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Where New Tech Should Libraries Try Next?
99bottles asks: "I work for a good sized Public Library. The management folks want to have a sit down to discuss what our next tech. undertakings should be. We already offer free wireless, use Voice-over-IP, have self-checkout machines, have dropped Microsoft Office for OpenOffice.org, and are slowly but surely getting Linux to the desktop. It's not like we need to catch up, this is geared toward being unique and at the forefront. One manager believes that a video reference service would be popular, I've tried to convince him that video-phones have been around for decades and no one really wants them. So, I ask you, what would Slashdot readers want to see at the local library?"
You can check out DVDs, VHS tapes, Cassettes and CDs right? How about commercial music? They would, of course, be DRMed to expire after 2 weeks or whatever.
A grammar checker?
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
Hi,
:-) Print on demand of Project Gutenberg.
softcopies of your books, would take some organising
Community bookshare sort of like netflix/netbooks but controlled from the library. People give you there lists and you use the library as the exchange point.
Just make sure you don't sacrifice the classic library feel for tech.
My UID is prime... is yours?
Books
BOOKS! I'm doing my best not to call you names right now, just so you know. Spending all this money on computers and multimedia stuff is great, but it's always at the expense of having actual BOOKS. I went to the opening of the fancy new Seattle public library, where they spent I don't even _wanna_ know how much money on a really spectacular bit of architecture (modern crap, really, but it impresses the locals), a whole bunch of technology, and when I start perusing the book stacks, well, there's not as much there as one could hope for, by a LOT. Lots of really outdated stuff, major gaps in important works by major authors, not much new stuff (and only 1 or 2 copies of new and in-demand stuff). The Simpsons episode where they go to the library only to find out they've gotten rid of all the books, and are now "multimedia" libary is, of course, a parody, but unfortunately, hits a little too close to home.
So you've got so much fancy technology now that you don't know what to do next? Take that as a sign.
More books. C'mon, it's not _that_ hard to figure out, is it?
Clean out the obsolete computer technology books in your library, while you're at it - they're just taking up room, and they're not of use to people looking for something on the latest technology. Is there really a need for a 1960's book on Fortran?
Damn, I'm all worked up now - I need some chocolate.
OH, another thing - spend money on comfy seating. The new Seattle library is ridiculous about that.
Would have a server that mirrored popular open source distros plus stuffs like CPAN.
1. A section on developer tools, specifically compilers, language interpreters, etc. Compilers should be a -definite- Library section; and I do mean the actual apps themselves, as well as whatever source code for programming language/development systems have been made available in the library domain.
..
2. A section for 'retired architecture', so that I could, in 1000 years time, be sure that I could go to a Library with some media I found in grandads grave, rent some juice, and fire up the ol' memories
This would mean Libraries should become 'old-format graveyards', and on this issue I wholeheartedly concur. They should.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
I really hate that my library is spending money on computers, wireless, network access... How about spending the money on books, magazine subscriptions, and other things that a library needs to have.
And frankly - if you still have money left over, why not give it back to your taxpayers instead of finding random ways of spending it
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
English books in libraries so Slashdot editors know the difference between:
- Its, it's
- Their, They are, There
- Where, What
Perhaps using What instead of Where on a post about technology in Libraries would be a good start.
anything that is legally free for the copying. once it has been downloaded on demand by a patron,(or a librarian after first checking license, etc) then the library caches it, so it can pull from the local repository instead of the net. OS disks, other softwares, music,e-books, vids, podcasts, whatever. The deal is, unlike a normal lending library, the patron pays a nominal media dupe fee and gets to KEEP the media.
You never know when you'll need something like that for reference. It may not happen often (or ever), but the day could very well come.
Other than that, I'd have to agree with your point. Books are a nice thing to have in the library. :)
Goo goo g'joob.
