March 2008
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Month March 2008

blu-ray anyone?

Our DVD player died after over six years of heavy use. The only logical replacement was a PS3 since it can play DVDs (and upscale them), Blu-ray discs and of course games. This will probably be the last physical media device we buy. Crazy!

The system came with a copy of “Spider-man 3″ on Blu-ray that is hopefully going to find its way into the NPPL’s collection. Once we get this cataloged correctly I’ll likely buy a few more Blu-ray titles. Just enough so that we can advertise that we have a small collection. Not only will it serve as a good experiment to see if the discs are popular, it will also serve as good marketing for the NPPL. Even if swarms of people don’t have Blu-ray players (yet) it will showcase the library as a place with exciting new stuff that understands what’s happening in the larger information world. All that for $200? A bargain! It doesn’t always take much to try new things.

We’ll make our Blu-ray discs non-holdable for a month, just like our other new materials. Yes, this slightly diminishes the spirit of library sharing and maybe inconveniences some non-NPPL patrons. However, it drives some in house traffic to our relatively new beautiful library. While that sounds like a library-centered policy (bad!), it isn’t *fully* library-centered. The non-holdable period keeps new and popular titles around for people in North Plains to browse. This makes residents of North Plains happy and increases the library’s “placeness,” making it interesting and vital.

best opening lines graphic

Yeah, I’ve got some deadlines to meet. But you know what? Sometimes taking a break to play in Photoshop is just what I need to get on track.

Ever since Stephen Abram mentioned the 100 best opening lines from novels list from the American Book Review I wanted to put them into some sort of image. Mostly because I enjoy looking at vast canvases of Helvetica.

Today was the day. It looks only okay shrunken down here, but laser printed at its full tabloid size of 11″x17″ [15.21 MB – wow] it looks pretty nice. If you want to print it but aren’t crazy about the background color, I’ve uploaded a Photoshop file for you: firstlines.psd [7.27MB].

If you print of it, I’d love to see a photo of it hanging up.

who needs libraries anyways?

Jackson County, Oregon needs their library to teach some information literacy classes, that’s for sure.

Earlier this week, a man’s house was ransacked because of a prank and a severe lack of information literacy. Someone posted fake ads on Craigslist informing the world that the man’s possessions were up for grabs:

“I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back,” Salisbury said. “They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did.

The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.

Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.

The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off. “They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true,” Salisbury said. “It boggles the mind.”[emphasis mine]

If you remember, on April 6th, 2007 Jackson County Library Services closed because of a lack of money. See what happens?

The libraries have since reopened under the management of the private company LSSI.

a modern, functional OPAC

I’ve used quite a few library OPACs. I’ve also used and sought out the best of the open web. You’ve probably done the same and like me, you’ve probably been dismayed at the disparity between the two worlds. The open web can be fun and inspiring. Would you say the same of our OPACs? I’ve thought about what OPACs should be like in bits and pieces and decided to assemble them here.

A Problem
Besides all of the small, simple usability enhancements OPACs need (listed way below) a big concern about library websites and OPACs is the distracting transition between the two. You know the routine. Ubiquitous “Click here to search the catalog” links take users from one place to another and create a disjointed experience.

A Solution
One way to provide a seamless experience is to put some OPAC functions into the website, letting people accomplish OPAC tasks without having to leave the library website. In my dream OPAC this go-between is essentially an ecommerce shopping basket but called a backpack or bookshelf in this instance. Just like on amazon.com, when logged in, a patron’s library backpack appears on every library webpage, whether it be the homepage, a book list, or the results list of a search. Any item cover on the website can be dragged and dropped into users’ backpack/bookshelf.


[drag and dropping a book cover – click for big on flickr]

Dragging and dropping triggers a dialog that allows people to get more information, find where an item is located or place a reserve. Here’s a concept of the resulting dialog from dragging an item to a backpack.


[resulting dialog, rest of screen greyed out – – click for big on flickr]

Patrons could be given the chance to customize what happens when they drag an item to their shelf. For instance, the backpack could be set to place reserves automatically. Speaking of customization, patrons should be allowed to choose which metaphor they want to use, a backpack or a bookshelf. The default should be associated with the patron’s age, giving young people backpacks and older people bookshelves.

The library backpack also serves as the basis for user profiles in the OPAC since patrons can choose to share their bookshelves with others. People reading the same book are given access to a dedicated book discussion room that has great content seeded by librarians. (This type of automatic affinity group creation is what happens on 43 Things.) When browsing people’s shared backpacks/shelves (naturally a nice graphical representation with item covers) patrons can drag items into their backpacks to initiate the dialog. User profiles are important because they’re the basis for interactivity. There can be no community without individuals.

