Queensland public library news

Task Force Urges Centralization, Collaboration, and Access (vs. Acquisition)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:08:48 +1100

By Norman Oder

A Harvard University Task Force on University Libraries has released a report aimed at building a 21st-century library, knitting together the university's robust and disparate library units, collaborating with peer libraries, and emphasizing access to materials rather than acquisition. The task force makes five core recommendations including a rationalization of the systems for acquiring, accessing, and developing materials and greater collaboration with peer libraries and other institutions.

Source: Library Journal, 12 November 2009.

We are glued to our screens

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:07:33 +1100

By Melanie Christiansen and Paddy Hintz

Technology is steadily taking over our lives, with 70 per cent of Queenslanders admitting they spend at least three hours at home every day in front of some kind of screen. The average household now has nine screens, including televisions, computers, PDAs, MP3 players and mobile phones. For nearly half of all Queensland homes, that includes three or more TVs, according to a survey of 500 people done by Pure Profile Research for NRMA Insurance. Our love affair with technology means we are defying international trends. NRMA Insurance spokesman Frank Adler said most households denied their screen time was impacting on family interactions but it was now "normal" for family members to be using different forms of technology at the same time.

Source: Courier Mail, November 13, 2009.

NewspaperDirect Launches PressReader for Smartphones

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:06:45 +1100

NewspaperDirect, Inc., a provider of multichannel newspaper and magazine content distribution and monetization, has launched iPhone and BlackBerry versions of its PressReader application. The move significantly expands the audience of full-content newspapers and magazines for NewspaperDirect's publishing partners, and it lets millions of owners of the two most popular smartphones download their favorite daily read from a selection of more than 1,300 newspapers and magazines available on PressDisplay.com, an online newspaper kiosk.

Source: Information Today, 16 November 2009.

Sidewiki causes a PR headache

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:06:33 +1100

By Julian Lee

Already struggling with the mountain of blogs, forums and social networks, public relations consultants are weighing up whether a new Google tool that enables consumers to leave comments next to a brand's website is a threat or a challenge. Google Sidewiki gives a new and very transparent avenue for disgruntled customers to air their grievances against companies.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 November 2009.

Let's call an end to 'intuitive' devices

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:06:13 +1100

By Will Harvie

Tech journalists often used the word "intuitive" to describe devices and websites. Farhad Manjoo, one of the best American technology journalists, said this about Windows 7 on slate.com recently: "[It's] the fastest, most intuitive, and most useful consumer desktop operating system on the market today". He means it's easy to use, that buttons are in the obvious places and do the things he thinks they ought to do. He's saying he can make the software work instinctively or naturally.

Source: Stuff.co.nz, 17 November 2009

Latest Job vacancy (2)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:39:02 +1100

Senior Library and Information Services Advisor - Banana Shire Council. If you enjoy a challenge, and are passionate about leading and developing a dynamic Library team, then this is the role for you! You will ideally possess a Degree in Library and Information Science, and must be eligible for professional membership with ALIA. A prior history of budget development along with strong leadership skills and the ability to stimulate a high level of performance and teamwork amongst a multi disciplinary workforce are essential.

Source: Banana Shire Council, 11 November 2009.

Latest Job vacancy (1)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:38:12 +1100

Branch Librarian (Mobile located at Southport Depot) - The Gold Coast City Council library service is offering an opportunity to an enthusiastic professional librarian to manage the Mobile Library service. The successful applicant will be a motivated leader looking for new challenges and will have a passion to work in a dynamic library service that is second largest in Australia. They will have the ability to drive and operate a Mobile Library as well as have the responsibility of developing a skilled team to deliver excellent customer service to the community.

Source: Gold Coast City Council, 11 November 2009.

School chooses Kindle; are libraries for the history 'books'?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:37:34 +1100

By Greg Toppo

Cushing Academy is the very model of a modern New England boarding school, but last summer began getting rid of most of the library's books. In their placeis a fully digital collection. Library watchers say it could be the first school library, public or private, to forsake ink and paper in favor of e-books. Critics see the value — and inevitability — of increasing libraries' digital collections but say that to remove virtually all printed materials is a mistake.

Source: USA Today, 27 October, 2009.

Murdoch hints at online charging delay

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:36:29 +1100

News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch says the media group might not start charging readers this financial year to access content on the company's newspaper websites. Mr Murdoch said the goal of having users pay for content on the media company's newspaper websites by the end of this financial year may not be met. News Corp, which owns local newspapers such as The Australian, The Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph, had flagged in August plans to charge users of the group's newspaper websites.

Source: Brisbanetimes, 5 November 2009.

2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:35:27 +1100

The Prime Minister's Literary Awards celebrate the contribution of Australian literature to the nation's cultural and intellectual life. The awards, held annually, recognise literature's importance to our national identity, community and economy. A tax free prize of $100,000 is awarded to the works judged to be of the highest literary merit in each of two categories: fiction and non-fiction. 2009 Fiction winner The Boat by Nam Le. 2009 Non-Fiction winners shared by House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann by Evelyn Juers and Drawing the Global Colour Line by Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds.

Source: Dept. of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, November 2009.

Books win for authors and publishers

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:34:28 +1100

By Mark Davis and Ari Sharp

Local authors, book publishers and unions have secured a win over the major book retailing chains in their campaign to maintain restrictions on imports of cheaper foreign-published books. The Federal Government announced it would abandon proposed changes to Australia's book publishing regime that supporters say would have made books cheaper and more widely available but critics argued would harm the local publishing industry.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 11 November 2009.

Webcast, Amy Van Allen - Inclusive Museums and Outreach Programs

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:33:28 +1100

Amy Van Allen, Outreach Manager in Community and Constituent Services at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), gives an insight into the programs, policies and philosophy that drives the NMAI as one of the world’s most innovative and inclusive museums. The NMAI continues to challenge traditional museum ideologies by being a Native place, both physically and spiritually, with an emphasis on community curators in exhibitions and the use of traditional care methods for collections as advised by tribal representatives. Duration: 1 hr 12:58 minutes. Available in Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and mp3 versions.

Source: State Library of Queensland, November 2009

Maximising the impact of your service (MAXIM)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:32:27 +1100

Changing economic times means it’s more important than ever to give your library a competitive advantage in the service sector. This ALIA sponsored course aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge required to successfully maximise the impact of your service and to effectively evaluate this impact. The course will be run from 30 November 2009 - 22 January 2010 (including a two-week break 21 December - 4 January).

Source: ALIA membership services, November 2009.

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)

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