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Friday, October 31, 2003

Internet Librarian

If you are going to be at Internet Librarian next week, please stop by and see our presentation "The Return of the Wacky World of Gadgets." My co-speaker, Brian Neale, and I will be presenting a wide range of gadgets including PDAs, digital phones, wireless devices, and a few surprises for the holidays! Our session will be on Tuesday, Nov. 4th at 3:15 p.m. in Conference Room B204.

Thursday, October 30, 2003

InfoEyes: an online information community and virtual reference services for the visually impaired

Under the leadership of the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service, the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center and the Southern Illinois Talking Book Center are pleased to announce the opening of InfoEyes(http://www.infoeyes.org) on November 3, an online information community and virtual reference service for the visually impaired.

Talking book readers, other visually impaired individuals, and librarians are invited to use the trial service. Through the service, library customers can get assistance using the Internet, finding information on the Internet and in periodical databases and reader advisory service. Librarians will be using OCLC Question Point Enhanced software to provide services which include voice over IP, co-browsing, and application sharing. The trial will run through July 30, 2004. It is hoped that more libraries in other states serving the visually impaired will join Illinois in providing these services. Customers will be asked to evaluate the service and resources to help librarians in developing the service. Hours of service are posted on the web page and it is hoped that as more libraries join the service that hours can be extended. If customers want service outside of those hours, they can schedule an appointment or a reference session.

As the project develops, more information will be posted on the website. Tom Peters of TAP Information Services is the project evaluator and will write an evaluation of the project which will be made available when the project ends. If you have questions on the service, please contact Lori Bell (lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com) of the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center or Diana Brawley Sussman (dbrawley@shawls.lib.il.us) of the Southern Illinois Talking Book Center.

Thursday, October 23, 2003

Handheld Librarian testing BlogChat!

Greetings! The Handheld Librarian blog is a test site for BlogChat. On the upper right hand side of the Handheld Librarian page at http://www.handheldlib.blogspot.com, there is an icon which will be green or red. If it is red, it means I am offline and unavailable to chat. If it is green, you can click on it and a chat window will open up and we can chat. Blogger is seeking feedback on this, so if you come to our page, and you see I am online, let's chat! I would be interested in hearing how useful you think this is and would be and how it could be improved. Thanks!

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

E-bookworm Interview with Steve Potash now online

The October 20 e-bookworm show with Steve Potash, CEO of Overdrive, is now online at http://www.mitbc.org/audioave/web/overdrive.htm. The next e-bookworm show with interviewer Tom Peters is Thursday, November 20 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. central time. November's guest is Nick Bogaty, Executive Director of the Open eBook Forum. For more information on this show, contact Tom Peters at tapinformation@yahoo.com

The guest of the October 17 show was Steve Potash, President and CEO of OverDrive, Inc. Under his leadership, OverDrive has become the leading provider of eBook technologies and Digital Rights Management solutions for publishers, retailers, and libraries. OverDrive is a key technology supplier and distributor to Random House, Microsoft Corporation, AOL Time Warner, HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill, and hundreds of US and international trade, education, and academic publishers and retailers for their digital products.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

New list-OSF Saint Francis grant-Handheld #2 on Blogger Forum-e-book seminars

*Thanks to the wonderful Bill Drew, the Wireless Librarian, we have a new list. Everyone should be moved over now. If you have any problems, let me know. If you wish to change your subscription, information from Bill on the new list is detailed below:

Group description:This group is for a discussion of the role PDAS are
playing and might play in the library setting from policies and
procedures of loaning, a discussion of hardware, materials
(e-books and other materials) for PDAs, and pda applications for
libraries and other library technology news.

The address to send messages to pdalibraries is:

PDALibraries@ls.suny.edu

To unsubscribe, send a blank message to:

PDALibraries-unsubscribe@ls.suny.edu

To subscribe, send a blank message to:

PDALibraries-subscribe@ls.suny.edu

To send commands to change your settings; send
message to :

PDALibraries-request@ls.suny.edu

Your message should be in plain text format. Use any
of the following commands:

* To find out your current settings:
* query or confirm

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day:
* set digest
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* set nomail

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* set mail

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for orange):
* set pw=orange



*OSF Saint Francis Medical Library Receives LTSA grant for Tablet PCs and Patient Education
I am reposting this since some people missed it on the list:Congratulations to Carol Galganski and the OSF Saint
Francis Medical Center Library and Resource Center in
Peoria, Illinois for their successful LSTA grant
application for Tablet PCs and patient education!
"This proposal will position the Library to help
design and implement a new patient education process
for the future, focused on providing educational
materials that are current, approved, multi-lingual,
in a variety of formats, and most importantly, are
available online for easy access. If successful, this
project will enable the Library to play a key role in
this new process by using a library resource - the
online catalog - in an innovative manner by creating a
patient education repository combining print materials
in PDF format with approved online resources while
introducing new technology - the use of a Tablet PC
for multimedia interactive patient tutorials." If you
have not been to the Library's website, take a look at
http://library.osfsaintfrancis.org. Carol and her
staff have an innovative and exciting library which is
doing a lot of great things! The site will provide
librarians from all types of libraries with many
wonderful ideas.

