Library 2.018: Blockchain Applied: Impact on the Information Profession

Library 2.018 mini-conference:   "Blockchain Applied: Impact on the Information Profession," which will be held online (and for free) on Thursday, June 7th, from 12:00 - 3:00 pm US-Pacific Daylight Time (click for your own time zone). Malaysia Friday 3.00 pm

This is a free event, being held online.

REGISTER HERE to attend live or to receive the recording links afterwards. 


What Is Blockchain?
source http://www.library20.com/page/blockchain

Ways to Use Blockchain in Libraries


Library 2.018: Blockchain Applied: Impact on the Information Profession by The Learning Revolution Project

DESCRIPTION

We're excited to announce our second Library 2.018 mini-conference:   "Blockchain Applied: Impact on the Information Profession,"
which will be held online (and for free) on Thursday, June 7th, from 12:00 - 3:00 pm US-Pacific Daylight Time (click for your own time zone).

This event is being organized in partnership with Dr. Sue Alman, who will serve as moderator for the opening panel and as the closing keynote speaker.

The idea for ways that blockchain technology could be used by libraries came after hearing a presentation on LEARNING IS EARNING in the national learning economy made by Jane McGonigal, Institute for the Future, at the at the SXSW conference. The discussion fueled a plan for libraries to validate the academic and professional development credentials of individuals in a permanent electronic ledger that could have global access to their records eliminating the need for individuals to keep track of and submit individual copies of transcripts, certificates, badges, and other credentials. An investigation revealed that libraries might be able to use blockchain technology to accomplish more than housing electronic credentials. 

Twenty-first century information professionals provide dynamic services and resources in physical and virtual spaces through personal interaction, virtual intermediation, or social media. In addition to lending books, information centers provide entry points to the digital world. When walking into a library or information center, you may find robots, makerspaces with 3D printers, collaborative areas, augmented reality apps, and access to an array of digital materials. Librarians/information professionals have the research and technical skills needed to organize and analyze information in order to customize relevant sources for each user. Libraries are dynamic, ever-changing organizations that can anchor communities. Technology enables the profession to broaden our impact within the community and around the globe.

Join the discussion on ways that blockchain technology can be used in libraries. https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/blockchains

We invite all library professionals, employers, LIS students, and educators to provide input and participate this event.

This is a free event, being held online.
REGISTER HEREto attend live or to receive the recording links afterwards. Please also join this Library 2.0 network to be kept updated on this and future events. 

Participants are encouraged to use #library2018 and #libraryblockchain on their social media posts leading up to and during the event.

MORE INFORMATION:

The School of Information at San José State University is the founding conference sponsor. Please register as a member of the Library 2.0 network to be kept informed of future events. Recordings from previous years are available under the Archives tab at Library 2.0 and at the Library 2.0 YouTube channel.

SCHEDULE:

12:00 PM (US-PDT)

Opening Keynote: "Blockchain Explained"
Jason Griffey, Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University 

12:30 PM (US-PDT)

Blockchain Panel / Roundtable (1 Hour):

• "Legal Concerns about Blockchain That May Not Have Occurred to You"
  Dan Blackaby, Head of Technologies Initiatives, Cornell University Law Library 
• "What Might Standards for Library Blockchain Systems Look Like?"
  Todd A. Carpenter, Executive Director, National Information Standards Organization (NISO) 
• "Using Blockchains to Authenticate and Preserve Public Discourse"
  Michael Della Bitta, Director of Technology, Digital Public Library of America 
• "Security in Libraries: A Case for Blockchain Technology"
  Tonia San Nicolas-Rocca, Assistant Professor, School of Information at San Jose State University 

1:30 PM (US-PDT)

"From Healthcare to Information Organizations: Translating Blockchain Practice Across Disciplines"
Frank Cervone, Director of Information Technology, School of Public Health at University of Illinois at Chicago 

"Applying Blockchain to the Information Professions"
Christina Cornejo, Graduate Student, San Jose State University
Stacey Johnson, Technical Services Librarian at Chino Valley Public Library and MLIS Student, San Jose State University iSchool

"Blockchain Technology for Recordkeeping"
Patricia C. Franks, PhD, CA, CRM, IGP, MARA Program Coordinator, Professor, School of Information, San Jose State University 

"Setting up a Blockchain for the Public Library"
Ravi Singh, Executive Director, Demco Inc. 

