By Daniel A. Freeman | Update: During Part I of the Integrating iPads and Tablets into Library Services workshops, Catawba College Librarian Keith Engwall volunteered to share his “Getting Started with the iPad2” help document, and many of you responded enthusiastically. Thanks to Keith’s generosity, this document is now available for you to view—it’s embedded below. Be sure to join us this Thursday as we answer more of your questions, explore more practical applications of tablets in libraries, and look in-depth at some amazing apps!
ALA TechSource Blog
By Kate Sheehan | I’ve got robots on the brain lately. Slate.com ran an interesting series about robots replacing even highly educated knowledge workers. No sooner did I finish the last piece (about robots replacing scientists) than I picked up the September 15 issue of Library Journal, featuring a library robot on the cover. Clearly, the robots are coming.
By Jason Griffey | That explosion you heard today? That was the sound of a thousand heads hitting a thousand desks over at Barnes & Noble HQ today as Amazon pulled the rug out of B&N’s temporary lead in eBook technology. For the last year Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color has stood alone on the tablet eReader front, and their more-recently announced Nook Touch was at the top of the technological heap of eInk devices. Amazon has always had the better ecosystem for eBooks, as well as a better catalog of books.
By Daniel A. Freeman | We just wrapped up the ALA TechSource Workshop Creating Subject Guides for the 21st-Century Library with Buffy Hamilton. We had some fantastic discussion during this event, and because the session was so jam-packed with content, Buffy wasn’t able to answer all of the great questions participants had. Below are some questions for continued discussion. Buffy will be responding in the comments--whether you attended or not, feel free to join the conversation! Questions
By Michelle Boule | Recently, I reached an intersection of a few marginally related things that made me think about how important books, information, and libraries are to the inspiration of culture, education, and technology.
By Patrick Hogan | Boopsie will debut a Spanish language version of its mobile app at the REFORMA conference starting today in Denver,CO. Boopsie apps are available in all languages using the Latin alphabet. Customers are responsible for content translation. REFORMA chapters are available to assist libraries with Spanish language services. See the REFORMA website for a list of chapters. http://www.reforma.org
By Daniel A. Freeman | We just wrapped up the second session of the ALA TechSource Workshop Using Google Apps for a More Efficient Library with Suzann Hollland. Whether you attended or not, feel free to join the discussion in the comments area! The Preliminary Readings from Today’s Event
By Patrick Hogan | Are you attending Buffy Hamilton’s September 20th Workshop Creating Subject Guides for the 21st-Century Library? Give some time to her preliminary readings. Even if you haven’t registered for the workshop, this list is worth a read for anybody who creates subject guides.
By Daniel A. Freeman | We just wrapped up the first session of the ALA TechSource Workshop Using Google Apps for a More Efficient Library with Suzann Hollland. Whether you attended or not, feel free to join the discussion in the comments area! The Preliminary Readings from Today’s Event
By Kate Sheehan | I am entirely unqualified to comment on San Diego’s restaurant scene. But I spent several days there prior to ALA Midwinter 2011. Fortunately, I had locals to show me around, but it was in San Diego that I really started to doubt Yelp. Like a lot of online-types, I often rely on Yelp to find decent restaurants, though I usually keep a few salt crystals on hand when I skim through the reviews.