Conceded pass

This article appeared in my Apple News feed today. It tracks the rise and fall of tech companies such as Blockbuster Video, Minolta, Kodak, Palm, and Polaroid. Such is the pace of technological change, that those companies that fail to adapt and innovate often fall by the wayside. I used to rent movies from Blockbuster, use Kodak film, and backup files on Zip drives.

If this site is any indication, despite advances in online publishing, spell checkers are still not quite a match for a good pair of human eyes. I was distracted by words missing from sentences, so that they did not make sense, missing commas, incorrectly used apostrophes, using the plural form of a noun instead of a singular possessive noun, and easily avoidable spelling errors. What on earth is the "mite of Google?

Mites can be an occupational hazard. Google should make sure that they keep them out of their data centres.

https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/143315-tech-brands-that-spectacularly-went-bust-or-disappeared-from-existence

Lamenting the past

During my school years, I had neat, legible handwriting, at least for a male. That started to change when I went to university. This was long before lecturers used PowerPoint, and consumers had access to affordable laptop computers. I took notes in lectures and tutorials by hand, and had to write them quickly so that I didn't miss any important information. I noticed that my handwriting greatly deteriorated as a result.

Before I bought a computer in early 1996, I even wrote my university essays by hand before typing them on an electric typewriter. I did this for three of my four years as an undergraduate student. Looking back now, I don't know how I managed. Then again, since I was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, it's not as though I had a very demanding workload.

Observers of such things have noted that since the proliferation of email, instant messaging, text messages, and chat people are using handwritten communication less often. Writing letters and sending greeting cards has dropped off sharply.

It is as though my brain has been rewired. I have to concentrate hard to write neatly in greeting cards, and my shopping lists. Somewhat self deprecatingly, I wonder if there's such a thing as remedial handwriting classes for adults. I also wonder if handwriting is dying out.

From little things big things grow

A team of researchers at Delft University in the Netherlands have developed a postage stamp sized atomic hard drive that in theory, has the capacity to store every book ever written. This is exciting, but the technology needs more development before it can be used in mass market rewritable storage devices.

http://gizmodo.com/record-setting-hard-drive-writes-information-one-atom-a-1783740015

Mustiness

It looks like print books are actually here to stay, not that they ever really went away. This bodes well for the future of libraries, and the library profession as a viable career option.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/13/books-ebook-publishers-paper?CMP=fb_gu

Get with it, man

Courtesy of Michael Breeding over at Information Today. This is a neat little summary of technological trends and how they're impacting on libraries. I wish Library Management Systems would get their skates on and optimise their products for access on mobile devices. Patrons are increasingly expecting this, and it's reasonable for them to do so.

Why my job isn't quite obsolete yet

The Atari 400 computer, released in 1979

According to a report from NPR, the Pew Research Center has just released a study on young Americans' use of libraries, technology, and books. Its findings appear to show that despite the growth in the use of e-books and e-readers, there is still very much a place for libraries in the digital age. Younger readers, that is, those aged between 18 and 29, who are enthusiastic users of new technology, are still reading print books.

They are using ebooks, this is in addition to print books, and is not instead of them. Also, libraries are finding new ways of engaging with this age group, such as providing them with a social space, for example.

This is what is happening in the public library sector; it remains to be seen how things will play out in academic or special libraries. For one thing, ebook technology has not matured yet. Technology based disciplines such as computer science and engineering have moved away from print resources and towards digital distribution. Because the body of knowledge in these disciplines develops so rapidly, the problem was that these resources were often obsolete before shipping. In other disciplines, such as theology, missiology, youth studies, education, psychology, humanities, business studies and the arts, the body of knowledge develops more slowly, so this is less of an issue. 

My reading of the situation is that if I am still a librarian in 10 years' time, technological trends will mean that my job will look a lot different from what it is today. There will be more ebook loans and use of electronic resources, and less time and money spent on acquiring, processing, and circulating physical resources.  

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/23/163414069/americas-facebook-generation-is-reading-strong

In my day, Sonny Jim, books were made of paper

Brewster Kahle, the pioneer whose work with the Internet Archive has helped preserve such valuable cultural artifacts as the classic American social education films as Shy Guy (1947) and Beginning to Date (1953), is now involved in a ambitious project to create an archive of every book ever published. It's a great idea. As a bibliophile I heartily agree that the printed word needs to be preserved for future generations.

