Tag Archives: Amazon Kindle

Tech Sharecase, 4 March 2011

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Stephen Francoeur

Attendees
Janey Chao, Lisa Ellis, Stephen Francoeur, Harold Gee, Joseph Hartnett, Jin Ma, Rita Ormsby, Michael Waldman, Kevin Wolff

Discussion
We had a wide-ranging discussion of ebooks and ebook readers:

  • HarperCollins limiting ebook checkouts on titles in OverDrive to 26 times
  • Video by public librarians identifying HarperCollins print titles that have circulated
    HarperCollins 26+ checkouts

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Je90XRRrruM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

  • criteria we have in mind when we are considering adding an ebook to the library collection:
    • # of simultaneous users
    • is it a license  or a purchase (with hosting fees)
  • the kinds of titles where an ebook might make sense:
    • reference books
    • heavily circulated titles (such as Malcolm X’s autobiography)
    • frequently stolen or lost titles
    • technical books
    • manuals and handbooks
    • test prep books
    • books on hot button topics
    • poetry and short story collections
    • literature anthologies
  • Sarah Glassmeyer’s blog post (“HCOD, eBook User Bill of Rights and Math“) about whether a boycott of Harper would have any noticeable affect
  • ebrary is working on a service that would let users download titles
  • Arthur’s blog post about e textbooks
  • Flatworld Knowledge
  • another CIS class will use the Kindles this spring
  • putting public domain works used in the Great Works class on a reader
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Tech Sharecase, 9 July 2010

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Ryan Phillips

Attendees:  Arthur Downing, Stephen Francoeur, Ryan Phillips, Jim Livornese, Michael Waldman.

We began the sharecase by welcoming Jim Livornese, the new Director of Instructional Technology & Client Services at Baruch College. We spent some of our time talking to him about the library’s technology needs.

We also entertained a brief discussion of Drupal and METRO’s offer of two July courses on Drupal.  Courses are full and registration is closed. NYPL is also hosting a NYPL Drupal Camp at the end of August which is also full.  The interest in Drupal may have to do with  NYPL’s recent move to Drupal.

Usage of Online Tools

We then discussed a lead from AL Direct referring to a WebJunction survey on librarians’ use of technology tools entitled “Library Staff Report Their Use of Online Tools” The methodology for the survey is not given, so we were somewhat wary of the results; however, it showed librarians are lagging behind in the use of newer online tools such as RSS feeds and Blogs (see image below).

We then discussed finding a way for the library to place books in the public domain on the Kindle, or similar device–Nook or Sony e-Reader, et cetera. Books to be targeted will be English classics that are required reading for literature courses on campus.

The conversation then moved to the iPhone QR code reading application iCandy from Ricoh Innovations. Richoh is also working on integrating visual search into the application. This will allow users to point their device at text on a newspaper, for example, and the app will retrieve results based on the text that is read. It’s similar to the Shazzam application that listens to music and then recognizes the song that was played.

We then discussed the library’s purchase of  Kik Scanner Bookeye 2 and how to make it available for use in the library and to the Baruch community.

Lastly, we discussed the state and challenges of student printing.

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Tech Sharecase, 4 June 2010

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Ryan Phillips

Attendees
Arthur Downing, Ellen Kaufman, Robert Drzewicki, Stephen Francoeur,  Ryan Phillips

Kobo
We briefly discussed Kobo, a competitor to the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. A comparison chart provided at the Kobo web site charts Kobo’s features amongst its competitors.

Information Aesthetics
We then discussed the blog Information Aesthetics. This blog seeks out and presents projects that display information and data in creative ways. Some examples discussed were information arcs, the bible cross reference visualization project and a wheel of nutrition that displays portion sizes on dinner plates.

The conversation moved towards other ways of displaying information and the tools used to do so. Microsoft was mentioned given the fact that Excel 2010 is going to incorporate Spark Lines. We then took at look at Google Motion Charts that can be used in iGoogle and Google Docs. A few of us were introduced to motion charts through Hans Rosling’s Wealth & Health of Nations Motion Chart and his TED Talk . Also shown was the Wall Street Journal’s market sector maps for stock performance.

A couple of other web sites were mentioned: 1) Many Eyes a site for sharing data visualization and 2) InfoChimps for downloading all sorts of data sets.

Also touched upon was the Netflix prize. This was a $1 million contest for accurate predictions of movie ratings based on Netflix user movie preferences. The prize was awarded last September and a new contest was announced.

Miscellaneous
The conversation then moved to the current and future state of student printing, some of the issues and possible solutions. We also discussed the use of GoogleDocs on campus.

Lastly, we talked about the Boston, MA, public media outlet WGBH’s Open Vault–their online media archive and library.  Roy Tennant’s covered Open Vault in a recent Library Journal blog entry.

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Tech Sharecase, 5 March 2010

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Stephen Francoeur

Attendees
Arthur Downing, Robert Drzewicki, Stephen Francoeur, Ryan Phillips

Mobile Phones
We looked at a report from Gartner that predicted sales of mobile phones with touchscreens are expected to rise 97 percent in 2010. We also wondered if we were able to track how many visitors to the library’s website came there on mobile devices. There is some data to that effect in our library’s website statistics if you look at what browsers and operating systems were used by site visitors, but the data isn’t as complete as we’d hoped it might be. We also talked about how much we know about the extent to which Baruch students have adopted the latest cell phone technology.

Ebooks and Ebook Readers
After looking at a graphic from the New York Times comparing the “economics of producing a book” in print vs. electronic, we had a discussion of our school’s Kindle experiment and what we might do with the Kindles after the semester is over. One idea that was floated was what it might mean were we to load public domain editions of books that are required reading in undergraduate courses (especially ones that are part of the general education curriculum).