*This message from BloggerForum today: Handheld Librarian ranks #2!
"We are pleased to tell you that your site moved to #2 in the Top Ten
Blog*Spot sites listed in our weekly poll at Blogger Forum. You can see
your listing at www.bloggerforum.com

We do this weekly. Sometimes a site gets in more than once, it depends
on the vagaries of Google. This is not an indication of visits to your
site, it is an indication of how Google has measured your importance
during the period."

*R2 Consulting Announces "E-Books for Libraries 2004" seminar and the E-Book Prospectus
R2 Consulting is pleased to announce the return of our "eBooks for
Libraries" seminar, updated and looking forward into 2004.

2004 is shaping up to be an active and interesting year for eBooks,
especially in libraries. Important issues remain unresolved but good
ideas and new models continue to surface. Join us as we review the events of
the last two years, and look ahead at new and evolving eBook initiatives,
including: ebrary's Academic Complete, netLibrary's TitleSelect, the
CDDC's BiblioVault and Scholar's Portal, YBP/Baker & Taylor's ED,
Blackwell's Digital Reference Service, eBook Library and its Non-Linear
Lending model, OverDrive's Digital Library Reserve, xrefer's Research
Mapper, Adobe's Content Server 3.0 (which supports library lending and
reserve transactions), and new reader software from Adobe, Microsoft,
and Palm. For a current report, please see our forthcoming Against the
Grain article, "The eBook Prospectus: 2004" at
http://www.ebookmap.net/pdfs/R2%20eBook%20Prospectus%202004.pdf

In 2001, R2 introduced an interactive map of the eBook industry, which
tracked distribution and rights management models from original content
to end user. This year, we'll present new maps of individual business
models to help librarians compare and distinguish competing approaches to
pricing and distribution. We'll also consider integration of eBooks into
selection tools, such as approval plans and vendor Web databases. We'll also look
at eBooks as reference tools and as components of managed learning
environments. We'll showcase some approaches that take full advantage
of eBooks' networked capabilities. We'll review technical developments,
including new reading devices, electronic ink and electronic paper, and
provide an overview of the market: what content is available through
which channels. We'll consider the relationship between eBooks and
e-journals. Finally, we'll discuss what's still needed for eBooks to succeed in
libraries.

We invite librarians, publishers and vendors to participate in this
half-day seminar. Our emphasis will be on scholarly publishing and
libraries.

DATE: Friday, December 12, 2003

TIME: 8:30-12:00 Noon

PLACE: Cambridge Center Marriott
Cambridge, MA

SCHEDULE:

8:30 AM Registration & coffee
9:00 AM Market Overview and Industry Trends
10:00 AM End-User Pathways to Content
10:30 AM Break
10:45 AM Library/Selector Tools and Services
11:45 AM Hurdles and Unsolved Problems

For more information or to register, visit
http://www.ebookmap.net/pages/eBooksBoston.php

Rick Lugg
R2 Consulting
63 Woodwell's Garrison
Contoocook, NH 03229

Let's hope they come to Chicago! They were scheduled to have a workshop in Chicago in April 2002 and some of us from Illinois were signed up, but it was cancelled.

*Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian, reports that Kalamazoo Public Library is offering streaming video. From Shifted Librarian: ""STREAMING VIDEO HAS ARRIVED! In collaboration with United Streaming, KPL now has hundreds of educational video selections available for online viewing in our AV department. Additional viewing stations can be found at our downtown location in the Children's Services and Teen Services areas, and at all branch locations - call or visit library staff for more information." The Kalamazoo Public Library was the first in the country to offer digital audio books from Audible.com on Otis MP3 players to their patrons and was the LJ Library of the Year in 2002. Looks like they continue to do exciting ground breaking things!

If you have news or ideas you would like posted here, please send them to me at lbell927@yahoo.com indicating you would like them posted, or if you would like to post yourself, let me know and I will send you an invitation to blog! The more the merrier!

Monday, October 20, 2003

Test post

This is a test post to Bill Drew's new pda libraries list to see if text messages are received!

Sunday, October 19, 2003

OSF Saint Francis Medical Library Receives LSTA grant for Tablet PCs and Patient Education

Congratulations to Carol Galganski and the OSF Saint
Francis Medical Center Library and Resource Center in
Peoria, Illinois for their successful LSTA grant
application for Tablet PCs and patient education!
"This proposal will position the Library to help
design and implement a new patient education process
for the future, focused on providing educational
materials that are current, approved, multi-lingual,
in a variety of formats, and most importantly, are
available online for easy access. If successful, this
project will enable the Library to play a key role in
this new process by using a library resource - the
online catalog - in an innovative manner by creating a
patient education repository combining print materials
in PDF format with approved online resources while
introducing new technology - the use of a Tablet PC
for multimedia interactive patient tutorials." If you
have not been to the Library's website, take a look at
http://library.osfsaintfrancis.org. Carol and her
staff have an innovative and exciting library which is
doing a lot of great things! The site will provide
librarians from all types of libraries with many
wonderful ideas.

