Computers in Libraries

Nurse Refresher Students Get a Hand From Handhelds

The library finished cataloging the Palms and their components for checkout in October 2004. This allowed us to track each Palm, find out how often the Palms were used, and verify who still had one checked out. I knew there would be lots of pieces and parts with the PDAs, so we created packets that included clear front pouches large enough to hold all of the materials that accompanied the Palms. To help ease the technology shock for nurses who have been out of the field for more than 5 years,...

Podcasting 101 for K-12 Librarians

The New Oxford American Dictionary chose "podcast" as its 2005 Word of the Year over "persistent vegetative state," "bird flu," "sudoku," "rootkit," and "lifehack."1 During the past 2 years, podcasting has become increasingly familiar as a method of information sharing. Because I oversee program implementation in schools across the country, and since most of these schools are working with very tight budgets, I need to find creative solutions to deliver content and professional development to ...

How to Serve Content to Pda Users On-the-Go

There are a few decisions to be made when coding Web pages for mobile users. You can leave your pages in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the standard for desktop-based Web browsers. If HTML is left in a very basic format (e.g., without tables and frames), it can be viewed fairly well on PDAs. Many Web browsers will strip down the HTML code on-the-fly by eliminating tags that don't work well on PDAs. Overall, WML (Wireless Markup Language) is a better standard for mobile devices. (Certain in...

Noted &Amp; Quoted

Prior to the LC, she worked as a school library media specialist, a media services head at a university, and a director of technical operations at a public library system. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced that first lady Laura Bush presented the 2005 National Award for Museum and Library service to three museums and three libraries at a ceremony at the White House.

Editor's Notes

Going Mobile

These days, it seems as if everyone is "going mobile," as The Who once put it. Younger people are especially reliant on their instant messaging chatter, camera phones, iPods, and portable video games. Many middle-agers have grown quite attached to their cell phones, laptops, and portable digital assistants. Younger people are especially reliant on their instant messaging chatter, camera phones, iPods, and portable video games.

Computers In Small Libraries

So Many Mobile Devices, so Little Time

Nowhere is the "build it and they will come" mentality more prevalent these days than in the mobile content space. Many for-profit organizations have moved well beyond the "should we?" phase and now find themselves buried in the "how-to" phase. Libraries are not that far behind. Unfortunately, "how-to" can be a formidable obstacle for organizations that do not enjoy the luxury of having fully staffed IT departments and unlimited budgets at their disposal. PDAs, Internet appliances, and cell p...

Accessible It

Audio Description Adds Value to Digital Images

Digital libraries, dedicated to providing and improving access to information for everyone, should be a hotbed of audio description activity. In 2004, we became curious to see if any library Weh sites or digital archives were doing anything with AD to make digital images accessible to the visually impaired. Thanks to the work of dedicated organizations around the world, audio description is now offered in selected movie theaters, videos, live theatre, and television programming, and is making...

Newsline

Swets Information Services Debuts Swetswise Searcher

Swets Information Services released SwetsWise Searcher.

Kirtas Technologies Offers Bookscan Software Packages

Kirtas Technologies now offers the BookScan Editor and the BookScan Editor Pro software packages.

Oclc Launches Nextspace, Offers New Community Site

OCLC launched NextSpace. This new magazine, which grew from the OCLC Newsletter, will analyze industry trends and technology developments as well as feature news about OCLC. According to the release, the goal is to help member libraries stay informed and make key decisions.

Sirsidynix Releases Unicorn Gl3.1 and Onestop Self-Service Station

SirsiDynix released the newest version of its Unicorn library management system. Unicorn GL3.1 includes updates to all modules and supports 13-digit ISBNs.

Ebsco Publishing Offers Two New Databases

EBSCO Publishing announced that LISTA (Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts) is available to any library, college/university, K-12 school, hospital, corporation, or other interested party at no cost.

Ex Libris Announces Release of Verde 2.0

Ex Libris announced the release of Verde 2.0, the latest version of its electronic resource management solution.

Bowker Releases Fiction Connection Online Tool

Bowker released Fiction Connection (http://www.Fiction Connection.com).

E.Vanced Solutions, Inc. Unveils New Versions of E.Vents and Room Rese.Rve

Inc. released versions 4.0 of e.vents and room rese.rve. e.vents, a program management utility, allows you to put your library's programs and events into a Web-based calendar so that patrons can sign up...