Best feature I ever saw in a library was a "new book room". It had some of the latest stuff, like what you find at Barnes and Noble. It was the only time I ever managed to find up to date computer books as well. Most libraries I know the IT oriented computer books are so old that they are useless.
;p
They also had a room set aside where you could eat while you read/work, which would often fill up with groups of people working on things even when the rest of the library is empty.
As for more technology, I agree with the other posts that say stop wasting money.
more books.
First - I wholeheartedly agree that books are what the money should be spent on.
However, I'd like to at least partially disagree about getting rid of the old 1960's Fortran books. I realize that there is limited space, and there are priorities, but I think part of a library's function should be to serve as a historical archive.
I happen to find unit record equipment (pre-computer punch card machines) and early computers to be a fascinating topic, frankly much more interesting than what's going on in 2005. It's difficult to find information on them, despite the thousands of machines that must have been used and the volumes of text written about them.
When something is 10-20 years old, it's garbage and uninteresting. All of it gets throw in the dump and lost to the ages. 20 years after that, it's history, and those studying it always wish a little bigger sample was kept.
Appalling as it seems now, in 2035, wouldn't it be nice if there were a few Windows 95 reference books on the shelf?
Add RFID tags to all the books, and a reciver every 5-10 feet or along the bookshelfs. Add compatibility to the lookup system, to tell users where the book REALLY is, and not where it was last filed. Doubles as a security system.
Wonder what the public key field is for?
My local library, I guess.
"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
Rock Concerts!
-Colin
The most recent book in my local library about Linux is from 2000; the one before that is the red hat manual from 1996. New books are a GOOD thing
Show this to your friends and family that don't know what a real hacker is
You know you want it...
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
Along with some electronic(portable) dictionaries for the various languages. It's becoming more and more important for Americans to learn a 2nd(or 3rd!) language, and one of the more interesting ways to learn a language is to take an original(and hopefully interesting) text, and an accurately translated text, and use that translation as a guide.
Monstar L
Is there really a need for a 1960's book on Fortran?
Since differential equation solvers from that era, written in Fortran, are still in use, yeah, I think it would be great if I could use the interlibrary loan to borrow a Fortran text if I ever have to understand the guts of those routines. So I hope some library somewhere is preserving these.
Besides, where but in Fortran can one experience working with trinary logic conditionals? I still remember those three-tailed decision diamonds.
Why not migrate to an open source library management software package like Evergreen or Koha? More money for books, more control for you...
The one by the purple database. Its got more ram or something.
How grammar is should be improved? Hard reading question that is to be wrong words. Books in libary need so learn grammar better.
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
How about before you use the "Ask Slashdot" feature you just do a little research?
l ashdot+users+want+at+libraries
http://www.google.com/search?q=what+new+tech+do+s
-knewter
Books.
Are you sure your boss is meaning video phones when he says video reference???
One thing that could be cool in regards to video reference would be actual video footage that can be used for other stuff, for example if one is making a video production and wants to include footage of the shuttle landing, or various riots or other footage, it would be nice go to the library, find all the video footage you want, burn it to DvD and then go home and use it. I guess it would be more of a stock footage reference.
Just a thought.
I read Slashdot for the headlines, because the headlines, unlike the articles, are usually original and never duplicated
Seriously. Books, books, books (and coffee).
;)
A great anecdote of the SPL: I recently wanted to browse a mechanic's labor guide to see if my auto mechanic was being straight with me. These are insanely expensive, and your average person would never get enough use out of one to justify the cost. Yet everyone occasionally could use access to it. Perfect library material, right? Well, SPL doesn't have a single one. Not one: any year, any publisher. Bellevue, on the other hand, has a not-quite-so-impressive main library, but a full complement of labor guides. Similarly, SPL has an incredible on-line request system, but so few copies of popular books that thousand-person queues and six-month waits are not uncommon. For a town with such a tech reputation, the holdings on computing and programming are sparse and outdated. Yeah, tech and pop books can have a short shelf-life, but it shouldn't be hard to recoup some costs with an on-line sales system that targets older stuff to people who might want to buy it.