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com

Saturday, October 18, 2003

Handheld Librarian #3 on most visited blogger sites

Blogger Forum (www.bloggerforum.com) sent me a message today that Handheld Librarian was one of the top blogs visited today according to Google. When I looked, it was #3 right under "Where is Raed?" and David Bigwood's "Catalogablog." Handheld even beat out Dave Barry. I had no idea that many people were visiting the site! I will have to put up a statistics keeper. Also I have had several emails that people are not getting the messages from the site. I will look into that.

News

The ILA Conference was great. The exhibit hall was sold out and the programs were great! Our group, the Resources and Technical Services Forum Technology User Group had a lot of wonderful programs. One program on Tech Trends given by Matt Gullett, Bloomington Public Library, Paul Mills from Heritage Trail Library System, and Teri Ross Embrey, an Independent Consultant was well attended. Later, when I have my notes, I will post a URL which contains information about their top library tech trends forecasts.

The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center will be hosting an online interactive audio book discussion group on Monday, October 20 from 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. central time. The book for discussion is "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck. Discussion leader is Tom Peters of TAP Information Services. You can participate or the discussion will be broadcast if you want to listen and not participate. To register, email Tom at tapinformation@yahoo.com.

We will also have interactive webinars, on talking books and how libraries can get involved on Monday from 1-1:45 central time and 2-2:45 central time. Email me at lbell927@yahoo.com if you want to attend. We are using ivocalize software. Even if you are just interested in this software and you want to see how it works you are welcome.

There is lots of exciting development happening in the world of ebooks for people with disabilities. MITBC and TAP Information Services are undertaking a study of digital talking book devices out on the market: Project Hal. WGBH also announced an exciting study they are undertaking with their "Beyond the Text" project. Information from a press release is below:

WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media Awarded Grant to
Develop Access Solutions for Multimedia in E-Books

Comparison chart of e-book and digital talking book (DTB) hardware and
software is now online, as is the project's first prototype e-book with
captioned multimedia.

Boston, MA. The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) at Boston
public broadcaster WGBH has been awarded a three-year grant from the
U.S.
Department of Education to study ways to make multimedia (images, audio
and
video) used in electronic book formats (e-books) accessible to people
who
are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired.

E-books offer online and portable access to traditional print media—
fiction, nonfiction, textbooks, professional journals and other
content- via
personal computer, laptop, library systems or personal digital
assistants
(PDAs). The use of e-books is steadily increasing, as is the amount of
content publishers are making available in this format. Many e-book
formats contain features such as audio and video playback, built-in
dictionaries, easy-to-read type, highlighting, note-taking,
bookmarking,
text searches and direct Internet connections. All these features
offer
considerable learning resources for users, sophisticated tools for
educators
and an entirely new development and distribution model for publishers,
particularly in the educational market.

These features could also enhance and improve access to information for
users with disabilities. Accessible e-books promise learners who are
blind or deaf equal access to trade, text or scholarly books, a major
leap forward in leveling the playing field for people with disabilities
at home, at work and at school.

The goal of the project, called "Beyond the Text," is to enable deaf,
hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired or deaf-blind users to easily
locate, activate and utilize accessible multimedia content within
various e-book formats and hardware devices. Staff are currently evaluating
e-book software and hardware for multimedia capability as well as for
general accessibility to
users with hearing or vision loss. Project activities will yield
accessible
prototypes and a set of recommended practices for those interested in
creating multimedia that is usable regardless of hearing or visual
acuity.

A comparison chart of e-book and digital talking book (DTB) hardware
and software is now online, as is the project's first prototype e-book
with
captioned multimedia. These and other resources, which will be updated
throughout the project, can be found at http://ncam.wgbh.org/ebooks.

Beyond the Text builds on existing NCAM research initiatives such as
the Access to Rich Media Project and Specifications for Accessible
Learning
Technologies/SALT (http://ncam.wgbh.org), as well as the work now
underway
in publishing and educational consortiums and standards organizations
such as
the DAISY Consortium (http://www.daisy.org), the Open eBook Forum
(http://www.openebook.org), the World Wide Web Consortium
(http://www.w3c.org) and the American Foundation for the Blind Textbooks
and Instructional Materials Solutions Forum
(http://www.afb.org/education.asp).

