The “Everything you’re into” campaign is aimed at changing people’s ideas of what the library offers and it is incredibly eye-catching! While most libraries might not have the budget or staff that the Calgary Public Library has, if your library is looking to do something different this could be a great example to start from. By reaching out to the public at the grocery store and adding a little bit of humor to the subject, it will no doubt get people talking and thinking about their library (just look at the comments, good and bad, in the CBC article!)
Communication, whether in print or electronically, is about making a connection with the users. Bravo, Calgary Public Library, for facilitating this fun and creative form of communication!
It seems like there are Kindle killers around every corner these days! With all of the new designs that have been popping up lately and that little issue with Amazon deleting 1984 and Animal Farm back in July, there could be some real competition heating up. This is a good thing, especially when the competition looks like this:
All kinds of libraries – public, academic, special – are changing. This is a fact that many librarians either don’t want to face or won’t accept. It’s really not up to us; it’s up to our users to demand of us what their needs are. If that means more computers and less books, then that might be what happens. We need to continue to inform the public on the issues surrounding these changes, but in the end there will be change. CNN recently summarized the main changes libraries are facing, and I think it’s a reality check for all those who can’t or won’t believe in the future of the library.
This is a video I created for my Library 2.0 class at Dominican. It was my first attempt at an Animoto video, and it was so much fun! The rendering process makes it look really professional – I love that you don’t have to insert effects – it does it all for you! I’ll be making more of these as the holidays round the corner!
I keep coming back to this Web 2.0 search engine when I’m looking around for new stuff to play with. There are so many sites, it can be pretty overwhelming! With Gotoweb20.com you can filter down the sites by category and keyword. How do you find new Web 2.0 sites?
If you’ve been waiting to get a library card and/or Kindle-like device (the Kindle will not work for this service, but the Sony eReader will), then now might be the time. You can now download library books onto your Sony reader if your library is a part of the Over-drive powered library “virtual branch“.
What does this mean for public libraries? First and foremost it means that if you decide to get an eReader, then you probably won’t be spending as much time at the library finding, returning, and checking out books. There are no late fees with the service as the book is just deleted from your eReader when it is due.
If anything, this should be a huge wake-up call for libraries to get ahead of the curve, and not wait until it is too late to find some way to use this to their advantage. This just screams ‘opportunity’ for libraries that can market this correctly!
A couple of co-workers have mentioned Wolfram Alpha to me over the past month or so, and I’ve tested it out a little bit here and there. Results come back from a number of different sources which are displayed in a pleasing, uniform, easy to read way. It doesn’t overload the user with multiple search results from different sources — it is a computational knowledge engine. Wolfram Alpha currently holds the most information on mathematics and other quantitative information, but it plans to expand into many more areas – including reference.
While nothing will ever replace a human answering more complex reference questions (I hope) and the personal skills it takes to conduct a reference interview, this tool is faster and more convenient than going to a library website and IMing or chatting with a Librarian. The potential applications for this model are extremely exciting and I will be keeping a close eye on this one!
I was browsing through my RSS reader (Google) this evening and found a new option near the “Share” and “Add Star” buttons. There is a new “Like” icon that allows others and yourself to see which stories other people who use Google Reader “Like”. Below you can see where the new “Like” is located:
While I’m still on the fence as to it really mattering whether or not people I don’t know like a certain blog post or article, it does draw your eye to entries that are flagged. I can see how this functionality would be useful in an enterprise RSS feedreader where employees can use this as a way of clipping articles. Usefulness via Google Reader — TBD.
In anticipation for our move from the city to the suburbs (and my consequential 3 hour commute each day), I am shopping around for a netbook. I plan on spending the time on the train updating this site and catching up on my reading list that has been growing over the past few years. A few netbooks that have caught my attention:
Asus Eee PC T91 – Features touch and swivel screen and can be used as a tablet PC
Acer Aspire Timeline – Slick design and you can use iPhone-esque pinching on the touchpad
Dell Inspiron Mini 9 – 16 GB solid-state hard drive that can be ordered with customized casing
Let me know if you have a favorite netbook or one that you would recommend!
My husband and I received an Amazon Kindle as a wedding present and it has been the most useful gift so far. The Kindle has brought a new excitement to reading that has been well received by both of us. While many librarians have mixed feelings about the Kindle and what it means for books and other printed materials, I think it’s a beautiful marriage of technology and the printed word. I don’t think the Kindle or other reading devices will “kill” print, but it will challenge publishers to come up with new and creative ways to market and distribute their products. A little competition never hurt anyone, right?
That being said, the Kindle might have some serious competition itself lurking right around the corner. The new CrunchPad prototype sounds amazing and looks beautiful! The description does not include a reading device, but I would assume that they would consider adding the functionality to this “everything” device as it comes closer to becoming a reality.
