What, me worry? Or the Amazon “Library”

I am about as worried about the Amazon Kindle Lending Library  as I would be if a guy set up a box of worn paperbacks outside the library entrance and offered to lend them to people for $ 1 as they where passing by. Sure, some would probably take him up on the offer. But as a threat to the librarian, nah. The Kindle lending library is a way for amazon to try to sweeten an already bad tasting deal. For most americans I think that the Amazon Prime is just a bit too much. Sure, you get free transport of anything you buy, and access to special stuff. But it is a lock-in that in my opinion costs more than it tastes for most people. It is a niche product for already heavy Amazon users. The so called Kindle Library is NOT a library service in any way.

The public library offers something completely different to its community. Something Amazon never can match. Local knowledge, a way longer tail that Amazon, and a commitment to the community.

Arkivert i:Library 2.0

Why did you become a librarian?

“I love to read!” Is the most common answer to the question of why you became a librarian. Sometimes longtime librarians sigh a little at this and start going on about how libraries are about so much more than books and reading these days.

That is correct, but stop a minute and think about what a love of reading and books imply.

1. Reading opens the mind. Avid readers are more open to new impressions and have a wider view of the world.

2. Readers can concentrate. In an age where the attention span of most people are on the downswing it is a desirable trait to be able to concentrate and follow a whole novel to the end.

3. Readers are information seekers. If you love reading (or are reading dependent) you have to start looking for new books and authors pretty soon. This leads to reading of reviews, looking at genres and in general developing habits of searching out information about books and authors that are useful in many situations in life and work.

4. Reading is social. This comes as a surprise to most, but think about it. Yes the act of reading itself is solitary, but the minute you have finished a good book, what do you most want to do? Talk about it to anybody willing to listen. We have book clubs, bookblogs, book prizes, author events, literary lunches etc etc… – this is a good thing to have in your portfolio when you applies for a number of jobs. The ability to talk enthusiastically about something is usually a plus when you apply for jobs.

5. Analytical ability. To read you have to decode text and meaning. Pretty useful when you want to understand and learn.

Useful stuff for librarians right? So I have come to the conclusion that I DO want readers as librarians and other staff in my library.

I know that what I have listed are unevenly distributed among readers, but it is only my opinion and experience, not research, so I’ll let it stand:-)

Feel free to argue in the comments.

Arkivert i:Future, Librarian 2.0, Library 2.0, librarians, readers, Reading

First post from Galaxy Tab

We have aquired a Galaxy Tab at work and this is the first blogpost I write on it.  I have paired it with an Apple wireless keyboard via Bluetooth (yes I appreciate the irony ¦-) ) and use the WordPress app for  Android.

The Galaxy tab is in itself a really nice piece of hardware. I like the size (7 inch screen)  which makes it a lot more comfortable   to use in sofa and while standing.   I suspect that there will be moments when I would like a larger screen, but so  far that has not been an issue.

I have an android phone at work and  one privately, so I am familiar with the Android OS. I really like the multitasking and the range of apps. I have not encountered any problems when using the GT and enjoy the experience. I have both used it as an ebook reader, both the Kindle for Android app and other ebook apps, and  enjoyed the experience so much that I really must admit that I prefer the GT as a reading platform to the Kindle. This came as a total surprise to me as I  have loved my Kindle (and still do). but the reading experience is great and it is nice to have a device that can do other things that display text.

All in all I think the GT has a great future as an alternative to the iPad and look forward to seeing what will come in the future.

Arkivert i:Library 2.0, devices, ebook reading, Galaxy Tab

From collection management to connection management

This little video looks at some of the most important issues for libraries today.

