Pocket Boom (next to iPhone for scale)

I have to be honest, I was very intrigued about the Pocket Boom. As someone who usually listens to music via headphones it’s not necessarily something I had a huge need for, but I did think it could come in handy when travelling (i.e. in hotel rooms). So what it is?

Well, it’s basically a portable speaker system but as the name suggests it’s pocket sized. It’s battery powered (needs 2xAAA) and connects to any standard headphone connection – I tested it out using my iPhone as this is what I usually use to listen to music. You just connect it to the device (in this case my iPhone), attach the other end to a solid surface, and turn the power on.

Pocket Boom setup (any excuse for some Electronic 80s Anthems!)

What makes it such a clever product is that you can attach it to pretty much any solid surface and it will amplify the music by vibration. Depending on the surface chosen it will result in a slightly different sound, and it’s good to experiment. It’s a sticky foam pad so should be able to stick to most surfaces, not just on horizontal surfaces. I quite like the sound produced when it’s attached to the side of one of our drawer units.

Pocket Boom stuck to side of drawer unit

One problem I do have with it is I get quite a lot of feedback from using my phone which is a pain. I also have to confess that despite having it for a couple of months now I keep forgetting to take it with my when I travel, so it’s clearly not yet become part of my essential travel kit. I’ll try to remember to take it with me the next couple of time and see if I use it. I wonder if it may also be a useful way to include music in my training sessions so will also give it a go for this next time I have opportunity to do so.

So would I recommend it? I probably would given the relatively low price point, though it’s not blown me away. It’s certainly an easy way to play music, and extremely portable. I’m by no means a music expert so I can’t really comment on the quality of the output but it’s certainly better than playing it through my iPhone speakers. It gets distorted when on full volume on my iPhone but that may be the fault of the iPhone (or the surface). It’s definitely a talking point too, and I can imagine it would be good fun at social gatherings.

Tuff-Luv Spark Kindle Cover with Light - by joeyanne, on Flickr

It’s coming up to the holiday season, and I know a number of people are considering getting a Kindle. There have been quite a few questions on Twitter and interesting conversations with both Kindle owners and those thinking of getting one. I noticed however that some features of the Kindle that I mentioned were unknown to some other Kindle owners, so I thought I’d share a few tips about the way I use my Kindle that you might not know about.

1. You can send personal documents to your Kindle by email – more info here. I use this feature to forward longer documents I’ve received by email (or reports I find online) to send them to my Kindle to be read on there. You get a @kindle.com email address and a @free.kindle.com (both of which you set up in your Amazon account). The free one basically means it will use the wireless network rather than 3G (Whispernet) and that means you won’t pay for receiving the document. You can also set a maximum cost if you want to use the Whispernet feature but don’t want to spend too much by accident – I’ve set my maximum cost as £0.00 so it will never cost me but you could just set a low limit. You can send the following types of documents:
• Microsoft Word (.DOC, .DOCX)
• HTML (.HTML, .HTM)
• RTF (.RTF)
• JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG)
• Kindle Format (.MOBI, .AZW)
• GIF (.GIF)
• PNG (.PNG)
• BMP (.BMP)
• PDF (.PDF)
2. You can convert PDFs to Kindle format simply by adding the word ‘Convert’ in the subject of the email – by default the Kindle will display PDFs as is (i.e. one PDF page to one Kindle screen) but this can make for some tiny writing. You can zoom in but it’s not exactly easy to navigate. One feature I use a lot is to convert PDF into Kindle format. All you need to do is use the subject Convert in the email you send with the PDF attached. It’s an ‘experimental’ feature so doesn’t always work perfectly, but I’ve never had any problems other than with images/tables. The example below shows the original (smaller text) and the converted below (where text can be adjusted to any size). Although there are a few misalignments I was very impressed that the table of contents in the document remained functional in the converted version (so you can click on the title and it will jump to the relevant section of the PDF – very useful for longer documents).
   

   Original PDF (click for larger image)

   

   Converted PDF (click for larger image)

3. You can read your RSS feeds in full screen mode through the browser – I use Google Reader and one of the cool things you can do with that is make it full screen. You just hit key f once it’s loaded to make it full screen and then use j and k to navigate up and down the items (these work in any browser – see this list of keyboard shortcuts for Google Reader). The only downside is that you only have one window on Kindle so any links that want to open in a new window you won’t be able to open.
   

