Queensland public library news

Social Media Metrics

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:33 +1100

By David Stuart

Social media has been adopted by every type of library in recent years, from small special libraries to large national ones. Many now host blogs and wikis, are members of numerous social network sites, and even participate in virtual worlds. These sites and technologies offer new ways for library staff and users to communicate and collaborate. However, with so many different technologies and sites available—and with more emerging all the time—it is important that librarians develop methods for measuring the use and effectiveness of the technologies so that time is not wasted and the implementations are justifiable to upper management.

Source: Information Today, 3 November 2009

Libraries: a copyright guide

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:01:49 +1100

A completely new and up-to-date practical guide for people working in libraries and archives in the non-profit, government and corporate sectors. The information in our previous and very popular publication B110 Libraries & copyright will be thoroughly revised and updated, with details about section 200AB (the flexible dealing, or special case exception) and information on how copyright applies in corporate libraries. $40 (including GST and delivery in Australia)

Source: Australian Copyright Council, November 2009

Hold the phone, reality is calling

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:26 +1100

By Gordon Farrer

Welcome to augmented reality, the digital revolution that integrates location and data. I'm standing at the corner of King and La Trobe streets in central Melbourne, facing the Flagstaff Gardens across the road. I've been here many times but today I'm looking at the gardens in a new way — through my phone. When I point the phone's camera at the gardens, a flotilla of text bubbles pops up and bobs across the screen. Point the camera in a new direction and some bubbles drift out of view as new ones drift in.

Source: Brisbanetimes, 3 November 2009

The Future of Reading

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:59:26 +1100

By Tom Peters

The future of reading is very much in doubt. In this century, reading could soar to new heights or crash and burn. Some educators and librarians fear that sustained reading for learning, for work, and for pleasure may be slowly dying out as a widespread social practice. Only at living history farms will we see people reading. For decades the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has been studying the reading habits of adult Americans, issuing a series of reports with rousingly alliterative titles such as “Reading at Risk” (July 2004) and “Reading on the Rise” (January 2009). Sometime in the 21st century, the NEA may need to issue the sobering final report in the series, “Reading, Rest in Peace.”

Source: Library Journal, 1 November 2009

The Library 101 Project Is Live Now!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:58:07 +1100

Have you seen it? Have you heard the song and seen the music video? Have you read any of the 23 essays from some of the greatest minds in Libraryland (and David King and I too;)? Have you looked at the carefully selected list of 101 hyperlinked resources that share critically important things to think about and know in order to ensure a vibrant future for libraries, even as technology changes the information access and community landscapes?

Source: LISNews, 2 November 2009

November Links

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:57:22 +1100

The November edition of the new-look Links newsletter is now available. Links is a newsletter providing updates, highlights, general information and assistance to public library staff within CLS, IKC and Independent libraries. Links will still be released each month and we still welcome your input. We want to hear your stories, your tips, see your photos. Please send your articles and photos to the Public Library Services email pls@slq.qld.gov.au by the 5th of each month to be included in the next issue.

Source: State Library of Queensland, 5 November 2009

Enter the realm of the m-book!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:42:37 +1100

By Jane Sullivan

Once upon a mobile phone ... The Age's Jane Sullivan talks with Marieke Hardy, who has written 'what she believes is Australia's first m-fiction, a story sent out in episodes to mobile phones'.
People register to read her 20-part serial over four weeks. At first, when approached by The Age, Hardy was reluctant to do it. ''I haven't written fiction for a long time. I tend to run scared from a lot of fiction; I feel I write like whoever I'm reading.'' It was a challenge to write a story where each episode was no longer than 350 words. The inspiration for the m-book is the huge success of mobile phone novels in Japan, where millions of youth devour racy romance stories.

Source: TheAge.com.au, 10 October 2009

YouMedia @ Chicago Public Library

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:32:35 +1100

A new digital media space designed to give Chicago teens another resource for learning has been unveiled by the Chicago public library. The project aims to connect young adults with books, electronic media and learning institutions from around the city in a single dynamic space. YouMedia @ CPL is an innovative, 21st Century learning space, housed inside the Harold Washington Library, the main branch in Chicago's Public Library system. YouMedia @ CPL was designed to inspire collaboration and creativity by connecting young adults, books, media and institutions from around the city in one dynamic space.

Source: Chicago Public Library, 2009

Positions vacant

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:32:22 +1100

Branch Librarians – Gold Coast City Council

Gold Coast City Council's Library Service is seeking enthusiastic professional librarians looking for new challenges and a passion to work in a dynamic library service that is the second largest in Australia. The successful candidates will be motivated leaders with significant experience at a senior level and have the ability to develop a highly skilled team to deliver excellent customer service.

