Tech Tools Infoblitz

Gretchen Rings, Univ of Chicago; Emily Clasper, Suffolk Coop. Library Sys; Michelle Zaffino, In the Stacks; Philip Gunderson, San Diego PL

Launching a Mobile Hotspot Lending Program @ Your Library — Oak Public Library — Gretchen Rings

  • Disclaimer at beginning: Wildly successful program but its being discontinued due to circumstances beyond their control; Mobile Beacon nonprofit and issues there. #stopSprint
  • Experimental Budget money –> Li-Fi: Your Library’s Mobile Hotspot: scope, partnerships, budgets, branding discovery, deployment
  • What is a mobile hotspot? “Clever little boxes” that provide Mobile broadband wireless Internet; connects wi-fi enabled device to a 4G mobile high-speed network; small, portable; easy to use; connects up to eight devices. Great for traveling.
  • TechSoup for Libraries project — how library found about Mobile Beacon — a nonprofit to providing affordable, mobile, high-speed Interent access to other nonprofits so they can better carry out their missions ($10/ month (prepaid, $120 per year), unlimited 4G data plans… Device was $45 + the subscription
  • Arstechnica article about lawsuit situation

Tech Tools InfoBlitz: Online Tools for Collaborative Projects — Emily Clasper — Slides

Criteria Continue reading “Tech Tools Infoblitz”

Re-Imagining Small and Rural Library Space

Ken Roberts Library Consulting, kroberts.ca

The Widening Gap, Large Urban Public Libraries and Small Rural Public Libraries — Final Report

“The gap bw services provided by large, urban Canadian public libraries and those offers by small, rural library systems is growing. The Panel is concerned that many of Canada’s rural public library boards may lose their ability to provide even minimal services.” -Expert Panel on the Future of Canada’s Libraries and Archives

Provential and Territorial Public Library Directors group (I think that’s what it was called)

Small Libraries Project: All Canadian Provinces & Territories, Main Issues

  • Huge land mass makes provision of bandwidth difficult
  • Thousands of very small, underfunded libraries
  • Some boards still see a Mission of lending books

Continue reading “Re-Imagining Small and Rural Library Space”

Mobile Strategies Best Practices

Tony Medrano, President & Megan Vizzini, VP of Sales, Boopsie

People Spend Most Time on Mobile Devices: 2010, 1/2 hr/day, 2015, 2.8 hrs/day

90% of users’ mobile device time spent “in apps”: native apps vs mobile websites.

  • Using whatever works better on the situation at hand.
  • Apps can be configured to meet needs; website harder.
  • Apps are targeted toward specific purpose (quick)

Are apps a trend, monthly usage? — large growth Continue reading “Mobile Strategies Best Practices”

Writing for the Web

David Lee King, Digital Services Director, Topeka & Shawnee Co PL (TSCPL), davidleeking

Not just writing — visual web; content: images, video & words; you’re paid to write, if it’s part of your job. Responsibility.

“so let’s improve our words.”

The Problems

  1. We’re not writers, like journalists are. (not market-driven writers. Librarians like explaining, details, numbered lists. Trained to write more formally, academic writing style. Narrative format.
  2. 8 seconds to grab a reader’s attention (2013 attention span study)

Continue reading “Writing for the Web”

Inspiration Architecture: The future of libraries

Peter Morville, @morville, Slides — including book titles (I want to build a book list of all of his recommendations!)

Books: Info Architecture; Ambient Finadability; Search Patterns; Intertwingled (everything is connected; from code to culture)

Intertwingled has five chapters: Nature; Categories; Connections; Culture; Limits

Peter worked on an evaluation of Library of Congress’ web presence. Very complex. Report written up; brutally honest. Compared to Winchester Mystery House: Fragmentation & Findability; report embargoed. Too sensitive.  Trickled up gradually to ex committee & brought back in, and changes made in the web presence. Didn’t go as far as he wanted to. Continue reading “Inspiration Architecture: The future of libraries”