The Information Professional

Carl Grant:

"At the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, I gave the keynote talk at the NISO Update Session. My goal was to give attendees some thoughts about how important it is that they participate actively in the shaping of the new cloud-computing platforms which are are emerging from a number of organizations, including OCLC, Ex Libris, Serials Solution, Innovative and Kuali. I stated that the main reason for our participation as librarians is simply this: So we can ensure the value of librarianship is contained within and amplified by these new technological foundations.

 

There were three key points I talked about us doing in order to accomplish this. They were:

1. The mission and value of librarianship have to be embedded in the software you’re using.

2. Defining our future is a task of participation, NOT representation.

3. For our services to have value they must offer differentiation."

"St. Paul, Minn. — Millions of Americans now own Kindles, Nooks and other e-readers. And libraries are taking notice, expanding their collections of e-books they can loan to patrons.

That trend has 3M's attention. The company has a long history of serving libraries. And 3M sees a big business opportunity in helping libraries build, manage and lend their collections of electronic books.

The St. Paul Public Library next month will begin a formal trial of 3M's "Cloud Library" system, along with ten other major public libraries around the country."

 

Marshall Breeding:

"Cloud computing helps libraries shift away from owning and operating local servers to Web-based services. This book equips you with the information and practical advice needed to evaluate the many opportunities to take advantage of cloud computing. It features applications that empower you to use technology without the constraints of a locally supported infrastructure, and more in-depth information and examples of how to plunge directly into suitable projects by taking advantage of free services offered by the top cloud services providers. Examples include using cloud-based supplemental storage, Google’s suite of apps, Amazon’s S3 and EC2 services to power your library website, and DuraCloud to host an online library media collection."

Via Lia Sant