   Google Reader on Kindle (click for larger image)

4. You can take screenshots (to then share electronically) – this is how I created the images for this blog post. To take a screenshot you just press down Alt, Shift and g. To get the screenshot, plug your Kindle into your computer and your screenshot will be there in the documents folder for you to copy to your computer.
5. You can play games on it – reading work reports on your Kindle isn’t totally distraction free when you realise you can play a couple of games on your Kindle! Alt, Shift and m gets you to Minesweeper and then you can press g to go to Gomoku (5 in a row).
   

   Minesweeper on Kindle (click for larger image)

I hope you find these tips useful – there are also some useful posts from Simon and Bethan. Do you have any other tips to share? Let me know in the comments or share on Twitter using the #kindletips hashtag.

The Tuff-Luv Spark Kindle Case with Light (Purple) is a funky looking case; I love the colour and the feel of the leather is really good. The light is very compact – you can store it within the spine of the case when the case is closed so it doesn’t take up any extra room.

Outside cover (with light stored inside spine)

It has some internal pockets for business cards (though to be honest I don’t think I would ever use them), and the light slots into the elastic part of the spine on the case when you want to use it.

Inside cover with light attached ready to use

I tend to prefer holding the Kindle in two hands, using my right hand to turn pages, and I like the fact that with the Amazon case I can use the elastic on the case to hold the front cover in place behind the Kindle. Unfortunately this isn’t possible with this case; it’s held closed by a press stud, and there is no way to secure the cover easily for holding whilst accessing the Kindle. I also found that the spine was a little loose and so the case was prone to twisting slightly. Only a minor thing I admit, but it doesn’t make for a comfortable holding experience for me.

Held in cover ready for reading (cover flap not secure hence twist)

The light slots onto elastic inside the case when in use (though I found that the clip on the elastic was not very secure and prone to move around), and the cable is flexible so the light can be moved to any position.I found that the light reflected on the screen which was frustrating and meant I had to reposition it whilst reading as I couldn’t see some of the text. The light wasn’t bright enough to cover the full screen of the Kindle if placed at the top, and if placed towards the middle of the screen the reflection meant part of the screen could not be read.

Overall, I’m afraid I wasn’t very impressed with the case and have since moved back to my original Amazon case. I am still using the light (clipped onto the Amazon case), but I’m on the lookout for a better alternative – something that doesn’t reflect if that is possible, or just one that is brighter and can light the full screen from the top of the Kindle. I might try out one of the other styles of lights to see if they are better.

Maybe I ought to try a flip style case, or just one that I know I can secure behind the Kindle when I’m reading. I actually quite like holding the Kindle on its own so maybe I’d be better with a sleeve to store it in. Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and save up for the Amazon cover with a reading light!

Do you use a light to read your Kindle at night? Which one is it and would you recommend it?

*Disclaimer: I received this product free of charge to test from GearZap (see their Kindle Covers). This does not affect the content – I have been honest in my review and considered the product’s value based on its RRP.

When I realised that the Kindle could actually be a useful way of replacing both the documents I carry with me on the train to read and also my fiction reading, I began to rethink the value of a Kindle. I complete online surveys to get gift vouchers and had saved quite a few in my Amazon account, and also kindly received £30 from a presentation I gave last November. So I began saving for a Kindle and a few weeks ago I ordered a 3G model (I was initially going to go with the wifi model but am really glad I opted for 3G as I do occasionally use it for web on the go – it’s not the most usable browser but it is a free way to browse the Internet and apparently works abroad, though this may only be for US customers). It’s great for reading RSS feeds using the browser.

The new model is so much better than the old one, it’s smaller and lighter which makes a big difference and the keypad which replaced the joystick is much better (though I still sometimes try to use it as a touchscreen!).

