Today sees the launch of JorumOpen, a new collection from Jorum offering free and open access to resources licensed under Creative Commons. To explore this new service, visit the Jorum website. Further information is also available via the Jorum blog.
Members of the Web 2.0 forum for learning resources staff met last week at the Edinburgh Campus of Jewel & Esk College.
Sam Stirling from Dundee College kicked off the event by describing how the library has used comic book software to develop positive learning materials in partnership with students. Nicola Buddo (Glasgow Metropolitan College) then provided an overview of Box of Broadcasts - a new web-based off-air recording and video archive service from the BBC. A practical session from Carol Walker on QR codes followed, generating much discussion about their potential use in libraries - to find out more about QR codes visit Carol’s blog. The final part of the day involved a tour of Jewel & Esk College library, including a demonstration of their successful self-service laptop station.
Thanks to the efforts of the hosts and speakers, an informative and fun-filled afternoon was had by all.
Last week I attended the 9th annual e-books conference at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The event (organised by SLIC, SCURL, MmITS and SALCTG) provided a packed programme full of interesting and thought-provoking presentations. Speakers included Colin Galloway from Glasgow University (presenting on behalf of Linda Bennett), Liam Earney from JISC Collections and Dave Pattern from the University of Huddersfield.
A number of issues arose throughout the day:
- the variety of formats and pricing models on offer. Will librarians have to choose between standardisation and innovation?
- the need for more intuitive platforms and access methods. Are platforms designed to meet the needs of end users or the expectations of librarians?
- print v. electronic. Are e-books used in the same way as print books? Do they replace or enhance the print version?
- e-book readers. Do they represent the future of reading or will e-books be accessed through a range of mobile devices?
The event closed with a presentation from Dan Franklin of Canongate books who discussed the use of multimedia content to provide an enhanced e-book experience for the reader. The presentation included a demonstration of the new iPhone app for Nick Cave’s novel, “the Death of Bunny Munroe”, which is enhanced with audio and visual features.
Wildlife Finder, a new online resource from the BBC, contains hundreds of video clips of animals and their habitats. The clips are taken from the BBC archive and include Sir David Attenborough’s favourite moments from the last 30 years of wildlife film making. It’s well worth taking the time to explore this amazing resource.
The last week has seen a number of interesting articles and blog posts about e-books. Here are just a few that caught my attention:
Librarians desperate for e-books as demand outstrips supply, JISC finds (Times Higher Education, 10th September 2009) - reports on the findings of the JISC e-books observatory project (which suggests that there is high demand for e-books and that e-book provision does not affect sales of print texts)
E-book users want better content and new devices (Bookseller, 8th September 2009) - discusses the results of a recent YouGov survey on e-book readers
Google facing European challenge to digital library (Times, 8th September 2009) - discusses the opposition from European publishers to the Google Books settlement
For the smarter kind of bookworm (Times, 6th September 2009) - ASUS announces plans for an e-book reader
