Overdrive breaks the iPod barrier March 26, 2008
Posted by Will in libraries, technology.Tags: Apple, audiobooks, DRM, iPOD, MP3, WMA
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Overdrive has just announced that they will be releasing 3000 or so titles in MP3 format, minus DRM, thus compatible with the Apple iPOD. Library Journal has the details:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6542329.html?rssid=191
This is a BIG, can I say HUGE change for libraries, since up until now, downloadable audiobooks from library vendors have all been in WMA (Windows Media Audio) format, which is NOT compatible with iPODs, much to the chagrin of libraries and their patrons everywhere.
Netflix unwittingly expands library lending March 10, 2008
Posted by Will in libraries, technology.Tags: DVD, lending, libraries, movies, Netflix
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Some libraries apparently have been using Netflix to supplement their own movie holdings, letting patrons use a library Netflix account to borrow items the library doesn’t have. Someone asked about this on Publib, but didn’t get any responses. This issue also came up for discussion at the CLAMS conference I attended this week, but the consensus was that the practice violates the Netflix terms of use, as is also pointed out in this brief Newsweek article (which was cited on Publib).
Library-a-Go-Go February 14, 2008
Posted by Will in libraries, technology.Tags: ATM, automation, books, libraries, vending
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The Contra Costa County Library is the first in the country to roll out library book vending machines: stick in your library card, choose a book from one of the 400 or so popular titles in the machine, and out comes the book. They are putting the machines (4 to start) in BART stations and shopping centers. Here’s a link to the complete story replete with pictures of the machine and how it works: http://www.nbc11.com/news/15293003/detail.html?treets=bay&taf=bay
Technology Predictions for 2008 February 14, 2008
Posted by susanbarrett in libraries, technology.add a comment
TECHNOLOGY PREDICTIONS FOR 2008
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Jessica Vitak]
After a year filled with change for the industry, many experts have offered their predictions for what consumers, corporations and the government can expect in 2008. After sifting through dozens of news articles and blog posts, five key trends stood out: 1) technology goes green, 2) the evolution of the PC, 3) the cell phone industry expands, 4) the web slows down, and 5) social networks adapt, moving more firmly into the corporate world as a form of collaboration.
http://www.pewinternet.org/pipcomments.asp?r=1451(From Benton’s Communication-Related Headlines, 2-24-08)
US News – Librarian one of “Best Careers 2008″ February 13, 2008
Posted by lrobinson in libraries.Tags: career, librarian, library and information science
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A quote from the article: “Forget about that image of librarian as a mousy bookworm.” Ugh.
Also, Data Miner, was listed as one of the careers that is ahead of the curve.
Web 2.0 backlash? January 30, 2008
Posted by Will in libraries, virtual life.Tags: amateurs, Andrew Keen, bloggers, Joe Schallan, Library2.0, professionals, publib, Web2.0
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Here’s another attack from the ”nattering nabobs of negativism” as applied to Web 2.0, taken from a PubLib posting yesterday:
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:51:29 -0800 (PST)
From: Joe Schallan <jschallan@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Publib] 2.0: It cheapens us, it cheapens everyone
To: Publib publib@webjunction.org
This book from last summer got under my radar and I have just discovered it. Since it directly relates to my recent remarks on crowdsourcing, I thought I’d share an excerpt with the list:
Andrew Keen, The Cult of the Amateur — How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting Our Economy, New York: Doubleday/Currency, 2007.
Blurb: In a hard-hitting and provocative polemic, Silicon Valley insider Keen exposes the grave consequences of today’s new participatory Web 2.0. He reveals how amateur, user-generated free content threatens the very innovation and creativity that forms the fabric of American achievement.
‘Google Generation’ is a myth January 24, 2008
Posted by lrobinson in libraries.Tags: Google, info literacy
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New report shows ‘Google Generation’ affirms need for info lit and library advocacy. Report shows generation is almost more lacking in research and analytical skills. Immense choice and less time show a “viewing” rather than “reading” behavior.Scary.
- All age groups revealed to share so-called ‘Google Generation’ traits
- New study argues that libraries will have to adapt to the digital mindset
- Young people seemingly lacking in information skills; strong message to the government and society at large
“A new study overturns the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation’ – youngsters born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most web-literate. The first ever virtual longitudinal study carried out by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an apparent ease and familiarity with computers, they rely heavily on search engines, view rather than read and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information that they find on the web.”
An quick interview with the report’s author on LibVibe – you can listen to the story here: http://libvibe.blogspot.com/2008/01/libvibe-24-january-2008.html
Design Thinking and Innovation January 23, 2008
Posted by Will in libraries, technology.Tags: design, development, innovation, services
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Everyone should read the article titled “Design Thinking” by Steven J. Bell in this month’s American Libraries (January/February, 2008, pp. 44-49). You can find the article online in ProQuest: here’s a direct link, but you have to authenticate.
The article focuses on applying the design process (understand, observe, visualize, evaluate, refine, implement) in libraries, and in developing new library services. The article is based at least partly on a book, The Art of Innovation, by Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman, who write about the experience at IDEO, one of the leading design firms in the country.
Why is this a trend for libraries to watch? On the first page of the book, the authors write that “The biggest single trend we’ve observed [in the past decade or so] is the growing acknowledgment of innovation as a centerpiece of corporate strategies and initiatives. What’s more, we’ve noticed that the more senior the executives, the more likely they are to frame their companies’ needs in the context of innovation.”
On pages 6 and 7, they outline the process that Bell lists in his article, the “method to their madness,” which is the “understand, observe, visualize, evaluate, refine, implement” process I listed earlier.
I’ll be reading this book to see what ideas I can adapt as I work on the brand new statewide downloadable audiobooks project, and I’ll post any especially significant insights here on the Trendspotting Blog.
New survey finds GenY biggest library users December 31, 2007
Posted by Will in libraries, technology.Tags: GenY, Internet, libraries, Pew, usage
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The newest Pew survey surprisingly finds that “62 percent of Generation Y respondents (young adults in the tech-loving group aged 18-30) said they visited a public library in the past year, with a steady decline in usage according to age. Some 57 percent of adults aged 43 to 52 said they visited a library in 2007, followed by 46 percent of adults aged 53 to 61; 42 percent of adults aged 62 to 71; and just 32 percent of adults over 72.”
Online course examines library trends November 20, 2007
Posted by Will in libraries.add a comment
Here’s an online course for the truly dedicated library “trendie”
STILL TIME TO REGISTER! The Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is pleased to announce a NEW continuing education course for librarians and information professionals.COURSE TITLE: Current Issues in Libraries Dates: Nov 28, Dec 5, 12, 19, 2007 and January 9 and 16, 2008 (Wednesdays)Times: Online synchronous sessions from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Central time.
Note: Although this course has been designed as a synchronous course, special arrangements can be made to accommodate students unable to participate in live sessions. (more…)
