Australiana librarian Edith Fry loves her touchscreen tablet computer. During Ballarat Heritage Weekend she will be putting it to good use as she records and edits video interviews with anyone wishing to share their childhood memories... 
If you're one of the last few people on Earth who haven't read the Harry Potter series, now you have no excuse. Today Amazon announced that it's adding all seven of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.
-Keith Wagstaff @ Time.com Via Robin Illsley 
How does your email signature stack up?
Fun quiz plus tips for creating a good email signature! With the assistance of the National Federation of the Blind, four blind patrons of the Free Library of Philadelphia have filed suit against the library because they cannot access one of the library’s programs for which they are eligible. Via Robin Illsley 
By Staff Writers: "In honor of School Library Month, check out the ways libraries are going to blossom in the coming years."
"[...] the almost uncanny ability to consistently adapt to the changing demands of the local populace and emerging technology alike. The library system probably won’t disappear anytime soon, but rather, see itself blossoming into something new and exciting in congruence with today’s myriad informational demands."
1. More technology 2. Sensory story times 3. Better outreach to ESOL and ESL adults & children 4. Automation 5. Emphasizing community space 6. More social media savvy 7. Digital media labs 8. Electronic outposts 9. Crowdsourcing 10. More active librarians Via Karen du Toit 
For librarians who value equitable access to information for all, accessibility for people with disabilities should be second nature. We should automatically think about accessibility when buying resources for our library communities, including e-readers. But for the most part, we don’t. Primarily our problem is a lack of awareness.
-Carrie Russell @ Digital Dispatch Via Robin Illsley 
Nice overview!
"Library Journal is presenting a series of articles, Exploring Ebook Options, that takes an indepth look at some of the ebook platforms that are now in the marketplace. Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 and Freading from Library Ideas have already been profiled. This story provides an environmental scan." 
"Launched in March 2011, the Edge initiative is an effort driven by a coaliton of leading and local government organizations to develop public access technology benchmarks for public libraries. The Edge benchmarks, which will be piloted in summer 2012, will help libraries evaluate and continually improve their public technology services for their communities." 
Staring at a screen all day is bad for your eyes and can induce headaches. It’s called Computer Vision Syndrome. Here are steps to remedy it. Via Robin Illsley 
Book scanning for profit. 
"This is going to be a fun development in the ebook/ereader saga. The electronic paper display (EPD) is a 6-inch, 1024×768 e-ink plastic screen...." Via Nikki May 
The South Carolina State Library has recently published a report titled, "Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How American Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users." The report provides quantitative and qualitative data gathered from library staff members in the U.S. to determine how libraries are employing a variety of Web 2.0 and social networking tools to promote library programs and services. |
Companies are embracing HTML5 to let them create visually-interesting and interactive websites and apps. Via Luca Baptista, Robin Illsley 
Zero Dollar Books will help discover Kindle best sellers that are available as free downloads for your Kindle, PC or Mac. 
This post walks you through key elements you need to know about the Timeline format for pages. 
There's more to proper pinning and commenting than what's in the Terms of Service. Follow these guidelines to serve your audience—and your brand—most effectively. Via Robin Illsley "Best Practices for the Customer-Focused Library" by the Metropolitan Library System has some good things to think about.
This Customer Focused Library grant was designed to study library services and service attitudes from a retail perspective. Best practices from retail were applied to library space utilization, service philosophy, and service visibility. The consultants hired for this project evaluated the ways in which our libraries serve their customers, with the goal being the development of a customer-focused service model for member libraries.
"To identify the most electronically literate places in America, we analyzed the Priceonomics database of eight million electronics for sale by city. We examined how prevalent the Amazon Kindle was by city to rank how popular e-reading was across the nation (we also examined Nook sales, which didn't change the results). To our surprise, the most populous and culturally-reputed cities in America did not rank among the most digitally literate." 
What does your library's Facebook cover photo say about your library? 
What a great idea--- recruiting digital natives to be "digital literacy coaches" in public libraries!
More info about the program here: http://libraries.idaho.gov/dlcoaches 
In the past two year, iPad pilot programs have been gaining momentum in schools worldwide. You might be wondering "Do iPads really improve learning?" It's great that many pioneers are sharing their experiences and advices on websites or on iBook. They have been posting valuable insights, recommended apps for elementary and secondary students, "How-to" and lesson plans, technical resources, all information about piloting and rolling out iPads in schools. These are the most mentioned and recommended resources. Via Jim Harmon, Robin Illsley 
"... officials with the Salinas Public Library have begun offering patrons small electronic devices with which to access the Internet or just kick backand watch a movie."
Interesting to see the comments on the story... 
U.S. libraries of all types are turning more and more to social media and Web 2.0 applications and tools, using a wide range of applications to connect with customers. Via Judy O'Connell, Karen du Toit, Robin Illsley |
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