National Archives Online Catalog…01.15.10

QR codes—Next Wave in Connecting Mobile-Savvy Patrons to Library Services…01.14.10

From Library Journal:

“…Are QR codes—two-dimensional hyperlinking barcodes—the next wave in connecting mobile-savvy patrons to library services? Contra Costa County Library (CCCL), CA, is betting yes, as it embarks on a yearlong $60,000 Bay Area Library and Information System (BALIS)–funded QR code project.

The library will reach out to the community by attaching these increasingly popular symbols to library-related materials, as well as placing them in high-traffic areas, perhaps in partnership with local community centers and businesses. The labels themselves contain embedded information that can be decoded by a QR code reader on a mobile device.

This software then links users directly from the black-and-white images to a web site via a decoded URL, or reveals some other embedded information like a call number or small snippets of text…”

For more on QR codes and libraries, search my previous posts.

Social Media Secrets and Resources…01.14.10

The following is excerpted from a good ReadWriteWeb post Social Media Secrets and Resources Revealed relevant to libraries, non-profits, and businesses:

“…1. Pay Attention to the Metrics: Slideshare illustrates how CMOs are looking to measure social media conversions for 2010. ReadWriteWeb recently wrote a post about social media ROI in late December. In addition to our suggestions for cash-related ROI, startups can also check out Robin Broitman’s Social Media Metrics Superlist for a look at some great measurement resources.

2. Scale Good Habits: Says Slideshare, ‘What works with 2 people won’t work with 20 people. Your entire team should be motivated to respond quickly, post consistently and talk like a human.’ Some resources for determining your company’s goals and capabilities include the list of social media questions on Museum 2.0, DoshDosh’s article on campaign goal setting and Beth Kanter’s Social Media Strategy Map and Worksheet. In considering your ‘human voice’, check out the discussion between Echo’s Chris Saad and Altimeter Group’s Jeremiah Owyang.

3. Have Rules, But Trust People: According to Slideshare, executives need to ‘lead by example, rather than managing with a rule book.’ We recently wrote a post about how blogging and tweeting leaders build better teams through shared learning, transparency and a culture of openness. Our early article on Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh also exhibits how more leaders are embracing the chaos of brand conversations.

4. Creativity and Personality Trump Big Budget: We’ve published a variety of posts on successful cause-related campaigns including Sloane Berrent’s Kiva fellowship and Beth Kanter’s work with ChipIn. Neither of these efforts were well funded, but both leveraged leaders’ creativity to increase engagement and response.

5. Listen, Listen, Listen: Early last year we wrote an article on how sentiment analysis would heat up in 2009. To track conversations about your company you can try ContextVoice, PostRankand/or Echo. For a look at your overall industry you might want to set up your very own Social Media Cheat Sheet…”

Special Library Association Membership Categories and Dues…01.14.10

For more information, visit the SLA Membership page

New ALA Report on the Condition of U.S. Libraries…01.14.10

ALA has released The Condition of U.S. Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009

QEU ProReader from Plastic Logic…01.13.10

Haiti Earthquake Relief…01.13.10

This is from my friend Chris Busch’s blog:

Bobby and Sherry Burnette are missionaries in Haiti, have been personal friends for years and are currently clients of our agency.  They have spent years doing relief work in Haiti and have the highest reputation for their work helping orphans, feeding the hungry, and packing medical relief into remote areas.  If you are looking for a way to contribute directly to relief in Haiti through an organization with extremely low fund-raising and administrative costs and very high ratings for financial accountablity, take a look at Love A Child.

Social Cataloging…01.13.10

Fabled Google “G-Drive” Launched Without the Name…01.13.10

TechCrunch reported:

“…you can soon upload any file type at all to Google Docs, not just the dozen or so Office formats that the service allowed as of yesterday. Video files. Images. Audio Files. Even Zip files. As long as those files are 250 MB or smaller, you’re good. The new feature will roll out over the next several weeks, says Google.

Like other documents in Google docs, files can be kept private, made public or shared with a few users. Google Viewer can be used to view many file types, with the notable exception of video.