Here are some other features that should be part of the interface between our content and our people:

Display
→ A relevant, modern (not looking like a geocities site from 1996) design built using CSS so that users can select from a few themes when logged in.

→ Options for browsing such as:

  • Text lists
  • Tag clouds
  • Item covers

→ Persistent URLs for bibliographic/item records

→ New title lists by title, book covers, genre

→ Display most popular items, highest rated items

→ Bib/Item Record Options

  • Favorite it
  • Get citation
  • Share/email
  • Add to book list

User generated content
→ User profiles. This allows people the ability to:

  • make comments/reviews
  • rate items
  • make, display and share book lists
  • mark items as favorite, review and display favorites, and see who else has favorite items
  • recommend items to others
  • record personal checkout history and display it

Finding options
→ single search box, with the option for “advanced” search

→ Ability to search

  • just the catalog
  • catalog and web
  • catalog, web and databases
  • web and databases

→ Sort results by relevance, date published, title, author, number of circulations

→ Filtering search options by material type, author, subject, location

→ Summary of book upon mouseover (with the option to turn off) [idea credit: Jenny Levine]

→ Where is this item located? (Display on a map all branches where the book is located, clicking on a branch loads a map of the library)

→ Links to related websites and databases on appropriate bibliographic/item records

→ Movies have a link to imdb.com entry, CDs have a link to allmusic.com entry, books lead to some relevant site or database. Novelist, perhaps?

→ New item RSS feeds galore:

  • entire collection
  • genre
  • material type
  • author
  • OPAC searches

The feeds should be modular in that the limiting factors should be combinable giving the ability to produce a feed for, say, new audiobooks from author John Steinbeck.

From Theory to Practice
All of this stuff could come together to make a modern, functional OPAC. Some would be easy to do (and in fact has been done) and some slightly more difficult. None of it comes even close to being impossible or too much to accomplish. What’s stopping us?

There is a good chance that an interface approaching this is going to exist within the next 6-12 months, one way or an other. That’s all I can really say except for that I’m pretty thrilled about it.

Please leave further suggestions in a comment. How would you like your OPAC to behave?

[In this post I used images from vufind, brooklyn public library, DC public library, and crumpler bags. I made up that totally lame logo all by myself.]

How to enjoy library audiobooks on the go

Eric Gwinn, the gadgets editor for the Chicago Tribune wrote a (slightly overly) nice and non-judgmental article about digital audiobooks from libraries. My quick read didn’t find any errors or misinformation, which seems to be a rarity when it comes to library technology issues in newspapers and magazines. The article spends a decent amount of time addressing some negative things about the digital audiobooks we offer but it never gets negative on the service:

The process of downloading a library audiobook to your computer and transferring it to a portable media player doesn’t always go smoothly. [ha!] Even if you follow the directions, files may seem to disappear. Don’t panic. Review the step-by-step instructions on your library’s Web site. [Does he mean actual library website or the website linked from the library site? Do patrons differentiate or care?]

You can put a “hold” on a checked-out audiobook, telling the library, “I want to check this out when it is returned,” but if you are the fourth person to place a hold, you could be waiting as long as 84 days — nearly three months! — before listening to that book.

Library audiobooks don’t work with Macs, iPods or iPhones. Audiobooks downloaded from libraries use copy-protection technology that Mac computers and Mac devices don’t support. This is librarians’ answer to the frequently asked question, “Why won’t this audiobook show up in my iPod?”

Big ups to Gwinn for “How to enjoy library audiobooks on the go” and spreading the word. Libraries could probably use the article as a promotion for their digital audiobook service.

walking paper scraps

Downloadable audio content from the library on iPods?!?! Holy smokes.

OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks will go on sale in May at Borders.com and should be available to libraries by the end of June, to be followed with the release of OverDrive Media Console for the Mac.

OverDrive CEO Steve Potash said the policy change emerged from demand in the library market

Where does “Blue” end and “Red” begin?
Very attractive info display.

TV when you want it.
Interesting cube interface.

Nice gaming in libraries reporting from freep.
I’ve given a talk in the big room where the people are gaming! [thanks, jacob]

Apple mulls unlimited music bundle
Music rentals from iTunes? [behind lame Financial Times reg]

Paper Is Out, Cellphones Are In

Now, with 80 percent of passengers using these self-service options, the next step is electronic boarding passes, which essentially turn the hand-held devices and mobile phones of travelers into their boarding passes.

