Riding the Digital Trail: Creating Book Trailers - by Naomi Bates

Texas Library Media Specialist of the Year Naomi Bates created an online presentation (Presi) on best practices for creating book trailers (promotions, like movie trailers).  Naomi's presentation is "Book Trailers: Making Students Want to Read."  Well done!  See below.

Book trailers - Making students want to read created by Naomi Bates, Northwest High School on Prezi

PREZI is a popular presentation tool -- try it and you'll see it is more engaging than the traditional Powerpoint, and so much more accessible!

LITA Annual Library Technology Trends - July 2010

Each year at the American Library Association conference, the LITA Division -- Library Information Technology Association, sponsors a program called Top Ten Library Technology Trends.  The list is longer than ten trends, but includes short term and longer term trends.

Wireless Mobility Applications for Libraries

The American Library Association Office of Information Technology Policy has created an 18-page document on mobile technology and libraries for distribution and discussion at the ALA annual conference in Washington, DC. in June 2010. See below.

OITP brief explores mobile technology and libraries
There’s an App for That! Libraries and Mobile Technology: An Introduction to Public Policy Considerations (PDF file), released June 16 by the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, takes a look at how the adoption of mobile technology alters the traditional relationships between libraries and their users. Authored by OITP Consultant Timothy Vollmer, the brief explores reader privacy, access to information, digital rights management, and accessibility....
District Dispatch, June 16

READ Image Generator by ALA Graphics

The end of a school year or beginning of summer vacation is a good time to remind book lovers of this cool tool. American Library Association Graphics makes it easy for members and friends to create their own, mini READ Posters. Simply download your photo (or anyone's photo), select one of four READ backgrounds, then add text if you wish.

How could you use it? Invite all teachers, students, and staff to get their own very special mini-READ poster? I'm sure students of all ages will come up with lots of creative ideas.

Checking Out the Future - OITP

The American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy released the first of several 2010 policy briefs on the revolution in information technology and its implications for the future of libraries. The 24-page February 2010 policy brief by Jennifer Hendrix, Checking Out the Future: Perspectives from the Library Community on Information Technology and 21st-Century Libraries "explores how many library professionals are driving adaptations designed to ensure that libraries remain an integral part of our society’s commitment to education, equity, and access to information...."

Federal Stimulus Fund Dollars for Public Libraries and Community Colleges

The American Library Association's Office of Information and Technology Policy (OITP) successfully advocated for more Federal Stimulus Funds for public libraries. Carrie McGuire, ALA Director, OITP Program on Networks, is to be commended.

On Friday, 1/22, Carrie hosted a "GoToWebinar" presentation for ALA members, featuring John Windhausen and Robert Bocher on "Stimulus Funds: Round 2 -- Get Connected". See archived version at http://ala.org/knowyourstimulus

John Windhausen credited ALA for upgrades to NTIA and RUS grant programs. He said that part 2 of the Stimulus Funds will have the same 3 programs as the first part:

• CCI - Comprehensive Community Infrastructure - emphasis now includes libraries as key community "anchor" entities.
• PCC - Public Computer Centers
• Sustainable broadband

Timing:
March 15 is deadline for applying for round #2; Grants will be awarded from Summer through September 30, 2010.

Scoring preference:

• Applications for programs that serve the needs of healthcare, education, children and "vulnerable populations" and unserved/underserved areas.
• Public Computer Center programs are obvious areas for libraries and community colleges, yet there is a lot of competition for this money from other community organizations.
• NEW emphasis on community colleges and training (workforce training)
• NEW emphasis on "community anchor institutions"

Priorities: (p. 12 NOFA)

• includes partnerships - govt, nonprofit, for-profit, community
• addresses economically distressed areas
• commitment to serve community colleges

Hope the end result of these grant requests and programs do what they are meant to do: provide broadband connectivity to communities and individuals who do not have access or are underserved.

LITA Top Technology Trends - ALA Midwinter 2010

Twice a year at the American Library Association conferences, Midwinter and Annual, the Library & Information Technology (LITA) Division has a panel of library technology gurus talk about top tech trends. At MidWinter in Boston this January, the panel presented a number of trends. (Missing: Clifford Lynch.)

• David Walker talked about discovery layers.
• Amanda Etches-Johnson spoke on user experience design. Amanda co-founded INFLUX, a UX design agency targeting libraries. The push toward putting content on mobile devices necessitates better UX design, in that with mobile devices developers are forced to give users the simplest access to data possible.
• Lauren Pressley talked about augmented reality, or, the blending of physical and virtual environments, as a great tool for learning or microlearning.
• Joe Murphy discussed mobile apps as a research gateway. SMS, he said, is the oldest and most popular of all the means of mobile communication, and the protocol has exploded in libraries in the past year, with services like Text a Librarian.
• Jason Griffey talked about mobile access to data in libraries.
  

ALA Conference Notes (COGNOTES) goes digital

ALA Conference Live!

I took a break to check mail, tweet, post to blogs and facebook. It is a day before the ALA annual conference and exhibits really start, but the crowds of librarians are building. Waiting in my email was a digital version of COGNOTES, the daily conference newsletter. I've been looking forward to the exhibits and also was curious about which vendors were library "Champions", the highest level of supporters. Well, COGNOTES has a fancy version of its exhibits floorplan. Some booths are colored blue and some are red. Blue ones indicate Library Champions -- click on the blue and go to their website. For example, Demco and WH Wilson are Library Champions. Red colored booths indicate vendors who have paid extra for a link to their website.

NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program

This post is a follow-up to the November 2008 FCC broadband hearing in San Jose.

Today's "kick-off" to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008 Broadband Initiative took place in Washington, DC. The Public Meeting of NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program included a live webcast, viewed by at least 1,750.

Public Meeting Description: The U.S. Congress has appropriated $4.7 billion to establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program for awards to eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas and improve access to broadband by public safety agencies. Of these funds, $250 million will be available for innovative programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services; at least $200 million will be available to upgrade technology and capacity at public computing centers, including community colleges and public libraries; $10 million will be a transfer to the Office of Inspector General for the purposes of BTOP audits and oversight. Up to $350 million of the BTOP funding is designated for the development and maintenance of statewide broadband inventory maps.

Presenters included:

• Anna Gomez, Acting Administrator, NTIA, US Department of Commerce.
  
• Tom Vilsack, Secretary of US Department of Agriculture. See Rural Development website.
• Michael J. Copps, Acting Chair, FCC.
• Rick Wade, Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff, US Department of Commerce.

Panel on Broadband initiatives, statutory requirements and timelines included:

• (Moderator) Mark Seifert, NTIA Senior Advisor
• Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, Associate Administrator, NTIA
• David Villano, Assistant Administrator for Telecommunications Programs, USDA Rural Development
• Scott M. Deuchman, Acting Senior Legal Advisor to Acting Chairman Copps, FCC.
  

The last portion of the hearing was devoted to Q&A. One of the many questions came from Alan Inouye, director of the American Library Association Office of Information Technology Policy, who asked for upcoming public meeting dates and stated that he hopes that grants to service providers will make access and discounts available to public libraries.

There will be a comment period before grant rules and regulations are determined. Then, the grants will be given out as fast as possible.