The project grows out of WGBH's three decades of experience pioneering
and
furthering access solutions to mass media for people with sensory
disabilities. WGBH developed captioning for television in the early
'70s,
brought video description (which describes on-screen action, settings,
costumes and character expressions during pauses in dialogue) to
television
and videos in the late '80s. Throughout the '90s, these services were
applied and integrated into other forms of mass media, including movie
theaters (via WGBH's "MoPix" technology and service), Web sites (via
WGBH's
MAGpie, a free software tool that enables do-it-yourself captioning and
description for digitized media) and classrooms (through projects which
utilize captioning and description to increase literacy levels and
foster
inclusiveness for all students). Today, all of WGBH's access
initiatives
are gathered in one division, the Media Access Group at WGBH.

About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the
source
of nearly one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup and companion online
content
as well as many public radio favorites. Its production menu is diverse,
including Nova, Frontline, American Experience, Antiques Roadshow,
ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, Arthur, and Zoom on PBS and The World
and
Sound & Spirit on public radio. WGBH is a pioneer in educational
multimedia
(including the Web, broadband, and interactive television) and in
technologies and services that make media accessible for people with
disabilities. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys,
Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards. even two Oscars. In 2002, WGBH was
honored
with a special institutional Peabody Award for 50 years of excellence.
For
more information visit www.wgbh.org.

Date: October 2003

Contact: Mary Watkins, Media Access Group at WGBH
617 300-3700 voice, 617 300-2489 TTY
mary_watkins@wgbh.org

Eric Lease Morgan, Head of Digital Access and Information Architechture Department, at the University Libraries of Notre Dame, has written a travel log of his experiences at the LITA National Forum in Norfolk, Virginia. He shares this log at
http://dewey.library.nd.edu/morgan/travel/lita-2003/
Highlights include the following: a workshop on open source software
* digital reference
* uPortal and MyLibrary
* OAIster
* collaboration
* metasearching
* MyLibrary User's Group Meeting
* trends in libraries
I looked at this and thought it was very generous of him to do this. I don't know about you, but I am not able to attend a lot of interesting conferences. Money is limited and so is time. Thanks, Eric!

Steve Coffman, virtual Reference Guru shares some news about a new online course on selection of virtual reference software: "Good afternoon you all
Just wanted to let everyone know that the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland --- a long-time pioneer in virtual reference education --- will be offering an online course on Virtual Reference Software Selection from November 3 – November 14, 2003.

Virtual Reference Software Selection is geared to library managers from any kind of library and any librarians involved in considering the fast-breaking developments in the virtual environment. This interactive web-based course, featuring a high degree of individual attention, will include readings, message board discussions with peers, valuable feedback from knowledgeable instructors, and an introduction to the resources you need to make the best decision about software – all at a time and from a location most convenient for you!

All types of ‘live’ software will be covered from basic chat to instant messaging to the more advanced species of web collaboration to the new cutting edge technologies which integrate all forms of remote reference including telephone, chat, web collaboration, email, and reference workflow management. All major vendors will be represented … including open source and ‘free’ solutions like Rakim, AOL and the various instant messaging programs.

SO, if you are thinking about starting a virtual reference service and



… if you are looking for an objective and impartial overview of your virtual reference options …

… if you are not sure what kind of questions to ask vendors

… if you want to how to analyze what will work most effectively for your patrons

… if you find out more about what kinds of features reference librarians really need



OR, if you are already using virtual reference software and



… you want to see what else is available, or

… you’d like to evaluate ways you could upgrade your service



THEN, … this course is for you

Here’s what you’ll learn

… How to analyze user needs to better inform your decision

… How to evaluate software features and costs

… How to identify features that are “musts” in your library

… How to involve your staff in decision-making

… Plus, you’ll get a detailed overview of what other libraries have been doing … and what has and hasn’t worked.

Sound interesting … then you’d better hurry … because this is an online course, there are only a limited number of seats available so we can make sure everybody gets the personal attention they deserve. Registration is filling up quickly, and there are only a few seats left, so get your registration in quickly as it’s first come, first served.

Time Commitment: A participant should plan to dedicate approximately 5 hours to this course over the two-week period, enough time to review the course content and readings, participate in online asynchronous discussion, and complete course activities and assignments. Upon successful completion of the course, .5 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) will be awarded.

Instructional Team: Dr. Eileen Abels, College of Information Studies, UMD. Coordinator: Malissa Ruffner, M.L.S.
Technical Requirements: You will need a PC with the following minimums: Pentium II 266 MHz, 128 MB RAM, sound card and speakers, Windows 98, NT or ME, Adobe Acrobat Reader and Internet Explorer 5.5.

Registration Information: The course fee is $190 (includes a $35 nonrefundable registration fee.) Enrollment is limited and the deadline for registering is October 29, 2003. THREE WAYS TO REGISTER! Go To http://www.clis.umd.edu/ce/softsel.html for Registration details.

For more information, contact Malissa Ruffner at 410-444-8102.or email
mruffner@wam.umd.edu"



Wednesday, October 15, 2003

E-bookworm with Guest Steve Potash from Overdrive

Join the library talk with Audio Avenue's E-Bookworm from the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center! E-Bookworm, a monthly online interactive seminar for librarians, visually impaired library users, and anyone interested in e-books, will be offered on Thursday, October 16 from 3:00-4:00 P.M.