A stonkingly good piece of kit

eBook devices at a glance

We're implementing ebooks next year at work, and may purchase an eBook reader as well. Our reasons are to learn how to use the technology and see what sort of reception they get from our patrons. These are interesting times for libraries. In the same way that digital distribution has affected the retail music industry and video stores, technology is encroaching on the traditional lending model of over the counter lending. This chart came from a prominent figure in the information sector who is a well known commentator on library trends. Ebooks are here to stay. They will impact upon the way libraries operate, but contrary to popular belief, they will not make them redundant.

Some kind of fruit company

Here's a couple of takes on the iPad launch. I should point out that I'm a big fan of Apple products, and am something of a Mac loyalist.

Some parts of the education sector are already zealously jumping on the iPad bandwagon, and plan to eventually phase out textbooks altogether. It remains to be seen what this means for libraries, resource centres, or information commons, whatever you want to call them.

On the other hand, news has emerged of suicides at the Chinese electronics plant where iPads are manufactured. The bad language aside, this article from David Pemberthy of The Punch is a pretty harsh critique of Western consumer culture.

Some people find it exciting to queue up outside a store and be among the first to own a new piece of technology, but how often do we stop to think about the consequences of our consumer choices? Then again, in my own way I've bought into the culture of consumerism, and for this feel challenged and rebuked by the words of Jesus in Luke 12:15, who denounced covetousness when he said, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." (NASB)

Boffin's corner

In my line of work it pays to keep your finger on the pulse of new technologies that will eventually affect both me and my peers. I read with great interest that Borders Australia has just announced that it will be stocking the Kobo eBook reader. It looks like a pretty snazzy piece of kit, and the $199.00 price point makes it an enticing proposition compared to similar products on the market, even if it is somewhat basic by comparison. In addition, their eBook platform will also be compatible with smartphones, PC and Macs, the iPod Touch and the iPad. To sweeten the deal, the unit comes preloaded with one hundred public domain books, and a $50.00 ebook voucher.

Look away

As someone whose professional life is increasingly being impacted by the Internet, I've followed the debate about mandatory internet filtering with great interest. Today Jeff Bleich, the American ambassador to Australia, weighed into the debate, saying that it's unnecessary. I agree. I'm against internet filtering because it has no place in a democratic society. The existing regime of content regulation, whereby concerned users can report offensive content to the Australian Communications Authority, is more than adequate. It's not the government's place to regulate the Internet. It's up to parents to monitor their childrens' online activity, or to individual Internet users to take responsibility for what they access.

This is interesting

Rather than me using content from external sources, one of these days this blog will be updated with original content. For those of you who have been following the development of digital book technology, if American entrepreneur Bradley Inman has his way, e-books may one day incorporate multimedia elements. The mind boggles. It wasn't all that long ago that the only thing you needed to find reading a novel stimulating was your imagination. Perhaps this isn't sufficient for the shortened attention spans of the digital generation.

www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/business/05stream.html?_r=1

Turn the page

Brian Matthews is to be heartily commended for his spirited defence of the printed book against the e-book in a recent article in Eureka Street. The more aggressive advocates of the e-book would have everyone embrace this new technology, deriding the printed book as old hat. Of necessity, some special libraries have done away with physical books altogether. In some academic disciplines, such as information technology and some branches of engineering, the body of knowledge moves so fast that printed books were outdated before they were produced, necessitating a complete shift to electronic distribution. Since the technology is yet to receive mass market acceptance, it remains to be seen what impact this trend will have on my branch of librarianship.

I'm no Luddite, but when it comes to books, I'd prefer to read from a printed page rather than a screen or on a portable media device of some description, such as Amazon's Kindle, or Sony's new Reader. To me, turning pages is part of the experience of reading, helping the reader to engage with the text, not to mention the other advantages that printed books have. Can a e-book be placed on your bookcase at home, allowing you to create the impression that you're well-read and learned? Can an e-book be passed on as a family heirloom, or loaned to friends? Can you curl up in your favourite chair with an e-book? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic no. These observations aside, libraries will need to adapt to and adopt these technologies, but as far as can be determined, these will coexist with print media, and not replace it entirely.