Libraries are about books, first and always. But I do also like the idea of having reading rooms with comfy chairs and coffee service, too.
Simple desktop additions:
* Wikipedia link.
* Suggestion box email link.
* Google Print link (Great full text book search).
Other stuff:
* Open source CD's (Linux, BSD, TheOpenCD, etc.) available for checkout, or even ISO's available for burning.
* CDR's, jumpdrives, minor network equipment, and other information media and technology for sale. Nothing expensive though, unless you have good security. The bookstore at my local university carries all this stuff.
I grew up ... not poor, but without enough money to buy books nearly as fast as I could read them. I'm where I am today because of a library full of books and it kills me to walk into my local library today and see barely a quarter of what I had as a kid.
I blame the professionalization of libraries. Just keeping lots of books on the shelves (and helping kids find what they need) was good enough for the elderly female volunteers of the past, but beneath the dignity of a librarian with an MS in Library Science. So the library becomes a cross between an Internet cafe and a homeless shelter.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Spending a local library's budget on books? What an odd concept.
My local library has (I kid you not) a big screen TV and several game consoles. *sigh*.
Your web-PAC should make Library Elf obsolete. I shouldn't be tempted to give a 3rd party my lib card number just to get timely emails of when my holds are in, and how soon everything I have is due.
In a related story, the IRS has recently ruled that the cost of Windows upgrades can NOT be deducted as a gambling loss.
Advice for libraries:
-- Stay open until midnight on friday and saturday night.
-- Let me borrow the book as long as I want. Like netflix. Or 1 year.
-- Have a 24 hours pickup/dropoff walk-up counter: I go online, I ask for a book by ISBN, the interlibrary exchange does its thing, and the book is delivered at the location in 24 hours (not 4 weeks), then I get an email: your book is ready. Give me 36 hours to drive by over there and pick it up, on my way home from work, at 9:45 PM, on Tuesday.
-- Have more books. I don't care if you have to rent one million square feet of warehouse space on the poor side of town, I want you to stock at least one copy of every single book currently in print in the western world, and have out-of-print books going back 50 years.
-- Stock comics, magazines, newspapers, car manuals, foreign titles, foreign comics.
-- Stock more than one copy of the latest New York bestsellers top ten list.
-- Have lots and lots of chairs and small tables. Hundreds of them.
-- Drop the computers. Who cares. You see computers at Borders?
-- Stay open until midnight on friday and saturday night. Are you getting it?
-- Copy machines at cost (no more than $0.02 per page) But you shouldn't have to, since the people can just take the books home.
-- Some people have mentioned printing on demand. You wouldn't have to offer that service if you had the book in stock to begin with. Have more books.
-- Forget cds and dvds. Books. But if you got to have DVDs, let people keep them a week or more.
-- Last but not least, allow people to talk to each other. It's not a morgue. I't not a study hall, nor a hospital. People like to go where it's lively.
I have a card (Los Angeles Public Library), but I don't go because, and yes, I'm talking to you my dear tax-consuming librarians: you're closed when I want to go there, you don't have the books I want to read, and I often take more than 3 weeks to read a book, especially if I'm trying to grok an O'Reilly title like "Programming Python".
I buy about 30 books a year (1 every 2 weeks approx.) and about one third are fiction, the others technical, so it's not like I don't like to read.
I hope you guys get it. The post office is open until 5 PM on Saturdays. They're adapting. You adapt too, or we'll use the tax money elsewhere.
"Piter, too, is dead."
Besides, where but in Fortran can one experience working with trinary logic conditionals?
SQL for instance... Must account for a value being Null.
"Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman
Electronic ink makes e-books not suck. They are high-contrast screens which can be read under bright daylight and use a minimum amount of power (many only use power when "turning pages" (refreshing the display). Read more about the LOC's use of E-ink.