The guest is Steve Potash, President and CEO of OverDrive, Inc. Under his leadership, OverDrive has become the leading provider of eBook technologies and Digital Rights Management solutions for publishers, retailers, and libraries. OverDrive is a key technology supplier and distributor to Random House, Microsoft Corporation, AOL Time Warner, HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill, and hundreds of US and international trade, education, and academic publishers and retailers for their digital products.

Pre-register to receive a user name and password to participate by emailing Tom Peter, seminar host, tapinformation@yahoo.com. Or, listen and view the program broadcast over the Internet at Talking Communities. No pre-registration is required for those who wish to listen to the broadcast

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Net Connect Features E-Books and Tablet PCs

Peg Burnette points out that the Fall 2003 Net Connect is full of good stuff on e-books and an article on tablet pcs.

Karen Coyle has an article on "Ebooks: It's about Evolution, Not Revolution." There is an article on e-books for kids and "Tablet PCs Free Librarians" at the Salem-South Lyon District in Michigan.

Are there any other libraries out there using Tablet PCs?

Tomorrow, I will be at the Illinois Library Association Conference in Springfield. The first program I am attending is "Top Tech Trends" with speakers Matt Gullett from Bloomington Public Library, Paul Mills from Heritage Trail Library System, and Teri Ross Embrey, another "Handheld Librarian." I am looking forward to hearing what they think are the top tech trends for libraries. I will try to take good notes and post the results here. I am doing a program with Daneen Richardson and Sharon Ruda on tech and non-tech ways to promote library services to people with disabilities.

ALS/MITBC are also announcing "The Library Shoppes at Library Lane." Last spring, we started an e-mall, The Shoppes at Library Lane as a fund-raising effort for the system and the talking book center. We have had several requests from vendors for us to put links to them, so we are starting "The Library Shoppes." If you are a vendor and you are interested, you can go to the invitation at http://www.mitbc.org/librarylane/shoppeinvite.doc

If only I had a tablet pc to take to the conference....the article in Net Connect says it is just like carrying around a notebook. Anyone want me to do a review on their tablet pc? Any and all offers considered!

Unbound Medicine has new tools & ebooks for pediatrics

Unbound Medicine recently announced a new series of ebooks and tools for pediatric medicine. Some of these new products are produced in conjunction with Pocketmedicine.com.

Friday, October 10, 2003

Handheld Accessible Libraries: Project Hal

Handheld Accessible Libraries – Project HAL!

The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center and TAP Information Services will undertake Project HAL (Handheld, Accessible Libraries), a critical analysis and evaluation of DAISY-enabled, portable playback devices intended primarily for use by the blind and visually impaired to access and enjoy digital talking books. The purpose of the DAISY standard, developed by the DAISY Consortium, is to make all published information available to persons with print disabilities in an accessible, feature-rich, navigable format. Examples of such devices include the Victor Vibe from VisuAide, the Telex Scholar from Telex Communications, the Book Port from the American Printing House for the Blind, the Plextalk Portable Recorder from Plextalk, and the BookCourier from Springer Design.

Tom Peters from TAP Information Services will conduct the evaluation of these devices and write the final report. Peters was a co-author of the 2003 LITA publication, E-Book Functionality: What Libraries and Their Patrons Want and Expect from Electronic Book Technologies. Project HAL will produce a similar list and feature analysis of the devices and software functionalities for digital talking book (DTB) playback devices.

This project builds upon an earlier pilot project conducted this year, eAudio with digital audio books and Otis MP3 players from Audible.com. Talking book readers who tried the digital audio books and Otises liked the sound quality and portability of the MP3 player, but expressed the need for more accessibility features. The final report on the eAudio project can be found at http://www.mitbc.org/eaudiofinal.doc.

Tom Peters from TAP Information Services observed, “Digital content presents very real promise to the blind and visually impaired. It is wonderful seeing all these devices come to market, but they need to be evaluated, compared and contrasted, and field tested to ensure that they actually are useful to end-users.”

Readers and information industry professionals who have firsthand experience with these devices are encouraged to contact Peters (tapinformation@yahoo.com) to share experiences and suggestions.

The report and recommendations will be released in late December 2003.

The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (www.mitbc.org) is a sub-regional library serving the blind and physically challenged in central and northwest Illinois. A talking book center provides library services via toll-free telephone and U.S. mail. Books and magazines in Braille and audiocassette formats are available to readers enrolled in the program. MITBC is part of a statewide network administered by the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The statewide network is tied to a national network under the administration of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a division of the Library of Congress.

TAP Information Services provides a wide variety of services supporting libraries, consortia, government agencies, museums, publishers, and other organizations in the information industry. Services include: support for projects, research reports, strategic planning, workshops, writing and editing, conference services, consortial negotiations and agreements, and speeches.

