RISG New Technologies

Guardian technology

2012-10-02T15:17:00.000+10:00

The Guardian has an excellent technology seaction. You can check this site for updates, follow an rss feed, listen to weekly technology podcasts, follow on twitter, follow a group of Guardian technology tweeters or follow The Guardian technology blog. The Guardian technology page is a great starting point for lots of amazing technology related discovery. How can some of these tools be used in your library?

boing boing

2012-09-04T15:12:00.000+10:00

boing boing may seem an unusal suggestion for a technology realted blog, but it is an excellent blog to keep an eye on. There are lots of amazing ideas being brought together, some are about cutting edge technology, and others are abotu cutting edge ideas. There are lots of ways you can follow the boing biong information stream. Use the one which works best for you.

What sources do you use to keep up to date with new ideas?

2012-08-07T11:44:00.000+10:00

How do you keep yourself informed about new technology? Do you have your favourite sources/sites?

Please share them via a comment on this blog.

ALIA Biennial conference

2012-07-03T11:36:00.000+10:00

The ALIA Biennial conference is on this month, and the theme is discovery. You might not be able to get to the conference, but you can follow the conference on twitter #alia2012, and through other social media as well. Make sure you participate in the discussion, to help other people in their discovery.

Don't forget we can learn from museums

2012-06-07T11:34:00.000+10:00

Museum 2.0 is blog which explores connecting people to museums. There are very similar issues to connecting people to libraries. Have a look at this blog and see what you think.

What's next : top trends

2012-05-09T11:27:00.000+10:00

What's next : top trends is the blog of Richard Watson (The bookend scenarios). If you follow this blog you will be exposed to a lot of ideas and interesting musings.

Escape into a world beyond imaging ... and stay awhile

2012-05-01T09:30:00.001+10:00

image courtesy of Ether Wave Propoganda

2012 is the National Year of Reading and the #nyr12 theme for May is 'escape'.
In light of new technologies this idea can be a two-edged sword. On the one hand we often find ourselves willingly escaping from the tasks at hand in order to explore the ideas and applications which an emerging technology or tool can provide us. On the other hand we often feel the need to escape from the everyday in order to fully explore the work applications of that very same technology or tool. Sometimes this escape can be fraught with complications and hurdles (though hopefully not ones as painful as barbed wire), but the benefits of taking the time to play can also be invaluable and rewarding, and well worth both the challenge and the risk.

So this month, what will you be escaping into as you explore the new and wonderful around you? What new technology have you been itching to mess around with? This is certainly the month to take that leap and escape.

(perhaps you will take time out and escape to this month's annual Reference @ the Metcalfe seminar)

The Rise of e-Reading

2012-04-11T12:21:00.000+10:00

A number of interesting statistics have been published in a recently released report by Pew Internet, The rise of e-reading. In the light of this study libraries may find it more confusing than ever to work out what position to take on e-books.

21% or 1 in 5 Americans have read an e-book in the past year
This figure is growing, indeed a marked increase was observed from pre-christmas to the post gift giving season. We have certainly seen the impact of e-readers given as presents in my library. It is adding complexity to our work as librarians as many of the new owners of these devices don't have a clear understanding of the technological restrictions that result from different devices, formats and rights management.

Book readers prefer to buy rather than borrow
Both print readers and e-book readers preferred to buy rather than borrow their books, although the percentage was higher in e-book readers. I believe that this may well be a result of the the lack of e-book content available to borrow through libraries. Only 12% of respondents indicated they started their search for an e-book they want to read at the library.

The availability of e-content is an issue to some
23% of people in the study say they find the material they are seeking “only sometimes,” “hardly ever,” or never available in the format they want. That includes being able to buy the books they want. If that question was directed at how much content was available to borrow from their library I suspect the proportion of people who rated availability would be much higher.

Even worse, if the recent developments between Overdrive and some of the major publishers (HarperCollins & Penguin) are any sort of indication, it appears the outlook for e-book content available to libraries is grim.

So it seems to me that the rise of e-reading is going to continue, but in the short term at least, the ability for libraries to support that demand is in decline. In time I believe that this conflict will be resolved and libraries will be in the business of lending content for e-reading but it may be a bumpy ride over the next 10 years.

So, how do you feel now?

2012-04-10T16:10:00.000+10:00

image courtesy of Innovative Insights

This being the National Year of Reading (and April having the #nyr12 theme of "feel') it seems appropriate to consider new and emerging technologies in light of how they make you feel.

Consider how and why you explore some of these new ideas and tools... is it curiosity? A disgruntled fascination in why something simply doesn't work and surely it should and you simply won't quit until you work out how the darn thing does work?
Is it that "oooh, pretty!" moment that distracts you from the task in hand as you go off exploring that new idea, tool, device, whatever? Is it the tactile element of the thing, the way it feels in your hand, the way the screen is arranged, the soothing sounds it makes?
Is it the way your mind reacts to the possibilities and potential that this new amazing technology provides? The way your brain feels as it considers the import of this amazing new idea?

