On Libraries and New Media, powered by Library Journal and School Library Journal
Oklahoma’s Pioneer Library System (PLS) this week became the first library in the U.S. to debut Envisionware’s new 24-Hour Library. Officials plan to use two new vending units to offer 24 hour pickup for reserve materials at a small new branch near a busy shopping area, and to enhance access to materials in another location near a community center and a middle school.
LJ Columnists Barbara Fister and Michael Stephens discussed improving student understanding of how information is created and stored, as well as ways to keep students engaged with MOOCs during their presentations for The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries last week.
Last week’s “The Digital Shift” virtual event, “Reinventing Libraries,” produced by Library Journal and School Library Journal, looked at the broad spectrum of ways in which libraries are remaking themselves and rethinking their missions—and how to accomplish them—in the digital age. Throughout the day, panelists gave presentations, took questions from honing new skills, developing new ones, and thinking ahead about what assets will make a successful library—and a successful librarian—in the future.
The original developers of network technology wanted to democratize access to information, but while networks have succeeded in improving access, the ways in which governments and corporations are now gathering and using personal data has been an unfortunate consequence, argued author and computer science pioneer Jaron Lanier during a LIVE from the New York Public Library (NYPL) event on October 10.
Has the maker movement taken hold in your library yet? Starting a maker space is easier—and less costly—than you may think. Technologies such as robotics, digital video production, computer coding, and 3-D printing may garner the most attention, but traditional activities instill the same spirit of invention, collaboration, and critical thinking of the maker phenomenon.
The South Carolina State Library (SCSL) has launched the South Carolina State Agency Social Media Library, a new project that will archive all tweets, Facebook posts, and YouTube content generated by the official accounts of South Carolina’s state agencies, while simplifying public access to this social media activity via a single online portal at scsocialmedialibrary.org. The portal and the archive were developed in collaboration with ArchiveSocial, a for-profit social media archiving company based in Durham, NC.
The Kansas City Public Library, MO (KCPL) developed its new Software Lending Library, a remote desktop system that will enable patrons to “check out” and use software applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Excel on their home computers or laptops.
echnology education provider Treehouse announced Treehouse Education Library Aid, a new pricing plan that offers small or demonstrably cash-strapped libraries discounts of up to 50 percent on subscriptions to its collection of step-by-step online courses on website design, computer programming, app development for Android and iOS devices, entrepreneurship, and other topics.
The DC Public Library (DCPL) yesterday hosted the grand opening of its new Digital Commons and “Dream Lab” collaborative workspace. The new areas are designed to enhance the library system’s digital literacy efforts, while building relationships with local tech entrepreneurs.
With the continuing travels of Edward Snowden keeping the National Security Administration’s (NSA) surveillance habits in the news, the discussion during Sunday’s LITA Top Technology Trends 2013 panel at the American Library Association’s Annual Convention turned frequently to the future of privacy, and the role that libraries might play in protecting their patrons.
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