For more information about Project HAL, please contact either Tom Peters (816-228-6406 or tapinformation@yahoo.com) or Lori Bell at (309)353-4110 or lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com.


Thursday, October 09, 2003

David Pogue (NYTimes) on Palm and Sony

In today's NY Times David Pogue has a good overview article about the new PDA models from Palm (soon to become PalmOne) and Sony (rumored to becoming SonyOnesies soon). He seems to be particularly keen on the Palm Tungsten E, with a MSRP of approx. $200. Here's the URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/09/technology/circuits/09stat.html?th You need to be a registered user with the NY Times to access the article, but there's no out-of-pocket expense to registering. At these prices, it may be time for me to finally abandon my dear old M505.

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Palm, Inc. to palmOne

This interesting tidbit just in from Barbara Fullerton: "Palm, inc. is changing its name to palmOne this fall.
New logos will be out 2004.
new website: www.palmOne.com"

Friday, October 03, 2003

Join the Library Talk with E-bookworm on Audio Avenue!

E-bookworm, a monthly online interactive seminar for
librarians, visually impaired library users, and
anyone interested in e-books will be offered on
Thursday, October 16 from 3:00-4:00 P.M. central time.
Tom Peters of TAP Information
Services will host the seminar. The guest is Steve
Potash. Steve Potash is President and CEO of
OverDrive, Inc., a company he founded in 1986. Under
his leadership, OverDrive has become the leading
provider of eBook technologies and Digital Rights
Management solutions for publishers, retailers and
libraries. OverDrive is a key technology supplier and
distributor to Random House, Microsoft Corporation,
AOL Time Warner, HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill and
hundreds of US and international trade, education and
academic publishers and retailers for their digital
products. This program requires pre-registration by
email to Tom Peters at tapinformation@yahoo.com.

The program will also
be broadcast over the Internet for those who wish to
attend at:
http://www.talkingcommunities.com/entrance_bcast2.pl?31122688174
No pre-registration is required for those who wish to
listen to the broadcast. Ivocalize is the software
used for the online seminar. For more information on
this and other Audio Avenue programs, contact Tom
Peters at tapinformation@yahoo.com or Lori Bell at
lbell927@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, October 01, 2003

Electronic Book Web Weekly

If you are interested in e-books and PDAs, you should sign up for the Electronic Book Web Weekly. I have posted this week's edition here in its entirety because it says one can redistribute if you do so in its entirety. There are great articles every week not only on e-books but e-books in schools, libraries, and other settings. There is information on e-book sales, devices, and much more! If you are not subscribed, you may want to. Subscription information is at the end of this post._
__________________________________________________

The Electronic Book Web Weekly - 2003.09.30
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The Latest News and Views from http://ebookweb.org/
Volume 3, Issue 33


C O N T E N T S
o EBW Columns
+ Print on Demand is Here
o News Feeds
+ Consortium Wants E-Books To Show Images, Text
+ E-books down but not out
+ E-book Sales Up 30% In First Half of '03
+ Agatha Christie Goes Digital
+ Schools Set Rules on Classroom Gadgets
+ Future Pocket PCs, and the Future of eBooks
+ OeBF Releases eBook Sales Statistics
+ People still pick paper over pixels
+ Free Indian e-book library launched
+ Small Publishers Make Up Big Group
+ ScanSoft Capture Development System 12 Wins Transform Magazine
Readers' Choice Award
o New eBooks
o New eAuthor Pages
o Recent Book Reviews
o Recent Press Releases
o Archive Pages on The Electronic Book Web
o Add EBW News to Your Site
o Free Promotion Services
+ Post Your Own Press Releases
+ New eBook Announcements
+ eBook Newsletter Listings
+ eAuthor Pages
+ eBook Reviews
o Share Your Thoughts on EBW's Main Discussion Forum
o Contacting The Electronic Book Web
o Subscribing and Unsubscribing


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CONTRIBUTE AN ARTICLE TO eBOOKWEB
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Calling all authors, publishers and ePublishing-related companies.
eBookWeb is fed and supported by the community, by you. We welcome your
informative articles on eBookWebb and invite you to submit an article to
editor@ebookweb.com !