2:00 PM (US-PDT)

"Community-based Collections - Extending the Library through Blockchain"
M Ryan Hess, Library Services Manager - Digital Initiatives, Palo Alto City Library 

"Credentialing using Blockchain for Globally Mobile and Disaster Affected Populations"
Amy Jiang, Library Technology Coordinator 
Heather A. McMorrow, Instructional Designer & Program Manager 

"Blockchain and a Fair Art Market"
Eric Meyer, Professor of Social Informatics, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford 
Robert Norton, CEO and co-founder of Verisart 

"Strategies for Libraries to Provide Blockchain Education, Tools, and Training"
Link Swanson, Systems Engineer, Minitex, PhD Candidate Cognitive Science, University of Minnesota 

2:30 PM (US-PDT)

Closing Keynote - Pros + Concerns

• Miguel Figueroa, Center for the Future of Libraries, American Library Association 
• Toby Greenwalt, ‎Director of Digital Strategy and Technology Implementation - ‎Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
• Bohyun Kim, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island Libraries

source : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/library-2018-blockchain-applied-impact-on-the-information-profession-registration-40098784544

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Ways to Use Blockchain in Libraries

What is blockchain?

The short explanation: It’s a network-based tool for storing information securely and permanently. The information in a blockchain can be authenticated by members of the public, but the information can be accessed only by those who have permission.
Read more : http://ahmadfaizar.blogspot.com/2018/05/what-is-blockchain.html

What can information professionals do with blockchains?

Blockchains have been used in a number of different applications ranging from managing a new cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, to using Smart Contracts for coding ways to track transactional data between persons. For those who are either familiar with technology or are just taking a look for the first time, there are several ways in which information professionals may be able to adopt and benefit from this technology. The following scenarios are just a few examples to get the conversation started.


Build an enhanced metadata system for libraries, data centers

Building a distributed, permission-less metadata archive has perhaps the most disruptive potential. Because blockchains operate as a type of informational ledger that don’t require a centralized gatekeeping organization, they could be used to build a truly distributed metadata system for libraries and related organizations. A blockchain OCLC, if you will. Such a system would be accessible to any organization who wishes, with no additional expenditures. The system would scale cleanly, while still maintaining quality of data through selective reading/output choice based on hash signing.

Protect Digital First Sale rights

Another potentially disruptive idea for information ecosystems is that of the Digital First Sale as a result of provable ownership and digital scarcity. A rights management system built on blockchains is obvious and at the center of many current blockchain projects. Of interest to libraries, specifically, is the potential for these projects to be a lever for digital first sale rights. Jason Griffey is in the process of researching such an argument with an internationally-regarded copyright expert, and will be working on a paper arguing for such over the summer 2017. While DRM of any sort is not desirable, if by using blockchain-driven DRM we trade for the ability to have recognized digital first sale rights, it may be a worthy bargain for libraries.

For example:

https://decent.ch/en/decent-use-case-for-e-book-blockchain-distribution

Connect to a network of libraries/universities

Libraries and universities might use the blockchain for the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS), a peer to peer protocol for a future Internet that uses bitTorrent, GIT and Blockchain. IPFS circumvents the gatekeeping of ISPs and large Internet companies. The system would need seeders on the Internet to keep copies of websites on their computers. A network of libraries/universities could serve to validate the credentials of a given copy of any website–similar to what miners do for BitCoin.

Support community-based collections

A protocol for supporting community-based collections and borrowing could extend the traditional library collection beyond its walls into the community. Libraries could deploy a blockchain-based system layered with “smart contract” code to facilitate the indexing and sharing of community items (tools, cars, expertise) in a sharing network. The blockchain would govern who has borrowed items, who originally loaned them, etc. This could be a partnership with software developers and businesses.

