eBooks – Library Technology Launchpad

Library Technology at the ALA 2017 Annual Conference

The ALA 2017 Annual Conference is just one week away. The conference covers a myriad of library topics and sorting through the program sessions to find the ones focused on library technology takes effort. Let us do the work for you.

Here is our list of programs related to library technology. You’ll find interest groups and sessions on data and metadata, makerspaces, UX, Linked Data, ILS and LMS, websites, mobile apps, emerging technologies, and more. Committee meetings were not included.

For official descriptions, speakers, and final schedule, please check the conference Full Schedule page.
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Library Technology at the ALA 2016 Annual Conference

The ALA 2016 Annual Conference is just about a month away. The conference covers a myriad of library topics and sorting through the program sessions to find the ones focused on library technology takes effort. Let us do the work for you.

For official descriptions, speakers, and final schedule, please check the conference Full Schedule page.

Continue reading “Library Technology at the ALA 2016 Annual Conference”

Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library Book Series

Leading the 21st-Century Academic Library: Successful Strategies for Envisioning and Realizing Preferred Futures

Enhancing Teaching and Learning in the 21st-Century Academic Library: Successful Innovations That Make a Difference

Cutting-Edge Research in Developing the Library of the Future: New Paths for Building Future Services

A new professional book series for academic librarians has been published. The volumes were edited by Bradford Lee Eden and contain the knowledge and experience of academic librarian contributors. [Disclosure: I co-wrote a chapter but receive no royalties from the sale.]

The Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library series contains five titles so far:

The titles are available as ebooks and print books.

Creating Research Infrastructures in the 21st-Century Academic Library: Conceiving, Funding, and Building New Facilities and Staff

Partnerships and New Roles in the 21st-Century Academic Library: Collaborating, Embedding, and Cross-Training for the Future

Consolidation of the Library Vendors

With two recent announcements of mergers of well-known library vendors—ProQuest acquired Ex Libris and Bibliotheca bought 3M Library Systems—the number of independent library vendors is shrinking.

ProQuest is now a provider of research databases (ProQuest Central and others), ebooks (ebrary, EBL, and MyiLibrary), discovery tools (Summon and now Primo), link resolvers (Serials Solutions and now SFX), library management system (Alma and Intota), and print books (with the recent purchase of Coutts).

EBSCO is the next largest vendor in this shrinking field. EBSCO offers research databases (EBSCOhost), ebooks (EBSCO eBooks and Audiobooks), a discovery tool (EBSCO Discovery Service), a link resolver (LinkSource), and print books (YBP Library Services). EBSCO does not offer an ILS or LMS and one has to wonder if the company will go looking to acquire one.

OCLC is the third major competitor in the library services arena. OCLC does not provide content like ProQuest and EBSCO. However, they offer a discovery tool (WorldCat) and a modern library management system (WorldShare Management Services). OCLC also offers popular services such as a proxy service (EZproxy), interlibrary loan service (ILLiad), digital collection management tool (CONTENTdm), and a virtual reference system (QuestionPoint).

If your library is looking for a comprehensive library management / discovery service / link resolver solution, you now have three vendors.

Category: eBooks

Creating the 21st-Century Academic Library Book Series

Consolidation of the Library Vendors

Further Reading