We watched a video from Flat World Knowledge about their “open textbooks” that can be freely read online as well as purchased as a file download or a print-on-demand book.

Video Collections
We looked at the way that the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University has created a “Toolkit” site where screencasts are collected. Each video offers an embed code, making it easy for instructors and librarians to deploy the videos on course websites, course blogs, etc. The embed codes are for the hosted webservice where the video file actually resides (YouTube, etc.). It doesn’t appear that the videos are locally hosted on the Toolkit site.

We also browsed the collection of screencasts that have been uploaded to our library’s YouTube account.

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Tech Sharecase, 13 November 2009

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Ryan Phillips

Attendees
Stephen Francoeur, Ellen Kaufman, Louise Klusek, Jin Ma, Kannen Mohan, Ryan Phillips and Michael Waldman

Searching Blogs
Went over a patron request for finding quotes on blogs. The patron wanted to locate negative quotes about the Marvel acquisition by Disney. Discussed the resources for searching blogs: Factiva, Google Blog Search, LexisNexis and Twitter Search.

Baruch Blogs   
Noted how to find the RSS feed for the Newman Library News “blog.”  One has to navigate to the “News Archives” on library website (RSS icon not visible until you get to the WordPress version of the News Archives). Or, click on the following link: http://www.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/wordpress/?cat=4

Amazon Kindle
Discussed recent news that two colleges, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University, are not moving forward with wide distribution of the Kindle because of perceived discrimination against the blind.  Activating the audio feature on the current Kindle is a challenge for the blind given it requires navigating through the touch screen. Read the Associated Press article via NPR: “Schools shun Kindle, saying blind can’t use it”

Also discussed the Kindle application for desktop that was released this week.

Google Wave
Went over some features of Google Wave and Stephen and Jin demonstrated a discussion. Showed the Doctor Wave video which provides a good introduction to Google Wave. Cameron Neylon’s ChemSpidey robot, an application for tagging in Google Wave, was presented. Aunt Rosie translation robot was also shown.

EtherPad and Wikis for Student Participation
EtherPad and Wikis were discussed for use in class participation. Wikis in Blackboard can encourage class participation for those who prefer to type rather than speak aloud in class.

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Tech Sharecase, 30 October 2009

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Stephen Francoeur

Attendees
Arthur Downing, Stephen Francoeur, Joseph Hartnett, Randy Hensley, Ellen Kaufman, Louise Klusek, Ryan Phillips

Google Discover Music
Talked about new Google Discover Music service in which search results are more socially based and about October 23, 2009, radio story from On the Media, “Charting the Charts,” which noted how Billboard is waning in influence and new services are appearing that measure music success differently. One such services is Band Metrics that ranks popularity not by sales but by an aggregation of metrics, including social ones. Search is changing the economic model for music rankings. Big Champagne offers another service that measures rankings using social aspects. What is a credible or reliable metric is shifting from authorities like SoundScan or Billboard to services that look at social use of media.

Google Social Search
This experiment from Google looks at who is in your social graph (your collection of online friends) so that it can present you with search results that are refined by content that your friends have posted online.

Google Reader
We looked at the way that people who use Google Reader can friend others who use the service and share notable feed items with each other.

Google Site Search Tool
The Baruch College website today unveiled its new site search engine powered by Google. The library website will be changing its search site software to Google soon as well.

2D Barcodes
Following up on Arthur’s comments on an earlier blog post here, We talked about 2D barcodes, QR codes, and their potential uses by colleges and libraries. We looked at the barcode service from ScanLife and the video about how Case Western Reserve University used ScanLife codes.

Mobile Websites for Libraries
We talked about various strategies for creating library websites that would render well on browsers in mobile phones.

Amazon Kindle vs. Barnes & Noble Nook
While talking about basic differences between new Nook reader coming out in November, we also discussed the Kindle loan program at North Carolina State University and how the service also offers patron-driven acquisitions (hear all the details about this on the Library 2.0 Gang podcast from September 2009 in which Orion Pozo from NCSU was interviewed).

TinyURL vs. HugeURL
TinyURL is a well-known service that will shrink a long URL with a brief one that redirects you to the original site. HugeURL is a funny spoof that turns short URLs into obscenely long ones.

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Tech Sharecase, 6 August 2009

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Ryan Phillips
Attendees

Randy Hensley, Louise Klusek, Mike Waldman, Stephen Francoeur, Ryan Phillips, Arthur Downing, Frank Donnelly, Rita Ormsby.

AirBaruch

We discussed the history of AirBaruch and potential new services the library would want to offer.

Text Message Reference
Some ideas on how to market chat reference were shared, including promoting it as a service for students “on the go.” Since students are using the chat service from the convenience of their workstations, mobile devices, et cetera, it might be ideal to market chat reference as a service for “where you are.” NYU has a shared phone to cover the service.

Phone Reference

The text message reference led to a discussion on how we provide phone reference. We discussed to what extent should we promote and field reference questions at the reference desk? We also discussed how we could expand this service.

E-textbooks and E-books

Stephen discussed a pilot project for patron-initiated acquisitions of e-books at BMCC.

The library has been given funds to purchase textbooks in the fall for students; we are looking into the possibility of using some of that money to buy textbooks in an e-book format.

Mike is working with a CIS professor whose class has 2 required books that will be in ebook format (one a Kindle form and the other Books24x7). Newman Library will provide the Kindle.

Supporting Baruch’s Film Studies Minor

With the introduction of a new film studies minor, the library is looking into ways we can provide films to support the classes.
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