The Library Needs Laughter
As library leaders, we need to do better, be funnier, and use humor liberally especially when times are tough and things are hard. Your staff, and ultimately your patrons, will thank you for it.
Troy Lambert Author Archive
Email: troylambertwrites@gmail.com
Pop-Up Libraries: Meeting Patrons Where They Are
The Wichita, Kansas, Public Library has a great idea: if the people won’t come to you, go to the people. Similar in concept to cities that are providing libraries in housing developments, the idea is a simple one. Readers may have forgotten how much they like to read, and just need to be reminded. So twice a month during the summer, a librarian takes a vintage trunk filled with a couple of dozen books down to the Pop-Up Urban Park (downtown Wichita) at lunchtime and offers literature to go with the food truck cuisine.
Retail Co-Location: Coffee at the Library
The Starbucks team worked with the library to create a unique space. This isn’t just another coffee shop stuck into a library, but the design honors the rich history and legacy of the library itself, so library patrons don’t just get a cup of coffee, they get an experience.
Oculus Rift Pilot Brings Virtual Reality To California Libraries
Today, Oculus Rift, the company that pioneered Virtual Reality (VR), launched a pilot program that provides 100 Virtual Reality kits to libraries in California. These kits include Oculus headsets, hand controls, and computers needed to run the software. The program includes several software titles as well, designed to aid in education. The program is a […]
Checking Out Securely: The Challenge of Staffless Libraries
Without physical staff, some questions are raised: Who monitors the cameras? Who responds to such emergencies? What will the blind spots in the cameras be (like restrooms), and how will they be dealt with? The prevention of theft is a significant concern as well. Certainly a card system and cameras help, but cards and pins can be stolen and hacked, and identities can be hidden from cameras.
Creating a Digital Archive: It’s Harder Than You Think
History buffs get excited whenever a state or local agency announces the digitization of a huge collection of newspapers, birth and death records, and other archives. We all want the Holy Grail: convenient online access from home that lets us drill down and find information from genealogy records to crime reports.
Protecting Your Library from Ransomware
Just last month, seventeen libraries in the St. Louis area were victims of a ransomware attack. The cyberattack disabled the library computer system, and the attackers demanded a ransom to bring them back online. What can you do to protect yourself? There are a number of simple steps you can take to protect your library.
Free Courses Offered to Libraries by American Graphics Institute
American Graphics Institute, located in Woburn, Massachusetts has a wicked program for libraries. In this case, wicked is a good thing.
Collecting and Destroying Data? Preventing Government Surveillance
Libraries have a lot of uses for big data. It can reveal useful information for librarians, archivists, researchers, publishers, and authors. What does this set of mobile analytics data tell us about users and their behavior?
Bringing the Library Home: Mixed Income Housing and Libraries
Thanks to a partnership between the Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), mixed income housing developments will house small libraries.
Just Say No: Keeping Your Library Drug-Free and Safe
The same things that make libraries a good place to study also make them a place where individuals feel they can get away with drug use.
Amazon’s Kindle Reading Fund Donates Devices
Kindle Reading Fund: Amazon Donating E-books and KindlesOne of America’s top business leaders, Jeff Bezos developed the concept of predictive analytics and has centered Amazon around the customer. When offering insights to today’s business leaders, Bezos says the Kindle and the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud were invented because of his obsession to give his customers what they want. And one thing customers want is to feel like at least some of the profits from their purchases go to good causes, and Amazon is making some clear efforts to find its feet as a prominent corporate benefactor. On August 24th, 2016 they announced the Kindle Reading Fund, The Seattle Times reported that the program will initially donate thousands of devices to developing countries through the non-profit Worldreader.
Getting Paid: How Do Authors Make Money from Library Books?
Much has been said about the battle between publishers and libraries. Libraries objected to high prices, especially for e-books, and publishers moaned about decreasing profits. Discussions center around ownership models and digital preservation, but one variable is missing in all of these equations: the author.
Beyond Book Borrows: What’s Your Story?
It’s not just the number of patrons who walk through the doors or the number of books borrowed that matters. The library is about cultivating a love for reading, encouraging new readers, and converting nonreaders into readers. How is that done?
Don’t Go There: Are Libraries Appropriate Places to Catch Pokémon?
The Pokémon GO sensation has skyrocketed in a short period of time, going from a much anticipated game release to a global sensation. It illustrates a couple of things: first, that augmented reality is the future of gaming, and second, that people are ready for that future.
