Since its inception a decade ago, the laptop lending service at the UCLA Library has become a cornerstone of the UCLA experience for students and instructors. With a campus of nearly 40,000 students, laptop lending operates on a large scale: Last year alone, our fleet of 275 laptops were checked out over 100,000 times across 7 lending locations, with an average checkout time of 2.7 hours. Another 100 laptops were used in classrooms for a combined 20 weeks of instruction. Our current system of managing laptops has evolved with hardware choices, staffing changes, patron requests, lending methods and the forward march of technology. We expect to continue this evolution as we address physical and virtual security, increasingly collaborative environments, software virtualization, and the growing momentum behind mobile devices. Are you looking to institute a laptop or other mobile device lending program? Do you have an existing program that you’d like…
March issue of ITAL available
I’m pleased to announce the publication of the March issue of Information Technology and Libraries. Issue contents are listed below. To receive automatic notifications of future issues, please subscribe to ITAL. Suggestions and feedback are always welcome, please send to: Bob Gerrity ITAL Editor gerrityr (at) gmail.com Information Technology and Libraries Volume 32, Number 1 (March 2013) CONTENTS Editorials Bob Gerrity Editor’s Comments Patrick “Tod” Colegrove Editorial Board Thoughts: Libraries as Makerspace? Articles Danielle Becker and Lauren Yannotta Modeling a library web site redesign process: developing a user-centered web site through usability testing This article presents a model for creating a strong, user-centered web presence by pairing usability testing and the design process. Four rounds of usability testing were conducted throughout the process of building a new academic library web site. Participants were asked to perform tasks using a talk-aloud protocol. Tasks were based on guiding principles of web usability that served as a framework for…
LITA Guide: Improving the visibility and use of digital repositories through SEO
Recent OCLC surveys show that less than 2 percent of library users begin their search on a library website, which is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so crucial. And though a survey of faculty researchers at four major universities showed that most consider Google and Google Scholar amazingly effective for their research, low Google Scholar indexing ratios for library institutional repositories is widespread because it ignores common library metadata. Kenning Arlitsch and Patrick OBrien, who have presented and published widely on the topic, show how to ensure that high-value content is visible to researchers in their new book “Improving the Visibility and Use of Digital Repositories through SEO: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource. Drawing on their expertise in digital libraries and corporate marketing, they show how to mount a successful SEO strategy, including: Recommended dashboards for increasing participation by sharing data; Avoiding the four most common crawler…
LITA Guide Available: Implementing virtual reference services
Social Web technologies present an often confusing array of options for answering library users’ reference questions. In “Implementing Virtual Reference Services: A LITA Guide,” published by ALA TechSource, editor Beth C. Thomsett-Scott applies 20 years’ experience as a reference librarian to sort through the clutter of tools and technologies in the industry. Contributors from across the field lay out how libraries are using vendor services such as LibraryH3lp, LibAnswers and Text a Librarian, as well as free tools like Twitter and Google Voice, for their reference needs. Practitioners offer details on virtual reference services such as Twitter Search, instant messaging (IM) services such as Google Voice and Chat and collaborative services such as My Info Quest. Thomsett-Scott is currently the engineering librarian at the University of North Texas Libraries. In her previous role as reference unit manager, she assisted with establishing the libraries’ Meebo service, as well as their chat…
Cory Doctorow to present LITA President’s Program
Cory Doctorow will present “More than a book-lined Internet Cafe: LITA President’s Program” from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 30th in Chicago. Zoe Stewart-Marshall, LITA President, welcomes Cory Doctorow to present the LITA President’s program. Doctorow is a digital rights activist, science fiction writer, and, Boing Boing co-editor. Stewart-Marshall said “More than a book-lined Internet Café” promises to be a lively, thought-provoking talk on how libraries can and do stand on the front lines of the debate over the role of free information, and free information technology in ensuring the healthy maintenance of a free society. And yes, he will talk about DRM.” Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger — the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of young adult novels like PIRATE CINEMA and LITTLE BROTHER and novels for adults like RAPTURE OF THE NERDS and MAKERS. He…
Jobs in Library Technology: March 7
New vacancy listings are posted weekly on Wednesday at approximately 12 noon Central Time. They appear under New This Week and under the appropriate regional listing. Postings remain on the LITA Job Site for a minimum of four weeks. New This Week Executive Director/System Administrator, Montgomery County Library & Information Network Consortium, Conshohocken, PA
Meet the Candidates on Circulating Ideas
Check out the newest episode of Circulating Ideas, for short interviews with most of the candidates for LITA offices in the upcoming election (I was unfortunately not able to get ahold of all candidates). I encourage everyone in LITA, and throughout ALA, to learn more about the candidates running for office. We don’t have mud-slinging smear campaigns in the library world, but the candidates do all have their own strengths and interests and will take their divisions in different directions. Other March episodes of the podcast will deal with other ALA offices / divisions, so stay tuned. Thanks for listening and I hope everyone takes the time to vote, starting March 19!
Introduction to Python: Join Us in Chicago for a LITA Preconference
Are you ready to start coding? Have you made your ALA Annual travel plans yet? The Library Code Year Interest Group (a joint ALCTS and LITA Interest Group) will be offering a full-day pre-conference workshop on Python before this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Attendees will learn the basics of the Python programming language with ample opportunities for hands-on, project-based practice. Using a curriculum based on the one developed by the Boston Python Workshop, we will teach attendees the syntax and key features of Python while providing them with an opportunity to work through practice exercises. During the second half of the day, attendees will have the opportunity to complete a short project in Python to use the skills they have learned. Experienced teaching staff will be on hand to provide support and feedback throughout the workshop. While we’ll cover a lot of ground, this workshop does not assume…
Jobs in Technologies: February 27
New vacancy listings are posted weekly on Wednesday at approximately 12 noon Central Time. They appear under New This Week and under the appropriate regional listing. Postings remain on the LITA Job Site for a minimum of four weeks. New This Week Dean of Libraries, Stony Brook University , Stony Brook, NY Head of Library Technology, McConnell Library, Radford, VI Librarian, Missouri College, Trenton, MO Metadata Librarian, Georgetown University Library, Washington, DC Open Source System Administrator/Programmer, Amigos Library Services, Dallas, TX Programmer I, Kansas State University Libraries, Manhattan, KS Visit the LITA Job Site for more available jobs and for information on submitting a job posting.
LITA HTML5 Web Course held March 4, 6, 8, and 11
Building Web Applications with HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript: An Introduction to HTML5, presented by Jason Clark of Montana State University Library, is now available for registration. Geolocation, native video, offline storage, semantic markup elements, responsive Web design, canvas elements, voice input, drag and drop, opacity, gradients… HTML5 (a generic term which includes new HTML tags, enhanced CSSstyles/behaviors, and new Javascript APIs) has been released and is changing the way Web developers work. With wide support in mobile browsers and the latest browser releases from Google and Firefox, HTML5 is poised to be the technology that will help build the next version of the Web. Building Web Applications with HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript: An Introduction to HTML5 will consist of four live lectures held from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. CST on March 4, 6, 8, and 11, with additional self-paced modules in Moodle; lectures will also be recorded and posted to the course Moodle site. Participants will examine the trends and enhancements that HTML5, CSS3 and the new Javascript…