It is very much in the early adopter stage. It is hard for a regular US consumer to get a device. I think I might have my SO pick me up a used Sony Librie when she's in Japan. Very cool stuff.
"Spending all this money on computers and multimedia stuff is great, but it's always at the expense of having actual BOOKS."
I guess that's where you're wrong.
Library meetings don't go: "hey, we have some money left, let's go buy some books." these things are budgeted.
My point is that libraries provide acces to information and I salute them for keeping up with modern times.
The main thing I like about modern libraries is that they provide free internet access.
I believe that in a good democracy every citizen should be able to get online for free. It's a part of being informed, since without information democracy is impossible.
Internet is a part of that, just as books and magazines are.
--> Insert Funny Sig Here
I work in a university library, the largest in my state, and by far the most important technology we've provided (beyond internet accessibility and an online catalog system) has been in the handicap accessibility areas.
-Get at least one video magnification machine. I think they're called "MERLIN" or something similar. You hold a book under the machine's camera and an enlarged image of the text appears on the monitor for seeing-impaired patrons. Failing that, have a well-maintained collection of magnifying glasses.
-Get some good, rugged headphones and equip all the computers with some good text-to-speech software. This is also good if your library has a literacy program so your non-reading patrons can actually use the internet.
-On the non-technical side of things: Use automatic doors, elevators and low shelving, or at least have the librarians offer a free paging service for handicapped patrons. A good collection of braile books is a good idea too.
The other very useful tech for libraries is a good up-to-date station for printing services. Copiers of all shapes and sizes, a fax machine, networked printers, scanners, memory-card readers and above all people with the know-how to maintain them (they'll break more than anything else). Also a typewriter would be a good purchase if you don't already have one available for public use.
If there's ever the technology to remotely shut down other people's cell phones- get that too.
Yes--books and periodicals are important. They are expensive to accumulate--in terms of financial cost & in terms of space usage. They also (for the most part) have a high signal-to-noise-ratio. I have been in libraries that have neglected either books or periodicals or both & this is both sad and frustrating.
However, ANYTHING which can generally inform or entertain the public belongs in a library are good. When I research, I want to have access to large quantities of relevant information & I want it to be EASY TO USE. Two decades ago, people argued against photocopiers in libraries, but they were as valuable then (and could be justified as easily) as document scanners, computerized card catalogs/checkout, etc. are today.
I do think tape/CD/video/DVD/etc. archives are as important and useful as the "dusty old" books, but I think the availability of digital storage should mean that libraries can have MORE content & allow for easier knowledge-transfer.
Finally, I personally welcome wireless access--it means less amount of library floor-space has to be tied up by library computers (which, like it or not, do see a lot of use). It also makes it easier for me to take my notes with me when I leave the library.
Most of the handicap hardware I mentioned is in my library, and unfortunately on a lowerlevel (basement) floor. Though there are three reliable elevators to it, and there are suitable fire exits, I can still see how it could be a problem.
you're right. i went to my local library a few weeks ago trying to find particular, pretty mainstream books on computer science and a little logic/math. not only did they not have the books, but they didn't have anything in the genre. oh well, perhaps i was being nieve.
Amen. I tried for three months to check out Calculus Made Easy. In the entire library system (22 libraries, which includes the University of Wisconsin) there wasn't an available copy of a book that is over a century old and still in print for $30.
If you've read the news articles on the subject you'll find that SPL's budget comes with lots of strings attached--the building was funded by a special levy that could only be used for construction projects, staff salaries are part of a complicated City of Seattle schedule, etc. It's not a big suprise that suburbs have better selection in many cases--they've got better and more flexible funding and more homogenous communities to reach.
I live a few blocks from my city's only branch library. It's cool that there is a branch library, but it's a storefront operation and rather small. The town has grown significantly since it was established. I daresay another branch closer to the economic center of town could be good. If not for the three university libraries in town, the community would be vastly underserved.