You Must Focus on Connection Management Instead of Collection Management from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

Just the opening slide is worth the admission:-)

The best days of librarianship are ahead of us

Arkivert i:Library 2.0

Teaching wordpress

I am now teaching wordpress to the board of the Norwegian Special Libraries Assocation

Arkivert i:Library 2.0

Electronic literature

I´m at the ELMCIP conference in Bergen. The concept of Electronic Literature (EL) as different from ebooks is of great interest to me. Today EL is published outside the traditional channels of publishing and by many who are not concidering themselves authors in the traditional sense. I have seen some articles discussing Augmented Literature, i.e. texts that have added content in the form of video, sound and animation. The iPad iBook version of Winnie the Poo is probably a good example of this. EL takes this a step further and plays with the text itself as well as adding content in other formats than text. One example is the Jean-Pierre Balpes experiment Automatic text generation. EL is literature that cannot exist in any other format than digital. Hypertext is the best known example of this. Texts that exist as linked passages where the navigation is an integral part of the reading experience.

The conference looks at both practical work in buliding an europeand database of electronic literature, but also has an academic dimension discussing EL-critisism, the development of EL as an literary field and the communities that are emerging around EL. EL has a performance component as well as the traditional viewing on screen way of reading. The concept of reading is itself under pressure from the development of this genre (if it is a genre).

Arkivert i:Electronic literature, Library 2.0, ELMCIP

Top technology trends – again!

I´m at the national norwegian library conference and tomorrow I´m supposed to sit on a panel to discuss top technology trends for libraries. I thought I would air my thoughts here, and maybe get some feedback from readers.

At first my main trend would be ebooks, this is one of the most controversial and hot topics for libraries this year, but then I realized something. This is no longer a technology trend, the issues are economic and legal, copyright and compensation for authors and publishers are the hot issues, not the technology. Actually I think that ebooks is a fairly mature technology. Yes we still have not resolved the reading platform issue to our satisfaction, but with Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader, ebook software like Calibre and standards like epub in place there is no longer burning technology issues revolving around ebooks. There will be many battles, like with google books, and development of yet better ways of delivery and services, but this is now a question of evolution, not revolution. Libraries need to get into the ebook game here in Norway and especially come up with our own solutions and priorities to questions like delivery and DRM. If not, we are at the mercy of publishers and author organizations who have a different set of solutions and priorites.

So what is the revolution issues in library technology in 2010?

Anywhere – this sums up most techonlogy trends I can think of. With the development of small tablet computers, internet everywhere and cloud computing you have access to information anywhere you go.

Platform independent – this is probably one of the most important developments to look for. As new platforms develop it is important for libraries to develop services and formats that can be accessed on any platform, PS3, iPad, Nintendo DSi XL, mobile phones of all sizes and types, even the good old PC. These are all valid platforms for information and services the library can offer.

In the cloud – goes back to anywhere, but  the cloud also poses some challenges for libraries when it comes to access and preservation. The cloud, i.e. computing and storage away from your local computer, is probably here to stay, but since it is totally in the hands of commercial firms, like Google, Amazon and a plethora of small firms offering cheap or free storage and computing power it is a volatile market that could see collapses and loss of mountains of data. If Google should belly up in the near future I will loose most of my email from the last ten years, most of my documents stored on google docs and so on. This is unlikely in the short term, but there are few companies that have lasted as long as libraries. This is something we need to keep in mind when we use cloud services and storage.

Arkivert i:Conferences, Library 2.0, tecnology, trends

iPad and libraries – some thoughts

OK, congratulations to all fellow Apple fanboys and girls The iPad looks good and I would love to get my hands on one. In fact on thursday I  got word from the ICT-department at work that they pre-ordered one for me. (I might have mentioned the upcoming device once or twice in the previous months and had a fairly long discussion with the head of ICT services that morning) Have I told you how great these guys are?

Even if I look forward to getting my hands on the iPad, or “padda” (toad) as it is rapidly becoming known in Norway and Sweden, one of my first reactions to Steve Jobs presentation of the iPad was  that this is Apple´s gift to Google. It will take very little effort to top this. Just add a camera and flash support to a touch screen with the Android operating system and you have a iPad killer. On the purely technical/OS side of the device that is. What probably will sell the iPad is the ease of use for non-techies.  A lot of blogposts and twitter comments have called this the first true “everybody computer.”  They might have a point. My iPod touch is equally popular with my three-year-old, my ten-year-old and myself,  who all use it in many different ways. A larger device appeals to all of us.