What I have found, which is a pleasant surprise, is that I’m actually really enjoying reading for pleasure again. I always read before I go to sleep but until I got the Kindle I was often using my phone to read RSS feeds and tweets rather than reading a book. Now I look forward to reading on my Kindle, and I can have lots of books on the go so I can choose what to read depending on my mood (I usually have one non-fiction and one fiction on the go at any one time). I’ve almost finished my second fiction book on it now, and definitely think I’m reading more as a result of having a portable device with all my reading on it.

It’s been useful for work related reading too, and I have also used it to store minutes and agendas for meetings rather than print them out. I’ve figured out how to send documents to it and have also managed to convert PDF files so I can read reports on the Kindle rather than on the PC. I find that I can concentrate on the Kindle better too; I get distracted by emails, RSS feeds and tweets when I’m on a PC.

Overall I’m really happy with the Kindle, it’s good value for what it is and is a great reading device.

Mobile RSS on iPad (click for larger image)

Pros

• Multi-purpose device – I loved the fact that with the iPad I had pretty much everything I needed for an office on the go. I had an e-reader, a web browser, a note taker, a document creator, access to my email and intranet (SharePoint), music to listen to, videos to watch, and games to play too. Some of this is native to the iPad, others required an app download.
• Touchscreen – my biggest gripe with the Kindle was the lack of touchscreen; I’m so used to using the touchscreen on my phone that it just seemed weird to not have one. The touchscreen on the iPad was great to use, and really intuitive. Some people don’t like typing on the iPad but I liked it – particularly in landscape mode with the stand that holds it at a slight incline. I took it to an event and found it much less disruptive for note taking (my netbook had a really clicky keyboard!). Pinching to zoom was good too, and it’s responsive for playing games (though I did suffer slight friction burn when playing Air Hockey!).
• Interactive reading - there are a number of magazines you can purchase specifically for the iPad, and some interactive picture books for children. The iPad I borrowed had Wired magazine on there, and the Alice in Wonderland lite version. I love the way that you can now read a magazine but follow up hyperlinks right away, or watch a related video embedded within the magazine. I even downloaded a cross stitching magazine so that you can use a digital chart instead of a paper one.  The picture books are incredible, I don’t have children to read to but my cats were fascinated by the interactive parts of the book!
• Variety of apps – in addition to the books you can get from iBooks and the standalone interactive books you can get, there are so many great iPad apps out there. I tried out some of the productivity apps and was really impressed with some of the RSS and document readers (e.g. MobileRSS for easy sync with Google Reader, Flipboard for a different way of viewing your news, and GoodReader to save and read documents like PDFs) and document creation apps (I used PlainText to create files and folders whilst offline which then synced with my Dropbox account when I was next online and have played with the Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps in the Apple Store which seem very easy to use).
• Battery life – as someone who charges their iPhone every night and often carries around the charger to top up throughout the day, I imagined the iPad would have similar battery life. I was pleasantly surprised that after extensive use throughout the day I still had almost half the battery left. I certainly wouldn’t be worried about it running out throughout the day, unlike my netbook which lasts about 90mins on a good day. It’s not as good as the Kindle but for a multi-functional device I used so heavily I was really impressed.

Cons

• Weight – I think this was probably the main downside for me. I love to read in bed, but there’s no way I could read from the iPad in bed because it’s too heavy. I did try leaning up and just holding it but it was still too heavy. I tended to use the iPad in its case which was angled and worked really well. I don’t think I’d like to have an iPad without the case as even just holding it to read whilst I was on the train was a little too heavy. It’s nothing silly, but it’s just that little bit too heavy to lift for a long time, and that’s a bit frustrating.
• Size - this is a difficult one as I really liked have a decent sized screen for the keyboard and when using apps like Mobile RSS or Pages, but I couldn’t fit the iPad in my handbag. I guess in one sense that would just give me an excuse to buy a new handbag, but I do wonder if it’s just that little bit too big really. It could definitely benefit from being thinner, and having seen what can be done with the new Macbooks I imagine that’s something that will come in time.
• Multi-purpose device – yes I know I had this as a pro too, but I am a serial multi-tasker and I get distracted far too easily. The problem with a device that enables me to do lots of different things is that I use it to do lots of different things, and find at times that I am distracted from what I should be doing. So if I’m reading a report but I also have my RSS reader or Twitter open, I’ll check those every now and again too. This isn’t a fault of the device so much as an issue with my focus – maybe I need to try unitasking.

