Category Archives: Software

Mash-Up the OPAC

Posted on 16 March 2010 by Rick Mason

ILS user groups can be one of the greatest sources of tips, tricks and inspiration for tech-oriented library staff. There was a recent discussion on the Innovative User’s Group that has led to an interesting way to embed various media … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Software, Tutorials, Video, Web Design, XML | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

PictureIt Rare Book Reader

Posted on 11 March 2010 by Rick Mason

The University of Michigan has unveiled the PictureIt Rare Book Reader, an on-screen reader that is similar to others that I have seen, but faster, smoother, and simply beautiful to see and use. The first book available online is volume … Continue reading →

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Open Source Integrated Library Systems

Posted on 2 March 2010 by Rick Mason

Found a fantastic slideshow covering the basics of Open Source ILS software via the Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian: Open Source Integrated Library Systems View more presentations from stellacomans. Direct link to the slides on SlideShare

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Licensing, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

ILS Turnover

Posted on 6 February 2010 by Rick Mason

Library Technology Guides has a couple of interesting data sets that, in a limited way, shows some of the dynamic patterns in the Integrated Library System (ILS) market: Integrated Library System turnover in 2009 (listed by the ILS migrated to) … Continue reading →

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The 7-per-cent Self-Checkout Solution

Posted on 4 February 2010 by Rick Mason

The Kirkendall Public Library in Ankeny, Iowa wanted to install a self-checkout system.  The $23,000 price tag meant that, at best, they would need to wait until they could raise the money to purchase the system. Eric Melton, circulation librarian … Continue reading →

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Granularity and Relational

Posted on 1 January 2010 by Rick Mason

While clearing out old lists of post inspirations, I ran across a post on Commonplace.net that still gets my brain going: At my place of work, my desk is in close proximity to our two catalogers.  The conversations that ensue … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Baker & Taylor E-Book Technology

Posted on 9 December 2009 by Rick Mason

Baker & Taylor has the next big thing in ebooks. Really! As with all of  the “next big things” we see in digital technology, we get to “wait and see”. However, reading the post makes me marvel at the possibilities … Continue reading →

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Business Models and Comments

Posted on 1 December 2009 by Rick Mason

A link to a thought-provoking article on Open Source business models was posted by Stephen Abram on his blog, Stephen’s Lighthouse.  If you follow that last link, you may note that not only does he post the link “without comment”, … Continue reading →

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Koha LiveCD

Posted on 12 November 2009 by Rick Mason

Most of us who have used and installed any of the many variants of Linux started off with a live CD.  These allow you to boot your computer up using the CD, and try out the operating system without having … Continue reading →

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

punypng

Posted on 24 September 2009 by Rick Mason

punypng is a great service for those who work with the .png image format.  If you work on web sites, presentations, or other projects that involve image files, this is really worth adding to your toolkit. What it does is … Continue reading →

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HealthBase, continued

Posted on 3 September 2009 by Rick Mason

A follow-up to yesteday’s post on HealthBase: It wasn’t what I was thinking of when I provided a caveat regarding Wikipedia being used as a source, but apparently some search results have offbeat listings, occasionally with negative associations. My caveat … Continue reading →

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Ohio on iTunes U

Posted on 27 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The State of Ohio has launched an iTunes site that is designed “to share educational resources, professional development materials, and student videos which have been produced by members of higher education, the K-12 community, and community partners free of charge … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Education, Government, Groups, Lecture, Libraries, Library 2.0, News, Online Services, Software, Training, Tutorials | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ohio on iTunes U

Social Your Site

Posted on 23 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Jenny Levine makes a great case on The Shifted Librarian for adding a feature to your sites that allows users to easily share your content via social networks.  Not only will this offer a way for your users to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, OPAC, Open Source, Promotions, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Social Your Site

Open Data – Interoperability not Property

Posted on 20 August 2009 by Rick Mason

Open Data : It’s About Interoperability, not Property is a post on Common Knowledge that does a great job at not only explaining why Open Data is such a powerful idea, but also why it is so complex, as well: … Continue reading →

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Center for History and New Media

Posted on 17 August 2009 by Rick Mason

I have been aware of the Center for History and New Media for quite some time (even posted a link here), but only recently did I take a look at their site beyond the work they do with Zotero.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Source, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Center for History and New Media

Perfect Storm

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Rick Mason

The Perfect Storm is a brief essay in the current issue of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) newsletter.  G. Sayeed Choudhury, the author of the essay, states that “Universities have authentication and authorization systems to identify who … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs, Google, Groups, Libraries, Library 2.0, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software, Wiki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Perfect Storm

RECAPing PACER

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Rick Mason

PACER is the online access portal for “U.S. Appellate, District, and Bankruptcy court records and documents nationwide”.  Because the documents it provides are created by the federal judiciary, they are not copyrightable; because PACER is the only place to obtain … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival, Copyright, Government, Online Databases, Online Services, Open Access, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on RECAPing PACER

Open Source Documentation

Posted on 10 August 2009 by Rick Mason

One of the more frustrating things about open source software is the fact that many projects have little-to-no documentation.  William Shields, a software developer from Australia, posts about his experiences and concludes that he isn’t going to patronize projects that … Continue reading →

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Virtual Bookplates

Posted on 9 August 2009 by Rick Mason

With our increasing reliance on electronic record keeping, especially online records, it makes a lot of sense to consider the use of virtual bookplates for those items which would normally have a printed label affixed within the book: An item … Continue reading →

Posted in Acquisitions, Books, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, OPAC, Promotions, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Simple and Evolvable Standards

Posted on 6 August 2009 by Rick Mason

May All Your Standards Be Simple and Evolvable is a post by John Wilbanks on Science Blog’s Common Knowledge.  It is written with medical data standards in mind, but it could be discussing the state of library data as well: … Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Medical, Online Databases, OPAC, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Simple and Evolvable Standards