Great Marketing -Google at ALA 2006

Google highlights its presence at ALA 2006 -nice 3min video
link

PDF of hints for using Boolean Operators

From Laurie the Librarian via Librarian in Black
Laurie has posted many useful guides on her blog, and this one is particularly useful for some of our patrons. Thanks Laurie and LIB!

Ex Libris to be Acquired by Francisco Partners

In a joint announcement library software producer Ex Libris and the California-based equity fund Francisco Partners (FP) have announced they have reached a "definitive agreement" on the acquisition of 100% of Ex Libris by FP. The final acquisition is expected to occur in September of this year.

For those of us wed to Ex Libris in a sort of codependent "love-hate" marriage the news brings a mixed response. On one hand an infusion of solid management and a dose of cold, hard cash can certainly be a good thing. On the other hand, equity funds expect performance and it is likely that the entire Ex Libris product line will be evaluated for return on investment. That doesn't bode well for a couple of products, notably their Aleph LMS. Ex Libris said in their internal announcement that nothing will change, stating:

"Ex Libris will continue to develop and enhance its existing products based on market trends and requirements generated by our customers. The financial backing of Francisco Partners will enable us to explore acquisition opportunities for complementary products in the library automation and e-resource markets."

Time will tell.

recommendation engines

Here's a
link to the main site with links to recommendation engines for music, films and books. And here's the link to the literature-map, the book recommendation engine. Lots of fun. Watch your favorite author's names fly on near-collision courses as they are arranged to show relevance by proximity.

Amazon to launch movie service

Advertising Age reports that because of Apple’s digital music dominance, Amazon chose to drop music and focus on video. “The service, which is referred to as Amazon Digital Video—or Amazon ‘DV’—has evolved over the past year from a music-themed offering to a video-centric one, according to production-studio and TV-network executives briefed on the plans. The reason? Apple already commands such a large share of digital-music sales that Amazon felt it would be too difficult to break into the market.” Amazon’s service will require users to install software to buy videos individually, “likely as part of a download-to-own model, or subscribe to them, like a digital version of Netflix’s rental model.”

Amazon to launch movie service

Advertising Age reports that because of Apple’s digital music dominance, Amazon chose to drop music and focus on video. “The service, which is referred to as Amazon Digital Video—or Amazon ‘DV’—has evolved over the past year from a music-themed offering to a video-centric one, according to production-studio and TV-network executives briefed on the plans. The reason? Apple already commands such a large share of digital-music sales that Amazon felt it would be too difficult to break into the market.” Amazon’s service will require users to install software to buy videos individually, “likely as part of a download-to-own model, or subscribe to them, like a digital version of Netflix’s rental model.”

Academic PR Forum and Library Giveaways

Fearless Future, an innovative consulting firm focusing on "education, libraries, and groups that work for the common good", has launched Academic PR a forum for discussing the marketing efforts of academic endeavors. The initial post discusses library marketing and library giveaways and how to gain the most from library marketing efforts.

OCLC news

OCLC is planning to launch a new destination site and downloadable search box for searching the content of libraries participating in WorldCat. Scheduled for a beta release sometime in August 2006, the new WorldCat.org site will continue OCLC’s efforts begun with its Open WorldCat program to make library resources more visible to Web users and to increase awareness of libraries as a primary source of reliable information.

More information and links here

Guide to evaluating databases

From Librarianinblack.com

Laurie the Librarian has posted a guide to help staff evaluate subscription databases for the library. She's also made it available as a 2-page PDF.

33 Places to Hangout in the Social Networking Era

Check out this really impressive list of social networks.
33 Places to Hangout in the Social Networking Era

This entry, in particular, caught my attention:

BookCrossing - In the real world, bookcrossing is 'the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.' BookCrossing aims to turn this concept virtual, and exactly that.
Best for: Book lovers

Looks like fun!!

Here's a place where you can have a defintion printed on a t-shirt. What a service!! What possibilities!! A gift for someone who has everything! link

...and if that's not enough fun, create your own artwork! link What a retirement plan!!

Connotea - a free online reference management service

Check out Connotea.This site provides the ability to create your own tags, bookmarks and more related to research. It also provides the detailed citation information and allows you to see what others have found that may be related to your area of research.

The front page looks strange at first glance but what it is actually providing is a look at what other Connotea users are currently reading about. The size and colorization indicates recent usage and how frequently a tag is used.

Along with the services it provides, it incorporates brief (2 minutes or so) tutorials targeted at specific areas or needs. Take a look and see what you think.

The site is provided by the Nature Publishing Group (http://www.nature.com/index.html)

Free eBooks anybody?

World eBook Fair July 4th - Aug 4th


World eBook Fair is sponsored by Project Gutenberg , World eBook Library Consortia , DPP Store , Baen Books , Qoop , Ask.com

Please visit us (see below) from July 4th-August 4, 2006 to download your selections from 1/3 million free eBooks.

July 4th to August 4, 2006 marks a month long celebration of the 35th anniversary of the first step taken towards today's eBooks, when the United States Declaration of Independence was the first file placed online for downloading in what was destined to be an electronic library of the Internet. Today's eBook library has a total of over 100 languages represented.

http://www.worldebookfair.com/

Free iPod Foreign Phrasebooks and more!

From the site:

Coolgorilla is dedicated to bringing you free iPod software. That's right, every download on this site is free and won't cost you a penny. So if your looking to turn your iPod into a phrasebook to help you learn another language, turn it into an interactive encyclopaedia crammed full of facts about your favourite sport or just have some fun and use it to play games you've come to the right place.

Samsung’s Braille phone wins gold at IDEA 2006

From PDALive.com

Samsung’s Braille mobile phone for the visually impaired has won the Gold Award at the Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), one of the world's most authoritative design competitions.

The “Touch Messenger” enables the visually impaired users to send and receive Braille text messages. The 3 x 4 button on the phone is used as two Braille keypads and text messages can be checked through the Braille display screen in the lower part.

At the moment, the “Touch Messenger” is just a concept, but Samsung is willing commercialize it some day, which could boost the quality of life for as many as 180 million people worldwide.