MOBIUS Libraries

This was an app I initially gave the benefit of the doubt to, but decided it falls more into gimmick territory. Essentially it tracks a person's movements and phone use, and from there decides if a person is facing health problems. I see too many false positives or deductions that would have to be made--a person could be using their phone less from both not feeling well but also from working out and not having it with them. However the general concept is sound--especially if it becomes connected to a device that monitors and reports a patient's vital signs.

Tynker is a new computing platform designed specifically to teach children computational thinking and programming skills in a fun and imaginative way. The cloud hosted system is now available to teachers, schools and districts

The Chicago public library now offers 3D printers to any library card holder.

So awesome.

An interesting survey where it shows younger readers 16-29 are more likely to use books, use traditional library services, and read e-books on an computer rather than an e-book reader than their older (30-49) counterparts.

"The ALA Washington Office held a special informational session on Sunday afternoon to let librarians get a head start on helping their patrons enroll for healthcare through the new Affordable Care Act, which aims to provide reasonable health insurance for all Americans equally, regardless of any pre-existing conditions."

"The nation's librarians will be recruited to help people get signed up for insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Up to 17,000 U.S. libraries will be part of the effort to get information and crucial computer time to the millions of uninsured Americans who need to get coverage under the law."

The legal debate over Google's used of scanned books continues, with a legal victory in the reversal of a court order allowing authors to sue as a group. An eventual outcome is the legal definition of fair use may see a court case that makes clear definitions everyone will be able to benefit from.

The Harvard Graduate School of Design's website for their "Labrary" (Library Laboratory) that tests out library design ideas on a real world 1:1 scale.

Help via chat isn't a service we've ever offered, but maybe we should. This product looks awesome and it integrates with UserVoice, skype, etc. Could be a stellar new tool.

Help via chat would be very cool!

I've got a free account on here. I'm looking at the various features and possible integrations with other things we use. I think we could really improve the customer experience and get better information about our tickets and have better performance metrics than we are getting out of RT.

"Branch closures and staff cuts are on the table at library districts around the nation as the summer budget process unfolds."

"What words and images do we use internally to articulate why our library exists? What moods, feelings, and energy do we want to project outward?"

Very interesting article!

"The main floor looks more like a sleek Apple showroom than a stuffy library. And instead of a Genius Bar, there's an Ask Me alcove, where you can get help on everything from laptops to flash drives. Rather than the Dewey system, color-coded walls, stairs and elevators help you find not just books and research papers, but also media rooms, video game collections and even a 3-D printing lab to create plastic models. But the best part? Built with state funds and private donations, it's open to the public. Welcome to the library of the future."

An article that mainly repeats many current trends in libraries but is notable for appearing in a mainstream publication (Time Magazine) and being surprisingly aware of some new developments such as maker culture.

An interesting article about the rise of "altmetrics" or alternative metrics for some researchers to show the use and relevance of their work. While it doesn't hurt, some questions are raised such as how many people visiting a website or tweeting a pictures really grasp and use the research and also gives an edge to researchers who's work may be newsworthy as opposed to relevant but difficult for the layperson to understand.

An article that references the closure of the University of Missouri last year, and mainly emphasizes that university presses need to focus on fund raising, advocacy, building alliances, and maintaining relevance in a changing publishing landscape.

A sort article about how some web users are going to anonymous web search engines after the revelations about the widespread snooping of the NSA.