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August 2011

Slow News Month

Submitted by Jason Griffey on August 30, 2011 - 7:27am

August is traditionally a slow month for technology news. It’s too early to begin the announcements for the 4th quarter holiday season, but too late for the back-to-school announcements. Generally speaking, there’s just not a lot to talk about in technology in August.

Well, this year shot that theory out of the sky. This has been one of the strangest months for technology news in recent memory, and in case you don’t keep up with it like I do, here’s the three things you should know that happened in the last 3 weeks. Read More »

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What Smartphone Internet Usage Means for Libraries

Submitted by Michelle Boule on August 16, 2011 - 8:26am

eBooks have been the hot topic in libraryland for a few months now and with good reason. It seems like every other day there is some new revelation that makes us either jump for joy or groan in agony. While these conversations and revelations have been happening, there has been another revolution underfoot.

The Pew, Internet, and American Life Project released a report last month on the usage of smartphones. We have known that smartphone ownership was increasing dramatically, and that use was up among minorities, and this report confirms the trends.
Read More »


Continuing the Conversation: Integrating E-Books and E-Readers into the Library, with Sue Polanka, Session 2

Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on August 11, 2011 - 2:34pm

We just wrapped up the second session of the ALA TechSource Workshop Integrating E-Books and E-Readers Into Your Library with Sue Polanka. 

A few security-related questions came in that we did not have time to answer. Here’s Sue’s quick takes. Whether you attended or not, feel free to join the discussion in the comments area!

Has anyone ever had issues with patrons wiping out the content on a device, how do you replace?

Sue: Not yet, but you should be able to very quickly send the content back to the device wirelessly or by drag/drop of files.

In a public library, how do you make sure you get e-readers back?

Sue: Fines.  We charge $25.00 - check the Wright State University LibGuide on ebooks for more information. Read More »


Where do you draw the line?

Submitted by Kate Sheehan on August 10, 2011 - 11:24am

One of my journalistic pet peeves is “my three friends are doing this” masquerading as a trend story. However, it does make a decent jumping-off point for a blog post. I was chatting recently with a library director, who expressed some concern about promoting library ebooks. His feeling was that the infamous 21 steps to download a library ebook was too onerous and would only send the message that libraries were not capable of keeping up with technology. I had just returned from OverDrive’s Digipalooza user-group conference, where librarians gave impassioned talks about their ebook promotions and programs. Digipalooza librarians (an enthusasitic group, to be sure) cited ebook circulation statistics that were climbing ever higher and happy patrons (in their pajamas!) embracing the 21st century library. Read More »


Continuing the Conversation: Integrating E-Books and E-Readers into the Library, with Sue Polanka

Submitted by Patrick Hogan on August 4, 2011 - 3:23pm

We just wrapped up the first session of the ALA TechSource Workshop Integrating E-Books and E-Readers Into Your Library with Sue Polanka. We’ll post a few questions and referenced resources here.  Do you have follow-up questions from session 1? Do you have questions you’d like to see addressed in session 2? General questions or the need for clarification? Go ahead and ask them in the comments area!

  Read More »


Special Offer! ALA TechSource Online for Only $99!

Submitted by Patrick Hogan on August 2, 2011 - 2:09pm

As a reader of this blog, you’re familiar with the range of invaluable advice on technology and the library that our bloggers share. Now we’re making it easier for you to get access to more of our in-depth, original content. For a limited time you can get a digital subscription to ALA TechSource Online for only $99.  We’ve never offered such a low price for 8 new electronic issues of Library Technology Reports (available both as downloadable PDFs or in HTML) and 12 Smart Libraries Newsletter issues, featuring Marshall Breeding’s famous analysis and insider coverage of developments in the library technology marketplace. 
If you subscribe now, here’s what you’ll get to read in the coming year: Read More »
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