Corel 4 for dummies, Windows 95, Dos for Dummies. Sound like current volumns worthy of shelf space? Someone does cause they are the average books I see in Humbolt County!
Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
I like the opinions, offered above, about the whole "more books" thing, but I don't know how well stocked the library in question is. I also kinda like the "safe & sane use of RFID" mentioned above, but think that it might be overwhelming if the library in question has, say, 100k books, audio tapes, video tapes, DVDs, vinyl records, etc.
I also don't know if this particular library has microfiche or the like... but if it does, and since it hasn't been mentioned by the submitter, I'd say that the next thing that should be done, tech. wise, would be to digitize the entire collection and make it accessible through any terminal or computer connected through the LAN. I suggest this because, in the course of getting my History degree, I spent many a frustrating night paging through reel upon reel of microfilm. I also spent many an hour happily searching, finding, and printing old newspaper articles that had been digitized.
If your library is used by researchers, and/or has microfilm or microfiche... digitize it, please!
~UP
Eat the Path.
Libraries are more than just storage sites (i.e. not blockbuster et al.) for rentable items. They also serve as sanctuaries against the hustle and bustle of everyday life--they are places where you can read the newspaper or catch up on the latest philosophy journals (for instance). However, all too often the hustle and bustle invades the local library destroying the tranquility. For this reason, I would like to see libraries install white noise machines and better soundproofing.
"I'm a philosophy major. That means I can think deep thoughts about being unemployed." -- Bruce Lee
Libraries are notoriously easy to steal from, and popular (and expensive) technical manuals are among the most commonly stolen, and the most quickly obsolete.
Many libraries can't or don't want to bother with the costs associated with these kinds of materials, so they either don't carry them, have them scanned for online e-book checkout, or have them only on a limited access basis.
Public libraries in particular are usually founded with a mandate to promote community literacy and are less likely to carry highly technical specialized materials. They tend to focus their collections on best-sellers (which is also commonly stolen) and recreational reading programs, not only to keep illiteracy rates low but also to make sure that their services are used enough to justify their existence.
If you want to see more technical books at your public library, and you have the means to do so, I highly recommend offering a donation of up-to-date books (or just cold hard cash). Don't give them the outdated stuff, they're more likely to toss it than actually get it processed and shelved. Better yet, convince a publisher like O'Reilly to make the donation.
Also, don't bother with request forms or suggestion boxes- speak to a real live librarian and make your case known.
Something along the lines of the freedom toaster would be nice.
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Do it. Call the Internet Archive, see what they are up to and do it.
Personally, I think funds should be spent on longer hours for libraries, before getting the latest computer toys.
In San Jose, California, we have a new downtown library that's hooked up like you wouldn't believe. It's not open enough hours for the public to truly use it well, though. Fortunately, the library is jointly owned by the nearby college, and the college funds additional hours during the school year. Extended hours at the library are quite convenient because most downtown parking in San Jose becomes free after 6pm!
Unfortunately with government projects it's often easier to get money for new construction/projects instead of maintenance. New toys are sexy, and sexiness gets votes.
If the funding for your library is with strings attached, and those strings have to be spent on new computer technology, I suggest these:
* Free Wi-Fi everywhere in the library and as far into the surrounding areas as your access points can reach, if you don't already have this.
* CD-burning kiosks that burn CD's full of public domain books, from the Gutenberg Project and other sources.
* Similarly, DVD-burning kiosks that burn DVD's full of public domain videos/movies, from the Prelinger Archives and other sources.
* Book-on-demand printing presses for public domain books, something like this!
Good luck with your funding!
Dr. Demento On The 'Net!
Content is the key. Books yes, and other formats. I found an Australian library with an incredible collection of books on tape. I recall Monty Python, Bill Cosby, and Faulty Towers making my drive to work much more enjoyable.