So… iPad or Kindle?

Having now tried both out, I think there is a place for both an iPad and a Kindle as they are very different devices. The Kindle was good for solely reading, and the iPad was good as a mobile office device. The iPad meets so many needs, but I don’t think it would replace my paperback books due to its size and weight. A Kindle however I could see me using in place of my books, but not much else. At the moment I see the Kindle as more of a leisure device (unless they sort out the PDF problems I had in which case it could be also used for business purposes), and I see the iPad being used as a mobile office to increase productivity whilst away from a PC, but it also can be used as a leisure device too. If I could only choose one device, it would be the iPad, and I think I’d use it for keeping up-to-date (e.g. RSS reading, tweeting), and reading/writing/editing documents on the go. I am missing the iPad already; at an event I attended with my netbook I missed it when where I sat was determined by the proximity to a power supply and I was clicking away on my netbook, and I’m missing it because it actually encouraged me to keep up-to-date with my RSS feeds, which already I am way behind on.

It’s been really good to have the opportunity to try both of these devices out, but unfortunately it has lead me to the conclusion that I need far more gadgets in my life! Maybe they will have some in the January sales (I can dream!).

As this is my last post before Christmas (only 7 and a bit hours to go!), I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Has anyone got an iPad or a Kindle on their Christmas list? I hope you’ve been good enough to receive one if so!

Amazon Kindle - from dvdmerwe on Flickr

One of the things that has stood out for me so far in my new job is the vast amount of reading I now have. I’ve always used the commute to and from work to read (study modules for my diploma, journal articles, reports, work related reading etc.), and tended to prefer to read these on paper than on screen. But in this job the volume of reading is a lot higher, and I was conscious of the amount of paper I was using (and also having to carry around between home and work), so I wondered if an e-reader might be a better way of doing things.

I do read a fair bit on my iPhone but I’d never tried a dedicated e-reader. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to borrow a Kindle for a couple of days thanks to BCU eLibrary team. I had a couple of days of travelling so knew I’d be spending a lot of time on the train, so I decided to use the opportunity to see if the Kindle suited my needs.

As some of you may be aware (particularly those of you who follow my tweets), I had a mixed experience with it. I thought I’d share the main pros and cons from my experience as I know there are others wondering about getting a Kindle at the moment.

Pros

• Portability – an obvious point, but an important one. I borrowed the older model of Kindle which is slightly larger than the new one, but it was still very portable (even with its gorgeous leather case it easily fitted in my handbag).
• Storage – not only is the device itself relatively small (I can’t fit large hardback books in my bag), but when you consider how much it can store it really does save a lot of space. I’m not sure on the storage of the model I borrowed but the latest model can hold up to 3500 books. I downloaded some book chapter samples, some documents, and it had already got loads on too. Much more convenient than carrying round stacks of papers and multiple books!
• Battery life - as anyone who owns an iPhone knows, battery life is something you get used to being an issue and it becomes normal to have to charge every day. The Kindle battery life however is excellent – it can apparently last for a month which is really handy if you’re going away. I kept the battery topped up when I was transferring files (it charges from the USB) but think I could have got away with not charging it at all whilst I had it. Big plus point for use when travelling.
• Screen - one of the selling points of the Kindle is the clarity of the screen, particularly in bright sunlight. It’s also less strain on the eyes for reading. I have to be honest, I’m so used to reading from my iPhone that I found it strange to have a dull screen, but apparently it is better for reading for any long periods of time.
• Whispernet – for once, a device that just finds internet connection without having to faff about with loads of settings! I downloaded book chapters no problem, although the connection at home wasn’t great so the web browser timed out a couple of times before working. Still impressed though, certainly hope this will become the norm for web-enabled devices.
• Ability to read your own documents – this was the main thing I wanted to test so I was particularly interested in how it handled documents (PDFs, Word documents etc.). You can read both of these on the Kindle but it’s a bit fiddly. You can simply drag and drop PDF files when the Kindle is connected, but not Word documents (more on this in the cons section!). You can convert to Kindle files (giving extra functionality such as resizing text) by emailing the files to your free Kindle email address (there is a file size limit to the free service), but it will only accept files from approved email addresses, which is difficult when you are borrowing (the administrator would need to go into the online account and add your email to the approved list). In theory though, it is possible to read your own documents on the Kindle and that’s definitely a good thing.