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E B W C O L U M N S
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eBookWeb Upgrade is Complete

Bookshops are not places you would normally associate with the cut and
thrust of technology innovation, but in their own quiet way they will
become just that over the next five years as digital technology enhances
the way books are manufactured, sold and consumed. Whatever the pitfalls
of replacing a simple, efficient, technology with a complex and
expensive one, the distribution and manufacturing process behind
paper-based books can be wasteful and inefficient, which is where
publishing on demand (POD) comes in.

http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/stories/storyReader$2312



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N E W S F E E D
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LATEST NEWS: http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/news

NEWS ARCHIVE: http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/archives

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Consortium Wants E-Books To Show Images, Text

Tuesday September 23rd

While retailer Barnes & Noble Inc. ceased electronic-book sales in the
United States earlier this month, a consortium of about 200 companies is
just taking shape in Japan to promote the development of e-book
terminals and content. The Electronic Book Busin ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3737

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E-books down but not out

Monday September 22nd

Don't slam the cover on digital books just yet. Readers hungry for a
good page-turner will still turn to bookstores and libraries, but
cheaper computers and changing consumer habits suggest that electronic
books, or e-books, still have a future. To be s ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3738

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E-book Sales Up 30% In First Half of '03

Monday September 22nd

E-book sales in the first six months of the year rose 30% over the same
period in 2002 with unit sales up 40%, according to a survey sponsored
by the Open eBook Forum, an e-publishing trade association. The survey
was released barely a week after online re ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3736

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Agatha Christie Goes Digital

Monday September 22nd

HarperCollins began offering e-book editions of Agatha Christie titles
through its PerfectBound e-book imprint last week. HC has the e-book
rights to 85 Christie works. PerfectBound has already released five
titles, among them The Mysterious Affair at S ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3735

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Schools Set Rules on Classroom Gadgets

Saturday September 20th

For better or worse, handheld devices and laptops are now seen as
essential back-to-school supplies for students across America. And many
schools have only begun to weigh their educational benefits against
their potential for text messaging, photo swapping ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3734

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Future Pocket PCs, and the Future of eBooks

Friday September 19th

One of the most enjoyable things about a site like Pocket PC Thoughts is
the fun we have with speculation about devices and the industry. This
last week was filled with both: we learned a little more about thee new
Pocket PCs coming down the pipe, the Tosh ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3732

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OeBF Releases eBook Sales Statistics

Friday September 19th

The Open eBook Forum (OeBF), the electronic publishing industry's trade
and standards organization, has released statistics on the current state
of eBooks and provides an industry analysis in its first quarterly eBook
and eDocument Publishing and Retail St ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3731

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People still pick paper over pixels

Thursday September 18th

I had a thoroughly modern moment this week. I was sitting in my office
in Dickinson College's Denny Hall, chatting online with my son, Jude,
who's studying abroad in Germany this year. We were using the AOL
Instant Messenger (AIM) program ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3733

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Free Indian e-book library launched

Thursday September 18th

"President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam has launched the portal of Digital
Library of India. The portal will have about 27,000 books in a digitized
form. Speaking on the occasion, the President called upon the people to
bridge digital divide. Lauding the project, ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3730

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Small Publishers Make Up Big Group

Wednesday September 17th

America's smallest publishers are a fast-growing and undercounted group,
with estimated total revenues last year of $29.4 billion and sales that
have grown by 21% a year for the past five years, according to a study
being released tomorrow by the Publisher ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3728

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ScanSoft Capture Development System 12 Wins Transform Magazine Readers'
Choice Award

Wednesday September 17th

ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), a leading supplier of speech and imaging
solutions, today announced that the ScanSoft(R) Capture Development
System 12 has been selected as the winner of the first annual Transform
Magazine Readers' Choice Award for Favorite ...

http://www.ebookad.com/gonews.php3?newsid=3726


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S p r e a d t h e w o r d a b o u t e B o o k s !
Forward this newsletter to interested colleagues & friends.
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N E W e B O O K S
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The most popular pages on the website are the New Books pages. Every
day, these pages receive a LOT of visitors who are looking for books to
BUY! So we encourage authors and publishers to add your book
announcements to our current New Books page

o "The Forgetting Head" by Alex Baxter
o "Mayhem, Mystery and Murder" by John A. Broussard
o "Autumn" by David Moody
o "The Heart Jorunal - A Spiritual Workbook" by Carna Zacharias
o "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", "The Murder of Roger
Ackroyd",
"Murder at the Vicarage", "Body in the Library", "They
Came to Baghdad"
by Agatha Christie
o "Copyright Law of the United States of America" by U.S. Copyright
Office
o "In My Lady's Chamber" by Laura Matthews
o "Delicate Fears" and "Delicate Hearts" by E. L. Kingsley
o "Roosevelt's Fireside Chats - History as They heard it on the
Radio"
by Marti McKenna
o "The Logan Factor" by Vincent Scuro
o "If Wishes Were Horses" by Curtiss Ann Matlock
o "Murder in a Nice Neighborhood" by Lora Roberts
o "La Comtesse" by Joan Smith


Post your free eBook announcement on our New Books page:
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$2228


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R E C E N T B O O K R E V I E W S
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o "Common Foe" by David D. Furlotte
o "Texas Moonshine" By Jude Liebermann
o "The Plumber and the Wishing Well" by Liam Maher
o "Churchmouse Tales" by Violet Toler
o "The Lonely Impulse" by Jim Cort
o "Ordinary Heroes" By Sarah Nachin
o "The Augur's Voice" by Kerry Orchard
o "In a Parrot?s Shoes" by Mindy Wilson
o "Neon Pathway" by Robin Norris Brown
o "A Name for a Princess" by Susan Shorr
o "Before and Beyond" by Patrick Welch
o "Griz Nightmare" by Leland Waldrip
o "The Caballeros of Ruby, Texas" by Cynthia Leal Massey
o "Cold Heart" by Chandler McGrew
o "Diverting The Buddha" by Bob Swartzel
o "A Gentlemen's Tale" by J. Short

We invite YOU to post an independent book review!

