Technology and Media Richness

There exist, web connected cameras that bring the world to you via your IP connection, a CPU and VGA monitor. You can view live feeds of beaches , roadways and many other images where a web connected camera is active.

However, you can not see the reference librarian that is helping you, when you use one of the online reference services at Rutgers University and elsewhere.

Many studies support the basic tenets of the Media Richness theory.
http://ids.csom.umn.edu/faculty/mani/IDSC8801_03/week3/DennisKinneyISR98.pdf There is a hierarchy regarding the richness of communication. A live face to face conversation is considered the richest form of communication. Face to face communication is considered the richest because both parties have the ability to read each other’s nonverbal cues "Sometimes non-verbal messages contradict the verbal; often they express true feelings more accurately than the spoken or written language. Herta A. Murphy and Herbert W. Hildebrandt noted in their book Effective Business Communications. In fact, studies have shown that between 60 and 90 percent of a message's effect may come from nonverbal clues.

It is for this reason that my proposal for a virtual online reference librarian includes a live full motion image of each party. The patron and reference person require the richest form of communication to determine what is being sought in the search and to what degree. Text messages may be sufficient for the most fundamental of searches. But, if there is a degree of ambiguity then, nonverbal cues are necessary to aid the communication process.

Library critics of my Distance Reference online service contend that the addition of a live web cam image is unnecessary and a source of technical glitches. They prefer a traditional text only program to support reference. One Librarian told me that the reference questions they receive are rarely difficult or ambiguous. He stated that most questions could be answered effectively using an email based online system.

I took a Masters level, Library course that examined the reference encounter. The instructor, Marie Radford performed extensive research in the field of library reference work and the power of nonverbal communications. She found that a patron’s satisfaction was directly related to the reference librarians use of nonverbal cues and the ability to read nonverbal behavior.

As I stated previously, the Marratech videoconference system uses relatively little bandwidth for audio, visual and SVGA screen sharing. The fear of glitches is a realistic concern with most interactive communications devices. The glitches are usually the result of incompatible compression and decompression protocols.

The distance reference system is slated to be a one to one setup with only Marratechs talking to each other. I spoke to numerous people that have used Marratech .
They reported that the second generation software used in today’s Marratech was virtually glitch free.

Desktop Video conference

The Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000
http://www.geek.com/hwswrev/hardware/logicam/index.htm
The hardware component for my desktop videoconferencing project is Logitec’s webcam model, QuickCam Pro 4000.

This week’s blog will focus on my observations of the product as I link it to my workstation where I down-loaded the Marratech videoconference software.
My Observations
The first thing I noticed is that the ball mount swivel mechanism allows a good amount of camera movement but it came out of the bracket when I tried to turn it sideways.
Installing the QuickCam Pro 4000's software is easy: simply drop in the installation CD to grab Logitech's ImageStudio 7.0, Yahoo Messenger, and IM Video Companion. The CD also installs the new Desktop Messenger, a small agent that runs on your machine and automatically updates you about new products. While it's better than spam in your in-box, I find the pop-up window very annoying.

The Specifications
As with most PC cameras, the majority of the QuickCam Pro 4000's features are in the software. The camera has a VGA-sized (640x480-pixel) CCD sensor, a glass lens, and a built-in microphone. The top-mounted shutter-release button lets you click off a snapshot using the ImageStudio software, though I hit it by accident when positioning the camera. This Webcam also includes a privacy shade that you can flip over the lens if there's someone or something that you don't want the camera to see. This cover is mounted by the dimples on either side of the unit, though, and tends to fall off when bumped.

Still images are saved as JPEGs, while video is stored in the AVI format. If you click this QuickCam's E-mail Video button, the software compresses your AVI file into the Microsoft Windows Media (WMV) format. While quality suffers in the compressed version, it's fine for sending talking head shots.

As previously mentioned, the My Gallery utility provides very rudimentary image editing and the ability to add text to video. For more involved editing and special effects, you'll want to load VideoWave SE 4.0 and PhotoSuite SE 4.0 applications.
Performance of Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000
A USB camera is not High Definition (HD) nor would you want it to be. There is an acceptable tradeoff of quality for bandwidth with USB cameras . You can capture 160x120 and 320x240 video at 30 frames per second (fps) with a reasonably fast PC. I tested the QuickCam Pro 4000 with my 1GHz machine and produced a 30fps video with a well-synchronized audio track. Audio quality with the camera mike is fine for normal speech. At 640x480, the frame rate drops to 15fps, though movement still appears smooth. I noticed very little blurring on normal movement in videos.


