It’s oh so easy to overlook what’s happening online—and if librarians, educators, and parents don’t notice it, why on Earth should kids?
Comics in Libraries: iVerse, Brodart Set Date for Comics Plus: Library Edition; OverDrive in Talks with Manga Publishers
By on January 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
This weekend, iVerse Media announced that its Comics Plus: Library Edition will be available to school and public library patrons via tablet computers, desktops, and mobile devices beginning on April 1. In recent months, more than 250 libraries have been beta testing the service, which offers about 10,000 comics and graphic novel titles, including “Adventure Time,” “Doonesbury,” “Bone,” “Mouse Guard,” “Sesame Street,” and “Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.”
Kids’ Ebook Reading Nearly Doubled Since 2010, Scholastic Reading Survey Finds
By on January 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
The number of kids reading ebooks has nearly doubled since 2010, according to Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report, which was released today. The national survey of kids age 6–17 and their parents also found that half of kids age 9–17 say they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to ebooks—although 80 percent of kids who read ebooks say they still read books for fun primarily in print.
Reading Rainbow Partners With National Geographic Kids, Expands App
By on January 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
RRKidz has announced that its flagship brand Reading Rainbow is partnering with publisher National Geographic Kids to expand its interactive reading subscription app, available exclusively on the iPad. The company is also expanding its library with a new branded island featuring dozens of books as well as videos hosted and narrated by RRKidz co-founder LeVar Burton.
Lego Celebrates 15th Year of Mindstorms Robots With New EV3 Platform
By on January 9, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Lego Group has unveiled Lego Mindstorms EV3, a radically redesigned upgrade to its popular robotics platform that’s designed to introduce a new generation of tech-savvy kids to the world of robot building and programming. Lego announced the new platform earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, timed to the 15th anniversary of the original Mindstorms debut.
EBL Touts Its Versatility | Series: Exploring Ebook Options
By on December 17, 2012 Leave a Comment
Ebook Library (EBL), the library ebook platform launched in 2004 by Australian company Ebooks Corporation, has had worldwide success. More than 600 institutions, encompassing thousands of libraries, around the world now use EBL.
The majority, 81 percent, are academic libraries, with another 15 percent of the client base made up of special, government, and corporate libraries; the remaining four percent are split between public and school libraries. Higher education institutions large and small, including three LJ will look at more closely—the University of Texas (UT) at Austin; Wellesley College, MA, one of the famed “Seven Sisters” schools; and Fairfield University, CT—are among EBL’s many clients.
Librarians Use Social Networking Professionally More than Teachers and Principals, According to Report
By on December 13, 2012 1 Comment
A recent report conducted by MMS Education reveals that librarians use social networking more than other educators.
National Federation of the Blind to Take Protest to Amazon, Denouncing School Kindle Use as Discriminatory to Blind Students
By on December 5, 2012 8 Comments
Due to their longstanding frustration with Amazon’s failure to make Kindle ereaders accessible to people who are blind, officials from the National Federation of the Blind will be protesting outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters on December 12.
SLJ’s Top 10 Apps: 2012
By on December 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
App production has skyrocketed. But curiously, a number of children’s book publishers and app developers are now thinking twice about the format. But that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a slew of exceptional products this year, and you’ll find a number of them on School Library Journal’s list.
SLJ’s Top 10 Tech: 2012
By on December 3, 2012 Leave a Comment
From MOOCs to open educational resources, Joyce Valenza examines the top trends of the year in technology. There are unique opportunities for librarians here and Valenza outlines specific actionables in this online version of School Library Journal’s feature story.