Regular users have 1 GB of free storage and can purchase more for $0.25/GB. Enterprise customer pay higher prices, starting at $17/year for 5 GB. There are no bandwidth charges…”

Intel Reader – Converts Printed Text to Audio…01.12.10

About the Intel Reader:

“Printed text into audio: quickly and easily

There has never been a mobile device quite like the Intel® Reader. Such convenient access to the printed word can be life changing for people with vision or reading-related disabilities, blindness, or low vision. The level of success and freedom they stand to gain with the Intel Reader is unprecedented.

Portable and unobtrusive, the Intel Reader takes pictures of printed material. It then converts it to digital form and allows magnification and/or audio playback. The reliable Intel® technology combines a high-resolution camera with an Intel® Atom™ processor. Which means conversion is fast, and the Intel Reader can hold large amounts of text.

With the Intel Reader, you have convenient and flexible access to a variety of printed content. Being able to read for yourself can increase your freedom, enjoyment, and confidence, and it can help you accomplish more at school or work.

Capturing and playing back text with the Intel Reader is as easy as point, shoot, listen. You just hold it over the printed text, push the Capture button to take a picture of the page, and the Reader will play it back to you on the spot. (You can listen to it through the earphones if you want more privacy.)

You can also store content on your Intel Reader and listen to it when it’s most convenient for you. If you want to capture a chapter, an article, or a book, the Intel® Portable Capture Station makes it easier to shoot large amounts of text. The Intel Reader also plays most audio content including MP3, DAISY* digital talking books, and even text that you transfer from a computer…”

Evolution of the Book…01.12.10

Click on graphic for larger image.

Digital Trends, Ideas, Technologies…01.12.10

What Happens Inside the British National Archives…01.11.10

Here is a BBC report What Happens Inside the National Archives?:

Fascinating Read – The State of Jones…01.11.10

My current extra reading invovles the events before and after the battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi the location of which in now the history-packed Vicksburg National Military Park where I spent a day in 2005.  Both presidents of the USA and CSA (Confederate States of America) agreed that Vicksburg was the “key” to the outcome of the American Civil War.

I usually don’t do book reviews or particularly care for the thoughts or opinions of Tom Brokaw, former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News , but his description of reading The State of Jones is accurate:

“Just when you thought you had heard it all about the Civil War, along comes The State of Jones, an astonishing tale of rebellion within the heart of rebel territory.  This is a riveting and memorable read about resistance, courage, love, and, most of all, the long trail of justice and injustice in the American South.  I couldn’t put it down.”

Color eReader from Qualcomm Coming in 2010…01.11.10

Library 2.0 Podcast “Towards a New Decade”…01.11.10

“…The predictions for the future for libraries took on an interesting slant. The conversation, that ranged over radically different provision of future library services, raised the possibility of the one-to-one relationship between a library and an academic institution becoming a thing of the past…”

 Library 2.0 Gang 12/09: Towards A New Decade [51:35m]:|Download

Cloud Computing to Hit Mainstream Business…01.11.10

There is an interesting post on TechCrunch titled The Coming Tornado: Cloud in the Enterprise excerpted here:

“Consumers have readily embraced the Cloud in the form of services like Facebook, YouTube and Gmail, but businesses are a different story. While small and medium businesses have been drawn to the cost efficiencies of web-based solutions, the Cloud has thus far hovered on the periphery of mainstream business IT, with many dismissing it as unfeasible on a large scale, or at best, a distant solution. But cloud-based services are about to tip for the enterprise, and quickly…”

Plastic Logic’s Que – Touchscreen E-Reader…01.10.10

Plastic Logic’s Que – Touchscreen E-Reader 

American Libraries Perpetual Beta – Google Smart Phone Nexus One Demo…01.10.10

The Future of Libraries?…01.09.10

Marketing Guru Seth Godin’s blog post today “The Future of the Library”:

“What should libraries do to become relevant in the digital age?

They can’t survive as community-funded repositories for books that individuals don’t want to own (or for reference books we can’t afford to own.)…

Here’s my proposal: train people to take intellectual initiative.

