Aaron Tay did a survey of over 40 mobile library sites/apps, and tracked some patterns and trends in what he saw. If your library hasn’t braved the mobile landscape yet (and you really, really need to), his post is a good place to start to get a sense of what’s being done already. Mobile is a moving target because of the rapidly changing devices, operating systems, and platforms. But get in now, get in simple with a small mobile version of your library website. Doing a mobile site is more important than an app, so if you have to choose, start with the site.
via @aarontay on Twitter
Want to follow all of ALA easily on Twitter? Check out the “Everything ALA” Twitter list that includes all of the various ALA Twitter accounts, as well as accounts from the different sections like PLA and LITA. Just follow the list and you’re done in one fell swoop! Nice!
via @alalibraryval on Twitter
Website UX (User Experience) Engagement Metrics from 52 Weeks Of UX.
If you’re looking for what to measure on your website, or how to show the traffic on your site and the impact it has on your users, this is a good place to start.
via @walkingpaper on Twitter
“How to Listen to the User and Hear the Experience” by Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain on UsabilityPost.
via @ghardin on Twitter
Must-Buy new ALA Library Technology Report by the esteemed Jason Griffey: “Gadgets and Gizmos: Personal Electronics and the Library.”
Recycle your old gadgets and get significant dollars in return! The two sites that do this the best are YouRenew and Gazelle.
Just look up your device on the website, answer questions about the plugs/discs you have, the condition of the device, and you get a quote back on how much they’ll give you. Do this with all the devices you want to get rid of, and they’ll send you a box in the mail, postage pre-paid. Just dump the stuff in and ship it back, then wait for your check!
Even if the device isn’t worth anything, they will still recycle it for you for free — which is better than many of the local electronics recycling programs in the area that charge beaucoup bucks for recycling. And none of the device’s components will end up in a landfill — that’s a promise from the companies.
As an example, my old third generation iPod Classic (black and white screen – oh my!) in good condition with all the original cables & whatnot is worth $15 at Gazelle & $12 at YouRenew. Better than I could get on Craigslist 
Gather all the super old stuff you have lying around the library from past projects or test pilots gone awry. Old digital cameras come to mind! Unless your city/county/university has a policy against getting $ for your old junk, then this might let the library bring in a few hundred extra dollars rather quickly. Both sites also allow you to hold fundraising drives by asking donors to recycle their gadgets and donate the money to you. Nice!
Registration is now open for the Reference Renaissance 2010 Conference, being held on August 9th and 10th, 2010 in Denver. Reference is not dead. To the contrary, I believe that reference services are the key service that libraries have that no other institution does. It’s the one thing we do that no one else can…and now, when we’re losing funding and are unable to continue expensive programming and events services (what many libraries used as a replacement for reference as their key service), we can still afford to provide reference and research expertise to the community. Let’s re-focus, and re-energize this area of our services. I look forward to seeing what the “new library” looks like in 5 years.
From eSchool News, survey results on digital natives’ technical support needs in a college environment. Their findings? Perhaps counter-intuitively, digital natives need more IT support than they are getting. Only 4 in 10 said they’re getting adequate support. Is this a gap that academic libraries can help to fill through troubleshooting tech classes, basic tech skills tutorials, and even perhaps direct support?
via @buffyjhamilton
Amazing facts and figures about instant messaging from the Royal Pingdom website. How many users are on the various networks? When did the different services come onto the market? How many messages are sent daily? How many messages does each user send on average? + a ton more. Nice report!
via resourceshelf
Hunch: Get personal recommendations on literally everything with a social data predictive engine & answers to simple questions like “what’s your favorite color?” or “do you prefer evenings or mornings?” etc. It’s pretty accurate and strangely awesome. Just for the curiosity factor alone, enjoy trying it out!
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