Submitted by Jason Griffey on February 14, 2011 - 10:04am
One of the most exciting new realms in personal technology is the emergence of affordable 3D fabrication or printing technologies (or, my personal favorite nickname for the tech: fabbing). If you aren’t familiar with 3D printing, it’s the use of a hardware device to go directly from a computer file to 3 dimensional object, skipping any molding/carving/modeling or other sorts of manufacturing. It’s been available for a number of years for commercial use, and is used heavily by industry to prototype consumer devices, but the cost has always been prohibitive for individuals.
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Submitted by Michelle Boule on February 10, 2011 - 10:02am
Anyone who works with teens, has a teen in the household, or pays attention to communication trends knows one thing for certain: young people do not use email. In a revealing discussion with four high school freshman about technology, communication, and education, the girls in this video say that they only use email to talk to “ aunts, uncles, teachers, and older people.” (quote is 2 minutes in) According to comScore’s whitepaper, “The 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review,” email usage is down a whopping 59% among teens. Instead of email, teens are using text messages and facebook as their main methods of communication.
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Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on February 7, 2011 - 11:25am
In the library world, there aren't a lot of topics hotter than the mobile web, and in February and March, ALA TechSource will be here to provide you with some guidance on this topic from one of the most knowledgable people in the field, Cody Hanson. Later this month, we'll publish Cody's issue of Library Technology Reports, "Libraries and Mobile Services", and on Wednesday, March 9th, Cody will lead the ALA TechSource Workshop "Making Mobile Services Work for Your Library."
Library services for mobile devices like Smartphones and iPads are becoming more and more common. As these devices explode in popularity, it is important that libraries are able to offer their patrons services and resources through them. In his Report and in his workshop, Cody Hanson will provide a foundation for launching, maintaining and expanding mobile services in your library. Read More »
Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on February 4, 2011 - 10:11am
For people in the library systems world, it's no secret that Web Scale Discovery Systems are a big deal. As Jason Vaughan explains in the new issue of Library Technology Reports, " These services are capable of searching quickly and seamlessly across a vast range of local and remote content and providing relevancy-ranked results in the type of intuitive interface that today’s information seekers expect."
 Jason's report provides never-before-seen insight into these services and what their potential to transform library systems. The report describes in detail the content, interface, and functionality of web scale discovery services developed by four major library vendors: OCLC, Serials Solutions, Ebsco, and Ex Libris, and provides context and background on each vendor. Read More »
Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on February 2, 2011 - 8:46am
Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on January 27, 2011 - 4:32pm
We just wrapped up the second and final session of the ALA TechSource Workshop Library Analytics: Inspiring Positive Action through Web User Data. This session, How Libraries Analyze and Act focused on specific examples of libraries that are using analytics, and how librarians can practically incorporate analytics into their own facilities.
We’re listing some questions from today’s presentation for future discussion. Whether you attended or not, feel free to chime in. Read More »
Submitted by Kate Sheehan on January 27, 2011 - 10:10am
In the watered-down simplification of high school life that appears in teen movies (made by adults), libraries are the home of nerds. Jocks exist in the physical realm, while nerds dwell in the landscape of the mind. Anyone who has been to high school (or perhaps seen The Breakfast Club) knows that teenagers don’t live in a world so facile and rigid, but libraries, during and after we’re done with high school, are seen as temples to the intellect. Read More »
Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on January 25, 2011 - 5:43pm
We just wrapped up the first session of Sue Polanka’s workshop Integrating E-Books and E-Readers into Your Library. There’s no doubt that E-Books and E-Readers are a hot topic for librarians right now (not to mention for the general public as well), and discussion during the workshop certainly reflected that.
With over 250 people attending the workshop, there was certainly room for more discussion than we had time for in 90 minutes. Here are a few questions that were asked during the workshop. Please continue the discussion of these, and any other questions you might have in the comments area. Sue will be chiming in. Read More »
Submitted by Daniel A. Freeman on January 20, 2011 - 4:32pm
We just wrapped up the first session of the ALA TechSource Workshop Library Analytics: Inspiring Positive Action through Web User Data. This first session, The Basics of Turning Numbers into Action, focused on defining the concepts of web analytics, comparing different tools and understanding the visualization of data.
The fantastic presentation was accompanied by some vibrant Q & A and discussion, and to continue the conversation, we’re posting a few questions for continued discussion to the blog. Whether you attended or not, feel free to chime in and discuss via comments on this post. Paul and Char will be part of the discussion as well! Read More »
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