TechBits

Digital Creation Space grant opportunity

What if your library could get funding to create a digital creation space with state-of-the-art software and equipment for patrons to use? A place where the community could make movies, music, books and more—not just check them out? Powerful stuff.

What if all you had to do is contact Terrie Howe to register for and attend the June 28 grant information webinar, spec out your project, and then apply for an LSTA grant? Because "Digital Creations in Public Libraries" is a competitive grant category for the 2013 LSTA cycle, with a grant range of $2,000 - $20,000 that public libraries are eligible to apply for. And some libraries are going to get it.

So... what if it was your library?

More inspiration:

ALA 2011 From Grocery Store to Kitchen

View more presentations from Richard Kong

The scoop on Scoop.it

What is Scoop.it?
Scoop.it is a curation tool that allows you to pull together content from other sources in a visually appealing way. For those of you on Pinterest, you might think of it as Pinterest with better tagging, more text, and an RSS feed. After you sign up for an account, you can add sources for content and/or follow other topics. As content comes your way, you can recycle it to your topic.  Or, you can create new posts by adding a link, picking a picture, and adding some text  (sound familiar, Pinterest users?). You can also tag posts for easy reference later, and users browsing your content can easily share it to Facebook, Twitter, or via a link. The Huffington Post wrote about it last week in the article, "How Long Before You Will Scoop.it Instead of Google It? A Year, Two, a Decade?"

Why would you use Scoop.it?
I've been using Scoop.it for a while now as a place to stash things that I run across that I more actively want to share with others (and keep for myself) on the topic of "technology for libraries". It's kind of a way to share the good stuff I find without writing much. You can see my Scoop.it topic here: http://www.scoop.it/t/more-techbits.

I don't really want to review Scoop.it in great detail as much as I'd like to point it out as a possible place to find some interesting folks curating some interesting topics. One of my favorite library-related topics so far is "Cha-Ching" -- a topic all about fundraising ideas for libraries (and well worth a look)!

If you are interested in more of the nitty-gritty about how Scoop.it works, take a look at their Guided Tour and FAQ.

Credit where credit is due?

Well, I thought I had my post all settled when I found the picture on the right.  Then I started having problems when I tried tracking the picture to its source.  While I really want to give credit where credit is due, I can’t find exactly who to give the credit to for this idea.

Where I saw it originally saw the picture, the title on the picture said Dublin’s Digital Library and gave Reddit as the source.  One of the commenters on the site said it was from Planet PDF. 

On Reddit there wasn’t an official source listed but one of the commenters said the flier was for Project Gutenberg.  Reddit linked to the picture posted on imgur.  From the picture title, it looks like it was taken somewhere in Dublin.  Alright, but which Dublin?  Ireland?  Ohio?  In the comments on imgur, a number of people say it's Ireland and one said the fliers were done by the Dublin city council to encourage reading. 

In any case, the picture is of a flier posted on a lightpost with QR codes you can scan that take you directly to free versions of the titles on the spines of the books in the picture.  The QR codes link to files on both Planet PDF and Project Gutenberg.  Still don’t know for certain who put up the fliers.  Whoever posted it though, I thought it was rather neat!  If anyone knows where this actually came from, let me know. 

The picture on imgur:
http://imgur.com/EjUku

Google's augmented reality glasses

As part of its Project Glass initiative, Google has begun testing its augmented reality glasses. See this New York Times article for more information. Pretty stylin', huh?

Here is a video from Google which shows potential uses for Project Glass:

Link to YouTube video: http://youtu.be/9c6W4CCU9M4

What do you think about the idea of wearable computing? How might this impact libraries? (Did you notice the part of the video around 1:03 where he's in the book store, asks where the music section is located, and his glasses show him the way?)

USB 3.0 Option Now Available.

You can now order PCs through SCLS that have a USB 3.0 card installed in the PC.

What is USB 3.0?
It’s the latest evolution in the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard of computer connectivity.  It’s referred to as Super Speed or SS which means it has to transfer data at 5 GB per second.

What is it good for?
If you use an external hard drive or transfer a lot of pictures or videos to your PC you will see a big improvement in the time it takes to transfer these files. I know for me personally when I’m transferring a video from my camera to my PC it takes 5 minutes (forever) to transfer most videos. Now if I had a USB 3.0 camera and port on my PC that would only take about 30 seconds to transfer.

How do I get USB 3.0 on my new PC?
On the PC order form select the radio button for USB 3 Controller Card to add it to your order. It will add two USB 3.0 ports to your PC, which already has 10 USB 2.0 ports.

Is USB 3.0 backward-compatible with USB 2.0?
Yes, your USB 3.0 devices will work in USB 2.0 ports (they just won’t be as fast as if you had USB 3.0 ports, too!).

How will you know what ports are USB 3.0?
So far all of the USB 3.0 devices and ports I’ve see are color-coded with blue, like in the picture above. I have been using that as an easy give away. You will also notice fine print that indicates it’s USB 3.0.

Espresso Book Machine arrives at the Brooklyn Public Library

Self publishing-in the most literal sense of the word-is now available to public library users in Brooklyn, NY.

