Top Technology Trends

Sorry for the delay between posts. I seem to be having problems connecting to the Internet access.
The Top Technology Trends panel consisted of experts in the library field discussing what they perceived as upcoming trends which will affect the library. This panel was one of my most favorite of the conference. Here are some of the highlights"

• Drupal is an open source content management system. (The online catalog would be an example of a content management system) Custom modules for libraries include the SOPAC (Social Opac) (If you google this keep in mind that the first hit is for the South Orange Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, formerly the home of Grunnings Ice Cream). While it is inexpensive to implement, it can be expensive on upkeep, including the training.
• Rise of the mobile apps -- Apps are becoming more popular than mere mobile based web sites. The expert mentioned that in some ways, this is returning back to a world that we had wanted to leave. When the Internet first started to become more mainstream, it was platform based and web sites were built for the specific platform. Once the browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, and later Firefox, and of course Safari for all of you Apple people) became more popular, the specific platform was no longer a concern. It also may make the content more vulnerable.
• Mobile marketing -- Should be part of central marketing strategy. Many retail establishments are using it. We can use free WIFI to get to our users, and it can be brand friendly or cost effective. For instance, we can market e-books to patrons using free WIFI. http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-mobile-marketing-right-for-libraries.html
• Social reading trends using e-readers -- There are several social reading sites on the web such as Good Reads and Library Thing. (I love Library Thing. Here is my very incomplete list.) However, e-readers are now using some of the same aspects. The Kindle now has public notes that you can share with other Kindle readers, as well as discussions. The Borders Kobo also uses many of the same aspects as Good Reads. Readers can link directly to Twitter and Facebook if they like certain books. The expert mentioned that Overdrive and Gale (and other database vendors) should try to incorporate this technology into their products.
• Managing down print collections: http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/002151.html
  
• Better web accessibility -- Sites and databases are making improvements over offering better accessibility for all users, but they still can improve. U.S. Government Section 508 and The World Wide Web Consortium have standards for improving technology accessibility for everyone. According to a University of Michigan study, 72% of evaluated databases rated low for accessibility. Hope that the e-book format will remain accessible. The EPub 3 standard will hopefully ensure that continues to happen.
• Changes in imaging because of computational photography.
  
• Death of the mouse -- The speaker asked the audience how many brought lap tops. Yours truly, feeling like a relative of the Flinstones, raised her hand. She asked how many brought tablets and anyone hanging out with the Jetsons raised their hands! In other words, tablets are becoming the preferred device. She said that latops started the slow death march of the mouse, but that tablets will be the ultimate killer. She also reminded the audience how difficult it was to teach the mouse and how tempting it was for new users to touch the screen, which will make teaching touch screen a bit easier. I hope this doesn't mean the end of the keyword as anyone who knows me knows how much I love typing.
• More libraries are using Libguides and Library a la Carte. This represents the move to create a more unified experience, not to mention that the specific guides have characteristics of Itunes playlists!
• There is a new type of e-book on the web, in which the book is becoming, in the words of the speaker, "A citizen of the web". This type of book is hard to distinguish from a website.