What new technologies and/or tools have you found yourself exploring simply because of how it has made you feel?

Strange maps by Big think

2012-04-04T11:24:00.000+10:00

Stange maps by Big think is a really fun site and basically the name says it all - have a look at it.

Ways that your Library can Help the World - Part 1

2012-03-09T11:10:00.001+11:00

opengeocoder.net is an open source project to geocode the world, initiated by the same folks that brought you the Open Street Map.

In a nutshell, the idea is that you can search for a location (say a suburb, LGA or precinct) and return coordinates (a latitude/longitude bounding box) for that location. If no match is found, you are prompted to define the location by dragging a rectangle over the area on a map.

Being an open source project, anyone can contribute new locations to the database. There is, however, scant coverage of Australia at the moment so most query result in no matches. By contributing location data for your local area you could help the world by building a geolocation data set.

If it takes off it could potentially make it much easier to translate text labels to actual location data, improving location based services on the web and mobile phones.'

There's no reason to think it won't be a success. The Open Street Map has gained a lot of traction as a source of mapping data in the web due to its open source nature. This is especially true since Google recently announced fees for high volume use of its Google Maps API. Indeed, a few larger web companies have now made the switch to Open Street Map for their maps.

Maybe it's even something you could encourage your community to become involved in?

Ideas festival

2012-03-02T11:18:00.000+11:00

I follow the Ideas festival because there are so many amazing ideas flowing through this site - lots of amazing people sharing lots of incredible ideas. It is a perfect site to mention for #nyr12 and #think (which is the theme for March).

Gizmodo

2012-02-15T11:15:00.000+11:00

Gizmodo is not afraid of quirky (or even strange) and is another great site for keeping up with ideas on new technology (and being reminded about a bunch of older tools tool). You can explore gadgets, mobile, online and so much more,

CollectionHQ

2012-02-14T11:16:00.000+11:00

Last week I attended VALA in Melbourne and was lucky enough to attend the off-site launch of CollectionHQ.

CollectionHQ is an evidence based subscription tool for analysing your library's collection in order to make the best possible decisions about its development. It utilises the information which already exists in the LMS and raises it to the surface in defined ways which then enable comprehensive and relevant analysis of the library collection. As the person responsible for developing the collection at my library, my attraction to this product is simple - I want it.

CollectionHQ is currently used by over 50% of UK libraries, 120 US/Canada libraries (including Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library), and prior to the Australian/New Zealand launch of the product on February 8th had already been subscribed to by two Australian libraries (Brisbane City & Sunshine Coast) and four New Zealand libraries (Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Wellington).

CollectionHQ provides a set of tools for selection, management, and promotion. The selection tool allows you to build spending plans, monitor your application of the plan, and discover how you compare to similar (anonymous) libraries. The management tool builds mechanisms for maintaining the collection (what's missing/lost?), remove stock (because it's missing, lost or 'grubby'), and refresh the collection (what do your patrons really want?). The promotion tool the helps you to develop campaigns, experiment with a series of what if? scenarios, and chart your success/failures.

It may seem that this is something we already do - but I doubt we do it as well or as efficiently as CollectionHQ allows for. To find a product that with provides such a valuable ROI like this and thus allows for my time to be better and more efficiently spent is quite exciting. Trust me, I'd much rather be actively developing the collection than spending hours if not days poring over spreadsheets and looking for relationships. CollectionHQ tells me what I need to know.

Sold yet?

What have you learned lately?

2012-01-31T09:30:00.001+11:00

With delightful regularity the team at the State Library of NSW keep library staff across the state up-to-date with new developments through the Public Library Services blog.

The helpful categories on the right side menu make it easy to find a post on an area you may be interested in.

What have you learned from the PLS blog that has helped you provide Reference & Information Services in your library? What new technology have you explored as a result of reading the regular posts?

Techcrunch

2012-01-30T11:12:00.000+11:00

Techcrunch is a very useful blog to follow to find out about new technologies, ones already available as well as ones at the planning stage.

There are lots of ways you can connect with Techcrunch, so choose the method/s which will work best for you.

What new technology have you recently discovered?

2012-01-25T10:25:00.001+11:00

Sometimes discovering a 'new' technology is not so much about exploring something that's just been released and is brand spanking new but finding a tool that suddenly makes sense and works for you, one that you haven't discovered before.
Lately for me, that tool has been Storify. I've heard about it for quite a while but it wasn't until I started messing about with it that I really fell in love with this great story-telling tool. It has immeasurable possibilities for use in libraries.

Storify allows you to pull together various social media to create a story. I've used it to pull together the tweets from the Biblio Turismo ride I was on last year. I've also used it to pull together Facebook expressions-of-support from the community for my place of work. I can certainly see its value in creating a social history from a local history perspective. I've also created a Storify for the ALIA Biennial conference in July and one for my very own personal log of my year of reading (both are works in progress).

