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Tag Archives: E-books
Dreaming about the Future of the Book
The design team at IDEO just put out this video exploring three different models for ebooks that greatly expand on the concept of a “book.” I’m particularly intrigued by the first one, Nelson, which seems to embed a book into related discourses about it and the topics it covers.
The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged E-books, Videos
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Tech Sharecase, 17 September 2010
Attendees
Arthur Downing, Stephen Francoeur, Joseph Hartnett, Ellen Kaufman, Rita Ormsby, Ryan Phillips, Michael Waldman
Google Maps Mania
We looked at some of the mashups of Google Maps found on the site, Google Maps Mania:
- Commute Map (enter a ZIP code and see where residents commute to or where people are coming from who commute to that ZIP code)
- Public Data Explorer (this Google Labs project visualizes large data sets on maps)
Using Google Maps Drag and Zoom
We looked at an Google Map Labs tool (Drag ‘n’ Zoom) that you can turn on in Google Maps that lets you zoom in by drawing a square with your mouse on a map region.
Death of Bloglines
In talking about the recent announcement that Bloglines, a feed reader, would be shutting its service down soon, we discussed the increasing reliance of some on Twitter and Facebook for alerts to notable items from RSS feeds (especially blog posts).
Students on Twitter
We talked about whether it seems like more Baruch students are on Twitter these days and fewer are on Facebook. If you look at the Twitter search on “baruch college” you’ll see that a number of the tweets are clearly from students. It also appears to be the case that campus use of Skype is larger than expected.
Summon Adds Its 100th Customer
An announcement from Serials Solutions about Summon led to this interesting article by Sean Fitzpatrick in American Libraries.
Libraries Acquring Ebooks Rights?
An interesting blog post by Eric Hellman about whether it might make sense for a national consortium of libraries to form that would try to negotiate for rights to select ebooks.
Hathi Trust
We took a look at the Hathi Trust website to figure out what exactly the project offers (backup and preservation of digitized books). We then played around with the search inside books feature and compared it to Google Book Search and the Internet Archive’s collection of digitized books.
Google Instant
We discussed whether Google Instant might improve our students’ search skills or worsen them.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Bloglines, Discovery tools, E-books, Facebook, Feed Readers, Google, Google Book Search, Google Instant, Google Maps, Hathi Trust, Mashups, Serials Solutions, Social search, Summon, Tech Sharecase, Twitter
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Tech Sharecase, 4 June 2010
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.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon Kindle, Data sets, Data visualization, Digital Media Library, E-book readers, E-books, Google, Google Docs, Tech Sharecase, Videos
1 Comment
Tech Sharecase, 9 April 2010
Attendees
Janey Chao, Arthur Downing, Stephen Francoeur, Moon-Seok Kang, Ellen Kaufman, Louise Klusek, Jin Ma, Ryan Phillips, Mike Waldman
Net Neutrality and the FCC
We discussed the recent court decision that ruled the FCC lacked the authority to regulate the internet, a move which presently curtails the FCC’s ability to issue policies relating to net neutrality (covered in this New York Times article from 6 April 2010). We noted, though, that because of this setback to the FCC, there may soon be legislation that will expressly give the FCC regulatory powers over the internet.
Launch of the iPad
Moon-Seok Kang, a BCTC lab assistant, showed us his brand new iPad and talked about its features and usability. We took a look at a blog post from NCSU Libraries about their new iPad loan program. We also discussed the news that Apple was developing a way to deliver ads in the apps that you can install on your iPhones and iPads (see this New York Times article from 9 April 2010). It was also suggested that we might benefit from having a regular gadget petting zoo, where library staff and faculty could get their hands on the latest technological gadgets to see what they look like and how they work.
Semantic Web
Jin Ma shared some notes of hers from what was Corey Harper’s presentation at the recent LACUNY/METRO event on the semantic web. We looked at the following:
- The Linked Open Data project at the New York Times
- Library of Congress Subject Headings in RDF
- VIAF (the Virtual International Authority File)
- Hellman, Eric. “The Library IS the Machine.” Go To Hellman, 7 April 2010. Web.
Flat World Knowledge
Arthur Downing gave an update on a recent meeting that he and a group of others from Baruch had with an executive from Flat World Knowledge to hear the company’s pitch to provide textbooks for selected courses here.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Apple, Authority files, E-books, Federal Communication Commission, Flat World Publishing, Identifiers, iPad, LACUNY, Linked data, METRO, Net neutrality, Semantic web, Tech Sharecase, Textbooks
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Tech Sharecase, 5 March 2010
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.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon Kindle, E-books, E-readers, mobile phones, Mobile web, mobile web development, Screencasts, Tech Sharecase, Textbooks, Videos, YouTube Inc
1 Comment
Tech Sharecase, 16 October 2009
Attendees
Arthur Downing, Ellen Kaufman, Stephen Francoeur, Harold Gee, Joseph Hartnett, Ryan Phillips, Mike Waldman
ARC and ALEPH
We discussed the challenges that the CUNY Office of Library Services is facing as it tries to set up ARC (Aleph 500 Reporting Center), which is a product from Ex Libris that allows Aleph 500 customers to generate sophisticated reports on the items in the catalog and their use.
Capturing User Experience
Ryan discussed capturing user experiences, some ideas and tools presented by Michael Lascarides as part of the NYPL Service Excellence symposium in September. Michael Lascarides is a User Analyst with the Digital Experience Group at NYPL. His presentation was titled “Uncovering Stories”. Two takeaways from his presentation discussed were how to capture user experiences and how users react to bad design and bad user experiences. One tool he mentioned for capturing users’ online experiences is Google Analytics, a tool for analyzing web site traffic. (If you are reading this blog post on the web, then you can view the slides from Lascarides’ presentation below.)