If you're looking for a techno toy, consider a 7-in-one flash card writer, allowing people to transfer e-books or audio books to their SD cards to read on their Palm devices. Perhaps do a trial run with Project Gutenberg offerings.
Instead of positioning a dozen computers somewhere at random, allow for people to take a tablet pc at the begin of the library with a modernized version of the library program, connected to a wireless network. Include RFID tags with most books and allow the tablet pc to indicate where to move to find the actual book. Allow the tablet pc to offer you "Find similar books..." for the book you're holding etc.
:)
Oh, and make sure you have enough tablet pc's
I agree with what many people have said in that I think that, while some technology is necessary (i.e. the access to computers and internet), I think the priority should remain with having more books. I would also love to see extended hours, but I think another area that would be great is that of free programs. Many of the libraries in my area only offer programs for the elderly or very very basic computer courses (such as 'how to click a mouse...'). It would be great if there were other more advanced programs, perhaps some specifically geared towards children, minorities, women, or low income. Perhaps the library could sponsor chess, math, or computer contests. I also love libraries that have quiet rooms and I always find the technology and foreign language sections lacking.
A library that's open more than two days a week.
Have a couple of MythTV backends archiving all of the major news networks, CSPAN, History Channel, Discovery Channel, PBS, etc. Instead of TV-based frontends, have some PC's with CRT's and headphones as frontends.
In Sweden apparently they have libraries with self check in /check out. All the books have RFID tags and you drop it in a glass conveyer belt on the way in.
The biggest problem with most libraries today is that users have to visit the library to access most of the material. Obviously this is a requirement if people want to access hardcopy materials, but it shouldn't be necessary for softcopy materials. Considering that may publications are now available on CDROM, it would be great if this could be accessed from home (perhaps restricted to users who have valid library cards). There is also a lot of historical and community information that can be easily made available to people at home.
My local library has taken some small steps in this direction.
What makes you think that Linux and OpenOffice are steps forward?
I'm studying to get an MS in Library science at the UNC SILS program. Any library that I ever run will have LOTS of books. Sure, a few cheap Linux-based computers for 'net access. But books.
And what's with the silence? Who really _reads_ books at the library anymore? Now who reads books at their local coffee shop? I'm not saying that libraries should start having live music, but some piped in music instead of the oppressive silence would be fantastic.
Having done essentially that (actually, I think it was Transactions of ACM from the 70's more than the 60's, but in a nutshell, had to convert fortran code for doing singular value decomposition of complex matrices since the C code I could find to do it was only for purely real (i.e. no imaginary component) matrices and just blindly doing the equivalent of s/double/Complex/ didn't cut it, for reasons I don't begin to recall.), I'd point out that your best bet is to try a university library.
As much as I love books (see earlier rant in this story). Video games deserve to be ranked just a highly in our culture as movies. But the problem is that video games are less accessible than movies are. So I'm all for public libraries allowing their patrons access to cultural media that they would otherwise be deprived of.
Isn't that what libraries are all about? Smoothing the difference between the haves and have-nots?
Now that everyone is accustomed to free internet terminals and what not, they are clamoring for more computers, newer computers, and faster Internet connections, that takes up a good chunk of money that used to go to books. If you don't like that, and it sounds like you don't, talk to the degree holding librarians at your local public library. Write letters to the board, join the PL's Friends organization to help raise money for new books.
For the record I'm not a librarian, yet. I am working on my MLIS at the University of Kentucky part time while I work at another academic library in town.
"If a quarter is two bits, then a dollar's a byte." -R Deric Miller
Lots of free p0rn and lots of cute chicks....
I know it's slightly off topic, perhaps you should first be addressing the core purpose of a public library, then you have a goal. Now, what technology will help the library institution and the public achive those goals.