Host digital peer-to-peer sharing

Library facilitation of peer-to-peer sharing beyond just books through blockchain technology could help members of the community authenticate the availability of different tools or services for a more efficient sharing economy.

Facilitate partnerships across centers/organizations

Libraries can partner with museums, universities, and government agencies to share MARC records, authority control, and user-generated content through a blockchain framework.

Reexamine expectations for ways public libraries contribute to city service

Examination of civic innovations using blockchain technology and development of a rationale for why the library could be an ideal home for such initiatives. Libraries have strong community trust and citizens will connect the purpose of libraries to the goals of these new innovations.

Give badges for skills training

Blockchain could support “badging” for skills acquired through training. Libraries could authenticate the content of personal skills portfolios.

Future of Libraries 

The American Library Association’s Center for the Future of Libraries explains blockchain (with information from The Economist, Fast Company, Forbes, and other expert sources) http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/blockchain

Blockchain for Law Libraries (Debbie Ginsberg)

http://blog.cssis.org/2017/09/08/blockchain-for-law-libraries/

Blockchain 3.0 or Web 3.NO? (Debbie Ginsberg)

http://blogs.kentlaw.iit.edu/islat/2017/10/30/blockchain-3-0-web-3-no/

An Introduction to the Blockchain and Its Implications for Libraries and Medicine (Matthew B. Hoy and Tara J. Brigham)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2017.1332261

Have any more ideas?

Continue the conversation here.

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What Is Blockchain?

blockchain

ˈblɒktʃeɪn/

noun
noun: blockchain; plural noun: blockchains; noun: block-chain; plural noun: block-chains
a digital ledger in which transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency are recorded chronologically and publicly.
"we can actually have a look at the blockchain and see evidence of what's going on"

Origin
early 21st century: from block and chain.


Welcome to the brave new world of blockchain. Some say it’s the future lifeblood of the internet and commerce. It will provide the foundation of the most robust information security system ever created. It will allow access to economic tools currently unavailable to billions. You may have seen many articles on blockchain recently. Maybe you’ve never heard of blockchain. Or maybe all you’ve heard about it is the hype.

But what’s a blockchain? The short explanation: It’s a network-based tool for storing information securely and permanently. The information in a blockchain can be authenticated by members of the public, but the information can be accessed only by those who have permission.

Blockchains can take any information—from simple ledgers to complex contracts—and store it in online containers called “blocks.” These blocks are then encrypted, meaning that the information is translated into a unique series of letters and numbers called the “hash.” The hash is created using a special encryption key. Only users who have the key can read the information.

The blocks are then linked together. Each block’s information includes the hash of the previous block in the chain, along with a time stamp. For example, a hash might look like this: 00002fg5d5500aae9046ff80cccefa. The tools that create hashes use sophisticated cryptographic calculations so that each hash in a particular chain will start with a set of standard characters, such as 0000.

How does this keep information secure?  The blocks are “decentralized,” meaning that different blocks are stored on different computers, creating a distributed network of information. This network is public, so members of the public can see the chain and read the hashes.

Changing the information in any block changes its hash. This change then moves up the chain, changing their hashes as well. The hashes in blocks that are further up the chain will no longer start with the standard characters. For example, they won’t start with 0000 and the time stamp will have changed. That means anyone can now see that data in the chain has been compromised.Some blockchains are single chains, but many blockchains work by distributing copies of the whole chain in the decentralized network. If the copies don’t agree with one another, the blockchain’s users will elect to accept only those chains that match, and will discard any compromised chains.

Read more :http://blogs.kentlaw.iit.edu/islat/2017/10/30/blockchain-3-0-web-3-no/

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Blockchain is a technology that seems to be a leap change in the business models of the  “digital relationship” as we’re witnessing now. But it is much more than an optimisation of the online interactions in the context of new technologies. It is a proof of evolution of our society, from a centralised system thinking towards a distributed one and the benefits of the change can go beyond imagination. The Next Web explains that the businesses or institutions will keep a role in the constitution of the distributed system, but the system itself is autonomous by definition and powered by its own members [1].