Desktop video conference devices and firmware are ideal for one to one distant communication particularly when screen sharing is a necessary component as in my Distance Reference project.

The Rutgers University Library s' Council Meeting

Distance Reference
The Rutgers University Library Council members voiced different opinions regarding the Distance Reference project that I presented. Some librarians were very enthused and wanted to start trials immediately. Others, had concerns regarding bandwidth , the reliability of the technology, and logistical questions with the implementation.

Technically, Marratech uses relatively little bandwidth for a product that offers SVGA screen sharing, and full motion image swapping. The latest model of Marratech uses a compression protocol H 323 that allows the unit to work on most bandwidth sizes. For smooth full motion video and the ability to open numerous windows it is recommended that the computers possess a Pentium 4 processor and 500 megs of RAM. With these specifications, the users should experience uninterrupted smooth motion videoconferencing.

The logistical questions raised are best solved by the librarians. They know which library is best suited to host the reference librarian station and which library would have patrons that would benefit by the client workstation. Library administration would also, determine how to introduce this new service to Rutgers community and what training and materials are needed by Rutgers staff to make this project successful.

It is my responsibility to purchase the webcam for this system. Marratech lists manufacturers and model numbers of webcams that are compatible with the Marratech software. Logitech is a webcam manufacturer that has two of their webacam models listed on the Marratech hardware compatibility website. Past webcams have had problems with echoing caused by the microphone picking up audio from the external speakers. Logitech has echo canceling technology built-in. I plan on locating the Distane Reference workstation in an area of a library where talking at a whisper is preferred. The headset microphone is a necessary accessory to keep conversational volume at a minimal level.

The origin of the webcam
The Webcam was invented in 1991 by researchers, Paul Jardetzky and Quentin Stafford-Fraserthat because they wanted to know when a fresh pot of coffee was ready. The pot was located on a different floor than where they worked so one day a Jardetzky and Stafford-Fraser decided to create a surveillance system around the pot of coffee. Paul Jardetzky wrote a server program and and Quentin Stafford-Fraserwrote wrote the user program. They commandeered a frame grabbing computer and made web history.
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/coffee.html

The last image of the coffee pot 2001 >>>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webcam
Webcams typically are comprised of a lens, an image sensor, and a few electronics boards. The normal lens that comes with webcams has a fixed wideangle focal length ideal for a head and shoulders shot of the subject. . There are auxiliary tele and wide angle lens elements that are attached to the end of the normal lens.
Consumer webcams usually offer a resolution in the 640 x 480 Video Graphics Array (VGA )) region, at a rate of around 25 frames per second. High definition cameras are on the market but they require a large band width to operate.
The Distance Reference project does not require HD motion image quality. The images of talking heads can be low resolution and still display the nonverbal information necessary for a rich exchange of information

Distance Referencing

Connecting patrons and Reference Librarians together with desktop video conferencing seemed like a great idea. In fact, it's still a great idea. Imagine : a library patron is doing research at one of Rutgers University’s 17 libraries. They have a reference question but all the can find is the circulation desk staff. The patron asks the circulation desk manager if she can help her get reference information. The Circulation desk manager explains that the library has reference personnel during certain hours, but reference is an expensive service and they can’t justify the cost during slow times.

As I stated in my last blog, this scenario has occurred within the Rutgers libraries. I do not know how often this occurs . But, Rutgers is one of our nations oldest, and largest research universities. A University of Rutgers’ stature, should offer reference help in all locations at all times if possible. And it is possible, with recently improved communications technology.

Technology is currently being used to help patrons with reference questions. “Ask a Librarian”, is a web based service where the patron types in a question and a librarian or staff member replies. The problem is that email communications is in the middle of the scale as to media richness, A synchronized typed communications is not suitable for an ambiguous information exchange.
Media Richness
Rutgers Library school professor, Mare Radford, conducted extensive research on nonverbal communication and the reference desk. In her book,The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library she states that more than 60% of
the information transferred in a face to face meeting is derived through nonverbal communication.
One of the reasons that I chose Desk top video conferencing as a Distance Reference tool, is because of the vital importance of nonverbal communication . Effectiveness and understanding are more easily gauged with the feedback of facial expressions.
The main reason I believe that Marratech and other desktop video conference devices are perfect for Distance Reference is that they allow SVGA screen sharing. The patron must see the reference search path performed by the reference librarian to understand and perform future searches.

