METRO Mobile Computing SIG meeting, May 12

Mark your calendars!

METRO's Smart Phone and Mobile Computing Special Interest Group will meet on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, from 3:00 to 4:30 at METRO Headquarters, 57 East 11th Street, 4th floor, New York, NY.

The topic will be mobile reference services provided by libraries.

Our speaker will be Alexa Pearce, Acting Librarian for Journalism, Media, Culture & Communication, from Bobst Library, New York University.

RSVP at http://bit.ly/crfIlf


For more information on the SIG, visit SIG's web site: http://bit.ly/buxD0D

Metro Smart Phones and Mobile Computing SIG

Metro's Smart Phones and Mobile Computing Special Interest Group (SIG) is born from the PDA & Handheld Computing SIG. It is composed of individuals from all types of libraries interested in personal digital assistants and other handheld electronic technologies (e.g. smart phone, tablet PCs). Through meetings, events and other shared-learning opportunities, members explore innovative ways libraries can use these technologies to enhance staff workflow, provide patron services, and support users.

There are two exciting speakers lined up for the SIG's next two meetings.

On Wednesday, February 24, Matt Benzing, Information Technology Librarian, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, will talk about Mobile Versions/Skins for a Library Website.

On Wednesday, May 12, Alexa Pearce, Acting Librarian for Journalism, Media, Culture & Communication, New York University, will discuss Mobile Reference Services Provided by Libraries.

Both meetings will be held at METRO Headquarters, 57 East 11th Street, from 3:00-4:30.

Smart Phones and Mobile Computing Wiki:
http://metro.org/collaborate/index.php/Smart_Phones_and_Mobile_Computing

Subscribe to the SIG mailing list:
http://list.metro.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=metropdasig-l

Technorati Tags: events,, handheld,, smartphone

Digital Book 2009: May 12th

Digital Book 2009: An eBook Stimulus Plan for Publishing will take place on Tuesday May 12, 2009 at the McGraw-Hill Auditorium in New York City. Our one day conference will discuss the sales, marketing channels and tactics that booksellers and publishers can leverage as well as opportunities to connect with the consumer. Adam Smith, Director of Product Management, Google Book Search will be giving one of the Featured Presentations this year.

New this year is a ½ day of workshops taking place on Monday May 11, 2009 from 1:30 – 5:00 PM. The workshop will have multiple tracks on eBook production, workflow as well as sales, marketing and business development.

NYPC General meeting: The Sony Reader and Visual Aids for the "Hard of Seeing", Thurs. May 24th

The Sony Reader has been described as an iPod for books. Its screen uses E Ink technology and looks more like a book than a computer display. The Reader is much easier on the eyes than a computer screen, and you can enlarge the fonts. It is great for anyone who likes to read and wonderful for people whose eyes are not as good as they used to be.

Sony and National Association for Visually Handicapped will both be on hand to make presentations.

NAVH will talk about their organization, discuss what types of software and hardware are available and show devices that help people with poor vision read normal books, newspapers, etc. The local distributor for these devices, CTech, will be on hand to demo the devices and answer questions.

Sony will demo the Reader and discuss e-books. The Reader is about the size of a trade paperback, but thinner and lighter. It uses the battery only when changing the page, so battery life is measured in page turns rather than hours of usage. You can go for days or weeks without recharging, depending on use. It is great for travelers or anyone who wants to carry a number of books.

The Reader can display Sony's own proprietary XML based format as well as RTF and PDFs. It will also play MPEG audio, but this drains the battery more quickly. Sony's Connect e-book store sells over 13,000 books of all types. They are adding more every week. More . . .

6:00 PM Doors open
6:45 to 7:45PM NAVH Presentation
7:45 to 8:45PM Sony Presentation

At PS 41. 116 West 11th Street (just West of 6th Avenue) Google Map*