Since the beginning of 2013, four major library vendors have announced the launch of new or expanded streaming services that will enable patrons to view movies and television shows at their library or at home using computers, tablets, smart TVs, or any device equipped with a web browser.
See the full article: More Vendors Help Libraries Stream Video | The Digital Shift.
As a beta tester for OverDrive, SAPL will be experimenting with an installation of the company’s new OverDrive Media Station (OMS) interface on a ruggedized kiosk that could be deployed in public areas outside of a library.
SAPL will be featuring the OMS interface on a Zivelo M32 Floor Display, a pedestal-mounted kiosk made with an aircraft-grade aluminum enclosure. With swipes and taps that will be intuitive for anyone who has used a tablet or smartphone, patrons can navigate the OMS interface to explore a library’s collection of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and videos, and easily read or listen to samples, place holds, or have an available ebook sent to their tablet, e-reader, or smartphone.
See the full article: SAPL To Debut Digital Commons, Test “Public Proof” OverDrive Kiosk | The Digital Shift.
Library web hosting provider LISHost this month launched Library CMS, a modular, Drupal-based content management system template tailored to the needs of library websites. The move follows the March debut of Prefab, a WordPress-based CMS template designed for libraries by user experience (UX) consultancy Influx. Both are offered in conjunction with web hosting and are positioned as affordable, comprehensive website redesign services for individual libraries and small systems.
See the full article: Two New Services Offer Ready-to-Launch Websites for Libraries | The Digital Shift.
Libraries are moving toward a green and sustainable model for their library architecture, interior design, and energy consumption. They are keeping the future in mind and taking action to protect the environment through the greening of their buildings.
See the full post: A Quick Guide to Green Libraries | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org.
On July 30, ALA President Barbara Stripling unveiled the “Declaration for the Right to Libraries” during a signing ceremony at Nashville (Tenn.) Public Library. The Declaration is the cornerstone document of Stripling’s presidential initiative, “Libraries Change Lives,” which is designed to build the public will and sustain support for America’s right to libraries of all types—academic, special, school, and public. Stripling’s initiative will focus on transformative library practices in literacy, innovation, and community engagement.
via Declaration for the Right to Libraries | American Libraries Magazine.
Vine is a new social video application that will let you create and share short and sweet 6-second videos that loop. This exciting free app is available for both iOS and Android devices. And libraries have already begun adopting this popular new format. If you’re wondering what can be accomplished in a 6-second video, here are some ideas for ways libraries can use Vine videos…15 Cool Ways Libraries Can Use Vine to Create Social Videos – OEDB.org.
I’m posting this but its not really new ‘news’ for libraries.
See the full article: Amazon vs. your public library | Fortune Tech.
Could Amazon (AMZN), tech’s behemoth retailer, really be threatened by the neighborhood library — a centuries-old institution known for musty shelves, high school cram sessions, and “Shhhhhh. Quiet please?” The answer is complex. Much hinges on whether libraries and publishers can iron out differences that have limited the selection of e-books available for lending.
Read the full story at the link below. The author’s story underscores the importance of libraries not just to the average person but those with disabilities, health issues and unique needs.
In April 2013 the genetic condition I suffer from, Ehlers Danlos type III, rendered me immobile. Unable to type, read, watch television, or work, I quickly exhausted my dwindling freelance earnings on spoken word stories. After several weeks of intensive physiotherapy I was allowed to add a gentle stroll to my day. Bored, in pain and lonely, I headed back to the library.
When I saw the aisles full of spoken word CDs, I nearly wept. The man at the information desk assured me I could also order any specific disc I wanted. Having been trapped in my home with little human interaction, chatting with staff about the books was a balm. Embarrassingly, I had to ask how to use the electronic checking-out system. I then had to be issued with a new library card: my original, solidarity-inspired one had never been activated. Shakespeare’s words rang through my head: “O, I have ta’en Too little care of this!’ But the library and its team weren’t concerned by my absence. There was no judgment. I was always welcome.
Digital books and other texts are increasingly coming under the control of distributors and other gatekeepers rather than readers and libraries. Though you can read a book through, say, Google Books, or on a Nook or Kindle, it’s laborious to save what you see to your computer and truly make the book your own. With cloud-based services, one “master” copy of the book is always online, but that makes it vulnerable to manipulation or even deletion.
Quotable: “To meet these challenges, libraries should be given an opportunity to escrow copies of publicly available but still all-too-controllable texts. They can compare their own banked copies with what’s currently on offer to the public, looking for changes to the integrity of texts.”
See the full article: Jonathan Zittrain: ‘Digital books are under the control of distributors rather than readers’ (Wired UK).
infophile 