-- www.globaltics.net
Political discussion for a new world
"talk to the degree holding librarians at your local public library"
It's just as possible the people with any say at your local library have no degree. Degree makes no difference here, approach the peers who have influence.
is where is this Public Library? I'd love to go work there, or live there.
antipaucity
While I share your sentiment, I would like them to keep some of the older books. I have to admit I have actually checked out books on stuff like Fortran 77 from the library. The joys of working on legacy code! I DO think they could get rid of the stacks and stacks of computer books no one will ever use, like "Welcome to Windows 3.1" and other severely outdated OS books. At least a Fortran (or other old language) book is a usable reference with some degree of relevance to someone's job, most of the application books are just taking up room. And I don't know about your library, but I swear mine only buys computer books when they're 2 years out of date. When I actually asked about it, they were all like "but we have a hundred computer books!" Bah. :)
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
(The Beatles)
i think the silence is wonderful. there is so much noise everywhere else, why shouldn't the library be quiet? if you want a noisy place to read, go ANYEWHERE ELSE ON THE FREAKIN' PLANET. if you want a quiet place to read, study, or browse, well then go to the library. plus, many libraries have separate sections for group work, snack vending, audiovisual, or something else where the noise restrictions are less stringent. i really like the quiet of the library (almost as much as i like the books).
woulnd't the rising cost of scholarly journal subscriptions explain why there are fewer scholarly journal subscriptions? those are mostly subscribed to by universities anyway. while there is some truth to what you have said, the main reason is that libraries are spending on technology, architecture, and other junk. books are probably getting more expensive, too.
Okay, everybody is giving you shit about your fortran comment. Wouldn't you love to go back and change that post to say "Volkswriter 3 Tips and Tricks" Yeah, I thought so.
Oh, and I agree with all your points, btw. Including the one about chocolate. I just finished dinner, and all I have in the office are these stupic wintergreen mints. Chocolate would finish off the meal so much better. But I digress...
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Work with local schools and businesses and buy bulk subscriptions to proprietary databases at reduced rates. Allow anyone in the library and anyone with a library card to access them, for a subscription fee to cover the cost if necessary.
On the non-technical side, bookmobiles and book-delivery-by-mail-or-courier for those who cannot drive or ride the bus is a Big Win. Along the same vein, put small portions of your collection in community centers, shopping centers, and the like, either permanently or on a "one off" basis. This weekend, the shopping mall, next weekend, the Community Center, the next, the strip -mall shopping center.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Okay, everybody is giving you shit about your fortran comment. Wouldn't you love to go back and change that post to say "Volkswriter 3 Tips and Tricks" Yeah, I thought so.
Nah, not really. If someone needs to learn some ancient form of Fortran from the 60s for their job, then their employer is more than welcome to buy something off eBay for them. But if I'd used some Windows 1.0 example, I'm sure the Slashdot crowd wouldn't have uttered a peep about that.
Oh, and I agree with all your points, btw. Including the one about chocolate.
I wound up soothing myself with a big platter of the bestMexican food Seattle has to offer. Mmm. Not enough room afterwards for dessert, though.
Books, and ways to find them.
While I'm fairly lenient on the definition of "book" (it is 2005, after all), I see reason for a public library to turn itself in to some sort of trendoid wannabe cyber-cafe. This is a repository of knowledge. Keep it that way. Make it really easy to use and you will serve your patrons far better than any of the other suggestions people have put forward.
...laura
Volkswriter - Oh the memories. A friend of mine used Volkswriter. His dad was an executive at Volkswagon. Coincindence? Yeah, most likely.
Seriously, the point about old books doesn't depend on Fortran, or even computer topics. Wouldn't it be interesting to have CONTEMPORARY books on steam engines, early aircraft, psychology in 1920, medicine or farming from that period. There are certainly historical books on those topics, but there is so much more you can learn by reading a book from the time period.
* support OpenURL
* integrate with google scholar.. SFX
* participate in digitalization projects (such as google's)
* buy full subscription of safari online or euqivalent in ohter domains
* hire libarians that blog (meaning enthusastic about new technologies and willing to communicate)
* build a user community (forum for your library users)
* rss feeds on new resources/new services..
