Today's library should be part of the online social networks so it can connect with patrons and inform them of new services and opportunities. But this need to utilize new technology must be balanced against shrinking budgets and increased costs. One way libraries can juggle these demands is to spend more time on creating content, using a mix of…

Technology has transformed libraries. There are digital libraries, electronic collections, online databases and catalogs, ebooks, downloadable books, and much more. With free technology such as social websites, newspaper collections, downloadable online calendars, clocks and sticky notes, online scheduling, online document sharing, and online…

In this article, the author shares the successful digitization effort of their library and demonstrates how they were able to expand their first digital collection. The author started working at James G. Gee Library when the director asked him to try digital collections and was asked to study an open source collection management program called…

When the author went to the Frankfurt Book Fair in mid-October in search of an ebooks update story, he learned from vendors that, in a decade-long struggle to grasp a foothold, ebooks are finally coming of age in libraries of all kinds. Though ebook's past may have been one of false hopes and nonstarts, according to all accounts, it was the…

Jasper County Public Library in Indiana had started using EngagedPatrons.org (EP) in 2007. EP is a low-cost technology solution providing online events calendars, RSS feeds, database support, and other web services to connect libraries to their users. It was created in 2006 by Glenn Peterson, who also designs the feature-rich websites for…

This study reports on the results of interviews conducted in December 2009 and January 2010 to identify innovative service trends in library and information services in the government and corporate arenas. The study was undertaken as part of a Library and Archives Canada (LAC) research project to inform the Government of Canada Assistant Deputy…

Regular readers of "Computers in Libraries" are aware that social networks are forming increasingly important linkages to professional and personal development in all libraries. Live and virtual social networks have become the new learning playground for librarians and library staff. Social networks have the ability to connect those who are…

The rapidly evolving digital world inspires much use of nautical terminology: (1) navigation; (2) discovery; (3) the voyage; and (4) the new terrain at the end of the journey. Considering how quickly new technologies are arriving on smartphones, the nautical adventure is continuing at an increased pace. Innovations in basic library services follow…

It's an obvious observation that librarians today find themselves dealing with collections of ever larger proportions of electronic content. The degree to which that shift has already taken place varies from one type of library to another. Some organizations, especially those involved with specializations in biomedical, scientific, or business,…

The future of the publishing industry and the profession of journalism are hot topics these days. Those with intact long-term memory faculties will recall equally heated and ongoing debates about the future of libraries and their own profession, dating as far back as 1994, when the internet captured public imagination. Times have changed a bit…

What is the economic situation in libraries these days? What are academic and research libraries doing with regard to making the resources in their collections more discoverable? Are they involved in institutional repository (IR) projects? And how do IRs and the availability of open access journals affect library purchasing decisions? Those were…

Creating online options for students has become more of a focus with the growth of distance-education programs. It has also become necessary with the growth of online databases, electronic journals, and electronic books. Teaching classes is one of the few areas where libraries have not all switched to online access. Reference librarians still tend…

Since the early 1990s, the Lloyd Sealy Library, where all four of this article's librarian-authors work in various capacities, has been providing the students and faculty of John Jay College of Criminal Justice with extensive electronic access to books and journals. In early 2009, the librarians at Lloyd Sealy decided to test a recent electronic…

This article discusses Research Blogging, a community-run nonprofit organization that is promoting a suite of blogging software to scholars. Research Blogging itself does two things. First, it extends an invitation to a community, and it is open to anyone. Second, it requires its users to follow guidelines. The combination of rigorous guidelines…

In the last few years, technology-savvy librarians have begun turning their attention to a host of new tools to connect with their users and colleagues. The umbrella term for these new technologies--Web 2.0--began gaining traction in 2004. Many librarians were quick to embrace the new wave of technology. Early adopting libraries used blogs to…