Cons

• Clunky – if I’m honest, the Kindle did feel like it was a retro piece of technology, and OK I had the older model but it’s still a recent bit of kit! I was very disappointed by the poor keyboard and joystick, and you have to use the joystick to navigate. The Kindle I borrowed was in a lovely case, but the joystick is in such an awkward place that it’s difficult to use once it’s in the case. I thought I’d try it without the case as this was maybe a case issue, but even without the case it wasn’t easy to use. The keyboard was also pretty terrible, though you don’t really need to type much. There is an experimental browser feature on the Kindle and I did test it out and managed to view my blog on there, but I certainly wouldn’t want to actually type anything other than a URL. Maybe I’m being fussy, but it just didn’t feel responsive or easy to use at all.
• No touchscreen – leading on from the last point, I really missed having a touchscreen. As Mark from the BCU eLibrary team pointed out in his review, smartphone users are so used to using a touchscreen that it just seems like a backwards step to not be able to do so. If you want to look at the item from the bottom of the list, you have to scroll through all the other titles (using the clunky joystick) to get to it. OK, only a minor thing you may think, but this drove me crazy!
• No scrolling – I didn’t realise until I borrowed the Kindle but when I’m reading on screen I tend to move the text rather than my eyes (laziness I guess!). So I won’t tend to read a page of text from the top to the bottom and then scroll it up, I’ll just read to the middle and then scroll the text up to read the next bit. It sounds like a really minor thing and I’m sure I’d get used to it (I obviously don’t do this with books), but it really frustrated me that I couldn’t do that with the Kindle, and that I had to read right to the bottom and then wait whilst it turned the page.
• No accelerometer – again, maybe this is something I’m used to because of my iPhone, but I wanted to read my PDFs in landscape mode rather than portrait (due to scaling issues the text was tiny in portrait). I turned the device, and nothing happened. I turned it the other way, again nothing happened. This is because you have to manually (with the clunky old joystick again) select the orientation you want to read. You probably don’t need to change orientation for reading books, but for PDFs with tables and diagrams, I would have liked to be able to easily flip from portrait to landscape and back again.
• Screen size (proportion) – the screen size is adequate, don’t get me wrong (certainly a lot larger than the iPhone screen!), but I found myself wondering why so much space is taken up with a keyboard that you very rarely use.
• Not easy to convert files – so I mentioned that you can send files to the Kindle and convert them to native Kindle format (so that you can view them more easily, change font size etc.), but as my email wasn’t on the approved list for the account, I wasn’t able to test this. There also seems to be a lot of confusion over file conversion and whether or not it costs money. My understanding (from the Kindle Manual which was on the device) is that you can convert files for free as long as you send to the free email address and it is below a certain file size. But then there is a charge if you send it to the non-free email address – why would you do that? I asked on Twitter about converting files and there didn’t seem to be a straight forward answer, even from those who own a Kindle. I guess the Kindle target market is for fiction reading, but I would have thought there must be people other than me who want to read other documents on there (EDIT: this post from Bobbi Newman and the comments prove I’m not the only one) – why make it so difficult? I ended up converting my Word documents to PDFs and then dragging and dropping onto the Kindle, but the text was tiny so I had to read them landscape.

The verdict

As you can probably tell, I have a lot more to say about the cons than the pros. So to answer the original question: no, definitely not kindred spirits. I have to give it the benefit of the doubt as I do think I would appreciate the emailing functionality if it works as I expect it to once your email address is added to the approved list, but I’m certainly not rushing off to buy myself a Kindle, not yet anyway. To be honest, all the experience has done is made me more convinced that I need an iPad!

Take a look at this e-reader flowchart which is an amusing (but sort of accurate) look at the best type of e-reader for your needs (thanks to @CILIPinfo for sharing). Unsurprisingly, I came out as needing an iPad or iPhone 4. Better get saving then!