 
No printing paper boarding passes, not even for going through security. Cool and probably problematic.

ebsco’s more usable interface

Kathleen McEvoy of EBSCO commented on my social database mockup with a link to an informational page about EBSCO’s redesign/ next product called EBSCOhost® 2.0.

Just so I’m not accused of constantly bashing library product vendors, I’ll tell you straightaway that despite the fact that “2.0″ appears 17 times on the informational page, the actual interface looks much, *much* nicer. I haven’t used the product yet but from the demo it looks like the default interface is just one search box.

There’s a nifty slider for limiting the date range of search results. The citation tool looks really easy to use with a one click copy to clipboard feature. Adding articles to a folder to save them takes one click. Deleting them is as simple as X-ing them out. These things make me happy.

It’s a bit strange to be praising a company for doing the things that should have been standard all along, but I’ll highlight the effort regardless. I haven’t actually used it yet, but EBSCOhost® 2.0 seems to have addressed some usability issues. This is good. Now they’re free to facilitate interaction and make it social. When I get to actually use the interface I’ll report any additional thoughts.

I’m glad Kathleen commented on the post. This is a *good* example of a library vendor being responsive to the conversations that are taking place.

Ok, one more little gripe, not really related to their redesign. Just me being a logo nerd. Why is the “host” in EBSCOhost® in italics when it is text, but not when it is in their logo?

ebsco’s more usable interface

Kathleen McEvoy of EBSCO commented on my social database mockup with a link to an informational page about EBSCO’s redesign/ next product called EBSCOhost® 2.0.

Just so I’m not accused of constantly bashing library product vendors, I’ll tell you straightaway that despite the fact that “2.0″ appears 17 times on the informational page, the actual interface looks much, *much* nicer. I haven’t used the product yet but from the demo it looks like the default interface is just one search box.

There’s a nifty slider for limiting the date range of search results. The citation tool looks really easy to use with a one click copy to clipboard feature. Adding articles to a folder to save them takes one click. Deleting them is as simple as X-ing them out. These things make me happy.

It’s a bit strange to be praising a company for doing the things that should have been standard all along, but I’ll highlight the effort regardless. I haven’t actually used it yet, but EBSCOhost® 2.0 seems to have addressed some usability issues. This is good. Now they’re free to facilitate interaction and make it social. When I get to actually use the interface I’ll report any additional thoughts.

I’m glad Kathleen commented on the post. This is a *good* example of a library vendor being responsive to the conversations that are taking place.

Ok, one more little gripe, not really related to their redesign. Just me being a logo nerd. Why is the “host” in EBSCOhost® in italics when it is text, but not when it is in their logo?

Computers in Libraries 2008

It is the middle of March which means that a bunch of library geeks will descend on Crystal City, Virgina next month for Computers in Libraries 2008. The conference is trying some new things this year and I’m excited to be a part of some of them.

Helene Blowers suggested that a Pecha Kucha presentation be held. Six of us will have 20 slides and 20 seconds each slide to make a point. I’m moderating the track that this is in which means I get to cut people off mid-sentence during this session. Fun! [Tuesday, Track C, 4pm]

Jenny Levine and I have been doing gaming workshops at the past couple IL and CIL conferences with some informal open gaming afterwards. It has morphed into a Sunday night event: the Gaming & Gadgets Petting Zoo. I need to start practicing being a Guitar Hero.

I’m facilitating a postconference workshop with some top notch library thinkers.
Helene Blowers, John Blyberg, Sarah Houghton-Jan and David Lee King will be giving short presentations followed by conversation and brainstorming. It should result in some great potential projects!

Tuesday morning’s keynote will be given by Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer from the Delft Public Library. Their presentation at Internet Librarian last year might be my favorite conference moment of 2007. This should be just as good! They’ll share stories from their 2007 tour of U.S. libraries.

infotubeyTuesday night is the Second Annual InfoTubey Awards for outstanding library marketing on YouTube.

Hurrah for learning!

walking paper scraps

Indiespensable. Small box retail from Powell’s

Powell’s new subscription club delivers the best new books, with special attention to leading independent publishers. Signed first editions. Inventive, original sets. Exclusive printings…. Every six weeks, another installment to read and admire. All titles are thoughtfully selected by Powell’s staff. PLUS: Every shipment is stocked with exciting surprises….

 
$40.00 per shipment. The latest package came with a cookie I think. Hmm, who else thoughtfully selects books?

who says librarians (and teachers) don’t like tags from the delicious blog [thanks, phil]

10 Emerging Technologies 2008 from MIT Technology Review

DropBox, a new online file storage/sharing app, looks really cool.