Once again, the net turns things upside down. The information is free now. No need to pool tax money to buy reference books. What we need to spend the money on are leaders, sherpas and teachers who will push everyone from kids to seniors to get very aggressive in finding and using information and in connecting with and leading others.”

Pirate Librarianship…01.09.10

 

DESCRIPTION: “Are you a librarian who hears ‘do more with less’ far too much? This is the group for you. We discuss how to obtain library resources (e.g., MARC records, bibliographic data, online and print publications, promotional materials, etc.) at little or no cost.”

Teaching Others How to Protect Online Reputations…01.09.10

From CommonCraft ”Aimed at young or inexperienced Web users, this video explains the long term risks of sharing inappropriate information online.”

Managing Library Trends…01.09.10

Librarian – Does Your Job Just Happen to You?…01.08.10

(image: http://www.careerhell.com/)

There was a very short but great post today by marketing guru Seth Godin that is relevant to librarians and everyone else which I have reposted here:

“Does your job happen to you?

If you’re a willing cog in the vast machinery of work, it’s entirely possible that the things that occur all day feel like they’re being done to you.

The alternative is to create a job where you create forward motion, where you do things to the job, not the other way around.

Take a look at the language you use to describe what happened at work yesterday, that’s your first clue. If you’re not the one creating the change, perhaps it’s time to start.”

New Smart Phone App for LibraryThing…01.08.10

Excerpted from the LA Times “Can Local Books iPhone app be a literary UrbanSpoon?”:

“…LibraryThing, a major social-networking-through-books site, launched its first iPhone app yesterday. Local Books is free and lists bookstores, libraries and book-related events near you.

It’s got an easy, intuitive interface and loads venues quickly, once you tell it your location. But — how does it play in L.A.?

On the upside, the venue listings are extensive. There are public and academic libraries, chain bookstores and independent bookstores, and many include photos. I’d forgotten about the radical bookstore Libros Revolución, but there it was in the downtown listings, between a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library and Ivanhoe Books, a Silver Lake art book seller. It seems every branch of the L.A. Public Library makes the list, and it’s easy to select one or two as favorites and quickly return to them…”

Public Library Video – Using the Library’s Website…01.08.10

From David Lee King’s Tech Tuesdays  channel on YouTube from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library:

Christian librarianship is not an oxymoron…01.08.10

Ideally, our libraries and our profession should be inclusive – as is true Christianity. 

Below is the “conclusion” to an essay entitled “A Rationale for Integrating Christian Faith and Librarianship” by Gregory A. Smith that I found quite interesting and well done on a subject that won’t be discussed in the library community though it will likely generate negative feedback. It was published in “Christian Librarianship Essays On The Integration of Faith and Profession by Gregory A. Smith and Donald G. Davis.

“Contrary to the opinion of some, the relationship between the Christian faith and librarianship need not be adversarial. Three factors suggest the two can be integrated with mutual benefit. First, for two thousand years Christians have developed libraries in order to further their religious mission. In the process, they have preserved secular resources and stimulated the development of libraries at large. 

Second, Christian interest in libraries is not merely pragmatic. Rather, Christian theism provides a rationale for many of the philisophical assumptions that underlie contemporary librarianship. The Christian faith justifies the librarians’ committment to service, intellectual freedom, preservation, literacy and other professional ideals.

Third, Christians have energetically explored the relationship between their fatih and disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, history, and biology. Though little has been done to interpret library science from a Christian perspective, insights from other fields suggests that this process would be fruitful.

In this essay, I have referred to Christianity primarily as a philosophical system. It’s central concern is, of course, spiritual–drawing us into a proper relationship with the creator of the universe: ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’ (John 17:3).  No librarian should identify with the Christian faith simply because of its historical and philosophical ties to libraries. Nevertheless, librarians who identify themselves as Christians (and those who might consider doing so) should be encouraged to find that they may pursue their religious committments without sacrificing their professional pursuits. In short, Christian librarianship is not an oxymoron.”

NEW! Library Advocacy Day Planned…01.08.10

Google’s Mobile Homepage is Now Location Aware…01.08.10

FREE Boxee Beta Released – Enjoy the Internet and Your PC on Your TV…01.08.10

Boxee BETA now available