May 18, 2024

3M Makes Its Presence Felt | Series: Exploring Ebook Options

By on November 7, 2012

It was a coup when 3M announced in June, just three months after Penguin Group had severed its relationship with OverDrive, that it had brought Penguin tentatively back into the library ebook fold through a pilot project with the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). The deal typified the way 3M has made its presence felt in the library ebook market, from striking such notable content deals to bringing its considerable experience as a technology company to bear on the development of its 3M Cloud Library platform and hiring away LJ reviews editor Heather McCormack.

Filed Under: Ebooks, Featured, Hardware, Publishing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Visualization Wall the Centerpiece of Brown Digital Scholarship Lab

By on October 29, 2012

The Brown University Library this month opened its new Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab, a facility that offers students access to software used by a variety of disciplines in a state-of-the-art viewing and listening environment. The centerpiece of the lab is a video visualization wall made from twelve 55-inch LED screens, which can be used together to show a single seven foot by 16 foot image or video at 24 megapixel resolution, or linked to individual touch-screen monitors for groups or classes working on collaborative projects.

Filed Under: Digital Libraries, Featured, Hardware, Research Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Free Library of Philadelphia Resolves NOOK Accessibility Lawsuit

By Matt Enis and Meredith Schwartz on October 25, 2012

The Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP) this week settled the lawsuit filed against it in May by four blind patrons assisted by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Under the terms of the settlement, FLP has agreed to supplement its collection of more than 60 NOOKs with ten accessible devices, according to a press announcement from the NFB. Within four years, the library will transition to a collection of e-readers that are all accessible to the blind, and will begin incorporating an accessibility requirement into its technology procurement contracts.

Filed Under: Ebooks, Hardware Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Makings of Maker Spaces, Part 3: A Fabulous Home for Cocreation

By Lauren Britton & Sue Considine on October 1, 2012

Over the past year , the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL) has enjoyed the successful rollout of its Fabulous Laboratory (Fab Lab), a Maker space that resulted from the library’s commitment to community engagement and innovation. During this time, the library’s staff have been honored to speak about the Fab Lab and to explain not only its success but also the variety of challenges and assumptions that most libraries will face when developing a similar space.

Filed Under: Featured, Hardware, Information Technology, Media, Public Services Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Makings of Maker Spaces, Part 2: Espress Yourself

By Jennifer Koerber on October 1, 2012

Over the past 40 years, public libraries have followed popular culture through the ever-more-abstract artifacts of the digital age, offering music and video in every format, public computers for Internet access, online branches, and downloadable content. Now, some libraries are following Maker culture back to things we can hold in our hands.

Filed Under: Featured, Hardware, Media, Public Services Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Makings of Maker Spaces, Part 1: Space for Creation, Not Just Consumption

By Lauren Britton on October 1, 2012

Maker spaces in libraries are the latest step in the evolving debate over what public libraries’ core mission is or should be. From collecting in an era of scarce resources to curation in an era of overabundant ones, some libraries are moving to incorporate cocreation: providing the tools to help patrons produce their own works of art or information and sometimes also collecting the results to share with other members of the ­community.

Filed Under: Digital Libraries, Featured, Hardware, Public Services Tagged With: , , , , ,

Helping Users Help Themselves with Self-Service Technologies | Product Watch

By on September 10, 2012

With many libraries facing the squeeze of rising usage and flat or declining funding, self-service technologies have become more of a necessity. Librarians who discussed these technologies with LJ said that self-service options generally improve service overall. With these tools in place, staff have more time to answer questions and assist patrons.

Filed Under: Ebooks, Featured, Hardware, Information Technology, Public Services Tagged With: , , ,

Robkin Resigns From Bibliotheca, Coalla To Replace

By on August 23, 2012

Library technology solutions provider Bibliotheca has announced that Al Coalla, formerly North American sales director, will assume the role of president of the company’s North American divisions beginning October 1. Coalla will be responsible for Bibliotheca’s operations throughout the Americas region, taking the reins from Shai Robkin, who has requested to step down from his position, according to the announcement.

Filed Under: Ebooks, Hardware, Organization and Staffing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Navy Makes Progress On Non-Web-Based Ebook Library

By on August 22, 2012

The U.S. Navy General Library Program (NGLP) is hoping to have a pilot test for an expandable, non-web-based ebook lending library platform ready within a year, ultimately developing a system that will allow on-ship libraries to loan ebooks in areas with limited Internet access, and for libraries on smaller surface ships and submarines to store […]

Filed Under: Acquisition and Fulfillment, Ebooks, Featured, Hardware Tagged With: , ,

The Role of a New Machine

By on July 25, 2012

My five-year-old laptop (would I kid about this?) is due to be replaced soon, so it has me thinking about old and new machines. My first (personal, not work) computer was, believe it or not, a laptop. It was an Apple Powerbook 145 I received as part of the Apple Library’s “Network Citizen Award” back […]

Filed Under: Hardware, Information Technology, Roy Tennant: Digital Libraries
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