Source: Gold Coast City Council, October 2009

It’s a Video! It’s a Book! It’s a Vook

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:32:10 +1100

By Nancy Davis Kho

The march of the digital eReaders continues, and the pace is only expected to quicken. As prices of devices like the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle are lowered, content added, and features improved, analysts see consumer acceptance of eReaders increasing at a faster-than-expected pace. The newest digital reading option entering the fray is the Vook, a video/book hybrid launched on October 1st . Simon & Schuster Vook (http://www.vook.com) to publish four titles exclusively via Vook's newly launched digital book platform, which combines text and video into a single, integrated "viewing experience."

Source: Information Today, 13 October 2009

Kindle opens a new chapter in publishing

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:31:56 +1100

By Dan Kaufman

The Kindle is now available in Australia but buying e-books here may still be problematic. After years of speculation, Amazon is releasing the Kindle, its hand-held device that lets people read e-books, in Australia. Orders can be placed now on Amazon's website and Kindles will apparently be shipped from October 19. But before you hand over the cash, you might want to consider a few issues. The first is the question of which books will be available on it for Australians. The chief executive of the Australian Booksellers Association, Malcolm Neil, is sceptical about the quantity of books that can be legally downloaded. Another issue is file formats, which might sound boring but can restrict what you read further. Dymocks sells books in the Adobe PDF format while other publishers around the world are increasingly supporting the ePub format.

Source: Brisbanetimes.com.au, 13 October 2009

The Dewey Dilemma (continued)

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:31:44 +1100

By Barbara Fister

In 2007 the new Perry Branch Library (Gilbert,Arizona) opened with nonfiction books shelved using a system adapted from the book industry, BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications). Unlike Dewey, which categorizes related knowledge systematically, BISAC is an alphabetical list of categories ranging from Antiques and Collectibles to True Crime. According to staff the goal of having a BISAC-based scheme is to put customers at ease and help them become more self-sufficient and comfortable using the library. The issue isn't if BISAC is superior to Dewey, rather it's about the user's experience. While some librarians feel BISAC's relative simplicity and user-friendly language have an advantage over Dewey's complexity, the debate continues...

Source: The Library Journal, 1 October 2009

English Public Libraries ‘woefully' lacking leadership, says report

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:31:31 +1100

By Benedicte Page

The English Public Library Sector is "woefully" lacking in leadership and a new Library Development Agency for England is needed to articulate a national vision, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Libraries has said in a report published 2nd October 2009. The report says that a series of "relatively simple and small central policy changes" could create a "dramatic" improvement in the quality of services delivered by public libraries, which show a "deep chasm" between the best and the worst. The report also recommends changes to the Advisory Council for Libraries, suggesting that its role, membership and business programme be reviewed. The All Party report is the first of three much-anticipated library reviews due this month.

Source: Bookseller.com, 13 October 2009

Hilary Mantel wins Booker Prize

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:36:01 +1100

Denver Bans Patron over Bedbug Infestation

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:27:01 +1100

Sony Store to Offer Ebook Self-Publishing Tool

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:26:17 +1100

Latest Position vacant

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:25:36 +1100

Hot mail: stolen email passwords appear online

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:25:26 +1100

Conference for Librarians and Teachers

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:42:29 +1100

2010 Somerset International Conference for Librarians and Teachers
A two day international academic event with presentations and workshops addressing contemporary issues related to reading, writing, researching and librarianship. Conference registrations now open.
Source: Somerset College, 5 October 2009

Please Translate That for Me

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:37:15 +1100

By Paula J. Hayne

Google recently added nine new languages to Google Translate (http://translate.google.com): Afrikaans, Belarusian, Icelandic, Irish, Macedonian, Malay, Swahili, Welsh, and Yiddish. Google Translate now supports 51 languages and 2,550 language pairs-including all 23 official EU languages. Google isn't the only search provider that offers a translation service. Microsoft's Bing web search will show a "Translate this page" message next to a result that is presented in a different language from the default when it can offer a translation. Microsoft also offers Bing Translator (www.microsofttranslator.com), which provides text and website translation, a bilingual viewer, language auto-detect, website widgets for translation capabilities, and a translator button in the optional toolbar. The Yahoo! Toolbar includes the optional Babel Fish Translation tool (http://babelfish.yahoo.com), which also uses machine translation technology to translate sentences presented in one language into another.
Source: ITI Newslink, 3 September 2009