Wednesday, March 27, 2013
One of the biggest concerns facing lovers of the printed word has been the sharp increase of digital entertainment. People can now read books on electronic readers, watch DVDs, stream shows and movies through the computer, play video games, and much more. Many of these things can be accomplished without leaving the house - digital downloads have become the hot item of the moment. Just the other day I purchased a digital copy of a video game that was released in 1998. I do not even have the gaming system that it was originally created for, but I went to the online shop for the Nintendo and found out that the game I was interested in had been converted into a format that was playable on the Wii. With that much easy entertainment at our fingertips, what will become of good old-fashioned books?
It would be naïve to say that all of these new technologies have had no impact on books. At my library, we keep a list of bookstores in the area to hand out to patrons who ask. We frequently have to update the list to remove bookshops that have gone out of business. I have days where more people ask about eBooks, DVDs, and using our computers than questions about books. It happens, but I still refuse to believe that this is the beginning of the ends of books.
A recent article on the UK's Huffington Post website discusses the current trends in the digital world. Author Charlie Higson noted that while popular video game Call of Duty – Black Ops sold more copies than popular DVDs and CDs, but it was still bested by print copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. He goes on further to say that even though Fifty Shades was known as being an internet sensation, it has still made the vast majority of sales in print copies.
This is a fear that is constantly being brought up. Oh no! Books are disappearing and they will never return! I have seen multiple reports saying that new technology and eReaders will be the death of the printed book. My mother’s parents were convinced that buying her a record player would lead her to stop reading books. My parents were convinced that getting me any sort of gaming system would lead me to stop reading books. Amazingly enough it both cases, we continued to be voracious readers. In my own fairly short life I have seen all sorts of technology come and go (I only recently got rid of my VHS player!), and the one thing that has remained constant is my overflowing bookcase.
I understand that there is a seeming threat to physical books with the influx of eReaders, but I see the two as a bit of a partnership. My patrons have embraced eBooks, but they also hold on to the idea of actually paging through a book. It is nice if we have a patron request a book that is currently checked out but available as an eBook – it gives options that did not exist before and it is certainly better than having to wait for the book to be returned. I asked a few friends of mine to think of the last six books they have read. How many were physical copies of books and how many were eBooks? I had a varied response, but quite a few people were pretty well split down the middle. Personally, mine was half books and half eBooks. I am still not concerned about the future of books. All I have to do is see the look of joy on a patron’s face when he or she comes in to pick up the book they’ve been on hold for since November to rest assured that books are still alive and kicking.
Newman, M. (2013, 03 21). Downloads, e-books and computer games still seen as second best to old world retail . Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/martin-newman/downloads-ebooks-computer-games_b_2925345.html?utm_hp_ref=uk
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Many people take vacations to “get away from it all.” Does this include technology? Not according to a study conducted by InsightExpress and cited by Andrea Smith on Mashable. Over 80% of the people surveyed said that they were bringing their cell phones along on vacation and that they would be checking personal e-mails. Other devices that were listed as being brought along were gaming devices, eReaders, CD/MP3 players, tablets, and digital cameras. The study surveyed adults with at least one child in the family who were planning on taking a vacation.
The study was seemingly conducted to determine how advertisers can best take advantage of vacationers using technology. What comes to mind for me are the barcodes on signs at many popular attractions telling you to scan them with your smart phone for more information. I have seen people from all over the world visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg and pulling out their phones to scan the barcodes for deals and attraction information.
While I do not fall into the category of people surveyed, running across this article got me thinking. In December I went on a solo trip to London for two weeks. I did not take any electronic gadgets with me (though, to be honest, that was because I simply did not have an ounce of extra space for them!) The trip was my time to spend on my own and getting a respite from all of the daily hassles of my normal life.
I was perfectly fine without my cell phone, but I refused to give up technology on my trip. Every day I would stop into an internet café and spend 30 minutes to an hour checking on things. I did some online banking, checked my e-mail (personal, work, and school), set things up for my spring semester, confirmed flights, ordered taxis, and used social media websites. I was even able to Skype with my parents on Christmas Day. While some people may believe that staying connected like that defeats the purpose of vacationing, I was thrilled to be able to share my experiences as they were happening. (Plus, it helped my parents stop panicking when they knew was alive and well.)