* make your catalogue URLs and pages more friendly to thirdparty integration (greasemonkey, such as john udell's local library integration on amazon)
hople my library (http://info.library.unsw.edu.au/ can do all these!!
Information Efficiency
OI - I'm into retro computers... for the love of god, let's not start a trend of throwing out old computer books - they're hard enough to find as it is!
> Is there really a need for a 1960's book on Fortran?
Occasionally - last year I had the dubious pleasure of integrating some old fortran code (only minor changes necessary, thankfully) into a simulation I was writing. Having never used fortran before, I've gotta say that the old fortran books were pretty darn useful in that case.
Books like that don't have to be bought and replaced often. Who cares if a compiler theory textbook is five years old, as long as the code examples aren't in Java 1.1? Leave the short-lived application-specific and language-specific stuff (except slow-changing languages like Common Lisp and historical languages like Algol) to bookstores.
Also, you should provide a way to do simple, nondangerous programming on library computers -- turtle graphics type stuff for the kiddies. You gotta make sure those future donors have fond memories :-)
Finally, you should not be disappointed that so many people here are talking about books -- you should swallow your shiny ambitions and take it to heart. It makes me sick that libraries are now pretty cool places to hang out, but I have to BRING MY OWN FRICKING BOOKS BECAUSE THE LIBRARY DOESN'T HAVE ANY. Ask yourself if anyone comes to your library for something they couldn't get at Starbucks. Your library, and libraries everywhere, may ultimately suffer the same fate as every other Starbucks competitor.
I work at an acedemic library that serves a mid-sized (10k students) University. The next big thing with a lot of libraries, public and acedemic, is Virtual Reference. In it's simplest form, it is nothing more than a chat/IM system where someone can contact a ref librarian over the web or some other IM system, ask questions and get answers. That could be implemented by you pretty easily with a Jabber server, a web client, and a jabber client running on the librarian's desktops. With other systems, you get this chat setup, a knowledge base for common ref questions, the ability to come back and look up transcripts of questions, and the ability to co-browse- that is, the librarian and patron are sharing one browser window, they both see the same thing and have the ability to point things out to eachother.
This is interestingly timed, since we just had an all-day, all-staff meeting yesterday about what the future of our library will be, where we will be in 5 to 10 years... So I hope you get some good answers, because I could certainly use them!
Aaron
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
All right... I'm going to shamelessly drift from the original topic and glom onto your comment about computer books in public libraries. Man, I hope you check past posts.
I'm a librarian for a public library, and one of the things I do is purchase books for our computer center collection. I'm always on the lookout for ideas on what else we should purchase.
So... what topics do you tend to look for?
I admit my forays into purchasing books on things like Snort haven't resulted in a whole lot of circs yet, but I'm hopeful.
I think updated books on things like the LAMP platform would be great, plus new books on X/HTML & CSS, and web design. I've stopped bothering with my local libraries for technical books; they're old and outdated, or seriously way beneath what I need a book for (MS Office for Dummies type things).
Javascript books, Flash books, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. The application books specifically age VERY quickly after just 2 years or so, and you have to time it well with some things, like PHP. Lots of books were written during the transition from PHP 4 to 5, and include 'previews' of PHP 5 features, but are hardly PHP 5-specific books, and there's a world of difference between PHP 4 and 5.
More obscure general computer science books would be great, algorithm books, etc., tend to be quite expensive to purchase, so would be a great thing to find at a library.
If you could tie in some of the self-learning books with computers in the library set up to run those lessons on, that would probably be quite a good deal for many people who may not have easy access to a hosting platform to play with. Same thing with Photoshop, Flash, etc.
First off, thank you. Second, you need to come to my library. I have most of what you mentioned. :) The more obscure computer science books I don't generally have because they don't circulate much. However, if I can start building a more technical clientele, they might start going out. I'll work on that.
Again, thanks.