The Source: news about digital libraries and library innovations from around the web

Introducing The Source

British Library Digitisation Strategy, 2008-2011

From the British Library website

"Our digitisation strategy underpins the British Library's corporate strategy to 2011, including our content strategy and digital library programme and these will inform our thinking as we develop our strategy to 2020. We set out in this paper our vision for the next 10 years and how we will achieve this."


Will bookworms get their teeth into the Sony Reader?

From the Times Online website

The slim volume in my hands could mark the beginning of the end for slim volumes. It is the Sony Reader, the electronic book that hits the British market this week – and the gadget that, if the publicity is to be believed, could kill off the book as we know it.


Being Wired or Being Tired: 10 Ways to Cope with Information Overload

From the Ariadne website

Sarah Houghton-Jan explores different strategies for managing and coping with various types of informational overload. What is information overload? 27 instant messages. 4 text messages. 17 phone calls. 98 work emails. 52 personal emails. 76 email listserv messages. 14 social network messages. 127 social network status updates. 825 RSS feed updates. 30 pages from a book. 5 letters. 11 pieces of junk mail. 1 periodical issue. 3 hours of radio. 1 hour of television. That, my friends, is information overload.
It is also my daily average amount of information received, sampled over a two-week period. That’s right - that much in every category every day. I suppose that is why I was called upon to write an article about coping with information overload. I am still here, I am still alive, and my brain has yet to explode, so somehow I must be finding a way to make it work. At least, that is what other people tell me.


Library spaces for the 'Google Generation' (Note: PODCAST)

From the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) website

As investment continues to be made into new build and refurbishment projects across the country, librarians are playing a key role in the design of buildings more suited to current styles of teaching and learning. In this podcast interview with Philip Pothen, Tim Giles, Librarian at the Norwich School of Art and Design, talks about a major refurbishment project at his college and how it's supporting the needs of a new generation of learners."


Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, 2007–2008 Note: PDF)

From the American Library Association (ALA) website

The study presents national and state data gathered through three integrated approaches: a national survey that collected information about public library Internet connectivity, use, services, funding and sustainability issues; a questionnaire sent to the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA); and focus groups and site visits held in four states: New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. This year’s study reinforces a key finding from 2006–2007: Library infrastructure (staffing, space and bandwidth) is being stretched to capacity. This year’s report expands our understanding regarding the strain on public libraries to provide public access to the and other technology, and sounds a warning about the long-term sustainability and future quality of free public access to the and other technology in our nation’s libraries.
The interconnectedness of funding, staffing, buildings and maintenance cannot be underestimated, as all have a direct impact on the amount and quality of public access technology services that public libraries can provide to their patrons.


Evolution to Revolution to Chaos? Reference in Transition

From the Information Today website

It cannot be denied that our reference stats are down, though this is not the case with our research requests, training activities, and one-on-one contact with clients. Public library circulation is way up. Website hits - from nearly any measurement data point - are up. Even gate count is up in most libraries. In public libraries, life is proceeding very well. In the academic and college space, change is moving apace with elearning and learning commons initiatives growing and major technologies expanding, such as OpenURL, federated search, portals and portlets, APIs, and more innovation in user experiences aimed at learning and research missions - and not centered on libraries alone. Reference and research services, the front line of library service, are dealing with a far-less-predictable future.


Beyond The Book #60: The Future of Reading

From the Copyright Clearance Center website

In this discussion of the 'Future of Reading', panelists from publishing, academia, and the library community explore how social networking, online programming (including Internet-delivered TV), and related technology are poised to become saviors of printed word. Originally recorded at Book Expo America 2008.