I am taking another vacation in August to visit family in Guam. I plan on staying fully connected for this trip; I am taking my phone with me as well as loading my tablet up with eBooks. It will be about a 24 hour flight, and I will need as much entertainment as possible! It is great to leave all my worries behind and just enjoy myself, but for me part of that is staying in touch and connected. I think it is amazing and wonderful that I will be able to send my parents pictures of me and my nephews (who were born in New Zealand and whom I will be meeting for the first time) as they are being taken. I will be able to chat with my supervisor about my library’s Summer Reading Program and pay some bills – all while on the other side of the world.
Sass, E. (2006, June 30). Vacations provide no respite from gadgets. Retrieved from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/45139/vacations-provide-no-respite-from-gadgets.html
Smith, A. (2013, March 23). Vacation disconnect doesn't mean leaving your devices behind. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2013/03/21/vacation-disconnect-devices/
Monday, February 25, 2013
I happened upon an article regarding the use of social media sites after death that, frankly, made me extremely uncomfortable.
There is a British television drama show called Black Mirror. Each season is a string of standalone episodes, and the show is described as, “[a] thought-provoking and gripping reflection and extrapolation of current social, cultural and technology inspired trends and fears.” One of the most recent episodes features a woman who loses social media-addicted boyfriend to a tragic accident. Her friend signs her up for a service that uses the boyfriend’s past social media postings to create a virtual version of him. The woman is horrified when she first receives an e-mail from her dead husband, but she warms to the idea and goes as far as to have his voice recreated on the telephone and, eventually, even has a synthetic version of him made.
It sounds very farfetched and science fiction, but the truth is closer to this Black Mirror episode than you would think. There are several applications, including one coming soon for Twitter called LivesOn, that do exactly that. They use complicated algorithms to analyze all of a person’s Tweets and other online postings in order to get an idea of how that person speaks and continue posting on behalf of the dearly departed. For LivesOn, the person must appoint an executor to have access to the deceased’s account, something that has been brought up as a possible violation of many social media sites’ privacy policies. Dead Social, another site for social media after death, allows you to set up posts to be released at specifics times once you’ve died.
Many people have serious misgivings about programs like these. While there have not been many studies on the topic, psychologists have found many aspects of social media life after death to be problematic. For example, what about the people who use it to harass or stalk others after they’ve died?
Recently a good family friend died suddenly. His son and grandson have his Facebook login information, so his Facebook was updated several times after his death (they always announced that it was them posting under his name in order to get in contact with his friends). It was difficult because sometimes I would forget that he had died then get a sinking feeling when I realized it was a family member posting under his name. I could not imagine if there was something in place that actually updated his Facebook on his behalf.
I love social media for what it is – a place for me to keep in touch with people in my life. It would be too bizarre to have ‘updates’ from people in my life who have died. These ghosts in the machine, so to speak, would drive me away from websites such as Facebook and Twitter, and I fear for the day when it gets as far as it did in the show Black Mirror with the recreation of the deceased peoples’ voices and, eventually, the people themselves.
“Black Mirror - A New Drama From Charlie Booker.” Endemol UK. http://www.endemoluk.com/news/black-mirror-a-new-drama-from-charlie-brooker (accessed February 25, 2013).
Coldwell, Will. “Why death is not the end of your social media life.” The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/shortcuts/2013/feb/18/death-social-media-liveson-deadsocial (accessed February 25, 2013).
Monday, January 28, 2013
I work in a small library system. My city is the smallest in a large metropolitan area, and we are usually behind the times when it comes to new library technology. We did not incorporate eBooks into our collection until the middle of last year, and we do not carry DVDs or music CDs. The two main branches only have six computers each. Unsurprisingly, our staff numbers are indicative of a small library. If the building is fully staffed, we have two or three staff members in the Children’s Collection, five or six people split between Circulation, Membership, and the workroom, and two in the Adult Reference area (this not including managers who are in their offices).
One issue that continually presents itself is how much time to devote to actually teaching technology to our patrons. Between the almost constant stream of various programs, weeding, working on Readers’ Advisory, and fielding questions from patrons face-to-face, we keep busy. When working on policies, the library director decided that we are not to spend time training people on how to use technology. If there is an unanticipated problem that occurs we can, of course, attend to it, but we run on the assumption that you know how to operate the computer you just logged on to. Our internet policy even states, “Staff is not available to provide computer assistance or training.” This policy also applies to any devices a patron may bring in – notebook computers, eReaders, tablets, phones, etc.
