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Top Ten Links 2.27: The Digital Divide, Digital Devices & Your Rights, Personal Brand, Time Management & More!

July 10, 2011
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Top Ten Links 2.27: The Digital Divide, Digital Devices & Your Rights, Personal Brand, Time Management & More!

My personally selected top ten from the links I shared on Twitter 7.2.2011 through 7.9.2011. In no particular order: 1. Comcast targeting digital divide - If you’ve heard me speak or read my writings about the digital divide you know I applaud the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to ensure that high-speed internet access is available to everyone. But that I also express concern that just making it available doesn’t solve the problem, there are still the issues of the affordability of the service, the affordability of the hardware to use it and the skills needed to use it all well. Comcast is addressing the first of these two issues. In an attempt to bridge the nation’s digital divide, the country’s largest Internet provider soon will offer discountbroadband access to help low-income families get online. The service, called Internet Essentials, costs $9.95 a month for households that qualify. Also as part of the program, subscribers will be able to purchase a computer for $150. 2. Digital Divides & Digital Literacies: An Ongoing Report | The Young and The Digital #digitaldivide. In this interview S. Craig Watkins, author of The Young and The Digital, talks with Tony Cox about the Digital Divide. Great stuff can’t wait to see/read/listen to more! Earlier this

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Library Day in the Life Round 7 Will Run July 25th through the 31st #libday7

July 6, 2011
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Library Day in the Life Round 7 Will Run July 25th through the 31st #libday7

It’s hard to believe but Round 7 of Library Day in the Life Project will run July 25th through the 31st. What is the Library Day in the Life Project? It’s a chance to share your day, or week, with other librarians and hopefully the public at large. It started when I come discovered someone had searched “What’s a librarian’s day like” to find my blog so I wrote a blog post suggesting that we blog what we do all day at work.  Then we (and maybe patrons) could see what we do all day. Some people blogged a day, others like me blogged a week. Then it took off.. Last round there were just under 250 people signed up on the wiki. There were over 800 people participating via Twitter.  It has grown to be an international project with participants from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, France, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore. Participants are from academic, public, college, special, school libraries, professional organizations and library vendors.  Thanks to Emma Cragg and Katie Birkwood it was mentioned in an article in The Guardian. How do you participate? Go to the wiki Create an account (it’s free), carefully read the instructions for adding your content. On the 24th start recording your

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ALA and post ALA eBook News Wrap Up #ala11

July 5, 2011
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ALA and post ALA eBook News Wrap Up #ala11

There were many announcements made during and around the time of ALA that related to ebooks and libraries. I’ve put together a list in case you  missed any. Library Specific ALA Annual 2011: New Ebook Service Launched, Takes Its Inspiration from Freegal Library Ideas, LLC, has launched a new ebook service for libraries that’s similar to the company’s Freegal Music product. Freading will offer 20,000 copyrighted titles from 16 publishers with a mix of frontlist and backlist titles, the company said today at the American Library Association’s annual conference in New Orleans. The publishers that have signed on include Sterling Publishing, Sourcebooks, Andrews McMeel, and Regnery Publishing. Library Ideas cofounder Brian Downing says he’s hopeful a major publisher will join as well. 3M To Launch Library Ebook Lending Service 3M Library Systems announced in May that it would be unveiling a new ebook lending service for libraries—including an in-library “Discovery Terminal,” 3M eReaders, and 3M apps—at the 2011 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in New Orleans. When launched, it would be a competitor to OverDrive, which currently dominates the library ebook market. B&T Launches Axis 360 Library Media Platform at ALA Baker and Taylor announced plans to roll out its Axis 360 digital media circulation and management platform, a new

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Top 10 Links 2.26: Google+, Digital Illiteracy, Staying Positive and More!

July 3, 2011
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My personally selected top ten from the links I shared on Twitter 6.25.2011 through 7.1.2011. 1. Definitely! RT @pcsweeney: Could Google+ Ruin Your Online Personal Brand? great post from Patrick Sweeney that will get you think about what information we’re supplying Google and others. I started thinking about the amount of metadata that we are creating for each other and about each other. I started thinking about twitter lists, facebook groups, and other classifications in the multitude of social media platforms that we, our company, or our brand, is being put into against our will and without our control. 2. PBS Launches LearningMedia, Digital Repository for Ed Content via @hackeducation #iste11 @audreywatters #ala11 – this is a prek through 13+ resource. Check it out! PBS is launching a new repository of digital resources for educators today. PBS LearningMedia offers free access to thousands of pieces of digital content, including videos, interactive media, and support materials. That material comes not just from PBS, but from over 30 local member stations, as well as from other publicly funded organizations including the National Archives, NASA, and the Library of Congress. 3. The Digital Era Needs Human Guides: Why Your School Should Keep, Not Cut, the Librarian via @SpotlightDML As we’ve

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eBook FAQs. 36 Most Common Questions Answered by the OITP eBook Task Force

June 29, 2011
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I’m just getting back from ALA and there is so much to process, wrap up and share! Last week the OITP eBook Task Force released these ebooks FAQs.  pdf here Frequently Asked E-book Questions from Public Librarians Prepared by the OITP E-book Task Force The OITP E-book Task Force is responding to FAQs sent to us by public librarians. (Future FAQs will focus on questions from the school library community). We anticipate that additional questions will be added over time. 1.  What are e-books? An e-book is a digitally expressed narrative containing text and other media. Many e-books are electronic versions of printed books; increasingly authors and content creators are creating e-books with no print analogues.  Most current e-books exist as packages that can be read on computing devices using a browser-based application or on a dedicated e-reader device. Some e-books are enhanced and include indexes, dictionaries, maps, video, and geolocational or interactive elements such as simulations as an integral part of the book.  Most e-book distribution platforms permit bookmarking and annotations.  At this time, the majority of trade digital books that public libraries typically acquire do not presently have these features. 2. How many libraries provide e-books? In 2011 two-thirds of U.S. public libraries offered e-books, up from 38

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photo by Beth Tribe

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