Tag Archives: Digital

Resources, Services, Tech

Digital Library Federation establishes a new group

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We are passing on a call for you to join this group if you are interested in data management and digital scholarship work!

From LITA:

I’d like to share an opportunity for those of you involved in data management and digital scholarship services at research libraries: the Digital Library Federation (DLF) has opened a call for interest regarding its 2017 eResearch Network (eRN).

The eRN is a community of practice focused on resource-sharing, collaboration, and networking. Over the course of six months, our amazing faculty, Jason Clark and Sara Mannheimer, will lead teams through a series of webinars, practical assignments, and cohort discussions that will help them build skills and programs at their institutions. Continue reading Digital Library Federation establishes a new group →

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Do Students Know How to Have a Conversation?

image by Paul Martin Lester
Image by Paul Martin Lester

A recent article, My Students Don’t Know How to Have a Conversation, by The Atlantic raises an interesting topic that seldom gets talked about. With the push for 1:1 in schools and with 98% of adults ages 18-29 owning a cell phone, most young people have lost the art of having a conversation.

Paul Barnwell, who teaches English at a high school in Louisville, KY noticed that his students were struggling with even simple face to face conversations. “Conversational competence might be the single-most overlooked skill we fail to teach students,” he said. “Kids spend hours each day engaging with ideas and one another through screens—but rarely do they have an opportunity to truly hone their interpersonal communication skills.”

In the article he goes on to wonder, “what if we focused on sharpening students’ ability to move back and forth between the digital and real world?” he asks. “The next time you interact with a teenager, try to have a conversation with him or her about a challenging topic. Ask him to explain his views. Push her to go further in her answers.”

Have you seen a deterioration of student conversation skills? How can we address this issue? Is this even an issue or just the way of the future? Let us know what you see in your K-12, public or college libraries!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

An Introduction to Digital Preservation

PrintManaging Digital Content Over Time: An Introduction to Digital Preservation

What Will be Covered? Organizations of all kinds create and use a wide variety of digital resources in the course of business. These resources represent each organization’s intellectual capital and, as such, have value and need to be carefully managed and preserved. While many of the traditional resources found in libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions—books, photographs, objects—can survive for years with no intervention, our digital content is much more fragile. Managing it requires ongoing care and preservation activities to ensure continued access far into the future.

This online training series—based on the Library of Congress Digital Preservation Outreach and Education (DPOE) Program—introduces fundamental concepts for managing your digital content over time through a series of six modules delivered in three sessions. The sessions include: Identify and Select, Store and Protect, and Manage and Provide. Viewers can choose to register for all three sessions, or just one of the three.

Who Should Attend? This introductory series is for staff of any library, archive, museum, or other organization concerned about the long term care of their digital resources. No previous knowledge about the topic of digital preservation is assumed.

To Register Visit: http://tinyurl.com/nalzeeg

 

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

EBook Formats to Consider!

Image by Wishpong some rights reserved
Image by Wishpond some rights reserved

As eBooks (or e-books)  have been growing in popularity over the last several years so has the various formats available on the market. According to TechTerms, an eBook is defined as an electronic book or digital publication that can be read on a computer, e-reader, or other electronic device (“eBooks”).

Format Properties: All major formats support text, images, chapters and page markers. In addition, some may support user annotations, including highlighted text, drawings and notes.

  • Open Format: Can be read on multiple devices.
  • Proprietary Format:  Only view-able on a specific device.
    • Digital Rights Management (DRM):  A collection of systems used to protect the copyrights of electronic media. Commercially available publications often include some kind of  DMR to prevent the content from being viewed on unauthorized devices.

Libraries that strive to meet patron-driven demands for eBooks are working to increase access by building their collections. What are the most prevalent formats on the market? This Spring, Edudemic (2013) identified their top picks for you to consider. Read the full article, The 6 Most Popular eBook Formats To Know About.

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

The Changing Face of Public Libraries!

Some rights reserved by Donkey Hotey
Some rights reserved by Donkey Hotey

Infographic released an article (April, 2013) referring to the challenges facing many public libraries today. It starts by identifying the opening of an all digital and technologically advanced library in Texas. Using this as a discussion point, it touches on the role these facilities play in their communities, damaging budget cuts and the shift in patron demand(s) on these providers. Click here to read the full article titled, “The Changing Face of Public Libraries.”