Archives - Page 3

• May/June

  Vol. 56 No. 4 (2020)

  Library Technology Reports vol. 56, no. 4 (May/June 2020), "Virtual Voice Assistants," by Win Shih and Erin Rivero

  With the rapid advancement of voice technology, smart speaker devices have penetrated many US households and businesses. Voice assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant, are embedded in a slew of consumer products and IoTs. Digital assistants act as intelligent agents interacting with user voices, responding with answers and support.

  This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 4), “Virtual Voice Assistants,” first provides an overview of the technology behind smart speakers and voice assistants, also known as digital or virtual assistants. It further explores innovative uses of such technology in library and educational settings. Next, the report discusses related issues of ethics, privacy, security, and trust, concluding with a review of future trends and advice for decision makers preparing for integrating voice assistants in their organizations.

• April

  Vol. 56 No. 3 (2020)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 3), How to Create Free Digital Breakouts for Libraries,” by Ellyssa Kroski

  Digital breakouts are immersive online experiences that pose exciting challenges for players and along with them opportunities for libraries to engage patrons while imparting learning outcomes and problem- solving skills. In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 3), “How to Create Free Digital Breakouts for Libraries,” discover how libraries are using these tools to offer information literacy instruction, classroom support, youth programming, and even staff training and how you can create your own digital breakout adventures for your library today.

• February/March

  Vol. 56 No. 2 (2020)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 2), “Moving Forward with Digital Disruption: What Big Data, IoT, Synthetic Biology, AI, Blockchain, and Platform Businesses Mean to Libraries,” by Bohyun Kim

  Digital disruption, also known as “the fourth industrial revolution,” is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 2), “Moving Forward with Digital Disruption: What Big Data, IoT, Synthetic Biology, AI, Blockchain, and Platform Businesses Mean to Libraries,” examines today’s leading-edge technologies and their disruptive impacts on our society through examples such as extended reality, Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), synthetic biology, 3-D bio-printing, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and platform businesses in the sharing economy. This report explains (1) how new digital technologies are merging the physical and the biological with the digital; (2) what kind of transformations are taking place as a result in production, management, and governance; and (3) how libraries can continue to innovate with new technologies while keeping a critical distance from the rising ideology of techno-utopianism and at the same time contributing to social good.

• January

  Vol. 56 No. 1 (2020)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 1), “Digital Rights Management and Books,” by Mirela Roncevic

  Digital rights management. Anyone who has in any way dealt with digital content in the past two decades has come across this term. It is talked about and written about in the context of all content disseminated digitally—books, films, music, and video games. It is the topic at every library and digital publishing conference and the subject of countless scholarly articles dedicated to trying to understand its impact. This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 56, no. 1), “Digital Rights Management and Books,” discusses digital rights management (DRM) in the context of books—popular and academic—and all who are part of the publishing ecosystem, including authors, readers, publishers, educators, researchers, librarians, and information scientists. Its aim is to provide a thorough analysis of what DRM is, what its main purpose is, what its legal implications are, who it affects, how it works, why it matters, why some believe it has done more harm than good for books and authors as well as libraries, what its challenges remain to this day, what may be possible solutions to those challenges, and what the future holds for DRM, including both those who support it (usually publishers) and those who vehemently oppose it (usually readers and librarians). Lastly, this report points to new ways in which DRM can be approached in the future and ways in which piracy and illegal online activities can be overcome more successfully.

• November/December

  Vol. 55 No. 8 (2019)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 8), “Blockchain in Libraries,” by Michael Meth

  This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 8), “Blockchain in Libraries,” examines the application of blockchain in libraries. Blockchain technology has the ability to transform how libraries provide services and organize information. To date, most of these applications are still in the conceptual stage. However, sooner or later, development and implementation will follow. This report is intended to provide a primer on the technology and some thought starters. In chapter 2, the concept of blockchain is explained. Chapter 3 provides eight thought and conversation starters that look at how blockchain could be applied in libraries. Chapter 4 looks at the barriers and challenges of implementing blockchain in libraries. Chapter 5 raises some questions around ethical issues that librarians should consider with respect to blockchain implementation.

• October

  Vol. 55 No. 7 (2019)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 7), “Protecting Privacy on Library Websites: Critical Technologies and Implementation Trends,” by Marshall Breeding

  This issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 7), “Protecting Privacy on Library Websites: Critical Technologies and Implementation Trends,” explores the issues and technologies needed to deploy a library website with adequate protections for the privacy of those who visit. Without the implementation of standard encryption components, the online information-seeking activities of website visitors are vulnerable to exposure. Even when a site is properly encrypted, privacy can be circumvented through tracking agents placed on the site for analytics or advertising. Following discussion of the technical issues with implications for user privacy, this report includes the results of a broad study of the state of practice for these privacy-related technologies among public and academic libraries in the United States. This study reveals great progress among these libraries in the strengthening of privacy on their websites, though substantial gaps remain.

• August/September

  Vol. 55 No. 6 (2019)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 6), “Planning and Implementing a Sustainable Digital Preservation Program,” by Erin Baucom

  More and more libraries are scaling up their digitization, digital scholarship, digital archiving, and data management programs. All of this effort could be lost to a major failure of technology, a shift in administrative priorities, or a loss of institutional memory. The loss would not be just the materials themselves, but also the resources used to build and promote these collections to users. Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 6), “Planning and Implementing a Sustainable Digital Preservation Program,” will help libraries assess their current abilities, determine what they are committed to preserving, develop administrative and technological support, and create a digital preservation program that will be sustainable through organizational and technological change.

• July

  Vol. 55 No. 5 (2019)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 5), “Digital Media and Library Instruction,” edited by Heather Moorefield-Lang

  Professionals in the field of librarianship are creative when it comes to the delivery of information and instruction. If face-to-face options aren’t available, we take to digital means, and there are so many options out there. Podcasting, vlogging, and edutubing are just some of them. In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 5), read about a librarian and his podcast, a blogging librarian, a library professor with educational YouTube channels, and recommendations for strong flipped instruction delivery from the classroom or library.

• May/June

  Vol. 55 No. 4 (2019)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 4), “Librarians as Online Course Designers and Instructors,” edited by Lucy Santos Green

  In this issue of Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 4), “Librarians as Online Course Designers and Instructors,” the authors explore how librarians can apply research-based practices for instructional design and online pedagogy when designing and delivering instruction for fully online learning settings. This report explains the role of librarians in online learning—as designers, instructors, or co-teachers. Throughout this report, the contributing authors address various considerations of online learning—ranging from fostering community and integrating social media to dealing with issues specific to online K–12 learning and to assessment and evaluation. Throughout, resources and recommended readings are provided.

• April

  Vol. 55 No. 3 (2019)

  Library Technology Reports (vol. 55, no. 3), "Micro-credentials and Digital Badges," edited by Emily Rimland and Victoria Raish

  Digital badges, a type of micro-credential, have been heralded for the last five years as a key trend in education to provide competency-based pathways to learning. Micro-credentials allow for a unique way to teach students information literacy skills. Many libraries may be interested in implementing a micro-credentialing program but may have questions about design, mechanics, and sustainability. This report will give readers much of that background information. After reviewing the report, readers should be able to

  • define micro-credentials and the mechanics of using them
  • identify learning scenarios where micro-credentials can be beneficial
  • acknowledge the design considerations that are specific to badges
  • identify partnerships needed for a successful program
  • know the existing systems possible for building a micro-credentialing program for information literacy or library skills
  • feel empowered with knowledge to begin building a program