20090922 Lascarides
View more documents from DeEtta Jones and Associates.
SFX Page with Links to Google Books
We discussed the draft of the SFX FIND IT page that offers Google Books as a target when the item presented is a book that happens to be fully or partially available in Google Books. We also discussed the problems we had a few years ago with a trial to Safari Books.
SFX and bX
We also discussed the Ex Libris bX Recommender, which would function similarly to the Amazon recommendation feature (i.e., “You might also like…”). This tool, highlighted in Eric’s recent email about SFX options, presents article suggestions when you click the SFX Find It link next to an item in your search results. Stephen mentioned that Dave Pattern of University of Huddersfield gave a presentation at Internet Librarian International on how he uses transaction data from his catalog for “you might like” feature in his catalog. (If you are reading this blog post on the web, you can view the slides below; otherwise, you can find them online at Slideshare.)
ILI2009: Exploiting Usage Data
View more presentations from daveyp.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon.com, ARC, bX, Conferences, CUNY Office of Library Services, E-books, Ex Libris, Ex Libris Aleph, Google Analytics, Google Book Search, Google Books, Google Inc., Internet Librarian International, Michael Lascarides, NYPL, Recommendation systems, Safari Books, SFX, Tech Sharecase, UX, Web analytics
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Taking Another Look at the Google Book Search Settlement
An editorial in today’s New York Times notes that hearings will be held in the fall by a federal court that is looking into the settlement over Google Book Search that Google struck with the Author’s Guild and the American Association of Publishers.
For a good overview of the controversy over the Google Book Search settlement and the larger issue of the future of the book, this 29 May 2009 article by Sarah Glazer from CQ Researcher is great. You may also want to check out other Newman Library Idea Lab posts on Google Book Search.
Glazer, Sarah. “Future of Books” CQ Researcher 19.20 (2009): 473-500. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 29 July 2009.
“Google’s Big Plan for Books.” The New York Times, 29 July 2009. Web. 29 July 2009.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged American Association of Publishers, Author's Guild, CQ Researcher, Digital libraries, E-books, Google, Google Book Search, Legal issues, Sarah Glazer, The New York Times
Comments Off on Taking Another Look at the Google Book Search Settlement
Friday Tech Sharecase, 12 June 2009
Attendees
Arthur Downing, Jean Yaremchuk, Linda Rath, Louise Klusek, Lucas Waltzer, Mikhail Gershovich, Ryan Phillips, Stephen Francoeur.
Free service that offers collaborative simultaneous editing of documents. We used this service for taking notes for today’s meeting. EtherPad was used at LibCampNYC last week by people in sessions so they could collaboratively take notes.
Free service that allows attendees in a presentation or class to post questions and vote on them. Can be displayed in the room where the presentation so everyone can see it and respond to it (including the presenter). A similar service come from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, which offers its Question Tool for free use.
Berkman Institute Center for Internet & Society
Has lots of great presentations and lectures available as audio and video files.
Social network for members of the CUNY community. Uses BuddyPress, MediaWiki, and other services. If you want to sign up, contact Mikhail Gershovich directly, as the site currently has problems accepting new accounts from people with Baruch email addresses (a problem that will soon be fixed). Among the many functions offered here, users can use this site to create individual and team blogs. Another example of the use of BuddyPress in higher ed can be found in the example of the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, which has created a network of students, faculty, and administrators who are part of that community.
New theme search functionality coming soon that will make it to do more refined searches for particular aspects of themes. The admin panel for Blogs @ Baruch is being redone this summer. Blogs @ Baruch features course blogs, professional development blogs, faculty blogs, and even a student magazine (in the works).
The Newman Library Idea Blog (soon to be launched; see below) will have this Word Press plugin available. It allows blog post writers to display jacket art for books they discuss in posts and offer links to Open Library pages for books mentioned. It was noted that due to moves from OCLC regarding ownership of cataloging records, CUNY is looking into getting our records in Open Library so that we can always have a place to access our own records.
Discussion about this new blog that Stephen and Ryan are working on. It was agreed that the reference blog, which is currently hosted on Blogspot but will soon be migrated over to Baruch’s WordPress service, should have a similar layout to the Newman Library Idea Blog but have a different color scheme to help distinguish the two sites.
We discussed the possibility of putting links in the records for the Docutek system for course reserves to Google Book Search records if the book we have on reserve is also partly or fully available online in Google Book Search. An example is Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which is almost entirely available. If you look at too much content, though, Google doesn’t let you see any more pages (unless you close your browser and then come back to the book, perhaps).
Ebooks and the Kindle
Discussing Google Book Search brought up the matter of whether our students would want to read e-books. It was noted that Simon and Schuster announced they’ll sell digital books exclusively at Scribd. It was also mentioned that Mike Waldman and a CIS professor are working on a grant to get Kindles for each member for a CIS class whose textbooks will exclusively be titles found in Books 24×7.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Backchn.nl, Berkman Center for Internet, Blogging, Books 24x7, BuddyPress, Catalog records, CIS, Collaboration, CUNY Academic Commons, E-books, EtherPad, Google, Google Book Search, Howard Gardner, Kindle, Macaulay Honors College, MediaWiki, OCLC, Open Library, OpenBook, Question Tool, Scribd, Simon & Schuster, Social network, Tech Sharecase, Wikis, WordPress plugins
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