But like so many people I am more fascinated with the services embedded in the iPad than the hardware. iBooks and the iTunes-like book buying opportunities are what makes the iPad a  must have for me, more that the weight, screen, OS or other apps.

It will certainly be interesting to see what new iPad apps that will come in the coming months. One thing I am sure of is that we will all be surprised by the diversity of apps and the uses to which the iPad will be put to. And another thing to watch out for is the plethora of iPad-like devices that will hit us like a tsunami in the coming year. There will proably be two main schools competing with Apple, the Android school where the Google Android operating system for smartphones will be ported to a tablet, and the Windows 7 school, where Microsoft will try to match the ease of use of the iPad with tons of features and a “whole operating system”  to rival the limited OS on the iPad. My guess is that the Android school has a better chance, but that none of the competing schools have a chance against Apple when it comes to opening up the market of those who previously have not used computers very much, and people who simply want a few features to “just work”

For libraries the iPad will have little immediate impact. What it probably will do, if it is a hit in the marketplace, is that it will fuel reader demand for e-books. I predict that it will be a slow development, but maybe too fast for many librarians. When the demand for e-books is for Nora Roberts latest romance novel, rather than some science fiction blockbuster or main stream popular science non-fiction, and the person wanting the e-book is the harassed mother with three kids running around her at the library desk, then e-books will have arrived in the library. This could happen if the iPad really hits it off with the public.

For libraries there are two main challenges:

1. How do we get content from the library to the iPad and similar devices, and can libraries use iBook or the AppStore as a delivery method? I think there will be several opportunities, and that binding libraries to a cooperation with Apple to get in through the iBook store probably will be difficult and even counterproductive. There are at least two avenues to go, either create an international LibraryBook app (open source of course), that will work on any operating system, or cooperate with the creators of any of the open source apps that are out there to deliver books through them. Both avenues has their pros- and cons, but I believe that to secure a future for the library brand it would be a good idea to develop a special library app.

2. Will the iPad and iPad like devices  change the media habits of readers? Very likely. The iPod and iPhone has both changed a lot of behaviour and expectations from library users, and how other devices are viewed and used. I expect to see increasing demand for content on tablets from readers and probably pressure on the library to deliver certain types of content, i.e. ebooks.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on an iPad and try it out in my library.

Arkivert i:E-books, Librarian 2.0, Library 2.0, Web 2.0, iPad

Librarians are fish?

An article on information literacy in the norwegian science library blog ERR-BE made me think about how library workers and users percieve the information rich environment in a library or a library web-site with links to databases and services. The image of fish and divers came to me this morning.

How does fish percieve the sea? They probably do not think much about water and the sea as such, they are a part of it and lives in it with insight and understanding of the rules and forces governing their environment, much like librarians percieve information and the library.

Divers on the other hand are strangers in the sea. They need help to negotiate it, breathing apparatus (or just holding their breath for shorter stays), mask, protection etc. They are out of their normal environment, clumsy and bevildered by all the new impressions that are assaulting their senses. After a while, or with frequent dives, many divers become proficient in the sea and might even master it to such a degree that they are not far from the fish experience.

Just like library users. To a new library user the library is a bevildering environment, they have difficulty navigating the physical library to find what they desire, they admire the librarians  for their seemingly effortless use and mastery of this very complex environment.  After a while many library users will become proficient in how to use the library to satisfy their needs, but without a full understanding of the underlying forces and rules that govern the library.

So to better the experience of users, we need to think more like divers and less like fish:-)

Arkivert i:Library 2.0

Takk for et par interessanne dager!

Veldig gledelig å se at noen i bibliotek-sektoren engasjere seg i dette, selv om det burde vært MANGE flere!! Jeg håper virkelig at dere kan bidra til å spre informasjon til borgerne om fri programvare, og jeg menbr atvi bør fokusere på ett produkt: Ubuntu. Jeg fikk selv en utfordring om å oversette den der plakaten jeg viste. Den utfordringen tok jeg! Så da håper jeg at dere tar utfordringen jeg ga dere:)

Takk for laget, håper vi sees igjen!

Beste hilsner Bjørn Venn

(mon tro hvor dette innlegget havna….:-)

Arkivert i:Library 2.0