This has shown itself to be problematic. Nearly every single day I will have a patron approach my desk with some sort of device. Today, for example, it was a woman with an iPad. She had heard that we offer eBooks and wanted to know how to get them on her iPad. I explained the process of downloading our eBook software platform and how to use our website to check the books out and send them to the device. As I continued on I could see the panic in her eyes, so I stopped and asked if there was a problem. She replied, “The thing is, I only just got this iPad and I have no idea how to use it. I was hoping you were going to show me how to set it up then put the books on there.” I tried to offer her books such as iPad for Dummies and the location and contact information of the nearest Apple store, but the patron expressed extreme frustration that I would not be able to actually show her how to use the product.
This is tough to deal with, especially in such a small library system. The main IT department for the entire city is currently comprised of only five people. We have one cataloguer in our library system who doubles as our IT person. We simply do not have the time or people necessary to teach everyone who walks in with an electronic device how to use it. We offer computer classes, ranging from computer basics to e-mail and Microsoft Office, and we are trying to develop a class for eReaders, but it is impossible for us to spend extended periods of time with each patron who is not technologically inclined. Plus, it could be a liability issue for us to actually touch a patron’s device (there was that one time when a poor, overly helpful Library Assistant was accused of “putting a virus” on a patron’s smart phone).
Our library’s patronage consists largely of people who are just now entering the technology age. We still get people from time to time who have never once used a computer. We don’t have enough staff to fully help these patrons, but I can see why it would seem a bit unfair that we don’t offer that assistance. What is the solution? We could offer more classes, but each class only accommodates five people since we are short on computers. We try to have the best possible selection of reading material and websites (one of our favorites to recommend is http://www.gcflearnfree.org/Computers), but many patrons still want us to walk them through using the computer or their eReader device. It is a problem that will struggle with every day. We want to serve our patrons to the best of our ability, but it is difficult with such a small library system in which monopolizing one staff member for an hour to teach you how to use your Kindle Fire is taking away one-half of the staff in Adult Reference.
Does your library system offer technology classes or training? How much hands-on help are you expected to give when confronted with eReaders or other various electronic devices and the owners who have no idea how to use them? Do you assist with things such as filling out job applications or paying bills? While my library currently offers very little in the way of assistance regarding these topics, it is an issue that I am sure will need to be further addressed as our patrons become more dependent on technology.
This is tough to deal with, especially in such a small library system. The main IT department for the entire city is currently comprised of only five people. We have one cataloguer in our library system who doubles as our IT person. We simply do not have the time or people necessary to teach everyone who walks in with an electronic device how to use it. We offer computer classes, ranging from computer basics to e-mail and Microsoft Office, and we are trying to develop a class for eReaders, but it is impossible for us to spend extended periods of time with each patron who is not technologically inclined. Plus, it could be a liability issue for us to actually touch a patron’s device (there was that one time when a poor, overly helpful Library Assistant was accused of “putting a virus” on a patron’s smart phone).
Our library’s patronage consists largely of people who are just now entering the technology age. We still get people from time to time who have never once used a computer. We don’t have enough staff to fully help these patrons, but I can see why it would seem a bit unfair that we don’t offer that assistance. What is the solution? We could offer more classes, but each class only accommodates five people since we are short on computers. We try to have the best possible selection of reading material and websites (one of our favorites to recommend is http://www.gcflearnfree.org/Computers), but many patrons still want us to walk them through using the computer or their eReader device. It is a problem that will struggle with every day. We want to serve our patrons to the best of our ability, but it is difficult with such a small library system in which monopolizing one staff member for an hour to teach you how to use your Kindle Fire is taking away one-half of the staff in Adult Reference.
Does your library system offer technology classes or training? How much hands-on help are you expected to give when confronted with eReaders or other various electronic devices and the owners who have no idea how to use them? Do you assist with things such as filling out job applications or paying bills? While my library currently offers very little in the way of assistance regarding these topics, it is an issue that I am sure will need to be further addressed as our patrons become more dependent on technology.
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