On Demand Books' Espresso Book Machine was installed earlier last week at the Main Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. The EBM machine allows patrons to choose from nearly 7 million titles, producing a bound and printed book in a matter of minutes.  Moreover, aspiring novelists can bring in electronic versions of their own works and can have the EBM print those as well.

Unlike the typical EBM installation at a bookstore or University library, Brooklyn's machine is owned and operated by On Demand Books, meaning no $150,000 investment by the library!

Does the Espresso represent the future of physical books?  Do you think in the future libraries will be installing EBMs and printing off all their print acquisitions, as opposed to going through the traditional publisher and distribution channels?  Leave your comments and perspectives below.

Where did those icons go?

Got your seatbelt on? Firefox 10 is being rolled out Monday and Tuesday nights to staff PCs on the SCLS network.

Upgrades = changes. Here are just a few changes you'll see between versions 3.6 and 10.0.2:

(click on the image to see it full-size)

Version 10 was released by Mozilla January 31st, and it took us some research, development, and documentation to get it rolled out. Now that the groundwork has been laid, Firefox versions after this one should be rolled out to SCLS patron and staff PCs a little more quickly after they're released by Mozilla.

The Firefox upgrade includes a "cleanup script."  If you haven't already read about it (and/or watched the video), you can do so here: http://www.scls.info/technology/updates/ffoxstaff.html

----- late addition -----

What happened to the "little down arrow that took you mutliple steps at once backwards thru a search and were necessary for some kinds of backwards movements"?

The arrow is gone, but the functionality is still there. Just right-click the "Back" button or click it and pull down to get the list.

(thanks to Liz for pointing this out!)

 

Everyone's (P)interested!

Everywhere I look lately I see Pinterest...  on Facebook, on Twitter, and in the blogs I follow. Seems like Pinterest is going to be BIG. Even the U.S. Army is on Pinterest now!

Rose already introduced you to Pinterest in an earlier TechBits post. Still wondering what Pinterest is? The New York Times has a pretty good article about it. My 3-word summary?  --- visual, social, sharing.

Here are some more links to get you started if you're considering Pinterest for your library:

• iLibrarian - "5 Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Library" and "5 More Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Library"
• Copyblogger - "56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest"
• Razoo - "9 ways to Optimize Your Website for Pinterest"
• Mashable - "Everything You Wanted to Know About 2012′s Hottest Startup [INFOGRAPHIC]"
• Stacked - "Books, Reading, and Pinterest"
• New South Wales State Library - "What is Pinterest and could my library use it?"
• Mashable - "Sorry, Pinterest Users: Websites Can Now Block Pinning [VIDEO]"  (copyright issues related to Pinterest)
• Venturebeat - "Pinterest not a pirate anymore, helps site owners disable pins"  (more on Pinterest and copyright)

(and here's a quick shout out to SCLS libraries already on Pinterest - Mount Horeb, Sauk City, and Verona!)

On a personal note, I signed up last week and have totally fallen in love with the Food & Drink category. What a delightful way to visually browse recipes and find some kitchen (p)inspiration! Now to find a personal chef who works for cheap and will make me some of these....

Google's Privacy Policy

You may have heard a little hubbub recently about Google's planned change to its Privacy Policies.

Beginning March 1, Google will replace 60+ existing product-specific privacy documents with a single, recently rewritten privacy policy. What's different about this new privacy policy? Google can treat you as a single user across all of their products.

What's the issue?
Google says this change will improve the user experience. Critics say the change will make it harder for users to limit what Google can do with their information.

What does Google say about people's concerns?
Google has several blog posts that address concerns that have been raised, as well as a post addressing some of the "myths" circulating about the upcoming change.

Google also has some tools to help you control your information: 

• http://www.google.com/privacy/tools.html

If you haven't already checked out the Google Dashboard, it's a great place to start. Concerned about your Google search information being available to other services? You might want to start by disabling Web History and opting out of Search Personalization.

What are your options?
The options are pretty simple. Disagree with the policy? Opt out and use non-Google services. Want to keep using Google services? Accept the policy and do what you can to address your concerns.

This post from Jon Mitchell at ReadWriteWeb, in addition to pooh-pooh-ing some of the concerns about the policy change, has this common sense advice:

"If you don't like Search plus Your World, you can opt right out. You can opt out of sharing browser history by using incognito mode. You can also opt out of targeted ads. You can't opt out of Google's new privacy policy, because that's how Google's business is going to work from here on out. The data you create anywhere on Google are available to the rest of Google. Google is one big service for better or for worse."  

Want to get a little less cozy with Google?  Check out Wired's "Hide from Google" post.

The Timeline for Facebook's Timeline

It's official. Facebook will be rolling out the Timeline feature to all users in the next few weeks.

• MSNBC: Facebook Timeline: There's no escaping it now

What about Timeline for your library's Facebook page?
"Not yet," says Facebook.

• Mashable: No Timeline Pages for Brands Yet, Says Facebook (12/15/2011)
• Information Week: Facebook Timeline: Will It Benefit Your Business? (1/12/2012)

Need more info about Timeline? Check out Pat's previous TechBits post about Timeline.