Related News
This past Thursday Oct 26, I presented my “Distance Reference”, idea to the Rutgers University’s Library council. The group consisted of approximately 24 tenured - faculty librarians. My presentation focused on the technical feasibility of the project.
Distance Reference

Distance Reference

I originally intended for this weeks’ blog, to discuss the different types of video conference devices available today. But, I am working on a project for the Rutger’ Libraries I want to share with my internet audience.
Distance Reference Work

Background/Need
This past summer, I attended a Rutgers Libraries departmental meeting where we discussed how to deal with the drastic budget cuts imposed by the NJ Governor’s office. The Rutgers Libraries lost eight percent of the operating budget forcing Library administration to let go most part time employees. The reduction in staff made it impossible to maintain the public service coverage schedules.
One woman who worked at a circulation desk was frustrated that her library’s patrons did not have access to a reference person at certain times of the week. She suggested that the libraries have a reference person answer reference questions by phone.
I thought she had a wonderful idea but, it required a much richer form of communication than the phone.
I proposed to set up work stations at two libraries. One station would be for a reference librarian the other for a patron at a distant library requiring assistance.
I knew that to make this work I had to choose a communications tool that filled specific requirements necessary for a reference person to effectively satisfy a patron’s question.
I researched and wrote a paper on the interaction between patrons and library reference personnel. One key element is screen sharing.
The reference person must be able to show the search path she has on her computer screen to the patron in real time with SVGA resolution..
To maximize communications, both parties must be able to see and hear each other clearly. Based on research by Mare Radford, non verbal communication can account for up to 80% of the information transferred in a face to face discussion.
Additionally, the software must be easy to use, reliable, firewall friendly, flexible with band width and compatible with other platforms.
Three desktop video conference products currently on the market, fulfill all the aforementioned requirements.

It was a toss up as to which of the three top products I was going to choose. I chose Marratech videoconference software because it was offered as a free download to NJ schools by a New Jersey organization (NJEDJ)and Verizon.
This screen shot is what the Library patron and reference person would view simultaneously. The reference person would perform a web search on the white board area while talking and seeing the patron’s reaction.
I will learn much more about desktop video-conference systems when I perform trials next week

Distant Electronic Audio and Video Communications

http://myhome.hanafos.com/~soonjp/vchx.html

Ever since the invention of the telephone , people have attempted to improve its quality, design, function and features. Quality video exchange is the one feature that has eluded innovators for over half a century.


Its logical to think that if a camera sends an image to a monitor via a wire then a camera/monitor –phone should be able to send an image and sound to another camera/ monitor phone.
Commercial systems were attempted in France and Germany during the 1930s but were not commercially feasible for the same reasons encountered decades later. Video carries a lot of signal information. Technically, moving video images requires more bandwidth than ordinary phone lines can accommodate.
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AT&T's 1956 Picturephone could send a still image every two seconds. At the 1964 New York Worlds Fair the public experienced picture calls between special exhibits at Disneyland and the New York World's Fair.
The public felt the picture phone was too bulky; too many confusing buttons, and the picture was too small.

Following a six-year trial, a commercial Picture phone service was attempted in Pittsburgh in 1970, Consumer adoption was slow and never reached critical mass. The Picture phone was still big, expensive and there was research that showed many people did not want to be seen by the person they were talking with.
A Jetsons episode illustrated this notion when the character Jane, had her hair in curlers and did not want to be seen by the caller on her videophone. She used a mask of herself, at her best, to talk with the caller. This is an important social barrier that will hinder acceptance well into the future.
The Picture phone experiment in the USA during the early 1970s had been a failure. But by the 1990s four new factors had come together to make widespread videoconferencing possible. These were: the growing use of the personal computer (PC) placed a screen on virtually every desktop; falling prices for image capture devices connected to PCs making digital photography and video affordable; use of the Internet provided a low-cost means of connecting voice, images and people in real time over unlimited networks; and last - but not least - international standards ratified in 1996 and 1998 ensuring the compatibility of all equipment.
In fact, the first PC-based videophones were demonstrated by IBM and PictureTel as early as 1991 but the system was expensive and the image quality was mediocre at best.

Next week’s blog: Videoconferencing: ISDN to IP.

1964-65 NY World's Fair Video-Phone

I was a young boy when my family and I visited the 1964-65 NY World's Fair. I have memories of the Ford, GM, Dupont, and other corporately sponsored exhibits. The Worlds Fair gave me a glimpse into the upcoming high-tech age. It was here that visitors would see for the first time, such things as the microwave oven, computers, animatronics, touch tone phones, and early Video phones.