For a while now, I’ve been helping Jennie (and Phil and Christine) administer the UK Library Blogs wiki with up-to-date details of blogs from the UK biblioblogosphere (i.e. library related blogs). It includes institutional blogs as well as personal blogs from all sectors in the information profession. The number of blogging (and microblogging) librarians in the UK seems to keep increasing, although there are some blogs that are now defunct, and a number that have chosen to change blogging platforms or converge multiple blogs into one. The wiki is a really useful resource (so please spread the word!), but there’s more that can be done now with the gathered blogs.

Yahoo Pipes to aggregate RSS

Last year Jennie copiously checked all the entries again, updated them, and produced a Yahoo Pipe for all the institutional blogs. This outputs as an RSS feed so that you can subscribe to which will pull in all the blog posts from institutional library blogs in the UK. Thanks to a conversation last week on Twitter, Gary Green volunteered to produce a pipe for the librarian blogs, although due to the large number of blogs this is currently running a little slowly.

Google Custom Search Engine

I still felt there was more which could be done with this list of blogs to utilise all the useful information within them. For example, wouldn’t it be great if you could see what UK librarians are saying about a certain topic (perhaps what they have written about CILIP, or what they think of the new iPad)? Or search across all the library blogs to see the sorts of things being discussed in library blogs for a specific subject or topic (e.g. to see what their vacation opening hours are like at a glance, or to see what libraries are doing with QR codes)?

After feeling inspired by a chapter in Nicole Engard’s Library Mashups book, I decided a Google Custom Search Engine (CSE) might be a useful tool to use. There are a lot of blogs on the wiki so it took a day or so of playing, but I have now added all the blogs (both current and abandoned if they are still live) to create a UK Library/Librarian blogs Google CSE (accessed from this link or by searching below).

I’ve tagged the blogs with different categories (this is done by adding different categories in the Refinements section of the CSE control panel), so that you can refine the search to only include Librarian blogs (usually individual, although there are some group blogs), Library blogs (usually institutional), or Supplier/Industry blogs. As you can see in the screenshot below, it’s just a case of performing the search, and then using the refinements to narrow the search down further.

Google CSE - Refinements

I’d appreciate feedback at this stage, so please try it out and let me know what you think – is this something worth developing further? Would you find it useful? I’m not sure how Google manages the algorithms for the search, so I don’t know how reliable or useful the search results will be, but I’d appreciate it if people could test it out and letting me know if this sort of thing might be useful.

The future?

I’m happy to include the search box on Joeyanne Libraryanne blog, but am also considering using the Blogroll to Google CSE WordPress plugin which was developed for Libraries Interact to list australian library blogs and can be used as both a custom search engine and also to list and link to all the included blogs. This is relatively easy to administer, especially when compared to the Google CSE which seems a little flaky once a large number of sites are added. I might experiment with this plugin anyway, but would appreciate feedback in the comments, or by email on whether people think this would be useful?

By the way – if you are a UK library/librarian blogger and your blog is not included, please let me know and I’ll add it to both the wiki and the search engine.

1. Using your mobile phone as a library card

The first idea was prompted by this blog post from Aaron Tay. It introduces the Cardstar app, which allows users to enter their loyalty/membership card details into their iPhone (they are also developing an Android and Blackberry version) and use the barcode on their phone instead of their cards. I’d seen this in the App Store but hadn’t thought about its potential for library cards, but it seems some libraries have already started using it in this way.

Initially I was a little unsure about this as a colleague raised concerns that there was no way to check the identity of the owner. However, it was then pointed out that many public library cards have no photo ID and even libraries that do have photo ID on the card often have a self issue option so in theory anyone who found a lost card could use it to borrow material. As an aside, I later found out that our self issue machines could have added functionality to ask users for their PIN before allowing access to the account, which would overcome these problems (so long as the PIN was not recorded on the card of course and only given to the cardholder upon proof of identity – at my place of work we email the PIN so that only the true cardholder can get this information).

Anyway – on to the fun part! I decided to test the app to see if it would work with our systems. It took a bit of configuring (many thanks to Ben our systems guru!), but I eventually got my barcode on there and it worked! I tested it on my own PC and the issue counter (CCD barcode scanners), both of which worked fine, but I couldn’t get it to work on the self issue machines. I later discovered that this was because the self issue machines use laser scanners which can struggle to read barcodes from the iPhone as the surface is too reflective.

