Category Archives: Tech

Services, Tech

Question: Digital preservation: fixity checks/virus scans

Two women operating ENIAC (U.S. Army Photo)

We are passing on a request for help that you might also have; and a few answers sent in to help. If you have other suggestions, please post them to the comments!

“I’m the archivist and part of a digital preservation team at a small Catholic academic library.  We have about 1500 full-time students.  Some colleagues and I attended a Digital POWRR preservation workshop last year (which I highly recommend if it makes its way to your area).  As part of our action plan to strengthen our digital file preservation methods and storage capabilities, we’re wondering what software/tools other similarly-sized academic libraries/archives are using for fixity checks and virus scans.

We learned about some tools at the workshop, but we’re not sure what’s best for our particular situation, and our campus IT department wants us to research what other benchmark institutions are using.  We are NOT looking for a complete software package that includes hosting our files.  Our files are hosted on the university server and will soon be backed up to cloud service.  We just need recommendations for fixity checks and virus scans.

If anyone is doing something similar, can you tell me more about what products you are using for fixity checks and virus scans, and if you recommend them?  Is there a one-time cost to implement the tools or do we need to allocate money annually for digital preservation?

Anything else you would like to share about digital preservation, including written preservation plans, would also be helpful.

Thank you in advance!

Catherine

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Conference, Tech, Training

AC 17 Preconference: “We Are All User Experience Librarians: Creating Change from the Trenches”

RUSA’s Emerging Technologies Section (ETS) is hosting “We Are All User Experience Librarians: Creating Change from the Trenches” preconference at ALA’s Annual Conference in Chicago in June. This ticketed event will focus on user testing and experience using discussion, presentations, and interactive exercises. Our presenters will offer strategies and tools from throughout the life cycle of a user experience design project, and will provide an entertaining look at pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned. Unlike other sessions about UX design, the proposed workshop will focus on providing attendees with skills and techniques they can apply at their home institutions with little expense or pre-planning.

Speakers include: Pete Coco, Web Services Librarian, Boston Public Library; Deirdre Costello, User Experience Researcher, EBSCO Information Services; Heidi Steiner Burkhardt, User Experience Specialist, University of Michigan Library, Ann Arbor; Carrie Moran, User Engagement Librarian, University of Central Florida. More information can be found here.

Ticket prices:

Category Advance Onsite
Member $139 $149
Other Member $129 $139
NonMember $129 $139
RUSA Discount $119 $129
Services, Tech

Question: seeking a free alternative to Microsoft Access

1 Comment

Microsoft Office 2013 logo and wordmark

We are passing on a question from a library person, and a couple of potential suggestions. If you have other suggestions, please share them in the comments!

“We are looking for a free alternative to Microsoft Access. We have looked at Base which is part of LibreOffice and OpenOffice. However, as far as we can determine, Base does not allow us to import a CSV file into the database as a table. Such a feature would be important to us as we frequently need to import text files.

We would like to be able to query the database using SQL.

Microsoft Access supports Visual Basic Application. We would like a database that works with C#, Java or JavaScript in the same way, but I realize this may be expecting too much.

I would appreciate any advice.”

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Books, Children's services, School Media Specialist, Services, Tech

The Four Basic Ebook Models for K-12 Libraries

EBook between paper books
(From No Shelf Required, by )

“This is the second article in a three-part series on ebook business models in K-12 libraries. In the first article, we looked at what a business model is and at the four main kinds of ebook business models that K-12 librarians need to know about. In this article, we will look at each of the four basic models in more depth and glance at some examples of them. We will not attempt to compare product offerings in depth, but I will mention an example or two of each model. Because ebook technology is still in its early stages, the platforms and feature sets of each offering change rapidly, so any comparison is bound to be a snapshot at best. Continue reading The Four Basic Ebook Models for K-12 Libraries →

School Media Specialist, Tech, Training

Summer PD from BestPrep

From ITEM:

“BestPrep is still accepting registration for its Technology Integration Workshop. From July 31 – August 3, the University of St. Thomas in downtown Minneapolis will serve as our host.

The four days will be filled with keynote and breakout sessions that inspire, motivate, and educate. Topics discussed will be wide-ranging: how to use and apply educational technology, ways to engage students, and skills students will need when entering the workforce. Additionally, participants will have time to apply their knowledge and the information learned by updating a unit plan.

And of special note, one afternoon will be spent off-site at a local business in a job shadow. Job shadows help today’s educators prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce. Volunteers from various businesses discuss the skills employers are looking for and help draw parallels between class curricula and students’ careers.
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