As a former AV geek during my high school and college years, I can assure you that schlepping movies (or worse, TVs) across a campus gets old pretty fast. In analog days, the answer was to play the VHS tape in a central location and then deliver it via closed circuit TV to the classroom. … Continue reading Beyond Ebooks: A Question of DVD Streaming
Digital literacy is supposedly what will save the public library, and I don’t doubt that. While you hear stories about welfare recipients and street people carrying around the latest in iPhone technology, those of us who labor in the public library vineyard know that those kinds of tales are triumphs of distortion over reality. Supposedly, … Continue reading Digitized to Distraction
Over the past year, ALA has taken significant steps to address the ebook lending issues affecting libraries, including the development of a report on ebook business models and the implementation of an aggressive publicity campaign. On Saturday, January 26 (1–2:30 p.m.,Washington State Convention Center, Room 602-603), members of the ALA Digital Content and Libraries Working … Continue reading Midwinter Session: “Ebooks and Libraries: Where Do We Stand and Where Are We Going?”
Accessibility is one of those issues that often needs a headline to grab attention. Too often, the headlines we see are about public institutions that didn’t heed warnings and are facing litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This year saw the resolution of two suits filed against libraries lending inaccessible ebook readers, one settled … Continue reading Kindle Fire Adds Accessibility Features
Mobile phones, personal electronic devices, and tablet computers have infiltrated most corners of the academic library. Although many institutions are interested in exploring these new technologies, some are focusing on tablet computers in particular to enhance and even reimagine their services to better support their communities. Library and information professionals who are finding ways to … Continue reading The Tao of Tablets
Are efforts to use social media worth it? Indeed, they are. I see many reasons for libraries—or practically any other organization—to use these tools. Listening Listening comes first. Before your library starts “talking back” online, set up listening tools to see and hear what customers are saying about you, your services, and your community. Listening … Continue reading Social Media?
The recently released OverDrive/ALA survey of visitors to OverDrive library sites presents some interesting insights into this subset of ebook readers and their behaviors. Before we can talk about any of the survey results, however, it must be clearly noted that this was not a scientific study: The sample is not representative of anything, but … Continue reading OverDrive/ALA Survey on Library Ebook Borrowers
It was a sunny June afternoon, perfect for playing baseball, taking a dip in the local pool—or having a virtual chat with a favorite author over Skype about what you’ve been reading. That was the message the New Albany–Floyd County (Ind.) Public Library set out to impart this summer through our first “Guys Read” program … Continue reading Connect Guys with Authors
It was a rather rough month for library ebook access, at least if you are looking to pick up digital versions of the USA Today’s bestsellers. None of the top five books, and only six out of the 25 on the list, are available as ebooks to libraries according to the latest DCL pricing report … Continue reading A Bad Month for Library Ebooks: Oct. DCL Report
The American Library Association has launched a website, Ebooks and Digital Content, that provides links to resources on all aspects of e-content in libraries. The website, part of the Transforming Libraries initiative, supports the work of the ALA Digital Content and Libraries Working Group. “The Transforming Libraries website was created to support the immediate and … Continue reading ALA’s new digital content website
Libraries need to consistently add content. And finding that content was the focus of the “Content Infrastructure and Digital Hubs Pilot Program” discussion Thursday, October 11, during the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Midwest conference. The two-day event was held at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago to showcase DPLA, a national digital … Continue reading Content Infrastructure at DPLA Midwest
“Does the publishing community understand why librarians would balk at increases on the order of 100% or 200%?” wonders Carrie Russell of ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) over at the District Dispatch blog of the Association’s Washington Office. That’s a good question—one that needs a response steeped in indisputable data. Fortunately, Russell explains, … Continue reading Ebook Economics 101