As Aaron points out – whether or not we encourage this app, we need to be aware of it as our tech savvy users may start using it and we will have to be aware of it and know our institution’s policy (which will likely depend on security measures currently used).

2. Using QR codes in libraries

We got chatting in the office about these sort of new technologies (I have an iPhone, my colleague has an Android phone), and the discussion turned to QR codes (watch this YouTube video for an introduction if you’re not familiar with QR codes),which you may have seen on products recently. Below is a QR code which should direct you to the homepage of the Joeyanne Libraryanne blog, try it out on your mobile (you’ll need a QR reader which are available for most camera phones, just google the model and QR reader):

QR codes are already appearing in some library OPACs. We decided to have a play, and created some QR codes to redirect to particular areas of our website. We tested it on both our phones with success, and then began thinking about possible applications for this. Some things I thought about were (not an extensive list, these are just some very simple ideas):

• Including the QR code to electronic books/journals on the shelf near print books/journals which have an electronic equivalent
• Including QR codes of useful websites/online reports/resources near the print stock (e.g. curriculum, education/health reports)
• Including QR codes of relevant sections to our website at appropriate places in the building (e.g. to get up-to-date instructions for using equipment/facilities, or online bookings if we had them)
• Using QR codes instead of URLs on guides/tipsheets and for advisors to share with users who have enquiries. This could maybe be developed to be included on clothing, like QRazystuff are planning. Many libraries use t-shirts for those helping with enquiries – maybe these could include QR codes to commonly accessed sections on the website?

I really enjoyed finding out more about these technologies. I think it’s really exciting to think about the future of libraries – both with the technologies such as QR codes, RFID and who knows what next; and also about innovative ways to develop our resources and services. There’s so much more to be done and it’s a great time to be part of the profession – I love keeping up-to-date on all the latest ideas from different areas (globally now, thanks to the improved online communication channels) and investigating their potential within MPOW (my place of work). I don’t know if either of these ideas in particular are going to become something that we use within MPOW at the moment, but the potential is there and it was really good to test the feasibility and see if it’s a viable prospect. There are a lot of ways we can definitely improve, and I’ll certainly be mentioning these ideas with other colleagues.

I’d be interested to hear if anyone is currently using either of these ideas or something similar, or if there are other similar uses we hadn’t considered? Please let me know in the comments.

With a number of people having (or looking for) new mobile phones for Christmas or in the January sales, and people reflecting on the technological advances of the last decade (ignoring the debate about whether or not we’re actually in a new decade!), I’ve read a few blog posts recently about the great features of mobile devices and how useful they are. All this talk about mobile devices reminded me of a blog post I’ve been intending to write for a while so here it is.

Regular readers of the blog will know that I splashed out on an iPod Touch just over 2 years ago, and commented then on how mobile technologies were likely to affect both libraries and services in general in the future. I also wrote a series of posts about how to utilise some of the apps – some of which probably need updating but are still of use. I loved my iPod Touch but missed being able to use it when not in a wireless zone (particularly during my commute to work), and finally caved in earlier this year and bought myself an iPhone. I can now be usually found tapping away lost in the world of my iPhone (sad but true, I even started writing this blog post on my iPhone using the WordPress app as I was struggling to sleep). I use lots of different apps every day for my personal and work life, and find it invaluable when visiting new places (using maps, guides and useful transport apps to get about). I also use the web browser a lot, and many weekends now I don’t actually turn my laptop on at all and just stay connected via my iPhone.

I use it at work a lot – it has my Remember The Milk to do list application, and I can use it to check my email when I’m away from my desk. I also occasionally use it to access our OPAC (sadly not currently optimised for mobile browsers), and find this particularly useful when I’m in the shelves and not near an OPAC (e.g. when weeding).

Until recently I hadn’t used it for enquiries – most enquiries come to the enquiry desk anyway (we’re not actively roving yet) and if students catch you elsewhere in the building it’s usually not too far to the nearest OPAC. I’ve been following other libraries who have trialled mobile devices (such as Vicki Owen’s work at LJMU) and thought there was great potential, but never used it myself.

