Curators at The British Library are archiving videogame websites, and they want gamers and designers to suggest material they consider worthy of preservation. Besides the online games themselves, that can include forums, FAQs, emulation software, even ads. Sites can be nominated by filling out a form at webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/info/nominate. “The collection will include some actual games [...]
Library Services
Book Buying Survey 2012: Book Circ Takes A Hit
February 14, 2012 By 5 Comments
With the economy still in the gutter, it’s hardly surprising that LJ’s 2012 Book Buying Survey of public libraries nationwide turned up a book budget decrease of more than two percent on average. Nor is it surprising that, as budgets are cut, some respondents have adapted their purchasing policies, particularly in the high-circ area of fiction. And with ebooks taking off, one might expect the materials budget breakdown to shift somewhat in their direction.
What Patrons Teach Us—and Publishers Should Learn
February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A new report from LJ indicates that it is vital for libraries to connect with digital patrons, especially ebook readers, and satisfying their expectations has a meaningful upside for both the library users and the publishing community.
The report, “Mobile Devices, Mobile Content, and Library Apps,” a part of LJ’s ongoing Patron Profiles series, points out that even though digital users—defined as a patron who uses a smartphone, ereader, or tablet—remain a minority, they are, nonetheless, more active than the general patron not only in digital services but also “in virtually every metric of library activity.” As such, they could guide librarians in understanding the intersection of their print holdings and their growing digital collections.
NYPL Animator Recreates 19th Century Stereograph Effect
February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The New York Public Library is offering the Stereogranimator, which lets users turn 19th century stereographs into animated GIFs.
The State of Mobile in Libraries 2012
February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
As patrons embrace mobile devices, libraries need to provide new services. Here’s a look at the state of mobile library services—and what libraries need to do to stay on the radar
Consider the Checkout Slip | The User Experience
February 7, 2012 By 10 Comments
However small, our checkout slips are touchpoints—ways that people interact with us—and collectively we’re pumping out thousands of these things daily. In some small way, we’re representing ourselves through these little scraps of paper.
Therapy Dogs’ Presence Steadily Grows in Libraries
February 6, 2012 By 18 Comments
When it comes to learning, libraries around the country are steadily discovering that a dog can teach patrons, young and old, a few tricks.
Free Patron Profile Webinar on Feb. 15
February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Patron Profiles is a new quarterly publication from Library Journal, based on in-depth, trended research among a national sample of 2000+ public library consumers. It has so much to offer libraries! If you haven’t yet subcribed to Patron Profiles and want to understand how it can help you….especially from a marketing perspective…join me for a [...]
If Approved, Merger Could Create Largest Library Consortium West of the Mississippi
February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Telling Your Story With Visual Power
January 31, 2012 By 1 Comment
Here’s a heresy. People don’t like to read. They don’t read signs, they don’t read fliers and they don’t read all that web copy. As a writer, I love me some words. But I’ve learned that to communicate a message less is more. So I wanted to share with you this trend, Infographics: using visual [...]
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