Solinet Offers Series of Disaster Preparedness Classes

SOLINET is offering a series of disaster preparedness classes in each of the IO states that constitute its region.

Palinet Launches Technology Conversations Podcast and Podcasts at Palinet

PALINET announced its Technology Conversations podcast series (http://www.palinet.org/ rss/tech-conversations).

Lockss Launches Initiative to Preserve Scholarly Content

Agroup of publishers,librarians,and learned societies launched Controlled LOCKSS (CLOCKSS), an initiative that employs the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) technology to support...

Conference On Digitizing Eu Cultural Heritage Announced

A digitization conference titled An Expedition to European Digital Cultural Heritage: Collecting, Connecting-and Conserving? will be held in Salzburg, Austria, from June...

H.W. Wilson Puts Out Wilsonweb 2.6

H.W. Wilson released WilsonWeb 2.6.

Sirsidynix Launches New Corporate Web Site

SirsiDynix launched http://www.sirsidynix.com, a new corporate Web site that brings together company information that was previously available...

Deadline Nears for Submissions for Sirsidynix Award

SirsiDynix announced that it has established the Building Better Communities Awards to recognize libraries for using new technology in innovative ways to improve their user communities.

Netlibrary Offers Pre-Selected Subject Collections, Expands Eaudiobook Program

NetLibrary, a division of OCLC, now offers pre-selected subject sets, groups of NetLibrary e-book titles that cover specific subjects. The company has created 62 different sets that cover 18 general topic areas.

Palinet Unveils a New Corporate Logo

To coincide with its 70ch anniversary, PALINET unveiled its new corporate logo.

Online Treasures

What's in Their Pockets? Mobile Electronics

While I am not at all sure that converting text materials to brief text messages is the type of service that libraries will want to offer, there are other ways to use text messaging via cell phones. One use is to inform patrons of the availability of requested materials or to remind them of overdue items. Recognizing the popularity of text messaging among young people, Dot Mobile, a mobile phone company marketed specifically to students in the U.K., has announced plans to offer condensed vers...

Books To Check Out

Iti Offers the Librarian's Internet Survival Guide, Second Edition

Information Today, Inc. (ITI) published The Librarian's Internet Survival Guide, second Edition (ISBN: I57387-235-0, 328 pp., $29.50) by Irene McDermott.

Neal-Schuman Releases Copyright Guide and a Guide to Winning Library Grants

The company also released Grants for Libraries: A How-To-Do-It Manual (ISBN: 1-55570-535-9,525 pp., $99.95) by Stephanie K. Gerding and Pamela H. MacKellar. In this book, Gerding and MacKellar guide you through the grant process cycle, from discovering and designing projects to creating and submitting the proposal to securing funding. They outline the important components of an application, including the cover letter, budget, proposal summary, and more. Lipinski also includes discussions on t...

Haworth Press Publishes Two New Titles for Libraries

Haworth Press published Portals and Libraries (hardcover ISBN: 0-7890-2931 -6,228 pp. with index, $49.95; softcover ISBN: 0-7890-2932-4,228 pp. with index, $29.95), edited by Sarah C. Michalak. This book reviews library portals from their beginnings to their current states and looks at assorted products, their implementation issues, and their advantages and shortcomings. The text contains screen shots, figures, and references. Portals and Libraries, edited by Sarah C. Michalak, and Integratin...

Tech Tips For Every Librarian

Im=Faster Virtual Reference On the Cheap!

E is for Easy. In the case of IM, "easy" simply means making it easy for our users to find us and ask questions. Surveys such as the Pew report on IM use and OCLC's recent Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources offer evidence that people, especially young people, are using IM every day. Pew reported that 12 percent of U.S. adults use IM on a typical day and about 80 percent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 use IM at least occasionally. Many libraries (check out the gr...

Systems Librarian

How We Funneled Searchers From Google to Our Collections by Catering to Web Crawlers

It's fascinating to see what kinds of words bring traffic into these sites. The regular TV News site tends to match only words related to "television," "news," and "Vanderbilt." With the OpenWeb site, almost anything can drive folks in. The user typed "television news search," which is typical of what we found when we did an extensive analysis of the Web logs. "Vanderbilt university," "tv news," "tv archive," and "television news" are other common search terms.