The Librarian's Guide to Academic Research in the Cloud

sovadia@lagcc.cuny.edu

1

Introduction to the cloud

Abstract:

The cloud concept refers to software and data that is not hosted on a local computer or device, but instead that is available online. While a conventional word processor launches from software on a user’s computer, a cloud-based one launches through a web browser. Cloud-based tools allow users to easily move between computers and devices, as files and services are not limited to a single local device, but instead are available anywhere there is, or was, an Internet connection. For academic users, this access promises to make work easier, allowing users to do serious research work from just about anywhere, without having to worry about where files or content are located. It also promises to simplify collaboration. However, users still need to be concerned about issues related to the cloud, such as the privacy of files and the portability of the data users hold in the cloud.

Key words

academic research

cloud

files

locally hosted

operating system

portability

privacy

Imagine someone writing a book chapter. They want feedback on the chapter from some colleagues. They could easily print a hard copy and give it to the colleagues. But if some of the colleagues are far away, the user would need to either mail paper copies to the distant colleagues or distribute the file by email. Either way, none of the reviewers could see the comments of the others. It would be incumbent upon the writer to synthesize and input all of the changes. And if they decided to go over changes on the fly, perhaps while visiting yet another colleague, they would need either to take the electronic files with them or to download them from email. This is a workable labor flow, but hardly an ideal one.

Contrast that with the writer sharing their work via a link emailed to their colleagues, both distant and far, with the colleagues able to make their changes and suggestions directly on the original work, and each person’s changes displaying in a different color. Reviewers could see the work of other reviewers and the writer would have everything in one document. If they wanted to show the working document to another colleague, all they would need to do is log into a site and show the colleague the document in a web browser, with no downloading or flash drives required. This is the power of the cloud.

The cloud concept refers to programs and services that are hosted online, rather than on a local machine. Instead of something like a word processor being run from software hosted on a laptop or desktop, a cloud-based word processor runs from a program hosted on servers that are accessible online. For users of a certain vintage, the concept is familiar: in the days of mainframes, terminals often ran programs hosted on the central mainframe, rather than software hosted on the local terminal on which the user was working.

What can be confusing about the cloud concept is that most users simply do not realize when they are using a cloud-based service. Many users click an icon or open a web page, do their work, and don’t think about where the program or files are actually hosted. Many cloud services have become so good that users do not necessarily need to even consider that the program they are using is being accessed from servers that might be physically located halfway around the world.

The cloud has become an important tool for all knowledge workers, including academics, but especially librarians. The cloud concept provides a number of advantages for users. In general, cloud-based services make it easier for users to collaborate in ways that are not possible with locally hosted software (although, as will be discussed in this book, there is more and more locally hosted software that has cloud functionality). Cloud-based services are also consistently available across computers and devices. For users invested in cloud services, this means never having that feeling of realizing a crucial file has been left on another computer. On a more practical level, it also often allows users to dispense with the thumb drive full of files that are moved from computer to computer, which is dependable – usually right up until the moment the drive is misplaced. Cloud-based services are also quite helpful for times when local hard drives die, providing users with a backup of their work that is immune from stolen laptops and spilled coffee.

While not everyone has rushed to embrace the cloud, a 2010 Pew Internet report found 71 per cent of respondents, all technology experts of some kind from diverse fields, agreed with the idea that by 2020 most users will work via cloud-hosted services and not locally hosted ones (Anderson and Rainie, 2010). Conversely, 27 per cent of respondents said they didn’t see most people moving their work to the cloud by