer at many universities andother institutions around the world. He also serves as aboard member for many important cyberspace institutions,including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and CreativeCommons.In early 2008 Lessig announced that he would take ona challenge perhaps even more daunting than preservingInternet freedom—the battle against what he sees as pervasivecorruption in the political system. He has proposed thecreation of a grassroots movement that would encourageall incumbents and candidates to pledge to stop acceptingcontributions from lobbyists, to stop putting special interest“pork” in legislation, and to conduct publicly financedcampaigns.Lessig has received a number of academic awards as wellat the Editor’s Choice award from Linux Journal (2002), wasnamed one of Fifty Top Innovators by Scientific American(2002), and received the Free Software Foundation Award(2003).Further ReadingCreative Commons. Available online. URL: http://creativecommons.org/. Accessed September 26, 2007.Lessig, Lawrence. Code: Version 2.0 New York: Basic Books, 2006.———. Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity. New York:Penguin Books, 2004.Lessig blog. Available online. URL: http://www.lessig.org/.Accessed September 26, 2007.O’Brien, Chris. “Stanford Law Prof Wants Society to Clean UpIts Act.” San Jose Mercury News, September 9, 2007. Availableonline. URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_6843973. Accessed September 26, 2007.libraries and computingThe library is the institution traditionally charged with thecollection and distribution of humanity’s collective heritageof written information. It is thus not surprising that thedevelopment of modern information technology has meantthat libraries have had to undergo pervasive changes intheir practices and responsibilities.One of the earliest applications for automation in librarieswas cataloging. By the 1960s, the ever-increasing volumeof books and serials (periodicals) published each year wasplacing a growing burden on the manual cataloging system.Under this system, catalogers at large libraries (and particularlythe Library of Congress) prepared a catalog record foreach new publication. These records were distributed by theLibrary of Congress in the form of catalog card proof slips.These, as well as compiled card images from other libraries,could be used by each library to prepare catalog records forits own holdings.As mid-size computers became more affordable, it becamepracticable for at least large library systems to put their catalogrecords on-line. In 1968, the MARC (Machine ReadableCataloging) standard was first promulgated. A MARC recorduses specific, numbered fields to describe the elements ofa book, such as its catalog card number, main entry, title,imprint, collation (pagination), and subject headings.At first, MARC records were distributed mainly on magnetictape in place of card slips. However, by the late 1970slarge on-line cataloging systems such as OCLC (On-lineCollege Library Center) and RLIN (Research Library InformationNetwork) were enabling libraries to search for anddownload cataloging information in real time, and in turnupload their own original catalog records to the shareddatabase. This greatly reduced redundant cataloging effort.If a library receives a new book, a library assistant cansearch for a preexisting catalog record. The record can thenbe easily modified for local use, such as by adding a callnumber and holdings information. The problem of authorities(standardized entries for names) is also made moremanageable by being able to check entries on-line.By the 1980s, the next logical step was under way: Thecard catalog began to be replaced by a wholly electroniccatalog, enabling library patrons to search the catalog ata terminal. Besides saving money, the on-line catalog alsooffers researchers many more ways to search for materials:for example, they can use keywords and not rely only ontitles and subject headings.Along with cataloging, libraries began to automate theircirculation and acquisitions systems as well. As these systemsbecome integrated, libraries can both monitor thedemand (finding materials that are in heavy use and need