May 23, 2013

Library Websites Adapt to Smartphone Growth

The Canton Public Library's Site Automatically Optimizes For Mobile Devices

Using cell phones to explore websites that are not optimized for mobile devices can be a frustrating experience. Libraries should consider this more than an aesthetic issue, since mobile devices are the primary Internet access point for a growing number of their users. Almost 90 percent of U.S. adults now own a cell phone of some kind, and 55 percent of them use their phones to go online, according to a June report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Seventeen percent of respondents said they do “most” of their online browsing on their phone.

Study: Young People of All Races Are Politically Active Online

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A large segment of today’s youth, regardless of race or ethnic group, now actively exercise their political muscle online, says a new study from the MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics.

Ebook Strategy and Public Libraries: Slow Just Won’t Work Anymore

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The CEO of Ohio’s Columbus Metropolitan Library urges public libraries to overhaul their passive ebook strategy and champion business models that also serve the public’s interests.

The Ebook Elephant in the Room | ALA Annual 2012

Alene Moroni. Photo: Dave Feiling Photography

For ebooks, “true collection development is going to have to wait…until we have more access, if not all access to everything that’s being published,” Anne Silvers Lee, chief of the materials management division of the Free Library of Philadelphia, said during a Saturday panel discussion at the American Library Association’s annual conference in Anaheim this weekend.

Cleveland Public Library Gives Patrons Access to Latest in Tech

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The Cleveland Public Library is working to make its main branch a destination for residents living, working, and visiting downtown, and TechCentral, the $1 million technology center that opened on June 14 featuring 90 desktop workstations, loanable iPads, Kindles, and other devices, cloud-computing services, a 70-inch “interactive tech wall,” and more, is a big first step.

Google Gigabyte to Help Kansas City Libraries Close Digital Divide

Kansas City librarians and other officials are in a unique position to potentially transform the public libraries and schools into even greater digital education hubs in the near future, with a little help from a new Google high speed digital Internet servic

Libraries to Play Key Role in Puerto Rico Broadband Plan

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In conjunction with Connect Puerto Rico, a subsidiary of non-profit Connected Nation, the Puerto Rico Broadband Taskforce (PRBT) has released a strategic planto enhance the island’s broadband infrastructure and improve digital literacy among its residents. Libraries and public computing centers are expected to play an important role.

What Tech in Schools Really Looks Like

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When it comes to the latest technology, some schools are more equal than others.

Chattanooga Only Weeks Away From One Gigabit Per Second; Kansas City Close Behind

Libraries in Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri, are close to entering a dizzying space where they will have so much digital horsepower that they will be able to download and upload files on the Internet at speeds up to one gigabit per second.

Video: Kids Call for Equity at DML 2012

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It’s such a rare thing to see kids at a conference. So when I spied a large group of teens huddling in the Parc 55 hotel, I thought it might be a good idea to stick with them. I wasn’t disappointed.