Read them all, and post your independent book review, at:
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$1950


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N E W e A U T H O R P A G E S
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Our eAuthor Pages section continues to grow. Below are the newest
pages. These writers are creating some extraordinary works. We
encourage you to visit these pages, get to know your favorite author, or
discover a new favorite, and buy a book from them today.

o Steve Lazarowitz - Fiction with a bite
o Paula Freda - new eBooks available
o Tonya Ramagos - Author of several different genres
o Ken and Vesta Douglas - Two writers from California
o John E. Holland - British author located in Germany
o Cecilia Manguerra Brainard - Award-Winning Filipino American Author
o Joe Faust - Books of mystery and suspense
o Hugh McCracken - 2003 EPPIE Awards Finalist
o C.S. Jennings - Author of WhoDunIts

Authors, create a free personal Web page on eBookWeb!
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$1390


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R E C E N T P R E S S R E L E A S E S
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o Agatha Christie Comes to E-Books from PerfectBound
o New MARC record for eBooks - Data supplied by OverDrive
o Local Author of Gritty Fiction Releases Novel "Small Dog" in
Paperback
o What WRITER'S DIGEST says about THE CIRCLE OF SODOM
o eBooks Corporation partners with the home of the world wide web to
develop eBook Library
o Children's eLibrary available from Ingram Library Services
o Nightwares LLC is pleased to announce the debut of nightwares eBooks,
an eBook publishing press
o Envoyage City Guides from Qvadis in Palm-Air Canada Service
o Breakthrough in diesel emission control and zero emission gasoline
vehicles technology
o SynergEbooks Acquires Contracts from Zander eBooks
o E-Publisher Acceptance Rates

POST your own press releases for free, and read them all at:
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$2227


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A D D E B W N E W S T O Y O U R S I T E
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Now it's easy to show the latest Electronic Book Web News on your site,
using our free headline syndication service!
Just insert a single line of HTML code into your page, and when people
view your page, they'll automatically see our latest news headlines,
each linked to the full story on our site. You can control the width of
the headline box, add a border or add a background color by putting it
in a table. How to Syndicate Electronic Book Web Headlines on your
website: http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/syndicate


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F R E E P R O M O T I O N S E R V I C E S
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EBW offers a number of free services designed to help you communicate
directly with members of the international eBook community, including
readers who buy books.________

eAuthor Pages on eBookWeb!

Authors, visit the link below and add your information: bio, list of
books, cover art, links, event schedule, etc. on your very own author's
page on eBookWeb. Readers can post replies to your page, and you can
receive an automatic copy of their message by email if you choose. And
of course you can reply to them on your page. This makes it easy to
interact with your readers.Feel free to use this page as your main web
page if you don't have one. If you already have a web page, this can
serve as an additional way to reach out and touch new readers.A FREE Web
Page on eBookWeb?! Yes, it's true. Spread the word...
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$1390

Post Your Press Release

Companies: this free service makes it easy for you to instantly post
your company announcements, press releases, product releases, event and
award schedules, discounts, and specials.FREE Press Releases?! Yes, it's
true. Spread the word...
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$2227

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Newsletter Listings

This page provides a central place for information about eBook-related
newsletters and subscribing to them. Subscribers: find descriptions of
newsletters and discussion groups, subscription information, and links
to archives from this page.List owners: post your newsletter or
discussion group description, subscription information and links here.
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$204
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New eBook Announcements

Our New Books pages get a LOT of traffic - thousands of visitors every
month! Readers: find out about the newest and best books, book clubs,
author chats and specials.Authors and Publishers: publicize your new
books, announce specials, award winners, author readings and chats. You
can publish your announcement instantly! Right here.
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$2228

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eBook Reviews

Read a good eBook lately? Post your independent review right here. (We
ask that authors or publishers not post reviews about their own books.)
Read reviews posted by other eBookWeb community members and find out
what they think of various titles.
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$1950


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E B W M A I N D I S C U S S I O N F O R U M
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EBW provides a central discussion group where you can talk about eBooks
and ask questions about the eBook industry. Visit our Main Forum, for
international conversation about the world of eBooks and digital
publishing. This is your place to share your thoughts and opinions
about eBooks and ePublishing.
http://12.108.175.91/ebookweb/discuss/msgReader$533


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C O N T A C T I N G E B W
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Glenn Sanders, Director
750 Menlo Avenue, Suite 200, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Email: http://www.ebookweb.org/about/index.htm#contact


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