Author: Paul R. Pival
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7 Things You Should Know About the Modern Learning Commons
This month Educause looks at 7 Things You Should Know About the Modern Learning Commons. The learning commons, sometimes called an “information commons,” has evolved from a combination library and computer lab into a full-service learning, research, and project space. As a place where students can meet, talk, study, and use “borrowed” equipment, the learning…
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College & Research Libraries To Become Open Access Journal
From the ResourceShelf site, and a link to the ACRL FAQ. On April 1, 2011, the online version of C&RL (http://crl.acrl.org/) will become open access. A print version will continue to be available through a paid membership in ACRL or through a paid subscription to C&RL. Discussions about the future of the print version are…
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Even more reading on Discovery
Thanks to a post on The Federated Search Blog linking to this page: Articles on Discovery, part of a Google Sites "wiki" called Unified Resource Discovery Comparison. Definitely a well-rounded resource, and one I've just requested write-access to. Missing from the list is a pre-print by Jason Vaughan called Investigations into Library Web Scale Discovery Services…
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Some Discovery-related Reading
I've had a few posts about Discovery Services piling up in Google Reader: Library Technology Reports, Volume 47, Number 1 / January 2011, is an issue dedicated to Web Scale Discovery Systems. "This report describes in detail the content, interface, and functionality of web scale discovery services developed by four major library vendors: OCLC, Serials Solutions,…
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Making Safari more like Firefox with Glims (OSX)
Ahhhhh, that's so much better. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but Firefox, my old standby, has slowly become, well, slow. It's no longer my default browser, but it's always had a couple of features I've missed. The biggest one was Firefox's ability to search through the text of a page w/o having to…
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ebrary Survey on Offline/Download Model and Mobile Reading
ebrary is developing new ways to support an offline/download model and reading on hand-held devices. We are conducting this survey to better understand your needs, and we would very much appreciate your comments and suggestions. Take the survey Please feel free to share the survey with any interested colleagues. We ask that you respond by…
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Liverpool’s Discovery
Just read a lengthy piece talking about Discovery Services in LJ: Liverpool’s Discovery. It's a bit of a smackdown between Summon and EDS, with EDS being chosen by the U of Liverpool: McCready was quick to make two caveats about the library’s decision to go with EDS. The decision, he says, isn’t about one product being…
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Join.me desktop screen sharing app now available for iOS
Aw man, I *so* wanted this to be a way to view a live iPhone, iPod or iPad screen remotely, but alas, it's the other way around. Install this free app and you can watch a computer screen shared with you by another user. Very cool, and works very well in my limited testing –…
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Libraries are screwed…
David Booker at the Centered Librarian posts a two-part presentation given by Eli Neiberger at the 2010 LJ/SLJ eBook Summit outlining the uncomfortable position ebooks puts libraries and offering several solutions. There are a couple of straw men in the presentation, but it's quite thought-provoking, and does offer some suggested for avoiding the screwage. 20 minutes in…
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Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously geeky stuff to make with your kids
Yes, it’s another review, but while this is another O’Reilly imprint, I got a review copy of this just for asking. I also mentioned that I’d compare Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred to the Instructables book I just reviewed. This title only has 24 projects, but they’re much more detailed, with pictures for almost each step along…