Bitcoin is a digital currency that exists (only) on a specialised blockchain. It is not the only one. See in Business Insider a comparison between todays important cryptocurrencies [2].

Concept & implicationsThe online interaction let aside, this is not a new concept: it was discovered in remote places, applied locally, in small isolated communities (see video below – [3]), being in place for hundreds of years. The concept is about authority belonging to an entire community instead of its concentration into one entity (a person, a company, an institution – as we know it now).

Because of this, there are consequences

– at the level of trust, as we don’t have to look for credentials of only one person or institution. We reach a zone of comfort with trusting an entire community and, the greater the community, the more secure will be any transaction inside that community, the higher the trust.

– on the freedom of information: the knowledge becomes available to everyone in community, at the same time, in a public community/network ledger.

There are already many applications. If you’ll search online, you’ll get already businesses specialised in data storage like MaidSafe or Filecoin, hubs like Blockchain Hub, social platforms Akasha, search engines BitClave that operate on the blockchain technology, as well as applications or experiments of universities, like Blockcerts, from MIT.

source https://librarytrends.weblog.tudelft.nl/tag/blockchain-technology/

Further reading…

Blockchain technologyThere are in fact three technologies that made the blockchain possible. None of them are new, but their combination is [8]. These technologies are:

1. the private/public key cryptography,
2. a P2P network with a shared ledger and
3. a protocol (that requires the existence of an incentive “to service the network’s transactions, record-keeping and security“). 

The key cryptography takes care of the identification of an individual with a private and a public key.

Any transactions made between two persons is recorded in a data block containing the digital signature, the time and the information related to the transaction. A chain of transactions recorded at different times is at the origin of the name of this technology: a blockchain (see figures below).

from https://www.coindesk.com/information/how-does-blockchain-technology-work/

The transactions range from simple to complex, like contracts that execute themselves – known as “smart contracts”. “Smart contracts help you exchange money, property, shares, or anything of value in a transparent, conflict-free way while avoiding the services of a middleman.” [9].

These transactions are recorded by the entire network at the same time, so every node in the network receives the same reliable information.

The reliability comes from the network protocol, that takes care of the authorisation of a transaction. That happens by the execution of a mathematical problem that is called “proof of work” [4]. This proof of work is a code that runs simultaneously on more computers, doing what it’s known as “mining” a new block. The one computer that solves first the problem, authorises a new block in the chain and gets an incentive: a bitcoin (BTC – in the bitcoin network) or an ethereum (ETH – in the Ethereum network) or any other coin in any other network where such a technology functions.

For a better understanding, follow this 17 minutes demo of MIT experts on how blockchain works.

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Is blockchain technology the new internet?

The blockchain is an undeniably ingenious invention – the brainchild of a person or group of people known by the pseudonym,  Satoshi Nakamoto. But since then, it has evolved into something greater, and the main question every single person is asking is: What is Blockchain?

By allowing digital information to be distributed but not copied, blockchain technology created the backbone of a new type of internet. Originally devised for the digital currency, Bitcoin,  (Buy Bitcoin) the tech community is now finding other potential uses for the technology.

Bitcoin has been called “digital gold,” and for a good reason. To date, the total value of the currency is close to $9 billion US. And blockchains can make other types of digital value. Like the internet (or your car), you don’t need to know how the blockchain works to use it. However, having a basic knowledge of this new technology shows why it’s considered revolutionary. So, we hope you enjoy this, what is Blockchain guide.

Read more 

Credit 

http://www.libraryblockchain.org/2018/05/blockchain-for-information-science.html

https://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/blockchains/blog/

http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/blockchain

https://lifehacker.com/what-is-blockchain-1822094625

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/on_innovation/2017/12/how_blockchain_will_transform_credentialing_and_education.html?cmp=eml-enl-dd-news2-rm&M=%%MESSAGE_ID%%&U=%%CF_ICNACCOUNTNUMBER%%&print=1

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