The thing I like best about Storify though is that it's fun and entirely dependent on my imagination and my skills (which have certainly grown as I developed a work-around for the fact that Facebook posts from a library page were a little tricky to try and bring across). I also like the idea that even though I can create and publish a story, that doesn't mean that's the end. I can go back and update and edit it until I am completely finished - ie, the ALIA Biennial conference is over & the National Year of Reading is finished.

So, what 'new' technology have you recently discovered?

Read write web

2012-01-20T09:13:00.000+11:00

Read write web is a very useful blog to follow for finding out about different new technologies and it is a good starting point for thinking about how these tools may be able to be used at your library. You can subscribe to updates from this site in numerous ways. You might even like to experiment and see which works best for you (or which you are most likely to read).

One of today's headlines says "Google+ Has 54 Million Daily Active Users, 90 Million Total" Have you tried out Google+?

Amazon Kindle to allow lending of eBooks

2010-11-18T12:55:00.005+11:00

An interesting post on the Amazon Kindle Community Blog suggests that Kindle Owners will soon be able to loan some of their titles (dependent on publishers) to other individuals.

This would appear to be aimed at general users and not public libraries.

What is new?

2010-11-17T16:22:00.002+11:00

When exploring new technologies it is important to keep thinking about new ways of using older technologies, or different ways of using them.

In a completely non-library context it has been found that playing tetris can reduce some elements of post traumatic stress disorder and that bacteria can do suduko. Neither of these may immediately present a library application, but who knows where these ideas will lead in the future. Maybe there is a library application waiting to emerge.

When looking at new technologies or new uses of existing technologies you should be thinking creatively about what may be possible. Don't self edit the ideas too early.

Augmented reality seems to have really exciting opportunities for libraries, however people are not thinking about this in big enough terms. We need to be able to bring images, sounds and videos from many collections together, so that the reality really can be augmented.

What technologies would you like to see occur? What technologies which already exist would you like to see being used in a library context?

Google acquires Metaweb - another step towards semantic search

2010-08-17T08:50:00.003+10:00

An interesting post on federatedsearchblog.com
discusses Googles acquisition of Metaweb. The aim is to use the Metaweb open data platform Freebase to improve Googles search capabilities. Another step towards the semantic web!

Take a look at the below video for an overview of Metaweb.

New URL for RISG New Technologies

2010-04-11T01:00:00.000+10:00

As a result of Blogger's decision to cease support for publishing blogs via FTP we have had to change the URL for the RISG blogs.

This blog is now located at http://risg-newtech.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/RisgNewTechnologies

The End of the Publishing Industry?

2010-03-19T09:22:00.000+11:00

This video is a very clever look at the changes impacting the publishing industry with the rise of e-books and other developments. It is, however, just as relevant to libraries.

Watch it all though...

Trove Plans to Expand Coverage to Electronic Resources

2010-03-01T13:19:00.000+11:00

The plan to expand the Trove service to encompass Electronic Resources caught my eye in the recent Electronic Resources Australia newsletter.

The National Library is planning an expansion of Trove in the second half of 2010, to encompass journal articles and licensed e-resources. This expansion will be supported through collaboration with e-resource vendors. The National Library has issued a discussion paper dealing with the user authentication aspects of this expansion.
NLA Labs Wiki

Basically, they want to work with database vendors to aggregate their holdings into the Trove service. When a user locates an article of interest they hope to implement seamless authentication to the article content. To make it work people will need to register with Trove and provide their library affiliations as part of their Trove profile. Libraries will also need to provide a list of resources their members have access to.

This could have interesting possibilities and ramifications in terms of managing online databases.

Changes in the Library Management System Landscape

2009-11-24T20:38:00.000+11:00

Are we about to see major changes in the way Library Management Systems work?

I've been a bit more interested in the developments around the traditional ILS lately. With the probable demise of Horizon from SirsiDynix there are many libraries who will be looking for a new system and/or supplier over the next little while, MPOW included. And from what I'm reading and hearing, there could be a great deal more variety in the market in coming years.

There seem to be a number of themes emerging, such as:

The rise of Open Source alternatives such as Koha and Evergreen, and the associated challenges that Open Source presents for libraries and commercial vendors.
Exciting developments in the way an ILS works, typified by the Open Library Environment (OLE) project. Especially the restructuring of the ILS using the principles of Service Oriented Architecture and Web Services.
Vendors offering the ILS as a hosted service (SAAS) and the intention of the OCLC in the US to enter the ILS market with a cloud based product.
Libraries implementing discovery layer products as a replacement for their vendor supplied OPAC. Especially those products that have been developed from the ground up to take advantage of social data typical of Web 2.0 such as Bibliocommons and SOPAC 2.0.

One of the best resources I have discovered for making sense of all this is the Library 2.0 Gang podcast. Over the last few months they have discussed most of these issues. They make some complex stuff fairly accessible. If you're interested I can highly recommend taking a listed to some or all of the following (in order):

Happy listening!