However, recently there have been two occasions when I have used my iPhone to deal with enquiries and it’s been really useful. The first time I was in the shelves helping with a backlog of shelving when a student asked for help locating an item. She was sure it should be available and had written down the classmark but couldn’t find it. I had a look with her but I couldn’t find it either. We were right by where the book should be and not very near to the OPACs, so I decided to double check the OPAC on my iPhone. It turned out the item wasn’t actually available (I think it may have been available at a different campus), and saved us time searching around as we now knew it wouldn’t be there. She thanked me for my help and said she’d reserve it instead. I guess we could even have reserved on my iPhone too, but she was happy to do that on her way out of the building. Happy student, and I was pleased to have been able to help her at her point (and location) of need.

The second occasion was when we were having problems with internet access, and I was weeding down in the basement – I often spend time in the shelves if the network is having problems. A student asked me for help locating books on a certain topic area and was stuck due to the internet problems. I had a vague idea where to look (secretly I quite like it when the OPAC is down as it tests your Dewey knowledge!), but wasn’t completely sure so decided to check using my mobile internet access on my iPhone. We found a specific classmark on the OPAC using my phone and the student was able to locate relevant materials. Another happy customer thanks to my iPhone.

Now OK, the second example was unusual circumstances and doesn’t happen that often thankfully, but the first example is something that happens all the time. We usually traipse over to the OPACs or the student has to come to the helpdesk (which must be frustrating for them as they’ve probably already checked, but we then double check as our OPAC isn’t very intuitive). Then, if it should (in theory) be available, we traipse back to the shelves (where the student has already been), and try to locate it. Sometimes at this point we find it, but sometimes the search continues to the recently returned items on trolleys, or sometimes even to the items still in the returns box by the self issue machines. If there’s only one available and the student can’t find it, I usually check our LMS to see when it was last returned which should give a clue to where it may be. Either way, it’s an unnecessarily long-winded procedure which could really be helped by mobile devices.

Some of our campuses are currently roving, but as far as I know they don’t have portable devices of any kind with them. Now that I’ve experienced it first hand, I can definitely see how it can help, even if it’s just iPod Touch or similar wireless enabled mobile devices used to access the OPAC and the web to assist with simple enquiries (although a tablet PC, or the rumoured Apple iSlate, with the admin side of the LMS as well as internet access would be even more useful).

I think maybe it’s finally time to put one of the suggestions sitting in my “possible future ideas” folder to management and see if it’s something we could potentially implement in the not too distant future.

I know there are a number of libraries who were interested in using mobile devices to assist with enquiries, is anyone using them currently? If so I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, or if you know of anywhere that is currently using them.

I’ll definitely be watching with interest to see where this sort of thing progresses (the banks and airports are already actively using these sort of devices to aid customer service), and in the meantime you’ll be able to find me with my iPhone in my pocket in case students ask me for help when I’m out and about in the building.

I talked about the importance of linking your online accounts at my talks at the New Professional’s Conference and the CILIP Open Graduate Day earlier this year, and at the time recommended using Twitterfeed to help you link your blog posts into Twitter. This is still a great service and works well with all RSS feeds, but if you just want to link your WordPress.com blog(s) to your Twitter account(s), you can now do it directly from your WordPress dashboard.

I was going to run through the process of doing this, but I found a great page on the WordPress support pages which includes screenshots for each stage, so rather than re-invent the wheel, here’s the link.

I’ve tested it out on one of my work blogs with our Twitter account and it works really well – you can edit the Twitter post from within the dashboard on your new post (in the Publish box on the right sidebar) and it posts almost immediately to your Twitter account after publishing the blog post. You can also use it with blogs with multiple authors and have just their authored posts going to their individual Twitter account which could be great for shared blogs.

Thought it was worth a blog post anyway, as it’s a somewhat hidden feature (well, I didn’t know how advanced it was anyway so thought others might not either!). At the moment this feature is just on WordPress.com blogs, but the developers have said they are working on a plugin to achieve the same thing on WordPress.org (self-hosted) blogs too.